Sylveon repeatedly attacked Grookey with [Quick Attack], each strike swift and dazzling, the Pokémon's form flickering rapidly across the field.
Grookey's gaze locked onto the brilliant movements, following each flash of light closely. Although it was struck multiple times, the damage wasn't severe.
A non-STAB [Quick Attack] could only go so far, after all.
One strike, two, three, four…
But Satoshi and Grookey weren't just passively defending. Each time Sylveon moved, they searched patiently for an opening.
Finally, as Sylveon lunged forward once more, Grookey spotted its chance.
"Sylvie!"
Sylveon rushed ahead, leaving trails of blurred shadows—but Grookey moved decisively, grabbing hold of it firmly.
"Sylveon, use [Hyper Beam] at point-blank!" Anon shouted, a hint of panic in her voice.
Rather than trying to break free, Anon decided to stake everything on a single powerful attack.
A bright sphere of concentrated energy quickly gathered in Sylveon's mouth—but Satoshi had no intention of letting it finish.
"This is it, Anon! Grookey, end this with [Acrobatics]!"
"Pachichichi!"
Grookey's body was enveloped by a white glow as it swiftly and gracefully flipped in midair, swinging its stick in a beautiful arc.
With a sudden burst of strength, Grookey delivered a full-powered Acrobatics, knocking Sylveon off its feet.
[Acrobatics]:A nimble attack. If the user holds no item, its power doubles.
At a tremendous 110 base power—even without type advantage—this was stronger than Grookey's own [Grassy Glide].
"Syl…!?" Sylveon was struck heavily, eyes wide in shock as it sailed helplessly through the air.
"Sylvie…"
Tracing a perfect arc, Sylveon hit the ground heavily, eyes spinning, fainted. Grookey, exhausted from absorbing the repeated attacks, slumped to the ground too.
Those repeated [Quick Attacks], despite their weakness individually, had gradually worn Grookey down.
"I lost… Satoshi really is amazing," Anon said with a resigned sigh, gently picking up Sylveon and spraying a Potion onto its wounds.
Lost again…
But this time, she felt unexpectedly calm inside.
From her lessons at school, she knew Sylveon's evolution required genuine friendship—this evolution meant Sylveon had accepted her wholeheartedly.
"Feeling better now? You almost won, Anon. You're really strong—you shouldn't feel inferior at all. If anything, be proud!"
Satoshi approached her warmly, his eyes earnest, making Anon's heartbeat quicken all over again.
"I…yeah, I believe you."
Maybe he hadn't noticed it due to his density, but they were standing far closer than mere friends would.
Truthfully, Anon was confident in her own looks. She knew she resembled Maruyama Aya, a famously pretty idol-trainer—but none of that mattered when dealing with someone as dense as Satoshi.
[Dear Satoshi, this girl's totally head over heels for you already! Now's your chance—breed Raichu and Sylveon, have a picnic, and get your fourth teammate. Actually, scratch that—you can just fill your whole team with Eevees! No duplicates necessary!]
What kind of nonsense is that?! And why would I want that many Eevees anyway?
Satoshi was internally baffled.
In this world, except for Du—no, Botan—hardly anyone ever raised more than two Eeveelutions, and even then, only Sylveon and Umbreon at best.
For Toxtricity, you could at least build a popular doubles team with Oranguru and Rillaboom, but Eevee just had too many forms to handle. Even hardcore fans would collapse under that pressure.
At this rate, trainers themselves would have to fight directly to compensate for Eevee's weaknesses. For example, Volkner, the Electric Gym Leader from Sinnoh—Satoshi sometimes wondered if the guy secretly knew moves like Rasengan or Flying Thunder God to compensate.
Even Champion Cynthia would say she couldn't handle that nonsense!
"Ah, there's a petal stuck in your hair," Satoshi suddenly pointed out with a gentle smile, casually reaching out to remove it.
"…Thanks."
Anon stepped backward, blushing furiously. Her cheeks reddened more intensely than Sylveon's soft pink fur, like a shy cherry blossom in the spring breeze.
Inside, she felt immensely grateful to Satoshi. Without him, she probably would have kept running away forever, never managing to keep pace with this group, always hiding—just as she'd fled Galar before.
With Sylveon's natural talent, reaching Gym-leader level battles wasn't impossible. Now Anon felt ready to take that step.
First, master Sylveon—then assemble a full team of six and aim for the championship.
"Satoshi, I'll compete in the High School League with you, and I'll be the one to take the championship from your hands!" Anon passionately declared. Without hesitation, Satoshi clasped Anon's hand and smiled brightly.
"Great! You're always welcome to try taking the championship from me."
He clenched his fist confidently, heart blazing with determination.
After all, something like the High School League should be easy, right?
There couldn't possibly be opponents using [Z-Moves], could there?
If someone did show up with external power-ups, he'd have no choice but to use his own trump card: [Mega Evolution].
The High School League was the biggest trainer tournament in Kanto outside the Pokémon League itself—a perfect stage for Mega Evolution's grand debut.
Unfortunately, nobody on his current team was Mega-capable.
But thanks to [Mega Evolution] winning the Kalos crisis, maybe Rillaboom or even Raichu could [Mega Evolve]?
He'd probably need to ask Sakiko, or check EcoDome.
Plus, he'd have to dig for [Mega Stones]. According to his knowledge, only Hoenn and Kalos regions had them. Could Kanto have some too?
Deep in thought, he completely missed Anon's embarrassment intensifying due to his continued grip on her hand.
"U-um…"
She struggled lightly—but in the grip of the legendary Super Rookie, she had no hope of escape.
Well, this isn't so bad, I guess…
[Dear Satoshi! For your Mega Pokémon, I recommend Charizard X! It's stylish, powerful, maybe it even gets Water Absorb—the ultimate protagonist Pokémon!]
...But obviously Mega Rayquaza is stronger. Even Charizard Y is better—X is actually pretty weak.
[But… it's super cool! Coolness is everything!]
Satoshi was realistic. Mega Charizard X's only real advantage was its dramatic appearance, helpful for promoting [Mega Evolution]. But in actual battle, Charizard Y outclassed it decisively.
The gap in their abilities was clear: one had the glorious [Drought], the other merely [Tough Claws]—practically useless by comparison.
For a Pokémon that was both powerful and stylish, Blaziken or Lucario would be better.
Lost in thought, Satoshi slowly began walking, Anon shyly trailing behind him until they reached their waiting teammates.
...
"Soyo…are you really okay?" Taki asked cautiously, sitting next to Soyo on the steps, sensing a dangerous aura radiating from her.
Out of sheer jealousy, Soyo had already crushed several pebbles barehanded.
At that moment, Taki realized she might be just as strong as she was.
"I'm fine. I trust Satoshi—he would never cheat on me."
Soyo smiled softly, an expression both gentle and dangerously fake.
"I'm pretty sure he isn't your boyfriend…" Taki muttered under her breath, only for a chill to run down her spine as Soyo's killing intent sharpened.
"Did you say something?"
"N-no, nothing…"
Feeling pressured, Taki wisely shut her mouth, quietly moving closer to Tomori.
Meanwhile, Soyo kept smiling sweetly, patiently awaiting the return of those two.
It's fine… I trust Satoshi. Trust doesn't need a reason…
But the moment she saw them coming back holding hands, she almost snapped completely.
"We're entering the High School League!"
Anon bravely lifted her head, meeting her teammates' gazes.
But seeing this, Nagasaki Soyo's temper finally exploded internally.
I'm going to kill you, Chihaya Anon!