"Pidgeot, show them everything you've got. Tailwind, Agility, Sky Attack!"
"Geot!"
Pidgeot called back from the air. It knew exactly what Reiji wanted. Tailwind kicked up behind it, then Agility sharpened its movement even further. In a blink, it had pushed its speed to the limit.
A red streak shot across the sky, heading straight for Sou's Pelipper before Sou had even managed to give an order.
"What are you staring for?" the referee snapped, losing his calm for once. Sou was still looking up at Pidgeot like his brain had stopped working. "Tell it to dodge!"
"Oh, right! Thanks!" Sou jolted awake. "Pelipper, dodge! We'll use Sky Attack too!"
Pelipper threw him a disgusted look.
Sou might not have said anything, but Pelipper had already moved. Pidgeot's charge had too much pressure behind it. Letting it finish building momentum would be stupid.
Pelipper slipped aside, then turned into a blue streak of its own. The two Flying-types slammed together in midair, broke apart, and circled back for another pass.
There was not much left for Reiji to command.
He wanted this decided in one exchange if possible. Pidgeot was lower-level and had no type advantage here. The only way to win was to seize the tempo early and trust Pidgeot to carry it through.
The two Pokémon collided again.
The blast of force bent the grass across the field. Pidgeot and Pelipper split apart, accelerated, and went straight back into the aerial clash.
No tricks. No fancy technique.
Just flying skill and raw strength.
Then Sou changed the rhythm.
After one collision, as the two Pokémon separated, he shouted, "Air Slash!"
"Ignore it. Steel Wing and keep going!"
Pidgeot kept the fire of Sky Attack wrapped around its body. White light flashed over both wings, and it spun through the air like a burning drill. The incoming wind blades scattered off its wings, unable to stop its charge.
"Peee!"
Pelipper saw Air Slash fail and shot another annoyed look at Sou before turning to flee.
But it had only just started building speed again. Pidgeot was already at full acceleration.
Pidgeot tore past it.
Pelipper lost control and began falling toward the field.
Pidgeot pressed the advantage. Before Pelipper could hit the ground, Pidgeot swept through again with another Sky Attack.
When Pidgeot came around for the third pass, Pelipper stopped waiting for Sou's commands. It forced itself back into the air, turned into a blue streak, and met Pidgeot head-on.
Sou still lacks aerial battle experience.
Two Sky Attacks, each packing 150 power, were a lot for even a strong Pelipper to take. Now, after several more midair clashes, Pelipper was clearly fading. It had started fierce, but its movements were losing bite, and Pidgeot was finally pushing it back.
The final collision shook the field.
"Pelipper and Pidgeot have clashed again! Who won? Who's still in the air?"
Dust and torn grass rose across the battlefield, hiding both Pokémon from view. Then a white body dropped out of the haze.
Pelipper.
A moment later, the smoke rolled apart, and Pidgeot flew through it. It crossed the field and landed on the railing of Reiji's Trainer platform.
"Pelipper is unable to battle! Sou, please recall Pelipper and send out your next Pokémon!"
"Geot! Pidgeot!"
Pidgeot raised its head and cried out, bright and proud.
It had beaten Pelipper.
It had proved itself.
More than that, it had finally stood on the tournament stage with the others. This time, when the team took a group photo, it would belong in the picture too.
Then its eyes drifted shut.
Reiji saw its body sway and caught it before it could fall. He held it carefully, then lowered it onto the platform.
The referee blew his whistle at once and lifted a hand to stop Sou from sending out his next Pokémon. Pidgeot's condition had to be checked first.
"Good work, Pidgeot," Reiji said softly. "You did great. Rest now."
He recalled it into its Poké Ball.
Pidgeot had beaten a higher-level Pelipper and left the field with its head held high.
That was his Pidgeot.
Sometimes the weaker side could win. It was never impossible. Just hard.
Sometimes the gap came from experience. Sometimes from willpower. Sometimes from poor coordination, or from a Trainer and Pokémon not trusting each other enough.
There were countless reasons.
At lower levels, mistakes were easier to fix. A bad call might not end the match. But in a serious tournament, opponents practiced combinations for exactly that reason. If you could not break the sequence and could not survive the full chain, you were done.
Gulzar's match against Danny had been the perfect example. That was not even a fair comparison. One side was playing at a completely different level.
As for Reiji?
Well.
Those who understood, understood.
It was not that he could not do the same. He simply had no reason to.
Sou had problems too. Plenty of them.
Inexperience, for one. Lack of trust, for another. Sou did not really understand how strong his own Pokémon were, so he kept giving bad commands. Pelipper ignoring him near the end was not surprising.
Against Sou, Reiji did not need to crush him. If he sent out Poliwrath or Rhydon, he could create the same kind of one-sided pressure Danny had shown earlier.
But there was no point.
Sou was going to have enough trouble after this as it was.
Pelipper was his first partner. Making mistakes like that on a tournament stage would definitely anger it. Whether Sou could calm it down later was his problem.
Now came the second battle.
Since Reiji had recalled Pidgeot and it was clearly unable to continue, the referee gave him a nod. Both sides would send out their next Pokémon at the same time.
That wiped away the advantage Reiji had just earned, which was not exactly fair, but rules were rules. The League had already accounted for situations like this.
As compensation, Reiji would get the first move.
"Go, Tentacruel!"
"Go, Ludicolo!"
"Tentacruel against Ludicolo! Looking at the type matchup, this is not a friendly battle for Ludicolo. Will Sou switch?"
Reiji coughed into his hand.
He really had not predicted Sou this time.
He only wanted everyone to get a little screen time. Tentacruel or Whiscash would both have been fine. He had just thrown one out.
"Rai is amazing," Sou thought, startled. "He even knew I'd use Ludicolo."
For the first time, he understood what A.J. had meant when he talked about Reiji's run at the Indigo Plateau Conference.
That prediction rate had carried Reiji through the tournament and all the way to the championship. Sou still had so much to learn. Fighting someone like this was stressful.
But exciting too.
Why is this idiot smiling now?
Reiji stared at Sou in confusion.
The referee had already called the start. Reiji had already given the attack order. Sou was still standing there with that stupid happy look on his face.
"Cruel, cruel!"
Tentacruel fired Sludge Bombs one after another, pelting the field toward Ludicolo.
Ludicolo had already started dodging by itself, while Sou stood on the Trainer platform grinning like an idiot.
Even the commentator could not take it anymore.
"Ahem. Sou may have thought of something happy, but this is still a tournament match. Please save it for after the battle. Sou? Sou, can you hear me?"
The two Pokémon were already fighting, and Sou was still smiling.
Nobody knew what was so funny. Whatever it was, this was not the time.
"Ludi! Ludi!"
Ludicolo finally shouted at him.
That snapped Sou awake.
"Ludicolo, dodge!"
"Ludi."
Ludicolo looked deeply tired.
If it had waited until now to dodge, it would already be gone.
"Tentacruel, grab it. Toxic."
Ludicolo heard Reiji's command and finally realized something was wrong.
Tentacles had already closed in around it.
It had let itself get surrounded without noticing.
The rest was simple.
Under Sou's frantic commands, Ludicolo did break free from Tentacruel's grip. But Tentacruel's tentacles were poisonous, and by the time Ludicolo escaped, its body was blotched purple.
It was poisoned.
Once poison set in, Ludicolo had no real path back.
The two Pokémon were around the same level, neither of them quite quasi–Elite Four tier. Ludicolo also had almost nothing that could threaten Tentacruel properly—Mud Shot was about it.
Once poison set in, Ludicolo had no clean way back. Tentacruel had too many Poison-type options, and it had not even needed to set Toxic Spikes.
Ludicolo eventually collapsed, poisoned and exhausted.
Sou recalled it and sent out his third Pokémon.
This time, Sou kept his head in the fight. He sent out his last Pokémon and called the first move before Reiji could take control again.
"Kingler, Stomping Tantrum!"
"Sou is down to his final Pokémon. His chances of turning this around are slim, but even if he loses here, there's no reason to be discouraged. Pummelo Island will hold more competitions tomorrow. We hope Sou prepares carefully and comes back stronger."
The commentator worded it gently.
For another Trainer, he might have talked about a comeback.
For Sou, everyone had just watched him sabotage himself. "Prepare carefully" was already polite. Saying "take the match seriously" would only invite the crowd to laugh and hurt the boy's pride.
"Tentacruel."
Reiji looked at Tentacruel but gave no command.
The ground shook under Stomping Tantrum. Tentacruel swayed wildly, its tentacles flailing as it fought to stay upright.
Reiji still said nothing.
Then Sou shouted, "Kingler, rush in! Crabhammer!"
"King! King!"
Kingler charged.
Only then did Reiji speak.
"Tentacruel, bind it with your tentacles. Giga Drain."
"Kingler, shake it off!"
Tentacles wrapped around Kingler before it could land the hit. Energy began draining out of its body.
Kingler rolled across the grass, fighting to tear free, but Tentacruel would not let go. Sou leaned over the platform, panic written all over his face.
"Kingler, Dig! Shake it off in the tunnel!"
"Tentacruel, grab the claws and drain faster!"
Now Reiji was the one getting tense.
If Kingler dug a tunnel just wide enough for itself, Tentacruel would be scraped off at the entrance.
"Kingler, ignore the claws! Keep digging!"
"King!"
Kingler's huge claw and smaller claw were bound shut, but they could still move. It raised both and tore into the dirt, digging furiously.
Then it disappeared underground.
Tentacruel vanished with it.
The ground rumbled.
There was only vibration now. No one could see what was happening below, and neither Trainer had enough information to give a useful order.
If Sou shouted blindly, Kingler would only hate him for it.
Reiji had no such problem. His bond with his Pokémon was strong enough, and he was not going to give random commands without knowing the situation. When he did not have a sure call, he let his Pokémon judge for itself.
Half a minute passed.
The ground went quiet.
Then it shook again, closer this time.
A blue head broke through the dirt first.
Black tentacles dragged a crab behind it.
Then both Pokémon collapsed.
"Kingler and Tentacruel are both unable to battle! Reiji still has one Pokémon remaining, so the winner is Reiji!"
The referee raised the green flag.
That settled it.
Reiji had advanced to the next round.
"Reiji! Reiji! Reiji!"
"Come back, Tentacruel."
Reiji recalled Tentacruel after seeing the state it was in. It was covered in wounds and clearly would not be battling again today.
Pidgeot needed the Pokémon Center too. Both of them had to be checked.
He waved to the cheering crowd, then left the Trainer platform. Cissy was waiting in the Trainers' tunnel, and he smiled at her.
Her match was next.
"Rai, you won again," Cissy said. "I hope you keep winning."
Cissy looked ready to throw herself at him again, but the noise from the stands reminded her just in time that half the stadium was watching. She settled for smiling at him instead.
Reiji laughed softly. "Don't look at me like that. I'm not invincible."
He raised a hand and lightly tapped her nose.
If her family already knew about them, he would have kissed her right there, picked her up, and spun her around.
Unfortunately, no.
Not yet.
He sighed. "Your turn. Go."
"Mm. Wait for me."
Cissy nodded, smiled sweetly, and walked around him. The broadcast called her name, and she stepped onto the Trainer platform.
Her battle took a little over half an hour.
When the referee announced the result, Cissy could barely wait to leave the platform. She came back to Reiji smiling.
"Rai, wait."
He had already turned to leave, but Cissy caught up and slipped her hand into his.
The Trainers' tunnel was empty. The lights were dim, just bright enough to see the way out.
Holding hands here should be fine.
Probably.
At the Pokémon Center, Reiji handed Pidgeot and Tentacruel over to Nurse Joy. Cissy left her Pokémon there too, then went upstairs to the hospital room.
Reiji stayed behind for the results.
They were not great.
Pidgeot's wings were injured. Nurse Joy said it would need about half a month before it could fly at full strength again.
Tentacruel was still unconscious. Kingler had cut off several of its tentacles, and while they would grow back, it was done fighting for now.
That made Pidgeot the second Pokémon he had lost for the tournament, and Tentacruel the third.
The deeper he went, the worse this would get.
At least he had reserves. The real problem was high-end power. Right now, Electivire was the only Pokémon he had that truly counted at Elite Four tier.
Reiji let out a quiet sigh.
While Reiji and Sou were fighting, a small fishing village on Mikan Island had been gathered around a television.
Sou's parents had been sitting at home all day, waiting for their son to appear on-screen.
A bunch of village kids had been watching through the window too. As soon as the match ended, Sou's parents caught them peeking. The kids saw them reach for sticks and ran like a flock of startled birds.
"Did you see that?" Sou's mother said, still excited. "Our boy was on TV!"
"I saw it, I saw it," Sou's father said. "You've been saying that since the tournament started. Now he's lost, so there's nothing left to watch."
"What do you know? He lost to his boss. Sou works for that man, makes good money, built us this big house, and still wants to bring us to the city. He's learning real skills out there. You wanted him to beat his own boss?"
Sou's father thought about that and nodded. "True enough. That boss of his really is generous. Last time we caught all those Carvanha nobody wanted, and he still paid 4 million."
"When the fishing is good, the whole village has to go out to catch that much, and even then the money gets split between everyone. City people are picky too, always saying Carvanha tastes bad. Sou's boss pays properly."
"We really made out this time," Sou's mother said. "All we did was spend a little to hire extra hands for the fishing. Just make sure nobody sees too much."
"I know, I know. Sou already warned me. I won't say anything." Sou's father sighed. "Shame it was only one job. Wonder when his boss will need more work."
"Don't get greedy. This is already enough for us."
"Right, right."
"And drink less from now on. Last thing we need is you getting drunk and running your mouth outside."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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