"Heh. Just a friendly warning—your rival likes my sister, and I'm pretty sure she's taken an interest in you too. Watch yourself."
"And honestly? If it's between you two, I'm rooting for you. So work hard, Brother-in-law. Hehehe."
"Huh?" Reiji almost laughed. Cissy "being interested" wasn't the issue—she was looking for excuses to mess with him, that was all. Still, he let it slide. A ten-year-old acting like some romance mastermind wasn't worth arguing with.
He could've tried bartering with that old fisherman, sure. But he wasn't strong enough yet. Bring out something valuable and he might get robbed blind. Until his power matched his mouth, he wasn't taking that kind of risk.
"If someone comes to challenge the Gym, tell them to wait," Reiji said. "I'm heading to the kitchen."
The kitchen lady had two big buns set aside for him, still warm in the steamer.
"Rai, you haven't eaten yet, right? I saved these for you—meat filling. Try them while they're hot," she said, lifting the lid and packing them into a paper bag.
Reiji took the bun—hot enough to sting through the paper—and didn't refuse her kindness.
"About the Water-types you asked for," he said, setting a black plastic bag on the counter. Inside were Poké Balls, clinking softly. "I caught a bunch. Pick what you want."
The kitchen lady stared. "Rai… you caught all of these?"
"I rented a place outside town. While I was clearing out the pond, I grabbed whatever showed up," Reiji said. "Take two if you like."
She looked embarrassed for half a second, then hesitated with her hand hovering over the bag. "I really shouldn't… but since you're the acting Gym Leader and you're clearly experienced, could you help me pick two for my brat?"
"Sure." Reiji pulled out a Krabby and then, without overthinking it, added a Staryu and set both on the counter.
"This Krabby's solid. It doesn't need an Evolution Stone—raise it properly and it'll evolve on its own," he said. "And this Staryu can learn Psychic-type moves. Either one will do fine if he puts the work in."
Her face lit up as she held the two Poké Balls. "Rai, come to my place for dinner after work. I want that little devil to thank you properly—and you can taste my cooking."
"It's nothing," Reiji said, smiling as he picked up the remaining bag and his buns. "We'll see. I might be busy tonight."
Back at the battle field, he didn't even pause. He walked straight out of the Gym to release the rest of the wild Water-types.
"Where are you going?" Senta asked, tagging along.
By the shore, Reiji began letting them go one by one.
"You caught all these wild Pokémon?" Senta asked, watching in disbelief.
"From the rental," Reiji replied, tossing another ball.
One of the Tentacruel didn't take it gracefully. The moment it hit the water, it spat Poison Sting at him in pure spite. Poliwhirl stepped in and threw up Protect, the needles pinging off harmlessly.
"Alright. That's enough," Reiji said, turning back toward the Gym. "Any challengers while I was gone?"
"None," Senta said, deflating a little. "Everyone saw how strong you are. Nobody wants to get embarrassed today."
"And that's supposed to be bad?" Reiji said, tapping Senta's head. "No challengers means we can train in peace."
"Don't touch my head!" Senta slapped his hand away and backed off, fussing with his hair.
Reiji just laughed and, once they were inside, released the rest of his team for morning training—Kingler, Scyther, and the others.
Zapdos, Mudkip, and the newly caught Tentacool stayed in their Poké Balls. Gengar and Darkrai remained hidden in the shadows, same as always.
Everyone fell into their routines. Reiji started his own run—he wasn't letting his body slack off, not if he wanted to handle real battles later.
Senta noticed Staryu, Wishiwashi, and two Magikarp splashing in the pool and snorted. "Why did you even catch stuff like Magikarp and Wishiwashi? You seriously think these 'trash' Pokémon can get strong?"
One of the Magikarp took offence immediately and blasted a Water Gun straight at him.
"Hey! It sprayed me!" Senta yelped, throwing up an arm. He spun to his Squirtle. "Squirtle, Water Gun—hit it!"
Squirtle fired, but the Magikarp had already flopped back into the pool, and the shot struck nothing but water.
Reiji watched the chaos for a moment, then smiled. "Want to do target practice?"
"With Magikarp?" Senta stared at him like he'd misheard.
"Yeah," Reiji said, smiling wider—far too innocent for how much trouble he was about to cause.
"Fine," Senta said, rolling up his sleeves. "I'll prove it. If we can't beat a Magikarp, we don't deserve to call ourselves Trainers."
"Wishiwashi first," Reiji said.
Wishiwashi flicked its tail like it couldn't be bothered, giving Senta and Squirtle a look that was pure disdain. It had seen Squirtle's aim yesterday. It wasn't impressed.
"Oh, so it's looking down on us now?" Senta's face flushed. "Squirtle, did you hear that? Even a fish thinks we're a joke!"
Reiji pointed toward the wall where empty plastic bottles were lined up. "You go first. Fixed targets."
"Alright! Squirtle, fixed targets!" Senta snapped, trying to sound confident.
Squirtle fired three Water Guns in quick succession and knocked three bottles flying.
Wishiwashi answered with three clean shots of its own, snapping the bottles off their marks just as neatly.
"Fixed targets don't mean much," Reiji said. "How about flying discs?"
Senta swallowed and exchanged a look with Squirtle. If Reiji was suggesting it, that meant Wishiwashi could hit them.
Two discs shot out. Wishiwashi's Water Gun cracked both out of the air like it was swatting flies.
"One more," Reiji said. "Magikarp, get ready."
A disc launched.
Two Water Guns shot up from the pool at the same time—both Magikarp hit the disc dead-on. They turned and stared at each other afterward, neither willing to concede the credit.
Senta gulped again. "Wait… both Magikarp can do it?"
Reiji tilted his head. "So? Want your Squirtle to try?"
"That's impossible," Senta blurted. "Magikarp can't be that good!"
"Try it," Reiji said, not even arguing.
Senta launched disc after disc. Squirtle missed most of them, finally landing a single hit after several tries.
Reiji waved it off. "There are no useless Pokémon—only useless Trainers. If you're bad, train more."
Senta froze, the words echoing in his head.
No useless Pokémon. Only useless Trainers.
He remembered how he'd acted since getting Squirtle: messing around, slacking off, training for a few minutes and running off to play. Other rookie Trainers were probably already on the road, collecting badges and getting stronger, while he was still stuck here acting like a kid.
He clenched his fists. Enough.
"Brother-in-law," Senta blurted, rushing up to Reiji. "How did you make your Pokémon so strong? Teach me!"
"Stop. Stop," Reiji said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Who are you calling Brother-in-law? Don't shout that. If your sister hears, I'm dead."
Senta blinked, then corrected himself with stubborn seriousness. "Fine. Rai-nii—teach me. I want to become a strong Trainer, like you."
Reiji eyed him for a second. The kid could be obnoxious, but at least he was straightforward.
"How do you train now?" Reiji asked. "Just do your basics properly. And your sister made you copy homework, didn't she? Doesn't it say how to raise Pokémon?"
"It does," Senta admitted, scratching his head. "But it doesn't teach Water Gun practice. My sister taught me, and I didn't listen. I forgot everything."
Reiji didn't bother lecturing him. He just pointed. "Kingler—teach Squirtle how to hit flying discs with Water Gun."
Senta fell into step beside Reiji as they jogged. "If Pokémon can teach Pokémon, why are we still running?"
"Training together builds your bond," Reiji said, keeping his pace steady.
Senta nodded slowly, watching Squirtle listen to Kingler's instruction with a seriousness he'd never shown before. Then his mind wandered—if he wanted to catch something next, should it be a Poliwag? A Scyther would be amazing too. And Magikarp could become Gyarados… that was hard to ignore.
If he was going to catch up, he needed to start now, not "later." And since he lived in a Water-type Gym, he'd begin with Water-types—then go after the Bug-types he actually liked once he could handle it.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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