Rei Akagi couldn't be bothered to listen to any more nonsense.
He directly controlled Rei, who stepped forward and swiftly pulled a rope from his backpack, tying the Team Rocket Elite grunt tightly into a bundle like a rice dumpling.
Following the principle of leaving no evil unfinished, Rei didn't spare the unconscious Team Rocket grunts on the ground either. One by one, he bound them all securely.
After finishing everything, Rei took out his Pokédex, skillfully dialed Professor Oak, and briefly explained the situation.
The rest would naturally be handled by the Pokémon League.
Soon, the sound of sirens approached from afar.
Officer Jenny arrived quickly with several police officers. Moving with remarkable efficiency, they took away every Team Rocket member who had been tied up and unable to move.
Marowak silently watched the entire scene.
Only after the last Team Rocket member was escorted away did it slowly turn around and walk over to Rei, Red, and Blue.
It didn't speak.
Instead, it quietly took out the old paper bag that had previously been worn on Cubone's head.
After rummaging inside, it pulled out two pieces of paper.
"Rei, Red, and Blue received the Cleanse Tag and Spell Tag from Marowak!"
Cleanse Tag:
A charm imbued with mysterious power. When carried, wild Pokémon are less likely to approach.
Spell Tag:
A strange and eerie talisman. When carried, it boosts the power of Ghost-type moves.
After handing them over, Marowak didn't wait for the three to react. It quickly ran back to Mr. Fuji's side and stood quietly beside him, guarding him just as it always had.
"Honestly…"
Red's voice carried obvious reluctance. He looked at the steadfast figure protecting the old man, his expression complicated.
"I really wanted to bring it along on the rest of our journey."
"Same."
Blue rarely argued with Red this time. His tone held the same regret and agreement.
"Maybe it has its own thoughts,"
Rei Akagi added casually.
"Or maybe we just haven't truly moved it yet—who knows."
At that moment, the livestream chat exploded.
"Wait! Something about Teacher Salted Fish's tone feels very suspicious! Does that mean we can actually recruit this Marowak?!"
"Say no more—logging in now! I'm going to try abducting this Marowak for my team!"
"I think what Teacher Salted Fish means is that every Pokémon is an independent individual with the right to choose its own path. That's true in real life—and in the game as well."
"Even though I know it's just a game and they're just lines of code… why does the emotion feel so real? Why does it hit so hard afterward…"
"Teacher Salted Fish is definitely hiding more secrets!"
"Alright then, that's it for today's stream," Rei Akagi said with a smile while reading the scrolling comments. "Staying up too late isn't good for your health."
"The world of Pokémon is huge. I can't possibly tell every story on my own."
"Finally, let's thank Red and Blue again for participating."
"And that's it for today—bye!"
With that, the livestream abruptly went black.
Rei Akagi let out a long breath.
He stood up and stretched hard, his joints popping faintly.
Dragging his slippers across the floor, he scooped up the chubby Gengar beside him and walked toward the bathroom.
"Alright, time for our bedtime wash!"
"Genga—! (Your Majesty refuses to bathe—!)"
Gengar protested dramatically.
A faint purple mist quietly spread from its body.
Taking advantage of Rei Akagi's obscured vision, Gengar instantly split itself into two.
Substitute!
A brand-new Gengar floated behind Rei Akagi. Gathering all its strength, it leaped forward, attempting to dive into Rei Akagi's shadow—
But just as the tip of its tail was about to disappear into the darkness—
A strong hand suddenly grabbed the shadowy tail that hadn't fully vanished.
Gengar tried to escape.
But who was Rei Akagi?
"Trying a Substitute trick? Go practice for another twenty thousand years!"
His eyes turned cold, a faint smirk forming at the corner of his mouth as he forcefully yanked the struggling Gengar out of the shadow.
The captured Gengar's eyes turned into spirals. Its mouth hung open as it silently accused fate of injustice.
(T_T)
"Genga! Genga! (Even if you're my imperial father, you still can't violate my will!)"
"Oh? Violating your will?"
Rei Akagi narrowed his eyes.
He crushed the Substitute, which reverted into a green dinosaur doll, and casually tossed it onto the living room sofa. Then he firmly tucked Gengar under his arm.
"You haven't bathed for three days! You stink!"
"I'm telling you—even if Cynthia the Champion—cough— showed up today, you're still taking this bath!"
With that, he tightened his grip on the flailing Gengar and stepped forward to close the bathroom door.
But in the blink of an eye—
As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Rei Akagi shot out his other hand like lightning and precisely grabbed Rayquaza, who was trying to slip away from behind his neck!
"Let go! I never bathe!" Rayquaza roared angrily in Rei Akagi's mind, twisting violently as it tried to break free from the five-fingered mountain pinning it down.
"MUDA MUDA MUDA! Even if Arceus shows up today, it won't help!"
The bathroom door slammed shut.
As for the earth-shattering battle that followed inside—
No one would ever know.
Fifteen minutes later, the bathroom door opened.
"Gen~ga~ (So~ comfortable~)"
"…Not bad."
Warm steam drifted out.
Wearing a Gastly-pattern pajama, Gengar floated out lazily. Beside it, Rayquaza, wrapped in a Caterpie pajama, also drifted out radiating pure satisfaction.
Gengar: (￣▽￣)
Rayquaza: (￣ー￣)
"You two feel great," Rei Akagi said wearily as he walked out behind them, shaking his still-wet hair, "but my back is killing me."
Gengar causing trouble was one thing.
But cleaning Rayquaza's dragon scales had been a nightmare—he had worn out three steel scrubbing pads.
Looking at the two "lords" sprawled comfortably across the large bed in the bedroom, Rei Akagi showed a helpless smile.
He still couldn't sleep yet.
He needed to edit the hidden-story livestream footage into a video and upload it to expand its influence as much as possible.
So he returned to his computer desk and got back to work.
Sigh… what a miserable life.
After finishing the video editing and uploading it—
Rei Akagi collapsed onto the bed like a pile of Muk, limp and exhausted, though his brain still lingered on one last task for the day.
The livestream rewards.
A notification sounded in his mind.
"System Notification: Detecting that the contractor's actions have caused widespread positive feedback. Statistical estimation in progress. Please wait…"
"System Notification: Calculation note—when the same individual generates repeated positive feedback of the same type, the BP point reward ratio will gradually decrease."
"System Notification: This livestream action generated 2010.5 Battle Points. Predicted future influence may generate 606.11 Battle Points."
"Current balance: 7132 Battle Points."
Seven thousand BP…
Rei Akagi's spirit lifted slightly.
"Assistant A, keep half saved."
"With the other half—restore Rayquaza."
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