Delia sat with her hands tucked between her knees, an eager look on her face as if awaiting praise. Kazuki, seeing her like that, didn't hold back his words.
"You're amazing, Delia!"
"When did you awaken such a special ability?"
Delia beamed at the compliment, her body instinctively curling up in delight. The movement caused the plump curves on her chest to bounce slightly, looking even fuller than usual. After soaking up the praise for a few seconds, she responded slowly:
"I wouldn't call it a special ability... I mean, after being filled by you so many times..."
"I've developed a pretty keen sense for you! When Melanie said she came on your orders, I could already smell your scent! Mmm~"
Kazuki chuckled at Delia's dreamy expression. "Delia, aren't you being a little too blunt in front of Melanie, considering you're the older one?"
"Huh? Blunt?" Delia suddenly realized what she had just said—openly talking about being "filled."
"Don't blame Delia! She's been taking risks with us for a while now!" Melanie quickly jumped in to ease the awkwardness, her face burning bright red but her words unusually direct.
"It's my fault—I kept her up late chatting. I just wanted to hear more about you."
"I figured since Delia and I have both been filled by you, and since it's just the two of us here, I... might as well speak plainly!"
"After all, we're both your little pets, right?"
Though her cheeks were flushed, Melanie spoke with intentional boldness to help Delia out of her embarrassment.
"Look at the two of you—like a pair of tomatoes!" Kazuki teased.
Melanie stuck out her tongue, and Delia bit her lip, but neither could hide their smiles as they looked at Kazuki. "It's fine. We're at home. Just us here."
"By the way, Kazuki—what about Misty? Have you done it with her?" Melanie asked mischievously, smoothly changing the topic.
"Ahem—this is a public phone, you know!" Kazuki reminded her with a wicked grin.
"Wha—?!" Both Delia and Melanie froze, their pale skin blushing all over.
"Misty, we—! That's not what we meant!" Delia stammered.
"It's... just a discussion about reproductive health! That's all!" Melanie frantically searched for an excuse.
Delia, meanwhile, twisted her fingers in her clothes, flustered and lost for words.
"Hahaha, relax!" Kazuki chuckled, soothing his panicked harem. "It might be a public phone, but there's no one around. Misty just went out for a walk."
"Phew—!" Delia and Melanie slumped against each other in relief like deflated balloons.
"Geez, Kazuki! You scared us to death!"
"We were worried that if Misty found out about this side of us too soon, things would get really awkward later."
Kazuki stretched and glanced around for Misty before adding, "Don't worry. Lights off. Everyone lying down. No awkwardness at all."
"Oh?" Melanie's blush faded as she giggled excitedly. "So you're getting close?"
"Sometimes fast, sometimes slow," Kazuki replied.
"Then when I come over—want me to help you out?" Delia straightened in her duck-sit posture, puffing out her chest.
"You're coming over? When?" Kazuki's gaze lingered on the creamy curves nearly pressing into his screen. It had been a while...
"Once I finish helping Melanie settle into the Pokémon Center, I'll head out. Which city are you going to next?"
"Next stop—Vermilion City. Planning to explore the beach."
"Wow! The beach! That's perfect! I can show off some really cute outfits!" Just the thought of getting ravished had Delia grinning uncontrollably.
"Delia, you better be careful!" Melanie whipped out a calendar and began circling dates for her.
"These few days are high-risk for pregnancy. Be extra careful!"
"Melanie!" Delia shrank back, her face crimson with embarrassment. "I-I'm just going to see Kazuki... It's not like we'll definitely... you know..."
"Alright, Kazuki, take care of yourself!"
"See you in Vermilion!" Delia quickly pulled Melanie out of the frame, calendar in hand, but forgot to hang up the call.
On the other end, Kazuki could still hear Delia's voice: "Melanie, which days can I go all out?"
"Hehehe..." Melanie giggled, catching on. "Wait—Delia! The call's still on!"
"Ahh!" Delia shrieked. "Kazuki, no! That's not what I meant! We'll see you in Vermilion! Bye-bye-bye!"
Kazuki ended the call with a chuckle. "Delia's beach fashion show, huh? Alright then—see you in Vermilion City!"
"Kazuki! Kazuki!"
Just as he stood up from the call with his harem, his younger girl was already calling from outside the lighthouse.
"Come quick! Hurry!"
From the excitement in Misty's voice, Kazuki guessed she must've spotted a Water-type Pokémon. Since the next Gym Leader, Lt. Surge of Vermilion Gym, specialized in Electric-types, Water-types would be an ideal counter. Capturing a few strong ones was already part of Kazuki's plan.
He jogged out of the lighthouse, only for Misty to leap forward, grab his arm, and drag him toward the beach.
"Look, look, those little black dots moving over there! They must be Water-type Pokémon! Let's go catch them!"
With that, Misty dashed across the sand, pulling Kazuki along.
At this point, Misty was already physically used to Kazuki. Hand-holding, arm-linking, or even close skin contact no longer made her blush. All that remained was to break through her mental barrier, and their relationship could take the next step.
When they reached the shore, the earlier Pokémon Misty had spotted were nowhere to be seen.
"Huh? They were right here a second ago! Where'd they go?" Misty let go of Kazuki's hand and spun around, searching.
"Ah!" she suddenly shrieked, leaping back into Kazuki's arms.
"What are you screaming for?" Kazuki asked, startled.
"I—I stepped on something!" Misty had stepped on too many Bug-type Pokémon back in Viridian Forest, leaving her with a lingering trauma. Even here at the beach—her favorite habitat—stepping on something unknown was enough to freak her out.
She clung tightly to Kazuki, her soft body pressing against his arm.
Kazuki gently patted her hand. "No Bug-types here. Don't be scared."
They looked ahead and saw a Krabby scuttling across the sand, blowing bubbles.
"Oh—it's just a Krabby! That scared me! But hey, you're a Water-type too! Let me catch you!" Misty pulled out a Poké Ball but hesitated and put it back.
"What's wrong? Afraid of Krabby too?"
Misty stroked her chin and walked closer. "I remember Krabby are usually around 40 centimeters. This one's way smaller."
"Probably underdeveloped. I'll find a healthier one instead."
"Oh?" Kazuki hadn't noticed at first, but now that Misty pointed it out, the Krabby was indeed tiny.
Still, size aside, its potential was solid. In the original script, it had pulled off a three-win streak at the Indigo Plateau Conference.
Kazuki glanced around—there were no other Krabby in sight. This had to be the one.
"Undernourished? Easy fix! I'll just raise it up! Pikachu, go zap it!"
"Pika-pi!"
With a level advantage, Pikachu's Thunder Shock easily incapacitated the tiny Krabby, and Kazuki captured it without effort.
Misty looked puzzled. "I admit your eye for talent is sharp, but... this Krabby clearly has issues."
"You're still going to keep it? It's so small... it might not even live long enough to train."
But seeing that Kazuki had already caught it, she stopped herself from saying more.
"Oh well. Guess a tiny one's kind of cute too."
"If nothing else, it can be a pet."
"Don't underestimate it! If we face off at the Indigo Conference, I'll use it to give you a surprise!"
"Huh?" Misty gasped. "You're actually planning to use it in battle?"
"Hahaha—yup! Better catch one yourself, so you can properly teach my Krabby a lesson!"
Mentioning a Water-type showdown instantly fired Misty up. She zipped off across the beach in search of more Krabby.
Kazuki, meanwhile, checked Krabby's stats.
[Pokémon: Krabby]
[Base Stats: 325]
[Level: Lv. 17 (Normal)]
[Potential: Gym Level]
[Ability: Sheer Force — Removes secondary effects from moves but increases move power by 30%.]
[Moves: Water Gun, Harden]
As expected, it was a high-potential specimen. For a species generally around the Elite tier, one with Gym-level potential was rare.
Its Ability, Sheer Force, was also uncommon—sacrificing additional effects for a 30% power boost.
That was a passive bonus, unlike Charmeleon's 50% boost from intense elite training. A built-in 30%? That's a game-changer.
Not to mention, Krabby evolved quickly and required minimal effort to raise. If you were lucky enough to catch a high-potential one, it could dominate early Trainer circuits with ease.
Of course, the catch was—you had to be lucky.
Kazuki glanced at the Poké Ball in his hand, remembering he still had a Three-Star Potential Enhancement Mark, usable on anything below Pseudo-Legendary level.
Should he use it here?
Feeding ginseng to a pig, huh?
Kazuki shook the Poké Ball with a grin.
Kidding, of course.
After bonding with Krabby for a bit, he transferred it to Professor Oak's Laboratory.
It'd grow fast with its easy-to-raise trait, and Oak might even "borrow" some of his lab's "ginseng" to boost its nutrition.
---
Meanwhile, at Professor Oak's Lab—
Ding! The transporter chimed.
Professor Oak put down his Clefairy report and hurried over.
"Oh? Another one from Kazuki!"
"He's finally picking up the pace!"
"Last time was that ultra-rare Clefairy. Wonder what he's sent this time?"
The Clefairy had left a huge impression on Oak, so he eagerly picked up the Poké Ball, rolled it in his hands, and released the Pokémon.
"Hm?"
Oak and the Krabby stared at each other for a long moment.
"Oh... it's a Krab—wait, no, a tiny Krabby?"
"This species is common on beaches... why would Kazuki catch such a small one?"
"With his knowledge and eye for talent, that doesn't make sense... Unless...!"
Oak's eyes widened as he examined the Krabby closely.
"Could it be... this isn't a Krabby at all? A new, mini species?"
He reached out to touch it—
"OW!"
The little Krabby clamped down on his finger with surprising force.
"Hey—ow ow ow! Let go!"
It took Oak a while to shake it off.
"Oof. So it is just a regular Krabby! But wow, you're stronger than you look!"
"If you grow to full size, you'll be a solid combatant."
Huff huff...
Oak blew on his fingers and gently placed Krabby in a tank, then pulled out a Krabby field guide and resumed his research, flipping between Krabby and Clefairy data.
---
Back on the beach, Kazuki and Misty continued their search for Water-types.
Strangely enough, the vast shoreline was now devoid of any Pokémon.
It was as if they were all hiding—avoiding something.
"Huh? I saw so many Krabby from the lighthouse!"
"Why is it that only this tiny one showed up when we came down?"
Misty pouted as they returned to the lighthouse.
"They're probably hiding from something that's coming," Kazuki muttered, eyeing the calm sea.
He began pondering how to trigger the Giant Dragonite encounter.
Defeating it was impossible.
At best, he could try to complete the Mini-Mission.
Even his highest-leveled Pidgeotto wouldn't survive a single hit from Dragonite.
Pikachu had the Fifty-Fifty Hidden Ability, but at Level 30, there was no way he'd risk it.
Just then, Kazuki's Aura Power picked up a faint signal from across the ocean.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, he narrowed his eyes.
Is it coming? Even Aura Power was reacting now.
Wait—Aura Power!
The mission only required a move interaction with Giant Dragonite. It never said it had to be a full-blown battle!
So if he could just get Dragonite to use any move and keep it from leaving for 10 minutes, the mission would be complete!
According to Bill, this Giant Dragonite was lonely and searching for companions. That meant it wasn't necessarily aggressive. As long as he didn't provoke it, it wouldn't flee.
If he used Aura Power to communicate and stall for ten minutes...
Haha! I'm a genius!
With a plan in place, Kazuki returned to the lighthouse and summoned Pidgeotto and Butterfree.
Pidgeotto was still too small for flight transport, so Kazuki took out five Top-grade Swordcap Mushrooms.
One mushroom in, Pidgeotto's feathers puffed up.
Two mushrooms, and its body size visibly grew.
"Perfect! Three more to go, and it should be able to carry a person!"
"Need water, Pidgeotto?"
Pidgeotto shook its head, clearly enjoying the treat.
While feeding Pidgeotto, Kazuki sent Butterfree to the cliffside to keep an eye out for Team Rocket—Jessie, James, and Meowth.
In the original script, they were the ones who scared off Giant Dragonite.
Though they appeared erratically now, it was better to be prepared.
"Butterfree, if you see them, use Sleep Powder immediately."
"We can't let them alert Dragonite with noise."
"Baa~"
Butterfree nodded and flew off toward the cliffs.
Kazuki turned back to feeding Pidgeotto, then gathered Pikachu and Pidgeotto to plan their first contact with Giant Dragonite.