Once again, Kashiwagi arrived at the essence materials shop.
The beautiful shop owner spotted him immediately and hurried over. "Mr. Kashiwagi!"
"Oh." Kashiwagi stopped in his tracks, realizing he had been recognized. "Hello. I'm here for more raw materials."
"Please, come in, come in!" The owner led him inside with a radiant smile. "How were yesterday's results? Did you run into any difficulties? We offer free guidance services for our customers~"
"No difficulties, exactly..." Kashiwagi kept his gaze forward, pretending not to notice the stares from other customers. "But I am interested in learning how to use the instruments over there to craft essence."
"Using the instruments?" The owner's smile widened. "If you don't mind, I'd be happy to teach you myself."
He had originally intended to just restock before leaving town, but since she was being so hospitable, he figured he might as well take the opportunity to experience the modern process. Though he had watched plenty of videos online, hands-on practice was always better.
The owner was meticulous, teaching him step-by-step from scratch. Thanks to his afternoon of DIY aromatherapy, Kashiwagi grasped the workflow after hearing it just once.
While the process wasn't as simple as just tossing Berries into a Pokéblock machine, it was straightforward enough. The machine handled the heavy lifting; he just had to memorize the recipes and manage the settings.
A batch of "handcrafted" essence was successfully completed.
Kashiwagi inspected the finished product. He couldn't help but marvel at the development of technology—as long as the order and measurements were correct, the quality control was incredibly stable.
"Thank you very much," he said, expressing his gratitude to the owner for her careful tutelage.
She waved it off with a laugh. "It's no trouble at all, it's my job—actually, Mr. Kashiwagi, I have a small request. I hope you won't mind".
Kashiwagi paused as he reached for his wallet. "Oh...please tell".
"I would love to take a photo with you and Mawile. If it's not too much trouble!" She suddenly clasped her hands together in a pleading, prayer-like gesture.
So, it's a photo.
"Of course." Kashiwagi nodded and released Mawile from its Poké Ball.
Pop!
"Mawile?" The Pokémon landed nimbly, looking around in confusion.
Before Kashiwagi could explain, a muffled squeal erupted from beside them. "Ah! Mawile! It's so cute!"
Both turned to see the shop owner struggling to suppress a blush of excitement. Catching their surprised looks, she cleared her throat awkwardly. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself."
The other customers in the shop watched with sparkling eyes. Even in the Pokémon world, most people spend a fair amount of time online. They might not have recognized Kashiwagi immediately, but once they saw the Mawile with the bell and the red ribbon, there was no mistaking him.
However, they remained polite, keeping their distance and not interrupting.
Kashiwagi leaned down and explained the photo request to Mawile. Mawile looked pleasantly surprised. "Mawile?" (I have fans too?)
"Uh..." He glanced at the owner, who was frantically smoothing her hair and checking her makeup in a hand mirror. "Yeah, I'd say you definitely have fans."
After a quick snap, the owner looked at the result with joy, but she seemed to want more. After admiring it for a moment, she pleaded again, "Could I take one more? Just a little closer?"
Kashiwagi looked at Mawile, who also seemed to be enjoying the spotlight. "How about I take a photo of the two of you? I brought a camera."
"Really? Truly?" The owner was ecstatic. Once confirmed, she blurted out, "From now on, you get fifty percent off everything in our shop!"
"Fifty percent! Well, I can't say no to that", Kashiwagi's smile became significantly more genuine. Half-price was no small saving. He pulled out his camera and began snapping photos of the owner and Mawile.
They were a bit shy at first, but soon they were naturally hugging, winking, and leaning cheek-to-cheek. Mawile's charming poses made the watching customers and staff melt with envy. As soon as the shoot ended, they couldn't hold back anymore and swarmed forward.
"Could I get a photo too?"
"Please, Mr. Coordinator!"
"I'm a huge fan!"
The air became a mix of voices and a chaotic blend of different essence scents. Kashiwagi started to smile awkwardly, intending to decline—if this continued, he'd be here all night.
But right then, a clever clerk pulled down the shop's rolling shutter, preventing people outside from noticing. This capped the crowd at the fourteen people already inside. He looked at Mawile, who seemed to be having the time of its life.
"If Mawile is okay with it, I don't mind," Kashiwagi said, leaving the choice to his partner.
"Mawile!" It was more than happy to comply. It had watched enough Contest videos to know exactly how to behave during "fan meets."
As a result, Kashiwagi spent over half an hour taking photos. He eventually set up a group on Poké-Comm, added everyone, and uploaded the photos there. By the time the dust settled, he'd almost forgotten why he came, but the owner had thoughtfully prepared his materials.
"Hard work deserves a reward~ Would you like to grab dinner tonight?" the owner invited with a smile.
"Thank you for the invite, but I'm heading to Dewford Town tomorrow. I need to prepare tonight," Kashiwagi politely declined. If he didn't have a pile of raw materials that needed processing before they lost their freshness, he might have considered dinner with such an elegant woman. But he really wanted to practice his manual crafting.
The owner masked her disappointment perfectly. "Then I wish you a safe journey. Here, this is my business card."
"Thank you." Kashiwagi took the card and called out to Mawile, who was still surrounded. "Time to go!"
"Mawile~" It immediately trotted out and grabbed his hand.
"I'm not trying to get mobbed in the street. Let's wait until the next city," Kashiwagi said, declining the "hand-in-hand" walk back.
"Mawile!" Mawile puffed its cheeks out in annoyance, slapped her Poké Ball, and went inside to rest.
"See you all later," Kashiwagi bid the group farewell and ducked out through the shutter.
The women watched him go, their faces still glowing with excitement. The owner pulled out her phone and noticed Kashiwagi had left the group chat after sending the photos.
"Everyone," she said suddenly, "how about we start a Kashiwagi & Mawile Fan Club? Just like the Wallace fan club."
Since the manual essence community is small, most of them were regulars who knew each other. They nodded without hesitation. "Yes! Absolutely!"
At 5:12 PM, the fan club was officially formed, with the shop owner serving as the first-generation president. She looked at her photo with Mawile, then the one with Kashiwagi, and smiled happily. "Hehe~"
Of course, the man himself had no idea.
He glanced at the card she gave him. "Kita Ayane? Is it Kita... Ayane? Or Kitayane... Huh?"