Blue stopped August and turned to the receptionist.

  "One standard room and one deluxe suite, please."

  Then, she paid for her own room.

  The moment the money left her account, a deep sense of loss hit her. Even a standard room was a considerable expense for her.

  But at least she had stopped August in time. If she had gone along with his pn to book a deluxe suite, her entire wallet would have been drained in a single day.

  Seeing her pained expression, August chuckled. "You really didn't have to do that. Did you actually think I was going to make you pay for your own room?"

  "…Wasn't that the case?"

  Blue still vividly remembered that she was technically under evaluation.

  Would August really be generous enough to treat someone who hadn't even passed his test to a luxury hotel?

  "You think I'm that stingy?" August raised an eyebrow.

  He genuinely didn't care about the money.

  After all, this was considered a business expense—he could just send the bill to Lance. In the end, the League would be footing the cost.

  Hearing that, Blue thought back on their journey so far.

  He had shared high-end Pokémon food with her, given her an entire box of what were obviously expensive custom Pokéblocks, and even let her use a high-quality tent without a second thought…

  It seemed… maybe August really was as generous as he cimed.

  He had actually intended to let her stay in a luxury hotel for free.

  Realizing this, Blue felt like she had just missed out on a million-dolr opportunity.

  Her heart ached.

  Her soul ached.

  "Can I change my reservation back?" Blue csped her hands together and looked up at August with wide, pleading eyes.

  "Of course… No."

  August fshed a mischievous smile, paid for his own room, took the keycards from the receptionist, and handed Blue the one for the standard room.

  "I think you made the right choice. Girls should learn to be independent! I believe in you!"

  Blue: "….."

  For some reason, her wallet hurt even more now.

  ...

  After settling in, Blue took a hot shower in her room and then indulged in an all-you-can-eat buffet at the hotel's dining hall.

  She was determined to eat back every Pokédolr she had spent.

  Unfortunately, unless she suddenly became a Snorx, there was no way she could make up for the cost through sheer appetite alone.

  Meanwhile, in August's room—

  "Who is he, really?"

  Sitting on the sofa with Jigglypuff in her arms, Blue stole a gnce at August, who was leisurely sipping tea and reading the newspaper.

  He was wealthy, had close ties with Professor Oak, had the authority to access the League's database, and despite being absurdly strong, had a questionable hobby of bullying rookie trainers.

  Mystery after mystery surrounded August, and Blue simply couldn't figure him out.

  "You keep staring at me like that—I'm afraid Gardevoir might get the wrong idea."

  August folded his newspaper and looked straight at her.

  Blue instinctively turned her head—only to see Gardevoir watching her intently.

  Under Gardevoir's sharp gaze, Blue quickly averted her eyes and instead focused on something else—August's question from back in Cerulean City.

  At the time, she had chosen to stay silent because she didn't know him well enough.

  But after traveling together for the past few days, she had come to a conclusion:

  No matter what, August is at least a decent person.

  After a moment's hesitation, she finally made her decision.

  "Twelve years ago—"

  "Wait a second."

  August gave Gardevoir a subtle look.

  Gardevoir's eyes glowed, and an invisible psychic force swept through the entire room.

  Once she confirmed there were no surveilnce devices, August turned back to Blue, who looked puzzled.

  "I may have upset Team Rocket recently, so I have to be careful about bugs and wiretaps. It's all clear now—you can continue."

  "…?"

  That's Team Rocket we're talking about. Do you have to sound so casual about it?

  After a brief pause, Blue reorganized her thoughts and continued.

  "Twelve years ago, I was kidnapped by a man called the Masked Man and taken to Johto. I was forced to join an organization called the Masked Corps."

  "I don't know exactly how many people are in the organization, but at the time, six of us were specially chosen for our talents. We were forcibly made to wear masks and split into three groups based on age for training."

  "This continued for twelve years."

  "Then, not long ago, my companion and I took advantage of the Masked Man's weakened state and escaped from the base…"

  As Blue recounted her past, August quietly observed the emotions flickering across her face.

  Fear, when she spoke of being kidnapped.

  Hatred, when she mentioned the Masked Man.

  Relief, when she described their successful escape.

  Aside from the timeline changing from five years to twelve, her story closely followed the Pokémon Adventures manga's plot.

  That companion of hers must be Silver… Giovanni's son.

  August recalled the details from the original storyline.

  He had no idea how Giovanni had managed to lose track of his own son back then…

  But if Giovanni ever found out that his child had been kidnapped by Pryce, it was bound to be an interesting show.

  As he entertained the thought, Blue suddenly pulled two feathers out of her backpack.

  "I stole these from the Masked Man when I escaped. I don't know what they do, but he valued them greatly…"

  The two feathers pced before August shimmered with an otherworldly glow.

  One was silver, gleaming like molten metal.

  The other was iridescent, reflecting a spectrum of colors like a rainbow.

  Meeting Blue's expectant gaze, August picked up the feathers and examined the energy within them.

  "The [Silver Wing] and the [Rainbow Wing]—just feathers shed by Lugia and Ho-Oh."

  Compared to the [Dragon Crystal] and [Psychic Pte] in his possession, these were on a completely different level.

  The only real use for them was that they could potentially summon Ho-Oh or Lugia in specific locations.

  Yeah… definitely made the right choice choosing the Psychic Pte instead of the Rainbow Wing.

  He handed the feathers back to Blue.

  "You should hold onto these. They might not be of any use to me, but for people obsessed with legendary Pokémon—or organizations like Team Rocket—they're highly valuable."

  Blue looked surprised.

  The moment she heard they were feathers from the legendary Pokémon Lugia and Ho-Oh, she had fully expected August to take them for himself.

  Instead, he returned them without a second thought and even cimed they were useless to him.

  "Don't look at me like that. I told you I'm a good guy. Why won't you believe me?" August sighed in exasperation.

  Seriously, what had he even done?

  At worst, he had just bullied a few rookie trainers—why did she always assume the worst about him?

  "…Then who are you, really?"

  For the third time, Blue asked him the same question.

  But this time, she had id all her secrets bare.