“Not necessarily,” Reiji said, grinning.

He’d been waiting for the ground to get chewed up enough to mess with Magcargo’s rolling line. Once the lawn turned uneven, Magcargo’s speed dipped—then it hit a muddy slope at the wrong angle and launched into the air.

“Now! Gyarados—Aqua Tail! Swat it down!”

Gyarados’s tail wrapped in a rushing sheath of water and cracked through the air.

Magcargo had nothing to push off of midair. The strike sent it flying straight into a tree trunk, and it dropped limp on the spot.

Amber started clapping so hard her palms stung. “Waaah—Rai-nii is amazing!”

Arcanine immediately barked at Reiji, loud and indignant, as if protesting on Blaine’s behalf.

“Big puppy, don’t be mean to Rai-nii,” Amber scolded, tugging Arcanine’s ear.

Arcanine shut up at once, lowering its head and letting out a small, wronged whine.

Blaine recalled Magcargo and clapped too. “That was a good finish.”

Then he chuckled, eyes narrowed. “All that talk about type matchups was just to bait you. If I really wanted to ‘counter’ you, I wouldn’t have sent Magcargo out there in the first place. Still… you beat it anyway.”

“One more,” Reiji said, not bothering to hide his smile. “That Aqua Tail was Water-type. Magcargo was never walking it off forever.”

“Brat,” Blaine said, amused, “you’ve got some bite.”

He flicked his last Poké Ball.

Rhydon hit the field with a roar that made the air jump. Gyarados stiffened for a split second, its posture tightening like it had just spotted something it didn’t want to be near.

Reiji’s expression darkened. “Old man… that’s playing dirty.”

That was Blaine’s ace—an Elite Four-tier Rhydon. The pressure rolling off it wasn’t subtle. It carried the same brutal dominance Reiji had seen from the island boss Rhydon back then, only this one came with a hotter edge, like it had been forged in a volcano.

Blaine planted his hands on his hips, delighted. “Dirty? Rhydon’s four-times weak to Water. Didn’t you just call type advantage ‘basic tactics’? So what—your basics don’t work anymore?”

Reiji’s fingers twitched. “You shameless old geezer.”

Type advantage mattered, sure. But when the gap in raw strength was this big, it stopped being a strategy and started being a consolation prize.

“Gyarados—Hydro Pump!” Reiji snapped.

Gyarados forced itself forward and blasted a thick jet of water.

“Useless,” Blaine said, calm as ever.

The Hydro Pump slammed into Rhydon and barely got a reaction. Rhydon lifted one hand and swatted the water aside like it was batting away a nuisance.

Gyarados’s breathing turned rough. Reiji could see it—this wasn’t just intimidation. It was pressure, the kind that made your body hesitate before your brain caught up.

“Gyarados, focus,” Reiji said, keeping his voice steady. “Don’t freeze.”

He wasn’t fooling himself, though. This was his first time standing across from an Elite Four-tier Pokémon in a straight fight. Gyarados was in the thirties. Rhydon had to be sixty-plus. No amount of clever play was bridging that.

Blaine tilted his head, teasing. “Kid, if you’re not coming over here, then I’ll come to you. Rhydon—Thunder Punch!”

Electricity crawled over Rhydon’s fist as it charged. Every step hit heavy enough to make the ground thump.

Reiji bit down hard. Gyarados would get one real chance—maybe only one.

“Gyarados—Waterfall charge in, then Iron Tail!” Reiji roared. “Put everything into it! Maximum power!”

Gyarados surged forward, body twisting like a battering ram. Its tail flashed with metallic shine as it swung—straight into Rhydon’s electrified punch.

The collision erupted in sparks.

And then Gyarados got launched.

It slammed through multiple trees before finally dropping, limp and unconscious among the splintered trunks.

“Come back,” Reiji muttered, recalling it.

He hadn’t used Aqua Tail on the last hit—water conducted electricity, and he wasn’t about to hand Rhydon free damage. Even with Iron Tail landing super effectively, it hadn’t mattered. Against absolute strength, “super effective” didn’t mean much.

He couldn’t beat that Rhydon.

But he wasn’t surrendering either.

This was the first time he’d stared an Elite Four-tier opponent in the face. He wanted to see his limit—and his Pokémon’s limit—up close.

Pelipper, Poliwhirl, Kingler, Rhyhorn, Scyther… which one?

“Poliwhirl,” Reiji decided, turning. “You’re up.”

Poliwhirl had been standing at his side the whole time. When Rhydon appeared, it tensed for a heartbeat—then steadied. It had already lived through a boss Rhydon’s dominance on that island. This wasn’t new to it anymore.

Reiji lowered his voice. “We might only get one punch. No holding back. Full burst. And remember—Protect.”

Poliwhirl nodded and walked out, fists clenched, then knocked them together once, hard.

Blaine watched it, expression unreadable. “Confident eyes.”

Reiji didn’t answer. “Poliwhirl—Belly Drum!”

Poliwhirl forced the boost through even though it cost half its hp. Power surged into its arms, its stance tightening like a spring.

Blaine didn’t hesitate. “Rhydon—Thunder Punch!”

Rhydon charged again, lightning on its fist.

Reiji’s gaze locked in. “Ice Punch. All-in!”

Ice crystals flashed over Poliwhirl’s knuckles as it drove forward like a waterfall surge, meeting Rhydon head-on.

Thunder Punch and Ice Punch collided.

The impact detonated into a violent shockwave that blasted outward, flattening treetops and cracking branches. The inn’s wooden supports creaked, and splinters jumped as the structure took the hit.

Poliwhirl shot backward so fast it left a blue blur.

Reiji sprinted, heart hammering, and found it stopped against a shattered trunk. The tree had snapped, but Poliwhirl’s body held. No burns, no visible tears—just harsh breathing.

Only then did Reiji let out a breath.

Protect had taken the worst of the blowback, and the water bubble from Water Sport had softened the crash.

Rhydon didn’t get that luxury.

It staggered back step by step, then collapsed in front of Blaine. One arm hung low, blackened and trembling, the skin scorched and torn where the blast had bitten through.

“Rhydon…” Blaine’s voice dropped.

Rhydon tried to rub the injured arm against the grass—and flinched hard, teeth bared as the pain spiked.

Blaine stared at it, then snapped his gaze to Poliwhirl. Poliwhirl was panting, but it wasn’t bleeding. It wasn’t limping. It was still standing.

“How…?” Blaine muttered. “That kind of collision, and you walk away clean?”

Reiji kept his tone level. “Gym Leader Blaine. Still want to keep going?”

He could tell Rhydon wasn’t beaten—Elite Four-tier Pokémon didn’t go down that easily. Poliwhirl, meanwhile, was running on fumes. Belly Drum had eaten half its hp, and Protect plus the water bubble had drained the rest. Reiji had already fed it a Pokéblock just to get it back on its feet.

Blaine’s jaw tightened. “Of course we’re fighting. Why wouldn’t we?”

It was his last Pokémon. If he quit now, Reiji took the Volcano Badge.

Reiji glanced at Poliwhirl. “You good?”

Poliwhirl smiled at him—and stepped back onto the field anyway.

Rhydon pushed itself up as well, battle fire burning in its eyes despite the injured arm. It roared, one arm still hanging low.

Poliwhirl raised its fist in answer.

“Drain Punch,” Reiji said. “Get some hp back.”

Blaine’s tone sharpened, fully serious now. “Rhydon—Rock Tomb!”

[End of chapter]

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