The Old Chateau was huge, with countless rooms. It took Haruki a full two hours to explore the entire building.
Thankfully, with Metang's Confusion assisting the search, the efficiency increased drastically.
But in the end, the only thing he found was a shabby-looking wooden box that was perfectly intact on the inside.
No other discoveries…
Carefully, Haruki had Metang open the box. Inside lay a parchment map, neatly tucked away.
Haruki turned the parchment over and over in his hands, examining it from all angles. The terrain marked on the map felt oddly familiar.
But no matter how he tried, he just couldn't place it.
"Whatever, consider it a pleasant surprise. I'll check it out properly later!"
Haruki put the map away, took one last glance at the entire Old Chateau, and after letting out a long breath, turned to leave.
At this point, he was just a short distance from leaving Eterna Forest and reaching Eterna City.
---
Three days later, holding Skiploom in his arms, Haruki finally arrived at the forest-scented city of Eterna.
The first stop upon entering the city was, of course, the Pokémon Center.
After handing Marowak and Skiploom over to Nurse Joy, Haruki began checking his messages.
Weston, Intelligence Officer Zirc, and Mobile Unit Captain Ares had all sent him updates.
Haruki saw Ares's unfamiliar Houndoom avatar and felt a jolt of tension. He quickly tapped the message open.
After reading it, he let out a long sigh of relief.
It was just a reminder to submit his report, nothing serious seemed to have happened.
Next, he opened Zirc's message. As usual, it was filled with intelligence updates from Team Rocket's Sinnoh division.
Haruki browsed through them one by one and, after confirming there was nothing notable, scrolled down and opened Weston's message thread.
[Good news. Call me back ASAP.]
Seeing that, Haruki was instantly wide awake.
He jumped up and headed to a quiet corner, dialing Weston's number.
After a few beeps, the call connected, and Weston got straight to the point.
At that moment, Haruki felt like he was hearing the voice of an angel. "R-Really?"
"Yeah, these Galar Region Starter weren't easy to get. The Professor had you in mind from the beginning. That's why he had me call you right away. Have you been-"
"I'll fly out tonight and be there first thing in the morning!"
It was a Starter Pokémon. And not just any Starter, but one from Galar. How could he not have time for that?!
"Alright, then you get first pick. I'll push the others back. Just don't go blabbing to anyone else."
Weston laughed, and just like that, Haruki had a reason to be deeply grateful to both him and Professor Rowan.
"Got it, understood…"
But after hanging up, Haruki quickly came down from the excitement.
Up to this point, his relationship with the Research Lab had felt like that of two gentlemen: mutually beneficial, neither owing the other, on equal footing.
But this time, Weston had mentioned more than once how hard it had been to obtain the Starters; clearly signaling that Haruki should remember this favor.
Wasn't the discovery of a new Eevee evolution already a massive contribution? Was that still not enough to trade for a single Starter?
Haruki grew cautious. He couldn't afford to keep all his eggs in one basket.
Better to form alliances with several parties and let them compete for his favor. That was the smart play.
Of course, he was still going to accept the Starter.
'A Galar Starter, huh… that would be Scorbunny, Sobble, and Grookey.'
All three were incredible Pokémon.
So… which one should he choose?
That very night, Haruki boarded a plane headed for Sandgem Town.
Haruki hadn't expected that after two months of painstaking travel, he'd end up flying all the way back.
Though it wasn't a full return, it still felt a little ridiculous.
On the plane, Haruki had thought his excitement would keep him awake. But under the soft moonlight of his dreams, he peacefully slept all the way to Sandgem Town.
---
It was still a while before sunrise, but Haruki didn't feel like sleeping anymore.
So he strolled down to the seaside, letting the sea breeze wash over him.
The salty air wasn't unpleasant, and the pre-dawn coolness only sharpened his senses.
He soon fell into deep thought.
The Galar Region's Starters were impressive, each with their own special qualities. All three had exclusive Gigantamax forms and signature moves unique to their species.
Even their Hidden Abilities were outstanding. Among all the regions' Starters, these three ranked among the best.
So no matter which one he ended up with, Haruki would be satisfied.
It was just a shame he couldn't have them all.
Haruki chuckled to himself. Wanting all of them would only stir public resentment.
As he drifted through these casual thoughts, the night slowly faded away.
Sunlight began to rise from the sea's edge. Beneath the sparkling waves, a massive Mantine suddenly leapt high into the sky, then plunged back into the ocean.
"A good omen… time to go pick my Starter!"
Haruki clapped his hands and turned toward Professor Rowan's lab.
Soon after, Weston brought Haruki inside. Sensing his impatience, he took him straight to the greenhouse where the Galar Starters were kept.
"The Professor stayed up late and isn't up yet. He told me to let you choose directly."
"Got it, thanks."
Haruki thanked him casually, keeping his excitement locked inside.
Seeing Haruki's "composed" demeanor, Weston raised an eyebrow but didn't say more. He let Haruki in.
"You know what you're doing, so I won't say much. Just let me know which one you pick, and I'll hand over the Poké Ball."
"Sure."
The door closed. Haruki looked around the greenhouse, which seemed empty of any Pokémon, and smiled as he started exploring.
Though the greenhouse wasn't huge, it had everything it needed: trees, a pond, and grassy patches.
Haruki walked forward and first came upon a winding stream.
The water was clear and flowed naturally, nothing out of the ordinary.
But Haruki knew, perhaps a Sobble was lurking somewhere in there, invisibly observing him.
He pulled out the Water-type Pokéblock he'd prepared in advance, broke it into pieces, and tossed them into the stream.
Pokéblocks had a powerful allure to Pokémon. Sure enough, before they even hit the bottom, several transparent figures darted out and snatched them up.
"Not coming out to say hi?"
Haruki asked as gently as he could.
But even after every last crumb of the Pokéblocks was eaten, not a single Sobble came out.
Haruki sighed. It was hard to imagine how these timid, tearful Pokémon could evolve into the calm, stylish, sharpshooting Inteleon.
'Well, let's move on.'
Haruki got up and headed into the woods.
The Grookey in the trees were much more energetic; three of them were sitting on branches in a neat row, curiously watching this unfamiliar human.
"Hey there!"
Haruki greeted them with a smile, but the three Grookey tilted their heads in unison, confused.
'Who are you?'
Unfazed, Haruki took out the Grass-type Pokéblock he had prepared ahead of time.
"Want some?"
As the rich scent of Grass-type energy wafted through the air, the Grookey's eyes widened. Without even realizing it, they pulled out the tiny sticks from their hair and began tapping them together.
They signaled Haruki to toss the Pokéblocks up, but they had no intention of coming down from the trees.