After resting for a while, just as Ryo was preparing to start his training, the wooden door behind the cabin suddenly burst open with a loud bang. Tsunade strolled in without a care, heading straight into the backyard.
Seeing Ryo, she quickened her pace and said excitedly, "Ryo, I've gathered the people. We can start now."
Ryo frowned slightly. "Already? Didn't you only begin looking for candidates yesterday? How do you already have enough today?"
Tsunade scratched her head, looking a bit surprised herself. "Yeah, I wasn't expecting it either. We just put out an announcement, and suddenly a crowd started lining up."
She still found it hard to believe. The moment word got out, people flooded to sign up—the line at the Hokage's building was so long that it nearly caused chaos.
If they hadn't declared early on that the selection was full, the registrations alone might've taken several days to process.
Ryo nodded thoughtfully and rubbed his chin. "I didn't think Pokémon had already made such an impression on ordinary people."
But then again, it made sense. He remembered what Cynthia had said—during Orochimaru's attack on the village, a number of civilians who had captured Pokémon had stood up to defend others.
Events like that naturally raised the standing of Pokémon in the hearts of the common folk.
Unfortunately, because of poverty, most people had no way to try capturing a Pokémon themselves. They could only watch from the sidelines.
Now that Konoha had announced that it would fund the training of trainers, it wasn't surprising that so many people rushed in.
"What did you just say?" Tsunade asked, looking confused at Ryo's murmuring.
Ryo waved it off. "Nothing. Let's go. Let's hand out the Poké Balls and let them try to capture their partners."
Tsunade nodded and followed Ryo back inside.
Once inside the store, Ryo was met with a wave of bustling energy—people were packed tightly outside. Most wore modest clothing, and though their attire lacked elegance, their faces glowed with nervous excitement. Their eyes were fixed on the Pokémon House with anticipation.
Ryo took in the scene with a sigh. These folks didn't have the wealth or refined demeanor of the previous customers, but they were the true representation of the world—numerous and ordinary.
Among them might be people like Akio, who despite having little to their name, would still risk everything for the chance to build a better future with a Pokémon. But people like Akio were rare.
For many, life was just stable enough that they couldn't afford to gamble. The fear of ending up worse off than before held them back. Training a Pokémon, after all, wasn't guaranteed to succeed.
If they failed to raise it properly, they might find themselves struggling more than they had before.
Tsunade gestured toward the crowd and said, "These are the ones selected for today—two hundred of them. What do you think? Do you have that many Pokémon available?"
Ryo glanced at her. "The number's not a problem. But Tsunade… you don't seriously think all of them will successfully capture a Pokémon, right?"
She blinked in confusion. "They won't?"
"I hate to burst your bubble, but if fifty of them succeed, that's already optimistic."
He rolled his eyes at her, a little exasperated by how naive she still was.
Tsunade frowned. "Come on, we explained everything—how to approach a Pokémon, which ones are easier to bond with… all the rules were made clear."
Ryo raised a brow. "So this was all part of your grand plan, huh?"
Still, he shook his head with a sigh. "You're thinking too simply. Pokémon aren't machines."
Tsunade's confident demeanor started to falter, and she bit her lip in concern. Could it really be like Ryo said? Would only a few dozen out of the two hundred succeed?
If that happened, they'd lose a ton of money just on Poké Balls alone.
Sensing her anxiety, Ryo rolled his eyes again. "I'm just giving you the worst-case scenario. No need to panic."
Tsunade let out a deep breath and nodded. There was no turning back now—they had to go through with it.
Without wasting any more time, Ryo accessed the system shop and exchanged for a batch of Poké Balls. Tsunade, along with Sasori and Deidara, began distributing them to the gathered civilians, sending them off one by one toward the forested hills behind the house.
As for energy cubes and Pokédexes? Tsunade hadn't bought any.
According to her, they could barely scrape together the money for the Poké Balls. There was no way they could afford more right now.
Especially since, once these people caught Pokémon, it would still be up to the village to provide energy cubes for training later on.
As time passed, the ordinary people quietly filtered into the hills. The shop gradually became quiet.
Tsunade drifted back toward Ryo with a worried expression. "Ryo… you really think only a few dozen will succeed?"
He looked at her furrowed brow and tried to reassure her. "Relax. With the guidance you gave them earlier, their odds definitely improved. Not everyone will succeed, but a good number should."
That seemed to calm her down a little.
After that, Tsunade left to find Hoopa and Cynthia, while Ryo returned to his training in the backyard.
Over the past few days, Tsunade and Cynthia had actually grown close. Both were strong, accomplished women in their own worlds, so it hadn't taken long for them to hit it off.
Time passed swiftly, and before long, the sun began to set.
Ryo, deep in training, suddenly sensed movement from the mountain. The civilians were returning.
He opened his eyes and called out to Tsunade, who had been studying Pokémon knowledge with Cynthia.
Together, the two of them walked back to the store and stepped outside the Pokémon House.
While the backyard was spacious, trying to fit two hundred people back there wasn't exactly practical. Ryo decided it was better to gather them out front.
Whether Tsunade had set a specific time limit or not was unclear, but from the time the first person returned to the last, it took about half an hour before all two hundred were back.
Tsunade scanned the crowd with sharp eyes, letting out a silent sigh of relief.
It was clear from the excited eyes and joyful expressions of over half the people—tight grips on their Poké Balls, huge smiles on their faces—that more than a hundred had successfully formed bonds with a Pokémon.
As for the others? Their shoulders slumped, faces clouded with disappointment. Some sighed, others looked like they were regretting their choices.
Tsunade could only silently acknowledge the outcome. There was nothing more she could do for them now.
>>>>><<<<<>>>>><<<<<
follow my patreon.com/Yueru1 for 35+ advanced chapters