After sitting down, Shiro called out softly, "A?"
'Coming, coming.'
Unown A responded excitedly and used its psychic power to form a disguise over its body. In the blink of an eye, it turned into the Piplup they had seen earlier and hopped onto the table.
"Piplup, piplup."
It cried out casually, as if saying, "Time to eat," while its two short blue flippers stretched forward. In reality, it was using psychic power to pull over an ice cream swirled with blue and pink. It was Chesto Berry flavor.
'Mm… the taste is a bit strange, but it's cold and refreshing,' Unown A mumbled.
Chesto Berries were hard and slightly bitter from skin to flesh, so the ice cream made from them naturally carried that dryness. Still, it was edible.
Cynthia walked over while licking her ice cream and bent down, intending to tease the Piplup-form Unown A, but it swiftly dodged aside.
Unown A stared at the blonde woman cautiously, mumbling "Piplup, piplup" through its mouth. The Piplup appearance was only a psychic illusion, and it could not allow physical contact. Otherwise the disguise would fall apart instantly.
Cynthia sat down in surprise. She had not expected a Piplup that looked barely at Novice-level to move so fast. Watching Unown A with its mouth stuffed full of ice cream, she asked, "Shiro, is this your Piplup?"
"That's right."
He had actually wanted to deny it, but technically speaking, it was indeed his "Piplup."
He then picked up a pink ice cream labeled Pecha Berry flavor. All the ice creams were made from berries, and the berry taste strongly shaped the flavor. Oran Berry was the classic sweet fruit. Pecha Berry was similar, light and pleasant.
Just as he was about to take a bite, the Pecha Berry ice cream vanished from his hand.
Shiro's eyes flickered slightly, but he did not react much. Instead, he calmly picked up a Leppa Berry ice cream.
The missing Pecha Berry ice cream was now floating in midair, shrinking at a visible speed.
"Pipiplup!" Piplup A widened its eyes in panic.
Mesprit slowly descended onto the table and revealed itself. Its eyes narrowed in satisfaction as it hugged the ice cream, while the two long tails behind it swayed lightly.
Shiro raised a brow at that and glanced at Cynthia beside him.
She had just taken a small lick. Noticing his gaze, she touched her cheek in confusion. "What's wrong?"
She clearly had not seen anything.
He quietly let out a breath and glanced at the passersby. No one seemed to notice Mesprit sitting openly on the table. He did not know how it managed it, but its concealment ability was extremely effective.
Just then, another pink flash appeared, and a second Piplup jumped onto the table. Without caring about the flavor, it grabbed an ice cream and began biting into it.
Two identical Piplup.
Piplup A and Piplup G.
Unown A glared at Unown G, while Unown G silently turned its head away and focused on eating.
Cynthia parted her lips slightly and rubbed her eyes twice, yet she still could not spot any difference between the two. She had not even seen when the second one appeared.
"Th-This is also your Piplup?" she asked, pointing at the second one that was devouring ice cream.
"Uh… yes."
Shiro coughed awkwardly. It was hard to explain. "I just really like Piplup as a Pokémon."
"I see…"
She seemed thoughtful.
Seeing that she accepted the explanation, he quickly finished the Leppa Berry ice cream in a few bites and picked up a Persim Berry one. Just as he opened his mouth, he noticed Mesprit staring straight at him from the table.
The Pecha Berry ice cream was already gone.
He immediately closed his mouth and understood, then handed over the ice cream in his hand.
At the same time, an idea formed in his mind. Since Mesprit was out in the open, this was a perfect chance to say something nice.
Without hesitation, he said, "For the cutest Mesprit in the world."
Mesprit's eyes widened, its bright yellow pupils shining like gems. The four pink appendages near its head floated upward on their own, and the two long tails behind it straightened.
It looked into his eyes, took the ice cream, and softly replied, 'Mm…'
Then it floated into the air, licking the ice cream with curved, smiling eyes.
'That should have some effect, right?'
Shiro felt it must have worked at least a little. If something like favorability existed, it should have gone up.
While thinking this, he suddenly noticed Cynthia's strange expression.
She leaned forward slightly, and her wavy golden hair fell to one side, revealing the eye usually covered by her bangs. Under the sunlight, her bright hair seemed to glow.
"What is it…" He suddenly felt uneasy.
Had she seen his actions and heard what he said? Did Mesprit fail to hide him?
She asked curiously, "Is that some kind of ritual? Why did you offer the ice cream to Mesprit before eating it?"
"Wh-When in Rome, do as the Romans do," he replied stiffly, his scalp tingling with embarrassment.
She touched her chin again. "But we don't seem to have that kind of custom in Sinnoh."
"Ah… well…" His mind raced for an explanation. "I've been researching Sinnoh's Lake Guardians legend recently and found that Mesprit, the god of emotions, is the most likely to appear. So I wondered if this method might attract it."
"Oh, so it's an experiment." Cynthia smiled lightly and clapped her hands once, as if everything now made sense.
"Something like that…"
Shiro wiped away a bit of sweat, convinced he had successfully fooled her. Looking at the two Piplup fighting over the last of the ice cream, he realized the box was already empty.
Without a word, he stood up to buy more.
* * *
Kanto.
Indigo Plateau, League Headquarters.
The architecture of the headquarters looked ancient, like a noble palace from old times.
Agatha walked along a corridor covered with a red carpet patterned in gold, heading toward a corner room on the second floor. On the surface of its redwood doors were carvings of Ho-Oh and Lugia facing each other with wings spread.
She pushed the door open boldly, Tobias following silently behind her.
The room was spacious and lavishly decorated. Behind a long redwood table, a thin old man with a long white beard was reading a book. Hearing the door open, he looked up.
"Tobias. My little Tobias…"
Spotting the two, the old man hurried over at once, brushing aside the long blue hair covering Tobias's face and holding his hollow-looking cheeks in his wrinkled hands.
"What happened to you, my little Tobias? Those pirates didn't hurt you, did they?"
"Abbott!"
Agatha's voice carried clear displeasure.
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