Chapter 176: Unwitting Employee

Losing a trainer once was a serious psychological blow for any Pokémon.

It was a major emotional trauma, and under such circumstances, the chances of successfully entrusting them to another person were minuscule.

Taming a Pokémon that had already experienced such loss required time—lots of it—to heal those wounds. And even then, it didn't guarantee success.

"Forget it. We'll see how it goes. If it doesn't work out, I'll just keep them. It's not like I can't afford to take care of them now anyway."

Shaking his head, Ryo didn't bother asking the system anything more. He turned his gaze once again to the Pokémon.

After a glance, he asked Cynthia, "Are we really just letting them stay here?"

Cynthia nodded. "Let them stay here for now. Once they've recovered a bit in a few days, we can find them a more suitable place."

Ryo had no objections to that—given the current state of those Pokémon, this was probably the best option.

Otherwise, if they left this place, they'd be so withdrawn that even feeding them energy cubes would be difficult—they didn't look like they'd even come over to eat voluntarily.

After another glance, Ryo turned around and led the few Pokémon who had returned with him into the mountains behind the house.

By the time he came back to the courtyard, the Pokémon who had lost their trainers were no longer there.

Confused, Ryo asked, "Where'd those Pokémon go?"

Cynthia pointed to a corner. "Over there."

Ryo looked and, sure enough, saw ten Pokémon silently huddled in a corner.

They looked so downcast, so full of grief.

But there wasn't much he could do. After a quick glance, he turned away and headed for his room.

"Gardevoir? What are you doing here?"

Opening the door, Ryo was surprised to find Gardevoir inside.

She turned and replied, "No one has been using your room for a few days. It was getting dusty, so I came to clean up."

Ryo's eyes softened and he smiled warmly. "Thanks, Gardevoir. I appreciate it."

Gardevoir shook her head gently and continued tidying the room.

Meanwhile, Ryo sat at the desk and stretched, mumbling to himself, "Including the six leftover chests from before, I've got 19 now."

"But I'm still about seven or eight short of synthesizing a Platinum Chest."

"When Tsunade comes back, she'll definitely stop by. I'll try to get her and Shizune to bond with a Pokémon."

Thinking about it made him sigh—Tsunade didn't even have money for a Poké Ball, let alone willingly catching a Pokémon. Who knew if she'd even agree to it.

"Whatever. No point worrying too much. One step at a time."

"I remember the story has quite a few side arcs, and a lot of those characters could be useful. If it really comes to it, I can approach them."

With that, Ryo stood up, exchanged a few words with Gardevoir, and left the room.

"Cynthia, where are you? I'm here to buy some energy cubes!"

Just as he came downstairs, a voice called out from the front.

Before he could respond, Cynthia's voice rang out from behind. "Coming, coming!"

Moments later, she rushed over—but when she saw Ryo, she stopped. "Oh, it's you? Then I'll head back and keep an eye on the Pokémon."

Before Ryo could even reply, she turned and left.

He winced. "I just got back, and no one's giving me a break?"

Shaking his head, he didn't make a fuss and walked forward.

He soon arrived at the front and was greeted by Team Kurenai—Kurenai herself, along with Kiba, Hinata, and Shino.

"Hey, Kurenai, Kiba, Hinata, Shino—it's been a while."

They lit up when they saw him.

"Boss, you're back? It's been forever!"

Ryo smiled. "Yeah, I'm back. What can I get you?"

"Some energy cubes, and maybe a few potions while we're at it."

As Ryo gathered the items, he asked curiously, "You guys heading out on a mission?"

There were still unsold supplies from before he left, so he hadn't crafted more just yet.

Kurenai nodded. "Yeah, we picked up a mission to deal with some mountain bandits."

Ryo didn't press further and handed them their supplies.

But then Kiba asked, "Boss, I've seen those anime where people battle with their Pokémon—can you host something like that?"

Ryo raised an eyebrow. "You want to participate in something like that?"

"Of course!" Kiba said eagerly. "I'm going to become the strongest Pokémon Master!"

Ryo gave him a crooked smile. Yep—classic hot-blooded, over-the-top youth.

He shook his head. "Not yet. We'll need to wait a bit before holding any tournaments. Maybe when your Pokémon reach level 60."

Kiba deflated a little but then clenched his fist. "Level 60—I'll get there in no time!"

"Ahem—" Kurenai coughed awkwardly. "Boss, we'll be heading off now."

Ryo waved them goodbye, but Kiba's comment left him deep in thought.

That was a good point—it might be time to start planning actual Pokémon battles and tournaments.

Back in the courtyard, Ryo sat down next to Cynthia. "Where are those four?"

She gestured toward the back mountain. "Where else? That's the only place they go."

Ryo's eyes widened. "Wait, you mean they've been at it this whole time?"

He remembered that the last time he brought people from the Sand Village, those four had also been holed up back there.

Cynthia replied, "Not just these past few days—they've been like this ever since they got their Pokémon."

Ryo frowned. He'd planned to eventually send those Akatsuki members to open shops in other locations, but if they kept spending all their time training and battling, that wouldn't work.

They had to learn how to introduce Pokémon, handle transactions, and manage customers too.

Sure, the basics were easy, but they still needed hands-on experience—especially in handling unexpected situations. If they were going to run shops one day, they'd need those skills.

With that thought, Ryo muttered to himself, "I can't let them keep training like this. Starting tomorrow, I'll have them help run the shop."

Decision made, he stopped overthinking and turned his gaze toward Dragonite and the playful Pokémon romping around after their return.

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