Sensing something strange about Ryujiro, Caitlin decisively used her facility master authority to pull up the Battle Tower's video recordings for today.
Before long, the well-built man from the data appeared on Caitlin's communication screen.
In twenty battles, he had mostly been using a Victreebel.
Caitlin could tell that the training marks on that Victreebel weren't particularly strong, but its level was excellent.
When facing the first twenty challenger Trainers, he'd basically been relying on brute force to win.
'With just that Victreebel, he beat Palmer?'
She didn't believe it.
Caitlin quickly skimmed through the irrelevant footage, skipping forward.
Soon, her hand trembled slightly, and she immediately slowed the playback to 0.5x speed.
In the video, Ryujiro was in his nineteenth battle, the one just before facing Palmer.
This time, his opponent was a Trainer with an Arcanine.
Against that Arcanine, Victreebel had no level advantage, and its type was even at a disadvantage.
Just then, Ryujiro sent out his Weezing.
At first, Caitlin had planned to keep fast-forwarding, but she soon realized something was off.
That Poison-type Weezing didn't use any Poison-type moves to restrict Arcanine. Instead, it hurled a Shadow Ball.
More importantly, the Shadow Ball was enormous, even taller than the Arcanine itself.
"So the strongest power isn't Grass-type… but Ghost-type?"
After seeing Arcanine fall, Caitlin kept dragging the video ahead until she reached the battle with Palmer.
After watching a few moments, Caitlin couldn't help sitting up straight. She immediately sent the video to Axel and Cynthia.
[Look at this.]
———
When Caitlin sent the video, Axel had just finished his work and was about to enter the Dream World.
Hearing the surprise in her voice, Axel replied with a quick "Alright," then resisted his drowsiness and opened the video.
"Holy!", The moment he opened it, Axel's eyes widened, blurting out a curse without thinking.
'Isn't that James?'
He'd been searching all over Sinnoh for James without finding a clue, turns out the guy had gone to the Battle Frontier?
'But what the hell is he doing at the Battle Tower, asking for a beating?'
Still confused, Axel continued watching.
By the time he reached the last battle, he fell completely silent.
He clearly saw that when James's Victreebel was about to lose to a Flamethrower, its body seemed to turn transparent, vanishing into the air.
When it reappeared, the Flamethrower had hit nothing but empty space.
Then James quickly switched Pokémon, and his Weezing used Ghost-type energy to defeat the opponent.
"Ghost powers… and the ability to slip into another dimension," Axel turned toward Cynthia beside him, who was already looking back at him.
"Let's go, no more sleep."
If their guess was right, James must have undergone some kind of transformation under Giratina's influence.
If they didn't hurry, Caitlin and the others might be in danger.
———
[Reverse World]
James removed his hood, looking nervously at Giratina.
"M-My lord… where did you send Jessie and Meowth?"
"They're… kind of weak. Without your protection, they won't last long in this place."
["Weak?"], Giratina's voice rolled through the Reverse World like thunder, echoing endlessly and flooding into James's mind.
["Weak? You're the weakest of the three. If you weren't, I wouldn't have to waste effort following you."]
["Tell me, why didn't you let Malamar control that Battle Tower master today?"]
["You used my power. You increased the risk of exposure. Yet you accomplished nothing!"]
James's eye twitched. He really wanted to curse.
'How can I let such a cute Malamar do something as cruel as controlling a human?'
"Lord Giratina, please, hear me out…", James forced down the urge to swear and smiled weakly.
"I just felt the timing Isn't right yet. I heard that Battle Tower master is about to capture Heatran."
"Wouldn't it be better to wait until then and capture him too? That way, you'd gain another mighty subordinate, my lord."
James used every ounce of charm and cunning he'd ever learned, every trick he'd used to placate Matori, all to try and stall Giratina for more time.
He had already left deliberate clues today, letting Weezing display that inexplicable Ghost-type power in front of everyone.
'If Axel sees it, he should come looking, right?'
Giratina floated within the chaotic distortions of the Reverse World. Sensing some logic in James's words, it nodded slightly.
["Very well. I'll forgive you this time."]
["But!"], Giratina's roar suddenly boomed louder, ["Forgiving you once doesn't mean I'll forgive you twice."]
["Tomorrow morning, you'll go to the Battle Castle. I sense an unusual Psychic energy there."]
["If you nudge things just right, the entire Battle Frontier will descend into chaos."]
["Once I pull them all back into the Reverse World, I'll release your two companions!"]
James sighed helplessly, a headache pounding behind his eyes.
'Axel, you little brat… please, understand what I'm doing!'
'If you don't come soon, this world is going to fall apart!'
———
The next morning, James, hood pulled low, passed the Battle Factory and Battle Stage, heading straight for the Battle Castle.
Behind him trailed a dense crowd of spectators.
After yesterday's Battle Tower fight, the name "Ryujiro" had spread across the entire Battle Frontier. [T/N: James's name is Kojiro in Japanese so he is using Ryujiro as his alias in Battle Tower.]
Defeating twenty challengers in a single day, without any rest, and then beating the Battle Tower master, Palmer.
Even more shocking: he'd only used two Pokémon the whole time.
Everyone wanted to see it for themselves, just how terrifying would Ryujiro be if he used all three Pokémon?
Hearing the thunderous cheers around him, James let out a weary sigh.
He did want to reach the top of his life, but not like this.
If he really followed Giratina's orders, these Trainers and Pokémon would probably all be dragged into the Reverse World.
Just the thought of that lonely, terrifying dimension made his scalp tingle.
But if he didn't obey, Jessie and Meowth would be in danger.
While James wrestled with his thoughts, Caitlin suddenly stepped out from the entrance of the Battle Castle.
Beside her stood a blue Pokémon James knew all too well.
"So, you're the challenger?", Caitlin's calm eyes met his.
"Just in time. A friend sent me a new Pokémon last night."
"Su~soine!", Wobuffet gave a confident laugh, subtly signaling toward James.
James's eyes lit up, "Ryujiro requests a battle with the Battle Castle's master!"
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