The hotel restaurant.
Kashiwagi and Dawn sat facing each other. Beside them, Mawile and Piplup were polishing off two large fruit plates, looking blissfully happy.
"I didn't expect Kashiwagi-san to be a Pokémon Coordinator as well."
"Just Kashiwagi is fine."
He gave Dawn a friendly smile.
"I didn't expect to run into you here, either. You and your Pokémon are excellent; your performances in the Contests are truly impressive. Especially Piplup—he's small, but his presence is incredible."
"Pip-lup?"
Hearing his name, Piplup pulled his head out of the plate and looked at Kashiwagi in confusion. His short beak was covered in whipped cream, making him look quite adorable.
Realizing the conversation didn't actually involve him, Piplup went back to frantic eating, terrified that if he didn't go fast enough, he'd lose some imaginary race to Mawile.
Mawile, however, had no idea the little penguin was competing with her. Seeing him eat so fast, she simply assumed he must really love the food.
"You're too kind," Dawn said, waving her hands as her cheeks flushed slightly. She was clearly pleased by the praise.
As the female protagonist of the Sinnoh journey, she was naturally confident, brave, and cheerful.
After gaining experience through her travels, she was shining more brilliantly than ever with her own unique charm.
At the same time, the Sinnoh era was one of Kashiwagi's personal favorites, so his impression of Dawn was quite deep.
He smiled. "No need to be modest; I can tell talent when I see it. So, have you already finished the Slateport Contest, or are you just about to sign up?"
Dawn's eyes lit up. "We were just heading out to register! We should enter together!"
"Well, I suppose..."
"Let's go, then! Maybe we can catch the registration right now!"
Dawn jumped up in a hurry. Out of the corner of his eye, Piplup saw her move and prepared to follow, but seeing Mawile still eating leisurely, he found himself in a dilemma.
Fortunately, Kashiwagi saved him.
"No need to rush. The Slateport Contest just ended yesterday. You won't be able to register if you go now."
"Oh, is that so? Ahahaha..."
Dawn sat back down, looking a bit embarrassed.
Piplup let out a tiny sigh of relief and was about to take another bite when he saw that Mawile had already finished her plate and was elegantly wiping her mouth.
He instantly turned to stone.
"Pip... lup..."
Noodle-like tears streamed down his face as he sat back down despondently to finish his food. Mawile watched him with a bizarre expression, wondering if this little guy was mentally okay.
Kashiwagi pulled out his phone and turned the screen toward Dawn.
"You should follow the Poké-Blog accounts that cover city-level Contests; they post all the relevant info. You have a smartphone, right?"
"Yes, yes!"
Dawn pulled a pink smartphone from her pocket. She scrolled through her own device while looking at Kashiwagi's screen.
"Sorry, I got a bit overexcited just now."
She looked a little bashful but quickly became focused on her phone again.
"Wow, I never realized there were so many official Contest accounts!"
"I only figured it out recently myself."
Kashiwagi pulled his phone back and looked out the floor-to-ceiling window at the clear sky.
"There are six days until the next one. I hope I can finish—"
"Ah! Look at these views! And the likes! There are even comments from Top Coordinators!"
A sudden shriek made Kashiwagi's heart jump.
He turned back to see Dawn holding her phone up, playing a video of Mawile performing her flaming whirl-dance.
She asked with an astonished face, "Kashiwagi-san, are you and Mawile actually a famous Contest duo!?"
Undoubtedly, she had been hit by the algorithm's recommendation for that viral video.
"I said just 'Kashiwagi' is fine. Those are just empty titles pushed by the algorithm; it doesn't necessarily reflect real skill."
Kashiwagi signaled her to stay calm and pulled up some fan-captured clips of her own performances in various regions. "See? You have clips too, maybe even more than I do. It's just hype."
"Really?"
Dawn skeptically compared the videos on the two phones. The video of Mawile clearly had several times more likes and views than hers.
However, she felt Kashiwagi's words made a lot of sense.
"Really. I've only just decided on my theme; I haven't even started practicing yet," he said with utter sincerity.
This piqued Dawn's interest again. "Practice? Do you need help? Why don't we practice together! A friend of mine once said: Move before you hesitate!"
Young people really are full of energy...
Still, Kashiwagi highly valued her years of Contest experience.
"Then I'll trouble you. It won't interfere with your own schedule, will it?"
"No problem at all!"
Dawn said her classic catchphrase with a radiant smile.
Beside them, Piplup had finally finished his plate. His belly was round and bloated, and he was staring blankly at the ceiling with glazed eyes. When he saw his trainer stand up, he tried to follow.
But he couldn't get his footing. With a thud, he rolled onto the floor, tumbling right until he hit Mawile's feet.
Mawile politely helped him up.
"Ma-wile?"
"Pip... lup..."
Up close, Piplup stared at Mawile's cute face. He caught a faint, pleasant scent of incense from her and heard the gentle chime of her Soothe Bell.
In that instant...
The male penguin fell head over heels in love.
"Pip-lup~♡"
His eyes turned into hearts, and a deep blush spread across his cheeks.
Mawile, on the other hand, found him weirder by the second. He's a Water-type, so why is his face so red?
"Piplup!"
Dawn's voice snapped him back to a sliver of reality, but there was no doubt—he was completely captivated by Mawile.
He waddled toward his trainer, but his head remained turned, staring longingly at Mawile.
The creepy stare made Mawile scurry to Kashiwagi's side, tugging at his pant leg.
"Ma-wile!" (That Pokémon is so weird! Can you check if he's okay?)
"Huh?"
Kashiwagi looked down at her, then glanced at Piplup's lovestruck expression and burst out laughing. He said to Mawile, "Your charm is just too much; you've completely dazed him!"
"Ma-wile?"
Mawile didn't understand the nuance; she simply assumed Piplup was like the other people she'd met—just a fan.
Dawn, having heard Kashiwagi, called out to Piplup—who was still walking sideways just to watch Mawile—with an embarrassed shout.
"Be reasonable, Piplup!"
"Pip-lup-pi..."
Hearing his trainer, Piplup regained his composure briefly, but it lasted for exactly one second.
"Pip-lup!"
His eyes were once again replaced by hearts.
"Hahahaha!" Kashiwagi couldn't hold it in anymore and laughed heartily.
Mawile gave him a huffy kick in annoyance. She still didn't quite get what was up with Piplup, but she was certain her trainer was up to no good.
Dawn sighed helplessly, but she couldn't help but smile too.
"Well, if that's the case, you better show off and perform well later!"
"Pip-lup, Pip-lup!"
Piplup puffed out his chest, striking a pose that said: Leave it all to me!