Chapter 268: I Just Really Want to Be the Big Sister!

The moment Asher called out, a golden ring tore open in midair right in the middle of the courtyard.

Hoopa poked half its head through the ring, a bag of chips clutched in one hand and its cheeks stuffed full.

"Why’d you call Hoopa? Hoopa was watching the livestream!"

Asher stared at it expressionlessly.

"Bring Tiana back here."

"Gotcha!"

Hoopa swept both little hands through the air, and another golden ring opened in the middle of the living room.

On the other side of the ring—

At the historical research institute in Celestic Town, Tiana was lying on her stomach across the sofa, both legs still swinging lazily through the air.

She heard the ring opening and had just started turning her head when—

The ring sucked her in, sofa cushion and all.

Tiana flipped twice through the air before crashing onto the carpet in front of Asher in an extremely undignified position.

She rubbed her aching backside and sat up.

Then she raised her head.

Asher was standing over her with both arms crossed.

There was a smile on his face.

But the gleam in those golden eyes sent a chill straight down Tiana’s back.

"Tiana."

Asher’s smile was like the calm before a storm.

"Your mom acting like that..."

"Was that your doing?"

Tiana looked up at Asher.

Then she glanced at Cynthia, who was standing nearby with a faint blush still lingering across her face.

Her expression-management system immediately began running at full capacity.

Cold sweat trickled down her temple as gold and violet simultaneously flashed through her mismatched eyes.

I think I might’ve actually gone too far this time.

"Uh..."

Tiana raised both hands in surrender.

The indicator lights on the Action Wristband were still blinking.

"Dad, I can explain. This was actually an extremely meaningful sociological experiment—"

"Speak normally."

"I just really want to be a big sister."

Tiana answered with complete confidence.

The entire living room fell silent for three whole seconds.

"You want to be a big sister, huh?"

Asher picked Tiana up and placed her across his lap.

Then, from who knew where, he pulled out a Seven Mirage Fly Swatter that he had apparently prepared in advance.

"Naughty brats who cause trouble need a spanking."

"WAIT, WAIT, WAIT! DAD!"

"WHEN DID YOU BUY A THAT?!"

"Specifically for you."

Asher snapped the belt against his palm to test it.

"Ever since you arrived in this world, I knew I’d need it sooner or later."

Smack! Smack! Smack!

"OWWW——!! DAD, YOU’RE ACTUALLY HITTING ME?! I’M YOUR BIOLOGICAL DAUGHTER!!"

"Calling me Dad won’t save you."

Smack! Smack! Smack!

"STOP, STOP!! I WAS WRONG!! I REALLY WAS WRONG!!! I’LL NEVER DO IT AGAIN!!! I SWEAR——!!"

"So you know you were wrong?"

Asher finally put Tiana back down and patted her thoroughly disheveled hair.

"Go apologize to your mom."

"And your ice cream quota for this week is cut in half."

Tiana rubbed her backside and waddled over to Cynthia with tiny duck-like steps.

"Mom, I’m sorry. I was wrong."

"I promise I’ll absolutely never do something like this again."

Cynthia remained silent for a moment.

Then she spoke.

"Cutting her ice cream quota in half is too lenient."

"Make it zero."

"MOM!! I’M YOUR BIOLOGICAL DAUGHTER TOO!!"

"Want your dad to give you another spanking?"

"...Half is good."

Tiana immediately turned around.

"Half is perfectly reasonable."

"Hoopa, send me back to the institute. I’m going into seclusion in the study."

Only after seeing Asher nod did Hoopa stuff the final chip into its mouth and wave its little hand.

A golden ring opened in the middle of the living room.

Tiana slowly waddled into it with painfully careful steps.

Only then did peace briefly return to the living room.

...

While Asher was disciplining his troublemaking daughter, the video on the giant screen had continued playing.

The scene moved forward.

Several more days seemed to have passed.

Hina stood inside her bedroom with a half-empty suitcase lying open in front of her.

Quaxwell crouched beside it, using one wing to stuff a neatly folded T-shirt into the suitcase.

Hina sat on the edge of her bed with her chin resting in both hands.

"Ducky..."

"Do I really have to go on a journey?"

Without even looking up, Quaxwell pointed one wing toward the calendar hanging on the wall.

"Quax, quax!" (You’ve already delayed it for ten days.)

Hina buried her face against her knees and let out a muffled groan.

Her tenth birthday had been ten days ago.

By Sinnoh tradition, once a child turned ten, they were old enough to register as a Trainer and set out on a journey.

Originally, Hina had managed to put her parents off for several days by claiming she needed to take care of the two Pokémon Eggs she’d received on her birthday.

But now—

Finizen and Audino had both hatched from their Eggs.

She had already spent an entire week caring for them.

Hina genuinely couldn’t think of another excuse to keep delaying her departure.

Just then—

The bedroom door was violently thrown open.

"HIIIIINAAAA——!!!"

Along with Dawn’s energetic shout, an enormous pink suitcase came charging into the bedroom.

It was nearly half as tall as a person.

Calling it a suitcase was generous.

It looked more like a portable wardrobe.

"Mom..."

"W-What is that...?"

Dawn popped open the suitcase’s latches.

"Everything you’ll need for your journey! Mommy already prepared it all for you!"

"Look!"

The instant the lid opened—

Everything packed inside erupted outward like a spring that had been compressed for far too long.

Nearly all of it consisted of beautiful dresses and gowns.

Hina looked at the contents of the suitcase.

Then she looked at Dawn’s face, which practically had "Praise me! Praise me!" written across it.

After a moment, Hina quietly asked,

"D-Do I need to bring... all of these?"

"Of course!"

"Mommy was folding them until the middle of the night!"

"Dawn."

Johanna walked into the room just then.

Her gaze settled on the suitcase, whose lid could no longer even close.

"When you first left home on your own journey, didn’t your mother teach you not to pack so much?"

"Have you forgotten all of that already?"

Dawn opened her mouth.

Then her shoulders slowly sagged.

"Okay..."

"Maybe I prepared just a tiny bit too much..."

"But that’s only because I’m worried about her..."

"Don’t worry. Hina can take care of herself just fine."

Asher walked into the room holding two small black cases.

"Hina."

"These are for you."

Hina accepted the cases and opened them.

Inside each one rested a crystal-clear stone.

"A Key Stone and an Audinite."

Asher leaned casually against the doorframe.

"Keep them safe."

"You’ll need them eventually."

[VIP Chat Group]

[Wallace]: A Key Stone and a Mega Stone. There’s that familiar formula again. I’ve honestly forgotten how many times we’ve seen this happen. Asher probably owns more Mega Stones than Steven has in his entire collection.

[Sidney]: Have you considered the possibility that Asher’s Mega Stones came from Steven’s collection in the first place?

[Barry]: Each of the previous four daughters had at least one pseudo-Legendary, but Hina’s team... how should I put it? For someone from Asher’s family, it somehow feels a little less impressive.

[Gary]: Heh. You still don’t understand what the title Master Pokémon Breeder really means. Especially when that breeder possesses the Power of Viridian.

[Barry]: Is a Master Pokémon Breeder really that incredible?

[Gary]: Let me put it simply. If Hina wanted to, she could mass-raise an entire army of Pokémon where every single member was Elite Four level. Understand now?

[May]: And Hina is a Top Coordinator too! It’s not like she’s necessarily weak in battle either.

...

TL: Cough. An unexpected membership means it was supposed to be 11 Chapters, but—ahem—10 is my favorite number, fr fr, ong, no cap. (Fingers crossed.)