The rewards for this normal simulation could be considered "top-tier" spec.
He was just one step away from the final championship tournament.
If he had reached the Top 8, the level reward would have jumped from a Lv.50 cap to a Lv.70 cap; however, it was hard to say which was more profitable: a four-level boost or a one-level boost.
Of course, overall, due to the fixed rewards, the Top 8 would definitely have been more lucrative.
After selecting rewards one and three, Kashiwagi began to ponder.
How do I pass the news of Team Rocket's "Infiltrator Plan" to the International Police?
On second thought, it didn't seem very feasible.
After all, everything required evidence. While he certainly knew this intelligence, he had no idea how to explain his source. The International Police would definitely want to know the details.
Besides, he had originally guessed the timeline was after the Lake of Rage incident. But seeing as Jimmy was participating in the Silver Conference, it had to be before that. That meant the Team Rocket branch base above Ecruteak City had likely already been cleared out by the League.
Furthermore, the only Team Rocket member he knew hadn't shown any further development, made Kashiwagi hesitate to act.
Until he had a self-consistent story for his evidence, the "Infiltrator Plan" would be hard to hand over.
Since there was no way around it, he decided to set it aside for now.
There would be plenty of time in the future.
Team Rocket was a capable villainous organization that persisted all the way into the latest seasons of the anime. Taking out one secret plan wouldn't do much; instead, it would just put a target on his back and create unnecessary trouble for nothing.
...
...
"No matter how many times I see it, this lake is huge..."
Kashiwagi gazed out over the vast expanse of water, sighing from the bottom of his heart.
Splash!
The sound of rushing water erupted nearby.
Aggron emerged from the lake and shook its head at him, indicating it hadn't found the Feebas its Trainer wanted—let alone a Shiny one; it hadn't even seen a regular one!
"The info online is totally unreliable," Kashiwagi sighed.
Who said the waters near Route 103 were crawling with Feebas? Aggron had been swimming down there for two hours. There were no Feebas—just a bunch of "Pretty-bas"!
"Agg-ron~"
Aggron swam to the shore and tossed over a few colorful, heart-shaped scales.
"Oh? Heart Scales?"
Kashiwagi picked them up, curiously. In the games, these were used to relearn moves. In the anime, they were just pretty items used for making jewelry.
"Did you snatch these off some Luvdisc?"
"Gron~"
Aggron shook his head helplessly, he had picked them up from the bottom of the lake. He wouldn't go out of his way to mess with Luvdisc.
Those guys usually appeared in massive schools; a Water-weak Pokémon like himself wouldn't dare provoke fish-types in the water.
"Not bad. I'll have someone design something later. We can pair these with the Silver Wing to make a headpiece for Mawile to use in the Contests", Kashiwagi said to the curious lookingMawile standing nearby.
"Maw-ile?"
Mawile tilted her head, looking utterly confused.
....
...
Having failed to find a Feebas, Kashiwagi gave up on Route 103.
According to the map, he was only one mountain away from Verdanturf Town.
He would definitely be able to get there before dark.
"The most comfortable town in Hoenn... I'm finally going to see it. I hope it doesn't disappoint." Carrying the slacker coral on his shoulder, he climbed toward the mountain peak step by step.
Suddenly, a vast green plateau unfolded before his eyes.
Well-arranged houses of varying heights, clusters of orchards and farmland, swarms of Jumpluff and Beautifly drifting with the wind, and wild bird Pokémon flying freely.
A gentle breeze brushed against him, bringing the scent of fresh grass.
The scorching summer heat seemed nonexistent here. Just looking down made his body feel revitalized, full of vibrant life. As if urging him to keep moving forward.
"Sola..."
Galarian Corsola slowly opened its eyes and let out a low cry.
Kashiwagi looked at it in shock. Usually, this little ghost wouldn't even be willing to open the eyes for anything. What changed?
Corsola ignored its Trainer's gaze, staring intently at Verdanturf Town.
Originally, it had been grumpy about the Trainer's mention of "overtime work," but if the work was in a place like this... it could deal with it.
For Galarian Corsola, what was more important than "rotting away" was how to rot away comfortably.
That was why it agreed to trade labor for delicious food. Enjoying life wasn't just about sleeping; a comfortable, undisturbed environment and plenty of food were essential.
The Trainer barely met those criteria.
If it weren't for that idiot Zweilous, Corsola would be perfectly satisfied.
"Looks like you like Verdanturf too... that's great! Now, work hard on learning Will-O-Wisp, Night Shade, and Protect. I've got high hopes for you!"
Kashiwagi's voice shattered Corsola's beautiful dreams of the future.
Learning moves, huh... That part was always a bit of a drag.
Maybe I'll try just a little bit, the Corsola thought. Otherwise, the Trainer will just keep on nagging.
Perched on Kashiwagi's shoulder, Galarian Corsola thought to itself. When it had learned Shadow Ball previously, the Trainer had been happy for a few days, but it was only for a few days.
...
...
As they descended the mountain and passed a watermelon patch, a kid with a watermelon-style cut suddenly jumped out, blocking the path.
"Halt! I am the Masked Messenger, Taro! Accept my challenge!"
"Masked Messenger... Taro?"
Kashiwagi blinked. Looking at the kid wearing two watermelon leaves over his face, his brain stalled for a second.
He remembered a "Masked Coordinator", The Phantom appearing in the anime in Verdanturf Town. That guy had absolutely wrecked May's rival, Drew, preventing him from entering the Contest before eventually losing to May.
What was his actual name?.. Ah yes Timmy.
It seemed that after a few years, the "Masked" title had become so famous that local kids were cosplaying as him.
"I accept!"
Kashiwagi agreed without a hint of hesitation, feeling zero guilt about "bullying" a kid.
Hearing this, the watermelon kid instinctively struck a fist-clenching half-squat pose—as if he were about to take a dump on the spot—and began howling, "Oooooh—I'm fired up!"
He hurled a Poké Ball high into the air.
"Come forth! My first General! Victreebel!"
Pop!
A flash of white light.
A giant pitcher plant, nearly as tall as a person, appeared in the field.
"Wict-reee—!"
Victreebel let out a piercing cry.
Good grief, the country kids are really hiding some heat here, huh?
Kashiwagi had assumed the opponent would bring out something like a Wurmple or a Shroomish; he hadn't expected the opening move to be a fully evolved Victreebel.
The level probably wasn't low.
After a moment's thought, he sent out his intended partner.
"Porygon, let's go!"
Bang!
"Pah-ree!"
Porygon materialized and floated in mid-air. Seeing the Victreebel, it immediately knew its job. Its Download ability triggered, and a glow of stat changes rippled across its body. Its digital eyes sparkled with excitement.
Finally! My turn to battle!
The watermelon kid froze when he saw Porygon, he stared dumbfounded. "What... what is that thing?"
"It's a Pokémon, obviously. Do you need time to look up its name?"
Kashiwagi asked with a grin.
He meant it as a joke, but the kid took it as a taunt.
"I don't need to! I don't care what kind of weird junk that is! I'm still going to win! I'll take the first move! Razor Leaf!"
"Wict-ree!"
Victreebel whipped its large leaves, firing a barrage of sharp, spinning blade like leaves!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The sound of wind-breaking was terrifying.
But just as the leaves were about to hit Porygon, its body flickered. The blue parts of its code-like skin shifted to a vibrant emerald green. The Razor Leaves struck it and shattered like brittle, dry foliage.
Porygon: "Pah-ree! (╬￣皿￣)!"
Calling me "weird junk"... I'm gonna wreck you, punk!
"It had no effect!?" Taro and Victreebel were both stunned.
"Conversion 2"
The smile on Kashiwagi's face remained unchanged. This move allowed Porygon to change its type to one that resisted the type of the move the opponent just used.
Simply put, the moment Victreebel used Razor Leaf, Porygon had already become a Grass-type to resist Grass. The move didn't even need to land for the change to occur.
And while the types generated by Conversion 2 are random in the games, Kashiwagi's own testing showed that in the anime's context, the type change of Conversion 2 could be controlled—provided Dr. Akihabara had loaded a system covering all types.
By the same logic, Conversion could also be used to change its type based on its own moveset through its own will.
In a sense, this was a massive buff for Porygon.
Moves that would never be chosen in the games due to randomness and wasted turns would now shine brilliantly!
"Impossible! Stun Spore!"
The watermelon-headed brat shouted through gritted teeth, and Victreebel opened the leaves on its head, spraying a large amount of golden powder forward.
Kashiwagi covered his nose and mouth, waving his hand dismissively.
"Psybeam!"
Bathed in the golden powder, Porygon suddenly tilted its tail and fired a multicolored laser!
BOOM!
The Psybeam hit Victreebel dead-on. The plant Pokémon couldn't dodge in time and was sent flying backward, crashing into the field.
"Stun Spore didn't work either?"
The watermelon kid was losing his mind.
He realized belatedly that this unfamiliar Pokémon might be a Grass-type.
Little did he know that Porygon was currently in Grass-type form, and can switch to other type forms as well.
Seeing that Victreebel wasn't KO'd in one hit, Kashiwagi realized the kid's Pokémon was higher level than he thought, so a non-STAB Psybeam wasn't enough to finish it. "One more Psybeam!"
"Dodge it!"
The watermelon kid shouted anxiously.
"Wict-reee-~"
The screeching Victreebel tried to dodge, but having just been hit by a super-effective beam, its reactions weren't nearly fast enough. The multicolored beam struck its head like a bolt of lightning!
Boom!
Thick smoke billowed.
Having suffered two consecutive hits, Victreebel couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed with a cry.
Fortunately, Porygon's move power wasn't excessively high. After soaking in some sun for a bit, Victreebel revived, much to his relief.
"Pah-ree!"
The victorious Porygon excitedly wiggled its blocky legs.
"Nicely done. You fought a good battle by utilizing the information gap," Kashiwagi said, smiling as he patted its head.
...
...
By the side of a babbling brook.
Under the watermelon kid's warm hospitality, Kashiwagi and his Pokémon were able to enjoy chilled watermelon.
"Eat up! Don't hold back! Have as much as you like! We've got nothing but watermelons here! Big, sweet, 100% delicious! Hahaha!" He removed the leaves from his face and laughed with his hands on his hips.
Victreebel swayed its vines nearby.
"Thank you."
Kashiwagi hadn't expected the boy to be so hospitable.
One moment he was fuming with a look of resentment like a sore loser, and the next he was clamoring to treat them to a watermelon feast.
"Hey, it's just a few melons, no need to thank me! But man, Porygon is so cool. Conversion, Conversion 2... I've never even heard of those moves!"
The watermelon kid rubbed his nose, his eyes fixed on Porygon.
The latter felt a bit uncomfortable being stared at.
"If you're interested in Porygon, you should visit Dr. Akihabara in Cinnabar City in Kanto," Kashiwagi suggested.
"Kanto!"
The boy was shocked, sweat dripping from his forehead as he said dejectedly, "That's way too far. My grandpa would never agree to it!"
"Hahaha, well, then wait until you're a bit older to go out on your journey."
As Kashiwagi chewed on a slice of melon, he spotted a certain someone being sneaky. He lunged forward and grabbed two massive heads.
"Hey! No overeating!"
"Zwei-lous!" "Zwei-lous!"
Zweilous, with a melon clutched in each mouth, struggled and cried out. He was eating so fast he couldn't stop, alternating between throwing a tantrum while acting spoiled to get more.
The watermelon kid quickly said, "It's okay! Let it eat—"
"No, he'll get a stomach ache, and it'll ruin his dinner. It's bad for his health," Kashiwagi smiled, then gave both heads a sharp pat. "Let. Go."
Thud, thud.
The two watermelons hit the ground and cracked open.
"Zwei-lous!" "Zwei-lous!"
Zweilous stared at the broken fruit, his eyes sparkling. He knew his Trainer hated wasting food. That means he'll let me eat them now, right? Right—
Two vines suddenly shot out, piercing the melons and sucking the juice and pulp dry in seconds.
Zweilous watched his treat vanish, and his entire body slumped into a gray state of despair.
The melon... the melon is gone...
"Wic-reee~"
Victreebel hopped happily, its triangular eyes full of joy.
The watermelon kid smiled. "You love our home-grown melons the most too, right?"
"Idiot."
Kashiwagi didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he dragged Zweilous to the brook to wash its face. The guy's face was covered in seeds and juice; it was sticky and disgusting.
Not far away.
Galarian Corsola slowly backed away from the third melon. Although it really wanted to keep eating, being dragged around like that wouldn't be good.
It also found the display embarrassing.
...
"Oh, right!"
The watermelon kid seemed to remember something and suddenly said, "Since your Pokémon are so strong, why don't you try the Battle Tent?"
"Battle Tent?"
Kashiwagi looked puzzled.
"Yeah! You pick three Pokémon to enter. You can't give them any commands or hints; you just watch the battle on the big screen outside. If your Pokémon can beat five opponents in a row, you have a chance to win a Pokémon Egg!"
The watermelon kid said excitedly.
Hmm?
That sounds a bit like the Battle Palace from the games.
He looked at his Pokémon and genuinely felt some interest—not in the Egg, but in his Pokémon's autonomy in battle.
Without his strategizing and timely reminders at critical moments, would they become stronger? Or weaker?
"Why does Verdanturf Town have such an interesting competition?"
Kashiwagi asked, very curious.
"Verdanturf Town is full of injured Trainers and Pokémon who come here to recover," watermelon kid explained. "The Battle Tent was started so they could keep their battle spirits high without putting too much strain on themselves."
Ah...
I see.
He nodded thoughtfully.
After parting ways with the watermelon kid, who had to return to guarding the fields, the two agreed to have another match before Kashiwagi left.
"When that time comes, I'll bring out my Second General to face you!"
"You have a Second General?"
"Of course!"
The boy's matter-of-fact expression made Kashiwagi realize that farm kids really were built differently.
City kids his age, if they didn't go to a Trainer School, might not have even touched a Pokémon—just like that pair of siblings in the movie The Power of Us who attended a regular high school.
Verdanturf Town.
Although known as the town with the best environment, it didn't lack modern facilities and high-rise buildings.
It's just that cars were rarely seen on the streets; most people used power-assisted bicycles. The vegetation coverage was staggering, with many residential areas shaded by trees and the walls of many small buildings covered in ivy.
At the Pokémon Center—
Predictably, there were no single rooms left.
Kashiwagi had to look elsewhere for a place to stay. However, the hotels here were far more popular than expected. Even though there weren't many people walking on the streets, four or five hotels he checked were fully booked.
Hotels were out...
Guesthouses?
Maybe he should just buy a house in Verdanturf! His wallet was quite full at the moment. Houses in Verdanturf were certainly expensive, but you get what you pay for, and they weren't "pigeonholes." If he were to stay in Hoenn in the future, having a house here might be a good choice.
Thinking of this, he actually started looking for a real estate agent.
Unexpectedly, after turning left and right, he didn't see an agent, but he did spot a figure that looked somewhat familiar yet a bit strange.
"Messy green hair, a 'good boy' frail aura, and a Gallade following along..."
Kashiwagi tentatively called out a name.
"Wally?"
"Eh?"
The green-haired youth and Gallade turned around in confusion, but Kashiwagi had already ducked behind a sign.
They looked around blankly. "W-Who's calling me?"
He asked tremulously.
After receiving no response for a while, he and Gallade quickly left.
Hiding behind a coffee shop signboard, Kashiwagi wore a strange expression.
Following the purple-haired Courtney and the stout Tabitha, had one of the game's rivals—the frail youth Wally—also appeared?
Does that mean Brendan exists too?
Although Brendan had appeared in the openings of several movies, the fact that he hadn't appeared in the main series like Jimmy (Kenta) still made it hard to believe.
He twitched his lips and searched for Wally's name on his phone. He actually found an entry for him. It showed that Wally was the runner-up of the Ever Grande Conference two years ago.
And the champion—
Brendan, without a doubt.
The iconic white knit cap and ace Swampert proved it.
That meant Brendan had set out a year later than Ash and May, yet won the Hoenn Ever Grande Conference, with Wally—his rival—taking second place.
Kashiwagi was filled with complex emotions for a moment.
Reasonably speaking, not being able to compete on the same stage as these "game protagonists" was somewhat disappointing; after all, rivals could be considered a driving force for growth.
Just as he was about to turn off his phone, he saw a video of Wally's cousin, Wanda, cheering for him and advertising her family's guesthouse.
The video was posted about three years ago, and the view count was pitifully low.
...What a coincidence.
It was probably the "Luck Scale" acting up again.
Since he was looking for a place to stay anyway, he might as well check it out.
Kashiwagi followed the address from the video and found Wanda's guesthouse. The brown door was surrounded by colorful flower clusters, and an "Open" wooden sign hung outside.
He pushed the door open.
"Welcome!"
The voice was slightly weak and soft.
Kashiwagi looked over; it was indeed Wally, whom he had just encountered.
This guy's voice wasn't much different from his Pokémon Masters version—full of delicate, boyish charm. Right now, he was holding a broom, cleaning up.
However, despite looking like he would cry for a long time if punched, he was actually a powerful Trainer who had debuted as a League runner-up...
"Hello."
Kashiwagi nodded. "I'd like to check in. Do you still have rooms?"
"Yes, yes! Of course!"
Wally scurried behind the counter, incredibly polite. "What kind of room are you looking for?"
Just like in his setting, he was a very polite youth.
Kashiwagi said, "I'd like a large suite with its own kitchen. Do you have one?"
"I'm so sorry! We don't have rooms with private kitchens!"
Wally bowed so deeply Kashiwagi jumped back. "But... we have a communal kitchen..."
"That'll work. How high are the ceilings?" He needed to make sure Aggron wouldn't hit his head.
After some back-and-forth, Kashiwagi got his key. The price was quite fair.
Unexpectedly, the room used a Japanese style, featuring paper sliding doors, tatami mats, and a hallway that overlooked a courtyard when opened.
"Are... are you satisfied?" Wally asked timidly.
Kashiwagi looked at him weirdly. "Do I look that scary?"
"N-no! Not at all!"
Wally shook his head frantically.
"Then why are you acting like I'm about to hit you? Speak up a little."
From his initial interaction with Wally, Kashiwagi felt this kid was somewhat lacking in worldly experience.
"I just... want to make sure the guests are happy."
A smile tugged at the youth's shy face, and then he bowed ninety degrees. "I am very sorry!"
Kashiwagi: "..."
During the silence, a young woman in a sundress ran over, an apologetic smile quickly appearing on her face.
"I'm so sorry, this is my cousin. He just started helping out. Please be understanding if there is any lack of service."
"No, the service is fine. He should just have more courage and speak a bit louder."
Kashiwagi looked at her. "Are you the owner, Wanda?"
"Yes!"
"I will be in your care in the coming days." He nodded to both of them. "Well then, I'll take it from here."
Click.
The door closed.
Wanda and Wally looked at each other, both exhaling in relief.
The former laughed. "See? It looks like you can host guests on your own now! Great job, Wally!"
"Hehehe..."
Wally scratched his head, blushing.