Huh? Why Do I Still Have to Go to School?

With a hard yank from Hoshino, there was a pop, and he finally pulled Cyclizar off her head—along with two bun-shaped hairpieces that rolled onto the floor.

He immediately grabbed Cyclizar and apologized to Gardevoir. "Sorry, it didn't mean to. It's just innocent. Whenever it sees something it likes or gets curious about, it bites..."

"Cycli..."

Cyclizar scratched its head and smacked its lips, clearly not understanding, but it apologized along with him anyway.

Gardevoir did not respond right away. With a wave of her hand, she used psychic power to pick up the fallen hair buns and put them back on her head, giving them a little wiggle. They really were decorations.

"Gardevoir..."

After calling out in the same lazy tone, Gardevoir turned and headed toward the kitchen.

As she moved, a faint fragrance drifted through the air. It must have rubbed off on her while she had been cooking in the kitchen. No wonder Cyclizar had bitten her.

Seeing this, Hoshino said in surprise, "She isn't angry even after that? That's kind of strange."

Slowking spoke up to explain, "Nae-chan can be pretty absentminded sometimes, and she rarely gets angry. But at certain times—like when she gets serious—she becomes terrifying. You should be careful..."

"So she's the trendy landmine girl type?"

"Girl? Nae-chan might be old enough to be your mother."

"Hey, hey, is it really okay to talk about someone's age behind their back? You know, some older women are really sensitive about that... Whoa!"

Before he could finish, a powerful impact slammed head-on into them. Both of them were instantly blasted out the door and landed face-first on the quiet street.

"See? Terrifying."

"Why was I hit too...?"

"That's pretty common around here."

"Oh, so that's how it is."

Xingye understood now. Even among Pokémon, there were some whose age could not be discussed.

"But do Pokémon even care about age? Don't most of them get taken to do that thing with Ditto right after they're born, and then keep going..."

"What kind of common sense is that? Go to school! Pokémon have to be at least five years old before they can lay Eggs! They have to be over five before they can do that sort of thing! Otherwise, their parents would never agree!"

"Then Caterpie would go extinct, wouldn't they?"

"Caterpie won't go extinct. They'll just keep living and molting until they can fly."

"Then they evolve into Rayquaza..."

Xingye understood again. This guy was just messing with him. Still, Pokémon definitely could not lay Eggs the moment they were born. They had to go through a process of sexual maturity.

Different Pokémon species would surely mature at different rates. Bug types probably matured early, while Dragon types would take much longer.

"Even in this world where Pokémon really exist, there's still so much I don't know. But at least I'm catching on fast."

He thought that he had to find chances to learn more about such things. Maybe they would come in handy when he helped Pokémon in the future.

Still, instead of always following those shining points and offering help himself, why not let Pokémon come to him when they needed help?

Maybe he could even earn some extra cash to support himself and Cyclizar. After all, Kabukicho had plenty of rich Pokémon!

"That could work. Still, I'll think about it once we're back..."

Xingye climbed up from the ground and recalled that impact from earlier. The Pokémon here all seemed pretty strong, whether it was Gardevoir, Slowking, or that Ceruledge from last night.

So had they really trained themselves to become this strong? Or did they actually have Trainers who were no longer around? Or was there some other reason?

"It feels like this street is hiding a lot of secrets I don't know about."

Curious as he was, he was not bored enough to investigate those secrets. Otherwise, he might end up sunk in the Alola Sea with cement around his feet the next day...

When they returned to the Smile Restaurant, Gardevoir was bringing out some freshly steamed buns. Cyclizar had already started eating, its face full of bliss.

"Are they really that good?"

Still doubtful, Hoshino picked one up and took a bite. The dough was wonderfully chewy, with an excellent texture.

He had no idea what the filling was. There were chunks of fruit inside, probably some kind of Berry, along with plenty of meat. Two buns were enough to fill him up.

After finishing breakfast, a bold idea suddenly came to mind. After thinking it over for a moment, he put on a serious expression and shamelessly asked, "By the way, can I come here every day to mooch... I mean, to learn?"

Hearing that, Gardevoir gave him a puzzled look. "Nae?"

"She's asking what you want to do," Slowking translated while biting into a bun.

Brimming with confidence, Hoshino immediately smiled and replied, "Learn, obviously. Learn cooking. I'm actually very confident when it comes to cooking, you know. Don't underestimate the skills of a kid who lives alone!"

"Nae..." Gardevoir replied softly.

"What did Nae-chan say?"

Hearing him call her Nae-chan too, Slowking's body swayed, and he nearly fell off his chair. Then he translated, "She said that's fine. Just come before six-thirty in the morning. Be careful on your way here, and don't be late."

"Then thank you, Nae-chan!"

Xingye had not expected it to be settled so easily. It seemed that as long as age was not brought up, Gardevoir's airheaded personality made her pretty easy to talk to.

His real goal was simply to bring Cyclizar here every day for free breakfast. There had to be food that did not sell out, right? They could help finish it off.

Of course, learning to cook was genuine too. He wanted to become more familiar with the various ingredients in this world so that he could cook for himself at home in the future...

After breakfast, they said goodbye to Gardevoir, and Slowking led them out of the Drifter District. They did not talk much along the way.

When they passed the entrance to the street, Hoshino did not feel those gazes from yesterday again. At that moment, Slowking suddenly asked, "By the way, how did you run into Kabukicho like it was nothing?"

"We just ran straight in. Is there something hidden here too?"

"A group of Meowth, Rattata, and the like live around Kabukicho. Any human who tries to enter gets attacked by them."

"I see..."

Now Hoshino understood what had happened. As for why those gazes had suddenly disappeared yesterday, he had no idea. Maybe he had just been lucky?

"Cycli?"

Slowking led the two of them on a winding route for three hours. In the end, they climbed a hillside on Mahalo Mountain through a small path, passed through the woods, and soon a town came into view.

Xingye had ridden on Cyclizar the entire time, so he was not too tired. He had been checking the map all along and realized that they had reached Lili'i Town, leaving him confused.

"Didn't you say you were helping me get identification? Why did we come here?"

"Only this place can help you get it sorted out. I happen to know an old friend here."

As he spoke, Slowking continued leading them toward a particularly conspicuous villa with an orange roof in the northwest of Lili'i Town.

They had only just reached the entrance when the villa's front door opened. A squinting middle-aged man dressed somewhat like a sumo referee walked out.

"Hm?"

The moment Hoshino saw him, he recognized him as Hala, the island king of Melemele Island. Slowking, meanwhile, continued forward and waved in greeting. "Alola~"

"Alola~"

Hala returned the greeting with a smile, then said, "I knew it was you from far away. It's been a long time. What brings you here this time?"

"Yes, I have a small favor to ask."

Slowking pointed at Hoshino and continued, "I picked up a pitiful kid who isn't even a Trainer. Help him get some identification, will you?"

"Oh?" Hala looked surprised. After examining Hoshino with narrowed eyes, he suddenly asked, "No identification? How old are you?"

"Um... fifteen."

"Fifteen... So you've never attended Pokémon School, have you?"

"Hm?" Xingye did not understand why he was asking, but he shook his head. "No."

After hearing the answer, Hala's expression suddenly turned serious as he shouted, "That won't do! You've already missed three precious years of education. We absolutely cannot delay any longer! I'll get your identification sorted out right now and send you to school!"

"Huh? Wait, what the hell?"