Peter and Whitney said goodbye to Ash and his friends and continued heading south.
Since it was already getting late, the two decided to set up camp at the foot of Mount Coronet.
For Whitney—who had very little experience living outdoors—sleeping in a tent with Peter was a completely new adventure.
Before they even reached the campsite, she had already begun rummaging through her backpack, trying to figure out the correct order for pitching a tent with her slightly overworked brain.
Peter watched her with an amused smile.
Perhaps the thing that moved him the most about Whitney—aside from her sweet face and fiery figure—was her sincerity.
Even if something wasn't her strength, she would still try her best to adapt and improve for his sake.
Soon they found a clearing.
With the help of several Pokémon, a cozy little tent was quickly set up.
…
"Eevee~"
Eevee sat quietly nearby, carefully grooming its fur. The little fox was naturally elegant and loved staying clean.
Happiny, on the other hand, was curious about absolutely everything.
Right now—
"Mii-lo… mii-lo…"
Lopunny was repeatedly practicing Power-Up Punch.
Across from her stood Arboliva, maintaining Reflect to absorb the blows.
Happiny copied the motion enthusiastically.
"Happy~!"
"Thud!"
The tiny Pokémon was sent tumbling backward by the recoil.
Peter caught her mid-roll.
[Ding! Happiny imitated Lopunny out of curiosity and learned the move: Copycat!]
Peter blinked.
This little one learned a move just by playing?
Before he could process that, Whitney called from the tent.
"Honey, go gather some dry firewood! Let's cook dinner!"
He turned around.
Whitney was inside the tent arranging the bedding, her body swaying slightly.
It was… distracting.
"Uh… sure."
Peter forced himself to look away and rewarded Happiny with a Pokéblock.
Then he patted the small bear Pokémon playing in the dirt.
"Come on, Teddiursa. Let's collect branches."
Teddiursa's Pickup Ability made it perfect for this job.
As they started walking, Peter suddenly had a thought.
If I ever write a novel someday, the title should be…
"Scavenger Pokémon: Starting with a Teddiursa and Picking Up My Way to the Champion."
Guaranteed bestseller.
…
Just as he was about to leave, his hand was tugged.
Lopunny.
Her fluffy paw held his hand gently, warm and soft.
She blinked her large red eyes.
Peter: (°ー°〃)
[Lopunny used Charm!]
It's super effective!
Peter's heart melted instantly.
"Alright, alright… you can come too."
"Mii-lo~ (•̤̀ᵕ•̤ )ᵒᵏᵎ"
[Ding! Lopunny's move "Charm" proficiency increased to Transcendent.]
Peter's mood improved even more.
It had to be said—Pokémon with maxed-out talent really were absurd.
Moves kept being learned left and right.
When Peter had trained with Norman, he had learned that move proficiency determined how well a Pokémon could grasp battle timing.
For example, in battle Cynthia could:
Launch Flamethrower instantlyOr release Dragon Claw and Sandstorm simultaneously
These were hallmarks of Transcendent-level mastery.
Most of Peter's Pokémon currently sat around Proficient mastery.
That level allowed faster move execution, chaining attacks, or interrupting one move to use another.
But combining or fusing moves?
That required Transcendent mastery.
-----
Gathering Firewood
Leaving the campsite, Peter explored the nearby woods.
Besides collecting dry branches, he also picked several berries along the way.
The forests around Eterna City were incredibly lush.
Wild Pokémon occasionally appeared along the path.
"Shinx~"
A small Shinx jumped out of the grass.
Its big blue ears twitched while it stared longingly at the berries in Peter's hand.
Peter laughed.
"Here you go, Krillin."
He tossed it an Oran Berry.
The pronunciation of Shinx's cry sounded suspiciously like—the name of Krillin from Dragon Ball.
Shinx's final evolution, Luxray, was incredibly popular thanks to its cool design and solid stats.
After saying goodbye to the little Shinx, Peter walked a bit further until the forest opened onto the roadside.
He picked up another dry stick and dusted his hands.
"That should be enough. This pile should last one or two weeks."
Just as he was about to head back with his Pokémon—
A voice spoke behind him.
Calm.
Emotionless.
"Boy… what do Pokémon represent to you?"
Peter turned around.
A man in a suit stood up slowly from a bench by the roadside.
Messy pale-blue hair.
Hollow eyes.
Cold expression.
And a glimpse of a silver uniform hidden beneath the coat.
The leader of Team Galactic—
Cyrus.
Peter narrowed his eyes.
Unexpected.
But he sensed no hostility from the man.
He answered calmly.
"To me… Pokémon are my dream."
He lifted his gaze toward the towering peaks of Mount Coronet.
"Once, I never believed my dream could come true."
"But I never stopped dreaming about it."
"Now I live that dream every day."
"And every day, I'm grateful."
Cyrus's eyes shifted slightly.
"Dreams… I prefer to call them ambition."
"That's different," Peter replied.
"Ambition brings plunder and harm."
"Dreams bring beauty and purity."
Cyrus looked toward the mountain peak hidden among the clouds.
"Your dream will eventually interfere with someone else's dream."
"And that becomes plunder."
"Plunder leads to conflict."
He continued calmly.
"Do you know the origin of this world?"
Without waiting for an answer, he spoke again.
"Legend says Mount Coronet is where Sinnoh began."
"In the beginning, the world had no conflict."
"But now…"
"Dreams. Ambition. Desire."
"They turned the world into chaos."
He paused.
"Human hearts are incomplete. Imperfect."
"And that imperfection is a desecration of this world."
Peter resisted the urge to sigh.
Cyrus really is a lunatic.
In Cyrus's worldview, all conflict came from emotion.
So he abandoned his own heart.
He erased all feelings.
And planned to destroy the world, then recreate a perfect one using the powers of the gods of time and space.
That was why Cyrus could remain cold and expressionless.
And strangely enough—
That personality had inspired countless members of Team Galactic to follow him.
Peter scratched his head, putting on a slightly confused expression.
"Uh… sir, that sounds kind of complicated."
Cyrus's eyes moved toward Lopunny.
Then back to Peter.
"When you experience failure… pain… when you lose what matters most…"
"You will understand my words."
He tossed a card.
"Until then… consider joining us."
"Snap!"
Lopunny moved instantly, catching the card midair and handing it to Peter.
Two lines were printed on it:
Team Galactic — Cyrus
Contact: 806505xxx
When Peter looked up again—
Cyrus was gone.
As if he had never appeared at all.
--------------
T/N:
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