As Kazuki slowly reached his hand into the flames, Misty's eyes widened more and more.
"Kazuki, I was just kidding! You don't have to take it so seriously—don't burn your hand! Quick, pull it out!"
Misty was genuinely worried that Kazuki might get burned.
"It's fine! The flames don't feel hot to me at all. Look!" Kazuki turned his hand within the fire.
Misty looked closely and saw that he really was unharmed. Her eyes grew even wider, stunned.
"You're seriously okay?"
"Oh my gosh, Kazuki, that's... amazing!"
As Suzie and Misty stared in astonishment, Lara stepped forward, eyes filled with curiosity and wonder.
"Kazuki, do you have some kind of special ability or unique bloodline or something?"
She went straight for the heart of the matter. Kazuki just chuckled and brushed it off with a vague excuse.
"I'm not really sure myself. I just feel a strange sense of closeness when I'm near this Ponyta."
"Maybe it's because of that time I rescued a Charmander—maybe I've developed a special bond with Fire-type Pokémon."
Lara seemed a bit puzzled, clearly interested in Kazuki's background. She immediately started asking follow-up questions.
"You rescued a Charmander? What happened? Can you tell me the whole story?"
At the mention of Charmander, Misty got excited and began animatedly telling the story to Lara.
"What?! That jerk actually did something so awful?!"
Even Suzie, who hadn't heard the story before, cried out in outrage alongside Lara.
After they finished talking, Lara's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Kazuki, maybe you should try spending a few days getting closer to Ponyta. Who knows? You might be able to ride her too!"
Lara was clearly trying to find excuses to keep Kazuki around longer. On the surface, she framed it as wanting to help him learn to ride Ponyta, but in truth, her budding feelings were starting to show.
Her suggestion fit perfectly with Kazuki's plan. It laid the groundwork for him to enter the race in Lara's place. Now all that was left was dealing with Dario.
Just then, Ponyta suddenly became agitated. Kazuki could feel the heat intensify around his hand and quickly pulled it back. He looked toward whatever was upsetting Ponyta.
Out of the swirling dust, a boy with a bandana and a group of Dodrio came charging in.
The boy was directing the Dodrio without slowing down, clearly trying to show off his skills.
The speeding Dodrio gave off an aggressive aura, which Ponyta picked up on, causing her to rear and snort.
Kazuki looked at the boy's appearance and the Dodrio he was riding—it was Dario, the very guy from the original script who colluded with Team Rocket.
Kazuki flicked his fingers and used his psychic power to freeze the Dodrio's legs mid-run.
Caught off guard, Dario was flung forward and landed face-first in the dirt.
"Damn it! What the hell?! You idiot!" Dario cursed as he scrambled up and slapped his Dodrio a couple of times.
After fixing his hair, he swaggered over to the group. "Yo! Isn't this Lara? Slacking off and chatting with random outsiders instead of training?"
"What's the matter? Afraid you can't beat me, so you're giving up already?"
Lara rolled her eyes and snapped right back. "Dario, did your Dodrio freeze your brain?"
"You're making them run like maniacs again. If you hadn't faceplanted just now, someone could've gotten hurt! What would you have told the tribe leader then?"
Lara's fierce tone and expression shocked Misty and Suzie—it was a complete 180 from her usual cheerful, playful demeanor around Kazuki.
"I… I didn't eat dirt!" Dario shouted back, embarrassed and furious.
"That was just an accident! My riding skills are top-notch—I'd never hit anyone!"
"I'm going to make sure you lose in the race the day after tomorrow! Your little Ponyta is no match for my Dodrio!"
Ponyta let out an angry snort and spewed a burst of flame.
Dario scrambled to hop back on his Dodrio and narrowly avoided getting scorched.
Once he'd put some distance between them, he sneered, "So what if it can breathe fire? Can it outrun my Dodrio? Hahaha…"
Laughing arrogantly, he rode off into the distance.
"What a cocky jerk!" Lara took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, then turned back to the others with a bright smile again.
"Sorry about that, Kazuki. That guy's always like that. Hope he didn't ruin your mood."
"He's seriously the worst!" Misty crossed her arms, clearly irritated. "Lara, you've got to beat him in the race! Show him who's boss!"
"Tell him his Dodrio sucks!"
"We'll be there to cheer you on!"
"Really?" Lara glanced at Kazuki, and when he nodded, her confidence surged. "With your support, I'll definitely win with Ponyta!"
"Alright! Let's not let that jerk ruin our day—I'll take you to our tribal village!"
"There's tons of delicious food waiting!"
Leaving the unpleasant encounter behind, Lara led Kazuki and the others toward the Laramie Village's territory.
As they entered, Kazuki noticed something interesting—Lara treated him with far more warmth than anyone else. To other villagers, she responded with polite smiles, but to him, her expressions were filled with sincerity and enthusiasm.
Along the way, they encountered many people cheering Lara on. It was clear the whole tribe had high hopes for her to win the Pokémon race.
Lara brought them to a bustling food stall.
"Kazuki, let me treat you all to some roast lamb! It's a local specialty!"
"Wow! It looks and smells so good!" Misty's mouth was already watering at the sight of the roasting meat.
"Thanks for the treat!" Kazuki said as he and the girls found a place to sit.
"Boss, give us a whole lamb!" Lara ordered generously.
The Laramie Village was wealthy, thanks to their large Pokémon herds, so it was no surprise they were so open-handed.
"Lara! You're treating friends today?"
"Since it's to support you for the race, I'll give you half off!"
"I'm rooting for you—you're gonna win for sure!"
Even the food stall owner was generous, waiving profits to support Lara.
"Thank you so much!" Lara beamed and bowed in gratitude.
"Wow, your tribe is so generous!"
"Kazuki, see? I told you there are plenty of rich people in this world!" Misty said, drooling at the juicy meat.
Kazuki handed her a couple of napkins. "Geez! Your drool's about to hit the floor. Hard to believe you're a Gym Leader's daughter."
Misty wiped her mouth and shot back, "Even a lady's gotta eat meat!"
With that, she dove in.
The three of them laughed and joined in, enjoying the delicious roast lamb together.
They chatted and shared fun stories while they ate.
But just as the atmosphere was at its peak, a Tribe member ran up to Lara in a panic.
"Lara! Bad news—your Tauros are going wild!"
Lara's face changed. She shot to her feet. "Kazuki, you guys keep eating—I'm going to check it out!"
She whistled, summoned Ponyta, and leapt onto its back, galloping off toward her family's pasture.
Kazuki's eyes flicked with thought. He wiped his mouth and stood up. "I'll go help—no way I'm sitting here eating while that's happening!"
Ponyta was too fast for him to follow on foot, so Kazuki slipped into a quiet corner and used his psychic powers to teleport.
Suzie was about to stand up to follow, but Kazuki had already vanished.
"Wha… Kazuki really moves fast, huh?"
Still holding a lamb leg, Misty tilted her head toward Suzie. "What, you wanna go too? Kazuki told us to stay and eat!"
"Here, Suzie—try this pancake. It's my special combo!"
Suzie didn't know where Lara's pasture was anyway, so she slowly sat back down.
She looked at Misty, who was happily devouring the food, and asked, "Misty, aren't you worried about Kazuki?"
"Worried?" Misty took a sip of wine and swallowed her bite. "Didn't that guy say it's Lara's family's pasture? What's there to worry about?"
"Lara knows the place like the back of her hand. Kazuki's strong, and he's got tons of powerful Pokémon. What could go wrong?"
"If anything, I'm more worried about Lara! Kazuki's always up to no good when no one's watching!"
"But I do think Lara's into him, and Kazuki might be open to it too."
"I like Lara too—let's give them some alone time. Who knows what sparks might fly!"
"Come on, let's eat!"
Misty was surprisingly chill about it all, enjoying her food with gusto.
Suzie, meanwhile, was deep in thought. When would she get a chance to be alone with Kazuki?
When Kazuki teleported to catch up with Lara, she was already commanding her Growlithe to help subdue the rampaging Tauros.
Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed by, spooking Ponyta.
Ponyta bucked wildly. Lara lost her balance—
Kazuki used his psychic powers to steady her and help her land safely.
His Aura Power then picked up on the presence of four figures hiding behind a haystack nearby.
"Gastly, go check it out." Kazuki released Gastly to investigate, then walked over to Lara.
Thanks to his intervention, she was uninjured. But Kazuki also used his psychic abilities to touch a nerve in her arm, temporarily numbing it so she couldn't lift it.
"Lara, are you alright?"
Lara had already noticed her arm had gone limp, but she put on a brave face. "I'm fine! But Ponyta's starting to panic!"
Kazuki gave her a reassuring smile. "Leave it to me."
He turned and approached the frenzied Ponyta.
"Be careful, Kazuki!" Lara tried to stand up, but with no strength in her arm, she couldn't grab Ponyta's reins.
"Wartortle, come out!"
Kazuki summoned Wartortle. Once it had doused the surrounding flames, Kazuki seized the chance to grab Ponyta's reins and used his strength to subdue her.
Then, he activated his Aura Power to calm her emotions.
Ponyta finally settled down.
Lara watched in awe.
What a strong man! I really… really like him!
She rushed over, eyes sparkling.
"Kazuki, that was amazing!"
"You're the only one besides me who's ever been able to tame this Ponyta!"
"My mom always said Ponyta and I are spiritually connected!"
"She told me that probably only my future husband would ever be able to tame her too!"
Kazuki saw the glimmer in Lara's eyes and knew—he hadn't just tamed Ponyta… he'd also tamed her heart.
After the race, a little effort would be all it took—and he'd be riding more than just Ponyta.
"Well, it was a tense moment… maybe it was just fate," Kazuki replied politely. He wasn't rushing things just yet—there was still the mission to complete.
"No! It wasn't fate—it was you! It had to be you!"
Lara stared into Kazuki's eyes, her boldness suddenly giving way to a shy blush.
What… what is this feeling?
This is the first time in my life I've felt like this!
It's so strange… but so… so nice!
Is this what Mom meant by love?
Eek! This is so embarrassing!
Flustered, Lara reached for Ponyta's reins to distract herself, but her numb right arm gave her a jolt of pain.
Kazuki saw this and seized the moment to gently take her hand.
"Are you okay, Lara?"
Blushing, Lara smiled and shook her head. "It's nothing serious—just can't feel my arm right now."
"Here… hold my left hand instead."
She reached out and took Kazuki's hand.
The moment their skin touched, Lara let out a soft gasp and leaned against his shoulder.
Kazuki chuckled at her shy but willing expression.
What's going on here?
I haven't even started using my tricks to win her over yet, and Lara already looks like she's ready for anything…
He glanced around the area.
Is it really possible to just… take her right now?
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