“Gabite is unable to battle!” Professor Oak announced, his eyes fixed on the Golden Pidgeot with an intense, scholarly desire. A researcher’s hunger for knowledge shone from his gaze.

(Honestly, what a lecherous look that old man has! Is he asking for a beating?) Pidgeot thought, thoroughly unnerved. If it weren’t for Red’s reputation, it would have snatched the Professor and taken him on a flight to teach him what “happiness” really was.

“Don’t be nervous. Professor Oak just wants to observe your body,” Red said soothingly, stroking Pidgeot’s golden feathers.

(Observe my body? Why does that sound even stranger…)

Pidgeot couldn’t help but shiver, imagining the Professor as some kind of Pokémon pervert.

“Last one! I’m counting on you, Graveler!” Giselle shouted, her eyes filled with a new determination.

(How boring…)

Pidgeot yawned lazily, but after receiving a sharp, warning glance from Red, it quickly flew up to prepare for battle. It didn’t want another lecture from its many companions.

“Graveler, Pidgeot’s stamina has been mostly depleted by Gabite. Fight with all your might!” Giselle instructed, trying to bolster her Pokémon’s confidence.

“Gulp!”

Graveler swallowed hard, recognizing Red as the trainer of the Charmeleon that had so thoroughly defeated it before. The encounter had shattered its confidence, and facing another of Red’s Pokémon—one clearly stronger than the last—was filling it with immense pressure. It could see Pidgeot was barely injured at all.

“Faith is also a path to victory. Graveler’s mindset has been affected; it’s in a worse state than Cubone was,” Red observed, a look of displeasure crossing his face. He was disappointed that after traveling for so long, Giselle hadn’t even learned how to properly manage her Pokémon’s mental state.

“I’m sorry…” Giselle pursed her lips, looking at Red fearfully.

Feeling Delia’s death glare from the sidelines, Red trembled and held back the sharp words he was about to say.

“Red, why is my boy so harsh on girls?” Delia shook her head, her expression one of fond helplessness.

“You take the offensive,” Red signaled to Pidgeot, instructing it not to attack immediately, to give Graveler time to adjust.

(My master is truly kind, even to his opponent’s Pokémon…)

Pidgeot slowly descended, allowing Graveler to jump up and grab it.

“Graveler, use Knock Off!”

Graveler picked up a rock and hurled it into the air. Pidgeot, seeing this, reluctantly dodged, letting Graveler believe the attack was effective.

(It worked! That thing dodged!)

A simple, honest smile spread across Graveler’s face, thinking it had actually threatened the magnificent bird.

(Are all Rock-type Pokémon this naturally dense?)

Pidgeot looked at Graveler speechlessly. If it weren’t for Red’s kindness, it would have ended this with a Quick Attack and a Steel Wing long ago.

“Thank you…” Giselle knew this was Red’s way of helping Graveler, and she looked at him with gratitude, her eyes filled with admiration.

“Don’t get too full of yourself. Pidgeot, use Hurricane.”

Pidgeot let out a piercing cry, flapping its wings to stir up a fierce wind.

(Taking it easy is more tiring than actual training…)

“Graveler, use Gyro Ball to block it!”

Graveler curled into a ball and spun at high speed, resisting the Hurricane. Pidgeot’s large size meant a simple flap of its wings had the force of a storm.

“Wing Attack.”

“Graveler, use Rollout repeatedly!”

Pidgeot swiftly descended, its broad wings continuously striking the spinning Graveler. Although Graveler could reduce damage from Flying-type moves, the vast difference in strength made Pidgeot’s attacks terrifyingly effective.

“Twister.”

Pidgeot kicked Graveler away with its talons, then quickly spun, generating a powerful vortex that trapped the clumsy Pokémon in its center.

(What are you so afraid of?) Pidgeot projected with displeasure. It was lowering itself to be a sparring partner, not to watch this timid, foolish display.

(I… I don’t know…) Graveler replied nervously. The power Red and his Charmeleon had displayed before had truly broken its spirit. It didn’t have the pseudo-legendary talent of Gabite, and Giselle only knew how to battle by the book, completely unaware of the turmoil in her Pokémon’s heart.

“Power of Viridian,” Red murmured, his body faintly emitting a verdant aura that flowed toward the psychologically broken Graveler.

(What a warm aura…)

Graveler closed its eyes, reveling in the soothing embrace of the energy. Healed and calmed, it began to reflect on the mistakes it had made.

(If you win, you keep working. If you lose, you train harder and challenge them again. How is your brain wired? Don’t you understand such a simple principle?) Pidgeot lectured, telling Graveler in the most direct way to relax.

Pidgeot itself had been traumatized by Charmander’s Outrage when it was just a Pidgey, but it had trained desperately to overcome that fear.

Graveler’s eyes lit up as if it had come to a realization. It turned its head and called out to Giselle, signaling that it was ready.

“Well done, Graveler! Use Double-Edge!” Giselle shed tears of emotion. She never expected her partner’s long-standing psychological block to be cured by Red and his Pokémon. At the same time, she regretted her own ignorance.

“Steel Wing. Go all out,” Red commanded, signaling to Pidgeot that it no longer needed to hold back.

Pidgeot’s wings shimmered with a silver light as Graveler charged forward with all its might. The two engaged in a fierce, head-on confrontation.

(Some improvement!) Pidgeot praised internally, increasing its force and pushing Graveler back several steps, its powerful wings suppressing the heavy Rock-type.

(Damn it! I need to become stronger! I have to defeat this guy!)

Graveler gritted its teeth, resisting Pidgeot’s onslaught with all its might, its eyes revealing a determination not to give up.

“Graveler…” Giselle murmured, praying for her partner to defeat the king of the skies.

(I won’t lose!) Graveler shouted in its heart, recalling every moment of its training with Giselle. Its body began to emit the brilliant white light of evolution.

“Evolved?” Red was slightly surprised, not expecting Graveler’s sheer belief could prompt such a change.

The light dissipated. A well-developed Golem now stood on the sand. It grabbed Pidgeot’s wings with both hands as shimmering blades of rock formed around it. It unleashed a point-blank Stone Edge.

(You insolent little brat! Now you’ve made me angry!) Pidgeot shrieked, knocking the Golem back with a powerful Steel Wing before soaring into the sky.

“Pidgeot, use Brave Bird to finish it.” Golem’s stamina was on the verge of collapse; it was only standing through sheer willpower.

“Golem, we’ll use our final Double-Edge, too!”

Pidgeot’s body erupted in a brilliant blue aura as it collided with Golem at lightning speed. After a brief struggle, Pidgeot exerted a sudden burst of force, knocking Golem ten meters away.

“Golem

***

(End of Chapter)

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