"You're... one of Kanto's Legendary Birds? I never expected Grey to have even caught Legendary Pokémon from Kanto."
Terrakion sucked in a sharp breath.
Honestly, when it had first met Grey, it had assumed Grey was a trainer from Unova.
But then again, if he could catch Reshiram, catching the Legendary Birds, who were on the same level as them, did seem fairly normal.
"Arti."
(That's right, it's me. The most elegant, graceful, and supreme leader of the Legendary Birds in all of Kanto, Articuno!)
Articuno lifted its head and puffed out its chest, standing proudly in place as its haughty gaze slowly swept over everyone present.
"Zap?"
(You? You think you get to call yourself the leader of the Legendary Birds?)
Before the four swordsmen could answer, Zapdos walked out of the kitchen, sparks of electricity still flickering at the edge of its beak. It had obviously just finished eating in there.
The four swordsmen: ???
Wait.
There was another Legendary Pokémon?
Don't tell them Grey had even caught Moltres too.
Thankfully, Moltres did not appear.
That let them relax a little.
"Hello. May I ask, are all of you Grey's Pokémon?"
Virizion stepped forward to greet them.
There were trainees in the Fighting Dojo, and plenty of Pokémon here too. For all it knew, maybe some unusually capable person here had also caught Legendary Pokémon.
"Zap."
(That's right. You may address me as Boss Zapdos.)
Zapdos lifted its head proudly. As the second Legendary Pokémon to join the team, its strength was already close to Champion level.
Compared to these four swordsmen in front of it, whose strength was mostly around Elite Four ace level.
And it, Zapdos...
Was already around Elite Four ace level itself.
The difference was obvious at a glance.
"The hell? You're trying to become my boss the second we meet?!"
Terrakion could not take it.
And it refused to take it.
It had already suffered enough frustration at Grey's hands. It could not beat Mega Blaziken, sure, but there was no way it could not beat one of Grey's birds, right?
After all, its typing was Rock and Fighting.
Rock-type was four times effective against Articuno and twice effective against Zapdos.
If you asked it, the real boss of the dojo should be itself.
"Zap!"
(Hoh! For a rock bull, you sure talk big!)
Zapdos barked angrily and opened with Thunderbolt the moment they met, sweeping it forward in one violent blast.
Wild lightning lashed out in every direction, turning into one crackling whip after another as it came crashing down.
"You frizzled bird, don't think using Electric-type moves means you can look down on a bull!"
Terrakion threw back its head with a roar. Brownish energy wrapped around its forelegs as it slammed them heavily into the ground.
The entire dojo shook violently, and dozens of sharp stone pillars burst from the earth and rose up in front of it.
Boom, crack!
Zapdos's golden lightning slammed into the wall of rock, and the exploding electric light raced madly between the jagged stone edges.
Shattered rock and sparks flew everywhere, but in the end, the heavy stone barrier completely blocked the Thunderbolt.
Terrakion glared at the Zapdos in the air through the cracks in the rock, snorting out a dismissive puff of white vapor.
"Tiny little frizzled bird, that's all you've got! Hahaha..."
Terrakion's mocking laugh had barely settled into the air when it suddenly realized the golden lightning in front of it had already vanished.
It turned its sword-like horns warily, its hooves scraping uneasily at the ground.
"Zap!"
(Ugly cow! I, the great Zapdos, have Fighting-type moves too!!)
A sharp cry exploded from directly above Terrakion's head.
At some point, Zapdos had already appeared right over it, folding its wings as it dove straight down like a golden arrow.
Terrakion had no time to react before claws wrapped in Fighting-type energy smashed viciously into its side.
Rock Smash.
Bang!
Its heavy body was sent flying sideways, staggering backward several meters before it barely managed to stop.
In the dust and rubble, Terrakion lurched back to its feet. Blackened claw marks remained where it had been kicked, and tiny electric arcs were still crackling through its fur.
"What the hell, how are you just as underhanded as Grey?!"
Terrakion completely broke.
After using Rock Smash, this damned Zapdos had actually mixed Thunder Wave into the attack too.
"Zap."
(If you're weak, train more. If you can't handle it, then don't play. It was just one Thunder Wave. You were fighting an Electric-type Pokémon, and you didn't even think to guard against that.)
Zapdos completely lost it and did not even try to hide its grin.
This was too funny.
It had already been caught by Grey, yet there were still Pokémon this honest and straightforward when it came to battling.
"Zap."
(Even Annihilape uses nasty little tricks sometimes. What I did was just the basics.)
Zapdos felt like this kind of small tactical play was only entry-level stuff at the Fighting Dojo.
Terrakion was simply too honest.
Terrakion: ???
"That was just the basics?! What do you people even think Pokémon battles are supposed to be?"
The two bursts of air from Terrakion's nose came out in ragged fits. It was so angry it could barely speak anymore.
"Zap?"
(What are they supposed to be? As long as you win, isn't that enough?)
Zapdos had no such sense of restraint.
A battle was a battle. If you could win, then great. Why insist on winning in some perfectly honorable way?
Terrakion: "..."
"Damn it! Battles like yours are an insult to combat between swordsmen!"
At the end of the day, this was because Terrakion still carried that swordsman's pride.
With that mindset, Terrakion simply could not bring itself to use those kinds of dirty tactics.
And it was not just Terrakion. Cobalion and Virizion were the same. Their battle styles had already been set, so they had no way to agree with that sort of fighting.
But if it were Keldeo...
That might be a different story.
Keldeo had only just properly started learning Pokémon battles, and it had not settled into any fixed style yet, so it could still learn whatever it wanted.
"Don't tell me all the Pokémon in your Fighting Dojo are like this."
"In a dojo this big, you seriously can't find even one Pokémon that fights properly?"
Terrakion spoke with the pain of someone who hated to see potential wasted.
These were perfectly good Fighting-type Pokémon, yet Grey had trained them into this.
It was a complete disgrace.
"Arti?"
(Now that's just slander.)
Articuno flew over. Sure, it and Zapdos did enjoy using some nasty little tactics in battle, but that did not mean every Pokémon in the Fighting Dojo was like that.
"Zap."
(Exactly. Our dojo has the Three Generals. And on top of that, there's the Guts Trio.)
Zapdos went on to explain, bringing up Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, Hitmontop, Machamp, Heracross, and Conkeldurr.
If nothing else, those six Pokémon really did fight head-on with pure offense.
Especially the last three.
Once they put up Protect and then got burned, it was basically the same as going berserk.
At that point, it was all straight-up frontal combat.
The strategy was simple, hit hard enough and smash right through.
"Hmm... well, that's good. At least your place still has the true Fighting-type spirit."
Only then did Terrakion finally relax.
Thank goodness.
If none of the Pokémon in the Fighting Dojo fought head-on, it felt like it would not even take a few days before it packed up and ran for it.
"Zap."
(Anyway, how'd Grey catch all of you? And he grabbed four of you at once too. Did he just bundle you up and haul you off?)
Zapdos looked over the four master-and-student swordsmen.
It was a little curious what exactly had happened that got them all taken.
"Well, that starts with our disappointing student here..."
Terrakion let out a long sigh and looked at Keldeo again, its face full of frustrated disappointment.
While the Legendary Pokémon were chatting, Keldeo had started wandering around on its own.
Today, it needed to find a new opponent again.
"Hmm... feels like there really aren't any Pokémon here I can handle."
Among Grey's current Pokémon, aside from Scraggy and the two Kubfu, every other one was at least in the mid-50s.
Of the Pokémon Keldeo had fought so far, the weakest had been Conkeldurr, and it was level 55.
Keldeo's own strength was about on par with Conkeldurr's.
But the problem was...
The moment Conkeldurr got burned, Keldeo was the one getting swatted away by a concrete pillar.
Could it fight that?
Not a chance.
Keldeo sighed softly. It could not exactly go bully Larvesta, a Pokémon that had not even evolved yet.
Larvesta was level 54, and it also had Fire typing.
Keldeo had a major type advantage.
If it fought Larvesta, the odds of winning were high.
But fighting a Pokémon that had not even evolved yet made Keldeo feel like it would just be bullying the weak. There would be no joy in winning at all.
It, Keldeo, a Mythical Pokémon...
Would absolutely never stoop to something like that.
"Lar?"
(Oh? Was that about me?)
Noticing Keldeo's gaze, Larvesta, which had been basking in the sun on the windowsill, raised its head and looked back at it.
"It's nothing. Go back to sunbathing."
Keldeo said that to Larvesta.
"Lar."
(Okay, then I'll keep sunbathing.)
Larvesta closed its eyes again and continued enjoying the blazing sunlight.
...
...
Saffron City, Saffron Gym, now a ruin.
The two-man construction crew was still hard at work.
Lillie arrived carrying a basket of food, bringing them the meal she had prepared.
But today, it looked like some unwelcome guests had shown up at the construction site...
"Eevee..."
(I'm so tired... looks like there's somewhere to hide over here...)
A weak voice came from not too far away.
"Boss, are we still chasing it? This looks like the Fighting Dojo's territory. Even if Grey isn't here, the Pokémon holding down the fort at the dojo probably aren't pushovers."
What followed was the sound of hurried footsteps.
"Chase it! Why wouldn't we?! If we don't catch that Eevee, what happens to us afterward will be worse than getting arrested!"
An angry shout rang out, and the footsteps suddenly sped up.
Tap tap tap...
"Machamp?"
(Conkeldurr, did you hear something?)
Machamp had just picked up the blueprints to see how to turn Saffron Gym into something that could merge with the Fighting Dojo when it heard the noisy voices.
"Conkeldurr."
(I heard it, I heard it. Sounds like some Pokémon's being chased by a bunch of bad guys.)
Conkeldurr nodded along.
It had clearly heard the weak cry from that Pokémon just now.
The two of them immediately turned around.
"Eevee..."
(I'm done... I've got no strength left...)
A fox-like Pokémon with brown fur and long ears collapsed onto the ground.
Bang!
"Boss! That Eevee just dropped! What now? Should we rush over and grab it?!"
One man in a Team Rocket uniform sped up, charging ahead, only to be stopped by another Team Rocket member dressed the same way.
"Are you an idiot? Why don't you look over there and see who's doing construction? Those are Grey's Pokémon! Seriously, do they not need breaks from building stuff?!"
The Team Rocket member who was clearly the leader was already starting to think about retreating.
Whoosh!
In an instant, two fierce gusts cut off both their front and rear escape routes.
Machamp stood in front of them with all four arms crossed over its chest, its bulging muscles gleaming with solid strength under the sunlight. Behind them came the scraping sound of a concrete pillar dragging across the ground as Conkeldurr wheezed and slammed its pillar down in their path.
The shadows of the two Fighting-type Pokémon completely covered the Team Rocket squad. They froze in place, and even the sound of their swallowing was loud and clear.
"Machamp..."
(Heh heh heh... so it's Team Rocket members. I was just wondering where I could go arrest some of you. Never thought you'd be brave enough to walk right into my territory.)
Machamp's mouth curled into a grin, but in the eyes of the Team Rocket members, that grin looked more than a little sinister.
"Mercy, hero, mercy! We're cosplaying! We actually hate Team Rocket!"
"Machamp?"
(Huh? Of all things to cosplay, you picked Team Rocket? What kind of bullshit is that?)
Machamp obviously did not believe a word they said. The muscles in all four of its arms tightened at once, and it did not give them a chance to explain.
Then one of its fists slammed violently into the ground.
Boom!
A circular shockwave exploded outward, and the concrete split like a spiderweb.
The Team Rocket members did not even have time to scream before they were all blasted into the air as if an invisible hammer had struck them. They were thrown in every direction and passed out against the surrounding walls of the alley.
"Machamp."
(Hmm... if I hand all these people over to Officer Jenny, I should get a pretty decent bounty.)
Machamp looked at the Team Rocket members sprawled across the ground and let out a cold laugh.
"Machamp, Conkeldurr, are you two okay?"
"Cosmog!"
(Wow! What was that just now? It sent all those people flying in one hit!)
Lillie came running over with the food basket in her arms, and a little Cosmog head poked out from inside it.
Cosmog's little nebula-like flaps wobbled as it watched all of this happen.
"Cosmog!"
(Wait! There's still one more person there!)
Cosmog suddenly shouted.
Machamp snapped its head around, all four eyes locking onto the rear at once!
One of the Team Rocket members was slipping out of his uniform like a snake shedding its skin, leaving nothing but the empty coat standing upright in place.
"See ya."
That guy was wearing a skin-tight stealth suit, and half his body had already slipped down into a manhole while he smugly flashed Machamp a thumbs-down.
Machamp's brows twisted together. The muscles in the two arms on its right side swelled violently as it threw out a heavy punch with a sonic boom.
Boom!!!
The force of the punch blasted the manhole cover away along with the ground in a three-meter radius around it, sending broken chunks of stone raining down.
But after the dust cleared, all that remained was a deep, dark hole.
That Team Rocket grunt had already escaped through the sewer pipes.
The only thing left behind was half of a shredded stealth suit, torn apart by the force of the punch and fluttering in the air.
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