"I'll make good use of it."
Baimu accepted it without a trace of embarrassment.
The Z-Crystal was pink, with an eye-like pattern inside. It was Psychic type.
His ninth one—got it!
He put it away carefully, delighted that he had collected half of all the Z-Crystals.
On the remaining two islands, Island King Nanu and Island Kahuna Hapu were each certain to yield one Z-Crystal. Totem Kommo-o, a known Totem Pokémon, could yield a Dragonium Z. That still left six missing.
Six...
I'm counting on you, baby!
As Baimu put the box away, he gave the detector a pat.
It was good to know his money hadn't gone to waste. Fortunately, aside from trying to catch Pikachu and causing trouble, the Team Rocket trio were fairly reliable.
After leisurely finishing his Nanab Berry Juice, Baimu noticed the time and rose to leave.
Before he went, he left a small box of Pokéblocks as payment.
There might be plenty of things missing from his pockets, but Pokéblocks were never one of them. He packed those even more faithfully than his phone.
After all, he couldn't pet Pokémon for free, could he?
He had to give something in return.
Easy-to-carry Pokéblocks were the obvious choice.
"Well, well..."
Oranguru looked at the Pokéblocks on the table and scratched his head in puzzlement.
The Forest Tavern never charged. Wild Pokémon did sometimes leave a little something in return, but it was usually Berries or Honey.
But this—
Hm?
He opened the box and took a sniff, and his wise eyes gradually brightened.
Outside the treehouse.
Porygon2 was feeling down about having failed in its duty. Baimu said nothing, merely reaching out to stroke its round head.
The smarter a Pokémon was, the more it tended to dwell on things. For a Porygon as deeply