It was only after Reiji opened Pineco’s panel that he knew for sure he had struck gold. Joy flooded through him at once. He held the Poké Ball in both hands and stared at the panel with shameless delight.

[Pineco]

[Type: Bug]

[Gender: Male]

[Potential: 57%]

[Level: 39.98%]

[Ability: Sturdy/31.12%][Hidden Ability: Overcoat/22.22%]

Bug-type [Moves: (Bug Bite/37.82%)(Pin Missile/17.11%)]

Steel-type [(Iron Defense/38.41%)(Gyro Ball/6.12%)(Autotomize/34.64%)]

Normal-type [(Tackle/11.14%)(Protect/28.22%)(Self-Destruct/13.41%)(Take Down/7.55%)(Rapid Spin/8.74%)(Explosion/21.38%)(Double-Edge/4.94%)(Endure/35.32%)(Body Slam/26.62%)(Sleep Talk/31.12%)]

Other [(Rest/39.44%)(Rollout/7.54%)(Spikes/5.35%)(Toxic Spikes/6.72%)(Counter/4.64%)]

Fifty-seven potential.

He had really hit the jackpot.

And it was a dual-ability Pineco at that.

Very nice.

Sturdy meant one-hit KO moves would fail against it, and if it was at full health, even a lethal blow would still leave it hanging on with 1 HP.

Overcoat protected it from weather like sandstorm and hail, and made it immune to powder-based moves.

Its move pool was broad as well, which made sense for a Pineco that old.

And the proficiencies leaned heavily toward defensive moves, which told Reiji everything he needed to know. This Pineco was a shut-in through and through. It had maxed out its defensive training and barely touched the rest.

Its lower proficiency moves were especially telling. Anything that required intense movement lagged far behind the defensive ones. The gap was ridiculous. Clearly, this Pineco had no love for exercise.

Once he finished checking the panel, Reiji decided to leave the Safari Zone. There was no point staying any longer. For the price of admission, he had gotten one Tauros and one Pineco. That was more than worth it.

As for the rest of the Pokémon here, he could not be bothered. Some were too spread out, others too scarce, and he had no interest in grinding through them one by one.

Tauros had been more of a convenient pickup. Its potential was decent enough, but not enough to make him pour real resources into it.

Pineco was different.

This one was worth treating seriously. If he raised it well, it would become a real asset—something sturdy enough to hold the front line, annoying enough to disrupt the enemy, and reliable enough to anchor a defensive core.

With its level already so close to Advanced tier, it could join Poliwhirl and the others right away, just barely under Gyarados in the first string.

Still, this was not the time to think too far ahead. Reiji forced down his excitement and made his way back toward the edge of the grove.

A large crowd had gathered outside the forest by then. Everyone had heard that some lunatic kid had gone into the Pineco grove, and now they had come to watch the show.

The moment Reiji stepped out, all eyes landed on him. He had no idea why so many people had nothing better to do with their time.

“You’re finally out. Thank god you’re okay.” The staff member from earlier let out a long breath the second he saw Reiji. If something had happened to him, the Safari Zone would have been held responsible.

“I caught a Pineco,” Reiji said with a grin, giving the Poké Ball in his hand a little shake. Then he added, “Actually, you could fence off that Pineco forest and turn it into a restricted area. Only let in Trainers at certain level. You could even make them qualify through a battle first. It would make a pretty decent attraction.”

“Pineco’s actually a solid defensive Pokémon. Trainers who like battling would definitely be interested. The exploding part is a hassle, sure, but you could just put up warning signs and tell people to be careful. If someone still insists on going in anyway, then the risk is on them.”

The staffer stared at him blankly.

He clearly had not expected the same kid who had just walked into the danger zone to come back out and start offering business suggestions.

Still… it was not a bad idea.

Management had been tearing their hair out over the Pineco problem anyway. If he passed this suggestion up the chain, then whatever happened next would be management’s headache, not his.

“Oh, right. Register this Pineco and Tauros for me. I’m taking both with me.” Reiji handed over the Poké Balls with a smile.

“All right. One moment, please.” The staffer took the balls, still looking a little dazed. Since Reiji was fine and had even managed to catch new Pokémon, there was no point lecturing him any further.

He made a note in the register, handed the Poké Balls back, and gave Reiji a slip confirming he was allowed to leave the Safari Zone with those two Pokémon. He only had to show it to security at the exit.

“Thanks.” Reiji took the slip, thanked him, and squeezed his way out of the crowd.

As for Dratini, he was done dreaming. The whole thing had to be a planted rumor. There was no way this place actually had Dratini.

He had barely started heading for the exit when someone familiar stepped into his path.

Only then did Reiji notice him.

“Reiji-nii. Long time no see…”

“You…? Shun?” Reiji almost could not believe his eyes. Of all people, Shun was here. He had actually run into Shun from Kinnow Island.

Thinking back, it had been about three months since they last saw each other. Time really did move fast. And Shun had grown a lot taller.

That made sense. At eleven or twelve, kids shot up fast as long as they were eating properly.

“You’ve gotten taller.” Reiji reached out and patted him on the shoulder. It was not just height, either. A lot of the childishness had faded from Shun’s face, and even the way he dressed looked more mature now.

“Reiji-nii, Grandpa and I both missed you back on Kinnow Island. We were even wondering when you’d come back and visit.” Shun rubbed his nose and hesitated for a while before finally managing to get the words out.

“Hahaha, I missed you two too. It’s been a while. Let’s find somewhere to sit and talk properly.” Reiji had not expected to leave here with both a Pineco and an old acquaintance. It was a genuine surprise.

Two good surprises in a row put him in a wonderful mood. He could not stop smiling.

“Reiji-nii, did you catch a Pineco?” Shun glanced at the crowd behind Reiji. He had been in the middle of it earlier, and only pushed his way out after spotting Reiji leaving the grove.

“Yeah. Just caught a pretty good one.” Reiji lifted the Pineco ball again and gave it another little shake.

“Reiji-nii, I caught one too.” Shun grinned and held up his own Poké Ball, clearly waiting to see Reiji’s reaction.

“You did?” Reiji really was surprised for a moment, then laughed. “Right, of course. You were in the Safari Zone too. I almost forgot.”

Then he asked, “What are you doing here, anyway? Where’s your grandpa?”

Reiji asked that with a perfectly straight face, even though he had spoken to the old drunk on the phone only a few days earlier. Naturally, there was no way he was going to mention that in front of Shun.

“I came because I want to compete in the Indigo League. Grandpa’s still at the bar on Kinnow Island. I’ve only been here about half a month. I came over from Cinnabar Island, and I already got two badges—the Volcano Badge and the Soul Badge.”

Shun walked beside Reiji as they left the Safari Zone together, explaining why he had come to Kanto.

Competing in the Indigo League was the official reason.

As for the real one, he had obviously come looking for Reiji.

The two of them kept talking as they walked, while the two Poliwhirl trailed behind them.

Reiji’s Poliwhirl had once trained Shun’s Poliwhirl, so the older one was practically its teacher.

The moment the two met again, they hit it off immediately. They bumped white fists, flexed at each other, and burst into cheerful laughter.

“Poli! Poli!”

“The Indigo League, huh? I came here for that too. I’ve got three badges already.” Reiji took out his badge case and opened it. Three badges lay inside, catching the sunlight in bright flashes of color.

“Reiji-nii, you’re still amazing. You already have three badges.” Shun’s voice was full of admiration.

To him, Reiji had always been part mentor, part friend.

He was the one who had set Shun on the right path as a Trainer, taught him how to raise Pokémon properly, and shown him what it meant to become a capable Trainer. Shun had nothing but respect for him, and saw him as the peak he was still chasing.

“I got here before you, so of course I have more badges.” Reiji smiled, put the case away, and said, “Show me your Pineco.”

“Oh, right.” Shun immediately remembered Reiji’s special ability and quickly handed over his Poké Ball.

“Hmm? Fifty-two.” Reiji muttered the number under his breath, then looked over at the nervous Shun beside him. “Nice eye. This one’s got good talent. How did you pick it?”

Shun took the ball back and explained in detail, “I went by Pineco’s habits. I picked one with a larger body, since older Pineco ought to be stronger…”

“Haha, good. Very good. See? That’s why reading matters.” Reiji laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. He had used the same method himself. All of that information was in the Pokédex descriptions. Read enough when it’s boring, and it pays off when it matters.

“Reiji-nii, mine’s eighty centimeters tall. Not bad, right?” Shun grinned too. He truly was grateful. If Reiji had not chewed him out before, he never would have bothered learning all that dry, tedious stuff.

Reiji had taught him long ago that the key to raising Pokémon—and the key to understanding anything related to them—was always hidden in the Pokémon themselves.

People like them did not come from families with generations of passed-down knowledge. The only way forward was by piecing together clues bit by bit until a path opened.

“It is good. Mine’s a full meter. You didn’t see it in there?”

Reiji stroked his chin as he thought about it. The Pineco in that forest were huge in general. One giant Pineco per tree. That meant his was not some unique freak after all.

More likely, the Safari Zone’s unusually favorable conditions had simply produced larger individuals across the board. With food that abundant, it made sense for Pineco to grow well past normal size.

“When I went deeper into the grove, Pineco around seventy or eighty centimeters tall were everywhere. I found three about the same size as mine.”

“So it wasn’t a one-off.” Reiji thought that over.

At first, he had assumed he got lucky and found something rare.

But not entirely, it seemed.

The real reason those oversized Pineco still existed was probably just that very few people ever ventured that deep into the grove. Once his suggestion got passed along and more Trainers started going in, the Pineco there probably would not have the chance to grow that large anymore.

Still, Shun’s answer confirmed something important.

Pineco with more age almost certainly had higher potential.

And that did not just apply to Pineco.

It should apply to any Pokémon.

Especially pseudo-legendaries.

“Did you figure something out?” Shun asked quietly. Reiji had gone still again, clearly thinking.

“A little. Not much.” Reiji told him about his ideas regarding Pineco—the same three theories he had just worked out, plus the Float Stone training method he wanted to test later.

There was no harm in telling Shun. In fact, Shun could try working on it from his side too. Then later they could compare training notes.

“So that’s how it is…” Shun hurriedly took out a notebook and wrote down Reiji’s ideas.

The truth was, he had been thinking along similar lines himself. He just had not taken it as far, or mapped it out as clearly.

One conversation and half his workload had already disappeared. Now all that remained was the practical testing.

“Shun, that’s my line of thinking. You don’t have to copy it exactly,” Reiji said. “Come up with your own ideas too. Every Trainer thinks differently. You need your own perspective.”

“I’ll remember that, Reiji-nii.” Shun put away the paper and pen and smiled. Being around Reiji really did feel good. Whenever he did not understand something, he could ask. Whenever they talked, he learned something new.

This big brother he had met by chance along the way had helped him more than anyone else. Without him, Shun never would have made it this far as a Trainer.

“Haha. Let’s eat first. Your big bro’s paying.” Reiji ruffled Shun’s hair and led him toward a restaurant by the roadside.

He knew Shun had plenty more he wanted to say. They could talk while they ate.

The food had not even arrived yet when Shun started talking about what happened back on Kinnow Island, especially the way he had monitored Keiko after returning.

“Oh? Really? Keiko didn’t know?” Reiji only now learned that Keiko had no idea her boyfriend had tried to hunt them down. Shun had even gone back to the massage parlor later and talked to her about Ren.

As for whether Shun felt any guilt?

After all, they were the ones who killed him.

But judging from Shun’s tone, Reiji could not hear even a trace of burden.

Back then, Keiko’s boyfriend had been trying to kill them.

Why would they show mercy to an enemy?

Reiji never would.

And Shun would not either—not anymore.

Maybe the old Shun, from before they met, might have hesitated.

But the breeding ranch’s way of handling Ren’s death had changed him too much. That was when Shun finally understood what this world really was.

The adult world.

Shun told him about that too. Ren, the man who had hunted them down, ended up being turned into a local hero on Kinnow Island. The club promoted him heavily and practically built a whole heroic image around him.

When Reiji heard that, it did not take him long to understand why.

There had to be profit in it.

Anything tied to business came down to profit in the end.

As for sentiment?

Forget it.

Even blood relatives turned on each other for money.

So what chance did a dead outsider have?

Naturally they would squeeze every bit of value out of him.

“Shun, people like heroes. They believe what they want to believe. A lot of the time, the truth doesn’t matter nearly as much as that.”

“I know. I know all that.” Shun stared blankly at the table as he spoke. His grandfather had already told him as much. During that period, he had spent plenty of time slipping around the black market on his own. By now he had seen enough of human coldness to stop expecting much from anyone.

And he had come to understand that Reiji was right.

In the end, a Trainer’s strength was what mattered.

Without strength, you were nothing.

Just a dog in the street, something anyone could kick and curse for being in the way.

“You really have grown up,” Reiji said. “Forget the depressing stuff. Once we’ve eaten, we’ll find a battle field. I want to test you properly and see how much stronger you’ve gotten.”

Reiji had long since gone numb to stories like this. His previous life had already worn that part of him down.

There was no point dwelling on them.

You couldn’t change anything.

All it did was ruin your mood, and if you took too much of it in, it would drag you into a hole.

Better to lie flat, go fishing, and stay far away from the noise of the world.

That was a much easier life.

[End of chapter]

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