The familiar hum of the Pokémon Entrustment System echoed quietly in Renji Takahashi's mind as he stared at the latest batch of rewards from the treasure chests.
[Energy Block Making Machine]: A machine that can make energy blocks. As long as there are recipes and tree fruits, energy blocks can be made continuously. Note, special energy blocks cannot be made.
[Lucky Egg]: The Pokémon using this item can gain a small amount of experience, and the experience gained will increase by 50%.
[Learning Device]: Trainers use this item to make Pokémon that do not participate in battles gain 50% of the experience, and Pokémon that participate in battles gain 100% of the experience. Note, the experience gained from training is not counted.
"Fuck, I've been grinding for experience this whole time, huh?" Renji muttered, eyebrows twitching, a half-grin playing on his lips.
Though he spoke in exasperation, the joy in his heart couldn't be masked. These were exactly the kind of tools he needed—practical, efficient, and power-boosting. The faster his Pokémon grew, the stronger his team became. Even though his Dragonite already rivaled a peak-level shadow ninja in sheer power, there was no such thing as having too many strong Pokémon.
"With the Learning Device, the more Pokémon I get in the future, the more effective my training becomes."
It was a vital advantage. Normally, managing a full team would mean slower progress for each member, but not with this. Of course, battles were still required to earn the experience—but who said they had to battle enemies? Why not let them spar with each other? That loophole wasn't denied by the system.
"And this mysterious fruit explosion rate is nuts... Five came from the bronze chest last time, and now I've got fifteen."
Renji muttered to himself, eyes wide as he looked over the pile of glowing, rainbow-like fruits scattered across the table. Each one contained a potent burst of pure energy, enough to drastically raise a Pokémon's level in mere seconds.
He turned his gaze to the incubator across the room, where a lone Pokémon egg rested quietly, still untouched by the world. A thought crossed his mind—if this egg hatched soon, he could feed it the mysterious fruits right away. With fifteen of them, the newborn Pokémon could probably leap to level 15 in no time, skipping over the usual weeks of battling and grinding.
"It's practically a shortcut to early strength," Renji mused, "as long as these fruits keep coming in at this rate... I might never have to worry about early-game training again."
"If there weren't that level 60 cap like in the game, Dragonite could probably break through to level 90 today."
He sighed at the thought. There were always restrictions. Still, the new energy cube machine was a major win.
"This thing would cost hundreds of thousands of points in the shop. Making my own energy cubes is going to save so much in the long run."
Of course, it wasn't perfect. He still needed tree fruits and recipes to run it properly.
"And low-level recipes alone cost hundreds of thousands… don't even get me started on growing the fruits myself."
Shaking his head, Renji muttered to himself, "At my current pace, it'll be a long grind before I can go fully self-sufficient."
Deciding not to dwell on it, Renji stepped out of his room and walked toward the wooden house's backyard. The chests were opened, items were sorted—the only thing left was to train his own abilities.
Dragonite was already there, its massive wings slicing through the air as it trained with unwavering focus. Watching the sight, Renji felt a sense of pride swell in his chest.
"It's a pity Dragonite's already so high-level… using the Lucky Egg on it would be a waste."
The Lucky Egg's effect wasn't temporary—it would remain active forever. Giving it to a high-level Pokémon felt inefficient. A freshly hatched Pokémon would benefit far more in the long run.
Just then, Dragonite turned, sensing Renji's presence.
"Doragon! Doragonite!"
It flew toward him, smiling as always. Renji chuckled and reached out to rub Dragonite's belly.
"I'm here to train too, buddy. Let's get stronger together."
"Doragon!" Dragonite nodded firmly, then flapped back into the air and resumed its intense regimen.
Renji found a quiet spot and sat cross-legged, closing his eyes to begin training his mental power. With the Pokémon out on their playful adventures through the mountains, the place was peaceful.
Because of the system, Pokémon that hadn't been entrusted didn't seem interested in training. Once they were bonded through the system, they grew serious—but until then, they played like children on holiday.
Yesterday, they stayed nearby, getting familiar with the place. But today, with their comfort level growing and their numbers increasing, they'd taken off, running wild across the forested landscape.
Still, Renji wasn't worried. The area was safe, and his Pokémon, even the newer ones, had enough power to handle minor threats. Letting them play was fine—for now.
Time passed. Renji didn't know how long he'd been immersed in training until he felt a shift. Dragonite had stopped and was staring toward the front of the house.
"Huh?" Renji opened his eyes. "Someone's here?"
With Dragonite at his side, he entered the wooden house. Standing just beyond the doorway were four figures.
A mature woman with bright red pupils.A quiet boy with an eye mask and barely any presence.Another boy with a dog perched on his head and excitement in his eyes.And a girl with white eyes, shyly shifting in place.
Renji immediately recognized them. "Yuhi Kurenai, Hinata, Shino, and Kiba."
"Hello, boss," Yuhi greeted with a polite nod and a smile.
Renji nodded back. "Welcome."
Kiba couldn't help himself. "Boss, Naruto said we can get Pokémon here. Is that true!?"
"Kiba!" Kurenai hissed, turning to scold him.
She understood the value of these creatures after Kakashi's report. Even the legendary summon beasts of the three great holy places couldn't compare. And yet Kiba just blurted it out like they were asking for candy.
Kiba shrunk back with a sheepish look. "Sorry."
Renji cleared his throat. "You want Pokémon? Come with me."
His tone was calm, even flat, but inside he was thrilled. This meant more clients. More clients meant more points.
Kurenai blinked in surprise. That's it? That easy?
These creatures weren't supposed to be so easy to obtain. But Renji was already turning toward the backyard.
Click—Click—
Everyone froze at the sudden sound.
Renji paused. The noise had come from the large incubator in the corner.
A crack spread across the Pokémon egg within.
"It's hatching?" he said, stepping forward quickly.
The egg had only been placed yesterday, and it was already showing signs of life.
Yuhi Kurenai, Hinata, Shino, and Kiba came closer, their curiosity overtaking everything else.
"Boss, what's this egg?" Kiba asked.
"It's a Pokémon egg. It's about to hatch," Renji explained.
"Like Bulbasaur and Charmander?" Kurenai asked in disbelief.
"Yes," Renji nodded. "But I don't know what's inside. It hasn't been tested."
"Are there… a lot of Pokémon like this?"
"I know of over 900 types. And yes, they all hatch from eggs."
That stunned them into silence. Even in the Naruto world, where strange and powerful creatures were common, over 900 species of something as strong as a Pokémon was hard to process.
"…You're not messing with us, right?" Kurenai asked.
Renji smiled but didn't answer directly. "You'll understand in time. Pokémon aren't what you think—they're something else entirely."
Crack—
The shell split further. The group turned their eyes toward the incubator.
Then—
"Boo—"
A small silver-white head poked out, blinking at the group curiously.
Renji's eyes widened. "A Shiny Eevee?"
"Boo! Boo!"
Eevee looked at him, then immediately let out a joyful cry, its tiny paws wiggling to get closer.
Renji reached in and picked it up gently.
"Is this Pokémon called Eevee?" Kurenai asked, her eyes sparkling.
Even Hinata's nervousness melted into a gentle smile. Shino was wide-eyed, and even Kiba was speechless.
Renji nodded. "Yeah. This is Eevee."
But then—
A sudden glow radiated from the tiny creature in his arms.
"What...what happened? Boss, will Eevee be okay?" Kurenai asked anxiously.
"Yes, Boss brother, will Eevee be okay?" Hinata added, worried.
Renji remained still, eyes narrowed, waiting for the transformation to complete.