Day 1 on the way to Johto. Cloudy.
The weather was decent today. Reiji was already on the ship, having left the night before.
Shamouti Island had no way to fix Zapdos's condition, so staying there would not change anything. He was better off getting to Johto as soon as possible.
The surrounding sea had been calm for the past few days, so the Collector probably was not showing up anytime soon. Still, if he truly wanted to add Lugia to his collection, he would eventually come back for the three legendary birds. It was only a matter of when.
That was no longer Reiji's problem. If something that big happened, the heavyweights hiding behind the four Orange League Gyms would not just sit back and watch. He could leave with a clear conscience.
He had not solved Zapdos's sleep problem, but the trip was not a total waste. That Slowking had been generous enough to give him a golden feather. Mandarin Island North treated the thing like a family treasure, but here it was handed over like a common gift. Pretty nice, honestly.
That morning, he had breakfast with his Pokémon in the training room again. Afterward, they went straight into gravity training. Once they adjusted to 1x gravity, then 2x gravity, he would keep increasing the load until they reached their limit.
Unless something unexpected happened, he would spend the next half month on ships. He had already quit the tour group too. After he left written proof that he did not want a refund, the guide approved his request without much trouble.
Next, he would get off at Hamlin Island, then take another ship from Hamlin Island to Cinnabar Island. From there, he would continue on toward Johto.
Just thinking about more than 10 days at sea gave him a headache. At least the route passed through Cinnabar. He could soak in a hot spring and visit Amber and Blaine, so the trip would not be completely dull.
Day 2 on the way to Johto.
The ship to Hamlin Island had docked at Kumquat Island last night, but Reiji had no interest in getting off. He stayed in the training room with his Pokémon. After their modifications, the ship's training room had basically become a gravity room.
Day 3 on the way to Johto. Morning.
After sailing through the night, the passenger ship reached Hamlin Island that morning. Reiji got off only to transfer to another interregional ship. He still went nowhere else, spending all his time in the training room with his Pokémon, eating and sleeping alongside them.
No one bothered them, and he did not go looking for battles either. The Trainers on the ship were too weak to make it worthwhile.
Even if he could bet on matches, beating up beginners for pocket money would only waste training time and draw unwanted attention. It was not worth it.
Until they reached Cinnabar Island in Kanto, he planned to stay in the training room and go nowhere else.
Day 4 on the way to Johto.
Day 5 on the way to Johto.
Day 6 on the way to Johto.
The next 3 days passed without incident. No pirates attacked the ship either. Overall, it was a smooth voyage.
Even with his luck, he could not possibly run into pirates every single time he went out to sea. If that ever happened, he would have to start wondering whether someone had it in for him. Thankfully, the world had not gone that far.
By the time the ship reached Cinnabar Island, it was already afternoon. Reiji did not call Blaine ahead of time. He wanted to show up quietly and give him a surprise.
When he left the ship, he kept only Poliwrath and Eevee with him, along with Gengar hidden in his shadow.
Cinnabar's hot spring street was as lively as ever. Every inn was packed, and even the Pokémon Center was full.
If Mikan Island could build a hot spring street like this someday, he could bring his Pokémon there whenever he wanted to relax. Opening a small guesthouse there would probably make money too.
After passing through the hot spring street, he climbed to the guesthouse halfway up the mountain. This was Blaine's Cinnabar Gym. No one was at the entrance, so he took off his shoes and stepped onto the wooden floor. A woman happened to be walking toward him.
"You? Rai? What are you doing here?" Elisia covered her mouth in surprise. They had not seen him in about a month, and she clearly had not expected him to appear out of nowhere.
"Elisia, I'm just passing through. I wanted to see Amber and surprise her." Reiji raised a finger to his lips, asking her to keep her voice down. He did not want Amber to notice him yet.
"So that's it. Amber is training her Pokémon. They're all in the back yard." Elisia smiled behind her hand. She was already thinking about what to cook tonight. She had to make something good for the boy who had saved her daughter.
"Thanks. I'll go over now." Reiji smiled, waved, and headed past her toward the back yard.
That was also the place where he had challenged Cinnabar Gym and battled Blaine.
When he reached the back yard, he saw Amber, Itsuki, and Tania training their Pokémon. Blaine was sitting under the eaves with Arcanine beside him, drinking tea. He heard the footsteps, turned around, and immediately spotted Reiji.
"You little brat. What brings you here?" Blaine set down his cup and waved him over with a grin.
"I'm heading to Johto. I had to transfer ships here, so I came by to visit." Reiji sat across from him at the tea table, and Blaine poured him a cup.
"Johto?" Blaine raised an eyebrow. "What are you going there for?"
"A few small things." Reiji did not explain. He had plenty to do in Johto: figure out what was wrong with Zapdos, evolve Magneton, and take care of Scyther's evolution while he was there.
"Forget it. You never tell me anything anyway." Blaine lost interest at once and moved on. "Did you run into the Spider Pirates while you were in the Orange Archipelago? I heard they pulled off quite a few big jobs over there."
"The Spider Pirates?" Reiji looked at him in surprise. He had not expected that name to spread all the way here. "Has the story really gotten that big? I got robbed by some people calling themselves Spider one night, but after I dragged them to the Pokémon Center, I found out they were fakes."
"Big? It's practically turned into a horror story. The League spent a while trying to push the rumors back down." Blaine glanced at Reiji and gave him a little inside information.
"Really? That bounty almost tempted me too." Reiji did not bother hiding his greed, even when it was his own bounty they were talking about. Then he sighed. "Too bad those people are strong. Some of them are Elite Four-tier Trainers. I might earn the money and not live long enough to spend it."
"Heh, you brat." Blaine could see he knew better than to get reckless, so he left it there. In Blaine's eyes, Reiji had always been careful. He was not the kind of idiot who charged into trouble headfirst.
"Blaine, can you take a look at this bird for me? It fell asleep a while ago and hasn't woken up since." Reiji did not want to keep talking about Spider. The more he said, the easier it would be to slip up.
He placed a Poké Ball on the tea table. Since Blaine was a scientist, Reiji wanted him to see whether there was any way to help Zapdos.
"A sleeping little bird?" Blaine looked at the Pokémon inside the ball and frowned. "That gray Spearow of yours?"
"Yeah. I don't know what happened. A while back, it just stopped waking up. I've been using a Heal Ball to keep it stable." Reiji sighed. He really had no answer for this prematurely born Zapdos. Handing it to Blaine was a desperate move, but it was better than doing nothing.
Zapdos had already grown past the early-birth problem, and Reiji had even started training it. But after a while, it became sleepier and sleepier. Eventually, it fell asleep and never woke up.
"I can't tell just by looking. I'll need the equipment at Cinnabar Lab." Blaine picked up the Poké Ball and prepared to head down the mountain.
"Rai-nii! Why are you here?"
Amber and the others finally noticed him. The moment she saw Reiji, her eyes lit up. She ran over and threw herself into his arms.
"You've gotten taller, Amber. Let me see if you've gotten thinner." Reiji smiled and ruffled her hair. Her pale blue hair really was pretty. When she grew up, she would probably be a beauty like her mother. He wisely stopped himself from looking too much.
"Mmph, Rai-nii, my cheeks hurt." Amber peeled his hand away. He had pinched her cheeks too hard.
"Hahaha, still soft and chubby. Cute as ever." Reiji stood up with a smile and looked at Itsuki and Tania. One was Agatha's student, and the other was the cruise captain's son.
He was not surprised to see either of them here. Amber was Agatha's student, so it made sense for Tania to help look after her.
As for Itsuki, his father knew Blaine. Sending his son here to train was perfectly normal. Reiji had seen enough of that kind of thing in his previous life. People got whole fake jobs through connections; getting a kid into a training spot was nothing.
"You two are here too," Reiji said with a smile.
"You know each other?" they both said at the same time.
Then they stared at each other, equally surprised.
"We met on a ship before. Itsuki even invited me to become a sailor." Reiji laughed as he explained. Tania needed no introduction; everyone here knew who she was.
"Rai, I really misjudged you back then." Itsuki scratched his head, clearly embarrassed. "I actually invited you to be a sailor."
He had watched the Indigo Plateau Conference. He had seen Reiji tear through the tournament, defeat Tania beside him, and win the championship. He had even seen the trophy.
A Trainer that strong, and he had once tried to recruit him as a sailor. Worse, Reiji knew Blaine too. Every time Itsuki thought about it, he wanted to bury his face in the floor.
"Hey, that's how we got to know each other. Besides, it proves you have a good eye." Reiji laughed and patted him on the shoulder. He had not expected to meet Itsuki again here. He still remembered that Gallade.
"Since you all know each other, talk among yourselves." Seeing them getting along, Blaine waved and left for Cinnabar Lab.
Reiji watched Blaine go, then looked at Tania. He had no idea what to say to her, so he went with the safest thing possible. "You're here too?"
"Yeah. What brings you here?" Tania could not quite meet his eyes. Whenever she saw him smile, she looked away before she could stop herself.
After she had gone with Agatha to the ruins, she followed Blaine back to Cinnabar Island once everything was over.
Agatha had been teaching Amber at Cinnabar Gym, but she had business elsewhere recently, so the job had fallen to Tania, the senior student.
"I'm heading to Johto. I stopped by on the way." Reiji did not have much else to say to her, and the conversation instantly turned awkward.
Amber giggled. "Ah, Tania's shy."
"I am not. Amber, don't say nonsense." Tania could not bring herself to look at Reiji, so she grabbed Amber and pulled her away. Amber was caught off guard, and her hand slipped free from Reiji's. She nearly burst into tears.
"Rai-nii! Rai-nii! Amber doesn't want to go!"
Her voice disappeared around the corner. Reiji gave an awkward laugh and looked at Itsuki, who was also looking at him.
"Uh… want to battle?" Itsuki asked. "I've never battled a champion before."
"How about three-on-three?" Reiji smiled and walked barefoot onto the grass in the back yard. A few casual rounds would be fine. He had no intention of using Poliwrath.
"Sounds good." Itsuki agreed right away. He glanced at Poliwrath beside Reiji, then took his place on the opposite side of the grass with a Poké Ball in hand.
"We'll count to three and release at the same time." Reiji took a Poké Ball from the back of his belt and tossed it lightly in his hand. Plenty of his younger Pokémon had not fought a proper match yet. This was a good chance to let them try.
"Okay. One, two, three!" Itsuki counted out loud. On three, both of them threw their Poké Balls. "Go, Gallade!"
"Go," Reiji said without calling the name.
Red light flashed. When it faded, a Lucario stood in front of Gallade, scars marking all four limbs and one side of its face.
"Lu...?" Lucario froze the moment it came out. It saw two familiar faces at once, and for a moment, it had no idea what to do. It looked back at Reiji, completely lost.
"Lade...?" Gallade froze too. Then it noticed the scars on Lucario's face and the look in its eyes, and finally recognized the little blue dog that had hatched beside it.
"Lucario? With that many scars…" Itsuki was startled. He had not recognized it at first, since it had already evolved. "How did you catch it?"
His childhood friend had a Riolu covered in scars too. A sensitive Pokémon like that could not be won over by force, so how had Reiji managed it?
"It's a long story. Let's battle first." Reiji did not hide Lucario from them. Lucario needed to face its past, and this was as good a place to start as any.
He met Lucario's uncertain eyes and said, "Lucario, don't let the past decide who you are now. We made a pinky promise, remember?"
"Lu." Lucario had been shaken by seeing familiar faces, but Reiji's words steadied it. Its Trainer was behind it now. Reiji was behind it.
It had a new family now. A new home. It was not the same Lucario it had been before, so there was nothing here it needed to run from.
The Pokémon that had hatched with it had already grown this strong. Lucario could not fall too far behind, and it could not embarrass the Trainer who believed in it.
"That's the spirit. Let's give it everything we've got." Reiji smiled and encouraged it. The younger Pokémon were still kids at heart. A simple pep talk worked better than pretending otherwise.
"Not bad," Itsuki thought. Lucario's eyes had changed. Still, he could not understand how Reiji had caught it. Could a Pokémon that had been abused really accept a Trainer?
As their battle was about to begin, Amber and Tania came back. They stood quietly under the eaves and watched. It had been a month since they last saw Reiji battle, and neither of them knew how strong he had become.
"Lucario, Agility. Then Bone Rush…"
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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