Ten minutes later, Lin Shou slid into the back seat of a taxi, his windbreaker damp with the night's dew. The condensation on the windows fractured the glow of neon lights outside into shifting blocks of color, which danced over the corners of his lips as they twitched in mild irritation.
Three heads were huddled together beside him, calculators clicking furiously.
"Six Rare Candies — three hundred thousand!" Long Yichen thrust his calculator toward the rearview mirror, the metal buttons flashing under the cool blue light of the dashboard. "Boss Lin, look at this payout!"
"Shut up," Lin Shou muttered, burying his face into his collar, his teeth chattering with frustration.
The car radio was gently playing Moonlight Sonata. Without warning, Lin Shou jabbed the toggle switch, flooding the car with the aggressive thrum of heavy metal. The system interface blinked faint blue across his vision, the "Learning Device" entry activating with a static hiss like an old television warming up.
Their destination — Axuan's family farm — lay even farther than the Green Forest Resort Hotel. It took them a full hour of winding roads before they finally arrived.
The farm's perimeter loomed ahead, its tall walls topped with cameras glinting under security lights. Axuan frowned. "Uh… so how exactly are we sneaking in?"
Lin Shou took a slow breath, tamping down the urge to yell. "This is your home. Your home. You don't sneak into your own home."
"Oh. Right. Yeah." Axuan scratched his head sheepishly. "I dunno, I just… feel like we're doing something shady, so we should go about it all quiet-like. Y'know, leave no trace."
"Stop overthinking it. Just go greet the guard and get us inside," Lin Shou said, pointing toward the lit-up duty station. "We're not Team Rocket."
He wasn't sure why, but he had the distinct impression that the three of them were half-hoping he'd lead them into some grand heist.
——
As expected, once Axuan showed his ID, the four of them walked straight into the Miltank pasture without resistance.
"Boss," Long Yichen asked curiously, "what's this 'Team Rocket' you mentioned? Sounds kinda cool."
Lin Shou stiffened immediately. "It's from a story I read. Not real."
"So… are they the good guys? Protecting world peace?"
"No," Lin Shou said flatly. "They're the bad guys. Terrorists, basically, trying to wreck the world. So don't go naming yourselves that when you play make-believe."
Xia Chenxi perked up. "Which story? Can I borrow it?"
"Lost it ages ago," Lin Shou lied with an eye-roll. "But trust me — if you ever run into someone else who's read it, they'll beat you black and blue for using that name."
He'd only thrown out the Team Rocket reference to mess with someone online once when he was drunk. Netizens might laugh, but real-life idiots would actually go and form the group.
——
They eventually reached the barn. Through a half-open door, Lin Shou could see them: a cluster of Miltank, all around level 25, sleeping soundly.
"What now, Boss?" Axuan whispered.
"What else? Invite one out for a chat," Lin Shou said. "Don't get any funny ideas. We're not here to harm them — and if anything goes wrong, your family will blame me first."
He knew firsthand that Miltank had incredibly high defense. Even his level 56 Flamethrower user would take two solid hits to bring down a level 25 Miltank. With his own direct attack power, he'd barely scratch one.
"One is plenty for what we need," he added.
Almost on cue, Blaziken popped out from her Poké Ball without waiting for a command. Her eyes gleamed with amusement as she activated Field Swap, and in a shimmer of warped air, a sleeping Miltank appeared before them.
[Miltank ♀ | Normal-type | Lv. 28]HP: 99/99Weakness: Fighting ×2Ability: Thick Fat (Halves damage from Fire- and Ice-type moves)Moves: Seismic Toss, Charm, Rollout, Headbutt
Lin Shou sighed. "Figures. You picked the strongest one in the herd."
As Blaziken padded quietly out of the barn, Lin Shou found himself remembering something odd — the time she had appeared before him and somehow relocated herself to a cave.
As if hearing his thoughts, Blaziken's deep, confident voice brushed his mind. I have a friend. Her name is Kathy.
…Well, that explained nothing, but it would have to do.
——
To avoid gaining unnecessary experience points, Blaziken returned herself to her Poké Ball. Lin Shou turned to Axuan. "You wake her up."
"Boss, you sure?" Axuan's knees were practically knocking together. "If she gets mad and uses… uh… Mount Tai Press or something, I'm done for."
"Stop whining. You're the only one she knows. I'll be right here."
Axuan hesitated, but deep down, he trusted Lin Shou. The guy had never actually steered him wrong before.
Moonlight spilled in dappled patches across the grass as Axuan crept toward the slumbering Miltank. Slowly, he crouched down and gave her round, warm side a gentle pat.
"Miltank… wake up," he whispered.