By the fifth day of their trip north, the sky was clear.
The two of them got up early. Reiji handled breakfast while Shun folded up the tent.
It had been their first night on a new island. Every rustle of grass, every gust of wind had them half-awake, so neither of them slept all that well.
At least today they would finally reach Mandarin Island. No more sleeping in a stuffy tent—once you've had a taste of a soft hotel mattress, it's hard to go back.
They packed quickly, breakfast was done in no time, and they let their Pokémon out to eat. Once everyone had finished, they recalled almost all of them, leaving only Pelipper and Ditto outside.
Reiji also kept Farfetch'd with him. Over breakfast, he had already explained the situation to the team. They had all said their goodbyes to Farfetch'd.
Just before they left, he crouched down, rubbed Farfetch'd's head, and said his own farewell. "Farfetch'd, we're heading out. You've got lots of your own kind here. If you're upset, you can talk to them. If fate allows it, we'll meet again…"
He straightened, lifting his hand from Farfetch'd's head with a faint smile. Ditto turned into a scarf hanging at his neck. Reiji climbed onto Pelipper's back and rose into the air, leaving the beach behind. Shun was already waiting up above.
As they climbed higher, the two boys drifted out over the sea, gradually shrinking to a pair of black dots in Farfetch'd's eyes.
One farewell ended here. Their next destination, Mandarin Island, would just be the next place they'd eventually have to say goodbye to as well.
Watching them disappear into the distance, Farfetch'd was completely lost. It turned back toward the grass, where duck heads kept popping out one after another—wild Farfetch'd from this island.
"Gaa, gaa gaa, gaa gaa gaa."
The wild Farfetch'd called out when they saw the one on the beach holding two leeks, their mocking quacks obvious even without words.
Farfetch'd could tell—they were laughing at it for being abandoned by a Trainer.
But that wasn't how it really was. That Trainer hadn't thrown it away. It was Farfetch'd that didn't know how to face him.
It hated humans. It had sworn to take revenge for its fallen partner. But the poacher's Pokémon that actually ate its companion were already dead. That Trainer had killed them. Slowpoke had told it so.
Even if that Trainer had avenged it, Farfetch'd still hated humans. All humans.
Yet after spending so long by that Trainer's side, it realized it couldn't hate him the same way. It just… didn't know how to face him.
It hated all humans, but it couldn't bring itself to hate that Trainer. Not even a little.
That same Trainer had given it freedom, helped it find its own kind. Farfetch'd looked at the wild Farfetch'd in the grass—its own species. Could it really blend in with them?
"Gaa?"
Another wild Farfetch'd, seeing it zoning out, waddled over and tugged at it, trying to lead it back into the trees, to join the flock.
"Gaa…"
Dragged forward, Farfetch'd glanced at the ones who had been laughing at it. In that moment, something clicked. It really couldn't fit into this flock, couldn't picture itself living with them, nesting with them, roughhousing and fighting each other over leeks.
Somewhere along the line, its "home" had changed. It wasn't that empty little island anymore. It was the Trainer who hadn't abandoned it even after being attacked, and the group of Pokémon who still cared about it. Its home was out on the sea, somewhere far ahead.
"Gaa."
The wild Farfetch'd didn't understand why its companion suddenly stopped.
"Gaa."
Farfetch'd shook its head, refusing the other's kindness. It beat its wings and took off, calling a farewell to the flock below, then flew straight out toward the ocean, chasing the rapidly shrinking silhouette of Reiji and Shun.
"Gaa gaa gaa… it just left like that?"
"Gaa. Who knows? Getting dumped and still chasing after your Trainer… that's embarrassing for a Farfetch'd…"
"Gaa, forget it, let's just play…"
…
Out at sea, Reiji had no idea Farfetch'd was on its way after them.
They hadn't flown very far before it caught up, speeding across the waves with a burst of acceleration.
"Gaa, gaa!"
Farfetch'd finally closed in on Reiji, panting hard as it quacked at him again and again.
"Farfetch'd?"
Reiji reined Pelipper in. The bird hovered as a familiar Farfetch'd flapped up alongside. Its feet still clutched two leeks. Reiji recognized it at a glance and couldn't understand why it had come back.
"Gaa, gaa…"
Exhausted, Farfetch'd dropped onto Reiji's shoulder and flopped across his backpack. The meaning was obvious. Reiji would get it.
"You want to come with us?" Reiji raised a hand to shield his eyes from the wind and asked the question that had been on his mind.
"Gaa."
Farfetch'd nodded. Its home was here, with this Trainer and these partners—not on that uninhabited island.
"Then get inside first." Reiji pulled out its Poké Ball and held it up.
"Gaa."
Farfetch'd didn't hesitate. It tapped the button with its beak and vanished into red light.
"Reiji-nii?"
Shun was hovering nearby. He'd already seen Farfetch'd return, but had no idea what had happened down on the beach.
"The wind's too strong. Keep flying, we'll talk once we're on Mandarin Island!" Reiji had to shout over the gusts. He wasn't sure if Shun heard him clearly, but he patted Pelipper's neck and the bird tilted its wings and sped forward again.
Seeing Reiji continue on, Shun stopped asking questions and urged his own Pelipper to follow.
They flew straight through the rest of the morning. Eventually a large island rose out of the sea ahead. From above, it was clear that this one was huge, with a sprawling city and a busy port hugging its edge.
They landed on the eastern side of the island. The east held a massive battle arena with spectator stands, as well as the harbor.
To the south stretched mostly desert. Out west was a large metropolis—Trovitopolis.
Reiji actually remembered Trovitopolis. It had shown up in the anime. In the "monster in the sewers" episode, there'd been an abandoned Bulbasaur living in the city's underground.
They weren't planning to visit Trovitopolis, though. The big city here in the east of Mandarin Island was more than enough for restocking and saying their farewells.
From this port, there were ferries to Kinnow Island and to Sunburst Island. His real target was the Crystal Onix on Sunburst Island. He wanted to see whether he could run into that special Pokémon.
Before heading to Sunburst Island, they needed at least one night of real sleep. After last night's half-awake nap on the uninhabited island, both of them were running on fumes.
They walked off the docks at the city's edge and found a hotel not far from there. They booked a twin room. Shun slapped down 12,000 Pokédollars at the front desk.
Their Pelipper had been in the air all morning, so they let them snack on some Pokéblocks before recalling them.
Reiji lay back on one of the two single beds. His fingers sank into the soft white mattress. He planned to catch up on sleep first, then cook for the team in the evening. Lunch could go; he hadn't eaten anything himself yet anyway.
Before he could drift off, Shun tossed a flyer at him and shouted in excitement, "Reiji-nii, Lorelei from the Elite Four is giving a talk tomorrow at the lecture hall! There's even going to be a demo battle session!"
"What? How did I not know about this?"
Reiji grabbed the flyer. He had no idea where Shun had snagged it from. In his previous life, he vaguely remembered Lorelei having a seaside villa somewhere around here.
Ash and his friends had met her in a restaurant overlooking the ocean. He hadn't expected Lorelei to actually be in this city.
On the poster, Lorelei stood tall and composed, all long lines and cool poise. Her vivid red hair was tied back in a high ponytail. Round, black-rimmed glasses framed sharp eyes. She wore a crisp blue jacket and a black pencil skirt, the whole look accentuating her long legs and mature, commanding aura. A charismatic Trainer, famed for her mastery of Ice-type Pokémon and her calm, composed battling style, praised for her keen battlefield insight.
Yep. He was too late.
Lorelei was already a woman in her twenties, a full-blown big sister type, while he was still a fifteen-year-old kid. He wasn't sure if he'd even be able to carry a gold brick like that.
"Reiji-nii, are we going tomorrow?"
Shun could barely sit still. Running into Lorelei the moment they arrived was wild enough. He might be a fan of Drake, but he was even more of a Lorelei fan. No one said you could only idolize one Trainer.
"You really want to go?"
Reiji couldn't help it. Shun was acting exactly like a starstruck fanboy, the kind who couldn't move an inch if a favorite Trainer showed up in front of him.
"I want to hear Lorelei's lecture, then head back to Kinnow Island the day after tomorrow." Shun shifted into a cross-legged sit on his bed and nodded earnestly.
"If you want to go, we'll go. I'll check it out too. The talk's at one in the afternoon, so there's no rush."
Reiji set the flyer down. In his mind, Lorelei's anime appearance almost overlapped with the poster—he just needed some time to adjust to seeing her move from two dimensions into reality.
"Nice! After listening to Lorelei's lecture, I'll take the ferry back the day after tomorrow. I should buy the ticket today so I don't end up like you," Shun said, suddenly remembering Reiji's previous "no-ticket" embarrassment. He jumped off the bed, already planning to hit the harbor.
"Reiji-nii, I'm going to buy a ticket for the ferry back to Kinnow Island the day after tomorrow!"
"You don't know this place. Don't wander too far," Reiji said. He wasn't especially worried about Shun's safety—Shun was a Trainer, not an ordinary kid—but wandering off asking for trouble was always a bad idea.
"I know, Reiji-nii!"
Grinning, Shun ran out. He'd never been in such a big city before. Of course he wanted to explore, maybe challenge some local Trainers while he was at it.
Once the door shut behind Shun, Reiji took out Spinarak's Poké Ball. He released Spinarak to shadow Shun from the rooftops, then let Croagunk out as well to purge its toxins.
When Croagunk finished purging poison from its system, Reiji rewarded it with some Pokéblocks and recalled it.
At first, he hadn't planned to bother with lunch for anyone, but since he'd already fed Croagunk and Spinarak, he went ahead and fed the rest of the team as well.
Gastly was still the same, dead drunk and out cold. Scyther couldn't train, and its frustration was starting to show.
Thankfully, on the uninhabited island last night, he'd let "the big goof" go wild and slam into trees to its heart's content. Otherwise it might have exploded from pent-up energy by now.
The others were all behaving themselves. They stayed quietly in their Poké Balls whenever he asked. When he let Farfetch'd out, the duck looked a little embarrassed.
After all, it had been given freedom and then had turned around and shamelessly chased them down again. Anyone seeing that would be a little confused.
"Farfetch'd, if you're staying, you're going to follow my plans. If you don't, you can leave anytime. I won't stop you."
"Gaa."
Farfetch'd nodded firmly. Since it had chosen to remain, it would listen to this Trainer's orders. After traveling with Reiji for so long, it knew exactly what it should do.
"Eat some Pokéblocks first. We'll figure out your training later. It's not convenient to train here anyway."
Reiji was glad they could finally communicate, but he wanted his stance clear—same as with Gastly. He had no intention of raising another backstabber.
He didn't know exactly what Farfetch'd had gone through, but it seemed to have let go of its hatred and said goodbye to the past. That meant he'd basically "caught" Farfetch'd—more or less.
The Farfetch'd in front of him wasn't as twitchy and explosive as before. The burning hatred in its eyes had dimmed. It was willing to listen to him, and ready to accept his commands. They'd still need to work on their coordination in battle, though.
As long as Farfetch'd was willing to put the past down, he could lend it a hand. If it still clung to its hatred of humans, he would have released it no matter what.
He wasn't about to let Farfetch'd's grudge end up hurting innocent people. As Farfetch'd's Trainer, he was responsible for what it did. That was the weight of being a Trainer.
Its potential wasn't anything special, either. It couldn't even evolve. He had no idea what niche it would fill on the team—at least, not yet.
Using it for under-the-table work wouldn't help. In black market circles, people who ate Farfetch'd weren't exactly rare. Bringing a Farfetch'd into that environment would risk sending it into a rampage. Cleaning up the mess afterward would be a nightmare.
For now, he'd just raise it and see if an opportunity presented itself later. Feeding one Farfetch'd wasn't exactly going to bankrupt him.
After everyone had eaten lunch, Reiji left only Spinarak and Ditto outside the Poké Balls. He lay down on the bed and fell asleep almost instantly.
He slept straight through until dusk. The sound of the door opening woke him. Shun was finally back.
"Reiji-nii, I'm back!" Shun yelled the moment he stepped in, as if Reiji might somehow miss the noise.
"What took you so long?" Reiji checked the time. Shun had been gone four or five hours.
"I went to the Pokémon Center too and had a bunch of battles," Shun said, scratching his head. He decided it was better to be honest.
"You didn't cause any trouble, right?" Reiji had no interest in micromanaging how Shun spent his afternoon. As long as the kid didn't drag trouble back with him, it was fine.
"No, no, nothing like that. I just lost a bit. The Trainers here are way stronger than the ones on Murcott Island," Shun admitted, a little embarrassed about losing money.
"You don't have to put a wager on every battle. Normal battles are fine too."
Reiji was a little worried he'd end up with a budding gambling addict on his hands. That habit was hard to kick.
"I know what I'm doing, Reiji-nii. It's just small stuff. If there's no money on the line, it feels like something's missing. It's hard to really go all out."
Shun did want to play some straight matches, but any battle without stakes just felt… limp.
"Whatever. I'm gonna watch some TV."
Reiji waved him off and turned on the television. A battle tournament broadcast was already playing.
"Reiji-nii, I found out where Lorelei's lecture is. You can even sign up for a coaching match against her," Shun said as he climbed onto his bed, sharing what he'd learned.
"You signed up?" Reiji asked, curious.
"Couldn't. The slots were gone in seconds. I only managed to get two tickets for the lecture." Shun sighed. He would've loved to get on stage, but he'd gone too late.
"She's an Elite Four member. Of course everyone wants in."
Reiji couldn't help but laugh. Where did this kid get the confidence to think he could fight an Elite Four Trainer? Even if Lorelei held back, he'd get rolled.
"Reiji-nii, did you eat yet?" Shun rummaged in his backpack for dinner, then glanced over at Reiji, who still had sleep grit at the corner of his eyes. The question basically answered itself.
"What'd you bring back? Let me wash my face first."
Reiji definitely hadn't eaten, but seeing Shun haul out food saved him a lot of trouble.
After washing up, he tried some of the food Shun had bought. It was surprisingly good.
Once he'd eaten, he cooked dinner for the Pokémon as well.
After everyone had finished, Reiji left Slowpoke out, hugged it like a giant pink pillow, and watched TV until he drifted off again without realizing.
When he woke the next morning, it was already around noon.
…
(End of Chapter)
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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