On the way to pick up Farfetch'd, Reiji kept turning the same question over in his head. If he walked away, he lost nothing. If he took the deal, he came out far ahead.
With Mikan Gym backing him, his path as a trainer would get a lot smoother. With the right momentum, even taking a run at the Elite Four wouldn't be a joke. That was what a gym like this really offered—connections, resources, and a place in the local power structure.
Of course, being "Elite Four–level" and actually sitting in a region's Elite Four were two different things. Titles didn't matter. Strength did.
He trusted himself to stand up to the Elite Four someday, but if he joined the gym for real, he'd be doing it with a tailwind instead of into the wind.
If he kept grinding alone, he'd pay for every step. Long days, hard travel, bad luck you had to swallow, and the kind of injuries you only get when nobody's there to catch you. That was the road he'd chosen.
"Darkrai," Reiji murmured, keeping his voice low, "back there… could you have gotten us out?"
"No," Darkrai answered without hesitation. "That Slowking was too strong. The moment I showed myself, it locked onto me. I couldn't even warn you."
"If it forced the issue, I could've pushed my Dark-type power to the limit and cracked a gap for you," Darkrai added. "But it would've been seconds. That's all."
Reiji exhaled slowly. "We almost blew it. Following her over there was me getting cocky."
He knew why it happened. If he'd been an ordinary kid, they might've ignored him. Instead, Darkrai's presence set off alarms, and that Slowking treated him like a threat worth pinning down.
But none of that changed the real problem. Darkrai had already been exposed. Whether Reiji joined Mikan Gym or not, that old man only needed to look into him a little to dig up the truth. Unless Reiji threw away his identity and started over, he wasn't "escaping" anything.
A trainer with a legendary Pokémon was valuable intelligence. If the old man leaked it, Reiji would never have peace again. Even if he clawed his way up to Elite Four tier, he'd still end up fighting off attention—and worse.
"That Slowking was terrifying," Darkrai said after a moment. "I still don't understand why it didn't attack you."
"Who knows," Reiji said, and the words came out as a tired sigh. "Maybe I'm more useful alive than dead."
He didn't plan to ask the old man for answers. Whatever the reason was, it would stay a mystery.
By the time he reached the orchard, dusk was already settling in. Farfetch'd was there, along with the orchard manager—the same guy who'd tricked him before.
Reiji didn't feel like reopening that argument. That "trap" had dragged him into Mikan Gym, shown him a perfect Water Stone, and introduced him to an old man who treated marriage like a trade route. Whether that was good luck or a disaster, he couldn't tell yet, and he wasn't in the mood to blame anyone.
The manager saw Reiji wasn't bringing up the "acting gym leader" job either, so he kept quiet. He returned Farfetch'd, then handed Reiji a whole crate of carefully packed mandarins.
"Kid," the manager said, forcing a polite smile, "thanks for lending Farfetch'd. It did great. Take these home—eat them on the way."
Reiji nodded. He recalled Farfetch'd into its Poké Ball, hugged the crate against his chest, and headed toward town. He needed a place to sleep—either an inn or a room at the Pokémon Center.
If he stayed with Mikan Gym, he'd probably rent a place in town. Something with walls and a yard, so he could train without people staring in and still keep his life private.
If he didn't stay, he'd sleep at the Pokémon Center tonight and leave Mikan Island early tomorrow, heading to Pummelo Island and sticking to the route he'd planned—the one that led to Drake. The choice sat in his gut like a stone.
At the Pokémon Center, he checked in the twelve Pokémon he kept "in the open."
He had Nurse Joy run full exams on all of them, checking for hidden injuries from training and fights. He also updated their registration, so he could release them freely around town without trouble.
While he was at it, he updated his Kinnow Island records too. He told Nurse Joy he'd released Spinarak, so the Center's system would mark it as released.
Then he handled another loose end. He registered the "silly bird" as Spearow, just to make sure that particular secret stayed buried.
When the checkups finished, Nurse Joy told him they were all in good shape. Scyther's burn still hadn't fully healed, though, so she treated it again.
She also frowned at Spearow's chart. "This one's underfed. It looks like it only hatched recently," she said. "You'll need to take careful care of it."
Reiji thanked her, paid 30,000 Pokédollars for the exams and treatment, and rented a single room for 5,000 Pokédollars. He ate dinner at the Center as well. One quiet night here would give him space to think.
In his room, he shut the door and released his Pokémon in batches. He fed each of them properly, made sure they settled, then finally lay down on the clean white bed with Mudkip and the silly bird in his arms.
Over dinner, he'd counted again. He had twenty-one Pokémon now.
Twelve were public. Nine were tucked away in the spider vest.
Dragging that many around was a real burden. He'd once thought about opening a daycare just so he could pay someone to help watch them. If he joined Mikan Gym, he could store most of them there and let professional breeders handle their care and diet.
That was what a lot of rookie trainers did with their starters at a lab. Catch a Pokémon in the wild, register it, and leave it somewhere safe until you needed it again. Researchers and their staff were usually far better at daily care than any trainer on the road.
Gyms could work too. So could a trustworthy daycare—one that wouldn't treat your team like breeding stock the moment you turned your back.
That was part of why he couldn't decide. A gym wasn't a lab, but it was still a gym. Leaving his Pokémon there meant stability, food, treatment, and real support.
"You still haven't decided," Darkrai said, rising out of the moonlit shadow near the window.
"Not yet," Reiji replied. He returned Mudkip and the silly bird to their Poké Balls and sat up, leaning back against the wall. His eyes drifted to the bright moon outside. "What do you think I should do?"
"That Water Stone matters to Poliwhirl," Darkrai said.
"It does," Reiji admitted. "I can get one eventually. It's just…"
He knew how hard perfect Evolution Stones were to come by.
He remembered a treasure cave from the anime—an entire box of Evolution Stones hidden on a deserted island. The location was in the Decolore Islands, the chain that sat between Kanto and Unova.
But that was nowhere near the Orange Archipelago. Mikan Island was far south of Kanto, with the Sevii Islands between. And between the Orange Archipelago and Kanto, there was New Island too.
He knew New Island all too well. Team Rocket's base. The place tied to Mewtwo.
Reiji didn't even let himself imagine walking into that kind of security. If anyone could slip in, it would be Lance. Not him.
So he circled back to the same dead end. The Decolore Islands were too far—half a year, minimum, just to go there and back. He needed perfect Evolution Stones, but the League vault might as well have been a fortress. Settling for a high-grade Water Stone would sting, too.
And worst of all, now that he'd seen a perfect Water Stone with his own eyes, "settling" didn't feel like settling. It felt like losing.
Reiji stared at Poliwhirl's Poké Ball. The little guy had been run ragged today, and it was sleeping like a rock now.
His mind drifted back to the days when Poliwhirl was still his "tadpole," when they'd lived off scavenged supplies on a deserted island. Back then, Reiji had made a promise—one he'd been keeping, step by step.
He'd sworn that as long as it was within his power, he'd give the tadpole the best.
"Poliwhirl," he said quietly, voice low and steady, "I told you I'd take you to a bigger stage. I told you we'd climb higher, win louder, and make people cheer for you—and for the work we put in."
He lifted his gaze to the moon, and for a moment he could see it: battles, brackets, crowds, and the final match where everything came down to one last call.
"And that day isn't far," he said. "I'm not getting there without you."
The decision settled into place.
Whatever waited ahead—thorns or open road—his tadpole was family. Reiji would pay whatever it cost.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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