Day 32 of the journey to Kanto. Sunny.
He had camped by the river that night, and early the next morning, Reiji was jolted awake by his Pokémon crying out in alarm.
The moment he stepped out of the tent, he saw the problem. He, his Pokémon, and the tent behind him had been surrounded by a whole group of Pikachu.
That was awkward. He had assumed the Pikachu would not notice one of their own was missing so quickly. Instead, they had figured it out first thing in the morning.
"Pikachu. I caught it, and I'm taking it with me." Reiji took out the Poké Ball and tried to explain himself slowly. He had taken a liking to that Pikachu.
The Pikachu wanted none of it. Red sparks crackled across their cheek pouches as they prepared to attack.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
When the little things started pressing closer, Rhydon stamped the ground a few times. That was enough to make the whole group flinch.
The Pikachu stared up at Rhydon, then backed away in fear. At last, they stopped crowding the tent.
Seeing them retreat, Reiji quickly set more than a dozen boxes of Electric-type Pokéblocks on the ground and had Darkrai explain things for him—what a Trainer was, what it meant to be caught, and why a Pokémon might leave with one. Hopefully these electric rats would understand.
"Pika, pika… Pika pika…"
The moment they caught the scent of the Pokéblocks, the Pikachu finally listened. After hearing Darkrai out, their hostility faded. They had understood.
Once the explanation sank in, they remembered Ash passing through not long ago with a Pikachu of his own. So that was what it meant to belong to a Trainer.
"Pika pika," the Pikachu said to Reiji.
"They want to say goodbye," Darkrai said after slipping back into Reiji's shadow. "They do not object to one of their own being caught, but they want a farewell first."
"That's fine."
Reiji opened the Poké Ball and let Pikachu out so it could say goodbye to the group.
"Pika pika?" Pikachu had just woken up. It yawned, still half-asleep and completely confused. Why was everyone staring at it? And what was that smell? It smelled amazing.
It sniffed hard, caught the scent of the Pokéblocks, and immediately started following it.
"Pika pika…"
Before it could get any closer, the Pikachu leader stepped in with the rest of the group and blocked its way. Then it called out, "Pika pika. Little bro, a Trainer's taken a liking to you. Go with him…"
"Pika?" Pikachu froze on the spot. What do you mean, a Trainer's taken a liking to me? Instantly, it had a very bad feeling about this.
"Pika pika." The leader patted the younger Pikachu on the shoulder, pressed an Electric-type Pokéblock into its paws, and said its goodbye. "Little bro, go with the Trainer. You'll be eating stuff like this from now on. You're set for life, so don't forget us."
"Pika?" Pikachu was even more lost now. It stood there clutching the Pokéblock while its companions, working in pairs, hoisted up the boxes and hurried off into the forest. They vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving it no chance to ask what was going on.
Reiji just stared. He had no idea what that group of Pikachu was doing anymore. A minute ago they had been aggressive. Now they had sold one of their own for snacks and run.
"The Pikachu leader thought you were trading the Pokéblocks for Pikachu," Darkrai said, sounding thoroughly unimpressed. "It was worried you might change your mind, so it took the goods and fled."
Reiji could not help laughing. He crouched down and held out the Poké Ball to Pikachu. "Come with me, Pikachu. I'll help you find a very good Trainer. If you stay with that Trainer, you'll live well."
"Pika?" Pikachu tilted its head, long ears drooping. From start to finish, it had not understood a single thing.
Everything about this was baffling. Who was this human? Why had its leader run off? Why was the food in its paws so good? It had already stuffed the Pokéblock into its mouth and started chewing. It tasted great, and it even restored its electricity.
Thwack—
A Poké Ball smacked it on the head. Pikachu turned into a flash of red light and was drawn inside.
Reiji put the Poké Ball away, then started making breakfast for the others. After the meal, he packed up the tent and camping gear, slung on his backpack, and recalled everyone except Poliwhirl and Scyther.
Then he climbed onto Tauros and set off again, continuing his badge-collecting journey.
He also wondered whether those researchers had received his email yet. Hopefully they had, and hopefully Shelmet's evolution would be made public soon. Once that happened, he could finally evolve Shelmet himself.
That would mean Shelmet would not have to leave the first team after all. It could stay with the main group, while the rest of his team plans remained unchanged.
Gyarados, Forretress, and Shelmet were a little lacking, but keeping them on the first string for now was still fine. Once the Slowpoke group had been raised properly, those three could move back to the second string and take over there.
So he rode through the forest on Tauros with Poliwhirl and Scyther at his side. After leaving Fuchsia City, he traveled for three straight days. Whenever wild Pokémon jumped out at him along the way, he would catch them on the spot.
If their potential was too low, he released them. If it was decent, he kept them.
Unfortunately, after three full days, he still had not run into a single wild Pokémon worth keeping.
It was not until the morning of the third day that he finally reached a town listed in the Indigo Plateau Conference guidebook. At last, there were signs of people again.
…
Day 33 of the journey to Kanto. Overcast.
Stone Town was a settlement at the foot of a mountain, famous for the huge number of Evolution stones found there. That was how it had gotten its name.
Evolution Mountain stood just outside town, rich in Evolution stones and packed with treasure hunters.
Reiji had come for the same reason. He wanted to search for Evolution stones himself. If he could dig up a top-grade one here, he would not have to lower himself into becoming some family's son-in-law just to evolve Poliwhirl.
That was only his first goal. His second was the Gym.
There was a Gym here called the Knight Gym, run by the four Eevee brothers.
The Gym used a best-of-three format. Challengers had to face three of the four brothers, and the first side to win two matches earned the Knight Badge.
Sitting on Tauros's back, Reiji read the Gym entry in the Indigo Plateau Conference guidebook and could not help thinking the whole thing sounded a little too medieval.
It had probably grown out of some old noble house. The word knight gave that away immediately. Back in the days when the League was still overthrowing the old feudal powers, the family had likely sided with the League and helped it conquer territory with a knightly order of its own.
After the war, they must have reinvented themselves as a Gym. A clean transition, all things considered. That was probably why the word knight had been kept as part of the Gym's identity.
He put the guidebook away as Tauros carried him to the outskirts of Stone Town, then climbed down to enter on foot.
After recalling Tauros and Scyther, he left only Poliwhirl at his side and walked into town.
Stone Town was lively, but in two very different ways.
First, mining gear sold like crazy here. Every few shops, there was another outdoor supplier.
Second, the town was packed with stone dealers. Fossils, Evolution stones, gems, special stones, every kind of odd rock imaginable—shopkeepers were shouting over one another, and the whole street was buzzing.
"You there. You're not from around here, are you? Let me see your Pokédex."
Reiji had been looking around with open curiosity and probably looked suspicious as hell, so it did not take long for Officer Jenny to stop him.
"Did something happen?" He handed over the Pokédex. With how tense she seemed, something had clearly gone wrong.
"Please wait a moment." After checking his identity and finding no record against him, Officer Jenny returned the Pokédex and explained, "Evolution Mountain produces a lot of Evolution stones, so there have been repeated thefts lately. People have had their stones stolen, and several shops have been hit too. If you plan to dig for stones, make sure you keep your valuables safe."
"Thanks for the warning, Officer Jenny. I'll be careful."
Reiji took the Pokédex back and watched her leave to question other unfamiliar Trainers before continuing down the busy street.
He was not too worried about thieves. He had Darkrai with him, so getting close to him would not be easy. He also had no plans to leave his Pokémon in for treatment. This time, at least, he should not get robbed. If he got hit twice in a row, that would be a humiliating disgrace.
After wandering around for a while, he reached the Pokémon Center. Before challenging the Gym or heading up Evolution Mountain, he wanted to send Pikachu to Blaine.
There was no rush. The Evolution stones on that mountain were not going anywhere. Anything easy to dig up had long since been taken already. The ones still left would be buried deep and hidden well.
After registering his Trainer ID at the Pokémon Center, he was allowed to use the Pokémon transfer machine. Then he placed a video call to Cinnabar Gym, where one of the maids picked up.
"I'm looking for Gym Leader Blaine."
"Please wait a moment."
The maid recognized him. He had gotten off the ship early before, and since Blaine had never explained why, the staff naturally knew better than to ask.
A moment later, Blaine's gleaming bald head filled the screen, and he roared, "You little brat, where the hell did you run off to? Why did you get off the ship early?"
Reiji coughed lightly. He knew he was in the wrong, so he had no intention of arguing with the old man. Still, judging from the way Blaine was yelling, the cleanup on the ship had obviously been handled. If it had not been, Blaine would not be shouting—he would have been serious.
So instead of answering, Reiji cut straight to the point and lifted Pikachu's Poké Ball. "Blaine, I caught a Pikachu for Amber. I'm sending it over now."
"All right, send it."
Blaine had mostly been bluffing to scare him. The moment he heard this was for Amber, the anger vanished from his face. Reiji had not forgotten the girl. That was enough.
Ever since Reiji left, Amber had been asking for him all the time. Blaine had already had his hands full dealing with that.
"Do you want to talk to Amber?"
"No."
Reiji had no intention of talking to her right now. If the little girl suddenly decided to chase after him, that would be a headache. Better to wait until the Indigo Plateau Conference.
"By the way, where are you now?"
"Stone Town. I'm planning to dig for Evolution stones here and challenge the Knight Gym."
He did not hide it. There was nothing secret about any of that.
"Just be careful."
Blaine held the transferred Poké Ball in his hand. A Pikachu was not especially rare, and with his connections he could easily get one himself, but this still counted as a thoughtful gesture from Reiji.
"Blaine, any news about Amber's mother yet?" Reiji had been gone for a long time already. He had no idea whether Blaine had found her.
"Soon. We've narrowed it down to a city. We should find her before long."
"So you still aren't certain." Reiji sighed inwardly. Even with that many clues, finding one person was still this difficult.
"You little brat, do you still have that Shelmet with you?" Blaine asked, changing the subject. He had been following an evolution paper that had been making the rounds on the research forums lately, published by someone in Unova.
"Yeah. Why?"
Reiji's first thought was that the results from his mass emails had come back. If so, that was fast. It had only been three days.
"A researcher in Unova discovered Shelmet's evolved form. Send your Shelmet over so I can study it for a while."
Blaine knew perfectly well that Reiji did not just have a Shelmet. He had a shiny Shelmet. That made it an even better specimen.
"Who was the researcher?"
Reiji was curious. He had sent two emails to Unova, and he wanted to know which researcher had cracked it first.
"Professor Juniper. Not that it matters to you. Just send the Shelmet over already."
Blaine could not be bothered to explain more. Reiji was not a researcher, and most of it would be wasted on him anyway.
"No. Shelmet's evolving with me."
Reiji had guessed it would be Juniper. The moment Blaine confirmed it, he shook his head and refused. Now that Shelmet's evolution had been made public, it was time to start preparing for Shelmet's own evolution.
"Fine, then. Keep it. Amber's making a fuss again, so if that's all, I'm hanging up."
There was no real annoyance in Blaine's voice. He was not the sort to get angry over one Pokémon.
At his level, getting hold of a Shelmet and a Karrablast would be easy.
What mattered more was Amber's mother. That had to be dealt with soon. If they did not find her in time, he was worried Amber might run away from home.
Still, they had started using Agatha's channels, which was why things were moving this quickly. They had already identified the luxury car and traced it back to its owner. Finding the woman was only a matter of time now.
"All right. Don't forget to come watch the Indigo Plateau Conference. We'll talk later if there's time."
Reiji raised a hand and moved to end the call.
Then he heard Blaine murmur from the other end, "Don't worry about that passenger ship. It's all been taken care of."
Reiji's hand paused over the disconnect button. He said nothing. He only gave Blaine a silent nod before ending the call. So the old man really had taken it seriously.
After hanging up, Reiji made another call. This time it was to Mikan Gym, and again a maid answered.
He did not ask her to call Senta over. Instead, he asked her to send him the Karrablast. Shelmet's evolution would be happening within the next few days.
A short while later, the Poké Ball arrived. He had no bond with this Karrablast and no intention of raising it anyway. All he needed now was a Pokémon trade machine, and a town like this was bound to have one.
Shelmet could evolve ahead of time, but once it did, he would still keep it hidden for a while. Making its proper debut at the Indigo Plateau Conference would be perfect. Until then, it still needed time to learn its new moves.
Once all that was taken care of, he had lunch at the Pokémon Center as well. In the afternoon, he would head to the Knight Gym and claim the Knight Badge.
Tomorrow, he could go up Evolution Mountain and start digging for Evolution stones.
As for stones that contained energy, finding those would not be hard for him. Darkrai, Gengar, and Riolu could all sense energy fluctuations within a certain range.
He was confident this trip would bring in a solid haul of Evolution stones.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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