"I'm Archie..."
Archie's cheerful smile made it hard to imagine this man would someday become the leader of an organization that brought terror and disaster to the Hoenn Region.
"I'm Sato. Um… is there something you need?"
"Don't take it the wrong way, Sato. Achie was just so impressed by your Sharpedo that he got excited and wanted to get to know you."
Sato blinked and glanced at Archie's beaming friend, Maxie. This wasn't at all like what he remembered from the newspapers in his past life.
As the leader of Team Magma, Maxie was always stern, frowning as if the whole world owed him money.
But now, this smiling, warm-looking guy… was it really the same Maxie? Or just someone with the same name?
"Yeah yeah! Your Sharpedo is insanely strong, especially how it glides so smoothly through the air. How is it so agile?"
Archie nodded repeatedly, fully agreeing with Maxie, then quickly asked his question with obvious eagerness.
"It's already lunchtime. Why don't we sit down and talk over a meal? I'm Joseph, Sato's teammate."
"Yes yes! Let's eat first," Mark chimed in, because in his world, nothing mattered more than food.
Sato thought it over and didn't refuse. No matter what might happen in the future, Archie and Maxie weren't ordinary people, building connections was always useful.
----
When it came to food, five people meant five different tastes, so in the end they let Joseph cook freely.
After lunch, everyone finally had a moment to relax. During the break, Archie kept hovering near Sato, pestering him with questions.
"Alright then, take a look. Sharpedo!"
Sato gave in and released Sharpedo. Under Archie's stunned gaze, he reached out and scratched Sharpedo's itch.
Below the gill slit was Sharpedo's softest and most sensitive spot. Scratching it not only felt good for Sharpedo, but also deepened their bond.
It was just like petting a cat or dog… only this time, it was a shark.
"Sha sha~" Sharpedo gently shook its big head, clearly enjoying it.
"Sa-Sato, is your hand okay?"
"It's fine. Why would… oh, you mean Sharpedo's skin?"
Sato answered casually at first, then quickly realized what Archie meant. Most Sharpedo had the Ability Rough Skin, which damaged attackers during close combat.
Sharpedo with that Ability had sharp keratin scales all over their skin. If you just rested your hand on it, it was fine. But one wrong move and... "rip,"you'd be bleeding all over.
But Sato's Sharpedo was different. Its skin was incredibly smooth, helping reduce drag and increase speed.
"Take a closer look at my Sharpedo, its skin's a bit different from others," Sato said, motioning for Sharpedo to float over to Archie.
"Tsk tsk tsk, so that's it! Sato, your Sharpedo's speed must come from this skin, right?"
"Sort of," Sato replied. He didn't feel like getting into explaining Abilities; in some ways, Abilities were like a Pokémon's innate talent.
"Heh, but my Sharpedo's rare too! It's the leader of a Sharpedo pack from the deep sea!" said Archie, releasing his Shiny Sharpedo as well.
Unlike Sato's, the Shiny Sharpedo started circling around Archie at a steady pace as soon as it appeared, never stopping.
Then, after two laps, it spotted Sato's Sharpedo and immediately dashed over, spinning excitedly around it!
"Sha sha~"
Sato's Sharpedo glanced at the oddly colored one next to it, recognized it as the opponent it had just defeated, and snorted as it turned away.
'I'm not wasting time on you.'
The Shiny Sharpedo froze for a moment, then started spinning around even faster! And even went in to nuzzle. That one nuzzle... turned into a disaster.
"Sha!"
Sato's Sharpedo cried out in pain and, without hesitation, bashed the unprepared Shiny Sharpedo with a Headbutt, sending it flying. It crashed into a tree before finally stopping.
'That hit was heavy...'
But just a few seconds later, the Shiny Sharpedo got back up and rushed over to Sato's Sharpedo again, happily spinning circles. Though it didn't dare nuzzle this time.
Even Sato, who was usually a bit dense about emotions, realized something was off. The Shiny Sharpedo... had a crush on his Sharpedo?
"Sato, what a fated meeting!" said Archie with a grin.
Sato rolled his eyes. Didn't he see that his Sharpedo wasn't even remotely interested in the Shiny one?
No curves, no power, and even the color was an obnoxious purple. Fortunately, his own Sharpedo clearly had a perfectly normal sense of taste.
"Old Archie, I'd say this is fate without destiny."
"O... Old?"
"Yup. The kid's still too young, can't be dating just yet. Sorry, hope you understand."
"..."
Archie clutched his chest. At that moment, he felt just as crushed as his Shiny Sharpedo.
Because Sato's Sharpedo, annoyed once more, bashed the Shiny Sharpedo away again with a heavy blow.
"Sha sha~"
Sharpedo swam over to Sato, clearly signaling that it was tired and wanted to rest in its Poké Ball. It wasn't even a battle, floating in the air like that was exhausting.
"Alright, come back," Sato nodded in agreement and recalled Sharpedo.
When the Shiny Sharpedo flew back and realized its crush was gone, it panicked and searched in circles. Finding nothing, it dejectedly returned to Archie's side.
"Sigh... once we head out to sea in a couple days, I'll help you build a harem," Archie said, gently petting the Shiny Sharpedo as he tried to comfort it.
"Sha~"
The Shiny Sharpedo shook its head, tapped its Poké Ball, and went back inside.
"Sato, bo—no, big brother, about the Sharpedo situation... maybe you can reconsider?" Archie leaned in, clearly serious.
"We're heading to Mt. Pyre soon. Old Archie, do you want to come along? On the way..."
As soon as Sato said that, Archie understood, they were about to leave on a journey.
There wouldn't be time for the two Sharpedo to bond. After all, it was his Shiny Sharpedo who was lovestruck, not the other way around.
Also, from Archie's point of view, a Sharpedo that strong was probably Sato's ace Pokémon. There was no way he'd hand it over to someone he'd just met.
Still, Archie had come up with the perfect solution. He didn't even need to say it, his smile had already betrayed him.
"That's easy to solve. My boat is setting sail in a couple of days. I can take you directly to Mt. Pyre!"
"Huh? You can reach Mt. Pyre by boat?" Sato was stunned. He had only said that on purpose after hearing Archie mention heading out to sea.
"Mt. Pyre is technically an island, you know."
"…"