"Dragonite, use Dragon Pulse!"
A burst of bluish energy shot from Dragonite's mouth, surging forward with devastating power. Even Erika, who stood several meters away, felt her heart tighten with a chill of fear.
How strong is this Pokémon…!?
She had never encountered a Pokémon that could make her feel this kind of pressure before.
"Dodge it, Victreebel!" Erika called sharply.
Victreebel extended two vines and thrust them against the ground, propelling its body sideways several meters. The beam of Dragon Pulse barely missed, detonating into the floor beside it with a thunderous boom. The explosion blasted a deep crater into the battlefield, leaving Erika pale with fright.
Had Victreebel been hit directly by that attack, it might have lost all fighting ability on the spot.
"Victreebel, use Razor Leaf!" Erika shouted.
Shing! Shing! Shing!
Three sharp leaves shot toward Dragonite—but Dragonite didn't even bother to dodge. Its belly tensed, and with a slight flex of its scales, it deflected all three blades harmlessly to the ground.
The Razor Leaves left only three faint white marks on Dragonite's scales.
"So even that didn't work…" Erika muttered, startled. Razor Leaf couldn't even break through Dragonite's defenses.
At this point, she knew ordinary moves were useless. There was only one option left.
"Victreebel, use Leaf Storm!"
Though Leaf Storm's backlash would weaken Victreebel's attack power afterward, if she didn't strike now, there would be no next chance.
Leaves swirled up violently, spiraling around Victreebel before surging toward Dragonite in a blinding tempest. The storm was dense, unrelenting—its leafy torrent blanketed the sky, cutting off every possible escape route.
Dragonite found itself cornered.
If it advanced, it would take the brunt of the attack.If it retreated, there was nowhere left to flee—only a delay before impact.
"Don't be afraid, Dragonite—use Hurricane!"
At Nozomi's command, Dragonite spread its wings wide. A deep roar of wind filled the air, the gusts rolling forward to meet the Leaf Storm head-on.
Leaf attacks had one fatal weakness: they were light. Against a fierce wind, their large surface area turned into a disadvantage.
Moreover, Hurricane was a Flying-type move, naturally strong against Grass-types. The moment the two forces collided, most of the Leaf Storm was shredded apart and blown away.
The few remaining leaves were instantly vaporized when Dragonite unleashed another Dragon Pulse, reducing them to drifting ash.
Just as Dragonite gathered energy for an Ice Punch to finish the battle, Erika suddenly recalled her Pokémon.
"I concede this round."
Both Nozomi and Dragonite blinked, speechless.
…Seriously?
Especially Dragonite—victory had been within reach, and now the opponent simply refused to continue? There was no feeling more frustrating than that.
"Well then, the third round—" Nozomi began, but Erika immediately shook her head.
"No need. I can't win against you."
Though Erika, as Celadon Gym Leader, had lost, she was still perceptive enough to judge power. Nozomi's Dragonite was far beyond her team's level. Even if she sent all her Pokémon out at once, the result wouldn't change.
Rather than let them take unnecessary hits, she decided to end things cleanly.
"The challenger wins!" the referee announced.
"Here. The Rainbow Badge."
Erika quickly handed Nozomi the badge, half-afraid he'd insist on continuing the battle anyway.
Nozomi rubbed his chin, puzzled. Was I really that scary?
After pocketing the badge, he cleared his throat. "Miss Erika, may I ask you something?"
"Of course."
Now that the battle was over, Erika had relaxed again.
"When I came to the gym this morning, I heard you were investigating the case of missing children. Have you made any progress?"
"Oh?" Erika tilted her head, curious. "Why do you ask?"
"I overheard Nurse Joy talking about it earlier. I got a little curious."
Erika sighed, her expression clouding. "So far, we've only found some of the missing children. Several are still unaccounted for. And even those who've been recovered… their mental states are unstable. It seems they were affected by a Psychic-type Pokémon. I was planning to contact Sabrina from Saffron Gym for assistance, but it'll take her at least two days to arrive."
Nozomi nodded thoughtfully.
"If it's psychic interference you're dealing with… maybe I can help."
He smiled faintly, lifting his hand. A Poké Ball detached from his belt and floated smoothly above his palm.
"I'm a Psychic myself."
Erika's eyes widened again.
A rookie trainer who owned a Dragonite—and had psychic powers? Is there anything this guy can't do?
But now wasn't the time for questions. She suddenly grabbed his hand. "Please! Help us find those children!"
"Uh—maybe let go first?" Nozomi coughed awkwardly. "I already have a girlfriend."
"Ah—sorry…" Erika's cheeks flushed as she quickly released him.
"So," Nozomi said, "how exactly can I help?"
"Come with me. I'll explain on the way." Erika led the way out of the gym, speaking as they walked.
"Here's the situation: three days ago, the Celadon Police detected a faint surge of psychic energy somewhere in the city. It was so weak at first that no one paid much attention to it. But then, over the next three days, the police received dozens of missing-children reports."
"Dozens? In three days?" Nozomi frowned. That kind of number was alarming anywhere in the world.
"After three days of investigation, we've recovered most of them," Erika continued, "but six children are still missing."
"I'll take responsibility for those six," Nozomi said at once.
"The reason we need a Psychic," Erika explained, "is to trace the origin of that strange energy—the source that's causing these disappearances. If we don't stop it there, this might keep happening."
"I understand," Nozomi replied.
Piecing together the faint fragments of story he remembered, Nozomi already had an idea of what this case might lead to. To him, this wasn't going to be difficult at all.