The Fighting Dojo—
To be honest, this place looked more like a boxing gym. Fighting-type Pokémon of all kinds were practicing their punches, and even the humans were throwing fists.
"Hello. Are you here for a challenge?" Reiji had just stepped inside when a boy in a white training uniform stopped him and asked why he had come.
"Yes. Can I challenge the Dojo now?" Since the boy had asked directly, Reiji could only wait and see how this worked.
"Please come with me. Master Hamm is in the main dojo." The boy led Reiji inside, and the students practicing nearby all stopped. A challenge meant something fun to watch.
Reiji was brought into the main dojo. A short old man with a mustache was supervising a girl as she practiced her punches.
The boy leaned in and whispered a few words to the old man. Master Hamm told the girl to stop, then turned to look over the challenger. Black shirt, black pants, black hair, black eyes…
In the end, the old man came to a simple conclusion. Plain and ordinary. Probably another rookie here to challenge the Fighting Dojo.
"Rookie, Fighting Dojo challenges require Fighting-type Pokémon. Do you have one?"
"Uh? Well…" Reiji froze. He had only seen that there was a Fighting Dojo here. He hadn't checked the challenge format. If he had to use a Fighting-type Pokémon, what was he supposed to battle with?
"If you don't, go catch a Fighting-type Pokémon and come back," Master Hamm said with a wave, already ready to send him away. It was nearly dinnertime anyway, so there was no reason to keep him.
"Um, would Poliwhirl work?" Reiji had spent the whole afternoon flying here. He wasn't giving up that easily. It was worth asking, just in case he could still battle.
"Poliwhirl? Poliwrath's pre-evolution…" Master Hamm thought for a moment, then gave a small nod. "Barely acceptable."
Poliwhirl wasn't Fighting-type, but Poliwrath became Fighting-type after evolving.
"Whew. I thought the Master would refuse."
"Yeah, same. The Master doesn't seem as stubborn as before…"
"You haven't heard? The Master is choosing a successor. Young Master Kyle only wants to make ramen, and it's giving him a real headache."
"No wonder he loosened the challenge rules. If his heir ran off to make ramen, of course the Master's stressed."
"Hm?" Master Hamm caught the chatter outside the door and let out a sharp hum. His stern gaze swept across the watching students, warning them not to slack off.
The moment they met his stare, the students eavesdropping outside hurried back to their sandbags, shouting loudly as they threw themselves into practice.
"Send out your Pokémon, rookie." Master Hamm glanced at his disciple, Terri, telling her to handle the challenger.
"Yes, Master." Terri understood at once. She stepped onto the battlefield and threw out her Poké Ball, sending out her Fighting-type Pokémon, Hitmontop.
"Go, Poliwhirl." Reiji threw out Poliwhirl. Good thing Poliwhirl was allowed to battle. Otherwise, he really wouldn't have known where to find a ready-made Fighting-type Pokémon on the spot.
"Rookie, the Fighting Dojo challenge has two battles. You must defeat my disciple Terri before you can challenge me," Master Hamm explained. Then he had the referee verify Reiji's Pokédex.
Once everything was arranged and Reiji's identity checked out, Reiji nodded to show he understood the rules. Master Hamm raised a hand, signaling the referee in the middle of the field to begin.
"The first Dojo battle will be Terri of the Fighting Dojo versus the challenger, Reiji. Begin!"
"Hitmontop, Focus Energy, Rapid Spin, Triple Kick!"
Well, damn. Reiji watched Terri's Hitmontop open with a three-move combo and felt a little surprised. He had thought the girl with twin tails looked cute, but apparently she was a battle maniac.
"Poliwhirl, see the spike on Hitmontop's head? Water Gun."
"Poli!" Hitmontop fixed its full attention on Poliwhirl, dropped into a punching stance, and shouted as it completed Focus Energy. Then it flipped upside down and spun forward on its head. Poliwhirl immediately opened its mouth and fired Water Gun straight at the point Hitmontop was spinning on.
Three shots of Water Gun struck in a row, each one stronger than the last. All three aimed directly at Hitmontop's balance point. Break that, and Triple Kick would collapse before it ever launched.
"Top!" Hitmontop lost its balance and crashed to the ground.
Poliwhirl seized the opening, burst forward with Waterfall, and punched Hitmontop hard enough to send it flying.
A heavy bang rang out. Terri turned in shock and stared at Hitmontop on the wall. She hadn't expected her reliable Triple Kick setup to be broken that easily. "How?"
"Terri, your weakness is too obvious." Master Hamm was startled too. He didn't know how this rookie had spotted that balance point, and those three Water Guns had been frighteningly precise.
Once that point was broken, Hitmontop's charge was interrupted. The Rapid Spin-boosted Triple Kick never got to fire, and the opening it exposed led straight to its defeat.
Now that he looked again, this challenger wasn't a rookie at all. He was an experienced Trainer, not some beginner fresh out the door.
"Master…" Terri held the unconscious Hitmontop in her arms. It had gone down from one punch, and even she felt awkward. She hadn't expected Hitmontop to be that fragile.
"Step back. I'll battle him." Master Hamm had his disciple withdraw with her Pokémon. Then he slowly stood and threw out his own Poké Ball, sending out Hitmonchan.
This was not a challenger his disciple could handle. Terri still had a long way to go.
"Rookie, I underestimated you."
"Please teach me, Master." Reiji smiled and returned the gesture with a raised hand, signaling that Hamm could start whenever he liked.
"Hitmonchan, Agility, Thunder Punch!"
Well, so much for respecting him. Reiji hadn't expected the old man to go straight for the cheap play, opening with Thunder Punch against Poliwhirl just to lean on type advantage.
"Poliwhirl, Ice Punch. Guard yourself."
If Hamm wanted to play that game, Reiji didn't need to hold back.
"Poli!" Water burst beneath Poliwhirl's feet. It charged straight at Hitmonchan without dodging, and Ice Punch collided head-on with Thunder Punch, setting off a small ice explosion.
Poliwhirl wasn't even using full strength, but it was more than enough for this Hitmonchan.
Boom!
The blast erupted between them, throwing both Pokémon backward. After just one exchange, Master Hamm hadn't expected the battle to turn out like this.
Hitmonchan slammed into the wall and barely managed to push itself back up as it slid down. Its blackened fist and arm had clearly taken heavy damage.
"Poli!" Poliwhirl hit the wall too, but a ball of water burst around it. It landed lightly on the floor, wet from head to toe and soaking the wooden boards beneath it, but otherwise fine. It was getting better and better at handling the backlash from its own explosions.
"How is that possible? What move was that?" Master Hamm stared at the difference between the two sides and cried out. He had been practicing punches for decades, but he had never seen a technique like this.
"That's my secret." Reiji smiled helplessly. As if he could tell someone else something like that.
"Hitmonchan, can you still fight?" Master Hamm saw that Reiji only smiled and refused to answer. He looked back at Hitmonchan. If the boy wouldn't say it willingly, he could always force him to show more.
"Chan!" Hitmonchan nodded seriously to its Trainer, saying it could still battle, then returned to the field.
"Hitmonchan, Thunder Punch again!"
"Poliwhirl, Focus Punch!"
"Focus Punch? A Fighting-type counterattack move that needs time to charge. What is he planning?"
The two Pokémon on the battlefield quickly answered Master Hamm's question.
Poliwhirl focused on the rapidly approaching Hitmonchan. When Hitmonchan closed in, Poliwhirl kicked off the ground and leaped away.
No matter how Hitmonchan pursued, Poliwhirl only needed one burst of Waterfall to avoid its Thunder Punch.
When Poliwhirl dodged Thunder Punch for the second time, it didn't keep running. It used Waterfall twice in a row—once to reach Hitmonchan's side, and once to drive its fist forward.
Bang!
The fully charged Focus Punch slammed into Hitmonchan. With 150 base power behind it, the blow blasted Hitmonchan into the wall so hard it stuck there.
"Come back, Poliwhirl." Reiji saw that the battle was over and recalled Poliwhirl.
This had been Poliwhirl's first time using Focus Punch, and there was still a lot to improve.
First, the battlefield was too small, which limited Poliwhirl's charging space.
Second, the charge time was still too long. It needed more practice charging while moving.
"What? The Master lost already? In two punches?"
"The first punch caused that explosion and injured Hitmonchan. That would throw off Hitmonchan's balance and slow it down. Otherwise, it wouldn't have failed to catch up for so long before the second punch."
"But the Master still lost. What move was that? That was strong…"
"We can ask later. Maybe we can learn it too."
"Rookie, you…" Master Hamm still found it hard to believe he had lost like that. For a moment, he couldn't help asking himself where half a lifetime of training had gone.
The students whispering outside only made his thoughts more tangled, and for a moment he couldn't even sort out what had happened.
"Master, does this count as my win?" Reiji looked at the old man's twisted expression and wondered what kind of lemon he had eaten to look that sour.
"Ah… yes. You win." Since Reiji asked directly, Master Hamm couldn't stall even with skin as thick as his. If he dragged it out, the students would laugh at him. It wasn't as if he had never lost before.
"The Fighting Badge is yours, rookie. May I ask—"
"Sorry, it's getting late. I still need to find a place to stay. I'll take my leave." Reiji caught the Badge Master Hamm threw over, turned, and left the Fighting Dojo. He had no interest in staying around and inviting trouble.
Anyone who had seen Poliwhirl's burst could work out what move it had used. If Master Hamm couldn't, that only meant he wasn't good enough.
After leaving the Fighting Dojo, Reiji ignored the students chasing after him and took a taxi toward the edge of the city. As they passed the building beside the Dojo, he glanced at it once.
Right next to the Fighting Dojo stood Sabrina's Saffron Gym. Reiji only gave it a flat look before turning away. He was afraid Sabrina inside might sense his gaze.
As it turned out, his instinct was right. Sabrina didn't sense him, but she did sense Darkrai's presence.
"Leaving? Came in a hurry, left in a hurry? Interesting. Very interesting…"
A girl with blue light glowing in her eyes seemed to see Reiji through the wall. Her gaze stayed fixed on him as he sat inside the taxi, moving farther from her and farther from Saffron City.
Only after they reached the outskirts did Darkrai's voice sound in Reiji's mind.
"Something sensed me."
"Who?" Reiji's heart jumped. Had Sabrina found them?
"I don't know. A very powerful psychic presence. If that was a human, then she's terrifying. I've never encountered a human that frightening."
"We're leaving Saffron City as fast as possible." Reiji didn't dare stay any longer. He could explain to Darkrai on the road.
He immediately boarded Pelipper, circled around Saffron City, and flew straight north toward Cerulean City. Only after they flew until nightfall did he finally breathe a little easier and explain to Darkrai. "Her name is Sabrina. She has extremely strong psychic powers. People call her a human Psychic-type Pokémon. She can turn anything into whatever shape she wants."
"She can't control that psychic power. I could sense her, and she could sense me. She sensed us the moment we entered the city."
"She's Team Rocket's mole inside the League. Looks like only Giovanni can keep someone like that under control." Reiji sighed helplessly. Sabrina's psychic talent was so extreme that even her mind had gone wrong. He didn't want contact with someone like that. He had no desire to get dragged in himself.
"Giovanni? You're very wary of that human. Is he strong?" Darkrai didn't understand. Even that psychic human worked for Giovanni, so it had no idea how powerful Giovanni had to be.
"Giovanni caught Mewtwo." Reiji only had to say that one name. He trusted Darkrai to understand.
"Ah…" Darkrai did understand. It had nothing to say after that.
It had seen Mewtwo before. That terrifying psychic presence was even stronger than the psychic human from earlier.
If Giovanni had caught Mewtwo and also controlled that psychic human, didn't that make Giovanni the strongest human?
"No, he isn't the strongest human. The strongest humans are in the League. Every region has one standing openly in the spotlight, and who knows how many are hidden behind the scenes." Reiji thought of Cissy's grandfather.
That Slowking was definitely Champion tier. Those old monsters were all schemers. Reiji had no interest in dealing with people like that. They could sell him off, and he might still happily count the money without realizing it was the price paid for him.
"You humans really are terrifying," Darkrai said with feeling. There were far too many powerful figures in the human world. It would need to be more careful from now on.
So far on this journey, the number of Pokémon and humans capable of sensing its presence could be counted on one hand. There would only be more from here. It had to find a way to grow stronger, but it had hit a bottleneck.
"There are plenty of them. That's why I keep my head down." Reiji shook his head with a bitter smile. Advanced tier, even with quasi–Elite Four-tier strength, still wasn't enough. At minimum, he needed Elite Four-tier power.
He knew his own limits better than anyone. If he didn't, he wouldn't have spent so much effort looking for powerful backing.
After that, he and Darkrai chatted on and off until they finally reached the brightly lit Cerulean City before midnight. Reiji had been looking forward to the Cerulean sisters' underwater ballet for a long time.
He could go watch the performance tomorrow. Whether he could catch it or not, it was too late tonight. First he needed to find a hotel. Tomorrow he could visit Cerulean Gym, see whether they would hand him a Badge directly, and maybe enjoy the view.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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