Misty turned to look at Psyduck, her brows furrowed tight.
"Him? He still looks totally out of it!"
"But didn't all the other Pokémon already recover?"
"Wait—don't tell me… he has lingering aftereffects?!"
Clearly, Misty wasn't too eager to catch this Psyduck.
"You two want to take this Psyduck in? That's great! He's been without a proper owner for ages!"
Nurse Joy immediately came over to enthusiastically endorse Psyduck—like she was finally pawning off a hot potato.
"Huh? Catch him? N-no thanks!" Misty waved her hands in panic. "He still looks kinda… off. Why not let him stay here at the Center a bit longer?"
[Psyduck – The perpetually-confused, perpetually-cute Water-type Pokémon!]
Kazuki pulled out the Pokédex and explained Psyduck's default state to Misty.
"Huh? So… this is normal for him?"
"All that worrying for nothing!"
"This little guy's actually really low-maintenance. Not picky about food, doesn't make a fuss!" Nurse Joy tried her best to play up Psyduck's positive traits.
"Oh? Well that's just—wait, no! That's literally the bare minimum!" Misty's logic hit Einstein-level clarity for a moment.
"Misty, don't judge by appearances! Psyduck's secretly a powerhouse!"
"He's got insanely strong Psychic-type moves!"
"He's the legendary Water-type I promised to help you catch!"
"…Hah?" Misty's jaw nearly hit the floor. "This is the so-called legendary Pokémon you paid a fortune to locate?"
"You—you're such a money-waster, Kazuki!"
Misty normally never cared about how much money was spent, but for the word wasteful to come out of her mouth—it spoke volumes about her opinion of Psyduck.
"Trust me! He'll surprise you, I promise!"
"Come on, look at my team—don't you trust my taste in Pokémon?"
Kazuki kept coaxing her. And really, it wasn't even a lie—Psyduck truly was reliable.
The phrase "Desperate Situation Psyduck" didn't come from nowhere, after all.
"…Really?" Misty stared into Psyduck's wide, googly eyes, still unconvinced. But Kazuki's track record had never let her down.
"Okay, fine. He can tag along for now."
"We'll see how he performs on the road, then I'll decide if I want to keep him."
"Let's go, Psyduck!"
Misty turned to leave, casually snuggling back into Kazuki's side.
But just as she brushed his belt, a Poké Ball slipped off and rolled… right to Psyduck's feet.
Plop?
Psyduck tilted his head, stared at the ball, then tapped it with his beak.
In an instant—click—he was caught.
…By himself.
"Huh? What just happened?!"
Misty blinked in disbelief.
"That… that Psyduck just went in on his own?!"
"Congrats, Misty! You've officially caught your legendary Water-type Pokémon!" Kazuki grinned as he clapped for her.
"Caught?! That counts? How does that count?! What kind of capture method is that?!" Misty flailed around in Kazuki's arms.
Meanwhile, Psyduck sat quietly in the Poké Ball, head tilted, as if asking: Huh? Was I not supposed to?
And so, the duck god had joined the party! Mission complete.
Kazuki helped Misty pocket the Poké Ball, and with his still-squawking girlfriend in tow, they left that pressure-heavy urban zone and headed south to—
Scissor Street.
On the way, Kazuki also claimed the reward for the Psyduck mission:
[Psychic Power upgraded to Intermediate Level]
But the roads were all urban routes lately, leaving little room to actually test his powers. He messed around with small objects on the sidewalk—sure enough, the range of what he could control had expanded.
Still, he was a far cry from someone like Sabrina.
That woman had practically ghosted her own parents just to focus on psychic immersion training for twenty years. To surpass her instantly would've been beyond broken.
"Look! That must be Scissor Street!" Misty waved from up ahead.
Kazuki tossed a warped metal chunk into a trash bin and jogged over.
[Ding!]
The second he spotted the massive "Scissor Street" sign, the system chimed again.
[New Mission: Correct misguided grooming practices of Scissor Street's Pokémon stylists. Encourage Suzie to begin her journey.]
[Reward: Beginner Lightning Speed Aura – All Pokémon under your command gain 100% speed effectiveness!]
[Justice Reputation +1]
Not a long task. Kazuki skimmed it quickly.
Lightning Speed Aura? Very solid. All of his auras were direct team-wide buffs.
And speed… speed mattered. Hugely.
In regular days it was useful—but on the battlefield, it could decide matches.
Especially in the top 8 of a league. Every detail counted.
Then again… sometimes it was all about bond speeches.
Your opponent's down, clearly about to lose, and then they yell, "Don't underestimate our rain-soaked, mud-covered journey together!"
Suddenly, their Pokémon roars back to life like it borrowed another HP bar and charges you down again.
Total movie trope.
Realistically? It's just trainers sandbagging until they bait your misplay.
Like when Bulbasaur "struggled" against Gloom just to land a few extra Leech Seeds.
This Lightning Speed Aura? Perfect for team-wide stat increases. A fantastic upgrade.
And that Justice Reputation point? Guaranteed to tie back to—you guessed it—Team Rocket.
In the original script, the Rocket trio had doused several Pokémon in thick, toxic paint, styling them without consent into gaudy messes.
The worst part? The stylists on Scissor Street loved it.
Were those paints even certified safe for Pokémon?
Let's be real—Team Rocket was broke as hell. Even if they had money, they wouldn't spend it on safe, gentle products for other people's Pokémon.
When Kazuki had entered a Pokémon beauty contest before, Serena had recommended gentle, health-conscious products. The price tag? Basically a month's food budget.
If not for the contest mission and the sweet championship prize, he would've skipped the whole thing.
Thanks to Serena's experience, Kazuki quickly came up with a plan to punish Team Rocket:
Get Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy involved for a product safety inspection. Once exposed, have Suzie give a seminar on actual healthy grooming techniques.
As for the part about "encouraging Suzie to start her journey…"
Wait—Suzie?
She could cook.
She could care for Pokémon.
She was a top-tier big sister type.
If she joined the team… wouldn't that be perfect?
She even had a powerful Vulpix. A perfect complement to their travel party.
Ahem…
Suzie, I swear, I'm not recruiting you to be a maid.
Misty already promised to be your assistant!
She won't have to touch the stove again, I swear!
Just then, Kazuki's nose twitched… and he started laughing.
Misty looked up at the clear sky. "Hmm? Weather's fine. Why are you sneezing?"
"Am I getting a cold?" she rubbed her nose and turned to Kazuki. "There are so many Pokémon care shops here! I think we'll finally find food that everyone will like!"
"…But…"
She eyed the endless rows of storefronts and frowned again.
"There are so many! My decision paralysis is kicking in…"
"Any shops here with a good rep?"
"If you want the best, it has to be the champion herself." Kazuki pointed to a signboard introducing Suzie.
"Champion?" Misty leaned in, reading the caption beneath the photo of the woman with elegant pink hair.
"Three-time Scissor Street Beauty Champion!"
"Certified Pokémon League Breeder!"
"Voted Most Popular Stylist by Pokémon Friends Magazine!"
"Oh my gosh—she's amazing!"
"And she's beautiful, too! If she traveled with us, we'd never have to worry about bad feed again!"
Misty's first thought was also to recruit her.
"Yeah. I agree with you." Kazuki nodded.
"…You agree?" Misty narrowed her eyes and leaned into his shoulder.
"Hey—wasn't it you who accused me of trying to recruit a maid last time I said this?"
"And now suddenly she's great? Huh?"
"Oh, I see how it is… Suzie's got a flawless face and perfect curves."
"Pretty little hands. Pretty little mouth…"
"Besides cooking, I bet you're hoping she'll do something else, huh? You perv!"
"Hehehe… I didn't say a word," Kazuki laughed, giving her cheek a gentle pinch.
"You don't have to," Misty huffed. "Your face says it all."
"Whatever. Honestly, I would love to have a big sister-type like her join us!"
"But she's a three-time champ!"
"Let alone traveling with us, I bet we'll have to wait half a day just to buy her food or get grooming advice."
"Well, we won't know unless we try. Look—there's her shop address. Let's go check it out!"
Kazuki snapped a photo of the address and grabbed Misty's hand, leading her along.
"Wait—you're serious about going?"
"We came all this way. Don't you want the best food?"
"…Fine. Just promise me—be polite when we meet her!"
"If you scare her off, we're not getting any feed at all!"
"You make me sound like a thug."
"Do I? I don't recall anyone squeezing anything last night during cuddles—"
"You weren't asleep?!"
"Of course not! How could I sleep with that going on?"
"…How'd it feel?"
"Ayaya! You jerk! Act normal—we're in public!"
"This way!"
"Coming!"
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