Beldum didn't appear to have a mouth, but that didn't stop it from eating.
When Haruki handed it a Pokéblock, Beldum carefully leaned in with the area connecting its head and body.
Haruki felt a sudden suction pass over his hand, and the Pokéblock quietly disappeared.
In the next moment, Beldum's red eye squinted into a line, bobbing up and down in clear delight.
Unlike forest Pokémon used to sweet Berries, for a Beldum that spent its days absorbing underground steel particles, a Pokéblock was like a whole new world!
Eating… who knew it could be this enjoyable?
With the Pokéblock in its… belly?, Beldum's hostility noticeably eased, though its stubborn nature still kept it from getting too close to Haruki.
Haruki wasn't in a rush. These things take time.
"Beldum, do you know how to get out of here?"
Beldum's red eye swiveled, and shook its body.
"Beldum"
It suddenly turned around and flew back the way it had come.
Seeing this, Haruki quickly followed with Cubone in tow.
After walking another ten minutes or so, the tunnel grew brighter, and wild Pokémon began to appear in greater numbers; a clear sign that the exit was near.
Beldum seemed to know the place well, navigating the cave smoothly. The wild Pokémon gave it space, some even shrinking back in fear.
Haruki glanced at Beldum's gleaming metallic head and had a pretty good guess why.
Though he and Cubone drew plenty of curious stares, Beldum's presence seemed to keep the wild Pokémon from making any rash moves.
Finally! They reached the exit!
The red glow of the setting sun bathed Haruki and Cubone, warming them after the cave's chilling air.
In that moment, the world felt beautiful.
Beldum didn't quite understand why the human and Pokémon were standing with their arms wide open toward the sun. It just blinked its red eye twice and waited silently.
A while later, Haruki came back to his senses and turned to look at Beldum again.
He had to admit. Compared to an ordinary blue Beldum, the silver one was… seriously cool!
Both were pseudo-legendaries, but just thinking about what a shiny Dragonite looked like...
Tsk, tsk.
Haruki suddenly felt like there wasn't a single thing wrong with Metagross.
After the excitement, a more serious thought crossed his mind.
'Coming to Rock Mountain might have started out as a hunt for the rumored Shiny Metagross.'
But after all, Haruki's real focus had long shifted to training Cubone. The Shiny Metagross was more of a fantasy, a dream.
And now that he'd actually caught a Shiny Beldum, the real problems began.
Pseudo-legendaries were rare enough… but a shiny one?
Haruki, as a Rocket member, knew exactly what would happen. If word got out, there was no chance he'd be allowed to keep it.
Until he was strong enough, this Beldum would have to stay hidden for a long time…
Luckily, Haruki was a "skilled techie". He could encrypt the Poké Ball, keeping scanners from reading its contents.
Of course, the Pokémon Center was off-limits.
As long as he didn't expose it himself, there shouldn't be any issues.
As for training it… Haruki wasn't worried. With his -photographic?- memory, he could handle it.
It might just mean slower progress at first, a little more trial and error.
But just thinking of how powerful -and how flashy- Metagross could be, Haruki knew there was no turning back.
"Beldum, I'll be counting on you from now on!"
Now that everything was clear in his mind, Haruki felt at peace.
Beldum's red eye stared straight at Haruki. It didn't quite understand what had just happened, but it had a vague feeling it was somehow related to itself.
And from the looks of it… probably a good thing?
Haruki recalled Beldum and tucked the Poké Ball into the inner pocket of his jacket, then began looking for a path back with Cubone.
Outside the cave, directions became easier to gauge. Haruki took a careful look and realized the cave exit was completely embedded in the mountain face, its uneven elevation made it virtually invisible from the outside.
Chances were, no one had ever entered this cave before. That meant everything inside could be explored at his own pace.
But for now, the most important thing was going home to rest.
----
Two hours later...
The sky had gone completely dark, but the light above the ramen shop's entrance still shone brightly.
Clatter!
The door swung open as a disheveled Haruki stumbled inside.
"Why are you so- what happened?!"
A scolding voice tinged with concern rang out. Captain Christopher rushed over, quickly steadying Haruki, whose face had gone pale.
Haruki hadn't expected Christopher to still be up so late. The light had clearly been left on for him. His heart warmed at the thought.
"I'm fine, boss. Just ran into some wild Pokémon and got a little banged up."
Christopher grunted but said nothing more. He helped Haruki into the backyard, pulled out a medical kit, and began cleaning his wounds again.
"Good thing you handled it quickly. No signs of infection. Just take it easy the next couple of days, no more overdoing it with training," Christopher said with reproach.
Haruki nodded obediently. "Got it, boss. Actually, it was Cubone who did the bandaging. Pretty good, huh?"
Cubone, suddenly being mentioned, blinked its round eyes in a daze and slowly turned its head away.
Christopher raised a brow at Haruki. "Didn't they used to say you were only interested in computers? Now you're all about your Pokémon?"
Haruki's heart tightened. He could sense the question wasn't so casual.
After a pause, he lowered his head slightly and muttered, "You need strength to have a say in things."
'Was it a confession? A complaint? A sign of sincerity?'
Christopher glanced at Haruki, and in his mind, the rest of the story filled itself in.
A Squad Captain was just one step above a regular Rocket grunt, hardly important in the bigger picture of the organization.
And Haruki? A known tech genius from the logistics division, yet transferred here just because he'd said so, then hauled out to the distant Sinnoh region.
Of course he'd feel resentment. Of course he'd want to get stronger.
Feeling like he'd hit the nail on the head, Christopher patted Haruki generously on the shoulder.
"You're not like me. I've already accepted this life. I just want some peace.
But you? Work hard, Haruki. Get stronger. Whether it's Rocket or the League, you'll find your own path out of this little place."
They say when you show your vulnerability, kind people will often respond with empathy.
Haruki's display of weakness had opened the door for Christopher to finally reveal his own thoughts.
Whether or not they were true didn't matter… Haruki could now enjoy more freedom because of them.
"Boss, you mean...?" Haruki asked, playing along.
"Heh, I really do like this ramen shop. So, the mission tasks will be up to you. If you've got ambitions, go chase them. I won't stop you."
'Knew it,' Haruki thought to himself. 'This shop really is your true calling.'
"Thanks, boss," Haruki said, keeping up appearances with a soft reply.