Losing My "Golden Sponsor"?

"Well done, Vulpix." Johan picked up the little Vulpix and praised it.

It turned out that, while Vulpix was timid, it was also cautious and wouldn't easily fall into the same trap as Haunter, who tended to become overly confident after a quick victory.

But...

Johan gave a sympathetic look to the unconscious Breloom.

Maybe it was a little too cautious.

He took out an energy cube and slipped it into Vulpix's mouth.

"Oowu~~"

With the entire energy cube stuffed in its mouth, Vulpix's cheeks puffed up, and its eyes closed happily. Who knew if it was more thrilled by Johan's praise or by the taste of the energy cube.

"Ka-kah~~"

Haunter stuck out its tongue, eyes shining with excitement, beckoning Johan like a hungry puppy, almost turning into a "Haunt-dog."

Johan chuckled and tossed an energy cube to Haunter as well.

After some thought, he handed out energy cubes to Steven's Metang and Lairon, and even to all the nearby wild Pokémon.

He wanted to test their reactions. If the response was good, he might even consider selling energy cubes in the future.

As it turned out, even Steven's Metang and Lairon liked them, let alone the wild Pokémon. Conversations became a lot easier afterward.

"Johan, did you make all these energy cubes yourself?" Steven asked in surprise, noticing how much Metang and Lairon enjoyed them.

"Just experimenting a little. It seems to be going pretty well," Johan replied with a smile.

"I have a friend who's really good at making energy cubes. I'll introduce you two someday."

"Oh?"

Meanwhile, with the help of healing spray, Breloom slowly regained consciousness.

"Bree?! Σ(дlll)"

Seeing the seemingly harmless little Vulpix, Breloom jumped back in fear.

"Oowu~~(◡‿◡✿)"

Following Johan's hint, Vulpix used Charm again, and Breloom sheepishly crawled back.

"Ka-kah~~"

Haunter patted Metang on the side, grinning mischievously.

See? It could sell Breloom off and it would still thank Vulpix for counting the money.

Metang nodded thoughtfully.

With Vulpix bridging the gap, communication became much more manageable.

Using Hypnosis, Johan projected a vision of the future homes the Breloom group could move to, along with the beautiful promises Steven made. Breloom and the other wild Pokémon finally seemed tempted, agreeing to check it out.

Johan trusted Steven enough to believe that if Breloom and the other wild Pokémon moved into the Devon Corporation's ecological zone, their lives would improve significantly.

"Is this one way Pokémon and humans can coexist?" Johan wondered.

He wasn't sure. He was merely reminded of a long-absent "client" of his — the Mathemagician.

"Thank you, Johan," Steven said sincerely.

Johan waved it off. He wasn't doing this just because of the consultant's salary Devon Corporation paid him or solely for the sake of the wild Pokémon.

"What about you? Coming here so early to monitor things?" Johan teased with a smile.

Steven laughed awkwardly.

His reaction made Johan understand instantly.

"Digging for rocks?"

"Whenever my family opened a mine or carried out any excavation, I would always check to see if I could find special stones," Steven explained.

His passion for stones was undeniable.

But Johan's focus was clearly different from Steven's.

Hmph. A mine. Every single time…

Must be nice to be the ridiculously handsome, competent, and loaded Steven Stone.

The only thing Johan could possibly rival him in was looks.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot. Here, Johan." Steven suddenly remembered something and handed Johan an envelope.

"What's this?"

Johan took it and opened it, only to find another invitation inside.

Great. It was the same invitation Lance had given him.

Well, the event hadn't even started yet, and Johan was already holding two VIP passes with private booths.

He felt a bit gratified, though.

Steven was getting back into matches, even if it was just for a performance event.

"I heard the League is preparing for a 'Pokémon World Championship.' This exhibition match is meant to promote the 'Pokémon World Championship Youth Cup.'"

Steven revealed some insider information.

The World Championship?

Are they planning this already? Johan mused, realizing his previous assumptions were off the mark.

Steven invited Johan to go digging for rocks together, but Johan wasn't particularly interested in that, so he politely declined.

Initially, he thought he'd wait around for more wild Pokémon to gather, but Steven assured him it was no problem.

The helicopter would be on standby for him for the foreseeable future — ready to fly anywhere he needed, anytime.

Once again, Johan felt the power of Steven's wealth. Maybe it was time for him to capture a Flying-type Pokémon of his own.

Lance would probably have some solid advice in that department. He'd ask him when he got the chance.

Back home, since the school festival holiday was still ongoing and he didn't have to work, Johan's Pokémon, Haunter and Vulpix, were practicing Nasty Plot. And since it wasn't mealtime yet, Johan had nothing to do but scroll through his phone.

The upcoming exhibition match in Lilycove City was gaining traction, with many fans cheering on their favorite Trainers.

After browsing for a bit, Johan checked out Roxanne's fashion show and Karune's new film launch.

Just as he was about to switch gears and make some energy cubes, a message came through.

Sigh. There's always something to interrupt my blade-drawing speed.

He opened it to find it was from [Eevee Eats Cabbage].

To be honest, he already had a good guess about [Eevee Eats Cabbage]'s identity.

There was an eighty percent chance it was Cynthia.

[Eevee Eats Cabbage]: "Feebas is acting a bit strange today."

The message was followed by a video.

In the clip, the previously dull-eyed and drab-scaled Feebas was now lively and confident, its scales glimmering faintly in the sunlight.

It swam energetically around a small pond, occasionally leaping out of the water and splashing gracefully.

Is it about to evolve? Johan wondered.

Grain in the Field: "Try putting it back into its previous pond."

Cynthia didn't understand why, but she did as suggested.

Sinnoh was located north of Hoenn and Kanto, so the temperature there was relatively cooler.

In the lightly yellowed garden, Cynthia returned Feebas to its old pond.

The Water-type Pokémon in the pond watched Feebas's return with expressions of shock.

At first glance, Feebas didn't look much different, but they could all tell there was something undeniably different about it.

Feebas was initially a bit reserved, but sensing the change in how the other Pokémon saw it, it quickly became more active again.

Watching the now truly confident Feebas, Cynthia gently twirled a loose strand of golden hair, a warm smile spreading across her face.

A cool breeze blew past, causing her long hair to flutter.

"Bobo~~"

Feebas in the pond happened to catch this moment.

A look of longing appeared in its eyes.

Hummmm—

Suddenly, Feebas's body began to shine with a dazzling white light.

Cynthia froze in surprise and quickly opened her phone to snap a picture and send it over.

[Eevee Eats Cabbage]: "Feebas is… evolving?"

Seeing the photo, Johan let out a relieved sigh.

Just as he thought.

It wasn't for nothing that he had instilled so many stories and teachings into Feebas, like "The Ugly Duckling," "The Grey-Knight Kirlia," and "The Little Goth Kid Who Sold Matches."

But wait!

Feebas evolving meant he might lose his "Golden Sponsor"!

Well, not entirely.

There was still that troublesome Spiritomb to handle.

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Powerstones?

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