Pokémon: Master of the Rain Team

”Sir, please come with me.”

The waitress didn’t hesitate. She left the bar and led Reiji upstairs. Anyone mysterious who asked for the boss could be the boss’s headache, not hers.

She brought Reiji to a second-floor private room. From its floor-to-ceiling window you could watch every corner of the ground-floor hall; a server was stationed inside as well. The old man really did know how to enjoy himself.

When the girl pushed the door open with a stranger in tow, the old man looked up, surprised.

”Captain, this gentleman is asking for you,” the waitress said, then closed the door and left.

Once the door shut, Reiji dropped his hood and mask, revealing his face. The old man had seen him before—no need to hide.

”What brings you here?” The old man stood at once to greet his unexpected guest and waved the in-room server away.

”Old man, you almost got me killed. How could I not come?” Reiji flopped into a single armchair and went straight to the point.

”Got you killed? When did I ever set you up?” The old man blinked. Aside from their very first meeting—when he had planned to fleece Reiji—he’d been the one taking losses. What trap?

”Skinny’s Elekid. Did you clean that up or not?” Reiji knew this fox wouldn’t admit anything unless cornered.

”He told you?” The old man still tried a save.

”Drop it.” Reiji just looked at him—long enough that the old man felt prickly under the stare. Then Reiji waved a hand. ”Where did you get the Elekid? Get me one too. I’ll pay twenty million.”

”Heh.” With that, the old man knew he couldn’t hide it. A normal baby Elekid wasn’t worth twenty million; Reiji had clearly seen its true value and come knocking.

What caught him off-guard was that Reiji hadn’t tried to take Skinny’s mon for himself. So the kid really did have a code. The old man had assumed the youth wouldn’t spot what made that Elekid special and had let Skinny walk off with it. Lucky for him this young man had a bottom line—otherwise the old man might’ve pushed his grandson into a fire pit.

”There was only the one. Getting a second is easier said than done. I lucked into it,” the old man said—truthfully, for once.

”Do you even know how to lie without blushing?” Reiji teased.

”Believe it or don’t. You know the risk—pretty soon the whole city will be on alert,” the old man said, shaking his head. This time Reiji really had misjudged him; he wasn’t lying.

Reiji didn’t buy it, but if the old man said there wasn’t another, he wouldn’t try to force it. ”Since you know there’ll be a citywide sweep, you still handed the mon to the kid? Trying to get your own grandson killed? I’ll assume you tied up every loose end…”

”Tied up, my ass. You spotted it anyway,” the old man grumbled. A switch as smooth as silk, and it had still been sniffed out. If Reiji could tell, others might, too.

”Relax. Only I can do that—and maybe the Elekid’s own breeding techs. No one else will catch those tiny tells.” Reiji was reminding him not to forget ”little people” like that.

”Please. I buried him already,” the old man snorted. After taking care of the fence, he’d tracked down the hiding breeder and put him in a hole too.

He shouldn’t have been findable—if the breeding house’s reach hadn’t turned him up, how could the old man? But a visit to an old forger buddy gave up a lead: the breeder had tried to get fake papers. Then he was found.

”Heh. Colder than me,” Reiji chuckled silently. The fox really had cleaned the house; that let Reiji breathe easier. He could stay on the island a while longer.

”Don’t, don’t—I don’t trick kids,” the old man couldn’t help needling Reiji, still salty about that million. It stuck in his throat.

”Can’t really get a second one?” Reiji ignored the jab. A mere million? Not their concern. He circled back to the only question he cared about.

”No. That Elekid was pure luck.” The old man shook his head. Reiji wouldn’t get it, and he himself wouldn’t risk it again. Once was scary enough; twice might kill him.

”Then forget it.” No point forcing it. It was just a mon. If you can’t have it, you can’t.

He switched topics. ”And for the record, I didn’t ’trick a kid.’ Do you have any idea what Skinny’s Wingull is worth?”

”What? I only heard Skinny say you helped him catch it,” the old man said, relieved Reiji had dropped the Elekid angle—until Reiji brought up Wingull of all things.

”Skinny and I combed the beaches for two days. We picked that one out of more than a thousand Wingull. You get what I’m saying, right?” Reiji smiled and gave him a ”you know” look.

”Two days… more than a thousand… don’t tell me—” The old man froze. If it came from a pool that big—and remembering how Reiji had seen straight through the Elekid—then… Reiji could read Pokémon potential.

He’d met something like this in his youth: rare human talents.

Psychics could gauge Psychic-type aptitude, for instance. He’d heard of other gifts too. He hadn’t expected to run into one today.

No wonder the kid said only he could tell. Abilities like that were scarce, and scattered among billions they were scarcer still. This mysterious young man was one of them. The old man stared at Reiji like he’d discovered a rare species.

”Knock off the staring, old man.” The look made Reiji’s skin crawl. He had no idea the old fox had mistaken his ”proficiency panel” for some psychic-adjacent gift.

”Sigh… fine. If I ever run into another one, I’ll tip you off. Whether you can actually get it will be up to you,” the old man relented at last.

First, Reiji was Skinny’s teacher—and had decent ethics.

Second, he might be a gifted outlier; worth befriending.

Third, that Wingull he’d misjudged was that valuable. What was a million compared to this favor? If he didn’t repay it, Skinny would end up paying it back someday. The kid had already chalked it up in his heart.

”Good enough. I won’t hold my breath,” Reiji said. If something good appeared, the old man would hand it to Skinny before anyone else.

”Eat, drink—order anything. Mi casa es su casa,” the old man offered. It was his place; Reiji could help himself.

Reiji had what he came for: the old man had erased the trail. He could relax. As for hunting more high-potential mons—let Fate decide. He already had a bench full of them. He’d focus on training Poliwhirl and the others. Now that Krabby had evolved, he also needed to set that remaining Mystic Water into a wristband for Kingler.

He sat a little longer, then rose to leave. A bar’s merriment wasn’t what he needed right now. He could indulge after he hit Champion. Not now—not to be dragged down by velvet ropes and soft hands.

As he stood, he spotted Chubbs down in the hall craning his neck, clearly searching for someone.

If nothing else, for him.

”Heading out?” the old man stood too.

”Yeah.” Reiji flicked a wave, pulled up his hood and mask again, and walked out with Poliwhirl.

The old man glanced at the untouched fruit plate and unopened drinks. Not even the pretty resident singers had tempted the kid. In Skinny’s telling, this young man either trained or read; eventually even reading lost out to more training. A monk’s regimen. If the old man had had that spine in his youth, he wouldn’t be babysitting drunks over a dingy bar now. Still—life wasn’t bad. Just risky in the underworld.

At least Skinny had Reiji. Maybe the boy would steer clear of his grandfather’s road and finally take a bite of that long, long promise the League kept dangling.

…

Reiji hooked the still-peering Chubbs by the collar and hauled him straight out of Sailors’ Bar.

Chubbs flailed; he didn’t know who had grabbed him and tried to wrench free. ”Let go! Let go—!”

”Chubbs, weren’t you with Skinny? What are you doing at a bar?” Outside, Reiji dropped him on the curb and let him squirm.

The masked, hooded figure and the rough grab spooked Chubbs—memories of that spider-masked mugger flashed up. He scooted back on his butt in a panic.

Only when the man yanked down his mask and hood did Chubbs exhale. ”Hah—Reiji! You scared me!”

Then he remembered why he’d come. ”Reiji, hurry—save Skinny! He’s fighting a bunch of people!”

”How did that happen?” Reiji was speechless. He’d been gone half an hour.

”When we went to sign up, we ran into that girl from the beach. She brought even more classmates. They’ve surrounded Skinny, cussing him out—and cussing you…”

”...Pokémon battles?” Reiji asked flatly.

”Yeah—wheel fights, one after another. A whole crowd showed up. Even our school’s strongest, Jiro, is there. He’s got two tough older brothers—real Trainers. Please, Reiji—come help Skinny!”

”Talk while we walk. And could you… breathe first?” Reiji said, already moving. Chubbs scrambled to lead the way.

”If it’s just battles, why not concede if you can’t win?” Reiji frowned. Knowing you were outnumbered and still forcing it… what was Skinny thinking?

”And of course it’s that girl again. Some people are like bad pennies,” he muttered.

”Uh…” Chubbs choked on that. He wanted to cry: Skinny sticks his neck out for you, and you tell him to surrender?

”What?” Reiji caught his look.

”N-nothing.” Chubbs shook his head. He didn’t agree with ”just surrender,” but he didn’t dare argue. Strength speaks.

”Listen, Chubbs. Yielding doesn’t equal failure. You don’t have to die on every hill—especially when you’re being dog-piled,” Reiji said. Chubbs still looked baffled.

Reiji could only sigh.

[End of Chapter]

[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]

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