The Pokémon Center and White Gym were not far apart.
The two arrived after less than a half-hour walk.
Mishiro led Lacey to the Gym’s side door and pushed it open casually.
“We’re here.
This is my house.”
“I feel like I should…”
Lacey’s hands instinctively twisted the cuffs of her jacket.
Staring at the open door, her feet hesitated.
The closer she got to this Gym, the more she realized in hindsight how reckless her decision had been.
She had actually agreed without a second thought to a single guy’s proposal to come to his house to take a bath and change clothes!
Why hadn’t she realized it at the time?
If her classmates found out…
No, she didn’t dare think about it!
She couldn’t imagine what that scene would be like.
Although she had experienced a period of being target of rumors and bullying when she first enrolled, the nature of that was completely different.
She considered herself rational and could ignore baseless slander, but going home with a guy her own age was something she had *actually* done!
Should she still go inside?
It wasn’t too late to turn back now!
The open doorway before her seemed like the mouth of an abyss, waving her in.
Maybe…
it would be better to apologize and leave?
Even if going back now meant explaining things to her classmates would be troublesome, at least she could protect her innocence.
So…
“Lately I’m the only one home.
Except for common areas like the kitchen and living room on the first floor, I haven’t really cleaned the rest.
Go ahead and rest in the living room for a bit while I go upstairs to find some suitable clothes.”
Mishiro smiled and motioned for her to make herself comfortable, then turned and went upstairs alone, leaving Lacey stunned in place.
“In the end…
I still came inside…”
Lacey scratched her hair with both hands, unable to say what kind of mindset had made her step through the door.
It was probably that “since I’m already here” supermarket mentality at work—feeling like a trip was wasted without coming in to look around and buy something.
“Still, it doesn’t seem…
as scary as I imagined?” She looked around.
The environment was far cleaner and tidier than she had expected.
As someone with severe germaphobia, her standards in this regard were extremely high, and she had prepared herself for the usual messiness of a guy living alone.
“Squiii~”
A soft, squeaky cry pulled Lacey back from her thoughts.
A small, soft, green, slime-like figure was hopping down the stairs.
“Holy moly!
This Pokémon is super cute!”
Seeing that adorable bouncing figure, Lacey—who had zero resistance to cute things—was instantly smitten.
She immediately pulled out her Rotom Phone and opened the Pokédex app to take a picture, but the screen displayed: [Unregistered Pokémon.
No data available.]
Could this be an undiscovered Pokémon?
Squishy was completely oblivious to Lacey’s fierce, beast-like gaze.
It directed Excadrill to help slide open the kitchen glass door, hopped inside, and then motioned for Excadrill to open the refrigerator.
Its eyes instantly locked onto a can of Moomoo Milk on the shelf, and without hesitation, it leaped straight inside.
However, the moment it got close—
“Squiii—!”
As if taking ten Ice Beams head-on, extreme cold hit instantly.
Squishy felt like it had turned into a popsicle on the spot!
As its number-one minion, Excadrill was stunned by the sight.
Luckily, Lacey, who was right behind them, lunged forward and caught the rock-hard Squishy.
“Eek~ Gotcha~”
“Gacha!”
Seeing this, Excadrill instinctively stepped forward to snatch Squishy back.
It wasn’t even afraid of Zygarde 50% Forme, but it was terrified of Squishy—after all, Squishy was the only powerful entity that had thoroughly defeated it, and the only one it willingly served as a boss.
“What’s wrong?
Just let me pet it a bit!”
“Gacha!” *Is this an lord you can just touch whenever you want!*
Lacey hugged Squishy tightly, squabbling with Excadrill.
“What are you guys doing?”
Mishiro’s voice came from behind.
Watching the chaotic scene of Excadrill and Lacey fighting over Squishy, he was rendered speechless.
By now, Squishy had successfully thawed out.
Feeling deeply wronged, it broke free from Lacey’s arms and leaped back into Mishiro’s chest.
“Hey, hey, what happened now?”
Mishiro gently patted Squishy’s squishy, bouncy head.
Glancing at the open fridge door, he instantly understood the reason.
“You’re four times weak to Ice, and you still dare open the fridge?”
“Squiii…” Squishy let out a aggrieved whimper.
“Alright, stop fussing.
We have a guest today.
I’ll warm up some Moomoo Milk for you, and we’ll eat together later.”
“Squiii~”
Only then did Squishy nod contentedly.
“Um…”
Lacey’s outstretched hand remained frozen in mid-air, unsure how to bring it up.
After a moment of hesitation, she asked, “By the way… You are reading on g.com, the official source.
is this little guy an undiscovered Pokémon?
I couldn’t find any info on it in the Pokédex.”
“You could say that.”
Mishiro then remembered that although Zygarde existed in this world, apart from a few sparse records of its 50% Forme on ancient stone tablets, there was no further information circulating.
Even among mythologists, few knew about Zygarde’s existence, let alone its far rarer Cell Core.
“I named him Squishy.
Don’t be fooled by his soft, cute appearance—even Excadrill couldn’t defeat him.”
“For real?”
Lacey found it hard to believe.
She simply couldn’t connect this impossibly cute little creature with a Pokémon capable of defeating the tough Excadrill beside them.
However, she then remembered Mishiro mentioning back in the sewers that he had another very strong Pokémon.
Could he have meant…
While Lacey was privately guessing, Mishiro spoke softly: “I put the clothes on the sofa for you.
If they don’t fit, just let me know.
The hot water in the bathroom is ready, and the washing machine is inside too.
Make yourself at home—no need to be formal.”
“Ah?
Oh…
okay.”
Lacey snapped back to reality, but her gaze remained glued to Squishy.
Earlier, she had been agonizing over whether she should have come inside, but now she was absolutely certain she had made the right choice.
Then a sweet smile bloomed on her face, and with a hint of anticipation, she asked, “Um…
could you let me help wash Squishy?”
Mishiro: “???”
What do you mean?
Aren’t *you* the one who’s supposed to take a bath?
“Squiii?”
Squishy also tilted its head innocently.
What did “take a bath” mean?
Seeing the reactions of the human and Pokémon, Lacey’s beautiful eyes widened in shock.
She asked in disbelief, “Don’t tell me…
you’ve *never* given Squishy a bath?
Unbelievable!
Hand him over to me right this instant!”
Before she even finished speaking, Lacey snatched Squishy from Mishiro’s arms without a word.
As a girl who insisted on bathing her own Pokémon three times a day, she would never allow such a cute Pokémon to get dirty.
That was a line she would not allow anyone to cross!
Mishiro stared blankly as Lacey ran out of the kitchen cradling Squishy, grabbed her change of clothes off the sofa in passing, and dove headfirst into the bathroom, slamming the door shut with a loud *bang*.
Looking at the closed bathroom door, Mishiro couldn’t help a strange emotion rising within him.