Pokémon possessed emotions just as humans did.
In fact, some Pokémon were even more emotionally complex and sensitive than people.
That was precisely why certain Pokémon wanted their Trainer all to themselves.
The moment their Trainer caught another Pokémon, they might become irritable, jealous, or even openly hostile toward the newcomer.
However, a professional Trainer needed to possess at least six Pokémon.
Without a complete team, they would not even be eligible to participate in most official tournaments.
By the time they reached the Ace tier, the majority of Trainers had already caught six Pokémon.
Some had even assembled teams of more than a dozen.
But as the number of Pokémon under a Trainer’s care increased, they would inevitably encounter an extremely difficult problem—
How should they manage the relationships between their Pokémon?
Humans preferred spending time with people who shared their interests and personalities.
Pokémon were no different.
Every Pokémon possessed its own unique temperament.
No two were ever completely identical, even if their personalities happened to be similar.
Once a Trainer’s team became large enough, two or more Pokémon might naturally gravitate toward one another and form small groups within the team.
That alone was not necessarily a bad thing.
The real problem began when those groups clashed because of incompatible personalities.
If conflict erupted within the team and everyone began pulling in different directions, how was the Trainer supposed to lead them in battle?
For any Trainer, such a situation was an enormous test.
At best, the team’s overall strength would stagnate because its members refused to cooperate.
At worst, some Pokémon—perhaps even members of the Trainer’s core team—might choose to leave entirely.
Ignoring the problem would only allow the resentment to grow.
And if the Trainer attempted to suppress everything by force simply because they believed themselves to be the “master,” then once the conflict finally exploded, it might become impossible to resolve.
Human relationships were already an incredibly complicated field of study.
The relationships between Pokémon—and between Pokémon and their Trainers—were even more difficult.
That was why learning how to manage the bonds within a team was considered an essential lesson for every aspiring Trainer from childhood onward.
Beldum had already shown jealousy toward Aron just moments ago.
Had Suguru failed to respond immediately, Beldum might have believed that Aron’s arrival had caused its Trainer to neglect it.
If that happened, the so-called bond between the two companions would become extremely fragile.
Beldum might even begin wishing that Aron would disappear—
Or worse, die.
In a way, it was remarkably similar to the women of an ancient imperial harem competing for the emperor’s favor.
And in practice, it truly was not all that different.
A Trainer who failed to manage the relationships between their Pokémon properly would find their daily life becoming unbearably exhausting.
If imperial consorts fought for affection, the emperor could simply banish the troublemaker to the cold palace or strip her of her status.
Pokémon were different.
If a Trainer deliberately neglected one Pokémon, every other Pokémon on the team would see it.
Maintaining fairness, treating everyone equally, and ensuring that no one felt abandoned—
That was far easier said than done.
Of course, if a Trainer possessed enough charm that even a neglected Pokémon would remain devoted to them, then none of this would be a problem.
Suguru certainly did not expect to suffer from such worries.
With his Perfect Steel Heart, he was practically an irresistible charm demon in the eyes of Steel-type Pokémon.
Suguru reached down and lifted Aron, who was still rubbing its armored head against his palm.
Senri had originally intended to stop him.
However, before he could say anything, he saw his son casually lift Aron off the floor.
“This little guy has some weight to him.”
Suguru adjusted Aron in his arms and lightly bounced him once.
He estimated that the newborn Pokémon weighed around a hundred kilograms—well over two hundred pounds.
Aron might have been born only recently, but both of his parents were Quasi-Champion Pokémon.
Because of that powerful bloodline, his body had already developed to almost the same size as that of an adult Aron.
An ordinary fully grown Aron weighed approximately sixty kilograms.
Suguru’s Aron, however, possessed the Heavy Metal ability.
That doubled his body weight.
“When did you become this strong?”
Senri stared at his son in surprise.
Suguru had consumed many foods and rare treasures that strengthened the body ever since childhood.
After all, a powerful physique greatly increased a Trainer’s chances of surviving in the wilderness.
Even so, Senri had not expected him to casually lift a two-hundred-pound Pokémon without showing the slightest strain.
“Did your grandfather give you some kind of body-enhancing treasure?”
Senri asked curiously.
Since this world contained treasures capable of strengthening a Pokémon’s potential and combat power, it naturally also contained rare items that could enhance the human body.
However, compared to Pokémon resources, treasures effective on humans were much rarer.
“Yeah.”
Suguru nodded without hesitation.
He had originally been considering what excuse he should use to explain his sudden increase in strength.
His father had conveniently created one for him.
There was no reason not to accept it.
The enhancement brought about by Physique +1 was far greater than Suguru had initially expected.
The “plus one” did not merely increase his physical strength.
It enhanced his entire body in every aspect.
His stamina, endurance, reflexes, senses, and even mental power had all improved.
If he received several more Physique increases, Suguru suspected that his mental strength might eventually cross the threshold required to awaken genuine psychic abilities.
“Dad really is far too biased.”
Senri could not hide the envy on his face.
He had also consumed body-enhancing treasures in the past.
But when he had been Suguru’s age, he certainly could not have lifted Aron so easily.
“Grandparents always spoil their grandchildren more.
Nothing you can do about it.”
Suguru shrugged.
He was not deliberately trying to provoke his father.
Gendō genuinely did adore Suguru far more openly than he ever had his own son.
“When you have children of your own, I’ll spoil them too.” Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Senri spoke with an irritated huff.
“When that happens, you’d better not get jealous.”
Suguru did not care in the slightest.
“Women are too troublesome.”
He continued holding Aron as he replied casually,
“At this rate, our branch of the family might end with me.”
Then, as though suddenly remembering something, he added—
“Oh, right.”
“You already have another son out there.”
What had begun as a joke instantly transformed into a knife aimed directly at Senri’s heart.
The faint smile on his face vanished.
Without warning, neither father nor son spoke.
A suffocating silence settled over the living room.
Even Aron, who was being held in Suguru’s arms, seemed to sense the sudden change in atmosphere.
The little Pokémon looked curiously at Suguru—
Then at Senri.
After a long silence, Senri finally spoke in a heavy voice.
“I’ll deal with that matter properly.”
Suguru let out a cold laugh.
“It’s been more than ten years, and I haven’t seen you deal with anything.”
He looked at his father with undisguised mockery.
“In another few years, will that son of yours—my dear half-brother—come here and compete with me for the position of Natsume family heir?”
As a man, Suguru could understand his father’s infidelity to a certain extent.
Such affairs were hardly rare even among ordinary families.
Among powerful clans, they were even more common.
For many men born into prestigious families, keeping several women outside the official household was treated as an open secret.
Everyone knew it happened.
Most simply chose not to speak about it.
But imagine this—
Your wife had just given birth to your youngest child.
At that very moment, the woman you had been keeping outside arrived at the family estate with a boy the same age as your eldest son.
She stood before your wife—the recognized lady of the household—and declared:
This child belongs to your husband.
How was any wife supposed to react?
Senri’s greatest mistake was not merely that he had kept another woman.
It was that he had failed to control the situation.
He had allowed that woman to develop ambitions she never should have possessed.
Her appearance at the Natsume estate had been like a slap delivered directly across the face of the entire family.
And the second slap had struck Suguru’s mother.
One must not forget—
Suguru’s maternal grandfather was one of Japan’s six living Champions.