Trainer proposed again, but I'm still not the bride—
Gncing back at Milcery being cradled in Hakuya's arms, Sprigatito hung her head, her lonely silhouette drifting away.
"Why are you running so fast? I almost couldn't catch up, Sprigatito."
Before long, a call from behind interrupted her moping.
Sprigatito felt herself being lifted up as her paws were gently gripped by a pair of warm hands.
"Nya~"
Sensing the slight struggle, Hakuya knew exactly what this jealous kitten was thinking. He smiled softly, his fingers trailing up to knead her cheeks.
"Don't worry. I'm your Trainer. No matter how many new Pokémon I catch, you'll always be my Ace, my best partner, and my number one..."
"Nya???"
Sprigatito stared at Hakuya with wide, bnk eyes.
Are those words a sane person says?
What do you think a Poké Ball is, Trainer?
Two weren't enough? You're pnning on building an entire harem, aren't you?!
Despite her annoyance, under Hakuya's expert petting, her urge to unsheathe her cws and scratch him began to fade.
Nya... this pyboy Trainer is such a big idiot!
Sprigatito turned her blushing face away, muttering a soft growl.
Fine... as long as you're happy every day—
A cat's mood is as fickle as it is cute; good vibes return just as fast as the bad ones.
Before Sprigatito could even try to assert her dominance over the new Milcery, Hakuya grabbed a treat from the kitchen table and stuffed it into her mouth.
"Nya~!"
Her pink nose twitched instantly, and her purple eyes lit up with a brilliant sparkle.
So good! So tasty!
Sprigatito took a big bite of the cream cake her Trainer offered and began purring with pure, unadulterated bliss.
For some reason, every morning at 9:00 AM in this game world, the kitchen table refreshed with fresh food. The day before was a Rage Candy Bar, yesterday was a Lava Cookie, and today it was soft, fluffy little cakes.
Combined with the fresh cream produced by Milcery, every bite felt borderline orgasmic.
"Thanks, Milcery."
"Nai~"
Milcery's cheeks flushed a soft pink as she obediently topped off another slice of cake with more cream for her Trainer.
"NYA~HA!"
Watching the exchange, Sprigatito arched her back and hissed again by instinct.
Hakuya could only ugh helplessly, pulling both of them into his arms and petting them frantically.
Trying to keep the peace in this "harem" was going to be an uphill battle—
After a quick rest and asking Mom to heal the team, Hakuya set out for Route 103 once more.
He had been stuck at the "tutorial" for a full week; it was time to kick that Space Lma back to the void.
"Battle me. Let me teach you what a real Trainer looks like..."
Stepping over the ridge, he saw Sapphire's intimidating, scripted smile.
Facing the shadow of the great Lma, Hakuya took a deep breath and opened with a series of quick switches.
"Milcery, come back! ~" "Nai! ~"
Since Arceus happened to have the super-effective Iron Head in its move pool, Hakuya didn't let Milcery stay on the field. He only ordered her to nd a Sweet Kiss before recalling her and sending out his fully-charged Sprigatito.
"Sprigatito, it's time for revenge! Show them your new power!"
"NYA!"
Stepping out to face the terrifying power of Judgment, Sprigatito—now in her Hero Form—didn't flinch. Instead, she held her head high and tanked the hit head-on.
She didn't lose any hair, but she sure as hell got stronger.
HP: 40 → 100
Attack: 61 → 160
Defense: 54 → 97
Sp. Atk: 45 → 106
Sp. Def: 45 → 87
Speed: 65 → 100
As she lifted her paw from the scorched earth, Sprigatito felt a surge of infinite power coursing through her.
This was the beauty of a 650 base stat total!
"Arceus, use Thunder Wave."
Sensing the change in her opponent, Sapphire didn't go for another attack. Instead, she shifted tactics, ordering a status move.
With the Prankster ability, even with Sprigatito's massive speed advantage, she could only watch as the Space Lma nded a priority paralysis on her.
"..." Hakuya's eye twitched as he recalled their previous fights.
He didn't know who wrote the AI code for this version of Sapphire, but the moment the game detected a Level 15 Sprigatito was faster than a Level 8 Arceus, she prioritized paralysis.
Combined with Iron Head, the 25% chance of being fully paralyzed mixed with a 30% flinch rate had nearly driven him and Sprigatito insane in previous attempts. He'd had nightmares about the sound of crackling electricity.
"Ignore it! Sprigatito, use your full-power Petal Blizzard!"
Facing such toxic tactics, Hakuya chose the "Brute Force" strategy.
"NYA—HA!!!"
In an instant, thousands of hardened emerald petals rained down like a storm of bdes.
The dirt road was shredded, leaving only a cyclone of razor-sharp floral rain spinning toward the heavens.
One hit. A total one-shot.
With an Attack stat of 160, the once-majestic Arceus let out a single pathetic wail before colpsing.
"Just a Lma after all~" "Nya~!"
[You defeated Rival Sapphire! You received 3,000 Poké-Dolrs!]
"3,000 Yen... that's enough for 15 Poké Balls and a Premier Ball at the shop."
Hakuya stuffed the thick stack of cash into his bag, his mind already calcuting the most efficient way to spend it.
Forget potions; in this randomized hellscape, Poké Balls were the only currency that mattered.
With Sapphire defeated, the story finally moved forward.
He was dragged back to the Lab by Sapphire, received his Pokédex and 5 Poké Balls from Professor Birch, and got a pair of Running Shoes from his Mom—perfect for sprinting away from danger.
Beep-beep-beep! 'This Pokédex is for Hakuya. Good luck, rookie! Note: If this Pokédex is lost or stolen, it cannot be repced. Please take care of it. - Professor Birch of Littleroot Town.'
Just like in the anime, pressing the top button triggered the Professor's recorded message.
If pointed at a Pokémon, it would dispy their types and current moves.
But for Hakuya, the Pokédex served only one real purpose.
—Finally, they could walk into a Pokémon Center in the real world and mooch free food and housing!
"Plenty of time before the forced logout..." Hakuya checked the system clock and called out to his two partners. "Let's go. Let's see if we can speedrun the first Gym today."
"Nya~!" "Nai~!"
