"Garde~ Gardevoir~"
Gardevoir's voice echoed from the wooden cabin; not loud, but it carried clearly to the ears of Sato, Cynthia, and Fujin.
"Froslass, let's pause for now!"
"Frosososos~"
Casually withdrawing the Blizzard it had been unleashing, Froslass giggled as it returned to Fujin's side, then vanished with a flash.
Across from it, Zoroark and Garchomp were both panting heavily.
Though the two Pokémon had no visible injuries, their stamina and mental energy had nearly reached their limits.
Sato and Cynthia, who had been commanding them, were also drenched in sweat, their steps shaky, clearly exhausted.
Though the two hadn't physically battled, the synchronization state heavily taxed their minds. Now that they'd exited the state, both looked dazed and drained.
"Let's eat first. We'll do standard training this afternoon, and work on synchronization again tonight."
Sato and Cynthia numbly nodded, then slowly made their way to the cabin.
They had only heard that it was time to eat…
At the table, Gardevoir -wearing an apron- used Confusion ¹[1]to serve up lunch all at once.
Seeing the colorful, aromatic feast laid out before them, Sato's eyes finally regained some light.
"Gardevoir, your cooking has improved again!"
"Garde~ (〃°ω°〃)~"
Sato's compliment easily delighted Gardevoir, who had worked hard all morning. With a touch of elegance and a hint of shyness, she even served him an extra bowl of borscht…
"Thanks! Come sit and eat with us!"
"Garde~"
Gardevoir shook her head, then pointed to the kitchen, indicating she had already prepared her own favorite lunch.
A cream cake… with ten times the usual sweetness!
The moment Gardevoir brought it out, Sato could already smell the thick sweetness wafting through the air.
It was overwhelmingly sweet!
"Garde…? Garde!"
Seeing everyone staring at her, Gardevoir blinked and gently pushed her cake forward.
'Want some…?
Don't be shy (˙▽˙)!'
Everyone quickly shook their heads and turned back to the table, hesitating for a moment.
'Wait… don't tell me… all the food is sweet?'
In the end, the overpowering hunger took over, and Sato and the others picked up their chopsticks.
"…Hmm?"
'D-DELICIOUS!'
Even Fujin -supposedly someone who had seen it all- was nodding non-stop, his eating speed no slower than Sato's.
Cynthia also kept adding more to her plate. Though she wasn't devouring it, the food in her plate was visibly decreasing.
Ten minutes later, the table was a mess, with nothing left but a few bulging bellies quietly bearing witness to what had just occurred…
"Gar… Garde?"
Gardevoir stared at the three of them. In her blood-red eyes were three parts surprise, three parts joy, three parts shyness… and one part barely visible satisfaction!
After being out of the spotlight for a while, Gardevoir had made a strong comeback with her top-tier cooking skills!
I, Gardevoir, excel both on the battlefield and in the kitchen…
Totally awesome!
---◓---
After the delicious and hearty lunch, Sato and Cynthia -still mentally fatigued- were promptly shoved into the bedroom by Fujin.
"Get some proper rest. The next round of training won't be easy!"
Though it wasn't ideal to sleep right after eating, they couldn't move another step after seeing the soft, cozy beds.
Soon, two deep, steady breathing sounds came from the room. Clearly, both were already asleep…
Yes, in two separate rooms!
On the other side, Fujin had returned to the icy field where Spacial Rifts commonly appeared.
Because Weavile and the others hadn't been maintaining the rifts for ten days now, the unnaturally formed ice field -lacking the support of Ice-type energy- had begun to gradually melt.
Staring at the Spacial Rifts that still occasionally appeared, Fujin didn't feel all that relieved.
Though the rifts now emerged quietly and vanished silently, he remained skeptical that Gengar could completely resolve the problem.
During this period, Fujin simply adopted a vacation mindset, using the time to mentor the younger generation. So that when he finally lay in the ground, his training methods and tactical knowledge wouldn't be buried with him…
"…Huh!?"
Fujin gave a surprised sound, then stared hard at the frequency of the Spacial Rifts appearing.
Was he seeing things…?
It seemed… maybe… possibly… the frequency had dropped quite a bit!
"Froslass, come check this for me… have they really decreased?"
Fujin waved his hand shakily behind him, and Froslass quickly floated out, wearing a serious expression as it gazed upon the ice field it knew better than anyone.
Three minutes later…
"Fros! FROSFROS!"
"It's true…!"
Fujin's body swayed. He nearly fainted from excitement.
Joy, relief, confusion… for a moment, Fujin didn't even know what expression could fully reflect the emotions in his heart.
From the moment he inherited this responsibility from the previous guardian, he had resigned himself to spending his entire life with this forest.
He had released all of his other Pokémon, keeping only his Starter Pokémon, Serperior, and the two capable of freezing Spacial Rifts, Froslass and Weavile.
But now, someone suddenly told him that his life's mission was nearing its end, and that he would soon be free…
Even someone as battle-hardened as Fujin didn't know how to respond.
---◓---
When Sato woke up, the beautiful setting sun shone through the window.
No one had come to wake him?
He stepped out of the room and immediately saw Fujin sipping Tea leisurely in the living room.
"Awake? Wait for Cynthia, dinner will be ready soon."
Sato wanted to ask something, but didn't know where to start.
"Uh… okay."
Fortunately, Fujin didn't care what Sato was struggling with. He simply hummed an ancient melody that Sato had never heard before.
It was peaceful and joyful.
More than half an hour later, Cynthia stumbled out of her room groggily.
"Hoho! Everyone's here. Dinner time!"
Fujin smiled and waved them over, then led the way to the table.
Cynthia gave Sato a blaming look, as if to say, "…Why didn't you wake me?"
Sato spread his hands and mouthed, "I just got up too."
Cynthia's face went blank for a moment. Combined with the stray tuft of hair sticking up from sleep, her Queen-like aura vanished completely. In fact, she looked kind of cute… 'Cough!'
"Garde~"
Utterly absorbed in cooking, Gardevoir eagerly brought out a table full of delicious food, her face filled with anticipation as she watched them pick up their chopsticks.
"Still so good ( * 'ω' *)!"
"Gardevoir, you're amazing!"
"Truly impressive cooking skills!"
Receiving compliments from all three, Gardevoir modestly curled her lips into a smile. But the hem of her long dress was already floating up slightly on its own…
She was in a very good mood (〃'ω')!
And someone else in a great mood… was Fujin.
"Sato, anything you've struggled with in training? Tell me, I'll help you analyze it…
Cynthia, your Garchomp is raised very well, but it's still a bit short of Champion level. Do you know where the gap is?"
Under the surprised gaze of the two, Fujin began his "warm" mentorship.
•
•
¹.For those who always ask: Confusion = weak telekinetic force.
[1] For those who always ask: Confusion = weak telekinetic force.