"What a talent! After working for so long, he spent all his money on claw machines and now he's here to eat on credit?"
"Money is meant to be spent, right? So, Boss Slowking, do you want a doll? I'll sell you a Substitute doll for 100 Poké Dollar. Maybe you can become a Substitute user!"
"Are you trying to use this to pay your rent?"
"Brai~"
Braixen was quite happy to take one. Hoshino gave it to Braixen directly, and after secretly stroking its big tail, he continued to eat.
When he returned at night, he was indeed chased by Meowth and the others again, but he escaped safely. From now on, he'll probably have to outsmart these guys every day.
After finishing his meal, he and Cyclizar went upstairs, found a place to arrange all the dolls, and then rested early.
The next morning, Smile Restaurant finally opened. Hoshino was very happy to see Nai-chan after a long time, as he could finally make good use of his learning talent.
Although they hadn't seen each other for so many days, Nai-chan seemed to know about his previous hospitalization and even wrote in mid-air to ask about his recovery.
"I'm fine, very stable!"
After the restaurant closed, Hoshino rode Cyclizar directly to school. He was extra cautious when leaving Wanderer District.
However, he still couldn't avoid encountering those guys, but he still escaped safely.
Today, he was dressed formally. When he arrived in class, some people didn't even recognize him, but they still identified him by the goggles hanging around his neck and didn't give him any good looks.
Hoshino ignored them all, returned to his seat, and started catching up on sleep. Except when he truly couldn't sleep and would look around, his daily routine basically settled into this rhythm.
He would sleep during classes in the daytime, then work with Cyclizar in the commercial district after school, and outsmart Meowth and the others when going to and from school.
The slight change was that even the teachers had finally given up on him. They would still call out to him a couple of times during practical classes, but later they simply acted as if he wasn't in the class, and other students did the same.
…
Just like that, time quickly came to the end of November. Unknowingly, Hoshino had been in this world for over a month.
Today was the weekend, and he still went to work in the commercial district as usual. Boss Slowking was already pressing him for debt, and all the food he ate on credit had to be paid off within these two days.
"After today, it should be enough. Even after paying two months' rent, there'll be plenty left over."
He wasn't in a hurry to pay back the money; what he thought about more was the Yorozuya. Saving money was for that.
Although raising Pokémon seems to be quite expensive, Cyclizar doesn't seem to need much training, otherwise he'd probably have to delay these matters even longer.
…
Many people come out to play on weekends, especially entertainment venues like claw machine arcades located in shopping malls, which are even more lively.
At times like these, Hoshino gets more tired. He has to prevent little rascals from causing trouble. These guys not only secretly reach into the claw machine's exit to steal things when it's crowded, but some even try to force them open with screwdrivers.
In the past half-month, he had caught several, but these little rascals were mostly under ten years old, and the items they stole were often cheap, so at most they'd be verbally lectured by the boss and then let go…
At noon, he and Cyclizar had just finished lunch nearby and returned, only to see a group of little rascals gathered in front of a claw machine, making a ruckus.
"What are you doing again? Don't steal anything."
Hoshino walked over and found that these little rascals were trying to catch a new batch of dolls. Halloween was approaching, and the machine was filled with Ghost-type Pokemon, Mimikyu, and Sandygast, among others.
"One hundred coins already, why can't I still get this one? Are you doing this on purpose?!"
The rascal who was operating the machine suddenly slammed the claw machine in anger. The other children around him laughed, making him even more agitated.
Suddenly, his gaze fell on Hoshino who was walking over, so he pushed others aside and walked towards him.
"Hey! You guys are actually rigging this claw machine! I'm going to complain about you!"
"If you're bad, practice more."
"Bad? I've caught everything in the claw machines around here, and you say I'm bad?"
"If you're bad, don't play."
Hoshino wouldn't humor these little rascals. Although their buffs were stronger than his, it was still no problem to scare them.
Hearing this, the rascal became even more furious and shouted directly: "If I'm bad, then you try! If you say there's no problem, then get that pink Gengar out and show us!"
"Pink Gengar? It's not even a different color, is it? Is it another limited edition doll…"
Limited edition dolls are a way for claw machines to attract players. The previous collaboration Rowlet dolls and Cyclizar Substitute dolls were like that; they were basically gacha-limited, and everyone came for them.
Since this rascal made a request, he naturally had to demonstrate it once to make these guys behave and stop being noisy and annoying.
The doll they were talking about was stacked on the very top layer. Logically, it should be quite easy to catch from that position. Even the worst player shouldn't fail to catch it.
Hoshino stood in front of the claw machine and looked at the pink Gengar doll, which was less than 30 centimeters long.
He found that this little guy was wearing a light blue dress, with a yellow bow decoration on its ear, posing with its hands clasped over its belly, and a mischievous smile on its face.
"Wow, it's quite cute…"
He was a little tempted. Who doesn't like cute things? But this was to demonstrate to these little rascals whether the claw machine had a problem, so he decided against it.
Two coins were inserted. With his superb technique, Hoshino instantly locked onto the Gengar doll and quickly lowered the claw. Everything flowed smoothly!
"See, I told you, you're just bad…"
Before he could finish speaking, the Gengar doll unexpectedly slipped off the hook without warning. The triumphant smile on his face also froze. It was he himself who was bad!
"Hahaha, I told you there was a problem!"
"This is impossible. My claw machine skills are unrivaled. It must be because I just ate too much!"
Hoshino frowned. He didn't believe he had failed. He had checked this machine before, and the payout rate was normal, meaning there was no problem. How could it be an empty grab?
So he went and exchanged a few more coins, continuing to try and grab the Gengar doll. The result was the same situation again; it inexplicably missed.
Seeing this, the previous rascal immediately mocked: "Heh heh, don't try anymore. It's you guys who have a problem, rigging it to deceive us consumers."
"Exactly, exactly, refund our money!"
Listening to the other rascals around him cheering, Hoshino responded calmly: "I haven't played in too long, my touch isn't good. Next time… I'll definitely catch it next time!"
"Gengar~"
At the same time, not far from the claw machine arcade, four girls in casual clothes were walking side by side, shopping in the mall.
If Hoshino had paid a little attention, he would have noticed that they were all his classmates.
…
Mallow, with her low twin tails, was also the tallest among them. Standing at the side, she asked with a smile: "Class Rep, what are you buying today? I heard it might snow here next month. Are you buying winter clothes to go see the snow?"
Moon, holding Rowlet, shook her head helplessly and replied: "You can go to Ula'ula Island to see snow. I need to buy some ingredients for potions, and some underwear too…"
"Underwear? You seemed to be buying that last time you went shopping too…"
"It's gotten bigger again recently… Puberty is so annoying; I have to change every few months."
Hearing this, Lana, the shorter girl beside her, tilted her head and showed a resigned expression, saying: "I don't grow at all…"
And beside her, Lillie, dressed in a Western-style dress and wearing a very noticeable white Western-style hat, also looked down, then whispered: "Me too… I haven't grown much either."
"At least better than me…"
Seeing the atmosphere suddenly become a bit strange, Mallow put her arm around Moon's shoulder and, with a cunning tone, whispered with a smile: "Class Rep, be honest, how are things progressing with Sun?"
"Huh?"
"Still playing dumb? Aren't you two dating?"
Hearing this, Moon's cheeks instantly flushed, and then she said with a slightly angry expression: "When did I ever date him? Don't spread rumors!"
"Eh~ Don't pretend, just tell us!"
"How can I talk about something that didn't happen?!"
Watching Lana and Mallow tease Moon together, Lillie was about to intervene when her gaze was suddenly drawn to a group of noisy children not far away.
She saw many people gathering around, watching the commotion. Among them was a very conspicuous Cyclizar, carrying a few little rascals.
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