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After wandering around the park for a while and relaxing, Kai and Misty returned to the Pokémon Center in Mauville City to check in.
They didn't eat lunch there, however. Instead, they headed to the nearby Mauville Food Plaza.
Despite being called a "plaza," it was actually an underground food hall rather than an open square. One stall followed another in long rows at a glance, there were easily over a hundred of them.
The stalls sold all kinds of food, both from Hoenn and other regions. Unfortunately, it was right at the peak of lunch hour. By the ti Kai and Misty arrived, the place was packed. Nearly every one of the hundreds of tables in the central hall was already occupied.
With so many stalls cooking at once, the air was filled with the mixed sll of oil and smoke. It was oddly pungent, though not exactly unpleasant.
The two weaved through the dense crowd, passing stall after stall.
After a long ti choosing, they finally settled on a few oddly nad set als.
Misty ordered sothing called a Village Sandwich. The ingredients were nothing special: sliced at, bacon, ham, tuna, and eggs, but for so reason, it carried such a rustic na.
Maybe it really did co from so remote village.
Kai, anwhile, ordered Magnemite Grill. Despite the na, it obviously didn't use Magnemite as an ingredient. It was simply a combination platter of okonomiyaki, takoyaki, imagawayaki, dorayaki, and tonpeiyaki.
Carrying their trays, they searched for a long ti before finally finding half an empty table tucked away in a corner. Only then could they properly enjoy their food.
It had to be said—the food plaza's reputation was well-earned.
Not only was the place enormous, but the food itself was genuinely delicious.
After finishing their als, still feeling unsatisfied, they each ordered a bowl of miso ran. Only then did they finally feel full.
With their stomachs pleasantly heavy, they left the food plaza to walk it off and headed to another famous spot in Mauville City the Mauville Ga Corner.
Much like the Celadon Ga Corner in Kanto, this one was massive, with modern machines and flashy displays.
They bought a handful of coins and spent a good amount of ti playing nearly every type of machine available. They had so much fun that they almost lost track of ti.
In the end, Kai even used a claw machine to win a Starmie plush for Misty. Only then did they return to the Pokémon Center, completely satisfied.
Even though they hadn't challenged the Gym that day, the afternoon had been more than fulfilling.
Misty, in particular, was in high spirits it felt less like traveling and more like going on a date with Kai.
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After resting for the night, Kai and Misty returned to Mauville Gym early the next morning.
This ti, the Gym had officially reopened. The notice on the door was gone, allowing them to enter at last.
The mont they stepped inside, however, the Gym delivered a surprise.
Beyond the entrance was a long, enclosed corridor. The instant they stepped onto the floor, it suddenly shook.
Then, like a horizontally moving elevator, the platform beneath them slid along a hidden rail, carrying them deep into the Gym.
"Whoa!"
Misty yelped in surprise, nearly losing her balance. She instinctively grabbed onto Kai's sleeve to steady herself.
It wasn't that she was timid anyone would be startled when the floor suddenly started moving without warning.
The platform sped forward. After passing through an electric gate, it tilted upward, slowly climbing along a slope.
"What is this supposed to be?" Misty muttered. "Isn't this a Gym? Why does it feel like an amusent park?"
"That's not too strange," Kai replied with a smile. "This is an Electric-type Gym. With all that power, they probably have energy to spare. Might as well put it to use."
"That may be true, but…" Misty felt the platform climbing higher and higher, a bad feeling forming in her chest. "This wouldn't happen to—"
Before she could finish, the platform reached its highest point and suddenly shot forward, plunging downward like a roller coaster!
"AAAAAAH—!!"
Misty scread at the top of her lungs.
If they were actually seated in a ride with safety restraints, it wouldn't have been so bad. But they were standing no seats, no belts, nothing.
Kai reacted instantly. One hand grabbed the railing, while the other wrapped firmly around Misty's waist, keeping both of them from being thrown off.
The platform sped through the narrow passageway. After several seconds, the space ahead suddenly opened up, revealing a massive chamber.
Just as they thought they had reached the end, the rails beneath them vanished.
Below them was a deep pool of water.
The platform skipped violently across the surface like a stone being skimd, nearly tossing them into the pool.
Even Kai nearly lost his grip.
They were thrown high into the air but as if carefully designed, they landed back onto the platform perfectly intact.
Monts later, the platform reached the far side of the chamber. But the ride still wasn't over it connected to another rail, carrying them even deeper into the Gym.
When the platform finally slowed to a stop, both of them stood up, rubbing their sore backsides.
Misty was just about to complain—
When the electric gate ahead opened.
Standing there was a golden, majestic Pokémon, radiating an overwhelming presence.
Kai recognized it instantly.
"Raikou!?" Misty shouted, utterly stunned.
She never would have imagined encountering a legendary Pokémon from Johto inside a Gym in Hoenn.
Before they could examine it more closely, the platform rolled to a halt directly in front of Raikou.
Raikou let out a thunderous roar. Electricity crackled inside its open jaws.
There was no doubt that it was about to attack.
Trapped on the platform, dodging was impossible. It seed they had no choice but to fight.
Though he didn't know what the Gym Leader was thinking, Kai understood this was likely part of the challenge. He had no intention of backing down.
Seeing Misty reach for a Poké Ball, Kai raised a hand to stop her.
Then he threw his own.
A flash of blue light erupted and Tyranitar appeared before Raikou.
Tyranitar roared and charged forward without hesitation, completely unfazed by whether its opponent was a legendary Pokémon or not.
Only then did Kai have ti to carefully observe the Raikou before them.
A real Raikou appearing in Hoenn was impossible.
Even if Raikou existed in multiples, they were exceedingly rare finding more than one in Johto alone was unlikely, let alone having one captured by a Gym Leader.
More importantly—
Kai already had a Raikou of his own.
The odds were astronomically small.
And upon closer inspection, the differences beca obvious.
Though this Raikou looked imposing, it lacked true vitality. Its eyes were empty, lifeless more like a cold machine than a living Pokémon.
This kind of imitation might fool Trainers who had never encountered Raikou before.
But it could never fool soone who truly trained one.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
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Thank you so much for your support and for reading!
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