Day 30 since returning to the Orange Archipelago. Cloudy.
Reiji had gone to bed smiling after returning from the Pokémon Center last night, and apparently the mood had followed him into his dreams. Cissy noticed almost immediately, but when he refused to tell her what had him so happy, she eventually gave up asking.
All he would say was that she would understand today.
There was a good reason for his confidence. The Trainer waiting for him in the top 64 was strong enough that an Elite Four-tier Pokémon was a real possibility, whether it belonged to him or had been loaned to him by his family.
Yesterday, Reiji would have been worried.
Today, he had Poliwrath and Electivire.
Because while Reiji had been busy with the tournament, Poliwrath had quietly crossed the line into Elite Four tier.
[Poliwrath]
[Type: Water/Fighting]
[Gender: Male]
[Potential: 73.23%]
[Level: 60.02%]
[Ability: Damp / 59.99%][Hidden Ability: Swift Swim / 59.99%]
Water-type: [(Water Gun / 61.01%) (Water Sport / 55.21%) (Waterfall / 59.22%) (Rain Dance / 52.11%) (Bubble / 32.31%) (Bubble Beam / 33.21%) (Water Pulse / 42.74%) (Hydro Pump / 48.93%) (Surf / 38.19%)]
Fighting-type: [(Drain Punch / 54.84%) (Focus Punch / 42.54%) (Bulk Up / 53.34%) (Brick Break / 32.44%) (Dynamic Punch / 35.19%) (Low Kick / 27.12%) (Close Combat / 34.52%) (Low Sweep / 32.43%)]
Normal-type: [(Mind Reader / 59.99%) (Refresh / 57.11%) (Mega Punch / 48.82%) (Mega Kick / 47.45%) (Protect / 58.31%) (Pound / 34.91%) (Double Slap / 39.12%) (Belly Drum / 53.72%) (Baton Pass / 23.12%)]
Ground-type: [(Mud Shot / 56.82%) (Bulldoze / 44.42%) (Earthquake / 46.42%)]
Ice-type: [(Ice Ball / 54.31%) (Ice Punch / 55.22%) (Ice Beam / 58.34%) (Icy Wind / 45.22%) (Blizzard / 47.12%) (Haze / 41.32%) (Hail / 46.62%)]
Dark-type: [(Taunt / 34.51%) (Knock Off / 33.83%)]
Other: [(Hypnosis / 41.62%)]
Reiji still had trouble believing it.
Poliwrath's potential had risen a little during its time with Pryce, but the real surprise was that level: 60.02%.
Elite Four tier.
Poliwrath had broken through while Reiji was not even there to see it happen.
Both of its Abilities were sitting right on the edge as well, but there was one number Reiji liked even more. Water Gun had already crossed sixty before Poliwrath's other moves could catch up.
Water Gun.
The simplest Water-type attack Poliwrath knew, and one it had been using almost from the beginning.
That mattered. Its proficiency had actually surpassed Poliwrath's level, which meant its understanding and control of Water-type energy had reached a new stage. Plenty of Pokémon could scrape their way into Elite Four tier while their moves lagged behind, but that was not the same thing as having attacks that could truly match that level of battle.
Poliwrath already had one.
Now the rest simply needed to follow.
Reiji was not worried about its Water- or Fighting-type moves. Those were Poliwrath's own types; as it continued growing, they would catch up naturally. Ice was not much of a concern either after spending months under Pryce.
Other types were where things became difficult.
That was why a move like Leon's Charizard using Thunder Punch against Lance's Gyarados could be so dangerous. A coverage move only mattered at that level if the Pokémon had actually trained it far enough to keep up.
Thankfully, Leon belonged to a much later era.
Ash had only just finished his Orange Archipelago journey. If Leon suddenly appeared in Galar at full strength right now, that would not be a surprise.
That would be a horror movie.
By breakfast, Reiji had finally managed to calm himself down. He and Cissy ate together before heading to the Pokémon Center, though only one of them would be going to Pummelo Stadium afterward.
Cissy wanted to watch his match from the stands.
Reiji refused.
Today was six-on-six, and there was a real chance the match could reach Elite Four-tier intensity. If things got that serious, he needed all of his attention on the field. He did not want part of his mind occupied with whether Cissy was safe in the stands.
Naturally, Cissy disagreed.
Arguing with her himself would have gotten him nowhere, so Reiji used the far more effective option: he told her mother and grandfather.
Both of them sided with him.
That settled it.
Cissy remained in the hospital room, sitting on the bed with her cheeks puffed out while Reiji smiled, waved, and made his escape.
She would get over it.
Probably.
And if she did not, he could always say something nice later.
Instead of going directly to the stadium, Reiji slipped back to his room in the Trainer Village. He fed the Pokémon he already had with him, recalled them once they finished, then headed outside and released the three that had just returned from Pryce.
"Poli!"
Poliwrath appeared and immediately wrapped Reiji in a hug.
Apparently everything they had talked about last night had not been enough.
Kingler was just as happy to see him, raising both claws and chattering excitedly after spending so long away.
Then Gyarados came out.
It lowered its enormous head and carefully rubbed its face against Reiji, all while sneaking nervous glances toward Poliwrath.
The large pink lump on its head had still not gone down.
Reiji had a pretty good idea how it got there.
"You three worked hard. And since you apparently didn't eat enough last night, we can fix that now."
He brought out three large basins and filled them with Water-type Pokéblocks.
While they started eating, Reiji rubbed Poliwrath's head. It was well over a meter tall now, and the months of training had made its frame noticeably broader.
"You had to keep Gyarados in line again, didn't you?"
"Poli."
Poliwrath flexed one arm, then looked at Gyarados.
The answer was obvious.
Gyarados had arrived in a new place, decided to test its luck, and gotten beaten up.
Then it had apparently forgotten the lesson and tried again.
So Poliwrath beat it up again.
"Gyaa!"
Gyarados immediately protested. Reiji could not understand a word of it, which apparently made Gyarados feel much safer about telling its side of the story.
Reiji smiled and released Slowking.
Slowking greeted Poliwrath with a nod before its voice reached the three returning Pokémon through telepathy.
"Yahdon. I can translate for Reiji now. He can understand what all of you are saying."
Gyarados froze.
Its eyes slowly widened.
Everyone turned toward it.
The huge serpent lowered itself to the ground and went very quiet. Even the basin of Pokéblocks in front of its face suddenly seemed less interesting.
Reiji burst out laughing.
"So that's how it is? I sent Poliwrath with you because I knew exactly what you were like. Stop looking so miserable. As long as you didn't cause any real trouble, I'm not angry."
That was all Gyarados needed to hear.
It sprang back up, shoved its face into the basin, and swallowed most of the Pokéblocks in one enormous bite.
Kingler stared at what was left.
Then at the saliva all over it.
"King! King!"
Both claws shot up in protest.
"How are you supposed to eat that now? Yeah, I know."
Reiji poured Kingler a fresh pile of Pokéblocks directly onto a clean patch of grass.
Kingler immediately planted itself over the food with its claws spread protectively around it.
Gyarados pretended not to notice.
Nearby, Poliwrath was catching up with Slowking.
"Poli?"
"Yahdon. Nothing too serious happened while you were gone. We did get one very strong new partner, though."
Poliwrath looked over.
"Poli?"
Strong?
Reiji heard Slowking's translation and smiled. "Right. You three haven't met Electivire yet."
He released Electivire, then Swinub as well so everyone could meet the newest members at once.
Electivire appeared with the same heavy presence it always carried.
Gyarados immediately shrank back.
That pressure was familiar.
After another cautious look, it realized the Elite Four-tier presence was not coming from Poliwrath.
Its fear vanished almost instantly.
Gyarados looked from Electivire to Poliwrath, then settled in to watch with obvious interest.
Maybe they would fight.
That would be fun.
"Electivire, these are Poliwrath, Kingler, and Gyarados. They've been training somewhere else for the last few months."
Electivire nodded, but its attention had already settled on Poliwrath.
Kingler and Gyarados barely registered.
Poliwrath stood and offered Electivire a hand.
"Poli."
Slowking translated.
"Thanks for looking after Reiji while I was gone."
Poliwrath's presence was every bit as heavy as Electivire's now.
It was Reiji's first partner. While it had been away, letting another strong Pokémon protect him was fine.
Now it was back.
Reiji was its responsibility again.
Electivire understood the message perfectly.
"Vire."
Whatever you want.
It had already heard plenty about Poliwrath from the rest of the team. Apparently the leader of this strange family was a violent tadpole.
Now Electivire finally understood what they meant.
"All right, enough."
Reiji stepped between them before their introduction turned into a contest.
"Electivire is a great partner too. You two are on the same team, so get along."
If someone forced Reiji to choose between them, there was no question what his answer would be. Electivire was powerful, dependable, and had already done a lot for him, but Poliwrath was different.
There was nothing to compare.
Reiji had trusted Poliwrath from the beginning, and that would never change.
Poliwrath eventually relaxed and gave Electivire another nod before inviting it to join breakfast.
That was enough.
Reiji brought out more Pokéblocks, and soon everyone was eating together while Slowking handled the introductions and translated whenever someone had something to say.
If Poliwrath and Electivire really needed to settle things later, Reiji could always let them have a proper battle.
His money would be on Poliwrath.
Electivire might have the advantage on paper, but surviving Poliwrath at full power was another matter entirely.
Champion-tier Pokémon and Legendaries were excluded from that claim.
Reiji did value his life.
Once everyone had settled down, he pulled out the information he had gathered on today's opponent and placed a photograph in front of Poliwrath.
"This is who we're fighting. You know him."
Poliwrath stopped eating.
The Electabuzz in the photograph was familiar.
They had fought before.
"The other side knows us too," Reiji continued. "I'm expecting them to open with their best Pokémon. If that happens, I'm opening with you."
Poliwrath stared at the photograph for several seconds before raising its head.
"Poli."
Its fist tightened.
It had beaten that Electabuzz once.
It had no intention of losing now.
Reiji grinned and raised his own fist.
"Good. Then we're thinking the same thing."
Their fists met.
"Eat up. Once everyone's ready, we're going."
This match would come down to Poliwrath.
Well, Poliwrath and one other Pokémon.
Reiji looked toward Swinub.
"And you need to eat too. I've got work for you today."
"Swi! Swi!"
That instruction was completely unnecessary.
Swinub already had its pink nose buried inside one of the basins and showed no concern whatsoever about the fact that Gyarados had been eating from it earlier.
Reiji laughed. "Yeah, you're definitely not shy about food."
The night before, the little thing had gone through ten boxes of Pokéblocks.
Reiji was beginning to suspect Pryce had given Swinub away simply because feeding it was becoming expensive.
With Swinub added to the roster, Reiji now had four Ground types available. Swinub and Dugtrio were good enough to lead off against the right opponent, Whiscash was still around despite rarely getting any attention, and Rhydon could come out when things became serious.
Against an actual Elite Four-tier opponent, though, that changed.
If Poliwrath could not handle it, Rhydon probably could not either.
Reiji picked Swinub up and produced the large mushroom he had bought for it the night before.
"Here. This one's yours."
Swinub's nose twitched.
It smelled the mushroom and immediately took a huge bite. Its cheeks flushed as it chewed, looking so delighted that Reiji could not help laughing.
"Slow down. Nobody's taking it."
He ran a hand through the thick brown fur covering its body. Swinub did have legs under there, though its striped coat was so long and dense that they were almost completely hidden. Between that, the little pink nose, and the eyes that always seemed closed, it was difficult to make the thing look intimidating.
It was extremely comfortable to pet, though.
Almost like Eevee had been.
By now, even Poliwrath and Electivire were talking normally. Electivire had never cared about being the team's leader in the first place, so once it understood how much that role meant to Poliwrath, there was nothing left to argue about.
Reiji let everyone finish eating before recalling them one by one.
Only Umbreon remained outside.
"Come on."
"Bre!"
Umbreon jumped neatly onto his shoulder and rubbed its face against his cheek.
Reiji scratched behind its ears as he started walking.
"Time for the match."
Umbreon settled comfortably against his shoulder and licked his fingers when his hand came close enough.
Clearly, it had reached its own conclusion about why it alone had been allowed to stay outside.
Obviously, Reiji loved it most.
The truth was less dramatic. He was simply used to carrying Umbreon around, and he needed it nearby to throw up Protect if a battle sent something flying toward him.
Most of the others would not exactly fit on his shoulder anyway.
Umbreon, on the other hand, was light, convenient, and looked good up there.
That counted for something.
...
Pummelo Stadium was packed.
Every seat seemed to be filled for the first day of the top-64 round. Eliminated competitors, tourists, and Trainers who had never entered the tournament at all had poured in to watch the first full six-on-six matches.
Reiji still had time before his own battle, so he found a place to watch.
A six-on-six could be over in fifteen minutes if one side was completely outmatched. A close one could easily run past an hour. Either way, he had some time before he needed to prepare.
The first two Trainers stepped onto the field.
Reiji knew both of them.
Travis and Sabrina.
The announcer barely had time to begin before the crowd drowned him out.
"Sabrina! Sabrina! Sabrina!"
Nobody seemed especially interested in Travis.
Reiji almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
The announcer eventually gave up trying to build excitement that was already there and moved things along.
Both Trainers reached for their Poké Balls.
The referee blew the whistle.
"Go, Metagross!"
Travis opened with Metagross.
Across the field, Sabrina made the same choice she had used throughout the tournament.
Abra.
The first six-on-six battle had begun.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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