"Hello, I'm Lance, but you call me Big Bro Lance!"

  His striking red hair immediately caught attention. At around fourteen or fifteen years old, he appeared even more eic than Sato.

  If he wasn't mistaken, the person in front of him was her thaure Flying-type (Dragon-type) Elite Four member, Dragon Master Lance!

  A bit full of himself!

  That was Sato's first impression. If he had met him in his previous life, he probably would have been reinated even earlier.

  Now, he no longer felt as uneasy as before, when even Officer Jenny's presence would make him unfortable.

  "Bro... Lance?"

  "Hey! From now on, I've got your back. If anyone bullies you, just tell me, The Big Bro! I'll make sure they regret it!" Laedly patted Sato on the shoulder, speaking with high spirits.

  Strong sense of loyalty, likes stirring things up!

  That was Sato's sed impression of Lance. He could hardly ect this lively fool with the future Dragon Master who would captivate thousands of fans.

  "Sato, don't judge him too quickly. Lance is actually a very reliable partner," Nurse Joy said with a gentle smile, notig Sato's dazed look.

  "Hmm..."

  Reliable? He was going to be the future Dragon-type Elite Four, and even a Champion! Ohe initial shock faded, what remained was joy.

  After saying goodbye to Nurse Joy, Lance led Satht to their team's secret base.

  Calling it a "secret base" was a bit of an exaggeration—it was actually a private vil on the far eastern side of Silver Town.

  Apparently, it beloo a wealthy teammate whose family left it vat, so they were using it for now.

  Upoering, while it wasn't excessively luxurious, the decor was quite refined.

  In the main hall, two young men and two young women were gathered, surrounded by their Pokémon as they appeared to be preparing lunch.

  "Wow, a little cutie!"

  Sato's steps faltered, and he was left speechless as he looked at the girl who had just spoken.

  "e on, everyone, let me introduce our new member, Sato!" Lance cpped his hands, gathering the group to introduce him.

  "This is Rose Joy, our team's medic," he said, pointing at a girl with pink hair who looked quiet and posed, also around fourteen or fifteen years old.

  "I know you! Many of my sisters have mentioned you before. I'm Rose, o meet you!"

  "Rose-sis," Sato greeted politely. Having so many older sisters in his life, he was getting used to it.

  "This is Will, the team's intelligence officer. He handles all our mission acquisitions, a pns, and intel gathering. His battle skills are pretty det too, just slightly below mine!"

  Lance poi another person—a young man in a white shirt, suspenders, and bck-rimmed gsses. He gave Sato aionless once-over.

  "I'm Will. I'll run a test ter to see what role suits you best."

  Straight to the point, he pletely ignored Laeasing. Though not yet an adult, he carried himself like one.

  "Don't scare him ht away. I'm White, a Pokémon Breeder responsible fistics. I enjoy researg Pokémon food—I'll prepare some special meals for your Pokémon ter."

  White slung an arm around Will's shoulders, grinning.

  Finally, someoh an average appearance. White was the type of person who would blend into a crowd, exuding warmth and simplicity.

  "o meet you," Sato greeted White with a smile, feeling the most fortable around him.

  "Let me know if you need anything. The vil is a bit small, so make do for now. Ay room is yours to use," White said kindly.

  Sato smiled but suddenly had nothing more to say.

  "My turn, my turn! I'm Cir, Lance's cousin. Just call me Big Sis Cir!"

  The st member introduced was a lively girl with blue hair, who excitedly addressed Sato as a "little cutie."

  Pure-hearted? Sato g her a even less ined to speak.

  "Hey, why won't you call me that…?"

  "Alright, alright. You're the same age as Sato. Stop ag like an older sister and go py somewhere," Lance flicked Cir's forehead, looking exasperated.

  Sato observed the five people before him—oure Champion, oure Elite Four, the stro Gym Leader in Johto, plus a Joy and a wealthy Pokémon Breeder.

  This lineup was a bit overpowered.

  After the introdus, everyone tinued chatting while feeding their Pokémon. Sato and Will spoke the least, but sio was new, he was frequently bombarded with questions.

  Meanwhile, Cir was still sulking over Sato's refusal to call her "Big Sis Cir."

  Sato sighed inwardly. Think it through, girl. Your name alone makes it impossible for you to be called 'sis.'

  At one point, Will took some time to "interrogate" Sato, and after sidering both individual preferences and the team's needs, Sato was temporarily assighe role of support.

  In other words, he would help with everything but wouldn't be responsible for any main duties—exactly like Cir's role.

  Lance handled battles, while medical support, intelligence, and logistics were all covered. Sato and Cir just had to cheer from the sidelines.

  Despite their friendliness, Sato was still just a kid with no adventurer rank and only one Gym Badge—a gifted o that. The fact that they weren't mog or rejeg him was already a blessing.

  Sato wasn't worried.

  Even though his role was the same as Cir's, ohey ehe wild, he'd have ces to prove himself. Being support meant he could be involved ihing—wasn't that a sign of versatility?

  ht—he finally learheir team's he Braves Fights the Evil Dragon Adveeam!

  No wonder!

  No wonder no one had mentiohe il now.

  "Well, you see, the Adventurer's Guild has a rule—oeam is registered, its name 't be ged uhe team disbands and reapplies. However, disbanded members have a two-year cooldown before they take on new missions,"

  Lance expined awkwardly.

  What kind of ridiculous rule is that?

  Sato nodded in resignation. There was no point in pining—the team name was already registered on his adventurer ID. N baow.....That evening, White showed off his ary skills, preparing a feast to wele Sato. It was hard to believe that a wealthy heir aspired to be a Pokémon Breeder, yet he was excelling at it.

  Smells amazing!

  Sato gulped dow spoonful of creamy mushroom soup and g his tented Pupitar. If it was satisfied, the other Pokémon must be too.

  "Tomorrow, we finish our final preparations. The day after, we head for Mount Silver!"

  "Oh!"

  "The Braves Fights the Evil Dragon Team, let's go!"

  "…"

  The day, Rose Joy carefully examihe team's health and prepared special antidotes fengar and Ariados.

  Due to the tight schedule, Sato didn't get to choose the mission and had to follow along with the pre-pnned objective. Will also took some time to brief him on the relevant intel.

  Not wanting to be outdone, White spent the entire day i, refining the Pokémon's meal pns at an impressive pace.

  As for Lance, he went straight for a double battle against Sato.

  After showg his skills in front of everyone, Sato could tell that their smiles had beuch menuine.