As Hoshino pulled hard, with a "pop" sound, he finally managed to pull Cyclizar off the other person's head, and two bun-shaped hair accessories rolled onto the ground.
He immediately grabbed Cyclizar and apologized to Gardevoir: "I'm sorry, it didn't mean to. It's just very simple-minded; it bites anything it likes or is curious about..."
"Cycli..."
Cyclizar scratched its head, smacked its lips, a bit confused, but still followed along and apologized.
Gardevoir immediately made no response. Instead, she waved her hand, using her Psychic ability to pick up the bun-shaped hair accessories that had fallen to the ground, placed them back on her head, and even wiggled them a couple of times. They were indeed decorations.
"Gardevoir..."
Still with that lazy tone, Gardevoir called out and turned to walk towards the kitchen.
As she suddenly moved, a faint fragrance wafted out, likely from cooking in the kitchen. No wonder Cyclizar bit her.
Hoshino, seeing this, said with some surprise, "She's not even angry? That's too strange."
Slowking spoke up to explain: "Nai-chan's personality is sometimes quite spacey, and she rarely gets angry. But sometimes, for example, once she gets serious, she becomes very scary. You need to be careful..."
"So, a trendy 'landmine-type' girl, huh?"
"Girl? Nai-chan's age might be enough to be your mom."
"Hey, hey, is it really okay to talk about someone's age behind their back? You know, some older women, in this regard... Uwa!"
Before he could finish speaking, both of them were simultaneously hit by a strong impact, instantly knocking them out the door and onto the quiet street.
"I told you, she's very scary."
"Why me too...?"
"This is common for us here."
"Is that so?"
Hoshino understood now. Even for Pokémon, some things, like their age, shouldn't be discussed.
"But do Pokémon also have an age concept? Don't most of them, right after birth, get used with Ditto for this and that, and then continue..."
"What kind of common sense is that? Go to school! Pokémon need to be at least 5 years old to lay eggs! They must be 5 years or older to do such things! Otherwise, their parents would absolutely not agree!"
"In that case, wouldn't Caterpie go extinct?"
"Caterpie won't go extinct; they'll just continue to survive and transform until they can fly."
"Then they'd evolve into Rayquaza..."
Hoshino understood again. This guy was just messing with him. However, Pokémon certainly couldn't lay eggs right after birth; they must go through a process of sexual maturity.
Different Pokémon species would naturally have different maturation times. Bug-types would likely mature earlier, while Dragon-types would be very late.
"Even I, in this world where Pokémon truly exist, still have so much knowledge I don't know, but I'm pretty quick at understanding it."
He thought that he must find opportunities to learn more about such knowledge, which might come in handy when helping Pokémon later on.
But he always felt that instead of constantly following the 'Shiny points' and proactively helping others, why not let Pokémon come to him for help?
Maybe he could even earn some extra money to support himself and Cyclizar, after all, there were quite a few wealthy Pokémon in Kabukicho!
"I think this could work, but I'll consider it after I go back..."
Hoshino got up from the ground, recalling the impact he just felt. He felt that the Pokémon here were all quite strong, whether it was Gardevoir, Slowking, or the Ceruledge from last night.
So, did these guys really train themselves, or do they actually have Trainers who are no longer around, or for other reasons?
"I feel like there are so many secrets hidden on this street that I don't know about."
Curious as he was, he wasn't so idle as to go prying into these secrets. Otherwise, he might end up encased in cement and sunk into the Alola Sea the next day...
Back inside the Smile Restaurant, Gardevoir came out with some steamed buns. Cyclizar was already eating them, its expression full of satisfaction.
"Is it really that delicious?"
Hoshino, with doubts, also picked one up and took a bite. The bun's skin was very springy, and the texture was excellent.
He didn't know what the filling was, but it had fruit pulp particles, which must have been some kind of Berry, and also meat. The portion was generous; two were almost enough to fill him up.
After eating, a bold idea suddenly popped into his mind. After a moment of thought, he asked shamelessly with a serious expression, "By the way, can I come here every day for free... no, to learn?"
Hearing this, Gardevoir looked at him in confusion: "Gardevoir?"
"She's asking what you want to do," Slowking said, biting his bun, helping to translate.
Hoshino, with a confident look, immediately smiled and replied, "To learn, to learn cooking! Actually, I'm very confident in my cooking skills! Don't underestimate the strength of a kid living alone!"
"Gardevoir..." Gardevoir responded softly.
"What did Nai-chan say?"
Hearing this guy also use the name Nai-chan, Slowking's body swayed, almost falling off the chair. Then he translated: "She said it's no problem. Just come before 6:30 AM. Be careful on your way here and don't be late."
"Then thank you, Nai-chan!"
Hoshino hadn't expected it to be so easy. It seemed that as long as he didn't talk about her age, Gardevoir's spacey personality made her quite easy to talk to.
His main goal, in fact, was just to bring Cyclizar here every day for free breakfast. There would always be unsold dishes, right? He could help deal with them.
Of course, learning to cook was also true. He wanted to get more familiar with the various ingredients of this world so he could cook them himself at home later...
After breakfast, bidding farewell to Gardevoir, Slowking took them out of the Wanderer District. There wasn't much conversation on the way.
As they passed the street corner, Hoshino no longer felt the gaze from yesterday. At this moment, Slowking suddenly asked, "By the way, how did you manage to get into Kabukicho as if nothing happened?"
"We just ran straight in. Is there something hidden here?"
"On the edge of Kabukicho, there's a group of Meowth and Rattata living there. Any human who tries to enter will be attacked by them."
"I see..."
Hoshino now understood what was going on. However, he wasn't sure why those gazes suddenly disappeared yesterday. Maybe it was luck?
"Cycli?"
...
Slowking took the two of them, winding around for three hours, finally climbing a path up the slope of Mount Lanakila. After passing through the forest, a small town quickly appeared in their sight.
Hoshino rode on Cyclizar the whole way, so he wasn't too tired. He had been looking at the map and realized they had now reached Iki Town, which made him a bit confused.
"Didn't you say you'd help me get an ID? Why are we here?"
"Only here can I help you with that. I happen to know an old friend."
Saying that, Slowking continued to lead them towards a very conspicuous orange-roofed villa in the northwest of Iki Town.
Just as they reached the entrance, the villa's main gate also opened, and a squinty-eyed uncle, dressed somewhat like a sumo referee, walked out.
"Hmm?"
Hoshino looked at the person in front of him and instantly recognized him as Hala, the Kahuna of Melemele Island. Slowking, however, continued to walk forward, waving his hand in greeting: "Alola~"
"Alola~"
Hala responded with a smile, then said, "I knew it was you from afar. It's been a long time. Is there something you need this time?"
"Yes, there's something I need to ask of you."
Slowking pointed at Hoshino and continued, "I found a poor kid who isn't even a Trainer. Help him get an ID, please."
"Oh?" Hala was a bit surprised. After squinting and scrutinizing Hoshino, he suddenly asked, "No ID? How old are you this year?"
"Um... 15 years old."
"15 years old... so you haven't attended Pokémon School, have you?"
"Huh?" Hoshino didn't understand why he asked this question, so he shook his head: "No."
Upon hearing the answer, Hala's expression suddenly turned serious. He exclaimed, "This won't do! To have directly missed three years of valuable education time, it absolutely cannot be delayed any longer! I'll help you get your ID now and send you to school!"
"Huh? Wait, what the hell?"
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