Kingdra was already struggling with the poison Umbreon had passed back to it. The damage was not immediately dangerous, but the constant stabbing pain beneath its scales left it visibly uncomfortable.
"Poliwrath, Rain Dance!"
Clouds gathered almost as soon as the command left Reiji's mouth.
Across the field, his opponent caught on immediately. If Reiji wanted rain badly enough to set it up at the start of the exchange, there was a good chance Poliwrath benefited from the weather just as much as Kingdra did.
He had no intention of simply letting it happen.
"Kingdra, Dragon Pulse!"
Draconic energy burst from Kingdra's mouth and tore across the battlefield. Poliwrath finished Rain Dance just as the first drops began to fall, then used Waterfall to launch itself clear before Dragon Pulse exploded against the ground behind it.
"Nice. Drain Punch!"
Poliwrath changed direction in mid-burst and appeared beside Kingdra, swinging with its good arm. Kingdra twisted away before the punch could land cleanly.
"Kingdra, Outrage!"
Reiji's expression tightened.
Both Pokémon were already running on whatever they had left. Poliwrath had one useless arm and was still carrying damage from Tyranitar, while Kingdra had survived Forretress, Gyarados, poison, and everything else Reiji had thrown at it.
If Kingdra managed to unload a full Outrage now, Poliwrath might not last long enough to see the recoil.
"Keep away from it! If you can't dodge, use Protect!"
Kingdra's eyes turned red as it lunged forward.
Poliwrath immediately used Waterfall to burst away. Kingdra followed under the rain, moving fast enough that Poliwrath could not simply leave it behind, but Poliwrath's explosive acceleration still gave it just enough room to avoid the first attacks.
The chase swept across the battlefield.
Poliwrath had no realistic chance to stop and trade blows while Kingdra was raging. It stayed mobile instead, changing direction whenever Kingdra closed in and waiting for the larger attacks that left even an Elite Four-tier Pokémon briefly exposed.
One opening finally appeared.
Poliwrath darted in, landed a single Drain Punch, and withdrew before Kingdra could retaliate. The hit restored a little of the HP it had already burned through, but Kingdra recovered almost immediately and resumed the pursuit.
That was all Poliwrath could risk.
Eventually, Outrage ran its course and Kingdra lost control of itself.
Its movements became erratic, attacks spilling across the battlefield without any clear target. Sometimes it lashed out at Poliwrath, sometimes at the barrier, and sometimes its own confusion ruined an attack before it properly began.
Reiji did not try to exploit the opening.
"Keep moving, Poliwrath. Don't give it anything."
His opponent could no longer direct Kingdra properly either. After committing to Outrage, all he could do was wait for the confusion to pass and hope Kingdra remained dangerous enough to finish Poliwrath on instinct.
Poliwrath stayed well away at first, letting Kingdra waste what strength it had left.
Unfortunately, avoiding a confused Elite Four-tier Pokémon was not the same as avoiding a harmless one.
One wild attack clipped Poliwrath while it was changing direction and sent it tumbling across the broken field. Kingdra immediately noticed the movement and turned toward it.
The next few seconds became desperate.
Poliwrath scrambled back to its feet and dodged one attack, then another, but the relentless pressure quickly burned through the small amount of energy Drain Punch had restored. Shockwaves from near misses battered it almost as badly as direct hits, and with only one arm available, its balance was getting worse every time it had to recover.
Another attack finally caught it.
Poliwrath hit the ground and did not get back up.
"Poliwrath is unable to battle!"
The referee raised his flag toward Kingdra's side.
The commentator sounded almost disappointed. "Poliwrath finally goes down! After defeating Tyranitar earlier and returning for one last Elite Four-tier battle, it just couldn't survive Kingdra's Outrage!"
Kingdra was hardly celebrating.
It stood in the rain with its body trembling, poison still running through it and exhaustion written across its face. For an experienced Elite Four-tier Pokémon, its endurance had been extraordinary, but there was almost nothing left.
Reiji recalled Poliwrath and studied Kingdra for a moment.
"Seriously, how are you still standing?"
Forretress had poisoned it and hammered it with Counter. Gyarados had attacked it through Rest with Outrage, Hyper Beam, and repeated tail strikes. Umbreon had poisoned it again, and Poliwrath had just forced it through another exhausting chase.
Kingdra had survived all of it.
Reiji had only one Pokémon left.
"Go, Umbreon."
Umbreon appeared on the battlefield and immediately curled up on the ground.
It was still asleep.
The commentator stared. "Umbreon hasn't even woken up yet! How is it supposed to finish Kingdra like this?"
Reiji's opponent saw his chance.
"Kingdra, Dragon Pulse! End it!"
Kingdra dragged in a breath and looked back toward its Trainer, then toward Aya.
Its mouth opened, but no attack came.
Another wave of poison spread through its body. Kingdra swayed where it stood, tried to steady itself, and finally collapsed onto its side.
The referee checked it for only a moment.
"Kingdra is unable to battle! The winner of this full six-on-six match is Reiji!"
The stadium erupted.
"Reiji advances!" the commentator shouted over the roar. "He's through to the quarterfinals!"
The tournament bracket replaced the battle feed on the big screen. Reiji's portrait moved up from the round of sixteen and settled into one of the eight remaining positions.
That alone guaranteed him a top-eight finish.
Reiji looked toward the next branch of the bracket.
The match that would determine his quarterfinal opponent had not finished yet. One portrait belonged to a Trainer he did not know.
The other belonged to Drake.
Reiji gave a tired laugh as he recalled the still-sleeping Umbreon.
Of course.
After everything his team had gone through just to reach the top eight, there was a very real chance his reward would be a match against the former top Trainer of the Orange Archipelago.
Poliwrath was out.
Electivire was out.
Ludicolo, Gyarados, and Forretress were out too.
Even if Drake won the next match exactly as expected, what was Reiji supposed to fight him with?
The crowd did not know any of that.
"Reiji! Reiji! Reiji!"
"Poliwrath! Poliwrath! Poliwrath!"
Reiji kept the fatigue off his face and waved to the stands. Whatever happened tomorrow, he had already reached the top eight.
That was enough for today.
He glanced at the scoreboard one last time before leaving the field.
Reiji — Riku's Sworn Brother
Poliwrath [OUT] — Tyranitar [OUT]
Electivire [OUT] — Gyarados [OUT]
Ludicolo [OUT] — Swampert [OUT]
Gyarados [OUT] — Kingdra [OUT]
Forretress [OUT] — Milotic [OUT]
Umbreon [WITHDRAWN] — Kingdra [OUT]
Across the stadium, his defeated opponent was in no mood to accept the result gracefully.
"That fucking bastard..."
He followed Reiji with a murderous glare until the entrance to the Trainers' tunnel swallowed him from sight.
He did not want to wait anymore. If he had his way, they would gather people tonight and make sure Reiji never reached tomorrow's match.
A phone rang behind him.
Riku answered, listened for a few seconds, then looked toward his sworn brother.
"Riku, get everyone together," the man snapped. "We kill him tonight."
Riku did not move.
"Can't. My uncle wants to speak to you."
That stopped him.
Riku handed over the phone, and the moment his sworn brother realized who was on the other end, much of the fury drained from his expression.
The captain of the Black Ship was more than his superior. He owed the man his life, and when the captain spoke seriously, he listened.
"Brother?"
Only one word came through the phone.
"Return."
He closed his eyes for a moment. "Understood."
There was no argument and no attempt to bargain. The shorter the captain was with him, the more serious the situation had to be.
Whatever revenge he wanted against Reiji would have to wait.
He threw the phone back to Riku, gave one last hateful look toward the tunnel, and walked away with his cape trailing behind him.
Riku caught up after a few steps, leaving Aya behind with Kingdra's Poké Ball clutched against her chest.
Going after Reiji had lost most of its appeal anyway. If his uncle was already ordering them back, Riku was not stupid enough to test how serious that order was.
Family or not, his uncle would still beat the hell out of him.
Aya watched them disappear, then looked down at the Poké Ball in her hands.
"Come on, Kingdra. Let's get you to the Pokémon Center."
Even Kingdra had lost.
Aya had trusted it completely, and watching Reiji ruin her fiancé's chance at the top eight left her with very little affection for him either.
...
Reiji went straight to the Pokémon Center and handed all six Pokémon over to Nurse Joy.
The examination results were about what he expected.
Aside from Umbreon, the other five were finished for the tournament.
That left his first group with only Accelgor and Kingler.
The second group was down to Umbreon and Dugtrio.
His support Pokémon were Starmie, Blastoise, Butterfree, and Farfetch'd.
Reiji stared at the list in his head and almost laughed.
Against Drake, that lineup might struggle to take down a single Ditto.
"Rai?"
Cissy found him sitting outside the treatment room. His lips were dry, his shoulders sagged, and whatever energy he had shown for the crowd had disappeared the moment he reached the Pokémon Center.
"Are Poliwrath and the others okay?"
"They'll recover. They just can't fight again this tournament."
Reiji gave her a tired smile.
Cissy handed him a bottle of water and a packed meal. "Drink first. I brought you food too."
Both were still warm.
Reiji took several long drinks before she reclaimed the bottle, then opened the food and started eating with considerably less dignity than usual. After hours of high-pressure battling, he was hungry enough that almost anything would have tasted incredible.
They stayed outside the treatment room after lunch.
At some point, Reiji stretched out on the bench and rested his head on Cissy's lap. The exhaustion caught up with him almost immediately, and within minutes he was asleep.
Cissy did not wake him.
By the time Reiji opened his eyes again, the windows at the end of the hallway had gone dark. The emergency treatment was long finished, and his Pokémon had already been moved into recovery rooms.
"Why didn't you wake me?"
"You needed the sleep."
Reiji sat up and rubbed his face. "Come on. I want to check on everyone."
Cissy tried to stand and immediately stopped.
Her legs had gone numb after spending hours trapped beneath his head.
Reiji laughed when he realized what had happened. "Sorry. Get on."
He crouched in front of her.
Cissy hesitated, mostly because the Pokémon Center was still full of people and riding around on his back was hardly subtle. With all the rumors about them already circulating, this was not going to help.
Her legs disagreed.
She climbed onto his back.
Reiji carried her to the Pokémon ward, checked on Poliwrath and the others, and relaxed once he saw that none of their injuries were serious enough to threaten their recovery. He recalled them afterward so they could continue resting inside their Poké Balls and return whenever Nurse Joy needed to change dressings or check their condition.
From there, he carried Cissy to Senta's room.
Cissy's mother and grandfather were both inside. Reiji nodded a greeting as he entered, apparently forgetting until several seconds later that their daughter was still on his back.
Cissy remembered immediately.
Her face turned red.
Reiji's attention had already moved to Senta.
The tournament was almost over, yet there was still no word from Cissy's father. Senta could not be allowed to wake until Reiji knew whether the other part of the plan had succeeded.
If Cissy's father returned without news that the cousin's family had been destroyed, Reiji would have to wake Senta anyway. The plan to let someone else do the killing would have failed, and they would need another solution later.
"Rai, put me down."
Cissy pinched him hard enough to drag his attention back.
"Oh. Right."
He set her on a chair.
Her legs had recovered enough that she could probably walk on her own now, which only made it more embarrassing that her mother had seen the whole thing.
Cissy's mother pretended not to notice.
"I think I'll go stretch my legs for a while."
She left them alone in the room.
The moment the door closed, Cissy glared at Reiji.
"I told you to put me down earlier."
"I forgot."
"You forgot?"
Reiji laughed, which did not improve her mood.
Cissy turned away with a huff and happened to catch the television as the tournament bracket appeared on-screen.
Her annoyance disappeared almost immediately.
"Rai. Look."
Reiji followed her gaze.
Drake had won.
Tomorrow's quarterfinal was confirmed.
Reiji vs. Drake.
"Do you think you can beat him?" Cissy asked.
"No."
The answer came without hesitation.
There was no point pretending otherwise. With most of his strongest Pokémon injured, Reiji did not see a path to victory against Drake.
Tomorrow was tomorrow, though.
For now, he intended to rest.
They remained with Senta until Cissy's mother and grandfather returned, then left for the competitors' village. Cissy's mother did not expect Reiji to pull off another miracle either, but she still told him to sleep properly and give Drake the best match he could.
That much Reiji could do.
...
Elsewhere, on Kinnow Island, another celebration was already underway.
Shun had won his own round-of-sixteen match.
The villa burst into applause when the result was announced, and the old drunk who had raised the boys immediately found himself surrounded by Kinnow Island's most influential figures.
"Congratulations! Both of your grandsons in the top eight! You've got quite the family."
The old man laughed and waved off the praise. "I didn't do much. The boys worked for it themselves."
He had learned his lesson after getting carried away the last time. The old headmaster had made sure of that.
Still, he could hardly hide his happiness.
Both grandsons were in the top eight. One had already reached Elite Four tier, while the younger was training under an Elite Four member.
Their futures were brighter than anything he could have imagined when they were children.
His own retirement was looking pretty comfortable too.
Kinnow Island's local elites crowded around him with drinks, congratulations, and sudden enthusiasm for an old tavern owner they might once have ignored.
People who could not squeeze into the inner circle gathered around the edges of the room instead.
"Old bastard really hit the jackpot," one man muttered. "Both grandsons turned out incredible. The older one is already Elite Four tier, and the younger one has an Elite Four master."
"Keep your voice down," his companion warned. "Life changes fast. Who could've guessed any of this?"
Not long ago, he had been an aging tavern owner with a drinking problem.
Now he was an aging tavern owner with a drinking problem whom nobody on Kinnow Island wanted to offend.
Quite an improvement.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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