"Travis, Travis!" Gulzar quickly found him up at the bow. Travis was with his family's bodyguard.
"What's up, Gulzar?" Travis was playing with Pikachu. The whole "go to Rind Island and evolve Magikarp" idea had been his in the first place.
He'd been cooped up at home for too long and wanted a change of scenery. As for the bodyguard his mom insisted on, he didn't argue—as long as the guy didn't try to control where he went or what he did.
"Travis…" Gulzar started to bring up Reiji, then glanced at the bodyguard beside him. What happened with Reiji was strictly between the two of them. No way could an outsider hear it.
Travis caught the hesitation at once. He waved the bodyguard back. "Step away. Come back when we're done."
The bodyguard retreated about ten steps—far enough that he couldn't make out their voices.
Only then did Gulzar lean in. "Travis, I got news about Rai-nii. He went to the Kanto Region…"
"Kanto?" Travis blinked. "Why would he go to Kanto?"
"No idea. But once we're done evolving Magikarp, I'm going too. If I'm lucky, I might run into Rai-nii there." Gulzar had already reached Elite tier, and every Pokémon he carried had followed him up to Elite tier as well. Even his Gyarados was almost ready to step into Advanced tier.
He trusted himself to stay safe now. He wanted to travel.
"Kanto… Kanto…" Travis barely reacted to Gulzar's plan to leave. He kept turning the word over in his head, trying to figure out what Kanto could possibly have that was worth pulling Rai-nii away.
Then it clicked.
"The Indigo Plateau Conference." Travis grabbed a Pokémon magazine from the table and flipped to the tournament schedule. According to the issue in his hands, the Indigo Plateau Conference was starting within the next few months.
"The what?" Gulzar forgot about his own travel plans for a second and leaned over, curiosity winning.
Travis tapped the page. "Use your brain. Rai-nii probably went to enter the Indigo Plateau Conference."
He showed Gulzar the date printed in the magazine. It was last year's schedule—some regions even ran two conferences a year when they felt like it, because a major tournament pulled money into the whole region.
If the League didn't put limits on it, every region would probably host competitions nonstop just to lure trainers in to spend.
"The Indigo Plateau Conference? No way," Gulzar said, staring at the photo spread from last year's winners' ceremony. "Rai-nii's insanely strong. Why would he bother?"
"Why wouldn't he?" Travis snorted. "Think about it. He's strong, sure, but he's not some untouchable monster. He's at least quasi–Elite Four tier, and that's more than enough to enter. And you ever notice he's not that much older than us? Maybe just a few years."
"So… should we go?" Gulzar actually agreed with the logic—most of the time, he thought the same way. The only problem was that Rai-nii had more than what he showed in public, and more than just a few Pokémon like Poliwhirl.
Rai-nii had other Pokémon he kept out of sight. Travis didn't know. Gulzar had suspicions, but he'd never said a word to anyone. Some things were safer kept in your own head.
"Of course we're going," Travis said. "Otherwise what are we training this hard for?"
He stuck his tongue out, half whining, half proud. "I've been trapped at home for over a month getting forced into psychic training by my grandpa. I finally escaped—no way I'm going back now."
"Alright," Gulzar said, grin creeping in. "Once you evolve your Gyarados, we set off for Kanto."
He was already imagining where he might run into Rai-nii. Maybe at the Indigo Plateau Conference itself. Maybe they'd even face each other.
Realistically, Gulzar doubted he could win. Rai-nii had been terrifying even back then. Now? Who knew. If Rai-nii really was entering, he could probably take the whole tournament.
"Easy," Travis said. "I've got a Dragon Scale. I can finish Magikarp's evolution today, then we head straight to Hamlin Island and catch a ship to Kanto."
His grandpa had even handed him the Dragon Scale before he left—a palm-sized, blue scale that shimmered faintly. Grandpa claimed it had been shed by their family's "guardian," but refused to say what Pokémon that guardian actually was. He always had to make everything sound mysterious, like that would stop Travis from being curious.
They talked routes and timing for a while longer. Once the Kanto plan was settled, Gulzar glanced at the bodyguard again and steered the conversation onto safer topics.
That bodyguard would be coming with them to Kanto too, which meant an extra layer of protection. If anything went wrong, there'd be someone solid to stand in front. Gulzar had even heard the guy was quasi–Elite Four tier himself.
"Boss, did you hear that?" the bodyguard murmured into his headset. "Young Master Travis plans to go to Kanto for the Indigo Plateau Conference."
He was the same young man who'd previously been sent to Rind Island to investigate Reiji. He'd heard every word of their conversation. The earpiece fed into his phone, and Luana—back on Kumquat Island—heard it all.
"Let them go," Luana said after a brief pause. "Protect them. I'll send two more people to support you—they'll wait for you on Hamlin Island. One of you stays in the open, one stays hidden. Kanto is Team Rocket's territory. Don't provoke them."
"Understood, Boss." The bodyguard hesitated, then added, "About that trainer they mentioned—Rai. Should we…"
"Just keep an eye on him," Luana said calmly. "Don't approach him. Don't start trouble. If he doesn't make contact with Travis, you leave it alone."
"Got it." He ended the call and kept listening in from a distance. It was Luana's private assignment.
If Travis tried anything reckless, he'd step in immediately. If Travis simply entered a regional conference, the bodyguard wouldn't interfere. His job was protection and surveillance, not making decisions for his client.
…
Pummelo Island, Pokémon Center…
A little over an hour later, Reiji arrived on Pummelo Island and headed straight to the Pokémon Center.
He had no idea that after he left, Gulzar had called again—or that Travis was probably already at Rind Island, using Magikarp Falls to sharpen his own Magikarp.
At the counter, Reiji pulled out his Pokédex and handed over Gyarados and Poliwhirl to Nurse Joy for free treatment.
That was one of the perks of being League-certified and carrying a Pokédex. The device wasn't just a tool—it was proof of status.
In the anime, it happened all the time. Whenever Officer Jenny questioned Ash, he'd show his Pokédex, and the suspicion vanished on the spot.
It came with a whole stack of quiet benefits: free treatment, free lodging and meals, free video calls, free Pokémon transfers, and more.
The League took care of its trainers. Just those basic benefits alone drew a clean line between certified trainers and everyone else.
Reiji had spent an absurd amount at Pokémon Centers before he got certified—easily several hundred thousand in just a few months. Stretch that across a full year, and it was money that could've gone straight into training and raising Pokémon instead.
Getting certified as a beginner trainer wasn't actually that hard. If you had around 200,000 Pokédollars, you could clear the first five requirements. The last one—a guarantor—could be handled by paying an older trainer to vouch for you.
But Reiji had grown up as an orphan. Money wasn't the problem. Family was. With no relatives to back his paperwork, he'd been denied again and again.
The old drunk's family had clawed their way up across three generations just to get Shun to where he was now. Reiji didn't even get to play that game. No parents to rely on, no grandpa to lean on.
He let out a dry laugh at the thought.
Then the video call connected.
Beep… beep… beep—
The maid from Mikan Gym appeared on-screen, snapping Reiji's wandering thoughts back into place.
"Trainer Rai?" she asked, looking him over.
"Please get Senta for me," Reiji said. He'd met her before—she was the caretaker for Senta and his sister, handling cleaning, laundry, feeding Pokémon, the whole routine. The kind of long-term staff who basically ran a place behind the scenes.
"Of course. Please wait a moment." She turned and hurried off.
A moment later, Senta popped into view, standing on a stool so he could reach the camera.
"Rai-nii!" Senta waved so hard his whole arm shook. "Where are you now? Did you need something?"
"I just passed through Rind Island," Reiji said. "I'm at the Pokémon Center on Pummelo Island. I caught a Pokémon here—do you want it? If you do, I'll transfer it to you."
"What Pokémon?" Senta's eyes lit up instantly. The surprise hit him so fast he almost stumbled off the stool.
"It's a Magikarp," Reiji said honestly. He didn't bother dressing it up. Senta was the gym leader's heir—he probably wouldn't care.
Senta's face fell on the spot. "Oh… a Magikarp…"
Reiji laughed. "If you don't want it, just toss it in your pond and let it live there."
The disappointment lasted all of two seconds before Senta's brain kicked in. "Wait—Rai-nii. Did your Magikarp evolve?"
Senta had read enough geography books to connect the dots. Rind Island. Magikarp Falls. Reiji's timing.
"It evolved today," Reiji said. "I'm entering the tournament with Gyarados."
Right now, that same Gyarados was still being treated—and it had taken a brutal beating from Poliwhirl. Reiji wasn't sure Senta could keep it under control.
"I get it," Senta said, and his expression changed again. "Transfer it over."
He knew Reiji wasn't just a strong trainer—he knew how to raise Pokémon too. Maybe that Magikarp had real talent. And if Reiji was competing with Gyarados, Senta could watch how it performed first, then decide what to do with the Magikarp later. Either way, it would just be sitting in the family pond. There was already "one dumb fish" in there anyway.
"Alright." Reiji placed the Poké Ball onto the transfer machine and pressed the switch. The ball blinked twice, then vanished.
On-screen, Senta grabbed an ordinary Poké Ball and shouted, "Rai-nii! I got the Magikarp!"
"Good. If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up," Reiji said. "Train hard at the gym. When I'm back, if you still can't even beat a Magikarp—"
"Rai-nii!" Senta cut in fast, cheeks puffing out. "Your Magikarp and Wishiwashi are crazy. They hit the moving target dead-center every time. I've been training Squirtle forever and it can barely manage it. How did you train them?"
Reiji's smile went a little stiff. He couldn't exactly explain that part.
Some Pokémon learned by watching a few times. And Magikarp and Wishiwashi weren't ordinary—both had quasi–Elite Four potential. They weren't "weak." They just looked that way.
"Go ask Magikarp," Reiji said, sidestepping. "Maybe it'll tell you."
Senta scratched his head, clearly picturing the worst outcome. "Yeah… Magikarp not spraying water at me would already be a win."
He glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then leaned closer to the camera and lowered his voice.
"Rai-nii… my sister found out about your Slowpoke, Staryu, Wishiwashi, and Magikarp."
Reiji raised an eyebrow.
"She saw how good they are at target practice," Senta whispered, half amused, half scandalized. "Now she uses them against challengers. Especially Magikarp and Wishiwashi. I've watched her crush a bunch of newbie challengers with those two. Some of them couldn't even beat a Magikarp. They left the gym crying and saying she was bullying kids."
Reiji laughed so hard he had to exhale through his nose. "It's fine. Let her use them."
They were eating his food and staying under that roof. If they were firing Water Gun at targets all day, it counted as training.
"Rai-nii, you have to bring home the championship," Senta grumbled. "My sister only made top sixteen back then, but she demands everything from other people like she's perfect…"
"I'll do what I can," Reiji said. "Just take care of Butterfree and the others for me."
He didn't promise a win. His roster was thin. Even counting Gyarados, he only had seven Pokémon. Shelmet was a backup, and he probably wouldn't even need it once the later rounds started.
Senta's complaints weren't really about the tournament. They were the kind of resentment a younger brother built up after getting pinned down by an older sister for too long. He wanted to get even—but he couldn't, so he shoved the hope onto Reiji.
"Don't worry," Senta said quickly. "I feed them the best stuff every day. My sister hasn't mistreated them either. They're doing great."
Reiji finally let his shoulders loosen. He'd been worried Cissy might take her anger out on his Pokémon if she couldn't get to him directly.
Looks like she wasn't that petty. When he got back, he could let her yell at him a little if she needed to vent. Better than letting resentment rot in place.
"Alright," Reiji said. "I'm hanging up. I still need to board my ship."
He ended the call.
Almost immediately, Nurse Joy's voice came over the Pokémon Center speaker. "Trainer Reiji, your Gyarados and Poliwhirl are ready."
He collected Gyarados and was warned it needed proper rest—at least a full week. Poliwhirl needed a couple of days too.
Reiji ate a free meal in the cafeteria—honestly not bad—then left the Pokémon Center and headed straight for Pummelo Island's harbor. He bought a first-class ticket to Hamlin Island and boarded the ship as it prepared to depart.
He'd reach Hamlin Island tonight. After that, he'd transfer to another passenger ship. Dejima Island in Hamlin's bay had ferries bound for the Kanto Region.
Once this ship left port, his time in the Orange Archipelago was over. A new region waited ahead.
The destination was the place every trainer's dream started.
Reiji sat by the rail, Poliwhirl beside him, and watched the ocean stretch out under the ship's lights. His fingers tightened on the cold metal.
Soon, he'd finally meet Professor Oak. Soon, he'd see Ash and Gary.
He'd been an adult for a long time, but certain scenes still hit him like a memory he never really outgrew—Ash walking out of Pallet with Pikachu, starting a journey with nothing but a backpack and stubbornness.
Back then, he'd sat in front of the TV and waited for every new capture, every evolution, every tournament run. He'd waited so hard the years slipped past without him noticing.
And then he'd grown up.
He smirked at the thought of how it actually turned out. Ash's Pokémon rarely wanted to evolve. Twenty years of stories and he still kept landing in second place. That Bulbasaur in particular—standing there acting like some lone wanderer with "no relatives"—still made Reiji laugh until his stomach hurt.
He leaned against the rail, staring at the glittering black water, and let his thoughts drift with the waves.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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