The meeting finally ended around midnight. Under the orders of the City Bureau Chief, the three District Bureau Chiefs and the ten officers immediately sprang into action.
"This search operation is going to be a nightmare. We have ten officers, each leading a search team of twenty and every single member needs to be at least an Advanced-level Trainer."
"That means we need a total of 200 Trainers."
One officer groaned, rubbing his temples.
"Chief is really making things difficult for us. The three district bureaus plus the city bureau combined don’t even have 300 Advanced-level Trainers."
"If we pull 200 of them for this mission, we won’t have enough left to keep up with our other works!"
"Isn’t that what outside reinforcements are for?" another officer suggested.
"Reinforcements? We’re dealing with an S-Class fugitive, a Ghost-type Elite! What kind of insane person would take on such a dangerous mission?"
"If I wasn’t wearing this uniform, I wouldn’t take this job myself, one wrong move, and you’re dead before you even know it!"
Ghost-types had countless ways to kill, and most of the time, their victims never even saw it coming.
"Enough talk, just start recruiting! Didn’t you see those guys already rushing over to the City Bureau to grab people?"
Even though the City Bureau and three district bureaus didn’t have enough Trainers to form ten full teams, they could still put together at least five teams.
And the first ones to act would get their pick of the best personnel.
"Damn it, these guys have no morals!"
Realizing he was falling behind, one officer hurried toward the exit, as he stepped outside, he spotted a colleague standing still, staring at his phone.
"Mark, what are you doing?! Get moving! If we don’t act fast, those bastards will take all the good people, and we’ll be stuck recruiting outside help!"
Mark glanced up, then grinned and waved his phone.
"Relax, I think I already found an outsider willing to help."
"One person? That’s not nearly enough!"
His colleague finally looked at Mark’s phone screen.
"Wait… you’re not talking about 'him', are you?"
Displayed on it was a group chat message:
"Heading to Secret Realm No. 98 tomorrow!"
"Yep, but let me call and confirm first to make sure he’s actually in Eastwood City."
Mark smiled and immediately dialed the number.
Eastwood City – Hotel Room.
Julian, Slowking, and Celebi were fully focused on an intense online battle, the match had reached a critical fight whoever won this round would destroy the enemy’s crystal and claim victory.
Then, suddenly his phone rang.
Without hesitation, Julian hung up.
Back at the bureau, Mark was slightly taken aback when he heard the busy signal.
"He didn’t pick up?" his colleague asked.
"Yeah… looks like he’s busy."
Before Mark could say anything else, his phone started ringing.
The caller ID flashed-Julian.
After destroying the enemy's crystal, Julian called Mark back, figuring that Mark probably needed something from him. After all, the two of them rarely kept in touch.
For Mark to call directly without even sending a message, it was almost certain that something urgent had come up.
The call connected quickly.
"Hello, Julian, are you in Eastwood City right now?"
"Yeah, I’m at the Charizard Hotel in East District. Senior Mark, do you need something from me?"
Mark was a member of the Imperial University school team, which naturally made him Julian’s teammate.
However, Mark was already in the second half of his senior year, so he was barely on campus anymore.
Most graduates at this stage were usually out “job hunting.”
For academy-trained Trainers, graduation led to several paths. Some chose to become freelancers, taking on tasks from the Drakorian Trainer App or local Trainer Associations to make a living and hone their skills.
Others joined companies or government agencies to continue working in fields related to Pokémon training.
And some simply went home to inherit the family business.
Mark had chosen the second path, joining a government department, securing the dream job of every mother-in-law: a civil servant.
With Imperial University on his résumé and peak pseudo-Elite-level strength, Mark was immediately recruited by the Eastwood City Investigation Bureau.
Why did he choose a third-tier city like Eastwood when he could’ve easily stayed in the capital?
The answer was simple, his girlfriend.
Men often found it hard to say no to love.
Since his girlfriend had chosen to return to her hometown to become a teacher, Mark decided to follow her.
"Alright, got it. Senior Mark, I’ll head over now, wait for me there."
After hearing the situation, Julian agreed without hesitation.
A criminal like Viktor was far too dangerous to be left alone. Even if Mark hadn’t called him, if someone else had asked, Julian would have stepped in anyway.
Climbing onto Dragonite, Julian took off, flying toward the Investigation Bureau.
"Of course. Julian’s on his way now, let’s wait for him."
"Viktor is an Elite Ghost-type trainer, and he’s at mid-stage. Can that guy really handle him? If something happens to him, forget us even the Chief will be forced to resign!"
"That’s because you’ve never seen how monstrous my junior is. If you had, you’d understand, 'genius' is a word for ordinary people. 'Monster' is the only way to describe him."
His colleague still looked skeptical.
Just then, a gust of wind blew overhead. Looking up, they saw a Dragonite descending, its powerful wings flapping as it landed in the Investigation Bureau’s compound.
Julian jumped down from Dragonite’s back and grinned.
"Senior Mark, I’m here to help, and you’re badmouthing me behind my back? That’s not cool!"
"I was just praising you," Mark said with a smile.
"Let me introduce you, this is my colleague, Larry."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Walker."
Larry quickly extended his hand, internally shocked by Julian’s youth and even more stunned by the Dragonite standing beside him.
"Just call me Julian."
Seeing Mark in his Investigation Bureau uniform, with a rank insignia indicating a leadership position, Julian was a little surprised.
"Senior, didn’t you say you disliked the strict rules of government jobs? Weren’t you planning to become a freelance Trainer after graduation?"
In fact, most professional Trainers avoided working for the government.
Compared to the freedom of exploring ruins and secret realms, sleeping and resting whenever they wanted, government jobs were too rigid and bureaucratic.
More importantly, working in a government agency often stagnated a Trainer’s growth. A comfortable environment corroded the courage and ambition needed to push one's limits.
"Well, my girlfriend works here as a teacher," Mark smiled wryly.
Making it onto the Imperial University school team meant he was a genius among geniuses. If not for his deep love for his girlfriend, he would never have given up his dream.
'One day, I will become an Elite'
Still, working in a government office didn’t mean he had abandoned his dream, just that it would take longer to achieve.
'Sure enough, women truly are the greatest obstacles on a man’s path to success'
Julian secretly congratulated himself on being smart, he would never take the initiative to provoke such troublesome creatures.
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