"AAGRON!!"
Aggron let out a mighty bellow that translated roughly to: "I have achieved ultimate power; I am invincible!" He slashed his claws through the air and whipped his tail around, the very picture of peak arrogance.
His roar drew a crowd. Mawile and the others gathered to watch.
Mawile was in the middle of eating an ice cream cone, looking at Aggron with the dismissive gaze one might give a performing circus gorilla. However, as she felt the localized gale caused by the sheer force of Aggron's claws, her expression shifted instantly.
"Ma-wile!"
She shoved her ice cream into the hands of the nearby Chansey and scurried over to Kashiwagi, looking up with wide eyes. "Ma-wile~?"
As Aggron's long-time rival, Mawile knew exactly why he occasionally experienced these sudden bursts of explosive growth. She wasted no time in acting cute toward the "culprit," her eyes clearly saying: I want some, too.
Kashiwagi, meanwhile, was feeling a strange sense of emptiness, like someone who had just spent their last paycheck on a gacha game. He had moved beyond caring about "winning" or "losing"—he was just spent.
"I don't have a single level left..."
He gave Mawile a strained, helpless smile.
Three months of accumulated reward levels had been wiped out in a flash. It hurt to see them go; he had originally planned to save them until Level 60 to maximize the efficiency of the experience curve, but he hadn't expected to be forced into using them at Level 50.
But it was a necessity.
Fortunately, these rewards were essentially "free," and level rewards below Level 70 could be earned at least once a month. They weren't quite as rare as a legendary encounter.
"Ma-wile—!"
Mawile puffed out her cheeks, clearly feeling that her trainer was being outrageously biased. She had never received such treatment! It wasn't fair!
She grabbed Kashiwagi's pant leg and looked up stubbornly, her posture making it clear: If you don't give me an explanation today, you aren't going anywhere. She seemed genuinely upset.
"This is..."
Kashiwagi knew he was in trouble. Failing to "keep the bowl level"—treating all his Pokémon equally—might seem like something he could brush off with an excuse, but in reality, if handled poorly, it could leave deep emotional scars.
The Simulator belonged to him, yes. He had the right to use it however he pleased, and from his perspective, his choices were perfectly logical.
However, a qualified trainer must learn to empathize. He had to put himself in the position of Mawile and the others.
The trainer gave a teammate a massive boost, causing their strength to skyrocket. That was great for the team.
But what would the others feel? Wouldn't they be envious? Wouldn't they feel the same craving?
My colleague has it, but I don't. Did I do something wrong? Is the trainer unsatisfied with me? How does the trainer really view me? Am I disposable?
In this world, Pokémon are brilliant. They possess human-like intelligence, but that also gives them delicate, sensitive emotions. Even cats and dogs can feel jealousy; Pokémon feel it tenfold.
Most importantly, Mawile's jealousy was actually a transformation of her possessiveness and affection for her trainer.
Why did she want to compete with Aggron? Why did she want the power too?
Because she cared. She wanted more of Kashiwagi's attention. Otherwise, given Mawile's naturally lazy temperament back in the Safari Zone, what did it matter if she got stronger? Would it stop her from living her life? Of course not.
Admittedly, Kashiwagi wasn't yet sensitive enough to fully grasp the nuances of Mawile's inner monologue, but he understood the fundamental importance of fairness.
So, while he carefully explained his reasoning to Mawile, he made the snap decision to start opening his TMs.
He had two left from before, plus the five given to him by the Calligrapher—seven in total. The probability of pulling Play Rough was decent.
Words were one thing, but action was always louder. Kashiwagi grit his teeth and started "unboxing" the moves.
-----
1. Charm
2. Dazzling Gleam
3. Misty Terrain
4. Dazzling Gleam (again)
----
Good grief.
They were all excellent moves, but Kashiwagi's heart was starting to pound in his chest.
Fortunately, on the fifth pull, the it finally changed to the one he had been dreaming of: Play Rough.
He let out a massive sigh of relief and smiled at Mawile. "I've practically sold the farm to get this for you. Here, feel this."
"Ma-wile?"
Mawile, who had already been halfway convinced by his explanation, blinked in surprise. Then, she felt a new power surging through her.
She immediately hopped away and shot a glance at the still-excited Aggron before charging straight at him.
"Roar?"
Aggron noticed the incoming attack. Far from being worried, he met her head-on with high spirits, lowering his head to initiate a tackle with his prized horns!
However, just as they were about to collide, Mawile suddenly rolled like a tumbleweed, bypassing the horns. As if playing a prank, she circled behind Aggron and landed two heavy punches: Bang! Bang!
As she attacked, tiny stars flew from her small fists, giving the move a deceptively cute appearance.
Aggron, caught off guard, stumbled forward, nearly falling onto his hands and knees.
"Aggg-ron?"
"Ma-wile!"
Mawile stood triumphantly on Aggron's head, thrilled with the new move she had mastered.
Crisis averted...
At the edge of the field, Kashiwagi breathed a sigh of relief. Meeting Chansey's gaze, he taught her Charm as well. "You get one too. I won't leave you out."
"Lucky~!" Chansey didn't have a strong competitive streak, but receiving her share made her very happy. She was more interested in contributing than receiving.
"As for you... if you ever finally evolve, this Roost is yours."
Kashiwagi looked at Deino last, feeling a bit of regret. The latter had no idea what he was talking about; seeing the trainer's hand, he simply lunged forward and bit it, seemingly content with nothing in the world besides that specific hand.
After this spree, Kashiwagi's stockpile of moves was mostly depleted.
He was left with: two move blind boxes, String Shot, Roost, Psychic, Thunder, Misty Terrain, and two copies of Dazzling Gleam.
"Steelix, I've sacrificed too much for you."
He jokingly blamed everything on the Steelix, even though there were clearly other factors at play.
-----
Considering the high probability that a Steelix would accidentally demolish his house, the backyard was definitely off-limits for the taming process.
And since Team Snagem was currently in a feverish state over the "Rescue the Boss" plan, it wouldn't be right for him to be too high-profile about taming a giant Steelix. He decided to head back to the Underdome.
The place where he had previously subdued the Vibrava was a perfect spot.
I hope that arena owner hasn't left town, he thought.
He hopped on his bike and headed toward the nearest entrance to the Underdome.
Fortunately, even though the surface was a mess and one sector of the Underdome had collapsed, there was no shortage of "die-hard" businessmen. Many were even taking the opportunity to hike up the prices of various supplies.
Food and other survival essentials were, of course, among the marked-up items.
Kashiwagi had been worried about this for a long time. The biggest issue for civilians during a riot wasn't the risk of getting caught in the crossfire—it was the cutoff of life-sustaining supplies.
Ryuka and Yamamino had told him not to worry, claiming that food and water had already been accounted for in their plans.
Since they said so, Kashiwagi had no choice but to trust them.