Chapter 102: The Solo Sword Sheath’s Adventure, Encountering Mary Again

“Huh?” The girl was surprised by the prompt on her Pokédex.
“Meow?” Dewdrop looked up, staring at the girl who had spoken in confusion.
“So it’s a Pokémon dressed in an Eevee costume,” the girl murmured to herself, having thought she’d encountered a special Eevee that could meow.
“Haha, Aibo, how should I put it… it’s rather odd,” Su Yi commented, gazing at Dewdrop’s Eevee cosplay with an inexplicable feeling.
The face of a tuxedo cat and the brown of an Eevee didn’t quite match.
“Meow? But I find it really comfortable, meow. It’s so warm, meow.” Dewdrop shook himself and then admired his reflection in the mirror.
“A talking Pokémon?!” the girl exclaimed in amazement.
Not only could it speak, but it was a Pokémon never before recorded in the League’s database.
Because of certain privileges, her Pokédex contained the complete League registry. If her Pokédex showed no information about this Pokémon, it meant it had never been discovered or documented by the League.
Su Yi glanced at the girl. She quickly composed herself, adjusted her round glasses, and said, “Your Pokémon is very cute.”
“Still, I think Eevee is the cutest of all.”
“Meow~” Dewdrop, hearing himself praised as cute, stood proudly with his hands on his hips and chest out.
Su Yi nodded. “Eevee really is an adorable Pokémon.”
The girl nodded in agreement, as if it were only natural.
“Aibo, why not try this set instead?” Su Yi casually suggested, turning to pick out another outfit for Dewdrop.
The girl walked over to the display of Eevee-themed backpacks and decisively bought several, each representing a different Eevee evolution.
Su Yi glanced over in surprise. He’d caught a glimpse of the price earlier—the Eevee series backpacks weren’t cheap—yet this young lady made the purchase without hesitation.
He couldn’t help but muse inwardly, Young people these days really have money to spare.
“All done, meow!” Dewdrop strutted out of the fitting room, now dressed in a pale blue ninja outfit with a light pink scarf wrapped around his neck.
This design was inspired by Greninja.
“Meow!” Dewdrop struck a ninja hand sign, though it was completely off.
“This one will do,” Su Yi said with a smile.
Even children’s clothing was expensive—truly, making money off kids was easy.
“Let’s go, Aibo,” Su Yi said, feeling that another glance at the rest of the merchandise would be dangerous to his wallet.
“Meow!” Dewdrop clung to the shopping bag holding his new clothes, unable to hide his delight—this was the most beautiful outfit he’d ever owned.
…
Once they had finished their shopping, Su Yi visited a store running a special promotion and stocked up on essential adventure gear and Pokémon medicines.

Next came the Technical Machines.
“Excuse me, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask me,” the sales clerk said, somewhat helpless.
This customer had asked them to bring out every Technical Record and Technical Machine, then stood there picking up and putting down each disc, while never taking his eyes off a book.
Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought there was something wrong with their products.
In all her years as a sales assistant, she’d never encountered such an eccentric customer.
Su Yi rolled his eyes. If you knew which moves these companions could actually learn, that would be a miracle.
He had no choice: his cheat item, the “Hunter’s Guide,” only worked by physically holding each TM and seeing which companion could learn it.
Finally finished, Su Yi picked out several TMs and said, “This one, this one, and this one—please wrap them up.”
“Of course,” the sales clerk replied, relieved that he wasn’t just here to cause trouble.
As he watched the clerk pack up the discs, Su Yi began to ponder.
After browsing almost all the TMs, he realized his companions could learn a wide variety of moves, just like regular Pokémon, though there were still some good ones they couldn’t master.
So, the greatest use of TMs was to broaden their range of attacks (covering more types), as well as increase their combat options (melee, ranged, physical, special).
But to learn truly effective and compatible moves, they’d probably have to seek guidance, much like how Dreadnaw once learned Dragon Tail from Leon’s Charizard.
In short, his companions’ move pools would have to be cultivated gradually.
“Well, at least their offensive repertoire has expanded,” Su Yi consoled himself.
“Though my savings have shrunk again,” he sighed. TMs were reusable, but TRs vanished after one use, so he had to buy extras.
Raising Pokémon really was an expensive pursuit.
…
“Clang!” Honedge hid behind a trash can, closely observing the crowds of people and Pokémon passing by on the street.
After the initial panic, Honedge had learned to watch the flow of people, waiting for the right moment to move.
“Clang~” When the pedestrian light across the street turned green, Honedge darted out, mingling with the crowd to cross.
The bustling passersby seemed like a moving forest, forcing Honedge to weave left and right, quickly becoming flustered.
Bang!
Honedge’s body jolted—he’d collided with a Yamper.
“Woof woof!” Yamper turned, baring its teeth with a low growl, its body sparking with electricity.
“Clang!” Honedge cried out in panic, backing away frantically.
“Yamper, come here! Don’t mess with stray Pokémon on the street!” Yamper’s owner called, glancing back and eyeing the battered, dirty Honedge with suspicion.

Yamper, upon hearing his owner, barked happily and continued on his way.
Honedge watched as humans and Pokémon strolled the streets side by side, and a wave of loneliness washed over him. He drifted weakly along.
“Chirr!”
“Nya!”
From the shadows of a nearby alley, several Pokémon emerged.
“Clang!” Startled, Honedge retreated in alarm.
Two figures stepped from the darkness—a Galarian Zigzagoon and a Galarian Meowth.
Other Pokémon lingered in the shadows behind them; they all seemed to be strays.
Honedge was beside himself with fear.
Just then, a Meowth Boss stepped forward, holding an Oran Berry in his paw.
“Clang?” Honedge asked, uncertain.
“Nya gin.” The Meowth Boss nodded and held out the Oran Berry.
“Clang!” Honedge took it with his ribbon and gobbled it up eagerly—it hadn’t eaten anything since leaving the Ghost Train.
“Nya.” The Meowth Boss smiled, then turned and retreated into the alley’s shadows.
Honedge hesitated for a moment, then hurriedly floated after him, saying something.
The Meowth Boss looked puzzled, but after hearing him out, nodded: “Nya!”
…
After finishing his shopping, Su Yi brought Dewdrop to the park.
Compared to the busy streets, there were fewer people here, but many trainers and children were still battling Pokémon at the public battle grounds.
In the lingering excitement of the Gym Challenge Festival, the local battling atmosphere was especially fervent.
“Well done, Toxicroak,” a girl said coolly, recalling her Pokémon.
“That was amazing, big sis!” a child on the other side of the field withdrew his Galarian Zigzagoon, full of admiration.
“Mm.” The girl nodded, her expression as calm as ever.
“Oh? Isn’t that Marnie?” Su Yi exclaimed in surprise when he spotted the girl standing nearby with a Morpeko, arms loaded with shopping bags.