Even though Shiro and Marvin were sitting across from each other, having a det versation, Shiro never fot that the guy in front of him was just a stranger.

  They hadn't even known each other for a full day. Ae havihrough some daogether, the trust level was still too low.

  Marvin's words alone weren’t ving. He spoke in riddles, never expining the details of his pn or how exactly things would go down.

  If Shiro agreed, it would mean stig with Marvin for the wo months. Marvin would be the one making all the decisions—whether it was disrupting the Gym Challenge or pig fights.

  He wasn’t about to gamble his life on a stranger’s promises. And what would even happen after they sabotaged the Gym Challenge? Would they be hunted across the entire region?

  "Don't rush to refuse,” Marvin tirying to persuade Shiro. “It's a five person Gym Challenge. But as long as one of them gets humiliated on live broadcast—"

  "And after that?" Shiro interrupted.

  "Shiro..." Marvin grinned with fidence. "We join Macro os!"

  To prove he wasn’t making things up, Marvin pulled out an official Macro blem and a pany-issued unication device from his bag.

  ‘Join Macro os?’

  Shiro fell into deep thought.

  ‘So sabotaging the Gym Challenge wasn’t just Marvin’s idea… This had to be ing from Rose himself. But why? Why would he want to interfere with something like this?’

  "Leon has to bee the champion, and the Gym Leaders arely pliant." Marvin lowered his voice. "We're backed by Chairman Rose."

  "That does sound pretty tempting." Shiro agreed.

  Hearing this, Marvin's eyes lit up.

  "But I refuse!" Shiro’s tone shifted in an instant.

  ……

  The m.

  On Route 7, east of Hammerlocke, many diligent trainers were already out, challenging each other to battles ttheeams.

  With the Gym Challenge ing up in two months, every registered League trainer had the right to block partits mid-route, f them into battles to prove whether they were worthy of passing.

  The etle would be streamed live via drones, making it a perfect ce to appear on television.

  Who wouldn't want their family to see them looking heroi TV?

  While trainers were gearing up for battle on the wide, dirt road designated by the League, two figures moved swiftly through the forest beyond the grass and sloping terrain.

  "If you agree, after entering Hammerlocke, I get you a job immediately." Marvi rambling, still unwilling to give up.

  Even after Shiro rejected him st night, Marvin couldn't accept it and was still pestering him to join.

  But Shiro had already made up his mind—he would grow stronger on his own. More importantly, he simply didn’t trust Marvin.

  "I’ll find a job myself once we reach Hammerlocke," Shiro replied.

  "Ugh..." Marvin sighed, realizing he had no way to vince him.

  Just ahead, beyond the forest, was the Hammerlocke Bridge.

  The bridge, a massive structure made entirely of rare stone, had a deep brown hue and spanned over twenty meters in width.

  It was one of Hammerlocke’s iidmarks, always bustling with people.

  Ohey reached the bridge and blended into the crowd, it would be impossible to tell who was a registered League trainer and who was undoted.

  With such heavy foot traffic, there were no security checks either.

  Shiro and Marvin stepped onto the bridge, staying close to the railing as they moved along with the crowd.

  On both sides of the bridge, several imposing Corviknight stood tall, their trainers shouting to attract passengers.

  As a signature Pokémon of Gar, Corviknight was everywhere in the region, leading to the development of aire industry—Flying Taxi Services.

  For a fee, anyone could ride in a carriage carried by Corviknight and travel freely across Gar.

  From wealthy elites to low-ranking trainers, everyone preferred this mode of transportation.

  "Corv! Corv!"

  One Corviknight had just taken on a passenger. As its trainer secured the rider, the massive bird fpped its wings and soared into the sky, leaving a few bck feathers drifting to the ground.

  The Corviknights used for transportation were all at the peak of the Advanced level, around level 39 or 40. Due to their limited potential, they remaiuck at this awkward level—not strong enough to reach the Gym level but also not weak enough to return to being the ordinary Rookidee seen oreets.

  Most of the trainers who had caught Rookidee early on and traihem into Corviknight found that their primary Pokémon couldn't improve any further aually switched to being taxi drivers.

  For rainers, Rookidee was easy to catd could bee quite powerful with training. However, the vast majority of Rookidee that were kept as home birds cked exceptional potential.

  Without top-tier resources, ohey exhausted their potential and reached their final evolution, their growth stagnated.

  Some trainers, unwilling to accept this, forced their Corviknight into dangerous battles, hoping to push them beyond their limits. Yet, only a few mao succeed. Most ended up injuring their Pokémon, leaving them uo fly and ning them to a life of misery.

  "Rooki~"

  Shiro's Rookidee poked its head out from his coat, then hopped onto his shoulder, gazing longingly at the Corviknight s freely in the sky.

  As they walked, Shiro and Marvin crossed the bridge aered the bustling streets of Hammerlocke.

  "Alright, Shiro. Let's part ways here. I have something urgent to take care of." Marvin waved at Shiro, then suddenly remembered something and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. "You'll probably his."

  He ha to Shiro and made his way toward a nondescript café.

  Shiro nodded and took the piece of paper, gng at it.

  It read: F307, Hammerlocke, Bck Market.

  He casually stuffed the paper into his pocket and tinued down the sidewalk, curiously the city he was seeing for the first time in person.

  Hammerlocke had once been the heart of Gar, a pce where heavy maery teology flourished. Though it had since evolved into a city dominated by electric porecision teology, the industrial city remained well-preserved, showg its historical significe.

  The city's yout sisted of two levels. The lower level, accessed through the main southern gate, was a bustling ercial area.

  At the end of this level, an industrial elevator could take one up to the upper level, where Shiro was now.

  At the heart of the upper level was the Hammerlocke Stadium, also known as the Hammerlocke Gym.

  Gar held Pokémon battles in high regard, and many gyms also served as stadiums.

  The gym leaders of Hammerlocke had always e from a secretive Dragon Taming family, and Shiro didn’t reize the current leader or their name.

  As Shiro passed the Pokémoer, glowing with a soft pink light, he decided to head down to the lower level to look for a job.

  For official league trainers, presenting their identity cards at the Pokémoer meant free treatment and aodation. But for someone like Shiro, getting thrown out was sidered a lucky oute.

  Those who could get into the big cities without being caught were usually wanted criminals. Kied league trainers might even capture them on sight, making sure to check if there was a bounty first.

  Shiro o find a job and a pce to stay as an undoted citizen.

  Officially, there were no options, but getting into the bck market in Hammerlocke might provide the answers he needed.

  **

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