Aaron bought the TM discs without incident.
No arrogant rich kid showed up to mock him.
No one tried to slap his face metaphorically.
No dramatic counter-slap happened either.
Honestly, Aaron was a little disappointed.
Afterward, he used the Rest TM on Greninja.
From now on, with Rest paired with the negative-status transfer effect of Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu, as long as Frog Boss still had even a sliver of HP left, he could keep using Rest to recover indefinitely.
And he wouldn't even fall asleep.
It was honestly absurd.
"Sigh... Frog Boss is getting more and more broken."
Aaron let out a sigh.
His Pokémon were all so overpowered that even he, their Trainer, was starting to feel pressure.
Then Aaron used Swords Dance and Rock Tomb on Infernape.
That gave Infernape one boosting move and one Rock-type coverage move.
From now on, if he ran into Flying-type Pokémon, they would be much easier to deal with.
...
Aaron walked down the street, feeling incredibly relaxed.
He glanced at the pale, bare thighs of the young women passing by...
Pfft.
No.
He was simply conducting serious research into why none of them seemed to have leg hair.
He ate snacks as he walked, thoroughly enjoying himself.
"Traveling really is comfortable..."
Aaron sighed with satisfaction.
"Mister... would you like to buy some flowers?"
Just then, a childish voice sounded beside him.
Aaron turned his head and saw a little girl around seven or eight years old.
She wore a white dress, though it had faded a little, probably from being washed too many times.
Her worn-out princess shoes looked a bit too small.
In her hands, she held a basket filled with fresh flowers.
Her round little face was a little dirty.
Her hair was tied into twin ponytails, making her look very cute.
She raised her head, her large, clear eyes gazing up at him.
The little girl was looking at him innocently.
Or rather, she was looking at the crepe in his hand, unable to stop herself from swallowing.
Aaron bent down and said gently,
"Hey, little one... you're already out selling flowers at your age?"
"Where are your parents?"
The little girl looked at Aaron with her pure, wide eyes and said softly,
"Eden doesn't have a mom or dad..."
When Aaron heard that, his pupils narrowed slightly, and an indescribable feeling rose in his chest.
He forced out a smile, rubbed the head of the little girl named Eden, and said gently,
"Then tell me, Eden... why are you out here selling flowers all by yourself?"
"Tell me, and I'll buy all of them."
"Really?"
When Eden heard that, her eyes lit up, and she asked Aaron happily.
"Really. I don't lie."
Aaron smiled as he spoke to her.
"Thank you, mister!"
Eden laughed happily.
Then she said with some sadness,
"The orphanage director got bullied by bad people, and now he's sick. I wanted to sell flowers to help pay for his treatment, so he can get better soon."
Aaron fell silent for a moment.
Then he said,
"Eden, you're a very good girl."
"How much are the flowers? I'll take them all."
When Eden heard that, she hurriedly counted the flowers in her basket and said,
"One, two, three, four, five... fifteen. There are fifteen flowers total. Five credits each, so that's... that's fifty credits!"
Eden's cheeks turned a little red.
She racked her little brain, but she still couldn't figure out what fifteen times five was, so she could only give an approximate number.
Her watery eyes looked at Aaron with a hint of embarrassment.
"Hahaha..."
"You little dummy. That's seventy-five credits."
Aaron looked at Eden's adorable expression and couldn't help pinching her cheek as he laughed.
"You're not very good at math, are you, Eden?"
Eden's cheeks flushed, and she lowered her head shyly.
"Here. I'll give you a hundred credits. Give me the flowers."
"Thank you, mister... here!"
Eden happily took the money from Aaron, then handed the basket to him.
Aaron took the basket of flowers, then said,
"Come on. I'll buy you something tasty too. I can't just take your basket and walk away."
"O-okay. Thank you, mister."
Aaron bought Eden a crepe and an ice cream.
Eden looked at the ice cream, and her mouth nearly watered.
She stuck out her tongue and licked it. Deep joy immediately appeared in her eyes, and she kept licking away.
But Eden did not eat the crepe.
She clutched it tightly in her hands.
When Aaron asked why she wasn't eating it, she said she wanted to take it back for the other kids at the orphanage.
Aaron fell silent again.
His eyes reddened slightly.
Aaron bought many more crepes, ice creams, and plenty of fruit, then said to Eden,
"Eden... take me to your home. I bought lots of things for the other kids too. You can all eat together, okay?"
Eden froze.
She raised her head and looked at Aaron with her pure eyes.
Her eyes were a little wet as she choked out,
"Mister... why are you being so nice to Eden?"
When Aaron heard that, he rubbed Eden's little head and said softly,
"Because Eden is cute."
"Let's go. Don't make the others wait too long."
"Okay... thank you, mister!"
Aaron held Eden's small hand.
As they walked, the two chatted casually.
"Mister... can I ask your name?"
"My name is Aaron... the man who will become the Pokémon Master ."
"Mister Aaron... what's the Pokémon Master?"
"Why do you want to become his man?"
"Ahem, ahem... it's not a person. It's just a title."
"Oh, okay... then Mister Aaron, when Eden grows up, can I marry you?"
"Ahem, ahem... Eden, who taught you that? Do you even know what marrying someone means?"
"I know. It means staying with Mister Aaron forever."
"Well now... you actually know quite a bit."
...
One tall and one small, the two figures walked down the street.
Farther and farther away, until they finally disappeared from view.
The setting sun sank in the west.
A cool autumn wind blew through the street, carrying fallen leaves through the air.
Some people are simply meant to meet.
At that moment, two long threads of fate quietly crossed.