Early morning.
When Shiko woke up, Buneary and Himeko were already training.
The sunlight was great today—warm and cozy as it shone down on you.
Under Himeko's command, Buneary was doing basic training.
Pink bands were looped around her wrists, waist, ankles, and even both ears.
At first, Shiko thought they were decorations.
But after watching Buneary's slightly strained, sluggish movements, he finally realized—
Those things were probably all weight rings.
Himeko was having Buneary do weighted training.
Buneary was very serious.
Following Himeko's instructions, she started doing shuttle runs back and forth,
along with some simple punching and kicking drills.
As expected of Himeko—her training plan was really targeted.
Shiko straightened up and watched for a bit, but quickly found it boring.
So he flipped open today's task panel.
[Main Quest: Complete one evolution]
[Daily Quest 1: Rest for one hour under blissfully warm sunshine]
[Daily Quest 2: Chat with Buneary for thirty minutes]
[Daily Quest 3: Enjoy Buneary's massage for thirty minutes]
[Daily Quest 4: ...]
...
After reading it, Shiko moved to a higher spot where he could soak up the sun better.
Then he closed his eyes, relaxed his body, and lazily started doing his daily quests.
Himeko looked at Shiko and frowned.
She sighed and didn't say anything.
With Shiko's lazy personality and attitude, she genuinely didn't know what to do anymore.
Such great talent—
Wasting it like this was honestly a bit of a shame.
Shiko adjusted his posture.
Before he could even drift off—
"Piiidgeot—!"
He heard a shrill cry coming from overhead.
High in the sky, a Pidgeot was flying at extreme speed.
In the blink of an eye, it was nothing more than a tiny black dot.
Shiko watched for a moment.
He treated it as just a wild Pokémon from the forest and didn't pay it any mind.
He turned slightly and went back to sleep.
What he didn't notice was—
After shrinking into a black dot, that Pidgeot kept circling back and forth above their heads.
And on Pidgeot's back,
a man in black was straddling it.
He held binoculars in his hands,
constantly observing the situation inside the camp.
"Found her. This is the Isobe Himeko that the young master ordered us to find."
In the man's view, Himeko's delicate features came into sight.
"Charmander is here too."
As his gaze shifted, he quickly spotted Shiko, sprawled on a rock and sleeping.
"This Charmander… looks pretty good, huh!"
The man had sharp eyes.
From Shiko's outward characteristics alone,
he could tell Shiko was tougher—and more talented—than an ordinary Charmander by quite a bit.
"But why is he sleeping?"
The man couldn't help muttering.
"And there's a Buneary too—she's even a Shiny Pokémon!"
The man made another discovery and cried out in surprise.
After observing seriously for a while, the expression on his face calmed again.
"This Buneary doesn't seem like much either. Her speed and strength are both pretty bad."
He gave his evaluation.
Because of the distance,
he completely failed to notice the pink power-weight bands wrapped around Buneary—bands close in color to her fur.
He only noticed Buneary's power and speed dropping dramatically under the added weight.
After watching a bit longer,
the man lost interest.
His attention returned to Shiko again.
Maybe he went to sleep too late last night,
so he's sleeping in a bit this morning.
He guessed as much in his head.
To be safe,
he decided to keep watching.
And that watch—
went straight from morning all the way until the sun set in the west.
"I swear, I'm done. This Charmander is way too lazy!"
The man lowered his binoculars,
rubbed his sore, dry eyes,
and couldn't help complaining.
Shiko's laziness completely refreshed his understanding.
This was absolutely the laziest Pokémon he had ever seen in his life!
Even worse than Slaking!
All he did was eat and sleep!
He even had that Buneary pound his back and knead his legs—
He looked like some pampered big shot!
Speechless!
A Charmander like this—
even if his talent was good—
what value was there in raising him?
"Looks like young master doesn't need to worry. This Isobe Himeko can't pose any threat to you."
The man patted Pidgeot.
Pidgeot let out a long cry,
flapped its wings,
and flew in the direction of Wintergreen City.
...
"So her Buneary has no talent, and that talented Charmander is extremely lazy."
"Yes, young master. She can't pose any threat to you."
"Good! Very good!"
After hearing the man's report,
Amano Joji revealed a satisfied smile.
This was exactly the answer he wanted to hear.
Back at school, Himeko had already displayed extraordinary talent as a Trainer.
And at the Pokémon Breeding Center,
she had obtained a Charmander with pretty good talent.
Naturally, Joji had considered Himeko the only person who might be a threat.
But—
after hearing the man's report,
even that last bit of worry completely vanished.
"Go collect your reward. You did well."
"Thank you, young master!"
The man bowed in thanks, grinning from ear to ear.
The room fell quiet once more.
Joji unwrapped a candy
and continued feeding the Dratini in front of him.
Dratini's body was visibly bloated and fat.
That long, slender, serpentine body
didn't move especially nimbly anymore.
"Mii~~~"
After swallowing the candy, Dratini cried out.
Right after that,
a layer of intense white light enveloped his body, wrapping him inside.
Within that dazzling white glow, his shape began to expand and shift without stopping.
Finally—
the white light vanished.
Dratini's form
had become a Dragonair: four meters long, blue-backed and white-bellied, with a pair of small white wings on its head.
"It finally evolved!"
Joji's face filled with ecstatic joy.
He had fed so many Rare Candies—
their total value reaching into the hundreds of millions.
That kind of investment—
was for this exact moment!
With this Dragonair,
he was certain that in the Pokémon Tournament,
he could absolutely take the championship!
(End of Chapter)
If I see that this fanfic has support, I will upload 20+ chapters to Patreon!!
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
[Thanks for your support!]