"Mm. Got it."
Satoshi reached out. Uika felt it—her trembling foot slowly settling into his palm. Then Satoshi pulled a Full Restore from his bag.
His fingers shook a little as he angled the bottle toward her calf, the spray trickling down in a cool, clear line.
Full Restore was meant for Pokémon, so using it on a human wasn't ideal. Sure, some people liked to joke that humans were Pokémon too—but the truth was, it just wasn't strong enough for people.
More importantly, Full Restore in this world wasn't some miracle cure. It didn't work like the games, where a single spray makes you perfectly fine. Different Pokémon even reacted differently, which honestly made more sense.
A Full Restore was just… a strong healing medicine. That was all.
[Satocchi, it's pretty feet! Don't stare too hard~]
Pretty feet? What pretty feet—Ogerpon's pretty feet?
[No, it's Uika's—]
Then never mind.
Satoshi kept his eyes where they needed to be and carefully sprayed the Full Restore, his fingertips brushing her foot by accident as he steadied her.
This is really bad…
This is so embarrassing. If Saki found out…
"Mm…" Every touch still made Uika's heart race. The blush on her face deepened, and a warm, giddy happiness swelled in her chest.
Bandaging the wound—she'd originally meant to have a Pokémon do it. Somehow, for reasons she couldn't even explain, she'd ended up letting Satoshi help instead.
Now she was tongue-tied, awkward to the point of pain.
Stealing Saki's boyfriend… surprisingly, she could accept it.
Her heart was pounding. She was falling in.
"How's that?" Satoshi tied the bandage neatly around Uika's calf, eyes focused, listening for her reaction.
"Mm… it's really good." Uika lowered her lashes, not daring to meet his eyes, just holding onto the moment.
Since it had already come this far… she might as well sink into it. As long as Sakiko didn't find out, it was fine.
With no Sakiko here, in this moment, Satoshi's concern and gentleness belonged to Uika alone.
Once the bandaging was finished and they'd rested for a bit, Satoshi took Uika's hand.
"Alright, let's keep going. If it hurts, tell me—don't force it. Even if we do the trial tomorrow, that's fine."
"It's really okay. Satoshi, just go for it," Uika said, shaking her head.
If she turned back now, she'd only get in the way of Satoshi's Grand Trial. She didn't want to burden him.
"Then I'm holding your hand tight, Uika," Satoshi said. "I'm not letting go."
"Hm?~"
...
They continued the Poni Island trial together. They both knew only one person could end up taking on the Grand Trial—but each of them wanted the other to be the one to challenge. Tapu Koko had already "gifted" a Z-Move, so Uika didn't really have a reason to insist on the Grand Trial anymore. Satoshi wanted to challenge it… but he still wanted to give Uika the chance.
Whoever obtained the Dragonium Z would earn the right to challenge the island kahuna!
For now, though, the immediate problem was still the Totem Pokémon—Kommo-o.
The deeper they went, the sharper the atmosphere shifted—which meant they were close.
Noivern and Scizor!
"Oiva!"
"Hasa!"
Two fully evolved Pokémon rushed in fast. If Satoshi remembered right, these were the Totem Pokémon's ally Pokémon.
"Blaziken, counter with [BLAZE KICK]!"
"Kilowattrel, use [ELECTRO BALL]—target Noivern!"
To deal with Flying-types, Uika had called out Kilowattrel.
She stopped thinking about stamina. She wanted, wholeheartedly, to break through the trial with Satoshi—and then give him the Dragonium Z as thanks.
Her only guilt was that, to Togawa Sakiko, this was betrayal.
Saki… please forgive me!
Uika could feel it, too—maybe in Sakiko's heart, she didn't matter as much as Sakiko mattered to her.
After all, Sakiko had left the Togawa family back then… and didn't contact her for over a year. She'd worked herself into "Customer-Service Saki," her personality twisted into something painful.
Only after being "saved by her boyfriend" did she come looking for Uika again…
Absurd.
Which meant...
If she got found out, she was dead. So before that happened, she might as well enjoy it. As she gave commands, she squeezed Satoshi's hand a little tighter.
"Hakamo-o's coming—Frogadier, use [ICY WIND]."
"Koga!"
Unaware of how much the girl beside him was spiraling, Satoshi threw himself into the moment.
Frogadier sprinted forward, blasting out Icy Wind. Frosty air billowed, swallowing Hakamo-o's view in a wash of white.
After this trial, their strength would definitely take a real step up.
Still, most of their wins so far had relied on two-on-one fights and type advantage. In raw power, they were still behind Poni Island's Pokémon.
Catching them was out of the question. Compatibility mattered, sure—but more than that, in the Pokémon world, what mattered most was the bond between Trainer and Pokémon. If your goals didn't line up, forcing it was pointless.
And besides—he really, really wanted a Pokémon that could fly.
Crap… I kinda want to be an Elite Four member like Lance someday.
"Uika, stay close to me." Seeing an attack coming in from the distance, Satoshi pulled her in a bit, trying to shield her.
The Pokémon here fought wildly. Getting hurt was normal.
Good thing I'm a Super Rookie.
But I have to protect Uika. Someone like her—you don't let her get hurt.
"Mm… okay." Uika bit her lower lip, nervous—and then, almost without thinking, hugged him.
Satoshi had just noticed something felt off and wanted to keep Uika safe. That was all.
More importantly…
Something truly dangerous had appeared.
Right in front of them, a gigantic Dragon-type Pokémon clad in scale-like armor stepped into view.
Their target—the Totem Pokémon—
Kommo-o!
"Jalaa!!"
Kommo-o let out a roar that shook the air, echoing through Poni Canyon.
Then it sprang up, tearing through the air in an instant and landing in front of Satoshi and the Pokémon.
"Jaa—" ×3
A violent gust erupted outward. The Hakamo-o at its side were shoved up and away by that overwhelming force, tossed into the air and slammed back down.
Kommo-o hit the ground in a cloud of dust, looking even more imposing than before. Air currents wrapped around its body—power fully unleashed.
"Kommo-o…"
Uika's eyes widened. The pressure rolling off it was on a completely different level. She couldn't even guarantee she could win.
If it was six-on-one, she'd be confident. But Uika didn't have a Fairy-type—only Electric, which Fighting/Dragon resisted. Against a super-boosted Fighting/Dragon like this, she basically had no shot.
[Waaah… Satocchi, it looks super strong! Should we run away~~]
Feeling Kommo-o's battle intent crash down on him, Satoshi's blood surged.
He wanted to battle.
"It's fine," Satoshi said, eyes sharp. "We'll win!"