“Officer Jenny, you know this boy?”
Norman held May in one arm, his broad hand repeatedly patting his precious daughter’s back to comfort her.
Officer Jenny looked toward Kuroba, whom she had met once before.
“He came to the police station earlier because he wanted to participate in our clearing mission. He’s a shy, well-behaved kid. We’ve only met that one time, though.”
Norman nodded in understanding, and some of the wariness in his gaze disappeared.
Kuroba heard Officer Jenny’s evaluation from a short distance away and almost couldn’t stop himself from laughing.
A shy, well-behaved kid?
His hands had been stained with the blood of both humans and Pokémon, and he had once been a pirate.
Fortunately, Madam Meta had already buried that ugly past beneath the sea.
Now he was a proper Trainer directly affiliated with the League—a righteous, shy young man.
Yes.
Exactly.
Kuroba repeated the thought to himself.
After all, if he wanted to fool other people, it helped to fool himself first.
“Officer Jenny, we meet again. Are you all carrying out that mission to clear the Wurmple colony?” Kuroba asked openly.
He looked curiously at the large group of police officers behind her.
Since Kuroba had previously applied for that very mission, Officer Jenny didn’t find the question suspicious.
“That’s right. We were clearing Pokémon from the outskirts of Petalburg Woods when Mr. Norman’s daughter unexpectedly went missing. Everyone came over to help search for her.”
Officer Jenny explained their purpose without the slightest hesitation.
The corner of Kuroba’s mouth almost curled upward.
Perfect.
This was exactly the effect he wanted.
The entire reason he deliberately presented himself as a shy teenager in front of strangers was to lower their guard and make them trust him more easily.
It also helped him settle into his new identity as quickly as possible.
Judging by the results, his disguise was working quite well.
At the very least, Officer Jenny had completely bought it.
“To tell you the truth, Officer Jenny, I’d still like to participate in the clearing mission. I mainly want to temper my Pokémon through real combat. I don’t even need a reward.”
Kuroba stepped forward, his expression utterly sincere.
Officer Jenny hesitated only briefly before agreeing.
“All right. But this mission isn’t a game. You need to be careful. Stay to the side and focus on supporting us.”
The two highest-ranking people present were Officer Jenny herself and Norman, the soon-to-be Gym Leader who had not yet officially taken up his post.
That meant she had the authority to make the decision.
“Thank you, Jenny! I’ll do my best to serve the League!”
The instant she agreed, Kuroba’s eyes lit up and his face filled with delight.
Everyone around them smiled warmly at him.
A righteous, shy boy who sincerely wanted to contribute to the League—who wouldn’t like a kid like that?
“Corphish, Carvanha! Come out and get ready to battle!”
Kuroba released both Pokémon and joined the League personnel and the other directly affiliated Trainers who had accepted the mission.
Most of the Wurmple in the area weren’t particularly strong.
They were largely Pokémon that had lost territorial struggles deeper in the forest and been pushed toward the outskirts.
“Arcanine, use Flamethrower!”
Officer Jenny swept one arm forward.
A magnificent orange-red Arcanine leaped into action and unleashed a roaring stream of fire.
The attack swept straight through the strongest members of the Wurmple colony—a Dustox and a Beautifly.
Kuroba stared at the heroic Officer Jenny and her Arcanine, unable to suppress a flicker of envy.
Arcanine was a Pokémon whose base-stat total surpassed that of the fully evolved starter Pokémon.
Years ago, it had even once been regarded as a legendary Pokémon.
Unfortunately, in this world, nearly all Growlithe were controlled by the Jenny family.
Wild Growlithe were almost never seen, making them practically as rare as pseudo-legendary Pokémon.
Of course, suppose an ordinary Trainer somehow got incredibly lucky and captured a wild Growlithe.
Congratulations.
Before long, the Jenny family would probably track you down and ask whether you were interested in marrying into their family.
For most men, that hardly sounded like a punishment.
The gentle, virtuous Nurse Joys were certainly wonderful, but Officer Jennys inspired a rather different kind of fascination, didn’t they?
And if you rejected the Jenny family’s invitation?
They would generously tell you there was no problem.
Then, perhaps not long afterward, you might receive a mandatory League mobilization order and tragically suffer an unfortunate death during a battle against some underground criminal organization.
Historically, most Trainers foolish enough to reject the Jenny family had supposedly met endings along those lines.
“Vigoroth, use Chip Away!”
Norman’s Vigoroth struck down the final wild Pokémon.
With that, the clearing mission officially came to an end.
Officer Jenny strode over to the League Trainers who had formally accepted the mission and issued each of them proof of completion.
They left excitedly, apparently eager to return to the Pokémon Center and collect their rewards.
“Trainer Kuroba, you contributed quite a bit during the clearing operation too.”
Officer Jenny suddenly reached into her pocket and handed him a mission certificate.
“Consider this a small personal reward from me.”
Kuroba didn’t pretend to be too noble to accept it.
He took the certificate without hesitation and smiled.
“Thank you, Officer Jenny. I’m just glad I could help.”
She disliked people who made a show of refusing rewards purely to appear virtuous.
Everyone was happy, and the clearing mission ended successfully.
Norman approached with May still in his arms.
“Officer Jenny, this young man saved my daughter. Why don’t we invite him to the Gym’s completion ceremony?”
He phrased it like a request for her opinion, but there was a firmness in his tone that made refusal difficult.
Kuroba thought to himself, “As expected of the man they call the one closest to the Elite Four.”
The final glory of Normal-type Trainers!
“Of course, Mr. Norman,” Officer Jenny replied pleasantly.
“You’ve traveled all the way from the Johto region to Petalburg City at the invitation of the Hoenn League, specifically to fulfill your responsibilities as Gym Leader. Something this minor is naturally yours to decide.”
Her voice was crisp and pleasant, without the slightest trace of arrogance despite her prestigious family background.
She treated Norman with obvious respect.
“Then thank you for understanding.”
Norman turned to Kuroba.
“What do you say, young man? Would you like to attend?”
At that moment, May, who had been resting quietly in Norman’s arms, suddenly raised her head.
Her large watery eyes blinked expectantly at Kuroba, making her look like a tiny porcelain doll.
“Big Brother, come! Come! Come!” she pleaded in her childish voice.
Kuroba looked at Norman and answered politely.
“Then I hope you won’t mind having me. Thank you for looking after me, Mr. Norman.”
“Yay!”
May cheered.
Her tiny body wriggled excitedly in Norman’s arms as her short little hands made an adorable celebratory gesture.
Everyone exchanged smiles.
Cute children had a way of winning people over.
On the journey back toward the city, Kuroba took the opportunity to ask about the Gym.
Officer Jenny had already mentioned it openly, after all.
If he showed no curiosity whatsoever, that might actually seem suspicious.
“Mr. Norman was personally invited by the vice-chairman of the Hoenn League to come to Petalburg City and take up the position of Gym Leader,” Officer Jenny explained, more than happy to answer the shy teenager’s questions.
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