Day 23 of the journey. Clear skies.

The weather was pretty nice today—perfect for a hike. Reiji knocked on the door and found Naoki looking wrecked, rubbing at the corner of his eye, both eyes bloodshot.

“You didn’t sleep last night?”

“Boss, I slept a little. I went out catching Pokémon,” Naoki said. The moment he saw Reiji, he perked up, forcing the exhaustion off his face. He didn’t want Reiji seeing him like that.

“You’ve got five minutes.” Reiji dropped the countdown and walked away down the inn corridor.

“Yes, boss!” Naoki hurried back inside, threw on clothes, washed up, and after sorting himself out, slung on his backpack and rushed downstairs.

Down on the street, he found Reiji eating breakfast by the roadside. Naoki ran over, ordered his own food, and paid for both of them.

Reiji planned to finish eating and then take Naoki into the forest. He’d already fed his Pokémon back in the room, and they were all inside their Poké Balls—too inconvenient to let them out here.

He only kept Darkrai in his shadow to guard him, plus the Ditto on his face. He didn’t bring any other Pokémon out at his side. If they ran into the Crystal Onix, then he’d deal with it.

He wasn’t planning to catch the Crystal Onix. He still wanted to look for it anyway, because…

First, even if he wasn’t catching it, there was nothing wrong with going to see it.

Second, helping Naoki rebuild his strength. No need to spell that one out.

Third, even if he wasn’t catching the Crystal Onix and couldn’t afford to raise it, that didn’t mean it was useless—he could use it to make connections.

A Crystal Onix counted as a rare kind of Onix, and it was even immune to the Water-type damage Onix feared most. That had to be either a mutation from a special physique or some kind of regional form difference—otherwise it wouldn’t ignore Water-type attacks.

A rare Pokémon like that was probably why so many Trainers were showing up. Nobody was boarding the island just for glass crafts, were they? Realistically, only the Crystal Onix could draw a crowd like this.

To Trainers obsessed with Rock-type Pokémon, the Crystal Onix was like Jerry with cheese—pure fixation. It wasn’t much different from the way some people used to chase idols back in his previous life.

He understood that kind of stubborn passion easily enough. Who wasn’t a fishing addict at heart?

Everyone had their own pursuits. This world was pretty tolerant—except when it came to criminals.

Nobody was going to try and whitewash criminals, right?

He wouldn’t even get into his previous life. “Tolerance” had been so broad that every kind of freak crawled out of the cracks, and just looking at it made his blood boil. He’d wanted to slap a few people silly—only hitting people was illegal too.

If he got lucky and caught the Crystal Onix, he could also use it to make friends with certain people.

Those “certain people” were obviously Trainers who liked the Crystal Onix. Trading one Pokémon for a favor wasn’t unreasonable, was it?

After all, the legend had been circulating here for so long, and nobody had caught it. That meant it was hiding deep.

As for whether the legend was real, there was no need to doubt it. They’d already asked the innkeeper while eating.

The innkeeper said someone had seen the Crystal Onix in a cave up in the mountains. A master glass craftsman in town had seen it too. The craftsman’s work had been famous locally—though the old man had been dead for many years now.

That “master” was probably the grandfather of that side-character brother-and-sister pair from the anime. Reiji vaguely remembered that episode.

He also knew Ash and the others had seen the Crystal Onix on a small island near Sunburst Island. When the tide went out, a sandbar appeared that connected to an uninhabited islet. The Crystal Onix was in a cave there.

That was just the anime’s plot, though. Who knew whether they’d be that lucky this time. An Onix that had lived from the grandfather’s generation to now shouldn’t be weak—Advanced tier at least.

There were crystal mines here too, with plenty of crystal ore inside. If eating crystals could trigger a mutation, then there shouldn’t be just one Crystal Onix—there should be a whole group of them, and the odds of running into one would be much higher.

After breakfast, Reiji and Naoki went down to the shore. Before entering the forest, Reiji needed to sift through the wild Pokémon Naoki had caught last night.

Most of them were Water-types. No wonder Naoki had looked half-dead this morning—he’d spent the whole night “fishing.”

Among the wild Pokémon, Krabby was the most common. Naoki had caught several of them.

When Reiji saw that, he looked at Naoki. “Krabby? Don’t you already have one?”

“Boss… I just grabbed whatever. I’ll pay attention next time,” Naoki said, scratching his head in embarrassment. Yesterday he hadn’t looked closely—once Flygon knocked something out, he just tossed a Poké Ball and caught it.

“Forget it. Release them. The potential’s terrible—keeping them is pointless.” Reiji tossed the Krabby Poké Balls back to Naoki and looked through the rest.

There were a few Staryu, all bad. Some Poliwag too, also bad. Tentacool, Shellder, Wingull, Carvanha—every Water-type he checked was mediocre. Not a single standout. He had them all released.

Over two hundred Water-type Pokémon, and not one had potential above fifty. Naoki’s luck was unbelievably awful.

“Your luck is brutal. Release all the Water-types. I’ll check the Bug-types and Grass-types next.” Reiji handed over the trash picks for Naoki to release back into the sea.

“Yes, boss,” Naoki said, obediently letting them go. He’d busted his ass all night, and they’d all been eliminated. Not one good catch.

“Caterpie, Caterpie, and more—” Reiji pulled out over a dozen Caterpie in a row and finally looked up to scold him. “Why did you catch so many Caterpie?”

“Boss, Caterpie are everywhere in the forest,” Naoki said, painfully awkward. He’d gone into the woods last night and caught whatever he saw. He hadn’t thought about it. Even if it was Caterpie, he still caught it—he didn’t have the luxury of being picky right now.

“Fine. Release them.” Reiji sighed and kept checking. Caterpie and Weedle were the most common. Bug-types had huge numbers, but high-potential ones were rare.

After the Bug-types, he checked the Poison-types. Ekans, Zubat, Spinarak… still nothing high-potential.

Then he checked the Grass-types: Shroomish, Oddish, Bellsprout, Hoppip, Lotad, Paras…

This time, there was finally something. A Bellsprout with potential at fifty—not bad.

“Out of all these, only this Bellsprout is decent. Think it over and decide if you want to keep it,” Reiji said, tossing the Bellsprout’s Poké Ball to Naoki before turning and heading into the forest.

“Boss, is this Bellsprout really okay?” Naoki asked as he finished releasing everything else from last night. He held the Bellsprout’s Poké Ball and followed Reiji into the trees.

“It’s fine. Whether you catch it is up to you…” Reiji waved him off and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it.

Walking through the forest on Sunburst Island, Reiji also took out the Bug-, Poison-, and Grass-type Pokémon he meant to release, letting them go in the woods.

He didn’t hide what he was doing from Naoki. He’d need Naoki’s channels later to move illicit goods, and some things couldn’t be kept secret anyway. Naoki was an adult—he’d even been a leader in the underground world.

Naoki hadn’t been weak before. His EQ and IQ weren’t low. There was no point trying to fool him. Better to be direct. They were both adults—no need for pointless games.

“Boss… what is this?” Naoki knew he shouldn’t ask, but curiosity got him anyway. The moment the words left his mouth, regret hit—some things weren’t meant to be known.

“The black market chaos you guys caused gave me an opening. I took a few things. These Pokémon aren’t worth anything, so I’m releasing them here,” Reiji said, answering him without hesitation.

If anything, that made Naoki even more embarrassed, because the chaos that night was something he and his men had started.

“Hurry up and catch your own Pokémon. I picked up plenty of good stuff that night, and I’ll need your channels to sell it,” Reiji said, stating his purpose outright.

“Don’t worry, boss. Leave it to me. I’ve got people on Mandarin Island North and Tangelo Island. Moving a little product won’t be a problem…”

Naoki patted his chest and went back to focusing on catching Pokémon. He wasn’t stupid enough to question why the boss stole things. That was normal. Who hadn’t stolen something before?

If you wanted to walk the Trainer path, you needed massive resources to raise Pokémon. If you couldn’t earn enough through legitimate channels, then you had to find ways in places like the black market.

If he hadn’t followed the boss, the Aggron Egg in his bag, the Swampert Egg, and the two hundred million in his bank account would all belong to the boss.

But to help him recover, the boss hadn’t taken his things back. Even so, that money still wasn’t nearly enough. The Rock Gang was gone—his turf, his men, his mines, all gone with it.

Without those income streams, a normal job paid only three hundred thousand a month. That wouldn’t even come close to raising Pokémon. He’d end up stealing ore, fighting for resources in the black market… the same hard life as before.

Ten years ago, that’s how he’d lived. Back then he’d had nothing—just a Geodude at his side.

He’d clawed his way out once. This situation was better than it had been then.

Back then, he had nothing. Now, his starting capital was over two hundred million.

Back then, he only had one Geodude to struggle through the underworld with him. Now he also had Flygon, plus an Aron Egg and a Mudkip Egg.

Most importantly, he’d attached himself to a mysterious leader. It’d be hard not to rise with someone like that backing him.

“By the way, Naoki, let me ask you something,” Reiji said, since they were being open now. He wanted to confirm the deal with that Advanced Fire Stone. “Do you know what Fire-type Pokémon Riku is preparing to evolve?”

“Fire-type? Fire-type…” Naoki didn’t know why Reiji cared, but he searched his memory carefully. One Pokémon came to mind. “Yeah. I often saw Riku holding a Vulpix…”

“Vulpix, huh?” Reiji laughed without thinking. Now he understood what that Advanced Fire Stone was for—Vulpix’s evolution stone.

Seeing that smile, Naoki suddenly realized something. If the boss was talking about “illicit goods,” then it probably wasn’t something simple.

“Hahaha. No harm telling you. Consider it me helping you vent a little,” Reiji said, noticing Naoki’s expression. He confirmed what Naoki was guessing. “I stole Riku’s backpack.”

“Boss… you’re serious?” Naoki couldn’t believe it. He was so shocked he didn’t even know what to say. That was Riku’s backpack. How could it just get stolen—by the boss, no less? And then he’d run into the boss afterward. The coincidence was insane.

“Believe it or don’t.” Reiji waved it off and kept walking deeper into the forest. He was honestly speechless. Every time he told the truth, nobody believed him.

“Boss, it’s not that I don’t believe you. If it really was Riku’s backpack, he’ll come hunting us down,” Naoki said, keeping his head clear. Losing the backpack was satisfying, sure—but it also meant danger. If they sold Riku’s goods, being hunted was guaranteed.

“If you don’t tell anyone, how would he know?” Reiji looked at him like his head was packed with rocks. If Riku could somehow “know,” Reiji wouldn’t be saying it out loud.

“Boss, you said you want to sell Riku’s stuff. Once those things hit the market, they can trace it,” Naoki insisted, getting anxious when Reiji didn’t seem to care.

“You’re worried about me?” Reiji stopped.

“Not… that, boss. It’s…” Naoki hesitated. Reiji’s strength was unfathomable—if Riku came, maybe Riku wouldn’t gain anything from it. Who died wasn’t even certain.

He only realized that after he’d already spoken. But if the boss wasn’t afraid, he was.

He had only one Flygon, and he was at his weakest right now. If Riku found them, escaping might be impossible.

And there was another fear—so sharp it made cold sweat bead on his forehead. He lowered his head and confessed honestly. “Boss… you telling me this… I’m afraid you’ll silence me.”

Reiji laughed and patted his shoulder. “Naoki, think about it. If I wanted to silence you, I’d have done it a long time ago.”

Naoki didn’t flinch. He trusted Reiji completely. Reiji was satisfied with his performance. Taking Naoki in hadn’t been a loss—only downside was the guy was a little old.

To make selling the goods go smoothly, saying this now was also a test. They shared an enemy. That made them fishermen in the same boat.

An enemy’s enemy was a friend. Revealing it wouldn’t create distance—it would strengthen their hierarchy and deepen Naoki’s sense of belonging.

It also made one thing clear: your enemy is my enemy. Revenge doesn’t need to be rushed—you, Naoki, will get what you want.

A shared enemy meant a shared goal. If Naoki dared to leak it, Reiji could guarantee the first one to die would be Naoki. Naoki still didn’t know who Reiji really was, and Reiji had no intention of letting him know.

[End of chapter]

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep