Pokemon: The Game Is Real- [31/32] (Patreon)

[CH-31: Lance Favorability]

One team was not going to be enough, given his situation.

In the eyes of every player out there, Larry and Naoki were two completely separate people. If he built only one team, that separation would eventually break down.

Perhaps he could maintain two teams specifically to preserve that cover. One belonging to the office worker Naoki, the other to the player Larry. That way, even if a player came face to face with him, nothing would seem out of place.

"In that case, one of them can pass as a Dark-type specialist," Naoki thought.

Incineroar was an Alola starter. Chien-Pao was a Legendary of the Paldea region. Urshifu was a Legendary out of Galar, and Greninja a Kalos starter. Roaring Moon could only be found inside the Great Crater of Paldea, and Absol should be up in the mountains at the moment.

Pulling a team like that together would be no small task.

The starters were manageable. But a Legendary like Chien-Pao, even if he could track it down now, was not something he could count on beating.

The one real possibility was Absol, off in the high country.

As for the other team, Naoki was thinking about building something he personally enjoyed rather than optimizing purely for power.

Though all of that was getting ahead of himself.

What he could think about right now was his second Pokémon.

With the Agent of Evil title accelerating Zorua's development, he had enough capacity to begin raising a second Pokémon alongside her.

"I'll take a walk around the Nurseries and the areas outside Mesagoza," he decided.

As midday approached he took Zorua to the Academy cafeteria for lunch.

A message from Moon came through while he was eating.

Moon: Larry, Lance called me! He asked me to pass along his thanks to you.

Larry: Oh?

Moon: He said: "I don't know who you are, but regardless, I am deeply grateful for the intelligence you provided for this operation. The Kanto League has successfully dismantled Team Rocket's plan. It's unfortunate that Giovanni escaped and Team Rocket has gone fully underground, but this operation dealt them a serious blow.

We arrested a large number of their elite Trainers and significantly set back their overall strength. The Kanto League owes you a debt. If you ever need anything in the future, please reach out, and I will do everything in my power to help. Whatever the circumstances, you have my profound gratitude."

Naoki read through Lance's words and raised an eyebrow when he saw that Lance had also passed along his private contact details through Moon.

Then a notification appeared on his panel.

Lance affinity +15.

Combined with the twenty from before, Lance's affinity toward him had now reached thirty-five.

And they had never once met in person.

Naoki was still sitting with that when Lance's affinity ticked up by one more point.

What is this man imagining now?

Kanto region. Indigo Plateau. Kanto League headquarters.

Lance was in a meeting with the League's senior leadership reviewing the operation's outcomes.

League President Goodshow looked at Lance and asked, "You're saying the intelligence for this operation came from a mysterious individual who passed it through the Trainer called Moon?"

Lance's expression was as grave as ever. He nodded. "That's correct."

"Remarkable." Goodshow leaned back in thought. "To have access to intelligence that deeply buried and act on it that precisely. Truly remarkable."

"What concerns me more is this person's purpose." One of the League officials leaned forward. "Perhaps they intended to use us to weaken Team Rocket's strength and then move in afterward to absorb some of Team Rocket's assets and influence for themselves."

Before anyone else could speak, Lance's voice cut through the room with unusual force.

"No. That's not it."

The sharp reaction drew every eye in the room.

Lance caught himself and dialed back the intensity, but his conviction did not waver.

"If this person wanted Team Rocket's remaining assets, they would have sat back and let us grind each other down before making a move. There was no reason to send us intelligence at the risk of exposing themselves. That's not how someone with that goal operates."

"Even so, genuine altruism with nothing expected in return is unusual," the official said, still unconvinced.

"Not necessarily."

Lance's mind went back to the moment Moon had been hunted across the entire Kanto region, and the unknown figure from Paldea who had reached out to help her then.

"This person concealed their identity and sought nothing in return. My read is that they're a reclusive individual, someone with deep knowledge and strong convictions, who simply cannot stand what Team Rocket represents and wants the world to be better for it."

In the conference room, Goodshow stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Lance makes a fair point. Knowing the location of a secret Team Rocket facility and the details of the Mewtwo project is not something any ordinary organization could manage. A secluded expert of that caliber would explain it."

"Should we put people on finding them?" someone asked.

"No." Lance shut that down immediately. "They went to the trouble of hiding their identity. That means they don't want to be found. Sending investigators after them would only cause offense."

"I've already passed along my private contact details through Moon. We wait for them to reach out on their own terms. The Kanto League should be doing everything it can to cultivate a relationship with someone like this, not drive them away."

The senior leadership exchanged looks around the table and eventually nodded in agreement.

The conversation moved on to the matter of a temporary Gym Leader for Viridian Gym. With Giovanni gone and the position vacant, a suitable replacement needed to be found before the Indigo Plateau Conference at the end of the year.

Larry: Understood. You did well today.

Moon: It was nothing!

Naoki smiled faintly.

Then another message came through from Moon almost immediately.

Moon: Larry, do you know how to make more money in this game?

Larry: Are you short on funds?

Moon: Raising Pokémon is so expensive. When I was just travelling around before I never thought about training properly, so I didn't notice. But now I do and it costs so much. Training rooms cost money, Pokémon food costs money, Poké Balls cost money, everything costs money.

The Paldea League provided generous support for its Trainers, but after everything that had happened with Gastly, Moon wanted to give her Pokémon the very best of everything. Pidgeotto and Meowth had followed her through so much danger. She felt she owed them.

Naoki read through the message and turned it over briefly.

His own situation made it awkward to recruit players directly through the forum. But Moon could do it for him, drawing Trainers to Paldea and boosting his recruitment numbers, which meant performance bonuses and a better shot at promotion.

The idea took shape quickly.

Larry: Do you remember the NPC called Naoki?

Moon: Mr. Naoki? Of course. Why?

Larry: He works in the Paldea League's HR division. I've heard they're currently recruiting capable Trainers. You can go to Naoki directly and pick up a recruitment quest.

Larry: After that, post about it on the forum. Point other solo players who haven't joined any organization toward the Paldea League and tell them to look for the NPC called Naoki. The quest rewards include a cash payout.

Moon: That's a great idea! I'll go find him at that café after lunch. Thank you so much, Larry!

...

[CH-32: Guild]

Two in the afternoon. The Pokémon Café, eastern district of Mesagoza.

Moon arrived early.

Afternoon sunlight came through the floor-to-ceiling windows and spread across the café floor, giving the whole place a quiet, comfortable warmth.

Moon pushed through the door and spotted the familiar figure at exactly the spot Larry had described. Naoki sat alone by the window, sipping his coffee with the particular brand of exhaustion that belonged exclusively to office workers, watching the street outside with distant eyes.

He looks like dad, Moon thought before she could stop herself. Her father worked at a large company and kept the same hours, out early and home late with overtime filling the gaps.

She walked over. "Mr. Naoki!"

Naoki turned.

"You again." His tone was unhurried. "Settling in alright at the League?"

"Yes, really well!" Moon nodded, then hesitated slightly. "Um, actually..."

Naoki caught the hesitation. "Something on your mind? Did you come to find me for a reason today?"

"Yes, that's it." She gathered herself. "A senior player told me the League is recruiting at the moment. I know quite a few Trainer friends who might be interested in joining, and they suggested I come to you for help."

"I see." Naoki's expression did not shift. "That's correct. The Paldea League is currently accepting new members. If your friends want to join, bring them to me."

The moment he finished speaking, a notification appeared on Moon's panel.

Accept quest "Paldea League Recruitment"?

Paldea League Recruitment: Recruit Trainers for the Paldea League and bring them before Naoki.

Reward: 50,000 League Credits per Trainer.

A quest.

Moon's face lit up. She accepted immediately.

"I'll do my best!" she said, visibly pleased.

"Good." Naoki gave a small nod. "I'll be here waiting."

Perfectly standard NPC dialogue.

"Got it!"

Moon was barely out the door before she sent Larry a message.

Moon: Larry, I got the quest from the NPC successfully!

Inside the café, Naoki read the notification with a flicker of genuine surprise.

He could issue quests to players?

Larry: What are the rewards?

Moon sent through the full quest details.

Naoki read them over and nodded to himself.

Fifty thousand League Credits per recruit. Exactly what he would have set.

This also gave him an idea with some interesting possibilities. Having the ability to issue quests, something that only applied to NPCs in this world, opened up quite a few options he had not previously considered.

Moon: Thank you so much, Larry. I'm going to post on the forum right now and start bringing people in!

Moon left.

Naoki stayed where he was and opened the guild function, looking at the nearly nineteen million League Credits in his inventory.

In a world full of players and organizations of every kind, trying to operate alone had a hard ceiling. He was currently unable to leave Paldea. But with his own organization he could send members to other regions to handle things on his behalf.

And looking at the guild description again, the benefits it provided to members were substantial.

Creating a guild requires 10,000,000 League Credits. Proceed?

Naoki selected yes.

Ten million League Credits were deducted from his inventory. A new prompt appeared immediately.

Please name your guild.

He considered it for a moment. The answer came quickly.

He typed: Mew.

According to legend, Mew carried the genetic material of every Pokémon within its body. Every human and Pokémon in this world had ultimately evolved from Mew. The name represented something like an origin point, the beginning from which everything else had grown.

Beyond the symbolism, Naoki simply liked Mew. The small, fluffy pink Pokémon had always been one of his favorites.

Confirm creation of guild "Mew"?

Yes.

Congratulations. Guild "Mew" has been successfully created. You may visit the guild territory at any time. Would you like to go now?

Note: Guild members may only enter the guild territory through their consciousness. While inside, your physical body will be managed by the game according to your established behavioral patterns. Pokémon may accompany you.

Naoki selected yes.

A sensation of leaving his own body passed through him, clear and strange. The world in front of him dissolved into something dreamlike, and then he was somewhere else entirely.

He stood in the great hall of what looked like a medieval castle. A deep purple mist drifted through the space, and at the center of the hall stood a long, ancient-looking table. A single seat occupied the head position, with six chairs arranged along each side. The whole place carried an atmosphere of quiet mystery.

Spirit Realm Hall.

The name appeared on his panel. Naoki blinked.

The Spirit Realm. One of the most unique locations in the Pokémon world, the place all humans and Pokémon were said to eventually travel to after death. Information about it was scarce in both the anime and the games.

He took a moment to look around, then began exploring carefully.

The panel showed that the guild territory was divided into three areas: the Guild Hall, the buildable Guild Territory, and the Space-Time Rift, which the description flagged as dangerous but full of opportunity.

The Guild Hall was straightforward, a meeting space for members.

The Guild Territory was more interesting. It was a large open area, roughly the size of a stadium by Naoki's estimate, surrounded on all sides by the same purple mist. He tried to walk through it and found he could not.

A game boundary, presumably.

The panel indicated that the Guild Master and members could spend Guild Points to purchase facilities and develop the territory, improving its living conditions to attract more Pokémon. Wild Pokémon would arrive through Space-Time Rifts at regular intervals and stay if the environment suited them, or leave if it did not.

Guild Points could only be earned through monthly guild battles and player-versus-player matches against other guilds in the wider world.

Accumulated points could be spent on features like grassland, fruit trees, sunlight settings, lakes, and Pokémon shelters to make the territory more hospitable.

"Base-building mechanics," Naoki murmured. "Actually quite involved."

But what interested him more was the Space-Time Rift.

Guild members could dispatch their Pokémon into the rift for training. During these expeditions Pokémon could grow stronger and had a chance of returning with rare items. They could also come back injured, and in the worst cases they might not come back at all.

The guild was currently rank one, which meant only a single rift was available, suited to Pokémon ranging from Beginner to Veteran level. Higher-ranked rifts required spending Guild Points to advance.

Standard progression systems. Naoki had nothing particularly new to say about that.

He surveyed the empty territory, confirmed no Pokémon had appeared yet, then returned to the Guild Hall and took the seat at the head of the table.

Then a message came through from Moon.

Moon: Larry, should we create a guild together?

Naoki paused.

The Paldea League's assessment of Moon came back to him. Fourteen years old. Had escaped from Ariana. Genuinely talented Trainer.

More importantly, she was reliable.

Bringing her into the guild might be a good move.

He sent her an invitation directly.

Your friend "Larry" has invited you to join guild "Mew." Accept?

The notification appeared in front of Moon without warning.

Her eyes went wide. Larry had already created a guild?

She accepted without a second thought and selected enter territory immediately.

The next moment she was standing in a hall shrouded in mist, vast and ancient, heavy with a sense of mystery she could not quite name.

A long, solid table occupied the center of the space, and at the head of it sat a young man she had never seen before. Dark hair, dark eyes, composed features.