Pokémon: Reborn as Lucario

Chapter 128: The City's Hero

Verdant Leaf City was still under reconstruction, and Míng Rìzhào had decided to start a new journey.

But at the very end, there was still one place she was very concerned about and wanted to see.

"Ono's Cake Shop."

This small cake shop, located next to the Pokémon Center, was relatively far from the center of the battle at that time. So even though the Pokémon Center next to it had suffered considerable damage, the cake shop was miraculously preserved in relatively good condition.

However, a "Temporarily Closed" sign now hung on the cake shop's door.

Ruru tiptoed lightly around the cake shop once, then gestured to Míng Rìzhào and Rio that there was no one inside.

"Sigh—"

Míng Rìzhào and Rio sighed in unison.

Before leaving Verdant Leaf City, the three of them had the same thought: they wanted to eat the cake personally made by Grandpa and Grandma Ono one more time. Unfortunately, perhaps because they were frightened during the chaos, several weeks had passed, and "Ono's Cake Shop" had still not opened its doors.

"What a pity."

The young girl smacked her lips, seemingly lamenting her inability to eat that sweet cake.

But what was strange was that besides the cake shop, the Pokémon Center next to it, which was usually open all day, was also completely dark.

"I remember Nurse Joy should have recovered, right?"

Under the protection of Míng Rìzhào and Ruru, Nurse Joy from the Pokémon Center was not injured in that chaos. And after waking up, she had immediately returned to the Pokémon Center, which had lost half its ceiling, to treat trainers' Pokémon.

And the Pokémon Center was the first building to be repaired.

Muttering to herself, Míng Rìzhào curiously pulled open the glass door of the Pokémon Center.

"Bang—"

Several party poppers suddenly sounded, spraying colorful ribbons that covered the three little ones.

All the lights turned on.

"Ah, what is this!"

The girl let out a surprised voice.

What met her eyes was a giant cake placed in the center of the Pokémon Center's main hall. On it, two giant Pokémon—Registeel and Riolu—were made from various fruits, chocolate, and cream. And on the cake's surface, a tiny human figure and a tiny Pokémon were also placed.

Leaving aside the exquisite design, just the rich and fragrant aroma that rushed into their nostrils was enough to make one's mouth water.

"Clap, clap, clap, clap," a continuous sound of applause rang out, as people clapping their hands gathered around from both sides.

A smiling Mr. Norman and his wife who was supporting him, Nurse Joy and her Chansey, the kind Grandpa and Grandma Ono, the cheerful Uncle Wattson with his granddaughter and her two bouncing electric rabbits, Miss Misa giving a thumbs-up, Officer Jenny busy holding back her Growlithe's head to keep it from snatching food, and so on—almost everyone Míng Rìzhào had met was gathered here.

"Welcome our hero!"

Uncle Wattson said with a hearty laugh.

Mr. Norman also slowly walked out and said solemnly to Míng Rìzhào and the other two, "Xiao Zhao, thank you very much to you and your Pokémon for repelling the poaching gang and Registeel. If it weren't for your appearance, the destruction caused by those lawless elements would have been even more unimaginable."

"As the person in charge of Verdant Leaf City, please allow me to express my thanks and gratitude."

Míng Rìzhào's face, rarely, turned a little red. She smiled embarrassedly.

"Ah, this... to be honest, it was Mr. Steven who repelled Registeel. I was just helping out on the side."

"No matter what, without your help, things probably would have gotten worse. And, the main problem was that I was unable to appear at that time for some reason. For that, I must also express my apology."

Nurse Joy also walked out with a gentle smile.

"Thank you, little girl. And you two, you little cuties."

Nurse Joy bent down and affectionately hugged Rio and Ruru.

Rio was flattered. This huge wave of welfare had really caught him off guard.

(Note: it's a huge wave of welfare, please don't misread the sentence.)

Wattson's granddaughter, Xiao Yu, also ran over, curiously gesturing at Rio with her two electric rabbits.

Xiao Yu naturally also knew that Rio could speak human language, so she leaned her head over and asked in a low voice, "Rio, you're so small, how did you become so big?"

Rio gave this little brat a sidelong glance.

"What does a little melon like you know? You can't imagine how tall and mighty I am."

The few Pokémon and Xiao Yu were frolicking and laughing on the side, while the humans chatted among themselves.

Until a "gurgle" sound was heard.

Ruru shyly hid behind Míng Rìzhào.

"Although we don't have any valuable gifts to give you, we still invited the two elderly folks to make a thank-you gift for the three of you. We hope you don't mind," Mr. Norman said in a slightly apologetic tone.

The eyes of Míng Rìzhào, Rio, and Ruru sparkled.

"No, no, no, this is already a very good gift."

Grandpa Ono said somewhat stiffly, "Hmph, I only made this cake for Mr. Norman's sake..."

Before he could finish, Grandma Ono chided him, "You stubborn old man, don't you know how to talk? If it weren't for Xiao Zhao, our cake shop would have been long gone."

Looking at the beaming Míng Rìzhào, and that familiar scene, Grandpa Ono was lost in a daze for a moment, and finally said in a low voice, "Thank you."

"Alright, everyone, let's enjoy the delicious cake!"

The gentle Mrs. Norman smiled as she handed out plates and utensils.

"Ah, Rio, cut off your head for me to try."

Rio looked at the little brat with horrified eyes.

Then with one slice, he cut off the head of his cake-dog self.

"…"

Just like that, in the Pokémon Center, the lively crowd and the laughing Pokémon seemed to add a bit of warmth to this heavily damaged city.

Grandpa Ono watched them happily eating his cake, and a hint of softness appeared on his usually stern face.

"Hoo," he turned his head as if sensing something. It seemed a gentle breeze had blown past the window.

And then.

Vanished.

…

Father... he is still so gentle.

Although he looks very stern and scary.

I smile.

I can't help but think of things from a long time ago.

My father was an outstanding pastry chef, and my mother was his excellent assistant. Together, they won many awards in pastry competitions. So, whenever I came home, there would always be delicious cake waiting for me.

Hmm, is there any connection between these things?

Who cares? Anyway, the cake is delicious, that's what matters.

Ah, that's right. My Ralts also loved to eat my father's cake.

But, it seems that after losing to an opponent in a certain competition, my father no longer liked to make cakes for me as he did before, and his whole person became very depressed.

Can't be helped. Who made me his daughter?

Once, I heard someone say that there was a very suitable ingredient for making desserts on the mountain behind our house. So I secretly went up the mountain by myself, intending to give my father a surprise. Ah, right, not just me, but also my Pokémon, Ralts.

But when I woke up again, I was already lying in a hospital bed, feeling weak all over.

In my memory, it seems I slipped off a cliff while trying to pick that ingredient.

I don't remember it very clearly.

But it's such a pity. It seems I won't be able to eat my father's cake anymore.

At the very last moment, I really wanted to taste that rich, fragrant flavor again.

For many years after that, I watched my father and mother's hair gradually turn grey, and my father, who originally loved to smile while making cakes, no longer smiled.

And, facing such a terrifying monster, they still didn't run away.

I was so anxious, yet I couldn't do anything.

Fortunately, there were those few children who protected my father and mother.

So, God, please bless those few children, may everything go smoothly for them in the future.

I watched the lively scene of everyone, and sincerely gave my blessings.

Huh? On my father's face, is that really a smile?

That's great.

I looked at that large cake with reluctance.

This flavor, full of happiness, is my father's greatest creation.

"Ralts, let's go." I called to my little companion, and we left contentedly from outside the window.

…

"Old man, what's wrong with you?"

Grandma Ono looked at Grandpa Ono and asked softly.

At some unknown point, tears had begun to stream down Grandpa Ono's face uncontrollably.

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