Arcanine was now poisoned, and Gary's overinflated confidence finally cooled off. Panic started creeping in.
What happened to his advantage? How had things flipped so suddenly?
Gary felt as if the world itself were mocking him.
Still, he hadn't lost hope. Arcanine hadn't fainted yet—there was still a chance!If Arcanine could knock out Weezing before the poison took its toll, the battle could still be his.
"Arcanine, use Extreme Speed!"
At Gary's command, Arcanine unleashed his signature move.His figure became a blur of lightning, streaking toward Weezing with astonishing speed.
Boom!
At such velocity, Arcanine's movements were nearly invisible to the naked eye. Only Nozomi's telekinesis could barely keep track of him—Koga and Weezing certainly couldn't react in time.
Weezing was struck dead-on, spinning through the air before crashing down hard.
As a move that combined both incredible speed and power, Extreme Speed dealt massive damage to Weezing.
"Yes!"
Gary clenched his fist. He had finally landed a solid hit—victory might still be within reach!
"Weezing, are you okay?"
Seeing Weezing's pained expression, Koga quickly called out.
"Weez… zing~!"
Weezing shook its two uneven heads, indicating that it wasn't badly hurt.
"In that case… use Sludge Bomb again!"
"That move won't work on us anymore."
With a confident sweep of his hand, Gary ordered Arcanine to counter.Arcanine unleashed Flamethrower, reducing the incoming Sludge Bomb to nothing but black ash.
But when Gary looked forward again, he saw the area around Weezing once more engulfed in thick smoke.
"???"
Gary stared blankly.
Wasn't this the exact same situation as before? If not for Arcanine's weakened state from the poison, Gary might've thought he was trapped in a time loop.
"Arcanine, use Flamethrower upward!"
Acting on instinct, Gary directed Arcanine to fire at the sky.
After all, last time Weezing vanished into smoke, it had attacked from above.
Clearly, Arcanine thought the same—he opened his jaws and released a fierce Flamethrower skyward.
But this time, the flames hit nothing. Weezing wasn't up there.
Koga smiled slightly. He wasn't some rookie trainer—he wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
From within the smoke, Weezing suddenly darted out, ramming headlong into the unsuspecting Arcanine who was still looking upward mid-attack.
Weezing had never moved at all—it had stayed hidden in the smoke the whole time, baiting Gary's assumptions and exploiting his thought pattern perfectly.
"Wroooar~!"
Arcanine howled in pain, his massive body crashing to the ground and rolling several times before coming to a stop.
"Arcanine!"
Gary shouted, but it was useless. Arcanine lay motionless, unable to battle any longer.
After forcing himself to use both Extreme Speed and Flamethrower while poisoned, he had already reached his limit.Weezing's surprise tackle was the final straw that brought him down.
"Arcanine is unable to battle. Fuchsia Gym Leader Koga wins!"
Janine announced with a bright smile that her father had emerged victorious.
Watching Nozomi's earlier match against her father had nearly shattered her confidence—it had almost destroyed the image of Koga's strength she had grown up with.
But after witnessing Gary's match, her faith in her father's power was restored.
"So close! If I hadn't fallen for that trick…" Gary muttered as he recalled Arcanine into his Poké Ball, frustration in his voice.
"All's fair in battle," Koga said calmly. "You have potential, but you still have much to learn about Pokémon combat. I'm sorry, but I can't award you the Soul Badge—not until you defeat me properly."
Gary nodded. His face showed disappointment, but not despair.
The loss stung, yet he took it maturely.
There could be many reasons for losing, but a loss was still a loss.
That was a lesson his grandfather had drilled into him since childhood.
"I'll be back to challenge you again!" Gary declared.
"You're always welcome."
Koga smiled warmly. He had a soft spot for Professor Oak's grandson—otherwise, he wouldn't have been so patient just now.
"Looks like your dream of surpassing me will have to wait," Nozomi said with a teasing smirk.
"It's just one loss. Sooner or later, I'll catch up to you!" Gary's eyes blazed with determination.
"Heh, whatever makes you happy," Nozomi replied with a chuckle.
"Hey, Nozomi—what's that supposed to mean?! Don't walk away! Say it to my face!"
Ignoring Gary's shouts, Nozomi exited Fuchsia Gym and continued toward his next destination.
Beep beep beep!
Not long after leaving Fuchsia Gym, Nozomi's communicator suddenly rang.
He checked the screen—it was an unknown number. "Hello, this is Nozomi. Who's calling?"
"Hello! I don't know who you are, but please, I need your help!"
"Hm?" Nozomi frowned. The voice on the other end sounded panicked. Was this… a distress call? A random emergency broadcast to nearby devices?
Before he could respond, the voice continued urgently:
"This is Ranger Kaiser from the Safari Zone! I'm using the emergency distress signal. Whoever receives this—please contact the Fuchsia City Police right away! A group of dangerous poachers has infiltrated the Safari Zone!"
Then the call abruptly cut off.
Nozomi's brows furrowed deeply.
He remembered the name Kaiser. In the original timeline, Ash and his friends had met the Safari Zone Warden by that name.
He was the one who gave Ash the special Safari Balls—thanks to him, Ash caught an entire herd of Tauros.
But in the original story, there had never been any scene where Kaiser called for help.
So why was Nozomi suddenly receiving a distress signal from him now?
It was becoming clear—this world's events were no longer following the script he remembered.
"No matter what, I'll go check it out first."
The Safari Zone wasn't far, and Nozomi decided to head there personally.
As for calling Officer Jenny… that never even crossed his mind.
Not to boast, but Nozomi alone could handle what the entire Fuchsia police force could not.
If there was a threat he couldn't deal with—then even the entire Fuchsia Police Department wouldn't stand a chance.
(End of Chapter)