Chapter 104: Whitney, the Goldenrod City Gym Leader

"Oh, right, I forgot to introduce myself. Hi, I'm Whitney, from Goldenrod City." The smiling girl extended a hand while looking at Cain.

Cain stood up from his seat, shook Whitney's hand, and replied coldly, "Cain."

He didn't mention where he was from or say anything else, keeping his tone quite distant.

But Whitney didn't seem bothered at all and kept smiling, "Hehe, Cain, your Miltank was caught in the wild, right?"

Cain nodded silently, as if agreeing with her statement. Though Miltank was purchased from the hunter's association, saying it was caught in the wild wasn't exactly wrong.

"Hehe, do you want to know how I knew?" Her big eyes fixed on Cain, with a look that seemed to say, "Ask me, ask me already."

"..."

Cain felt a bit uncomfortable under her persistent gaze, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

"Because my family owns a Miltank farm! Most of the Miltank come from our farm, and I don't recognize this one of yours, so it must be wild. I know all the Miltank on our farm!" Whitney said proudly.

"..."

So this was Whitney, the heiress of the Goldenrod City Gym, the prized gem of the richest family in Goldenrod City.

Nearly all the Miltank in the Pokémon world are controlled by this family, much like the Joy family controls Chansey and the Jenny family Growlithe. It's rare to find wild Miltank nowadays.

Through the sale of high-quality Moomoo Milk, Whitney's family has earned enormous wealth.

Goldenrod City, being the largest city in the Johto region, holds an equivalent status to that of Saffron City in Kanto. And the most powerful family in Goldenrod City is Whitney's family, with their Miltank farm as their most lucrative business.

As for Whitney's claim that she knows all the Miltank on her family's farm, Cain preferred not to comment. With thousands of Miltank on the farm, how could she possibly know them all? It's no wonder Miltank is her signature Pokémon; her love for them is obvious.

Whitney had a very lively and chatty personality. Though sometimes she was a bit clumsy and careless, she was generally kind-hearted.

Because Cain also had a Miltank, Whitney kept chatting with him throughout the journey. However, most of the time it was Whitney talking and Cain listening.

"Hey, Cain! Where did you capture your Miltank?"

"Cain, your Miltank doesn't seem fully developed. I have a suggestion, want to try it...?"

"Cain, your Slowpoke is so adorable...!"

"Cain..."

"..."

As the energetic Whitney kept talking, Cain began to feel a headache, but couldn't do much about it, so he just endured her questions in silence.

Even if he didn't respond, Whitney seemed to answer her own questions without waiting for Cain's reply.

"Tok tok tok~~" Finally, a knock on the door interrupted Whitney's "interrogation."

A staff member of the levitating train entered with a friendly smile and asked, "Excuse me, it's lunchtime. Would you like to order something?"

Finally, Cain could breathe a sigh of relief as Whitney was interrupted.

"Please bring me a steak with rice! Thank you!" Whitney responded politely, showing it wasn't her first time on the train and that she was familiar with the food on board.

Cain didn't care much about the food as long as it filled him up. He wasn't picky, so he also ordered a steak with rice. "Please bring me a steak with rice as well."

After taking both orders, the staff member smiled and nodded, "Very well, please wait a moment. Your lunch will be ready shortly."

With that, he slowly left the compartment, closing the sliding door behind him.

Being interrupted, Whitney fell silent for a moment, allowing Cain to relax a bit.

Slowpoke remained lying by Cain's chair with its eyes closed. To others, it would appear as if it was sleeping, given the natural habit of Slowpoke. But in reality, it was training its meditation (essentially using the move Calm Mind).

Cain's plan was for Slowpoke to be able to meditate anytime and anywhere, which required a long period of practice.

For now, Slowpoke could only meditate while resting, and it was nearly impossible for someone without psychic abilities to notice.

Though Cain's psychic abilities were weak and newly awakened, he could perceive the powerful psychic energy flowing within Slowpoke.

Meanwhile, Miltank was sitting next to Whitney's Miltank on the floor, "Mii, Mii," chatting. Whitney's Miltank would occasionally pat Cain's Miltank on the shoulder, as a sign of comfort and encouragement.

Clearly, Whitney's Miltank sympathized with Cain's Miltank's experiences.

Of course, it hadn't mentioned to Whitney's Miltank that it had been captured by Pokémon hunters before Cain purchased it.

The 5,000 Pokédollar price for this train ticket was definitely worth it. The onboard service was excellent, and the food Cain and Whitney ordered arrived quickly, emanating a delicious aroma.

Cain didn't start eating right away, but instead took out two Pokémon food dishes from his ring and poured Pokéblocks into them for Slowpoke and Miltank.

Slowpoke, having been training for several hours, was already hungry. Upon seeing its favorite Pokéblocks, it began to eat slowly and contentedly.

Miltank also stopped chatting and approached Cain. The delicious aroma of the Pokéblocks, combined with the joy of having found a companion, made it start devouring them quickly.

Seeing Slowpoke and Miltank eating the Pokéblocks with such delight, Whitney's Miltank couldn't help but gulp. The aroma of the Pokéblocks was unmistakable to her.

Though Slowpoke's Pokéblocks looked more crystalline, the ones Cain's Miltank was eating clearly appealed to her more.

"Mii?" Cain's Miltank noticed and quickly pushed its food dish toward Whitney's Miltank, inviting her to share as a good friend.

Whitney's Miltank swallowed and looked at her trainer for permission.

"Cain, where did you get those Pokéblocks? Miltank seems to love them!" Whitney didn't pay much attention to Slowpoke's Pokéblocks, since as an heiress from a wealthy family, she was used to seeing high-quality Pokéblocks.

However, the Pokéblocks Miltank was eating, though they looked ordinary, clearly appealed to her.

With Whitney's permission, her Miltank also joined in, and it was evident she had a bigger appetite than Cain's Miltank, as Cain had to add Pokéblocks two more times.

Hearing Whitney's question, Cain hesitated a bit before replying, "I make them myself."

(End of Chapter)