Roark stepped forward, a gray badge resting in his palm.
"That was a brilliant display of tactics," he said frankly. "Peter—this Coal Badge is yours."
Peter accepted the badge. Seeing the mix of reluctance and lingering frustration on Roark's face, he scratched his cheek a little awkwardly.
"Sorry, Gym Leader Roark… when it's two versus three, I really had to use some, uh… slightly shameless strategies."
Roark's mouth twitched. "Don't remind me. You really took advantage of the 'no switching' rule to the fullest…"
Thinking about how Geodude had rolled itself nearly smoking-hot and still dealt no meaningful damage made his mood sink all over again.
Peter just smiled politely and said nothing.
Truth be told, Roark had underestimated him.
Otherwise, the battle wouldn't have ended so cleanly.
If Peter had been in Roark's position, after eating two consecutive Charm debuffs, he would never have revealed his final trick so early—there would've been far more tactical flexibility.
Geodude's move pool even included Sandstorm, which could've overwritten the rain.
Once the weather changed, Weather Ball would lose its boost, forcing Peter to rely on Giga Drain to sweep—dramatically lowering damage output.
On top of that, Stealth Rock being copied with Copycat shattered Onix's Sturdy, leading to a clean one-hit knockout.
By the third Pokémon, Roark's mindset had clearly tilted. He'd tried to brute-force a trade using Flamethrower, forgetting that rain still lingered—and that Smoliv's defensive stats were far beyond its level bracket.
In the end, it all added up to a complete sweep.
At the end of the day, Peter had benefited from newcomer leniency.
Anyone facing a first-time Gym challenger wouldn't normally play mind games to that extent—
Unfortunately for Roark, Peter was practically made of mind games.
Eight hundred of them, at least.
Letting the insights from the battle settle quietly in his heart, Peter stepped out of the Oreburgh Gym.
At the same time, a familiar system chime rang in his ears.
[Ding! Main Quest "First Gym Challenge" completed.]
[Reward obtained: TM – Work Up, Draw Chances ×1]
Work Up: Encourages the user, raising both Attack and Special Attack by 1 stage.
[New Main Quest unlocked. Please check the mission panel.]
Sinnoh Gym Breaker (Beginner)
Requirement: Challenge Sinnoh Gyms and obtain their badges.
Reward: Skill Discs and Master Points based on difficulty and badge count.
"Mm… that's pretty nice," Peter said with a satisfied smile.
With Work Up, Buneary's Baton Pass strategy now had a crucial buff move in place.
He selected the TM and used it on Buneary's Poké Ball.
Before he could even release her to test it—
Two soft hands suddenly covered his eyes.
"Guess who I am~ If you get it right, you get a—"
"Whitney?" Peter blurted out instantly.
"…Hey! That's not fun! How did you guess so fast?!"
Peter gently pulled her hands down and turned around.
Whitney stood there, cheeks puffed out, stamping her foot in mock annoyance.
"Ahem… I didn't guess," Peter said seriously. "You kinda told me."
His gaze lingered—just for a moment—somewhere noticeably elevated, and he couldn't help replaying the sensation of her pressing into his back earlier. His thoughts instantly went astray.
Then he noticed the faint dark circles beneath her eyes.
"Why'd you come all this way all of a sudden?" he asked softly. "Did you stay up all night?"
"I—I was worried you'd be nervous for your first Gym battle!" Whitney said, eyes darting away as she tried to hide her fluster.
"And besides, you've had my Miltank for so long. I had to come check if she was doing okay… right, Mary?"
"Ah—yeah, totally," DJ Mary replied weakly, very much sounding like someone who had already eaten her fill of emotional dog food.
"I see…" Peter didn't think too deeply about it and returned Miltank's Poké Ball.
Life traveling with him was far from as carefree as the ranch.
Whitney took the ball—then hesitated, looking conflicted. "A-actually…"
"It's okay," Peter said gently, smiling. "My partners and I are already strong enough. You saw the battle, right?"
Whitney laughed nervously. "Hehe…"
"And if I'm not mistaken," Peter added, "you snuck in to watch, didn't you?"
She tilted her head and smiled sweetly, playing innocent.
"I was the one who went to call the Gym Leader back, you know," Mary muttered, clearly trying to disrupt the sugary atmosphere.
Peter froze.
Oh.
So that's what Roark meant by "So you're the challenger."
"Hey," Peter said, rubbing Whitney's head, "you don't need to worry about these little things all the time. Take better care of yourself too."
Thinking back to how sleepy she looked during the morning video call, his voice softened.
"You haven't even adjusted to the time difference yet, have you? Your eyes are all red."
Whitney smiled with her eyes closed. "Yeah."
Mary's eyes glistened faintly.
Wait—wasn't I the one who personally went to get the Gym Leader?
Why does the concern somehow loop back to Whitney every time?
So… should I just leave?
…
Because the ranch and radio station still had business to handle, Whitney and DJ Mary couldn't stay long.
Under Mary's repeated urging, Peter walked them to the airport shuttle.
"Be good and wait back home," Peter said brightly under the setting sun, waving. "I'll definitely make our dream come true!"
Inside the shuttle, Whitney waved back—her usual bright smile now tinged with reluctance.
With a soft mechanical hiss, the bus began to move.
Peter's figure grew smaller in the window, gradually blurring.
"Peter—!"
Whitney suddenly shouted, her voice sharp with a firmness she'd never shown before.
Before Mary could react, Whitney leapt straight out of the moving shuttle, stumbling once before sprinting back toward him.
"Driver! Stop the bus!" Mary yelled, panic-stricken.
Behind the shuttle, Whitney threw herself into Peter's arms like a swallow returning to its nest, tears pooling in her big eyes.
"W-what if… what if I miss you?" she asked shakily.
Peter's breath hitched—his heart felt like it had been struck head-on.
He gently wiped away her tears, said nothing, and simply wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close as if he wanted to merge her into himself.
So close—her breathing, her warmth, the softness in his arms.
Breathing in her scent, Peter lifted her slightly baby-soft cheeks, met those pink-tinted eyes, and leaned in.
Whitney's thoughts completely shut down.
Under the blazing sunset, the two shadows finally became one.
...
"Hah…"
After a long while, Whitney finally pulled herself free, panting, her face flushed red.
They stared at each other—then laughed at the same time.
"I… I… I've liked you," she finally confessed, voice trembling but resolute.
"For a really, really long time."
Peter slid an arm around her slim waist.
"I know," he said softly. "I just… realized it a bit late."
He brushed her messy bangs aside, lifted her chin again, and kissed her once more.
"Mm…"
...
Ten minutes later.
"Hey—an entire busload of people is watching," Mary said flatly as she stepped off the shuttle, her expression beyond done.
"Ah?!" Whitney made a small pop sound as she broke away from Peter, spinning around.
The bus was full of smiling uncles and aunties—and even the driver was wearing a proud, doting grin.
"Ahhh!! I'm dead—this is so embarrassing!!"
Whitney covered her face and scurried back onto the bus.
Peter watched her leave, the smile on his lips wider than it had ever been.
…
Some feelings, once spoken aloud,
never fade again.
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