"These aren't ordinary criminals anymore—we must strike with full force!"
Before the dialogue box even finished appearing, Rei Akagi immediately sent out his Pokémon and launched the battle without hesitation.
"Go! Beat him up!"
No strategy.
Just pure emotion.
The strategy was simple: outnumber the enemy and beat them into submission.
Haunter, Venusaur, Arcanine, and Dragonair rushed forward without hesitation, each using whichever move hit the hardest.
The poor Team Rocket grunt could only cry out in agony.
Of course, out of humanitarian concerns—and to avoid destroying the surrounding terrain—the highest-level Gyarados was not deployed.
Seeing this, Red stopped holding back as well.
He summoned his own partners and joined the righteous group beatdown.
"Team Rocket Grunt: Wait—stop! Don't—"
"What? Don't stop?"
Red pretended to listen carefully, then suddenly shouted as if he had understood something important.
"Alright! If that's what you want!"
"Pikachu, prepare Thunder!"
The Pokémon immediately attacked even more fiercely—especially the lawless little Pikachu.
After all, he needed some participation.
There was only one Team Rocket member here. If he spent the whole fight watching and then took the reward afterward, people might start saying Red had gone soft.
"The light of justice shines upon the land!"
"See that? That's what happens to Team Rocket! Hahaha—"
"My Red is getting so violent! Teacher Salted Fish must've corrupted him!"
"Are you fake fans? Red's legendary reputation was built entirely on beating people up!"
"Fun fact: Team Rocket was personally dismantled by Red."
While the chat flooded the screen, the Team Rocket grunt finally managed to shout a complete sentence during a gap in the attacks.
"Team Rocket Grunt: Stop hitting me! I surrender! I'll hand over the stolen move! Just let the police arrest me!"
Rei and Red defeated the Team Rocket Grunt!
Rei and Red received ¥5000 in prize money!
Rei and Red obtained TM28 – Dig from the Team Rocket Grunt!
TM28 Dig was placed into the TM Case.
After defeating the grunt and recovering the stolen item, Rei Akagi didn't turn back.
Instead, he controlled Rei and led Red further down the road.
Eventually, deep within a quiet forest clearing, they found a small standalone house.
It was the only building among the dense trees, connected to a spacious backyard. Through the fence, several Pokémon could be seen wandering inside.
"If we go through the underground passage at the end of Route 5, we'll reach Vermilion City," Rei Akagi explained seriously, while the Gastly in his arms nodded along slowly.
"But before that, let me show everyone an interesting place—"
"The Pokémon Day Care."
As he spoke, Rei pushed open the door.
Inside, a kind old man with a white beard approached them with a warm smile.
"Day Care Grandpa: Welcome, young Trainers! I run this Day Care, though it's in such a remote place that very few Trainers visit."
"Day Care Grandpa: Would you like to leave one of your Pokémon here? I promise to take good care of them."
"This works similarly to real-world Day Cares," Rei Akagi explained. "You can temporarily leave your Pokémon here, but…"
He paused deliberately and glanced at the chat.
"What's the use of a Day Care in-game?"
"Can't you just send Pokémon to Professor Oak anyway? This costs money."
"Yeah, feels kind of useless."
"Egg hatching."
Rei Akagi spoke the two words clearly.
Instantly, everyone's attention snapped to him—even the Gastly he was holding froze for a moment.
"Egg… hatching?"
Red's confused voice came through the communicator, echoing the audience's thoughts.
"That's right," Rei Akagi confirmed, continuing his explanation.
"Sending Pokémon to Professor Oak is basic storage. But if you leave Pokémon at the Day Care, then come back later, you might get a pleasant surprise."
"You'll receive a Pokémon Egg."
"A Pokémon Egg?!"
Red exclaimed dramatically, then immediately controlled Red to grab Pikachu from his shoulder and shove it toward the Day Care Grandpa.
"Quick! Pikachu! Lay an egg!"
But before the old man could even react, Pikachu leaped into the air—
And unleashed a Thunder Shock straight backward.
In an instant, Red's hair exploded into a charred afro.
"Uh… Teacher Salted Fish… why did that happen…"
Red's voice was full of embarrassment.
"What's the point of Pokémon Eggs? Isn't catching wild Pokémon easier?"
"Hahahaha! Red is unintentionally hilarious!"
"That Pikachu is special! Where can we encounter it?"
"How exactly do you obtain Pokémon Eggs? And what's the benefit of hatching them?"
Rei Akagi calmly looked at Red's soot-covered face on the screen and continued explaining.
"Pokémon has a complete breeding system."
"If you leave two Pokémon of the same species or Egg Group, with opposite genders, at the Day Care, then after some time there's a chance they'll produce a Pokémon Egg."
"Usually, the species of the hatched Pokémon follows the mother."
"Of course, there are exceptions—for example Nidoran♂ and Nidoran♀. Their offspring's species depends on the egg's gender."
"As for why breeding matters…"
"You can raise a Pokémon from scratch. But more importantly—"
"Pokémon Eggs inherit the parents' excellent IVs and traits."
"Oh, and here's a breeding tip."
"Ditto can breed with Pokémon from almost any Egg Group. The offspring's species will follow the non-Ditto parent—but two Ditto cannot produce an Egg together."
The moment he finished speaking—
A voice came through the communicator.
As a professional breeder, Blue couldn't help commenting.
"That's an extremely clever system design."
"It recreates the complexity of Pokémon breeding and genetics to a certain degree."
"And your explanation of egg hatching is completely accurate… as expected of you, Teacher Salted Fish."
"Wait—Teacher Salted Fish is also a breeding expert?! Even Blue acknowledges him!"
"Ditto × any Pokémon… hehehe… I have a bold idea…"
"They inherit excellent traits? So you could artificially breed Pokémon with perfect talent?! That's insane!"
"What's an Egg Group? Did a knowledge streamer accidentally enter the gaming category? I suddenly don't understand anything!"
"Reporting in as a trainee Pokémon Breeder! My semester assignment is literally egg hatching! I can officially play Pokémon for 'research' now!"
The chat erupted into heated discussion.
Meanwhile, Rei Akagi used Rei to leave two Pidgeot at the Day Care as a demonstration.
Then he left the Day Care together with a slightly depressed Red.
Pikachu absolutely refused to leave Red's side, so Red had no choice but to give up the idea of making it produce an egg.
Still, he left two other Pokémon at the Day Care.
He really wanted to see what Pokémon Eggs looked like in the game.
After passing through a dim underground passage, the two entered Route 6.
Red cut through the Trainers blocking the road like slicing vegetables.
When the silhouette of the ocean finally appeared on the horizon—
They had arrived at Vermilion City.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789