Eighteen thousand credits for free.
Although it was just a small sum, Kashiwagi found the situation quite amusing. The trap was obvious: use repeated payouts to lure someone into increasing their stakes until they're desperate enough to dump every cent they have into a bet. Once the big fish is hooked, the person disappears, regardless of whether the chosen trainer wins or loses.
It was a basic scam. Unfortunately, Pyrite Town had an oversupply of fools dreaming of overnight riches, making it easy for such predators to thrive. "Rotten Tooth Village" was clever; he specifically targeted individuals who were alone and not wearing any faction uniforms, avoiding anyone who might turn out to be a "hard bone" to chew.
However, did Rotten Tooth Village know who Kashiwagi was? If he knew and still tried to scam him, things got interesting. It suggested someone behind the scenes was trying to sabotage him—
The Crystal Unit.
Whether it was their leader, Chester, or his executives and squad leaders. Kashiwagi didn't believe for a second that they would let things slide after he had offended them so many times. The Crystal Unit had already paid a "sunk cost"; desperate for results, they would only continue to target him with increasing madness. It was like gacha games: once you've spent a certain amount without getting the "pull" you wanted, you're prone to losing your head.
Regardless of the motive, Kashiwagi, having seen through the trick, wasn't going to fall for it. Nor did he have the twisted desire to play along just to "counter-scam" the guy. His time was better spent preparing for the upcoming matches.
Before leaving, he scanned the area and noticed many mobile bookies like Rotten Tooth Village, wearing overcoats and selling betting slips. However, there was no guarantee they were all part of the same gang.
----
Back at the Sand Unit.
Kashiwagi went to Ryuka's office to report his progress. The "Big Brother" seemed genuinely interested in his performance at the tournament.
"It went quite smoothly."
"Just good luck, mostly. I ran into a few trainers whose only strategy was to charge blindly."
"Haha, the trainers here are indeed lacking in quality. But don't let your guard down. There are capable people out there; you might just run into one." Ryuka's expression was strangely playful.
Kashiwagi didn't quite understand, but he gave a standard nod. "I'll be careful, Big Brother!"
"Mm. Keep it up." Ryuka waved him off.
Kashiwagi bowed and backed out of the room. Before leaving, he gave a quick silent greeting to the ceiling-dwelling Gliscor. The Pokémon watched him with sparkling eyes as the door closed.
His "Big Brother's" Gliscor had a lively, almost goofy personality that always made Kashiwagi crack a smile. It was a stark contrast to Lairon, who acted like it had entered early retirement, the obedient Chansey, or the elegant "young lady" Mawile. Kashiwagi really liked the bat-scorpion.
I hope I find a Pokémon that lively someday, the rookie trainer mused, feeling a bit short on chaos in his life.
Outside, Frobo was sitting at his workstation, aimlessly flipping through a magazine. His feet were propped up on the desk, shaking with a lazy rhythm. Aside from him, several other squad leaders were posing in similarly idle ways, looking bored out of their minds.
Not lording it over underlings, not training their Pokémon... just hiding here to slack off?
Kashiwagi couldn't wrap his head around it. He also realized he had never seen Frobo's Pokémon. Every time the man appeared, he was alone.
"...Brother Frobo, do you have a minute?" Kashiwagi approached him cautiously.
Frobo's eyes lit up as he tossed the magazine aside. "Free! Very free! What do you need?"
"Uh." Kashiwagi hesitated, as several other squad leaders had clearly turned their attention his way. "It's about something at the Colosseum..."
He decided to share it anyway. He was primarily worried that there was something specific behind Rotten Tooth Village and wanted Frobo's advice or help looking into it. Better safe than sorry. If Frobo felt it necessary to tell Ryuka, it would also save Kashiwagi the trouble of doing it himself.
After hearing the story, a grin spread across Frobo's face. "So, you're worried he's a plant from Chester sent to ruin you? To trick you into losing everything?"
"Yeah. Though maybe I'm being too sensitive—"
"Sensitive? No! That's a logical suspicion." Frobo interrupted. "The Crystal Unit has been doing disgusting things for years. This kind of sneaky, petty scheme is exactly their style. And your instinct is right: they won't let you go. From the moment you stepped onto the Sand Unit's ship, you were destined to face their endless plots. Especially since, right now, you're the most famous person in the unit."
"Me?" Kashiwagi blinked.
"Of course." Frobo and the other squad leaders chuckled together. "The way you handled Sectors 1 and 2 on Copper Solder Street was masterful. Your name has already spread through the entire organization. Even Boss Soshiro has praised you, and word of your name has reached the Big Boss's ears. The Crystal Unit wants you dead, but they're terrified that killing you would actually piss off the Big Boss."
Kashiwagi was speechless.
"Alright, leave Rotten Tooth Village to me. I'll settle his business. You focus on the tournament and try to bring home a win." Frobo patted his shoulder.
Easier said than done, Kashiwagi thought. Before he could ask how Frobo intended to handle it, the tie on Frobo's chest suddenly twitched. In an instant, it transformed into a blob of pink jelly that shot up and covered Frobo's face.
Four or five seconds later, a brand-new "Kashiwagi" stood before him.
"What the—!"
He stared in shock at the fake Kashiwagi. The latter coughed twice, and suddenly his voice became almost identical to his own.
"How's that? Ditto's disguise combined with my vocal mimicry. Amazing, right?" The fake Kashiwagi gave an honest, humble smile that gave the real Kashiwagi goosebumps.
He had heard of Ditto's special abilities, but seeing it transform into himself was surreal. No wonder he had never seen Frobo's Pokémon. It was a Ditto pretending to be his tie.
"I'll borrow your face for a bit." The fake Kashiwagi's smile left the real one feeling very uneasy.
----
The next day.
The Main Tournament officially began.
The original field of nearly a thousand participants had been slashed down to just sixty-four. All those with weak Pokémon or poor tactical skills had been weeded out, leaving the elite sixty-four to fight for the top spots.
Unlike the qualifiers, the main tournament allowed each trainer to use two Pokémon, significantly increasing the tactical depth.
Kashiwagi wore a baseball cap with his hoodie pulled over his head as he walked down the long corridor toward the field. He had partially obscured his features as Frobo instructed, but not completely—giving Rotten Tooth Village (who might be watching) enough to "recognize" him while setting the stage for Frobo to test the waters with the disguise.
Hearing how relaxed Frobo was about it, Kashiwagi decided to stop worrying and focus entirely on the match. How far could he actually go? He was genuinely excited to find out.
He tapped his card and entered the arena. At the far end, his first opponent for the main event came into view.