CHAPTER 32

Murata blanched. "No, no."

"You have to," I said gravely.

"But I—"

"Do it for your daughters," Yurie chimed in with a straight face. Next to her, Hazel nodded seriously. Behind all of us, Haru and Souta had their backs turned and were shaking like leaves.

It had taken longer than expected, but we'd finally found a Jigglypuff willing to entertain Murata's request about coming to live with his family.

There was just one catch.

She wanted to hear him sing first. Murata had gotten desperate enough after countless rejections from various wild Jigglypuff that he had exaggerated his latest offer a bit. He'd told this particular Jigglypuff that she could sing with his wife, his daughters, or him whenever she wanted. The Jigglypuff was very taken with that idea and interested in hearing the singing voice of a future buddy.

The problem was that while his wife and daughters were musically inclined, Murata himself was not.

Haru and Souta excused themselves to go chuckle into their hands farther away. I stood there fighting my own urge to laugh as Murata stared down at the pink menace standing below him. Jigglypuff batted her eyes innocently.

The thirty-year-old man, a former Ranger who was usually the epitome of calm, broke out in a cold sweat.

"Well…" I spoke up with the intent of reassurance. "We could keep looking if you'd like. We've got time."

Murata's hands twitched.

"I…" he trailed off. His face morphed rapidly between various states of emotion, everything from reluctance to horror to ultimately… resignation.

He sighed, dipping his head in the weariest of nods. "Ah, screw it. Let's just try this," Murata muttered. He cleared his throat. In a louder voice, he addressed the Jigglypuff. "Alright, uh… here's my song."

Haru and Souta came back with that announcement, and we all stood together as we watched Murata straighten his posture. A few people leaned forward as he took a breath.

And then… he sang.

I meant no offense to Murata, but he was a terrible singer. His naturally deep voice cracked in some parts as he tried to sing particularly high or low notes, and he was so off-tune that it would have been hard to tell what he was singing if not for the lyrics.

What really got us was his face. Murata looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole as he continued singing.

The rest of us just about died of muffled laughter, but we kept it down for the sake of our Jigglypuff spectator. I couldn't see her expression from where I stood.

Meanwhile, Yurie inched closer to me.

"Isn't this the song that's popular right now on the PokeMusic program? The one that Goldenrod Radio Tower airs?" Yurie whispered out the side of her mouth.

"I… think so?" I whispered back.

"Let It Seel," Hazel helpfully supplied in a hiss. "It's from an animated kids movie, the one about the queen who's an Ice type Ability Holder."

We both stared at him blankly while Haru and Souta nodded in understanding. Hazel looked absolutely offended as he adjusted his glasses. "It's a good movie! Maybe we should do a staff movie night sometime. But anyway… at least he's better at singing than Nimbus?"

Yurie glared sharply at him.

"HEY!"

Hazel raised his hands in mock surrender and pointedly looked away with a smirk.

About half a minute later, Murata decided to end his serenade and snapped his mouth shut. He wore a nervous smile as he looked down. We edged a little closer to the left to see the Jigglypuff's face. This time, I let out a snort of laughter. Jigglypuff was looking at Murata with an expression like she'd stepped on Tauros dung, and Murata's face fell.

To all our surprises, Jigglypuff did not immediately leave. She clicked her tongue instead. She raised a stubby arm, waved it at him while speaking fiercely, and then plopped onto the ground with a satisfied smile.

Murata turned to me with a bewildered expression.

"Jigglypuff said your song was uh… a nice try. She'll come live with your family," I translated. Murata smiled widely at the exact same time I held a finger up. "But… you'll need to sit through singing lessons with her. She wants to make a true singer out of you."

"Singing lessons?!" Murata's eyes nearly bulged right out of his head, and he whipped his head back to look at Jigglypuff. She nodded her head seriously and clapped her hands together in delight.

Murata slapped a hand to his forehead.

"Even Wiggly didn't mind my singing when he was a Jigglypuff… what has the world come to," he bemoaned. "Do it for your daughters, Murata…"

In the end, Murata agreed to the deal. One eager Jigglypuff was put away in a Pokeball to be shown to his kids later. Now Murata was the one who looked like he'd stepped in Tauros shit, and we laughed at him as we headed back.

"It's not that bad, Murata… Think about how surprised your wife will be when your singing improves!"

"Legendaries… Wiggly's going to make fun of me later when he hears about all this…"

Dad and Neil were both in the backyard when we came back, and Yurie ran up to them with a mischievous expression before Murata could stop her.

"Did you know Murata…" she began, and she finished retelling the story before we caught up.

Dad and Neil howled with laughter and walked over to clap Murata on the back.

"Done in by a Jigglypuff," Neil guffawed. He threw his head back and laughed some more.

Murata merely let out a long sigh. "I need to tell myself again that it was for my daughters…"

While everyone chatted and laughed with each other, Haru walked over to one of the gym Chansey to get his Pokemon looked at. I was going to join him, but the Professors intercepted me first. Apparently they'd dropped by while we were out.

"Arin! It's good to see that you're unharmed. I know they said there were almost no injuries among League forces on the news, but I'm glad to see as much with my own eyes," Oak greeted me first. The relief dripping from his voice was hard to miss, and the other Professors echoed similar sentiments.

"It's terrible that Team Rocket is back, but I'm glad the Indigo League is taking full action against them," Rowan added. Next to him, Oak clenched one of his fists tightly. "I will pray to Arceus for the safety of your people."

"Thank you," I said with a dip of my head.

We were quiet for a moment. This would have been a sensitive topic for citizens of Kanto-Johto, but it was even more so with prominent figures visiting from abroad. Oak looked like he wanted to say something from the way he opened and closed his mouth a few times, but he never did.

"Well…" Birch spoke up hesitantly, and all heads turned to him. He offered a tentative smile. "We can at least add onto the good news today. Not just for Indigo but for the whole Kinjoh Area."

"That's right," Elm agreed. He nodded so enthusiastically that his glasses almost flew right off, and he hurriedly slapped them back onto his nose. "Are you ready for the press conference later?"

Now here was a welcome change in topics. I grinned. "Of course."

Yes, after weeks of hard work, the Professors had finally finished their research paper. My name was obviously included on there due to the Pokemon I had provided and further knowledge I had shared with the Professors. The paper would go live at 6 PM today in Kinjoh Research Monthly, the foremost research journal for the Kinjoh Area. We were going to hold a short press conference one hour before then to announce its impending release.

I looked at the equally proud and excited expressions of the Professors standing around me, and I knew I probably looked the same.

We were going to shock the living daylights out of people today with the information we had to offer.

As I was fantasizing about Fairy types further taking this side of the world by storm, Oak cleared his throat.

"Just to make sure… do you have increased security measures in place?" he inquired.

"Yes," I instantly replied. A huge smile overtook my face. "Everything's set now. Thank you again for helping me with that."

Previously, I'd cashed in on favors and asked the Professors for some Pokemon I was interested in. They'd each pulled strings to get me well-trained guards.

From Birch, I'd received a pack of Mightyena and Ninjask. From Rowan, I'd requested some Luxray for their x-ray vision. Elm had contributed a variety of species like Noctowl, Crobat, and Houndoom, and Oak was the most generous of all. He had given me some Arcanine and even one Machamp who previously worked at his lab. Neither of those were easy to raise, and I thanked him profusely at the time. He merely waved my thanks away with a kind smile.

They gave me some other Pokemon as well, but those were ones who would simply be living in and around the gym as part of the attraction. The Professors had truly been generous.

That wasn't the end of my new and improved security force either. I had Trevenant roaming the massive forest around our house now thanks to Valerie (dad and Neil couldn't stop gushing over them), some Mr. Mime I'd acquired on my own, and guards I'd hired with powerful teams of Pokemon. They were all affiliated with the League and came with recommendations straight from Lance, so I knew they were trustworthy. The security force would expand to cover the Gym, too, once construction finished soon.

With all of these new additions — not to mention the personal teams of both a Champion-level trainer and former Gym Leader — in place, our property was essentially an impenetrable stronghold.

I'd already shown how powerful some of my team was on national television. That was probably enough to deter most people from trying to steal from me, but I could not get complacent with security.

"OH!" Elm exclaimed suddenly, and I jumped right out of my thoughts. The Professor clapped his hands together in delight. "We almost forgot our last gifts to you! Um, Lizzie, Wen, can you bring them over please?"

His two assistants appeared within seconds of his call. They were pushing along carts with protective incubators full of…

"Pokemon Eggs?!" I asked with wide eyes.

"Yes!" Elm replied. He threw his hands up and nearly hit Rowan in the process. The disgruntled Professor shuffled out of the way as Elm continued. "The four of us were trying to think of what else we could give you in return for all the help, and we decided on these! They're all Fairy types from across the Kinjoh Area. We thought you could raise them for your Gym once the next Johto League Circuit opens."

I'd thought as much. Even without looking at the tags attached to them, I recognized some of the Eggs as being ones for Azurill or Togepi.

"Thank you so much!" I said excitedly, and I hunched over to look over the rest of the Eggs. "Er, how did you get so many of them on short notice?"

"Elm's the leading expert on Pokemon breeding," Birch explained. Beside him, Elm straightened with a proud smile. "He's got a lot of sway and connections among the international community. It wasn't hard to rustle up only a dozen or so Eggs."

"Let me know if you want more! In fact, I could keep supplying you during the League Circuit season," Elm boasted. His smile took on a bashful tinge as he clasped his hands behind his back. "I would, um, love to come back and study the baby Pokemon if you'd let me. Just to see how they'd interact in the presence of a Fairy Ability Holder…"

Oak and the other Professors rolled their eyes while I laughed. So there had been a secondary motive for the Eggs after all.

"Sure, sure," I promised in between chuckles. An idea occurred to me, and I sprang back up. "Professors, actually, would you mind if I gave some of these Eggs away?"

A knowing smile found its way onto Oak's face. He and the other Professors gave their assent, and I immediately called for my gym trainers. They gathered around us with confusion and interest. Their eyes slowly shifted between me, the Eggs on display, and the Professors.

"So the Professors have kindly gifted me Pokemon Eggs of Fairy type Pokemon native to our four regions," I began, and I gestured grandly to the carts. "And I'd like to offer you guys a chance to take and raise one of them if you're interested. You guys have been working hard, so—"

"REALLY?!" Yurie exploded. She and the other gym trainers all looked at me with awe.

That meant they were all interested then.

I grinned, stuffing my hands in my pockets. "Yeah. Go ahead and pick one each."

Yurie didn't have to be told twice. She ran forward with a gleeful expression and began twisting and turning her body while peering at every glass container. She didn't bother to read any of the name tags.

The others quickly followed. Murata and Hazel were the only ones who actually read the tags to see what they were dealing with. Souta and Haru pointedly avoided looking at the IDs and studied each Egg's appearance instead. I wondered if they wanted to pick an Egg they got a special feeling about first before finding out what Pokemon it actually was.

After several minutes, they made their selections. Yurie and Hazel chose a Mime Jr. and Snubbull Egg respectively (Hazel complained that Yurie was copying him, a claim which the other girl vehemently denied), and Murata went with a Ralts. Our youngest gym trainers, Souta and Haru, chose Azurill and Togepi Eggs.

The backyard was full of cheer and excitement. I looked at the group of people carefully cradling Egg incubators to their chests, and I felt happy.

Today was shaping up to be an excellent day.

----------------------------------------

Luca Hirafuji's new life in Cherrygrove had been going splendidly so far.

The locals were nice, the food was good, and Luca even caught occasional glimpses of Gym Leader Arin whenever he was in town for patrols or other business (sadly, he never saw Taffy with him). He was nowhere close to running out of things to make content on either. He'd spent a week just documenting the different kinds of trees and flowers around town.

Cherrygrove City was the trending city nowadays despite its Gym still being under construction. There were rumors among the locals, though, that it was nearly finished. Luca couldn't wait until the Gym was open to the public. He was going to make a whole video about it and do his civic duty as a new resident of Cherrygrove: advertising their holy Gym to the rest of the world. Until then, he was going to continue making videos about other things.

Today was special. He was doing a livestream for the first time in a while. To celebrate the occasion, he was decked out in limited edition Wigglytuff-themed gear.

"Helloooo, Tuffers! It's me, Tuff Tuff King, in the flesh!" he said exuberantly to his phone attached on a selfie stick, and he flashed a peace sign. Tons of messages including donations flew by in the livestream chat.

Jigglypuff Powahhh: TUFF TUFF KING! TUFF TUFF KING!

Meowza: first livestream in forever! yesssss

BARON5: What's today's stream about? I can't guess anything from the title T_ T

With practiced ease, Luca read off a few of them and thanked his viewers. "User mareepforthewin, thank you for the six-month subscription! User paripari, thank you for the fifteen dollar donation!"

Arceus, he really loved his online community. His decision to quit college two years ago had been scary, but he'd found something he loved doing — being a social media influencer and content creator — and he was making a name for himself.

He really couldn't have been happier.

Grinning, Luca angled his selfie stick up high so he could capture both his face and what was behind him.

"Everyone, I made today's stream title vague on purpose," Luca explained slyly. "This makes things more interesting! Can you guys guess where I am and what we'll be doing today?"

Oblivion Fire: ? uhhh… interviewing people?

KingKrabby: I can't tell where that is. Wait a sec, are you on a route? You sure about this?

Meowza: you don't have any pokemon… will you be okay?

Jigglypuff Powahhh: I'm going out on a limb here. IS THAT ROUTE 30?

Some of his viewers were worried about him, but it was fine. Everything was just fine.

He didn't usually go on routes. Even back in Cianwood, he'd stuck strictly to the city limits his whole life and only gone outside a few times on junior and high school field trips. Why?

Like any normal citizen, he was scared of the wilderness. He didn't have the guts to step foot out there like trainers did. Hell, Johto was even tied with Sinnoh for some of the most dangerous places and routes in the Kinjoh Area.

It didn't help that Luca didn't have a Pokemon of his own, and there was a reason for that, too. He didn't have the confidence to properly care for one. He already had trouble taking care of himself sometimes, so how was he supposed to take care of another living being? It was no wonder then that his viewers were confused, but Route 30 was as safe as routes went in Johto.

Everything was going to be just fine.

He forced a smile on his face and shot a thumbs up to his viewers with his free hand.

"Ding ding ding, we have some winners!" he chuckled. "That's right, I'm here outside of Cherrygrove today on Route 30! For anyone out there who doesn't know, Routes 29 and 30 are widely considered the safest routes in all of Johto. Plenty of inexperienced trainers come here to train or catch low-level Pokemon, and I'll be interviewing some of them. Why?"

Luca paused for dramatic effect. "Because of the Arin Watanuki Effect!" he said a moment later, and his lips curled into an excited grin. "This phenomenon has taken over the entire Pokenet! The popularity of Fairy type Pokemon among young trainers has exploded after Arin Watanuki's public matches. Everyone wants to get their hands on a Fairy type Pokemon now. For Fairy wanters in Johto, Route 30 is basically a haven for them. All of the most common Fairy types can be found right here, and there have been reports of people visiting in droves to try their luck. So, today, we'll be interviewing some of these people."

He jabbed a thumb enthusiastically at his chest. "Let's go!"

And off he went. He ignored how unsettled he felt walking along a route and focused on his mission instead. There really were a lot of trainers out in full force. He could see individuals and groups of people wading through tall grass or checking small clusters of bushes and trees for Pokemon. A few were even using fishing rods at small ponds and lakes.

When one of those trainers pulled his fishing rod back with a scowl, Luca made a beeline for him. He made sure to keep his phone down first to avoid privacy issues.

"Hi! I'm Tuff Tuff King, a social media influencer and content creator. I'm not sure if you've heard of me—" he began, but the trainer cut him off with wide eyes.

"Oh! Yeah, I've heard of you. One of my friends is a fan," the other person said. Luca forewent a sigh of relief. That made things easier.

He smiled amicably. "That's cool! I was wondering if I could interview you real quick? I'm doing a livestream right now."

The other trainer's eyes widened further. "Uh… sure thing."

Now that he had obtained permission, Luca swung his phone back up and angled it so that he and the other trainer were both in the frame.

"Let's start things off with an easy question. What's your name?" Luca asked.

"William Rowes," the trainer responded in a clear voice. His eyes darted only briefly to the camera recording them.

"Nice to meet you, William. I'll cut straight to the point: are you here looking for Fairy type Pokemon?"

"Huh," William made a small sound of surprise. "Yeah, I am. How'd you know?"

"Well, you see, there's something called the Arin Watanuki Effect…" Luca trailed off. He summarized the trend in less than ten seconds for his interviewee.

"Right, right," William mumbled as he snapped his fingers. "Think I heard about that, too. I'm not sure about other people, but I came here because I wanted a strong Pokemon to round out my team. I've been having trouble beating the Blackthorn Gym for two years now, so I thought maybe a Fairy type would help in the next League Circuit."

He held up his fishing rod with a sigh. "I've been trying to get a Marill this whole time. They all got scared off because of how many people there are. I've resorted to luring them out with bait, but…"

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

He shrugged. It was obvious he had not found his desired Pokemon yet.

Luca offered him a look of sympathy. "Well, thank you for the interview. Good luck!"

With that said, Luca left William behind and headed further into the route. He interviewed almost two dozen other trainers, and all of them were here for Fairy types.

The Arin Watanuki Effect truly was incredible.

With every minute that passed, Luca relaxed further. He may not have had a Pokemon, but he didn't need one on this route. There were so many trainers around that the wild Pokemon stayed away, and Rangers frequently passed by to keep a watchful eye on the surroundings.

He stayed out for another hour. By the time he was somewhere about a fourth into the route, the crowd of people had thinned out. In fact… now he didn't see anyone else around. No Rangers, no wandering trainers.

Yep. It was time to head home.

"Alright guys, I think this may be a good stopping point. Tuff Tuff King, signing out like…" Luca trailed off as he turned around.

Two people darted off the main road and into the forest. It happened so quickly, but Luca was pretty sure two guys had gone in. That wasn't the important bit.

One of the two had been dressed in a black outfit.

Granted, he hadn't gotten a good look or seen the front of the shirt, but Luca froze in place with one thought running through his head.

Team Rocket. Had he just seen Team fucking Rocket?

No, no, he couldn't jump to conclusions here. Maybe it was just two trainers picking up something they dropped, or they were off to look for Fairy types deeper in the forest…

Or maybe it was just Team Rocket.

Luca stood there and drilled holes into the trees with his eyes, desperately hoping the two figures would reappear. Tense seconds passed and became a full minute.

They didn't come back.

Luca didn't stop to think. He clumsily wrenched his phone out of the selfie stick, minimized his livestream, ignored how frenzied the chat was, and Zoogled the Cherrygrove Ranger Outpost's phone number. They were the closest authority to where he was.

He only had to wait for two ringing tones before someone picked up.

"Hi, this is the Cherrygrove—"

"This is not a joke, please listen. About a minute ago I saw two trainers run into the forest on Route 30 and they haven't come back out yet and one of them was wearing all black clothing so maybe it was Team Rocket but I don't know so anyway please come check it out," Luca blabbered out all in a single breath.

The friendly operator on the other end immediately began asking him questions, and he did his best to answer. One of the first things she asked for was his current location. Luca hammered his fingers against the phone screen and copy pasted his GPS coordinates from his compass app to the Ranger's tip line.

"You should—" the operator began to say, but he hung up without hearing the rest. Luca raised his free hand and bit his nails out of anxiety. Rangers had been dispatched and were on their way. That should have taken a load off his mind. Instead, he was more stressed than ever.

Were those actually Team Rocket grunts in there? If so, what were they doing? What if the Rangers didn't arrive on time and they got away? Only one of them had been wearing a dark outfit. What if that one was a Team Rocket member and the other one was a trainer running away from them? What if they needed help?

He had absolutely no clue. His mind raced with a million different possibilities, and every single one of them terrified him.

All he knew for sure was that the Rangers still weren't here and the Rockets were slipping away.

Their government was trying to track them down. They were doing their best to keep the country safe, and this was a possible lead. They would be able to get information out of the Rockets but only if they were caught first. Then everyone would be happier knowing more criminals were behind bars.

He was a citizen of Indigo. Could he really just stand here doing nothing to help?

An idea flashed through Luca's mind as he thought that. It was a very stupid and reckless idea, but… he swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. His legs were trembling like crazy.

Okay. Okay. He could do this. He would go after them, hopefully figure out where they went, and alert the Rangers with an updated location. He would run away at the first sign of danger.

"Fuck," Luca cursed to himself.

This was probably the worst decision he'd ever make in his life. It was also probably the last one he'd ever get to make as well, but… Luca squeezed his phone, cursed out loud to himself again, and ran into the forest.

He didn't see any of the messages zooming past on his livestream.

Ace of Staryu: STOP! DON'T GO AFTER THEM!

Jan_918: OMA im worried about tuff tuff king

KingKrabby: RANGERS PLEASE APPEAR NOW AND STOP HIM

Luca's feet pounded against the forest floor. Deeper and deeper he went, and any sight of the main road disappeared within seconds. Startled Ledyba and Sentret scurried away from him as he flew past. He ignored the hammering of his heart and focused on running.

For the love of Ho-Oh, how far in had these people gone?

Luca wasn't the best runner, but he managed to run full speed for about five minutes. Then he had to stop in his tracks to catch his breath. He gulped for air as he looked around. He hadn't noticed it while running, but the trees here were densely packed together. The overall vegetation was much thicker, too. He was way off-route now.

This was a terrible idea, Luca told himself again for the nth time. It was too late to back out now though. He was already this far in.

Cautiously, Luca began wandering through the forest. He walked over fallen branches and uneven dips in the ground. He gave wild Pokemon large berths even if they were as harmless as Caterpie. The whole time, he strained his eyes and ears for sights of anything.

A minute later, Luca heard faint voices drifting from further ahead.

"Fuck, I think… my phone…"

"…don't see any…"

His heart rate sped up, and the shaking of his legs got worse. Luca bit his lips and forced himself to walk further. He had to make sure these were the Rockets. He didn't forget to pull his phone out to make an emergency call if necessary.

Two figures eventually became visible between the trees. They kept walking, so Luca followed them from a distance. He could only see their backs, and it took a few moments for him to parse through his blurry memories, but these were the two people he'd seen earlier.

Rustle. Luca didn't know what that sound he heard was, but the person with the dark outfit suddenly stopped in place.

"Ugh, I can't stop thinking about my phone. Let's go back and look for it," he said with a groan.

His companion clicked his tongue. "Are you crazy? We're lucky we haven't come across any Rangers yet. We can look for it after we finish. It's your fault for dropping it anyway."

"Fine," the other person grumbled. "Anyway, how come we haven't found them yet?"

Okay, yes sir, these people were suspicious. Luca had no clue if they were talking about a Team Rocket rendezvous or not, but he started backing away. It was time to go.

As he was opening his compass app to grab coordinates, he stepped on something. A twig snapped loudly under his foot.

Luca stiffened at the same time that the figures whirled around. They spotted him almost immediately behind the tree.

Oh Arceus, he was going to die here. Chopped up or boiled alive without ever getting to see his beloved Taffy again—

That thought stopped abruptly in its tracks. Luca blinked.

He was looking at two teenagers, probably not a day over fifteen if he had to guess, and their equally surprised faces. The one in the dark outfit wasn't wearing a Team Rocket uniform. He was just wearing black jeans with a graphic T-shirt that read Cough Koffing. That was a popular heavy metal band, but that wasn't the point!

His jaw dropped.

"You're… you're not Team Rocket," he said in disbelief.

The teenagers both looked back at him with shock.

"W-What? Team Rocket?" the one on the right spluttered indignantly. "Are you a Ranger? Were you following us?!"

"Idiot, he's not a Ranger. Look at his outfit!" his friend hissed. In a louder voice, the boy in the dark clothes pointed at him. "Look, I don't know how you thought we were Team Rocket, but we're just new trainers. We wanted to catch some Fairy types so we thought we'd go deeper into the route to find 'em. Are you here for the same reason as us?"

All the tension left Luca in one big whoosh. He wanted to bash his head into the nearest tree. For the love of Arceus, he couldn't believe he'd mistaken these people for Team Rocket.

He'd gotten into a frenzy and involved the Rangers over a pair of fucking stupid teenagers.

Rustle.

Something rustled again, but Luca was too busy trying to recover from his initial shock to care. Once he recovered, Luca glared at the boys.

"First of all, this is off-route," he said with full annoyance. "If you're new trainers, you shouldn't be out here without a strong team of Pokemon! Second of all, who the heck wears all dark clothing like that with the news about Team Rocket lately? That's like asking people to report you!"

A brief look of shame crossed the other boy's face. "Okay fine, I can see how my outfit could confuse people," he admitted, but he raised his voice as he jabbed a finger at his chest. "But this is a free country! We're allowed to wear whatever we want! This is just the style of clothing I like. Heck, look at you! You're wearing all Wigglytuff… stuff."

Luca refrained from grumbling out loud. He had a point. Even if a Wigglytuff criminal organization appeared one day, he wouldn't change the clothes he wore either.

Annnd… it was partially his fault for jumping too quickly to conclusions. Still, it was based on reasonable suspicion! That's how he tried to justify it to himself anyway.

Luca sighed. Arceus, what a day this had turned out to be. At least he was just facing kids and not actual Rocket members.

"Whatever," he sighed. "Look, like I said before, you guys shouldn't be out there. I actually called the Rangers a couple minutes ago because I saw you guys go into the forest and thought you were Rockets."

"WHAT?" the boy with dark clothes exclaimed loudly. "I— You— We didn't even get to look for real yet! I want a Marill!"

"Yes, yes," Luca just waved a hand through the air and brought his phone up to his face. His fingers were already flying across the screen and dialing the Cherrygrove Ranger Outpost's number again. "So does everyone else who believes in the Arin Watanuki Effect. Anyway, I need to explain to the Rangers that—"

"Wait, stop. Does anyone else hear that?" the other teenager interrupted with wide eyes. Luca and the boy across from him paused in place.

"Hello? This is the Cherrygrove Ranger Outpost…" a faint voice came from Luca's phone, but he'd already lowered the device.

Luca was about to ask what the hell the kid was talking about when he heard it.

Rustle.

It was that same sound he'd heard before, except now… it was a lot louder when they weren't speaking. There were other noises layered beneath it. Something… like the quiet sound of chomping. The sound people would make when they were engrossed in a tasty meal so to speak. There wasn't anything around them when they swung their heads back and forth, so…

In unison, Luca and the two boys looked up.

Pineco. So many fucking Pineco high up in the trees. There had to be at least three dozen of them. The Pineco all looked down at them with terrifying red eyes. Each of them was hanging precariously from a tree branch, and they were all wriggling. Luca didn't understand why until he looked closer.

They were eating. He couldn't quite make out their mouths behind their protective shells, but they were definitely eating something from the crunching sounds they made. Luca didn't want to know what, and he certainly didn't want to ask.

All he knew was that the sounds and sights were eliciting truly visceral responses of fear from him, and he felt his legs grow wobbly with fear. His palms were sweating like crazy.

If you grew up in Johto, you were quickly taught in school what the most dangerous native Pokemon were. That included a long list of Poison types, but Pineco was also there. Johto had a lot of forested areas which Pineco resided in. They were known for their innate ability to explode, and they didn't even have to channel type energy to use the actual move. Their species was simply capable of exploding whenever they wanted or if they fell to the ground.

Thankfully, they usually resided deeper in forests away from civilization. Off-route.

And… Luca and the boys were off-route… together with a colony of displeased Pineco that looked like they may or may not explode at a moment's notice. They had been talking too loudly.

Once again, Luca realized he was definitely not meant to be a trainer. His situational awareness was simply awful. Just how had he not noticed all these Pineco until now?

"Oh my Arceus…" one of the boys next to him whimpered.

"H-H-Holy shit," his friend stammered in a faint voice. "That's a lot of Pineco."

"Yeah no shit," Luca somehow managed to snap back with more bravado than he actually felt, but he made sure to keep his voice down. "Okay, uh, let's just get out of here and let them eat in peace… No sudden movements."

He and the boys kept their eyes on the watchful Pineco. Slowly, they began inching away from them in the opposite direction.

Unfortunately, their previous loud conversation had disturbed more than just a colony of Pineco.

The three of them jumped when angry buzzing filled the air. Not a moment later, a gigantic Heracross burst out from the other end of the clearing. The scars across its carapace and its noticeably thick forearms indicated it had seen and won many fights.

The Heracross only looked around for a moment before it caught sight of the boys. Angrily, it began stomping forward. Luca didn't know what he was more terrified by: getting killed by the Heracross, or if it would accidentally brush up against a tree and cause a Pineco to fall, thus killing them by explosion instead. They couldn't even run for fear of setting off the Pineco themselves. Luca wanted to strangle himself and the two idiots for creating this situation.

Route 30 was one of the safest routes in Johto, yes.

But only when you weren't off-route.

----------------------------------------

We'd wrapped up a nice lunch. I'd finished up a patrol in the city, and now I was leisurely cruising across the ocean on Brie's back for some much needed downtime.

It wasn't entirely a break, though. I was in the middle of a discussion with Lance.

"Hmm… Our forces are already spread thin, so I don't know if I can reallocate more Rangers to your city's outpost…" Lance trailed off regretfully.

I frowned even though he couldn't see me. Now that I was aware of the Arin Watanuki Effect thanks to Yurie, I was trying to stay ahead of it.

"I would really appreciate it if you could, Lance. I think our Rangers might get overworked at this rate. There's been an influx of trainers on Route 30 lately, and I want to make sure we're able to supervise them properly. Please assign more Rangers to Cherrygrove," I politely insisted.

I heard a sound like Lance scratching his head. "I'll have to see what I can do. It's not just you, Arin, all the other Gym Leaders have been asking for more Rangers and officers, too. At this rate we might have to dig into trainee reserves," Lance sighed. "But I'm curious, why are there so many trainers over there nowadays? I mean no offense, but I didn't think Route 30 was a popular spot for trainers."

"That's…" I hesitated. No way in hell I was telling Lance about the Arin Watanuki Effect. I would perish from embarrassment first. Just as I was about to tell him everything about the phenomenon but its name, my phone rang with a call from the local Rangers.

That couldn't be good.

"I'll call you back, Lance," I said hurriedly, and I ended the call before he could get a syllable out. The other call was accepted.

"We got a tip about a potential Team Rocket sighting," the voice of the head Ranger informed. I was already moving even as he explained the rest of the situation to me.

Silque was let out and lifted us both above the waves with psychic powers. The moment I returned Brie, we both Teleported to the coordinates the Ranger had given me.

"This is where the informant was? And where the Rockets were seen?" I demanded. The closest Rangers hurried up to me and nodded. They'd already dispatched Rangers into and above the forest to search, but I wanted to expedite the process.

"Silque," I said simply.

My Hatterene's eyes glowed, and I knew she was using her abilities to search the surroundings. A few moments passed, and then she relayed what she'd found to me. She'd felt three human figures further into the forest. All of them radiated fear. They were right by a known colony of Pineco that the Rangers and I had long been aware of.

What was more, the people were definitely off-route.

"I'm heading in first. Wait here as backup," I said firmly. I couldn't bring the Rangers in with me for what was possibly going to be a combat situation of high intensity.

We disappeared before the Rangers even nodded. One of them had actually tried to say something to me — something about Pineco? — but we were already gone. I was more glad than ever I'd taken the time to have Silque go around Cherrygrove and memorize its surrounding areas in weeks prior. It made Teleportation so much easier and infinitely more useful when no place was inaccessible to you.

I'd half expected some sort of Dark type barrier to be in place to prevent us from getting close, but there was none. Silque and I popped into existence inside the forest. I took in the situation in a second. The clearing we'd come into, the Pineco up above, the incoming Heracross, and the trembling guys in front of me— was that Tuff Tuff King?!

I didn't know what had happened, but this was not a Team Rocket situation after all. There'd be time to talk later. I barked out my Pokemon's name.

"SILQUE!"

The Hatterene had already moved. She easily restrained the Heracross with Psychic and held it in place. I then eyed the Pineco above us. I'd heard plenty of horror stories about them growing up but thankfully never had an incident of my own yet.

I planned on keeping it that way.

"Aromatic Mist," I ordered.

A faint haze of pink filled the air. Just the feeling of it brushing against my skin was cool and soothing, and it rose up higher to envelop the trees and the Pineco above. Their wriggling halted as states of relaxation washed over each of them. They were too busy reveling in the pleasant aroma to think of anything else, and Heracross was much the same. It wore a dazed expression. I couldn't see it, but the boys behind me had stopped trembling. The mist was offering them similar comfort.

I pointed off into the distance.

"Drop it somewhere further away and come back to get us please."

Silque was fast. I barely had time to blink before she did as I asked and brought us all back to the main road. The Rangers didn't seem too surprised to see us and quickly formed a perimeter.

Together, we all looked at the boys with questioning expressions. Tuff Tuff King just looked relieved, but the other two boys cowered under our gazes.

"Thank you for saving us!" All three of them echoed hastily. I would have smiled, but I kept a stern expression.

"Is everyone okay?" I asked first. When they all nodded, the head Ranger marched up to stand next to me and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Did one of you make the report about Team Rocket?" he asked.

Tuff Tuff King raised a shaky hand.

"U-Um, that was me," he answered. "I'm sorry, I went in after these two and…"

It took a few minutes of nervous rambling complete with interjections from the other two boys, but we got the full story from them. Basically, the other two hadn't had any luck finding a Fairy type on the main road, so they decided to go somewhere the Rangers weren't and dove in when no one was looking. Tuff Tuff King, or Luca Hirafuji as I learned, had followed them because he wanted to keep us updated on the supposed Rockets. Then they'd gotten into the mess with the Pineco and the Heracross before I came across them.

I stared at them with an unamused expression.

I addressed the two teenagers first. "I understand you two wanted a Fairy type Pokemon, but you shouldn't have gone far off-route as new trainers. There's a reason why the League always tells trainers to stay on the main road. It's because the area beyond it is full of strong wild Pokemon. That Heracross you saw today wasn't even the worst thing we could have come across. You both could have gotten hurt today."

They blanched at that and hung their heads. I turned now to Luca. He drummed his fingers against his phone nervously.

"Luca, I think I speak for all the Rangers when I say your tip was gladly appreciated," I began, and the Rangers around me all nodded. "But… please do not put yourself in danger like that again. Leave investigations to proper authorities."

Luca bit his lip and nodded sadly.

"Yes, sir…"

I looked at how downcast he was, and I let myself smile only briefly.

"It was dangerous, and I would not encourage a repeat incident, but it was admirable that you thought about helping the Rangers find the Rockets. You may have been wrong with your guess, but you did help us find two trainers who were off the main road. Thank you."

He snapped his head back up. He didn't say anything, but he blinked furiously.

One of the other boys raised their heads hesitantly.

"Um… so we are in trouble?" he asked.

I shared a look with the head Ranger.

"You're not going to get fined or anything for this one time," I said slowly, and I held up a finger before the two boys could smile. "But, yes, you are in trouble. I'll hand you off to the Rangers to retake wilderness safety classes with them."

It was something all trainers had to do before they were allowed on a route for the first time, but clearly these two had not heeded the warnings enough and needed re-education.

They glumly nodded and allowed themselves to be led away. I heard one of them ask a Ranger about their missing phone, but I turned my attention to Luca. He still seemed embarrassed from his earlier mistakes and barely refrained from averting his gaze.

"So…" I stared at him. "I was surprised you didn't have a Pokemon out to defend yourself against the… supposed Rockets. It was already dangerous enough chasing after those two boys, but you did it without any extra protection."

Luca wilted a bit. "Er… that's because I don't have one, sir. A Pokemon," he said in the quietest voice I'd heard from him. It was a sharp contrast to the loud and optimistic fan I'd seen in the grocery store weeks ago. I ignored how he called me 'sir' and moved on.

"None?" I raised a brow. It wasn't uncommon for people to not have a Pokemon — there were plenty of civilians who didn't even have one as a pet because of issues like money — but I was surprised to hear Luca did not have one.

I'd expected him to have a Wigglytuff or something like his social media handle suggested. Well, a Wigglytuff may have been stretching it. Depending on how much he made from his career, buying a Moon Stone could have been out of reach.

Luca just nodded stiffly. "None, sir," he repeated. "I, uh… I like Pokemon, but I don't know if I'd be able to take care of one well. I wouldn't want to raise a Pokemon and make it unhappy somehow."

He looked even more embarrassed saying that out loud, but I felt nothing but respect for that. He was more considerate than he looked.

"Would you ever want one?" I asked curiously. Luca hesitated, but he eventually dipped his head in the smallest of nods. I was about to say something else, but Luca suddenly gasped. His eyes were locked onto the phone in his hands.

"Oh shit, I had my livestream on this whole time," he cried out in shock, and he hurriedly jabbed fingers at the screen.

Both my brows flew up.

"Livestream?" I asked, and Luca looked at me with an absolutely mortified expression.

"I-I'm so sorry, I was interviewing trainers on the route earlier and I… forgot to actually turn it off before this whole thing started…" Luca trailed off. He froze as I walked over to stand next to him. I peered down at his phone.

True to his word, there was a livestream on there, and boy, were the viewers out in full force. I saw about three hundred thousand viewers, and the number was quickly climbing.

Huh. I could use this. Maybe it'd even make Luca's day if I made an appearance.

I looked at the still frozen Luca, and I smiled reassuringly. This wasn't really an issue considering we hadn't spoken about any confidential information while the stream was ongoing.

"Don't worry about it. Do you mind if I say something to your viewers real quick?"

Luca's mouth dropped open.

"Uh…" he didn't say anything useful for about three seconds. "Uh, no! Go ahead!"

Still with a smile on my face, I turned back to stare at Luca's phone. He hurriedly held it up to capture my face.

"I just have one thing to say: please tune in for a press conference at five today. I'll be hosting one with Professors Oak, Elm, Birch, and Rowan regarding new species of Fairy type Pokemon and the Fairy type at large," I announced in a chipper tone, and then I walked right out of the frame.

"Thank you," I said to Luca as I passed by, and I gave him one last pat on the shoulder before I left.

I grinned to myself as I Teleported back home. The last thing I heard was a Ranger tell Luca he needed to come to their station for a statement.

Today's scare had reinforced my thought that the routes needed more supervision going forward. Plus, I couldn't stop thinking about what Luca had said about not having a Pokemon.

An idea wormed itself into my mind. I found myself looking around for papers and a pen in the backyard even as I called Lance again.

"Lance? Sorry about the hold up. Let's continue our previous conversation. Yeah, we're definitely going to need more Rangers around Cherrygrove. We just had…"

----------------------------------------

This had to be one of the worst days ever.

Luca had made a fool of himself in front of Gym Leader Arin and accidentally broadcasted everything live. Thankfully, aside from a few trolls, his viewers were just glad he was okay.

He could not say the same for himself. His legs still felt shaky after the brush with danger.

With a heavy sigh, Luca exited the Cherrygrove Ranger Outpost's front doors. He'd given his statement, and now he was free to finally go home. He was so depressed today that he was going to gorge on junk food for a late lunch.

He jumped when he saw who was waiting for him outside.

"L-Leader Arin!" Luca stammered, and he couldn't help but stand with a ramrod straight posture as the Gym Leader approached him. There was that strange Pokemon from before at his side, but Luca's eyes were drawn to the conspicuous bag Arin held. It was incredibly bulky, and there was something big in there — a glass container of some sort? — along with what looked like papers and some other colorful items Luca couldn't make out.

"Hello again," Arin greeted with a smile, and Luca hurriedly dipped his head a few times in greeting. Arin just laughed and held a hand up. "None of that please. I'm just here to ask you something."

"Uh…" Luca trailed off and stared at him with no small amount of anxiety.

Arin was still smiling when he went on. "Well, I was thinking about our conversation earlier and what you told me the last time we met," he said, and Luca continued to stare at him with confusion.

He froze when he heard Arin's next words.

"Would you like an Igglybuff Egg?"

He stood there frozen for so long that Arin had to snap his fingers in front of his face.

"Hello? Luca?"

Luca's soul finally re-entered his body, and he gaped at Arin.

"Wiggly— I mean, Jiggly— I mean, what? An Igglybuff Egg?" Luca finally got out in a tongue-tied mess.

Arin simply looked amused.

"Yes, an Igglybuff Egg," he repeated calmly. "I thought you could use a friend. I know you said you weren't confident about raising a Pokemon, so I've included a manual I wrote up about how to take care of it. I wrote everything you need to know to take care of it as an Egg and then a newborn, and I included some other stuff, too. Towels, blankets… oh, and my personal phone number's on a paper in here somewhere. You can call or text me anytime you have questions."

Arin paused to raise a brow at him. "Of course, this all hinges on whether or not you want this Pokemon Egg. Do you?"

Luca stared at him.

Holy fuck. Was this actually happening? Gym Leader Arin was offering him an Igglybuff Egg of all things, complete with a written manual and his phone number?

No! No. He had to calm down and think about this logically. Even with help, could he even take care of an Igglybuff? He even forgot his own meals sometimes, and he wouldn't even be starting with a Pokemon. He'd be starting with an Egg—

His lips moved before he even realized it.

"Yeah!" he nearly shouted out.

Screw it. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. He would take extra care of this Pokemon and raise it like it was his own child.

Arin passed the bag to him, and Luca peeked inside. The glass container he'd seen before was an Egg Incubator. An adorable pink Egg lay within it on a cushion.

That was his now. His very own Igglybuff Egg.

Luca felt so overcome with emotion. He barely managed to choke out a sincere thank you to the Cherrygrove Gym Leader.

This day was pretty awesome after all.

"Oh, um… may I see Taffy, by the way?"

Hopefully Arin wouldn't get annoyed.

----------------------------------------

Lance agreed to assign more Rangers to Cherrygrove much to my immense relief. I didn't want any more issues of idiotic trainers running around unsupervised.

What was more, I'd given Tuff Tuff King one of the Pokemon Eggs in my possession. I felt Luca deserved it for his brave, albeit reckless, act today.

I hoped he felt a bit better after the scare he'd gone through. He definitely should have considering I even let him play with Taffy for a bit.

Now, though, I sat in front of flashing cameras inside of City Hall. All the Professors were seated with me at a long table.

It was five o'clock. The previous incident had been dealt with, and now the press conference was on.

"Good afternoon, people of the Kinjoh Area," I spoke into my microphone, and all reporters in the audience focused their attention on me. "I'm here today with some esteemed guests."

I went down the row and introduced the Professors, but it wasn't necessary. Everyone in the Kinjoh Area knew who they were.

"For the past month, the Professors and I have been collaborating on a research paper," I explained, and I turned my head. "I invited them to come and study my Fairy type Pokemon."

"Yes," Oak confirmed, taking over temporarily. "Thanks to Leader Arin's generosity, my colleagues and I have had a chance to study Fairy type Pokemon of all species… most of which are found outside of the Kinjoh Area."

This caused a massive stir in the audience, but Oak went on unhindered. "We hope to share the gift of knowledge today with the rest of the Kinjoh Area in light of these troubling times."

"At six o'clock today, our research paper will go live in Kinjoh Research Monthly. Please do have a look later," Birch added with an eager smile.

He and the other Professors went on and explained some bits of what the research paper would talk about. They didn't reveal everything of course, but just enough to get people interested in reading it. We wrapped up within twenty minutes.

The Professors went back to their lodgings, and I went back home. Each of us couldn't contain our excitement, and when six o'clock rolled around…

Kinjoh Research Monthly's website experienced a brief crash from how many visitors swarmed there.

The world was changing.