The banquet hall lights fell upon Happiny's round little body. It clutched its favorite round stone tightly in its arms, the tiny curl atop its head drooping as it looked utterly dejected.
As a Pokémon, Happiny could understand human speech. It also knew perfectly well that this Trainer wanted to trade it away like a commodity because it was not good at battling and could not help him win matches.
The man had already turned down several Trainers who had approached him, hoping to trade Pokémon such as Rattata and Pidgey for Happiny.
"I want powerful Pokémon! Don't come wasting my time with the trash Pokémon you brought!"
Happiny's body trembled slightly. Was it trash too, because its Trainer had abandoned it?
Happiny did not understand what trading meant. It only knew that the Trainer who had personally hatched it from its Pokémon Egg no longer wanted it and intended to trade it away for stronger Pokémon.
"You're being far too rude!" A girl holding an Eevee stepped forward and rebuked him.
The man glanced at the Eevee in her arms and said arrogantly, "I'm merely stating the facts. Since you feel that way, let me show you what a truly powerful Pokémon looks like!"
With that, the man took several Poké Balls from his waist.
As flashes of white light appeared one after another, powerful Pokémon with formidable presences emerged before the crowd.
A Charizard with a fierce aura and roaring flames burning on its tail, A sharp-eyed, agile Pidgeot, A massive Nidoking with a terrifying horn atop its head, And a Rhydon clad in steel-like armor, its gaze savage.
The surrounding Trainers could not help crying out in surprise.
Clearly, this man was an exceptionally powerful Trainer. The Pokémon by his side were likely already infinitely close to