Day 41 of the journey — clear.
Early the next morning, Reiji got up in his hotel's king room, ate the breakfast the hotel delivered, and fed his Pokémon their own meal. Then he slung on his backpack, took the elevator down, and went to the front desk.
The receptionist told him Gym Leader Luana was at the Gym, but she had challengers to deal with first. His assessment would be last, probably around ten o'clock.
He could head over early to watch if he wanted. Reiji agreed. Getting a feel for Luana's style ahead of time wouldn't hurt.
He'd seen Luana's doubles battles in his previous life, but that had been the anime. In reality, there was no way she was someone who'd go down easily.
And a Gym apprentice assessment wasn't the same thing as a standard challenge. Challengers were basically being screened by the League as potential competitors—people who could enter the Orange League Victory Cup—so the bar didn't need to be absurdly high. Good enough to pass was good enough.
An apprentice was different. That was Luana taking someone in as her own student. She wouldn't be sloppy about it, and the assessment would be tougher than a regular Gym battle.
Reiji also didn't know whether the apprentice assessment would still be doubles. The two formats tested very different things, so he could only follow whatever the Gym Leader decided.
When he was brought into the Gym, he saw Luana battling a challenger—and sure enough, it was a doubles match.
After watching just two battles, Reiji could tell she was holding back. If Luana fought these challengers at full strength, nobody would clear the Gym.
"Next! Next!"
All the way through, every challenger faced the same pair: Alakazam and Marowak. Their coordination was ridiculous—Alakazam pinned opponents in place with psychic power, and Marowak hammered them with Bonemerang after Bonemerang.
Even Alakazam's "fatigue" at the end was an act. Most challengers were at Elite tier at best, with the strongest only reaching Advanced tier. If Luana went all-out on newcomers like that, it'd be bullying.
Once the last challenger finished, Luana picked up the roster and called out, "Trainer Reiji?"
"Here," Reiji answered, raising a hand as he stood. He stepped down from the seats and walked onto the field.
"You want to join the Gym?" Luana glanced at the registration sheet, where his basic info was written.
"Yes, Gym Leader Luana." Reiji nodded without hesitation. That was why he'd come.
"Born on Kinnow Island… and you're not League-certified?" Luana frowned slightly. The odd part wasn't Kinnow Island—it was the fact he was still a freelance trainer.
The "parents" line was blank as well, which meant he had none. An orphan not becoming League-certified wasn't unusual. In that case, joining a Gym really was the most straightforward path left.
"Yes." When he registered, Reiji hadn't bothered forging anything. If she checked, she'd find the truth anyway—his status with the League wasn't something he could hide from her.
"Release your Pokémon," Luana said, setting the paper aside. "My assessment is doubles."
Reiji noticed she didn't recall Alakazam or Marowak. She planned to test him with the same two—despite how many matches they'd already fought.
If she insisted, he had nothing to argue. He flicked two Poké Balls forward and released his choices: Poliwhirl and Scyther. While he'd been watching, he'd already mapped out how to handle this pairing.
"Poliwhirl? Scyther?" Luana gave a small, approving nod. "Good picks."
He knew what he was doing. If he didn't, he wouldn't have brought a Water-type and a Bug-type to face her. Against her, Water plus Dark would be ideal. He probably didn't have a Dark-type, so he'd gone with Bug to pressure Psychic instead.
"Alright. You take the first move."
"Scyther—Swords Dance. Tailwind," Reiji ordered, taking the free turn to set up.
"Alakazam, Psychic." Luana's eyes narrowed a fraction. She looked genuinely surprised he didn't rush in right away, choosing boosts instead—both power and speed.
So he wasn't a reckless rookie, and he wasn't merely someone with a bit of experience. He had a real battle plan, something structured and deliberate.
"Scyther, X-Scissor—block it," Reiji called the moment Scyther finished its dance.
Scyther snapped in front of Poliwhirl, crossing its scythe-arms before its chest. Pale green Bug-type energy clung to the blades as Alakazam's psychic force surged in.
Alakazam tried to slip around and seize Poliwhirl anyway, but the Bug-type energy flared and knocked the psychic grip aside.
"Good," Reiji said. "Scyther, keep Tailwind pressure on Alakazam. Poliwhirl—Waterfall on Marowak. Rotate cover for each other. Go!"
Only Scyther could reliably break Alakazam's control, so he had them advance as a pair—one shielding, one striking. Tailwind boosted them both, but Reiji still didn't stack Agility on Scyther. If Scyther got too far ahead, Poliwhirl couldn't keep pace, and their teamwork would fall apart.
"Alakazam—Psyshock," Luana snapped, switching lines the moment they pushed forward. Letting Alakazam get pinned up close was asking for trouble.
Scyther saw the psychic attack lance out—solidified mental force aimed at Poliwhirl—and cut across it with X-Scissor, splitting the wave apart.
Behind that cover, Poliwhirl's white-gloved fists tightened. It sprang forward in two bounding Waterfall hops and appeared right in front of Marowak, driving a punch down—
Marowak vanished at the instant the blow would've landed.
"Marowak, Bonemerang. Alakazam—Teleport with Marowak!"
"Teleport," Reiji repeated sharply. "Heads up—watch that bone."
He'd expected it. And he had an answer.
"Poliwhirl—Water Gun into the air!"
"Poli!" Poliwhirl spat water upward, misting the space above them. The air around the field turned heavy and damp.
"Scyther, keep sensing for their attacks—especially the bone," Reiji said. "Cover Poliwhirl and watch the blind spots."
Scyther's awareness training paid off. Its Swarm instinct had helped it dodge plenty of clubbing strikes before, and now it needed to buy time for Poliwhirl to settle into Moisture sensing.
"Your Pokémon are quick," Luana admitted, watching Scyther weave through repeated threats while still warning Poliwhirl and withstanding Alakazam's psychic offense. "So how are you planning to deal with Teleport—and those attacks coming from everywhere?"
"Scyther," Reiji said, steady, "listen to Poliwhirl from here on."
Moisture sensing wasn't like Scyther's reactive reads. It was active—an awareness that took control of the whole field.
With that online, Poliwhirl could track everything. Scyther just needed to follow its calls. Reiji handed over the lead because his own reactions couldn't match what Poliwhirl could pick up now, and bad mid-fight micromanaging would only get in the way.
"Poli! Poli!" Poliwhirl signaled, and the two moved again—rotating cover and pressure with practiced rhythm from countless sparring sessions.
Scyther kept swatting away the psychic threats. Poliwhirl used Moisture sensing to hunt openings on Marowak, all while that spinning bone kept threatening to clip them from odd angles.
Luana watched closely, but even she couldn't immediately tell what Poliwhirl was setting up. Still, the confidence was obvious: as long as Poliwhirl stayed in the fight, they believed they could solve Alakazam's Teleport.
Then the feints started.
Poliwhirl and Scyther pushed in just hard enough to force another Teleport. Alakazam blinked away with Marowak, repositioning again.
The moment Marowak disappeared, Poliwhirl stopped moving. It stood still, calm. Scyther held guard beside it, waiting.
Marowak flickered back into view—
Poliwhirl exploded forward.
Its feet kicked off with a sharp burst of power. With Tailwind still driving it, it crossed the distance so fast it was almost a blink, reappearing right in front of Marowak and dropping a fist like a hammer.
Alakazam Teleported again to save it, yanking Marowak away just in time.
The punch still landed—on the ground. A crater opened where Marowak had been.
If Marowak had stayed, that single hit would've knocked it out cold.
When Alakazam and Marowak reappeared, Scyther was the closest. Its wings buzzed, and it snapped a scythe toward the nearest target, forcing another hurried shift.
Teleport. Reposition.
And the instant it ended, Poliwhirl was there again.
This time, Poliwhirl was even faster. It slammed its fist down—
Marowak collapsed into the crater, knocked out on the spot.
"Marow… wak…" Marowak tried to stir, but it couldn't keep up. Teleport wasn't its move, and the delay in being carried through it cost it everything.
That was exactly why Reiji had focused Marowak first. Once Marowak was gone, Alakazam became manageable. As long as Alakazam didn't concede, it still couldn't run forever—not against this.
Luana stared, disbelief flashing across her face. "How is that Poliwhirl that fast? And that kind of burst—how is it hitting that hard?"
By rights, that kind of explosive output shouldn't last. Yet one blow had flattened Marowak—and Marowak hadn't been "acting." Luana hadn't asked it to.
The truth was simpler than it looked. Poliwhirl was built for bursts, and Tailwind doubled down on that. On this field, the speed difference made it feel like it was teleporting. Add the type advantage, and Marowak never stood a chance of staying upright.
As long as Alakazam couldn't Teleport off the battlefield, it would get caught sooner or later. It only needed to slip once. Poliwhirl could miss a hundred times and keep coming; Alakazam couldn't afford even one mistake.
"Alakazam, be careful," Luana warned. "That Poliwhirl is under Tailwind. It's fast."
"Scyther—pressure Alakazam," Reiji said.
It was two-on-one now. With this setup, he couldn't see a clean way to lose.
Scyther shot forward, stacking Agility into Quick Attack under Tailwind. Its raw speed was terrifying—faster than Poliwhirl for sure, even if it didn't have Poliwhirl's sudden, crushing burst.
Alakazam had no choice but to Teleport again to avoid being cut down.
But the moment it reappeared, Poliwhirl was already there—Waterfall hops chaining together as it leapt right into Alakazam's space, fist raised for its head.
"Alakazam—Psychic!"
"Zam!" Alakazam's psychic force finally clamped down on Poliwhirl mid-swing, stopping it at the last instant. Poliwhirl fought hard against the hold, muscles trembling as it strained to break free.
That was Luana's best line—if Poliwhirl was the real threat, then neutralize Poliwhirl first.
But she'd forgotten something.
Scyther was still on the field, and it was fast enough to cross the arena in a blink.
"Careful, Alakazam—!"
Luana's warning came a fraction too late. Alakazam jolted as it realized the scythe-bladed finisher was already closing in.
It dropped Poliwhirl instantly and Teleported away.
Scyther sliced through empty air, and as soon as Alakazam appeared again, Poliwhirl's Moisture sensing locked onto it. Two Waterfall hops, and Poliwhirl was back in its face—this time with Ice Punch.
From there, it turned ugly fast.
Alakazam burned Teleport again and again, its stamina draining with every escape. Its timing slowed, its movements dulled, and the moment it hesitated, Poliwhirl caught it clean with Ice Punch and knocked it out.
Trying to outlast Poliwhirl was the stupidest choice Alakazam could make. Poliwhirl could keep running Waterfall hops all morning if it had to. Alakazam wasn't going to Teleport nonstop for hours—especially not while being harassed by two attackers who never let it breathe.
Psychic power wasn't the same as endurance. When it ran low, mistakes came easy—and once Alakazam was forced into nothing but running, it was just getting hit until it fell.
When the battle ended, Luana recalled her Alakazam and clapped. "That was excellent."
"Come back, Poliwhirl. Scyther," Reiji said, recalling both. He didn't know whether Luana had shown her full strength, but he had. And that Alakazam had at least fought with quasi–Elite Four tier pressure.
"Trainer Reiji," Luana said, looking at him anew, "you did very well. Especially that Poliwhirl—your training is outstanding."
She still couldn't quite wrap her head around it: someone this strong, and yet not even League-certified.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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