Not long after, Reiji and Shun reached Keiko's massage shop.
It was close to the club—which made it feel a little weird to show up for a massage right after beating the owner's boyfriend in a match.
The door was shut; no one inside. Just as they were about to leave, Keiko returned with her boyfriend, Ren.
Seeing each other again so soon after the battle was… awkward.
"Reiji-san, are you here for a massage?" Keiko brightened—business had come to her door.
She cherished every Pokémon-massage job; most of the money went straight into helping her boyfriend raise his team. She kept only a small bit. She'd even watched his match today—he'd lost to the man now standing in front of her—but she didn't blame Reiji. A match is a match.
Besides, Ren was about to be promoted to coach at the club. The salary would be better—still not enough to cover all training costs, but better.
"If you're busy, we can come back another day," Reiji hedged, tugging Shun to go. The air in here was too stiff for his taste.
"We're not busy. Please, come in," Keiko said, opening the door.
Since she'd invited them, Reiji swallowed the awkward and stepped in. As they did, Ren spoke up.
"Reiji, about that match—sorry." He felt awkward too, but with his girlfriend here he forced himself to be upfront. Reiji wasn't stupid; he'd surely noticed the targeting, especially two rounds in a row.
"It was orders from above. Not my decision…"
"Ren, are you saying your club rigs matches?" Keiko snapped, catching the wrongness at once.
"Haha, it's fine. I expected as much at a private club event," Reiji cut in, smoothing things over before the couple started arguing.
He hadn't expected Ren to be so blunt about internal arrangements, but what could he say? He let it slide.
"Reiji, your next opponent is likely Taro. His Electabuzz has already evolved into Electivire," Ren added—the news was everywhere; he wasn't leaking anything sensitive.
"Electivire, huh." Reiji made the proper noise of respect. Inside, he didn't care. He already planned to withdraw. Electivire or not—what did that have to do with him?
Let whoever cared play that game. He was done.
"It's vicious," Ren went on, envy clear in his eyes. He darted the briefest glance at Shun—who had an Elekid.
"It's strong," Reiji agreed absently, and released Poliwhirl onto the massage bed for Keiko to work on.
"Poliwhirl?" Ren almost asked if Poliwhirl stood a chance against Electivire—but thought better of it.
"I'm not sure what I'll field. If it's Electivire, I'll probably use Rhyhorn," Reiji lied smoothly. He'd tell Shun he planned to withdraw, but he wasn't telling a stranger—especially not one with a kind masseuse for a girlfriend.
"My bad—that was nosy of me," Ren realized he sounded like he was fishing for intel.
"It's fine," Reiji smiled. The intel was fake anyway.
Still, Ren kept sneaking looks at Shun. Why? For Elekid?
When he'd talked about Electivire's power, that naked greed in his eyes had flashed—same itch Reiji himself felt. But Ren was a club insider; getting an Elekid should be easy with money. No need to steal—too risky.
Plus, Shun had a doting grandfather. Try to touch Shun and you might not see the sunrise.
Unable to decide whether Ren was just envious or truly covetous, Reiji dropped it. Ren never asked to see the Elekid, and the massage ended without incident.
Reiji always assumed the worst—but without a conflict of interest, he wouldn't label someone a villain.
If seeing a powerful Pokémon made you a villain, then what about him staring at swimsuit girls on the beach—drooling? In his old world, maybe even looking could be treated like a sin; here, it wasn't.
He coveted the "mascots" at breeding centers too—but without acting on it, that was just a bad impulse, not evil.
Only when you let greed drive action that harms others do you cross into villainy.
They finished up; Reiji recalled Poliwhirl and said goodbye to Keiko.
Ren still walked them to the door, watching them to the corner before Keiko called him back inside.
Reiji and Shun grabbed a cab back to the villa. It was just past three. A bit of training, then dinner.
Nothing urgent remained—eat and rest.
Kingler no longer needed to head to the beach; it had learned Swords Dance.
Most of the team had learned Protect—Butterfree, Slowpoke, Farfetch'd, Ditto, Spinarak, Pelipper… basically all of them.
Because of that, Reiji swapped his usual face wrap for one Ditto had transformed. It hid his face in public—and could pop Protect instantly to guard him. Wear it as a scarf; raise it as a shield.
Poliwhirl had also learned Drain Punch and Mud Shot the last few days. Bulk Up would have to wait.
Double Team for Butterfree? Learned. Slowpoke didn't get it.
That was the lot. No extra reps tonight—he planned to give everyone two days off. He was leaving tomorrow; no need to push. Early bed sounded great.
Tomorrow he'd stock up on supplies and ask the old man about tickets. First stop: Mandarin Island—largest of the Orange Islands.
Two days sightseeing there, then head north: look for the Crystal Onix; if he found it, catch it on the spot.
Then net an Elite Four tier Magikarp; then on to Kumquat Gym to see if the red-haired Leader would take him as an apprentice. If not, try Navel Gym.
Barring surprises, that rough route would hold for a while.
When he passed Mikan Island's Magikarp Falls, he'd snag a Magikarp close to Elite Four potential—lots of Magikarp gathered there; he was sure he could pick out one with 59% potential.
As for the Magikarp currently in his pool—he'd release it then. Whether it wanted to leave… we'd see.
One fun thing happened that night: Shun's third Pokémon, Wingull, evolved into Pelipper—a rideable one.
Shun couldn't wait; he took to the sky for a few laps. He was lighter than Reiji, so Pelipper handled it easily.
After he'd had his fill, Shun showed Reiji the ball. The potential reading had broken past 67%. With steady care, that Pelipper was a lock for Elite four level.
What Shun needed to worry about were Breloom and Poliwhirl. Poliwhirl was easier: with a High-Grade Water Stone, it could punch into Elite Four.
Breloom was tough—no further evolution, so Shun would have to hunt down fitting-type treasures to raise its potential enough to break through.
That would be Shun's own destiny to find—like Reiji's Dragon Scale and Silver Wing, or like when Shun landed Elekid. Chance and grit.
As the saying goes:
If fate wills it, it will be; if not, don't force it.
(End of Chapter)
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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