At the Rustboro City Care Center, Edward stood at the entrance with a gentle smile in his eyes. He had always enjoyed visiting this place and spending time with the Pokémon here. But with filming taking up most of his time lately, he hadn't been able to visit in a while. Now, he finally had a bit of free time.
"Big Bear, on gate duty again today?" Edward asked with a grin as he looked at the Bewear standing guard at the gate. He also glanced at his phone—just as a delivery car pulled up behind him. It was the food he had ordered.
Since it had been a long time since his last visit, Edward had brought plenty of treats for the Pokémon living here.
"Wear!" Bewear beamed when he saw Edward and waved a paw enthusiastically, his eyes filled with joy. Just then, a Murkrow landed on Bewear's shoulder and cawed at Edward. A moment later, a Salamence poked its head out from inside, eyeing Edward with curiosity.
Its scar-covered skin looked rather intimidating, but Edward was used to it. He smiled and patted Salamence on the head. "Ruckus here too, huh? That's great." He just didn't know if Director Lillian was around today.
"Here you go, Big Bear, Blacky—this is for you." As the delivery car stopped at the entrance, Edward handed food to both Bewear and Murkrow. They accepted it happily, and he then passed a bag to Salamence as well.
Behind him, Grandpa Robert, the butler, watched with a smile. He knew how much Young Master Edward supported this orphanage and how frequently he came to check on these little ones.
Edward led the way inside with the butler following. Even though several months had passed, the care center looked the same—full of life. Some new Pokémon curiously observed Edward, but upon noticing Salamence walking beside him, they quickly warmed up to him.
A Psyduck even sat itself down right in front of Edward and Salamence. Salamence, visibly exasperated, gently moved the Psyduck to the side.
"Ruckus, have you become the boss of the orphanage now?" Edward chuckled as he looked at Salamence. Its behavior, along with the way the other Pokémon looked at it, made it clear that Salamence had taken on a leadership role here.
"Raaawrr~" Salamence nodded proudly. Edward wasn't surprised. Dragon-type Pokémon often became significantly stronger upon reaching their final evolution, and due to their strength and wild instincts, Pokémon in a group naturally respected the strongest among them as their leader.
A leader got privileges and perks—but also bore the responsibility of protecting the whole group. They had to be the first to face danger. Being a leader wasn't easy. But in a place like this orphanage, the risks were much lower.
"Edward? Here to visit the little ones?" Headmistress Lillian appeared, wearing a work apron and gardening gloves. She had been tending to the vegetable patch but looked pleasantly surprised when she saw him.
"Long time no see, Headmistress Lillian. I just came to check on the little guys," Edward said warmly. His gaze then landed on Shroomish, who was sunbathing nearby and dozing off.
It seemed no one had adopted Greeny yet—making him one of the orphanage's most difficult cases.
"You came at just the right time. Recently, we've had a few new Ghost-type Pokémon arrive. Would you like to see them?" Headmistress Lillian offered with a cheerful smile as she stood up and wiped sweat from her brow.
Edward blinked in surprise. At that moment, Q jumped down from his head and stared eagerly at Salamence. Salamence's eye twitched and it quickly looked away. It knew all too well it couldn't beat Q—even now, as a proud Salamence, defeating Q was out of the question. That Pokémon was simply too strong—so strong that it defied logic.
"Ghost-types?" Edward repeated, surprised. It wasn't unusual that Headmistress Lillian had noticed his preference for Ghost-types. After all, he only had two Pokémon: Q and Fortune—both Ghost-types.
"Yes. These little ones were rescued from a group of Pokémon poachers. The League discovered that they once had trainers, but couldn't track them down. So they sent them here," Headmistress Lillian explained with a smile.
Edward nodded. That was pretty typical. Pokémon poachers roamed far and wide, capturing Pokémon requested by clients or rare species in general. They didn't care whether the Pokémon already had trainers or were wild.
To poachers, if it fit the criteria, it was fair game. They were the type of criminals the League cracked down on every year—but never quite wiped out.
"What kinds of Pokémon are they?" Edward asked curiously.
Headmistress Lillian took out her phone and showed him the records.
Edward leaned in to look. There were three.
"The first is a Gengar—but I discovered it's a shiny Pokémon," said Headmistress Lillian, pointing to the entry.
Edward raised an eyebrow. A shiny Gengar? That's a rare one.
And of course, it wasn't abandoned—it had been stolen.
Headmistress wasn't exactly an ultra-rare species, but it was strong. If it weren't for the shiny aspect, it likely wouldn't have caught the poachers' attention.
"The second is a Froslass—also a shiny," she said as she flipped to the next entry.
Edward raised his brows again. Were they all shiny?
Froslass was a unique Pokémon—only female Snorunts could evolve into it. It wasn't uncommon, but a shiny Froslass was definitely rare.
"And finally, a Duskull. Also shiny," she finished.
Edward fell silent.
Three Pokémon. Three shinies.
Well, what else could he expect from Pokémon rescued from poachers?
Unlike abandoned Pokémon, the ones found with poachers were always valuable—simply put, expensive. Without exception.
But three shinies in a row…
(End of Chapter)