"Since it’s just a friendly match, how about a 1v1?" August suggested.

  "Sounds good!" Gary responded confidently, full of fighting spirit.

  If he couldn’t even defeat an Eevee, what kind of Trainer was he? He might as well go home and be a researcher like his grandfather.

  Seeing Gary’s unwavering confidence, August chuckled. He only hoped Gary would still have that expression in a few minutes.

  He patted the Eevee in his arms, and with a nimble leap, it nded steadily on the sandy battlefield.

  "Alright then..."

  Gary looked at the adorable little Eevee and retrieved a Poké Ball from his belt.

  "Go! My Pokémon!"

  Bang!

  The Poké Ball burst open, releasing a fsh of white light.

  Boom!

  A heavy impact shook the beach as sand scattered in all directions.

  A towering, imposing Nidoking appeared on the battlefield.

  "Nidoking?"

  August was momentarily surprised.

  But then, remembering Gary’s family background, it made perfect sense.

  For someone like Gary, obtaining a [Moon Stone] was no big deal.

  Come to think of it, if [Moon Stones] weren’t so rare, Nidoking might actually be a better starter Pokémon than the usual Kanto starters.

  Catch a Nidoran, train it a little, evolve it into Nidorino, and then use a [Moon Stone]—bam, you’ve got a Nidoking with a solid 505 base stat total and excellent coverage.

  If August hadn’t had his system and hadn’t encountered Gardevoir early on, he might have gone down that route himself.

  While August was lost in thought, Gary had been watching him closely, waiting for his reaction.

  In his mind, August should have been shocked, then fallen silent, and finally, with a helpless expression, recalled his Eevee and admitted defeat:

  "I can’t believe you have a Nidoking, Gary. My Eevee doesn’t stand a chance. I concede this match!"

  And, of course, he would then apologize for the emotional damage he had inflicted on Gary during the awards ceremony.

  Then, being the bigger person, Gary would graciously forgive him.

  That was how Gary had envisioned things.

  But reality… did not go as pnned.

  When August saw Nidoking, he did seem momentarily surprised.

  But he quickly returned to normal and even began scrutinizing Nidoking, as if he were analyzing something.

  "Is he just pretending to be calm because he’s scared?" Gary wondered.

  Feeling generous, he decided to offer August a way out. "You can still surrender now if you want!"

  August snapped out of his thoughts and gave Gary a baffled look. "Surrender? What nonsense are you talking about? Why would I surrender?"

  Sure, Nidoking looked big and intimidating, but its level was clearly low. It wasn’t a threat to Eevee at all.

  "Vui!"

  Eevee on the field chimed in, tilting its head at Gary in confusion.

  What’s the big deal? At this level, I could take on ten of them!

  Gary hadn't expected August to be this stubborn—he was just as bad as Ash!

  "Alright then, you asked for it! Nidoking!"

  At Gary’s command, Nidoking pounded its chest and let out a ferocious roar at Eevee.

  Ordinary Eevee would probably be so scared that they’d activate their [Run Away] ability and flee on the spot.

  But...

  "Vuiii—!"

  Eevee wasn’t about to be outdone. It puffed out its chest and roared right back at Nidoking.

  Nidoking was momentarily stunned.

  Then, realizing that a tiny Eevee had just roared at it, it became furious.

  With a powerful push-off, Nidoking charged at Eevee.

  Though the soft sand made its footing unstable, causing it to stumble slightly, it still had more than enough speed to take down an Eevee.

  As Nidoking barreled toward it, Eevee blinked, turned around, and began furiously kicking up sand with its tiny paws.

  A cloud of sand scattered into the air, flying straight into Nidoking’s face.

  [Sand Attack]!

  Charging forward at full speed, Nidoking hadn’t expected Eevee to neither run nor dodge, but instead use [Sand Attack].

  Its first instinct was to shut its eyes.

  Seeing this, August smirked and casually commented, "Your Nidoking still needs more training."

  "What?" Gary was confused.

  Wasn’t Nidoking clearly dominating the fight?

  Just as that thought crossed his mind, Eevee suddenly shot forward like a bolt of lightning.

  [Quick Attack]!

  In the blink of an eye, Eevee darted under Nidoking’s legs and gave a slight nudge to its already unbanced footing.

  Nidoking, already struggling with the unstable sand, was completely thrown off bance. With its eyes shut to avoid the sand, it had no way to correct itself.

  Despite Eevee barely using any force, Nidoking lost its footing and, carried by its own momentum, tumbled forward, kicking up a massive cloud of sand as it crashed onto the beach.

  "Nidoking!" Gary winced just watching it.

  His cheerleading squad gasped in shock, worried for Nidoking.

  Though dazed, Nidoking gritted its teeth and tried to push itself up.

  But before it could get back on its feet—

  [Quick Attack]!

  Eevee dashed forward again, skillfully avoiding Nidoking’s poisonous spikes, and struck Nidoking, making it stagger.

  Nidoking fell once more!

  Then, with a graceful leap, Eevee nded squarely on Nidoking’s back.

  It unleashed a flurry of [Swift] attacks, the star-shaped energy bsts hammering into Nidoking, causing it to cry out in pain.

  Every time Nidoking tried to resist, Eevee simply bsted it back down with another [Swift].

  The scene was downright brutal.

  After several rounds of this, Nidoking stopped moving.

  Gary stared in shock.

  What… just happened?

  How did my unbeatable Nidoking go down so fast?!

  Seeing Gary’s dumbfounded expression, August, as a responsible mentor, decided to enlighten him.

  "First off, using a heavy Pokémon like Nidoking on soft sand was a mistake. The terrain wasn’t in its favor."

  "Second, attempting to use [Double Kick] against Eevee was theoretically the right call since it’s a Normal-type. But given the sand’s instability, a long-range move like [Earth Power] or [Earthquake] would have been much smarter. You need to py to your Pokémon’s strengths."

  Gary: "....."

  Like I can just magically teach Nidoking [Earth Power] on the spot!

  Technically, Nidoking could learn it, but he had only evolved it with a [Moon Stone] a couple of days ago—it hadn’t had time to master those moves yet.

  Not to mention…

  "...What’s with your Eevee?" Gary asked.

  Something felt off.

  Ordinary Eevee shouldn’t even be able to scratch Nidoking’s defense, yet August’s Eevee had executed every move fwlessly—starting with [Sand Attack], then tripping Nidoking, and finishing it off, all without a single command from August.

  This wasn’t normal.

  Hearing Gary’s question, August smirked.

  "You finally noticed?"

  Catching Eevee as it leaped into his arms, he ruffled its fur and said casually—

  "This little guy is Elite-ranked."

  "...Elite-ranked?"

  Gary gawked at the Eevee, now lying on its back in August’s arms, zily stretching its paws.

  If you told him its cuteness was Elite-ranked, sure, he’d believe that.

  But if he hadn’t personally experienced it, he never would have thought this Eevee had Elite-level strength!

  "An Elite-level Eevee against a rookie Trainer like me… you’re a demon," Gary muttered.

  "I warned you. You just didn’t listen," August shrugged.

  ...Come to think of it, he had insisted on this battle himself.

  Well. That’s on me.

  The clown… was me all along.

  "But wait… aren’t you supposed to be a researcher?" Gary asked, frowning.

  Was Pokémon academia this competitive now? Did researchers need Elite-level Pokémon?!

  "Huh? Professor Oak never told you? I used to be a Ranger," August said casually. "Back in the day, I could walk into any poacher’s camp in Kanto with my hands in my pockets, and they’d start trembling at my name."

  Gary: "....."

  As reality sank in, Gary, though still a little dejected, finally made peace with his loss.

  An Elite-ranked Eevee was just too much for a rookie Trainer.

  What he did hold a grudge over, though, was that his grandfather had never told him any of this.

  Grandpa, why would you set me up like this?

  On the side, Blue, seeing the results were already crystal clear, officially announced:

  "Nidoking is unable to battle! The winner is August!"

  The moment Blue finished speaking, August heard the system notification in his head:

  [You have defeated the newly embarked Trainer, Gary, leaving an unforgettable impression on him. You have earned the title: ‘Smell Ya Later!’]

  [Please select your reward:]

  [1. A full set of Paldean Herba Mystica][2. Outdoor picnic set][3. Master-css fishing rod]

  Huh? I can even get a title for defeating Gary…

  While the rewards weren’t as great as when he took down Lt. Surge, the battle had been effortless and, frankly, quite enjoyable.

  Now I wonder… what would happen if I beat Ash?

  That thought made August turn to Gary. "By the way, I heard from Professor Oak that you started your journey with another Trainer named Ash. I haven’t seen him around—where is he now?"

  Gary, who had been sulking, suddenly perked up at the mention of Ash. "Oh, that idiot?"

  The moment he started talking about Ash, his dejection completely vanished, and he instantly became energetic.

  "I ran into him back on Route 24. Knowing how slow he is, I’d bet he hasn’t even reached Vermilion City yet!"

  "Honestly, he should be grateful to whoever took down Lt. Surge. Otherwise, if he lost to Surge, he’d probably be crying while hugging his Pikachu right now."

  "....."

  August listened to Gary’s enthusiastic rant about Ash with a face full of question marks.

  I just asked where Ash was. Why are you suddenly so excited?