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Because of the earlier unexpected incident, by the time Liam and Delia walked out of the police station, it was already afternoon. After gathering some intel, Liam reminded Officer Jenny, who was preparing to continue investigating the case, that if there were any signs of the mysterious person, she must find a way to contact him.
Only after receiving Officer Jenny's firm response did Liam and Delia leave the station.
Since so much time had passed, the two, who had originally planned to eat earlier, hadn't had much of anything. Their stomachs were already growling.
"Ugh… so hungry…"
Walking down the street, Delia leaned softly on Liam's arm, looking weak and drained.
"Heh, sorry to have kept you waiting. Tell you what—how about we head to the department store now, eat while we shop, as compensation?"
Seeing how famished Delia looked, Liam felt distressed and quickly suggested browsing the Goldenrod Department Store while grabbing food.
"Mhm! Okay! What are we waiting for then? Hurry, hurry!"
Hearing Liam's suggestion, Delia perked up slightly, grabbed him by the arm, and pulled him eagerly toward the department store.
And so began their shopping spree. The Goldenrod Department Store was indeed massive, filled with an incredible variety of goods. You could find almost anything you wanted if you looked hard enough. There was also plenty of food—just the free samples were enough to fill Liam and Delia's stomachs.
Originally, Liam only intended to accompany Delia, but when he saw the dazzling array of merchandise, he couldn't help but feel tempted himself.
Of course, most of the goods were meaningless to him, so Liam ignored them and went straight to the department store's TM counter.
Thanks to Giovanni's aggressive expansion, TMs had now spread across the region. Almost every moderately large city had shops selling a wide range of TMs, and sales were booming, providing Team Rocket with massive financial support.
Right now, before Liam's eyes, long lines stretched from the TM counter, each customer holding one or several TMs as they patiently waited to pay.
Liam and Delia walked over to the display case. To Liam's surprise, many slots that had originally held TMs labeled with move names were now completely empty—obviously sold out. Only a handful of types remained.
"Wow… TMs are really selling like crazy. With all this money, Giovanni hasn't even said anything about giving me a raise…" Liam muttered, clicking his tongue at the price tags beneath each TM.
"Hm? Liam? Did you just say something?"
Delia, who was also browsing through the TMs, hadn't heard his low grumble and turned curiously to ask.
"Ah, nothing! Oh! Delia, come take a look at this—these are moves Riolu can actually learn!"
Quickly wiping his imaginary sweat, Liam pulled out three TMs from the case and held them up with a smile.
"Eh? What moves are they? Are they powerful?"
Delia's attention was instantly drawn to the TMs in his hands.
"Hehe, these three are Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, and Ice Punch. Riolu can't learn Fire Punch or Ice Punch, but it can learn Thunder Punch! That's a really useful move. If Riolu learns it, its strength will definitely improve a lot."
What Liam held in his hands were the so-called "Three Elemental Punches"—a set of very practical elemental punch moves. Their power was solid, and their typing utility was excellent.
"Eh? Out of the three, Riolu can only learn one?"
Delia pouted when she heard that Riolu could only learn Thunder Punch.
"Oh, come on, don't be greedy. Just being able to learn one is already lucky. None of my Pokémon can learn any of these at all."
Seeing Delia sulking, Liam sighed helplessly.
"Bleh~ You're already so strong! Why do you even need more moves? Hmph, whatever, I don't care about you! I'm going to pay now—and then we'll find a place for Riolu to learn the move~"
Seeing Liam's exasperated face actually put Delia in a great mood. She stuck out her tongue playfully, snatched the TM from his hands, and rushed to the end of the line, full of excitement.
...
By the time Liam and Delia left the department store, the sky had already darkened. Realizing it wasn't suitable to continue traveling, the two decided to spend the night at the Pokémon Center instead.
Since they had just parted ways with Max in the morning, it didn't feel right to bother him again, so they settled for the Center.
After a short walk, they arrived at the Pokémon Center. Once they registered for a room, Delia happily took the TM to the training grounds outside to practice with Riolu. Liam, meanwhile, watched her and Riolu training energetically through the window, then walked over to the Center's videophone and dialed Professor Oak's number.
"Do—"
"Hello? Oh, Liam! Hahaha, what's the occasion? You're not the type to call unless there's something serious. Tell me, did you run into trouble?"
The screen lit up with Professor Oak's smiling face. He was delighted to see Liam's call.
"Uh, haha, long time no see, Professor Oak. I do have something I want to tell you, but don't worry—it's not that I ran into trouble."
Looking at Professor Oak, who now seemed to have a few more strands of gray hair at his temples, Liam thought of Max and suddenly felt uneasy.
"Oh? Then what is it? …Wait… don't tell me you want Aerodactyl back already! No way, I haven't finished collecting its data yet!"
Hearing Liam wasn't in trouble, Professor Oak instantly grew wary, fearing that Liam would ask for Aerodactyl back. He rushed to refuse before Liam could even speak.
"…That's not it, Professor. Actually, I just wanted to tell you—I ran into Max yesterday."
Watching Professor Oak's guarded expression, Liam couldn't help but sweat nervously.
"What?! You—you met Max? How… how is he doing now?"
At the sudden mention of Max, Professor Oak's emotions surged. But he quickly reined them in and asked, his expression turning slightly complicated.
"Mhm, Max is doing well. I even battled him yesterday. He's gotten really strong—gave me quite a hard time! Haha, though… he still couldn't beat me in the end."
Liam chose not to mention Max's injuries or Lina's pregnancy. That was something for Professor Oak and Max to deal with themselves.
"Ah… haha… that's good, that's good…"
Professor Oak nodded absentmindedly, clearly distracted, his words a little perfunctory.
"And one more thing, Professor Oak! Max has a girlfriend now~ He even said he'll bring her to meet you all soon, so you better get ready~"
Noticing Professor Oak's dazed expression, Liam decided to drop a little bombshell. The effect was immediate.
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"
The videophone shook as Professor Oak's roar burst through the speaker, so loud it nearly shattered the glass and made Liam's ears ring.