"So that's how it is. Next time those two beauties come over, just head straight to the backyard."
"This place was prepared especially for Pokémon battles."
Although he complained inwardly about Lily, Ren still smiled warmly as he spoke. After all, she was a customer—and a big one at that.
"Sorry to trouble you, boss. Actually, it's mainly because we don't know how to deal with Pokémon after they're injured, so we wanted to come back to the shop and ask for help," Emma said, shooting Lily a sideways glance before turning back to Ren with a polite smile.
Although they already knew that Pokémon battles wouldn't endanger their partners' lives, they still felt uneasy handling injuries on their own. After all, they couldn't exactly take Pokémon to a regular pet hospital.
"It's no trouble at all. Business isn't particularly busy right now anyway," Ren said, shaking his head.
Having people around was actually nice—it made the shop feel livelier.
"Generally speaking, injured Pokémon will slowly recover as long as they rest well and replenish their stamina, but that method isn't very efficient."
"You can buy some Potions from me later and learn how to use them at home."
"But it's best to bring them back to the shop from time to time. I can use the Pokémon healing machine to give Charmander and the others a full treatment and check their condition."
Ren thought for a moment before explaining. Potions worked very well, helping Pokémon recover stamina and heal faster, but long-term care still required comprehensive treatment to avoid hidden injuries.
After all, the shop had a high-tech Pokémon healing machine provided by the system—the same kind used by Nurse Joy at Pokémon Centers. It was extremely advanced.
"That's fine~" Lily said, giving Ren an "OK" gesture.
"Come on, Emma! I'm going to give you a proper battle today!"
With that, Lily grabbed Emma's hand and eagerly dragged her toward the backyard, clearly itching to battle after a full day of waiting.
Emma rolled her eyes again, letting herself be pulled along.
"Do you want to go watch too?" Ren asked Lucas and Jason with a smile.
"Sure, let's take a look," Lucas replied, genuinely curious about what real Pokémon battles were like.
"This Poké Ball is really convenient—but it's way too high-tech," Jason said, turning the Poké Ball containing Fennekin over in his hand and pushing up his glasses. It still felt unbelievable.
"Compared to Pokémon themselves, this kind of technology isn't really that shocking, is it?" Ren raised an eyebrow.
"That's… true," Jason admitted after a moment of thought, nodding naturally.
Creatures like Pokémon—straight out of fantasy novels—already existed. What was strange about spatial technology at that point?
---
Pokémon Home – Backyard
The battlefield was the same as before. Diancie had been called over by Ren and was now holding a camera, ready to record.
Ren stood in the center.
"This battle will be one-on-one. Each side may use one Pokémon. When one Pokémon loses the ability to fight, the other side wins."
This time, Ren deliberately kept things brief. Being too professional would just widen the gap.
"The battle begins."
With a wave of his arm, Ren announced the start and stepped off the field.
"Hmph~ Emma, I won't go easy on you," Lily said smugly, pulling out her Poké Ball and lifting her chin.
"That's my line," Emma shot back without hesitation.
She'd had enough of Lily's trash talk—today, she was going to teach her a lesson.
"Squirtle, let's go," Emma said, suppressing the urge to smack someone.
"Squirtle! Squirtle!"
Squirtle responded energetically, jogging up to Emma, hands on its hips and head held high, radiating confidence.
"Tch—Trapinch! You're up! Take good care of that water-type brat over there!"
The moment Lily saw Squirtle acting all smug, she felt it was mocking her.
Today, she was going to make that turtle cry.
With a huff, Lily threw her Poké Ball. It burst open midair in a flash of white light, and Trapinch landed firmly on the field. The Poké Ball then rebounded neatly back into Lily's hand in one smooth motion.
"Wow~ looks like she practiced," Ren said in surprise.
Poké Balls all had automatic rebound systems, but catching them perfectly still required training. Lily had clearly practiced a lot after yesterday.
"Trapinch versus Squirtle?" Lucas raised the Pokédex with interest, scanning both Pokémon.
He wasn't sure how strong they were, but at least on the surface, they looked impressive.
"Well, it is 2202," Lucas muttered. Before a fair fight, who wouldn't talk a little trash? Even if you lost, you couldn't lose face.
"If you're going to lose, at least lose loudly."
"They've learned to be smarter—not using Charmander," Jason said, glancing at the Charmander standing beside Lily, cheering loudly for Trapinch.
Ren had explained yesterday that Water-type Pokémon counter Fire-types. Even if they didn't know how effective Water-type moves would be, Lily wasn't reckless enough to repeat the same mistake.
She might be loud and boastful, but she wasn't stupid.
After losing to Jason yesterday—and discovering she'd already become a viral joke online—Lily had learned her lesson the hard way.
This humiliation had strengthened her resolve.
One day, everyone on the internet would look up to her.