"Really?" Reiji's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected Blaine to hand him a free teacher like that.
Since Hanhan had evolved, this was the perfect time to pick up a few key moves.
First was Megahorn—a Bug-type physical move with serious power. It was worth learning.
Then Flamethrower and Fire Blast. Blaine was a Fire-type specialist, and those were exactly the kind of moves his Rhydon should have in its toolkit.
Giga Impact was another one—pure Normal-type brute force. For heavy Pokémon, it was the kind of finisher you built around.
And if there was time left, he could also learn Swords Dance and Iron Defense from Blaine's Rhydon. After that, Rock Tomb would be nice to have too.
Six moves in total. Reiji wanted Hanhan to at least get a working grasp on them within a week. Chances like this didn't come twice.
The two Fire moves should be the easiest, since Hanhan already had some foundation. Giga Impact came next. Megahorn, Swords Dance, and Iron Defense would be harder, so he'd start with the simple ones first.
After lunch, Reiji went to find Blaine's Rhydon.
The moment he met it, he realised Blaine had left out one detail: this Rhydon was incredibly hard to deal with. If you didn't offer it something it liked, it couldn't be bothered to move.
Reiji had no choice. He pulled out a Heat Rock and offered it as a "gift." The Rhydon's body carried an obvious heat to it, so Reiji guessed it would like a stone like this.
Rhydon's eyes locked onto the Heat Rock. It reached out with its unbandaged hand, snatched it, tossed it into its mouth, and crunched it down like candy.
Then it stood up and clapped Reiji on the shoulder.
The force made Reiji wince.
"It says it likes you," Darkrai translated, sounding tired already. "And it likes that little tadpole too. It'll teach your Rhydon—no problem."
Reiji took out a laptop and opened a folder of videos. "These are the moves I want my Rhydon to learn. Take a look."
Yes, a laptop. This world had them—Muramasa once used one while analysing Ash's Heracross. Reiji's was old and battered, something he'd picked up as contraband during a deal and never bothered selling.
Blaine's Rhydon watched the clips carefully, then nodded with surprising seriousness. It patted Reiji's shoulder again, and this time started walking off to begin training.
"It says you can relax," Darkrai translated. "Since you paid with a Heat Rock, it'll handle it properly."
Reiji watched it go, then shut the laptop and tucked it away. So the secret was simple: it worked hard only after you paid the "fee."
He turned and gave Hanhan a light kick. "Go and learn properly. If you can't beat your dad later, don't blame me when you get your butt smacked again."
Hanhan didn't move.
It just stared at Reiji, licked its lips, and looked pointedly at the bag.
"It says it wants one too," Darkrai translated, even more resigned than before.
Reiji sighed and tossed Hanhan a Heat Rock.
Hanhan caught it in its mouth and trotted off happily, not caring about the missing tooth anymore. It still whistled a bit when it tried to talk, though, and Reiji had no idea how long it would take to grow back.
"Train well," Reiji called after it.
Then he headed back to Blaine's private training room and put the rest of the team through their drills. His life on the luxury cruise quickly settled into the same routine: training, eating, training, sleeping.
…
Back on Cinnabar Island, Cinnabar Gym also received a group of challengers.
With Blaine away, only the maids were there to greet them. Blaine's Gym was hard to find, but determined trainers could still track it down.
"When is Gym Leader Blaine coming back?" one trainer asked. "We came all this way by ship."
"I'm sorry," the maid replied politely. "Gym Leader Blaine didn't tell us when he would return."
"What? Then how are we supposed to challenge the Gym?"
"Cinnabar is a famous holiday resort," the maid said smoothly. "It's well known for its hot springs. You're welcome to enjoy the town while you wait for Gym Leader Blaine."
"Forget it," someone muttered. "Let's go challenge other Gyms. The closest one is Viridian Gym."
"Yeah, let's at least enjoy the town for a few days," another agreed. "If he still isn't back, we'll move on."
As the trainers left, the Gym's hidden lodge finally went quiet again. It returned to being what it really was: a place to stay, not a place that accepted battles without Blaine present.
If Reiji had been there, he would've recognised two of the teenage trainers in that crowd—old acquaintances.
"Travis," Gulzar asked, "if the Gym Leader isn't here, are we heading to Viridian City next, or Fuchsia City?"
Gulzar mostly trained Grass-types, so challenging Cinnabar would've been a bad matchup for him—though he did have a Gyarados.
"I don't know," Travis said, carefree as ever. "Since we're already here, let's soak in the hot springs first and decide later."
"Travis," the young bodyguard said quickly, "you shouldn't go to Viridian City. I recommend skipping Viridian Gym."
"Why?" Travis asked, turning to him.
The bodyguard leaned in and whispered in his ear, keeping his voice low. He explained whose territory Viridian City really was. Team Rocket showed up around Viridian City and Viridian Forest more than anywhere else.
Travis's face went stiff. "Then forget Viridian. We're going to Fuchsia City."
"Travis?" Gulzar frowned. He had no idea what the bodyguard had just said, only that Travis had decided instantly.
"I'll tell you in the hot springs," Travis said, scanning the crowd. "Just don't go to Viridian City."
The two of them headed into town, planning to talk it out while they soaked.
They didn't know they'd missed Reiji by half a day. They had arrived on Cinnabar Island that morning—Reiji had left that same morning.
And another teenage trainer Reiji also knew—someone aiming for the Indigo Plateau Conference as well—was still on his way. He was currently on a passenger ferry from Hamlin Island to Cinnabar, arriving a little later than Gulzar and Travis.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/BellAshelia]
[Thanks for your support!]