Officer Jenny arrived just in time, riding in with Misty and a small squad of officers.
Seeing her, Damian immediately burst into fake tears.
"Ah! Officer Jenny! You got here just in time! He—he tried to steal my Pokémon!"
"Alright! Arrest him immediately!" Officer Jenny snapped, pulling out a pair of handcuffs.
"Heh heh, that's right! Lock him up! Lock him—huh?"
Before Damian could bask in his fake victory, the handcuffs clicked shut—on his own wrists.
"Huh? Wha—what's going on?! Officer Jenny, there must be some mistake! It's him! He's the thief! Why are you arresting me?"
Damian's smug expression vanished in an instant. His legs trembled, panic spreading across his face.
"No mistake!" Officer Jenny raised her hand and began listing his crimes with firm authority.
"Damian, you are under suspicion of abusing Pokémon and using unethical methods to acquire them! You're coming with us! Take him away!"
Damian looked completely dazed as he was hauled off, no longer even able to walk on his own. Two officers had to carry him by the arms.
"Well done, Misty!" Kazuki approached with Charmander by his side.
"Phew! That scumbag Trainer finally got what he deserved!" Misty huffed with her hands on her hips.
"Thank you both for the report. Your actions…"
Officer Jenny turned to Kazuki, and her focus sharpened.
"…will be rewarded. The reward money will be transferred to you later. With Trainers like you two, the Pokémon of this world are truly lucky."
Beaming at Kazuki, she straightened up proudly—causing her chest to bounce noticeably.
"It's just what any good Trainer would do!" Misty answered cheerfully.
But Jenny's eyes stayed mostly on Kazuki.
"If I had time, I'd really love to get to know you… both of you better. But I've got crimes to chase—see you around!"
With one last lingering look at Kazuki, Officer Jenny revved up her motorcycle and sped away.
After she left, Misty eyed Kazuki suspiciously.
"Why did Officer Jenny look at you like that?"
Kazuki turned to meet her gaze and grinned.
"I told you—I've got that idol aura. People can't help but be drawn to me."
"Ugh, you're so shameless!"
Seeing she wouldn't get any juicy gossip, Misty gave a playful wave and continued walking ahead.
Kazuki watched Officer Jenny's disappearing figure and mused: Looks like my Justice Reputation is stacking nicely. At this rate, I could probably charm her soon...
If it goes well, I'll have black-stocking Jenny on the left, white-stocking Joy on the right—double delight!
Wait—there's also that Heartfelt Reputation stat, right? That must be tied to winning over Joys!
Kazuki opened his system interface and saw that Charmander's mission was now marked as complete.
[Perfect Starters: Progress – Bulbasaur, Charmander]
[Heartfelt Reputation +1]
[Charcoal has been added to your system inventory!]
[System Inventory: Adult Poké Ball ×1, Health Biscuit ×1, Mystic Water ×1, Moon Stone ×1, Water Stone ×1, Metal Coat ×1, Elite Trainer Kit ×1, Charcoal ×1]
Looking through his inventory, Kazuki noticed the Elite Trainer Kit he'd picked up back at the Pokemon Tech.
Because of the detours in the forest, he hadn't yet decided who to use it on.
Now that they were back on the main road, it was the perfect time.
First, he opened Charmander's status panel.
[Pokémon: Charmander]
[Base Stats: 309]
[Level: Lv.10 (Normal)]
[Potential: Pseudo-Legendary]
[Ability: Solar Power – In sunny weather, Special Attack has a chance to trigger a critical hit!]
[Moves: Ember, Smokescreen]
What?!
Kazuki's eyes widened in disbelief.
Charmander's potential… was Pseudo-Legendary!
No wonder Charizard had been able to fight and defeat Articuno in the original storyline—he had monstrous hidden strength all along!
So Damian really had pulled strings to catch good Pokémon.
But having good Pokémon means nothing when you're an idiot. A dozen zeros are still zero without a 1 in front of them.
Even with a Legendary, Damian would've still been a waste.
Kazuki couldn't help but chuckle.
If Damian saw this status screen, he'd probably gnaw through his own handcuffs in rage.
And honestly, if Charmander had stayed with Damian, he probably would've died before ever evolving into Charmeleon.
But now?
With this kind of potential and a future as a core champion team member, Kazuki knew exactly what to do.
"This Elite Trainer Kit… it's all yours."
He wasn't about to repeat the original mistake of rushing Charmander's evolution and ending up with a disobedient Charizard.
From his system inventory, Kazuki pulled out the Elite Trainer Kit.
It was a box-shaped device with a circular indentation in the middle—just the right size for a Poké Ball.
He equipped Charmander with the Charcoal, then returned him to the Poké Ball and placed it into the kit.
The moment the two items clicked together, a screen popped up in front of Kazuki—displaying a series of advanced training options!