“Hahahahahaha!”
Sinshi lay on the grass, laughing up at the sky until he grew tired, finally unable to hold back.
“Do you know why Snover couldn’t stand you before?
What on earth goes through that head of yours every day?”
“It was obviously your words that were misleading.”
Realizing that Sinshi had no ulterior motives and simply wanted to look at her belt and Poké Balls, she blushed a deep, burning crimson from the massive misunderstanding.
“Here, if you want to look, then hurry up and look.”
To quickly put an end to Sinshi’s laughter, Candice swiftly unbuckled her belt and tossed it over.
Sinshi reached out to catch it and placed it in front of him.
The belt itself wasn’t anything special to look at; it was just an ordinary belt equipped with little gadgets to secure Poké Balls.
After briefly fiddling with it, Sinshi shifted his attention to the Poké Balls.
The sphere was half red and half white, with a black stripe wrapping around the middle and a white button right in the center.
Gently pressing the center button, the Poké Ball instantly expanded from the size of a ping-pong ball to the size of a baseball.
Even Sinshi couldn’t help but marvel at the charm of “technology” upon witnessing the greatest anomaly of the Pokémon world.
After weighing it in his hand and getting a feel for it, Sinshi shrank it back down and returned it to the belt.
“If you have enough of them, could you give me one?
Consider it a thank-you gift for helping you just now,” Sinshi said, looking at Candice.
“Huh?”
Candice, who originally had no idea what Sinshi was doing, paused at his words and asked, “Are you talking about the Poké Ball?”
“Yes.”
“I mean, sure, but these things aren’t worth much.
What do you need it for?
Did you run into a Pokémon you wanted to catch but didn’t have a Poké Ball on you?”
Sinshi shook his head.
After pondering for a moment, he replied, “No, I just need one to hold Agumon.”
“Agumon?”
This was the second time Candice had heard that name today, and she naturally knew exactly who it referred to.
Her gaze shifted to the side, landing on the small yellow dinosaur currently lying on the ground.
Expressive eyes, sharp claws, a sturdy physique, terrifying flames, and the ability to speak human language.
Most notably…
he had completely crushed her Snover despite being at the exact same level.
This enigmatic Pokémon was shrouded in an aura of absolute mystery.
“You haven’t caught him yet?”
“That’s right.
Because I didn’t have any Poké Balls on me, I haven’t been able to catch him, even though Agumon has been following me around.”
Hearing this, Candice didn’t hesitate.
She unclipped a Poké Ball straight from her belt and handed it over.
“This is a new one I bought recently.
Go ahead and use it.”
“Thank you.”
“By the way, do you mind if I ask what region Agumon is from?
Why did my Pokédex say there was no data?”
Candice pulled out her Pokédex again and aimed it at Agumon.
The Pokédex remained silent, and after that silence, it merely repeated the same cold, mechanical voice.
[No data.
A mysterious Pokémon.]
Hearing the question, Sinshi pinched his chin with his right hand and began to organize his words.
Seeing this, Candice assumed Sinshi was unwilling to discuss such a private matter.
She quickly clarified that she was just asking casually and apologized for overstepping.
“While I did intend to keep it a secret, the fact that Snover trusts you so unconditionally proves you’re a trustworthy person.
I don’t mind telling you, but I hope you can keep it a secret for me.
Is that alright?”
Sinshi looked directly into Candice’s eyes.
Candice couldn’t help but grow serious as well.
Putting herself in his shoes, if Candice had such a powerful, undiscovered Pokémon that wasn’t recorded in the Pokédex, she definitely wouldn’t show it off to others easily for safety reasons—let alone to someone she had known for less than a day.
Yet despite that, after already doing her a huge favor, he was willing to continue trusting her and share his secret.
This undoubtedly required a great deal of courage and served as a massive validation of her character.
Instinctively, Candice wanted to live up to Sinshi’s acknowledgment.
“I promise I won’t mention a single thing about Agumon to any person or Pokémon, and I’ll make sure Snover does the same,” Candice promised solemnly.
“Thank you.”
A gentle, brotherly smile appeared on Sinshi’s face.
“His name is Agumon, a Dragon-type Pokémon from ‘File Island’.
It’s not just you who hasn’t seen him; I was incredibly shocked when I first found him too.
According to him, he was catching fish by the water when he saw a flashing light, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself around here.”
“File Island?
I don’t think there’s an island like that near the Sinnoh Region.
Did he drift over from an island in a much more remote area?”
“Probably.
After all, there are still places in this world that the Pokémon League hasn’t discovered or explored.
Perhaps that’s why his data hasn’t been registered in the Pokédex.
“But what’s really interesting is that Agumon can understand human language, and he can even translate what other Pokémon are saying.”
Under Sinshi’s casual guidance, Candice’s attention entirely shifted to Agumon.
Coupled with Agumon’s carefree and simple-minded nature in daily life, the formidable strength he had displayed earlier, and especially the fact that his ability to speak removed any communication barriers, he quickly won Candice’s affection.
She even forgot all about the misunderstanding with Sinshi from earlier.
Calling Snover over, she had Agumon start translating for it.
One person and one Pokémon began communicating directly through their Agumon-brand translator.
When they touched upon happy and amusing topics, she even laughed out loud, completely disregarding her image.
Sinshi watched the scene quietly.
He had indeed introduced Agumon to Candice, but he had only shared relatively unimportant information.
The facts that Agumon was a Digimon, his true origins, and the existence of the summoning panel were all critical secrets.
Aside from himself and Agumon, Sinshi wouldn’t—and couldn’t—let any third party know.
But from Candice’s perspective, even sharing just a fraction of that information was undoubtedly a sign of trust.
This was evident from the subtle changes in Candice’s attitude after he revealed some details about Agumon.
If he was previously just someone who had done her a huge favor, he was now someone who had done her a huge favor, shared a mutual secret, and was a trusted friend.
When two people established this kind of connection, it created a special dynamic, drawing them closer than ordinary friends.
It was only by reaching this step that Sinshi had maximized the chances of Candice willingly helping him access the Snowpoint Temple in the future.
As for whether this was too calculating, Sinshi’s view on the matter was simple: Agumon could handle being the lovable goofball, while he would take care of all the brainwork.
“Besides, who’s to say whether she’ll end up helping me more in the future, or if I’ll be the one providing her with greater assistance,” Sinshi muttered to himself as he gazed up at the night sky.
…
As the night deepened, drowsiness set in.
The voices of Snover and Agumon gradually quieted down.
After asking about Sinshi’s travel route and suggesting they set off together tomorrow, Candice also fell asleep.
Sinshi poked at the campfire, quietly beginning his night watch.
…
Early the next morning, the two traversed the final stretch of the road and arrived at Solaceon Town.
However, to Sinshi’s surprise, not long after stepping into the town, Candice began staring in astonishment toward the bustling, noisy center of the area.
Following her gaze, Sinshi looked over as well.
Then, to his amazement, he realized that he also recognized the person at the center of the commotion…
a young woman with long blonde hair.