Nice to Meet You, I'm Akari

The first day of summer vacation was exciting for every student. They were finally free of that awful place called school and could play to their hearts' content or spend their time traveling.

In this world, there was no rule saying you had to reach a certain age before you could travel, or that you had to go to school. It came down to personal choice or family arrangements. Your circumstances and your efforts decided what came next.

Some people got their Starter Pokémon at ten and set off on a journey. Others were still studying hard at sixteen. Someone had even become one of the Pokémon League's Elite Four at eight. There was no single path for everyone.

Kitakami had no school, so for children born there, studying really was their only way out of the countryside and into the wider world.

But after seeing more of the outside world, some of those children inevitably grew ashamed of their rural origins. Over time, that had fostered a dislike of outsiders...

As the fruit industry declined, though, tourism was all that remained to support Kitakami's economy. And that meant large numbers of visitors would be coming in.

Many people had no choice but to change, especially the older residents. There were, of course, a few younger exceptions...

At that moment, inside the Community Center in Verdant Town...

Mingyou had returned for the first time in a month. He sat across from the administrator, Yao Qian, at the same table as before, though their conversation was entirely different.

"You want a stall in Verdant Town?"

Yao Qian sounded surprised.

"That's right. We've had a bumper fruit harvest at the Manor, and I can't eat it all, so I thought I'd bring some over to sell."

"..."

Yao Qian opened his mouth, then closed it. When Mingyou had suddenly come to see him, he had assumed the boy could no longer bear the work of caring for the Manor and had finally come to sign the contract. He hadn't expected him to be here to sell fruit.

Should he agree?

He had better think it over...

After a moment's consideration, Yao Qian pushed up his glasses. "No problem. Stall C1 at Kitakami Center is vacant. You can use it if you want. It's a little out of the way, though. The C Stalls are usually rented to tourists who want to try selling things for fun."

"Uh..."

Now it was Mingyou's turn to be surprised. Since when was Yao Qian so easy to negotiate with? Was there a catch?

Before he could ask, Yao Qian continued, "Your grandfather and I knew each other a little, so I won't charge you rent. But I will give you one piece of advice: know when to quit!"

His thinking was simple. Letting Mingyou have the stall cost him nothing. Once the boy discovered he couldn't sell his apples or make any money, he wouldn't be able to keep going.

After all, Kitakami was known as apple country. If there was one thing it didn't lack, it was apples...

"Thanks, then."

Mingyou smiled. He hadn't expected to settle things so easily. Yao Qian's last remark had also given him a fair idea of what the man was thinking.

Yao Qian probably believed the apples from his Manor couldn't compare in quality to the ones grown around Verdant Town. To be fair, he was right.

Kitakami apples were better than the ones from his Manor. They had an established reputation, after all. But Mingyou wasn't selling quality alone. He was selling Technical Machines, plus fruit!

He said goodbye and left. When the students arrived that afternoon, he planned to set up his stall and try selling them a few apples.

Watching Mingyou leave, Yao Qian scratched his bald head, then turned to Auntie at the front desk, who was eating an apple. "What about Carmine and the others? They should be back today, right?"

"Hmm... Going by the time, their bus back should be here soon. But they've come all the way from the Unova Region, so they'll need some rest to get over the time difference."

"All right. I was hoping they could help welcome the students coming for Summer Camp. They're students too, so they'd have something to talk about..."

Before he could finish, someone pulled open the Community Center doors, and a girl's voice rang out. "That's fine. Leave it to us!"

Several young people came in. The girl who had spoken led the group.

She had delicate features and a cool expression. Her yellow, slit-pupiled eyes made the beauty mark beneath her left eye stand out. A yellow headscarf sat over her long black hair, which was red underneath, and two crossed locks of bangs fell just over the tip of her nose.

More striking still was her close-fitting dark-blue outfit, apparently some kind of school uniform. It showed off her adolescent figure, still in the midst of developing.

Several others wore the same uniform. Among them was a boy who resembled her, dressed in a white athletic school uniform. He stood nervously behind her. They seemed to be siblings.

One girl stood apart from the rest. She had black hair tied in a single ponytail and wore a white headscarf, but no uniform. She didn't seem to be a student, only someone who had returned with them...

Yao Qian brightened at the sight of them. "We were just talking about you and the others, Carmine. Come sit down. Sorry for the trouble, but we'll need your help over the next few days."

Then his gaze fell on the girl without a uniform. "Did you find anything on your trip to Blueberry Academy?"

"No..."

"I see..."

"It's all right, Akari!"

The girl at the front—Carmine—turned to face her. "We'll help you!"

"Thank you."

Akari smiled in reply.

That afternoon, several buses that ran only during long holidays pulled up in front of the Community Center. Verdant Town grew lively for the first time in ages.

Mingyou arrived a little late on Wyrdeer and missed the students getting off the buses. That was fine. His stall was at Kitakami Center, but nothing stopped him from setting up in Verdant Town as well.

He went to Momozawa Shop. Grandma Momozawa was outside, working on a cross-stitch picture of Rapidash running across a grassland.

"Grandma, mind if I set up here for a bit?"

"Not at all. Shall I get you a chair?"

"No, thanks."

Mingyou's plan was simple. He probably wouldn't sell much at this hour, but he could start advertising his stall.

He had brought a wooden board with an advertisement written on it, listing the apples' Technical Machine effects and their prices.

For example, a Sweet Apple that taught Energy Ball was priced at 1,499. A normal Technical Machine for Energy Ball currently sold for around 3,500.

If he wanted to sell fruit that taught moves, it had to cost less than a comparable Technical Machine. Fruit spoiled quickly, which was a drawback... and if he didn't price it this way, no one would buy it.

Underprice them! Underprice them like crazy!

Aside from Energy Ball, the remaining apples taught Grass Pledge, Astonish, or Withdraw...

Only Grass Pledge was marked at 588. The others were 68 each... though he doubted anyone would buy the Astonish or Withdraw apples. So he had also brought a C+ quality Snorlium Berry that came with Lick. That one was pretty tempting.

Come on, suckers. Take the bait...

Leaning against Wyrdeer, Mingyou muttered to himself and waited. What he didn't know was that every student attending this Summer Camp came from a distant region!

The Unova Region, the Alola Region, the Paldea Region... Most of them were resting at the Community Center to recover from their travels.

Dusk fell. Silver-gray Dewlight settled over Verdant Town, making its streets seem quieter still.

At some point, Mingyou had fallen asleep against Wyrdeer. Perhaps the nonstop work of the past few days had finally worn him out.

Suddenly, Wyrdeer seemed to sense something and snapped his eyes open. A gentle voice woke Mingyou a moment later.

"How much is this blue apple?"

Has a sucker finally shown up...?

Mingyou slowly opened his eyes. He caught a faint, pleasant scent and instinctively looked toward the speaker, ready to answer. But when he saw her face, his eyes widened, and he froze.

The girl wore a sweet smile. With her delicate, pretty features and dark-gray eyes, she was studying the Snorlium Berry on the table intently. She leaned forward slightly, holding a little white fox in her arms.

Perhaps sensing his stare, she looked at Mingyou and tucked a loose strand of hair back with her fingers. "Is there something on my face?"

"Uh, sorry..."

Mingyou awkwardly looked away, drawing a soft laugh from her. She smiled at the boy, who looked about her age. "You live in Kitakami too, like Carmine and the others, right? Nice to meet you. I'm Akari."

"Hi. I'm Mingyou..."

It was the first time they met...