Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Trainer’s Badge on His Chest Shone Even Brighter

Year 200 of the League, April 22nd, Recommendation City Battle Club.

“When riding a Pokémon, whether outdoors or in the city, you must wear a safety helmet… When riding a Pokémon, you must not wear strongly scented perfumes or carry items that may irritate the Pokémon…”

Am was reciting these rules when suddenly the alarm went off, reminding him it was lunchtime.

It was already the third day of Am’s skill training in Recommendation City. Lamenting how time flies, he took out the Pokémon food he had prepared in advance.

Most of it was made from berries; only Ivysaur and Nidorino’s meals contained ordinary animal meat. Because making Pokémon food was somewhat similar to concocting potions, and not much like cooking, Am found himself particularly skilled at it!

Of course, he was only good at preparing staple foods. When it came to Pokémon desserts that could cheer up Pokémon, make their fur shine, or even increase their bond values, Am was clueless. Those were usually learned by breeders or coordinators.

When Am placed a plate of paste-like food specially made for Ditto in front of it, Ditto wriggled and instantly transformed into a "Coffin of the Grim Reaper," its beady eyes glaring as if to say: You actually want to feed this to the Coffin of the Grim Reaper?

But Am was unfazed. With practiced ease, he pulled out a can of smoky gray substance from his backpack—this was store-bought universal food for Ghost-type Pokémon, suitable for most of them!

Ghost-type Pokémon generally had complicated diets; for example, the Coffin of the Grim Reaper… could even eat gold. Am wasn’t adept at catering to such tastes, nor would he extravagantly supply gold, so he bought universal food instead.

Ditto hesitated, then drearily reverted to its original form, wriggling to cover the paste-like food. By the time it wriggled away, it had emptied the plate.

Seeing this, Am grinned openly and reached out to pat Ditto’s “head.”

Of course, Ditto didn’t have a “head.” In fact, it flattened a portion of itself to avoid Am’s hand, but since it didn’t fiercely resist, Am still managed to touch it…

“No wasting food!” Am pushed the Ghost-type Pokémon food toward Ditto.

Ditto was reluctant, but eventually transformed into the Coffin of the Grim Reaper again and ate the universal Ghost-type food as well.

…

After the Pokémon finished eating, Am recalled them into their Poké Balls and prepared to solve his own lunch.

The club’s restaurant was only open to Gold Card members. The Silver Card buffet only served desserts, meant for trainers to socialize.

If they accepted outsiders or Silver Card members, Am would have settled lunch at the club, but… upgrading to a Gold Card just for the buffet seemed hardly worthwhile.

Misty came out first; the two had agreed to meet for lunch. Because their chosen training rooms were on different floors, they arranged to meet outside the main entrance.

“Am, over here…” Misty called.

As Am looked over, he suddenly sensed someone nearby watching him after hearing Misty’s voice.

A young man, seemingly a year or two younger than Am, was staring at him and asked in a somewhat dismissive tone, “Am? Are you… a Potion Master?”

Hearing this, Am scrutinized him—a not uncommon purple short-sleeved shirt, ordinary trousers and hiking boots, only his spiky hairstyle stood out.

Though his bearing was unmistakably masculine, he wore some pendant around his neck, its chain just peeking out from his collar.

“And you are?” Am asked in confusion.

There weren’t many who could identify him as a Potion Master from just hearing “Am.” After all, he hadn’t passed the expert-level exam yet. Passing the Level One Potion Master exam at eighteen was newsworthy, but barely a finger-width column in the paper; few would remember.

“As expected… I’m Gary, the man who will become a Pokémon Master,” Gary said, looking somewhat provocative.

“I see. Congratulations, then,” Am replied, unperturbed and without much sincerity.

Hearing the name Gary, Am immediately understood—wasn’t he Professor Oak’s grandson?

Most likely, Gary had heard about Am from Professor Oak, and in the professor’s telling, Am had probably become “that outstanding child from another family.”

Everyone knows “that outstanding child from another family” rarely inspires, especially for proud Gary, who naturally resented Am for it.

But at this moment, Gary seemed to have punched the air, his chest stifled.

“Are you battling at the club too?” Gary adjusted his breath and pressed on.

Am shook his head, “No, just skill training.”

“Heh, I’m already a Level 7 battler!” Gary boasted.

“Oh, impressive. One more level and you get a free year’s Silver Card,” Am replied calmly.

Suddenly, Am remembered something and asked with interest, “You’ve been to Recommendation City’s Battle Club many times?”

“That’s right, I reached Level 7 here…”

Gary was about to emphasize further when Am interrupted, “Then you must know which nearby restaurants taste better? Just for a casual meal.”

Gary: …

“I only officially became a trainer this March… How about a battle?” Gary said directly.

“Huh? I just wanted to know where to eat nearby, do I need to win a battle for you to tell me?” Am exclaimed.

“I never said that!” Gary retorted angrily.

“You’re really rude…” Misty glared at Gary, chiming in.

“I…”

“Let’s skip the battle for now. I’m training key skills lately and…” Am didn’t want to disrupt his Pokémon’s progress.

“Heh, so many excuses! You’ll be going to Pewter City soon, won’t you? Let’s do it there! Next month, on the first, I’ll wait for you at Pewter City Battle Club—four on four, standard doubles, hope you’re not too scared!” Gary declared forcefully.

With that, Gary released an Arcanine from its Poké Ball, mounted it, and sped off down the street.

Looks like he’d already got his riding license…

At that moment, a familiar voice called out, “Am? What a coincidence. About the villa case earlier, thanks for your help… Are you two heading for lunch? My treat!”

Yumi happened to pass by, riding an Arcanine and still in uniform, though clearly sneaking off for a break.

Am quickly pointed, “Never mind that, just now a spiky-haired young man rode an Arcanine without a helmet and went that way!”

“What? These kids… Wait here for me!” Yumi said, patting her Arcanine. “Starr! Chase that way… follow the scent of its kind!”

Watching Yumi speed away, Am finally relaxed—how could he just watch Professor Oak’s grandson ride a Pokémon without a helmet, doing something so dangerous…