Pokémon: Trainers Returning from Monster Hunter

At Kama-en Onsen, steam rises from the men's bath.

The hot spring water flows out from the geyser shaped like a leaping fish in the center of the pool.

There was only Oreki in the entire men's bath.

Therefore, he released the two little ones, who had recovered completely, early on.

After a week of soaking in the medicinal bath, the two of them knew each other inside and out and were completely familiar with each other. They frolicked together in the hot spring water and were soon hidden by the thick mist.

It is worth mentioning that.

Because of Oreki's extraordinary sensory abilities, he can hear faint sounds of laughter and playfulness coming from next door with just a little attention.

"Haha, no... Sasha, it tickles!"

"Oh dear, Kiju, you... too..."

"Ah! Not there..."

Shaking his head and sighing, Oreki forced his attention back to himself.

"New Leaf Cat, come here for a second."

He shouted towards the depths of the hot spring.

After a while, New Leaf Cat finally responded with a buzzing sound.

"Meow... Huh?"

What?

"I have a new gadget for you. Ralts, come along too, let's do a little experiment."

After another period of silence, ripples spread across the hot spring water.

Two slender figures gradually emerged until they emerged from the mist.

That is to say, Oreki was wearing a proper hot spring outfit, and they had bathed together before.

Otherwise, those two little ones might have been agonizing and hesitating for a long time.

New Leaf Cat swam slowly over, its four little paws rummaging beneath the surface of the water.

Ralts lay on its back, legs crossed, on the water, its little hands clutching Newleafy's tail as it followed closely behind.

"Meow meow?"

Is there anything fun to do?

Although Xinye Miao swam slowly, its playful nature couldn't hide the anticipation in its voice.

"Here it is, try it on."

As if performing magic, Oreki made a grabbing motion in mid-air.

then…

I'm delighted to receive a pair of eye rolls from the new Leaf Cat.

"Meow!"

I have broken paws too!

It lifted one of its front paws out of the water.

Clang!

Sharp cat claws sprang out from the paw pads.

"Oh, then I'll give it to Ralts."

"Meow!"

No!

Shin-chan leaped out of the water in a flash and landed on Oreki's shoulder.

"Pull... gurgle..."

Caught off guard, Ralts fell headfirst into the water.

Fortunately, it reacted quickly enough, and after only taking a sip of water, it teleported to Oreki's other shoulder.

rub!

Flames suddenly erupted from his hands.

Before Oreki could stop her, Ralts extinguished the flames on her fist, only to reignite them quickly.

This cycle repeated three times.

"Raltral!"

The speed has increased, and the power has also increased!

"Oh? It really works?"

Oreki looked pleasantly surprised and checked the effect described in the [Flame Certificate] again.

If that's the case, then wouldn't that mean...

He casually splashed hot spring water onto Ralts's fist.

Oh!

The hot spring water evaporated completely, but the flames on Ralts' fist remained unaffected.

This scene also surprised Ralts.

It teleported back to the water's surface and carefully placed its flaming fist into the water.

呲——

The surrounding hot spring water kept evaporating, and Ralts's Flame Punch held out for nearly ten seconds before being extinguished by the continuous flow of hot spring water.

"Ralu!"

It's become harder to extinguish!

Laluras concluded with certainty.

He had already learned this method of using external water to forge the Flame Fist back in Dr. Yamanashi's research institute.

This was to counteract the water jets from the giant raccoon in the research institute.

Therefore, it knows very well how long its Flame Punch can last in warm water.

But you should know that this time the duration was twice as long as before.

Given the current increase in the power of the Flame Fist, it's absolutely impossible for it to have such a significant improvement in water resistance.

Therefore, there is only one answer—

It's the trainer's magic again!

Ralts's eyes involuntarily revealed admiration and a hint of complexity.

Could it be that trainers are more like Psychic-type Pokémon than I am...?

It’s just that!

"Meow meow."

Stop messing around with the Flame Fist and give me my pendant!

Shin-chan was extremely jealous and kept slapping its paws on Oreki's shoulder in a panic.

"It's right in my hands, it'll move on its own."

Oreki raised his hand slightly.

(¯へ¯)

Shin-chan raised its wet tail and shook its body violently, splashing Oreki's face with cat wash water.

"Hey, hey, hey, you're a grass cat Pokémon, not a dog Pokémon."

Oreki turned his face away in disgust.

As a result, it was immediately pushed back by a small hand that still retained some warmth.

"Ralu..."

His face was too close to mine...

He glanced at Oreki out of the corner of his eye.

Ralts lowered her head, seemingly lost in thought.

While that was happening, Xin Ye Miao had already eagerly put the cat paw pendant in her mouth.

It's salty at first taste, and a little sweet.

"Moo!"

Holding the pendant, it couldn't make a sound, so it turned around and used its tail to brush against the origami's face.

"Okay, okay, I'll put it on for you."

Unable to bear it any longer, Oreki helped it put on the pendant.

This guy can now cook cat food skillfully, but he won't even wear a pendant.

"How are you feeling?"

Xin Ye Miao tilted her head and felt it. The pendant seemed to be heating up, and wisps of energy were entering her body, heading straight for her lower limbs.

Before long, it felt its limbs become powerful and its body become lighter.

If you use Lightning Flash in this state, your speed will definitely be much faster than before!

This is amazing, meow!

Xinye Miao kept wagging her tail, examining the pendant on her chest from all angles, clearly admiring it.

Speed ​​is its favorite ability.

"It seems you're both quite satisfied."

Oreki was quite pleased.

Although the system forcibly categorized the two little ones, in his heart they were both his beloved Bo.

Therefore, he wanted to make sure they didn't feel any favoritism.

At the same time, he has been trying to understand the personalities of the two children.

Aside from their slightly arrogant nature and their stubborn, lonely personalities, they are all alike.

Xin Ye Miao's personality traits are very obvious - she is jealous and likes to be praised.

Ralts, on the other hand, found it rather difficult to speak.

It's understandable that Oreki has violent tendencies, but his masochistic tendencies really leave him speechless.

At first, he really doubted whether there was something wrong with his senses.

But as the training progressed, he gradually realized something was wrong.

Finally, it was during today's gym challenge that Ralts, who didn't act at all, completely convinced him.

This guy has a bit of a masochistic streak.

Does anyone in the family know anything about Pokémon with three attributes?

Another half hour passed.

Feeling refreshed and relaxed after soaking in the bath, Oreki led the two little ones out of the men's bath.

In the outer hall, the three girls had finished getting ready and were waiting quietly.

"What are you doing here?"

Looking at the state of the three people in front of him, Oreki couldn't help but ask.

Aysa, whose right eye was inexplicably swollen, quickly waved her hand, "It's nothing, it's nothing, I just bumped into the door frame."

Du Juan, her face flushed red, tightened her clothes and lowered her head without saying a word.

"Hehe~"

Kiju blinked and gave Oreki a "V" sign.

It was that familiar adorable way of getting by.

However, on her fair face, there were two very obvious handprints, as if she had been pinched by something.

"..."

Not my girlfriends.

While I was testing the system rewards, what were you guys doing next door?

……