Chapter 41: One Bite, One Victory
A/N:
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Logan stood with his arms crossed, eyes narrowing as he issued a sharp command.
With a fierce glint in its eye, Gible sprang into the air. Its sharp teeth glowed with spectral energy, becoming a conduit for ghost-type power. Before the opposing Trainer could even process what was happening, Gible had already clamped its fangs down on Gastly's vaporous body. A chilling, wind-like scream pierced the air as the ghost-type Pokémon lost consciousness and crumpled to the ground.
"Gastly is unable to battle! Gible wins!"
The referee rang the bell with authority, loudly declaring Logan's victory. It was also a reminder: no further attacks were allowed.
"Hmph, these rookie Trainers are far weaker than I imagined… Or maybe, just maybe, I'm far too strong for them."
Logan brushed off his jacket and stepped forward to briefly shake hands with the defeated Trainer—whose face was painted with unwilling defeat—before turning on his heel and walking off. He didn't offer a single word, but his self-directed muttering was loud enough for his opponent to hear. The man clenched his fist, visibly frustrated, but with no choice but to swallow the loss. He recalled his Gastly and left quietly, waiting for another chance in next week's challenge.
The Gym Challenge wasn't a one-on-one affair straight out of the gate. Trainers couldn't just barge in and face the Gym Leader. First came the preliminary matches—divided into eight groups. The grouping was based on skill level. Logan, having no badges yet, was assigned to Group One with other rookie Trainers. Only the winner of each group earned the right to challenge the Gym Leader that week. Victory meant a badge. Defeat meant back to square one—the preliminaries the following week.
"That rookie over there is something else. Every match? Over in a single move. He wiped the entire first group clean in no time."
Logan's dominating victories and his ability to finish battles with a single command had made him the center of attention. A crowd had gathered around his battleground, made up of curious rookie Trainers and even a few more experienced ones—some already with badges of their own.
"He's gotta be one of those real-combat types," one Trainer commented. "I've been watching this whole round. Most of those kids were clearly from the academy circuit. It's no wonder they lost. Even though this is just a match and not a fight to the death, that gap in experience? Massive."
"Yeah, it's wild. A rookie who had the guts to train in wild zones right from the start? Most people begin their careers with Trainer battles to build up strength before even thinking about going into untamed areas. Even so, there are tons who die every year out there."
Two Trainers chatted from a distance, eyes on Logan as he coolly walked away with the first qualifying slot for the week. His Gym battle would be tomorrow.
"What Pokémon is that? I've never seen it before."
"That's not a Kanto native. Pretty sure it's from Sinnoh."
"Seriously? How do you know that?"
"You don't watch other regional tournaments? Sinnoh's League just wrapped up. The new Champion's ace was the final evolution of that Pokémon—Garchomp. And man, that Champion? Total knockout. Saw her on TV and couldn't believe it. Beautiful, powerful, and apparently super nice. She's got an insane number of fans in Sinnoh."
The man's eyes sparkled with unrestrained enthusiasm, drifting off into what could only be described as a full-blown fantasy about the Champion. His companion shot him a sideways glare.
"…"
Though Logan stood a good distance from the chatty Trainers, he heard every word thanks to Mewtwo's enhanced telepathic abilities. His senses were far beyond normal human levels. Twenty meters meant nothing.
Sinnoh Champion… real-combat vs academy…
Logan muttered inwardly. Of course, he knew about the Champion. Even someone who barely watched the anime knew her name. But it was only recently that he had come to understand the real divide between training styles.
So-called real-combat Trainers—like Logan—were forged in the wilderness, surviving through harsh battles, living alongside their Pokémon under constant threat. On the other hand, academy Trainers trained under safe, structured conditions, their Pokémon only entering high-focus states during actual matches.
Logan believed that Pokémon grew stronger through spiritual breakthroughs—moments of extreme focus and intent. Out in the wild, such moments happened constantly. That meant constant growth. Academy Trainers, however, only got those moments during occasional battles. The result? A widening gap between the two as time passed.
Most Trainers eventually transitioned from academia to field experience. But even with that early foundation, the wild was unforgiving. Death came swiftly. Many gave up or fled when danger struck. And that's how the true difference in strength began to take shape.
A single powerful Trainer could be a one-man army. The weak? They could struggle even against a lone wild Pokémon. The gap between an Elite Four member and a common Trainer was as wide as a canyon.
Real-combat rookies like Logan were exceedingly rare, not because the path didn't exist—but because most died before making it far. What Logan, Red, and Blue had done was, in the eyes of others, practically suicide.
"Sigh… what a pain. I've got to go through a whole qualifying tournament just to challenge the Gym Leader. And the actual challenge is only held once per week? Tomorrow night can't come fast enough."
Logan walked out of the prelims arena with his hands in his pockets, eyes fixed on the massive stadium rising in the distance like a steel colossus. It looked more like a football arena than a battlefield, large enough to hold tens of thousands of people.
Unlike the anime or games where battles took place in tiny rooms, the real Gym Challenges were grand spectacles. In this world, they were the most important public sporting events, watched by all, celebrated by millions.
In this Pokémon-centered society, Trainers weren't just athletes—they were celebrities.
Each powerful Trainer was as well-known as any idol, pop star, or actor. Some even more so.
And Logan? He was just getting started.
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