Chapter 349: Declaring Ownership
By now,
Sakura finally understood why Hikaru always seemed to attract so much attention from girls.
Just with that little maneuver earlier—
empathy, offering gifts on behalf of others...
Even if he didn't explicitly make promises,
it naturally built up favorable feelings.
Repeat this a few more times...
"Ah?"
Hikaru was a little confused,
but he still obediently handed the Glazed Coral to Sakura,
watching as she tucked it happily into her backpack.
This girl—
asking him for a treasure?
It was rare indeed.
Even though it was an S+ Grade treasure,
in Hikaru's mind,
giving it to himself or to Sakura made no real difference.
Meanwhile,
Lili and Hayashi Mei exchanged a knowing look.
Clearly—
this was something only girls understood:
a public declaration of ownership!
However...
Seeing Hikaru's gentle, pampering gaze toward Sakura,
Hayashi Mei couldn't help but feel a trace of envy in her heart.
Same age,
both talented,
childhood sweethearts...
This kind of relationship, stacked with all these "buffs"—
it was simply perfect.
After checking the surroundings with his Aura,
Hikaru stood up.
"Alright,
it looks like most of the others have left,
and it's already well past lunchtime.
How about we eat something first?"
After all the intense action,
it was time for a short break.
"Sure..."
the others agreed and pulled out the oranges they had picked earlier.
But the moment they took them out,
Hikaru frowned slightly.
He had overlooked something—
Oran Berries were fantastic for replenishing energy,
both for Pokémon and humans,
but they spoiled easily once picked.
Even though they had taken care to cut them with branches attached,
in less than half a day,
the berries were already looking a bit shriveled and wilted.
Hikaru casually picked one up, popped it into his mouth,
spit out the seed, and said:
"Later, everyone hand over your Oran Berries.
I'll process them into Energy Blocks.
That way, they'll be easier to carry and won't spoil."
Although the Youth League banned carrying prepared food,
it didn't prohibit bringing tools for making Energy Blocks.
In fact,
Hikaru didn't even need machines anymore—
with Greninja and Charizard's help,
he could make perfect Energy Blocks by hand.
But here, in front of everyone and the national livestream,
he couldn't reveal something that monstrous.
Hayashi Mei and Sakura quickly nodded.
"Alright..."
Lili was a bit surprised,
but Hayashi Mei quietly explained:
"Don't be shocked.
Hikaru is also a highly skilled Breeder."
She didn't mention Hikaru's actual breeder ranking,
because she didn't know if Hikaru wanted that information public.
Hikaru glanced at her with gratitude.
Right—
this was a national broadcast.
Every word and move could have huge consequences.
It was fine to reveal he was a Breeder.
But if they knew he was a Master-tier Breeder...
a tidal wave of requests for custom Energy Blocks would flood him!
And Hikaru's ambition was not in breeding Pokémon.
Hearing this explanation,
Lili's eyes sparkled even more as she looked at Hikaru.
A genius Trainer,
an Aura user,
partnered with a Legendary Pokémon,
and now... also a skilled Breeder?!
Each of these achievements alone could be a lifetime bragging right.
Yet this junior of hers—
had them all at once.
How could anyone not be tempted?
If only he didn't already have a destined girlfriend...
Although Lili was bold and teasing by nature,
she wasn't the type to snatch someone else's partner.
After eating a few Oran Berries casually,
Hikaru gathered everyone's remaining fruit
and started processing them on the spot.
About an hour later,
all the Oran Berries had been turned into neat, orange-colored Energy Blocks.
Even though Hikaru had deliberately slowed down,
the production process was still so smooth and elegant
that the livestream comment section was flooded with amazed reactions again.
Lili couldn't help but praise him:
"Junior brother's skills as a Breeder...
at least top-tier, right?"
Hikaru modestly waved it off,
"Eh... something like that."
These Energy Blocks would be enough for their team to last until the next day.
After all,
their Pokémon—Latias, Dragonite, Blaziken—
were all large, powerful Pokémon.
Each needed massive energy every day.
And just the recent battles
had consumed a lot more energy than usual.
After just one meal,
half of their Oran Berry stockpile was already gone.
Most contestants brought only one or two Pokémon to the Youth League preliminaries,
because keeping too many Pokémon fed on the Orange Archipelago was practically impossible.
But Hikaru?
He didn't have to worry.
All his other Pokémon were safely resting in his Personal Training Room,
where Energy Blocks were abundant.
He could bring out his main fighters whenever he wanted.
"Looking at our consumption rate,
we'll need to find more high-quality Oran Berries soon,"
Hikaru said, glancing toward the two senior sisters.
"Shall we head out and search?"
Hayashi Mei and Lili exchanged a glance—
then smiled and spoke together:
"We'll follow your lead."
"..."
Hikaru was momentarily speechless.
Come on,
you're both senior sisters,
at least give some advice!
As for Sakura?
She was already used to just nodding along with whatever Hikaru suggested.
...
After finishing their lunch,
the importance of food resources immediately became obvious.
Even though all the contestants had prepared carefully,
the Oran Berry economy had officially begun.
Flying around the nearby islands for a while,
Hikaru quickly noticed—
the good-quality Oran Berries were already gone.
Seeing this,
Hayashi Mei apologized,
"Sorry...
I should've warned you earlier.
Oran Berries are extremely important during the preliminaries."
She had competed in the Youth League last year,
but somehow had forgotten to mention this crucial fact.
Hikaru waved it off casually.
It wasn't a big deal.
No berries nearby didn't mean there weren't berries elsewhere.
He just needed to spend a little more time.
Sure enough—
less than half an hour later,
Hikaru's Aura picked up a promising signal.
A relatively large island,
around dozens of square kilometers in size, appeared before him.
Feeling the strong life energy there,
Hikaru's eyes lit up:
"This is it!"
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