Near Indigo Stadium, inside a hotel training room.
Two people were watching the television. One was packed with muscle. The other was thin and wiry, with barely any muscle on him.
"Shun, this Trainer is from the same place as you. He's from Mikan Gym. If you run into him, he'll be one of the biggest obstacles on your road to the championship."
Of course Shun knew Reiji would be a major threat. He didn't need Bruno to remind him. He just hadn't told his teacher the full story yet—that Reiji was his big brother figure, and that Reiji was the one who had taught Poliwhirl its burst technique.
It was also because of that unusual Poliwhirl that Bruno had noticed him in the first place. Add in the fact that Shun specialized in Fighting types, and after passing Bruno's test, he had officially become the Elite Four member's student.
Shun knew how lucky he was. He wasn't even from Kanto, yet he had still become the student of one of Kanto's Elite Four. Of course people would talk.
That was why he had to be strong enough. He couldn't embarrass Bruno. If he performed well enough, the gossip would fade until it could no longer reach either of them.
Bruno himself didn't care, but Shun was his student. He stood at the center of that noise, so he had no choice but to take it seriously.
"I know." Shun nodded seriously.
His Pokémon were gathered around him. They all knew Reiji too. Some of them had even lived with him for a while.
They all knew how strong Reiji was. After seeing the power of his Gyarados, the pressure on them grew even heavier. The Pokémon glanced at each other, all wondering the same thing.
If they really faced that Gyarados, who would have to fight it?
None of them looked at Poliwhirl. Poliwhirl's opponent would be Reiji's Poliwhirl. They all knew how strong their own Poliwhirl was, so Reiji's Poliwhirl had to be strong too. After all, that was the Poliwhirl trained by the person who had taught theirs.
There had been one time when Electabuzz thought it was ready. It challenged Poliwhirl for the boss position on Shun's team, trying to take over as the leader.
The result was obvious.
Poliwhirl beat it down despite the bad matchup, and Electabuzz behaved itself after that.
Facts had proved that your big brother was still your big brother. If you couldn't win, you couldn't win. Electabuzz had been hammered by Poliwhirl's burst, and the gap was still there.
"You plan to evolve Poliwhirl during the tournament?" Bruno looked away from the television.
After this period of focused training, Shun had firmly settled into Advanced tier. If he faced Reiji now, the result was hard to predict.
Bruno looked at the Poliwhirl beside Shun. If this Poliwhirl evolved, Shun's chances of winning the championship would be much higher.
That strange burst power was the reason Bruno had taken Shun as his student in the first place. Anyone who could raise Poliwhirl to this level had talent worth developing.
Shun also specialized in Fighting types, which matched Bruno's standards perfectly. And during this period of training, he had worked hard and performed well.
His body was still thin, but he had endured every bit of training he needed to endure. With proper food and conditioning, he had even started putting on muscle. Bruno was very satisfied with him.
The only pity was that Shun didn't want to become a huge wall of muscle like him. Bruno wouldn't force him that far, but he still needed some muscle.
Bruno had accepted Shun partly because they suited each other as teacher and student, and partly because Shun himself worked hard. But there was another reason too: the League's plan to tighten its hold over the Orange Archipelago.
The League planned to bring the Kanto-Johto Champion and Elite Four system into the Orange Archipelago. That made the future Elite Four positions beneath the Champion extremely important.
Shun was from an ordinary background. He was also a Trainer from the Orange Archipelago. On top of that, he was the student of Bruno, one of the Kanto Elite Four.
Those three identities meant he could naturally win support from four different groups.
First, ordinary Trainers from the Orange Archipelago.
Second, the big local families. Since Shun was one of their own, they would at least be less hostile toward him.
Third, Kanto Trainers. With Bruno as his teacher, they wouldn't reject Shun's rise as strongly.
Fourth, the League itself. To stabilize the Orange Archipelago, the League would become Shun's strongest backer.
The League had already compromised this much by using a Trainer from the Orange Archipelago. If those big families still refused to accept the offer, then the League would have no reason to be polite.
The war was already over, and the League wanted to use softer methods this time—slow pressure, slow integration. But if those people didn't want to sit quietly in their well, the League wouldn't mind starting the war again and using the oldest, bluntest method in history to conquer that small region all over again.
Because of that, the Champion and Elite Four slots had to be given to people with both Orange Archipelago and League ties. More importantly, they had to be the kind of dual identity the League could actually influence. At minimum, candidates needed to be like Shun.
The League was already looking for suitable people, and quite a few Trainers from the Orange Archipelago had entered this Indigo Plateau Conference.
Aside from Shun, whose place was basically set, Travis from Kumquat Gym had already been listed as a backup. Reiji, who had shown impressive strength, had also been added to the backup list.
But after a deeper investigation, the League found that Reiji was heavily tied to the Orange Archipelago and had spent time in gray areas. Otherwise, there was no clean explanation for how someone who debuted at fifteen could become this strong in just half a year.
Reiji had no sponsor. In the eyes of the investigators, a growth path like that could not have been clean. On top of that, he was a Trainer from Mikan Gym. By the time the League noticed him, it was already too late to step in properly.
Of course, it wasn't really that the League had noticed him too late. Reiji had only crossed over into this world half a year ago. Even if they had wanted to recruit him earlier, they never had the chance.
If someone hadn't nominated Reiji this time, he wouldn't even have made the backup list. Bruno hadn't expected one of his colleagues to nominate him either.
But a nomination was only a nomination.
In Bruno's view, Travis from Kumquat Gym, Rudy from Trovita Gym, Cissy from Mikan Gym, Danny from Navel Gym, and Drake, were all on the list too. They all had family power behind them, which gave them much better odds than Reiji.
Drake was different. His own strength was enough. Even without family backing, rising to a top position would be simple for him. After all, the League had been the one supporting him from behind when he became Head Leader.
The League had already secured one slot. The Orange Archipelago Gyms would keep two. That left two spots still undecided. One of them might be handed to the big families to split them apart from each other, but that was still under discussion.
No matter how Bruno looked at it, Reiji had no power behind him, which meant he had almost no chance of getting a slot. That was why a nomination was just a nomination. Without backing, it was very hard to rise.
If Reiji truly wanted that position, it would depend on the person who had nominated him. How much support could they give him? Could they help him hold an Elite Four seat without being dragged down and torn apart by the big families?
If Reiji knew about this, his first thought would be Team Rocket.
An opportunity this good? There was no way Team Rocket wouldn't try to plant someone inside. Things would definitely get lively.
...
"Yes, Teacher. Poliwhirl hasn't been pushed hard enough yet. I plan to let it evolve only when we run into a truly strong opponent," Shun said.
He had no idea what Bruno had been thinking. He had already prepared himself to face Reiji.
If he met him on the battlefield, he would have Poliwhirl evolve immediately.
And even with an evolved Poliwhirl, Shun still wasn't sure he could beat him.
The reason was simple.
Reiji-nii put too much pressure on him.
It was the pressure of someone he had never once defeated.
"As long as you've made your choice." Seeing that Shun had his own plan, Bruno didn't ask any more.
The Orange Archipelago situation was still a few years away. At least two or three years. Shun still had time to grow.
Bruno had just finished training and was covered in sweat. After saying goodbye to Shun, he went to take a shower. Later, he still had to go watch his student's match and help keep watch over the Indigo Plateau Conference, just in case anyone tried to interfere with the tournament.
As for exploring the ruins, Agatha was a better fit than him. A Ghost-type Elite Four member was far more useful there than a Fighting-type Elite Four member. He had heard that the hard parts of the ruins had already been handled, and that Agatha would come over in a couple of days to see the new student she had just accepted and planned to teach personally.
For that new student, Agatha had even gone to the Dragon clan and caused a scene, forcing them to hand over a Dratini. If Agatha herself had gone that far, then the Dratini was obviously not ordinary.
Bruno had heard that Agatha's new student had Champion potential, and that Agatha intended to raise her with the Champion position in mind. To make sure her student could hold that position in the future, Agatha was preparing to become Johto's Champion after Johto and Kanto split, then step down once her student had grown strong enough.
None of the other Elite Four objected.
Agatha was the one among them closest to Champion level. Her strength was there for everyone to see, and no one could oppose a decision made by such a veteran Elite Four member.
As a fellow Elite Four member, Bruno naturally wouldn't be stingy with Shun either. Besides supporting him as an Elite Four member in the future, he also needed to choose a suitable Fighting-type Pokémon for him.
Ordinary Fighting types were out of the question. Bruno was one of the Elite Four. He couldn't give something that unimpressive. If Agatha could give her student a Dratini, then he had to give Shun at least a rare Fighting-type Pokémon.
That was the value of having a good teacher. A good teacher didn't bring trouble. A good teacher became a powerful source of help.
Without a good teacher, things could go very wrong. Sometimes it could even put your life in danger. If you met someone with a black heart, you might end up being nothing more than disposable material.
...
At the same time, Travis was sitting in the audience after watching Gulzar's match. Gulzar's crushing loss didn't surprise him.
Against Reiji, the person who had saved their lives, it would have been stranger if they could win. Reiji had already been strong before they even became Trainers. If they wanted to catch up, they could only wait for him to hit a wall.
Ash, Misty, and Brock had also watched the entire match from the stands. All three felt the pressure coming straight at them, especially Ash. His body was trembling.
Brock raised a hand and patted Ash, startling him badly. Cold sweat ran down Ash's body, and only after seeing it was Brock did he relax.
"Don't put too much pressure on yourself, Ash. You don't need to treat him like your target. The gap between you two is..."
Brock still couldn't finish the sentence.
Reiji's strength was honestly frightening. He had already gone far beyond what a rookie should be.
Yesterday there was that Forretress that didn't fear Fire. Today, there was Butterfree and Gyarados. And those were probably only the tip of the iceberg.
They had camped with Reiji before. They had seen the Pokémon around him. The three Pokémon he had used in the group stage clearly weren't everything he had. There was that Rhydon, that Scyther, and the others...
If every Pokémon he had was that strong, then Ash's chances against him were...
"I know. I'm not feeling pressured. I might get eliminated before I even run into him anyway," Ash said, trying to sound casual.
But his eyes still drifted toward the battlefield.
Down below, the staff were replacing the Ice Field and preparing for the next group-stage match. Because of the last battle, the ice had melted, the pool water had evaporated, and even the pool itself had been warped out of shape.
Gulp.
Ash quietly swallowed. The thought of sending Bulbasaur, Pikachu, Squirtle, and the others against that Gyarados made a chill run through him.
Earlier today, it had taken three of his Pokémon, including Pikachu, just to bring down Travis's Gyarados. And that Gyarados wasn't even that strong. If he had struggled that much against it, what would happen against Reiji's?
"Tch. Someone says he doesn't care, but he's already sweating bullets." Misty covered her mouth and giggled. Whenever Ash tried to act tough, she loved poking holes in it.
"Damn it, Misty." Ash clenched his fist. Why did she always have to go after him like this?
"All right, all right, you two. Stop arguing. The next match is about to start."
Brock quickly stepped between them before they could start fighting again.
Gary was also watching from the stands. He had been present for every one of Reiji's matches, and after seeing the power of that Gyarados, he felt the pressure too.
If he wanted to beat Reiji, he would need tighter tactics and more chances to test the waters.
No. Maybe Reiji wouldn't even give him one chance to make a mistake.
The pressure was real.
How was he supposed to beat an opponent who was stronger than him in theory, tactics, command, and Pokémon strength? A Trainer who wasn't weaker than him in any area?
Aside from Gary and Ash, Paul and his brother were also watching Reiji closely. After seeing Reiji's Gyarados, Paul turned to Reggie with a serious look.
"Reggie, you have a Gyarados too."
"I know." Reggie quietly clenched his fingers.
His Gyarados wasn't as large as Reiji's, but its level shouldn't be lower.
In the end, Gyarados fought with presence as much as power. It was a Pokémon with Intimidate. When the time came, they would see whose momentum was stronger.
...
At the same time, in Pallet Town.
In Professor Oak's living room, Professor Oak, Delia, and Daisy were sitting in front of the television. All of them had seen Reiji's Gyarados.
"Delia, is that him?" Professor Oak asked. Was this the same Gyarados they had seen that night?
"Ahem. I can't tell just by looking, but his voice sounded very similar. I remember the way he shouted at the end very clearly," Delia said.
She still remembered Reiji shouting for them to run that night.
"When Ash reaches the knockout rounds, we'll go to the venue to cheer for him. We can have Ash invite that boy over for a meal while we're there," Professor Oak said, stroking the stubble on his chin. He felt they should get to know Reiji properly.
The announcer had said Reiji was an orphan. Professor Oak knew that too, but he knew a little more. Reiji was also a Trainer from Mikan Gym.
Considering the League's recent plans for the Orange Archipelago, someone had already moved first. Sponsoring the boy now probably wasn't possible. Poaching someone else's talent was the sort of thing people hated.
Professor Oak had dealt with those old men from the Orange Archipelago when they were younger. They were not easy people to talk to.
Back then, they were just as difficult as Agatha—hot-tempered, every one of them. Now they had only turned into hot-tempered old men. In those days, only old man Lance had been close to Kumquat Gym over there. Professor Oak had no idea whether they still kept in contact after all these years.
Daisy looked at Reiji on the television, as if trying to burn his face into memory.
Was he the one who saved Nurse Joy that night?
But Nurse Joy still didn't know who Rai was.
Should Daisy tell her?
Beep, beep.
A sudden notification sounded.
It came from her laptop. Daisy opened it and saw a chat app. A cute, playful profile picture was flashing on the screen.
It was Nurse Joy's photo.
[End of chapter]
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