Before long, Reiji reached the entrance of Mikan Gym. He had no idea what had happened in the orchard after he left, and when he entered the Gym, he found Cissy and Senta training their Pokémon. Cissy's father and grandfather were nowhere in sight.
That alone made him relax.
Then Senta called out and ruined it.
"Rai-nii, Dad said you should go see him when you got here." Senta grinned like he had just found something fun. He probably thought his father was about to give Reiji a brutal training plan too.
"What does he want with me?" Reiji pointed at himself.
Why was the Gym Leader looking for him? The top-grade Water Stone had already been used. Even if they regretted giving it to him, it was too late now.
"I don't know. I think it has something to do with Slowpoke. Did you bring yours?"
"Slowpoke?"
Reiji fell into thought. Cissy's grandfather had Slowking. Cissy's father had Slowking too. Cissy and Senta both had Slowpoke. That line was clearly part of the family's inheritance, which meant they probably had a proper route all the way to Champion tier.
And now Cissy's father was asking about his Slowpoke.
Was this about their family training method?
No way.
That was Reiji's first reaction. A family inheritance that led straight to Champion tier was the foundation of Mikan Gym. There was no way they would hand something like that to him. He was probably overthinking it.
"Fine. Where is he? I'll go now."
Senta told him where to find the Gym Leader. Reiji greeted Cissy with a smile, then headed for the back kitchen and dining room. At this hour, Cissy's father was still eating breakfast.
When Reiji arrived, the man waved him over at once.
"Rai, you're early. Have you eaten? Come sit down and have breakfast with us."
"Gym Leader, I've already eaten. Senta said you wanted to see me. Is something wrong?"
Reiji didn't sit. He stayed to the side after answering.
"Rai, once you've joined the Gym, you're family. No need to be so polite." Cissy's father smiled and waved it off, then asked Cissy's mother to prepare another breakfast. Only then did he explain. "I called you over because I wanted to ask—don't you have a Slowpoke?"
"Yes, Gym Leader. I came in a hurry today, so I didn't bring it."
Reiji answered honestly. He still wasn't sure what the man was planning.
"Here's the thing. I've seen that Slowpoke of yours, and it doesn't look like you've been raising it seriously. Let me keep it for a while. I'll help you bring it along, and you can take it back when you have time."
Reiji paused.
He looked at Cissy's father, but he didn't think the man meant him any harm. It was only a Slowpoke. The Gym had no reason to covet it.
It was like when he had rescued Cissy. The Gym had never asked who the pirates were. Maybe they were Trainers Reiji had hired. Maybe he had used other people to kill them. The Gym didn't ask, and Reiji didn't explain. That was trust.
Both sides had understood the deal. Reiji wanted the top-grade Water Stone. The Gym wanted Cissy back safely. Everything else was beside the point.
Since the Gym trusted him not to harm them, he could return that trust. Reiji sent Pelipper back to the cabin to bring Slowpoke over and hand it to Cissy's father.
Once that was settled, Cissy's father told Reiji to train at his own pace. If he ran into something he didn't understand, he could come ask. The man didn't try to dictate his training or tell him what to do.
There were a few reasons for that.
First, they still weren't that close. Too much advice could easily feel like interference.
Second, Reiji had come this far as an orphan, which meant he already had his own way of training. It might not be formal, but his results spoke for themselves.
Third, Cissy's father had already left the door open. If Reiji ever hit a wall, especially at the Elite Four-tier threshold, and couldn't solve it himself, he would come ask.
That was enough.
After discussing Slowpoke, Cissy's father spent a while chatting with him like an elder checking on a younger member of the family. Was he getting used to life here? Was anything inconvenient? He also told Reiji to get along with Cissy and Senta, spar with them when he could, and keep an eye on Senta so the boy wouldn't slack off.
Reiji agreed to everything and finally left the dining room with a breakfast he hadn't been able to refuse.
Back at the Gym's training field, he ate while releasing Poliwrath and Magmar so they could get used to their newly evolved bodies. The rest of his Pokémon came out too, mostly to stretch and relax.
He wasn't planning to train here for long. If the Gym had nothing for him to do, he intended to ask for leave and head out. He needed to collect Pokémon a couple of Pokémon like Diglett and Magnemite, and he had no time to waste sitting around the Gym. That was the real reason he had come today.
If he got leave now, he could leave for Mandarin Island North tomorrow. If he wanted to rush, he could even set off that afternoon and arrive by night.
He had meant to tell Mewtwo that morning, but he hadn't seen it. Instead, he left a note and stocked a whole room with Pokéblocks, enough for Mewtwo to feed the cloned Pokémon according to their types.
While he was gone, only the cloned Pokémon would remain at the lakeside cabin. His own Pokémon would stay at the Gym, where someone could look after them. Leaving them all at the cabin made him uneasy.
Mewtwo would have to watch over the twenty-five cloned Pokémon itself. As long as no Elite Four-tier Trainer discovered them, they should be safe by the lake. There probably weren't any wandering Elite Four-tier Trainers in a place like this anyway.
Who at that level would come to Mikan Island for no reason? Most Trainers here were probably just challenging the Gym. Once the hot spring town was built, maybe there would be more tourists.
There was also the land around the lakeside cabin. If he was going to stay connected to Mikan Gym, he needed to buy that place as soon as possible. Once the hot spring town brought more people to the island, the cabin, its surrounding woods, and the large plot of land around it might all rise in price.
He could ask the orchard woman about it. She had been the one who recommended the cabin when he rented it, and she had arranged the cleaning too. She probably knew where the land was listed for sale.
After breakfast, Reiji went to find Cissy about taking leave. He had only just come from her father, so going straight back to ask for time off felt wrong. No boss liked an employee who worked for a couple of days, then took three days off. Anyone like that would be in for a rough time.
"What? You want leave again?" Cissy stared at him in disbelief.
He had only just come back from his break. Now he wanted to leave again? What did he think this Gym was?
"So, yes or no?" Reiji didn't bother arguing.
If she refused, he would just skip work. A monthly salary of 280,000 wasn't even enough to feed a dog, let alone raise Pokémon.
"…Fine."
Cissy gritted her teeth. She knew this jerk well enough by now. The fact that he had come to tell her at all was already him showing respect.
"Huh. That was easy." Reiji scratched his head awkwardly. He knew she was holding herself back. She was probably cursing him in her head right now, so seeing her agree this quickly felt almost strange.
"If I said no, would you stay?" Cissy rolled her eyes. This guy had worn down what little authority she had as Gym Leader.
"True." Reiji laughed. "Thanks, then."
At least he had asked before disappearing. For once, being a wage slave felt great. Finally, the worker got to stand up straight.
"How many days?" Cissy asked. She knew he was shameless, but there was no point getting angry every time. She was used to him by now.
"No idea. I don't know how long I'll need. When I come back, the leave is over."
How was he supposed to know? Collecting the Pokémon he needed would depend on luck. If he found them in one day, great. If it took half a month, there was nothing he could do.
Cissy's fist tightened.
That was the most shameless leave request she had ever heard. Who asked for time off like that?
"I really don't know how many days it'll take," Reiji said with a helpless spread of his hands. "I can't give you a number when I don't know how long the job will take."
He wouldn't come back until he had gathered every Pokémon he needed for combination evos and bought enough resources for their evolutions.
"Fine. I get it." Cissy puffed her cheeks and turned away, done talking to him. This jerk only knew how to make people mad.
"Thanks. I'll head out first."
With his leave settled, Reiji recalled Poliwrath and the others, then prepared to leave Mikan Gym. He needed to return to the cabin, pack, bring his Pokémon back here, and then set out.
But as soon as he reached the entrance, he saw Senta arguing with a Trainer who had come to challenge the Gym.
Reiji walked over to help Senta, then got a clear look at the other side.
It was Ash's group.
"Ash? What are you doing here?" Reiji saw Ash and Senta about to send out Pokémon and quickly stepped in to stop them.
One little provocation from Senta was enough to light Ash up. If nobody stopped them, they really would start battling right there.
"Rai-nii? Why are you here?" Ash's excitement spilled out at once. He forgot all about Senta and ran straight toward Reiji.
"Dummy," Misty said from the side. "He already told us he's a Trainer at Mikan Gym. Did you forget that fast?"
"Oh, right, right! I remember now." Ash laughed awkwardly. Same old Ash. He only seemed to use his brain during battles, and even then it was hit or miss.
"You're here to challenge the Gym?" Reiji looked the group over.
Brock wasn't with them anymore. Instead, there was a different boy: the Pokémon Watcher Tracey.
"Yeah! We only arrived in the Orange Archipelago a few days ago," Ash said, scratching his head. "We heard there's a tournament here, and you need four Badges to enter, so we came to challenge the Gym."
"A Gym challenge, huh?" Reiji smiled. "I happen to be one of the Gym Trainers here. Are you ready?"
He had been about to leave, but running into Ash at the door changed things.
If he remembered correctly, Mikan Island was the third major stop on Ash's Orange Archipelago journey. After picking up the lone Lapras, Ash came here to challenge Mikan Gym.
Which meant Ash's Snorlax should already be somewhere out there, stripping an island's fruit trees bare before swimming off to devastate the next one.
Reiji thought about it for a moment, then let it go. Snorlax could stay Ash's problem. A bottomless stomach like that could eat through any fortune.
"A Gym battle against Rai-nii?" Ash's face lit up.
Reiji was the Indigo Plateau Conference Champion. The second Ash realized he could challenge him, his whole body practically leaned into the idea. "I'm ready! Where do we battle? Let's start!"
"Inside," Reiji said with a smile. "Mikan Gym doesn't run battles the way Kanto Gyms do. You'll see once we begin."
The Mikan Gym challenge had two parts: target shooting with Water Gun, then a surfing race. Reiji had been about to leave, but Ash showing up changed his mood. A quick match would be fun, and it would give Poliwrath a good chance to get used to its new body.
"The first round is target shooting. Your Pokémon has to hit moving discs with its moves. The second round is surfing, where you and your Pokémon have to work together."
"I've never done a Gym battle like that before." Ash released Squirtle and Lapras, already grinning. "All right, let's give it everything we've got!"
Cissy looked over when Reiji came back in with Ash bouncing behind him and Senta looking annoyed beside them. "Why are you back?"
"We have a challenger," Reiji said. "We know each other from the Indigo Plateau Conference, so we're treating this as a friendly match."
Senta had already grabbed the remote for the disc launcher. Ash had completely brushed him off earlier, and Senta clearly hadn't forgotten. If Ash wanted to challenge Rai-nii, fine. He could watch himself get crushed.
Tracey leaned toward Misty and lowered his voice. "You don't sound very confident. Is this Rai guy really that strong?"
Misty sighed. "Ash made top sixteen at the Indigo Plateau Conference. Rai won the whole thing."
"What? He's the Champion?"
Tracey immediately pulled out a magazine and flipped to the page with the Indigo Plateau Conference award ceremony. He compared the photo with Reiji, then stared.
It really was him.
"You're the Indigo Plateau Conference Champion?" Tracey hurried over with his sketchbook. "I'm Tracey. Could I get your autograph?"
Reiji had just released Poliwrath and was about to start the match when Tracey popped up in front of him.
"Sure." Reiji took the pencil and signed the page.
Tracey left happily, and Reiji turned back to Ash as if nothing had happened.
"I'll show you how it works first. Senta, launch one."
"Got it." Senta smirked at Ash and pressed the button.
A brown disc shot out of the launcher and spun into the air.
"Poliwrath, Water Gun."
Poliwrath fired instantly. The stream struck the disc cleanly and shattered it midair.
For Poliwrath, this was barely practice. Most challengers started with stationary cans before moving on to flying discs, but Ash didn't need the beginner version.
"That was fast," Ash said, staring at Poliwrath. "Rai-nii's Poliwhirl evolved…"
The pressure finally hit him.
Ash had watched that Poliwhirl grow stronger from the start. Even before evolving, it had been powerful enough to beat down Charizard.
Now it was a Poliwrath.
And it was definitely stronger than before.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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