Gift

"Hey! Kids! Having a good chat?"

Louise floated over, hanging upside down from Jellicent like a child as she spoke with a smile.

"Not bad, Mom. You're already in your thirties, so stop acting like a—"

"I'm only eighteen!"

Before Blake could finish, Louise's beaming face abruptly changed. She shot over with lightning speed, grabbed Blake's cheek, and started tugging at it.

"It hurts, it hurts!"

Blake had let his guard down and actually forgotten his mother's forbidden phrase. He really did not understand it. It was her actual age, so why was she not allowed to say it? She got anxious every time someone mentioned it.

"Um, Auntie—no, I mean, hello, big sister."

Cynthia looked at Louise and quickly corrected herself.

"Ah! What a good girl! What an adorable little sister! Hmph, you're far better at talking than my stinky son."

The moment Louise heard Cynthia, she happily hugged her. Blake took the chance to save himself, rubbing his aching cheek as he looked helplessly at his mother.

"Here, put some ice on it."

Suppressing a laugh, Steven took out a bottle of iced soda and handed it over.

"Thanks, Steven."

Blake did not stand on ceremony. He took the iced soda and pressed it against his face, and the cool sensation immediately made his burning cheek feel much better.

"Your auntie really is energetic."

Steven whispered in Blake's ear.

"My mom's been like this for as long as I can remember. She's pretty carefree, so if she says anything wrong later, please don't take it to heart. She doesn't mean any harm; she's just used to being blunt."

Blake spoke helplessly, giving him a warning in advance.

"Hahahahaha! I can't even tell which of you is the parent and which is the child. The way you said that was completely backwards. Still, Brother Blake, you really are interesting. Please take care of me while we're together. I've heard stories about the Ghost-Taming Clan, so you'll have to show me a thing or two later."

Steven finally could not hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.

"That's no problem. But our clan's abilities aren't actually that mysterious. As a Hoenn Region Champion—trainer, you should know about Mt. Pyre over there, right? The Gravekeeper Clan there is actually closely related to our clan. In some ways, our abilities are similar."

Blake nearly misspoke. Seeing that Steven still had a Metang by his side, he was probably not Champion yet. It would have been troublesome if he had said the wrong thing.

"Mt. Pyre? I've heard about that place. When I traveled through the Hoenn Region before, I even met one of Mt. Pyre's heirs. She was a very cute little girl. What was her name again? Oh, right, Pheobe. She should have started traveling by now, too. She liked Ghost-type Pokémon as well."

Mentioning his hometown brought a smile to Steven's face.

"That's right. If you trace things far enough back, Mt. Pyre's people could be considered our main branch. But that was so long ago that it's unclear whether it was even true. Still, both sides have always believed it, and our abilities are similar. They're better at dream-walking and divination, while we're better at ghost taming and making talismans."

As Blake spoke, he took a Stability Charm from his waist pouch and handed it to Steven.

"We're friends now, and I don't really have anything else to give you, so take this Stability Charm. They say that with this charm, Pokémon can hit an enemy's vital spots more easily."

Blake said with a smile.

"This... is rather valuable."

Steven looked at the charm—or rather, at the stone on it—with obvious longing, though he seemed somewhat embarrassed.

"It's fine. I made it myself. If you want more, I've got plenty. I didn't bring many with me this time, but when we get to the ruins, maybe we'll find something interesting. I can make you a few more then."

Blake snapped his fingers and smiled. To others, this charm was a fine item, but to Blake's family, something that could be casually given away and would gradually wear down over time, weakening its effect, did not count as anything especially good. If he had known he would meet two future Champions, he would have brought the few premium charms he had made himself. Unfortunately, all he could offer now were small gifts.

"Ahem, then thank you very much. Oh, right, I didn't bring much with me either, so take this. It's a new product from our company. It was originally meant to compete with the Master Ball, but we later found that its effects were completely different, so the project was abandoned. But then many wealthy people took a liking to it, and it was restarted."

After carefully examining the charm for a while, Steven suddenly realized that he seemed to be acting rather rudely. He hurriedly rummaged through his bag, then took out a red Poké Ball and handed it over.

"This is... a Luxury Ball!"

Blake stared in surprise at the red Poké Ball in his hand. In his previous life's games, it had been a limited ball used specifically for special Pokémon obtainable only through official distribution—though it was another matter if a friend gave it to you. Blake had never expected it to have been made by Steven's family company.

"Oh? You know it?" Steven asked in surprise. Luxury Balls were not normally sold on the market, so few people knew about them. He had not expected Blake to recognize one.

"Ahem, I heard my dad mention it once, but this is my first time seeing the real thing."

Blake knew he had misspoken and hurriedly explained.

"So that's how it is. Since you've never seen one, let me explain it to you. You should know about the Master Ball. That Poké Ball, which claimed it could catch Pokémon with a hundred percent success rate, caused quite a stir back then. But later, people discovered that it had problems of its own. It was too expensive, and certain policy restrictions meant it could not be mass-produced. Our family's Luxury Ball also originally aimed for a hundred percent catch rate, but later we discovered that it was too difficult—or rather, that the cost was far too great for normal use."

Steven spoke and sighed helplessly. He had accompanied the Luxury Ball's development from beginning to end, and the exorbitant cost had made it impossible to understand how Silph Co. had managed even small-scale production. No matter what, Steven's family company was clearly at a disadvantage in this competition. Coupled with Pokémon League policies, they naturally abandoned the plan.

"Still, even if the plan was abandoned, the results of the research couldn't go to waste. In particular, we combined the traits of all kinds of special Poké Balls. So while the Luxury Ball doesn't have a hundred percent catch rate, it can also take on the characteristics of every type of Poké Ball, such as the Heavy Ball's traits, the Dusk Ball's traits, and so on. No matter what kind of Pokémon it is, it can provide a suitable environment, while also retaining the traits of various Poké Balls so that trainers won't feel uncomfortable carrying it."

Steven spoke proudly. After all, reality was not a game. Some Pokémon were unsuited to ordinary Poké Balls due to issues like electrical leakage or excessive weight placing too much strain on the ball, which was why there were all sorts of specialized Poké Balls. The Luxury Ball combined the traits of those specialty balls, making it an all-purpose ball in another sense. For people who were not short on money, it was both useful and something to show off.

"This is rather valuable. How about this? When I get back, I'll make you a few more charms. I can't just take something this good from you for free, can I?"

Blake did not refuse, but he understood how valuable it was. After thinking for a moment, he spoke.

"Hahahaha, good. Then I won't stand on ceremony. I have some interesting stones on my side too. Help me turn them into charms when the time comes. It doesn't matter whether they have special effects or not. As long as they look good."

Steven was equally unreserved.

"No problem. I wouldn't dare boast about anything else, but when it comes to making charms, I'm no worse than my old man. Hahahahaha!"