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Hakuya felt there was no longer any need to smooth things over; Luther had already blown the situation wide open.
The crowd erupted into a chorus of shocked murmurs.
Hiroshi silently recalled his Ninjask, then sent Swalot back out onto the field.
"Sludge Bomb!"
Hiroshi roared the command. If it were possible to attack a Pokémon Trainer, he probably wouldn't have hesitated.
Being stripped bare in front of a crowd like this made him feel humiliated beyond measure. The only way to wash away that shame was to knock out all of Luther's Pokémon, to make him lower his head.
Marill leapt out of her Poké Ball, weaving gracefully through the barrage of 'Sludge Bombs', and it looked as if she could foresee every point where the attacks would land. She charged straight toward Swalot.
"Finish him in one blow, with brute force!"
Before Hiroshi could change tactics, Marill had already reached Swalot's feet.
Clinging to Swalot's gelatinous body, she gripped a part of its form and heaved upward with astonishing strength, forcibly lifting the massive creature off the ground.
"Don't let it succeed! Keep using 'Sludge Bomb', aim carefully before firing!"
Swalot, slippery and struggling, had barely broken free from Marill's unbelievable strength when a chill shot upward from its lower body.
Marill's 'Ice Punch' poured freezing energy continuously into Swalot's body. Half of its form had already stiffened and lost elasticity; its lower half was frozen solid to the spot, unable to move.
Swalot desperately wanted to launch an attack at the Marill standing directly beneath it, but it simply couldn't reach.
Watching this scene, Luther suddenly thought of a term: the angle of attack was too low.
Hiroshi was still shouting frantically, but Swalot's movements were sluggish and weak.
He was Hiroshi's toughest Pokémon, yet even as Marill circled him, pounding him relentlessly with 'Brick Breaks', he stubbornly refused to fall, still hoping his Trainer would finally assess the situation and call out a proper counterattack.
That order never came.
Under yet another crushing 'Ice Punch', Swalot finally lost all ability to battle.
Aside from the first 'Sludge Bomb', Hiroshi had given him no guidance at all.
It wasn't that Hiroshi trusted him; it was that Hiroshi had given up on him.
Four of Hiroshi's Pokémon were already down. Anyone could see the outcome was decided.
If, at that moment, Hiroshi had steadied his emotions, if he had approached Luther with a challenger's humility and sportsmanship, Luther would probably have given him a way to bow out gracefully.
Instead, when Numel came out, it immediately launched 'Flamethrower' and 'Earth Power' at Marill. Hiroshi, pumped with manic energy, swung his fists and shouted for Numel to get in close, right up to Marill's face, to guarantee accuracy and damage.
The Fire-and-Ground-type Numel charged forward without hesitation, trusting its Trainer completely, even though Marill was smiling at it with a strange, chilling grin.
It was a suicidal command, but out of faith in Hiroshi, Numel obeyed.
And Hiroshi's response to that loyalty was a single word: "Stomp!"
There was absolutely no need to close the distance so much to use that move. Hiroshi was flailing like a child, issuing random commands without thought.
Marill wasn't the merciful type. When someone brought their face right up to hers, of course she responded with a 'Hydro Pump', point-blank.
It was four times super effective. Numel fainted the instant the 'Hydro Pump' struck, blasted clear across the battlefield and slammed into the railing at the edge.
Hiroshi didn't even glance at Numel. He just raised his hand, recalled it, and immediately sent out his sixth Pokémon, Piloswine.
Luther frowned. "You're not even going to check on your Pokémon's condition?"
"They're my Pokémon. None of your business." Hiroshi's reply was cold and sharp.
"Do you think you've already lost, so you're throwing the match on purpose? Trying to make people pity you?"
"This meaningless battle? I just want it over as soon as possible."
Luther could feel his anger boiling over. He motioned for Marill to hold her attack for a moment, then brought his lips close to the microphone…
"So you ignored your Pokémon's will, didn't even try to communicate, and just sent them charging to their deaths?"
"If they were strong enough, they would've crushed you with their very first move. The fact that they couldn't only proves they're far weaker than I expected. At least… when it comes to facing someone far stronger than me, like you."
Hakuya quickly stepped down onto the battlefield; he could already see the fury in Luther's eyes.
Luther was right on the verge of exploding.
Hakuya opened his mouth to try and defuse the situation, maybe offer Luther a way to step down gracefully, but Luther clapped once, signaling an Encore, and called Marill back.
Hiroshi froze, staring blankly as Luther said something to Hakuya and then walked toward the judges' table.
"Mai, let's go. I'm hungry. Let's head back for dinner."
"You're hungry too, right? Snacks don't count. I'll make you something good when we get home." Luther lowered his head and patted the drooling Marill affectionately.
Then he unhooked the microphone from his collar and set it down in front of Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy.
"Luther, the match isn't over yet," Joy couldn't help but remind him.
"It's over," Luther said calmly. "I wanted to give him a chance, to let him realize what he's doing is wrong, to get him back on the right track."
"That hollow sense of superiority he clings to is wrong. It needs to be thrown away. His focus should be on his Pokémon, on improving himself, on strengthening the bond between Trainer and Pokémon. I don't like him, but I did try to remind him."
"Now I've done what I could, in my own way. My patience isn't endless, and I don't have much of it for people I dislike. I'm not his parent; it's not my job to teach him how to be a decent person."
"I'm someone who gets irritated easily. When I see things that piss me off, I lose my appetite. So I'd rather walk away than let it ruin my day."
After a pause, Luther picked up the microphone again and spoke evenly:
"To any rookie Pokémon Trainers who are still here, I just want to say this: before you become a Trainer, learn to be a person first. Learn how to respect your Pokémon. That's what Professor Rowan, the one who gave me my Pokédex, told me. Now, I'm passing those words on to you."
"They fight out there, risking injury, just to bring you victory. They're living beings, flesh and blood, not your tools."
With that, Luther dropped the microphone and walked out of the arena without looking back.
The entire scene was a mess.
Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny, and a group of sponsors all exchanged glances. Then, almost simultaneously, the same thought struck them.
Luther's departure seemed to lift Hiroshi's spirits somewhat. After all, in such a one-sided battle, there would surely be plenty of people who'd pity him. Maybe, he thought, he'd salvaged a little bit of dignity after all.
Hakuya returned to the judges' table with a dark expression. For the first time, Junna saw him like this.
Normally, there was always a gentle smile on his face, but now, it looked as if you could wring water out of his expression.
Junna approached him nervously. Hakuya closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and began scribbling quickly in his notebook.
When the notebook was passed along to Officer Jenny, Joy, and the other judges, they all read the note silently, then nodded in agreement.
Spectators, still digesting the battle they'd just witnessed, were slowly leaving when a voice came through the loudspeakers:
"After review and discussion by the Whitewind Town Rookie Tournament Committee, it has been decided that the current Rookie Champion, Hiroshi, does not meet the ideals that the tournament's Rookie Champion is meant to represent. The title will therefore be revoked. A rematch among the top four competitors will be scheduled at a later date to determine the new Rookie Champion."
The Rookie Champion of Whitewind Town, after all, was supposed to be a model, someone that aspiring Trainers from the town could look up to.
That was what Hakuya had written in the notebook.
And Luther had been right: before being a Pokémon Trainer, you must first learn to be a decent human being.
If you can't even manage that, how well could you possibly treat your Pokémon?
Walking down the corridor, Hiroshi was still smug, thinking he'd managed to salvage some pride from the loss. But when the announcement echoed through the hall, his whole body went cold.
If the title of Rookie Champion had once shielded him from ridicule, now that it was stripped away, he would become the shame of Whitewind Town.
Everything that had happened today would be retold again and again, without end.
More frightening than losing his title was the thought that Hiroshi might now become a symbol, a living cautionary tale for future Pokémon Trainers.
Dizzy and disoriented, Hiroshi had barely stepped out of the exit tunnel when his parents grabbed him by the arms. Under the weight of countless strange, judgmental stares, they ushered him into the car and drove off without a word or a single glance back.
Moving away was now Hiroshi's only option.
Whitewind Town wasn't an unfriendly place, but once someone was branded as a person who "didn't know how to be human," there was no way they could ever fit into the local Pokémon Trainer community again.
Luther had no idea what was happening after he left the venue. All he wanted was to get back to the Gym as soon as possible.
It really wasn't worth getting angry over someone like that, he told himself again and again. But the moment he recalled the sight of Hiroshi's burned Ninjask writhing on the ground while its Trainer stood indifferent, or Swalot being pummeled helplessly as Hiroshi just watched, something inside him ignited in pure rage.
"My self-control training still sucks," Luther muttered with a long sigh.
He brought the kitchen knife down hard on the cutting board, thunk!, slicing a radish clean in two. One half bounced away onto the floor.
Sensing Luther's foul mood, Espurr floated through the air, caught the runaway piece, and gently placed it back on the board. Then it drifted behind Luther and rubbed its soft head against the back of his neck in comfort.
Kirlia emerged from the kitchen with a freshly washed pot, setting it within Luther's reach.
Even Marill, usually the most mischievous food thief in the house, was quietly floating by the sink, behaving for once like a perfect little angel.
Mai stood nearby, helping where she could. She knew Luther's routine: whenever he felt upset, he would cook an entire table's worth of food to comfort his stomach. He always said that once he'd eaten, his mood would brighten a lot.
That was Luther's form of culinary therapy.
Once the radish was chopped and simmering in the pot, Mai untied her apron and wiped her hands clean.
"I actually know a way to cheer people up really quickly," she said lightly. "I use it all the time with Pokémon; it works great."
A unique breeder's secret technique?
Luther, who'd been thinking of calling Cynthia or Bertha later to ask for advice on calming exercises, perked up with interest.
"Is it complicated?"
Mai shook her head. "Not at all. In fact, as long as you have hands, you can do it."
Luther chuckled. He'd seen plenty of "pro techniques" online that started with exactly those words.
"All right then, show me. I'd love to see what kind of miracle method this is. Something simple and easy to pick up, right?"
Before he could react, Mai suddenly stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him.
She buried her face against his chest, as though listening to something deep within.
A faint, pleasant scent drifted up to Luther's nose. His already-muddled brain turned completely to mush. If someone had stuck a thermometer into his head right then, the mercury would've been bouncing all over the place.
Marill jumped out of the sink, but Kirlia immediately caught her with psychic power and pinned her in the corner, pressing a finger to her lips in a fierce "shhh!" gesture.
Espurr quietly floated away from Luther's neck, and as it went, it snagged a wide-eyed Eevee that had been watching the scene unfold with fascination.
Chansey hurriedly herded Pachirisu and Corsola out the door.
Slowpoke moved faster than anyone had ever seen, vanishing in an instant.
Houndoom, after a moment's thought, nudged the door gently closed with its snout.
The room fell silent, so quiet that Luther could hear the frantic rhythm of his own heartbeat.
He wanted to speak, but his voice seemed to have broken down; every time he tried to say something, the words jammed in his throat.
The setting sun outside the window bathed Mai's black hair in a warm, orange glow. For the first time, Luther realized just how beautiful her smooth, dark hair was.
Damn it. How had he never noticed before?
He finally gathered his courage. If he didn't say something now, who knew when he'd ever be able to again?
"Mai, I…"
"See? That's exactly what I was saying. You should've beaten that guy up like Luther did back then. Look at you, now you're all pent up, and I have to find ways to calm you down."
"Come here, let me hug you. There, feel better? What's with the blush? It's not like it's the first time I've hugged you."
Junna's voice and Hakuya's footsteps suddenly sounded from just outside the door.
Luther and Mai jolted apart like they'd been struck by lightning.
(End of Chapter)