"Forget it," Director Bao Ba sighed, dismissing the idea of Xiu accompanying Yuto. "I'll find someone else to keep an eye on him."
He clearly intended to drop the subject, but Xiu, perhaps feeling emboldened by their recent frank discussion or simply unable to resist offering unsolicited advice, spoke up.
"With all due respect, Director," Xiu began carefully, "Simply assigning someone to watch over Yuto… it might not achieve the result you want. Shielding him from all hardship won't help him grow. If this journey is meant to mature him, he needs to experience challenges, learn from mistakes— a chaperone might prevent danger, but also prevent growth."
Bao Ba looked at Xiu, intrigued. "Oh? And what would you suggest, Mr. Strategist?" he asked, a hint of amusement returning to his voice.
"Perhaps," Xiu offered, warming to the topic now, "instead of preventing trouble, you could… curate it? Create controlled scenarios along his planned travel route. Minor setbacks, engineered difficulties, encounters designed to challenge his worldview, force him to adapt, make him feel the harsh realities of the world… but always with a safety net, ensuring no real harm comes to him."
He saw Bao Ba considering the idea. "For example," Xiu continued, recalling his conversation with Xiaoyuan, "you mentioned his strong sense of justice. What if he encountered a seemingly corrupt or negligent Breeding House? One mistreating Pokémon, perhaps? Investigating that, trying to expose it, failing initially due to lack of evidence or local influence… suffering a setback, learning that good intentions aren't always enough… that could be a valuable, if difficult, lesson." He specifically thought of the Breeding House that had sold Pichu.
Bao Ba stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Interesting… create controlled adversity…" He looked sharply at Xiu. "You wouldn't happen to have a specific Breeding House in mind for this hypothetical scenario, would you?" His eyes held a shrewd glint.
Xiu maintained an innocent expression. "Yuto and I only just met, Director. How could I possibly hold a grudge?" He smiled faintly. "Just offering suggestions based on what you described. A situation like that… challenging, forces problem-solving, highlights systemic issues… but ultimately, low risk, especially for someone with the Director's resources to manage the situation from behind the scenes." He added pointedly, "You pointed me towards Professor Oak; consider this a small suggestion in return."
Bao Ba chuckled, appreciating the subtle quid pro quo. "Clever." He reached into a desk drawer, pulling out a small, exquisitely crafted square box made of polished dark wood. He opened it and pushed it across the desk towards Xiu. "Alright. A gift. For your help, and for… showing me a way forward."
Xiu looked inside. Nestled on a bed of dark velvet sat a single Poké Ball. But it wasn't the standard red and white. This one was a sleek, metallic charcoal grey, inlaid with intricate silver patterns. In the center, where the button usually was, sat a small, stylized emblem Xiu didn't recognize – perhaps a family crest or a company logo? It felt… different. Heavier, more substantial than a normal Poké Ball.
"Director?" Xiu asked, looking up, puzzled. "What's this?"
"Custom job," Bao Ba explained, leaning back. "From Silph Co.'s premium division. Costs upwards of one hundred thousand Poké Dollars apiece commissioned." He saw Xiu's eyes widen at the price. "Worth every penny, though. The quality, the internal mechanisms… far superior to standard issue."
"More importantly," He tapped the box, "the energy shielding is significantly enhanced. Those cheap Poké Balls you have wouldn't contain Abra's psychic leakage effectively. This one can, at least partially. It should significantly reduce the ambient psychic radiation affecting you and your other Pokémon while Abra is inside and buy you more time."
"Poké Balls have… different levels of shielding?" Xiu picked up the custom ball, examining it closely. This was another layer of complexity he hadn't encountered in the games or basic manuals. "What about this symbol?" He asked, pointing to the emblem. "Does it signify a special function?"
Bao Ba chuckled again. "Just a decoration, a status symbol. Wealthy trainers, collectors, organizations… they often commission custom Poké Balls with unique designs or personal marks. That particular one," He admitted with a grin, "is my own personal sigil."
Seeing Xiu's fascination, Bao Ba decided to elaborate further, perhaps feeling obliged after Xiu's earlier 'advice'. "You think all Poké Balls are the same, besides cosmetic differences like Great Balls or Ultra Balls? Far from it." He launched into a brief lecture.
"Take our park's Safari Balls, for instance. Or commemorative Poké Balls sold at events. The commemorative ones? Mostly just standard red-and-white balls with a fancy paint job. Functionally identical, maybe slightly lower quality control, but they sell for three to five times the price because of the 'collectible' aspect."
He leaned forward again. "But those Safari Balls we issue with the Trainer tickets? The ones we sell for only one hundred Poké Dollars? Their actual manufacturing cost, sourced from Silph Co.'s bulk division, is significantly higher than a standard ball. Why sell them so cheap, you wonder?"
"I… hadn't really thought about it," Xiu admitted honestly.
"Because," Bao Ba explained, a shrewd glint in his eyes, "they aren't just capture devices. They have integrated tracking and basic diagnostic sensors, linked directly to the park's central monitoring system. We've registered and microchipped nearly every significant Pokémon residing within the park boundaries, especially the rarer ones.
The moment a Pokémon is captured in one of those Safari Balls, we instantly know what was caught, where it was caught, and its basic condition. It's how we monitor captures, prevent theft, and manage the populations. How do you think we keep track of everything happening across thousands of acres?"
"Ah," Xiu nodded slowly. "I see." That explained a lot.
"Furthermore," Bao Ba continued, "those Safari Balls are coded for single-use activation within designated park zones. Fail on the first throw? The ball deactivates permanently. Try to use it outside the park? It won't even open. It's worse than useless out there. We explain the 'single-use' aspect to trainers when they buy tickets, of course.
When they leave the park, anyone who actually caught something transfers it immediately to their own Poké Balls. We then 'recycle' the used Safari Balls at half price, and buy back unused ones at full price…" He smirked. "Efficient inventory control, wouldn't you say?"
Listening to the intricate system, Xiu felt a grudging admiration for Bao Ba's business acumen. 'No wonder the park is profitable. It wasn't just tourism; it was layers of carefully constructed control mechanisms, maximizing profit while maintaining oversight.'
'It also explained the 'no battling wild Pokémon' rule – not just for tourist safety, but likely to make captures harder, encouraging trainers to buy more Safari Balls or spend more time building trust (or getting frustrated and leaving). The capture ratio on those cheap Safari Balls was probably deliberately set low too. He'd make a killing working for Team Rocket's marketing department,' Xiu thought wryly.
He also realized his own 'capture' of Scyther using the Trainer ticket had inadvertently played right into their system, legitimizing his possession through their controlled channel, even if he immediately transferred it. 'Clever old man.' Though it felt slightly illegal, given the park rules about employee interaction with Pokémon. Thankfully, Bao Ba didn't seem inclined to pursue that particular offense.
"One more piece of advice, Xiu," Bao Ba added, his tone serious again. "Be wary of using non-standard or unidentified Poké Balls, especially ones acquired from unreliable sources. Some cheaper knock-offs, or even maliciously modified balls, can potentially leak Pokémon data, track your location, or even interfere with the Pokémon's well-being. There's a lot of technical detail, more than we can cover now." He leaned closer. "And most importantly? Never casually hand your Poké Balls over to someone you don't trust. I've seen too many novice trainers get tricked, their Pokémon stolen right under their noses because they were careless."
Xiu thought immediately of Ash Ketchum again, constantly handing his Poké Balls over for 'polishing' or 'checking' by Team Rocket in disguise. Good thing Team Rocket were more interested in Pikachu than his other Pokémon, or he'd have lost them all years ago.
"Don't worry, Director," Xiu reassured him confidently. "I wouldn't make such a basic mistake." He wasn't that naive, but the hidden complexities of Poké Ball technology… it was another stark reminder of how much the games and anime simplified, how much deeper and potentially more dangerous this 'real' Pokémon world truly was.
They continued chatting for a while longer, the conversation drifting from Poké Ball mechanics to breeding theories, training philosophies, even sharing anecdotes about specific Pokémon encounters.
"Ah," Bao Ba sighed eventually, leaning back, looking genuinely relaxed for the first time since Xiu had arrived. "It's been a long time since I've had a proper conversation like this." He smiled wistfully. "Yuto… he's a good boy, smart enough, but he's always so… respectful. Never questions me, never argues. More like a subordinate reporting than a grandson chatting. And Shirley… well, she's still young, we don't connect on this level." He looked at Xiu. "It was… refreshing."
"Everyone has their troubles, Director," Xiu replied politely.