Chapter 318: Sparring
"Salazzle is unable to battle! Samurott wins — and the winner is Looker!"
With the referee's call, the final match came to a close. Or rather, almost — Ryan caught Byron giving him a pointed look from the side of the stage, and understood immediately. Time to go up, present the prize, and follow through on that sparring promise.
Lillie recalled Salazzle with a quiet sigh. She knew her own level clearly. She was nowhere near Ryan and the people around him — but their influence had raised her considerably, and by any objective measure she was operating at elite Trainer level. Losing to Looker still stung a little.
She accepted it, though. She wasn't a Trainer by trade. She was a Pokémon Coordinator and researcher, and bringing her team to this level was already something she was genuinely proud of.
Lillie stepped forward and offered Looker her hand. "You're really strong. Samurott is one of Unova's starter evolutions, isn't it? I actually know some people from Unova — especially Rosa. She's basically like a sister to me."
Looker's expression shifted slightly. "Rosa? She's at the Mercenary Guild now?"
"She is. Do you know her?" Lillie studied him with open curiosity.
"It sounds like Ryan hasn't told you much about me." Looker shook his head with something between amusement and resignation. "We'll talk later. Let me collect my prize first, and then I'll find you both once this wraps up."
He walked toward the podium. Ryan met him there and handed over the prize — a Pokémon Egg, carefully presented in both hands.
Looker looked at Ryan steadily. "Long time no see."
"It really has been," Ryan said. "I haven't heard from you since we went our separate ways at Giant's Chasm. How have you been? Still with the International Police?"
Looker gave a wry smile that answered the question without quite answering it. "Let's talk after. I have things I want to ask you too." He glanced toward the arena floor. "But first — I want to see it for myself. Your strength as Guild President. I've been curious since I heard the title."
He stepped down from the podium and moved to one side of the arena. Ryan smiled and took the other side, then released his Charizard.
The crowd's reaction was immediate. The roar that went up from the stands was something else entirely. Ever since the footage of Charizard's battle against Zygarde had circulated, Ryan's Charizard had taken on a life of its own in public awareness — it had become one of the most recognized Pokémon in Sinnoh, maybe beyond. The sight of it spreading its wings in the arena brought people to their feet.
Looker looked at Charizard for a moment, then nodded to himself. "You're putting Charizard out. You're taking this seriously — I appreciate that." He reached for his belt. "Genesect. You're up."
Genesect materialized across from Charizard, cannon mount locking into position on its back, red eye scanning.
Ryan settled into a stance — left hand in his pocket, right arm extended with two fingers pointed straight at Looker in a deliberate, theatrical challenge pose lifted straight out of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
A ripple of whispers moved through the crowd.
"That pose — is he serious?"
"It's embarrassing."
"It's incredibly cool, actually."
Lillie, watching from the side, immediately covered her face with both hands. The secondhand embarrassment was physical.
Ryan was completely unbothered. He'd worked hard for those muscles. It would be a waste not to use them for something.
"You go first," he said to Looker. "Show me where you're at."
Looker's eyes narrowed. "Genesect — Techno Blast!"
The cannon on Genesect's back charged rapidly, and a concentrated beam of energy fired straight at Charizard. Charizard raised one claw, wreathed in fire, and met the beam head-on. The Techno Blast hit the burning claw and dispersed — the flames absorbing and diffusing the impact without Charizard so much as shifting its footing.
Looker reassessed immediately. "Genesect — Thunder Wave, then Signal Beam!"
Genesect channeled electricity into its forelimbs, and a crackling electric web shot toward Charizard. A targeting reticle appeared on Charizard's body as Genesect simultaneously charged a Signal Beam from its cannon, the lock-on tracking confirmed.
Charizard watched the electric web coming and yawned.
It opened its mouth and breathed a steady stream of fire. The Thunder Wave hit the flames and was simply incinerated — the electrical charge grounded out in the heat before it reached Charizard. The Signal Beam followed and met the same fate, swallowed by the fire before it made contact. Not even a ripple.
Ryan looked at Looker with a patient expression. "Your Genesect hasn't grown much since Giant's Chasm. That means it's been stagnant — and while it's been standing still, we've been moving. The gap is wider than you're expecting. Don't hold back. Hit it with everything and let me see your ceiling."
Looker's jaw tightened. "Genesect — Screech, continuous!"
Genesect opened its mouth and unleashed a piercing, sustained shriek directly at Charizard. Charizard's brow furrowed — it wasn't pleasant — but it didn't stop, and it didn't flinch. Compared to the sound-based punishment it had absorbed sparring against Meloetta, Genesect's Screech was an inconvenience at best.
Looker switched approach again. "X-Scissor!"
Genesect's claws blazed with a harsh light. It folded into a disc-like configuration and launched itself at Charizard in a spinning slash, the claws screaming through the air as it closed the distance fast.
Charizard caught it.
One burning hand closed around Genesect's claws mid-spin, gripping tight. Genesect let out a sharp, pained screech of a very different kind.
The situation was straightforward: Genesect was Bug and Steel type. Fire was a four-times weakness. Charizard's flames were seeping directly into Genesect's shell through the point of contact — the purple carapace beginning to glow a dull, ominous red at the edges. If Charizard held on much longer, it wasn't going to be a spar anymore.
Charizard released its grip.
Genesect dropped to the arena floor and didn't get back up. Unable to battle.
Looker recalled it slowly. He stood across the arena from Ryan for a moment, the smile on his face rueful and genuine at the same time. The pride he'd carried into this match — the quiet confidence of someone who'd handled serious threats across multiple regions — had run directly into a wall, and he knew it.
"I lost," Looker said simply.
Ryan crossed the arena toward him, and extended a hand.
(End of Chapter)
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