Blaze's expression immediately soured.
Fortunately, his complexion was already dark enough that the change was not quite as obvious as it might have been.
"Zeraora, stay in your Poké Ball for now. I'll let you back out once we're home."
Aaron took out a brand-new Poké Ball and held it toward him.
"Zera."
Zeraora nodded obediently and tapped the button with one paw.
Red light enveloped his body and drew him inside. The Poké Ball rocked once before the indicator changed from red to yellow.
Aaron picked it up, unable to suppress his grin.
"I caught Zeraora!"
He struck the same dramatic pose countless trainers had copied from the legendary Ash over the years.
Braveon and Blaze both stared at him, the corners of their mouths twitching.
Blaze could hardly judge him, though.
If I'd just caught a Legendary Pokémon, I'd probably be celebrating in my underwear.
Liora, meanwhile, looked genuinely impressed.
"That was perfect, Aaron!"
Aaron laughed, then slipped the Poké Ball safely away.
"Come on. Let's get something to eat. My treat."
Blaze immediately perked up.
"Then I'm ordering the most expensive thing on the menu. Watching you walk away with a Legendary Pokémon has left me bitter, jealous, and starving."
Braveon nodded solemnly.
"Agreed. We should take full advantage of his generosity while it lasts."
Liora frowned at both of them.
"You two are terrible."
...
They left the store together, laughing and trading insults along the way, before eventually settling on a Hualisian restaurant nearby.
Aaron treated everyone to a large meal that cost him several hundred PokeCredits.
Blaze still spent half the meal complaining that he was being stingy.
As they ate, Braveon's expression gradually became more serious.
"My master contacted me earlier," he said, setting down his chopsticks. "I have to leave tomorrow."
The others looked over in surprise.
"I probably won't see any of you again until the school year begins. Since Aaron is staying in Crown City for now, I won't be around to show him the rest of the city either."
"You're leaving already?" Aaron asked.
Braveon smiled.
"I have to. At this rate, you'll leave me so far behind that I'll never catch up."
Aaron rolled his eyes.
"You make it sound like we're never seeing each other again. School starts soon enough."
He leaned back in his chair.
"I'll probably be heading home before long too. Crown City is impressive, but I still don't feel completely at home here."
A faint smile crossed his face.
"My little fourth-tier hometown may not have much, but I'm more comfortable there."
Liora's expression immediately fell.
"You're leaving too? Can't you stay a few more days?"
"My parents called yesterday and told me to come home once I finished everything here."
Aaron shrugged.
"Apparently, something happened. They refused to explain it over the phone and said they'd tell me when I got back."
"So our group is already breaking up?" Blaze sighed dramatically. "We only just got together."
He looked around the table and noticed that the others had grown quiet.
Then he abruptly lifted his teacup.
"Well, we still have today. Let's make the most of it."
A grin spread across his face.
"To the four of us."
Aaron, Liora, and Braveon exchanged smiles before raising their cups as well.
"To the four of us."
Clink.
The cups met in the center of the table.
None of them knew where their paths would lead once school began, but the time they had spent together in Crown City had already forged a genuine friendship between them.
...
That night, Aaron collapsed onto the bed in his hotel room.
After lunch, they had spent the rest of the day exploring Crown City.
Or trying to.
The capital was so enormous that they had barely scratched the surface before sunset.
Aaron was exhausted.
So were Blaze and Braveon.
Liora, somehow, had remained full of energy until the very end.
She was the real monster of the group.
Aaron could take a direct hit from a Gym-level Pokémon without flinching, yet several hours of shopping with Liora had nearly killed him.
"At least the trip paid off."
He reached into his System inventory and pulled out a fiery red stone.
"I managed to squeeze a Fire Stone out of Blaze. Now my sister can finally evolve her Growlithe into Arcanine."
Aaron turned the stone over in his hand with a satisfied smile.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
A sudden knock came from the door.
He glanced at the clock.
It was late enough that none of the others should still be wandering around.
Room service?
Aaron got out of bed and approached the door.
Through the peephole, he saw a pale foreign man with fiery red hair standing in the hallway.
Aaron frowned.
He had never seen the man before.
Keeping one hand close to his Poké Balls, he opened the door only partway.
"Can I help you?"
The red-haired man studied him, a strange glint passing through his eyes.
Then he spoke in heavily accented Hualisian.
"I look for... Aaron."
Aaron stared at him for a moment.
"That's me. What do you want?"
The man's expression darkened.
"Damn it. Are you even from Hualis? Can't you understand your own language?"
Aaron had struggled with the accent, but he understood the insult perfectly well.
His expression turned cold.
"Try saying that again."
He opened the door a little wider.
"If you're looking to lose a few teeth, I'll be happy to help. No charge."
The man's lips curved into an unpleasant smile.
"You still don't understand the position you're in."
He leaned closer.
"Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"
Aaron regarded him without the slightest change in expression.
"Sure. Some idiot barking outside my room."
The smile vanished from the stranger's face.
"You've got quite a mouth on you."
His voice dropped to a threatening murmur.
"Let's see how much attitude you have left once I introduce it to a pair of pliers."
He lifted one hand.
"Chandelure. Take him."
Ghostly fire suddenly flared beside Aaron.
A chandelier-shaped Pokémon emerged directly through the hallway wall, its violet flames casting warped shadows across the corridor.
The pressure pouring from it made Aaron's pupils contract.
His hand immediately moved toward his Poké Balls.
This presence...
"A Champion-level Chandelure?"