Chapter 204: One Day to Clear (Part 2)
After resting overnight in Champion’s Road, Rio climbed a ladder up to the third-floor cavern—the final floor of Champion’s Road. Once he passed through this level, he would be out.
"Charizard—Sacred Fire!"
"Roaar~"
"Crobat—Hyper Beam!"
"Crobat~"
The entire cavern was scorching hot. Both Rio and his opponent were drenched in sweat as Rio commanded Charizard in battle against a Level 64 Elite Four–talent Crobat. Purple flames and a searing beam clashed in the cavern. The flames slowly consumed the beam, pushing forward until they reached Crobat. Crobat cried out in pain—though not defeated, it was severely wounded, with purple flames clinging to its body. It fell to the ground, struggling to take flight again.
"You can do it, Crobat—get up!" The portly trainer across from Rio wiped the sweat from his face with a handkerchief, encouraging his Pokémon. At the same time, he stared in shock at Charizard.
As the guardian of Champion’s Road’s third floor, he swore this was the first time he’d ever faced such a powerful challenger—a single Sacred Fire had nearly crippled his Crobat. Even the Elite Four couldn’t do that. Usually, he was the one one-shotting other trainers’ Pokémon.
"Wait—Sacred Fire?" The portly trainer suddenly realized something was off. "Your Charizard just used Ho-Oh’s flame, didn’t it?!" he exclaimed.
Just then, Rio commanded a second Sacred Fire. Purple flames surged toward the struggling Crobat.
"Crobat—Double Team!" the trainer countered.
"Crobat~" Crobat, having just managed to rise again, spread its wings and split into two, then four, then eight copies—but as it reached eight, the burn from the Sacred Fire triggered, causing it to falter. The incoming Sacred Fire struck directly. Already grievously wounded, Crobat had no chance—it collapsed instantly.
The portly trainer stared blankly at the scene, then looked at Rio and repeated his question: "Your Charizard used Ho-Oh’s flame, didn’t it?"
"That’s right." Rio nodded with a smile, then added comfortingly: "But your Crobat was impressive. It’s only the third Pokémon since yesterday that made me use Sacred Fire twice in a row."
Hearing he was one of only three made the trainer feel somewhat better. But then another realization hit him. "Yesterday? You entered Champion’s Road yesterday?!" His jaw dropped, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Rio shrugged, treating it as a casual matter. He patted Charizard, who understood and carried him onward.
Soon, Rio saw light—blazing sunlight streaming through a cave opening. "Charizard, Munchlax—we’ve made it to the end of Champion’s Road!"
"Roaar~"
"Ka~"
Outside the cave, three attendants from the Pokémon League were stationed. Their job was to receive every trainer who emerged from Champion’s Road, offering them food and directions to the nearest Pokémon Center.
At that moment, the three were sitting around, playing cards to pass the time. One of them seemed to be having a rough streak—his chips were nearly gone. Frustrated, he declared he was done, insisting they either find a new activity or change the betting rules.
The other two exchanged glances. One of them spoke up: "I heard the new Indigo Conference champion entered Champion’s Road yesterday. How about we bet on how long it’ll take him to come out? Whoever guesses closest wins—bet is ten thousand League coins."
The unlucky man agreed enthusiastically: "I’m in. I watched his final match—he’s strong. I think he’ll be on par with the Elite Four soon. My guess is twelve days."
"I watched the final too," another chimed in. "He’s definitely one of the stronger champions in recent years, but twelve days is way too optimistic. Are you sure he won that easily because his opponent was weak? I’m betting fifteen days."
The third man, who had proposed the bet, thought for a moment before saying: "I didn’t watch much of the tournament, but I think you’re both being too optimistic. Very few people have ever cleared it in fifteen days—most take a month. His strong performance could just be because his opponents were weak. I’ll say eighteen days."
"We’ll see. I still think twelve is most likely," the unlucky man scoffed.
"Fine—let’s wait and see who’s right," the proposer laughed.
"So what do we do now? This bet won’t be settled for at least ten days," another said, turning to the unlucky man. "Old Ka—how about another round? If you win the bet in ten days, you’ll make back a huge chunk."
"Shut up—it’s time to work. Someone’s coming out!" Old Ka pointed at the Champion’s Road exit, his eyes wide.
The other two turned to look—and saw a figure emerging from the cave, stretching out their arms as if embracing the sunlight. After soaking in the warmth, the figure noticed them and walked over. A moment later, he stood before them.
When the three got a clear look at his face, their eyes went wide, expressions like they’d seen a ghost.
"Are you this year’s Indigo Conference champion? Or his twin brother?" the proposer finally asked hesitantly.
Rio nodded: "I’m Rio—this year’s champion."
"Wait—the message said you only entered Champion’s Road yesterday! How are you already out today?" another stammered.
"By fighting my way through, of course," Rio shrugged.
"No—that’s impossible. No one clears Champion’s Road in just one day. Not even the Elite Four can do that!" the proposer said skeptically. "You must have used some hidden trick."
"If you want to call it a hidden trick, then it’s a hidden trick," Rio replied with a helpless shrug. "But I imagine you can contact the trainers inside Champion’s Road—they can give you the answer."
"Fine—I’ll check right now. If I find anything suspicious, your champion title will be revoked across the entire region!" the other man said excitedly.
Rio shrugged, unfazed. He didn’t understand why the man was so worked up. Then he noticed the third man—Old Ka—had been silent the whole time, just staring at him with his mouth wide open.
(⊙_⊙)
"Something on my face?" Rio raised an eyebrow.
Old Ka didn’t respond—he just stared in shock. He’d expected to win his bet, but never in his wildest dreams had he imagined it would happen like this. The champion had come out the very next day.
After a long pause, Old Ka finally spoke: "Swear an oath—swear you really fought your way through."
Rio rolled his eyes. "You’ve got issues."