"Don't worry, sir," Red said, his voice calm and reassuring as he finished the last of the delicious egg-fried rice. "In return for your hospitality, I will resolve the dispute between the Yas and Kaz Gyms."
"Sigh… I hope so," the middle-aged man replied, his gratitude mixing with skepticism. From his perspective, Red was just a boy, no older than ten, albeit a mature one. How much strength could he possibly have?
"Becoming an official Pokémon League Gym isn't that difficult," Red mused aloud, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "These two Gyms are foolish to think they can use brute force to gain certification. It's laughable."
The Pokémon League established official Gyms for two reasons: to test the strength of challenging trainers and to maintain peace in their designated areas. The actions of the Yas and Kaz Gyms were a complete violation of that core principle. Even if one managed to defeat the other, the League would never recognize them.
In a shadowy corner of the restaurant, a mysterious figure wearing a mask pretended to sip from a coffee cup, nodding in silent agreement with Red's assessment. The way they held the cup, however, had a hint of awkward humor to it. This was, in fact, an examiner dispatched by the Pokémon League—Nurse Joy in disguise. Red saw no reason to expose her identity, content to let her maintain her cover as a passing tourist.
Suddenly, the restaurant door burst open.
"Hey! Thirty bentos, fast! The usual rules—put it on our tab," one of three men barked. They were dressed in dark blue uniforms with a prominent 'K' on the front. "Once the Kaz Gym becomes the official Gym of Dark City, we'll clear all our debts!" They carried themselves not like trainers, but like common robbers extorting food from an honest man.
"You scoundrels are an eyesore," Red said, his voice cold. He slowly tossed a Poké Ball onto the floor. "Pay the man what you owe him before you dare to order with such arrogance."
A white light dissipated, revealing a black-red Scizor. It fixed its murderous gaze on the three men, who trembled in unison.
"Don't think you can provoke the Kaz Gym just because you have a Shiny Scizor!" one of them blustered, trying to regain his composure. Convinced that three-on-one gave them the advantage, they threw their own Poké Balls.
A Raticate, a Kingler, and a Rhydon appeared, staring aggressively at Scizor. The sight was almost comical. All three of them were shorter than Scizor, with even the 1.9-meter Rhydon being dwarfed by Scizor's imposing 2.1-meter frame.
"Don't disrupt the man's business," Red said dismissively. "Metal Claw. Get them out of here."
Scizor's pincers glowed silver. It swung them in a powerful cross-slash, sending the three Kaz Gym members and their Pokémon flying out of the restaurant and onto the street.
"Damn you! Don't get cocky!" one of the thugs yelled angrily.
"Rhydon, Drill Run!"
"Raticate, Super Fang!"
"Kingler, Water Gun!"
The three Pokémon charged, unleashing their attacks simultaneously. Sylveon, seeing this, tensed, ready to rush to Scizor's aid, but Red calmly stopped her.
"Do you really think Scizor needs your help?" he said with a hint of amusement.
Without waiting for a command, Scizor used Double Team, creating dozens of illusory copies that flooded the street. The three thugs and their Pokémon looked around in a panic, trying to find the real one.
While they were distracted, a black thunderbolt shot from the clones and slammed into Rhydon. The massive Pokémon collapsed with a pained roar. The thunderbolt revealed its true form: Scizor, using a Technician-boosted Bullet Punch. The super-effective Steel-type move had done massive damage.
Seeing Rhydon struggle to get up, Scizor followed up with a decisive Metal Claw, knocking it unconscious.
"Gulp!"
The remaining two Pokémon and their trainers froze, their faces pale with terror. They finally realized they had provoked an opponent they couldn't possibly defeat.
Scizor became a black blur again, knocking the stunned Raticate to the ground with another Bullet Punch before it could even react.
Kingler, on its trainer's command, finally launched an attack, trying to buy time for its fallen partner. Both Pokémon clashed with Metal Claw, but Scizor easily overpowered the crab, following up with a brutal Iron Head that left Kingler dazed. In that moment of confusion, Scizor crossed its pincers, which glowed a venomous green, and finished Kingler with a powerful X-Scissor.
The exhausted Raticate also collapsed after one last Bullet Punch.
"Big brother, spare our lives!"
Their Pokémon defeated, the three Kaz Gym members fell to their knees and begged for mercy, completely devoid of shame.
"Just teach them a simple lesson," Red said leisurely, having no intention of letting them off so easily.
"No!" the three screamed in terror.
Scizor's pincers flashed. In an instant, their clothes were shredded, leaving them standing in the street in nothing but their underwear. A refreshing breeze suddenly felt intensely cold, not from the temperature, but from the mocking gazes of the surrounding residents.
"Well, well. I didn't expect the Kaz Gym to be so pathetic."
A taunting voice cut through the crowd. Three members of the Yas Gym appeared, dressed in orange-yellow underwear paired with dark green overalls, a 'Y' emblazoned on the front. They sneered at their defeated rivals.
"Let the Yas Gym show you how to become a real League Gym!"
They threw their Poké Balls. A Mankey, a Hitmonlee, and a Machoke materialized, arrogantly surrounding Scizor as if it were easy prey.
"Use Swords Dance," Red said lightly.
The three Fighting-types rushed in, but were instantly repelled by the vortex of Scizor's spinning attack. Its attack power sharply raised, Scizor's pincers glowed silver as it struck with Metal Claw. It defeated Mankey in a single blow, and thanks to the move's 10% chance to boost its stats, its attack power rose yet again.
"Hone Claws, then X-Scissor."
Scizor took a deep breath, its focus absolute. Its eyes locked onto the weaknesses of the remaining two Pokémon. Its giant pincers crossed, glowing green, and it unleashed the devastating Bug-type move.
BANG—
A violent crash echoed through Dark City. Hitmonlee and Machoke were sent flying backward, comically crashing into their own trainers and knocking them out cold.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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