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Every Pokémon wanted to take the field, but Luther only called out Houndoom.
Jumpluff was extremely dissatisfied with this. She jumped onto Luther's face and vigorously rubbed his nose with her fluffy cheeks. It took quite a bit of effort for Luther to pull her off.
"The Lily of the Valley Conference is about to begin. There's no need to reveal our team lineup in a battle like this. Take a good look around you," Luther said.
Jumpluff glanced at the nearby Pokémon Trainers, who were clearly preparing to record the battle. Finally, she understood Luther's reasoning.
Among all of Luther's Pokémon, Houndoom was the one with the most obvious weaknesses. Its stamina deficiency was something that simply couldn't be fixed.
Along the journey, Luther had asked around in many towns, hoping to find some way to solve this problem for Houndoom, but it had all been in vain.
Houndoom himself didn't really mind, though. He already understood his role in battle. Compared to Luther's worries, he was much more easygoing.
After thinking about it briefly, he understood the intent behind being sent out. He stretched lazily, yawned, and waited for Naomi to send out her Pokémon.
Naomi's lead Pokémon was Pelipper.
Its beak alone made up at least a third of its body. It flapped its wings and took to the air.
Luther instinctively looked up at the sky, but there was no sign of rain yet.
Had Pelipper not activated its rain-summoning ability, or was it simply not a rain Pelipper?
"Type disadvantage. If Pelipper activates its rain ability, Houndoom won't be able to play at all, right?"
"Rain weakens Fire-type moves. Even if Houndoom can use moves of other types, it still can't escape the disadvantage."
"He should switch immediately. Even if he loses the initiative, he can't let Pelipper control the field."
The surrounding discussion made Naomi feel very pleased. This was exactly the kind of matchup she wanted. Luther had to switch to open the game, otherwise, he'd just be handing over a Pokémon for free.
"Activate ability!"
Pelipper spread its wings, triggering its rain ability. Fine drizzle began to fall through the previously dry air. Houndoom was actually quite fast. Luther had the chance to interrupt Pelipper the moment its ability activated, but he did nothing.
Luther's abnormal behavior didn't make Naomi suspicious. She launched her attack.
"Water Gun."
The Water Gun blasted from Pelipper's huge beak looked more like a Hydro Pump. Houndoom and Luther still didn't move.
Everyone stared in shock as Houndoom was drenched by the Water Gun, completely dumbfounded.
'Had he given up the battle?'
Impossible. The stake was smashing a Badge.
Could there really be a Houndoom in this world with a water-absorbing ability?
Naomi glanced at Pelipper, while Pelipper stared back at Houndoom with a look of disbelief. Luther picked up his rice bowl and started eating. Mai held the small dish of food for him, making it easier for him to grab side dishes.
"Hydro Pump!"
Luther's behavior completely enraged Naomi. He was clearly looking down on her.
She had originally planned to conserve stamina, but now she abandoned that idea entirely, choosing Pelipper's most powerful move for a full assault.
All the surrounding Pokémon Trainers swallowed nervously. Surely he'd dodge this time, right?
This was Hydro Pump, after all. No matter what, there had to be some respect for type advantage and weather effects.
Luther still said nothing. Houndoom lay down and scratched his head with a hind leg.
Hydro Pump slammed into Houndoom without any surprise. Compared to Water Gun, this time Houndoom wasn't so relaxed, he showed a trace of pain.
Luther glanced over. "Flamethrower."
Luther's reaction finally made the onlookers breathe a sigh of relief. Otherwise, they would have thought they were watching some kind of deranged battle.
But Flamethrower's power should be reduced by rainy weather… huh?
Pelipper clearly hadn't reacted in time. Caught off guard by Houndoom's sudden counterattack, the Flamethrower evaporated the moisture in the air, tore through the curtain of rain, and scorched Pelipper directly.
"Fire-type against Water-type, and in rainy weather too, are you just tickling Pelipper?" Naomi burst out laughing.
Everyone looked at Naomi with strange expressions. Naomi herself soon realized something was wrong, Pelipper looked extremely pained, even drawing its wings inward.
Moments later, Pelipper hit the ground with a thud and completely lost its ability to battle.
Luther smacked his lips, utterly unenthused.
Even before the fight started, he had realized this would be another boring match. Just by looking at Pelipper's condition, especially the gloss of its beak, he could tell Naomi's level.
Type and weather meant very little in front of a well-trained Pokémon.
"Please hurry up and don't waste time. Next one," Luther urged.
Naomi was completely stunned. Rainy weather should have had a very obvious weakening effect on Fire-types, this wasn't normal! The surrounding Pokémon Trainers were no longer focused on Naomi. They understood very well what had just happened.
Houndoom's Flamethrower was already comparable to the effect of strong sunny weather. If Houndoom wanted to, he could even use Flamethrower to destroy the rain Pelipper had created.
Naomi hurriedly recalled Pelipper. Her hand trembled as she held the Poké Ball. Earlier her mind had gone blank, but now she was fully awake.
They were on completely different levels. This Houndoom might look old, but he had already surpassed the limits of what she could handle. Unless group attacks were allowed, she had no chance of winning.
Looking at the glowing Badge still resting on the rock not far away, Naomi clenched her fists.
She lowered her head to look at the Poké Ball in her hand, enlarged in her palm. Solrock beside her drifted forward on its own, but Naomi quickly pulled it back into her arms.
"I'm not interested in playing house with you," Luther had once said.
Naomi thought Luther was joking, but he wasn't.
"I concede." Naomi clenched her teeth and forced the words out.
An uproar erupted all around.
The stake was a Badge. No matter what, shouldn't she fight with everything she had?
Solrock panicked and tried to rush forward to forcibly start the battle, but Naomi's Poké Ball was far faster than it. Before it could even reach Houndoom, it was recalled.
For the first time, Luther looked at Naomi properly. His expression softened considerably as he handed his bowl to Mai.
"Do you know the consequences of conceding?" Luther asked with a smile.
Naomi took a deep breath. "Thank you for the lesson."
With that, she turned and left, without the slightest hesitation or attachment.
Watching Naomi push through the crowd of onlookers and disappear, everyone was still in a daze.
No one had expected a three-on-three battle to end in such an anticlimactic way. One after another, people criticized Naomi for lacking the most basic qualities of a Pokémon Trainer.
Luther heard it all. The corner of his mouth curved upward slightly.
Picking up the magenta-colored Badge, no one even knew which Gym it came from, Luther walked toward the person who had said he would record the match.
"Have you posted it yet?"
The man holding a camera and carrying a laptop froze for a moment, then shook his head. "No. Still editing."
"Then don't post it. Just treat it as if Naomi never wagered a Badge."
Luther turned to the other Pokémon Trainers.
"I'll handle this Badge myself later. Since Naomi conceded, the Badge wager is null. Please don't mention it on the forums, alright?"
Perhaps still shaken by Luther's performance in battle, everyone nodded in agreement.
Luther returned to the campsite and continued his dinner. The onlooking Trainers had no intention of disturbing him; filled with awe, they glanced at Luther and Mai before quietly leaving.
Only the man carrying the filming equipment and laptop stayed behind.
"Hello, I'm Clarion, from the Pokémon League's News Department. I'm currently in Veilstone City collecting material."
Clarion took off his straw hat, gestured for Luther to keep eating, and sat down on a nearby rock. He waited until Luther finished his meal and Mai and Chansey began cleaning up before rubbing his hands together and leaning in.
"At first, you seemed very unhappy. I assume Naomi had already conflicted with you before we arrived. Why did you still speak up for her?" Clarion finally asked the question that had been bothering him.
Luther glanced sideways at his laptop and saw that Clarion had indeed deleted everything he had written. He nodded approvingly.
"Aren't you curious why she didn't continue the battle?" Luther asked in return.
Clarion froze.
"How valuable a Badge is to a Pokémon Trainer goes without saying. Every Trainer sees Badges as proof of their growth."
Luther took out the Badge Naomi had lost and was supposed to smash, casually turning it in his hand.
"If she was willing to wager Badges, that means she urgently needed them. In that case, there was no reason for her not to keep fighting."
Clarion followed along with Luther's reasoning.
"I've seen many people who went down the wrong path. Some, in order to win, would casually abandon their Pokémon, ignore their suffering, and treat trading as a shortcut to earning Badges."
Luther recalled how he himself had looked when facing Alon.
"I've also seen people who were arrogant and self-important, thinking their debut was already their peak, that everything was within reach. When their Pokémon fell, the first thing they cared about was their own pride. Even in defeat, they wouldn't bow their heads or admit mistakes, charging down the same path to the end and choosing a hollow 'spiritual victory.'"
Hiroshi's way of treating his Pokémon surfaced in his mind.
Luther stroked Houndoom's head and said with a smile, "The reason Naomi didn't fight on was that she didn't want her Pokémon to be seriously injured."
Houndoom yawned, lay down on the ground, and enjoyed Luther's touch as he drifted into a nap. Naomi's anxiety when she saw Pelipper get hurt couldn't be faked. No matter how unpleasant she was, she at least put her Pokémon's safety and feelings first.
She knew she had angered Luther, and in the next battles, Luther would very likely show no mercy. After realizing the gap between them, choosing not to continue fighting out of pride was also part of that consideration. Stopping Solrock was likewise to protect Solrock.
For that, she was willing to endure criticism and accept the consequences of losing the wager.
"Willing to bet, willing to lose" sounds simple, but how many people can truly walk away as calmly as Naomi did after losing, without the slightest reluctance?
From beginning to end, she had been clutching Pelipper's Poké Ball tightly. None of the spectators even noticed this, they were all fixated on the outcome.
"Her heart isn't bad, and her character is passable. Her methods just aren't likable. There's no need to be too harsh, she should be given room to correct herself."
Luther reached out, took the recorder from Clarion's chest pocket, and pressed delete.
"Don't you agree?" Luther said, patting Clarion on the shoulder.
Clarion's face reddened. He nodded awkwardly, took back the recorder, thanked Luther for the answer he had received, and left.
After the incident with the Hodgepodge organization, Luther had come to understand even more clearly the beauty of kindness as a virtue.
Since Naomi still had such a seed in her heart, why keep pursuing the matter and hurt her further?
As long as that seed existed, she wouldn't go down the wrong path like Hiroshi and the others.
A great tree needs time to take root and sprout. Swift vengeance is easy; crude face-slapping is easy; trampling others to gain confidence would be effortless for Luther.
But for the sake of that momentary satisfaction, was it really worth destroying a tree that might one day grow tall?
(End of chapter)