"Hahaha." Reiji laughed, and Naoki laughed with him.
Naoki already knew what kind of sense of humor his boss had. Back when he first started following him, he had realized one thing very quickly: so things were better left alone. If he looked too closely, he would start noticing that his boss might not actually be an Elite Four-tier Trainer.
But Naoki had never looked down on him. Darkrai alone was enough to make him trust Reiji completely. If Reiji could catch Darkrai before even reaching Elite Four tier, what would happen once he got there? He might really take off.
So Naoki never questioned him. If Reiji told him to do sothing, he did it. If Reiji brought in so kid and told him to teach the kid, he taught whatever he could. If there was sothing he didn't know, then there was nothing he could do about it.
Once everything was out in the open, the mood in the car loosened up. The three of them chatted and laughed all the way to Naoki's villa, where quite a few people were already waiting.
The mont Reiji got out of the car, he saw Sou, his skin dark from the sun. Gulzar was here too. So was Keith, the pickpocket. Daishi, Naoki's follower, was present as well, along with Gai, who had been dragged onto the boat half by force.
Including the three from the car—Reiji, Naoki, and A.J.—there were eight of them.
"Rai-nii, why are you here?" Gulzar looked surprised. He clearly hadn't expected Reiji to show up.
"Hey, Gulzar. What are you doing here?" Reiji was curious too. Why had this kid co here instead of going back to Kumquat Island?
"Rai-nii, my Pokémon all need Evolution Stones, so I ca to ask Brother Naoki if he had any connections." Gulzar explained what had happened.
He had flown back with Travis. Travis had his family backing him, so everything went smoothly for him.
Gulzar, on the other hand, had it rough. The only thing he received was one mid-quality Evolution Stone. He knew that was already the most Kumquat Gym could give him, so he didn't bla the Gym.
Travis had wanted to slip him an Evolution Stone in secret, but Gulzar hadn't dared accept it. That was a high-grade Evolution Stone, worth tens of millions.
After that, he asked the Gym Leader for leave, saying he wanted to travel for a while and collect Evolution Stones. That was how he ended up coming to Naoki.
"Good. You'll find them." Reiji patted Gulzar, then looked toward Sou and Keith. Both kids were excited to see him.
"Rai-nii!" they called at the sa ti.
Reiji patted their shoulders one by one and gave them a few words of encouragent. Then he looked at A.J. and introduced him to the others. "This is A.J. From now on, he's one of us."
"Naoki, is dinner ready? We'll eat while we talk. Later tonight, we'll hold a few friendly matches so everyone can get used to each other." Reiji turned back to Naoki. He wasn't sure if dinner had arrived yet.
"Boss, dinner's been ready for a while. I ordered from a hotel before I went to pick you up. I'll have them send it over now."
"Naoki, it's already here," Sou quickly said, reminding him that the food had arrived.
"Then let's eat and talk." Reiji waved everyone inside instead of letting them stand around at the door.
The eight of them entered the villa. These people were his first real group. Shun was still in Kanto and couldn't co. Tai was still inside Team Rocket, so he couldn't co either. For now, this would have to do. He could introduce everyone properly when there was ti.
Reiji sat at the head of the long table. Gulzar and Naoki sat closest to him, one on each side. Gai and Daishi sat below Naoki, while Sou, Keith, and A.J. sat below Gulzar.
"This is our first al together, so eat well, drink well, get to know each other, and don't cause trouble. Let's start."
Clink.
Reiji gave a casual opening line, then stood and raised his glass. Everyone else stood too. Glasses touched with a clear ring, and the dinner began.
Reiji had flown all day and was tired, but he kept a smile on his face and finished the al with everyone. The others chatted over the table. The older ones drank, the younger ones had juice, and after a few rounds, the group started to feel more familiar.
Most of them already knew each other. A.J. was the only newcor, so he had so trouble fitting in at first. In the end, it was Sou, with his simple, honest face, who earned his trust first.
Sou looked rough and a little slow, but he wasn't stupid. He was only that open with people on his side. Kids from fishing villages weren't short on grit. Without that edge, he wouldn't have been able to mix with this group. Everyone here had blood on their hands.
After dinner, it was ti for the friendly matches. The point was to help everyone understand each other.
And since these were friendly matches to celebrate the group's first team-building event, with Reiji himself hosting, there had to be prizes.
There were eight people here, but Reiji and Naoki wouldn't take part. The chances should go to the younger ones.
Reiji rummaged through his bag and took out six Advanced-tier items. Each one was worth at least five million at market price. Rare-type items could go even higher, around seven or eight million, like the Dragon Fang he had brought out.
Besides the Dragon Fang, there were also Mystic Water, Miracle Seed, Hard Stone, Charcoal, and Poison Barb. Six Advanced-tier items ca to at least thirty million at market price. This was his welco gift for the kids.
It was also a way to show what kind of backing he had. Dropping thirty million without blinking was enough to settle any doubts these kids might have.
Pokémon with Elite Four-tier potential were an unspoken benefit of joining his group, but he had kept that part hidden. Only a few people knew about it. Advanced-tier held items, on the other hand, were right there in front of them. Everyone could get one.
He wasn't going to deny anyone a prize just because they lost, but this kind of benefit would only happen once. After this, they would have to compete for rewards.
"Held items. All Advanced-tier." Naoki looked at the items Reiji had brought out. Each one shone with a different color, and he couldn't help admiring how deep Reiji's pockets were.
Even for Naoki, pulling out this many items at once would hurt. He had two teams of Pokémon to raise, and the two hundred million he had brought with him was already starting to run thin. Money was tight.
"Naoki, you and I can sit this one out. Let the kids have their turn."
Naoki nearly rolled his eyes. What did he an by "kids"? Naoki was only in his twenties. He wasn't old.
And Reiji was young too. He made it sound like they were both old n. Still, Naoki didn't argue. A man in his twenties joining a bunch of teenagers to fight over held items would be embarrassing.
Maybe this was the difference in outlook. Naoki could only think about revenge and the girl he liked. Reiji was looking much farther ahead and had far more to consider.
After setting the items on the table one by one, Reiji looked at the six excited faces in front of him. These were Advanced-tier items worth five million each. Most of them only had one or two items like this at most. Getting one for free was enough to make anyone excited, especially Sou, Keith, and Gulzar. Those kids were broke.
Seeing the hunger in their eyes, Reiji spoke in a steady voice. "These items are the prizes for our first friendly tournant. You'll pair up by drawing lots. Winners advance until we have the final winner. The higher you place, the earlier you get to choose."
"I don't need to explain how valuable these are. This Dragon Fang in particular is worth much more than the others. First place gets first pick, then everyone else chooses in order."
"Rai-nii, what are the rules? How many Pokémon can we use?" Gulzar asked.
"Relax." Reiji looked at him. Gulzar probably wanted high-grade Evolution Stones for his Pokémon. That ant a gap of tens of millions, so of course he was short on money.
Reiji continued, "Each match is one-on-one. Three of you will advance. In the final round, you'll draw lots to decide who gets the bye. You can switch Pokémon between matches, but each match is decided in one fight. Clear?"
"Clear," the six answered together, then started sizing each other up. Now they were all opponents.
"Naoki, let them draw." Reiji sat back in a lounge chair and watched as Naoki brought out a cardboard box. He wrote two ones, two twos, and two threes on six slips of paper. Whoever drew the sa number would battle each other.
The six ca up one by one and took a slip from the box. The first pair would battle first.
The first match turned out to be A.J. against Gai. The two barely knew each other.
Since they had been matched, they had to battle. It would also let them learn each other's strength and make it easier to know where they stood around each other later. In the end, strength still decided a lot here.
A.J. took this match seriously. The Dragon Fang alone could sell for seven or eight million, and he was badly short on money too.
Reiji watched the two stand across from each other in the open space, Poké Balls ready, and smiled.
He knew A.J.'s strength well. Among this group, A.J. was one of the stronger ones. His team was balanced, with a full set of Advanced-tier Pokémon.
"Go, Golduck!"
"Go, Magneton!"
A.J. laughed to himself when he saw Golduck. He had guessed right. He didn't know Gai well, but in the Orange Archipelago, Water-type Pokémon were common. If he had to blind-pick one Pokémon with a good chance of being useful, an Electric type was the safest bet.
Gai's face darkened when he saw Magneton. This was a terrible matchup.
Still, Golduck was his ace. A Magneton wasn't unbeatable.
There was no official referee, so Naoki volunteered. He marked out a space in the villa's yard and called to both sides, "Begin."
"Magneton, Thunderbolt!"
"Golduck, Dig!"
The battle stalled right away. Magneton didn't have a clean answer, so it could only rise into the air and watch the ground.
Gai knew Golduck couldn't stay underground forever, but for the mont, he didn't know how to attack Magneton either. Confusion wouldn't do much against it, and Water-type moves would only hit normally. This was going to be rough.
Since Golduck refused to co out, A.J. found his answer: tal Sound.
Magneton aid at the tunnel opening and let out a harsh tallic screech. The tunnel made it worse, carrying the sound underground and bouncing it around until Golduck was trapped in it. If it stayed down there much longer, it was going to pass out.
Gai had no choice but to make Golduck co back up. A.J. imdiately had Magneton move aside. Golduck burst out of the ground, still dizzy from the noise, and failed to attack in ti.
A bolt of lightning dropped from above.
Golduck's whole body seized up. Magneton pushed more power into the attack and kept the current going until Golduck's eyes rolled back and it fainted.
"Magneton wins. Next is the second group."
The second match was Sou against Daishi. Both of them quickly stepped into the open space with their Poké Balls ready.
They both worked at the club and lived together often, so they knew each other well. At Naoki's signal, Sou and Daishi threw their Poké Balls at the sa ti.
"Go, Graveler!"
"Go, Gyarados!"
Daishi specialized in Ground- and Rock-type Pokémon. Sou's team was all Water types, so he sent out Gyarados.
Not every Rock-type Pokémon could shrug off water. Most were weak to it, and Graveler had an x4 weakness. There was no real suspense in this match. Sou won.
Then ca the third match. Only Keith and Gulzar were left.
Gulzar had only been here for a few days, so he didn't know Keith well. But he had seen Keith train his Pokémon. Keith used Flying types, while most of Gulzar's Pokémon were Grass types. That was a terrible matchup for him.
The two stepped forward and threw their Poké Balls.
"Go, Pidgeot!"
"Go, Pidgeotto!"
"Oh?" Reiji looked at the two Flying-type Pokémon in surprise. If he rembered right, he had helped both of them catch those Pokémon.
Gulzar had caught his first, and Keith had caught his later. Reiji hadn't expected Gulzar's Pidgeotto to have evolved already. It had still been a Pidgeotto during the Indigo Plateau Conference.
Since Gulzar's Pidgeotto had evolved, the match was Pidgeot against Pidgeotto. There was no suspense here either. Pidgeotto couldn't beat Pidgeot. The size and weight difference alone was too much.
Just as Reiji expected, Pidgeotto lost, and Pidgeot won.
The bracket was now clear.
A.J., Sou, and Gulzar would fight for first, second, and third.
Gai, Daishi, and Keith would fight for fourth, fifth, and sixth.
For the final draw, A.J. drew number one. Gulzar also drew number one. Sou got lucky and drew the bye.
A.J. knew Gulzar's team. He had collected information on Gulzar's Pokémon during the Indigo Plateau Conference.
Aside from Gyarados and Pidgeot, Gulzar also had a Grovyle. It should have evolved by now. As for the rest of his Grass types, A.J. didn't worry about them. From what he had just heard, they were still waiting on Evolution Stones. That ant Gulzar would probably use either Gyarados or Sceptile.
Gulzar and A.J. stood across from each other in the open space. Both had competed in the Indigo Plateau Conference, and both knew sothing about the other's team. Gulzar knew A.J.'s ace was Sandslash. If A.J. sent out Sandslash, this match would be much easier.
"Go, Sceptile!"
"Go, Scyther!"
A.J. chose Scyther for two reasons. First, it was the safer pick. Second, Sandslash was weak against both Gyarados and Sceptile, so using it was out of the question. In the end, his read was mostly right. Gulzar really had chosen Sceptile.
Gulzar had picked Sceptile because many of A.J.'s Pokémon were weak to Grass. Magneton had already been used once, so he might not use it again. Gulzar decided to gamble.
He lost the gamble.
Now the matchup was bad for him. Sceptile's Grass moves were pretty much useless against Scyther, while Scyther's Flying- and Bug-type attacks both hit Sceptile for x2. This was going to be hard.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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