As Reiji followed the real estate agent to search for a place to live, he happened to pass by a school and came to a stop.

The school was situated right on the edge of the forest, still some distance from the sea. Inside, many children were playing, and he saw the name of the campus.

"Walking Grass Orphanage." That was the address listed on his ID.

Aside from the children, there were many Pokémon on the grounds, most of them Grass-types.

He even spotted the skinny guy training a Poliwhirl. But Reiji didn't disturb the children. He simply glanced at the scene briefly before continuing on with the real estate agent.

He didn't have time today—he could come by tomorrow when he was free.

He wanted to check on the kids, have a chat with the old director, give the orphanage some financial support, and remind the old man that he, too, had once been a child from this place.

After walking another seven or eight kilometers with the agent, they finally reached the seashore. Reiji chose a house at random and rented it.

He paid three months' rent upfront. The rental terms were simple—no security deposit, and if you left early, you didn't get your money back. That was just how the leases worked around here.

There weren't many options along the coastline anyway. All the villas were in the same row-house style. Reiji had seen plenty in his previous life—like rows of gravestones lining the sea.

Each house had three floors, a large enclosed front yard, and a swimming pool. The interiors were fully furnished and move-in ready.

Of course, such a large house was way too much for him alone. After the agent left, Reiji released all of his Pokémon from their Poké Balls—except for Farfetch'd.

"Poliwhirl, Butterfree, Krabby, Pelipper, Spinarak—go check out the house. If anything seems off, let me know."

He'd already opened the front door, but the place was too big, and there were too many rooms for him to check alone. He had to rely on the Pokémon.

There were also Rhyhorn, Magikarp, and Wishiwashi…

He'd already prepared food for those three. Rhyhorn's ore was simply dumped onto the floor.

A hundred kilograms of rocks—it looked like a small mountain. There wasn't a food bowl big enough for that glutton.

It was just rock anyway. Putting it on the ground worked fine—he just hoped Rhyhorn wouldn't chew up the floor too.

As for Magikarp and Wishiwashi, he tossed their food into the pool and let the two goofs eat on their own.

Slowpoke also crawled slowly to the pool's edge and gently dipped its newly grown tail into the water, waiting quietly.

It was probably trying to fish—but there weren't any fish in the pool, just those two dopes.

Splash! Splash!

"Yadon?" Slowpoke felt something bite its tail and slowly lifted it up… where a Magikarp was chomping on it.

Reiji was speechless. Couldn't that dumb fish even tell who it was biting? Or was Slowpoke's tail really that delicious?

He ignored the three goofballs in the pool and turned to see Poliwhirl and the others coming out of the house, all shaking their heads—no abnormalities. The place was spotless.

"Alright, everyone, come here." Now that the house was confirmed safe, Reiji could relax. His only fear had been someone lying in wait.

But since everything was clear, it was time to make an announcement.

"Poliwhirl, Butterfree, Krabby, Pelipper, Spinarak, Rhyh—ah, forget it. That glutton's too busy eating."

"Listen up—this is our new home from now on!" Reiji spread his arms wide, as if embracing the entire house.

Even though it was just a rental, for the next three months, it was their home. He'd never lived in such a spacious place with a courtyard before. It was time to enjoy it.

"Fwee-ee-ee! Fwee-ee-ee!" Butterfree buzzed excitedly. It could finally fly around freely and didn't have to stay cooped up in a Poké Ball anymore. The outside world was so much nicer.

"Poli! Poli!" Poliwhirl jumped straight into the pool in excitement, with Krabby scuttling over right behind it.

"Poliwhirl, Krabby! Drain the pool and clean it up—the water's filthy," Reiji ordered, glancing at the murky pool.

There were lots of dead leaves floating on the surface, green moss on the floor, and some black gunk settled at the bottom. Cleaning it up before playing was a must.

That task fell to Poliwhirl, Krabby, and Pelipper.

"Pelipper, give them a hand," Reiji called to the Pelipper perched on the wall and pointed to the pool. "Once it's clean, you can all have fun in it."

"Poli! Poli!" Poliwhirl climbed out and fetched cleaning tools. Krabby headed to the pool's drain, while Slowpoke pulled the two dumb fish out of the water.

Then, Poliwhirl started mopping the pool floor, while Krabby and the others sprayed it down with water jets. Reiji joined in, cleaning while playing. They had a blast.

After finishing his meal, Rhyhorn joined the crew, blending in like one of the gang. This guy really wasn't afraid of water.

Time passed, and evening came. As the sun began to set, they all leaned against the wall, quietly watching the horizon.

It was the first peaceful sunset they'd seen since leaving the island. Maybe things were finally stabilizing. Hopefully life would keep improving.

"Poli… Poli…" Poliwhirl sat beside Reiji, softly croaking.

"Fwee-ee…" Butterfree lay on Reiji's head, hugging it with its tiny claws and resting its chin on his hair, gazing at the setting sun. Before they knew it, they were lost in the view.

"Kuk-chee." Krabby sat next to Poliwhirl, staring at the sunset too. It didn't really know what it was looking at, but since everyone else was watching, it joined in.

"Beli… Beli…" Pelipper tilted its head, leaning against Reiji. It saw the Pelipper keychain Reiji had bought and just wanted to enjoy the peace and quiet.

"Yadon…" Slowpoke lay in Reiji's arms, being gently petted. The large hand was oddly comforting.

"Yito." Spinarak dangled upside down from the wall, also watching the sunset on the horizon.

"Snore… snore…" Rhyhorn was sprawled on the grass in front of Reiji, snoring away with shredded grass at the corners of its mouth. The big lug had been munching again.

Magikarp and Wishiwashi poked their heads out of the pool. After exchanging glances, they looked toward the ocean sunset.

After spending so long together, Magikarp had come to realize it could never eat the other fish. They had become friends.

And so, Reiji and his Pokémon sat in silence, watching the sun disappear into the sea—until they all dozed off against the wall.

Farfetch'd was there too. Reiji had let it out later, fed it, and treated its injuries.

But the stubborn thing never changed. Poliwhirl and Krabby gave it another solid beating and left it lying dazed on the grass, staring out at the ocean, feeling completely out of place.

After being beaten for so long, Farfetch'd had finally realized—this human wasn't planning to eat it.

And he wasn't the one who had eaten its kind, either.

Still, it hated all humans.

But it was far too weak. If it couldn't even defeat this human's Pokémon, how could it ever challenge stronger humans?

Faced with its own helplessness, Farfetch'd sighed for the first time at sunset. It let go of its leek for the first time. It felt lost for the first time.

If it could never beat those Pokémon, what was the point of living? It might as well join its fallen comrades…

Staring at the sunset, Farfetch'd sank into confusion—and fell asleep. Reiji returned it to its Poké Ball without it even noticing.

After a short nap with his Pokémon, Reiji got up and recalled Farfetch'd, Rhyhorn, Magikarp, and Wishiwashi.

Then, he pulled out his newly bought Pokémon bowls and started preparing dinner. He munched on some bread—he'd shop for groceries and seasoning later to start cooking for real.

While the Pokémon ate, he also ate. Once he finished, he began reorganizing his backpacks.

He now had five of them: two 100-liter, one 50-liter, and two 10-liter packs.

One 10-liter pack was full of ore. He secured the bag and dumped the 30 tons of ore into the 50-liter backpack—it poured out like rain and would take half an hour to finish.

The other 10-liter bag held Pokémon food, which he moved to one of the 100-liter backpacks.

That freed up the two 10-liter packs, which he then tossed into the furnace and burned to ashes.

Even if it meant destroying them, he wouldn't throw them away or give them to anyone. No loose ends.

Each bag was worth 4,000 Pokédollars, but did a guy like him—a rich fisherman—care about 4,000?

He'd already lost over a million to transaction fees. What was 4,000? Not even worth rounding.

Besides the backpacks, he also burned all the food packaging, the used baby bottles, the last Trainer Hunter face cover, and the cloth shoes he'd only worn once.

Cloth shoes were terrible for escaping. He'd been wearing hiking boots for a while now, and they fit well. His new clothes and shoes were all very comfortable.

As the sun fully disappeared into the sea, his all-black outfit became perfect camouflage. Even under flashlight beams, no one would notice him unless they looked closely.

That was exactly why he'd insisted on buying black clothing.

(End of Chapter)

[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]

[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]

[[email protected]/BellAshelia]

[Thanks for your support!]