Kindness and value

A cool breeze stirred in the night.

Dressed again, Candice sat on the grass with her arms around her knees. She looked at Qingliu and the mysterious Pokémon lying beside the campfire a short distance away, then lowered her gaze to the grilled fish in her hands, her expression blank.

Snover sat beside her. After eating two Oran Berries, she had recovered much of her strength and energy, though her body was still blackened from the flames. She kept nibbling on her grilled fish, looking thoroughly content.

"Wukoyi?"

Noticing Candice's gaze, Snover raised the grilled fish in her hands, urging her to try it.

Encouraged by her, Candice raised her own fish and took a small bite.

There were no seasonings, but perhaps the wild fish's naturally pleasant texture, paired with the faint char from grilling, made it all the more delicious.

"It tastes good. Really good."

Hearing that, Snover nodded in wholehearted agreement and went back to taking big bites.

After a few mouthfuls of fish, a faint warmth began to spread through Candice's stomach, and she looked over at the other side again.

During the battle earlier, she had been focused on how to use her moves to win. Later, that had turned into worry for Snover's safety, until finally, only despair remained.

Despite being at the same level, the gap in their strength had been staggering. On top of that, there had been the terrifying type disadvantage, and Qingliu had looked as though he would not stop until Snover was dead.

At that moment, she had genuinely felt that Snover was doomed.

Her heart had practically stopped.

Yet at the very last moment, Qingliu and the mysterious Pokémon had suddenly stopped, instantly returning to how they had been when they first met.

It was as though their apparent intent to kill had all been an act.

Yes, perhaps it really was an act.

Recalling the difference in size and power between the two flame attacks, she realized they had clearly been holding back.

Was it to feign weakness and lure the enemy in?

With that kind of strength, there was no need. Then what was his goal?

With a Gym in her family and a father who was a Gym Leader, Candice had received a thoroughly orthodox education. She was perfectly capable of thinking things through, and soon began to piece a few things together.

Looking at the soot-blackened Snover resting beside her, Candice remembered that not long ago, the two of them had still been caught up in an argument. Now, they could sit together so peacefully.

If she started from that point, everything seemed to make sense.

Meanwhile.

Beside the campfire, Agumon tossed the last grilled fish into his mouth with his claws, chewed a couple of times, and swallowed it.

"Buuurp~"

After letting out a long burp, Agumon rubbed his belly in satisfaction.

"Qingliu."

"Hmm?"

"I have a question."

"Go ahead."

"Why didn't you let me use my full strength at the start?"

Lying on the ground and gazing at the bright moon overhead, Qingliu could not help laughing as he chided him. "Snover brought our grilled fish back. That was a favor, however small. Are you really so eager to repay her kindness by killing her?"

Agumon quickly shook his head. "That's not what I meant. I mean, we were going to cancel the attack before it hit her anyway, so why didn't we use it from the start? Why did you make me actually burn her first?"

"If we hadn't done that, how would Snover and her Trainer have believed we really meant to kill them?" Qingliu asked in return.

"..."

With the question suddenly turned back on him, Agumon was at a loss.

Seeing this, Qingliu gently stroked Agumon's head and patiently explained, "Snover and Candice both care deeply about each other.

"Candice came through the woods alone at night. Her clothes and socks were torn, and she was hurt, but she still came looking for Snover.

"And although Snover acted afraid of being found by Candice, when Candice arrived, her first instinct was only to hide, not run away. When she saw the injuries Candice had suffered while searching for her, she pretended not to care, yet couldn't help sneaking glances at them."

"Only if we posed a serious enough threat in battle to make them feel they were about to be separated by death would they realize how they truly felt."

After hearing Qingliu's explanation, Agumon fell into a long silence.

His large green eyes turned toward the sky, as though he were pondering something.

Qingliu rubbed his forehead and sighed helplessly. "They'd only understand how important they were to each other when they were about to die."

"Oh, so that's it! Qingliu, you're amazing!"

Agumon suddenly understood and gave Qingliu a thumbs-up with his claw.

Qingliu simply chose to ignore him.

He lay back down on the ground and looked up at the sky.

Unlike Agumon, who was practically a Slowpoke, Qingliu had plenty on his mind.

Snover had helped him retrieve the grilled fish and eliminated a potential safety risk. It was neither a huge favor nor an insignificant one, so he was willing to use a battle to force Snover and Candice to mend their relationship.

After all, it was simple enough. Things between them had not yet become completely irreconcilable. All he needed was an external factor-in other words, for him to seriously threaten them-and they would surely set aside their differences to face him together.

He could also use the battle to see whether the command skills he had rehearsed hundreds, even thousands of times in his mind were actually useful.

At the same time, he could test how Agumon performed in battle against an opponent of the same level.

Although Pepper Breath had been far too effective against the Grass- and Ice-type Snover for the test to be perfect, a glimpse could reveal the whole picture. There were plenty of small details from which he could draw a conclusion.

Namely, at the same level, Agumon was stronger than a Pokémon professionally raised by a Gym and entrusted to its successor.

Even if neither side had a type advantage, Agumon would probably still have held the upper hand throughout. As for a type disadvantage, that remained unknown.

Besides repaying the favor and conducting his own tests, Qingliu had something else in mind.

And that was... Candice.

Of course, it was not because he found her attractive, but because of who she was.

The only daughter of Snowpoint City's current Gym Leader, and the future Gym Leader of Snowpoint City.

Those two identities might not have placed her at the very top of the Pokémon world, but when "Snowpoint City" entered the equation, their significance to Qingliu changed entirely.

Because north of Snowpoint City, at the northernmost edge of the entire Sinnoh Region, stood a temple with an exceptionally long history-Snowpoint Temple.

Like the Solaceon Ruins, this temple had existed since the Hisui era, an ancient structure with thousands of years of history.

The Solaceon Ruins had summoned Agumon. What might he summon if he went to Snowpoint Temple?

Qingliu had no way of knowing.

And if I remember correctly, deep beneath Snowpoint Temple, there's still a... big fellow asleep.

P.S. I'd like your thoughts on a specific update time, and whether the two chapters should be posted separately or together. Feel free to leave a comment-I'll read them all.