It was an ugly tree house by any reasonable standard, but Rick looked at it with more than a pocketful of pride.

  In front of it was a large rectangular wooden board on which one could read “Sam & Rick’s Bug Catcher Club,” written in yellow paint with Sammy’s ugly handwriting.

  There were also two arrows pointing out of their names for the new members.

  One pointed at a simple “ & Jo” written in aggressive red.

  The other was a more subdued green “ & Kai”.

  The sign looked a bit messy, but Rick liked how warm it made him feel.

  He remembered the days when he, Sammy, Karrablast, and Dwebble began constructing what Sammy referred to as “their secret base”.

  It was Sammy’s idea, of course; it was always him who started things, but Rick was the one to design it and figure out how to actually make the whole thing.

  He had to spend a few days in the library, looking into books about construction, which was simple enough and even fun. Learning was always fun for him, talking with other people, not so much.

  Thankfully, Sammy was with him. He had gone to all of his neighbors asking for the tools they needed, saying, with no shame, that they were going to make their secret base in the forest. How Sammy could do that without blushing was something that always left him equal parts surprised and envious, though he wouldn’t admit the second part aloud.

  Now this same Sammy was walking with his head lowered, as if he was going to the chopping block.

  He hadn’t been like this initially, but after they guided Douglas, the boy who had a Pokémon Battle with Sammy, out of the forest and said their goodbyes, all it took was one look at Kai’s stern face for Sammy to go in full repentant mode, expecting a long lecture.

  And a long lecture it was. After they got into their base, Kai spent the next hour or so instilling the basics of Pokémon Battle into Sammy’s head. As for whether they would stay there, only time would tell, but Rick was not very hopeful.

  As much as he liked his friend, even he had to admit that the man did not have the brightest mind around. A fact he was deeply aware of after tutoring Sammy in multiple subjects for as long as they had been friends, something Grandpa Samuel was extremely grateful for.

  Rick turned his attention to his two friends and noticed that the lecture had ended, and now they were doing “business”.

  Both boys brought their Pokéwatches close to one another, and after a second, they emitted a little ring, signaling that Sammy finished transferring Kai’s “coaching fee”.

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  Rick knew that this was equivalent to 25% of the money Sammy received by defeating Douglas.

  Kai was the last member to join their group, and the most mysterious.

  He simply appeared one day, out of nowhere, inside their base, naked and hungry.

  Rick had been very scared at the time, thinking that Kai was a criminal there to kidnap or kill them.

  His appearance at the time was almost feral. He had long, disheveled green hair covering his face and an extremely thin body that did little to hide his bones.

  From behind his hair, Rick saw two big green eyes full of curiosity and intensity. He looked as if he were dissecting them with his gaze, trying to understand who they were and what level of threat they posed.

  Being under such a gaze provoked different reactions in the group; he stepped back, ready to retreat, Sammy took out his Pokéball, releasing Karrablast, and Jo simply stared back, not feeling intimidated.

  They stood in silence for a moment that seemed to stretch into an eternity, but just as Sammy was about to give a command to Karrablast, they heard Kai saying something.

  His voice was hoarse and low, but they still understood the word “food”.

  Then Kai fainted.

  It took a while, but they eventually got to understand a bit about Kai, mostly by giving him food and water, as well as some clothes. Jo didn’t seem to mind, but he was old enough not feel comfortable letting a girl look at a naked boy, even if it was Jo.

  Kai spoke using strange terms that none of them were familiar with; he had next to no common sense and didn’t know where he was, so they promptly explained to him that he was in the Viridian Forest.

  He remembered how much his eyes widened upon learning this, saying “Oh shit,” many times until he seemed to accept it and calmed down.

  If asked, he would simply say that he was not from around here, but wouldn’t elaborate on his origins.

  He had no Pokémon with him and no identification; he said he didn’t know his own age, but Jo said he looked like a 14-year-old, and he said that this would be his age.

  His impression was that Kai was someone who didn’t stress over the details, not in the simpleminded way of a Sammy, but more because he couldn’t be bothered to care.

  After that, he asked them a few questions and, upon learning of their failings in Pokémon battles, said he would coach them, asking only for a small fee consisting of a portion of their earnings from battles.

  Initially, they didn’t want to, but after a few days following his instructions and only battling the opponents he picked, they saw the difference.

  Their win ratio more than doubled, as they now rarely fought opponents above their level. In the end, they earned more money, and even after paying Kai, it was still a net positive, not to mention the improvement in their training.

  It had been like that for about two months now, with Kai saving money for-

  “Hum, I think this will be enough,” Kai said, a bit matter-of-factly, but his joy was evident.

  “Wow, are you finally gonna catch your first Pokémon?” Sammy said excitedly, no longer in penitent mode.

  “Yeah, with this, I think I can afford 5 Pokéballs and some Pokémon food that should last a while if the pokémon isn’t too big.” He paused, as if gathering the courage to say something.

  “Will you guys help me with that?” he said, almost shy.

  Rick and Sammy looked at each other and laughed before saying.

  “Of Course!”