*** I have decided to put this story on Hiatus for a month or so. It feels like I'm writing for a few people who read it. That does not put a smile on my face 😑
Plus I'm pretty busy with work and other books. So I need to focus my attention and energy.
Hopefully after a month or so, more people might find and read it and I'll try again. Thanks for reading.
*****
Tom was still scouring the group of Pokémon gathered outside the camp like a desperate gambler checking scratch cards—over and over again, hoping this time he'd find his prize. But no matter how hard he looked, no Ralts. Just one more sea of Caterpies, Pidgeys, and a Bellsprout that sneezed on him.
Meanwhile, not far off, Luna suddenly gasped.
A small brown rabbit-like Pokémon had hopped up to her side, blinking up at her with big, glistening eyes that could melt steel beams. Its fluffy ears curled shyly, twitching just enough to weaponize its cuteness.
Luna's soft heart crumbled instantly.
"Awwww, look at you," she whispered, kneeling down like someone discovering a baby deer. "Are you lost?"
Buneary blinked again, as if saying, I could be found if you feed me.
Without a second thought, Luna spun her backpack around, unzipped a side pocket, and retrieved an Energy Cube, cradling it carefully in her palm like a precious gemstone.
"There you go, sweetie…"
Buneary sniffed at the cube cautiously, then in one swift motion buried its entire head in it, munching away happily. Its long ears wiggled with every bite, making the moment absurdly adorable.
David strolled over, hands in his pockets, and caught sight of the fluffy Pokémon now joyfully face-deep in Luna's hand. A blue pop-up panel flickered into view in front of his eyes, revealing Buneary's data.
Potential: Gym Level.
David blinked.
"Pfft. Gym-level? Pass," he muttered under his breath. "My weakest is Gyarados and he bench presses Elite-level Pokémon for warm-ups."
But Luna wasn't thinking about battle stats. She was already smitten. As Buneary licked its paws, Luna reached out and gently stroked its soft ears.
"Would you like to come with me?" she asked sweetly. "I have… unlimited Energy Cubes."
At the word "unlimited," Buneary's ears shot up like they had just heard the dinner bell at a five-star buffet. It nodded so enthusiastically its entire body bounced.
Its eyes sparkled with dreams of a future filled with treats, comfort, and possibly being pet like royalty.
Just then, David slid up behind Luna like a shadowy narrator and leaned in close, whispering in her ear with the chilling gravity of forbidden knowledge:
"Hey, Luna. Wanna know a secret? Buneary can… breed with Wailord."
Luna's brain blue-screened.
She froze.
Her lips parted in utter disbelief. Her pupils dilated. A visible wave of psychic damage passed over her. Mentally, she was now imagining the size of a Wailord. The physics. The logistics. The horror.
"Will… will it break??" she whispered, horrified.
"Huh?" came a confused voice behind her. "What'll break?"
It was Tom, who had wandered over, still hopelessly muttering "Ralts… Ralts… are there any Ralts…"
Luna stared at him with the haunted eyes of someone who had seen things no one was meant to see.
David, of course, looked like a man very pleased with himself.
Luna blinked hard, trying to shake the mental image out of her mind. She waved a hand in front of her face like someone trying to disperse cursed air.
Tom blinked in confusion, then took a step back when Luna turned to David with the fury of a thousand betrayed Skitty fans.
"You're still going on about Wailord?! Seriously?!"
First when she'd mentioned Skitty, he had dropped that horrifying trivia. Now she'd just bonded with a perfectly cute Buneary, and boom—another cursed combo from the Wailord Encyclopedia of Nightmares.
She turned to Tom with pity in her eyes.
"Tom… I understand your pain now. Truly."
Tom didn't respond. He just stared blankly, and slowly the color drained from his face as memories resurfaced. The two of them stood like statues—emotionally broken—while Buneary and David smiled beside them like gremlins from a Saturday cartoon.
David, as always, clapped his hands with satisfaction, basking in the negative emotion points like a vampire soaking in moonlight.
[Received Negative Emotion from Luna: +100]
[Received Negative Emotion from Tom: +100]
[Received Negative Emotion from Luna: +200]
[Received Negative Emotion from Tom: +200]
Ah, delicious.
Nearby, the Trainers stationed at the Mystery Zone's garrison camp had just about finished their evacuation. The camp was a wreck—trampled fields, broken fencing, and someone had spray-painted a Ditto on a tree. Total chaos.
Aron turned to the group with his arms crossed, calling out to David and the others:
"You guys leaving or what? The exit formation is closing soon."
David glanced at the trashed camp around them. And for some bizarre reason—maybe guilt, maybe indigestion—a surge of responsibility swelled in his chest.
"No," he said with a solemn tone. "I want to stay behind and help the garrison clean up the Mystery Zone!"
Aron stared at him. Then without a word, smacked him on the back of the head.
"Don't mess anything up and that is helping."
David rubbed his head, grumbling under his breath. He was, after all, at least 70% responsible for the chaos to begin with.
Aron had long stopped believing the guy was the shining star of the Alliance. The rose had wilted. The petals were gone. The stem was broken.
David was 100% here to snoop around for leftover treasure, not charity.
Sensing Aron's death glare intensifying, David straightened his jacket awkwardly and gave up on the idea. "Fine, I'll leave…"
Behind them, Tyranitar stood tall, watching the group quietly. Her eyes lingered on the small Larvitar she'd raised. Her baby.
David knelt down and released Larvitar from his Poké Ball.
"Go say goodbye, buddy."
"Larvi!"
The tiny Larvitar rushed forward and immediately chomped on Tyranitar's foot.
"RAHH!! (WHY IS MY CHILD A BITER?!)"
Tyranitar yelped, shaking her leg like she was trying to get a feral Yungoos off her. The sight was so ridiculous that everyone nearby burst into laughter.
Even Grant, who had been dealing with stress levels high enough to require therapy, cracked a smile.
Meanwhile, Tom stood frozen, eyes wide as he peered into the crowd of Pokémon.
He mumbled under his breath like a conspiracy theorist decoding clues from a cereal box.
"Ralts… Ralts… are there any Ralts here…"
David gave him a deadpan stare.
"Tom, my guy, Ralts can sense the moral alignment of people. If you're radiating that much creep, maybe that's why they keep running away?"
Tom gasped in betrayal.
"B-but I'm pure! I've been manifesting Ralts for days!"
David gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Yeah. That's probably the problem."
The group headed toward the entrance of the Mystery Zone. Aron followed behind, giving one last glance back.
The teleportation formation buzzed and swirled, sending off invisible waves of energy. As it activated, the space around them shimmered like starlight.
In the blink of an eye, reality twisted.
And just like that, they were no longer in the Mystery Zone.
The heavy stink was gone. The ominous silence replaced with a peaceful breeze.
They were finally out.
*****
The remaining members of the expedition team stood quietly at the entrance, their eyes blinking in the sunlight as if waking from a long, chaotic dream.
Ling Qi, still covered in scuff marks and the emotional wreckage of what felt like a month crammed into a week, exhaled heavily. His shoulders slumped, and the tension in his body finally loosened like a compressed Poké Ball spring let loose.
This trip into the Mystery Zone had been... traumatic.
He glanced over at Luna, David, and Tom—the source of his trauma—and visibly flinched. He'd trained for years, walked countless routes, braved weather, and even once got pecked by a very territorial Spearow. But nothing—absolutely nothing—prepared him for what he had just endured.
"In all my time as a Trainer," Ling Qi muttered to himself, shaking his head, "this was, without a doubt, the most life-threatening week I've ever had."
Two berserk Pokémon outbreaks, one super-ancient monster incident, a close encounter with an Elite Trainer, and what he suspected was minor psychological scarring—he didn't even want to check if his hair had gone gray.
And at the center of it all... was David.
Ling Qi's gaze shifted uneasily toward the seemingly innocent young man standing beside him. The moment their eyes met, David gave him a casual smile and a little wave.
Nope. Absolutely not.
Ling Qi took two quick, reflexive steps backward as if David radiated radiation.
Then, leaning toward Luna, he whispered urgently, "Miss Luna... I strongly recommend you keep at least ten feet between you and that guy at all times. The man is a walking disaster. He's got the chaos aura of a Wobbuffet on caffeine."
David, still standing there, squinted. "I can hear you, you know. I'm literally three feet away."
But Luna didn't answer him. She sighed in disappointment, her eyes distant, filled with the crushed hopes of what could've been.
"It's such a shame," she murmured. "I had originally planned to spend a few peaceful months in the Mystery Zone. I was going to evolve my Charmander, maybe teach him Dragon Claw..."
The wistfulness in her voice made it sound like she'd just watched her dream house burn down, slowly, in real time.
Tom, who had been unusually quiet for five minutes straight (a personal record), suddenly whipped out his phone like a gunslinger drawing a revolver.
"Huh? Tom?" Luna blinked at him. "What are you doing?"
Tom didn't answer immediately. His screen glowed with an image of a huge, majestic palace, glowing faintly with mystical energy and sharp architecture. His eyes were narrowed, focused, as if he were analyzing encrypted blueprints.
"I'm checking the enrollment page for Star Origin Dojo," he said gravely. "They just opened applications."
Luna gasped. "Star Origin Dojo?!"
Now that name she hadn't heard in a while.
She had considered training at a dojo herself before. But that dojo? No way. Not because it was bad—quite the opposite. The Star Origin Dojo had a terrifying reputation. It wasn't just a place where Pokémon got stronger. It was rumored that the place could forge Champions.
Some even said that if the dojo wanted to, Pacific City would have two official gyms instead of one. That's how powerful they were.
But of course, such prestige didn't come cheap... or easy.
Unlike other dojos that were basically glorified daycare centers where you paid a fee and got a free TM, Star Origin Dojo never advertised. They didn't even accept applications. Every disciple was handpicked by the dojo master himself. And entry wasn't just about training your Pokémon—you had to train yourself too. Mind, body, spirit. Basically, military bootcamp but with more Dragonites.
Each generation had maybe two or three successful disciples. That's how harsh it was.
And now, suddenly, Tom was casually scrolling through the registration page like it was a food delivery app.
David squinted, scratching his head. "Star Origin Dojo... Where have I heard that name before?" He paused, tapping his chin. "Was it on a cereal box?"
Before David could chase that thought any further into the void, Tom practically shoved his phone into David's face.
"Look! Look at this!" Tom cried, eyes glittering with golden opportunity. "It says here, 'Free food and lodging!'"
David's jaw dropped. He leaned in closer as Tom read the description dramatically.
"'Join the dojo and become an official disciple! You'll get access to elite-level training, ancient techniques, a chance to win up to one million Alliance coins!'"
David's eyes morphed into coin symbols like he was a living slot machine. "Why are we still standing here?! SIGN ME UP, BRO!!"
Tom and David high-fived like they'd just cracked the code to immortality. Their eyes sparkled with dreams of glory, money, and possibly ramen noodles.
Meanwhile, Luna stood quietly, trying her best not to facepalm.
She watched the two clowns spinning into a full fantasy about their futures, and her thoughts drifted back to the last few days—the Mystery Zone, the giant ancient Pokémon, the near-death experiences.
The image of Tyranitar roaring as the ground split open flashed in her mind, followed by David enthusiastically shouting "This is fine!" while clinging to a rock.
Yeah. No. She was not doing this again.
"I'll pass," Luna said calmly, her smile polite but clearly strained. "You two go have your little adventure. I'll just... not die."
Just then, Tom's phone dinged with a notification.
"Ding! Luna has successfully registered!"
Luna: "...WHAT?!"
David immediately put on his most sincere, helpful voice—the kind of voice that made you want to punch him just a little.
"Luna, my dear comrade, you're letting fear rule your heart. A true Trainer doesn't run from adversity! Embrace the pain! March into the dojo like a brave Magikarp flopping up a waterfall!"
Tom nodded earnestly, holding up a small urn. "Besides, I brought this along, and I didn't even get to use it this time! We gotta go again!"
Luna's face twitched. Her eye twitched. Her soul twitched.
"David, the last time I followed you into a Mystery Zone, we triggered an Elite-level emergency."
"It was just a tiny Elite, Luna."
"You called in a champion candidate, David!"
"Tom needed backup!"
"You said it was a light jog in the woods!"
Tom nodded solemnly. "To be fair, it started as a jog."
Luna took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and whispered something about needing a vacation. Or a therapist. Possibly both.
David just clapped his hands, beaming. "Alright then, off to the Star Origin Dojo we go! Let's go become millionaires, baby!"
*****
Luna glanced at Ling Qi with a desperate glimmer in her eyes, the silent look of a woman pleading: Please. Please save me.
Ling Qi froze like a Pidgey caught in a Poké Ball's beam. He straightened up stiffly and gave an awkward cough, trying to escape the crossfire with all the dignity of a guy being hunted by a mother Kangaskhan.
"Cough, cough! Young Miss, I... I'm getting old, too!" he said, slowly sidestepping toward the exit like someone backing out of a kidnapping. "As for the dojo thing, that's really something for you young people to enjoy!"
His voice cracked on the word "young," but Luna was too stunned by the betrayal to even blink.
Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one looking for backup. The rest of the adventure team, having sensed the incoming "you must come too" energy radiating from Luna's eyes, scrambled like Digletts during an earthquake. Suddenly, everyone was on the phone.
"Hello? Dad? You're getting married tomorrow, right? I'll be there! Yeah, yeah, the fifth marriage is the charm!"
"Mom, can you write me a death certificate for tomorrow? It's for... personal reasons."
"What? Grandpa had a son with his new girlfriend? A little brother for my dad? Wow, okay, sis, please take care of our new uncle. I'll come visit as soon as I can!"
Luna stared at them, dumbfounded, black lines forming on her forehead. You've been hanging out with David for what, a week? And now you can't even lie properly anymore? At least pretend to sound sincere!
But finally, after being railroaded by fate, abandonment, and a barrage of motivational nonsense from David and Tom, Luna gave in. She nodded, defeated, and agreed to enter the dojo with them.
As for the mission Luna had accepted when entering the Mystery Zone? Well... that had gone out the window when Gyarados went berserk like a Wailord in a pet shop. She didn't catch the rampaging beast, and obviously the one David captured couldn't be used to complete her quest. That would be way too easy.
In the end, the mission had failed completely.
Luckily, for this kind of side gig, bailing didn't result in any punishment. So no scolding from the Alliance. Just a minor hit to her pride.
After waving goodbye at the school gate, David didn't head home right away. Nope. Instead, he made a beeline for the commercial street, his eyes locked on a destination that had become a regular haunt: the local Breeder's shop.
The moment he stepped inside—bag over one shoulder, Pikachu riding coolly on the other—the shopkeeper's uncle behind the counter froze like he'd just seen a ghost.
He instinctively braced himself.
This wasn't just any customer. This was David.
The Bargain King of Pacific.
The man who once negotiated a free bottle of MooMoo Milk by pretending to cry.
The man who sold two Oran Berries and a shoelace as a "mystic healing combo" for full market price.
But then the uncle squinted, noticed the Pikachu on David's shoulder, and realized something. That wasn't just a Pikachu—it was the same one from before. The one with the little black cap. That familiar smug expression.
It was him.
The shopkeeper's expression flipped faster than a Kecleon's color change.
"Ah! Little brother! Welcome back!" he said with forced cheer. "Here to sell me some more energy cubes, perhaps? Haha! Just like you promised last time, eh?"
David scratched the back of his head and chuckled.
"Uncle, actually... I'm not here to sell cubes today."
The uncle froze mid-bow.
"...You're not?"
David smiled. "Nope. I'm here to sell some other stuff."
The uncle paled.
Other stuff.
That could only mean one thing.
Disaster.
He dove forward and clutched David's leg like a drowning man grabbing a passing Floatzel.
"Brother—I call you brother—please! Don't do this again! If you keep this up, my shop won't survive the week!"
David laughed awkwardly. "Uncle, am I really that terrifying?"
The uncle looked up at him with the eyes of a man who had seen horrors.
"Do you... do you even know how terrifying you are?"
David blinked. And then—
[You gained +100 negative emotion points from David.]
[You gained +200 negative emotion points from David.]
[You gained +300 negative emotion points from David.]
He sighed and held up both hands in surrender.
"Relax, uncle. I swear, I'm not here to argue about prices, or beg for a gift, or haggle you down to tears."
The uncle narrowed his eyes.
"Really?"
"Seriously. If I'm lying... I'm a Growlithe puppy."
The uncle's face turned grim. "You used that trick last time. And the time before that."
David decided not to dignify that with a response. He just slung his bag onto the counter with a dramatic thunk and started shaking it out.
A cascade of strange and shiny items spilled across the table: rare berries, smooth stones, a lump of metal that glowed faintly, and—
The uncle's eyes locked onto a stone with a swirling flame pattern.
Was that...?
"Is that... a Fire Stone?" he whispered, reverently reaching for it.
David nodded with practiced calm, twirling a Cheri Berry between his fingers. "Yep. A low-grade Fire Stone. Nothing fancy. Just a basic secret treasure."
The uncle nearly wept with joy. He cradled the stone like a newborn baby, then bolted for his scanner, his hands trembling like he was about to win the lottery.
"Brother, please, have a seat! I'll make you some tea. Good tea. The kind I save for important guests!"
David sat down without hesitation. "Recover . I still prefer your old rebellious attitude."
To the uncle, this wasn't just a sale. It was salvation. Fire Stones were always in high demand—they evolved Growlithes into Arcanines, Vulpix into Ninetales, and made Trainers throw money at breeders like confetti. Any shop that could stock even one Fire Stone became an overnight hotspot.
And now he had one.
David, meanwhile, was in a generous mood. Selling off the Fire Stone wasn't just about profit—it was about giving back. After all, this shop was where he earned his local fame. If it went under, where would he go to flex his haggling skills?
Besides, he still had a whole drawer full of coupons and discount vouchers at home. If the breeding house closed, those would become worthless overnight!
And that... that was the real tragedy.