At the Pokémon Center near Indigo Stadium, Reiji was still waiting for his Pokémon to finish treatnt when soone he knew walked in.
"Reiji-nii."
Shun had co to heal his own Pokémon and to look for Reiji. The mont he entered the Pokémon Center, he spotted Reiji in a mask. That outfit was too familiar to miss.
"Oh? Shun, you ca too." Reiji raised a hand in greeting. Shun's Pokémon were in worse shape than his, so of course he would show up here.
"Reiji-nii, I…" Shun lowered his head, too ashad to face him.
"What's wrong?" Reiji looked at him. Since when did Shun get this hesitant?
"You're still so strong, Reiji-nii." Shun stayed silent for a long ti before finally forcing out those words.
"So that's what this is about." Reiji smiled and ruffled his hair. "I beca a Trainer before you. It's normal for to be a little stronger."
It was just one loss. It wasn't the end of the world.
"You lost once. Win it back next ti. I'll keep winning for your share too, so you'd better cheer on."
Reiji could tell Shun had put too much pressure on himself. Being simple-minded really did make life easier. Reiji planned to keep living that way.
"Reiji-nii… you won't lose." Shun started crying again when Reiji comforted him. He felt like he had embarrassed Reiji.
"I'm just a normal person. I make mistakes too. Winning and losing is normal." Reiji laughed, pulled Shun over to sit down, and said, "You, though? You quietly beca Bruno's student. You're doing better than now."
"Reiji-nii…" Shun cried, then laughed.
Being with Reiji was when he felt most relaxed. He could finally put everything down.
No matter what happened, Reiji would stand in front of him. That made him feel safe, like he did not have to carry everything alone.
"All right, you're too old to cry like this. Go get your Pokémon treated. We'll eat together another day and talk properly." Reiji straightened Shun's clothes, then kicked him lightly in the butt to send him toward the counter.
"Okay. I'll go now." Shun wiped his tears and handed his Pokémon to Nurse Joy, then followed her toward the treatnt room.
He had several Pokémon, and so of them were badly hurt. Nurse Joy needed him there to help keep them calm.
Before leaving, Shun looked back at Reiji. Reiji gave him a small nod, and only then did Shun follow Nurse Joy inside.
Reiji watched him disappear and sat there in a daze for a while before snapping out of it.
Shun was an Elite Four mber's student now. Reiji really was happy for his little junior. He sat back down and waited. After a while, Nurse Joy called him over to pick up his Pokémon. She also reminded him to let Farfetch'd rest properly. Its wings needed ti to recover, and it could not fly for now.
Reiji rembered her instructions, took Poliwhirl with him, and left the Pokémon Center. Just as he stepped outside, he ran into Blaine, who had co looking for him. Before he could say anything, a little blue-haired girl ran over and hugged his leg.
"Rai-nii, Amber missed you so much…"
"Amber." Reiji looked down at the little girl clinging to him. Then he saw Blaine and an unfamiliar woman walking over, and he realized the girl had to be Amber. Otherwise, Blaine wouldn't be here. He picked her up and gently pinched her cheek. "Amber, I missed you too."
"Where did Rai-nii go? Amber couldn't find you." Amber puffed up her cheeks, angry that she had not been able to find him. The enthusiasm from a mont ago was gone.
"I had to collect badges and enter the tournant. Sorry, Amber." Reiji coaxed her for a mont, then asked, "Did you get the Clefairy and Pikachu I caught for you?"
"I did! Clefairy and Pikachu are Amber's friends now." Amber took out a Poké Ball with Clefairy inside. Pikachu was sitting on the ground nearby, still looking a little afraid of Reiji.
"You brat. Long ti no see. You've gotten taller." Blaine walked up and slapped Reiji on the shoulder. Reiji felt sturdier than before.
"A little." Reiji was holding Amber, so he looked toward the woman beside Blaine.
Blaine followed his gaze and introduced her. "This is Amber's mother, Elisia. I ntioned her to you before. And Elisia, this is Rai, the Trainer who saved Amber."
"Nice to et you. You're really beautiful." Reiji had Amber in his arms and couldn't shake hands, so he gave her a polite nod. He wasn't just flattering her either.
She was Dr. Fuji's wife. In the ani, Dr. Fuji had not been that old, and his daughter was only around seven or eight. He had probably been in his twenties when he knew Blaine.
Elisia was at most in her thirties now, so of course she still looked young. No wonder that rich guy had been interested in her, married or not.
"You're sweet, Rai. May I call you Rai, like Uncle Blaine does?" Elisia imdiately liked him a little more after he called her beautiful. Who wouldn't want to be treated as young?
"Sure." Reiji nodded. He didn't care much about nas.
"Don't stand around here. Let's find sowhere cooler, have a drink, and talk properly." Blaine looked at the shadow under his feet. The sun was brutal. A cold drink shop would be much better.
"Sounds good." Reiji glanced back at the Pokémon Center. Shun was still treating his Pokémon, and there was no telling when he would be done. They could et later anyway. They would all be going back to the Orange Archipelago eventually.
What Reiji did not know was that Shun would not be returning to the Orange Archipelago. He would be staying with Bruno for special training.
"Rai-nii, where's the little black one in your shadow?" Amber had never told anyone else about that secret. While Reiji held her, she leaned close and whispered into his ear.
Reiji paused, then realized she ant Darkrai. He gave a helpless smile. "It's not here right now. It went out to play."
"When is it coming back?" Amber whispered.
"I don't know," Reiji said, pulling a face. How was he supposed to know when Darkrai would return? He didn't even know how things were going in the ruins. He could only hope it was safe.
Reiji and Amber kept whispering to each other. Elisia watched them with curiosity. She had not expected her daughter to be so close to soone she had only just t again. Amber did not reject him at all.
Before long, the four of them found a café. Amber got a glass of milk, Reiji ordered a cold drink, Blaine asked for hot water to brew tea, and Elisia ordered coffee. They sat under a patio umbrella and chatted.
Seeing that holding Amber made things awkward for Reiji, Blaine tried to take her down. Amber refused. She even stuck her tongue out at him and hugged Reiji tighter.
"You little…" Blaine got rejected hard, and his old face darkened. So once she had her big brother, Grandpa didn't matter anymore?
Elisia covered her mouth and laughed. Only after laughing did she realize she had not done that in a long ti.
Ever since finding Amber, her nerves had been stretched tight. She had been afraid sothing might happen to her daughter. But this scene was nice. She needed to relax when she could. She couldn't stay tense forever.
"Brat, do you think you can win the championship?" Blaine finished brewing his tea and pushed Amber's rejection out of his mind. He asked Reiji about the tournant instead.
"My next opponent is Tania from Lavender Gym. That Gengar is hard to deal with, so I'm not sure." Reiji was telling the truth. Its Perish Song was getting better and better. Unless he attacked hard from the start, taking down that Gengar would be difficult.
"That Gengar really is trouble." Blaine was from the sa era as Agatha. Who would have thought Reiji's generation would run into a Gengar like that too? And Amber would have one like it soday. What a thought.
"Have you figured out what to do, Rai?" Elisia knew a little about Pokémon battles too, and she was curious how Reiji planned to break Tania's strategy.
"I'm still thinking." Reiji held Amber and looked at the people moving along the street, sinking into thought.
He had broken Perish Song once before. That dirty tactic only had a few key points: don't hear the song, or knock out Gengar before the tir ended.
As long as his Pokémon did not hear the song, or as long as he took Gengar down within the ti limit, even trading one for one would be fine.
Avoiding the song itself was not hard. Dig could leave the battlefield. Earplugs could block sound. Different sound waves could interfere with the song. The problem was that once his Pokémon could not hear Perish Song, it also could not hear his commands.
That ant he still had to rely on Scyther. If Scyther sealed off its hearing completely, Reiji would not be able to command it. Everything would depend on Scyther's own judgnt.
Rhydon could be the backup. If Scyther failed to take down Gengar, then the Rhydon would have to go in. No matter what, that Gengar had to fall.
Losing a Scyther he could no longer command would be worth it if it ant getting rid of Gengar.
[Scyther]
[Type: Bug Flying]
[Gender: Male]
[Potential: 54.87%]
[Level: 51.22%]
[Ability: Swarm/44.23%][Hidden Ability: Steadfast/41.33%]
[Moves]
Bug-type: [(X-Scissor/42.82%) (Fury Cutter/44.45%) (Bug Buzz/23.35%) (Defog/25.33%) (Bug Bite/43.16%)]
Flying-type: [(Acrobatics/41.22%) (Tailwind/46.35%) (Wing Attack/39.25%) (Air Slash/38.61%) (Air Cutter/25.61%)]
Normal-type: [(Swords Dance/42.88%) (Focus Energy/43.95%) (Double Team/40.24%) (Protect/44.83%) (Leer/28.11%) (Baton Pass/26.65%) (Slash/38.84%) (Quick Attack/44.91%) (Double Hit/23.24%) (Razor Wind/25.58%)]
Fighting-type: [(Brick Break/36.68%) (Close Combat/18.24%)]
Other: [(Agility/44.73%) (Steel Wing/40.81%) (Night Slash/36.64%) (Cross Poison/22.74%)]
He had not checked Scyther's panel in more than a month. Level 51 was enough to face that Gengar. The key was to knock it out before Tania realized Perish Song was not working.
Aside from its level, Scyther's potential was also worth noting. Its level was close to the top of what it could reach. If it did not evolve, its potential would get stuck, just like Poliwhirl's.
After Poliwhirl evolved, Reiji would have to start arranging Scyther's evolution too. Otherwise, reaching Elite Four tier would be difficult.
After more than a month, Scyther's abilities and move proficiency had all improved to varying degrees.
For the next match, Reiji cared most about Swarm, along with Agility, Tailwind, Swords Dance, Focus Energy, and Night Slash.
Tonight, he had to prepare the anti-Gengar plan and make sure Scyther rembered it. He would have Ditto transform into Gengar for practice. If Gengar were awake, this would have been much easier.
He also needed to find the best soundproof earplugs he could. Scyther could not be allowed to hear even a little. That fight would be on Scyther. Once its hearing was blocked, it would have to read the battle and act on its own.
Scyther versus Gengar. Only one Pokémon would still be standing at the end. That was the job Reiji had for it. Either beat Gengar or lose to it. Once the battle began, Scyther would get no help at all.
It was a harsh task, but Scyther was not afraid of a challenge. Once Reiji explained the plan of blocking its hearing, Scyther showed nothing but fighting spirit.
Blaine, Elisia, and Amber did not know what Reiji had planned for Scyther. They stayed at the café until evening, talking the whole afternoon.
They talked about interesting things from Reiji's travels, Blaine's research, and Amber and Elisia's life.
As sunset approached, Blaine was about to arrange dinner at a nearby restaurant. Then Ash, who had been looking for Reiji, finally found him before the sun went down.
"Rai-nii, there you are! I've been looking everywhere for you. My mom wants to invite you to dinner to thank you for sending Pelipper to save today." Ash was panting by the ti he found him.
"Ah." Reiji rembered that he had promised Delia earlier that day. But now Blaine was talking about dinner too. He looked at Blaine helplessly, unsure which side he should go with.
"Huh? Are you Blaine?" Ash noticed Blaine's wig and strange red outfit. Wasn't this Blaine from Cinnabar Island?
"Oh? I rember you. Ash, right? Where are your two companions?" Blaine recognized him too. Ash had challenged his Gym before.
"It really is you, Blaine! Why don't you all co eat with us?" Ash had received help from Blaine on Cinnabar Island. Since Reiji was with him, Ash invited Blaine along too. At least he understood gratitude.
"That works." Blaine looked at Elisia. "Shall we go together? I haven't seen Professor Oak in ages. This is a good chance to talk."
"I'll follow your lead, Uncle Blaine." Elisia was holding the sleeping Amber. After the excitent wore off, the little girl had grown sleepy, so Elisia had taken her back into her arms and let her sleep.
"Great! You know Professor Oak too, Blaine?" Ash was thrilled when Blaine agreed. He had not expected Blaine to know Professor Oak. What a nice surprise.
"Of course. We're both Pokémon researchers. How could we not know each other?" Blaine smiled and explained it simply. Ash was so straightforward that Blaine felt bad hiding anything.
After that, Reiji, Blaine, Elisia, and Amber followed Ash to the lakeside grass in the competitors' village. Since the tournant had reached the knockout rounds, many contestants had already left, leaving plenty of empty rooms and open space behind.
Ash's group had set up camping tables and a grill by the scenic lake in the village.
There were quite a few people at the gathering: Reiji, Blaine, Elisia, Amber, Ash, Misty, Brock, Delia, Professor Oak, Gary, Daisy Oak, Inspector Joy, the Cerulean sisters, and even the Team Rocket trio. Delia had invited them to help with the cooking.
While they were eating there, another gathering was being held at a hotel near Indigo Stadium. The hotel owner was hosting it and had invited many Trainers.
Reiji had been invited too, but he had been catching up with Blaine at the ti, so he turned it down.
The hotel had two parties. One was in the main hall. The other was on the top floor, where the Elite Four were gathering. Shun and Tania were there too. Trainers in the hall downstairs could not enter the top-floor party unless soone with enough status brought them in.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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