After finishing the cursed spirit, Leon calmly turned away, no longer looking back.
Real men never look back at the steamroller—No, correction: real trainers look at the experience bar.
Gardevoir's level had jumped again.
Leon let out a relieved breath and raised his hand. Gardevoir understood instantly, meeting it with a soft high-five.
"Nice work today, Xiaosha. You carried that fight."
First clearing the battlefield, then unleashing a full-power finishing sequence—the strain had been obvious, even if she tried to hide it. In reality, Pokémon abilities functioned far closer to their anime counterparts than to the game mechanics Leon remembered. There was no strict four-move limit, nor fixed "PP." Instead, techniques consumed stamina and psychic reserves—like a mana pool. The more power poured into a skill, the heavier the drain.
"Sha~" Gardevoir shook her head insistently, signaling that she was fine.
Leon chuckled and patted her head. "Yeah, yeah. Still, we'll rest after this."
He then walked toward the three sorcerers he had just helped.
The ponytailed girl stepped forward first and bowed slightly. "Thank you for saving me. I'm Zenin Maki, first-year student at Jujutsu High. Just call me Maki."
"I'm Panda," said the tall panda-shaped figure. "And this is Inumaki Toge. Because of his technique, he mostly speaks in rice ball ingredients. Please bear with him."
"Salmon."
Leon nodded, unsurprised. He already knew who they were.
"Leon," he replied. "Just a passing sorcerer. Next time, though, set up a Curtain before fighting. Leaving the area exposed is risky."
Maki frowned slightly. "That wasn't intentional. We were investigating a suspicious sorcerer operating nearby when we discovered a curse embryo forming on campus. If we hadn't acted immediately, it might've evolved into something even worse."
Leon paused. That sounded suspiciously similar to an incident he remembered from the prequel storyline—but coincidences happened.
"If you're referring to the one clearing urban legend hotspots around the city," he said, "that would be me."
Maki raised an eyebrow. "Why are you doing that?"
"Do I need a special reason to exorcise curses?"
"Most sorcerers do."
The two stared at each other for a moment until Panda stepped in, raising both paws diplomatically. "Easy there. Leon did just save us."
He scratched his nose thoughtfully. "She doesn't mean anything bad. It's just unusual. Most sorcerers act with clear motives—money, reputation, assignments. Someone working independently always raises questions."
Leon shrugged. "Fair enough. My goal's simple: training my partner and gathering useful materials along the way."
He opened his palm. Gardevoir gently placed a newly formed crystal into it—this time, a complete Z-Crystal, not a fragment.
Interesting. The drop rate really did increase with stronger enemies.
Maki and the others, however, weren't looking at the crystal. Their eyes were fixed on Gardevoir.
Her display of power had been impossible to ignore.
Maki hesitated, clearly choosing her words carefully. "I'll ask directly. Who… is she? She's not human, but she doesn't feel like a cursed spirit either."
"Not a cursed corpse like me, either," Panda added.
"Salmon," Inumaki agreed.
Leon rubbed the back of his neck. "That's… complicated. Let's just say she's my partner. I can't explain more right now."
"That's not a typical sorcerer answer," Maki said.
"I'm not exactly a typical sorcerer," Leon replied smoothly. "Anyway, if there's nothing else, we'll be heading out. I'm sure we'll meet again."
"Sha~," Gardevoir added, giving a small wave that sounded suspiciously like a cheerful goodbye.
As the pair walked away, Panda watched them thoughtfully. "Seems like a decent guy. What do you think?"
"Strong," Maki said quietly. "And extremely efficient in combat."
Her gaze lingered on the shattered road roller that had become the curse's final resting place.
"I thought I'd caught up a little," she admitted. "Didn't realize the gap was still that wide."
"Bonito flakes," Inumaki said—a warning to be careful.
Maki nodded. "Yeah. I'm going to track him down later."
"No complaints here," Panda said. "I'm curious too."
Meanwhile, outside the barrier, Leon removed the talisman anchoring the Curtain, allowing the night air to return to normal.
Gardevoir glanced back toward the trio and gave a soft call.
"You like them?" Leon asked.
"Sha~"
"Yeah, me too," he said with a faint smile. "We'll run into them again soon enough. But before that, we've got other things to handle."
A notification window shimmered into view before his eyes.
A new system message had appeared—one identical in format to the original starter reward.
Its icon showed a black-and-white patterned egg.
Leon's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Now that," he murmured, "is interesting."