Amber suddenly snapped her fingers, eyes shining like a light had switched on.
"I remember!" she blurted. "I've met Grandpa Blaine! I played inside his Gym before! And there was a really cute big dog in there!"
Reiji stopped on his way to the bathroom and looked back at her.
If Amber was telling the truth, then he had to rethink everything. Bringing her to Blaine could be an advantage—or it could be walking straight into a trap. Blaine knew Dr. Fuji, and he had ties to the Cinnabar Lab. That meant he'd brushed against Team Rocket's shadow at some point, even if he wasn't part of it.
Reiji couldn't gamble with Amber's life.
Not without testing Blaine first.
"Bath first," Reiji said, kneeling to ruffle her damp hair. "After that, I'll take a look at Cinnabar Gym and see if Grandpa Blaine is there."
If Blaine was trustworthy, Reiji could work with that. He could pull Blaine into this mess, get help finding Amber's mother, and spread the pressure. If Team Rocket came looking, Reiji wouldn't be standing alone.
And Blaine wasn't just a Gym Leader—he was a veteran with real strength. If Blaine chose to back Amber, he could become the strongest shield she'd ever have.
"Okay," Amber said, not thinking much beyond the excitement, and carried the three starters into the bathroom with her.
Reiji had already filled a large basin with warm water. He had Ditto transform into Poliwhirl to help wash Amber—because the real Poliwhirl was a brute, and this wasn't a job for brute force.
Half an hour later, Amber came out in clean clothes with the starters newly rinsed as well. It was only a basic wash to get the sticky residue off.
Reiji used the hair dryer to dry her long blue hair, then dried off Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur. Once they were done, he returned the three to their Poké Balls and packed them into Amber's new backpack. The Rainbow Wing went in there too.
Then he finished the disguise.
He tied Amber's hair into a simple ponytail and pulled a baseball cap down over it to hide the most noticeable part. Unless someone stared at her up close, she looked like any other little girl on a tourist island.
"Amber," Reiji said, handing her the backpack, "your Pokémon are in here. You can let them out anytime."
He took a breath and kept his voice calm. "I need you to wait in the room for a bit. Pelipper and Poliwhirl will stay with you. I'll be back soon."
"Rai-nii… where are you going?" Amber grabbed his sleeve with both hands and held on tight. It was the first time she'd been separated from him since waking up, and her panic came out fast and raw.
She didn't have anyone else. Reiji was the only person she knew in the entire world.
"I'm checking whether Blaine is at the Gym," Reiji said gently. "You can't be seen by Team Rocket, Amber. Understand?"
Amber swallowed, still trembling. "Cinnabar Gym… can't I come with you?"
If it was Blaine, she wanted to see him too.
Reiji shook his head. "If Team Rocket is there, they'll take you."
He hated lying to a child's face like that, but he didn't have a better option. If he walked in with Amber and he was wrong about Blaine, that was the end.
"Okay…" Amber's voice was small, but she let go. Poliwhirl and Pelipper were here, and they were Reiji's Pokémon. She forced herself to believe that was enough.
Reiji turned to Poliwhirl. "Protect her. Darkrai will come tell you whether it's safe to move. You follow Darkrai's lead."
"Pwo." Poliwhirl nodded, but its eyes stayed on Reiji like it was worried about him too.
Reiji smiled and tapped its forehead lightly. "I'll be fine. Scyther and Kingler are with me."
He waved goodbye to Amber, stepped out of the hotel, and released Scyther outside. With his backpack on, he headed straight up toward the volcano.
If he remembered right, Cinnabar Gym sat partway up the slope, inside a building with a big clock—one of those weird old Gym puzzles that sounded like a riddle when people described it.
He asked around in town and quickly found the place: a lodge built into the trees halfway up the mountain. From the way locals talked, the Gym was right beneath it, closer to the volcano itself.
Knock knock knock.
He'd arrived early. The "lodge" felt less like a business and more like someone's private home—Blaine's home, and the Gym attached to it.
The door opened.
An old man stared out at him: oversized yellow mustache, long blond hair parted down the middle, round black sunglasses, and a strand of green beads around his neck. He looked like he'd gotten dressed in the dark and decided it was a style choice.
"Kid," the old man said, "who are you looking for?"
Reiji didn't hesitate. It had to be him. "Blaine."
Instead of answering normally, Blaine grinned and threw out a riddle like it was a handshake.
"What's right in front of you… but you still can't see it?"
Reiji pretended to think, then looked straight at him. "Blaine?"
Blaine burst out laughing. "Ha! Correct. Come in, young Trainer. You here to challenge my Gym?"
Reiji followed him inside.
The place really did double as a lodge. It had rooms, and it even had an outdoor hot spring.
But Reiji wasn't here to relax. He was here to judge one thing: could he trust Blaine with Amber?
If Blaine wasn't safe, Reiji would take the badge and leave. If Blaine was safe, Reiji could pull him in and finally have help carrying the weight Team Rocket would bring down on them.
"Blaine," Reiji said carefully, "can I see the Gym first?"
He wasn't going to walk in and ask, Are you trustworthy? That wasn't how you survived in this world. The way someone kept their space, what they displayed, what they hid—those things said plenty, if you paid attention.
Blaine looked amused. "You're the first Trainer who's guessed who I am, asked to tour the Gym, and didn't immediately demand a battle."
He studied Reiji for two sentences and seemed to reach the same conclusion Reiji had: this kid wasn't ordinary.
As they walked, Blaine grumbled about how few challengers came anymore. Cinnabar Island had become a hot-spring resort, and most Trainers showed up to vacation, not to earn badges.
Before Blaine could start a full tour, Reiji's attention caught on something near the entryway: framed photos lined up neatly, all old.
Reiji stepped closer and pointed. "Start with those."
Blaine's grin softened into something nostalgic. "Those, huh. That was a long time ago."
He tapped one photo and laughed at himself. "That thick hair? That was me. Then I buried myself in research and cooked my own scalp."
He lifted off the wig in one smooth motion, revealing a shining bald head.
Reiji relaxed slightly. Good. The Blaine from the anime—eccentric, theatrical, but not the kind of man who looked like he'd sell a child to Team Rocket for a paycheck.
Blaine pointed to the man standing beside him in the photo. "This one's an old friend of mine. We used to be colleagues down at the Cinnabar Lab at the foot of the mountain."
Reiji kept his face neutral and asked the questions he could safely ask. "You were both scientists? Who is he? Did he publish anything famous?"
"He's Fuji," Blaine said. "Younger than me, but sharp. When we worked together, he was already an outstanding researcher." He chuckled. "We studied Pokémon genetics and heredity. That probably means nothing to you, right?"
Reiji scratched the back of his head with an awkward laugh. "Yeah… that's way over my head."
Inside, though, his mind was moving fast.
Fuji. Blaine's colleague. Cinnabar Lab.
If anyone on this island could have met Amber's parents, it would be these people. Finding Amber's mother just went from "blind search" to "actual lead."
Blaine kept walking, chatting easily now that he'd found a listener. He mentioned he'd founded the Cinnabar Lab, then drifted into the story of how he nearly died on the mountain once—until Moltres flew in and lit the path through the darkness, saving his life. That moment had pushed him onto the road of becoming a Fire-type specialist.
They toured the lodge and looped back to the main hall. Blaine had a maid bring tea, and the two of them sat on stools, sipping and talking like it was any other morning.
Blaine seemed genuinely pleased. People didn't usually sit and let an old man ramble through ancient memories, especially not a young Trainer.
Then Reiji's tone shifted.
"Blaine… can I trust you?"
Blaine blinked, caught off guard. "Huh? Of course you can. If there's something you can't say out loud, you can tell me."
Reiji's eyes flicked to the maid. "Please ask her to leave."
Blaine stared at him a second longer, then waved the maid away. "Go on. Take care of something else."
Once she was gone, Reiji didn't speak.
He dipped a finger into the tea and wrote three words on the tabletop in water—Japanese characters he'd forced himself to learn.
Team Rocket.
Blaine's expression snapped tight. He wiped the water away instantly, then started to ask, "Where did you—"
He stopped mid-sentence, eyes narrowing as the thought caught up.
This place wasn't secure. If Reiji wouldn't even say the name out loud, that meant he already suspected eavesdropping.
Blaine leaned back slightly, suddenly far more serious than his goofy costume suggested.
And Reiji watched him closely, because the next few minutes would decide whether Amber stayed hidden—or finally got help.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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