Being upfront with Naoki meant he wouldn’t start getting suspicious just because Reiji was helping him for free, let alone letting that suspicion turn into a rift.

Paranoia only breeds misunderstandings. If you see the first signs of a split inside the team, you crush it early.

To Reiji, Naoki was still just a subordinate. Even if he lost him, it wouldn’t cost him anything. Their relationship wasn’t equal in the first place.

Naoki needed him right now. Reiji needed Naoki in the future. Against the current Naoki, Reiji held all the cards—so why wouldn’t he use that advantage?

If he couldn’t even bring a down-and-out Naoki under control, then unless he truly planned to lie flat forever, anything he tried to do later would end with him tied up and unable to move.

Before this, Naoki was basically just a tool—someone he picked up as extra muscle. Once they got past this hurdle, Naoki would become one of his future inner circle.

Shun counted too. That made two Elite Four–level trainers as his trusted people—two pillars he could rely on later.

“Boss… you trust me that much?” Naoki hadn’t expected it. It felt like Reiji was just letting him cling on and never let go.

“Of course. No matter who shows up, nobody can save you. If you dare tell anyone, I won’t even need to lift a finger. You’ll die a very ugly death.”

Reiji kept walking into the trees, not bothering to care what Naoki was thinking. Even a test needed the right timing. Loyalty didn’t appear in an instant—it had to be stamped deep into Naoki’s bones.

“Boss, unless I’ve lost my mind, I’d never say a word. If you didn’t tell me, I wouldn’t even know,” Naoki said, understanding the warning. If he talked, Riku would torture him to death long before Reiji ever had to act.

“Who knows. Hurry up and catch your Pokémon.” Reiji didn’t react to Naoki’s explanation. Trust was built one moment at a time, and it was just as easy to destroy—one lie was enough.

“Boss… did you really steal Riku’s backpack?” Seeing that Reiji wasn’t angry, Naoki worked up the nerve to step closer and ask about it.

“What do you think? Otherwise how would I know Riku’s trying to evolve a Fire-type Pokémon?” Reiji could tell Naoki was already acting closer—less stiff than before, with less of that hard line between superior and subordinate.

That kind of distance came from an unequal relationship, a gap in strength and status. Even if the boss wanted to be your friend, you couldn’t treat the boss like a friend. You’d never truly be friends.

“Hahaha! Riku’s going to lose his mind!” Naoki burst out laughing. He couldn’t hide how happy he was. After all these days, it was the first real good news he’d heard.

He’d secretly taken on a boss—and that boss had even helped him get revenge. That alone was worth celebrating. Even if Reiji never helped him catch another Pokémon, this news was already the best surprise, the best “welcome gift” he could have gotten.

If Riku’s backpack getting stolen was one huge surprise, then the trust behind it was another. It meant Reiji had accepted him, not that he was just trusting Reiji on his own.

And sure, even without all that, loyalty was what he was supposed to give. But being trusted back… that feeling was hard to put into words.

“Naoki. I don’t know if Riku’s going crazy, but if you don’t watch it, bird droppings are going to land in your mouth.” Reiji lit another cigarette and leaned against the tree, smoking in silence.

Seeing Naoki finally vent what he’d been bottling up for days put Reiji in a better mood too. Joy was meant to be shared. If only one person knew, it got boring fast.

He even changed how he addressed Naoki. Now that he’d laid things out, calling him by his full name felt too distant. This was simpler.

“Boss, give me a second. I just saw a Pokémon I really like.” When Naoki heard that shift, he knew it meant something—Reiji had truly accepted him. From now on, he was one of Reiji’s own people.

“Fine. Go on, get lost.” Reiji couldn’t be bothered to look at him and turned his face away, cigarette still between his fingers.

Naoki was the type to latch on hard. As long as you didn’t disappoint him completely, he wouldn’t give up—let alone betray you. This kind of person became fanatically loyal.

Heh. Naoki, oh Naoki… a born doormat. Someone like that was almost too easy to manipulate.

Naoki had told him about it back on the ship—his one-sided crush. Back in Trovitopolis, he had someone he’d been secretly in love with. They’d never even kissed. He’d only held her hand. And he’d kept that one-sided obsession going for over ten years. If that wasn’t being a doormat, what was?

Ten years of chasing, and she still didn’t run away with you. That just means she doesn’t like you—she’s stringing you along. How could you not see that?

Reiji could already picture the ending. Once Naoki got his strength back and returned to Trovitopolis, it wouldn’t be some “soldier king returns” legend. It would be a wedding invitation from the girl he liked. Then she’d squeeze him one last time and make him bless the happy couple.

Disgusting. What kind of garbage plot is that? Any writer who dared to write it would get beaten for it.

Whatever this doormat did, it wasn’t Reiji’s problem. That was Naoki’s mess.

From the outside, it was obvious. You could see it without thinking. But doormats never could.

People like that were pleasers by nature—always trying to make others happy while ignoring their own feelings.

They stayed so low because they kept pretending not to see the other person’s mistakes—never taking initiative, never refusing, never taking responsibility.

They’d make excuses for the other person, defend them, even take the blame for them.

They were terrified of losing the other person, terrified of being scolded or abandoned, so they tolerated everything.

And all that did was make the other person push further, respecting neither the effort nor the feelings being poured out.

People should learn to protect themselves. Don’t turn yourself into someone’s wallet and backup plan.

You couldn’t talk this kind of person awake, and you couldn’t hit them awake either. If you forced them to “wake up,” they’d resent you. They only woke up after they’d been hurt—hurt badly enough that it went straight through the heart.

That day wouldn’t be far off. Reiji was honestly looking forward to Naoki’s expression when it happened. If he didn’t laugh until he snorted, it would be a waste of all the effort he’d put into shaping Naoki.

Just thinking about it already made him laugh. Heh… hahaha…

“Boss! Boss! I caught a Pinsir! Hurry and help me check if it’s worth keeping—I’ve wanted to catch a Pinsir for ages!”

Naoki saw Reiji leaning under a tree, laughing to himself. Since the boss was in such a good mood, he brought the Pinsir over for inspection.

“No. Trash. All trash.” Reiji checked the proficiency panels on five Pinsir, then tossed the Poké Ball back. The potential on these was terrible.

“Boss, wait—there are more than ten over there!” Naoki held onto the Pinsir for now. He’d found a whole group nearby, so he grabbed the ones he’d already caught and rushed back to catch more.

This time, he caught the entire group—thirteen in total—and brought them all back for Reiji to look through.

“Your luck isn’t bad. There’s one Pinsir here with talent.” Reiji picked out the Pinsir with a potential of fifty-three. Turns out the group had a leader. He tossed that one to Naoki.

“Perfect! Then I’ll keep this Pinsir.” Naoki took the fifty-three-potential Pinsir with a grin. When he was a kid, he’d always wanted a cool Pinsir.

Later, after he caught Geodude and started walking the path of a Rock-type trainer, he’d forgotten about that childhood obsession.

Now that he was back in the forest, the memories hit again. He released the rest of the Pinsir, then hurried to catch up with Reiji as they kept heading deeper into the woods.

The two of them kept moving and catching as they went, until they reached the center of Sunburst Island. Along the way, they didn’t see a single other high-potential Pokémon.

They weren’t planning to keep wandering in circles. When they arrived, they saw a dead volcano. There were crystals all over the mountain, probably dragged up from underground during past eruptions.

There were also plenty of rock caves. Lots of Ground- and Rock-type Pokémon lived inside. Naoki wanted to catch a Geodude here.

“Go on. We’ll meet back at the inn tonight.” By the time Reiji and Naoki got here, it was close to noon. After lunch, they split up.

Naoki needed to catch a Geodude, rebuild his training with it, and search for Crystal Onix, so he headed into the caves of the dead volcano.

Reiji was also looking for Crystal Onix, but he wasn’t going with Naoki. He already had a good idea where it might be. There was no reason to share something like that—good things were meant to be kept quiet while you made your profit.

“Got it, boss.” Naoki waved goodbye and turned into the caves. This afternoon he planned to catch a few hundred Geodude, aiming to find one with a “shop treasure” talent.

As for an Elite Four–talent Geodude?

First, he didn’t have that kind of time. Elite Four talent wasn’t something you ran into easily.

Second, tomorrow they were heading to Mandarin Island, and the boss needed to move the black-market goods there.

Third, the boss didn’t have time either. Once the goods were sold on Mandarin Island, the boss would leave—there wouldn’t be much time left to help him evaluate catches.

Naoki had to complete his team as fast as possible. Elite Four–talent Pokémon were rare gifts. Having one Krabby was already enough. For the remaining slots, “shop treasure” talent was good enough.

A Pokémon with “shop treasure” talent could reach Elite Four tier in the future without much trouble. Champion tier was out of reach—Elite Four strength would be enough for revenge. Champion was a world he couldn’t touch.

…

After splitting from Naoki, Reiji released Pelipper and flew up over Sunburst Island, searching from the air for the small islands nearby.

If that island really existed, it would prove Crystal Onix was here. Then he wouldn’t need to wait for low tide—he could just fly over on Pelipper.

After circling half the island, he spotted it. There really was a small island like that. He immediately had Pelipper fly over.

Pelipper landed on the island, and the Ditto mask could finally rest. When Ditto was with Naoki, it hadn’t had a moment to relax. Now it shifted from a face mask back into a scarf and hung around Reiji’s neck, ready to turn back at any time.

Reiji also released Poliwhirl, Kingler, and Scyther, having them help search for a rock cave. Spinarak was excluded—after keeping watch all night, it was resting in its Poké Ball.

“Poliwhirl, you three got it? Find a rock cave on this island.”

“Poli!” Poliwhirl thumped its chest to show it understood. A cave was nothing.

“Krraa!” Kingler lifted its massive claw and crawled into the trees.

“Scy!” Scyther nodded to Reiji and slipped into the forest.

Watching the three Pokémon disappear, Reiji stepped into the forest too. The island wasn’t big. If there was a cave, it shouldn’t be hard to find.

Sure enough, they found one quickly. Scyther even came back to lead him.

Reiji grabbed onto Scyther’s leg and let it haul him over to the cave entrance. Poliwhirl and Kingler were already waiting there.

“Poli, poli!” Poliwhirl pointed at the cave—about two meters tall—then pointed off to the side, indicating there was another one.

“More than one?” Reiji followed where it was pointing, walked around the rock face for a dozen steps, and saw another cave entrance.

This one was much smaller, but he had a feeling they led to the same place.

A crystal cavern deeper inside—food, water, and the perfect habitat for Crystal Onix. It was also the place Ash and his group had encountered it.

He walked back and called to Kingler, “Kingler, lead with Iron Defense. Scyther, you take the rear. Poliwhirl, stay with me.”

“Krraa, krraa!” A metallic sheen flickered across Kingler’s body as it reinforced its shell, then it moved into the cave to take point.

Reiji followed closely with a flashlight in hand. Poliwhirl stayed at his side, ready to protect him at any moment. Scyther kept to the back in case anything unexpected happened.

One human and three Pokémon advanced slowly into the cave, exploring deeper and deeper. After who knew how long, they reached a cavern packed with crystals.

The flashlight beam scattered across the crystal stone, throwing back dazzling light. Everything looked clear and pure, the kind of transparency the beam could pass through.

In the middle of the cavern, there was also a deep, silent pool. The water was so clear that the deeper parts turned a dark green, and the bottom couldn’t be seen at all. Standing at the edge and looking down felt like staring into an abyss.

After a moment of watching that darkness, a chill crawled up his spine. He quickly backed away several steps, not daring to get any closer.

[End of chapter]

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep