When Professor Oak heard Hayashi's request and saw the hopeful gleam in his eyes, he immediately felt a throbbing pain in his temples.
"Listen—" Professor Oak massaged his forehead and said helplessly, "I admit, I had some skills back in my youth..."
Hayashi internally scoffed: 'Some skills === casually pulling out a Champion Dragonite, huh?'
Professor Oak continued, "But I'm old now, and my focus has shifted entirely to research. Asking me to train your Pokémon..."
The professor covered his face in agony—he was already swamped with too many projects, leaving him with barely enough time each day. And now Hayashi wanted to add another task?
Seriously, do you think my hair is invincible or something?
I'm human too! I can go bald!
"Hmm..." Hayashi sneakily glanced at Professor Oak's still-luxuriant hair and muttered, "I don't think it's thinning that much."
"That's because I take care of it!" Professor Oak glared at Hayashi. "Once it's gone, it's too late!"
"Right, right—"
Hayashi nodded dismissively and said, "Then how about recommending a skilled Pokémon trainer instead?"
Too bad this was the TV version of the world, where Red, the Battle Legend, and Green, the Breeding Prodigy, didn't exist. Otherwise, Hayashi wouldn't be panicking—he could just ask Green for help and call it a day.
Green was a monster who casually raised a team of Pokémon starting at Elite Four level within a year! In terms of breeding prowess, if he claimed second place, no one would dare claim first.
Professor Oak stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm, let me think..."
Gengar, Arcanine, Corvisquire;
Alolan Ninetales, Dratini, Milotic;
Tropius, Kantonian Ninetales.
From Ghost/Poison to Fire, to Flying/Steel, to Ice, to Dragon, to Water, to Flying/Grass—it covered almost every conceivable type. Finding a trainer who specialized in just one type probably wouldn't cut it...
'If we're looking for a trainer who's strong enough and proficient in multiple types, there's probably only one person who fits the bill...' Professor Oak pondered for a few seconds before saying, "I can help you find a trainer who specializes in this, but your little girlfriend might have to put in some extra work."
Hayashi immediately understood what Professor Oak meant—the only thing that could keep Erina busy was her culinary skills.
"So, the payment for asking this favor would be Pokéblocks, right?"
"Exactly! The Pokéblocks made by little Erina are highly sought after, even among the Elite Four or Champions," Professor Oak nodded decisively. "What do you say?"
Hayashi nodded in agreement. "No problem."
Professor Oak smiled and said, "Then you'd better look forward to it!"
...
...
Although Professor Oak told Hayashi to look forward to it, he never expected the "coach" the professor had in mind would be such a heavyweight.
"Ahem."
Professor Oak cleared his throat and gestured to the golden-haired beauty beside him. "This is Cynthia, the Champion of the Sinnoh region. I've specially invited her to be your coach."
Wow!
Hayashi couldn't help but exclaim inwardly!
As expected of Professor Oak—what a legend! To actually get Cynthia to come and coach them? This isn't just impressive, this is next-level impressive!
Even more impressive than the energy drink guy, right?
This is Cynthia! The undisputed most popular female character in the Pokémon series!
"She's quite formidable, you know~" Professor Oak said with a grin.
Cynthia gave a modest smile. "You flatter me, Professor. I'm just an ordinary Champion, nothing special."
"Ordinary," huh? Yeah, right.
"Champion Cynthia, hello—" Hayashi stepped forward first to introduce himself. "I'm Hayashi Sora. This is my girlfriend, Erina Nakiri, my secretary Hisako Arato, and the freeloading weakling Sabrina."
"That's bullshit!" Sabrina immediately transformed into a raging tiger, shouting angrily.
Hayashi glanced at Sabrina and said, "A mung bean got into a car accident and was splattered with blood, so it became a red bean."
"Pfft—HAHAHA, a mung bean, a mung bean turned into a red bean, HAHAHA—" Sabrina collapsed (in tears).
"See? Weakling." Hayashi shrugged at Cynthia. "All it takes is a lame joke that could make people bundle up in blankets during summer to make her laugh herself to the ground."
"D-damn it—" Sabrina, having finally caught her breath, glared at Hayashi indignantly. "Even though my sense of humor is easily triggered, after all this training, I'm not the same as I used to be!"
Hayashi fell silent for a few seconds before delivering another one: "A matchstick scratched its head because it was itchy, but accidentally set itself on fire. After leaving the hospital, it was bandaged up and became a cotton swab."
"Pfft—cough—"
Sabrina, having visualized the matchstick turning into a cotton swab, collapsed once again.
"Sigh."
Hayashi shook his head with the loneliness of a master. Who would've thought the random jokes he'd memorized out of boredom would now become his "Sabrina Counter" weapon? The only problem was that Sabrina was such a pushover in this regard that it didn't even feel satisfying.
Pathetic!
Cynthia watched the lively atmosphere of Hayashi's team and couldn't help but smile softly. She said quietly, "It's a pleasure to meet you all! In the coming days, I'll create customized training plans based on your Pokémon's current conditions—this way, even after I leave, you can continue their training according to the schedule."
"Got it—" x4
...
...
Standing in Professor Oak's research lab, Hayashi looked through the window at Cynthia instructing Gengar and the others in the backyard. Clicking his tongue in admiration, he flattered, "As expected of the world-renowned, number one Pokémon Professor of Kanto! Witness of Celebi, good friend of time-traveler Ash Ketchum—Professor Oak, you're amazing! You actually managed to get Cynthia here! Incredible!"
Professor Oak, holding a cup of goji berry tea, stood calmly beside Hayashi and said, "I merely offered something Cynthia couldn't refuse."
"Oh?"
"Research materials on Sinnoh's Palkia, Dialga, and Giratina." Professor Oak took a sip of tea and continued, "Besides being a Champion, Cynthia is also a mythologist. Naturally, she couldn't resist my proposal."
"Ohhh—"
Hayashi suddenly understood. With Pokémon research materials and Erina's Pokéblocks, they had her hooked both as a mythologist and as a Champion—no wonder Cynthia had taken special leave to come to Kanto as a coach.
The only one suffering was Lucian! With Cynthia on leave, 80% of her workload had probably landed on this Psychic-type Elite Four member's shoulders—while others specialized in Psychic-Water or Psychic-Fighting, he was stuck with Psychic-Overwork.
Truly tragic.
Professor Oak patted Hayashi's shoulder and said, "Besides the Creation Trio, Sinnoh has a whole host of Legendary Pokémon! I've deliberately left all of them for you. How much you can extract from Cynthia using their research materials depends entirely on your skills."
Hayashi scratched his head in frustration. Though Cynthia's weaknesses were clear, he wasn't the scheming type, so he really had no idea how much of her knowledge he could uncover...
Well, he'd just have to take it one step at a time!
...
...
"Go away!" Sylveon was annoyed. Extremely annoyed.
The reason was the Glaceon (♀) following closely behind her.
Glaceon gently pressed against Sylveon and cooed sweetly, "Cuddle~"
Glaceon swore she'd never seen a girl as beautiful as this Sylveon in her entire life—though she wasn't inherently a lesbian Glaceon, who could resist the temptation to cuddle with such an adorable girl?
No one! Absolutely no one! Loving cute, fragrant, soft girls is every creature's instinct, nyaa!
"Go! Away!"
Sylveon angrily pushed at Glaceon's face with her front paws, but Sylveon's (Lv. 27) strength was no match for Glaceon's (Lv. 76).
"Ehehe, little Sylveon's paws are so soft too—" Glaceon felt like she might melt. She nuzzled against the pads of Sylveon's paws and giggled, "kksk!"
"Eek!"
Sylveon couldn't take it anymore. With a "whoosh," she dashed toward Hayashi and swiftly leaped into his arms.
"Oof—"
Hayashi fumbled to catch the not-so-light Sylveon, then said with a mix of amusement and exasperation, "Hey there, Sylveon-chan, your current size isn't exactly easy to catch. Take it easy, will you?"
A regular Sylveon stands about 1m tall, but Hayashi's Sylveon, thanks to Erina's generous feeding, had grown exceptionally well—recently nearing 1.3m in height. That's already the size of a small cheetah.
"Eevee-vee-vee!"
Sylveon didn't care about any of that. She clung tightly to Hayashi with all four limbs and panicked, "H-help, h-help, h-help me! That icy one is a total creep!"
"Huh?"
Hayashi held Sylveon in his arms and turned to glance at Glaceon, who was staring at him with envious eyes. He couldn't help but twitch his lips.
What on earth did this Glaceon do to my Sylveon-chan to scare her like this?
"Huff… huff…"
Just then, Hayashi suddenly heard heavy panting coming from Glaceon's mouth.
"Eh, hehe, hehehe… A trembling, scared Sylveon is so cute too… Guhehe… Sylveon, my Sylveon…" Glaceon slurped back some drool and let out a laugh that sent shivers down one's spine.
'This one really is a creep—'
Hayashi couldn't help but shudder, and Sylveon, who had already puffed up in fright, buried her head deeper into his arms.
Help, this is way too Sylveon-ish!
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