"I'm Reiji. I grew up in an orphanage on Kinnow Island, here in the Orange Archipelago. Later, an old drunk took me in, and somewhere along the way I ended up with a ridiculously talented little brother who became one of Bruno's students."
Reiji spoke casually enough, though part of him found the whole thing amusing. Everything before the orphanage belonged to the identity he had constructed for himself after arriving in this world. Still, if he repeated the story often enough—and everyone else believed it—then for all practical purposes, that was his past now.
"When I became a Trainer, I started traveling. Eventually I reached Trovitopolis and got caught up in the fighting there. I saw what happened when gangs, Trainers, and ordinary people all got dragged into the same mess, and that was when I realized how little one person could actually do alone."
That part, at least, needed no embellishment.
"Spider started from there. I wanted people I could trust around me—people who could help each other survive, grow stronger, and eventually reach places none of us could reach on our own."
Reiji leaned back slightly.
"As for my team, I specialize mostly in Water-types, and I have several Elite Four-tier Pokémon. The rules are simple: if anyone here can force me to use an Elite Four-tier Pokémon and then beat me, you can have my seat."
That finally drew a few looks.
Reiji let his gaze move around the table before briefly meeting Shun's eyes. He had mentioned his connection to Bruno without naming him directly, giving Shun a public explanation for their relationship while still keeping the boy's identity hidden from those who did not need to know it.
Shun understood immediately. There was no resentment in his expression, only the same unquestioning trust he had always shown Reiji.
"So," Reiji said, looking around the table again, "any challengers?"
Nobody moved.
They had all watched enough of the Orange League tournament to know what Reiji was capable of. He had finished in the top eight against a field packed with strong Trainers, and none of the people sitting here had placed higher. Even without counting the Pokémon he had kept hidden, challenging him for leadership would be less a show of ambition and more an efficient way to embarrass yourself.
Reiji waited a moment, then smiled toward the opposite end of the table.
"Thought so. Shingo, you're the last one."
"All right."
Shingo cleared his throat and sat a little straighter. Being asked to introduce himself after everyone else was awkward enough; doing it while sitting directly opposite the man who had beaten his Elite Four-tier Scizor through tactics alone made it worse.
"I'm Shingo, from Johto. Some of you probably already know me, and I've crossed paths with a few of you during the tournament."
His eyes briefly passed over Tai, Shun, and Itsuki—the three people who had kept their identities hidden. Reiji had personally vouched for them, and for now, that was enough.
"I inherited The Crimson Streak's training legacy. After the tournament, I was planning to leave the Orange Archipelago, but a group of men in black came after me. I was already running out of options when Number Eight stepped in and saved me."
Shingo turned toward Tai and gave him a sincere nod.
"I owe him my life. If he hadn't intervened, I probably wouldn't be sitting here."
There was none of the raw's theatrical bowing. Shingo did not need to fold himself over the table to make the gratitude clear.
"I favor fast Pokémon, and my strongest partner is an Elite Four-tier Scizor. Anyone who watched my matches already knows what it can do, so I'll spare you the sales pitch."
Reiji started clapping, and the others quickly joined in.
"Good. Then welcome to Spider, Shingo."
His tone changed as the applause faded.
"And since everyone's here, there's something else I'm putting in place tonight. From now on, Shingo is Spider's Chief Intelligence Officer."
Several heads turned toward him.
"If I'm not available and someone wants to organize an operation, it goes through Shingo first. He'll review the objective, the information we have, the people involved, and whether the plan is worth the risk."
Reiji raised a finger before anyone could interrupt.
"Every operation will use at least two people. One of them must be a Trainer with an Elite Four-tier Pokémon unless there's a very good reason otherwise. No more running off alone because somebody had a brilliant idea five minutes ago."
His gaze drifted toward Keith.
Keith immediately became fascinated with the table.
Reiji almost smiled.
Spider had too many members who were brave enough to get themselves killed and not nearly enough who knew when to stop and think. Shingo was good with computers, intelligence gathering, analysis, and planning; putting him between the idiots and their worst impulses was one of the main reasons Reiji had wanted him here.
Gai, still suspended off to the side, provided an even better example of what happened when someone combined poor judgment with excessive confidence.
"Everyone understand?"
A chorus of agreement went around the table.
The message was clear. Shingo had only just joined, but when it came to planning operations, Reiji had placed him above people who had been with Spider far longer.
Whether the others would truly accept that authority depended on Shingo himself.
Shingo understood exactly what Reiji had done.
"You really know how to dump work on people, Rai."
He had already guessed why Reiji wanted him. His skill with computers made him good at collecting, sorting, and cross-checking information, and his habit of thinking several steps ahead made operational planning a natural fit.
The problem was everything else.
He had joined Spider less than an hour ago, yet Reiji had already handed him authority over veteran members such as Naoki and A.J. If anyone resented that, Shingo would have to earn their respect himself.
Reiji appeared entirely unconcerned.
"Naoki, clean up the floor and put Gai outside. Leave a Pokémon watching him."
"Yes, Boss."
Naoki got up and called over Golem. The Rock-type grabbed Gai without ceremony, carried him to the door, and tossed him outside into the pouring rain.
The punishment was hardly finished. Getting soaked was merely the appetizer.
Naoki then had the mess Gai had left on the floor cleaned up before everyone finally uncovered the dishes spread across the long table.
Warm, rich smells immediately filled the room. The food from the hotel had held up well beneath the covers: roasted meat, vegetables, side dishes, and enough snacks to feed the entire table.
Nobody needed a second invitation once Reiji picked up his chopsticks.
Tai, Shun, and Itsuki had a minor problem. Their identities still had to remain hidden, so removing their masks in a room full of people defeated the entire point. Fortunately, all three masks were transformed Ditto, and creating a small opening around the mouth was hardly difficult.
It looked ridiculous, but it worked.
As dinner went on, the atmosphere gradually lost the tension that had dominated the introductions. Nobody asked Tai, Shun, or Itsuki questions they clearly could not answer. Instead, conversation drifted toward Pokémon, travel, tournament stories, stupid things their partners had done, and places worth visiting around the regions.
Sou managed to turn one story about his Pokémon misbehaving into a whole performance, while A.J. countered with several stories from his hunter days that were funny only because everyone involved had survived.
For a while, Spider stopped feeling like an organization assembled from gang leaders, former criminals, infiltrators, orphans, and people with grudges.
They were simply eating together.
Eventually, when most of the food had disappeared and conversation was at its loudest, Reiji tapped the table.
"Everyone, listen up."
The room gradually quieted.
"There's one more thing we're settling tonight: the numbers on your masks."
That immediately got everyone's attention.
"The numbers reflect combat strength. Since we almost never have everyone in one place, tonight we're doing ranking battles. Two Pokémon each."
A few people shifted forward in their seats.
"How many people you beat determines where you end up in the ranking. The number itself doesn't give you some grand title or special privilege, but it does matter during operations."
Reiji looked down both sides of the table.
"If two members are working together and you reach a point where you genuinely can't agree on what to do, the member with the lower number gets the final call."
That gave the ranking a practical purpose without turning Spider into a hierarchy where everyone below Number One had to obey him in daily life.
"And the rankings aren't permanent. If you think you've become stronger, challenge whoever holds the number you want. One challenge per person per week. Normally it's three-on-three, but tonight we're using two-on-two so we can actually finish before sunrise."
That rule drew considerably more interest.
A number could be lost.
Which meant a number could also be taken.
Reiji looked toward the members who already had Elite Four-tier Pokémon.
"Naoki, A.J., Shingo, Number Eight—you four don't need to fight through the preliminary ranking."
Nobody questioned why.
Every person Reiji had named possessed at least one Elite Four-tier Pokémon. Throwing them into the same placement process as everyone else would accomplish very little beyond demonstrating a gap everyone already understood.
Reiji then turned toward the remaining members.
"If any of you want one of their numbers, though, you're welcome to try."
A few expressions changed immediately.
"Beat them, and the number is yours."
Now the real dinner entertainment could begin.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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