Night fell over the Pokémon Center on Melemele Island.
Since it was already late when they returned, Peter and Whitney decided not to head back to the Aether Paradise and instead stayed here for the night.
After informing Hala about everything, the Island Kahuna approved of Peter capturing the Pidgeotto and officially invited the pair to tomorrow morning's Grand Trial.
At this moment, Peter was squatting on the floor, watching Pidgeotto devour Pokéblocks with sparkling eyes.
"Pidge-ee-OTTOO~"
Every time it took a bite, it would look up at Peter, its silver-gray eyes shining brightly.
Peter rubbed its head helplessly.
Pokémon that had suffered in the past were always easy to move… sometimes just a little kindness was enough to earn their unwavering loyalty.
But from now on—
It would never have to endure those difficult days again.
Eevee walked over carrying its favorite Poké Puff in its mouth.
It placed the treat in front of Pidgeotto, then nudged it forward with a paw, signaling for it to eat.
Chansey also dug into its pocket and generously handed over one of its precious eggs.
"Chanseyyy~"
Slaking offered a Nanab Berry.
"Milo~"
Lopunny handed over a Wepear Berry.
Zoroark, Indeedee, Braviary…
One after another, the Pokémon all brought out their favorite things to welcome this new member of the family.
"Pidge-ee-OTTOO…"
Pidgeotto suddenly felt like sand had gotten into its eyes.
Peter and Whitney quietly watched the scene unfold, warmth filling their hearts.
Until—
Ursaluna proudly brought out a slightly rotten peat block.
A muddy swamp odor instantly spread throughout the room.
"Ursaluna, take your peat block outside!"
Peter's mouth twitched.
"Use your bear brain for once! Why would Pidgeotto like that?!"
"Kachi?"
Ursaluna tilted its head innocently.
It had treasured that peat block for days.
Sure, it was a little rotten…
But it hadn't even wanted to play with it itself!
…
After everyone had gotten acquainted, Peter returned the Pokémon to their Poké Balls.
Taking advantage of Whitney being in the shower, he lay on the bed and entered the dream-space.
At this point, he rarely worried about his Pokémon's move training anymore.
They had already learned how to use the Gaming Room to master moves and the Mimetic Chamber to refine their energy.
But now that Pidgeotto had joined the team, he still needed to personally guide it a bit.
First, he exchanged an entire set of moves from the system shop that Pidgeotto could use:
Substitute, U-turn, Protect, Defog, Attract, Toxic, Sunny Day, and Rain Dance.
Then he opened a move-training session for it.
[Ding! Pidgeotto has begun move training: "Tailwind."
Training content: Watching New Year blessing videos on the social media platforms]
As for gaming…
Peter decided to let Pidgeotto first observe how others operated before throwing it into the madness.
"Chansey, come with me."
"Lucky?"
The big pink egg blinked curiously while nibbling its fingers.
Then its eyes lit up expectantly.
Could it be…
Master thought it was cute and wanted to give it extra snacks?
It happily waddled after him.
Then—
Peter led it straight into the neighboring simulated battle room.
"We're doing extra training here today~"
"Lucky… =͟͟͞͞(꒪ᗜ꒪‧̥̇)"
"But if you win, you'll get candy."
"LUCKY! o(*≧▽≦)ツ"
Watching Chansey instantly become energetic again, Peter couldn't help laughing.
Honestly, Chansey's talent was actually pretty high.
It was just way too lazy and mischievous.
But strangely enough…
That personality made it perfect for all kinds of disgusting stall tactics.
Peter never had to worry about psychological burdens with it.
And there was another reason he brought Chansey here tonight.
[Chansey lv38 (Advanced)]
[Description: A Chansey whose friendship has reached the requirement for evolution. It only needs one final trigger.]
Chansey was currently stuck at Level 38.
If it leveled up once through simulated battles and then ate one Rare Candy afterward, evolution should naturally happen.
"What a shame… the Eviolite barely got any use…"
Peter sighed as he pressed the matchmaking button.
[Ding! Matchmaking successful.
Current opponent: Wild Flygon lv46…]
"Chansey, use Substitute first, then Toxic, Minimize, and Soft-Boiled!"
Two and a half minutes later—
Flygon collapsed in frustration.
Peter immediately pressed continue.
Against wild Pokémon, he naturally felt zero guilt.
Thus began the nightmare.
One simulated opponent after another suffered under the horrifying torture of Toxic stall, Protect loops, Minimize spam, and endless Soft-Boiled recovery.
…
An hour passed in the blink of an eye.
Estimating the time, Peter guessed Whitney was almost done showering, but Chansey still hadn't leveled up.
"One last match…"
He pressed the button again.
[Ding! Cross-tier battle matchmaking successful!
Special match triggered!
Current opponent: Incineroar lv60 (Pseudo-Elite Four Tier).
Would you like to proceed?
Note: Regardless of victory or defeat, this battle will reward Talent Points and a random held item.]
"Hm?"
Peter blinked.
"So this feature exists too?"
Originally, he had wanted to decline.
At this point in the timeline, a pseudo-Elite Four Incineroar…
And the universe's strongest Incineroar at that.
No need to guess—
The opponent was definitely Professor Kukui.
If Peter had been using Lopunny, Slaking, or one of his main team members, he might've seriously tried to fight.
But Chansey?
This was going to be rough.
However…
The system was offering too much.
Sorry, Chansey.
Peter silently apologized in his heart before immediately pressing confirm.
…
SHUA—
A flat-headed dark silhouette appeared on the opposite side of the battlefield.
Judging from the build, it looked almost identical to Professor Kukui.
Standing before him was a massive red-and-black tiger Pokémon.
Sharp claws gleamed from its hands.
A flaming championship-style belt burned around its waist, and its tail bristled with spike-like fur.
"What an incredible battle arena…"
Kukui glanced around in amazement at the endless dreamlike combat space surrounding them.
Then he looked toward Peter and Chansey.
"Let's go, Incineroar!"
"GRAOOOAR—!!"
Incineroar leapt into the battlefield and immediately unleashed a thunderous roar.
Intimidate activated.
Chansey's Attack stat instantly dropped by one stage.
"Chansey, use Toxic!"
"Fake Out!"
Peter tried poisoning first, but Kukui calmly chose Fake Out.
The move both closed distance and interrupted the opponent's action.
Just as Chansey condensed the toxic sludge—
SMACK!
Fake Out landed directly.
Fear flashed through Chansey's eyes, interrupting the move.
However—
"Grao…"
Incineroar suddenly clutched its right paw in pain.
It felt like it had just slapped a pile of broken glass.
Its palm hurt badly.
"Hm?"
Kukui's expression shifted slightly.
Before he could say anything—
Chansey had already recovered.
It tossed out a wink.
A bright pink heart flew forward and smacked directly into Incineroar's forehead.
Attract!
"Kuh—!"
Kukui's face changed instantly.
"Incineroar! Snap out of it!"
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T/N:
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