Eichi froze for a moment, a strange feeling welling up inside him.
This was the very first time someone had ever asked him for an autograph, which felt quite wonderful.
"Of course, no problem," Eichi replied with a smile, taking the notebooks and pens from their hands.
He wrote down his name on the paper: "Yoshino Eichi."
The four characters were written normally and clearly, completely unlike the illegible graffiti scribbled by celebrities in his past life.
After finishing, he handed the book back to the girl. She glanced at the signature, and immediately afterward, several girls around her thrust their notebooks and pens forward as well.
"I want one too! Eichi, give me an autograph too!" One by one, they crowded around Eichi to request his signature.
"Don't rush, one at a time," Eichi said while signing.
Soon enough, Eichi finished signing everything. After saying goodbye to them, he found a seat and sat down.
Even after that, girls would occasionally come over to ask Eichi for an autograph.
A little while later, Ryuichi, Buliangren, and the others walked into the Pokémon Center and found Eichi.
"Eichi, so you're here!"
Ryuichi walked over quickly and patted Eichi heavily on the shoulder.
"You really hid it well, didn't you, kid?"
"We were worried to death out in the spectator stands. Tell us, when did it evolve?"
"Yeah, brother Eichi, when did Wimpod evolve?"
Eichi pushed his hand away, looking at everyone's curious gazes.
He put down his cup and said, "Just yesterday."
"Originally, I wanted it to evolve a bit later. However, I didn't expect Shida to taunt me like that."
"It would be too embarrassing to lose to him, so I let it evolve."
Eichi explained it briefly, without describing any earth-shattering process.
"Eichi, your Beedrill and Golisopod are truly powerful!"
"I saw several girls coming over to ask you for an autograph just now," Buliangren remarked with some envy.
"Damn it, I'm clearly very strong too. How come no one comes to ask me for an autograph?" Ryuichi grumbled with a mixture of envy and jealousy.
"You're just jealous. If you had Eichi's strength, girls would definitely come to ask you for an autographs as well," Mumu teased, digging at him.
"Eichi, I recorded your entire match today. It was simply too spectacular."
"Following you was definitely the right choice," Kadokawa said happily while caressing his video camera.
Eichi was completely speechless.
The group chatted for a while before going out to eat. Even during dinner, girls would continuously come over to ask him for an autograph.
Eichi's performance today had garnered him countless fans, and his popularity was already beginning to ferment.
This gave Eichi a bad premonition, making him feel that he might not even be able to go outside normally in the future.
After dinner, Eichi's Pokémon had all fully recovered, so the group returned to the main hall.
It was now time for the matchmaking draw, so Eichi looked up at the electronic display.
The avatars of the final four participants appeared on the screen: Katsuyoshi, Tsukisa, the senior student, and Eichi.
Eichi felt a bit emotional. Without even realizing it, he had already advanced to the final four.
Despite this, this was likely his absolute limit.
He absolutely could not defeat Katsuyoshi, as that Sandslash was simply too terrifying.
Eichi suspected that his entire team of six Pokémon would be completely swept by that Sandslash alone.
Tsukisa was also a powerful woman whose Infernape had left a deep impression on him. Beedrill was probably no match for it, let alone the fact that her true trump card had not even been revealed yet.
Perhaps he would only stand a sliver of hope if his opponent turned out to be the senior student.
Returning his gaze to the screen, the page transitioned and began pairing the opponents.
With another flash of the screen, the matchups for the four participants were revealed.
Upon seeing his designated opponent, Eichi's face slumped instantly.
On the screen, Eichi's opponent was none other than Katsuyoshi. His journey had truly reached its end this time, leaving him without a single shred of hope.
Seeing the result, Buliangren, Ryuichi, and the others all looked at Eichi with expressions of deep sympathy.
Furthermore, they all knew that among the four remaining participants, Katsuyoshi's strength was arguably the highest. Eichi was bound to lose against him, so there was no point in expecting any miracles.
Even so, Eichi quickly regained his composure. With his current strength, reaching the top four was already excellent, and he had no desire to push any higher.
"Don't worry, I'm already very satisfied with making it to the final four. I'll just battle casually in tomorrow's match, so you guys don't need to worry too much about me."
Hearing this, everyone finally put their minds at ease. Since staying in the Pokémon Center was getting a bit boring, they all returned to the Competitor Village together.
Deep within the forest on the eastern side of the Indigo Plateau, the area was inherently remote.
Now that night had fallen, it became exceptionally quiet, broken only by the occasional cries of wild Pokémon.
The surroundings were pitch-black, with only a tiny amount of moonlight filtering down.
If an ordinary person were to come here, they would find it thoroughly chilling.
Rustle, rustle.
Suddenly, a sound echoed from the forest as a figure materialized within the darkness.
This figure stood quietly on the ground. In the area where he stood, the trees, flowers, and grass were heavily damaged, leaving the place in an absolute mess.
If Eichi were here, he would recognize this exact spot as the place where Katsuyoshi had slaughtered the Team Rocket members the previous night.
Rustle, rustle.
Another figure appeared beside him, accompanied by a Gengar floating closely behind.
"This is the place," the newcomer reported. "Gengar caught a wild Pokémon and questioned it. A fierce battle definitely took place here last night."
Saying that, he pulled out two Poké Balls and added, "Furthermore, I managed to retrieve two of the Pokémon left behind."
"Wyatt and his men indeed failed their mission. Every single one of them is dead."
"It is confirmed to be Katsuyoshi's doing. His current strength is exceptionally formidable."
"Particularly that Sandslash. Even the boss's Rhyperior was killed."
"With our current strength, we are simply no match for him, Lord."
The lord he spoke of did not say a word after listening. Instead, he pulled out a Poké Ball and released a Cacturne.
The moment Cacturne stood on the ground, green energy erupted from its body, transforming into countless roots that burrowed deep into the earth.
As if the earth itself were turning over, a muffled thud echoed, and several bound bundles were dragged up from beneath the ground.
Looking closely, they were the corpses of several Team Rocket members. They were covered in dirt and emitted a foul, putrid stench.
Their bodies had already begun to rot, and the same went for their Pokémon.
Notably, the largest bundle among them held the corpse of the Rhyperior, tightly bound by the roots.
The lord's brow furrowed slightly. He waved his hand, and Cacturne understood the gesture, commanding its roots to lower all the corpses back into the earth.
"Let's go. We will report this matter to the Executive. For now, we don't need to involve ourselves in this," the lord commanded.
"Understood, Lord. I will see to it immediately," the newcomer replied, dropping to one knee.
He then stood up and left the area, with the Gengar trailing silently behind him.
After the man departed, the lord remained in place, deep in thought.
A moment later, he recalled Cacturne and swiftly left the area.
The cold wind blew through the trees with a whistling sound, looking as if absolutely nothing had ever happened here.