After finishing the Night Market stroll, everyone had finally run out of energy and began yawning as they headed toward the Pokémon Center.
Of course, someone like Lance, a member of the Elite Four, naturally had his own room at headquarters, so he left the group halfway.
There was still a stretch of quiet night road between the Night Market and the Pokémon Center, and now Sato finally got the chance to walk up beside Cynthia.
"When did you get here? You came and didn't even call me?"
Looking at Phoebe and the others playing ahead, a slight smile appeared on Cynthia's lips.
"Weren't you competing? And I only happened to come to HQ to wrap up a case, just had some free time this evening."
"Oh, then about my match…"
"Your Champion win is already all over the place. Congratulations~"
"…Mm. Thanks."
Sato slowly nodded. In the end, he didn't have the nerve to ask Cynthia whether she'd actually been there in person to watch him battle.
"The Pokémon Center's right up ahead. I should go," Cynthia suddenly stopped and said softly.
Sato was surprised. "Leaving so soon?"
"I'm a Field Investigator now, you know.
…Busy! Garchomp!"
As Cynthia spoke, she directly threw a Poké Ball.
A flash of red light, then a towering Garchomp, standing at a full two and a half meters, appeared at Cynthia's side. Its Elite Four aura erupted without reservation.
"Ralts!"
The drowsy Ralts was jolted awake. Her tiny face turned serious as she stared at the massive figure in front of her. If she hadn't recognized Garchomp, she probably would've launched a Psychic on the spot.
"Next time we meet, let's have a proper battle! Sat… 'Toto'~?"
Cynthia climbed onto Garchomp's back, winked, and teased deliberately.
Garchomp shot Sato a cold look, then kicked off the ground and flew off toward the airport, taking Cynthia with it.
The human and Pokémon… gone just like that. Totally carefree.
"… 'Toto'?"
Sato stared in the direction Cynthia had disappeared into the night, then couldn't help but grin.
"That's definitely a nickname you'd only know if you saw the match in person… and bringing out Garchomp at the end like that…"
That was totally a flex, huh?
"Sato, Cynthia just left?"
Garchomp's flashy exit had caught the attention of Ryoko and the others, who came running back over.
"Yeah, she had work. Probably went straight back to Sinnoh."
"I wasn't seeing things, right? That Garchomp just now…" Will asked hesitantly.
"Yeah. Elite Four level. I told you, she's strong!"
"…Monsters, every year. But this year they're everywhere. Feels like hanging around you guys, even breaking into Elite Four level is easy," Rose muttered under her breath. As someone on-site who wasn't a Trainer, the pressure was intense.
"Not me, I'm not, don't spread nonsense!"
Will immediately jumped a full step back. He'd trained at the same time as Lance, but now Sato, Wallace, and Cynthia had all surpassed him.
Everyone chuckled but didn't tease Will any further.
Self-deprecating jokes were one thing, pouring salt in someone's wound was another.
---
Back at the Pokémon Center, everyone said good night and returned to their rooms. Sato, however, took Ralts and Gengar out to the backyard, then released the rest of his Pokémon.
"I bought snacks for everyone. You all worked hard today!"
All the Pokémon cheered with excitement, then ran over to Gengar to ask for their favorite foods.
Gengar's shadow space was truly something, time inside it seemed frozen. The snacks he pulled out were still steaming hot and tasted just as fresh as when they were packed.
Among the Pokémon present -Zoroark, Gengar, Tyranitar, Ariados, Cacturne, and Ralts- these could be considered Sato's current team lineup.
Seeing everyone eating happily, Sato finally began to relax a little.
"…Go on, go on. It's just the Kalos region. Sooner or later, I'll drag you back." Sato leaned back against a tree and murmured softly to himself.
"Super tasty fried chicken bites! Toto, come have some too!"
Ralts suddenly levitated a box of fried chicken toward Sato with Psychic while continuing to chow down on takoyaki.
Sato accepted the chicken but didn't take his eyes off Ralts' small, round belly.
"You've eaten so much… where does it all even go?"
Ralts froze mid-bite, looked down at her own tummy, then immediately flung a takoyaki ball at Sato's face.
"Hmph! PERVERT!"
Sato: ...
…A quiet night passed…
The next morning, after finishing his morning training, Sato returned to his room and found two beautiful girls in work uniforms already waiting outside his door.
"Good morning, Mr. Sato. We're here to escort you to see President Charles Goodshow."
Sato glanced at the time on his watch and said, "Let me take a shower and change real quick. One moment."
"Of course!"
"Come on in and have a seat."
After opening the door, Sato pointed at the sofa without much fuss and headed straight into the shower.
Shhhhh…
As soon as they heard the sound of running water, the two girls in the living room couldn't help but finally relax.
They looked at each other and started whispering quietly.
"…This room's so clean. I bet his private life is super clean too."
"Definitely. He was out training at the crack of dawn. And this is the day after winning the championship, too. When geniuses work hard, there's just no room left for the rest of us."
"The rest of us? If you could just snag him, you wouldn't be ordinary anymore."
"Kay, what are you even saying? Like he'd be into someone like me. I heard the fourth-place girl from the tournament confessed to him yesterday and got rejected! No way I'm setting myself up to be turned down face-to-face."
"Oof, that bad? Where'd you hear that? I didn't know a thing about it~"
"I…"
Bang!
The door opened. Both girls immediately snapped into upright posture, suddenly regretting whether they had been too loud and overheard.
"Have a glass of milk before we head out."
"Ah! W-We already had breakfast. No, really, it's fine."
Sato stepped out of the bathroom drying his hair, casting a slightly confused glance at the two staff members.
At the table, Ralts was using Psychic to open the fridge, pulling out a bottle of milk and pouring it into two cups, one for herself and one for Sato.
The girl who spoke realized her misunderstanding and instantly turned red with embarrassment, unable to sit still. Meanwhile, her colleague had to fight back laughter so hard her shoulders shook.
Soon after, Sato finished his milk and went into the bedroom to get dressed, while the two women waited quietly by the door, ready to head out.
Half an hour later, Sato was brought to the entrance of President Goodshow's office. Along the way, he learned that the two women who had guided him were actually the President's personal secretaries.
And apparently, there were seventeen or eighteen more like them, responsible for helping the President with daily affairs.
At that moment, the office door opened, and President Charles Goodshow's voice came from inside.
"Sato, come in."
.
.
Paattreon/Romeloff
250 PS - CH