When Miyazato Aisa left Isobe Himeko's home, she was still in a very good mood.
That brief interaction made her like Himeko even more.
This girl was outstanding!
Not only in battle and in commanding and raising Pokémon—
Even her personality and temperament were near perfect.
She fit Aisa's tastes exactly.
The only tiny regret was that she still hadn't seen the Charmeleon she'd been thinking about nonstop.
Himeko said it seemed to be taking a long nap?
That didn't seem right, did it?
If it really was the kind of powerful Charmeleon President Sun and Teacher Moo Inoshishe had described—
If it could train itself to that level in such a short time—
Then it had to be a full-on training maniac.
How could it choose to take a nap at a critical moment like this?
Aisa couldn't quite understand it.
But she didn't dig into it.
After all, at the finals three days from now, she would definitely get to see this unbelievably strong Charmeleon that everyone was anticipating.
Outside Himeko's villa, a group of people stood at the street corner, looking up at the silhouettes of Aisa and her Dragonite as they departed.
Only then did they finally breathe out in relief and step out from behind the building at the corner.
"This is bad! Aisa has probably already made contact with her!"
"Damn it—she got there first!"
"That Himeko-san… she hasn't already been recruited into the Military, has she?"
"No! We can't just sit here and watch—we need to go check the situation too!"
This group was none other than the evaluators from the Pokémon universities.
Their purpose in gathering here was to meet Himeko, show some goodwill, and butter her up—
Hoping that, when she made her choice, she would join the Pokémon university side.
They hurried to the front gate of Himeko's villa.
Seeing the "Do Not Disturb" sign hanging on the tightly shut iron gate, they froze, unsure what to do.
They considered whether to imitate what Aisa had just done and simply fly into the yard with a Flying-type Pokémon.
But then they thought again—
If that made Himeko angry and pushed her straight to the Military's side, wouldn't they be finished?
After weighing it, they could only leave in embarrassment.
Anyway, the finals would start in three days.
By then, the presidents of their respective Pokémon universities would also be present.
Recruitment wouldn't be their job anymore.
…
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
In an instant, it was the day of the finals.
Every street in Wintergreen City was eerily quiet.
Even the shops along the streets had shut down.
There wasn't a single person on the wide main roads.
At first glance, the vast city looked like a dead city.
But if you walked to the city center, you'd find it had already turned into a roaring ocean of noise.
The Plaza's two hundred thousand seats had long since been completely filled.
Some people had even come over at midnight yesterday to claim spots.
Those passionate viewers who failed to get seats at the venue had no choice but to stay home and watch the live broadcast on TV.
All of Wintergreen City's citizens were waiting for this match.
That was exactly why the streets were so empty—
Because everyone was holed up at home, staring at the live broadcast.
On the tall outer walls of the Plaza hung enormous posters of Himeko and Amano Joji.
Each one was over twenty meters tall, draping from the top all the way down.
Their portraits were printed on them.
On Himeko's poster, the bottom was covered in all kinds of supportive messages and well-wishes written by enthusiastic viewers.
As for Joji's poster—
It was filled with curses and ridicule.
People had even poked a bunch of holes straight through it.
Clearly, everyone's opinion of him was terrible.
In the VIP section on the high platform with an excellent view, the same major figures were still seated.
Only—
The second row, which should have been where the evaluators sat, had been replaced by a different group.
These people wore suits and carried an air of refined scholarship at a glance—obviously high-level intellectuals.
President Sun turned around and greeted them.
"Why is it only you vice presidents?"
"Our little place produced a student with an S-rank evaluation—does that still not qualify for those presidents to come take a look in person?"
President Sun asked in a half-joking, half-serious tone.
"Old Sun, it's not that we don't take it seriously."
"The plan really was for the presidents to come personally."
"But yesterday, we got news at the last minute: in a major base city up north, a new student with an S+ rank showed up. The presidents rushed over overnight to recruit them."
"So the matters here were handed to us."
Someone explained the reason.
After hearing it, President Sun nodded in realization, his eyes full of shock.
S+…
That was even higher than Himeko's evaluation.
That kind of talent was said to have the potential to become a Champion-level Trainer.
No wonder those presidents were so fired up.
But—
Today, Himeko's S-rank evaluation might rise again, once her Charmeleon entered the arena.
A smile tugged at President Sun's lips.
His gaze turned toward the entrance below, anticipation showing in his eyes.
There—
Two figures were slowly walking toward the center of the Plaza.
The camera immediately locked onto them.
Himeko's and Joji's faces instantly appeared on the giant screen above.
"Himeko!"
"Himeko!"
"Himeko!"
…
In an instant, the entire two-hundred-thousand-person Plaza erupted, all the spectators shouting Himeko's name at the top of their lungs like rabid fans.
But Himeko, the person at the center of it all, automatically filtered out the noise.
Right now, she was seriously communicating with Hirata Shiko.
"Didn't you say you'd evolve within these three days? Why hasn't anything changed yet?"
Himeko asked.
Back then, Shiko had said it with such certainty.
Now the match was already starting, and he still looked exactly like a standard Charmeleon—
There didn't seem to be any sign of evolution at all.
"I'm just a tiny bit short!"
Shiko looked at the experience bar on his status panel, wanting to cry but having no tears.
He never would have thought that, by sheer bad luck yesterday, one daily quest wouldn't get completed in time.
So when the final settlement happened, the total experience he gained left him—
Two points short of level thirty-six.
Two points short!
Shiko felt like crying.
"Don't worry! It's only this tiny bit! I just need to go up there and take down two of them, and I'll be able to evolve!"
(End of Chapter)
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