Chapter 468:

Happiny, holding its egg, seemed a bit sleepy-eyed. In fact, this was how it looked when searching for someone. Upon seeing Kaede, its eyes immediately lit up. Clearly, the person it was looking for was Kaede.

"Happiny~!"

The moment it saw Kaede, it directly used a move—Egg Tackle.

Meaning it charged with its egg.

After picking it up, Kaede couldn’t help but ask, "What’s wrong, Happiny?"

"Happiny..."

Happiny murmured, its words unclear. So, Kaede understood that Happiny didn’t really have a specific reason for seeking him out; it just simply wanted to find him.

"Speaking of which, hasn’t it evolved yet?"

Kaede opened Happiny’s status panel and took a look.

[Pokémon: Happiny]

[Gender: Female]

[Type: Normal]

[Ability: Serene Grace]

[Potential: Red]

[IVs: HP (31) Attack (3) Sp. Atk (12) Defense (16) Sp. Def (27) Speed (17)]

[Level: 24-25]

[Moves: Pound, Copycat, Defense Curl, Gravity, Metronome, Covet, Disarming Voice, Charm, Sweet Kiss...]

[Friendship: 92]

[Happiness: 64]

Happiny had been at the Breeding House for over a month since its birth.

Unlike most other Pokémon that evolve through leveling up, using evolution stones, or high friendship, Happiny’s evolution requires an Oval Stone.

Well, actually, it’s about polishing the egg it carries until it’s perfectly smooth and round.

Kaede wasn’t entirely clear on the exact standard for what counts as "round."

But looking at the egg it was holding, Kaede felt it probably still needed some time.

After all, its birth was still relatively recent, and in the beginning, it spent every day hanging around with Alolan Ninetales. Therefore, It seemed unlikely for it to evolve so soon.

Kaede wasn’t in a hurry.

Take it slow. In the yard now, it was the littlest one.

It’s okay if it evolves later...

Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any tiny Pokémon left to hold in his arms.

"Happiny..."

....

May 11th.

The existence of the Precipice Blades had indeed sparked considerable interest in the area near Aogiri Town bordering the Wilderness Zone.

But in the last two or three days, something else had captured even more interest: rumors of a mysterious Pokémon spotted in the forest at nightfall.

It started with an incident on the evening of May 8th.

Reportedly, a Trainer who had just completed their final Sky Challenge, as dusk fell, glimpsed an incredibly majestic and powerful figure deep within the forest.

The figure had yellow scales on its head, sharp eyes, a magnificent, flowing mane, and rock-like formations on its back resembling a volcano.

When it roared, it felt as if the entire mountain forest trembled. What left the deepest impression were the iron ring-like bands around its four legs.

It stood a full three to four meters tall, an imposing sight that could make one shrink back at a glance.

Though it was just a glimpse, it left a profound mark on him.

Initially, people thought he was just seeing things. But then, on the second and third days, others claimed to have seen it too.

Some Trainers even talked about venturing into the forest to search for it, but once they entered, they seemed to lose their way.

Gradually, this news naturally reached Kaede’s ears by May 11th.

"...A three-to-four-meter-tall quadrupedal Pokémon?"

He was baffled.

A three-to-four-meter-tall quadrupedal Pokémon, how huge would that be?

With that criterion, the first thing Kaede thought of was a Legendary Pokémon. Based on his internet browsing and the discussions he’d heard near the Breeding House lately, the identity of this Pokémon was also quite easy to guess.

...Entei? Suicune, or Raikou?

Or perhaps one of the Swords of Justice?

Hmm, that last possibility was unlikely.

According to the description, the most fitting candidate seemed to be Entei.

However, Entei is said to dwell near volcanoes. The description of a powerful Entei is that a single roar can trigger volcanic eruptions and spew forth lava.

Of course, under normal circumstances, Entei wouldn’t do such a thing.

But...

Why would Entei come here?

Could it be looking for the Fire Stone that Mew brought?

The first reason Kaede thought of was the SSS-Grade, giant Fire Stone that Mew had brought over.

If Mew had taken it secretly, and Entei was out traveling, only to return now and find its... bed?... missing, that would be bad.

Of course, it might not be Entei.

Perhaps it was a Ghost-type, Dark-type, or Psychic-type Pokémon causing trouble.

In the Pokémon world, many Pokémon have abilities to confuse people, create illusions, or transform.

Like Zoroark... Gengar... or even Ditto.

After lunch on this day, Kaede thought letting this drag on wasn’t good. The constant lurking presence was making people in the area anxious.

Even the town’s residents had been discussing this matter frequently these past few days.

So, he thought, if it really was Entei, coming to look for its... bed?... he should negotiate politely, return the Fire Stone, and apologize on Mew’s behalf.

But the moment he stepped out of the Breeding House, the first news he got was:

"Guys, the news is out!"

Someone was shouting outside the Breeding House.

"It’s the Legendary Pokémon—Entei! Someone took a photo."

"No way, it really is a Pokémon!"

"That’s right, that’s right! Everyone can search for it on the video platforms. Just search ’Mysterious Pokémon appears in Aogiri Town’!"

"Hey, young master Kaede is out too. Are you also curious about this Pokémon, young master Kaede?"

The speaker was Akira, who had previously done reviews for the Breeding House.

He always latched onto trending topics quickly.

After Kaede became the champion at the Pokémon League Conference, Akira had simply cut his energy cube review content from various regions in half. The effort saved was directly used to edit clips of Kaede’s daily life and past, occasionally even clips of Kaede out and about with his Pokémon.

Surprisingly, this brought him even higher traffic.

But when editing, he was quite conscientious. If he encountered something he felt was controversial, he’d privately ask Kaede if it was okay.

Kaede didn’t really mind such things.

Hmm...

Raising a Snorlax really wasn’t easy.

And the other person had genuinely helped him before.

"I am quite curious..."

Kaede didn’t deny it, nodding as he took out his phone to search for this news.

The title was: "Shocking: Mysterious Pokémon discovered near Aogiri Town. Rumor has it it is.... @shop owner Kaede @the hottest Breeding House lately, @Neighborhood Breeding House...."