Charizard came down like a meteor, wrapped in the full force of Blaze and Blast Burn.
Pelipper managed to recover from Hyper Beam just in time to raise Protect.
The collision buried the field in fire and smoke. Even the protective barrier flashed repeatedly under the impact, and nobody could see what had happened until the referee's Pidgeot took to the air and cleared the haze.
Charizard lay unconscious on one side of the field.
Pelipper was down on the other.
"What a finish! Pelipper couldn't completely hold off Blast Burn, but Charizard went down with it! Taro is now down to his final Pokémon!"
The referee confirmed the double knockout and instructed both Trainers to recall their Pokémon and send out their next choices together.
Taro returned Charizard with a quiet click of his tongue. He glanced at the scoreboard once and knew exactly how bad things looked. The result was almost decided already, but he did not hesitate when he reached for his final Poké Ball.
"Go, Jolteon!"
Reiji sent his own Pokémon out at the same time.
"Rhydon, you're up!"
Jolteon landed lightly across from Rhydon.
For a moment, Reiji almost felt relieved.
Jolteon was certainly not weak, but after Electivire, Charizard, Blastoise, Gyarados, and Magnezone, the smaller Electric type did not carry the same sense of danger. More importantly, it had drawn one of the worst possible opponents.
"The final matchup is Jolteon against Rhydon!" the commentator announced. "Can Taro's last Pokémon somehow turn this around?"
Reiji did not believe in miracles that convenient.
"Rhydon, Rock Tomb!"
Jolteon burst forward in a streak of light, but Rhydon stamped down before it could build enough speed. Loose rocks jumped from the ground around it, and Rhydon kicked apart one of the stone pillars on the battlefield, adding the fragments to the barrage.
Jolteon was forced into a shrinking maze of flying stone.
Rhydon followed immediately with Earthquake.
The ground rolled beneath Jolteon just as several rocks clipped it from the sides. With nowhere left to run and no safe footing beneath it, the Electric type was knocked into a gap between the broken stones and did not get back up.
"Jolteon is unable to battle! The winner of this full six-on-six match is Reiji!"
The final scoreboard appeared overhead.
Reiji — Taro
Poliwrath — Electivire [OUT]
Ludicolo — Blastoise [OUT]
Lucario [OUT] — Gyarados [OUT]
Pelipper [OUT] — Magnezone [OUT]
Rhydon — Charizard [OUT]
————— Jolteon [OUT]
The stadium erupted.
"Reiji! Reiji! Reiji!"
"Rhydon! Rhydon! Rhydon!"
Rhydon was enjoying every second of it. After finishing off an Elite Four-tier Electivire earlier in the match, it had become one of the stars of the entire round, and the crowd had not forgotten.
It raised an arm and waved back while Reiji thanked the spectators from the Trainer platform.
"Congratulations to Reiji on advancing again! Tomorrow's matchups will be announced tonight, and after what we saw today, everyone will be waiting to see what he brings out next!"
Reiji left the platform just as Taro approached him.
"You really are strong."
Taro offered his hand without hesitation. Whatever else existed between them, Reiji had beaten him in a legitimate tournament match, and that deserved respect.
Reiji shook it. "You weren't exactly easy. When Electivire came out at Elite Four tier, you nearly gave me a heart attack."
Taro laughed. "Your Poliwrath did the same to me. We'll have to do this again sometime."
"Sure."
The loss had not left Taro bitter. He had gone all the way to the end and lost cleanly, which was something he could accept.
They exchanged a few more words before Reiji headed into the Trainers' tunnel. The next group was already making its way toward the field, and one of the people waiting there was immediately familiar.
Riku noticed him too.
"Running into each other again, huh?"
Reiji walked straight past without answering.
He had no interest in getting involved with Riku or anyone around him.
One of the men ahead of Riku glanced back. A well-dressed woman had her arm linked through his.
"You know him?"
"We've fought twice," Riku said. "He obviously knows me, but I still can't figure out where I first saw him."
The answer was simple: he had not.
Their only close encounter had been when Reiji hid nearby and listened to Riku's conversation. Riku had noticed someone lurking but decided the little spy was not worth the trouble.
That particular "little spy" had grown considerably since then.
"Then leave him alone," the older man said. "The Captain warned us before we came here. Don't cause trouble during the tournament."
"I know. Go on, the match is about to start."
Riku stayed behind in the tunnel while the man continued toward the field with the woman beside him.
She leaned closer to him. "You're winning this one too, right? If you make the top eight, Grandpa will finally agree to the wedding."
"Relax, Aya. Top eight won't be a problem."
He smiled warmly at her, though his private thoughts were considerably less affectionate.
He did not actually care whether he reached the top eight. Her family was running out of strong Trainers, and the old man needed allies badly enough that he would eventually approve the marriage regardless. The talk about only allowing an "excellent Trainer" to marry Aya was just a respectable excuse for what was really a political match.
The Captain wanted the marriage because it would help expand their business into the city.
That was the only reason he was playing along.
Aya was attractive, and spending time with her was hardly unpleasant, but he had no illusions about love. To him, this was business dressed up as romance, and anyone who took the romance seriously was asking to get hurt.
...
Reiji went straight to the Pokémon Center after leaving the stadium.
He had used five Pokémon during the match, and Nurse Joy took all five Poké Balls for examination. The results were better than he had expected.
Poliwrath, Ludicolo, and Rhydon were fine. They were exhausted and needed a couple of days to recover, but none had suffered anything serious.
Lucario was another story. Thunder had left it badly burned, and after everything it had already endured earlier in the tournament, there was no point pushing it any further.
Lucario was officially out.
Pelipper had survived the final Blast Burn without major internal injuries, thanks largely to Protect, but some of its wing feathers had been burned. Until they grew back properly, its flight would suffer.
That meant Pelipper was out as well.
Reiji left all five Pokémon with Nurse Joy for treatment and headed upstairs.
Cissy's grandfather was already preparing to leave when Reiji entered the hospital room.
"You're back. We saved you lunch. I'm going fishing for a while."
"Have fun."
The old man left looking far happier about fishing than anyone had a right to be.
Cissy greeted Reiji with a smile, and her mother gave him a small nod from nearby. Whatever irritation Cissy had carried that morning was gone now.
"Rai, eat first."
She brought over the food they had saved for him and poured him a glass of water.
Reiji felt slightly awkward being fussed over with her mother sitting right there, but the feeling did not last long. Lunch had ended quite a while ago, yet they had still made sure there was something waiting for him.
It was nice.
He sat down with the meal and glanced toward Senta's bed. "Everything quiet here?"
"Nothing happened. We watched your whole match."
Cissy sat beside him, barely containing her excitement.
"Poliwrath reached Elite Four tier, didn't it?"
"Yeah."
"When?"
"Last night was when I found out. Poliwrath was still training with Pryce, remember? I didn't know it had broken through until I got it back."
Cissy stared at him as though she had just discovered another secret he had been hiding.
Which, to be fair, she had.
Reiji focused on eating before the interrogation could continue.
A command from the television caught his attention.
"Milotic, Iron Tail!"
Reiji looked up.
The next tournament match was already underway, and the Trainer he had seen with Riku was on-screen. Aya stood nearby cheering him on while an elegant Milotic battled across the field.
Cissy noticed it immediately.
"Milotic really is beautiful. You gave me one too, but aren't they supposed to be extremely rare?"
"Not as rare as people think. The evolution method has already been figured out; the information just hasn't spread to ordinary Trainers yet."
Reiji kept watching.
The Milotic was strong, somewhere around quasi–Elite Four tier, and for a while the match stayed fairly even.
Then the other Trainer sent out an Elite Four-tier Pokémon.
Riku's sworn brother answered with his own.
A Tyranitar hit the field.
The match ended soon afterward.
Reiji watched the stadium erupt over the sight of it. This was only the second pseudo-Legendary to appear in the tournament, and the crowd treated Tyranitar exactly the way he expected.
When Legendaries were removed from the equation, pseudo-Legendaries were some of the most coveted Pokémon a Trainer could own. Their reputation alone was enough to turn heads, and an Elite Four-tier Tyranitar was not merely there for show.
By the time the match finished, Reiji had finished lunch too.
He stayed with Cissy for a while afterward. Eventually even her mother found an excuse to step outside and give them some space.
Reiji later stretched out on one of the benches and slept through part of the afternoon before heading downstairs to collect his Pokémon.
Cissy's grandfather returned not long after.
Now there was nothing left to do except wait for tonight's announcement and find out who Reiji would face tomorrow.
He still had his Pokémon's meals to take care of, so at different points during the afternoon and evening he quietly slipped away from the Pokémon Center and fed the rest of the team where nobody would bother them.
...
Far away on Kinnow Island, a villa living room was packed with people watching the tournament.
Reiji would have recognized quite a few faces: Shun's grandfather, the old director of the orphanage, the mayor, the owner of the Electric-type club, and several other influential figures from around the island.
The mood was extremely good.
"So both of your grandsons turned out this well," one of the guests said with a laugh. "The older one has already raised an Elite Four-tier Pokémon, and the younger one became Bruno's student. You really hid your cards well."
Shun's grandfather stroked his beard, thoroughly enjoying the praise.
"Oh, they were just poor kids who needed somewhere to eat. I didn't do much."
Nobody believed that for a second.
To the people in the room, the old drunkard had suddenly transformed into some mysterious retired expert who had quietly raised two exceptional young Trainers.
He knew better.
Shun genuinely saw him as family.
Reiji was another matter entirely. His name might be attached to the household on paper, but that did not mean the boy considered him a grandfather.
The mayor turned his attention to the orphanage director.
"You've worked hard too. We'll increase the orphanage budget this year and arrange repairs for the building. And if good families come forward wanting to adopt, I hope you'll give the children the chance to grow up in proper homes."
The old director smiled, though there was some unease behind it.
"I'm getting too old to do much myself. Handle it however you think is best."
He was not sure whether every child would truly be happier after adoption. That decision should belong to the children as much as possible.
Whatever happened, the orphanage doors would always be open to them.
It would always be home.
The mayor eventually turned toward the Electric-type club owner as well.
"Your eldest surprised us too. An Elite Four-tier Electivire at his age is impressive. Kinnow Island's future may end up depending on this generation."
"You're giving him too much credit," the man replied with a broad smile. "He still lost, didn't he? I'll straighten that brat out when he gets home."
He spoke modestly, but nobody missed how pleased he was.
The mayor still held the strongest position on the island. He was not merely the League-appointed administrator; his family was stronger than any individual faction represented in the room. Whatever friendly atmosphere existed here, nobody had forgotten that.
Then someone produced a bottle of expensive liquor and sat beside Shun's grandfather.
"Come on, have a drink. You've got two talented boys in the family now. The younger one is still a child, but the older one must be fifteen or sixteen already, right? My granddaughter is around the same age..."
Another man immediately laughed.
"You shameless old bastard. Since when did you have a granddaughter worth introducing? Mine would be a much better match."
"Look at the two of you. You'll scare him off before anyone even gets introduced. Whether anything happens should be his decision, shouldn't it?"
Within minutes, several people were trying to turn Reiji into somebody's future grandson-in-law.
Shun's grandfather could only sip his drink and smile awkwardly.
"The boy's grown up and gotten used to doing whatever he wants. I can't control him anymore."
Nobody in the room understood how literal that was.
He could agree to every marriage proposal in the building and it would mean absolutely nothing. Reiji was not actually his grandson.
Across the room, the orphanage director caught the old man desperately looking his way for help.
He immediately turned his head and pretended not to notice.
He had problems of his own.
Several wealthy guests had suddenly become very interested in adopting children from the orphanage.
The director knew perfectly well why.
Shun and Reiji had both come from there, and both were now doing extraordinarily well. To these people, adopting another child from the same orphanage suddenly looked like buying a cheap lottery ticket.
If nothing came of it, they would barely notice the expense.
If the child grew into someone like Reiji or Shun, the return could be enormous.
The thought left a bad taste in his mouth.
Still, if one of those families could genuinely give a child a better life, he could not reject the possibility outright.
He would just have to make sure the children themselves had a say.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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