Pokémon: Trainers Returning from Monster Hunter

"Buzz buzz buzz".

Outside the courtyard, Dragonite was gesticulating wildly as he explained something.

Dragonite, a dragon-type Pokémon, is a popular late-blooming Pokémon in the Kanto region, often referred to as a pseudo-legendary Pokémon.

It is colloquially known as "fat".

Before Oreki traveled through time, Dragonite became popular again because of its ability to Mega Evolve.

Well, black and red are still red, right?

"So you're in charge of delivery for Devon Corporation?" Oreki asked after understanding.

Dragonite nodded and then shook its head, first pointing to itself, then to Oreki, and finally giving a thumbs up.

"Oh, I see, you deliver packages specifically for users like me."

"Buzz buzz buzz!"

Dragonite squinted its big eyes and jumped around happily.

"Look at how big Garchomp is! Even a casual leap looks like a dragon dance."

Perhaps because he had just video chatted with Takeran, Oreki couldn't help but think of this again.

"This is truly a sin."

"Come in and rest for a bit," Oreki invited. "We're just about to have breakfast, would you like some?"

"Pop..."

Hearing that there was food, Dragonite was tempted, but remembering that he was still working, he shook his head and refused.

After moving the metal ore into the yard, and once the receipt was signed, it was ready to fly back directly to deliver the goods.

Unexpectedly, just as it was about to take off, a hand grabbed its foot.

"Guests are welcome, please have something to eat before you leave."

"Pop??"

Dragonite was startled.

I was just grabbed like that?

It couldn't help but flap its wings with some effort.

The broken wood remained completely still.

"Okay, okay, the food is here, I won't take up any more of your time."

As she spoke, Kirullian came out carrying a tray.

"Chiru".

Try it.

"Pop".

Since things have come to this, let's eat first.

Anyway, there are no other delivery slips.

Dragonite landed carefully and took the plate from Kirlia's hand.

Her small nostrils twitched slightly, and a look of ecstasy appeared on her face.

This thing doesn't look very appealing, but it smells exceptionally good.

Then I won't be polite.

After a gust of wind, the steak on the plate disappeared.

"Pop...hiccup~"

Swish!

Dragonite gave a thumbs-up to the adorable Newleaf Cat peeking out from inside the house, showing its approval!

"Meow!"

New Leaf Cat's tail suddenly stood up, then quickly retracted.

Oreki and Kirlia noticed what was happening, but neither of them made a sound. They smiled and said goodbye to Dragonite.

"Buzz buzz buzz~"

"What did it say at the end?" Oreki asked.

"Chiruchiru".

Kirullian deliberately spoke loudly.

It said this was the best steak dish it had ever eaten, and the chef who made it must have put a lot of effort into it. It would definitely come again next time it had the chance!

"Of course, anything produced by Xinye Miao is bound to be of the highest quality."

Oreki agreed verbally, but in his heart he was thinking, "Do you really think Shin-chan is a deaf cat?"

Did Ryujin really say that much?

Inside the house, New Leafy, who was hiding behind the door, heard Kirlia's words and, even though she knew there was an element of deliberate intent involved, her tail still wagged rapidly.

hum!

I'll take this as a compliment from you, Little La!

Suppressing the urge to rub her front paw pads in place, Xin Ye Miao ran back to the kitchen, the pendant around her neck appearing and disappearing as she ran.

...

...

After finishing his cat-themed meal, Oreki returned to the yard and stared at a sack full of metal ore, looking puzzled.

I have the ore, but how do I smelt it?

Swish!

Beside me was the sound of Kirullian's morning boxing practice.

Oh, right!

Oreki turned around. "Kirlian, if you unleash your full magical flames, how long can you last?"

Kirullian shook her head.

Before its evolution, it rarely used magical flames, and now that it has just evolved, it has not yet fully mastered the growth of its own strength.

"Want to give it a try?"

Oreki picked up a piece of dark metal ore.

"Chiru".

Kirullian understood, and with a quick rub of her hands, magical flames were instantly generated.

Then, under the immense pressure and control of her powerful mental focus, the flames were compressed into a ball, flowing between her delicate pink hands.

Why does this remind me of Rasengan?

Oreki tossed the metal ore over.

Kirlian caught it with her psychic powers and sent it into the "Flame Rasengan".

And then... that was it.

After burning for a minute, Kirlia started sweating on her forehead, and only then did a few fragments of the metal ore symbolically fall off.

"..."

What kind of quality metal ore did Daigo give him?

Is this Bosscodora's food?

No wonder his Pokémon grow at an astonishing speed.

At the same time, Oreki also realized a key problem—he didn't have the tools to forge.

How can you forge something if you don't even have a hammer?

Simply.

He interrupted Kirlia, called to New Leafy, who was doing push-ups on the roof while absorbing the morning sun, and headed straight for the academy with a sack in hand.

He planned to ask Dr. Solans if the academy had a place that specialized in crafting props.

Solans, who deals with ores and experimental equipment all day long, should have some clue about this.

however.

Life is full of disappointments.

After learning of Oreki's purpose.

"I just stayed up all night doing experiments," Solans said with a yawn.

"You mean the forging workshop? That was demolished years ago. These days, full-time craftsmen are almost extinct, so there's no need to keep the forging workshop open."

"Do you have forging tools?" Oreki persisted.

Solans shook his head.

"I've dealt with everything together. Forging requires forging flames, which are usually sufficient for carrying items. But from your description, it seems you want to forge something more like a Pokémon weapon?"

"These kinds of items actually require extremely high temperatures forging, and the material requirements are much more stringent; otherwise, they simply cannot withstand the direct impact of high-intensity Pokémon battles, unless you're willing to 'discard' them."

Oreki gave a soft "hmm" to indicate his understanding, as this was in line with his thoughts.

Back in the New World, weapons forged from ordinary iron ore and dragon bones could only be used to cut down the likes of the average guy.

In order to truly hunt Elder Dragons, in addition to physical strength and skills, weapons and armor are crucial.

A subpar weapon will break down in no time.

This is fatal in open-field combat.

Pointing to the metal ore he had brought, Oreki said, "The materials Daigo provided should be strong enough."

Solans picked up a piece, examined it carefully, and nodded.

"Yes, that's right. This metal ore should have been collected by Daigo specifically to increase the hardness of the Aggron Armor. Special equipment is required to smelt it."

"But given the current situation, even if the forging room were still there, you probably wouldn't be able to use that equipment."

"What's the current situation?"

Oreki keenly sensed the hidden meaning in Solans's words.

"Ugh."

After a moment's thought, Solans felt that given Oreki and Daigo's current relationship, it wouldn't be a big deal for them to know these things, so he slowly spoke.

"It must have been about two years ago when the geothermal activity beneath Kanaz City suddenly decreased. Devon spent more than half a year investigating but couldn't find the cause. He could only discover that some lava was flowing towards Chimney Mountain."

"Because of this, they had no choice but to relocate the factory that smelts ultra-high temperature materials to the vicinity of Chimney Mountain."

"Didn't Devon develop ∞ energy?" Oreki asked, expressing his doubts.

"∞ energy is still too rare and too expensive to be worthwhile, not to mention that it is currently far less controllable than geothermal energy."

"So I should just go find Daigo now, right?"

Oreki was straightforward.

"Or find a trainer at the Gym level or above who specializes in Fire-type Pokémon; their ace Pokémon should be able to help you with the fusion."

Solans suggested a second option.

Oreki was speechless for a moment. Were these conditions so demanding that there weren't many trainers in the entire region who could meet them?

"Then I'll go find Daigo."

After going around in circles, we still have to rely on the "big shot"... no... I mean the young master!

Boom boom boom!

Just then.

The glass curtain wall in the air was struck.

Oreki and Solans both looked up at the same time.

"!! A ghost!"

After staying up all night, Solans collapsed into bed and fell asleep immediately.

Oreki reacted quickly, hooking his foot around the earth before Oreki could fully embrace Mother Earth.

He was already cursing under his breath.

When you say "big dog," the "big dog" appears.

But the problem is, why did it have to be Cattleya who came?

I told her not to fly, not to fly, but she wouldn't listen!

A woman's head with disheveled hair is hanging outside a perfectly good glass curtain wall. Who wouldn't be afraid?!

After settling Solans onto the bed in the lab and having Kirlian soothe him with hypnosis, Oreki, already in a bad mood, stormed outside.

Seeing that the visitor was hostile, Cattleya's dead memories suddenly resurfaced.

fury…

Bangilas…

Slapping your own face...

"Wait...wait a minute!"

Cattleya quickly landed from the air, covering her face.

"Don't hit my face!!"

……