“Let’s get started!”

  Larry adjusted his tie, nodding in agreement. “Right. Och to decide the winner.”

  The two moved to the ranch’s battle field. Larry reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a red and white Poké Ball. Tossing it fidently, he said, “Let’s make this a real match. Show me what you’ve got!”

  Naoki grinned and called Gholdengo over. The shimmering Pokémon bounded into the field, its body gleaming like a thousand tiny suns. Larry, usually posed despite his fatigue, froze for a moment.

  “What kind of Pokémon is that?” he asked, his brow furrowing.

  Naoki smirked. “It’s Gholdengo, the evolved form of Gimmighoul.”

  “Gholdengo…” Larry trailed off as realization struck. “So that’s why you were so obsessed with those s. I see now.”

  Larry stared at Gholdengo, then at Naoki. “You’re no ordinary trainer, are you? No wohe Chief chose you for this task. I should’ve realized it earlier.”

  Naoki, slightly embarrassed, shrugged. “Let’s just get to the battle.”

  Larry straightened up. “No holding back, then. Staraptor, you’re up!”

  A brilliant fsh of white light revealed Staraptor, its sharp eyes focused and wings poised for a. Naoki blinked in surprise. Larry wasn’t pying around—Staraptor was clearly his aon.

  Naoki felt his petitive spirit stir. Although Gholdengo had just evolved, Naoki had spent the day familiarizing himself with its moves. He was fident in its abilities, especially with its Ghost and Steel typing granting it a natural advantage against Staraptor’s Normal and Flying bination.

  The real question was whether Gholdengo’s power could bridge the experience gap betweewo Pokémon.

  As the referee, Indeedee raised its hand, signaling the start of the match. It thes whistle with a sharp tweet, and the battle began.

  “Staraptor, Quick Attack!” Larry anded.

  Staraptor fpped its wings powerfully, its body blurring as it shot forward like a streak of light. It struck Gholdengo at high speed—only to pass right through.

  Naoki smirked. “Normal moves don’t work on Ghost-types. Gholdengo’s part Ghost, remember?”

  Larry’s eyes narrowed. “Ghost and Steel... I see now.”

  Despite the failed attack, Staraptor instinctively soared to a safe distas sharp bat instincts keeping it alert.

  Naoki seized the moment. “Gholdengo, Metal Sound!”

  “Gholden~gooo!” The golden Pokémon raised its hands, and the thousand gold s prising its body began to vibrate. The air was filled with the deafening etal against metal, a pierg cacophony that reverberated across the field.

  Staraptor felt the effects of the gratial Sound reverberating in its ears, nearly overwhelming it. Instinctively, all the feathers on its body stood on end.

  “Staraptor, stay calm!” Larry’s steady voice broke through the chaos. “Gain some distand use Brave Bird!”

  “Gholdengo, don’t give it a ce! Use Make It Rain!” Naoki anded without hesitation.

  The battlefield sprang to life as both Pokémon acted simultaneously.

  Still rec from the effeetal Sound, Staraptor fpped its wings hard to create some distance before eling all its strength into a fierce Brave Bird attack. Its form became a blur of power as it streaked tholdengo.

  But Gholdengo wasn’t idle. It extes arms with a dramatic flourish, and with a flick of its wrists, it seemed to summon a dazzling torrent of gold s that shimmered as they appeared. Like a relentless wave, the s surged toward Staraptor, pelting it from all dires.

  Larry bli the overwhelming sight, muttering, “That’s… an absurd amount of gold s…”

  The torrent struck Staraptor, f it to the ground uhe barrage. Still, thanks to its superior physical resiliehe bird Pokémon mao rise, though clearly battered.

  “As expected, there’s still a gap in strength betweewo Pokémon,” Naoki thought, the situation.

  Larry furrowed his brow and gave another and: “Hang in there! Use Aerial Ace!”

  Streams of white air trailed around Staraptor as it unched forward with incredible precision. The maneuver was seamless, almost artistic. As it approached Gholdengo, it suddenly pivoted mid-flight, twisting to deliver a powerful strike with its razor-sharp wings.

  The attaded squarely on Gholdengo’s golden body, emitting a sharp metallig. Gholdengo staggered slightly, clearly hurt by the move, but remaianding.

  Not wanting to give Gholdengo any time to recover, Larry tinued, “Now, Brave Bird again!”

  “Stay calm, Gholdengo! Use Recover! Naoki called out.

  Staraptor folded its wings, preparing for a high-speed, low-altitude dive. Meanwhile, Gholdengo’s golden body began to shimmer faintly as it activated Recover, mending some of its wounds.

  The timing was tight, and Staraptor was just about to make tact when Naoki yelled, “Substitute! Now!”

  In an instant, Staraptor’s attack struck peared to be Gholdengo, sending it flying. However, as the figure hit the ground, it dissolved into smoke, revealing it was only a decoy. The Substitute had worked perfectly.

  Larry’s eyes widened. “Staraptor, be careful!”

  Staraptor turned quickly, searg fholdengo, but it was too te.

  “Now, Pem!” Naoki anded.

  Gholdengo’s body shimmered as dazzling, gem-like light beams shot out from its form, verging on Staraptor. The radiant energy overwhelmed the bird Pokémon, engulfing it entirely.

  When the light faded, Staraptor was lying on the ground, its eyes shut and body unmoving.

  The match was decided. Metal Sound had drastically lowered Staraptor’s special defense, and a bination of Make It Rain and the Rock-type Pem had sealed its fate.

  Gholdengo struck a triumphant pose, radiating fidend style.

  Larry exhaled deeply, retrieving Staraptor’s Poké Ball aurning the fallen Pokémon. “...I lost,” he admitted, shaking his head. “You’re far too exg for an ordinary person like me.”

  Naoki shook his head with a smile and said, "Mr. Larry is also remarkable. In this battle, I had the upper hand due to the information gap. If you’d known Gholdengo’s type bination in advahe outight’ve been pletely different."

  "No matter what, today’s victory is yours," Larry said, gng up at the sky. "It’s gettioday’s not a day for overtime, so I’ll take my leave now."

  Naoki: “…”

  Naoki couldn’t help but silently ugh at Larry’s straightforwardness. With a polite tone, he extended an invitation: "It’s nearly dark. The Squawkabilly Taxi service might have stopped for the evening. Why not stay at the ranch for the night?"

  Larry shook his head with a small smile. "Tempting, but as much as traveling be a refreshing experiehere’s nothing quite as fortable as being in your own home, don’t you think?"

  Naoki paused for a moment and then nodded. Larry’s response was so in character—practical and steadfast.

  "Fair enough," Naoki said. Before Larry left, he picked up a shiny gold left behind from Gholdengo’s Make It Rain attad ha to him. "Take this as a token of thanks for helpiher the st of the Gimmighoul s."

  Larry looked down at the in his hand, its brilliance glinting faintly in the fading light. He thought about the battle they had just finished and carefully took the orative gold .

  "This Gholdengo must be the only one in the Paldea region," Larry said after a moment of refle. "At least, I’ve never seen a Pokémon like it before today."

  "It’s not easy to evolve a Gimmighoul into Gholdengo," Naoki admitted, his toinged with pride.

  Larry nodded in agreement, adjusted his briefcase, and began his journey back down the dirt road leading away from the ranch. As the ranch faded into the distance, Larry paused for a long moment, staring at the vast sky and the horizon beyond.

  For a man who had spent so much time in the grind of corporate life, the nostalgia of expl the unknown—something he had done in his youth—felt distant, almost fotten. But in that brief pause, he caught a glimmer of the freedom he onew, the kind of freedom that reminded him of s Pokémon riding the winds uhe endless sky.

  Still, Larry reminded himself that he wasn’t young anymore. That sense of boundless adventure was better left to the bright-eyed trainers bursting with energy and dreams.

  With a faint smile on his lips, Larry turned and resumed his walk, his strides steady.He murmured to himself. "Time to go home."

  ...

  The sky gradually darkened, and the Pokémon Tavern came alive, brightly lit against the night. Ihe atmosphere was jubint as Pokémon gathered to celebrate the arrival of their member.

  Naoki sat on a chair alongside Koraidon and several other Pokémon, Gholdengo, the addition, who was enthusiastically tossing gold s to the gathered Pokémon. The sight left Naoki momentarily speechless.

  Is this the world of the wealthy? he mused. Throwing gold s to everyone just because?

  It seemed that Gholdengo found every occasion worthy of celebratioher meeting someone for the first time, feeling happy, or making new friends, the result was the same: a shower of gold s.

  “Isn’t Gholdengo a little too over-the-top?” Naoki muttered, still trying to process the se.

  Beside him, Pawmot and the others were equally stunned by Gholdengo's exuberance. Having lived with Naoki for so long, they had learned a few human s, including the cept of money—how it wasn’t something to be tossed around but exged foods and services.

  Pawmot tilted its head and remarked, “Pawmot,” as if saying, This is... too much.

  Meanwhile, Umbreon carefully retrieved a gold from a cra the floor and brought it to Naoki. He held it in his hand, suddenly imagining a future where gold s could be found strewn across the ranch wherever Gholdengo went.

  If a Meowth or Perrserker, with their love of shiny objects, were here, they’d think this aradise, Naoki thought with a chuckle.

  The value of the gold s wasn’t lost on Naoki. He khat two of these s were roughly equivalent in size to one gold bead—a odity that could fetch up to 10,000 Pokédolrs on the market. This meant that each Gholdengo gave aorth 5,000 Pokédolrs.

  Today alone, Gholdengo had thrown out at least a hundred gold s. Naoki did the mental math and realized, That’s a turnover of 500,000 Pokédolrs in a single day!

  While Gholdengo might not have the world-shaking powers of legendary Pokémon, it was clear that its ability to gee wealth could disrupt the ey of aire region if left unchecked.

  Naoki shuddered at the thought and summed it up in four words: This is absolutely terrifying.

  As the Pokémon Tavern began to close for the night, Naoki decided to address the issue. He found Gholdengo, who was glowing with happiness after a night of bonding with its new panions.

  “My dear Gholdengo,” Naoki began early, croug to meet the Pokémon at eye level. “We ’t keep throwing gold s around like this!”

  Gholdengo looked visibly embarrassed as it chimed softly, “Gholdee…?” It clearly loved giving out gold s to everyone, but now it felt flicted.

  Notig Gholdengo’s hesitation, Naoki ko its level and spoke gently. “It’s not that I want to stop yiving out gold s. I just think you’re making too many all at once, and that leads to waste.”

  Naoki gestured to the scattered gold s oavern floor. “Look at all these s. They’re everywhere, and no one’s using them.”

  “Gholdeee…”

  Gholdengo’s gaze followed Naoki’s fio the gold s strewn about. Its expression became somber—it didn’t want its s to go to waste either. Unsure of what to do, it looked to Naoki fuidance.

  Smiling, Naoki offered a suggestion. “Here’s an idea. From now on, only give gold s to people or Pokémon you really like. That way, the s bee a symbol of your friendship. It’ll mean more to everyone, and you won’t waste so many.”

  “Gholdeee."

  Gholdengo’s eyes lit up with uanding. It nodded enthusiastically, patting its chest to reassure Naoki that it would follow this neroach.

  “Great!” Naoki said, reag out to gently pat Gholdengo’s head. “Now, do you want to stay here iavern tonight, or would you rather e back to the house with us?”

  Gholdengo gnced back at the cozy tavern it had grown fond of since evolving. Without hesitation, it chose to stay.

  “Gholdee!” it chimed decisively.

  Naoki chuckled. “I thought you might say that. Well then, starting today, your job will be to stay iavern as the lucky charm of the entire ranch!”

  Although it didn’t fully uand what a “lucky charm” was, Gholdengo liked the sound of it. It nodded happily. “Gholdee!”

  “Alright then, goodnight,” Naoki said warmly. “Get some rest—you deserve it.”

  “Gholdeee~!”

  Gholdengo chimed in response, watg as Naoki left the tavern for the night.

  When Naoki returo the living room, he stopped short. Every Pokémon in the house had a gold in its possessiohe Calyrex, held one.

  Naoki blinked. “Uh…”

  “Alcremie!” Alcremie chimed cheerfully, as if to expin.

  Calyrex, ag as a transtor, eborated with its psychiion. “These s are gifts from Gholdengo. That Pokémon is truly fasating—it reminds me of an old panion from long ago…”

  “An old panion?” Naoki asked, intrigued.

  Calyrex nodded. “Yes, a Pokémon named Melmetal. When I ruled the Gar region, I foresaw a great camity and summowo brave warriors to defend the nd. However, they cked suitable ons. It was Melmetal who provided the iron te the swords and shields that the heroes wielded, enabling them to repel the Darkest Day.”

  The legendary Pokémon paused, its gaze distant. “After that, I fell into a deep slumber. When I awoke, I had lost many of my memories, including what became of Melmetal.”

  “I see…” Naoki said thoughtfully. Trying to reassure Calyrex, he added, “Don’t worry. Melmetal is said to have a long lifespan. It might be resting somewhere in this world, just like you were.”

  Calyrex nodded slightly, seeming forted by the thought.

  Naoki recalled Melmetal’s lore, which described its unique life cycle. When nearing the end of its lifespaal’s body rusts and disies into tiny fragments. These fragmeually regee into Meltan, the Pokémon’s initial form, starting its life anew.

  ...

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