"Blastoise, you're up." Cissy decided to send out Blastoise against Reiji. She'd heard a little about him, but not much. Blastoise was the safest pick—at least she wouldn't lose too badly.
"Blastoise, huh…" Reiji rubbed his chin, thinking. That Blastoise had evolved a little over a month ago. Blastoise evolves at level 36, which meant this one was at least Advanced tier.
"Poliwhirl, you go." Reiji glanced over his twelve Pokémon and found himself hesitating.
If he sent out Butterfree and the others, she might take it as him looking down on her. If he used Scyther or Rhyhorn, they wouldn't know how to "play along." Kingler was too straightforward—he'd probably miss the point entirely. In the end, Poliwhirl was the only sensible choice.
He'd partnered with Poliwhirl for a long time. One look was usually enough.
"Poli." Poliwhirl caught Reiji's blink and immediately understood what kind of act he wanted. After spending so long together, it knew exactly what sort of trick he was trying to pull.
"Blas-toise." Blastoise looked eager too. It hadn't battled in a while—most of the Gym's challenges were Water Gun target shooting or surfing races. It surfed with Cissy all the time, but actual combat was rare.
"Poliwhirl, you can go first." Cissy raised the battle platform, covering the pool beneath, and brought both Blastoise and Poliwhirl onto the field.
Since he had the first move, Reiji decided to probe. "Poliwhirl—Mud Shot. Slow it down."
"Blastoise, use Water Gun and shoot them down." Cissy wanted to test Poliwhirl's accuracy. Yesterday it had looked sharp at target practice, but that didn't always translate to a real match.
Mud clods and jets of water collided midair. Blastoise picked off every shot cleanly, knocking Poliwhirl's Mud Shot aside one after another.
Reiji's eyes narrowed. Cissy had raised this Blastoise well. Trading shots with Poliwhirl without falling behind wasn't easy—at the very least, its aim was rock-solid.
"All right then." Reiji lifted his voice. "Poliwhirl—Hypnosis…"
Poliwhirl almost blanked. It had been so long it nearly forgot how to do it. Reiji quietly reminded it—use the spiral pattern on its belly. Poliwhirl swayed its body and flashed the spiral markings toward Blastoise, trying to draw it in.
"Blastoise, Withdraw—then Iron Defense." The moment she heard "Hypnosis," Cissy reacted. Blastoise pulled into its shell so it wouldn't have to look at Poliwhirl's belly markings, avoiding the trick entirely, and used the opening to toughen up its defense.
"Poliwhirl, Bubble Beam." Reiji had barely touched these kinds of moves lately. They didn't fit how he usually fought, and he'd never bothered to drill them.
These days, Poliwhirl could walk into most fights and drop opponents with a single punch. Same weight class, close-range—very few could handle it.
Still, even if it rarely used them, Poliwhirl could do it. It spat a stream of bubbles at Blastoise's tucked-in shell.
"Blastoise, Rapid Spin—charge straight through!"
Blastoise's shell snapped into a spinning blur as it barreled forward. The bubbles bounced harmlessly away.
"Poliwhirl, Protect."
"Poli." Poliwhirl knew they'd done enough. It was time to pretend it couldn't keep up. It threw up Protect and braced against the spinning Blastoise, holding for a few breaths before "running out of steam" and letting itself get smashed backward.
This whole exchange didn't match Reiji's usual style at all. When he fought for real, he hit like a storm—fast, relentless, no time to breathe. He'd press with lightning pace and keep the pressure on until the opponent broke.
Today, though, he'd had Poliwhirl use moves it almost never touched. Poliwhirl itself had nearly forgotten it even had them, and the execution was clumsy. That was the point. It made them look weaker than they were.
The moment Reiji called for Protect instead of dodging, Poliwhirl understood the cue. If it wasn't time yet, Reiji would've told it to slip away—not stand its ground.
Poliwhirl took the hit and flew, slamming into the wall. It even lifted an arm to "catch" itself, then slid down the surface and shut its eyes, playing dead.
"Poliwhirl!" Reiji ran over and shouted twice. With his back to Cissy, he blinked at Poliwhirl and gave a discreet thumbs-up, praising the performance.
"…Poli." After Reiji shook it awake, Poliwhirl clutched its chest and struggled to its feet, acting like it could still fight.
"No, Poliwhirl." Reiji let out a loud, deliberate sigh—one meant for Cissy to hear. That should do it.
"If this is all you've got, then I—" Cissy almost said it outright: if Reiji was this weak, she wasn't going to vouch for him.
Yesterday, that Poliwhirl had looked decent. In an actual battle, though, it had been awful. Maybe she'd misjudged it.
Reiji cut her off before she could finish. "Gym Leader Cissy, I should just leave. I'm not strong enough. I'm not fit to join the Mikan Gym…"
"Uh—" Cissy choked on the words. Whatever she'd been about to say died in her throat, and frustration spiked hard.
Because now she saw his opening. She couldn't scold him. She couldn't even show annoyance. The second she did, he'd use "I'm leaving the Mikan Gym" as an excuse.
He didn't care about any of that. He was here for a top-grade Water Stone—and she wasn't about to hand one over.
But if she didn't hand it over, she couldn't blow up at him and still keep him around.
And if she did hand it over, he'd walk out on the spot. Why would he stick around to listen to her nagging?
Trying to string him along with empty promises wouldn't work either. Once or twice, maybe. After that, even she would struggle to believe her own words—and Reiji clearly wasn't the type to bite on that kind of bait. It was a mess. How was she supposed to break out of this?
"Come back." Reiji raised his Poké Ball, as if to recall his Pokémon and leave the Mikan Gym for good.
It was all an act.
If he'd chosen to join the Mikan Gym, he wasn't going anywhere until he got what he wanted. This "leaving" routine was just for show.
"Wait!" Cissy called out, hurrying after him. She knew he was acting—but she couldn't be sure he wouldn't actually walk. If there was even a chance, she had to treat it like it was real.
"Gym Leader Cissy. What now?" Reiji couldn't even be bothered to look at her. She wouldn't vouch for him, she looked down on him for being "weak," and now she still had him in a chokehold.
"Be the acting Gym Leader for now. I'll go to the Pokémon Center and ask about it for you." Cissy had no choice but to steady him first, then handle his new trainer certification and help him get a Pokédex.
She was the Gym Leader here. As long as Reiji's identity checked out, a new trainer certification was nothing. She'd only tried to make things difficult earlier—and somehow she'd ended up cornering herself instead.
"Forget it. I can't even pass the new trainer certification. I'll just embarrass you if I stay." Reiji waved it off, acting resigned, like he was too weak and too shameful to be seen around her Gym.
Cissy ground her teeth. He looked pleased with himself. But she couldn't show it. Her earlier read had been spot-on—this guy was shameless.
"Don't worry. I'll have it done before I'm back tonight."
"This… won't be too much trouble for you, will it, Gym Leader Cissy? If it's a hassle, just forget it." With his back turned, Reiji smiled to himself.
That was his whole trick: act like you don't care. No soft spots. Nothing for them to grab.
And sure enough, the teenage Gym Leader bit. It worked every time, and it would keep working as long as she still wanted to get back at him—because every time she tried, she'd have to give ground first.
If she ever snapped and finally exploded at him, he could handle that too.
It was the same logic as dealing with a lapdog. The moment the lapdog stops begging, you toss it a bone and it's right back at your heel. Naoki was the perfect example.
"Enough." Cissy didn't want to look at him anymore. "You'll be acting as the Gym Leader. And while you're at it, make sure Senta finishes his homework."
Once she'd agreed to handle Reiji's certification, she recalled her Pokémon and left the Gym in a hurry. If she stayed any longer, she might actually hit someone.
"Understood, Gym Leader." Reiji put on a polite smile and saw her out. The moment he turned back, his eyes locked onto Senta with obvious malice.
Senta bristled the second he saw Reiji's grin. "What are you planning? I'm challenging you—Pokémon battle!"
"Sure." Reiji couldn't be less interested in a kid's homework. And Senta was the Gym Leader's little prince—he'd never lack food, money, or training resources. What was the point of grinding himself into the ground?
He had an older sister. Let her work hard. As long as he stayed decent, he'd be fine. She'd get married someday anyway, and the Gym would still end up in his hands.
When the elders were gone, the Pokémon they left behind would still protect the family. The Gym Leader seat wasn't going anywhere.
"I choose you, Squirtle! Beat him!"
"Poliwhirl—knock it out." Reiji didn't bother with anything else. He sent Poliwhirl back in and told it to end the fight.
As expected, Poliwhirl tanked the Water Gun, hopped in close, and dropped Squirtle with a light punch. The Squirtle probably hadn't been with him for long. It wasn't even Elite tier yet. Poliwhirl couldn't have cared less.
"All right." Reiji clapped his hands. "Same morning routine."
He called over Pelipper, Poliwhirl, Kingler, Rhyhorn, Scyther, and Shelmet—six of his main Pokémon—and had them start training like usual.
Butterfree's group kept up their Confusion practice. The rest of the little ones could mess around as they pleased. From here on out, they'd be in a more free-range routine anyway.
Poliwhirl and Scyther ran with weights. Reiji had them circle the pool around the battlefield. Hanhan and Kingler ran too, and Shelmet joined in to build stamina.
Pelipper's Rain Dance had to stay outside. Reiji wasn't about to get soaked indoors.
Soon, his Pokémon were training in neat, orderly rhythm.
Senta woke Squirtle up and watched for a long time. In the end, he still couldn't make sense of it. It was just weighted running.
Could that really make Pokémon stronger?
He couldn't help asking, "So… this is how you get stronger?"
"Uh… it's still better than you." Reiji didn't bother hiding his attitude, but he also didn't go too far. Squirtle wasn't hurt. It had probably just been scared into passing out.
Senta clenched his fists. He finally got it—Reiji couldn't beat his sister, but Senta couldn't beat Reiji. Forget Poliwhirl. Senta only had one Squirtle. Reiji had a whole team.
"Squirtle, we're running too." Senta didn't like copying notes, but he did like Pokémon. He liked battling too.
If Reiji ran with his Pokémon, there had to be a reason. Senta would follow along. Sooner or later, he'd figure out what Reiji was doing—and if Reiji himself was running, it had to help.
They hadn't been training long before challengers showed up at the Gym. Reiji stopped his easy jog and had Senta set up the fixed targets—empty bottles.
"Why is it you again? Where's Gym Leader Cissy?" The challenger saw Reiji and immediately lost interest. Competing with this freak in Water Gun target shooting wasn't going to win anyone a Badge.
Yesterday, the strongest guy near the Pokémon Center had warned them: the new acting Gym Leader was brutal. Even if you cleared the first test with fixed targets, cleared the second with moving targets, and cleared the third with speed-shooting moving targets, he'd pull out blindfolded shooting at the end—and that was where the guy got eliminated.
A target-shooting gauntlet like that was insane. You'd have to be out of your mind to challenge him. Every single one of his Pokémon had impossible Water Gun accuracy.
"Gym Leader Cissy isn't here. I'm the acting Gym Leader." Reiji stated it flatly. Challenge or leave—it was the challenger's call.
"If she's not here, forget it." The challenger turned around and left. Not long after, another challenger walked in.
This one didn't believe the rumors and wanted to test how deep the acting Gym Leader's "water" really was. He got destroyed. He couldn't even pass the two-shot moving disc test.
After that, more challengers came in one after another. Reiji handled them all without effort.
And once they'd all been beaten, the conclusion was obvious: this acting Gym Leader was even harder to deal with than Gym Leader Cissy. If they wanted the Coral-Eye Badge, they'd need a different approach.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/BellAshelia]
[Thanks for your support!]