After Hayashi exchanged some Eevee-raising tips with Katerina, he turned his head and was instantly stunned by the scene before him.
First, in the very center was his precious Eevee, sitting elegantly and regally on a stool, her haughty gaze resembling that of a queen looking down at prisoners as if they were trash.
Undoubtedly the protagonist's spot.
Next to Eevee was the older sister's Sylveon, who was using her ribbon to hold up a drink, placing it right by Eevee's mouth so she could sip anytime.
Undoubtedly the lackey's spot.
Finally, there were all the other Eevees, lying obediently on the floor like fervent followers of Her Majesty, looking up at Eevee with hearts in their eyes.
Undoubtedly the simp's spot.
"What... is going on here?" Hayashi gaped, then made a strange expression as he spoke.
"These little fools..."
Katerina twitched her lips. She knew this situation all too well—seriously, weren't these Eevees acting just like the simps who usually crowded around her skirts, trying to win her favor?
She couldn't help but raise a hand to her forehead. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that the Eevees she had painstakingly raised would turn into another Eevee's simps in less than five minutes...
How could this make sense?
Come on, you guys are one-in-a-hundred—no, one-in-a-thousand, one-in-ten-thousand level adorable Eevees! Your charm even made Eevee brothers from Kanto contact me from afar, hoping I'd arrange a breeding session!!
And yet? And yet? And yet?
Do you have any idea how many resources I poured into you?!
Though that Eevee is indeed very cute...
No, no! No matter how cute she is, you can't act like this!
An inexplicable competitive spirit flared up inside Katerina. It felt like meeting an upgraded, maxed-out version of herself—like Ami Kawashima from Toradora! running into Haruno Yukinoshita from Oregairu—and the competitive fire burned as fiercely as a stampeding alpaca.
"Pull yourselves together!"
Katerina moved closer to the group of Eevees, clenched her fists, and cheered on her nine Eevees: "Shinobu, Sousuke, Aoi, Genpachi, Bungo, Keno, Dousetsu, Daikaku! Snap out of it! You're top-tier Eevees I handpicked from thousands! Don't you remember the days when you were surrounded by female Eevees?!"
"!"
The Flareon, Vaporeon, Jolteon, Espeon, Umbreon, Glaceon, Leafeon, and regular Eevee pricked up their ears. The eight little cuties instinctively stood up from the floor, exchanged glances, and suddenly recalled their glorious past—strolling through crowds of Eevees without a single one clinging to them!
That's right, restoring the glory of male Eevees is our duty—how can we let a woman affect us... us...
"Eevee?"
Completely unaware of what was happening, Eevee looked down at the senior Eevees who had stood up and tilted her head in confusion, letting out a questioning sound: What's wrong with them?
'Oh, oh!' The eight Eevees of various colors couldn't help but cheer inwardly. They glanced at themselves and their companions, who had proudly stood up again, then quickly lay back down, wagging their tails excitedly and gazing at Eevee with heart-filled eyes.
"???"
Katerina wore a bewildered expression. She rubbed her eyes and looked again at the eight Eevees, who were fawning excessively, then turned to Hayashi and said, "Sir, did your Eevee happen to learn the Attract move?"
"My Eevee isn't even a month old yet—how could she have learned other moves?" Hayashi quickly waved his hands, not wanting his precious Eevee to be mistaken for some flirtatious Eevee. "Besides, there's no glow of a move being used! Please don't misunderstand—"
My Eevee's charm is completely natural! Don't you dare slander her!
"But... but..."
Katerina knew this was true, but she couldn't bring herself to believe that the eight Eevees she had carefully selected couldn't even put up a fight before submitting to another Eevee.
Are you some kind of Mary Sue protagonist!? Damn it!
"Ahem—"
As if sensing Katerina's frustration, which felt like sinking a fortune into a gacha game, Hayashi coughed twice and reached out to Eevee, saying, "Eevee! Let's go swim at the outdoor pool!"
"Eevee!"
Yay, I love playing with my trainer!
Without hesitation, Eevee abandoned the Sylveon beside her and, under the adoring gazes of the eight simpering Eevees, leaped gracefully onto Hayashi's shoulder.
"Eevee—"
Eevee turned back and gave the nine Eevees a smile—I'm off to play! See you next time!
'Ahhh, she's so sweet, I could die—' The nine Eevees all wore expressions of rapture, even the female Sylveon, who couldn't escape Eevee's charm.
All that remained was Katerina, staring at her nine Eevees with a look of utter disbelief.
...
...
"Little one, little one, how are you so charming?" Hayashi held Eevee up in front of him, examining her closely. "I mean, it's not like I've been feeding you special Pokéblocks or anything, so how... is this even possible?"
If Hayashi remembered correctly, those Eevees of Katerina's had been fed Pokéblocks to boost their beauty stats. They also followed a breeder's advice, exercising daily to maintain their condition, using special shampoos to keep their fur smooth, and so on—essentially, they were high-end Eevees raised in a refined workshop.
And the Eevee in Hayashi's arms? Though she ate food prepared by Erina, she was still too young to have had Pokéblocks, let alone a strict exercise routine or specialized shampoos for silky fur.
Yet, the charm of his "wildly growing" Eevee had overwhelmingly defeated that refined Eevee belonging to Katerina, leaving her somewhat shaken in confidence.
"Eevee~"
Eevee cheerfully called out—she didn't know the answer either!
Unable to find an explanation, Hayashi shrugged his shoulders and could only attribute it to his Eevee's natural beauty—perhaps she was the Teruhashi Kokomi of the Pokémon world, blessed with the Creator's favor?
...
...
When Hayashi carried Eevee down to the next floor, he noticed a Youngster and a Businessman engaged in an intense battle of the rookies.
Hmm, a Rattata versus a Zigzagoon—was this a showdown between Kanto's starter rodent and Hoenn's starter rodent?
"Rattata, go! Use Bite!"
"Zigzagoon, don't be scared! Use Tackle!"
"Rattata—!"
"Zigzagoon!"
"Hang in there!"
"Dodge it!"
"Go for it!"
"Don't give up!"
After watching for a bit, Hayashi felt as though his eyes had been assaulted—it was like witnessing two newbies in a MOBA game solo duel, where one built mana regen on a manaless champion while the other stacked ability power on an AD assassin.
He simply couldn't bear to watch any longer!
"Hey there, young man. Your Eevee looks very well-trained!"
At that moment, an overly flamboyant man sauntered over with an air of elegance. He gave Hayashi a playful wink and said in an exaggeratedly effeminate tone, "How about a thrilling Pokémon battle with me?"
'I thought you were going to challenge me to Gwent…'
Hayashi glanced at Eevee in his arms and asked, "Eevee, do you want to battle?"
"Eevee-vee!"
Eevee shook her head with clear reluctance. She had no interest in Pokémon battles—getting all dirty and enduring painful injuries? No thanks!
"Then we won't—" Hayashi replied nonchalantly, lifting his head. He wasn't disappointed by Eevee's answer, as her stance on battling had been clear from the very beginning.
Back on the second day after he had obtained her, he had asked if she wanted to train for battles. Eevee's response was that she would follow Hayashi's choice—if he wanted to become a strong trainer, she would fight for him without hesitation. In response, Hayashi had simply patted her head and told her he had no intention of becoming a powerful trainer, so the Pokémon he caught were free to live as they pleased.
"What about you?" Hayashi crouched down and lightly tapped his shadow with a finger. "Gengar, do you want to fight?"
"Gengaa!"
Gengar eagerly emerged from the shadow, spinning thirteen and a half times mid-air before landing gracefully beside Hayashi with arms outstretched.
Whoosh-whoosh—
The moment he touched the ground, Gengar transformed into a nimble heavyweight, throwing a rapid combo of punches before shooting Hayashi a determined look—Let's go! Beat the crap out of him!
"It's actually a Gengar?" The flamboyant man looked at the battle-ready Gengar and couldn't help but flash a coquettish smile, saying, "Heh heh, looks like we have terrible compatibility!"
"Hmm? How so?" Hayashi looked curiously at the flamboyant man, who didn't explain but instead released his Pokémon.
A Diggersby.
The moment he saw the plump rabbit, Hayashi's expression turned to one of realization—no wonder the guy said they had bad compatibility! From a type advantage perspective, a Ghost/Poison-type Gengar was completely countered by a Normal/Ground-type Diggersby.
However, Hayashi just curled his lips disdainfully at the flamboyant man's "compatibility theory"—what, if I brought an Alolan Rattata to face Mewtwo, would Mewtwo take one look at the Dark-type Rattata, cry about terrible compatibility, and immediately surrender?
Are you kidding me, dude?
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