Pokémon: Trainers Returning from Monster Hunter

"In that case, let's press our advantage and move on to the next training session."

Oreki transmitted his thoughts again.

"Shin-Ye-Nyan, use the Switch again. This time, try to compress your superpower into your legs, and then chase after me with all your might."

Without bothering to think about what had just happened, Shin-Ye-Nyan chose to trust the trainer's judgment.

Having had the experience before, this time the new Leaf Cat was obviously more skilled. In no time, a layer of purple coating covered its pink paw pads, making it look like a peach-flavored ice cream coated with orange jam in the morning sunlight.

"Meow...meow..."

Shin-chan was panting heavily, but its speed was increasing, and the distance between it and Oreki was rapidly decreasing.

"Just a little bit more, hang in there, Shin-chan!"

In order to give Shin-chan a clear target to chase, Oreki had no choice but to speed up again.

The once quiet street became lively because of their running around, and even a middle-aged man walking his Growlithe felt a surge of excitement upon witnessing it.

"Growlithe, let's run!"

"Woof!"

"Meow, meow?!"

Suddenly, as Xin Ye Miao ran at top speed, she felt her footsteps lighten, as if she were floating in the air.

Just then, Oreki's command came to his mind again.

"Now's the time! Use Lightning Flash!"

Perhaps this move is ingrained in their very being.

At this moment, Shin-chan felt exceptionally light, as if she could overtake the trainer running ahead of her at any moment if she wanted to.

The trainer has worked so hard, I absolutely cannot let it down!

"Meow, meow-ha—"

A bolt of lightning flashing purple light streaked past Oreki, moving so fast that even with his sharp eyesight, he had to concentrate intensely to catch it.

"Wow, that speed... is this still 'Lightning Flash'?"

Oreki slowed his pace and muttered, "It seems I've tamed an amazing Shin-chan!"

He also confirmed one thing: in reality, the moves Pokémon learn do not follow the exact order of their levels in the game.

If you deliberately train a particular move or ability, you may be able to learn that skill ahead of time.

— Oreki Training Notes, Part Two

The first one is that the Lava Dragon Jewel has a fatal attraction for New Leaf Cat!

【Ding! 】

[Increased Felyne strength detected, searching for rewards... Please wait...]

[The reward has been issued. Please check your inventory.]

Oreki then opened his backpack.

[Chef's Gift (Basic): Improves cooking skills upon use, allowing you to create dishes with basic effects.]

[Note: This ability is exclusive to the Palico race.]

"..."

"Wow, this is genuine cat food! Does that mean I'll be able to eat Magical Masked Cat's lovingly prepared meals from now on?"

In the distance, New Leafy, who had finally managed to stop the cat cart, excitedly turned around, wanting to receive praise from its trainer. However, it found the trainer standing still with a dangerous look in its eyes, as if it was thinking about something bad.

"Damn it, I've been training so hard, and you're spacing out?!"

The purple light on Xin Ye Miao flashed and disappeared in an instant. She raised her head and walked back, fuming to herself.

"I've decided to ignore you for five minutes!"

"I wasn't daydreaming, I was just thinking about what to eat later."

!!!

Meow?!

Shin-chan's pink paws froze in mid-air, hesitating for a while before slowly stepping down, looking at Oreki walking towards him with surprise and uncertainty.

It suddenly remembered that during the training just now, the trainer seemed to have responded to its inner thoughts.

Saying things like "I'm better than Kirlia"...

"Hehe, is this his real thought...? He's probably not just lying to the cat, right?"

"The Sinnoh people don't lie to the Padia cats."

Seeing his harpy cat's tail wagging high again, Oreki immediately replied in his mind.

"Judging from the training just now, your comprehension and ability are absolutely top-notch."

He seems to have discovered another little secret about Shin-Ye-Miao—she really likes to be praised.

Looks like I'll have to reward it handsomely from now on!

however.

Upon hearing Oreki's affirmative words, Shin-chan's smug little expression suddenly fell.

(´。＿。｀)

"The trainer really can read minds! Meow... He's getting more and more outrageous!"

Clearly, it still hasn't considered the possibility that it has already mastered telepathy.

The main problem is that there are too many outrageous practices related to origami.

At their first meeting, he was a complete novice, but after taking a nap, he single-handedly defeated the bad guy and then inexplicably gained the ability to communicate with him telepathically.

Now they've got mind-reading technology too?!

Life is tough, even a cat sighs.

How do I prevent my trainer from leveling up faster than me? I need help urgently, I'm waiting online.

"..."

The cat has truly captured the essence of being adorable and silly.

Oreki scooped it up in his arms and gently brushed its wet nose: "Silly cat, haven't you realized you've learned telepathy yet?"

"Meow meow meow?!"

Then.

Oreki found, to his dismay, that Shin-chan seemed unable to control whether or not to transmit her thoughts as freely as he could.

Once connected, its chaotic and strange thoughts will be transmitted uncontrollably.

One second I was thinking, "I'm the best! I've even learned Kirlia's special ability!"

The next second it immediately turned into, "Meow... Will the trainer stop praising me if they catch other Pokémon in the future? I need a boost!"

Startled, Oreki quickly disconnected the connection, fearing he might hear something ominous.

Sure enough, there were impurities in the iron—it still needs further refinement.

Oreki looked around. He hadn't paid much attention to his surroundings while training Shin-chan, and he had no idea where Shin-chan had gone.

Looking up, they saw a person and a cat standing in front of a strange building covered by a huge rock.

At the building entrance, a girl with her hair in pigtails and wearing a dress and red tights stood quietly, observing them with great interest.

Caught peeping, the girl quickly walked over and spoke frankly.

"Hello, my name is Du Juan, and I'm the acting head of this dojo. Are you... training?"

Du Juan?

No wonder it looked so familiar.

"That's right, this is the Pokémon I just caught."

Oreki replied, "Oh right, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Oreki, and this is Shin-chan."

"Meow~(｡･∀･)ﾉﾞ"

"Huh—this is a Pokémon I've never seen before, it's so cute! It probably isn't from the Hoenn region, right?"

Du Juan squinted her eyes. Although she preferred steady Rock-type Pokémon, who could resist such an adorable kitten?

"Yes, it's more common in the Parthian region."

"Padia... such a remote place."

Du Juan quickly put that question aside, her big eyes shining brightly as she asked, "So... how about a dojo challenge match?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Oreki had a flash of inspiration.

Yup!

In the Monster World, defeating monsters from different regions is essentially the same as challenging gyms in the Pokémon World, isn't it?!

The "Hunter's Certificate" and the "Gym Badge" look so similar, don't they?

"But I only have one Pokémon..."

"It's okay!" Du Juan quickly explained, "1v1 is fine too. If you meet the requirements, I can still give you a badge!"

……