The art exhibition had been a smashing success!
Chili, the "Art Know-it-All," had already heard of his fame and was thoroughly captivated by his art—he was now a devoted fan?
Judging by the anime, Chili had dabbled in virtually every field of the arts, including but not limited to subways, fishing, movies, and painting.
"I saw that exhibition at the Mistralton Gallery! It stirred my soul!"
Chili excitedly grabbed Hikaru's hands.
"…It hasn't even been that long," Hikaru muttered.
It had only been about ten days since the Mistralton exhibition.
News sure traveled fast in Unova.
"Uwah… You're really a celebrity, huh? Are you really that famous?" Fennel looked a bit tense, then whispered to Truffle, "I didn't expect Hikaru to be this well-known. Maybe the Vice Chief title we gave him was too low?"
Truffle couldn't bear to watch her sister anymore.
"There you go, fantasizing again."
Chili tidied up his appearance.
His brothers, Cress and Cilan, also came over excitedly to get an autograph. The triplet brothers were highly enthusiastic about anything related to art. When they heard that Hikaru had come to challenge their Gym...
"You're challenging the Striaton Gym? What an honor to have you grace our humble hall!"
Cilan, the Water-type specialist, was trembling with excitement. "Ah, a battle held in a restaurant—just thinking about the artistic nature of it makes me shiver. Please, please, I must be the one—"
"Please battle me instead! I'm way stronger!" Cress, the Fire-type specialist, energetically shoved his elegant water brother aside.
"No! We should pick based on type advantage," Chili proposed a compromise.
"It may seem a bit odd, but that's how the Striaton Gym works. We base the battle on the type you choose."
Cress and Cilan looked at each other, both eyes full of anticipation.
Alright! That was the fairest way!
"Water," Hikaru answered.
Chili's eyes lit up instantly!
Yes! A Water-type Pokémon! That meant he got to battle!
"Then, Sensei, I shall be your opponent!"
Chili could barely contain his joy, while Cress and Cilan looked visibly disappointed.
No way... A chance to exchange ideas through battle with a genius artist—and it slipped away!
"Hmm, seems like Chili has the stronger Pokémon, huh?"
Hikaru thought to himself. In the games, Chili only had a Pansage, Crustle, and Stunfisk.
But from the looks of it now, maybe Chili kept all his strong ones at home for his brothers to use.
"It's a great honor!"
Chili was in high spirits. Time to get some warm-up in!
"Since you're here to challenge us, we'll treat you with utmost hospitality!"
At this hour, the restaurant wasn't very crowded. The walls of the dining area opened up, revealing a battle stage hidden deep inside the Gym!
"My first Pokémon is Simisage!"
Just as expected—not Pansage, but its evolved form!
Simisage landed on the battlefield. Its tall, grassy hair was its signature feature—three yellow bulbs resembling cauliflower crowns atop its head. Its fan-like ears and sharp eyes gave it a fierce expression, and two white eyebrows added to its wild charisma.
"Hoo hoo—" Simisage was clearly itching for a fight.
And then—
Hikaru threw out a Dream Ball. The unusual Poké Ball caught the triplets by surprise.
A massive figure dropped onto the battlefield, casting a colossal shadow over Simisage.
And most importantly—
"Gwah!"
Simisage stared at the creature before it, stunned, then immediately clutched its leafy head in panic.
Ah! It's that raiding dragon from the dream world!
H-He came to rob me again?!
Calyrex, where are you?! Save me, Dream King!
"Rooar!" Walking Wake scratched its mane with its little claw.
Its eyes lit up!
Oh! Aren't you our old pal?
That glowing cauliflower crop from the farm was grown from the florets on your head! Calyrex even praised it!
That means... maybe I can pluck another one this time—except now we're in the real world!
Walking Wake started drooling.
That radiant veggie really was delicious!
"Roar! (Friend! Delicious!)"
"Gwah! (Save me!)"
Simisage was freaking out, glancing desperately at Chili.
No, no! We can't fight this guy!
"Huh? I've never seen that Pokémon before! What is it?!" Chili was baffled.
Cress and Cilan were equally puzzled. Fennel and Truffle were watching the battle, also speculating.
"That's the partner he brought from the dream world… Looks really strong."
"It's a Dragon-type… and if I recall, he brought back two Dream Balls."
Truffle reminded her, and Fennel suddenly remembered.
"Right, there were two!"
"If that's just the first, what's the second going to be?!"
Chili was extremely nervous.
Oh no…
This is a rookie Gym, but you throw that out right at the start?
That's way above our battle level!
Is that even legal?!
Chili suddenly felt immense pressure.
"A dragon? I didn't expect to be up against something like that from the get-go!"
"Just standing there—it looks ridiculously powerful. But… that graceful posture is quite artistic too!"
Chili's eyes sparkled. At first glance, Walking Wake might seem strange, but the longer you looked, the more its wild and aquatic beauty emerged.
And most importantly—
Chili didn't recognize Suicune.
So his first impression of Walking Wake was a very good one!
"In that case! Simisage, Sunny Day—wait, what? You know this guy? Why aren't you attacking?!"
Simisage was on the verge of speaking:
"Hoo hoo! (That's an old rival, we can't win—! And you activated Sunny Day?!)"
Simisage instantly lost all will to fight. The trauma of losing its cauliflower crown still haunted it. Even after evolving, it still couldn't beat this guy!
Oh Chili!
You're too young to understand some Pokémon are double agents!
Sunny Day for the sunny crew, Rain Dance for the rain gang!
You thought he was Water-type…
But he can use Fire too!
Who did you think Sunny Day benefits?!
Chili, this is weather strategy—you can't handle it!
"Hey, hey! Why'd you suddenly lose the will to fight?!"
Chili was totally confused. He recalled Simisage and quickly reassessed the situation.
Bit embarrassing… A Gym Leader's Pokémon just flat out refused to battle.
The pressure was mounting!
Until now, he'd only battled against Lillipup, Pidove, or maybe Tepig and Snivy.
Though some trainers had been pretty brutal—someone even threw out a Darmanitan the other day!
But none of that compared to the sheer pressure of this guy!
"Alright, had a bit of a hiccup! Now it's judgment time. My second Pokémon—Maractus!"
Maractus?
Hikaru mused.
That's a World Championship pick.
The Maractus hit the field and looked up—
Wait a sec! Isn't that Walking Wake?!
"Shaaa! (Oh no! The evil dragon is here!)"
Maractus raised its arms in surrender!
Don't Flamethrower me! I give up!
That was textbook Kalos-style surrender!
Your notoriety in Unova—from roadside Lillipup to the Tao Trio—is known far and wide!
"I… sincerely apologize!"
Chili was drenched in cold sweat. He had no idea why his Pokémon were surrendering like this, but loss of battle will meant an automatic defeat. Now he only had one Pokémon left.
Meanwhile, Cress and Cilan were shaking their heads.
"What's up with that dragon? Some special Ability?"
"Chili's Pokémon seem terrified. Even if it were Intimidate, it wouldn't be like this."
The Water and Fire brothers looked at each other, baffled.
No battle had even begun, and two Pokémon were already out?
Still, the brothers weren't too concerned. After all, they had Pokémon on their belts that also caught sight of Walking Wake.
Oh man! It's that dragon!
No doubt—it was the dream-world raider!
Thankfully, we're not the ones battling!
Simisear on Cress's belt let out a sigh of relief. But the passionate Cress noticed the Poké Ball shaking and joked:
"Oh! Simisear, do you want to battle that Pokémon too?"
Simisear: "…"
Cress, if you don't understand Pokémon-speak, stop making assumptions. Fire-type trainers always talk nonsense!
You think anyone understands this?!
Simisear was done.
And Hikaru was also exasperated.
Walking Wake's twin tails thumped the ground impatiently.
Agh, it's all familiar faces—anyone new around here?
"Grooowl…"
Walking Wake let out a low growl, clearly annoyed.
What's with this human trainer?
Can't you bring out something stronger?!
They're all old victims!
"How many Pokémon did you mess with in the dream world?"
Hikaru asked mentally.
Walking Wake shook its head.
Who knows!?
But ever since Calyrex started farming, we've been more disciplined when looting!
Look, the dream world is still packed with Pokémon!
That just means my recruitment efforts have been outstanding!
You can't just focus on what I take—look at all I contribute!
"Alright, alright…" Hikaru rubbed his forehead. "You're the hardest working, no question."
"Roo~ (Darn right~!)"
Walking Wake was in high spirits—but seeing the opponent hesitate again, it was instantly annoyed.
Are we gonna fight or not?! Scaring them off proves strength, but I want to show off in the real world too!
So lame!
Sensing the dragon's irritation and contempt, Chili switched up his plan.
Even if he was a rookie Gym Leader, he wasn't about to be looked down on by a single Pokémon.
"Alright! Come out, my ace!"
Chili swapped Poké Balls mid-battle, summoning his highest-level Pokémon to take on the colossal dragon!
He was originally going to say, "You haven't reached the level I was expecting…"
But now, he was the one not meeting expectations!
A massive, serpentine Pokémon emerged!
Its back was dark green, its belly light green, and yellow regal patterns adorned its body. Two leafy coils near its neck resembled cuffs and collars. Its red eyes radiated arrogance and nobility!
Serperior! The final evolution of Snivy!
It could amplify solar energy dozens of times through its long body.
Cress and Cilan exchanged a look.
"A long time ago, when we set off on our journeys, we received Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott from Professor Cedric Juniper. They later evolved into our ace Pokémon."
Chili snapped his fingers. "It's been a while since Serperior had a real battle. But it's eager. And I believe now's the perfect time."
Serperior's intense stare alone could freeze lesser Pokémon. It would only go all-out against opponents who didn't flinch under its noble gaze.
And now—it was staring directly at Walking Wake!
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/zaelum]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]