Right now, Shiguya was far more nervous than Flaaffy had been earlier.
He had been selected by Professor Rowan's Research Lab, evaluated, and approved through a comprehensive observation process before finally earning the qualification to receive a prototype Pokédex.
Rookies were allowed to choose one of the starter Pokémon provided by the Research Lab, though the available species differed from lab to lab.
At Professor Rowan's Lab, the choices were Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup.
Shiguya had already made up his mind long ago; he would choose Piplup. On the day of distribution, he was even the first one to arrive at the Lab.
He carried a backpack full of food that Piplup liked. If nothing had gone wrong, that would have been the day his journey as a Pokémon Trainer began.
But of course, when you don't want accidents to happen, that's exactly when they happen.
As he was walking along, Shiguya suddenly felt his backpack getting lighter.
At first, he thought it was just his imagination, but as the pack grew lighter and lighter, laughter rang out behind him.
When he turned around, he saw that all the treats he had prepared as a gift for Piplup had vanished. A few Misdreavus, their bellies full, scattered in all directions while giggling mischievously.
Looking at his half-empty backpack, Shiguya slumped down onto the grass in despair. To run into something like this on his very first day at the Research Lab… what would the Professor think of him now?
Just then, three plastic food containers floated down from the air and landed neatly in front of him.
He had brought four in total. He'd assumed all of them had been stolen, but apparently, three had been saved.
Overjoyed, Shiguya looked around, wondering which Pokémon had helped him. Judging by that telekinetic ability, it had to be a Psychic-type.
Then came that familiar laughter again. A Misdreavus swooped playfully through the air, clearly amused by Shiguya's puzzled glances. She even floated down and repeated her "sky-drop" trick with the food containers for his benefit.
Watching her laugh so hard she was practically rolling in the air, only one word filled Shiguya's mind.
'Adorable!'
After tidying up his pack, Shiguya went to apologize to the Professor and explained why he didn't want to choose any of the standard three starters.
For several days after that, he kept returning to the Lab, seeking out the same Misdreavus, trying to persuade her to come travel with him.
Misdreavus clearly sensed his sincerity. The rest of her kind supported her decision, too, but in their eyes, this was something that had to be approved by Luther first.
It was only then that Shiguya learned that, while Misdreavus didn't technically have a Trainer, she did have a sort of guardian, in name, at least.
And so, Shiguya did everything he could to learn about Luther.
The Lab Researchers spoke highly of him, and even Professor Rowan seemed to hold him in great esteem.
The latest news was that not long ago, Luther had defeated Candice, who had fought at full strength in a Gym Battle, earning his sixth badge.
He wasn't arrogant, and the data spoke for itself: defeating a Gym Leader who didn't hold back was an achievement that only a handful of Trainers across Sinnoh could boast.
And Luther had done it all in under a year. The thought alone made Shiguya feel breathless.
Before arriving, he had told himself over and over that this was just an evaluation and there was nothing to stress about and that Luther would surely understand his intentions.
But after he passed the battle assessment and was told to wait in the lounge for the next stage, his heartbeat only grew faster. The closer the meeting got, the more his nerves took over.
He wiped sweat from his forehead again and again, but it didn't help. Parched, he drained his water glass completely. Just as he was about to get up and refill it, the door opened.
Sachiko, Professor Rowan, Luther, and Mai walked in together.
Luther's Pokémon had been playing with Misdreavus, but at a small hand signal from Mai, they immediately quieted down.
Seeing Misdreavus made Shiguya's heart pound even faster.
Professor Rowan had already told him beforehand that Luther would be leading this assessment and Luther, for his part, looked quite relaxed.
"So, you're Shiguya, right? Have a seat," Luther said.
Shiguya quickly set his cup down and sat up straight.
Luther smiled. "No need to be so tense. I watched your battle test earlier. Professor Rowan says your strength is pretty good and compared to other Trainers who've received their Pokédex from the Lab, you're above average."
But the words "pretty good" didn't ease Shiguya's nerves at all. To him, that just sounded like barely passable.
Luther's standards were clearly very high, so that kind of "pretty good" evaluation couldn't really be considered praise.
Shiguya waited, tense, expecting some kind of turn in Luther's words.
"So," Luther continued, "we've decided to grant you both the Pokédex and Misdreavus."
Shiguya froze. That… was completely different from what he'd imagined. What about the rest of the assessment? All that effort, all those days of preparation, all that anxiety waiting in the lounge…
Just like that, he'd passed?
Apparently, he really had. If there were any chance Luther was joking, the sight of Professor Rowan holding out the Pokédex and Sachiko placing a Poké Ball on the table in front of him erased that possibility completely.
Overcome with excitement, Shiguya hugged the Misdreavus that dove straight into his arms, holding her tightly for a long time before finally letting go.
Still dazed with happiness, he first thanked everyone in the room, then picked up the Pokédex while keeping an arm around Misdreavus.
Luther and Professor Rowan exchanged a brief glance, watching his expression carefully.
The Pokédex scanned Misdreavus's data, and the smile on Shiguya's face froze instantly. It took him quite a while to recover. Sensing that something was off, Misdreavus tilted her head curiously at him.
After a moment of hesitation, Shiguya gave a faint smile, closed the Pokédex, tucked it into his backpack, and bowed deeply to Luther while still holding Misdreavus in his arms.
"Thank you for trusting me," he said. "I'll take good care of Misdreavus."
With that, accompanied by Misdreavus, Shiguya left the Research Lab.
Luther watched his retreating back and smiled faintly. "Not bad. He didn't disappoint me."
"What if Shiguya had suddenly decided not to take Misdreavus?" Professor Rowan asked.
Luther chuckled. "What would you have done, Professor?"
The two of them laughed together.
The truth was, the Misdreavus Shiguya liked didn't have impressive data at all. According to the Pokédex, her abilities were almost pitifully low, nothing that stood out.
This so-called assessment had really been just one thing: to see how Shiguya would react to Misdreavus's data. When Luther first received his Pokédex, he'd used it once to check some detailed stats on his own Pokémon. After that, he'd completely forgotten that the feature even existed.
Don't be ridiculous, he thought. This world isn't a game. Numbers, stats, aptitude, those things are cold and lifeless. If that's all you care about, how can you call yourself a Pokémon Trainer?
If you only start liking a Pokémon because of its data… then what is it that you really like, those powerful numbers, or the Pokémon itself?
Luther wasn't the only one who disliked that function. Many of the prototype Pokédex holders had also found it to be something of a curse.
Still, every tool has two sides, pros and cons. Luther wasn't the type to see things in black and white; his brain would short-circuit if he tried to categorize everything as purely good or bad.
So all he could do was choose not to use it himself.
To Luther, you could only call yourself a Pokémon Trainer after you first recognized Pokémon as living, thinking beings, individuals with their own minds.
And in that regard, Shiguya hadn't let him down. In the end, data is just data. No reason in the world outweighs a simple truth: I like this one.
(End of Chapter)
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