Early the next morning.
Kashiwagi leaned against his pillow, scrolling through Poké-Blog while absentmindedly stroking Deino's head.
However, his attention wasn't on the Contest scene anymore; he was hunting for traces of Lugia.
The diver who had previously captured footage of Lugia swimming in the deep sea claimed to live near Dewford Town. Many trainers interested in Legendary Pokémon had swarmed the area, but none had even managed to find a similar-looking patch of ocean.
The uploader, seemingly realizing the trouble his post had caused, had deleted the video and hadn't updated his blog in a while. His most recent post was just a clip of him playing with a Swampert.
Kashiwagi analyzed the background of those older videos. While the scenery was lush, he occasionally spotted rusted metal decks in the corner of the frame.
Putting the pieces together, he had a pretty good guess where this person was:
The Abandoned Ship near Route 108.
Ash and his friends had visited that place once, meeting a young man who had lost his Pokémon while escaping the ship years ago—and that Pokémon just happened to be a Swampert. The other Pokémon seen in the diver's videos—Marill, Spinarak, and Wooper—all matched that person's "identity."
Of course, this was all speculation. He'd have to go there himself to confirm.
"If I actually find it... what are the odds I can successfully communicate with Lugia? What are the odds it's even that Lugia? And what are the odds it won't just blast me once it hears I'm from Orre?"
Kashiwagi figured Orre must be a place of immense sorrow for Lugia. Otherwise, it wouldn't have left so abruptly. Regardless, he had to check it out. Even if he couldn't strike up a conversation, confirming its presence near Route 108 was step one.
But before setting out...
He planned to try his hand at crafting essence using the memories he had gained from the simulation.
Essence, like "Glowing Dishes" and other Pokémon boosters, might not show immediate results, but consistent use would pay off in the long run. For instance, if he'd had a bottle of that Refreshing and De-stressing Essence before the Contest, he wouldn't have been nearly as nervous.
It would be perfect for Deino, too. As a Dragon-type, it was relatively calm now, but once it evolved, the burden of its massive power would likely make it more irritable. This essence would help it keep its cool.
"Wake up!"
He whipped the covers off. Beside him, Deino jerked its head up, looking dazed. A string of transparent drool hung from its mouth—it was clearly still half-asleep. Once it realized it was just its trainer getting up, its head flopped back onto the pillow with a heavy thump-thump.
-----
Before leaving the hotel, Kashiwagi pulled his baseball cap low and scanned the area. He didn't move until he was sure no one was camping out for him.
He wasn't being vain; people really were looking for him. Yesterday's performance hadn't faded overnight; instead, thanks to the Contest organizers' recommendations, the hype was only growing.
Truthfully, while his and Mawile's performance was exceptional, it wouldn't normally warrant this level of frenzy. He could only assume the Lucky Prism Scale was working its magic again, bringing him terrifying levels of fame. The downside was that he had to move like a ninja—at least until he left Rustboro City.
Being one of Hoenn's premier metropolises, Rustboro's greatest advantage was its shopping. If you were willing to look, you could find almost anything.
Kashiwagi browsed a few department stores before finding a shop dedicated to raw essence materials. They even provided tools and instruments for DIY crafting.
The shop was crowded, mostly with women, but no one spared him a second glance. Relaxing slightly, he began picking out ingredients.
Perhaps because of the price point, the quality didn't seem great. He picked up a sample and sniffed it, his face falling. In his dream memories, his sense of smell was god-like; he could distinguish quality instantly. Back in reality, even though his eyes could pick out the "superior" stock, his nose didn't give him that same crystal-clear feedback. The "reality gap" was a bit jarring.
"Hello! How can I help you?" a smiling staff member approached.
Kashiwagi picked up several low-quality items and asked if they had any fresher stock. The employee blinked in confusion, ready to insist these were top-tier, when a voice interrupted from the side.
"I'll handle this customer."
An elegant woman walked over, a faint, pleasant fragrance trailing her every step. The staff member immediately bowed and retreated. From the whispers of the other customers, Kashiwagi gathered she was the shop owner.
"May I see the materials in your hand?" The owner reached out with a smile, inspected the items, and gave them a professional sniff. She laughed. "You have a keen eye. This stock is indeed not as fresh as it could be."
Kashiwagi found the admission odd. You're keeping stale stock on the shelves and admitting it to a customer? Is this place going out of business?
Sure enough, the surrounding customers started looking uneasy.
"However," she continued calmly, "for most people, this grade is more than sufficient. Freshness doesn't actually impact the quality of the final product anymore. I'm curious—what kind of essence are you planning to make that requires such high-grade materials?"
The customers' expressions softened. Kashiwagi realized how much the industry had changed—in the "ancient" memories of the Aroma Lady, freshness was non-negotiable for quality.
Do modern methods not need it anymore? Is it because of those machines?
He glanced at the instruments, which were nowhere to be found in the Aroma Lady's memories. "Just a standard Refreshing and De-stressing Essence... you really don't have anything fresher?"
"We do," she said, signaling a staff member to head to the warehouse. She turned back to him. "But to my knowledge, that specific essence doesn't require such fresh ingredients. Are you planning to craft Ancient-style Essence by hand?"
"Ancient-style?" Kashiwagi looked at her. "I do plan on making it purely by hand, yes."
The owner smiled. "It seems you're new to the world of hand-crafted essence. To be honest—and please don't take this the wrong way—there is no actual difference between hand-crafted ancient essence and essence made with modern instruments.
"You shouldn't be too obsessed with the 'purely hand-made' aspect. It's like specialty Poké Balls. They used to be handcrafted only by someone like Kurt, but now mass-produced ones are indistinguishable. In fact, the quality is more stable."
"I see." Kashiwagi nodded, agreeing with her logic. Then he added, "But I still need the high-freshness materials. I don't mind paying extra."
He had no idea how to use those machines; he only knew the manual method. Worried that the Aroma Lady's "product" might differ from modern versions, his only choice was to take the best ingredients back and study them.
Seeing she couldn't sway him, she didn't push. "The extra charge isn't necessary. I have some ready-made Refreshing Essence here. Why don't you take a bottle to compare? You'll see there's no difference."
"Alright. Thank you."
As he left with his materials and the finished product, he heard a soft, faint sigh behind him.
"Sigh... another kid misled by those 'wellness' articles online. I hope he realizes soon so he doesn't waste any more time on something so meaningless."
"Yeah."
"He was pretty handsome, though. Kids these days are getting better looking by the year."
"Wait, why does he look so familiar?"
Kashiwagi picked up his pace.