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Charizard had been eating at the same serving station as Snorlax. However, Snorlax was outrageously fast, both in terms of eating speed and hand speed, and he had absolutely no intention of letting Charizard have any of the food.
While waiting for the staff to restock the food, Charizard noticed Marill sweeping through a table of dishes by herself while someone else cleared the plates.
"Why does Marill get a whole table to herself?" Charizard asked Snorlax suspiciously.
Snorlax was pouring a basket of berries into his mouth. After chewing for a while, he replied in a muffled voice, "She doesn't eat more than I do... but she eats faster."
Marill, who could eat a lot, had become incredibly popular. Although Luther himself still wasn't prominent in discussions, Marill was frequently mentioned.
Luther had assumed that everyone would think it was outrageous that Marill could eat so much. Instead, everyone thought it was adorable.
Clearly, that "adorable trait" had a market. On their way back to the Contestant Village after dinner, Marill was recognized three times.
Each time, someone shoved a camera into Luther's hands. The person asking for a photo would feed Marill all sorts of snacks while they took pictures together.
Luther remembered that, at the beginning of the preliminary round, Marill had taken photos with others while wearing a cold, indifferent expression and looking completely aloof.
Now it was different. The moment she saw snacks being offered, she would beam at the camera and even proactively strike various poses with whoever was taking the picture.
Her promotional ability was maxed out.
Despite already being full, Marill earned three rounds of snacks. She felt like she had discovered a whole new continent; she really was that popular!
All she had to do was let people pet and hug her, and she could get food and drinks for free. What a profitable deal!
Meanwhile, Dakota, whose discussion popularity was also sky-high, was completely ignored. No one asked to take photos with him or Darkrai. Even Dakota, who usually didn't care about such things, found this puzzling.
Holding Marill in his arms, Dakota examined her from left to right and admitted that this look was lethal to girls. However, everyone who had come for photos had been boys.
"Maybe this is the kind of Pokémon macho men like."
Etorre's precise roast left Dakota unsure whether to laugh or respond.
"Is Trainer Luther here?"
They had just returned to the Contestant Village when they saw a Pokémon Center intern asking at the front desk.
"That's me. May I ask what this is about?"
Luther stepped forward.
After checking the information, the intern smiled and handed Luther a Poké Ball. After Luther signed for it, the intern left.
Professor Rowan had transferred it. Along with the Poké Ball was a greeting card that Luther had pre-ordered.
"It just hatched a couple of days ago. We wanted to surprise you, so we didn't tell you in advance. We've completed all the examinations, and it's a healthy little boy. It's about time he met his mother's trainer. Otherwise, what if he doesn't get familiar with you later?"
Luther froze for a moment, then burst with joy and opened the Poké Ball.
Mareep looked around blankly. Despite being surrounded by so many people, he showed no fear. After carefully observing Luther for a while, Mareep leaped straight into his arms, asking for a hug.
"Is this really a Mareep that hatched only two days ago?"
Etorre was stunned and couldn't help but reach out and stroke Mareep's fluffy wool.
"So soft... and so thick." If no one were watching, Dawn would have loved to bury her face in Mareep's fleece. It was irresistibly soft.
Looking at the smiling face of the Mareep right in front of him, Luther pictured something else.
In his mind's eye, he saw a vast pasture where flocks of Mareep ran and played freely. Espurr released Electric-type moves to herd them together.
In the past, owning a ranch and manor had always seemed like a distant dream, something that would take a long time to achieve.
But as Mareep nuzzled his face and licked his cheek, Luther felt that, for the first time, all his efforts over the years were slowly becoming the building blocks of that dream.
Luther really wanted to keep Mareep by his side and start training him right away, but Professor Rowan wrote on the back of the card that Mareep needed a second examination.
Compared to Larvitar's robust physique, Mareep seemed more delicate, so Professor Rowan was being especially cautious.
Still, keeping him for just one day was enough. At the very least, Luther wanted to make a good first impression that day.
Ash readily let Pikachu go play with Mareep. Dakota released his Eelektross, and Etorre's Magnezone floated over, too.
Mareep, who loved storing electricity, experienced being "overfed" for the first time.
The three Electric-type Pokémon released a small amount of electricity, which Mareep greedily absorbed into his wool. Completely enamored with the "taste" of electricity, he urged Pikachu and the others to give him more.
Luther had just bought a toy ball for Larvitar and Milcery to play with when Mareep arrived. Larvitar really wanted to invite Mareep to join them.
However, he saw three Electric-type heavyweights surrounding Mareep. One used a discharge move, and another fired off Thunderbolt. They took turns "feeding" him electricity.
In Larvitar's eyes, Mareep looked like a strange Pokémon who was being hit by moves yet crying out happily.
Larvitar held the ball and hesitated for a moment before turning back to Milcery and the others.
Mareep's wool puffed up visibly, swelling by an entire layer. From a distance, he looked as though he were wrapped in a thick coat of whipped cream.
As he watched Mareep play happily with Pikachu and the others, Luther picked up his phone to check tomorrow's opponent.
He had originally planned to let Milcery and Larvitar watch his battle the next day to further pique their interest in battling. Now there was also Mareep.
Luther decided that in tomorrow's elimination match, he would display overwhelming pressure and momentum. He wanted those watching from the sidelines to feel the boiling, blood-pumping excitement.
Seeing Luther clench his fists, Etorre sighed. He knew this was a sign that Luther was about to give it his all and show off his strength.
On the forum, aside from people discussing how cute Marill and Espurr were, most comments about Luther claimed that he had advanced easily due to good luck in the draw.
Casual viewers often failed to grasp the key points when it came to spectating battles. They tended to follow the crowd and comment based solely on the outcome.
Take Luther's opponent tomorrow, for example... Hayata from Pastoria City.
As for why Etorre knew about Hayata...
Hayata had clearly stated in a reply evaluating Luther's level that, should they ever match up, he would "teach Luther a lesson."
Since the post was made in Etorre's dedicated thread, Luther hadn't seen it.
Etorre didn't know whether to laugh. Hayata actually admired the battling styles of Etorre and Dakota.
However, in the preliminary round, Etorre, Ash, and Dakota hadn't used any real strategy. If one had to describe their style, it was simply brute force.
After all, if a single move could solve the problem, what was there to strategize about?
At this stage, strategy wasn't necessary. Ash used the preliminary round to practice techniques, and Dakota only needed to call out three moves before the match ended.
As for himself, Etorre felt he was merely helping Pokémon who hadn't battled in a while get back into the rhythm of things, hardly a defined "style."
Seeing how fired up Luther was, Etorre felt it was his duty as a friend to push his momentum even higher.
He tilted his phone toward Luther.
"If I were you, I definitely wouldn't be able to tolerate this."
It was a classic line for fanning the flames, simple and universal yet astonishingly effective.
(End of Chapter)