"Hunter J?"
Lucas frowned slightly, his tone slow.
He had some impression of this person, but only from memories before he transmigrated. After all, he crossed over after finishing both the main and postgame of Scarlet & Violet, but before the DLC came out.
She often rode a Salamence and a Drapion, and had some kind of petrifying ray weapon that was extremely effective against Pokémon, right?
But that didn't matter now. Even though Lucas didn't know why Geeta would bring up a hunter from Sinnoh, he stayed calm, "I don't know her. Just from the name, she sounds like a Pokémon hunter?"
Geeta nodded slightly, folding her hands on the desk, "You guessed right. She hunts Pokémon for illegal commissions, ruthless and unscrupulous. She's extremely dangerous."
"And now, my intel says she'll take action at Glaseado Mountain in a week. Her likely target is some rare Pokémon there."
Lucas said seriously, "So the mission is… to stop Hunter J?"
"Not just stop her, but capture her if possible," Geeta said, staring at her computer, tone stern. "Interpol has asked us to cooperate. Capture Hunter J and bring her to the International Court for trial."
"Glaseado Mountain is vast. I've already sent all available personnel, but it's not enough. We only know she's likely to act on Glaseado Mountain, but not her exact target."
"I'll arrange for Gym Leader Grusha to assist you. I hope you can be in charge of patrolling one area."
After their call ended, Lucas accepted Geeta's private commission as agreed. Neither of them mentioned payment.
Lucas knew Geeta would prepare a reward he'd be happy with, and Geeta knew Lucas knew that.
Life soon returned to normal.
He juggled farm work with teaching battle classes at Naranja Academy. Especially when some students learned Lucas was privately tutoring Nemona and Arven, they protested and demanded to join.
Among them, Eri and Aliquis, who loved battling, were the most eager.
The students didn't need Lucas to pick them up—each had their own way to reach Trainer's Beach.
For example, Eri and her Primeape ran from the academy, and Aliquis's family sent him on a Tauros.
Nemona was chauffeured by her butler in a limo but kept glaring at Arven who'd gotten off Lucas's Dragonite, much to Lucas's confusion.
Since Arven's parents weren't around, only Lucas could pick him up.
What really surprised Lucas was that recently, for some reason, Ortega had also joined in, while Giacomo claimed she was too busy with student council work.
Once everyone gathered, Lucas didn't waste words. After reminding the students to stay safe, stick to the beach, and keep to the return time, he waved them off like wild horses set free.
Nemona, especially, acted like she'd met her battle rival—her battle spirit ignited, chasing opponents all over the sand with Pawmo and Teddiursa.
Lucas couldn't help but wonder: once Nemona got stronger and ran out of opponents, who would suffer next?
After watching some student battles, Lucas's own hands itched for a fight. But because he'd been bringing his Pokémon here recently and word had spread about their species and appearances, the other trainers all refused his challenges.
No one wanted to battle him with no hope of winning.
Even if they beat Growlithe, Mudbray, or the Dachsbun, the hidden boss, Delibird, would appear.
With its endless moves of different types and wide-area Blizzard attacks, many began to doubt the rumors that Delibird was a weak species.
Lucas found himself in the awkward position of having no one to battle.
Left with no choice, Lucas borrowed a lifeguard uniform from the beach manager and dressed Dragonite in it. With a hat, vest, and whistle, Dragonite really looked the part.
With Dragonite dressed as a lifeguard, even if Lucas let it fly overhead, no one would panic—people would just think there was a Dragonite lifeguard at the beach.
After asking Dragonite to watch over the students from above, Lucas rode Swampert out to explore the wild areas.
The ocean was lined with cliffs, remote shores, and many floating islands. Swampert's swimming speed was as good as Jet Surfing, and Lucas found plenty of wild Pokémon for Growlithe and the others to train against.
As the time approached five o'clock, with only an hour left before the six o'clock rendezvous, Mudbray was in a tough battle on a cliff edge.
Its opponent was a Klawf. As a Rock type, Klawf should be weak to Mudbray's Ground moves, but here on a dangerous cliff, using powerful Ground moves would destroy its own footing and risk falling into the surging sea below.
Klawf wasn't worried. It could move freely on the vertical cliff, unconcerned about losing its perch.
After a fierce struggle, Mudbray, battered and bruised, abandoned caution for a daring move. As Klawf leaped between rocks, Mudbray's whole body glowed red, and it leaped high using High Horsepower, slamming into Klawf and knocking both onto another rocky outcrop.
It was as if Mudbray, a Ground Pokémon, had taken flight.
Lucas's heart was in his throat, ready to send in backup at any moment. If Mudbray had been just a bit weaker, both would have fallen into the unpredictable waves below.