Three days later, a Delibird -even Christopher treated it with caution- flew into the Team Rocket contact point in Steelrock Town and took away the mission target.
And in less than half an hour, Team Rocket's reward was issued.
5000 points!
This even exceeded the total points Haruki had painstakingly earned over the past two months.
As for Christopher, what he received would surely be far more than what Haruki did.
With that, Haruki's back stopped aching, his legs stopped hurting. Even the anxiety he'd felt over the mysterious voice these past few days eased a lot.
Adding the leftover points from before, Haruki's total reached 5859; a new personal record.
With surplus in hand, the heart feels no fear.
Haruki clicked on the Points Exchange Window to see what he could afford now.
Ten minutes later, Haruki closed the window.
"Cubone, let's go to Rock Mountain."
"Cu?"
Cubone, who had been swinging its bone club, raised its head in confusion.
'Didn't he say they'd stay home today to focus on basic training? What a fickle Trainer…'
That was Cubone's inner evaluation, even as its stubby legs resignedly began to move.
Truth be told, compared to basic training, it actually preferred going to Rock Mountain to bash hea-uh, train.
After greeting Christopher, Haruki, now packed and ready, set out with Cubone.
5000 points seemed like a lot, but after browsing through the options, Haruki found that he still couldn't afford anything that would drastically improve his power.
Turns out, he was still poor.
…Time to keep grinding.
---
Elsewhere, the Delibird carrying the mysterious fossil had already arrived at Team Rocket's largest branch base in the Sinnoh region.
The fossil was immediately handed over to a group of lab-coated researchers.
It didn't take long for the results of the fossil analysis to come back.
[No. 37 Fossil Analysis Result]
Remaining vitality: less than 0.01%Usability: less than 0.01%Pokémon Species: Vitality too low, cannot be identifiedSuggested handling: Destroy
---
Returning to Rock Mountain after so many days, Haruki actually felt a bit nostalgic.
He released the long-restrained Beldum, letting it rush happily into the cave first.
Watching this, Haruki's mind swirled with thoughts.
Once the two new recruits got the hang of intel gathering, maybe it was time for him to apply to become a "Mobile Intelligence Officer".
A MIO didn't stay in one place to collect intel, but traveled around disguised as a merchant, tourist, or Trainer, gathering critical information.
The benefits were obvious: much more freedom of movement. And Haruki could bring Beldum out into the wild for fresh air more often.
But the position came with stricter strength requirements. Haruki would need to head to Team Rocket's Sinnoh branch to take the test. Only after passing could he change roles.
'Once Cubone breaks through to the Veteran tier, I'll apply.'
With a clear goal in mind, Haruki's once restless heart finally settled.
Next step: strengthen up and strive to become a Mobile Intelligence Officer!
"Rock Mountain, I'm back!"
With Cubone and Beldum in tow, he passed through the familiar territories of old acquaintances.
The deeper, unexplored parts of the cave were where real training happened.
The two Pokémon moved one after the other, confidently exploring further into the depths […]
----
Just like that, another half month flew by.
When the trio finally emerged from the cave again, the aura around them had changed significantly.
If one had to describe it… it would be "wild."
Both Cubone and Beldum had made huge strides within the Skilled tier. But that final step to breakthrough still eluded them.
Seeing the growing anxiety and impatience in his Pokémon, Haruki rationally called off the training expedition.
Though it had still been half a month, just like before, their opponents had steadily grown stronger, and the difficulty had continued to rise.
Injured, treated, battled, injured again, treated again, battled again…
That cycle repeated nonstop for half a month, and what grew wasn't just their strength, but also the willpower of both Pokémon!
It was about time to loosen the tightened string.
Returning Beldum to its Poké Ball, Haruki led Cubone back to the ramen shop.
Christopher stared at Haruki and Cubone for a long while before finally nodding in satisfaction.
"Not bad, another breakthrough. Just a bit more and you'll be ahead of where I was back in the day."
Haruki smiled. He truly felt grateful to have a captain who fully supported him.
"Can't compare to you, 'boss'. I'm heading to the shower first, I feel disgusting!"
"Hahaha, go on! Come find me after, I've got something to talk to you about."
Christopher raised an eyebrow and grinned meaningfully, though it was unclear what he meant.
After bathing, Haruki also carefully cleaned up Cubone and Beldum using fine sand. Only when everything was done -right around closing time- did he go find Christopher.
"You're here. Give me a hand and help move this."
In the kitchen, Christopher directed Haruki to help transfer a simmering pot of tonkotsu broth to another burner.
"Boss, where are Rika and the others?"
"I let them clock out and head home. It's just you and me at the shop right now."
"Oh, I'll take care of it."
Haruki promptly covered the pot and turned to see that Christopher was already sitting down to rest.
"Come sit, I've got something to talk to you about."
"Okay, go ahead."
Christopher removed his apron and, after a pause, finally said, "Haruki, interested in becoming a Mobile Intelligence Officer?"
Haruki was stunned. He had been planning to bring it up himself when the time was right, but the captain had beaten him to it.
"Seems like you've already looked into what being a Mobile Intelligence Officer entails. That makes things easier. If you want to go, I'll write a recommendation letter for you."
The captain's expression said he'd seen this coming all along. He smiled as he spoke.
Haruki hesitated for a moment.
"Captain, you…"
But Christopher waved him off and continued, "I've been in your shoes. Who didn't have dreams and ambitions when they were young? There's a selection for MIO next month, go take it!"
"But I heard the minimum requirement is having at least one Veteran tier Pokémon…"
"What, you're telling me your Cubone can't reach Veteran in a month?" Christopher said teasingly.
If Haruki and Cubone got stuck on such a tiny hurdle, then maybe MIO wasn't for them.
"I understand. Thank you, Captain."
In the end, Haruki didn't argue. He simply gave a sincere thank-you.
"Right, one last thing!"
Suddenly, Christopher leaned in, pulling out a slightly wrinkled scrap of paper.
"A little boy like you… already picking up older women?"
"What older wom-"
Haruki twitched his mouth, caught off guard by Christopher's sudden shift in tone.
He took the paper. On it was a phone number he didn't recognize.
But it somehow felt familiar…
"Harumi?"
It was a question, but spoken with certainty.
"See? And you say you don't know her. You remembered her name perfectly!"
Christopher chuckled smugly, but there was a tinge of melancholy beneath it.
After all, he was still single.
'Beaten by a brat…'
Haruki could only explain helplessly, "We met during that tournament at the Galactic Department Store. Barely even know each other. But… did she say she needed something from me?"
"Beats me. Ask her yourself tomorrow. Go train now!"
Christopher waved him off lazily, clearly not in the mood to talk more.
…Definitely not because he was feeling sour inside.