Wrapped around his wrist was a slender chain made of precious metal, resembling a bracelet. However, this bracelet bore only one ornament—a badge he had received from the Pewter City Gym.
"This is my Gym Badge. Now, Uncle, you should believe my identity, right? IDs can be faked, but forging a badge is way harder. As far as I know, there hasn't been a single reported case of a fake Gym Badge."
Upon seeing the badge on Ryuuske's bracelet, Sakaki gave a seemingly relieved, good-natured smile and said, "...Sorry about that, kid. I shouldn't have doubted you. Seeing that badge convinced me. Let me reintroduce myself. I'm Sakaki, dispatched by the Pokémon League to investigate the recent occurrences on Mt. Moon."
Sakaki didn't mind revealing his real name. He had been missing for five full years. The only ones who might still recognize him would be the die-hard fans of the old Viridian Gym.
Back when he was the Viridian City Gym Leader five years ago, Sakaki was already known for his low profile. Unless it was a mandatory event like an official Gym match, he rarely showed himself in public. Sure, people knew the Gym Leader's name was Sakaki, but those who could recall his face clearly were few and far between.
It's like high-ranking government officials: everyone knows the names, but without looking them up, if they sat next to you on the train, you wouldn't even recognize them. Even with celebrities, unless you're a fan, chances are you wouldn't realize they're famous if you passed them on the street. That's just how human recognition works.
According to Sakaki's investigation, the previous Ryuuske was an orphan who never attended any events in person, so recognizing him was out of the question—especially five years after his disappearance.
"You still don't believe me, do you?"
Seeing Ryuuske still on guard, Sakaki felt a little exasperated. With a face this honest-looking, why wasn't it working on this kid? But then it hit him—maybe it was Team Rocket's fault. Anyone who had been captured and subjected to brutal experiments would find it hard to trust anyone again.
"Uncle, it's not that I don't believe you... but who the heck comes to a place like Mt. Moon dressed in a suit?"
Ryuuske said with disdain.
Sakaki froze, realizing he might've made a ridiculous blunder.
Maybe his name wasn't Sakaki after all—maybe it was Tōsaka! Why did he always drop the ball at critical moments, just like ten years ago...
"Haha, force of habit, force of habit. I wear this wherever I go."
Sakaki laughed awkwardly, unsure how to explain it.
"Forget it... Uncle, why aren't you standing up? Are you injured?"
Ryuuske frowned.
Wait, this kid does care about people?
Sakaki silently roasted him but quickly pulled out some medicine and sprayed it on his ankle, pretending nothing was wrong as he stood up. "...Just a small injury, no big deal."
He couldn't let this kid see he was really hurt. With intelligence slightly misaligned, this boy's personality had clearly changed. The old intel was useless now!
Only now did Ryuuske carefully study this terrifying organization's leader—somewhere between his late thirties and early forties, cropped hair with a receding hairline, and a broad, square face that gave off a sense of steadiness.
But now and then, a glint in his tiger-like eyes revealed a sharp, intimidating aura. If Ryuuske hadn't known who he really was, he might've been fooled by the BOSS's superb acting. That said, Sakaki's current appearance wasn't great—his suit was tattered, clearly chewed up by Zubat, and several spots showed visible bite marks where blood had been drawn.
"Uncle Sakaki, need some medicine? You should probably treat those wounds."
"No need, thanks! I brought enough meds. I knew I was coming to Mt. Moon, so I prepared special medicine tailored to the Pokémon here."
"I'm starting to believe you're really a League investigator. That's some thorough preparation... But Uncle, if you're a geological surveyor, what are you doing at Mt. Moon? Is there going to be an earthquake or something?"
Keeping a safe distance that he considered secure, Ryuuske walked deeper into the mountain alongside Sakaki, asking probing questions to test what kind of excuse this "geological surveyor" would give.
But as he watched Sakaki's expression remain calm—though his brows twitched slightly with each step, likely from pain—he wondered if he was actually injured. That shouldn't be, right? Everything earlier looked like an act. Though Sakaki's willingness to actually let Zubat bite him for the sake of acting was impressive—he truly had the dedication of a method actor—injuring himself for real might've been over the top?
"What's your name, young man?"
"Ryuuske."
"Oh? The Ryuuske who broke the League record in the Pewter City Gym Challenge?"
Sakaki feigned surprise, his acting flawless. Ryuuske couldn't detect any falsehood.
"Something like that... But Uncle Sakaki, you can still get news out here in Mt. Moon?"
Ryuuske replied noncommittally.
"Occasionally the signal's good enough for a short message or two. I check the news when I can... If you're really that rising-star Trainer, Ryuuske, then I'm probably safe now—no more getting chased by those stinky bats, haha... You don't mind if I call you 'Ryuuske-kun', do you?"
Sakaki pretended to breathe a sigh of relief, acting as though he'd finally found safety.
"Call me whatever you want, Uncle Sakaki. Respect your elders, right?"
'You sure weren't showing much respect earlier!' Sakaki grumbled inwardly but said aloud:
"...Ryuuske-kun, you've probably been on Mt. Moon for a while now. Haven't you noticed anything odd?"
"Odd? I heard Mt. Moon was full of Clefairy and Jigglypuff, but I haven't seen even one. Does that count as odd?"
"Clefairy and Jigglypuff? Then maybe you're just looking in the wrong place. If you want to find those, you'll need to head deeper into the caves. Those two species usually live in tunnels between caves. You won't find them out here on the surface."
Sakaki chuckled heartily.
"I see. Looks like I really was looking in the wrong place. Uncle Sakaki, you sure know a lot. If it's not about Clefairy and Jigglypuff, then I honestly don't know what's strange. It's my first time on Mt. Moon too."
Ryuuske shrugged.
"The Pokémon on Mt. Moon have long since been thoroughly studied. The Machop family is a common species here. But haven't you noticed, Ryuuske-kun? Not a single Machop, Machoke, or even those special evolved leader Machamp that usually show up in groups—none of them have been seen!"
Sakaki's gaze suddenly grew intense. For a moment, Ryuuske felt an immense pressure from him—solid and heavy like the earth itself.
He instantly tensed up but also realized, "...Now that you mention it, that's true! I've explored multiple caves and crossed several ridges, but I really haven't seen a single Machop!"
That was odd!
To be continued…