"Stop slacking off. Get these Pokémon released," Reiji said.
After picking what he wanted, he didn't bother listening to what the two kids were whispering about. He simply tossed them the backpack.
There were still over a thousand wild Flying-types inside. He left all of them to those two to release—by the time they were done, the short-tempered Spearow would definitely be dropping "presents" on their heads.
Once the common-Pokémon bag was dealt with, Reiji turned to the rare-Pokémon bag. If anything was worth keeping, it would be here—this one was packed with the forest's rarer finds.
Teddiursa. Nidoran♀. Nidoran♂. Heracross. Pinsir. Scyther—Pokémon that could sell for real money.
But after checking them all, he realized their potential was pretty average across the board.
These people had guts. They'd even dared to catch a forest boss's young—weren't they afraid the boss would come knocking?
Out of the whole lot, he picked a Heracross with decent potential and tossed it to Old Quincy. The Bug-type's temperament was fairly gentle, and it would be good company for the old man.
"Old man, this Bug-type is pretty solid. You can keep it as a companion…"
"Heracross?" Quincy caught the Poké Ball and looked at the sleeping Pokémon inside. His weathered face softened into a smile, and he accepted it.
With these little guys around from now on, he wouldn't be afraid of walking at night anymore. They could even help carry his equipment for observing Magikarp—and handle plenty of day-to-day chores.
In the end, Reiji only kept that single Heracross from the rare bag. Everything else was released. All of it.
None of those rare wild Pokémon had potential above fifty. Reiji didn't see a reason to keep them.
They might look fierce, and some were even "bosses," but a boss is only a boss depending on where you are. On a place like Rind Island—on shipping routes to the west and north—the League wouldn't allow anything too strong to exist for long.
Fairchild Island was different. It sat in the middle of the Orange Archipelago with no other islands nearby, and it wasn't an important route either. Ships could just sail around it.
"Rai-nii—my Pikachu," Travis said when Reiji finished sorting the two backpacks. They'd already released everything from both bags.
They'd released every last Pokémon… except they still hadn't seen his Pikachu.
"Relax. Your Pikachu should be in the other bag," Reiji said. He set down the empty space backpack, went back to the tent, and pulled out the dead fat guy's backpack. If nothing weird had happened, Pikachu would be in here.
Travis was merchandise to be sold. If that fat bastard dared to eat Pikachu, then once Travis grew up, that would be one more enemy waiting down the road. The dead fat guy wasn't that stupid.
If Pikachu wasn't even in this bag, then there was no need to guess—it had already been eaten.
Reiji rummaged around for a moment and pulled out two Poké Balls. They were the only two in the entire backpack—there weren't even any empty ones.
He glanced at them and confirmed one was Pikachu's. He immediately tossed it to Travis. "Your Pikachu's here."
"Pikachu?" Travis grabbed the Poké Ball, saw the starving Pikachu inside, and hurriedly released it.
"Pika pika…" Pikachu finally saw Travis again, but after only two weak cries, its stomach growled loudly. It didn't have any strength left and collapsed on the ground, too hungry to move.
"Electric-type Pokéblocks. Give it some power back," Reiji said, taking them out. These were from his earlier haul in Trovitopolis—back then, he hadn't had the money to buy Electric-type Pokéblocks at all.
"Thanks," Travis said, taking them and quickly feeding Pikachu one. He gave it a little water too. Only after Pikachu regained some energy did Travis lift it up and spin in circles, grinning like an idiot.
"Gulzar, there's an Exeggcute here. Its talent's not bad. It should've been that fat guy's Pokémon—he probably didn't even get the chance to raise it," Reiji said.
He held up the two Poké Balls again—one for Pikachu, the other for Exeggcute.
This Exeggcute was decent. Its potential was fifty-three. It was probably the Pokémon hatchling the fat guy had bought.
After all, even that fat guy's Exeggutor didn't have potential that high. This Exeggcute couldn't possibly be that Exeggutor's offspring.
Looks like after making money, the fat guy wanted to raise a fresh pair of "shop treasure" Pokémon as a second lineup.
"Rai-nii," Gulzar said.
He didn't refuse the Poké Ball Reiji offered. He'd said it before—he needed these Pokémon. He needed to fill out his team. These Pokémon were his future, the capital he'd use to become strong.
As for the debt he owed right now, he couldn't repay it. All he could do was pay Rai back later, with what he became.
"Don't get all clingy about it," Reiji said. "There's also a Magikarp—the one Travis wanted. You can hand it to him yourself later. Let him read that breeding notebook too, if you want, though his family probably isn't short on stuff like that."
Reiji waved them off. "Alright. Go do your thing. Lunch is on your own. I've still got work."
He put the Poké Balls away, called Butterfree and the others over, and headed back to the river to keep catching Magikarp.
Those two kids had already gotten their magikarp. He still hadn't caught one for himself. Releasing Pokémon that morning had eaten up a lot of time—he needed to pick up the pace.
"Rai-nii, I'll help you," Gulzar offered when he saw Reiji gearing up to filter Magikarp again.
"No," Reiji said without turning around. "While I'm still here, you and Travis go through the forest and catch what you like. And keep my business quiet—make sure Travis doesn't talk."
He flicked his hand like he was shooing flies. The last thing he needed was the two kids getting in the way, and they wanted to "help" him catch Magikarp?
As for what the dead fat guy had left behind, he'd deal with it at night. Once everything was sorted, he could call Naoki to bring some Gems over—then Naoki could take Travis back to Mandarin Island North while he was at it.
Reiji and Quincy got busy by the river again. When he saw Gulzar and Travis enter the forest, he quietly sent Pelipper after them.
Travis, still riding the high of getting Pikachu back, went into the forest with Gulzar. Gulzar only had four Pokémon right now—he still needed at least two or three more to form a full team.
Gulzar also wanted to use the chance while Rai was here to complete his lineup. If he raised them properly, his future wouldn't be bleak. Not even close.
Later, if he wanted something, he could fight for it together with his first partners. He believed that.
Rai had basically paved the road ahead for him. If he still managed to wander onto a dead-end path after that, it would be a slap in the face to everything Rai had done. At that point, the only one to blame would be himself.
"Staryu. Hoothoot. Magikarp…" Travis had no idea what Gulzar was thinking. He was just stunned at how unreal the whole trip had become.
He'd snuck out, so of course he was going to get yelled at. But he'd also caught so many new partners—he couldn't wait to go home and shock his mom.
Most important of all, he'd awakened psychic powers out here. That alone would make his mom's jaw drop. She'd definitely be shocked by how much he'd changed.
"Gulzar, you're seriously my lucky star," Travis said. "I haven't even properly thanked Rai-nii yet, and he's already given me so many Pokémon. He's a weird kind of good person…"
"That needs saying?" Gulzar chuckled. "Of course he's a good person."
Running away and still meeting someone like that was luck. Gulzar silently thanked the heavens for letting him run into Rai.
Meanwhile, that "good person" had no idea he'd just collected two 'good guy' stamps, and he was still numbly sorting Magikarp by the river.
"Oh—about Rai-nii," Gulzar said, forcing his tone firm. "Keep it to yourself. Even if your mom asks."
"Why?" Travis blinked. "I wanted to tell my mom so she could properly thank him."
Travis didn't think that deeply. Gulzar had started noticing something, but Travis hadn't noticed a thing. Being in the middle of it made him blind.
"If I tell you to keep it quiet, keep it quiet," Gulzar said. "Just do that. I'll explain slowly."
He told Travis what he could—only what was safe to say. Everyone who did dirty work had secrets. Gulzar wasn't going to run his mouth about it, and whatever Rai was hiding, it wasn't just one thing. Gulzar suspected he hadn't even seen the surface.
Of course he hadn't.
Reiji still wasn't even a League-certified Trainer. He was a newcomer trying to step into the League system—and his biggest headache right now was that "dummy" he wanted. No matter what he did, he couldn't catch a single one he liked.
After the poachers were wiped out, the wild Pokémon returned to their home. Rind Island slid back into its normal jungle rhythm—without poachers, it was just predators and prey chasing each other again.
By the end of the day, Reiji still hadn't caught a Magikarp he was satisfied with. All he could do was go back and cook dinner with Farfetch'd.
Gulzar and Travis had already returned. They'd wandered the forest all day, and both came back smiling.
Reiji looked up at Pelipper perched on the treetop. Pelipper shook its head—no danger today.
Only then did Reiji relax. Even if he let the two boys go into the forest again, he'd still have Pelipper shadow them.
The poachers were gone, but there were still plenty of strong wild Pokémon in the forest. Teddiursa's parents, for example. Or the parents of Nidoran♂ and Nidoran♀. None of those were something you dealt with casually.
Once dinner was ready, Reiji called Gulzar and Travis over, along with Quincy. Tonight they could eat properly—Travis needed the nutrition.
"Whoa, barbecue tonight?" Travis stared at the meat grilling over the rack, and the drinks—one cup each. "This is insane. And it's iced too. This is way too luxurious."
He hadn't eaten a dinner this good in a long time. They were outdoors. In this scorching weather, they were still drinking something cold—it felt unreal.
"Hahaha. I brought a small fridge," Reiji said with a grin. "I froze a few slabs of fresh meat. Chilling a couple bottles is easy."
He raised his cup to the three of them. Four plastic cups clinked together, and the four of them enjoyed a happy little feast.
"Gulzar, don't steal my food. I need to eat more and recover," Travis said after a sip. He couldn't hold back anymore—he grabbed the biggest piece of meat and stuffed it into his mouth, then immediately hissed as it burned him.
"Haha. Nobody's fighting you for it," Gulzar said, helplessly shaking his head at Travis acting like a clown. "Don't burn your mouth so badly you can't eat after."
Gulzar couldn't always keep up with his friend's wiring, but Travis really had been starving.
For over half a month, they'd been living on leftovers. One meal a day. The last two days had been so bad Travis looked skeletal. Nobody was competing with him—everyone was just watching him eat.
After a while, Travis noticed that too. His face reddened, and he raised his cup to cover the embarrassment.
The four of them ate for hours. They ate and talked, though most of the talking came from Travis and Gulzar while Reiji and Quincy listened. Those two acted like they had endless words.
They'd talked from last night until nearly dawn. They talked while trekking through the jungle today. They talked again over dinner. In the end, when the table was almost cleared, it was still just Gulzar and Travis chatting away.
It was already late. Quincy took the Farfetch'd he'd caught today, along with Heracross, and went back to his cabin.
After helping Gulzar sort through the Pokémon he'd caught in the forest today, Reiji returned to his tent to sleep.
Gulzar's luck had been pretty good. Out of several hundred Pokémon, there was one decent Bellsprout with potential at fifty-two. Reiji gave that Bellsprout to Gulzar. As for the rest, Gulzar could release them himself.
Back in the tent, Reiji pulled out the dead fat guy's backpack again. He wanted to see if there was anything worthwhile inside.
He didn't count the good liquor, books, cash, jewelry, and bank cards from earlier—he only cared about what was in the bag now.
He had three bags in total: the dead fat guy's bag, one bag stuffed with the poachers' combined valuables, and another bag that was basically all liquor.
He dumped the dead fat guy's bag out. There wasn't much that impressed him.
The Pokémon were only those five: Exeggutor, Flygon, Seadra, Sharpedo, and Gyarados.
The held items were scarce too—five items total.
Two Mystic Water. One Advanced tier, one Elite tier.
An Elite-tier Twisted Spoon, scraped off the Exeggutor.
An Advanced-tier Soft Sand, scraped off the Flygon.
And an Advanced-tier Miracle Seed—probably something he'd prepared for Exeggcute.
There were some Gems too. Plenty of Water and Grass, a lot of Ground, and even Psychic Gems.
Most important of all, the fat guy had an advanced Leaf Stone. It was probably meant for Exeggcute's evolution.
Besides the advanced Leaf Stone, there were more than ten low-grade evolution stones. Reiji didn't even bother checking them—he'd just have Naoki deal with them later.
There was also Pokémon food. Pokéblocks didn't even need mentioning—there were hundreds of boxes, all high-quality. Water-type Pokéblocks were the most common, followed by Grass-type and Psychic-type.
After that, the only things left worth money were the gold and jewelry. That lucky "garlic turtle" really was made of gold, and it could sell for a decent amount. There was also more than ten million in cash. Other than that, there wasn't much.
As for the rest of the junk, he didn't even want to look. He picked out any useful medicine, and left the worthless clothes and personal items—plus the women's clothes the fat guy had stolen.
He stuffed it all into plastic bags. Tomorrow, when he cooked, he'd just burn it as kindling.
He didn't need to check the second bag either. He dumped it out, glanced at the cash, and instantly understood—these guys were broke.
Sixteen people, and they couldn't even scrape together 100,000 Pokédollars in cash. He didn't need to see the rest to know it was all trash.
Finding a bargain haul?
Not a chance.
With how stingy that dead fat guy was, anything good would've been clutched in his own hands. Why would he leave valuables to the crew he used to catch Pokémon? Tools only needed food. Anything else was "extra."
The only things on those sixteen that had any value were the thirty-eight Pokémon they'd caught—common species. Any that hadn't evolved would be released.
That left only eleven second-stage Pokémon, and three third-stage Pokémon. These tools really had it rough.
If Reiji were in their shoes, he'd have quit ages ago. Working for a boss like that—someone who didn't even treat you like a person, only something to squeeze dry—he wouldn't even let you drink broth. Reiji would've killed the boss and taken over himself.
While he was mocking them in his head, he pulled out his phone and called Naoki.
The phone rang twice before Naoki picked up.
"Boss?"
"Naoki. I've got something I need you to come handle."
"Where are you, boss? I'll come right away."
"Don't rush. Let me finish," Reiji said. "I rescued a kid on Rind Island. He's the Kumquat Gym Leader's son. I'm calling you over to take him away—just get him to the Pokémon Center on Mandarin Island North."
"Boss… what's the kid's situation?"
"Poachers grabbed him. I only got him out last night," Reiji said. "Their leader was planning to sell the kid. I suspect Team Rocket might get involved."
"Team Rocket?" Naoki's voice sharpened. "So the buyer is Team Rocket?"
"Hard to say," Reiji said. "I wiped out the poachers, but I don't know what Team Rocket's doing yet. That poacher leader was only Advanced tier. Even if Team Rocket sends someone, they won't be above Advanced tier."
When Reiji learned the poacher leader had ties to Team Rocket, he'd been startled too. Again? Why was it always Team Rocket—wherever he went?
Still, the poacher leader was only Advanced tier. Reiji could handle that. If the guy had been any stronger, Reiji would've had to consider running.
But if it was just Advanced tier, Reiji wasn't worried. Team Rocket wasn't going to send an Elite Four to do a handoff for a deal like this.
Elite Four aside, even quasi–Elite Four executives were usually branch leaders. The most they'd send out here would be an Advanced-tier captain.
Unless this kid was so important that Team Rocket would dispatch an Elite Four to personally collect him—which would make everything messy, and complicated.
And from start to finish, the poacher leader had never revealed his exact location. He was probably afraid Team Rocket would betray—rob him, take the kid, then kill him to clean up the loose ends.
So he wanted to finish the poaching first, then go to the handoff with Travis as the "goods." If he never showed up, only then would Team Rocket start asking questions.
"I understand, boss," Naoki said. "When should I head over?"
"No rush," Reiji said. "I got my hands on another batch of black goods. On Mandarin Island North, keep buying Gems for me—same two types as before, same price. As much as you can get. Gather them first. Come over tomorrow or the day after."
"Got it, boss."
"Hide your identity," Reiji added. "Even if you rent a boat, keep it clean. When you bring the kid back, don't talk to him either. Just take him to the Pokémon Center and leave him there. Someone will come pick him up."
He paused, then continued. "Also, buy two sets of clothes for an eleven- or twelve-year-old. Get two new space backpacks too. Bring an electronic scale and a card reader. The poachers had money—use it to buy more Gems."
"Understood. Anything else I should bring?"
"That's enough for now," Reiji said. "If I need more, I'll call."
After laying out the plan, Reiji hung up.
If nothing went wrong, Naoki would arrive tomorrow or the day after. When that happened, no matter who wanted to buy Travis, Reiji would just hand Travis off and be done with it.
He wasn't a babysitter. After saving someone, he was supposed to take care of them for life too?
Where did you even find a deal like that? He wanted one too.
He flopped back, staring at the dark tent roof. He'd wanted to lie flat and take it easy for ages—yet here he was, still grinding away. Thinking about it just made him sigh.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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