It was Day 42 of the journey, with clear skies overhead.
He woke up early the next morning as the ship docked at Pummelo Island, but Reiji didn't disembark.
What changed his mind was something painfully stupid: in the ship's restroom, he spotted half a recruitment flyer. The address on it was the Mikan Gym, which made things awkward fast.
So he adjusted his route—skipping Pummelo Island and heading for Mikan Island instead.
Since the Mikan Gym was hiring, there was no harm in taking a look. If it didn't work out, he could always go back to Pummelo Island.
The problem was, the flyer was only half there. He couldn't even see what the job was. Still, a quick visit would only cost him a few days.
If the gym wasn't hiring anymore—or if they didn't want him—he'd just take the ship back to Pummelo Island.
After changing course, he went to the ticket counter and paid the difference, adding 20,000 Pokédollars to extend his passage to Mikan Island.
Mikan Island was right next to Mandarin Island North, on the far western edge of the Orange Archipelago. The ship would keep heading south, and it would take two days to get there. He still had two more days aboard.
He wasn't planning to spend them sprawled on a deck chair. The ship had a few entertaining spots, and with no rush, he could afford to kill time properly.
After feeding his Pokémon breakfast—and eating his own—he headed to the ship's battle club. He wanted to mess around a little, and more importantly, let the team besides Poliwhirl get used to battling in front of people.
Pelipper, Scyther, and Shelmet had never fought in an amateur match. This was a good chance to let the little guys feel the pace and pressure.
Especially Shelmet. It was time to test its aim. Scyther and Pelipper didn't worry him; both had already been through plenty of real wild fights.
As for Croagunk, Gengar, and Golbat, he couldn't use them openly. Even if they fought at all, it would have to be in private training, with Poliwhirl and the others drilling them. Poliwhirl's group had more than enough experience to teach them how to handle wild battles.
That could wait. After watching for a bit, he realized the club was running a small tournament—but it had already started, and he'd missed the sign-up.
The prize was a mid-grade Water Stone, sponsored by merchants. Whenever the ship sailed, some of them would throw up prizes to liven things up.
He had no interest in an evolution stone like that, so he didn't enter. If anything, he'd rather open a betting line himself.
He didn't even need to. Someone else had already set the odds, and all they needed was a challenger. The Pokémon on display was even a First partner Pokémon: a Wartortle.
Rich kid, then. Reiji liked rich kids—back on Kinnow Island, people like this had been generous with their "spare change."
"No challengers?" the boy scoffed. "Trainers on this ship really are weak."
"Quit running your mouth," a young man snapped. "If the strong ones weren't busy in the tournament, you wouldn't be strutting around here."
"Tch." The Wartortle's trainer curled his lip, looking down on the guy he'd just beaten.
"Damn brat…" The young man ground his teeth, but he couldn't beat him. No matter how bitter it felt, he had to swallow it.
"I'll take you on." Reiji raised a hand from the crowd, and people quickly stepped aside.
"You got money?" The boy sized Reiji up with open curiosity. Plain black tee and shorts, plain face, black hair—nothing that stood out. A complete nobody.
"I do. It's 100,000 a match, right?" Reiji walked up to the trainer platform and stopped across from him.
"That's right. If you can pay, you can challenge me." The boy looked away, already bored, like the result was settled.
"Fine." Reiji flicked a Poké Ball. "Go, Shelmet."
"Shelmet?" The boy blinked and took out his Pokédex to scan it, but the device didn't recognize the entry at all.
"It found something," someone muttered after a moment. "Unova Region Pokémon. Bug-type. No evolution…"
"No evolution? Who catches something like that? Looks like easy money."
"Maybe because it's shiny. A normal Shelmet has a pink face—this one's is gold. That's rare, at least."
"Rare doesn't mean strong. Shiny Wurmple show up too. Ever seen one win a regional tournament?"
Reiji only smiled. He couldn't be bothered to argue. Every Pokémon's evolution was the result of precious research, and he wasn't handing that out for free.
He did give one simple explanation. "I'm not from another region. I got it through a Bug-type Pokémon exchange event."
"In that case, you go first." The boy accepted the challenge and waved him on.
"You're not switching?" Reiji glanced at the Wartortle. "It's already fought a bunch of matches, hasn't it?"
"No need. Hurry up. Once I beat you, that's three straight." The boy pressed him, impatience creeping into his voice.
Reiji shrugged. "Alright. Shelmet—Mud Shot."
As Shelmet fired, Reiji read the field at a glance.
Wartortle evolved at level 36. That meant this one topped out around Elite tier—maybe peak Elite tier, close to evolving, but not yet Advanced tier.
Shelmet wasn't weak either. It was Elite tier as well. He'd had it for a little over a month; when he first caught it, it was only level 5.
A month later, it had already reached Elite tier.
[Shelmet(Shiny)]
[Type: Bug][Gender: Male][Potential: 51%][Level: 26.24%]
[Ability: Hydration (12.23%) / Hidden Ability: Overcoat (9.13%)]
[Moves: Hidden Power (Electric) (2.23%), Bug Buzz (11.34%), Absorb (15.11%), Protect (9.14%), Acid (18.21%), Mud Shot (22.22%), Leech Life (11.23%), Mega Drain (8.82%)
He checked Shelmet's status again. Level 26—firmly into Elite tier now.
Hydration was up nine percent. Overcoat was up seven.
Hidden Power Electric hadn't budged.
Bug Buzz was up nine.
Absorb had jumped thirteen. He had no idea what the little glutton had been draining, but it clearly worked.
Protect was up eight. Lately, it had been training alongside Kingler.
Acid was up sixteen—probably from digesting meals.
On top of that, Shelmet had picked up new moves over this stretch.
Mud Shot had the highest proficiency by far, the payoff from constant drills.
Leech Life was another Bug-type move with a similar purpose to Absorb.
Mega Drain was an upgraded version of Absorb. Shelmet had apparently learned it just by draining and draining—absurdly gifted.
That was Shelmet's one-month jump. Reiji hadn't paid it much attention before; he'd simply laid out a training plan and let Kingler supervise the younger ones. He hadn't expected Shelmet to be this sharp already.
"Wartortle, Water Gun!" The boy answered Mud Shot with Water Gun to wash it out.
The two started trading shots. After spitting a Mud Shot, Shelmet dropped the shell-mask over its face and rolled sideways, letting the Water Gun spray past.
Because Shelmet moved first, Wartortle was a beat late. Two more Mud Shots slammed in, and the slowing effect kicked in.
"Shelmet, keep using Mud Shot!"
"Shel-shel!" Shelmet flipped its shell-mask up, spotted the muck clinging to Wartortle, and spat another Mud Shot straight into it.
"Wartortle, don't lose to it—Water Gun!" The boy's Wartortle took the hit personally. It dug in, determined to win on accuracy.
He'd walked right into a trap. Shelmet's aim had been trained on purpose; beating it in a shooting match was never going to be easy.
Since the other side insisted on dueling aim, the plan stayed simple. "Shelmet, stop dodging. Mud Shot—trade shots with it."
Mud Shot against Water Gun was fine even if it got washed away. But every hit was profit, because Mud Shot kept cutting speed. Wartortle was only going to get slower.
Once the exchange had gone on long enough, Reiji switched gears. "Shelmet, close in—Mega Drain!"
Shelmet pulled its shell-mask down and rolled straight toward Wartortle.
"Wartortle, Water Gun—blow it back!" The boy still chose Water Gun. With its speed reduced, Wartortle couldn't dodge anymore, so he tried to knock Shelmet away.
But Wartortle's aim was sloppy. Without targeted training, hitting a moving target even half the time was already decent—and Shelmet wasn't a friendly target.
Shelmet circled Wartortle in a tight loop and latched on with Mega Drain, drawing pale green energy from it and feeding it back into itself.
"This is bad… I can't let it keep going. I need to get this mud off," the boy muttered, scrambling for an answer. Wartortle could barely move like this.
"I've got it!" His eyes lit up. "Wartortle, pull into your shell—spin and fling the water bubbles to wash the mud off!"
"Shelmet, Protect." Reiji clicked his tongue. The kid was getting cheap—copying one of Ash's tricks. He had Shelmet block the wide splash.
When Wartortle finished spinning, Reiji didn't let it breathe. "Shelmet, Bug Buzz—aim it at the shell!"
"Shel-shel!" Before Wartortle could recover, Shelmet rolled right up, flipped its shell-mask open, and let out a sharp cry into the shell. The sound hit like a hammer, and Wartortle went slack.
Wartortle poked its head out, swaying, its eyes spiraling. It staggered twice, then collapsed flat.
"I… lost." The boy stared, voice hollow. He'd lost to a Pokémon everyone said couldn't even evolve.
"Pay up." Reiji recalled Shelmet, murmured a quick word of praise to the Poké Ball, then held out his hand.
"I'm not done." The boy yanked Wartortle back, threw another 100,000 Pokédollars over, and sent out his second Pokémon—Ivysaur.
Money received, Reiji released his second Pokémon as well. "Pelipper."
"Grass against Water—this'll be a show…"
"Did you fail your exams? Pelipper has the advantage."
"Isn't Pelipper Water-type?"
"It's Flying-type too. It counters Ivysaur."
"You can switch," Reiji told the boy. "You threw first. I'm not here to farm you on a type mismatch."
"Really?" After losing once, the boy hesitated. Taking another loss while at a type disadvantage would sting even worse.
Right then, an ill-timed taunt cut in—coming from the young man the boy had mocked earlier.
"Heh. Weren't you tough a minute ago? Why switch now?"
"Yeah, yeah. You're not the kind who can't take a loss, right? You just won two straight."
"Coward. Too scared to fight—coward!"
With the crowd egging him on, the boy clenched his teeth. Even if he lost, he wanted them to shut up. "Shut up! I'm not switching!"
"Alright. You go first." Reiji could only laugh. Young guys always rose to bait—if it were him, he'd switch without a second thought.
"Ivysaur, Razor Leaf!" With first move, the boy attacked immediately.
"Pelipper, Rain—! Dodge!" Reiji blurted out one word, then cut himself off. Rain Dance into Hurricane would be enough against Ivysaur.
But this was an indoor ship arena. Going that big would wreck the place, and Pelipper didn't even know Hurricane anyway. It only had Wing Attack and Gust, so he shifted to a kiting plan.
"Pelipper, Agility—then Tailwind. After that, Wing Attack!"
"Pelli—!" Pelipper had been ready to use Rain Dance, then heard "dodge" and nearly ate a Razor Leaf.
For a second, it thought something was wrong with its trainer. It hung in the air, waiting for clear orders—one more delay and it would have fought on instinct.
Once Reiji spoke, Pelipper weaved through the Razor Leafs, set up Tailwind, and boosted itself with Agility. It kept getting faster until Razor Leaf couldn't even touch it.
Then came the bombardment.
Pelipper owned the sky here—high ground against a grounded target. With each wingbeat, it flung cutting gusts down like shells, slamming into Ivysaur again and again.
Ivysaur could only take the beating. It got rattled, then teared up, and finally dropped, knocked out cold.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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