Thump! Thump! Thump!
"... "
Thump! Thump! Thump!
"... "
Boom—
"!!!"
Hearing a loud boom, Hoshino and Cyclizar instantly woke up, thinking something had exploded. They quickly pulled open the door and ran to the living room.
"What the heck! Did an Electrode get in? Didn't I lock the door… "
"It's not an Electrode, it's a Slowking, Alola~"
"Eh?"
Hoshino was slightly stunned, only then realizing that Boss Slowking was standing at the doorway, his hands clasped behind his back, his back to the incoming sunlight. Next to him lay the broken door, bent and leaning against the wall, as if it had suffered a heavy blow.
"My door, it's gone… "
"Fix it yourself. I knocked for ages and no one opened."
"Is that really necessary! Even if it's just a door, it has dreams too! It dreams of protecting this home, and you just trample on it like this… "
"I'm the landlord."
"... "
That one sentence immediately choked Hoshino. He couldn't even find a reason to ask the other party to help fix the door. It seemed he would have to fix it himself later.
Temporarily pushing those thoughts aside, he asked exasperatedly, "So what are you doing here so early, Boss Slowking? It's only… 7 AM."
After what happened last night, he didn't have a good impression of Slowking. He even had a feeling that this unannounced entry was to forcibly collect rent.
However, Slowking seemed to have guessed what he was thinking, and slowly said, "Don't worry, I'm not here to collect rent from you. Anyway, there are only a few days left this month. Rent will start from next month, paid every two months, and you can pay the full amount at the end of the year."
"You're really letting me stay for free for a few days… So, what exactly are you here for?"
"Household registration check. I just remembered you're not from Alola, are you? You never say 'Alola' when you greet people, and you have a Cyclizar that's even dumber than a Slowpoke. Are you from Paldea?"
"Wanderer, I haven't had a home for a long time."
"Is that so? No wonder you ended up here. So, what's your name, how old are you? What do you usually do?"
"Am I being interrogated?" He was a bit speechless, but still casually said, "Hoshino, 15 years old, I'm a… Uwaaa!!!"
But before Hoshino could finish speaking, a gust of wind from a punch swept towards him. He only felt the pain on his face before he screamed and flew back several meters.
Slowking retracted his fist and suddenly shouted, "Kids should go to school! This is no place for a kid like you!"
Hearing this, Hoshino lay on the ground, covering his face, and exclaimed with an exaggerated expression, "Hey! This kid is being hit by your heavy punch! Million-ton Heavy Punch… This is a Million-ton Heavy Punch, isn't it!"
"This is a minor protection punch."
"Protection my foot! If you complete the kill, you don't need protection, right?!"
"You can understand it that way."
"Damn!"
Hoshino panicked instantly. What kind of Pokémon was this? They just started fighting at the drop of a hat.
Speaking of which, could he really leave this street alive? These guys would really kill him and make him drop coins, and they'd follow through on it.
Seeing him suddenly get hit, Cyclizar immediately stood in between them again, striking an attack pose. However, it felt completely unthreatening, with no imposing aura at all.
Slowking glanced at it, then returned his gaze, slowly saying, "15 years old, able to wander here without going to a rescue station, you definitely don't even have valid identification. You're also definitely not a Trainer. This is extremely rare, but you don't seem like a criminal refugee. So, do you have no family?"
"Family?"
Hoshino rubbed his face, stood up, his expression suddenly becoming calm, and replied, "Where would I get something like that? I've never seen one, alright…"
Slowking looked at him like this, and after a long time, suddenly turned around, resuming his posture with hands clasped behind his back, and said, "Come with me."
"Hm? Where to?"
"Breakfast, then I'll help you sort out your identification. I don't expect someone who can't even find a place to work to be able to pay rent."
"... "
Watching Slowking walk outside, his body bathed in sunlight, Hoshino's expression gradually became surprised. Had he heard correctly?
"If you don't follow, I'm leaving."
"Wait!"
"Cycli!"
Hoshino and Cyclizar immediately followed. Who wouldn't want something for free? Let the broken door stay there, they'd deal with it when they came back…
At this moment, Kabukicho had basically lost all traces of its appearance from last night, completely reverting to the look of the Wanderer District. Even the roads were swept very clean.
After going downstairs, Boss Slowking walked deeper into the district. Hoshino sat on Cyclizar, slowly following behind, then curiously asked, "Everything's closed now, can Night City still have breakfast?"
"Yes, Gardevoir's steamed buns…"
"Are there Kirlia's steamed buns? Compared to the older sister type, I prefer the slightly younger, sister type!"
Hoshino had already started to adapt. After all, this was a Pokémon's Kabukicho, so could the Gardevoir here have a proper profession?
Slowking looked back and glanced at him, slowly saying, "What nonsense are you talking about? Are humans always full of lewd thoughts? Can't you live without being lewd?"
"You understood instantly, didn't you!"
"I am the omniscient and all-rounder Slowking!"
"Cycli?"
Cyclizar didn't understand what they were talking about. It just wanted breakfast now, those steamed buns…
A moment later, Slowking led them to a place called "Smile Restaurant."
From the outside, the restaurant looked very well-decorated, with a unique Chinese style that made it stand out among the surrounding buildings.
"It really is a proper place to eat…"
Hoshino looked at the half-closed restaurant in front of him. There were no customers inside, and it seemed there were no waiters either, but for some reason, the lights were still on and it was doing business.
Slowking explained, "Kabukicho usually opens from 6 PM to 6 AM. By this time, it's generally closing time. Drunk Pokémon are often thrown out by closed bars."
"So this restaurant extends its closing time to 8 AM. All the staff have gone home, and only the boss personally cooks and sells some breakfast to help these drunkards sober up, eat their fill, and then go home."
"In every sense of the word…"
Hoshino felt that he couldn't completely view these guys as Pokémon. They should be viewed as beings between Pokémon and humans…
Walking through the door, Slowking suddenly called out towards the kitchen.
"Slowking~"
"Gardevoir… "
An echo came from the kitchen, and then, from under the lights, a Gardevoir with a somewhat languid expression, as if lacking energy, walked out.
What was particularly striking was that its arms and curly hair were different from a typical Gardevoir; they were both light blue. This was a shiny Pokémon!
But none of this was the most important thing, because this Gardevoir was actually wearing a red qipao, with the white skirt completely replaced. The qipao was adorned with many golden rose patterns, and it had two matching bun hairstyles on either side of its head!
"This…"
Hoshino was utterly speechless. Where did this person come from? The Chinese style was practically overflowing the screen… No, even if he hadn't transmigrated, he had never seen anyone dressed like this in person!
"Slowking~"
"Gardevoir… "
"Slowking~"
"Gardevoir… "
The two Pokémon conversed like this. Hoshino couldn't understand what they were saying, but he could tell that Gardevoir's growl was also very lazy, yet it had a tingling sensation.
After their conversation, Slowking turned around and introduced, "Nai-chan is the boss here."
"What kind of a name is that? It's disgusting."
"Gardevoir?"
"Sorry, I wasn't talking about you… "
Hoshino quickly explained, so as not to cause displeasure to the other party. But just then, the Cyclizar beside him suddenly disappeared. When he reacted, he found that Cyclizar had bitten Gardevoir's head!
"Cyclizar Cyclizar~"
"... "
Hoshino instantly lost his composure, and then instantly regained it, quickly stepping forward and pulling Cyclizar with force, shouting, "You can't eat this, let go!!!"
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