Village Future

The sun hung low over Ester Village, casting long shadows over the old wooden houses. The village, once lively with chatter and laughter, now felt… empty.

Sitting across from Elder Garon in the village hall, Rei listened as the elder sighed heavily.

"The village is dying, Rei," Elder Garon said, rubbing his temples. "At this rate, Ester Village will become a ghost town."

Rei leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "Don't worry about it."

Elder Garon raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I'll just take the Trainer Assessment and prove that I'm Heavenly King level. Once that happens, no one will leave."

The elder blinked. "Heavenly King level…?" His voice trembled with shock. "You—you're a Heavenly King-level trainer?!"

Rei answered casualy. "Yeah"

Elder Garon nodded quickly. "I mean… we all did! You never showed that kind of strength! I thought you were just an elite level trainer !?!?!"

Rei chuckled. "That's because I trained my Pokémon to suppress their aura. Every single one of them is Heavenly King level."

Elder Garon's mouth hung open in disbelief.

Rei continued, "Unfortunately, reaching Champion level isn't just about power. A Pokémon needs to understand the laws of the world and condense their own way. My Pokémon are still a long way from that."

Elder Garon swallowed hard. "Champion level…? What does that even mean?"

Rei shrugged. "You don't need to worry about that right now."

Shaking his head in amazement, Elder Garon let out a short laugh. "You're really something else, Rei…"

Rei smirked. "Anyway, your Machamp and Pidgeot could use some custom Pokéblocks. I'll make some for them."

Elder Garon's eyes widened. "You would? That'd be amazing! Thank you, Rei."

Elder Garon sighed again. "But that's not all. The village's population has once again dropped to 69 people."

Rei raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"The two biggest farms in the village—the Silk Butterfree Farm owned by Mira's family and the Nacli farm owned by another villager—have both been put up for sale."

Rei's expression darkened slightly. "…They left?"

Elder Garon nodded. "Both families had daughters who got accepted as Gym Apprentices in the Water City of Combodia. It's the only Water-type Gym in the entire region. Their families decided to follow them to the city."

Rei exhaled through his nose. "I see."

Elder Garon looked at him seriously. "If this keeps up, more people will leave."

Rei leaned forward. "Then I'll buy them."

Elder Garon froze. "…What?"

Rei shrugged. "I'll buy the farms."

Elder Garon stared at him in shock. "You're serious?"

Rei smirked. "Yeah. I'll buy the farms and the Pokémon in them."

Elder Garon sat back, stunned. "Rei, you just… casually buy entire farms now?"

Rei laughed. "Well, I need more land anyway."

The elder shook his head in disbelief. "If that's what you want, I won't stop you. But this means you now own all the farmland in the village."

Rei stood up, stretching. "Good. Then let's get the paperwork done."

And just like that, Ester Village's last remaining farms became Rei's property.