A yellow-and-white Ultra Ball fell from midair onto the sand. The white button at its center began flashing red.
"Beep… beep… click!"
That was the sound that signified a successful capture.
"Nice!"
Seeing the Poké Ball settle without resistance, Kael pumped his fist excitedly. The giant Rhydon had been successfully captured. Most importantly, he now had a true tank on his team—durable, powerful, able to both endure and strike. From this moment on, his lineup had finally begun to take shape.
But before Kael could fully celebrate, the Ultra Ball—just moments ago calm—began shaking violently.
Crack!
With a sharp explosion, the Ultra Ball burst into pieces.
"Roar… wuu…"
Rhydon sat innocently on the beach, scratching the back of its head as it stared at the shattered fragments scattered around it, utterly confused.
Kael's smile froze. Then he slapped his forehead with a wry laugh.
He'd been too excited and forgotten—this was no ordinary Rhydon. The big guy was more than twice the size of its kind, weighing a full 1,200 kilograms. An Ultra Ball simply couldn't withstand the mass of such a giant. It bursting after capture was only natural.
Fortunately, Kael always prepared backup plans.
He immediately opened his backpack and took out a special Poké Ball case. Inside were three yellow-and-white Ultra Balls, two camouflage-patterned Safari Balls—used mainly for capturing Pokémon in forests, wetlands, and swamps—a Net Ball with a mesh pattern, and finally, a black-and-white ball whose black top was inlaid with two gray stone studs.
Kael picked up the black-and-white one.
This special ball was called a Heavy Ball—specifically designed for capturing large or extremely heavy Pokémon.
The Heavy Ball traced an arc through the air and lightly tapped against Rhydon's head.
Click!
It opened, releasing a red beam that enveloped Rhydon's enormous body completely.
Thud.
Kael picked up the Heavy Ball from the sand once it stopped shaking and tossed it casually in his palm. These specialty balls were expensive. They couldn't be mass-produced by machines and had to be handcrafted, piece by piece, by veteran craftsmen with decades of experience.
Thankfully, Kael had always been cautious and liked to prepare multiple contingencies. Without this Heavy Ball, today would have been troublesome. Rhydon simply couldn't have been transported otherwise.
Their handmade wooden boat would never withstand Rhydon's terrifying weight. The alternative would have been for Kael to leave the island first, return to human civilization to purchase a Heavy Ball, and then come back to capture Rhydon—far too troublesome, with plenty of room for accidents.
...
"It's time to leave."
Kael looked back at the beach.
Since the sinking of the S.S. Anne, and being swept to this deserted island by a collective Hyper Beam from a Gyarados swarm, five full days had passed. In those five days, he had gained what could only be described as a windfall. A blessing in disguise.
The small wooden boat drifted slowly across the sea. Kael kept his laptop open while deploying his Falconer drone ahead to scout. The moment the laptop connected to a network, it would prove they were close to human civilization.
The technology of this world was highly advanced—yet in two areas, it lagged far behind the Earth of his previous life: satellite and aerospace technology.
There were no satellites orbiting this planet. And flying machines still relied on airships and propeller aircraft—technology long obsolete in his previous world.
It wasn't that the people here lacked intelligence.
Rather, in the ozone layer some 20,000 meters above the ground lived a terrifying creature that attacked anything entering its domain—living or otherwise.
Research institutes across the regions had attempted satellite launches. Every single satellite was destroyed upon reaching the ozone layer, let alone breaking free into space.
Kael, retaining memories of his previous life, knew something about this creature.
Its name was Rayquaza.
In this world, people preferred to call it the Sky God.
Rayquaza was one of the planet's guardians. While it protected the world from large meteors and extraterrestrial threats, it also severely hindered the development of human aerospace technology.
A double-edged sword.
Rayquaza's temperament was violent, but it remained in the ozone layer tens of thousands of meters above, feeding on atmospheric moisture and energy particles. It rarely descended to the surface, so legends about it were scarce.
"Beep! Beep!"
After drifting at sea for an entire day and night, just as Kael began wondering whether he had misjudged his direction, a notification popped up in the lower-right corner of his desktop.
[Dear Visitor,
Welcome to the vacation paradise, Porta Vista!
We wish you a pleasant stay in our beautiful seaside city!]
It was an automated welcome message from the city network.
Seeing it, Kael finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had chosen the correct direction. Losing one's bearings in the vast ocean would have been a nightmare.
At that moment, the Falconer drone also transmitted data back: fifteen nautical miles southeast of the wooden boat lay a coastal city. The onboard camera sent a miniature aerial snapshot to his terminal.
Porta Vista was the most famous seaside resort in Kanto, far more internationally renowned than Cerulean City. The S.S. Anne's original destination had been here as well—if not for that accident…
Thinking of it, Kael wasn't sure whether he should resent Team Rocket. Without their attack, he might have been taking missions in some city right now, earning money steadily. Instead, he experienced these unexpected encounters.
But in life, cause and effect were intertwined. What had happened had already happened. Dwelling on it was useless.
Better to steady the heart and move forward boldly.
People like him should strive ahead through effort—not blame the heavens nor resent others.
...
At Porta Vista's grand harbor, cruise ships and cargo vessels of all sizes filled the port. The harbor itself was the first landmark visitors saw upon arrival.
Though the sinking of the S.S. Anne had dealt some blow to the tourism industry, the impact wasn't severe. Tourists from all across Kanto continued to arrive in an endless stream.