At night, the moonlight streamed through the curtains, casting a gentle glow over the room.

  H he ceiling, a "star" emitted a faint light, illuminating the dim space.

  Naoki sat on his bed, the Minior with Pawmot at his side. This was his first enter with a Pokémon like Minior.

  Uher Pokémon that lived on nd, Minior seemed pletely detached from human iion. When touched or called, it would gently rotate its spherical body in response. But Naoki couldn’t tell if these movements were iional or purely instinctual.

  Because of this, deg what to do with Minior became a challenging question.

  As a gift from Rayquaza tonite, keeping Minior on the ranch seemed impractical. Without its protective shell, it could only survive ihe safety of its Poké Ball. If left outside, its core would disie into nothingness.

  Naoki had heard stories about mysterious meteor showers where the Minior fell to Earth, only to vanish after a short time. Moreover, Minior's dietary needs were unique—uher Pokémon, it thrived by abs dust particles in the ozone yer. It was clear that Minior was not suited for life on nd.

  After pting the matter, Naoki turo Pawmot and Koraidon. “We’ll send Minior back to the sky tomorrow.”

  Koraidon hissed softly in agreement, its pierg gaze focused on the floating Minior.

  Pawmot nodded early, fully uanding the situation. It had listened as Naoki expined Minior’s fragile nature and khe importance of returning it to its natural habitat.

  Early the m, Naoki approached Dragoh the Poké Ball taining Minior. Handing it over, he said, “Dragonite, Minior ’t survive here. I’m entrusting this to you and Pawmot. Please, take it back to the sky.”

  Dragonite’s eyes sparkled with resolve. “Awoo!” (You t on me!)

  Pawmot raised a tiny paw in salute. “Pamo!” (Leave it to us!)

  The two Pokémon took flight, s high into the sky as Naoki waved them off. Theuro begin his daily chores—milking Gogoats, colleg rock salt from Garganacl, weeding the fields, harvesting honey, and feeding Snorx.

  It wasn’t until around mid-m that Dragonite and Pawmot returned, nding with gehuds.

  Naoki approached them with a hint of apprehension. “How did it go?” he asked.

  Dragonite and Pawmot heir expressions bright. “Awoo! Pamo!” (Mission aplished!)

  Relief washed over Naoki. “That’s good to hear,” he said with a smile. “Thank you for your hard wo have some fun before lunch.”

  Dragonite and Pawmot chirped joyfully, about to dash off when Naoki suddenly remembered something.

  “Wait, Dragonite!” he called out.

  Dragonite paused mid-step and turned back. “Awoo?” (What is it?)

  “ime you see Rayquaza, make sure to tell it not to send Pokémon like Miniain, alright?”

  Dragoilted its head in thought before nodding. “Awoo!” (Got it!)

  Naoki patted its head affeately. “Alright, you’re free to go. I’m heading to town to stock up on supplies.”

  With that, he mounted a Gogoat, strapped two bags to its sides, and rode toward the bustling streets of Kosaji Town.

  But Dragonite couldn’t let the day pass without fulfilling its promise. As soon as Naoki was out of sight, it used the dragon scale to summon Rayquaza once again.

  Before long, the massive, majestic figure of Rayquaza desded upon the ranch. Its arrival caused a stir as the Pokémon gathered arouedly.

  Dragonite wasted no time. “Awoo, awoo!” (Rayquaza-senpai, we o talk!)

  Rayquaza ined its sleek head, curiosity evident in its glowing eyes.

  Dragonite expined, “Awoo, awoo, awoo!” (Naoki said Minior isn’t a star—it’s a Pokémon! It ’t live on nd because it’ll die. We sent it back to the sky where it belongs.)

  Rayquaza’s expression shifted slightly, and for a brief moment, it seemed almost… embarrassed.

  The Sky High Pokémon had no ill iions, but it was true that Minior often fled in panic when it appeared. This was likely due to Rayquaza’s habit of ing their protective shells, which tained trated energy simir to meteorites. Even though it didn’t harm the Minior themselves, its presence alone was enough to terrify them.

  Rayquaza felt flicted. Sharing the truth with Dragonite and the others—that it occasionally ate Minior shells—didn’t sit well. What if it shattered the image of a noble hero they held so dearly?

  In the past, Rayquaza hadn’t thought much about this. But now, with this group of Pokémon looking up to it as a great hero, it felt an ued weight of responsibility to maintain that image.

  “Raayq,” Rayquaza rumbled softly.

  It listened as Dragonite and the others reted the situation with Minior. After hearing their ear words, Rayquaza nodded, solemnly promising not to pursue Miniain.

  Inwardly, however, it found itself grappling with another dilemma: what should it briime as a gift for the Pokémon? The Minior clearly hadn’t been the best choice.

  After p this for a while and failing to e up with any brilliant ideas, Rayquaza decided it would veo outer space to look for inspiration.

  With a parting roar of farewell, Rayquaza turned and soared into the sky, leaving the gathered Pokémon waviedly below.

  Meanwhile, Naoki was just returning from Kosaji Town, riding his trusty Gogoat. He was still some distance from the ranch when he gnced up and saw Rayquaza flying away.

  ???

  A rge question mark practically popped into his thoughts.

  'What? Why is Rayquaza here again?'

  Urging his Gogoat to move faster, Naoki reached the rand was greeted by the sight onite and several other Pokémon gazing up at the sky with delighted expressions.

  Approag them, he asked, “Did you call Rayquaza back here?”

  Dragonite puffed out its chest proudly and nodded, its eyes sparkling with aplishment. “Awoo!” (I told Senior Rayquaza everything you asked me to say! It promised not to bother the Minior anymore!)

  Naoki blinked, utterly speechless. He looked at Dragohen turned his gaze skyward, still processing what had just transpired.

  'Rayquaza… do you really have nothier to do?'

  After a moment of stunned silenaoki let out a resigned sigh.

  “Well,” he muttered, shaking his head, “this is Pokémon business. It’s not my pce to interfere.”

  With that, he headed to the kit to start preparing lunch, leaving Dragonite and the others basking in their success.

  That afternoon, Naoki po hike into the mountains to gather mushrooms and hazelnuts. He also wao visit some of the wild Pokémon he had helped rescue in the past. However, his pns were interrupted by a phone call.

  “Hello?” Naoki answered, noting the ck of video. Judging by the static-filled to was likely an audio-only call from a ndline.

  “Is this Naoki?” a deep male voiquired. “I’m the owner of the antique shop in town. We’ve just received a new batch of Gimmighoul s. Are you ied?”

  Naoki paused for a moment, slightly startled by the remihen, he recalled the treasure chest Pokémon, Gimmighoul, which he had entered iavern. It had a pent for colleg s.

  “Yes, absolutely!” Naoki replied eagerly. “I’ll head ht away!”

  The antique shop owner chuckled warmly. “Alright, I’ll see you at the shop.”

  After hanging up the phone, Naoki decided to enlist Dragonite for a quick trip to Kosaji Town.

  Dragonite soared through the skies and nded gracefully in front of the antique shop. Naoki slid off its back, patting its shoulder in thanks before walking inside.

  The antique shop reeted him warmly, immediately pulling out a small treasure chest. His grin was almost as radiant as the tents he revealed. “You’re in luck! I mao get my hands on 28 s all at once. Quite the haul, wouldn’t you say?”

  Naoki peered into the chest, his eyes widening at the glittering pile of s.

  “28?!” Naoki excimed, astonished. “How did you mao get so many?”

  The shop owner chuckled, leaning in to speak in a low voice. “Let’s just say these s came from a professional treasure huhey were all looted from the same set of ruins.”

  Naoki blinked, processing this information. After a moment, he asked cautiously, “Isn’t that… illegal?”

  He wasirely familiar with the legal system in the Pokémon world, particurly when it came to a artifacts.

  The shop owner shrugged. “It’s a bit of a gray area. Tomb raiding is sidered uhical, yes, but there are tless a ruins scattered across the Paldea region. Some of these are abandoned castles or old structures from the Parthenon Kingdom’s era. Those aren’t as troversial.”

  Naoki nodded slowly, still unsure how to feel about it. “I see…”

  “But don’t worry!” the shop owner added quickly. “These s were taken from castle ruins, not cemeteries or anything disrespectful. So there’s nothing for you to fret over.”

  That expnation put Naoki at ease. “Alright then. I’ll take all of them,” he said decisively, pulling out his payment.

  The s were added to his colle, which already included three he had previously found. With these 28 new s, his total rose to 31—a small but signifit step toward his ultimate goal of gathering 1,000.

  Even so, the progress felt painfully slow. Naoki found himself deep in thought, p how to speed things up.

  After ting the s to firm their number, he carefully packed them bato the chest, seg it for transport.

  Before leaving, he turo the shop owner. “Logically, these s were once a widely circuted curren the Kingdom of Paldea. There must be a substantial number of them still out there, right?”

  The shop owner nodded. “That’s correct. Acc to explorers and treasure hunters, these s are most only found in ruins and aombs.”

  Naoki’s curiosity deepened. “And what do people usually do with the s after they find them? Do they sell all of them?”

  “Not always,” the shop owner replied thoughtfully. “Some treasure hunters collect them for their own private colles, while others sell them to antique enthusiasts who are willing to pay a premium. It depends on the person.”

  “I see…”

  The shop owner eyed Naoki, his tourning specutive. “You don’t seem like someone who’s short on cash. Let me reend something: there’s an online forum where people often trade or sell antiques. If you’re willing to pay high prices, you might find quite a few sellers eager to do business.”

  “A forum?” Naoki repeated, slightly taken aback.

  “You’ve never heard of it?” The shop owner raised an eyebrow in surprise. “I thought someone youhan me would know all about these things.”

  Naoki: “…”

  The shop owner chuckled and said, "You’re really behind the times! Forums are online spaces where people post ents and discuss all sorts of topics. All you o do is get yourself a puter, log onto the forum’s website, and join the versation. Isn’t the I amazing? People from all over the world ed unicate through it!"

  Naoki silently agreed that this sounded outdated.

  The I in this world was clearly in its infancy.

  "I see. I'll get a puter and take a look at it ter," Naoki replied politely.

  "Good luck with that," the shop owner said, scribbling the forum’s URL on a piece of paper and handing it to him.

  Naoki took the note, gng briefly at the URL before slipping it into his pocket.

  Exiting the antique shop, he and Dragorolled through the streets of Kosaji Town, taking in the bustling atmosphere and the shops lining the road.

  As for buying a puter, Naoki had never sidered it before—at least not until now.

  The puters of this era were ky, with rge CRT monitors, outdated hardware, and limited funality. Most people used them for sending emails or simple office tasks, and they offered little appeal for eai. There were ing games, just things like Spider Solitaire.

  Naoki didn’t have many people to email, nor was he particurly ied in basic games, so he had never felt the o own one. But now, it seemed like he didn’t have much of a choice.

  With a sigh, he decided to visit the department store and purchase a puter.

  The staff at the store helped install the monitor, CPU, and other equipment on-site. After eg the system to the I, the setup was plete, providing the most basiline funality.

  Naoki had the puter pced iudy on the sed floor of his ranch. He pressed the power button, booted it up, aed its funs. Once he firmed everything was w, he left it there for the time being.

  , Naoki turned his attention to the treasure chest he had brought from the antique shop. Carrying it carefully, he headed to the Pokémon Tavern.

  The treasure chest-shaped Pokémon, Gimmighoul, resembled an ordinary chest. It sat quietly on the beverage rack, blending in as part of the tavern’s décor.

  Naoki approached the chest, giving it a gentle knock. “Gimmighoul, I’ve brought some more s. Want to e out and take a look?”

  Ihe chest, Gimmighoul perked up at his words.

  Its golden core trembled with excitement, and it cautiously pushed open the lid of the chest, peeking out to observe the surroundings.

  When Naoki turned back, his gaze met Gimmighoul’s wide, curious eyes.

  In the past, the little Pokémon had been timid, hiding whe sensed Naoki’s presence. But this time, it didn’t retreat. Instead, it looked eager and expet, its tiny form practically vibrating with enthusiasm.

  Naoki smiled warmly and asked, “Are you not afraid of me anymore?”

  Gimmighoul let out a soft, jingling sound, like the delicate king of gold s. The sound eculiar yet endearing.

  During its time iavern, Gimmighoul had grown braver, listening to the lively chatter of Pokémos every evening. Slowly but surely, its ce had been tempered and strengthened.

  More importantly, Naoki had shown it nothing but kindness. Not only did he never harm Gimmighoul, but he also actively helped it collect s and even offered it food. Gratitude had gradually repced fear, and now the little Pokémon no longer felt the urge to run or hide whenever Naoki approached.

  “Alright, e take a look at these s!” Naoki said, pig up the treasure chest-like Pokémon and pg it on the bar ter.

  The moment Gimmighoul spotted the gleaming pile of s, its eyes sparkled like tiny stars. It looked exactly like a small, overjoyed money-loving spirit.

  “There are twe gold s here,” Naoki said, smiling. “bined with the three you already have, that makes thirty-one in total.”

  He paused for a moment, doing a quick mental calcution, before adding, “That means you need only 969 mold s to evolve into your form! It’s a lot, but don’t worry—I’ll keep helping you collect them.”

  “Gimm~!” Gimmighoul chimed, its cheerful sound resonating with joy and gratitude.

  Naoki chuckled and began carefully pg the s into the treasure chest where Gimmighoul resided. Once all the gold s were stored safely, he patted the little Pokémoly.

  “Well, I won’t bother you anymore. See you ter!” Naoki waved as Gimmighoul returo its spot on the shelf, resuming its role as a decorative treasure chest iavern.

  “Gimm~!” Gimmighoul responded, its tone bright and full of te.

  ...

  Naoki climbed to the sed floor, ehe study, and turned on the puter he had just set up. He typed in the URL given by the antique shop owner and waited for the page to load.

  Soon, a forum titled “Secret Garden” appeared on the s.

  Despite its he forum had nothing to do with flowers. Instead, its posts were tered on treasure hunting, expl ruins, and selling antiques. The tent ranged from the curious to the dht absurd.

  One post immediately caught Naoki’s eye:

  “The of King Henry III of the A Kingdom of Paldea! Now looking for a buyer!”

  Intrigued, Naoki clicked on the post. However, peared on the s was far from a regal . The image showed something that looked suspiciously like an old cooking pot.

  Skimming through the ents, Naoki found that many users had already called out the poster for their mistake.

  “What kind of is this supposed to be?” Naoki muttered to himself, stifling a ugh.

  The image reminded him of Spectrier, who once wore a trophy on its head as though it were a , refusing to take it off no matter what.

  After a brief browse, Naoki decided tister an at. He thought for a moment before choosing a username: “Gold King.”

  Once his at was set up, he crafted a short but direct post iyle of others on the forum:

  “Gold King: Buying a rge number of a s at a high price. Serious sellers only!”

  .....

  Bonus Chapter