"You're entering the Indigo Plateau Conference, right? Then beat me there, and I'll join you. But if you can't keep that promise within three years, if you can't get any of my Pokémon to Elite Four tier—not even one…"
"Three years?" Reiji spread his hands, cutting A.J. off before he could finish. He knew exactly what A.J. was going to say.
This guy really knew how to make things difficult. Reiji was confident he could reach Elite Four tier within three years, but A.J.'s progress was not something he could control. "Do you think Elite Four tier is easy?"
"Three years? I know a Trainer whose Golem took seven or eight years to grind its way up there. And you want to do it in three? Isn't that a little too much?"
"Huh? It really takes that long?" This was the first time A.J. had heard how much time it could take.
"Obviously. If you want to cut the time down, you can. Feed your Rock-type Pokémon energy-rich ore every meal. That should shorten it to two or three years."
"Energy-rich ore?" A.J. did not understand what counted. Would ordinary ore not work?
"Rock Gems, Smooth Rocks, Hard Stones, things like that. Any ore packed with energy works. Ideally, it should carry Rock- or Ground-type energy. At minimum, you're looking at a few hundred thousand Pokédollars per meal."
Reiji shook his head. Even he could not afford that kind of feeding schedule. Hanhan had only grown this fast because it had been eating black-market goods from Trovitopolis, and even then, not every meal. Did A.J. think Hanhan had gotten stronger out of thin air?
Every piece of energy-rich ore Hanhan ate was an item worth tens or even hundreds of thousands. The cheaper items it had eaten might not have reached a hundred million altogether, but they had definitely reached tens of millions, and the cost would only keep climbing.
That was why people said Larvitar had to eat an entire mountain before it matured. If that mountain happened to be an ore vein, then the cost would run into billions.
People only saw how strong pseudo-legendary Pokémon were. They never thought about why they were strong.
Even Gengar's potential breakthrough had cost more than six hundred million. Raising a pseudo-legendary would cost at least several times more.
If Reiji raised one, he would have no money left for the rest of his team. Trainers poorer than him probably could not even produce the six hundred million needed for Gengar.
If he had not gotten his hands on Riku's backpack, and if that backpack had not been packed with valuables, he had no idea how long it would have taken to save that much.
A.J. lowered his head. Reiji's words hit hard, but they also made him understand something. The training methods written in books were not exaggerating. They were viable. The problem was that the resources needed were far beyond what he could afford.
"Oh, right. The guy I mentioned might still be stealing ore somewhere in the Orange Archipelago. If you join us, I can introduce you. At least you'd have someone to dig with."
"Wait. A mining team?" A.J. thought about it for a moment. It was not impossible. An Elite Four-tier Trainer leading a mining run was certainly one hell of a lineup.
What A.J. did not know was that Naoki's only Elite Four-tier Pokémon, Golem, had been crushed by Proton's Arbok not long after breaking through. That meant Proton's Arbok had reached Elite Four tier long ago. As expected of a veteran Elite Four-tier Trainer and one of Team Rocket's four executives.
"If eating energy-rich ore is enough to reach Elite Four tier, I can just look for it myself. I don't need to join anyone." A.J. shook his head. He still did not want to be tied down, especially by an invitation that came out of nowhere.
He understood that benefits came with obligations. If he joined an organization, he would have to work for it. No one got to take free resources and walk away. Anyone who tried would be hunted to the ends of the earth.
"Suit yourself." Reiji stopped pushing. A.J. had already clawed his way up and had spent too long living wild. People like that were hard to recruit and harder to control.
Reiji had only brought it up casually. If A.J. refused, then that was that. He had only made the offer because A.J. was strong, did not seem rotten at the core, and had been willing to stand in front of him earlier to repay a debt. That said enough about his character.
Still, below Elite Four tier, a Trainer was helpless in front of the real thing.
A.J. was right about one part: he could keep grinding. The problem was time. What would be the point if he only reached Elite Four tier at forty, fifty, or even seventy?
Who had forty years to throw away?
"I can join you," A.J. said after a long pause. He had clearly thought it through. "But only if you beat me at the Indigo Plateau Conference."
If Reiji had kept trying to persuade him, A.J. might have doubted him even more. But Reiji barely seemed to care whether he joined or not. That made A.J. realize he was optional.
He could keep struggling alone, sure. But having an organization behind him would still be better than nothing.
What really changed his mind was the way Reiji had described Naoki: a Trainer who had taken seven or eight years to reach Elite Four tier, someone Reiji knew and could introduce.
How did an Advanced-tier Trainer know someone at Elite Four tier? More importantly, how could he speak to that Trainer and expect to be heard?
That was the part that mattered. Advanced tier and Elite Four tier were worlds apart. If Reiji's organization had several Elite Four-tier Trainers, then A.J. believed his promise a little more.
After all, A.J. was only Advanced tier. If an organization full of Elite Four-tier Trainers wanted him, then it meant they saw that kind of potential in him.
But potential was only potential. Until it became strength, it mean nothing.
Joining them would be different. No wonder Reiji had said he could help A.J. reach Elite Four tier. If the organization had multiple Elite Four-tier Trainers, then a little guidance from them would already be priceless.
In reality, the so-called organization barely had anyone, and in the end, Naoki—the broke, washed-up Elite Four-tier Trainer—would be the one holding up the front.
A.J. did not suspect that. Reiji, who was stronger than him, gave the claim enough weight. But then A.J. thought of the practical side and asked, "What do you actually do? What would I have to do after joining?"
"The Indigo Plateau Conference hasn't even started yet, and you're already asking that?" Reiji smiled. A.J. was not resisting as much now. He was already thinking about what he could contribute. That was a good sign.
"I've seen how strong you are. Even if I make it into the elimination rounds, if I face you in a full six-on-six, I'd only give myself a thirty percent chance." A.J. had battled Reiji before. His strongest Pokémon, Sandslash, had lost badly to Kingler.
And Kingler clearly was not Reiji's strongest Pokémon. A.J. guessed that title belonged to Rhydon.
He was not wrong. Poliwhirl's potential had already reached its limit, giving the rest of Reiji's team a chance to catch up. Rhydon in particular was starting to pull ahead.
That was the problem for most ordinary Trainers. Reiji knew his own situation. After the Conference, Poliwhirl would be able to evolve with a good Water Stone. Poorer Trainers had no choice but to use ordinary Evolution stones.
Sure, evolving now would give them a short burst of strength. But then what?
What happened when their potential crawled forward and hit its ceiling again? What happened when they ran into a bottleneck that would not move? Grind for years?
Most Pokémon only had one or two chances to evolve. Not everyone had Gengar's talent, and not everyone had a combination-evolution line that could be tortured through repeated splits to raise potential. Everyone else could only wait and grind.
Reiji had once faced Ho-Oh directly, and it had scared him half to death. Asking a Legendary Pokémon to reverse a Pokémon's evolution was even more unreasonable. If he did not get flattened on the spot, that would only mean the Legendary Pokémon was feeling generous. Pushing further would be suicide.
Reiji shook his head and sighed. "Nothing for now. Wait until you reach Elite Four tier."
He was still hiding and dodging trouble himself. How could he ask A.J. to do anything? Only after A.J. reached Elite Four tier would he be useful enough to repay the help.
"Elite Four tier, huh?" A.J. relaxed a little. If Reiji had asked him to charge into danger now, he would have backed out on the spot. With his current strength, even cannon fodder would be overselling it. Going to the front line would just get him killed.
But Elite Four tier was different. Once he became that kind of Trainer, he would no longer need to skulk around.
An Elite Four-tier Trainer should count as an officer at least. He should have some say and some freedom.
What kind of organization would be extravagant enough to use Elite Four-tier Trainers as disposable fighters anyway? Maybe A.J. simply had not seen enough of the world.
Even Team Rocket was not rich enough to throw Elite Four-tier Trainers away like expendable pawns.
"It's getting late. I should go." Reiji narrowed his eyes at the sun, already close to overhead, and stood up to pack away his cooking tools. "You already collected eight Badges, right? Find a quiet place, train properly, and wait for the Conference. Don't stir up any more trouble and end up missing it."
"I won't. This time was too close. I really should find somewhere to train and get ready for Indigo." A.J. stood up and packed as well.
They parted there. They would meet again at the Indigo Plateau Conference, and the promise they had made would be settled there too.
"Oh, right." Reiji finished packing, then turned back with a curious look. "If you already had the Cascade Badge, why did you go to Cerulean Gym?"
"To be honest, before you became the acting Gym Leader, I was the stand-in they hired." A.J. scratched his head awkwardly. He had captured Omanyte because he wanted to come back and push himself against the Gym again.
He had not expected to arrive too late. The Gym had already hired someone else, so he simply pretended to be a challenger. Since he was already there, he figured one battle would not hurt. Then he ran into Reiji.
"So you're close with the Cerulean sisters?"
"Not really. We're just acquainted. I didn't stand in for them every day, and I don't exactly speak nicely. If I couldn't battle, they wouldn't have hired me at all."
"Don't speak nicely?" Reiji remembered the anime from his previous life, where A.J. had nearly made Ash crack with just a few lines. That told him exactly how sharp A.J.'s tongue could be.
Once everything was packed, Reiji climbed onto Tauros, waved goodbye to A.J., and headed toward Pewter City.
A.J. left in the direction of Cerulean City. He planned to rest there first, then find a quiet place to prepare for the Conference.
If Reiji could pull A.J. onto his side after the Indigo Plateau Conference, that would be a solid gain. A.J. already had decent strength. Give him the right direction, and Reiji would not have to worry much about his growth. Once A.J. reached Elite Four tier, Reiji could simply draft him when needed.
This year's Indigo Plateau Conference should be interesting. People who had never appeared in the anime were all showing up now. Reiji was honestly looking forward to it.
The original Conference champion had only been shown as a silhouette, so it would not be strange if the winner turned out to be one of these Trainers. The production team was never going to give that title to Ash anyway.
Once that clicked, it was easy to see how irritating the production team had been. Pokémon fans had waited for Ash to win a championship from childhood into adulthood—more than twenty years.
They did not understand Ash, but they understood the players perfectly. They knew exactly what fans wanted to see, and then refused to show it.
On the road to Pewter City, Reiji thought over everything that had happened. The championship had only ever been Cissy's excuse. The Water Stone was not hers to give. It belonged to her grandfather.
He no longer wanted that Water Stone as badly as before. If he really needed one, he could trade with Blaine directly.
That meant the Conference was no longer about winning the championship. His placement did not matter that much. He could try to win, but if he failed, it would not ruin anything.
He had already planned his future: become a leech inside the League, play every side well enough to climb step by step, and live comfortably inside the system. One championship would not decide his life.
He was a fisherman who wanted an easy life. How could one championship define him? Underestimating him that much was ridiculous. He did not care nearly enough.
"Vee! Vee!" Eevee sat on Tauros's head, curiously taking in the scenery along the road. Every so often, it hopped to Reiji's shoulder, then to Tauros's rear, staring at Tauros's three tails with wide-eyed interest.
"Eevee, careful. Don't fall." Reiji looked back and called it over. The mountain road was too steep for it to run around. A fall here would be bad.
"Vee." Eevee returned to Reiji's arms and yawned. All that playing had worn it out.
"Sleep. We should reach Pewter City tonight." Reiji patted Eevee's little head and smoothed down its wind-tangled fur while Tauros carried them along the endless dirt road between the trees.
He did not ride Pelipper this time. After crossing Mt. Moon, he was already on the other side, not far from Pewter City. At Tauros's pace, they could arrive by nightfall. Along the way, they would probably run into some trainers jumping out to challenge him.
They were called Youngsters, but like A.J., most of them were kids who could not receive starter Pokémon. They were not even proper new Trainers, just children playing near home.
When those kids challenged him, Reiji stopped and battled them. Their Pokémon were mostly common species like Caterpie and Weedle. Nothing unusual.
The road to Pewter City passed through plenty of towns, villages, and farmland. Watching children play in the fields reminded Reiji of his own childhood, when life had been just as carefree.
The less you knew, the fewer worries you had. Back then, school had probably been his only real problem. Everyone had nothing, so there was nothing to compare.
Kids in the Pokémon world had it more interesting. They could catch Pokémon and battle with them.
They stopped and started all day, and by the time night fell, Reiji finally reached Pewter City. He recalled Tauros and headed straight for the Pokémon Center.
He had no plans to wander around tonight. After riding Tauros all day, his whole body felt shaken loose. Dinner first, then sleep early.
He got dinner from the Pokémon Center again, free as always. Better yet, the meal was spicy, which was rare for a Pokémon Center.
After dinner, Reiji returned to his private room and released his Pokémon in batches so everyone could eat.
Once they finished, he put Eevee on the bed and went to the bathroom for a shower. After washing himself, he gave Eevee a bath too. According to the books, this was supposed to raise friendship.
He gave Eevee the full wash, trim, and blow-dry treatment, then held up a mirror so it could see itself.
"Vee." Eevee shook itself, then turned its head to study its reflection. It looked much neater now. The fur that had been blown into a mess during the day had all been combed smooth.
"Time to sleep, Eevee." Reiji had Spinarak keep watch, then lay down with Eevee in his arms, slowly stroking the soft little Pokémon until sleep crept in.
"Vee." Eevee took a deep breath. Tonight smelled much better. No sweat stinking up the bed.
"Sleep. We have to get up early and challenge the Gym tomorrow, Eevee…"
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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