The ship docked at Mikan Island that morning. Reiji fed his Pokémon breakfast on board, then shouldered his backpack and disembarked.
The island had one small town by the port, a few seaside villages, and a Gym built away from the town, right along the coast. A road linked the town to the Gym.
After stepping off the ship, he headed into the port town. There was a Pokémon Center, and because of the Gym, plenty of Trainers were around—most of them here to challenge it.
The Gym was run by a brother and sister. The sister was Cissy, and the younger brother was Senta.
Reiji already had a rough idea of the place. In his previous life, he'd watched the Orange Archipelago arc, so this stop wasn't a total mystery.
Still, a Gym that big wouldn't be held up by two siblings alone. He figured the previous Gym Leader had done what Brock's parents did—dump the whole thing on the kid, then vanish off on some long honeymoon.
At the Pokémon Center, he asked for directions to the Gym. He planned to go there and ask what they were hiring for. If they were taking apprentices, he'd join. If not, he'd leave. No reason to linger.
The Gym sat a fair distance from town. After leaving the Pokémon Center, he released Pelipper and flew over on its back.
Pelipper didn't have to fly long before the Mikan Gym came into view. A crowd of workers stood outside with three trucks parked nearby, laughing and chatting as they got ready to leave.
Reiji had barely touched down when a woman in orchard clothes walked up.
"Hello. Gym Leader Cissy isn't at the Gym right now, so you can't challenge it."
"I'm not here to challenge," Reiji said. "I heard the Mikan Gym was hiring, so I came to apply."
"Oh—an applicant?" The woman blinked. "I don't remember seeing any notice go out."
"I saw a recruiting ad on the ship," Reiji said honestly. He'd only found half the paper, and there was no telling how long it had been stuck there.
"I see. Come with me."
She led him to the person in charge of the convoy and introduced him. "Manager, this young man is here to apply."
"Hm?" The manager glanced at Reiji once. "Try him for a day. If he can't take hard work, that's that." He waved, then shouted to the others, "Everyone on the trucks. We need to get moving."
"Come on," the woman said, tugging Reiji along. "Get on with us."
Reiji let himself be pulled up, still not sure what job he'd just applied for.
"Where are we going?" he asked.
"You saw the ad, didn't you? You'll know when we get there," she said, like it was obvious.
Reiji knew nothing. He'd been dragged onto a truck on pure momentum, and it wasn't until they climbed down again that he realized where they were—an orchard full of a tropical citrus unique to the Orange Archipelago.
"Ma'am…" Reiji stared at the trees. "You mean we're harvesting citrus?"
"That's what the ad was for," she said with an amused smile. "They were hiring fruit pickers."
"I thought they were looking for Gym apprentices," Reiji said, scratching his head. Now it made sense why only half the notice remained. The missing part probably made it clear.
She laughed. "If you want to apprentice at the Gym, you need to speak to the Gym Leader. Our Gym Leader is a seriously capable Trainer."
Then she softened a little. "Since you're here anyway, come take a look. The Gym Leader will show up later. You can ask her then."
"Alright," Reiji said.
The citrus weighed down the branches, each one plump and heavy. Just looking at them made his mouth water.
"Go ahead and eat," the woman said, lowering her voice like she was sharing a secret. "No one will stop you. Just don't overdo it—too much citrus can leave your throat raw."
"Thanks," Reiji said. He wasn't planning to gorge himself. Each fruit looked huge—close to half a kilo, and mostly juice.
A voice called out from near the orchard entrance. "Breakfast over here! Same as always—three meals a day. Anyone who wants overtime can stay tonight. Only pick the big ones. Leave the small ones."
"The manager's talking," the woman said. "Let's go grab breakfast. Once we eat, we start."
She squeezed into the crowd at a jog, worried she'd miss out.
Reiji looked at the packed mass of people and didn't bother joining. He'd already eaten. He could just walk into the orchard once they started.
He also had a reason to stay close. The woman had said the Gym Leader would come by, and Reiji still wanted to ask about apprentices.
After the pickers finished breakfast, everyone filed into the orchard. Reiji noticed they were doing everything by hand. No Pokémon were helping at all.
That stood out. In construction, Machoke had been standard labor for years—most builders raised one for the job. Maybe these pickers were mostly locals who didn't work with Pokémon much. Either way, it wasn't his business.
He peeled one citrus and tried it. The orange flesh was thick and glossy, and when he bit in, sweet-and-sour juice burst across his tongue.
One fruit was enough to tell him it would sell. Taste decided everything.
Since he was already here—and he'd already eaten the proof—he rolled up his sleeves and joined in.
Most of the workers paired up. One climbed a ladder and clipped ripe citrus with shears. The other gathered what fell and packed it into white plastic crates for the carriers to haul away.
Reiji released two Pokémon—Farfetch'd and Poliwhirl—and set them to work.
"Farfetch'd, use your leek to cut the big ones down. Leave the small ones," he said, then turned to the other. "Poliwhirl, help me gather them."
"Farfetch'd!" Farfetch'd eyed the fruit like it was nothing. It could chop through far worse than a few citrus stems.
"Poliwhirl!" Poliwhirl took the white crate from Reiji's hands and started picking with him.
They cleared several trees in a streak, and the speed spread through the orchard.
"Young man," the woman called when she saw who it was, sounding impressed. "Your Pokémon are really something. Are you a Trainer?"
"I am," Reiji said. He wiped sweat from his forehead and sat under a tree with another citrus in hand. "Want some water? You should take a break."
"No," she said, still working as she spoke. "We get paid by piece. The more we pick, the more we earn. I want to save enough money so my brat can become a Trainer too."
Reiji didn't find that strange. In this world, people wanted to be Trainers the way they wanted to breathe. He'd also seen what it cost. Getting League-certified was hard enough, and keeping up with supplies after that was worse—numbers that crushed ordinary families.
"Does your son have a Pokémon yet?" Reiji asked.
"Not yet," she said. "He's nine. He turns ten next year. We need to save up so we can buy him a starter."
"What does he like?" Reiji asked, more out of curiosity than anything. He wasn't in a hurry today. Travel wasn't only about reaching the next point—it was about seeing places like this.
"He likes Bug-types," she said after thinking for a moment. "The kind with a big horn on its head."
Reiji smiled. "That's a pretty specific taste."
He could think of more than one Bug-type like that. Pinsir and Heracross came to mind first.
She laughed. "Right? Other kids like Water-types or Grass-types. He's the only one who gets excited about Bug-types."
A scream ripped through the orchard.
"Help! Help!"
"Get a Trainer! There are Pinsir here!"
Reiji shot to his feet and looked toward the noise. Three or four Pinsir were pushing in, white baskets hooked on their horns as they chewed on citrus. Wild Pokémon, drawn in by the smell.
"Poliwhirl, Farfetch'd—stop them," Reiji said, moving at once. Those Pinsir were close enough to hurt someone.
"Poliwhirl!" Poliwhirl surged forward with Waterfall, leaping up into the cluster, then snapped its fists out with Ice Punch—two clean hits that dropped the nearest Pinsir hard.
"Farfetch'd!" Farfetch'd darted in from the side and cracked its leek across another Pinsir's head. One after another, the attackers toppled into the grass.
Applause broke out as the danger passed.
Reiji ignored it. He pulled three empty Poké Balls from his bag and caught the three Pinsir that had gone down. A fourth had already slipped out of the orchard, and he didn't chase it.
Another shriek cut through the air.
"There's still one!"
Everyone flinched and turned toward the pointing hands.
Up in a tree, a beetle-like Pokémon calmly picked fruit and ate, unbothered by the panic below. Its body looked like it was wrapped in iron-hard armor. A thick horn rose from its forehead, antennae set to either side.
Heracross.
Reiji didn't hesitate. "Go, Poké Ball."
The ball hit, pulled Heracross in, and clicked shut. It rocked a few times, then went still. No battle. Heracross wasn't acting aggressive, and there was no need to make a scene.
Reiji picked up the ball and checked its status screen. Compared to the Pinsir he'd just caught, this one rated far higher.
Those Pinsir had potential in the low thirties. This Heracross was over forty.
The manager hurried over. "Young man—thank you for stepping in. I'll report this to the Gym Leader. You'll be paid properly for what you did."
Reiji frowned. "Didn't you post a job at the Pokémon Center? Or ask the Gym Leader to send a Trainer to guard the orchard?"
"I did," the manager said, face tight. "I thought the Trainer had arrived. When I called just now, he was still in bed."
He exhaled. "If someone got seriously hurt, I'd have no way to explain it. I'd lose this job on the spot."
"Forget it," Reiji said. "Just give me that guy's pay for today."
"Understood. Thanks again."
The manager stepped away, called the hired Trainer, and tore into him over the phone. By the end of the call, he'd made it clear the man shouldn't ever take their work again.
Once the commotion died, everyone went back to picking. Reiji took the Poké Ball and walked over to the woman he'd been talking with.
"Ma'am," he said, holding it out, "this one's for you. Heracross is gentle. It's a good fit for a new Trainer as a starter."
She caught the ball with both hands, like it might disappear if she blinked. "That's… I don't know what to say. We were going to wait until my brat turned ten, then hire a Trainer to catch one in the forest…"
Reiji could see the math running behind her eyes. Hiring someone for that would cost at least a hundred thousand Pokédollars. Getting it as a gift changed everything.
"It's not a big deal," Reiji said. He'd gotten a lot of conversation—and a lot of warnings—out of her today. A single wild Pokémon was a fair trade, and he wasn't about to sell it anyway.
"Then I'll accept it for him," she said, tucking the ball away like treasure. "When I get home tonight, he'll be so excited he won't sleep. Young man—come have dinner at my place. I want to thank you properly."
"I'm alright," Reiji said, waving it off.
He headed for the orchard's edge with the three Pinsir he'd caught.
Outside the fence, he opened the Poké Balls and released them. He had Poliwhirl spray them with water until they stirred awake, then tossed each one three citrus fruit.
Only after that did he wave them off.
The Pinsir didn't look back. Clutching citrus in their claws, they plunged into the trees and vanished into the forest.
"Hey…" Reiji called after them.
[End of chapter]
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