Chapter 23

【Nakano Miku: Envious.】

【Lu Shu: Praise Fufu, what did you two pull?】

018: Xi Xi Luona spits blood; Makima's luck explodes, pulling out a Caterpie (Seeking flowers and rating votes)

Fontaine.

The Opera Epiclese.

Gazing at Furina, who was cradling a small dark-blue sea lion, Neuvillette felt nothing but tightness in his chest.

What the hell is this thing?

No matter how you look at it, it's bizarre.

Even during the previous trial, holding a box already felt strange enough!

And inside the box was a sea beast?

Though I've never seen this creature before.

To be honest.

If you placed a 'Popplio' in Teyvat, you wouldn't feel the slightest bit of dissonance.

After all, Fontaine is full of creatures as cute and round as it.

Like the Bubbly Seals found everywhere on the beaches, flipping onto their backs to sunbathe.

Or the cute little seahorses underwater blowing bubbles.

Or even the plump chickens squatting by the roadside pecking at Bubble Berries.

But...

How could Lady Furina hug and nuzzle such an ugly creature?

"..."

When did her aesthetic sense collapse?

To one side, seated below the VIP throne, Clorinde inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed there was no need to worry about Duke Tang Mu getting lost anymore.

「Future Rich Ladies' Health Preservation Group」

【Busujima Saeko: Toad? No, it's Froakie; I pulled a Froakie. (Paimon is very satisfied)】

Clearly, Busujima Saeko was quite pleased with her luck.

She had already checked using the "Pokédex."

Froakie can evolve into 'Frogadier,' and then into its final form, 'Greninja.'

Inside the dojo.

Busujima Saeko neatly arranged the wiped wooden sword on the rack.

Watching the lively Froakie hopping around, she smiled slightly.

An energetic type.

She liked it very much.

As it happened.

Its final form, 'Greninja,' suited her quite well too.

Immediately, she took a photo and uploaded it to the group chat!

【Xi Xi Luona: Oh oh, not bad, not bad; the final form 'Greninja' is not only extremely powerful but also immensely popular. (Praise from Paimon)】

【Lu Shu: Indeed, very nice.】

He still remembered that Ash's 'Greninja' was, after Old Charizard, another starter Pokémon that exploded in popularity.

And its final form had even indirectly caused the Grass and Fire starters of the same generation to be rarely sought after.

However, Froakie looked like a traveling frog carrying a backpack.

Moreover, the cost to raise it was very low.

It ate whatever frogs ate; it wasn't picky!

Of course, evolving still required 'Energy Cubes.'

【Lu Shu: Raise it well and evolve it into its final form as soon as possible; by the way, do you have a sharpened blade?】

The apocalyptic world where Busujima Saeko resided was prone to outbreaks of the zombie crisis.

Zombies!

Although the timeline was currently unclear, it was better to be safe than sorry.

'Frogadier's' strength wasn't much to speak of.

Although its control was strong, capable of throwing small stones wrapped in bubbles to accurately hit empty cans thirty meters away.

Its speed was also extremely fast, leaping up a six-hundred-meter tall building in one minute.

But it still couldn't rampage and kill freely among the corpses.

'Greninja' was different.

It could compress water to create terrifying water shurikens capable of splitting metal in two.

Facing an army of corpses, it would simply slaughter them at will.

【Busujima Saeko: A sharpened blade? We have them at home, but we all use wooden swords.】

【Thief Cat Nami: Lu Shu, do you want Saeko to get arrested? In her world, you can't carry sharpened blades!】

【Lu Shu: Still, keep one ready; better safe than sorry.】

Even with just a wooden sword, Busujima Saeko could easily shatter an adult's bones.

But, when facing the army of corpses, it still wasn't enough to look at.

Fortunately, with the Froakie, safety had gained an extra layer of guarantee.

【Busujima Saeko: I will consider it.】

She always felt there were hidden meanings in Lu Shu's words.

Glancing at the lively and jumping Froakie, she felt it was necessary to keep it by her side.

【Lu Shu: What about the others? @Nakano Miku, @"Demon's Full-Set Meal".】

……

Looking at the little creature sleeping peacefully beside her pillow, Miku finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although, emmm…… it was still somewhat strange.

After all, its head was big while its body was small.

Moreover, the beige downy fur had the wrong color.

But it was still better than an overpowered creature like Charmander; wouldn't that scare the four sisters to death?

Moreover, if a strange creature really hatched, she wouldn't be able to protect it.

It was very likely to be caught and sliced into pieces.

【Nakano Miku: Mine is a 'Fennekin'.】

Lu Shu: Pfft!

Good heavens.

I simply have to say, good heavens.

A Fennekin isn't much different from an ordinary fox, but a Braixen and a Delphox are completely upright-walking monsters.

The pairing setting of a Fire-type witch and a fox was quite clever, but facing the strong rise of 'Greninja', its popularity was...

【Xi Xi Luona: Mm, it is also very good; as a second form, Braixen is also quite popular. (Pam nods)】

【Nakano Miku: I, I don't want it to evolve.】

【Little Thief Cat Nami: Is it because of your world? That makes sense!】

【Xi Xi Luona: Then you'll have to use an 'Everstone'. An Everstone will only stop a Pokémon's evolution without affecting its moves, but its stats will be somewhat lacking.】

【Himeko: On this matter, I suggest you follow the Fennekin's wishes; after all, you will be companions living together day and night from now on.】

【Nakano Miku: Mm.】

She remembered that Hikari's Piplup had always resisted evolution.

The reason lay in its own unwillingness, same as Satoshi's Bulbasaur.

【Lu Shu: What about Demon? Seems like they're not online.】

The avatar was still gray.