Chapter 351:
"Alright, alright, of course you can..."
This rebuttal left Hayashi Kaede momentarily speechless, and he could only nod repeatedly.
Then, he wanted to use the same praise he usually gave his other Pokémon, but the words stuck in his throat as he looked at Gardevoir. He just couldn't get them out.
But seeing Gardevoir rarely make a request, and such a simple one at that, he felt he absolutely had to fulfill it.
So, after struggling for a good while, Hayashi Kaede finally managed to force out a few sentences: "You're amazing, Gardevoir. So incredible... I'll be counting on you for the matches ahead..."
Just saying these words made Hayashi Kaede curl his toes in embarrassment, feeling like he could dig out a four-bedroom apartment right there.
But these words were sincere.
Gardevoir was truly incredible, both in strength and in handling everything at home.
It could look down on all opponents on the battlefield and it could also prepare meals and clean up for everyone at home.
He thought these somewhat "perfunctory" words might upset Gardevoir.
But the smile on Gardevoir's face only grew brighter, and he could even vaguely see a touch of emotion in its eyes.
Hayashi Kaede wasn't sure if he was seeing things correctly.
But then, a prompt that followed confirmed he had seen right.
[Congratulations, Host. Gardevoir's Happiness Value has increased from 20 to 85. Reward: 1 Master Rare Candy, 5 bags of Master Golden Fertilizer, 1 Lunar Feather (A feather from the Dream Goddess Cresselia, capable of immersing one in pleasant dreams and containing a certain amount of Psychic-type energy).]
And it wasn't just one prompt.
After this, another voice sounded in his ear.
[Congratulations, Host. Gardevoir's Affinity has reached 100. Reward: 3 Master Rare Candies, 10 bags of Master Golden Fertilizer, Necrozma's Prism Fragment (A prism fragment shed by the legendary Blinding One after losing its light. Absorbing intense light can make it radiate brilliance again!).]
Gardevoir's joyful emotions had always been difficult to elevate.
It had experienced much and seen much.
Ordinary things really struggled to pique its interest.
But now, Gardevoir's Happiness Value had directly increased by 65 just from receiving his praise.
Hayashi Kaede didn't immediately check the two system rewards. Instead, he looked at Gardevoir somewhat at a loss.
He didn't know what he had said that could have moved Gardevoir so deeply.
Seeing Hayashi Kaede like this, Gardevoir let out another soft laugh.
It spoke slowly,
"Gardevoir..." (Voices of gratitude, voices of disdain, voices of fear, emotions of terror, emotions of sorrow, emotions of admiration... all kinds of voices, all kinds of emotions, I have seen them all.)
It gently brushed aside the blue hair covering its other eye, revealing an equally crimson eye.
Although the curse had been resolved, and Gardevoir's current strength was on par with Darkrai's now,
plus Hayashi Kaede had fed Gardevoir many resistance Energy Cubes, it had long since mastered that power.
But these crimson eyes had fused with its body since childhood. From young to now, changing them back to their original color was basically impossible.
One crimson eye already made Gardevoir's gaze somewhat unsettling to other creatures when it looked at them.
Let alone two.
It felt as if a single glance could send one into nightmares.
Hayashi Kaede seemed to remember something and suddenly understood.
In his impression, Gardevoir had always been smiling gently, its eyes narrowed into a kind expression.
Especially at home, it was always smiling, its eyes crinkled small.
Was it afraid of scaring the other Pokémon?
Realizing this, Hayashi Kaede hesitated, wanting to speak.
But Gardevoir spoke first,
"Gardevoir..." (They would despise me, fear me when I was weak. As a child, every time I went to a new place, I would meet new Pokémon. Some would become my friends, some my enemies.)
"Gardevoir~" (Those who became friends, I used this power to help drive away their enemies. But while driving them away, they would look at me with fearful, terrified eyes and call me a monster.
And the Pokémon I helped, they would thank me at first, give me delicious Berries.
But as the nightmare power eroded them, they too would look at me with the same eyes as the others...)
Recalling the past, Gardevoir gently placed its hand on Hayashi Kaede's hand. That scene simultaneously appeared in Hayashi Kaede's mind.
This wasn't Hayashi Kaede actively looking; it was Gardevoir using its psychic power to construct it in his mind...that segment of memory, both blurry and profound.
It was from when it was a Ralts, traveling far from home, encountering a new ecological environment.
There was another Ralts there, following a Gardevoir.
One day, that Ralts encountered danger outside; a Beedrill set its sights on it.
It fled, the Beedrill pursued.
The little Ralts couldn't use Teleport yet. Its feeble Confusion was easily broken by the Beedrill. Then, the Beedrill turned its gaze towards it.
But at the critical moment, his Ralts appeared. Dark, ink-like energy fell upon the Beedrill, immediately putting it to sleep, its face contorted in pain.
What followed was the story Gardevoir had mentioned.
The shiny Ralts received thanks, received Berries from the Gardevoir, played with that Ralts, and was introduced to new friends by it. This made it feel that using power to help other Pokémon was wonderful.
But this feeling slowly faded after the first day, the second day, the third day.
Everyone's gazes began to turn fearful; those crimson eyes began to be hated.
That was its first time venturing out.
The result wasn't good.
It left that small ecological circle after just three days.
Then came the second, the third.
It quickly discovered that friendships gained through power would ultimately be destroyed by that same power.
No matter where it went, slowly, it would be despised by everyone.
And so, from that time on, it began to hate that power. But back then, it couldn't rid itself of it, so it could only strive to become stronger.
After evolving into Gardevoir, its naturally shiny skin drew conspicuous attention, let alone those crimson eyes.
It stopped fearing this nightmare power and began to utilize it.
Whenever a Pokémon attacked it, it would unhesitatingly use this power to fight back.
One year, three years... five years... As its strength gradually increased, eventually, no Pokémon would actively attack it anymore.
Thus, it became lonely again, having to change locations daily to prevent the source of nightmares within it from bringing nightmares to the surrounding Pokémon.
It wouldn't let go of those Pokémon that attacked it, but similarly, it couldn't bear its presence causing panic among the weak, kind Pokémon nearby.
So, all that was left was constantly moving.
But this way, there was never a Pokémon around it that it could truly talk to.
Those words of thanks, those utterances of fear.
Over the years, it had lost count of how many times it had heard them.
It didn't know why its emotions surged so suddenly today.
Perhaps it was because hearing such genuinely heartfelt praise for its abilities was truly rare?
Gardevoir let its hair fall back, covering the crimson eye again. Looking at the Hayashi Kaede before it, it couldn't help but smile again.
Regardless, that was all in the past. Now, it no longer had these troubles.
It had its own Trainer, and Pokémon that relied on it.
Moreover, its Trainer, aside from sometimes causing a bit of trouble, was truly reliable.
It asked softly, "Gardevoir~" (Can I lean on you?)
"Huh? Yes, of course you can."
Hayashi Kaede didn't react at first, but after processing the question, he quickly nodded.
"Gardevoir~" (Thank you~)
After its soft words, Gardevoir gently leaned against Hayashi Kaede's shoulder.
Hayashi Kaede didn't move, just quietly watched it.
He wanted to say many things, but the words felt inappropriate on his tongue. After some thought, he understood that now, he just needed to pat its shoulder.
Because Gardevoir telling him this meant, first, it had completely opened its heart to him, and second, it wanted a few words of comfort.
As for the rest, it could handle it itself.
He gently patted Gardevoir's other shoulder, saying nothing.
The entire room fell quiet.
But the atmosphere couldn't remain quiet forever.
Like the other Pokémon that had been released.
They had been listening to the conversation between Gardevoir and Hayashi Kaede the whole time.
Gardevoir hadn't avoided them, specifically using telepathy to speak to Hayashi Kaede.
Now that the conversation was over, they also learned about Gardevoir's past.
Blaziken looked carefully at Serperior, then exchanged glances with Dragonite and Alolan Ninetales.
They never imagined that Gardevoir, who always cooked for them, took care of them, and seemed so gentle and strong, had such experiences in the past.
They didn't understand, hadn't experienced it themselves.
Now, watching Gardevoir lean on Hayashi Kaede's shoulder, soon, some Pokémon also felt the desire to comfort it.
The first to approach was Alolan Ninetales. It stealthily, at some point, had crept to Hayashi Kaede and Gardevoir's side, then gently nuzzled Gardevoir with its head, looking at it with worried eyes.
"Gardevoir~"
Gardevoir lifted its head, looked at the most lively little one in the breeding house, placed a hand on it, and shook its head. "Gardevoir..." (It's okay, good girl.)
"Ninetales, Ninetales, Ninetales ...." (Mmm mmm mmm...)
Alolan Ninetales made some incomprehensible chirping sounds, then suddenly its eyes lit up. It jumped onto the bed, walked over to Hayashi Kaede, directly flopped onto its back, presenting its belly with all four paws in the air, and laid its head on Hayashi Kaede's lap.
With a playful smile at the corner of its mouth, it said, "Ninetales~ (Then I want to be with Kaede too~)
"Okay, okay, okay..."
Looking at the cool, flowing white fur before him, Hayashi Kaede couldn't help but smile, placing his hand on the fur of its belly and gently stroking.
(●ˇ∀ˇ●): "Ninetales~"
Alolan Ninetales comfortably closed its eyes, its nine tails resting on the edge of the bed, constantly swaying, looking extremely content.
But then, another voice sounded in Hayashi Kaede's ear.
"Alcremie...." (Then, then I also want... to be with Kaede too...)
This was Alcremie. Surprisingly, the usually timid Alcremie took the initiative to come to Hayashi Kaede's side at this moment.
"Alright..."
The smile on Hayashi Kaede's face grew wider. He spread his arms, picked up Alcremie, and placed it on his shoulder, letting it lean against his face.
By now, there was no more space around Hayashi Kaede.
But there were still so many Pokémon by his side.
Meowscarada, Blaziken, and Milotic in the water tank quickly followed, turning their gazes over.
"Meowscarada..."
"Blaziken..."
"Okay, okay, okay. Raising you all is my blessing in this lifetime."
A helpless Hayashi Kaede could only hold them one by one.
Finally, he looked at Serperior, who had been quietly watching to the side, and take the initiative to walked over.
And Gardevoir, watching this scene, had a relaxed smile return to the corners of its eyes. It floated towards the kitchen in the room.
...
The first round concluded after 25 matches, marking the end of the first morning's competitions.
Hayashi Kaede didn't go to watch the later matches live because he needed to cook for his Pokémon.
However, the Pokémon watched with great interest on the screen in the room.
Afternoon.
After a short break, the matches continued.
Hayashi Kaede didn't choose to stay in the room. After receiving a call from Megumi filled with praise, and calling the older brother Indeedee at home to check on the Pokémon there, he returned to the spectator stands of the arena.
"Alright, rest time is over. First, after this morning, the Pokémon League Conference has completed 25 matches. 25 outstanding trainers have advanced to the next round, but similarly, 25 contestants have regrettably been eliminated for various reasons. Let us congratulate the victorious trainers and express our regret for the defeated ones.
But without a doubt, all who made it here are excellent trainers! We hope they continue to shine in their future trainer careers!"
"Next, the first round continues!"
Accompanied by Satoshi's commentary as he flew into the sky on his Aegislash,
the previously somewhat quiet spectator stands erupted into lively discussion again.
"The matches this morning were really exciting, worthy of the annual Pokémon League Conference."
"Yeah, yeah, although Contestant Hayashi Kaede's Gardevoir left the deepest impression, the other contestants were impressive too."
"There was a black Charizard that was so majestic! And, and a purple chubby Gengar, its laugh was so cheeky...."
Detailed discussions commented on the exciting parts of the morning's matches.
But soon, the 26th match began.
However, the person who appeared made Hayashi Kaede's eyelids twitch.
Satoshi, with a Rotom following him, announced the information for the next match's contestants.
"The 26th match features Contestant Tobias from another region versus from the Eastova region...."