Reward

The next day.

Hong came over.

This young man only had some minor injuries and bruises, and he recovered after resting for a day. When he entered the room, he found Kashiwagi playing catch with Aron using Poké Balls.

"Hey? Are you two this close now?" He was a bit surprised since he had witnessed Aron's resistance to Poké Balls before.

Kashiwagi didn't respond and silently watched as Hong proudly released a Poké Ball.

A white light emerged.

A Pokémon appeared on the ground.

It was a Pokémon with a black rocky body, with a light yellow hexagon hole at its center, long rocky spikes on top of its head, and stone legs.

This creature seemed a bit panicky in this unfamiliar place, trembling non-stop.

"Roggenrola... It suits you well," Hong said.

"Not bad. It's quite well-behaved." Hong laughed as he held the Pokémon in his arms and said, "By the way, Kashiwagi, when are you planning to choose a Pokémon? If you wait too long, all the good ones will be taken."

"I won't choose. I'll take the cash reward," Kashiwagi said, shaking his head.

Now that he had Aron as a partner, it was necessary to help him recover from malnutrition, and he needed to adapt to the process of breeding Pokémon.

Breeding Pokémon in reality was quite different from the games, and raising pets made him realize how troublesome it could be. Training them in battle-ready conditions was even more difficult.

Many members of Team Quicksand were not serious about breeding Pokémon; they often chose to replace their Pokémon rather than put effort into breeding. This behavior was quite common and popular in Oulei Region, particularly in Yellow Iron Town, where the demand for already powerful Pokémon was high. Some rare Pokémon from other regions, which were not necessarily strong, did not enjoy such popularity and were not as expensive.

Hong nodded. "Since you have Aron now, I guess that makes sense."

The two of them talked about their colleagues for a while. The three people who were rescued with them had relatively severe injuries, and they might need to rest for ten days or half a month. Of the other few people who didn't join them on the first day, only one passed the assessment.

Kashiwagi understood that he didn't have the right to choose. Only the Special Operations Group could work alone like James and Jessie, but members of that group were specially trained within Team Quicksand from a young age. It was no use resisting, and the fact that they approached him proactively showed some sincerity.

The next day, Kashiwagi and Aron left the hospital and went to the Team Quicksand headquarters to register as official members and receive the items for new members.

The clerk assisting them looked somewhat surprised when he saw Aron. It was rare to see someone who already had a Pokémon before receiving one from the organization.

"Please exchange the reward for financial assistance. Is that possible?" Kashiwagi asked.

"Huh? Oh! Sure, it's possible!" The clerk quickly nodded.

After a series of procedures, Kashiwagi received 100,000 Poké Yen and left with satisfaction, taking Aron with him.

Yellow Iron Street

This area had apartments allocated by Team Quicksand for their members in a three-and-a-half-story concrete high-rise building with large weathered blocks, appearing in a dark gray cement color. There were no green facilities in sight, and the roads were in poor condition.

However, the infrastructure here, such as water pipes, sewer systems, and electricity, was far better than the shantytown they lived in before.

Kashiwagi liked this place, not because of the facilities but because he could see various Pokémon playing around everywhere. In his previous residence, there were only humans, and many times he couldn't figure out if he was in the Pokémon world or not.

"Kashiwagi! Let's go out for a meal tonight! Everyone wants to thank you and celebrate," Hong said with a big smile as he carried bags of items.

"Sure, let me know the place." Kashiwagi nodded. He wasn't good at socializing, especially with these people.

I wonder if it's deliberately arranged. Their group is quite close together. Hong is right next door, and the rest are within walking distance.

Is it the person from yesterday who arranged this?

I don't know if I can obtain detailed information about Ishigaki from him, such as his family background, friends, connections, and Pokémon.

"Let's start arranging our new home!" Kashiwagi said.

"Gru!" Aron agreed happily.