You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395
Mao pulled Etorre over. He was still holding his knife and fork, wanting to see what had happened. She froze when she heard the shop owner's words.
"Advertising material? My Marill?"
Luther glanced down at the Marill in his arms, noticing that the Pokémon was also looking at him with a bewildered expression.
'Could this silly creature really be used for advertising?'
"Of course. She'd be excellent," the shop owner said, gesturing for Marill to keep drinking as he took out his camera. "Think about it. If customers see a Pokémon drinking nonstop from a free refill of juice like this, what will they think?"
"This Pokémon's owner definitely hasn't fed her enough." Etorre blurted out.
The next second, Mao grabbed his cheek.
"Ow, ow, ow... gently, gently!"
Mao couldn't be bothered with Etorre's yelping. "Customers would think, 'What kind of juice is so attractive to her?' If you don't know how to speak, then just shut up."
Luther blushed in embarrassment at Etorre's words. To be honest, in a sense, Etorre wasn't wrong.
"Go on."
Marill, who had long been unable to hold herself back, heard Luther give the go-ahead. She hopped onto the drink machine, grabbed on, and began her brilliant routine from earlier.
The shop owner took photos of Marill from every angle and looked at them with satisfaction on his camera.
By the time Luther and the others had finished eating and were about to leave the restaurant, Marill finally waddled over. Her body looked as if she had grown a full size.
Seeing Marill's current state, Luther became curious. If Marill used Water Gun, would she spray water or fruit juice?
"Thank you for the hospitality, boss. The food was all delicious. We'll come again if we get the chance."
While wiping a glass, the boss smiled and asked, "Are all four of you Pokémon Trainers going to participate in the Lily of the Valley Conference?"
Mai and Mao shook their heads and pointed to Luther and Etorre standing next to them.
"How about taking a group photo?"
The boss instructed Machoke to take down the blackboard covered in menu items hanging on the wall behind him. Beneath the blackboard were several framed group photos of people and Pokémon together, like family portraits.
"You could say it's just my personal stamp-collecting hobby. I really want to know how far the Pokémon Trainers who eat here before the Lily of the Valley Conference will go. Besides, if I happen to run into someone who makes it into the main tournament, wouldn't that mean I'm pretty lucky?"
Luther glanced at the family photos behind the blackboard. Looking at all those smiling faces, he asked, "Out of the dozen or so Pokémon Trainers here, none of them made it to the main tournament?"
The boss gave a wry smile. "Based on the information they left behind, I followed their matches. No—none of them did."
Etorre, Mao, and Mai leaned in to take a look, too.
Among the family photos were quite a few Pokémon Trainers with teams of fully evolved Pokémon. Luther saw one photo that included Salamence and Slaking.
Couldn't even a lineup like that break into the main tournament stage?
Was the competition really that brutal?
Or had he just happened to encounter especially strong Pokémon Trainers back then?
"Why don't you display these photos openly instead of hiding them under the blackboard?" Mai asked. "If you set aside a whole wall to display them, it'd probably attract customers."
"I asked them when I took the photos," the boss replied. "Most of them said that if I made it to the main tournament, I could hang them up however I liked. If they didn't, then please excuse me."
There was still a bit of stubborn pride involved.
After all, they came in full of ambition, only to leave in defeat. Most people would probably feel awkward and embarrassed thinking back to the version of themselves before stepping onto Lily of the Valley Island, the version that believed they were unbeatable.
They didn't want to recall that former self, nor did they want others to see it.
Etorre curled his lips. "They're people without the courage to face themselves. You said you'd give us a discount, right? Then that's enough. No matter how far I make it, you can hang mine up separately."
"I don't want mine hidden behind a blackboard. It's a happy moment, recording my journey with my Pokémon, but they're making it awkward, how boring."
Mao and Luther agreed with Etorre.
Lily of the Valley Island was just one stage of a journey. Whether one won or lost, the outcome should be accepted calmly. This kind of awkward, self-conscious attitude was unacceptable.
Seeing the two groups brimming with confidence, the shop owner smiled. After letting his daughter take over the front counter, he led everyone to the backyard of the restaurant.
"How about we take one photo separately, then one group photo together?" Mao suggested.
Luther agreed at once, and Etorre nodded as well.
Etorre began releasing his Pokémon, and Luther finally learned the identities of the five Pokémon Etorre had with him besides Primeape:
Forretress, Shuckle, Magnezone, Trevenant, and Jellicent.
A mixed squad of Pokémon from multiple regions. Out of habit, Luther tried to judge what kind of strategy Etorre might use based on his team lineup. After thinking about it for a long time, however, he still couldn't come to any conclusion.
Mao's team consisted of a Crawdaunt, a Flygon, a Deerling, a Clefable, and an Igglybuff that looked freshly hatched.
They all looked to be in great spirits. With a lineup like this, Mao wasn't trying to challenge the conference herself; she was just supporting Etorre.
Luther glanced at Mao. She seemed to notice his gaze and turned around with a soft laugh.
"Well?" The Pokémon I raised aren't any worse than Etorre's, are they? Even though I didn't make it into the main tournament in Hoenn, I was a preliminary round contestant."
The tripod that the boss had brought out was finally set up. After testing the angle, Mao and Etorre each struck a pose. The Pokémon behind them also did their best to show off their most imposing stances in front of the camera.
After taking several shots in a row, the boss was just about to say it was enough when Mao suddenly wrapped her arms around Etorre.
"Take one more like this for me."
Ettore forced himself to stay calm, but his gradually reddening face betrayed him. Seeing his body tremble unnaturally, Luther guessed that Mao must be hugging him quite tightly.
Surrounded by their Pokémon, Mao and Etorre took the final photo together under the camera flash.
"Your turn."
Mao released Etorre, picked up her Igglybuff, and gestured for Luther and Mai to come over quickly.
When they stood in front of the camera, Luther and Mai realized that they didn't need to arrange themselves by height like Etorre's group had.
All of their Pokémon were on the smaller side. Compared to Etorre's group, they looked more like a bunch of kindergarteners.
Luther held Milcery in his hands. Jumpluff and Espurr stood on his shoulders. Kirlia leaned against his side, and Houndoom pressed up against his leg. Houndoom pressed up against his leg. Mismagius floated right up to his face. Marill chose to sit on the ground.
Chansey held up her Nutrient Egg, stealing the spotlight.
Meanwhile, on Mai's side, a dazed Slowpoke had a Pachirisu perched on its head. Mai hugged her Chikorita and Eevee. A Silcoon, just awakened, was stacked on top of Corsola.
The boss looked through the camera for a moment, then raised his hand to signal to Luther to get ready. The first shot didn't require any posing; just be natural.
Suddenly, Luther remembered something and asked the boss to wait a moment.
"Come out. It's a family photo, and you're squatting in the shadows. That's not appropriate."
Darkrai slowly emerged from the shadows. He knew what a family photo was all along, but since Luther hadn't called him over, he had no choice but to crouch in the shadows and watch the other Pokémon above him.
Wanting to be in the picture too, he stubbornly moved all the way to the front of the group.
Unfortunately, the glow of the setting sun was fading. In the camera, he blended into the gradually falling night and didn't catch the boss's attention at all.
When he heard Luther call him, Darkrai was actually happy. He quickly moved back from in front of the lens and returned to the group.
"Marill's too short. You carry her on your head when we take the picture."
Marill didn't object and climbed onto Darkrai's head.
Once everything was ready, Luther signaled to the boss that he could take the photo.
However, just as the boss pressed the shutter button, his hand suddenly began to tremble.
(End of Chapter)