"Thanks."
Hearing him say that, Xia You stopped standing on ceremony. He took the Gyarados Mega Evolution stone from Lühé and slipped it into his pocket.
Now, although he had yet to master the way to use this power, he already had a Mega Evolution stone ahead of time.
This could be considered a good start. At the very least, it put him a step ahead of everyone else right at the starting line.
"All right, I'm going to rest. We'll meet again if fate allows."
Lühé turned and lifted the tent flap.
Watching his retreating figure, Tracey could not help taking a step forward.
Pokémon Watchers were scarce to begin with. Although their time together had been brief, he instinctively felt a strong affinity for Lühé.
They might have said they would meet again if fate allowed, but Lühé was getting on in years, and given their respective travel routes, they probably would not have another chance to meet.
At that thought, Tracey said sincerely, "Mr. Lühé, please make sure you take good care of yourself, too!"
Lühé paused. Without turning around, he simply waved with his back to them, then ducked into the tent.
Once the flap fell, the campsite became completely quiet.
Xia You and the others each took their luggage and retraced their route along the river back to the shore.
By then, the Gyarados and Magikarp had long since disappeared.
After going through so much together once again, they had now reached the time to part.
Compared with their previous farewells, however, Misty was even more reluctant to leave this time.
But there was nothing she could do. She still had to continue traveling with Ash, after all, and given their friendship, she could not simply abandon him.
Looking tenderly at Xia You, Misty opened