Charcoal

"So that's how it is! How did I not think of that?"

After the battle ended and all the Pokémon had been restored using the home Pokémon healing machine, Leon eagerly pulled Blake into a discussion. Although Blake's tactics had felt truly disgusting to face as an opponent, there was much to learn from them upon careful consideration.

And once they started talking, Leon's amazement never stopped.

"Actually, you may have already used similar tactics without realizing it. For example, many of us teach our Pokémon more moves outside their own types. That expands their coverage while also letting us hit opponents who think they can counter us with an unexpected attack. I just collected quite a few tactics like that and organized them a little. More accurately, I'm a collector and organizer, like a newspaper editor. I compile the news; I don't create it."

Blake had no intention of glorifying himself. These tactical ideas had been summarized and tested by countless Pokémon players in his previous life. He was merely standing on the shoulders of giants. Still, he had not done nothing—reality was different from games, after all, so he could not simply copy everything directly. He had constantly experimented and learned through trial and error as well.

"But being able to organize them is already impressive. For example, I'd never considered giving a Pokémon with Poison Heal a Toxic Orb so it could stay on the field for a long time. And there's also using various negative conditions to fight instead of clashing head-on."

Leon looked like he wanted to pull Blake into bed and talk all night. His enthusiasm was so overwhelming that Blake could not help taking two steps back.

"No, no, I have plenty of shortcomings too. For instance, I never noticed how you used Normal-type moves to avoid attacks earlier. We can learn from each other, learn from each other."

Blake felt a little embarrassed by the praise. Come to think of it, the original Leon had been the first Champion level Trainer in the Pokémon games to catch players off guard with moves that countered their types. It was not an especially powerful tactical system, but it had certainly blindsided many players who thought he was just an ordinary Champion. Some players who only liked bringing offensive moves in story mode had even suffered bitter defeats because of it.

So if he taught Leon all this, would Leon, who already loved tactics, become some kind of hellish player? No, no, what was he thinking? This was not Yu-Gi-Oh! Where would so many hellish players come from?

Blake shook his head and continued chatting with Leon, explaining many tactics he had learned about in the past. However, he did not mention tactics that required Legendary Pokémon or had little practical value in reality.

"Are those two ever going to finish talking?"

Lulina watched Blake and Leon, both talking animatedly, and spoke helplessly.

"Maybe that's just how boys are. Actually, this isn't the first time I've seen Leon like this. Along the way, whenever we met a Trainer, Leon would go challenge them to a match. Then, if they were willing to exchange ideas, he'd become like this."

Sonia spoke with an expression that showed she was completely used to it.

"Hey! You two! You two! Are you going to eat lunch or not?! It's been three hours! It's already one o'clock! How much longer are you planning to talk?!"

At last, Lulina could not take it anymore and shouted at the two men who had completely lost themselves in conversation.

The two of them shuddered, only then feeling the hunger rising in their stomachs. When they looked up at the clock, it was already one twenty in the afternoon. They had spent more than three hours chatting and boasting with each other without even taking a sip of water.

"I'll cook!"

"I-I-I'll help!"

Blake and Leon rushed into the kitchen in a panic. Fortunately, Leon was not so directionally challenged that he would get lost inside the house.

"Huh?"

Lulina watched the two continue talking as they walked away and felt that something about the scene was strangely odd.

"Kehehe—"

Haunter flew over while carrying a bag, heaving it down in front of Charizard, who was still adapting to his new body.

"Char?"

Charizard looked curiously at Haunter's actions and tilted his head as he asked.

"Kehehe, kehehehe."

Haunter grinned as he opened the small bag, then pulled something out of it with exaggerated flair.

"Ke-ke-kehehe!"

Haunter made a sound like Doraemon pulling a gadget from his pocket. He was clearly imitating Blake's occasional chuunibyou behavior, but what he took out of the bag made Charizard's eyes widen.

"Char!"

In Haunter's hand lay an unremarkable gray-black piece of Charcoal. It was not large, only about the size of an ordinary person's fist, but the Fire-type energy emanating from it made Charizard unable to look away.

"Kehehe!"

Haunter placed the Charcoal in Charizard's hand. Immediately, the ordinary-looking Charcoal suddenly developed red streaks, as if it had begun burning once more. It flickered brightly and dimly, and even seemed to release tiny wisps of flame.

"Char!!!"

Charizard felt a scorching heat surge through his body. Even as a Fire-type Pokémon, Charizard felt an immense power at that moment. The next instant, he could no longer hold it in, and a pillar of flame shot into the sky.

"What happened?!"

Hearing the commotion, Leon poked his head out through the kitchen window. He saw Charizard continuously breathing fire into the sky in the yard, looking like a torch.

"Hm? Oh, it's nothing. Just some Charcoal. Charizard probably isn't used to it yet. It'll be fine after a while."

Blake had sharp eyes and was highly sensitive to all kinds of energy, so he immediately realized what Haunter had done. He shook his head and casually looked away.

"Charcoal? Wait! You mean the held item Charcoal?"

Leon froze for a moment before immediately realizing what Blake meant and hurriedly asked. As he had said before, held items were not easy to obtain in this world. High-grade held items that could be worn long-term were especially difficult to acquire, and Charcoal was no exception.

Charcoal was nominally wood that had undergone incomplete combustion by fire, but not every piece of charcoal could help Fire-type Pokémon increase the power of their moves.

First, the wood being burned had to contain sufficient Grass-type energy. Then, the flames used for charring had to come from a powerful Fire-type Pokémon's fire move, and the burning process needed to be extremely precise. If the fire was too weak, there would be no effect. If it was too strong, the wood would turn to ash. It was exceedingly troublesome to make and difficult to reproduce with machinery. At least for now, no method had been found to mass-produce it with machines.

"Yeah, it's nothing valuable. Let Charizard use it. I have plenty more at home."

Blake understood why Leon was so surprised. Charcoal of such high quality was usually hard to find, but his family was not only a lineage of spirit exorcists—they were also a family that had passed down held-item crafting through generations. Although the methods for making many held items had either been lost, replaced by mechanization, or become impossible to reproduce due to a lack of suitable materials, their stockpile was definitely substantial. His family's warehouse was even larger than their house.

"Plenty?"

Leon suddenly felt that the other man was outrageously wealthy. People would fight over this thing if it were put up for sale, yet Blake spoke of it as if it were roadside weeds.

"There really are plenty. My dad's Trevenant and Chandelure made them together, so they're a renewable resource. If you need some, there's still quite a lot in my family's warehouse. Giving you an entire piece would be no problem."

Blake shrugged. The Charcoal made by two of his father's three ace Pokémon might be precious in other people's eyes, but to him, it was just that. And Leon once again learned what it meant to be outrageously wealthy.