When Hisako and Sabrina, who had been waiting outside the door for half an hour, finally returned to the private room...
"My, my, my, my—"
Sabrina looked at Hayashi and Erina sitting together, holding hands, with a playful expression. "So, it seems you two have finally made it official?" she teased.
"Ahem—"
Hayashi coughed awkwardly and said, "You could say that—thanks to you and Hisako's help."
Beside them, Hisako dabbed at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, sniffling. "I'm so happy for you, young lady—"
Her demeanor was like that of a mother who had finally seen her perpetually single daughter—unwanted for 500 years—get married at last.
"Hisako—"
Erina's face darkened as she glared at her best friend. "Isn't this a bit much?"
"Because, because..." Hisako sniffled. "Because you're blonde, a tsundere, and have the 'ojou-sama' archetype—you totally fit the image of the losing heroine from another series! I was so worried you'd miss your chance with Hayashi because of your tsundere tendencies and regret it forever..."
Wait, that blonde tsundere ojou-sama you're talking about—does she wear green tracksuits, twin tails, and happen to be a doujin artist? Surely no one with all those traits could still end up a losing heroine, right?
Right, Eri-eri?
"HISAKO!!"
Erina's face turned green with rage as she glared at her backstabbing best friend. "How could you—I—!"
"Alright, alright, don't be mad—" Hayashi tried to soothe his newly official girlfriend, both amused and exasperated. "You won, didn't you? No regrets here!"
Erina bared her teeth. "That's not the point! The point is that Hisako actually sees me as a losing heroine in her mind!"
Hisako blinked, then muttered, "If it weren't for me and Sabrina's help, who knows how long you two would've dragged this out?"
"Uh..."
Well... she had a point.
Hayashi and Erina exchanged glances, both wearing sheepish smiles.
One a tsundere, the other hesitant—without the shop assistant's help and Sabrina and Hisako's strong push, they might have really ended up in a "I Really Want to Frustrate You to Death" scenario.
Hayashi scratched his head and said, "Well, I really should thank Hisako for that."
Sabrina nearby quickly pointed at herself and said, "What about me?"
"And Sabrina too! Gotta thank Sabrina as well!"
"That's more like it!"
Satisfied, Sabrina withdrew her gaze and propped her chin on her hand, saying, "Ah, feels like I've done something amazing—hmm, I'm truly remarkable!"
Hisako also crossed her arms and nodded proudly, declaring, "I'm truly remarkable!"
"Yeah, yeah—"
What else could Hayashi say?
He could only exchange a glance with Erina before joining her in applauding the two truly remarkable individuals.
...
...
After traveling for a full day and night, the train finally pulled into Rustboro City's station.
"Whew—"
Standing at the station exit, Hayashi stretched his arms high above his head and groaned, "Ugh, even with a sleeper berth, being cooped up in a compartment all day is unbearable—"
"Ugh—"
Erina mimicked Hayashi's stretch and complained, "And the food was completely inedible! Honestly, it's unbelievable!"
Naturally, cooking on the train wasn't an option, so everyone had to settle for the train's boxed meals—while not as bad as some notorious train meals elsewhere, the taste was still far from good.
Especially since Hayashi's palate had been spoiled by Erina's gourmet cooking, making the rice, meat, and vegetables all seem off in every possible way.
"Waaah—"
Hayashi wrapped his arms around Erina's waist from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder as he wailed dramatically, "I can't take it anymore! My taste buds are completely dependent on Erina's cooking now—they've been molded by you!"
"Eww—"
Standing behind the couple, Hisako and Sabrina simultaneously made disgusted faces. Hisako couldn't help covering her face in dismay: 'Mr. Hayashi, I don't remember you being like this before!'
Weren't you supposed to be a reliable 23-year-old adult man!? Why are you whining to your 15-year-old girlfriend like this!? And that voice—disgusting, absolutely disgusting! There's no way the young mistress would tolerate this!
Hisako turned a horrified gaze toward Erina—only to see Erina wearing a blissful, bashful smile as she covered Hayashi's hands around her waist and said, "Oh, you're hopeless! After we visit the Devon Corporation later, I'll cook you a proper feast, okay?"
Hayashi grinned. "Yay, awesome! Erina's feast! Wakuwaku—"
Hisako slapped a hand over her face and muttered, "Is this what all couples in love are like?"
Sabrina, barely suppressing her laughter, patted Hisako's shoulder. "Haven't you seen enough of them on the train?"
In less than half a day, those two had practically turned into a pair of love-struck idiots—no, not practically, they already were! They were already that couple!
Watching Hayashi and Erina being all lovey-dovey, Hisako wore a complicated expression, murmuring as if to herself or perhaps questioning Sabrina, "Does love really change people like this?"
Sabrina blinked innocently. "I've never been in love, so I wouldn't know."
...
...
Compared to Silph Co., whose main product is Poké Balls, Devon Corporation, which focuses on "peripheral equipment," clearly aligns more with Erina's requirements.
"Multi-functional Navigator—"
Its navigation algorithm is several times better than any navigation software on the market.
"Spatial Backpack—"
No matter how heavy the items stuffed inside, it remains incredibly lightweight.
"Running Shoes—"
Reduces physical exertion, allowing one to walk all day without sore feet or blisters.
"Detection Goggles—"
Can display air quality indices, wind direction, pollution levels, and more.
"Diving Gear—"
A mere ten-centimeter oxygen tube contains compressed oxygen sufficient for ten hours of diving.
"Feels like every single item is worth importing—"
Erina stared at the products recorded in her notebook with a complicated expression, muttering, "The black tech in the Pokémon world is just too unreasonable, isn't it?"
Hisako slumped her shoulders dejectedly. "There's no way we can replicate any of this, I think!"
The fundamental condition for replication is understanding the production principles behind these products, but Hisako couldn't fathom how the technology level of the Shokugeki world could possibly replicate Pokémon world tech—just the spatial compression alone was outright impossible, right?
Hayashi comforted her, "It's fine! At worst, we can just be middlemen! No big deal!"
"Beep beep beep—"
Just then, the Pokédex at Hayashi's waist beeped a few times. He pulled it out, opened it, and then grinned. "Perfect timing—the Pokémon I asked Professor Oak for have arrived. Let's go pick them up!"
"Huh?"
Erina and Hisako turned to him in surprise. "When did this happen?"
Since when had Hayashi asked Professor Oak for Pokémon again? They had no idea!
"Probably back in Lilycove City," Hayashi chuckled. "Come on, let's head to the Pokémon Center to receive this special gift."
Erina walked up beside Hayashi and asked curiously, "What kind of gift did you prepare?"
Hayashi grinned mysteriously. "That's a secret~ If I told you now, there'd be no surprise, right?"
Erina pouted and lightly pinched his waist. "You're keeping secrets from me too?"
"Oww—"
Hayashi exaggeratedly rubbed the pinched spot, putting on a pitiful expression. "Just let me keep a little mystery, okay? This is a gift specially prepared for you, you know?"
'Specially for me?' Erina felt a sweet warmth in her chest and lowered her head with a soft hum. "Fine, then hurry up! Let's see what you've prepared, all secretive like this."
Hayashi cheerfully replied, "Got it!"
Behind them, Sabrina and Hisako simultaneously covered their mouths with their hands, their eyes sparkling with delight.
Ahh, how sweet.
...
...
Upon arriving at the Pokémon Center, Hayashi used the key Professor Oak had sent to unlock a secured storage compartment, retrieving four Poké Balls from inside.
Erina leaned in close, peering at them. "So this is the gift you prepared?"
"You'll definitely be satisfied," Hayashi said, connecting the Poké Balls to his Pokédex to check the Pokémon data inside. He then waved Hisako over. "Hisako, this one's yours. These two are for Erina. And this one's mine."
Erina pouted her lips. "What exactly is it that you're being so mysterious about—"
Hayashi replied, "Why don't you release it and find out?"
Exchanging a glance, Erina and Hisako simultaneously opened their Poké Balls, releasing the Pokémon inside.
"Wah—" x2
"Plop plop—"
Amidst the red light, a small, snow-white Vulpix and a small, reddish-brown Vulpix stood side by side on the ground. Next to them, a somewhat dim-witted Feebas flopped around.
"Vulpix!? And Feebas!?" Sabrina, standing nearby, widened her eyes and exclaimed, "Is this the gift you mentioned?"
Hayashi nodded with a smile. "Didn't I promise to get each of you a Vulpix? As for the Feebas—didn't Erina once admire Milotic's beauty at the Lilycove City art museum?"
Erina first recalled the Feebas, then crouched down with Hisako to pick up their respective Vulpix. She sighed and said, "But evolving Feebas into Milotic must be really difficult, right?"
"It shouldn't be too hard for you," Hayashi said as he tossed his own Poké Ball, releasing a small, brown-striped Growlithe, which stood proudly before wagging its tail excitedly. "The key to raising Feebas lies in making Pokéblocks rich in Water-type energy and capable of boosting Beauty stats—given your culinary skills, that shouldn't be a problem."
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