Watching Golurk disappear into another Poké Ball, Aiden gave a satisfied nod.
This could work.
Golurk’s level was probably higher than Sprigatito’s and Snivy’s combined, but Aiden’s side had both the type advantage and superior numbers.
More importantly, he could exploit the Poké Ball’s capture mechanism to repeatedly create openings for both Pokémon to attack together.
“Sprigatito, Snivy, keep moving and watch your positioning!”
“Spriga!”
“Sni!”
Both Pokémon kept their large eyes fixed on the shaking Poké Ball without relaxing for even a second.
The green fur around Sprigatito’s neck began to glow with soft emerald light as she gathered energy, while the leafy collar around Snivy’s neck lit up as well.
Compared with the two Pokémon, Aiden looked equally prepared, holding his phone in his left hand and another Poké Ball in his right.
In reality, though, his attention wasn’t entirely focused on the battle.
As he watched the ball rock back and forth, something had begun bothering him.
Aiden had seen Golurk and Golett at the Pokémon Center before.
Pokémon of their kind were usually quiet and reserved, and when they weren’t following orders, they tended either to stand motionless or trail obediently behind their Trainers.
At a glance, they could almost seem devoid of independent thought.
But that impression was misleading.
Their intelligence was far from low, and in battle especially, Golurk could display a level of awareness and adaptability that contrasted sharply with its stiff, mechanical appearance.
The one in front of him, however, seemed almost unnaturally rigid.
Aiden had imagined using this kind of Poké Ball tactic before, but he had never expected it to work this easily.
And judging from the amount of energy Golurk had been gathering with each attack, there was no question that it was powerful.
“So that means…”
Aiden narrowed his eyes.
Maybe the Golurk had only recently awakened after an extremely long period of dormancy.
“In other words, it’s still half asleep!”
The moment that thought occurred to him, Aiden made up his mind.
He needed to catch it before it fully woke up.
Boom!
Focus fire.
Dodge.
Throw another ball.
Then repeat.
Again and again, the same cycle continued.
At some point, Aiden started wondering how an exciting Pokémon capture had somehow turned into a war of attrition.
Then, after reaching into his bag yet again, his hand suddenly stopped.
“This is the last one?”
He slowly pulled out a black-and-white Heavy Ball.
Looking at it, Aiden had never been more grateful that he had shamelessly looted Officer Jenny’s house for as long as he had.
There really was no defeating someone with absolutely no sense of shame.
And lately, Aiden had begun to suspect that his luck had improved dramatically since arriving in the Pokémon world.
He had wanted to make money by filming videos, and somehow his journey had been packed with one attention-grabbing incident after another.
He needed a new Pokémon to challenge the Gym, and he just happened to encounter a gigantic Golurk with the Ground typing he wanted and enough unique appeal to stand out immediately.
Then, after finding that Golurk, he just happened to have a Heavy Ball sitting in his bag.
Even better, Golurk weighed more than four hundred kilograms, exactly enough for the Heavy Ball to perform at its best.
“Hehehe…
Looks like my luck is finally turning around.”
Aiden couldn’t help thinking back to his old life.
His elementary school renovated the athletic field right after he graduated.
His middle school rebuilt the front gate after he left.
Then his high school installed air conditioning in the classrooms immediately after he graduated.
After years of watching good things happen the moment he was no longer around to enjoy them, Aiden felt thoroughly justified.
“I deserve this kind of luck!”
Whoosh!
The Heavy Ball flew through the air and smashed directly into the back of Golurk’s head.
A critical hit.
Duang!
The ball struck with a wonderfully crisp sound.
Aiden watched as it landed, shook several times…
Then stopped.
His face immediately lit up.
“I caught Golurk!!”
“Spriga!”
“Sni!”
Sprigatito and Snivy hurried over, equally excited, both staring eagerly at the Heavy Ball in Aiden’s hand.
Aiden didn’t keep them waiting.
He immediately released Golurk again.
“Gooo—”
Despite having been captured through methods that could generously be described as underhanded, Golurk showed no sign of resentment.
It simply stood there in silence while Aiden treated its injuries.
“Golurk, stand over here…”
Aiden quickly began arranging everyone for a picture.
After several adjustments, Sprigatito, Snivy, Golurk, and Aiden finally settled into position.
Snivy used her vines to hold the phone farther away and frame the shot properly.
“Say cheese!”
…
Aiden studied the finished photo and nodded in satisfaction.
“Perfect.
I might even be able to use this as the thumbnail later.”
Sprigatito, however, strongly disagreed.
What was perfect about it?
Her fur was covered in dust!
“Spriga!”
She immediately demanded a bath and a second photo afterward.
And faced with a request like that, what was Aiden supposed to do?
Spoil her, obviously.
After returning to the entrance of the ruins, Aiden marked the location on his map app and called Officer Jenny.
The moment she answered, he spoke with shameless confidence.
“Hey.
I made it big.
I’m giving you one chance to cling to my thigh before I become famous.”
“Huh?!”
Jenny, who had been slacking off during patrol, froze for a second before bursting into laughter.
“If you made it big, then I must already be the richest person in the world!”
Aiden remained completely unfazed by her mockery.
“Heh.
Such limited imagination.”
“I found an ancient ruin.”
Jenny went silent.
For several seconds, she said nothing at all.
It sounded ridiculous, but the confidence in Aiden’s voice made it difficult to dismiss outright.
“You— Wait, no.
How the hell did you manage that?!”
Her day had already been terrible.
First Aiden had blackmailed her with embarrassing information and practically emptied her home.
Then Nurse Joy had caught her stealing food at the Pokémon Center.
She had finally decided to slack off for a little while, only to receive this devastating news.
Hearing Jenny’s thoroughly broken tone left Aiden deeply satisfied.
“All right, I sent you the coordinates.
Remember to report it to the League for me.
I’m going to go take a bath first…”
Before Jenny could respond, Aiden hung up.
Then he pulled out Golurk’s Poké Ball.
“Golurk, give me a lift!”
“Gooo!”
Golurk scooped Aiden directly into its arms.
Its legs shifted shape, transforming into structures resembling massive jet nozzles.
Boom!
Energy erupted beneath it, blasting sand in every direction as Golurk’s enormous body launched into the sky like a rocket.
There was an old saying about how climbing higher let you see farther.
And from Golurk’s arms high above the desert, Aiden suddenly spotted the herd of Maractus rushing toward a small town.
Behind them came the Trainers from earlier, each using whatever method they could to keep up.
Aiden blinked.
“…?”
Something about this didn’t look right.