Reiji checked the last two panels while the clearing slowly settled after the battle.
[Gyarados — Riku's Brother]
[Type: Water/Flying]
[Gender: Male]
[Potential: 69%]
[Level: 63.14%]
[Ability: …]
[Swampert — Riku's Brother]
[Type: Water/Ground]
[Gender: Male]
[Potential: 72%]
[Level: 66.19%]
[Ability: …]
Reiji clicked his tongue.
As assassination attempts went, this one had paid remarkably well. He had walked away with four Elite Four-tier Pokémon, and even the weakest of them could probably sell for close to a hundred million under the right conditions. The only disappointing part was the species involved. None of them were particularly rare.
He still remembered the Magnezone he had sold in a hurry for ninety million. He had needed cash at the time and accepted the first reasonable offer, only for Naoki to later spot another Elite Four-tier Magnezone selling at auction for more than 130 million.
It sounded painful until the fees were taken into account. Auction houses charged anywhere from five to twenty percent depending on the value of the lot, and a fast sale almost always meant accepting a lower price anyway. Reiji had lost some money, but nowhere near enough to regret getting the cash when he needed it.
These four were different. He wasn't desperate for money anymore, which meant he could afford to wait for proper buyers.
Swampert was easily the most valuable. An Elite Four-tier male with respectable potential could probably approach two hundred million at auction, especially if a breeder wanted access to its bloodline. The two Gyarados would fetch less, while the female Tentacruel might actually attract more serious buyers than either of them.
Gyarados had one unavoidable problem: its offspring started life as Magikarp.
A breeder could spend a fortune on an egg from an Elite Four-tier Gyarados and still end up with a Magikarp that never evolved. Even if it became Gyarados, there was no guarantee it would inherit enough of its parent's potential to justify the investment. That uncertainty dragged breeding prices down, though an already-trained Elite Four-tier Gyarados could still sell for eighty or ninety million without much trouble.
Tentacruel was much easier to work with. Tentacool evolved normally, needed no Evolution Stone, and didn't rely on some obscure condition. A female Elite Four-tier Tentacruel could produce offspring that breeders had a much easier time evaluating, making its value far more reliable.
That same logic applied across the market. Strong Advanced-tier and quasi–Elite Four-tier Pokémon usually topped out around twenty million unless the species or typing was unusually rare. Once a Pokémon crossed into Elite Four tier, however, breeding rights alone could push its value close to a hundred million even if it refused to acknowledge another Trainer.
The offspring were where the serious money started.
A Tentacool from an Elite Four-tier parent might sell for thirty or forty million. Young Pokémon descended from quasi–Elite Four-tier parents—the kind stores liked to display as premium stock—usually started around seven or eight million for common species, while rarer typings could push past ten.
A genuine Elite Four-tier bloodline sat in another category entirely. Twenty million was a reasonable starting point for common species, forty million for rarer ones, and exceptionally scarce Pokémon could compete with young starters in price.
Starters had their own market. Ordinary ones generally changed hands for twenty to thirty million, though years of controlled breeding had slowly pushed prices downward. Supply had tightened again after the League's crackdown on Kinnow Island, so prices were already climbing, and rarer starters could begin around fifty million before anyone even considered the parents' strength.
Region mattered too.
Electric- and Grass-types commanded a premium throughout the Orange Archipelago, while Fire-, Rock-, and Ground-types usually sold for less because Water Pokémon were everywhere and matched up well against them. Put the same Pokémon in a region with a strong Fighting culture and the price could shift dramatically.
Gyarados eggs were a good example of how badly local demand could distort things. An egg from an Elite Four-tier Gyarados might still start around twenty million, yet some sellers had resorted to promotions that practically amounted to buy one, get one free. Buyers understood the gamble: first the egg had to hatch properly, then Magikarp had to evolve, and only after that could anyone find out whether the resulting Gyarados had inherited enough talent to matter.
For that kind of money, plenty of people would rather gamble on a starter. Even a mediocre starter began several steps ahead of Magikarp and usually came with a straightforward three-stage evolutionary line.
Tentacruel didn't suffer from that stigma. Reiji could easily imagine offspring from the female he had captured selling for forty million.
Satisfied with his rough estimate, he closed the panels and locked all four Poké Balls. The Pokémon inside were badly injured and in no condition to break out, but there was no reason to be careless.
The first and second mates' bags were waiting nearby, and those proved considerably more annoying.
Both men had spent years working at sea, and their belongings reflected it. Clothes, medicine, Pokémon supplies, food, tools, spare equipment, and miscellaneous junk had been packed into every available space. Reiji gave up on sorting everything properly after a few minutes and started by pulling out anything edible.
"Everyone, come grab something. You earned it."
That got far more enthusiasm than any speech could have.
The Pokémon that had fought beside him gathered around while Reiji tore open bags of food and handed everything out freely. None of it had cost him anything, and watching supplies belonging to Riku's brother disappear into the mouths of the Pokémon that had ruined his ambush felt appropriately satisfying.
While digging through one of the bags, Reiji's fingers brushed against a pair of bank cards.
Now those were useful.
The two mates had worked under Riku's brother for years. Men in that line of work rarely kept every asset in cash, so there was a decent chance both accounts held something worthwhile. The cards themselves were useless without the PINs, but Reiji happened to have Gengar.
A little Hypnosis could do wonders for a man's memory.
He chose the first mate.
The man looked older than he probably was, his face weathered by years of saltwater and hard sun. More importantly, his mind had taken a worse beating than his body. He had watched the man he trusted abandon him, seen his Elite Four-tier Gyarados beaten down in front of him, and spent the rest of the battle convinced he was about to die.
If either prisoner was going to crack easily, it would be him.
Reiji had just turned to call Gengar over when his satellite phone rang. He checked the screen, saw Cissy's father, and immediately knew she had probably made it home.
He stepped in front of the bound first mate and answered.
"Hey, Gym Leader. Something happen this late?"
The clearing had gone quiet enough that the prisoner could hear every word. He kept his head lowered, though his eyes occasionally drifted toward the phone.
A few hours earlier, Cissy had returned to Mikan Gym unconscious.
Slowking had needed four or five consecutive Teleports to cover the distance, but the moment it arrived, it reached out with its psychic power and contacted the Gym Leader's Slowking. Cissy's father appeared almost immediately, and one look at his unconscious daughter sent him straight toward her Pokémon.
"What happened?"
Slowking answered through telepathy.
"We were attacked. Rai suspected something might happen and told me beforehand that if anyone attacked the camp, I was to take Cissy away immediately. He stayed behind to deal with them."
Cissy's father went pale. "What about Rai? You left him there alone?"
"Rai isn't alone. He knows the rulers of the island. They're helping him."
"What island?"
"Fairchild Island. The Pidgeot and Rhydon clans."
That changed things.
Cissy's father had explored Fairchild Island before and knew exactly how powerful its ruling Pokémon were. If Reiji had somehow earned their support, leaving him behind was nowhere near as suicidal as it first sounded.
He still didn't like it, but his daughter was safely home. That gave him enough room to think instead of Teleporting blindly into the middle of an unknown battle.
Then he looked at Cissy again.
"If you got her out safely, why is she unconscious?"
Slowking's expression turned awkward.
"I knocked her out."
Cissy's father stared at it for half a second before sighing. He didn't need the rest explained; his daughter had obviously tried to go back.
"You did the right thing."
Slowking visibly relaxed.
Cissy's father lifted his daughter and started toward her room, but stopped before leaving.
"Go to the back hills. Train with Grandpa's Slowking and stay there until you reach Elite Four tier."
Slowking blinked.
"And until then, don't let Cissy use you to sneak off again. I know tonight wasn't your fault, but this can't happen twice."
Slowking glanced at the unconscious girl in his arms before reluctantly nodding. It understood the problem as well as anyone.
After Slowking Teleported away, Cissy's father brought his daughter inside, gave his wife a quick explanation, and stationed his own Slowking outside the bedroom. Only then did he step outside and call Reiji.
His reasoning was simple: if Rai answered, he was alive and could tell him whether help was needed. If the call went unanswered, he was going to Fairchild Island immediately.
Fortunately, Reiji picked up before that became necessary.
"Rai, you all right? Slowking told me what happened. Do you need me to come over?"
Back on Fairchild Island, Reiji looked across the ruined clearing. "No, it's already handled. You don't need to come."
"You sure? Don't act tough just because you don't want help."
"I'm sure. Really."
Reiji could hear the concern in his voice, and despite everything that had happened tonight, it left him feeling strangely warm. He had spent so long handling his problems alone that having someone genuinely worry about him still felt unfamiliar.
"I'll leave Fairchild Island tomorrow anyway," Reiji continued. "The tracker Cissy planted on me got destroyed in the fight, so if she runs away again, I won't know where she's gone. You might want to keep a closer eye on her."
Cissy's father gave an embarrassed laugh. That particular personality trait hadn't exactly come from nowhere.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure there isn't a next time."
"Good. Then I'll let you go. The fight destroyed half the vegetation here, and apparently I'm responsible for fixing it before I leave."
That got a genuine laugh from the other end.
"All right. Get some rest when you're done."
They ended the call, and Cissy's father remained outside for another moment before finally letting the tension leave his shoulders. Reiji was alive, his daughter was safe, and for tonight that was enough.
He returned to Cissy's room and quietly called his wife into the hallway.
"How is Rai?" she asked immediately.
"He's fine. I don't need to go."
Her shoulders sagged with relief, but her husband was already holding out a hand.
"Give me Cissy's Starmie and Wigglytuff."
She frowned. "Why?"
"Because both of them have the potential to learn Teleport."
That told her exactly where this was going.
"From now on, my Slowking is keeping an eye on her too. She's going to hate it. She'll say we're treating her like a child and taking away her freedom, but I don't care. Until she has an Elite Four-tier Pokémon and can genuinely protect herself, I need you to back me on this."
His wife didn't argue.
"This scared me half to death. Grandpa told me before that she'd run away, but I always thought he was exaggerating." She glanced back toward the bedroom, where Cissy remained unconscious. "After tonight? No. I'm with you."
"Good."
He took the two Poké Balls and left to make the necessary arrangements. Cissy's mother returned to the room, climbed into bed beside her daughter, and pulled the blanket over both of them. She had no intention of letting Cissy out of her sight again that night.
Back on Fairchild Island, Reiji slipped the satellite phone into his pocket and looked down at the first mate.
"Okay. Where were we?"
The man immediately shut his eyes.
Reiji nudged him with one foot. "Don't bother pretending you're dead. What's the PIN for your bank card?"
No response.
Another nudge produced exactly the same result.
Reiji sighed. "You know I have Gengar, right? If you don't want to tell me, fine. I'll have it hypnotize you and ask again. Either way, I get the PIN."
The first mate finally opened his eyes.
"If I tell you… will you do something for me?"
"No."
The answer came so quickly that the man stared at him.
Reiji folded his arms. "You tried to murder me in my sleep. You don't get to negotiate. The most I'm offering is a quick death. Tell me yourself, or let Gengar drag it out of your head. I get what I want either way."
The first mate looked away. For a while, the only sounds were Pokémon eating nearby and Oddish rustling through the damaged grass.
Then he gave in.
"125xxx."
Reiji waited.
"There's more. I've got supplies hidden in Trovitopolis. Gyarados Residential Complex, Building X, Unit X."
That caught Reiji's attention.
The first mate closed his eyes again, apparently expecting the conversation to end with his life, but several seconds passed without anything happening.
"That's an awfully specific residential address," Reiji said.
The man's expression tightened.
"You're telling the person who might kill you exactly where to find one of your apartments. Somebody's there."
No response.
Reiji crouched in front of him.
"Family?"
The first mate clenched his jaw.
"Or are you worried your people will clean house once they realize you were captured? Maybe somebody gets taken and raised into another Black Ship lackey?"
A tear slipped down the man's weathered cheek.
"My daughter."
That explained the address.
The first mate lowered his head and spoke without looking at Reiji.
"We thought this job was easy. You were just some Gym Trainer with no real background. Strong, sure, but nothing we couldn't handle together. We never knew you had anything to do with the rulers here. We never imagined the whole island would turn on us."
His voice roughened.
"And that bastard…"
Reiji knew exactly who he meant.
"Captain spent years telling us his word was worth gold. Always talking about loyalty, always saying he'd never abandon his own people." The man's hands tightened inside Spinarak's webbing. "Then the second things went wrong, he grabbed Slowbro and ran."
By now, the bitterness in his voice outweighed the fear.
"We should've realized something was wrong the moment you came here with Pidgeot and Rhydon. You walked straight into the center of Fairchild Island like you belonged here. We knew what lived on this island, and none of us stopped to ask why you weren't afraid."
He gave a short, humorless laugh.
"Too late now. My life pays whatever I owed him. After tonight, he and I are even. Just make it quick."
Reiji drew his machete.
The first mate saw the blade catch the moonlight and immediately began trembling. Accepting death in his head was one thing; convincing his body was another.
Reiji raised the weapon and brought it down.
The blow landed with a dull crack.
He had turned the machete at the last moment and struck the side of the man's neck with the back of the blade. The first mate went limp without ever realizing what had happened.
Reiji looked down at him and exhaled.
He still couldn't quite kill someone like that.
More importantly, there was no reason to rush. If the Trovitopolis address was a lie, he could deal with the man later. If it was true, then keeping one of Riku's brother's own subordinates alive might be far more useful than putting him in a grave tonight.
An insider could open doors.
The second mate was next.
He had apparently reached the same conclusion about pretending to be unconscious. Reiji kicked his leg until his eyes opened, and the man immediately started shouting.
"Captain will come back! You're dead when he finds you! You hear me? He'll—"
Reiji glanced toward his shadow.
"Gengar."
That was enough.
Gengar emerged with a grin, and the shouting stopped shortly afterward.
Under Hypnosis, the second mate answered every question Reiji asked about Riku's brother and the Black Ship. Unfortunately, what he knew was far less useful than Reiji had hoped.
Both mates had been personally recruited by Riku's brother. Neither had direct contact with the Black Ship's upper ranks, and neither seemed to understand just how deep their superior's connection to the organization actually went. On paper, both men looked clean despite years of sailing under him.
Reiji almost laughed at the idea. Anyone who had spent that long doing work for Riku's brother had almost certainly gotten their hands dirty; they had simply been careful enough to keep it off the public record.
Once he had squeezed out everything useful, Reiji asked one last question.
"Anything you want to say before we finish?"
The second mate answered by spitting at him.
The saliva never reached Reiji. Gengar caught it against a psychic barrier and left it suspended between them.
Reiji looked at the spit, then at the man.
"Fair enough."
Toxicroak handled the rest.
Diglett was already helping fill the enormous crater left by the Hyper Beam barrage, so the second mate went into the same pit along with the Flying-type Pokémon that had died from broken wings and blood loss during the fight.
By then, Poliwrath had returned with the local Oddish colony. Reiji showed them the damage and offered Pokéblocks in exchange for helping restore the clearing.
The Oddish were more than happy with the arrangement. They spread out around the crater and began working through the torn soil and damaged vegetation while Reiji left a large supply of Pokéblocks where they could help themselves.
He spent the rest of the night treating injuries.
Poliwrath and Electivire had taken a few hits, and several of the Pidgeot and Rhydon that joined the battle needed attention as well, but none of the injuries were serious. Once Riku's brother lost his chance to escape cleanly, the rest of the fight had been brutally one-sided.
By the time Reiji finished, the black sky had begun fading toward gray.
He found a patch of ground that hadn't been cratered, trampled, burned, or otherwise destroyed, spread out another moisture-proof mat, and dropped onto it with a blanket.
This time, he actually intended to sleep.
Riku's brother had lost two Elite Four-tier Pokémon, two senior subordinates, and most of the force he had brought to Fairchild Island. Even if he wanted immediate revenge, recovering from that kind of loss would take time.
Reiji had gained more than four Pokémon, too. He now had a living member of the man's crew who had every reason to hate his former superior. If the first mate's story checked out, Reiji might have found exactly the pressure point he needed.
The timing wasn't bad either. The Orange Archipelago was already drifting toward open conflict between the League and the local factions. If something unpleasant happened to the Black Ship in the middle of that chaos, there would be no shortage of suspects.
What were they going to do, report him to Officer Jenny?
Revenge presented its own problem.
Going after Mikan Gym meant dealing with Cissy's father. Going after Shun meant inviting Bruno into the mess. Reiji himself had almost no family anyone could use against him.
There was always the old drunk who had taken him in, but Reiji almost felt sorry for anyone stupid enough to try using that man as leverage. The old bastard had spent a lifetime scamming people, extorting money, and causing trouble. Taking the blame for one more crime after he was gone might practically qualify as community service.
Reiji pulled the blanket higher and closed his eyes.
If that day ever came, he would burn the old man some extra money—enough to keep him drunk in the afterlife.
With that settled, Reiji finally fell asleep.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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