Early the next morning, Kuroba slowly woke up and headed straight to the Pokémon Center cafeteria to fill his stomach.
“Free food really does taste better!”
He looked extremely satisfied with the plate of curry meat-sauce noodles in front of him.
The preferential treatment the League provided to its directly affiliated Trainers extended into practically every part of daily life—food, clothing, lodging, transportation, and more.
“Cor! Cor!”
Corphish waved its pincers as usual.
At first glance, nothing seemed wrong.
But Kuroba’s sharp eyes caught a trace of listlessness in its expression.
“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you’ve gotten weak all of a sudden?”
He reached out and felt Corphish’s body.
Its shell wasn’t as moist as usual.
Instead, it felt warm and slightly dry.
“Oh! So you’re dehydrated.”
Kuroba immediately understood.
“Corphish may be amphibious, but it still needs to replenish the moisture in its body regularly. Otherwise, it’ll become sluggish and start getting sleepy.”
Everything he had just recalled came directly from the breeding manual.
An ordinary civilian Trainer might need a long period of trial and error before noticing something like this.
A less perceptive Trainer might never discover the problem at all.
Kuroba immediately went to the front desk and requested access to a bathing room.
Then he let Corphish soak itself thoroughly and replenish its moisture.
Splash!
Splash!
Splash!
Corphish’s six short little legs rapidly pattered forward in excitement.
“Cor! Cor!”
It swung its pincers through the air twice, looking completely revitalized and eager to do something.
Kuroba crouched and lightly tapped one of Corphish’s pincers with his knuckles.
It was a unique greeting the two of them had developed.
“Looking energetic again, huh, Corphish?”
Kuroba grinned.
“At this rate, if I brought you a few female Corphish, would you start producing baby Corphish on the spot?”
Corphish stared at him in complete confusion.
Kuroba laughed and decided that what his partner really needed now was a proper battle.
When he returned to the Pokémon Center lobby, it was far quieter than it had been the previous evening.
Some Trainers had already shouldered their backpacks and departed early to continue their journeys.
Others were still taking advantage of the morning and sleeping in.
“Good morning, Nurse Joy.”
“Good morning, Trainer Kuroba!”
Nurse Joy responded enthusiastically with her usual sweet smile.
Kuroba approached the counter.
“Nurse Joy, could you help me find someone for a practice battle? They don’t need to be especially strong. Preferably someone who’s been traveling for less than a year.”
Nurse Joy smiled and nodded before turning toward the computer.
Pokémon Centers were comprehensive facilities, so naturally this one included proper battlefields.
Ordinary Trainers had to pay to rent them, and if they damaged the facilities, they were responsible for the repair costs.
For a Trainer with Kuroba’s League status, however, none of that was a concern.
The League covered the expenses.
“Trainer Kuroba, please wait a little while. At this hour, there aren’t many people looking for Pokémon battles.”
Nurse Joy clasped her hands apologetically.
Kuroba didn’t mind.
He wasn’t in a hurry.
In fact, the wait gave him a convenient opportunity to chat with Nurse Joy and gather information.
Nurse Joys were respected almost everywhere.
That also meant they tended to know a little about practically everything happening in the area. The source of this chapter is g.com.
Kuroba immediately put the advantage of having memories from two lives to use.
Drawing on stories and conversational tricks from his previous life, he kept the atmosphere lively and repeatedly made Nurse Joy laugh.
“Hehehe! I didn’t expect you to be this funny, Trainer Kuroba.”
Nurse Joy covered her mouth with one hand, her laughter ringing pleasantly through the lobby.
Kuroba took advantage of the friendlier atmosphere.
“No need to be so formal. Just call me Kuroba.”
He smiled.
“Actually, I still don’t know your name.”
“My name is Joy Rin. You can just call me Rin.”
She answered warmly.
“All right, Rin…”
The two were still chatting happily when an alert suddenly sounded from the computer.
“Oh! Kuroba, we found you an opponent.”
At Nurse Joy’s words, Kuroba turned and looked across the lobby.
Sure enough, near one of the self-service terminals stood a boy around his age.
The boy’s eyes were already burning with fighting spirit.
Following the directions displayed on the broadcast screen, Kuroba made his way to an outdoor battlefield.
The other Trainer was waiting for him.
“So you’re my opponent?”
The boy pointed dramatically.
“Remember this! I’m the one who’s going to defeat you!”
Kuroba stared at him.
The declaration was so ridiculously overdramatic that he almost felt embarrassed on the boy’s behalf.
He decided not to waste time responding.
“Let’s just battle.”
The other boy immediately threw a Poké Ball.
“Go, Zigzagoon!”
White light flashed.
A Zigzagoon appeared on the battlefield, one of the most common Pokémon in the Hoenn region.
Kuroba pulled out his Pokédex and scanned his opponent’s Pokémon.
“Beep, beep…”
“Zigzagoon, the Tiny Raccoon Pokémon. Normal type. Zigzagoon is extremely curious and interested in everything it sees, which is why it constantly wanders in a zigzag pattern.”
Only a limited amount of information appeared.
To obtain a Pokémon’s complete data, the Pokémon’s Poké Ball needed to be inserted into the rear of the Pokédex for a close-range scan.
Obviously, Kuroba couldn’t do that with an opponent’s Pokémon.
He didn’t particularly care.
He put the Pokédex away and released Corphish.
A flash of white light appeared.
Corphish landed on the battlefield, excitedly waving the pincers it was so proud of.
Its eyes were filled with fighting spirit.
“Cor! Cor!”
The opposing Trainer’s expression immediately filled with envy when he saw Kuroba’s Pokédex.
For an ordinary civilian Trainer like him, everything had to be earned and purchased through his own efforts.
Simply raising his Pokémon already strained his finances.
Buying expensive travel equipment on top of that was even more difficult.
“Corphish, use Bubble Beam.”
Kuroba gave the first command.
He intended to probe his opponent before committing to anything more aggressive.
“Zigzagoon, use Sand Attack to block it!”
The opposing Trainer reacted immediately.
Judging from the speed and confidence of his command, he clearly wasn’t a complete beginner. Find the original chapter at g.com.
Sky-blue bubbles shot from Corphish’s pincers.
Pop!
Pop!
Pop!
Pop!
Most of the bubbles burst against the cloud of sand Zigzagoon kicked up.
But some slipped through the scattered grains and continued toward it.
“Charge straight through with Headbutt! Teach it a lesson!”
Milky-white energy gathered around Zigzagoon’s head.
Its legs pushed hard against the ground.
Its agile body shot toward Corphish at high speed.
“A close-range fight?”
Kuroba looked slightly surprised.
“Corphish, use Double Hit!”
Corphish reacted immediately.
It raised both of its hard pincers.
The first pincer moved into position and skillfully blocked Zigzagoon’s powerful Headbutt.
At almost the same instant, Corphish swung its other pincer from the side.
Smack!
The heavy blow slammed into Zigzagoon’s flank.
“Zig!”
Zigzagoon cried out in pain.
The impact knocked it backward, sending it skidding several meters across the battlefield before it finally managed to stop.
“Don’t give it a chance to recover.”
Kuroba’s voice turned cold and decisive.
“Finish this with Bubble Beam!”
Corphish immediately opened its pincers again.
A dense barrage of bubbles erupted forward.
The bubbles fell over Zigzagoon like pouring rain.
Within moments, the Pokémon was completely engulfed.
More and more bubbles struck it.
Zigzagoon’s remaining stamina rapidly disappeared.
“Zigzagoon!”
The opposing Trainer cried out in alarm.
He rushed onto the field, frantically sweeping away the mound of bubbles before pulling his completely exhausted Zigzagoon into his arms.
Kuroba slowly walked forward.
Beside him, Corphish still looked as though it hadn’t had nearly enough fighting.
Kuroba glanced at his eager partner and smiled.
“Don’t worry.”
He gently tapped one of Corphish’s pincers.
“This was only a warm-up battle.”
His smile sharpened with anticipation.
“This afternoon, I’ll make sure you get all the excitement you want.”
You can join my P.
@.
T.
R.
3.
0.
N to get access to 50 additional chapters!
/Meegoatbaa Whether you join as a free or paid member, you’ll also get access to 2 extra chapters.