"Boss, I'm here…"
"While you're in town, buy me a case of Calcium. On the road to Mikan Gym, there's a cabin by a lake—I'm staying there."
After Reiji gave Naoki the directions, he headed to the battle field. Cissy wasn't around. Only Senta and that cousin were there, working their Pokémon through drills.
Reiji went straight to Senta. "Tell Cissy I'm taking the afternoon off. Something came up."
Before Senta could even respond, Reiji turned and walked out. Outside, he waved down Pelipper, cutting short its training. He needed a ride back to the cabin.
"Sou, I've got to go. I'm taking Pelipper—head home and come back tomorrow."
Sou opened his mouth like he wanted to argue, but Reiji was already gone. With the sky still bright, Sou figured he could at least stop by the sea and catch a couple of fish before calling it a day.
When Reiji returned to the lakeside cabin, he could already see a tiny black speck in the distance, coming from the direction of town. That had to be Naoki. He decided he'd wait.
He didn't even get the chance.
Something slammed into him, small and fast, and latched onto his chest.
"Muud! Muud!"
Mudkip clung to him like it was afraid he'd vanish again. Reiji had to cradle it in both arms. One morning apart, and it had somehow gotten even clingier.
"Alright, alright. I'm back," Reiji said, smiling as he rubbed its slick little head. Mudkip stared up at him with wet eyes, stubbornly refusing to let go.
Butterfree fluttered over, hovering at his shoulder. "Free? Freefree?"
"Relax. A friend's coming over," Reiji said. "You don't need to babysit. Go play."
Butterfree visibly loosened up. If this wasn't another day of being stuck on childcare duty, that meant sunshine, honey, and peace.
Not long after, Naoki dropped down by the lake on Flygon. The first thing he spotted was Reiji under the eaves, still holding a small blue Mudkip.
"Boss?" Naoki walked over with Flygon at his side. It had been about half a month since they'd last met.
"Naoki. Sit," Reiji said, waving him under the roof. "How've things been?"
Naoki set a box down. "The Calcium you wanted. I grabbed it at the supermarket as soon as you called."
"Leave it there. We'll sort it out later." Reiji pulled an ice-cold beer from the cooler and tossed it over.
Naoki caught it, knocked the cap off against the bench arm, and took a long drink before glancing at Mudkip again. "Boss… this Mudkip?"
"Riku's egg," Reiji said, popping his own bottle open. He didn't bother hiding it—Naoki already knew the whole story.
Naoki burst out laughing. "That guy's got the worst luck."
He'd heard all the talk in the underground circles. Riku's place getting raided was old news by now, and every time Naoki heard it brought up, it still made him want to grin. The losses weren't small either—hundreds of millions' worth of training resources, easy. Some of that loot had even passed through Naoki's hands.
He couldn't laugh openly in front of anyone else, but here, in front of Reiji, it came out clean and easy.
Naoki flicked a Poké Ball. "Come out, Mudkip."
His Mudkip popped out—about the same size as Reiji's. It nuzzled Naoki's leg, then froze when it noticed the Mudkip in Reiji's arms.
"Muud…?"
Reiji's Mudkip leaned forward too, staring like it had just discovered a mirror.
The two of them shuffled closer, chirping and sniffing in circles, then slipped on the grass and toppled together. A second later they were rolling around and wrestling like best friends, completely forgetting their Trainers existed.
Naoki grinned. "Alright, everyone—out."
One after another, his Pokémon appeared, crowding the yard as they took in the new place and the unfamiliar faces.
Pinsir, Exeggcute, Bellsprout, Carvanha, Tentacool, Krabby, Magby… plus Mudkip, Gyarados, Aron, Magnemite, Geodude, Shellder, Flygon, Spinarak, Ditto…
"Sixteen," Reiji said, counting without thinking. Only someone like Naoki—a washed-up quasi–Elite Four type scraping by—would be crazy enough to juggle that many at once.
Then Reiji narrowed his eyes. "You're building a sandstorm team."
Naoki scratched his head, half sheepish and half proud. "Yeah. You saw right away. Pinsir, Exeggcute, Bellsprout—those three I'll raise openly. Mudkip and Aron are following the old route. Sandstorm team."
"As long as you've got a direction," Reiji said. He wasn't about to interfere.
Still, sandstorm teams took a hit out here. On land, in dry terrain, the style paid off. In the Orange Archipelago, there was more ocean than sand.
Naoki reached into his bag again and tossed over a plain red-and-white Poké Ball. "Boss. The Pokémon you asked for."
Reiji caught it, checked the Pokémon inside, and pulled up the panel.
[Karrablast]
[Type: Bug]
[Gender: Female]
[Potential: 51%]
[Level: 3.37%]
[Ability: Shed Skin/1.13%]
[Moves: (Peck/1.21%) (Leer/1.11%) (Fury Cutter/1.14%) (Bug Buzz/1.31%) (Acid Spray/1.22%) (Bug Bite/1.14%)]
"Not bad," Reiji said. "How much did it cost?"
He was satisfied with fifty-one potential. He wasn't keeping the Karrablast as a partner—this was a support piece, meant to help Shelmet evolve—but he still couldn't be careless.
Trade evolutions were messy. Nobody could guarantee the two Pokémon wouldn't affect each other during the process. If the other side's potential was too low and it dragged Shelmet down with it, he'd be throwing away his main investment.
If that meant paying extra for a strong Karrablast, so be it. Better that than evolving Shelmet into a dud.
The same logic applied to Slowpoke too. If Shellder's potential was trash, it wouldn't be Shellder "feeding" Slowpoke—it would be Slowpoke getting drained instead.
And from what he'd seen of the evolutions… Shelmet shed its shell, Karrablast took it, and the shell became armour. If the two complemented each other during the exchange, then this Karrablast would need raising as well—just not with the same level of attention as his core team.
Naoki nodded. "I bought it from a Day Care. Six million. They had their Unova branch send it over on the spot."
He took another drink and kept going. "They said Bug-types like this can't evolve, so the shop mostly keeps them for breeding. Apparently they pass moves down well. They also said this one had good talent, but it's female—males cost more."
"Fair." Reiji set the ball down. "If it could evolve, the price would've been even uglier."
He glanced at Butterfree. "Butterfree, bring me the Poké Balls in the side-bedroom drawer."
"Freefree!" Butterfree zipped upstairs and came back carrying thirteen Poké Balls with psychic force—the ones those two thieves had left behind that night.
Reiji nodded toward them. "Thirteen Pokémon. Give me a price."
"Got it, Boss." Naoki didn't hesitate. He'd just quoted the Karrablast cleanly too—no "runner's fee," no nonsense. Working for Reiji wasn't something he wanted to nickel-and-dime.
He crouched, checking ball after ball. "These poison types: Venomoth, Koffing, Gloom, Grimer, Beedrill, Weepinbell. The poison sacs and materials still sell in the black market. Add Paras—usable as medicine—and call that five hundred thousand."
He tapped two more. "Pidgeotto and Fearow, another two hundred thousand."
Then his tone sharpened. "And these four are Advanced tier: Victreebel, Arbok, Sharpedo, Tentacruel. Common species, but the strength is real. Buy-in price is about two million each. Four together—seven million."
"Fine," Reiji said. "And the Calcium?"
Naoki did the math out loud. "Thirteen Pokémon totals seven million seven hundred thousand. Calcium's one hundred thousand. Add the Karrablast at six million… that leaves one million six hundred thousand."
Reiji nodded once. No argument. A few hundred thousand either way wasn't worth haggling.
"Naoki," Reiji said, "I called you for one more thing. Go to the Pokémon Center and post jobs for me. To promote to Elite Trainer, I need a hundred thousand League contribution points. Use a million of that leftover cash to post commissions."
Naoki blinked. "Boss… you're going the League route?"
Reiji didn't answer directly. "What do you think of Team Rocket?"
Naoki's expression tightened. "Strong. Massive. A monster of an organisation."
"And the League?"
"Bigger," Naoki said, blunt as always. "They span multiple regions."
Reiji watched him carefully. "So which one scares you more?"
Naoki hesitated, then let out a slow breath. "Team Rocket."
He didn't fear the League the same way. The League didn't casually murder people. Even criminals usually ended up in labour programs, not on an execution list.
Team Rocket was different. If they caught you, you could die on the spot. And if you joined halfway, you'd never be trusted—just shoved to the front as disposable cannon fodder whenever they clashed with the League.
That was the gap Reiji was pointing at.
"I get it now," Naoki said quietly.
Reiji's identity was clean. That was why he could work at Mikan Gym without getting turned away. And if there was a system with rules and benefits, you'd be stupid not to use it—especially when your enemy was Team Rocket.
"Good," Reiji said. "Split the million into several postings. Keep them simple—easy to clear, easy to farm. Bring me the task vouchers when you're done. You know what to post."
"I do," Naoki said, already planning the breakdown.
Reiji checked the time. "It's after five. Eat here. Stay the night. We'll have a couple drinks."
Naoki didn't refuse. He'd missed this—talking like normal people, not like someone taking orders and someone giving them.
"Need anything from me?" he asked.
"Go into town and buy groceries," Reiji said. "We're doing barbecue tonight. I'll head back to the Gym and pick up my Pokémon."
"Understood." Naoki climbed onto Flygon and flew toward town without recalling his Pokémon first. If Reiji wasn't worried, then the area was safe.
Reiji watched him go, then mounted Pelipper and headed back to Mikan Gym to collect Poliwhirl and the others.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/BellAshelia]
[Thanks for your support!]