The Magma Suit.
In the games, it's a legendary piece of gear that allows a player to stand atop Mega Rayquaza's head as it pierces through the planet's atmosphere.
Of course, that's the space-faring version.
The version Team Magma prepared for Kashiwagi included a "formal suit" edition and a "daily wear" edition.
He received two sets for League Conferences, two for Pokémon Contests, and two for everyday travel. The primary colors were black and silver-grey.
Originally, Courtney had wanted to push the classic Maxie-style black and red color scheme. Kashiwagi had flatly and decisively refused.
A black and red suit? I'd look like Lysandre, he thought. He had no desire to match outfits with the "Lion-head" leader of Team Flare.
Courtney was heartbroken by the rejection, so she immediately suggested embroidering the Team Magma emblem in subtler places—like his ties or even his underwear.
Kashiwagi caught that proposal just in time and shot it down twice as hard.
The girl's thought process was... eccentric, to say the least. He really didn't know how to handle her.
During the fitting process, Tabitha—the high-ranking admin from the anime—finally made an appearance. In Kashiwagi's memory, Tabitha was a slender man with a square jaw, but the person standing before him was... well, a bit stout.
Yes, Tabitha had "fattened up"!
He had gone from his lean Ruby/Sapphire design to his much rounder Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire look. It was a jarring sight.
Shelly still looks like her anime self—red hair and pale skin—did you two rival organizations not coordinate the timing of your "redesigns"?
Tabitha had shown up mainly to see who was worth such a massive sponsorship fee from the team.
He arrived with a bit of a chip on his shoulder, ready to be provocative.
However, the moment he saw Courtney pestering Kashiwagi, the look of provocation vanished instantly. It was replaced by a look of profound, soul-deep pity.
Tabitha even pulled Kashiwagi aside into a quiet corner to offer a warning.
"Once that girl gets interested in someone, she locks onto the target and never lets go. She has zero concept of 'personal space.' Be careful when you sleep at night; she might crawl out from under the bed. Or the closet. Or from behind the curtains. Or the sofa..."
"Is she a vengeful ghost?"
"You could basically call her that, yes!"
"Eh?"
Kashiwagi felt a genuine chill run down his spine.
"Good luck to you. Of course, I might be overthinking it—she's been more 'normal' the last couple of years." Tabitha patted Kashiwagi's shoulder with a sympathetic sigh. "Your best bet is to find an opportunity to tell her clearly that you don't like it."
According to Tabitha, the last person to suffer through Courtney's "analysis" was Maxie himself. It spoke volumes about Maxie's legendary patience as a leader.
Kashiwagi looked at the dead-serious Tabitha, then at Courtney, whose eyes hadn't left him for a single second. He fell into a deep contemplation.
Maybe... it's time to bail?
...
...
5:00 PM.
With Tabitha's "friendly" assistance, Kashiwagi slipped away, carrying six sets of Magma Gear with him.
Before leaving, he had tried to tell Courtney that her constant staring was a bit frightening. Unfortunately, she didn't understand the concept at all. She simply tilted her head and asked why he was afraid.
Doesn't liking someone mean following them closely?
"..."
Kashiwagi looked into those innocent eyes filled with "scientific curiosity" and found himself speechless.
He realized she was just like his Mawile—until a certain switch flipped in her head, words were useless. One didn't understand the meaning of "like," and the other couldn't distinguish between intellectual curiosity and affection.
Overall, Mawile was much cuter. Yeah, way cuter.
Before he departed, Tabitha spoke one last time, his round belly shaking as he nodded solemnly. "I'll suggest to Boss Maxie that he give her more missions. That's about as much as I can help you."
"You're a saint!"
Kashiwagi was genuinely moved. His impression of Tabitha instantly shifted from "villain" to "slightly-less-bad-villain."
Then..
he ran for it without looking back.
Courtney technically wouldn't do anything malicious—she'd just follow him around all day and demand battles—but for someone who valued his privacy as much as Kashiwagi did, the constant surveillance was unbearable.
...
...
Considering he'd been making too many headlines lately, Kashiwagi decided to skip Mauville City for his fourth badge for the time being. Instead, he planned to detour to Verdanturf Town to lay low for a while.
He wasn't just hiding from Courtney; he was hiding from public attention.
His ultimate goal was to return to Orre in a blaze of glory, but until he was fully "leveled up", too much fame would only interfere with his training.
Anyways, he had plenty of time before the Hoenn League and the Grand Festival. He needed to raise the levels of Porygon, Galarian Corsola, and Zweilous, and teach them moves suitable for official matches before tackling the Lavaridge Gym or the Fallarbor Contest.
I'll skip the Verdanturf Contest too, he decided.
If he kept relying on Aggron and the others, his newer Pokémon would never get the real-world experience they needed.
Hmm... Galarian Corsola had already participated in two matches. Since the first three Gyms in Hoenn focused largely on physical attacks, its Strength Sap move made it a perfect counter.
Still, Kashiwagi knew his team's overall depth was lacking. He had too few "battle-ready" Pokémon and found himself constantly falling back on his original starters.
It wasn't that relying on Aggron was bad, but Pokémon battles were ultimately team sports—whether 3v3 or 6v6. He had to build synergy.
He didn't want to be like the trainers in the anime who treated 6v6 battles like six separate 1v1 duels.
Shortly after he left, his phone buzzed. It was a message from Courtney. Her grammar was surprisingly normal in text:
I'm going on a mission for a while. When I get back, I'll find you for a battle. I look forward to analyzing you more.
Terrifying!
Even though it was just a standard challenge, Kashiwagi felt a cold sweat.
He thanked his lucky stars for Tabitha.
Truly the man most deserving of being Magma's 'Model Employee'!
...
...
Route 103.
This route connected to Route 110 and happened to be near the Magma base.
From here, heading left would lead to Verdanturf, while right led to Mauville.
The path to Verdanturf required crossing a vast inland lake, and the town itself was nestled among high mountains. Unless he took the easy Route 117 or the Rusturf Tunnel, he'd have to climb or circle around.
In terms of distance, it was a long detour.
But Kashiwagi didn't mind. A long detour meant more wild Pokémon and the occasional passionate battle with traveling trainers.
And so, he began his slow journey through the wilderness, training his team as he approached Verdanturf.
One afternoon by the river, Kashiwagi prepared to start his usual Simulator run.
However, in the "Select Talents" column, he saw an option that completely stunned him.
[Villainous Character (Join a Villainous Organization)]
A White Talent?
It's just a White-tier talent?
Kashiwagi rubbed his eyes to make sure. It was indeed a common talent, but in his dozens of simulations, this was the first time it had ever appeared.
Did hanging out with Magma and Aqua too much trigger this? he wondered.
But when I was literally a Snagem grunt, this never showed up!
He quickly checked his pre-selected region for the simulation:
Johto!
Holy crap... it's Team Rocket!