"Chu-ru-ru!"
Eyes locked, Lopunny became a blur of motion, launching herself forward with Quick Attack.
"Clefable, evade and counter with Hyper Voice!"
Clefable's eyes snapped shut in concentration. With a surprisingly graceful hop, she sidestepped the lightning-fast charge by a hair's breadth. As her opponent skidded to a halt, Clefable's chest puffed out like a bellows, her curled antennae glowing with a pale gold light.
A moment later, a piercing, crystalline cry ripped through the morning air.
"Piiii—!"
But Akane hadn't anticipated this: the Lopunny seemed to have predicted it. Instead of being caught in the concentric rings of sound, she used the momentum of her charge to spring high into the air.
Under Clefable's widening, panicked gaze, the airborne figure was a sword being drawn from its sheath. A powerful leg snapped out in a devastating Jump Kick, not around, but straight through the cascading sound waves, shattering their cohesion.
"N-no way?!" Akane gasped, watching her Clefable get blasted backward into a thicket with a sickening thud.
She'd never seen a Jump Kick used not to circumvent an attack, but to violently pierce through one. And this Lopunny was doing it all without a single command from a Trainer. A cold trickle of realization ran down her spine. This was no ordinary wild Pokémon.
"Chu… ru?" Lopunny landed lightly, equally stunned as she surveyed the collateral damage—a young sapling snapped clean in half by Clefable's flight path.
Was this… my power? She recalled the strange, tingling sensation that had suffused her body after last night's… incident. Had her body not just become more sensitive, but stronger?
"Pi…" Clefable staggered out of the brush, her pristine pink fur now matted with dirt and leaves. The Jump Kick had been devastating, but its Fighting-type nature was her saving grace; as a Fairy-type, she resisted it.
"Clefable! Can you keep going?" Akane called out, worry etching her features.
"Pi!" Clefable shook herself off, determination replacing pain in her eyes. She was a Gym Leader's Pokémon, after all.
"Good! Then let's show her our resolve! Moonblast!"
Clefable's antennae glowed with an ethereal, silver light as she began to gather celestial energy.
Lopunny's pupils contracted. Not to be outdone, she focused, her body mimicking Clefable's pose—Copycat. A second, rivaling lunar glow began to coalesce before her.
As the air grew thick with oppressive energy, the grass flattening in two expanding circles, and twin phantom full moons began to manifest above the farm, a calm, male voice cut through the tension.
"That's enough. Gardevoir, Extrasensory. Interrupt them."
A torrent of raw, pink-purple psychic force slammed down from above, striking the exact midpoint between the two charging Pokémon. The twin lunar glows flickered and died as the concussive wave of mental energy washed over them.
Crack—thump.
When the dust settled, two unconscious Pokémon lay in the grass.
"…Perhaps a lighter touch next time?" Wade suggested, stepping into the clearing. He looked from the fainted Pokémon to the pink-haired girl, whose eyes were wide with a mixture of shock and awe. He could only sigh. "My apologies for the rough handling."
"Sha." The most efficient way to stop a fight is to knock out all participants. A timeless strategy, Gardevoir's psychic murmur noted with satisfaction from behind him.
After a flustered explanation from Akane, the pieces fell into place for Wade.
"The fault is mine. I should have been more attentive," Wade said, offering a sincere bow. "I'm Wade, the owner of this farm. Lopunny is one of my partners. She must have mistaken you for a trespasser."
Akane quickly waved her hands. "No, no! It's my fault for barging in without announcing myself!" She straightened up, a bright, professional smile returning to her face. "I'm Akane, the Gym Leader of Goldenrod City in Johto. It's a pleasure to meet you, Wade!"
"The pleasure is mine," Wade replied, his gaze lingering for an extra moment.
The Cowgirl. The information clicked into place. Round, cheerful face like a sun-ripened peach. Vibrant pink hair that curled playfully at the ends. Eyes that crinkled into cheerful crescents when she smiled. And most notably, a figure that her simple white shirt struggled heroically to contain—the fabric strained over twin slopes of impressive softness, the space between buttons hinting at deep, shadowed valleys with each breath.
Her ace was a Miltank. Her strategy was infamous. But what was a Johto Gym Leader doing all the way out here in rural Sinnoh?
"So that amazing Lopunny is yours!" Akane bubbled, her earlier caution forgotten as she bounced closer, her enthusiasm palpable. "She's incredibly well-trained! In all my time as a Gym Leader, I haven't seen many challengers with Pokémon that strong!"
She mentally compared Wade's Lopunny to the parade of hopefuls who faced her Miltank's Rollout, and the conclusion was undeniable.
"Is that so?" Wade smiled, a modest curve of his lips. "Lopunny will be glad to hear such high praise from a Gym Leader."
"Chu-ru-ru~"
Lopunny chimed in from beside Wade's leg, a rare, unguarded look of pride softening her features.
"Then, then, can you tell me how you trained her?" Akane pressed, propping her chin in her hands and leaning so far forward that the edge of the wooden table dug into the soft swell of her chest. Her bright, earnest eyes were fixed on him, wide with curiosity.
The precarious motion sent a dramatic tremor through the snow-white expanse barely contained by her shirt, momentarily short-circuiting Wade's higher brain functions.
"Uh…"
Her unconventional, intensely personal question left him stumbling. How was he supposed to explain this?
For Lopunny's power to have surged so dramatically, there was only one catalyst: the effects of a Word Strip, likely something like Delicate Body or Battle Tempo, earned through… profound interpersonal exchange.
But he could hardly tell the cheerful Gym Leader, 'Oh, we achieved this through rigorous and frequent intimate communion.'
"Ahem," Wade cleared his throat, deliberately looking away from the hypnotic sway. "Let's… continue this inside. Would you like some tea?"
"H-how can you dodge the question like that… Fine." Hearing his clumsy deflection, Akane's luminous eyes seemed to shimmer with exaggerated disappointment, and she finally let her shoulders slump in a theatrical sigh.
Of course, she understood. Many Trainers guarded their secret training methods closely; it was an unspoken rule. Still, she'd hoped…
It was only when she glanced down and caught the subtle, lingering path of his gaze—a trajectory that ended squarely on the strained fabric of her shirt—that a different kind of heat flooded her cheeks.
Ugh… I knew this shirt was a bad idea. It feels like it's… holding on for dear life.
"Sha."
Back in the cozy, if worn, living room of the wooden cabin, Gardevoir floated over with a tray, presenting cups of steaming hot water with an elegant, hostess-like grace.
"Thank you!" / "Pi!"
Akane and her recovered Clefable offered grateful smiles.
Finally, after taking a careful sip, the pink-haired girl set her cup down with a soft clink and grew serious. "I should apologize for the intrusion. The truth is, I came here to fulfill a promise to my grandfather."
With that, she tilted her head in that characteristically cute way and produced a large, jangling pouch from her backpack. She upended it over the cleared space of the floor, and a cascade of standard Poké Balls tumbled out.
"So!" she announced, her voice bright with purpose. "These Pokémon are now entrusted to your care, Wade!"
"This is…"
Wade watched, surprised, as the balls popped open in unison. One after another, small, cream-colored heads emerged, blinking large, curious eyes at their new surroundings. Soft, confused "Moo?" sounds filled the room. Many of the young Miltank, smelling hay and earth on him, immediately waddled over to nuzzle their fluffy heads against his legs.
He did a quick count. Twenty-four. All of them calves, barely past weaning age.
"It seems they've taken a liking to you already," Akane said, her smile warm and genuine as she watched the black-haired youth become the center of a gentle, bovine tide.
Seeing his confusion, she elaborated. "My grandfather and Old Man Bai were traveling companions in their youth. After the Johto League circuit ended decades ago, they went their separate ways, each returning home to start their own farms."
"When I heard that you, Wade, had taken over the Hiyori Town farm, my grandfather specifically asked me to make the trip from Johto. He wanted these little ones to be entrusted to you."
"I see…"
Wade's heart softened with sudden understanding. 'Old Man Bai' was his late grandfather. This wasn't just a delivery; it was a posthumous gesture of faith, a lifeline thrown from one generation of farmers to the next.
He looked at the sea of trusting, gentle faces surrounding him. While Akane didn't say it outright, the message was clear: her grandfather, worried the farm would fail in inexperienced hands, was sending its most valuable resource—the foundation of a sustainable future. Moomoo Milk was always in high demand among Trainers and Centers alike. Properly raised, these two dozen calves could secure the farm's finances for years to come.
A profound gratitude washed over him, mingling with the determination to honor both his own grandfather's legacy and this unexpected kindness from a stranger.
"Thank you," he said, his voice thick with sincerity as he gently stroked the head of the nearest Miltank calf. "I promise, I'll take the very best care of them."
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