In the VIP box, Clair watched the field with a complicated expression. "They're at a disadvantage now," she muttered.
"Not really." Luke chuckled. "Togekiss did exactly its job as a zone control piece."
Clair frowned and went quiet. Lance had technically taken the first match, but the two Pokémon involved served completely different roles. Just as Luke had called it, Lance's whole strategy revolved around Red Gyarados and its Dragon Dance sweep. With Gyarados currently asleep that plan had hit a real snag.
Clair glanced up and studied Luke more carefully. He seemed to understand every nuance of the match, including both Trainers' underlying strategy, in real time.
"Who exactly are you?" she asked, frowning.
"Just a random relative passing through."
Luke absently rubbed Eevee's head, completely missing the excitement building in her eyes. "Compared to all this, honestly, Lance's position doesn't look great."
Luke fought hard to keep his own smile in check. We're both technically here as family and friends, right? So whoever's side wins gets bragging rights. We basically made that bet before the match even started.Look at your cousin over there. He's practically tearing up over you already.
Lance recalled the sleeping Red Gyarados and sent out Aerodactyl next.
Luke couldn't help but complain under his breath. Two picks in a row from a Dragon Elite and neither one's actually Dragon-type? Come on.
Aerodactyl brought blistering speed but only average staying power, more of a fast strike piece than a genuine anchor. Cynthia answered with Spiritomb, and after a few exchanges finished it off with a Comet Punch combo from Lucario.
______________________________
The two teams kept cycling through Pokémon, trading wins and losses back and forth, the whole arena thick with tension. As the match wore on Clair, Gym Leader out of Blackthorn City, grew visibly more rattled with every exchange.
Whether it was her earlier explanation that had provoked him or not Luke kept up a steady stream of commentary right in her ear the entire time.
"Watch, this Salamence's going down fast, guaranteed."
"Whoa, Glaceon just landed a hit on something four times weak to Ice."
"Uh oh, Gastrodon can't take Dragonite down. This is going the full distance."
Clair didn't want to keep listening. The problem was every single prediction landed exactly right. Even she had to grudgingly admit his read on the match outpaced her own by a clear margin.
Frustrated, she finally gritted her teeth and cut him off. "Stop talking. I already know where I went wrong."
"Where'd you go wrong?" Luke asked, genuinely confused.
"I shouldn't have offered unsolicited commentary in the first place," Clair sighed. I was an idiot. Anyone Cynthia personally invites can't possibly be some casual observer. Given his read on this match he has to be at least Master-tier.
What Clair didn't know was that Teacher Luke's real specialty was trash talk, honestly. If he'd been the one actually running Cynthia's team against Lance he probably would've dominated the whole match outright.
Luke coughed lightly, expression a little strange. "One match left."
Garchomp versus Dragonite.
The moment Garchomp appeared Luke felt a genuine shift in Cynthia's presence. This was confidence built from countless real battles. Genuine love for a Pokémon returned in kind, a bond forged through trust. In this exact matchup neither Lance nor his Dragonite could compete with what Cynthia and Garchomp shared. In a straight one-on-one Cynthia trusted her Garchomp completely and believed it simply couldn't lose.
"CRACK—!!"
Garchomp spread its crimson scythes wide, eyes bloodshot, and shot forward like a cannon round. Dragonite's expression turned serious as it beat its wings and swung an ice-coated Ice Punch toward the incoming Garchomp. The biting wind left a thin layer of frost across Garchomp's spines.
But Garchomp had already used Swords Dance mid-dive, spinning through the air and gaining speed instead of losing it.
Sizzle!
Dragon Rush connected first. Garchomp slipped past the Ice Punch with a sharp sidestep and headbutted Dragonite clean out of the sky.
BOOM!!
The commentator's voice cracked with disbelief. "A — a finishing blow! Dragonite is unable to battle!"
The stunned silence broke into a roar of cheers.
"VICTORY GOES TO SINNOH'S CYNTHIA!!"
______________________________
Luke finally let out a long breath and relaxed. He glanced at Clair, visibly deflated beside him, and grinned. Why does watching someone else lose feel this satisfying?
He cleared his throat and patted Haunter and Eevee cheerfully. "How are you two feeling?"
"Bit brutal to watch, right? Don't worry, I can still afford to keep supporting both of you—"
Before he finished Eevee had already jumped onto his lap and clamped her teeth firmly onto his sleeve.
"Vee! (〃＞皿＜)"
Haunter watched with obvious longing too, already picturing itself winning a championship for Luke someday, grinning goofily at the thought.
"Kojie (′▽`〃)"
Then its eyes lit up. Right — this is why our host brought us here today. Motivation. He's telling us to keep training and one day we'll get our shot at exactly this.
"Kojie!" — back to training, harder than ever!
"Eevee seems to be in a real hurry to get back to training," Clair said, smiling. "Hardworking little thing."
Luke's expression shifted. Wait, that's absolutely not why I brought you two here. But watching Eevee's urgency Clair's guess didn't seem far off the mark at all.
Luke let out a long sigh, then paused. "Hm?" He glanced at Haunter beside him.
"Kojie! ()" Haunter patted his shoulder solemnly and nodded.
Luke felt genuinely moved. "You really get me, Haunter."
"Kojie! o(≧▽≦)ツ"*
______________________________
The Cynthia-Lance match had wrapped after nearly an hour. There was no need to leave right away, though — several exhibition matches from veteran Trainers were still on the schedule. Luke had promised Cynthia he'd wait for her, so he settled back into the sofa and worked through the complimentary fruit platter.
Free food is always the best food. No argument there.
"Hm?" Luke glanced over at Clair's box. "You're still here too?"
"Waiting on someone."
"Who?"
"Who do you think," Clair said, mildly irritated.
Right. Her cousin. Lance.
Luke nodded along, then his expression froze. Wait. This morning — Red called about something. What was that again?
He slapped his own forehead, cold sweat breaking out.
Right. I remember now. Lance wants a friendly match with me.
Standard seating I could've disappeared into the crowd from. VIP seats, though?This is basically just waiting for him to come find us directly.
The familiar click of heels sounded nearby. Cynthia was probably close now. There was no more room to slip away, and he still needed to escort her home afterward anyway.
Luke turned to Haunter with a deeply serious look. "Buddy. I need you to carry this one for me."
"Kojie?! Σ(っ°Д°;)っ"
No other option here, Luke reasoned to himself. Let Haunter go put on a show. It's a friendly match, Lance won't go all out. Even if we lose Haunter walks away with a solid pile of experience.
Then something occurred to him and he sighed deeply. "This is all a setup. A complete setup."
"And now Haunter's level's about to spike too, which means the Pokéblock bill's landing right back on me."
A pleasant scent drifted in just then. Cynthia stepped into the private room, settled gracefully beside Luke, and rested her chin on one hand. "We won."
"I know."
"I also mentioned you to Lance."
"...Hm?"
Next door the red-cloaked Lance gave Clair a nod. Then he turned, pulled out his phone, compared it against a photo, and smiled at Luke.
"Teacher Luke, I take it?"
Lance lifted his cloak, revealing the red and blue of his full Champion attire, and extended a hand.
"Red asked me to challenge you to a friendly match on his behalf."