Chapter 59: The Gift of the Pixie Clan (Patreon)

Renan: "…"

He gave the girl at his side a light tug, then bowed to the elderly Clefable.

"Elder of the Clefable clan, hello. I'm Renan, and this is my travel companion, Misty."

Misty had no special abilities, but she was no fool.

Seeing the solemn look on Renan's face, she copied him, laying her right hand over her chest. "Elder of the Clefable clan, hello. I'm Misty."

Clefable weren't vicious Pokémon to begin with.

On top of that, this bunch clearly wanted something from Renan. So after hearing the two of them out, the elderly Clefable simply smiled and nodded.

Then a voice suddenly rang out in the depths of Renan's and Misty's minds.

Hello, Renan, Misty. I am the elder of the Mt. Moon Clefable clan.

Renan and Misty: "!!!"

This was telepathic speech, or rather Telepathy.

In theory, every kind of Pokémon in the Pokémon world could master it.

The catch was that Pokémon that weren't Psychic-type, or hadn't awakened Aura, had to reach the late Champion stage, or even Master class, before they could develop it reliably.

Psychic-types, a handful of exceptions like Lucario, and the psychics and Aura users among humans, on the other hand, could start learning it as early as Gym-class.

Because a certain god of life was still sleeping in Kalos, the Clefable clan and quite a few other Pokémon in this world were currently classified as Normal-type, or as pure Water-type or Psychic-type.

In the future, they would be reclassified as Fairy-type Pokémon, or gain Fairy as a second type on top of their current one.

But in either case, all they could use were psychic-style moves. They didn't have a true Psychic typing.

In other words…

The elderly Clefable seemed to sense the shock of the boy and girl, and its voice sounded again.

There is no need to be nervous, you two. The Clefable clan means you no harm.

In fact, Honored Renan, we are about to present you with a gift. It will raise your psychic power by a great margin, to what humans call, ahem, Gym-class. If you develop it well, you may one day grow further, to near-Elite Four class, even Elite Four class.

"!!!"

Renan aside, Misty couldn't hide her shock at those words.

Psychics had never ranked low in the League, and nobody was willing to offend a high-level psychic lightly.

Take Sabrina, the current Gym Leader of Saffron City. Plenty of people in Kanto knew she ran wild in her Gym, turning Trainers who lost their challenges into dolls on a whim, and yet not a single 'justice-minded' Gym prosecutor had ever come knocking.

As for why, those who know, know.

Now look at Renan. His psychic power seemed middling at the moment, only Elite class.

But if he truly set his mind to working his way up inside the League, then even without counting Dragon Tamer Lance backing him, his status as a psychic alone would let him skip at least five years of the road others had to walk.

Factor in his relationship with Dragon Tamer Lance, and landing a mid-level official post would be effortless.

That was true even of an Elite class psychic. A Gym-class psychic, with far greater strength and a wider range of Psychic-type moves, was another matter entirely.

Saffron City's previous Gym Leader, Sabrina's father, had been a Gym-class psychic registered with the League.

In other words, as long as Renan's training ability wasn't too dismal, he could easily open another Gym in Kanto.

And that would make him one of the small handful of people in Kanto ranked just below the decision-making tier!

Misty was happy for her travel companion.

Renan, on the other hand, barely changed expression at the elderly Clefable's words.

He came from the DanMachi timeline, where the law of the strong preying on the weak was far more blatant. So he had never believed that anyone in this world offered kindness without wanting something in return, parents and family aside.

After a brief pause, he asked calmly, "Then what do I have to pay for this 'gift'?"

Hearing him, the elderly Clefable suddenly laughed.

Nothing at all.

Or rather, receiving the 'gift' is itself the payment the Clefable clan requires.

Since it concerned him directly, Renan asked, "Is the process dangerous?"

The elderly Clefable shook its head. All you do is serve as, hmm, what humans call a 'relay' and a 'voltage divider.'

Renan narrowed his eyes. He had lived five lifetimes and had no shortage of experience.

Using the anime plot from his past life and some myths and legends the original owner of this body had read in school, he had already vaguely guessed what the Clefable clan was planning.

After a moment's thought, he nodded.

"I accept the Clefable clan's gift."

He held out his hand to the elderly Clefable, his tone sincere. "Here's to a good partnership."

A good partnership.

…

Over the next few days, Renan and Misty stayed in the canyon that held the Clefable clan's territory.

Besides drawing up daily training plans for their respective Pokémon, Misty used Pokéblocks and Renan used his own cooking to lure in one Clefairy and one Cleffa apiece.

Both were descendants of the elderly Clefable, and both had outstanding aptitude.

Renan's Cleffa in particular was the youngest daughter of the elderly Clefable, a Pokémon old in years but young at heart, born only a short while ago. She came with three inherited moves: Present, Heal Pulse and Mimic.

With normal training, she could grow to at least late Gym-class.

Since he now owned more than six Pokémon, Renan didn't want the newly recruited Cleffa to be teleported to a Pokémon Center. So he temporarily transferred ownership of Lao Wu, who followed him around, to Misty. Lao Si had already been registered under the girl's name the same way back when he caught the Glameow.

Beyond expanding his team again, Renan also traded piles of homemade food to the gluttonous Clefairy and Clefable in exchange for a good number of items.

Some, like Nuggets and Pearls, could be sold for cash on the spot.

There were also all sorts of berries picked in the canyon, plus Potions, Antidotes and other medicines that Trainers passing through the Mt. Moon tunnel had accidentally left behind.

Naturally, the biggest haul was low-grade and mid-grade Moon Stones.

Through 'equivalent exchange' alone, the Moon Stones in Renan's bag quietly passed 150.

That was far easier than slowly digging them out himself.

Time slipped by, and soon the full-moon night, which came just one day a month, arrived.

Bright moonlight draped the whole canyon in a silvery cloak.

Every member of the Clefable clan came out of their burrows. In order, with Clefable in front, Clefairy in the middle and Cleffa at the back, they took their places around the giant meteorite.