Chapter 322 — The Field Guide: Akari

Chapter 322 — The Field Guide: Akari

Asahi opened the door to see Captain Kamado and Moon standing outside.

The moment he saw them, he greeted them warmly. "Captain Kamado! Long time no see…"

Before Kamado could say anything, Asahi already had him by the hand. "Our Team Rocket just opened for business, and Captain Kamado made a trip out here just to congratulate us—I'm really touched…"

The villagers nearby, who had been curiously watching the commotion, suddenly had a look of realization.

"No wonder that outsider could start up an organization right in Team Galactic's territory…"

"So it was Captain Kamado's silent approval!"

"Then joining Team Rocket should be totally safe, right…?"

Kamado: "?"

Since when did I approve this? Why don't I know about it?

But before he could open his mouth, Asahi had already pulled him into the house.

Inside, Kamado saw a Gengar sweeping the floor with a duster made of a silver-feathered tail that gave off a faint shimmer.

To his surprise, the Gengar wasn't the least bit shy—on the contrary, it stuck out its tongue and made a face at him.

"Quit fooling around…"

Asahi smacked the Gengar lightly. It made a face, stuck its tongue out again, and then lazily resumed sweeping.

After inviting Kamado to sit and sending Zinnia off to make tea, Asahi asked, "So, Captain Kamado, what brings you here?"

Kamado looked at Asahi, then at the Psyduck sitting beside him, fell silent for a moment, and then said seriously, "I want to know—what is your true objective?"

"What do you mean by that, Captain Kamado?" Asahi asked with a puzzled expression.

"A traveler appears out of nowhere in Jubilife Village, and the very next day he establishes a new organization and produces mysterious Pokéblocks with incredible effects… You don't seem like someone who's just here for fun. Tell me—what are you really after?"

Asahi grinned. "Since you've so sincerely asked…"

"Then out of the kindness of my heart, I'll tell you…"

Returning with the tea, Zinnia expressionlessly read the lines Asahi had given her in advance, like a soulless narrator.

Asahi: "To prevent the world from devastation."

Zinnia: "To protect the peace of all peoples." (God, kill me now.)

Asahi: "To uphold the love and truth of justice—we are the charming and righteous characters!"

Asahi pointed at himself, "Asahi!"

Then pointed at the utterly deadpan Zinnia, "Zinnia!"

Asahi: "White hole—a white tomorrow awaits us!"

"That's right!"

"Gongaa~!"

Gengar raised the duster like a sacred artifact, striking a heroic pose with a shout.

Kamado: "…"

Are these two trying to be comedians?

Seeing that Asahi clearly wasn't in the mood for serious conversation, Kamado sighed and got to the real reason for his visit.

"I want to buy a batch of those Pokéblocks from you."

Still basking in his meme performance, Asahi blinked. "Pokéblocks?"

Kamado nodded. "That's right. Moon noticed that your Pokéblocks seem to reduce wild Pokémon's hostility toward humans. For Team Galactic's expansion plans, I want to place an order."

Asahi glanced at Moon. He wasn't surprised she'd mentioned this to Kamado—it was one of his goals from the start.

With a small smile, he said, "Of course you can. But the premium Pokéblocks must be crafted by me personally. I'll also need a bunch of berries as ingredients… which I was just planning to head out and gather."

"I could—"

Kamado began, but Asahi cut him off with a smile: "How about this—Captain Kamado arranges a guide for me? Someone to keep an eye on me as I gather berries and deliver the blocks."

"…A guide?"

"That's right. I'm just a traveler, after all. Not familiar with the terrain."

...

Kamado had no idea how he left the house. All he knew was that he'd been smooth-talked into assigning a guide—and hadn't even seen the shadow of a Pokéblock yet.

"Moon, what do you think?" he asked, turning to her.

When it came to judging people, he trusted Moon's instincts.

"So far, this traveler named Asahi doesn't feel like a bad guy…" Moon recalled how that Shiny Gardevoir had looked at Asahi—with a gaze full of trust and affection. She nodded with certainty. "No way a villain's Gardevoir would look at them like that."

Gardevoirs are empathetic—they can sense human emotion. You could force one into a Poké Ball, maybe, but you'd never earn that kind of bond.

"…Alright then," Kamado said. "Send Akari as his guide."

Moon's brow furrowed. "Akari? The wilds are dangerous…"

In Hisui, going into the wild was never safe. People dying from Pokémon attacks wasn't rare, even with Team Galactic's training and outposts.

"A Starly will never become a Staraptor without facing danger. Trust in Akari—she's ready."

Kamado had seen enough of this world to know: weakness has no place in survival. To live, one must grow strong.

Seeing his determination, Moon hesitated, then gave a small nod.

...

"Excuse me, is Mr. Asahi home?"

With no Eevee to cuddle, Asahi had been idly ruffling the three dopey strands atop Psyduck's head when a crisp voice came from the door.

Looking up, he saw a girl in a Team Galactic uniform and a white cap standing outside—sharp eyes, neat posture, confident energy.

The moment Zinnia laid eyes on her, she froze. "Platinum? You crossed over too?!"

The girl blinked in confusion. "Platinum? I don't know who that is… I'm Akari. Captain Kamado sent me to be your guide."

"It's nothing," Asahi said quickly, ignoring Zinnia's indignant face. "She's got a bit of a delusional streak. Just ignore her. Welcome to the Hisui World Championships Training Squad!"

"…The what?" Akari blinked. She didn't get the whole "World Championships" thing, but nodded anyway. "When do we leave, Mr. Asahi?"

"No rush. First, what's your partner Pokémon?"

Akari hesitated, but answered, "Pikachu."

"Pikachu, huh? Then it might like this…"

Asahi pulled out a special Pokéblock he'd once made just to befriend a Pikachu and handed it over.

Akari took it, summoned Pikachu from its Poké Ball, and offered it the block.

Pikachu sniffed… then gobbled it up in one bite.

"Pika~!"

Seeing Pikachu's satisfied grin, Akari couldn't help but smile too.

Zinnia stared, eyes wide. "That smile… She has to be Platinum. You sure she's not faking it?"

"I'm not! Why would I lie to you?!"

"By the way… who exactly is this Platinum you keep mentioning?" Akari asked.

Asahi rubbed his chin. "Strictly speaking… your descendant."

"…Descendant?"

Akari blinked. Then something clicked.

Her face flushed red. She stared at Asahi like he was the world's worst creep.

Pervert!

"…Okay, maybe telling a teenage girl she has a future descendant wasn't the smoothest move," Asahi admitted inwardly. "But c'mon—it's true!"

"Zinnia, back me up here," he pleaded.

"Ababababa—" Zinnia, at the most critical moment, played dumb.

He could see the glee in her eyes.

"...Fine. You want to play like that?"

Just wait till we're alone.

In the end, he had to pull out the photo he'd taken with Platinum. Akari finally believed him—there was someone out there who looked a lot like her.

She stared at the beautiful, fashionable Platinum in the photo… then glanced down at her own plain uniform.

For the first time, Akari felt the stirrings of a desire to dress up.

Meanwhile, Psyduck and Pikachu had already become fast friends.

Inside the small house, Pikachu darted ahead while Psyduck waddled clumsily behind.

Whump!

Psyduck tripped.

Its head smacked the wooden floor—hard enough to leave a dent.

It was exactly because of that dense, rock-hard beak that Asahi had picked this particular Psyduck from a whole group of them, despite it looking… well, less than bright.

Completely unfazed, Psyduck stood up, shook its head, and flicked away some splinters from its bill.

Back to playing.

Gengar, however, watched in growing horror as the room he'd just cleaned turned into a battlefield.

"Gongaaa!!"

Outraged, Gengar leapt into the chaos, flashing a monstrous face that startled both Pokémon—

"Pika?!"

"Gwaah~!"

—and then…

They both pounced on Gengar and began circling him excitedly.

Gengar froze.

Wait.

Was I… not scary?

Have I lost my edge?

He stared blankly into space, doubting everything.

...

Asahi stood at the edge of the wide, open fields beyond Jubilife Village, a sense of exhilaration washing over him as the wind swept through the Obsidian Fieldlands.

Akari was diligently fulfilling her role as his guide and introduced the area seriously. "This is the Obsidian Fieldlands…"

In Asahi's mind, however, he'd already renamed it to "Oreburgh Plains."

"Are there any strong Pokémon around here? Preferably an Alpha."

Since this was a training journey, Asahi wasn't going to waste time with weaklings. He needed real opponents.

Akari, unsure of Asahi's true strength, thought for a moment before cautiously suggesting a relatively manageable threat. "There's an Alpha Shinx behind Aspiration Hill…"

Before she could finish, Asahi waved his hand with gleaming eyes. "Let's go!"

...

Ten minutes later, they stood before the Alpha Shinx, which was currently patrolling its territory.

This Shinx was twice the size of a normal one, about as large as a typical Luxray. It noticed them instantly and growled a low, threatening rumble, warning them not to approach.

Asahi ignored the threat entirely.

"Psyduck, go!"

Under Akari's stunned gaze, Asahi sent out Psyduck without hesitation.

She'd seen this Psyduck messing around with Pikachu earlier and assumed it was just a dumb pet. Never had she expected Asahi to actually use it in a battle. Was he trying to get it killed?

"Mr. Asahi, please recall Psyduck!" Akari cried out anxiously.

The Alpha Shinx wasn't overwhelmingly strong, but for a dopey Psyduck, it was absolutely dangerous.

But Asahi didn't budge. "Psyduck, use—wait, not Stubborn Quack—use Brick Break!"

Psyduck lifted its head, its yellow beak glowing with a stark white light.

Brick Break!

Akari's heart sank. Still, as a guide, she tossed out her Poké Ball to summon Pikachu and prepare for an emergency.

Then—

Bam!

Psyduck's glowing beak smashed into the Alpha Shinx, sending it flying like a ragdoll.

Asahi tilted his chin proudly.

Do you even know the value of a beak harder than concrete?!

"Quack!"

With gleaming eyes, Psyduck charged again on its own. Blue light surged in its eyes—Confusion unleashed!

Bang!

Just as the Alpha Shinx tried to rise, the psychic force slammed it to the ground, pinning it in place. It struggled, but couldn't move.

"Finish it! Use Psychic!"

Boom!

The Shinx convulsed from the mental barrage and finally collapsed, defeated.

Asahi turned to Akari, who stood there in stunned silence. "You were saying?"

On the side, Zinnia folded her arms with a smug look. "I knew you'd be just fine, Asahi."

He glanced sideways at her. "Heh, don't think that a few compliments are enough to make me forget what you did earlier… When we get back, I'm giving you a month off from caring for Rayquaza."

Zinnia's expression turned pale. "No, please!"

Asahi ignored her and looked to Akari. "Got any stronger Alpha Pokémon? This level of challenge is barely warming up."

Akari snapped out of her daze. "Yes! Near the river, someone spotted an Alpha Floatzel!"

Asahi tossed an Ultra Ball, capturing the unconscious Alpha Shinx, and said, "Let's move! We've still got berries to gather too."