"Huh? Oh—"
Hayashi froze for a moment before his expression cleared—he suddenly remembered. During the training camp arc of the Shokugeki no Soma anime, Kōjirō Shinomiya—Erina's distant cousin (not really)—had once expelled a student because their shampoo contained a citrus scent.
According to rumors, the reason Kōjirō reacted so strongly was because his ex-girlfriend had been turned gay by the manga Citrus—take that as you will.
"Man, being a chef is tough—" Hayashi clicked his tongue. "So that means aside from perfume, you can't use scented shampoos, body washes, or skincare products either?"
"Correct." Erina nodded calmly, seemingly unbothered by the fact that she couldn't pamper herself like other girls. "We usually opt for fragrance-free skincare products—in our world, there's a decent selection of such items."
"Probably because I never paid much attention to this stuff, but in my memory, shampoos and the like all had scents—" Hayashi scratched his head. The brands he used before, like Clear and Head & Shoulders, all smelled nice. "Or is this a world difference? Since chefs are a core profession in your world, the corresponding products are more developed?"
"Possibly." Erina nodded. After packing the notebook, map, and other items from the table into her bag, she cheerfully picked up the Pikachu sitting on the table and said to Hayashi and Hisako, "Now that we've decided on our destination, shall we set off?"
"Let's go!" Hayashi nodded, standing up and following Erina and Hisako out of the Pokémon Center.
...
...
To reach Saffron City via conventional travel, there were two routes: [Pewter City → Mt. Moon → Cerulean City → Saffron City] or [Pewter City → Mt. Moon → Celadon City → Saffron City].
Of course, no matter which route was taken, it would involve a long journey—even without delays, it would take about half a month. But if they opted for tourism, they could simply board a train in Pewter City and arrive directly in Saffron City.
The former took half a month, while the latter only a few hours. No wonder Erina and Hisako had been so resentful.
"Whoa—"
After stepping out of the train station, the trio officially entered Saffron City. As they laid eyes on the most prosperous international metropolis in the Kanto region, they couldn't help but gasp in awe.
"This is already on par with the first-tier cities back in our world," Hisako exclaimed with sparkling eyes. "The key point is that human development in the Pokémon world has caused almost no environmental pollution..."
"Well, I wouldn't say there's absolutely no pollution—" Hayashi stroked his chin and said, "There was an episode in the anime where pollution from marine resource development led to a swarm of giant Tentacruel attacking a city—"
Hayashi couldn't quite remember which specific episode it was, but what left the deepest impression was definitely James's cross-dressing outfit in that episode—he even managed to create cleavage, which was truly impressive.
I'm good, thanks eggplant.
"Really? That actually happened?" Hisako also looked surprised. "I always thought the environment in the Pokémon world was pristine—"
"Ah, overall it's certainly wonderful, but there are always a few bad apples," Hayashi shrugged helplessly. "Anyway, let's explore the largest city in Kanto. Don't overthink it—it's not our concern."
For the Pokémon world, Hayashi, Erina, and Hisako were merely passing travelers!
If environmental or societal issues in the Pokémon world required the intervention of three outsiders, it would be a grave insult to the Pokémon League, the Champions, and the Elite Four of this world.
...
...
Saffron City truly lived up to its reputation as the premier metropolis of the Kanto region. The foot traffic was no less than what Hayashi had seen in cities like Shanghai or Beijing! However, there was one thing the Pokémon world had that Shanghai and Beijing could never match, and that was...
"A city with this much foot traffic, and it doesn't have traffic jams—can you believe it?" Hayashi stood by the roadside, hands on his hips, looking incredulously at Erina and Hisako. "I remember traffic jams in Japan were pretty bad too, right?"
The moment this universally frustrating topic was brought up, Hisako immediately vented her grievances. "Bad? It was downright appalling! On unlucky days, a ten-minute trip could take an hour!"
After all, she often had to accompany her young lady on food-tasting tours (paid, of course) across the country. Being stuck in traffic was infuriating—especially when nature called during a jam. That was a uniquely... ahem experience.
Secretary-san was not about that "holding it in" life!
"You've suffered—" Hayashi said with genuine sympathy. "Compared to that, living in the Pokémon world is a dream."
Indeed, not only did they have adorable Pokémon companions, but the living environment was almost unrealistically pristine—no air pollution, no cutthroat workplace competition, and everyone was good-looking.
And they didn't even have to go to school!! No worrying about winter or summer vacation homework!!
How could life get any better?
"Alright, alright, let's go check out the Silph Co. building first—" Erina interjected, seeing the two lost in their musings. "I'm very interested in their cutting-edge products and want to take a good look."
The reason for coming to Goldenrod City had already been disclosed by Erina on the train—she was targeting the largest corporation in Kanto, the Silph Co., and her goal was precisely the products manufactured by Silph Co.
"Let me guess, is your next stop going to be Rustboro City in the Hoenn region?" Walking on the way to Silph Co., Hayashi stroked his chin and asked Erina, "If I remember correctly, Hoenn's Devon Corp. and Kanto's Silph Co. are portrayed as equally large companies in the setting."
"You guessed it—though it wasn't much of a challenge." Erina nodded and said, "After all, this proposal was yours—I mean, the suggestion to introduce products from this world."
"As expected of the next head of the Nakiri Family, such strategic vision—truly impressive!" Hayashi gave her a thumbs-up, then clasped his hands behind his head and said, "Let's go, let's go! As long as we don't run into Sabrina, we're safe!"
...
...
"I always thought backpacks and running shoes were Silph Co. products, but it turns out the shoes are actually made by Devon?"
After leaving Silph Co., Erina stretched lazily.
"Silph Co.'s main products are various Poké Balls, and considering how Poké Balls work, it's not hard to see why backpacks are also their products," Hayashi said, licking an ice pop.
"After all, they're both products related to spatial applications," Hisako chimed in, jotting something down in her notebook as she followed behind the two.
"Still, it's a bit of a shame—" Erina shook her head. "Products like Poké Balls are naturally popular in the Pokémon world, but for us, they're a bit impractical."
"Not necessarily?" Hayashi stroked his chin. "You could follow the tropes of certain novels—open a pet shop in the Shokugeki world, have a Ralts as the doorman. Anyone with ill intentions wouldn't even qualify to enter. Only customers who genuinely love Pokémon could come in, and they wouldn't get to choose their Pokémon freely. Instead, they'd have to do a random ten-draw using the Pokédex and could only purchase the Pokémon they drew. If unsatisfied, they could try again the next day."
Hearing Hayashi's idea, Erina and Hisako twitched their lips.
"Hayashi—" Erina pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed. "Are you trying to turn my world into a second Pokémon world?"
"Is that so bad?" Hayashi rubbed his chin. "Once enough Pokémon are sold, you could even organize a Pokémon battle tournament, right?"
"But what about the chefs' skills?" Erina shot him a glance. "If everyone wants to become a Trainer, who's going to cook?"
"Ah, right…"
Hayashi scratched his head. "That does make sense, doesn't it?"
If Pokémon were to appear in this ordinary urban world, it would absolutely be a dimensional downgrade! The power and abilities of Pokémon would obliterate all existing systems and swiftly establish a new order centered around Pokémon—take the legendary beasts, for example. Just the water beast capable of purifying water sources would probably have every nation begging on their knees for it to take a stroll around.
"So, introducing some Pokémon that can improve food ingredients would be enough." Erina was very rational and cautious about this matter. "We absolutely must not overdo it, or my world might end up renamed as the Pokémon Urban World."
Hayashi wore a subtle smile—he often read urban Pokémon-themed novels where China was usually set as the Yanhuang region, Japan as the Kanto and Johto regions, and characters like Sabrina, Cynthia, Elesa, Lillie, Lusamine, Nessa, and Marnie were all swept into the mix...
Heh heh heh, Marnie, my Lillie, I'll always love Cynthia, right, Elesa? Lusamine and I will be happy together forever, so come with me, Nessa!
Just as Hayashi was grinning like a creep, several figures clad in white robes suddenly blocked his and Erina's path. The leader of the group adjusted his thick, bottle-bottom glasses and coldly said, "Three guests, Lady Sabrina requests your presence."
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