‘This is exactly what I wanted to see.
This is why I left home to travel in the first place—to see genuine bonds like this…’
Overwhelmed by the sincerity of the moment, Lacey couldn’t help blurting out what she was thinking.
“You and Sprigatito are both so cute!”
Aiden went silent.
Then he looked at her.
“…You like me?”
“Huh?!”
Lacey froze, completely unable to understand what was wrong with this guy’s brain.
Worse, the heartfelt mood she had just been enjoying was completely shattered.
Even someone as good-natured as Lacey found her hands slowly curling into fists.
‘I really want to hit him.’
Unfortunately, Aiden was nowhere near finished.
“Look how nervous you are.
I knew I was right.”
He sighed dramatically.
“Damn this irresistible charm of mine.”
Then another thought occurred to him.
Wait.
Didn’t this mean his self-proclaimed status as Unova’s resident heartthrob had just received official confirmation?
The realization immediately cheered him up.
“Why am I so handsome?
What am I supposed to do with all this beauty?
The universe in the mirror is simply too gorgeous for ordinary Earthlings~”
Aiden hummed happily to himself, swaying his head from side to side with unbearable smugness, apparently having decided beyond all doubt that Lacey had fallen for him.
Lacey stared at him.
Then she looked down at her tightly clenched fists.
At that moment, she reached an important realization.
Some people were simply destined to get punched sooner or later.
So why couldn’t she be the one to do it?
The thought cleared her mind instantly.
“Prepare yourself!!”
Lacey stepped forward, left palm raised and right fist clenched, throwing herself into the attack with surprising determination.
Unfortunately for her, Aiden had accumulated extensive experience in hand-to-hand scuffles with Officer Jenny.
“Useless, useless!”
With casual sweeps of his right hand, he deflected Lacey’s furious barrage one after another.
Then he immediately deployed his ultimate defense.
“Sprigatito, cry for me.”
“Meow…”
Aiden caught Sprigatito gently by the scruff.
Her ears drooped at once, and she stared at Lacey with huge, watery eyes, looking so pitiful that she seemed seconds away from bursting into tears.
The sight was devastating.
Lacey immediately remembered how her earlier questions had forced Sprigatito to confront painful memories she clearly wasn’t ready to face.
“Uh…”
Her fist slowly lowered.
“Fine.
You win.”
Muttering under her breath, Lacey reluctantly abandoned her revenge.
…
After returning to the Pokémon Center and having their Pokémon treated, Lacey said goodbye to Aiden and headed home.
Aiden, meanwhile, returned to his room, turned on the computer, and stared grimly at the mountain of footage waiting for him.
“Damn it.
I seriously need to hire an editor someday…”
Complaining the entire time, he nevertheless got to work.
Eventually, the video covering his desert trip, the Shiny Maractus chase, the ruins, and Golurk’s capture was fully edited, scored, and ready to upload.
Aiden didn’t hesitate.
He posted it directly to PokéTone.
PokéTone was the Pokémon world’s largest video and livestreaming platform, hosting countless popular content creators.
Among its biggest names were Iono, the Gym Leader of Levincia in Paldea, and the famous streamer Nidothing.
They were exactly the kind of creators Aiden hoped to rival someday.
And preferably borrow some traffic from along the way.
If he could somehow get noticed by people like them, his views might shoot upward faster than an Eelektross trying to leap through the Dragon Gate.
“Hehehe…”
Just imagining that future was enough to make Aiden laugh aloud.
“Come to think of it, should I invite Lacey when I challenge the Gym tomorrow?”
She was cute, after all.
Having her appear in the video might pull in a few extra viewers.
Still brainstorming every possible way to boost his numbers, Aiden finished uploading the video and immediately shut down the computer.
He tagged the Nimbasa City Archaeological Society, the bus driver from Maractus Town, the Nimbasa Pokémon Center, and even the local police department.
As far as Aiden was concerned, he had done everything he possibly could.
The rest was up to fate.
Having dumped the entire responsibility onto fate, Aiden cheerfully left his room.
“Sis Joy, I’m hungry!!”
…
While Aiden stopped paying attention, his video slowly began gaining traction online.
The first important person to notice it was none other than Elesa.
Besides working as a world-famous model, Elesa also had a role at Nimbasa City’s television station.
Whenever she had spare time, she often browsed online videos to see whether anything interesting might be worth covering.
So when a video titled Nimbasa Gym Challenge Guide appeared in her recommendations, it immediately caught her attention.
She clicked it.
The first thing she saw was an opening Aiden had clearly spent far too much time planning.
“My moon, my heart, and your favorite good man—Aiden Cross!”
He swept one arm dramatically toward his partner.
“This is Sprigatito!”
“Spriga!”
“And this is Snivy!”
“Sni!”
Once the opening sequence ended, the video moved into Aiden’s introduction and analysis of Nimbasa Gym.
He covered the Gym’s history, its usual challenge format, and even broke down Elesa herself as the current Gym Leader.
Despite the playful delivery, it was obvious that he had actually done his research rather than simply making things up.
Elesa nodded in approval.
“Oh?
This is actually pretty good.”
She crossed her long legs, one high heel dangling loosely from her foot as her expression gradually became more attentive.
Then came Aiden trudging miserably beneath the desert sun.
The Shiny Pokémon encounter.
The chase.
His accidental fall into ancient ruins.
The exploration.
One unexpected development followed another, and before long Elesa had become completely absorbed in the video.
It even stirred memories of her own days traveling as a younger Trainer.
Then—
NEXT EPISODE
BATTLE MANIA!
THE DEMON KING OF THE BATTLE CLUB!
COMING SOON!!
Elesa blinked.
Once.
Twice.
“Huh?”
She stared at the screen.
“That’s it?
Weren’t you supposed to challenge my Gym?!”
“Get back to work!”
After complaining to the empty room, Elesa nevertheless hit the like button and reposted the video.
Then she tagged Aiden’s account.
@AidenCross
You clearly put real effort into researching Nimbasa Gym, and the introduction was both informative and entertaining.
Your trip turned out to be pretty exciting too.
Also…
I’ll be looking forward to your challenge!