The Pokémon Trainer standing before Luther appeared to be about fourteen or fifteen years old. He was the same height as Mai and wore a sun visor cap.
When Luther and Mai took out their Pokédexes, the young trainer, who had a Shiftry with him, also pulled his Pokédex out of his pocket.
Since they were all Pokédex holders, they could skip a lot of formalities. Luther invited him to join them for a meal.
After accepting the omelet from Chansey and thanking her, the trainer introduced himself.
"Shinro, from Veilstone City."
"Luther, from Sandgem Town."
"Just call me Mai. I'm from Sun Heart City."
A Delcatty came running from a distance. It seemed to be the same one that Shinro had released earlier to help form a perimeter and trap the Pinsir.
Shiftry broke apart the frozen Pinsir's icy shell and then knocked it unconscious with another Air Slash.
"You're not planning to capture the Pinsir, are you? " Shinro asked.
"Please." Luther gestured for him to handle it however he liked.
Shinro bit into his omelet, stood up, and threw a Poké Ball.
He originally thought the capture was a sure thing. However, after the Poké Ball shook for a long time, Pinsir forced it open with its last bit of stamina.
Pinsir panted heavily and tried to run, but suddenly spotted Marill entering its field of vision and froze.
Shiftry's Air Slash struck again. That one move shattered the last of Pinsir's will to resist. The next Poké Ball that Shinro threw sealed the capture instantly.
Shinro naturally noticed the strange moment when Pinsir suddenly stopped moving. Of the Pokémon present, only Marill and Slowpoke seemed capable of using Ice-type moves.
However, from Pinsir's previous position, it could only have seen Marill. So was it Marill who stopped Pinsir earlier?
Based on his tracking speed, the clash between Marill and Pinsir must have ended in about twenty seconds.
That kind of strength was impressive.
"Luther and Mai, are you traveling to challenge the Lily of the Valley Conference?" Shinro asked after everyone had finished lunch.
"I am," Luther replied. "Mai isn't." She's working hard to obtain her Breeder Qualification Certificate. Her goal is to become a Master-level Breeder."
Shinro glanced at Marill, who had finished lunch and immediately started snacking. He asked Luther curiously, "When did you start your journey? How many Badges do you have?"
Luther took out his badge case and opened it. "Since last summer. Not many... only six."
Not many?
Shinro forced a bitter smile as he opened his own badge case.
Inside were only two badges: Eterna and Oreburgh.
Seeing Shinro's expression, Luther quickly understood.
Another young Trainer, stubbornly challenging only the core Gyms to prove himself, as hardheaded as ever.
Luther could only offer reassurance. "I have some non-core gym badges, so mine doesn't mean much. If you want them, it won't be hard."
Shinro shook his head. "I started traveling at ten. It's been five years. I've never once qualified for the Conference. The closest I got was earning seven Badges."
"No need to comfort me. Even though some of your six badges are from non-core gyms, you earned the White Wind Badge, didn't you?"
"Hakuya absolutely shouldn't be considered non-core. Any trainer who pays even slight attention to the Pokémon League knows that he's assessed by Elite Four Bertha. That's basically hellishly difficult."
Hakuya is famous for never holding back. He always battles at full strength. His absurdly high win rate has led Trainers to file complaints, saying that he doesn't understand what it means to act like a Gym Leader."
After pausing for a moment, Shinro looked at Luther with serious eyes.
"Please battle me. Even a one-on-one is fine. Please let me understand the gap between us."
Shinro took a deep breath and continued. "I won't beg you to teach me. Battle techniques must be understood, not just explained. Even if you explained them to me, I wouldn't be able to apply them properly. I'd overthink it and end up unable to use my full strength."
"I just want to experience how people at your level battle."
Luther fell silent for a long time and looked at Mai beside him.
She couldn't offer him any advice either and simply let out a sigh.
Luther had seen this kind of thing before.
A classmate of his once burned with passion to become an excellent Steel-type harpist. He practiced diligently, but no matter how hard he worked, he couldn't catch up to his peers who had started the same year.
When they met again later, he was drinking and told Luther that he had given up.
He didn't look sad while saying it; it was as if he were simply mentioning something insignificant.
If Shinro had truly been training as a Pokémon Trainer all these years and still couldn't gather eight Badges, the only thing Luther could say to him would be a cold, cruel truth:
"You might not have enough talent to be a Pokémon Trainer."
Shinro probably understood this himself. Rather than saying he wanted to experience a higher-level battle, he wanted Luther to help him fulfill a dream and give him a reason to finally let go.
Opportunities to battle with a high-level trainer were extremely rare for him. Even if he asked a Gym Leader to give it his all, the Gym Leader would subconsciously hold back because of his lack of strength.
"...All right. One-on-one, as you wish. I'll fight with all my strength. I won't hold back."
Shinro bowed deeply to Luther in gratitude. Beside him, Shiftry dipped its body slightly before leaping toward an open clearing. It waited for Luther to release his Pokémon.
Luther crouched down and looked toward a shadow.
"If I have to say, you're probably my strongest right now. Interested in helping me out?"
There was no response. As expected, Darkrai wasn't his Pokémon. Among allies, cooperation isn't guaranteed.
Luther was just about to call on Marill when Darkrai slowly emerged from the shadows and drifted toward the battlefield.
Still silent. As expressionless and quiet as ever.
Shinro swallowed hard and scanned Darkrai with his Pokédex.
If not for the Pokédex's voice, he might have thought that what was happening was a dream.
He couldn't feel any sense of reality. The person he was challenging had actually captured a legendary Pokémon. Was this what the gap looked like?
He had traveled for so long, struggling just to earn Badges.
Yet Luther, who had been out for only about half a year, possessed this kind of strength.
Shinro took a deep breath and forced himself to focus entirely on the battle.
He had asked for this chance himself. Even if it ended in heartbreak, he had to give it his all!
Mai, acting as the referee, raised her hand. Shiftry made the first move, leaping toward Darkrai and trying to seize the initiative.
If Brick Break landed first, it could deal effective damage to Darkrai and start the battle on a good note.
"Dark Pulse."
The pitch-black aura struck first, despite being issued later, slamming into Shiftry. A violent gust erupted before Mai's eyes.
Dust nearly blinded Luther.
When the haze cleared, Shiftry was already collapsed on the ground.
(End of Chapter)
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