Chapter 38: Visitors from the Galar Region

"Charmeleon..."

Takeshi's face was dark, his expression twisted with frustration. However, faced with a battle that had already concluded, he was powerless to change the outcome. He could only pull out his Poké Ball, withdraw Charmeleon, and sullenly accept his defeat.

"Great job, Zorua."

"Zua!"

Zorua flicked out its tongue to lick its small paw. Defeating an opponent an entire tier weaker than itself was a given; as far as the fox was concerned, it hadn't done anything worthy of N's specific praise yet.

"Now then, it's time to catch you, Eevee. If you'd like to prove your strength first, we could have an official battle?"

N spoke gently to the Eevee still held in Gurdurr's grip, his face lit with a kind smile. He tried to keep his tone as soft as possible, but to the already teary-eyed Eevee, he seemed more terrifying than ever.

Are you kidding me?! I can't beat Zorua OR Gurdurr!

The fact that the fierce Charmeleon from earlier had just been thrashed until it didn't know its own mother was proof enough. If she stepped up, she'd definitely be turned into a punching bag!

Eevee's little head shook back and forth like a rattle. Finally, she threw up her two front paws in a gesture of total surrender, looking as if she were one step away from waving a white flag.

N couldn't help but chuckle at her adorable reaction. He took out a standard red-and-white Poké Ball and lightly tapped it against her forehead.

Ding... Don.

Without even a single shake, the prompt for a successful capture rang out. N didn't hesitate to release the little Eevee again immediately; he wanted her to get acquainted with the team as soon as possible, and he introduced them formally.

"This is Zorua, and over here is Gurdurr. We're all teammates now, so let's get along."

"Zua!"

Zorua raised a paw and pointed to itself with a smug little expression, causing Eevee's face to twitch. This guy actually said "Don't worry, I'll protect you"... he looks like such a cool, handsome fox, but his personality doesn't match his looks at all!

"Gur!"

Gurdurr, meanwhile, gave an honest, simple grin. It flexed, shouldering its heavy I-beam to show off its strength. Though it believed its expression was quite friendly, it still looked absolutely terrifying in Eevee's eyes!

"Alright, everyone, let's head back and eat. You must be hungry too, right?"

"Ee-vee?!"

Eevee's beautiful brown eyes flashed with excitement. She had originally been lured in by the scent of delicious food only to walk straight into a "lion's den." But now it turned out that even in the den, there was gourmet food to be had. Suddenly, the grief in her heart lessened considerably.

Captured by a human but getting free meals! Maybe this isn't so bad after all!

…

The return trip from Nichiyo Forest was quick; it took N only about a day to make it back to Nichiyo City.

His primary reason for returning was that Daisy Oak had reached out to him. She claimed she had something to give him and some news he might find interesting.

After returning, he first stopped at the Pokémon Center to let his team recover from their fatigue, then immediately headed for Hakurei High.

Daisy Oak was the one "older sister" figure N found difficult to handle. Furthermore, if Daisy wasn't holding things down as the Chairwoman, N wouldn't have the luxury of coming and going as he pleased or skipping classes whenever he felt like it.

Knock, knock.

N took a deep breath and knocked on the office door. To be honest, this was his first time formally visiting the Chairwoman's office. Although he had heard Daisy held the position here, he hadn't made a special trip to see her before.

He suspected that was exactly why she was annoyed. Lately, she had been teasing him with all sorts of excuses. During their last video call, her smile had been particularly meaningful, something was definitely up.

"Alright, come in."

Hearing Daisy's soft voice from inside, N didn't think twice and walked straight in. As soon as the door opened, he immediately locked eyes with a black-haired girl sitting on the sofa, her expression entirely blank.

Stare...

The girl sitting in the corner was dressed in a very trendy style. Her jet-black hair was tied into two long pigtails with crimson ribbons that draped over her shoulders. Her face was as exquisite as a doll's, yet it remained devoid of emotion.

She wore a pink dress under a black leather biker jacket. A choker adorned her smooth, delicate neck, and her long, slender legs were exposed, making her quite striking.

Unfortunately, her cold, aloof expression masked her natural cuteness. The look she gave N held a trace of unmistakable hostility.

"...?"

N's expression froze. He didn't know her at all, why was she looking at him like he was an enemy? Had he done something wrong to get on someone's radar again?

"Mr. Piers, this is my younger brother. He is also the new-generation Trainer I value most, the most outstanding one in my eyes!"

Daisy Oak introduced N to the young man beside her with a beaming smile. N vividly felt the black-haired girl's gaze turn even more "vicious" the moment those words left Daisy's mouth.

So that's why?

Because Daisy had called him the "most outstanding of the new generation," it had triggered this girl's competitive streak?

"Daisy, may I ask who these two are?"

"N, let me introduce them. They are both from Spikemuth Gym in the Galar region. Mr. Piers here is the Gym Leader of Spikemuth, and that girl is his younger sister."

Daisy, sitting in the Chairwoman's seat, looked like she was enjoying the drama. She proudly introduced her "genius brother" to the two distant guests.

The young man with black hair sitting near her nodded at N with a smile and stood up to greet him formally.

"Hello there! Natur—"

"Please, just call me N."

"Understood, N. I've heard your sister talk about your incredible talent quite often. Meeting you today, I can see the rumors are true. My name is Piers! It's a pleasure to meet you."

Piers seemed quite friendly, his tone full of genuine appreciation. Although his entire look was an explosion of punk-rock-metal style, his personality was a complete contrast to his appearance. This allowed the smile on N's face to become a bit more natural.

As for the girl next to him...

"And this is my sister, Marnie. I hope the two of you can get along~"