Rorak glances at Graveler, once again easily defeated by Misdreavus's attack, clenching the Poké Ball containing Geodude in his hand and letting out a long sigh.
As a Gym Leader, at this moment, he should face the challenge without hesitation, even if the odds of winning are slim. However, there's still one more scheduled match today.
The challenger for the final Gym battle is also a Rookie with no Gym battle Experience; Larvitar could return to the field after a short rest, but clearly, Graveler needs some adjustments.
If Geodude gets injured again in this fight, that Rookie Pokémon Trainer will have to face even stronger Pokémon, which would feel very harsh for that Rookie Pokémon Trainer.
Recalling Graveler, Rorak ponders for a long time before saying to Luther, "Let's end the match here. I declare that you've passed the Oreburgh City Gym assessment."
"That's against the rules; a Gym challenge is 3V3, and the match isn't over yet." Before Luther can respond, a voice of doubt rises from the stands.
"The issuance of a Gym Badge does prioritize Battle, but it also evaluates other aspects of a Pokémon Trainer's Strength. Without a doubt, Luther has reached the Strength level required to pass the Oreburgh City Gym— both his Pokémon and he himself have greatly impressed me," Rorak explains expressionlessly. "And besides, I must be fair."
"The challenger is originally scheduled to take on the Gym challenge after Luther is already waiting in the rest area behind Luther. If all my initial Professor assessment Pokémon get injured here, that challenger would have to face the meticulously trained Pokémon I keep in my backyard."
"Then you should use those powerful Pokémon to face the challengers. Aren't you just letting Luther take the Badge too easily like this?"
Many people echo this statement, and Rorak scans the stands with interest, replying calmly, "You're right— it's my oversight. Next time I battle you all, I'll definitely send out my strongest Strength lineup and won't let you exploit the same loophole as Luther."
The stands instantly fall silent.
Rorak takes a grayish-brown Badge from the accessory box in his pocket and gently places it in Luther's hand.
Misdreavus immediately floated over, extremely intrigued by this shiny object.
The Gym Badge looks like a small treasure chest, or perhaps a miniaturized Poké Ball; Luther suppresses his inner joy, carefully examining the first Badge he's earned since arriving in this world.
It's not just a cold piece of Data from a game but a tangible object— the sensation of holding it in his hand fills Luther with satisfaction.
"Congratulations on passing the Oreburgh City Gym assessment," Rorak says.
"Thank you for your guidance, Rorak San."
Hearing this, Rorak gives a wry smile and says, "Spare me the formalities. This battle wasn't about guiding you— both times you struck, my Pokémon instantly lost their fighting Ability. That's your Ability."
Luther scratched his head, feeling embarrassed. "It's thanks to Misdreavus and Jumpluff— it doesn't have much to do with me."
"You're wrong to think that way. I've said it more than once: being able to tame and control Pokémon that surpass your own Strength is itself a form of Strength. If powerful Pokémon were so easy to command, why would anyone bother patiently raising them? They'd just go find strong Pokémon instead."
"Personal strength also includes the 'heart,'" Rorak points at Luther's chest. "Your heart has the power to attract these Pokémon— a very admirable and gentle power, completely different from subduing Pokémon through force and then taming them."
Luther glances at Misdreavus, who is earnestly listening to Rorak's words. Before the match, recalling her former master's earnest teachings had quickly awakened Misdreavus. Now, seeing Rorak's demeanor as he spoke, Misdreavus naturally considered this guidance to be no less wise than that of her previous master.
Noticing both Luther and Rorak looking at her, Misdreavus shyly shrinks back.
"An excellent Misdreavus, and Jumpluff too," Rorak praises.
"When they were at odds, I was really scared because I always worry whether I'm Qualified enough to have them both," Luther says, reaching out to rub Misdreavus's neck. "Thank you for your teachings; they've helped me realize things I hadn't even noticed myself."
With that, Luther gave Rorak a slight bow.
In the past, Luther struggled to understand Kichita Fukuda's hunger for Praise and recognition in Slam Dunk, but now he gets it—for those covered in scars, praise is an intoxicating thing.
It gives you strength, the courage to keep pushing forward.
Luther feels he's like Kichita Fukuda— each word of praise and recognition pours a clear stream into his parched soul.
A buzzing sound interrupts Rorak and Luther's conversation, ringing out abruptly.
Rorak pulls out his phone, frowning, and says "excuse me" to Luther before turning to answer the call.
Luther turns back to look at Mai and Misdreavus, who are playing around.
Misdreavus and Mai have already built a good rapport; Mai hugs Misdreavus, rubbing against her back and forth, and Misdreavus doesn't resist, just looking at Luther with a troubled expression, hoping Luther will rescue her from being treated like a toy.
Luther is in a tough spot, too, because Mai is also giving him pointed looks, clearly wanting to cuddle Misdreavus a bit longer, so Luther pretends not to notice.
Hanging up the phone, Rorak's furrowed brows don't relax; he walks over to Luther and says, "Please wait in the rest area for a few minutes. Someone claiming to be an acquaintance of yours wants to meet you."
Luther tilts his head, utterly confused.
An acquaintance? Since crossing into this world, he could count his acquaintances on two hands— who would come looking for him in Oreburgh City at this time?
"May I ask…" Luther starts to speak, but Rorak cuts him off.
"I can't answer that. You'll see him in a few minutes— I can only say I have no comment."
Seeing Rorak's puzzled expression, Luther can only nod and head to the rest area with Mai to wait.
In the rest area, a boy of about thirteen or fourteen stands up as soon as Luther enters, walking toward the Battle arena, leaving the spacious rest area with just Luther and Mai, both sporting faces full of question marks, waiting for this "acquaintance" to arrive.
When a figure in a black trench coat appears at the rest area's doorway, Luther stands up in surprise.
He'd considered many possibilities in his mind, but this person was the one he least expected.
"Surprised?" The person in the black trench coat sits down across from Luther.
Luther's mouth twitches. "A little. I remember I already told you everything I know— you should be chasing those leads, not coming back to me, right?"
Looker, or rather, the International Police operative codenamed Looker, has appeared again.
Looker glances at Mai sitting beside Luther; Mai reads the look, picks up Eevee, and heads out the door.
"The leads went cold," Looker says only after the sound of footsteps fades away.
"Even if the leads went cold, there's nothing I can do— I've told you everything I know."
"Do you know why the leads went cold?"
Luther shakes his head. "If it's classified, don't tell me. I'm not curious about this stuff. Cyrus went through a lot to clear my name, and for a Pokémon Trainer like me who hasn't even grown yet, getting involved in this is really dangerous."
"It's not classified— it even made the news."
Luther's eyes widened; he suddenly recalled the urgent news broadcast he saw that noon after Cynthia and Matsutaka's match.
Seeing Luther's expression, Looker knows Luther has made the connection.
"You've figured it out?"
"Professor Rowan told me Cyrus was making moves, so after the factory explosion on the outskirts of that City, I understood."
Luther is a bit confused and asks, "Since you've already found their base and taken it down, can't you just interrogate the captured personnel to get more information?"
"There's no information to get. The only event-related Researcher we found was a corpse. Beyond that, through on-site investigation, we confirmed that after Cyrus stormed the base, the core members had already escaped through a hidden passage. The one who died was just too slow on his feet and got caught in the self-destruct mechanism they triggered."
"But tons of people escaped from the factory— wait, a dead person? The news only mentioned injuries, didn't it?"
"The people who escaped the factory were all surface-level employees hired to disguise the existence of the underground lab— they had no connection to it. We've confirmed that too," Looker says, glancing at Luther but not answering his second question.
Luther catches on.
Cyrus's handling of this was way too reckless. They could've grabbed this organization by the tail and followed it to the big fish, but not only did Cyrus's actions spook the snake, they caused massive destruction. The Sinnoh Pokémon League didn't want to take the blame for a death, and neither did the International Police, so they reached a compromise with the Sinnoh Pokémon League to erase this Researcher, who didn't even exist in the records to begin with.
"But even so, I can't give you any more information."
"No, I didn't come here today to ask if you have more leads," Looker says. "Didn't you entrust Cyrus with training a Houndoom for you?"
Looker's words completely throw Luther off— Houndoom's become a hot commodity? Cyrus took it to take a bite, and now Looker's here wanting a piece too?
"Yeah, Cyrus said they'd help me raise the Houndoom well, as long as I let it take the stage at the Pokémon League Tournament to give the old folks some pride," Luther scratches his head, "Is the International Police not okay with that? Then just have Cyrus send it back to me."
"I'm afraid it can't be sent back to you. Did you know Cyrus has gone missing?"
(End of Chapter)
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