"You're back?"
The boy who'd been pacing spotted Reiji the moment he stepped from the crowd. Relief loosened his shoulders—so the guy wasn't a liar.
"This is the Scyther you wanted." Reiji held up a Ball.
The boy reached, then froze when Reiji drew it back. Right—he hadn't handed over Shelmet yet. Face red, he recalled the golden little bug, then passed the Ball across without a second glance.
"You can have Scyther," Reiji said, weighing Shelmet's Ball once.
"But a warning: Scyther's a proud fighter. If you can't put it down and capture it, don't blame me when it walks."
"Uh—what do I do then?" The boy's fingers twitched. If he released Scyther and failed to return it, the trade wouldn't 'count.' If it bolted, he'd lose everything.
"Battle court. I'll help—this once."
"You… thank you!"
They set off past the lantern-lit street toward the Pokémon Center's outside battle rings. Saya saw them go and, curious, drifted after.
On the court, Reiji popped Poliwhirl's Ball to stand by, then clicked open the one he'd bought.
"Scyther." The mantis blinked into the glare, wings humming. It had been netted and shocked when the poachers grabbed it; the ring lights needled its eyes.
"Scyther," Reiji said, simple and flat, "he's your Trainer now. You'll be with him."
Scyther glanced at the boy—and at the Pinsir beside him—and turned its face away. One look told it Pinsir wasn't a match. It wasn't about to follow a weakling.
"Try it first," Reiji told the boy. "Beat it, then capture."
"Right. Pinsir—go!"
Crunch—crunch. Pinsir snapped its horns and taunted.
Scyther could never resist a taunt. Wings shook. Blades rose. It blurred forward.
Reiji and Poliwhirl stepped back to give them the field.
No surprise in the outcome. Too fast. Before the boy could form a command, Scyther's blades carved a flurry—Pinsir dropped in seconds.
Reiji sighed. Too green. Shun's Poliwhirl could make a fight of it. This one's only around level twenty-three—not even that high. He nudged Poliwhirl.
Poliwhirl leapt—a Waterfall burst, a blue streak. It landed between the boy and the mantis, fist frosting, and—bang, bang—two tight Ice Punches folded Scyther where it stood.
If Scyther had fled, it would've been work. Charging in? That made it easy. An experienced Poliwhirl bullying a fresh Scyther wasn't a contest.
"S-So strong…" The boy hugged his fainted Pinsir, staring at Poliwhirl like it was from another world. A minute ago he craved Scyther. Now he wanted a Poliwhirl.
Kids saw power and forgot the path that built it. Common rookie mindset.
"Return it now.Go to the Pokemon Center for treatment. You can't break its will by force; win it over while it's recovering." Reiji's voice cut him loose from the trance.
The boy's gaze flicked again to Poliwhirl—then he swallowed it, recalled Scyther, and hurried for the lobby.
Reiji followed, sat in the rest area, and finally thumbed open the new Ball.
An honest-to-goodness shiny.
[Shelmet (Shiny)]
Type: Bug
Sex: Male
Potential: 51%
Level: 5.64%
Ability: Hydration /3.23% — Hidden Ability: Overcoat /2.13%
Moves: Hidden Power (Electric) /1.23%, Bug Buzz /2.34%, Absorb /2.11%, Protect /1.14%, Acid /2.21%
"As expected," he thought. The screen itself called it out: shiny. Unlike his "special cases" (Kingler's monster claws, Rhyhorn's weird water tolerance, Croagunk's poison gift, Gastly's evolve–de-evolve trick), this was the pure thing—color-variant and carrying a move it shouldn't normally have: Hidden Power (Electric).
So the faceplate gleamed gold because the electricity in its Hidden Power had "stained" the pattern. Nice find.
Hidden Power's one of those quirk moves—typing shaped by the Pokémon's own numbers. In a game, you'd slot the tag and go. Here, it's messy, rare, half talent, half luck. Not every shiny wakes one. Not every Pokémon ever will. This one did.
You don't need the theory, he told himself. Work with what exists.
He looked up, ran the pieces again. With Shelmet, the Rain Team finally clicked into a frame:
Pelipper covers weather and keeps him safe.
Poliwhirl and Scyther are strike force—speed, burst, pressure.
Kingler and Rhyhorn handle the walling and swaps.
Shelmet fills whatever gap appears—and once it evolves, Accelgor's base 145 Speed plus Unburden doubles the knife. In a scrum, you cut the head first.
He still had the "masked spider bandit" lineup off the books—Croagunk, Gastly, and the Magikarp he planned to snag—Ditto and Spinarak backing. Those stayed in the dark; witnesses would not.
On the surface, six were plenty for most trouble: Pelipper, Poliwhirl, Kingler, Rhyhorn, Scyther, Shelmet. Four more for utility—Butterfree, Slowpoke, Wishiwashi, Staryu. Maybe a Farfetch'd if that path cleared.
Fire as a counter? Rain says no. Even Scyther and future Accelgor shrug a lot of the heat under weather. Scizor's Light Metal would halve its weight after evolution; only four-times Fire stayed scary—and rain blunts that too.
Electric weakness piling up? He'd patch it later—with a legendary or two if fate let him. Regieleki, Zeraora, Zekrom, Tapu Koko, Thundurus, Raikou… or Zapdos. Not today. Not before he hit quasi-Elite power, minimum.
For now, Rhyhorn's Ground typing nullified Electric. Problem parked.
He eased back in the chair. The road ahead felt clearer than it had in weeks. Lantern light washed across the Center windows; outside, the swap meet buzzed. Inside, his six—Pelipper, Poliwhirl, Kingler, Rhyhorn, Scyther, Shelmet—settled into place as the Rain Team's first generation.
Good start.
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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