Read advance chapters for both of my work, exclusively on Patreon at - www.patreon.com/Sniperwoof
-----------------
Nagayama Workshop.
Everyone was filling out forms, or rather, shipping labels.
Without exception, the destination was the Dojo. After all, there was no way to carry bladed weapons out openly.
Walking around the streets armed would 100% get you invited for "tea."
Legally carrying a weapon required the proper permits, just like Mo Ye, who never went anywhere without his sword.
"Carrying a sword everywhere, like Mo Ye, must be pretty cool, right?"
Lu Chengfeng hugged his beloved sword, gently stroking the soft scabbard, his gaze so tender it was almost creepy.
"Fast forward to being taken away by the police, bailed out by your family, having your sword confiscated, and finally getting beaten up by Master."
Wang Dong interjected gloomily.
Lu Chengfeng shuddered, then angrily retorted, "Can you not be a contrarian for once?!"
"How is this being contrarian! This is facts!" Wang Dong refused to back down. "What year is it? You think this is the turbulent, stormy era of the past?"
"Troll! You're the troll Little Brother mentioned!"
Lu Chengfeng started arguing with him.
Bai Ji found the noise irritating and spoke up, "Alright, enough. Stop fooling around. Hurry up; we still need to go out and explore this afternoon."
They had been in Triple Village for so long; they couldn't just take weapons back.
The boys' expressions stiffened slightly. Clearly, they all foresaw their tragic future as bag-carrying lackeys.
This had happened more than once.
After filling out the shipping labels, Yan Hu went to the workshop to bid farewell to Nagayama Jin, then prepared to lead everyone away.
But then, Nagayama Taro, who had been missing earlier, came running over, panting heavily.
"W-Wait! Sister Yan Hu! Please wait!"
He stretched out a hand, calling loudly.
"What is it, Taro? Is there something left undone?"
Yan Hu turned around upon hearing his voice, looking surprised.
Li Xiang and the others also slowly turned their gazes toward him, noticing the Honedge swinging in his hand.
"No, no."
Nagayama Taro ran up to the group, gasping for breath—clearly, he had sprinted all the way here.
He looked at Li Xiang. "You're a trainer, right? Li Xiang, this year's top ranked trainer from the Youth Training Camp."
Li Xiang was a bit confused but still nodded. "Yes, that's me..."
How far had the news of his name spread? Even someone in Triple Village knew him.
"Take Yatama with you."
Nagayama Taro raised his hand, offering the Honedge to him. "I know you really liked it. You kept staring at it before and even deliberately tested it with poetry."
The sudden statement and the strange name were puzzling. Li Xiang twitched the corner of his mouth. He was really just curious about this Honedge's personality...
Okay, he was also tempted by its body.
As someone really enthusiastic about Steel-types, how could he not want a powerful Pokémon like Honedge?
Especially a Honedge that could learn Phantom Force.
This was the first time Li Xiang had seen a member of this species use that move.
And that bizarre drawing speed...
Its base Speed is only 28!
However, he couldn't help but look at the Honedge pretending to be dead in his arms and said, "But isn't this Uncle Shimazaki's Pokémon? And a descendant of the village's Sword Spirit? Also..."
He remembered Shimazaki Massao saying earlier that he was responsible for managing the Honedge.
Nagayama Taro didn't have the authority to just give it away, right?
"They agreed! They agreed all along! Didn't I tell you before that three were watching you?"
Nagayama Taro grabbed Li Xiang's shoulders, speaking earnestly. "I meant Uncle Shimazaki, the Sword Spirit, and the Honedge! They had their eyes on you from the start!"
"Huh?"
Li Xiang was slightly stunned, feeling like Nagayama Taro's words contained a lot of information.
"Take it with you. Don't leave regrets, for both your sake and its."
Nagayama Taro said with genuine emotion, his eyes flickering with complex light. "Don't miss it and regret it later—"
From afar, a voice called out.
"Knew you couldn't explain things clearly. Always been like this, making me come all this way."
Everyone looked up and saw Shimazaki Massao walking down, yawning.
"Uncle Shimazaki."
Li Xiang looked at him and asked, "What's really going on?"
Shimazaki Massao walked to Nagayama Taro's side, took the Honedge from his hand, and flicked its single eye. "Hey, wake up."
The Honedge opened its eye, but upon seeing Li Xiang, it instantly closed it again. As if it really disliked him.
"Still shy at a time like this? Girls are so troublesome." Shimazaki Massao clicked his tongue and tossed the Honedge into Li Xiang's arms.
Li Xiang hurriedly caught it, holding it tightly to prevent it from falling. Shimazaki Massao's voice followed.
"She likes you and wants to go with you but lacks the courage. This kid found out and gave her a push."
"Likes me..."
Li Xiang raised an eyebrow and asked, "Because I can recite poetry?"
"No, the poetry was just a bonus. Love at first sight, understand?"
Shimazaki Massao took a cigarette from his pocket, stepped back a few paces, and lit it with a match. "Love at first sight between a boy and a girl."
'Ah, this… Shouldn't it be between a man and a female sword?'
Li Xiang looked at the Honedge in his arms. So far, this was the first time he'd encountered such a freebie situation.
Rotom couldn't really be considered a complete freebie—he obtained it by chance and had to ask for it.
'Guess I have quite a talent for being a Steel-type trainer?'
Li Xiang touched his face, his mood inexplicably improving. "So, you really intend to give it to me?"
"Yep, take it away. Just come back to visit occasionally."
Shimazaki Massao waved his hand. "That's all there is to it. Nothing else."
He looked at Nagayama Taro and flicked him on the forehead. "Can't even explain such a simple thing clearly! What use are you!"
"Ouch!"
Nagayama Taro winced in pain, giving Shimazaki Massao a wronged look. When his gaze fell on the Honedge, a flicker of attachment crossed his face.
Li Xiang saw it. "Then what about the name 'Yatama' that Mr. Nagayama mentioned earlier..."
"That was its original name. You can call it that if you want."
Shimazaki Massao said offhandedly. "Alright, I won't delay you any longer. Farewell, everyone."
With that, he locked Nagayama Taro in a headlock and dragged him away.
He seemed unwilling to explain further.
There were still many things Li Xiang didn't understand. Holding the Honedge, Li Xiang's expression was extremely peculiar, feeling like today's experience was somewhat surreal.
"Junior Brother, the best sword in the village."
Lu Chengfeng came to his side, patting his shoulder and laughing. "It's time to go defeat the Demon King."
Wang Dong chimed in, "Young man, go become a hero!"
"You've been playing too many games."
Li Xiang rolled his eyes but didn't dwell on those matters. After all, he had his translator, Rotom. Any questions could be asked directly to the Honedge.
As for hostility or ulterior motives—could they escape Riolu's Aura Sense?
Once the Honedge became his Pokémon, wouldn't it be at his mercy?
'But… what was up with this? Was it shy?'
Li Xiang shook the Honedge but got no response.
He wanted to put it into a PokéBall but realized he didn't have any empty ones on him. Shimazaki Massao didn't provide one either, so he had to hold it for now and see if there were any handmade PokéBalls for sale outside.
The group then headed out of the village.
To be honest, Li Xiang had wanted to touch the Honedge for a long time, to carefully observe its structure, but he never found the opportunity, afraid of getting cut.
Now it was fine. It was putting on an autistic state; he could inspect it all he wanted.
Thinking this, once in the car, Li Xiang held the Honedge up to the sunlight and began examining its appearance.
In terms of style, its length was roughly between 80 to 90 centimeters. The scabbard was light brown, with three spiral patterns near the guard and irregular-shaped openings below them.
At first glance, it looked like it had a bunch of white eyes and big buck teeth, but in reality, that blue, gem-like part was its eye.
Additionally, this gem-like eye didn't have an eyelid. It was just that the front and back were different—the front was the gem, while the back was covered with an iron plate of the same material as the guard.
Because it could flip flexibly, it gave the illusion of having an eyelid.
The Honedge wasn't exactly a short sword. It looked small in pictures because its hilt was thick and the blade spine was wide, over 20 centimeters.
In reality, it wasn't small; it was actually quite large.
It felt imposing in hand.
The tassel at the end felt smooth and silky to the touch, like cloth or silk. The azure blue part hooked into a swirl underneath, turning light blue.
The end split into four sections, almost like fingers, touching it felt strangely soft and comfortable.
Li Xiang found it more and more intriguing the more he touched it, though his leg kept shaking—whether from the car moving or the Honedge itself.
"What does it smell like..."
He picked up the tassel, intending to smell it.
Schwing—
A flash of silver light!
"Ah! Don't get excited! I won't touch it anymore!"
Li Xiang hurriedly pressed the Honedge, which was trying to unsheathe itself, back into its scabbard. The car was still on the road; he didn't want to cause a crash.
Seeing the gem-like eye radiating shame and annoyance, Li Xiang promptly apologized. "I was just touching it out of curiosity. Sorry. It's fine, Senior Sister, just a minor accident."
The last part was for Jiang Shangrong, who had leaned over.
"Okay."
Jiang Shangrong glanced at the Honedge and said no more.
On Li Xiang's end… "You're finally willing to open your eye. I've been waiting for so long. Is the tassel off-limits? Then I won't touch it in the future."
He looked at the single eye. "Are you called Yatama? Should I call you that from now on, or something else?"
No response.
The sapphire-like eye glared at him fiercely, not making a sound.
'So, is it incapable of speaking, or just unwilling?'
Li Xiang tried to find Honedge's vocal organ, but what awaited him was its threat posture, slightly revealing its blade.
A clear stance of "if you mess around again, I'll cut you."
Li Xiang had no choice but to give up, feeling somewhat helpless. He felt like the Honedge was more like someone forced onto the mountain to be a forced bride.
Clearly very unwilling but having no choice but to stay.
Too bad it was just a sword; the plot of certain doujins didn't apply at all.
Li Xiang attempted to reach out a second time, then retracted his hand with an awkward laugh under Honedge's furious glare.
'Such a big reaction from just a few touches—is it like Riolu, who forbade head pats?'
The tassel was off-limits...
Could he only touch the scabbard? Why was this guy like a little girl?
However, when it came to Pokémon, Li Xiang was always exceptionally patient. Since the Honedge wasn't responding, he took the initiative to chat with it.
Chatting about this and that.
Over time, Li Xiang also noticed that calling it Yatama or Honedge got no reaction, but when he simply called it "Sword," it would tremble slightly.
If he added a "Little," it would tremble even more.
Some responses was better than none. Li Xiang decided that from now on, to get this guy's attention, he would call it "Little Sword."