Night had fallen over the orchard.
Crickets chirped in the grass, and the air carried the faint sweetness of ripe berries.
The three of them — Bai Chen, Lillie, and Mallow — were staying at a fruit farmer's house nearby.
Through the window, Lillie watched silently as Bai Chen trained alone in the courtyard.
Sweat rolled down his back under the moonlight, his movements precise, relentless.
Mallow joined her at the window, frowning slightly.
"Does he… always train like that?"
"Every day," Lillie said softly. "He never stops."
"That's not good for him," Mallow murmured, concern clear in her tone.
"He's been at it for hours already. I'll go tell him to rest."
But before she could move, Lillie reached out and caught her wrist.
"It's okay. Let him be."
Mallow blinked.
Lillie's gaze remained fixed on the man outside — on the way his breathing stayed steady, how every motion seemed deliberate, controlled.
"Mr. Bai isn't like ordinary people," she said quietly.
"He doesn't need us to worry."
After a long silence, Mallow changed the subject.
"I asked around earlier… and found something about that Tinkatuff."
Lillie turned to her.
"You did?"
"Yeah," Mallow nodded. "Apparently, there used to be an old blacksmith from the Paldea region living near the orchard. That Tinkatuff was his Pokémon."
Lillie's eyes widened slightly.
"So if we find the blacksmith, we can find her?"
Mallow's expression dimmed.
"No. The old man passed away half a year ago. No one knows where the Tinkatuff went after that…
But it looks like she's been living here all this time — and stealing metal from the farmers."
"Has anyone seen her elsewhere?"
"Unfortunately, no," Mallow sighed.
"She's good at hiding. None of the locals have spotted her."
"Then we should report this to Mr. Bai," Lillie said.
The two girls left the room and went to the yard.
Bai Chen stopped his training when they approached.
He listened quietly as they shared everything they had learned.
When they finished, he simply nodded.
"Understood. I'll handle it."
He didn't explain how — and they didn't ask.
Once they'd gone back inside, Bai Chen opened his system interface.
The familiar blue screen appeared before his eyes.
[Enhanced Smell (★3) — Beginner (249/300)]
"Heightened olfactory perception. Able to detect scents from up to 2,000 meters away."
A fusion of his Mushroom Hunter's Sense and the Scent Detection skill he'd copied from a Yungoos.
Bai Chen studied the progress bar.
"Fifty-one points left," he muttered.
"Twelve… maybe thirteen hours of practice should do it."
He left a brief note for the girls, then slipped quietly into the forest.
The night air was thick with scent.
So many layers — fruit, dew, soil, decay.
Every breath told a different story.
He inhaled slowly.
The sharp sweetness of ripe berries.
The sourness of fallen fruit rotting under the grass.
And farther off — the unmistakable stench of a wild Grimer, oozing through the shadows.
He wrinkled his nose.
"That's… potent."
But he didn't stop.
He closed his eyes, letting the sense guide him deeper.
Each time he identified a source — a creature, a plant, a patch of disturbed soil — the bond stone chimed softly.
[Enhanced Smell +1 EXP]
He found a Slugma buried in the ashes of an old firepit.
A Caterpie nest hidden in tree bark.
A Grubbin burrowed two hundred meters away.
Every discovery sharpened his senses further.
The night stretched on.
Hours blurred.
The world turned into scent and movement, a vast map of invisible trails.
When dawn finally broke, the horizon was painted gold.
The orchard shimmered in the first light of morning.
Lillie and Mallow were just waking when Bai Chen returned, his breath steady but his eyes gleaming.
[Skill Level Up!]
[Enhanced Smell (★3) — Proficient (3/1500)]
A night without sleep had paid off.
He opened the updated description.
"Enhanced Smell (★3) — Proficient (3/1500):
Capable of detecting scents up to 3,000 meters away, even through soil or underground obstacles."
He smiled faintly.
Immediately, the world exploded into clarity.
New scents — countless, layered, overwhelming — rushed into his nose.
The damp musk of soil.
The mineral tang of iron is buried beneath the orchard.
The faint ammonia of the fertilizer the farmers had spread days ago.
It was too much for a second — but Bai Chen steadied himself, focusing the flow, sorting each scent into order.
From the veranda, Lillie and Mallow watched him stand in the courtyard, eyes closed, perfectly still.
"What's he doing?" Mallow whispered.
"I… don't know," Lillie admitted.
Before she could say more, Bai Chen's eyes snapped open.
"Underground," he said.
Both girls blinked.
"Underground?" Lillie repeated.
"You mean— the Tinkatuff is hiding beneath us? But that's impossible!
That species doesn't even know how to dig!"
"Then how—"
"Come on," Mallow interrupted, grabbing Lillie's hand.
"If we don't follow him, we'll lose him again!"
They hurried after Bai Chen into the woods.
He led them two, maybe three kilometers in, before stopping at a dense patch of shrubs.
Bai Chen crouched, brushing away the leaves.
His nose twitched once.
"...Fake."
He gripped the "bush" with both hands and pulled.
The camouflage came off like a blanket, revealing a sheet of solid metal beneath.
He pushed it aside.
Below it — a staircase, descending into darkness.
Only four steps, ending at a small iron door barely a meter high.
Mallow crouched beside him, curiosity flaring.
"Is this… some kind of ruin?"
Bai Chen stared at her flatly.
"Have you ever seen a ruin with a padlock and a door handle?"
"Oh… right."
Lillie stepped closer, running her hand gently along the surface.
Her fingers traced faint hammer marks beneath the sanding lines.
"These aren't factory-made…" she whispered.
"Someone forged them by hand."
Bai Chen nodded.
"Exactly. This isn't human work either.
Every mark, every hinge — it matches her scent.
That Tinkatuff built this herself."
Lillie's eyes widened in disbelief.
"She… forged this whole thing? On her own?"
"Looks that way."
Even Mallow was stunned.
"That's insane. She must've learned it all from her trainer before he passed."
"So what now?" she asked.
Bai Chen exhaled, his expression hardening.
"What else? We knock."
And before either of them could stop him —
BANG!
He kicked.
The iron door bent inward, hinges snapping off like twigs.
"We're going in," he said coldly.
"Time to settle this."
Lillie and Mallow exchanged a look — the kind that said we can't stop him anyway.
Because to Bai Chen, this wasn't just about a sword.
It was about pride.
The fury in his eyes said it all — the same kind of rage a hunter felt when, after days of preparation to face an Elder Dragon… a passing Melynx swiped his ancient potion and fled.
And everyone in the Hunter's Guild knew —
When that happened, there was only one proper response.
A single, merciless Spirit Slash combo.
1st form.
2nd form.
3rd form.
Followed by a Spirit Roundslash — the move that sent thieves flying into the air, item bag and all.
And tonight… someone was about to learn what that meant.
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