After flinging the sand, Blaziken vanished at once.
Magmar shuddered and swept its gaze around, trying to lock onto Blaziken's position.
No matter how it searched, it couldn't find a trace.
As if Blaziken had never been there at all.
Scorching Sands ebbed away; the flying grit fell back into the ground and the field stilled.
"Hm?"
Blaine had noticed the same thing. He, too, couldn't sense where Blaziken had gone.
"Now—use Bounce!"
Grey's command cut in.
A string of sonic cracks rolled from above. The air buckled, shock ripples spreading out and tugging at Magmar's nerves.
Its heart clenched; even its breathing hitched for a beat.
That single beat of distraction gave Blaziken a lethal opening.
"Cha–oh!"
A sky-blue shockfront dropped from on high. Wrapped in hard Flying-type force, Blaziken struck a one-legged stance in midair and drove its extended foot straight down at Magmar!
Magmar threw its arms wide. Fire seemed to kindle in its eyes; torrents of Fire-type energy poured into the growing fireball, heat distorting the air until even its vision swam.
"GRAAOH!!"
Both hands thrust upward—its fireball snapped into the shape of a vast flaming kanji, a roaring Fire Blast that launched at Blaziken!
The power spiked so high that even the igneous crust beneath seemed ready to melt back to magma.
Fire versus fire; as a Fire-type, Magmar felt it only right to settle this with its ace.
"Cha-oh!"
Feeling that blistering wave, Blaziken didn't flinch. If anything, the incoming Fire Blast lit its fighting spirit even hotter, pressure venting off it in surging bursts.
Grey and Blaine didn't call another order.
They knew exactly what their partners wanted.
Fire Blast slammed in—Blaziken locked its left leg, and at the instant of contact, split the blazing "大" in two with a single kick, the parted flames howling skyward!
"Gah—?!"
Magmar's pupils pin-pricked. It had never imagined Blaziken could tear its Fire Blast apart with one strike.
That one kick shocked it so hard it froze.
"Cha-oh!"
Blaziken never paused. A razor line of battle-lust flashed in its eyes. Flying energy wrapped its left leg again; it burst faster and hammered a kick straight into Magmar's face!
BOOM!!!
Impact detonated. On the very first clean hit, Magmar got booted across the field, its dusky-flamed body plowing deep furrows in the dirt.
Dust geysered up. Stray tongues of heated sand splattered, pattering down across Magmar's body.
The match was decided.
[Wait—what just happened?]
[So he chained Sand Attack into Bounce—Grey really knows his move links. (pog x6)]
[Trust Giovanni's breakdown—one line and it all clicks.]
Giovanni's comment rolled by, and a lot of savvy trainers got it.
Yes, Blaziken had been mired in Scorching Sands—but don't forget, Blaziken learns Sand Attack.
Magmar lunged in at just the wrong time, handing Blaziken the perfect window to throw sand.
And Scorching Sands being on the field meant Blaziken could fire that off near-instant; once it did, the sand's bind loosened, letting Bounce come out clean.
Every piece fed the next; miss a single step and the finish doesn't happen.
Clap, clap, clap!
Blaine recalled Magmar and applauded with both hands.
"Gym Leader Grey, your command work genuinely surprised this old man."
Grey waved it off with a modest smile. "I just got lucky. Those steps only worked because they matched Blaziken's kit at every turn."
He glanced at chat and gave a little wave. "That's a wrap for today's stream—see you next time!"
[Grey, don't log off!]
[Nooo, what am I supposed to watch with dinner now!]
[Kids, the head chef's serving nothing tonight.]
[F-tier chef!]
Nobody wanted Grey to leave.
Who knew when the next stream would be?
"Gym Leader Blaine, about that secret you mentioned—what was it?"
Grey arched a brow, rubbing his hands with curiosity.
"That… starts with something I ran into on a climb, years back."
Blaine's face softened with reminiscence, mind drifting to decades ago.
Back then he was still a carefree trainer, hiking and doing research now and then with his friend, Dr. Fuji.
"Uh, Gym Leader Blaine—could we maybe skip to the short version?"
Grey scratched his head.
Stories were great, but with Blaine's mileage, this one could take a while.
"Haha, the young are always in a hurry."
Blaine chuckled helplessly. "Of course. But this isn't the place. Let's head back to the inn."
"Works for me."
Grey nodded lightly.
He also needed to stop by the Pokémon Center; they could talk after.
…
Inside the Pokémon Center, while he waited on treatment—
Grey picked up his phone just as a message from Mustard came in.
[Mustard: Nice bout today, kid. You're starting to carry yourself like a true fighting master.]
[Grey: You flatter me, Master Mustard. I've got a long road ahead in Fighting-type arts. I'll be looking to learn much more from you.]
[Mustard: Hahaha, modest too. You're still in Kanto, right?]
[Grey: Yeah. Something went down with the S.S. Anne. I might not make it to Galar for a bit.]
[Mustard: No worries. This old man's about to head out and handle a few things too. I might not be able to host you for a while. As an apology, here's a little something.]
[Mustard: Kommo-o Training Notes.pdf]
[Grey: That's… too generous, isn't it?]
[Mustard: Just a small token. We'll chat when we've got time.]
Staring at the file, Grey blinked.
Those were training notes for a late-bloomer species. If he caught a Jangmo-o down the line, he could skip a lot of wrong turns.
Late bloomers—what most people call "pseudo-legendaries."
They evolve late and are tough to raise, but once they hit their final stage, they flip the world on its head.
"I've got to thank Master Mustard properly."
Grey rubbed at his hair, not sure how to repay him just yet.
He tucked the favor away in his heart; once he got stronger, he'd return it.
"Ding-dong~"
"Mr. Grey, your Pokémon are fully healed. Please come to the front desk to pick up your partners."
The Center's announcement chimed.
Grey collected his Poké Balls, then headed back to the inn.
Dining hall.
Blaine sat at a table with a small carafe of sake and two teacups.
When Grey arrived, he waved him over and poured a little for each of them.
After a light sip, Blaine got to the point:
"Gym Leader Grey, have you ever heard of the legendary bird Pokémon?"
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