As noon approached, David and his group found a high-end restaurant inside the scenic area and enjoyed a meal of local specialty dishes.
The few fish he had caught that morning were not wasted; he gave them to the restaurant staff to prepare, perfect for a soup to finish the meal.
David naturally paid for everything, since they were celebrating their advance to the knockout rounds as the first-place team from the Emperor City Area. Everyone cheered, calling out "David is awesome!" and other such praise.
Luke even took the chance to have the restaurant open several bottles of red wine, hoping to make David pay through the nose for it.
After enjoying this grand lunch, David and the others headed toward their afternoon destination — the Liuli Coast Water Park.
Since it was the largest water park in Magic City, and indeed in the whole southeastern coastal region, they could hardly pass up the chance to visit while they were already there.
"Hmm~ Hello, I'll have one regular tropical fruit flavor, one Razz Berry flavor, two Banana Berry flavors, and one that's three times as sweet, please."
After entering the water park and splitting up from the rest of the group, David went straight to a stall selling Liuli Ice Cream, famous throughout the Liuli Scenic Area.
This ice cream was well known across Cloudspire for its unusual appearance and flavor. Even though David had been busy brewing potions lately, his original profession was a chef, so he was never going to miss out on such a treat.
Liuli Ice Cream had another special feature. Since it was made with Pokémon in mind, it came in two different styles. Aside from the regular ice cream he ordered for himself, the other three cones were special Berry-flavored ice cream made just for Pokémon.
It wasn't that humans couldn't eat the Berry-flavored kind, but the taste could seem a bit odd to them. On planet Blue Star, in this world at least, people's physical condition was far beyond that of ordinary Blue Star humans.
They hadn't evolved from Pokémon the way people had in the anime and manga world, but because of the changes the world had gone through, they weren't so different either. There truly were strong humans who could stand up to Pokémon in a physical fight, just like in the shows.
David's current fitness, combined with his control of Aura, let him spar with Pokémon without too much trouble. He wasn't quite on the level of Bruno lifting an Onix or trading punches with a Machamp, but it was still impressive in its own right.
"So? Doesn't it taste great!"
David had clearly picked out the three ice creams based on each Pokémon's own tastes. The spicy Razz Berry flavor was obviously Lucario's favorite, and between the two Banana Berry cones, the extra-sweet one was clearly Kirlia's top pick.
"Zorua~"
"Kirlia~"
"Luuu, Lucario~"
The Pokémon standing nearby, after tasting the ice cream David handed them, all cried out happily, clearly enjoying every bite.
Watching Zorua, Kirlia, and Lucario looking so pleased, David smiled along with them. At this point, though, someone might well ask: David, where is your Salamence?
Unfortunately, because of its sheer size, even though the water park allowed certain Pokémon inside, a Pokémon as massive as David's Salamence simply could not be let in under any circumstances.
David had no choice but to find it a good spot to rest and planned to come back for it once everyone had finished playing. As it happened, after such a big lunch, Salamence was already feeling drowsy and more than ready for a good rest.
David's Salamence was, in many ways, much like the Western dragons of old legends — at least when it came to loving sleep.
At that very moment, inside the large Pokémon storage area of the Liuli Coast Resort —
The staff there stood staring at the enormous creature before them, the kind that looked as though it had wandered in straight from an Ultraman or Godzilla film set.
The large Pokémon housed in the storage area — an Onix, a Gyarados, a Magmar, an Arcanine — all trembled before this towering figure. Even the Pokémon known for causing trouble didn't dare act up now.
This spared the park staff no small amount of trouble.
The sleeping Salamence let out a sudden sneeze and woke with a start, scratching its head with one claw. Could its Trainer be thinking about it right now?
Then, having just enjoyed a large lunch itself, the Salamence loudly called over a park staff member, pulled out the menu David had left with it, and began excitedly pointing at item after item.
"Roar! (These, and these, and this one too — I want them all! Don't worry, my Trainer's loaded!)"
The bewildered staff member stared at the Salamence, whose behavior had turned rather strange, and took a moment to recall what David had said when he'd left it in their care before finally understanding what it meant.
Following Salamence's requests, a huge spread of food was brought out for it. As it began to feast, Aspen's Rhyperior, also being kept in the same storage area, dutifully fetched it water.
Thoroughly enjoying its meal, Salamence was clearly pleased with such a thoughtful "assistant," nodding happily and making it clear it would look after this Rhyperior well from then on.
Meanwhile, every other Pokémon in the storage area watched Salamence's antics in complete silence, afraid to make a sound and disturb it.
David, for his part, was having a wonderful time, and for a while the earlier unease had faded from his mind. It was clear, however, that someone had no intention of letting him stay so relaxed.
"Damn it — this guy really has too much time on his hands."
In a corner nearby, a man named Yade, who had spent the whole morning hacking into the water park's surveillance system with remote help from An, watched David enjoying himself on the screen and muttered in frustration.
"All right, the boat's ready. Once you finish your part, we can pull out within ten minutes. We've arranged several nearby spots as well. The moment you begin, cause enough chaos to cover our retreat."
"But you'd better make sure there are no mistakes. We can't afford any errors here. Once the operation starts, no matter how it turns out, you pull back immediately without hesitation — otherwise you won't get out."
An's voice came through the earpiece. Being someone who lived on the edge, once An made a decision, it was carried out without delay.
"Relax! This isn't exactly my first job..."
After ending the call with An, the man called Yade pulled out the detailed blueprints of the water park that An had sent him and began looking for a suitable spot.
A few minutes later, at a tower near the edge of the water park, after working out the distance between himself and David, Yade finally reached for a Poké Ball.
"Come on out! Inteleon."
A flash of red light appeared, and a slender, roughly two-meter-tall lizard Pokémon, mostly black and blue in color, emerged before Yade.
It was Inteleon, the final evolved form of Sobble, one of the starter Pokémon introduced in Pokémon Sword and Shield, the eighth generation of games.
[Name: Inteleon]
[Type: Water]
[Energy Level: 59]
[Ability: Sniper]
[Aptitude: Purple]
As a Black Obsidian-rank Hunter belonging to the Hunter Guild, Yade had already taken the lives of more than one Gym-level Trainer, and he was no ordinary opponent himself. This Inteleon was his ace.
Looking at the lizard-like Pokémon before him, which resembled a secret agent, Yade gave his command.
"Inteleon, the target is over there. Wait for my signal, then take them out."
Inteleon narrowed its eyes. Hearing its Trainer's order, it studied David carefully from a distance using its equipment.
Like a true secret agent Pokémon, it calculated the distance to its target with ease. After a brief pause, it gave a small nod to show it was ready.
The best way to deal with a target like David was clearly a long-range strike. Fighting up close, whatever the outcome, would only give him room to escape — and that was the last thing Yade wanted.
Having carried out assassination missions for a long time, Yade owned sniper rifles and similar equipment. But smuggling such things into the water park unnoticed, given Cloudspire's tight security checks, was nearly impossible.
Still, that hadn't stopped him. Compared to using a rifle himself, his ace Pokémon, Inteleon, was by far the better choice.
Yade took a slow, deep breath. Now all that remained was to wait for the right moment to give his Pokémon the signal.