New Mission

"Leon is back!"

As soon as the voice rang out, Shiro rose to his feet, gently placed Corvisquire on his shoulder, and pushed aside the curtain to step out of the tent.

Beyond the crumbling walls, on the desert glowing faintly red under the setting sun, Nessa was locked in a heated battle with Marvin. She was using Drednaw while her opponent had let out his Mr. Mime.

Their strength was about equal, so the battle wouldn't end too quickly. At least this way, they could avoid getting instantly wiped out by Allister, or being crushed by Shiro's absurdly overpowered Rhyperior and Drakloak.

After today, the countdown to the Gym Challenge would truly begin.

They'd soon have to face their assigned rivals, and eventually, take on the Gym Leaders themselves in the Champion Cup. They needed to use every moment to grow stronger.

Shiro glanced at the match and saw Marvin struggling, clearly about to lose. He didn't linger. His attention turned west, following the shouts that had stirred the camp.

"Over there! That's Leon and his Charizard, right? And Captain Gareth is with him!" called out one of the B5 members.

The sun hung low on the horizon, pale yellow and almost translucent. A brilliant red halo bloomed at the point where sky met land, casting most of the world into a dusky, night-like hue.

A small black dot hovered above the glowing sun, steadily growing larger. Its wings flapped slowly, becoming faintly visible through the golden light.

As the last hints of red vanished from the sky, the figure fully emerged: Charizard. Leon and Gareth were clearly visible on its back as it glided toward the camp.

The Fire-type's powerful orange frame cut through the air effortlessly, landing smoothly in front of Shiro with a gust of hot wind.

Leon and Gareth leapt down at once. Charizard snorted twin streams of flame from its nostrils and stood tall behind its trainer.

"It's done. All the wild Pokémon have been driven back underground," Leon said, scratching his messy purple hair and letting out a long sigh. "Too bad we found out late, as those guys wouldn't say a word at first."

"Sometimes you need fists to get the truth," Shiro replied, then asked, "So, is this mission considered complete now? Does Chairman Rose have anything else planned?"

Leon paused, thinking for a moment before shaking his head and flashing a tired smile. "I've got to head back too. The chairman told me I have to win the Champion Cup no matter what. Raihan's not an easy opponent."

He turned to leave with a casual wave, but after just a step, he stopped, as if something had just come to mind. Looking back, his eyes lit with a spark of energy.

"I heard you caught an Elite-level Drakloak. I'm looking forward to battling you someday."

After saying that, he raised a hand in farewell and climbed onto Charizard's back.

Shiro and Gareth stood in silence, watching the majestic Pokémon take to the sky. Once its silhouette vanished into the darkening distance, they turned and walked side by side toward the tent.

"Ahh—I actually lost!" Marvin's voice came from nearby. He was holding his head in frustration, smacking it lightly as he groaned in disbelief. The battle with Nessa had ended, and clearly not in his favor. He probably wished it hadn't happened at all.

He and Nessa were always neck and neck for the bottom spot in the team. Now, with her win, she moved up one place and Marvin officially became dead last.

Nessa recalled her Pokémon, one hand on her hip. She ignored Marvin's frustration, and headed back into the tent without a word.

"This mission cost us a lot," Gareth said quietly as they walked. "We lost half our Pokémon during the underground exploration. And even though we avoided casualties for a while, a few still died in the crystal cavern…"

Shiro didn't respond right away. What could he say? Criticize Chairman Rose for his inhumane decisions? In the end, he offered something simple.

"Sorry for your loss."

Gareth nodded and climbed into the car waiting for him nearby. As it pulled away, he waved goodbye through the window.

Shiro watched the last vehicle disappear into the distance, then suddenly realized something.

Wait. How were they supposed to get back?

How did they even get here in the first place? Oh, right—those two old guys from the A5 squad flew them in on Flying Taxi.

So… where was their Corviknight ride now?

Still confused, Shiro pulled out his trembling communicator and tapped open the latest message.

At the top was one from Granny Shae:

[Shiro, even though the wild Pokémon rampage has been handled, your mission isn't over yet. There's something important happening tomorrow. Just stay there for the night.]

"Tch..." Shiro winced. Just reading that made his teeth ache.

This was the wilderness, with no protection at all. Did Granny Shae really think it was safe to leave them out here like this? What if some bad guys showed up? Or worse, a nasty wild Pokémon attacked in the middle of the night?

With a scowl on his face, Shiro looked around, using the last bits of fading daylight to inspect the campsite.

To be fair, Squad B5 had picked a solid location. The tents were set up inside old stone walls, which helped block the wind. The ground still had pieces of the original foundation too, so there was little risk of wild Ground-types digging up from below and tossing them around in their sleep.

Not long after, the sun dipped completely below the horizon. Stars appeared one by one, scattered across the sky like diamonds on velvet.

Shiro let out a slow breath and lit a small fire at the edge of camp. Then he released his Pokémon and sat down with them for dinner.

While eating, he took the opportunity to check each of their levels.

Drakloak came out on top—LV55, Elite-level. Next was Rhyperior at LV49, Gym-level. Then came Corvisquire, LV33, Advanced-level. Gastly sat at LV24, and Growlithe at LV25—both Intermediate-level. The little Dreepy was at LV21, Intermediate-level as well.

As for the LV52 Sableye, Shiro had already ruled it out. He planned to sell it. It had a bad nature, didn't listen, and honestly wasn't worth the effort. Nothing like the cooperative Drakloak.

Given their current pace, training Gastly and Growlithe to Advanced-level before the Gym Challenge started wasn't too hard. If he could push Corvisquire to evolve and reach Gym-level...

'Probably not worth it.'

Shiro shook off the thought before it took root.

Sure, Corvisquire was close. With enough training and resources, it could likely hit Level 38 and evolve quickly. That might push it past its current stage. But Shiro didn't want a Corviknight that burned through its potential the moment it evolved. He wanted a partner who could keep growing, not one that peaked too early.

There was no urgent danger for now. Once they got back to headquarters, Shiro planned to give Corvisquire an Everstone. Let it stay at Advanced-level a while longer, build strength to its absolute limit, then evolve.

"Groowl!"

Growlithe was the first to finish eating, and without warning, it leapt into Shiro's arms.

Eighty pounds of muscle and fur slammed into him, but Shiro caught the dog in one smooth motion, cradling it against his chest and rubbing its warm belly.

The Fire-type kicked its legs and rolled around, flailing like a spoiled child.

"Corv! Corv!"

Corvisquire flapped up and perched comfortably on Shiro's shoulder, grooming its feathers with practiced ease.

"Gaassstly..."

Gastly was already half-asleep, sagging on the ground like a deflated balloon. Dreepy floated over, picked it up gently in its mouth, and started circling Shiro in slow loops. Then it drifted up and playfully tossed Gastly into the air.

"Gaaasss?!"

The shriek of panic was instant. Gastly vanished back into its Poké Ball with a dramatic hiss of vapor.

Shiro chuckled and shook his head, a tired but content smile spreading across his face.

**

**

**

Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:

P@treon/SilverShark769

Vote with Power Stones for Bonus Chapters!

Your support means a lot, thank you!