-009- The Gluttonous Boo Who Loves Graffiti?

“Pokémon Battle Club… I think it should be around here somewhere?”

Kirito followed the map, searching for the location of the Pokémon Battle Club.

“Bui!” Eevee pointed toward a sign to their left.

Kirito saw the words: “Magmar’s Fiery Popcorn—25% off today.”

“Honestly, Eevee, is food all you ever think about?” Kirito rolled his eyes. He was here on serious business.

Eevee felt aggrieved—aside from eating, there was also sleeping, right? It pointed to the right this time.

“Alcremie’s Homemade Cream Ice Cream”

“Slowpoke’s Painstakingly Cut Tail Barbecue”

“Magikarp’s Signature Taiyaki”

…

“Bui~” Eevee licked its paw, having just finished an Alcremie ice cream, utterly content.

Kirito still held a bucket of Magmar’s Fiery Popcorn, from which Eevee would occasionally scoop a few kernels into its mouth.

“There’s just no dealing with you.” Kirito gazed down at the Eevee in his arms, his face tender.

“You two really have a great bond.” Just then, a voice sounded from behind Kirito.

He turned and was surprised to see a familiar face—a chubby young man in a shirt emblazoned with Psyduck, holding a Magikarp taiyaki.

Eevee’s eyes lit up at the sight, nearly darting over to snatch a bite.

“It’s you, Jiang Tao,” Kirito greeted him. They were classmates.

“Long time no see, Kirito.” Jiang Tao grinned so broadly that his eyes turned to slits.

“Aren’t you about to take the college entrance exams? How do you have time to be here?” If Kirito remembered right, the exam was the day after tomorrow, and Jiang Tao hadn’t qualified for early admission.

“We’re on break before the exams. How do you not know that?” Jiang Tao shot Kirito an exasperated look.

“Well, I’m an early admission student, so I don’t have to take the exam.” Kirito shrugged, showing off.

“Get out of here!” Jiang Tao gave Kirito a light punch on the shoulder—thankfully, he didn’t use any force, or Eevee would have been furious.

“So, you’ve already gotten your first Pokémon?” Jiang Tao eyed the Eevee in Kirito’s arms with envy, suddenly finding his taiyaki less appetizing.

Eevee poked its head out and, seizing the moment when Jiang Tao was distracted, took a bite.

“Hiss—” This taiyaki seemed a bit burnt. As soon as Eevee tasted the caramelized flavor, it started retching, clearly not a fan.

Ptui!

“I suppose so.” Kirito wasn’t sure whether his first Pokémon should count as Eevee or Elekid. Based on the original timeline, he ought to have saved Elekid in the wild first, then hatched Eevee from an egg. But since he’d gotten both at the same time, he figured they counted as joint firsts.

“Man, that’s great! I can’t wait for the exams to be over. I heard my parents already picked out a Pokémon egg for me, but they won’t tell me what it is! I’ve been so obsessed with guessing my starter lately, I can’t even focus on studying.” Jiang Tao sighed, drooping his head in defeat.

“It’s all right, just a few days left and you’ll have your first Pokémon.” Kirito clapped Jiang Tao on the shoulder, encouraging him.

In fact, many parents would prepare a starter Pokémon egg for their children in advance of the college entrance exams. As soon as the exams ended, the egg would be given as a graduation gift. Some wealthy families would even skip the hatching process and present their children with a fully grown Pokémon. But most families preferred to wait until after the exams and let their children choose for themselves.

“Yeah! Kirito, when the time comes, let’s have a Pokémon battle!” Jiang Tao’s eyes burned with excitement, already impatient for the day.

“Absolutely!” Kirito agreed at once.

“By the way, do you know where the Pokémon Battle Club is?” Kirito had been searching for ages without finding it, though he’d spent quite a bit of money on this street already.

“The Battle Club? Just go straight down this road and turn left. I’ll show you!” Jiang Tao, ever enthusiastic, led Kirito right to the entrance of the club.

To Kirito’s surprise, the Battle Club was actually upstairs, which explained why he hadn’t found it after wandering around below. There, on the fifth-floor window of the building, were the big red characters: “Pokémon Battle Club.” He hadn’t noticed them before.

“I’ll leave you here, Kirito. See you another day!” Jiang Tao waved goodbye.

“Good luck on your exams, Jiang Tao!” Kirito waved back.

After Jiang Tao left, he noticed his taiyaki seemed a bit strange—was that a bite mark? And what were those odd little crumbs on it?

Oh, whatever. He took a bite anyway.

…

In front of the Battle Club’s glass doors stood a small blackboard. Kirito saw, written in colorful chalk: “Rookie King Tournament.”

The event would take place in about half a month and was open to new trainers who had just received their first Pokémon. The organizer, naturally, was the Pokémon Battle Club.

“Bui?” Eevee frowned, unable to read the writing, but the colorful chalk caught its eye. Hopping from Kirito’s arms, it began smearing the board with its chubby paw.

“Eevee, that’s not polite!” Kirito was about to stop it, but Eevee was too quick—the writing was already a blur. To Kirito’s surprise, a little Eevee-shaped image had appeared on the board.

“Don’t tell me you’re a genius at graffiti, Eevee?” Kirito’s lips twitched in astonishment.

“What are you doing?” A middle-aged man emerged from behind the glass door.

Seeing the now-smudged writing, the man looked displeased. He’d written it just that morning.

“Sorry, I wasn’t watching my Eevee. I’ll rewrite what was on the board for you,” Kirito apologized, scooping up Eevee.

“Huh?” The man had been ready to scold them, but when he saw the little Eevee drawing, his annoyance melted into laughter.

“Did your Eevee draw this?” He pointed at the Eevee in Kirito’s arms, suddenly in a great mood.

“Yes…” Kirito eyed the man, who seemed a little odd—just moments ago he’d been angry, and now he was delighted.

“Not bad! Let’s leave it here for now. In fact, if possible, I’d like Eevee to leave a paw print on the board.” The man was clearly a businessman, always ready to seize a good gimmick. A Pokémon’s own drawing, so lifelike, would make a perfect display.

“Of course. Right, Eevee?”

“Bui!” Eevee raised its paw eagerly.

The man went inside for some powder, and Eevee pressed its paw onto the board, leaving a print.

… (To be continued)