Chapter 191: A Three-Pokémon Sweep
"Oh—no, wait, I apologize. That’s the second one—the first was contestant Rio’s Annihilape, which one-shot a Rhydon yesterday. It was incredibly strong. And now Rio’s Charizard has shown the same level of power!"
The announcer’s voice snapped many in the audience out of their daze. The trainer, Kiki, stared intently at Charizard.
"Good work, Ninetales." He recalled Ninetales and sent out his second Pokémon—a Level 46 Tentacruel.
"Tentacruel—Hydro Pump!" Kiki commanded immediately.
"Charizard—Flamethrower!" Rio repeated the same command.
In an instant, scorching flames met the water jet midair. The Hydro Pump evaporated on contact, and searing steam filled the air. Everyone’s vision was obscured, but through the haze, they could still faintly see the orange-red glow of flames—followed by Tentacruel’s pained cry. When the steam cleared, Tentacruel had fallen.
Another one-hit knockout.
The crowd erupted in astonishment.
"Amazing! Charizard has just taken down Tentacruel with another Flamethrower! That’s a two-Pokémon sweep with just a single move! Can Kiki’s final Pokémon turn the tide?"
The announcer’s excited voice was broadcast to every contestant in the waiting area—including a young man who was busy calling each other "baby" with a woman in her sixties or seventies. He turned to the live broadcast, his gaze fixed on the black Charizard in close-up.
"Little Black?" the young man murmured.
"Little Black? Do you know that Charizard, baby?" the elderly woman asked, dripping with jewelry.
"I’m not sure—it just looks a lot like a Pokémon I used to have. Also a shiny. But when I left it, it was still a Charmander," the young man said.
"A shiny Charmander? Why did you leave it?" the woman asked.
He paused, then smiled: "It was just too lazy. No matter how I trained it, it couldn’t win. So I set it free in the wild. Unlike ’Little Red’—the one you bought me at the auction for four million. It’s strong and perfectly understands my commands. It’s the Pokémon I was meant to have. With it, I’m confident I can win this tournament."
The old woman nodded approvingly: "A Pokémon that won’t improve isn’t worth keeping, even if it’s shiny—it just wastes the trainer’s time. You did the right thing, baby. But I don’t think the one on TV is the one you released—it just happens to be shiny too. This Charizard looks very strong, though. I wonder how it would fare against Little Red."
"Yeah—you’re probably right. My old Charmander could never have made it to the Indigo Conference. But if this Charizard does face Little Red, I’m very confident we’ll come out on top," the young man said with a smile.
Just then, Kiki sent out his third and final Pokémon—a Venusaur. Unsurprisingly, it, too, was taken down by a single Flamethrower.
Three Pokémon in under ten seconds.
The crowd went wild.
"Unbelievable! Contestant Rio’s Charizard has just achieved something never before seen in Indigo Conference history—taking down three Pokémon with just one move!" The announcer was beside himself with excitement. "My instinct tells me Rio is going to be a top contender for the championship!"
Rio, however, remained calm. He had expected this. If Charizard hadn’t one-shot them, that would have been the real surprise.
"Good work, Charizard. After that performance, the whole Kanto and Johto regions will know who you are," Rio said.
"Roaar~" Charizard turned and met his gaze.
Rio smiled and recalled it. As he stepped off the battlefield, he was swarmed by reporters asking about his tournament expectations. His response was just four words: "Champion. Thank you."
Then he walked away, chased by reporters until James helped him escape.
"What are you doing here?" Rio asked, surprised to see James.
"I arrived yesterday, but my dad’s business partner was hosting a victory party for her boyfriend’s first win near the venue, so I couldn’t come find you until now," James explained, leading Rio toward a restaurant.
"A victory party for a first win? For a boyfriend?" Rio blinked. That sounded bizarre.
"Right? It was odd. I didn’t want to go, but my dad insisted. I figured I’d just go for the gossip and come see you today," James laughed.
"I get it." Rio nodded. If a story like that fell in his lap, he’d be curious too. "So what was the gossip? Some rich older woman with a young toy boy?"
"Exactly that!" James nodded eagerly. "The young guy made a big splash in the first round—got a lot of attention, though not as much as you."
"Got a photo?" Rio asked, curious.
"Yeah—I took one when they were hugging. My dad and I were both amazed by his commitment. For money, he really would do anything—kiss that face without flinching. And he made it look convincing."
James pulled out his phone and showed Rio a photo—a handsome young man kissing an elderly woman whose face was heavily powdered but still covered in wrinkles.
Rio raised an eyebrow. The young man was none other than Charizard’s former trainer.
It all makes sense now, Rio thought. He’d wondered how a gambling addict who’d lost a shiny Charmander could have made it to the Indigo Conference. Now he understood—he’d latched onto a rich patron. Just as Rio had guessed from the start—that was definitely a face that could live off someone else.
Lucky bastard... Rio thought, though he also had to admit—kissing that face without looking fake took real skill.
Just as Rio was processing this, James leaned in and lowered his voice: "Actually, Rio—there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you for a while. Do you think I should do it?"
"What is it?"
"I want to run away from home."