You can read ahead up to 15 chapters on my Patreon, and I've also activated a (date-to-date) subscription model on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395
Luther had no idea he'd already caught the attention of both Lucian and Cynthia; he continued living his steady, uneventful daily life.
Morning runs, training Pokémon after breakfast, helping out in the Pokémon Center kitchen during lunch and dinner, and spending the rest of his free time on books and videos.
Morning runs had become an unshakable habit for him; only now, Luther was joined by Mai during his runs.
At five in the morning, Misdreavus would tug at Luther's clothes right on time, urging him to get up, while Eevee would roll around on Mai's body, waking her up.
The two yawning humans got dressed, gathered their Pokémon, and set out from the Pokémon Center.
At first, Misdreavus didn't join the morning runs, merely acting as Luther's alarm clock; but later, facing an empty room with nothing to do, it joined the group.
Mai's team consisted only of Eevee and Pachirisu, which wasn't surprising; Corsola aside, its land mobility was limited.
As for Slowbro, well, Luther and Mai figured it was best not to trouble themselves or Slowbro.
After breakfast and the morning run, Luther would head to the rehab field to train his Pokémon.
The results were good; over this period, Ralts's Psychic Power had finally grown strong enough for Marill to feel some damage.
Progress deserved rewards; Ralts's reward was unique— Luther wanted to treat Ralts's stomach, but Ralts clung to Misdreavus and wouldn't let go.
As Ralts nuzzled behind Misdreavus, gripping tightly with its little hands, Luther instantly knew what Ralts wanted.
Misdreavus took Ralts like a gust of wind, zooming out of the Pokémon Center, speeding around outside for several minutes before returning to the rehab field in high spirits.
Ralts loved the sensation of scenery whipping past, the roaring wind slapping its face; that thrilling feeling of the whole world trailing behind gave it a rush of excitement.
This was a big deal; Ralts wasn't the only one in Luther's team who enjoyed it— after some shy negotiation with Misdreavus, Marill successfully climbed onto Misdreavus's back.
The Misdreavus supercar took off again, and this time, Jumpluff couldn't hold back…
Jumpluff and Misdreavus had a lukewarm relationship; unlike Marill and Ralts, who were gradually getting along well with Misdreavus, Jumpluff's haughty nature made it wait for Misdreavus to approach first.
Unfortunately, Misdreavus didn't bother with Jumpluff.
Luther had always agonized over how to warm up Jumpluff and Misdreavus; now, he didn't need to worry anymore.
Fresh off the speeding thrill, Marill hopped down from Misdreavus's back; Jumpluff then shyly sidled up to Misdreavus, muttering something nonstop, its gaze darting around, too embarrassed to meet Misdreavus's eyes.
Misdreavus glanced up at Luther; Luther returned an encouraging look.
Since Misdreavus was part of his team, it should understand the importance of team unity; harmony among Pokémon mattered; with Jumpluff sending a signal, Luther hoped Misdreavus would reciprocate the goodwill.
Misdreavus settled beside Jumpluff, gently used Psychic Power to press Jumpluff onto itself, and then sped off with Jumpluff in tow.
Returning from the joyride, Jumpluff and Misdreavus were noticeably closer, bickering playfully and laughing together.
For Luther, this was one of the key gains from his slower travel pace; he was starting to see why most Pokémon Trainers were so passionate about long-term wilderness journeys.
Luther's funds were running low; after setting aside enough for the trip to Veilstone City and a bit for meals, he budgeted the rest tightly.
During a casual chat with Joy while staying long-term at the Pokémon Center, Luther got some good news: work at the Pokémon Center, and meals were covered.
It's funny— the ten-year-old adulthood law hadn't been abolished yet, but the Pokémon League's affiliates were steadily squeezing its viability.
Take part-time work, for example: ten- to fourteen-year-olds weren't allowed to take on Pokémon League-issued side jobs.
The Pokémon Center offered free lunch and dinner to ten- to fourteen-year-olds, but not to those older, even with Pokémon League subsidies— you still had to pay.
Luther was gradually sensing what Professor Rowan meant about phasing out the ten-year-old adulthood law; it was simple logic— if you recognized someone as an adult at ten, their labor afterward shouldn't be age-restricted, only divided by adulthood status.
Now, the Pokémon League's physical age distinctions effectively rendered the ten-year-old adulthood law obsolete; in the future, there might not be kids like Ash, naively charging across the land at ten with a heart full of passion.
Times change, and Rules evolve with them.
Luther's kitchen gig came after Joy tested him; though it was part-time, the taste of big-batch meals mattered; wielding a ladle, Luther didn't disappoint, cooking up a decent pot of food and starting his first job in this world.
The kitchen staff serving food didn't have that "Parkinson's" tremble from Luther's school cafeteria days— each scoop of food and rice was steady and generous.
Luther had planned to apply the hard lessons he'd learned, but seeing these honest folks, he felt his heart was a bit too cynical.
This world had some joy and simplicity to it; shortly after arriving, Luther encountered the distasteful amplification device incident, which once shattered his rosy view of this place.
The Alon incident exposed him to the malice of some Pokémon Trainers in this world, yet, staying at the Pokémon Center these days, he gradually realized he shouldn't judge the whole by its parts; the existence of evil organizations and dimwitted Pokémon Trainers couldn't overshadow the kindness of others here.
Luther was starting to feel the gentleness of this world.
Nightly unlocked doors might be a stretch, but "no one picking up lost items" was real; most people in this world genuinely cherished and cared for Pokémon.
Pokémon Trainers rushing into the Pokémon Center with injured Pokémon, faces full of despair and tears streaming down their faces, were a common sight.
Whenever Luther saw those Trainers' anxious looks, his frustration with rotten Pokémon Trainers grew a little more.
True Pokémon-loving Trainers didn't welcome bad apples in their circle, but the circle was too vast— no one could stop the rotten ones from joining.
Just like how parenthood in later eras had no test, becoming a Pokémon Trainer in this world had too many paths so it was impossible to block; the only bottleneck was low-age traveling Pokémon Trainers.
Mai became a celebrity at the Pokémon Center— not for much else, but her ice-blue Corsola was simply enchanting; lowlife Pokémon Trainers, crushed by the Oreburgh City Gym and lingering at the center, drooled over the Water Type and Rock Type Corsola.
Drooling alone wasn't their style; soon, all they talked about around Mai was trading.
At first, Luther's thrashing of Alon still held some sway, but as Luther spent more time helping in the kitchen, these folks grew bolder.
When Luther walked into the evening rehab field with a plate of fried fish nuggets, at least a dozen people were pitching their Pokémon to Mai, with their Poké Balls in hand.
Luther didn't know what gave them the guts to offer a bunch of obviously freshly caught Pokémon for a trade with Mai— had someone sung "Courage" in this world too?
Luther felt he'd blended into this world; courtesy before force mattered; since most people here were gentle, softening his approach shouldn't be an issue, right?
But reality slapped Luther in the face— this was a big issue.
Luther stepping in to bail Mai out didn't deter them; it only sparked more complaints and filthy language.
Now this was interesting; Luther decided to make it more interesting, pulling out his phone to challenge them, setting points, and starting the fight.
Clearly, these Pokémon Trainers buzzing around Mai didn't know that just a week ago, Luther, fresh off a hospital bed, had beaten a similar creep like Alon senseless.
In Luther's eyes, these guys were point-delivery boys.
Those who'd seen Luther demolish Alon shivered when Misdreavus took the field.
Misdreavus didn't even go all out as a single Dark Pulse sent the challenger's Pokémon flying; Luther munched on fish nuggets, glancing at his phone, not bothering to look at the pale-faced Trainer.
For trash like this, Luther didn't care if they got psychological scars; ideally, one fight would scare them off the scene forever, sparing wild Pokémon.
"How about I bring Corsola to the rehab field every night?" Mai suggested.
Luther, eating his nuggets, nearly choked on Mai's words; he was here to help her out— didn't she know her Corsola was a magnet for attention? Couldn't she hide it?
"200 points, huh? A few more would be sweet— let's split it fifty-fifty; you win more, get my Corsola a new accessory."
With a puff, Luther actually choked; he coughed violently— good thing the nuggets had no bones, or Mai would've killed him.
Mai gently patted Luther's back, unsure why her words triggered such a reaction.
Luther thought this gentle world wasn't so simple after all; take this seemingly harmless, petite, cute girl next to him— her mouth spouted fishing-for-enforcement schemes.
All that effort to stay a pure, good kid lately, and Mai shattered his rosy view of this world— she had to be called out!
"Deal!" Luther declared righteously.
(End of Chapter)