With the help of stimulation therapy, Machop visibly regained his energy. A Pokémon's powerful constitution and ability to heal itself began to take effect, allowing Miss Ayako to begin treatment in earnest. She gave Machop a thorough examination and tended to the wound on his leg.
The two boys waiting nearby finally breathed a sigh of relief. Under Delcatty's disdainful gaze, they were eventually chased out of the treatment room by Miss Ayako.
"You two aren't any help, so out you go! You're just getting in the way!"
Yong and Chengjie looked at each other, shrugged helplessly, and went to rest in the living room. After traveling for so long, they really were exhausted, and before they knew it, they had fallen asleep on the sofa.
They had no idea how much time had passed. When they woke, the bright moon was already high in the sky. Aside from the two of them, there was a young man they didn't recognize reading in the living room, but Miss Ayako was nowhere to be seen.
"You're awake!"
The young man smiled, set down his book, and looked at them.
"Hello! May we ask who you are?"
"Oh, I'm Mr. Masuda and Miss Ayako's assistant. My name is Aihara. I happened to be out on an errand when you arrived earlier today."
"Hello! I'm Yong, from Dewford Town!"
"Hello! I'm Chengjie, from the Kanto Region!"
Seeing how reserved they were, Aihara smiled and waved a hand.
"No need to be nervous. You can stay here tonight. There's a guest room upstairs, and it's already been prepared!"
Yong and Chengjie exchanged a glance, then asked,
"Would that be all right?"
"Of course. You're more than welcome!"
"Thank you! Um... may we ask whether Miss Ayako is here?"
Aihara explained,
"Although Miss Ayako inherited Mr. Masuda's clinic, she normally lives in town, not here."
Seeing their confusion, he continued,
"She also runs a Training Room where she trains Pokémon Coordinators. Before becoming a Pokémon doctor, Miss Ayako was a Coordinator herself. You knew that, right?"
Yong nodded.
"We heard an older man mention it earlier."
"But did you know she's hailed as a legendary top Coordinator?"
"Legendary...?"
"A top Coordinator?"
The boys looked astonished.
"So Miss Ayako was that amazing a Trainer?"
"Ah... you've heard of Pokémon Contests, haven't you?"
"I know about those!"
Chengjie raised his hand and answered like an elementary school student.
"A Pokémon Contest is a competition designed to showcase a Pokémon's appeal. People often compare them to regular Pokémon tournaments."
"That's right!"
Aihara gave Chengjie an approving look.
"Then do you know about the Pokémon Grand Festival, which stands above those Contests?"
This time, without waiting for Yong and Chengjie to answer, he continued.
"A Coordinator usually needs to win at least five Pokémon Contest ribbons in the Hoenn Region to qualify for the Hoenn Grand Festival. The winner of the Grand Festival receives the Ribbon Trophy and becomes a top Coordinator."
Aihara paused, seeming to lose himself in his memories.
"Miss Ayako first began performing in Contests at twelve and showed a truly unique talent. She combined ingenious uses of Pokémon moves with dazzling techniques to absolute perfection. In just one year, she reached the finals of the Grand Festival-and won!"
"Then, over the next few years, she kept winning the championship, holding that honor all to herself! She became the very best Pokémon Coordinator and made an enormous contribution to promoting Pokémon Contests."
"However..."
"After another Coordinator defeated her two years ago, Miss Ayako gradually withdrew from the Contest circuit and traveled from place to place. Since then, she's studied and become a Pokémon doctor! Her earlier achievements also earned her the status of a legend."
"Miss Ayako is amazing!"
Chengjie's eyes shone.
"I never imagined she'd won the championship so many times in a row!"
Yong found it impressive too. Pokémon Contests were no less difficult than Pokémon League tournaments.
"Then who was the person who defeated Miss Ayako?"
In truth, he already had an answer in mind.
"Hmm... a Coordinator named Wallace. He's extremely talented, and his Milotic is hailed as the most beautiful Pokémon, with both elegance and strength! I believe he's already won the Grand Festival twice!"
Just as he thought. Yong couldn't imagine anyone other than Wallace-the man who would succeed Steven as Champion of the Hoenn League!
"But I'm certain he'll never surpass Miss Ayako. She's the greatest Coordinator of all!"
The two boys were startled by Aihara's sudden fervor.
So he really is one of Miss Ayako's die-hard fans, huh?
Yong silently snarked, I wonder how you'd feel if you knew that this man you think could never surpass Miss Ayako will soon become the Pokémon League Champion.
"Well, it's getting late. You should get some rest!"
As though he had become a different person, Aihara regained his calm composure and smiled at them. There was no trace of his earlier fanaticism.
"R-right!"
Yong just wanted to get to bed as quickly as possible and get away from here.
Just then, Chengjie asked another question.
"Mr. Aihara, how is Machop doing now?"
"Oh, he's recovering very well. After a few days of rest, he should be able to move around a little."
"That's wonderful. Thank you so much!"
Reassured, they thanked Aihara again and went upstairs to the guest room prepared for them: a cozy little room with two neatly made, comfortable single beds.
"Oh, this looks pretty nice!"
Yong surveyed the room with satisfaction, put down his backpack, and took out some food.
"It's too late to cook now. Let's just have something simple."
Chengjie nodded without objection and took food out of his own backpack, putting it alongside Yong's. Then he suddenly spoke again.
"Yong, do you think Machop will like me?"
Having already noticed how fond Chengjie was of Machop, Yong answered as though it were obvious.
"Of course he will. You looked after him for so long. Machop will definitely like you!"
"Really? That's great!"
Chengjie smiled happily.
"So, are you planning to focus on Fighting-types?"
"Yeah! What do you think? I think Fighting-type Pokémon are all really cool!"
Yong looked at him and asked curiously,
"Then what about your Sandslash?"
"I'll train him too, of course!"
Chengjie spoke with complete seriousness.
"Specializing in Fighting-types doesn't mean I can't train Pokémon of other types. Look at Mr. Steven. He specializes in Steel-type Pokémon, right? But he only has three Steel-types on his team. Besides, Sandslash was my very first Pokémon!"
"That's true!"
Yong agreed. Thinking of a certain member of the Kanto Elite Four who called himself a Dragon master but practically trained a Flying-type team, he found the idea perfectly reasonable.
"All right, let's eat. Afterward, we still need to prepare food for Steelix and the others. There isn't enough space here."
"Yeah! Sandslash and Hitmonlee must be starving too. Well, time to dig in!"
After wolfing down their food, the two boys finally brought their busy day to a close.
The night deepened.