"I... surrender."
In the end, Miyuki conceded the match.
She simply couldn't see any path to victory.
Dewgong had almost no stamina left.
Even if it somehow managed to outlast Castform...
What would be the point?
After handing her Pokémon over to Nurse Joy, Miyuki walked up to Red and extended her hand.
"With a sigh, she smiled bitterly.
"I lost."
"I never imagined Castform could possess such incredible stamina."
"I was simply outclassed."
Red shook her hand and replied modestly,
"Actually, your strength is impressive too."
"Castform was only this close to running out of stamina."
For a moment, Miyuki froze.
Really?
If I'd just held on a little longer... would I actually have exhausted Castform?
Just then...
The thunderclouds overhead gradually dispersed.
A perfectly energetic Castform floated happily down from the sky before burying itself in Red's chest and rubbing against him affectionately.
Seeing Castform's lively appearance...
Miyuki could only smile wryly.
"Gym Leader Red... you're kinder than I thought."
"You deliberately said that just to avoid hurting my confidence."
"It looks like I still need a lot more training."
"I've embarrassed my master today."
With that...
She quietly left the battlefield alone.
As Red carried Castform down from the arena...
The first one to greet him wasn't anyone else.
It was Ninetales.
Still dressed in her elegant shrine maiden robes, she bared a pair of tiny canine teeth and glared fiercely at Castform.
"Little Water Drop!"
"You again!"
"How dare you steal my food!"
Faced with the furious fox...
Castform's eyelids immediately began trembling.
Then...
She fainted on the spot.
Looking at the pouting Ninetales, Red smiled helplessly.
"Don't worry."
"I don't have any more battles today."
"I'll head back to the hotel and sleep for a while."
"My Viridian Power will recover soon enough."
"You won't get any less than your share."
Only then did Ninetales nod in satisfaction.
She leaned happily against Red's chest, her fluffy fox ears twitching gently in front of him.
Red wasn't lying.
Viridian Power could replenish Castform's physical energy.
But the mental exhaustion from maintaining that massive thunderstorm...
Was completely real.
Yawning, Red quietly returned to the hotel with Castform and Ninetales.
Today's results had already exceeded every expectation.
Not only had Swampert learned numerous combat techniques from Bruno...
Castform had also experienced her very first real battle using Thunderstorm Weather.
The results had been even better than Red anticipated.
Especially after combining Thunderstorm with Viridian Power...
Castform had practically gained an unlimited energy supply.
Her combat ability had increased by several levels.
Thinking about all of that...
Red gradually drifted off to sleep.
When he opened his eyes again...
The sun was already setting outside the window.
For a brief moment, he was dazed.
Then...
He realized something heavy was pressing against his chest.
It felt almost like sleep paralysis.
Struggling to raise his head...
He looked down.
Ninetales was sprawled across his body, sleeping soundly.
What left Red speechless was...
Even while asleep...
She had unconsciously maintained her illusion.
She still appeared as a beautiful shrine maiden.
To Ninetales, creating illusions had apparently become second nature.
Her sleeping posture was...
Less than proper.
The loose shrine maiden robe had slipped all the way down to her waist.
Only her long silver-white hair concealed the rest.
Combined with the completely defenseless way she slept on Red...
Even drooling slightly...
Red immediately felt a headache coming on.
"Wait..."
"Do psychic illusions really need to be this realistic?"
Taking a deep breath, he silently repeated three times in his mind.
Pokémon Protection Act.
Pokémon Protection Act.
Pokémon Protection Act.
Finally letting out a relieved breath, he thought,
Good thing I held back.
Otherwise this would've become something that couldn't be published.
Just then...
Ninetales slowly opened her eyes.
Supporting herself with both hands on Red's chest, she gazed at him with a seductive smile.
"Master..."
"Ninetales wants to grasp the future too..."
Looking at the fox girl before him—
Her eyes filled with temptation.
Her arms reaching toward him.
Holding absolutely nothing back.
Red's brain nearly stopped functioning.
He stared blankly for several seconds.
Only after thoroughly appreciating the scenery before him did he slowly sigh.
"So..."
"It really was just a dream."
Although Ninetales had picked up plenty of strange knowledge from questionable sources...
He had never once said the phrase "grasp the future" to her.
So if she was saying something like that now...
There was only one explanation.
He was dreaming.
The next second—
Red abruptly opened his eyes.
...
Ninetales was actually lying beside the bed.
Her adorable face wore a silly smile as she slept.
A tiny trail of crystal-clear drool hung from the corner of her mouth.
Her fluffy fox ears twitched unconsciously.
Only then did Red realize...
The weight pressing against his chest had actually been Castform.
At the bedroom door...
Larvitar stood leaning against it like a silent bodyguard.
On the other side of the bed...
Swampert sat quietly with its eyes closed, resting.
Letting out a long breath, Red sat upright.
Holding the sleepy Castform in his arms, he gently rubbed Ninetales' little head.
"That was a really refreshing nap."
He then looked toward Swampert and Larvitar.
"But we can't relax yet."
"Even though none of our remaining opponents have Gym-level Pokémon..."
"Anyone capable of becoming a Gym Leader has their own strengths."
"This tournament is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"We need to learn from every one of them."
"All of Kanto's Gym Leaders have gathered in one place."
"If we miss this chance..."
"It'll be hard to find another one like it."
Hearing those words...
Swampert and Larvitar exchanged determined glances.
Swampert especially.
Having just evolved...
And after learning new techniques from Bruno...
It desperately needed a large number of battles to fully consolidate its newfound strength.
For it...
The Eight Gym Leaders Tournament was the perfect stage.
Without wasting another moment...
Red immediately left the hotel with his Pokémon, searching all over the Indigo Plateau for sparring matches—especially against the Gym Leaders who had already been eliminated.
Meanwhile...
Both Gary and Paul had successfully advanced to the finals.
Only one championship match remained.
Gary extended his hand toward Paul.
"Paul."
"I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's battle."
"Let's see how much you've learned from Master over this past month."
Paul's confidence was no less impressive.
"You'll find out soon enough."
After exchanging their declarations...
The two returned separately to their hotels, making their final preparations for the championship match.
Back in his room...
Paul couldn't help smiling.
I actually made it to the finals...
For the Paul of the past...
This would've been unimaginable.
Then something suddenly occurred to him.
Wait...
Isn't today also the day my brother challenges Brandon?
Excitedly, he dialed Reggie.
"Hey, big brother!"
"How did your battle go today?"
"I've got great news too!"
"I made it to the finals!"
"Master Red is incredible."
"He pointed out all the flaws in my battling and even taught me completely new training methods."
"If it weren't for him..."
"I never would've reached the finals..."
Listening to Paul's excited voice through the phone...
Reggie's guilt only deepened.
After a long silence...
His voice trembled.
"Paul..."
"You have to keep working hard."
"Don't disappoint Gym Leader Red's expectations."
Paul immediately sensed something wrong.
"Big brother..."
"What do you mean by that?"
On the other end of the line...
Reggie sounded utterly hollow.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
As though every last trace of hope had already died.
"Paul..."
"I'm sorry."
"From now on..."
"I'm..."
"No longer going to be a Pokémon Trainer."
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