Due to Cole and Popplio's attacks, the Ariados surrounded them.
"Popplio, use Disarming Voice." He commanded.
"La la la~"
As its song rang out, the air around the Ariados began to vibrate violently, mist forming in the air. Soon, all the Ariados fainted.
Though Poison-type Ariados should have resisted the Fairy-type move, Popplio's Liquid Voice ability changed it to a Water-type move, making it instantly effective.
After dealing with the threat, Cole rushed to Keith, "Keith, are you alright?"
"I'm... fine." He said, brushing off his pants with evident discomfort.
"That's good." Cole sighed with relief, "Were you trying to catch that Spinarak? Next time, use another Pokémon to battle it first. You could get hurt trying to catch one bare-handed."
The little Spinarak had already scurried back to its parents and was anxiously circling the fainted Ariados.
"I... understand, thank you."
Keith's expression turned cold, though his tone suggested he was simply awkward with people.
Then he asked belatedly, "How do you know my name?"
Ugh... he doesn't remember I'm his classmate? We only have about a dozen students in our class.
"I'm Cole, we're in the same class."
Keith's face fell — he never imagined a classmate he'd have to see every day would witness his embarrassing moment.
He'd thought he'd just met a stranger who would disappear afterward!
"Ah... I see!" He said awkwardly, "I'm a bit face-blind, have trouble recognizing people."
"Oh, is that so." Cole replied with sudden understanding, though he wasn't sure if Keith was truly face-blind or just making excuses, "By the way, I need to head home for dinner, what about you?"
"I need to go home too." Keith said, looking down. In truth, he didn't want to go home — why else would he still be wandering outside?
Cole nodded, "Are you still going to catch that Spinarak?"
Keith watched the Spinarak nearly crying over its fainted elders, thought for a moment, then shook his head, "Better not."
Cole walked over to the Spinarak and Ariados, took some berries from his backpack, and offered them to the Spinarak.
"It's okay, the Ariados are just unconscious and will wake up soon. I'm really sorry for suddenly attacking you all. These berries are for you — consider them an apology."
Sure enough, within seconds, the Ariados began stirring awake. They accepted his apology and contentedly left with the berries and Spinarak.
Keith's eyes widened in surprise at seeing him communicate with Pokémon, "You can understand what Pokémon say?"
Cole scratched his head modestly, "I can understand a little."
Keith's face lit up with joy as he suddenly grabbed Cole's arm, "Then can I ask you for a favor?"
"What favor?" Cole was taken aback.
This was so sudden — they weren't even that close!
"Tell me what it is. If it's not too much trouble, I might be able to help."
"Can you come to my house after school today?" Keith requested.
He explained that his grandfather had left some final words before passing away. Since only the family's Luxray had been present at the time, his grandfather had shared these last words with the Pokémon.
Though Luxray remembered everything, it couldn't communicate in human language, leaving these important final words a mystery.
While Keith's parents showed no interest in these last words due to their strained relationship with his grandfather, Keith couldn't ignore them — after all, his grandfather had raised him.
That's why he wanted Cole's help to understand what Luxray knew.
After hearing the request, Cole readily agreed, "Oh, is that all? No problem, I'll go with you after school!"
"Thank you so much!" Keith said excitedly.
After parting ways, they each went home for lunch.
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After school, the two went to Keith's house as planned.
Keith shared more about his family history. His grandfather had been a trainer who spent most of his time adventuring, rarely at home. This led to a strained relationship with Keith's father, made worse when Keith's grandmother passed away unexpectedly — his grandfather hadn't even been there.
The sudden death of Keith's grandmother had shattered the relationship between father and son beyond repair.
After his wife's death, Keith's grandfather retired from being a trainer. Most of his Pokémon had to leave — his father refused to keep them.
Only Luxray remained, allowed to stay because it had brought his grandparents together. The other Pokémon hadn't shared such a meaningful connection.
Keith's house lay even farther from Fourth Middle School than the Blue Bird Orphanage. His family was clearly well-off, living in a spacious villa that, while not ostentatious, spoke of wealth.
When they arrived, his parents were out, and only the housekeeper greeted them.
"Come on, I'll take you to meet Luxray."
He eagerly led Cole to the backyard.
His parents had built a small house there for Luxray, where it usually stayed. Keith handled all of Luxray's daily care.
"Luxray, I'm back!" He called out joyfully as they reached the yard.
His whole demeanor transformed — gone was his usual school persona. Cole could immediately see the deep bond between Keith and Luxray.
"Awoo~"
As his voice trailed off, a shadow suddenly darted out from the small house nearby and tackled him to the ground.
The dark figure was a Luxray — not particularly bulky, but with fluid lines that showed it was well-trained.
It affectionately nuzzled Keith's head and licked his face, making him laugh out loud. It was then that Cole realized Keith was actually a normal, cheerful young boy.
"Hahaha~" Keith's joyful laughter echoed through the courtyard.
However, the housekeeper who had been following them spoke up sharply, "Young Master Keith, the Master doesn't like you behaving this way — it's very improper!"
His laughter stopped abruptly. He composed his expression, slowly got up from the ground, brushed off his spotless clothes, and said to the housekeeper with a blank face:
"I understand. You're not needed here, you may go."
The housekeeper simply bowed before leaving.
But Keith's good mood had completely vanished.
Cole thought to himself: No wonder he developed such a personality — this family atmosphere is oppressive!
After the housekeeper left, Keith said dejectedly, "My father doesn't like me being too close with Pokémon."
Because of his issues with grandfather, his father had initially forbidden him from pursuing any trainer-related profession. Only after his mother's persistent persuasion did his father allow him to study Pokémon breeding.
In an act of rebellion, Keith had tried running away from home before school started to travel alone. He was caught before leaving Coumarine City and received a beating.
His father probably feared that following his grandfather's career path would make Keith just as irresponsible.
But in Keith's view, his father was the irresponsible one — he had left Keith with his grandfather as a baby for work, only taking both grandfather and grandson back when grandfather became too old to provide care.
Cole could only laugh awkwardly, unable to comment on their family matters.
Keith was just venting casually, not seeking advice.
After composing himself, he said to Luxray, "Luxray, this is my classmate Cole. He can understand what Pokémon say, so you can tell him grandfather's last words, and he can relay them to me."
Hearing this, Luxray looked at Cole in surprise, then nodded to him.
This Luxray had an excellent memory and recounted Keith's grandfather's final wishes perfectly.
Initially, Keith's father had wanted grandfather to release all his Pokémon into the wild. However, knowing that Pokémon raised by humans would suffer greatly in nature, grandfather couldn't bring himself to do it.
To avoid conflict with his son, grandfather had told a lie. He secretly left his Pokémon with an old friend, transferring monthly living expenses while telling his son the Pokémon had been sent away.
Unfortunately, grandfather suffered a sudden heart attack when no one was home. He could only share this secret with Luxray.
His final wish was for his grandson to continue caring for his old friends. He left a card with funds for the Pokémon's living expenses, hiding it in the bottom of the Luxray plushie in Keith's room.
After hearing Cole's explanation, Keith rushed to his room, found the plushie, and discovered the bank card hidden inside.
The card was registered in his name. Using the password from Luxray, he checked the balance — P$80,000,000.
When Cole heard this number, his expression screamed "What?!"
He thought to himself: These rich people! Casually inheriting more money than I'd make farming for years.
The card came with his grandfather's old friend's contact information. Keith called immediately.
The old friend's wife answered and, upon learning Keith's identity, demanded he take back his grandfather's Pokémon.
Since grandfather's death, the living expense payments had stopped, forcing his old friend to cover the costs. Caring for Pokémon was expensive, and unlike Keith's family, they weren't wealthy. The wife had grown increasingly resentful.
After learning about grandfather's passing, she refused to continue caring for the Pokémon. Knowing their family situation, she assumed payments would cease entirely.
Previously, she had profited from grandfather's generous living expenses. Now they were losing money — who would want that burden?
Hearing her complaints, Keith wanted to say he could send living expenses, but considering her attitude, he worried she wouldn't take good care of his grandfather's Pokémon anyway. Instead, he said:
"I understand the situation. Give me two more days, and I'll take them back as soon as possible and settle any expenses owed."
Her attitude immediately improved upon hearing this — she stopped complaining and even praised him for being such a sensible child.
After hanging up, Keith turned to Cole, "Thank you, Cole. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to fulfill grandfather's last wishes. Oh, right..."
He suddenly remembered something and rummaged through his room's cabinet, returning with a box.
"This is for you."
"What is it?"
Cole curiously opened the box to find ten colorful and elegant Poké Balls neatly arranged inside: Fast Ball, Friend Ball, Heal Ball, Heavy Ball, Lure Ball, Love Ball, Moon Ball, Dive Ball, Dusk Ball, and Quick Ball.
"These are Poké Balls I collected before. They're not particularly valuable, just consider them my thank-you gift." Keith explained upon seeing his surprised expression.
"Alright then, I won't refuse." Cole accepted the other's thanks without hesitation.
These Poké Balls were different from the regular ones sold in stores — they were handcrafted, and because they took time to make and had special effects, they were much more expensive than regular Poké Balls.
But they weren't outrageously expensive, still within what he could accept. Unlike the spatial backpacks from Lysandre and Diantha before — which he had mailed back due to their high value.
Having helped Keith, and seeing it was getting late, he was planning to head home when voices suddenly came from outside.
"Sounds like my parents are back..."
Sure enough, soon the housekeeper came to notify him that the Master and Madam had returned and wanted him to go downstairs.
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