Rare Pokémon

Little Black was also a Pokémon that symbolized the night and the moon, so he sometimes went out to gaze at it. It was not a full moon, but perhaps they wanted to see it floating beautifully in the sky.

After covering Cynthia and the others with towel blankets, Kaim put on his jacket.

"I'll be out there for a little while. I'll be back soon, but let me know if anything happens."

"All right."

Kaim left the villa with Umbreon.

"It's quiet."

There was no sound on the beach except the waves and their footsteps.

The beach, so lively during the day, became quiet and comfortable at night.

After walking a short distance, Kaim sat down on the sand. Little Black sat beside him and looked up at the sky.

He heard faint laughter. Guests at a nearby lodging must have been having a party.

Moonlight reflected off the sea, illuminating Kaim's and Umbreon's faces.

After a while, he heard footsteps approaching. When he turned toward them, he saw a young man wearing a black cap, his long green hair tied back. He wondered whether the young man was about his age. A planet-like pendant hung around his neck, and something resembling a puzzle cube hung at his waist.

"Hello. What a beautiful night."

The young man addressed Kaim.

"Yeah."

Kaim answered cautiously.

"Are you a Pokémon Trainer?"

"No."

"I see. What do you say? I'd like to talk with you for a while."

Kaim could not understand the young man's intentions. His voice and demeanor suggested no ill will, but he might simply have been hiding it well.

"All right, but who are you?"

"I'm just a Pokémon Trainer."

Deciding that the young man did not intend to identify himself, Kaim grew a little more cautious.

Yet Little Black, beside him, showed no sign of alarm. Little Black was not shy, but he was sensitive to people's malice. The fact that he was not on guard suggested that the young man's approach was not malicious.

Seeing Little Black like that, the young man smiled softly.

"Little Black trusts you very much."

The young man sat beside Little Black as he spoke.

"That's something to be grateful for."

"You trust each other. That's a very good relationship."

"Ha. Thanks."

Kaim still did not know what the young man wanted. Judging by the subject, this was little more than small talk. Still, since the young man showed him no ill will, his level of wariness was not set in stone.

The young man looked at Kaim and gently stroked Little Black's head.

"He's a rare Pokémon in Unova. And your accent seems a little different from the locals'. Are you from another region?"

"Yeah. The Sinnoh Region."

"You've come a long way."

Was he just a strange guy?

It was rude, but that was the only impression Kaim could form of the young man just then.

If he let the conversation continue at the young man's pace, he felt he would never be able to let his guard down, no matter how much time passed. He decided to cut it short.

"So? Why did you go out of your way to talk to me? I don't think you really just wanted to chat."

"My reason?"

The young man turned his gaze toward the sea.

"Would you hear me out for a minute?"

"If all you want is for me to listen."

"Thank you. I have a dream, but I chose the wrong path to achieve it."

The young man spoke sadly.

"Along that wrong path, many people and Pokémon suffered. I didn't want a world like that."

"Now I'm trying to make amends. I'm returning Pokémon who were separated from people important to me because of what I did. That's the way I can make up for it."

"I see."

The young man did not reveal any details.

That was why Kaim did not ask, either.

"To do what I can, I've been traveling around, and I only recently came here. While I was out walking, I happened to see a Trainer who looked decent, and I couldn't help calling out to him. That was all."

"So you really didn't have anything in mind when you spoke to me?"

"Sorry. Your eyes look a lot like 'his.'"

"You're a strange guy."

"Perhaps I am. That's why I think I made a mistake."

"I wouldn't know."

Then the smartphone in Kaim's pocket vibrated. When he looked at the screen, he saw a message from Cynthia. Checking the time, he realized that much more time had passed than he had expected, which explained her worried message.

He told her where he was and that he would be back soon, then put his smartphone back in his pocket.

"Are you leaving now?"

"Yeah. I think I've stayed too long."

"I see. Thank you for keeping me company, even if only for a little while."

"I was out for a walk anyway. Besides, it's unusual for Little Black to take a bit of a liking to you."

"I see. Thank you, Little Black. Your master is a very good person."

At the young man's words, Little Black gave a soft cry, as though saying that went without saying.

Seeing Kuroki's reaction, the young man smiled and turned to Kaim.

"I have a feeling I'll see you again."

"...Yeah."

"If we have the chance, let's meet again. When we do, there's something I'd like you to ask me. I'd like to hear what you have to say."

"That depends on what it is."

"That's fine. See you."

"It's late. Be careful on your way home."

"All right."

The young man turned and walked away from Kaim.

"I never even learned your name."

Even at the end, the young man had not given his name.

He was a young man with an air of mystery, but he had not really done anything. He had simply talked and left.

"Want to head home?"

After saying that to Little Black at his feet, Kaim turned toward the villa.

Then he saw Cynthia with a hoodie draped over her shoulders. She wore a poncho-shaped shirt over a thick tank top.

"What, did you come all this way to get me?"

"You were late coming home, so I was worried."

"Sorry about that. I didn't realize it had been so long."

"Well, anyway, who was that beside you just now?"

"No, uh... how should I put it?"

It was difficult to call him an acquaintance, let alone a friend. They had simply met, and the other man had done most of the talking about various things. He did not seem like a bad person, and Little Black had not been wary of him at all, but calling him a friend was clearly another matter. Kaim did not know much about the young man, either, so he was unsure how to explain.

"Someone came up and spoke to me, so we talked a little."

"Hm? That's all?"

"That's all. Just a little chat."

He could not say much more, because that was the truth. He did not go into detail about what they had discussed.

"Hmm."

Cynthia looked a little dissatisfied. Since she had been asleep, it was fine for him to go for a walk alone. Still, she seemed unhappy that he had spent that time with someone else.

"You made friends with a stranger while I was sleeping."

"I wouldn't say we got that close. I didn't even know his name by the end."

"I wanted to go on a beach date with you, too."

"We did that yesterday."

"I want more. We've only been on a few dates so far."

Juggling her roles as Champion and archaeologist, Cynthia did not have much time off. It could not be helped: they had only just started dating, so the total number was naturally small. That was precisely why she wanted to treasure what little time they had.

"It's too soon to call that a date."

Kaim had no interest in dating a man whose name he did not even know.

From Kaim's perspective, the conversation had hardly suggested that they were getting along well, but Cynthia did not know that. Perhaps that was why it looked that way to her.

"Hmm."

"Don't sulk. Next time."

Kaim gently patted her head with a wry smile.

"Let's go somewhere in Nimbasa City."

"All right."

She clearly was not satisfied.

Even Kaim knew that hurting Cynthia's feelings here was not a good idea.

He thought about what to do, but could not come up with a good plan. It would have been nice to walk around and talk here like they had yesterday, but it was already late, and they were better off heading home soon.

Shirona looked a little surprised by Kaim's idea.

"I get it. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Hm?"

"Anything is fine. I'll do my best. Even if it's not something I can do here, I'll do what you ask."

Honestly, this was the only move Kaim, who was unused to dealing with women, could make. It was simple, but it was the only course of action that came to mind.

"Anything?"

Hearing that, Shirona thought for a moment.

All sorts of things came to mind, but honestly, Kaim had not really done anything wrong here. This was more a matter of Cynthia being selfish. She felt she should at least choose something that would be easy even for him to do.

"Then..."

"Yes?"

"Here!"

"Huh?"

Cynthia spread her arms. Kaim tilted his head at the sight.

"Hm?"

"A hug."

"Oh, I see."

"Is that no good?"

"No, that's fine."

Kaim hugged Cynthia.

They were so close that they could hear each other's heartbeat and feel each other's warmth, making the other's presence all the more vivid.

"You're warm..."

"Yeah."

The feel and scent of Cynthia became even more intense.

"My heart's pounding."

"Mine too."

There was not much difference in their heights. With their faces so close together, their voices sounded nearer than usual.

"Hey, hold me tighter."

"Yeah."

Kaim put more effort into it. With a powerful surge of feeling, he tightened his arms, drawing their bodies together as one.

"Thank you. That's enough."

Hearing Cynthia say that, Kaim loosened his arms and let her go.

Her face slightly flushed, Shirona looked into Kaim's eyes and spoke.

"Kaim."

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"Yeah. I love you too."

Satisfied with Kaim's answer, Cynthia took his hand.

"Sorry for coming out here and making a fuss."

"It's fine."

If anything, he considered it a treat, but he did not say so.

"Let's go home. Everyone's waiting."

"Yeah."

Returning Little Black to its ball, the two walked hand in hand toward the villa.

The two moonlight-lit shadows receded from the beach, and soon only the sound of the waves remained.

Caitlin witnessed them returning hand in hand from their beach incident and held the second Girls' Gathering, and Cynthia was also questioned, but that was another story.

Nimbasa City

Gear Station

When I got off the train and exited Gear Station, the inside was crowded with many people.

I visited Nimbasa City. This was a city built purely for fun, with facilities throughout for people to enjoy.

The group visited Nimbasa City as tourists.

"It's so amazing, I've never seen such a lively city."

Shirona let out a sigh of admiration involuntarily.

There was no town in the Sinnoh Region that specialized in "enjoyment" quite like this. Since the Isshu Region itself was a famous resort destination, the idea of turning the city itself into such a tourist destination might have been born from that.

"Its direction of specialization is different from Mauville City in Johto."

"More than half of this city is like an amusement park; it is heading in a different direction from cities that developed historically."

The city itself was large, featuring a Stadium, a concert hall, amusement-park-like roller coasters, and even a Ferris wheel, but it also had other facilities.

"Well, time is limited, let's get moving quickly. Caitlin, Kaim, and I are going to check out clothes, and Iris and Shimi are heading to the amusement park, right?"

"Yeah! I want to ride the roller coaster!"

"This is a place I can't usually come to, so I can play with Iris."

"All right, then let's meet around noon, right here in front of Gear Station."

"Yeah! Shimi, do your best!"

"Ah, wait a minute! See you later!"

Seeing off the back of Shimi chasing after Iris, the three of them began to move.

"So, where are you going?"

The two were no strangers to the Isshu Region, but they were newcomers to Nimbasa City. Therefore, they were unfamiliar with the area, and the current situation was that they had not done much homework through research. There would be no problem even if they decided on the spot since it was just shopping, but Caitlin stated there would be no issue because she had researched the matter.

Saying so herself, Caitlin took a tablet out of the bag Kaim was carrying.

"Don't worry, I've already studied."

Caitlin made a face while showing the tablet.

When looking at the screen, several clothing stores were displayed, which seemed to have been picked out by Caitlin.

Then Caitlin handed the tablet to Kaim.

"Now, Kaim, please guide me."

"Eh, me?"

"Of course not? I am the winner, and you are the loser."

"Heh, I see, damn, why do I have to protect you?"

Muttering to herself, Kaim sighed, took the tablet, and started moving.

In addition, Cochran had said, "If it's Lord Kaim and Cynthia, I can leave Caitlin in charge," and then abandoned his own responsibility, causing Kaim to sigh inwardly.

I had thought that Caitlin, one of the Elite Four of the Isshu Region, would stand out when walking around the city, but I was able to move smoothly without being noticed. Shirona was not particularly famous either, but her appearance was outstanding, so I thought it would cause some kind of commotion, but that didn't happen either.

Caitlin asked Kaim if he had such thoughts on his face.

"Is it strange that you haven't become the center of attention?"

Hearing this, Caitlin seemed to read Kaim's mind.

"Yeah. Shirona might not be that famous in the Isshu Region, but you're different. Honestly, I thought this might cause some panic, but-"

"I suppose so. If it were normal."

"If it were normal?"

"Because I use my psychic power to make it harder for people to see me."

"For convenience."

"I went to a lot of trouble to do that, though."

It was a supernatural power so strong that she was banned from Pokémon battles. I could not imagine how painful it was to control it. In the world, Psychics with so-called supernatural abilities existed like Zara. But very few Psychics were as powerful as Caitlin.

"Miss Cynthia also played a role in controlling this power."

"Yeah, it's nostalgic now."

Since Caitlin's ability made it impossible to control her emotions, she started by controlling her emotions first. She was competitive by nature, so it was not easy, but with the enthusiastic cooperation of Cynthia and Cochran, I found the key to controlling her ability, which was a fond memory.

"I wonder if your relationship with Miss Cynthia has lasted even longer?"

"You've known Kaim since you met him."

"That's right, Kaim."

"Ah, what?"

"That means my relationship with Miss Cynthia is that much longer."

Kaim did not hate losing enough to fuel his fighting spirit over such a thing. Caitlin's instigation did not reach Kaim either.

"Human connections are not about the length of time; what matters is what you did with that person and what kind of relationship you have with them."

Caitlin opened her eyes wide as she looked at Kaim's expression, which remained unchanged, while Cynthia smiled. Before Kaim met Cynthia, he would not have said such things. Working with Cynthia for nearly three years had allowed Kaim to grow not only as a Trainer, but also as a person. It was a word I could understand.