Similarly, Aggron had been coveting the trees and land next door for a long time. He frequently asked Kashiwagi if their trees were as good as the neighbor's, whether the neighbor used special fertilizer, or if the sunlight was simply better on the other side of the fence.
It was a clear case of territorial expansion fever.
Driven by various practical reasons, Kashiwagi had to thicken his skin and visit his Big Brother's office to request permission to borrow the backyard battleground. After a moment's thought, he shamelessly added the trees, flowers, and greenery to the request as well.
The result was a look of utter bewilderment on Ryuka's face.
"You... honestly..."
Amidst Kashiwagi's nervous smiling, Ryuka let out a helpless sigh and tossed him a set of keys. "I thought it was something serious. That house is yours for now. I understand your mindset—you don't want to take things without asking."
"But I must remind you: in what we are about to do next, there will be many more instances of taking things without asking. Don't let yourself get too caught up in such trifles."
"Right, right. I understand."
Kashiwagi nodded and departed with the neighbor's keys in hand.
He traversed the bustling Team Snagem Underdome, weaving through streets where people moved with hurried purpose. Standing atop a high slope, he gazed out over the entirety of Pyrite Town.
Black smoke from explosions billowed everywhere; sometimes, the roar of blasts would echo through the night. Had Pyrite Town not been so devoid of rain clouds, the town would surely be enduring a downpour of acid rain by now.
Tomorrow, Soshiro and the others would be fully packed and ready to depart.
Ryuka, like Kashiwagi, was not on the list for the "King's Retrieval Plan." Kashiwagi didn't know the official reason, but he wasn't surprised. His "Big Brother" was the core of everything. Only by staying behind while the majority of the organization's heavy hitters left could Ryuka ensure the subsequent phases of the plan proceeded smoothly.
Frobo had once told him that this situation was just one of several original contingencies. Even if Chester had managed to convince Soshiro and Yugo not to rescue the Boss, they had other plans.
Additionally, the original expectation was that the three Top Executives would only take half of the forces, ensuring the Snagem headquarters could function and defend against external threats. No one expected Soshiro and the others to go so far as to mobilize two-thirds of the entire unit.
While this made it significantly easier for Ryuka to seize what remained of Team Snagem, it also meant they would need more strength to repel invaders.
It was going to be grueling work.
The organizations in Pyrite Town had gone mad, constantly attacking, dismantling, and merging into new entities. There was no way they would ignore a hollowed-out Team Snagem. While these new factions were massive in volume, their overall combat effectiveness was actually lower than back when they were just a scattered pile of sand.
Wounded veterans were being replaced by rookies fighting with Pokémon they didn't even know. Strictly speaking, they lacked real combat power. The survivors might be called "elites," but in such a short time, their Pokémon couldn't possibly grow dozens of levels or evolve multiple times. They simply didn't have the time to bond with new, powerful Pokémon.
At best, they had finally brought their clumsy fighting styles up to a basic average standard.
As Kashiwagi watched the scenes unfolding in Pyrite Town, he couldn't help but realize something he had considered many times before: it wasn't just humans suffering in Pyrite.
The Pokémon—forced from their homes and brought to this desolate town—were suffering too. They were commanded by strangers, driven to do nonsensical things, forced to hurt others, and made to obtain things they never wanted.
It wasn't just the lower-class civilians being oppressed; it was the Pokémon.
I've thought about this before, Kashiwagi realized with a pang of guilt. Why did I keep ignoring such an important thing?
He knew why. His love for Pokémon was limited to his own team. His love for Pokémon didn't yet exceed his personal desires; it was confined to what was right in front of him.
He had ignored it because he hadn't placed other Pokémon on an equal footing with himself. He could pity the civilians because of his memories of his past self, but Pokémon were still "strangers" to him—a group he had only recently begun to interact with.
Subconsciously, he still viewed Pokémon other than Aggron and the others as tools or programs under an NPC's control.
But the reality? They were real. They could cry, laugh, get angry, and feel joy at soaring through the sky. They had the right to live on any land. Human and Pokémon in this world were an inseparable whole, bound by a chain that could never be severed.
"Yamamino, I've realized I'm actually a bit more selfish than I thought," Kashiwagi said over the phone, his voice tinged with disappointment.
When Yamamino heard his reasoning, he laughed. "The speed at which you 'awaken' continues to surprise me. For someone raised to see Pokémon as tools to feel this much guilt... you truly make me see you in a new light.
"Do you know? Having these thoughts means you've already changed. It only counts as failure if you realize these things and remain indifferent."
"..."
"Congratulations. You've discovered the key to overturning the old regime of the Orre region and establishing a new order," the young aristocrat said over the line. "Remember, our core is always People and Pokémon. As long as we hold firmly to those two points, we will be invincible."
"So, you've already formulated a plan to save the Pokémon as well?"
"I don't need to formulate one."
"...What do you mean?"
"I mean that there are far more people in this world who love Pokémon than you think!"
Yamamino's words etched themselves into Kashiwagi's mind. He understood the general sentiment, but he remained curious about where such confidence came from.
-----
The following day.
Kashiwagi saw off the two-thirds of the Team Snagem core.
They took a massive amount of combat power, along with many outer-circle members for logistical support. The rough estimate was nearly five thousand people—over 2,100 combatants and 2,500 support staff.
When the convoy gathered, it was a truly spectacular sight.
"Team Snagem is now left with nothing but the old, weak, and sick, and a garrison of just over a thousand," Frobo told Kashiwagi. They would wait half a day after the convoy's departure before taking action, aiming to seize control of the entire organization in the shortest time possible.
"But we won't need your help this time. This is a peaceful transition."
Frobo smiled, radiating the satisfaction of a multi-year plan finally coming to fruition. "It won't be violent like before."
"Yeah."
Kashiwagi nodded. He was well aware of how deep Ryuka's infiltration went. When he had visited Blue Iridium Street yesterday, almost all his old neighbors had joined the Resistance—
No. Not the Resistance. The Salvation Organization.
To have a righteous cause, Ryuka and the others weren't promoting a rebellion against the old powers; they were "Saving the Orre Region." It symbolized their resolve to not just defeat Es Gan's clique, but to ensure Orre actually improved.
Lately, even Naruhisa and the others had been looking at him strangely—wanting to pitch the Salvation Organization's ideals to him, yet not quite daring to. Kashiwagi found it amusing, and a bit odd that they didn't realize he was already on the same side.
Did they not know who the leaders were, or had Ryuka simply not revealed Kashiwagi's identity? Likely the former; anyone with a brain could see his proximity to Ryuka was "problematic."
Kashiwagi didn't dwell on it for long.
Because something more important happened.
Takeshi was back.
And he had brought a guest that Kashiwagi could never have imagined.