"Stay here!" Rael barked, his voice sharp as steel.
Without waiting for a reply, he sprinted toward the riverbend, his eyes locked on the towering serpent that loomed before the trembling girl. There was no hesitation in his stride—he couldn't let someone die. Not today. Not while he was here.
"Wait!" Delia called, startled.
"We'll come too," Daisy added, her tone calm and composed as she reached for one of her Poké Balls. She was more than capable of ending the threat in a heartbeat, but she held back. This was Rael's fight… unless it stopped being one he could win.
Rael skidded to a halt just a few meters from the scene. His breath caught in his throat for a second—not from fear, but surprise.
The girl standing there was stunning.
Her vivid orange hair fell in wet strands over her shoulders, clinging to the curves of her mature figure. Her body—more developed than most girls her age—was strong, athletic, and undeniably alluring. She looked like she'd stepped out of a swimsuit photoshoot and right into a nightmare. And yet, despite the fear in her eyes, she hadn't run.
[Image Here]
That made Rael grin.
He stepped in front of her without missing a beat, planting himself squarely between her and the enraged Gyarados.
"Hey—you!" he called back to her, his voice low but commanding. "Get behind me. I'm not letting that thing lay a single scale on you. Trust me."
The girl blinked, confused, her mouth slightly open. This stranger… was protecting her?
"Gyarados!" Rael growled, turning his full attention to the raging beast. "You want to fight? Then fight me!"
The sea serpent let out a guttural roar, its massive body rearing back. It had locked onto Rael now, furious that its prey had been stolen.
"Rael, be careful!" Delia shouted from behind.
But Rael wasn't afraid.
In fact, he smirked.
The moment Gyarados lunged, its giant jaws splitting open to bite him in two, Rael moved.
With explosive power, he leapt into the air.
"Wow…" all three girls breathed in unison.
His jump wasn't just impressive—it was unnatural. He soared high, flipping through the air like an acrobat, easily clearing the serpentine beast's head.
Even Daisy raised an eyebrow. Just how much has he been training?
Rael twisted mid-air, muscles coiled with precision. And then—he dropped. His leg came down like a sledgehammer, slamming into Gyarados' back with crushing force.
"GYYAAAA!" the monster howled in pain, scales rippling under the blow.
But it wasn't enough. Not even close.
The Gyarados turned, muscles flexing as its massive tail shimmered with water energy—Aqua Tail.
Daisy's hand clenched around her Poké Ball.
She was ready to end this.
If that tail hit Rael, it would be like being struck by a collapsing building. Even he wouldn't survive that.
Rael grinned as the Gyarados's massive tail began to swing toward him, glowing with aquatic energy.
"Too slow," he muttered.
He whipped a Poké Ball from his belt and hurled it with precision toward Gyarados's face.
"Pidgey, blind him with Sandstorm!"
The Poké Ball burst open mid-air, and Rael's Pidgey emerged with a shrill cry. The bird immediately beat its wings, and—somehow—whipped up a flurry of sand, grit, and dust from the ground below.
The sandstorm lashed into Gyarados's eyes like a thousand needles.
The water dragon roared in pain, halting its Aqua Tail mid-swing. It thrashed its head, trying to blink away the sting, but the sand clung stubbornly.
"Amazing…" the orange-haired girl whispered, her heart racing.
She had never seen anything like this. A Trainer fighting in sync with his Pokémon… not from behind, but beside them. And since when could a Pidgey even learn Sandstorm?
"Pidgey, now use Scratch! Always on the eyes!" Rael commanded without missing a beat.
Pidgey dove in, its tiny talons glowing faintly with a sharpened edge—a technique it had learned in the countless wild battles under Rael's sharp guidance. The bird flurried and clawed at Gyarados's face with unrelenting precision, drawing howls of pain from the beast as it reeled.
Rael's hand went to another Poké Ball.
"Your turn," he muttered, smirking. "Riolu—go!"
The red Pokémon burst into action the second he hit the ground, already poised like a trained fighter.
"Riolu…" Rael said, his smile turning playful. "Cross Chop!"
Riolu's arms crossed in an "X," glowing with red fighting energy, and in a flash he leapt—driving the twin strikes directly into Gyarados's massive side. The impact rippled across the water dragon's body.
At the same time, Rael dashed forward, fists clenched, throwing punch after punch at the Gyarados alongside his Pokémon. Man and Pokémon fighting in perfect rhythm, side by side.
The water dragon couldn't withstand the onslaught.
With a final groan, it crashed down into the shallows, unconscious.
Silence.
Rael exhaled, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Phew… that was tiring…"
Almost immediately, Daisy rushed to his side, her eyes shining.
"Rael, you were amazing!" she said, almost bouncing with excitement.
Delia followed close behind, beaming. "Yeah! I always knew you were strong, but not this strong!"
"T-Thanks…" Rael replied, scratching the back of his neck, clearly a little embarrassed by all the praise.
Then came a softer voice.
"E-Ehm…"
Rael turned. The orange-haired girl stepped forward slowly, brushing her hair from her eyes, her cheeks slightly flushed.
"Thank you… for saving me," she said, eyes wide with awe. "I… I don't even know your name."
Rael looked at her and smiled. "Name's Rael. And you?"
She hesitated for a moment, then offered a small, genuine smile.
"…Misty."
Misty was about to speak again, maybe to thank Rael once more—or ask how in the world he had trained like that—when a bright, strange glow flared behind them.
A white light. Intense, pulsing.
"What the—?" Delia gasped.
They all turned around.
Pidgey was completely enveloped by the light, its small body slowly lifting off the ground, glowing brighter and brighter. The air around them seemed to still as the tiny bird's form began to shift—wings stretching longer, beak sharpening, tail feathers elongating.
"Pidgey is…" Rael's eyes lit up like a child's on a festival day. "Evolving!"
Daisy's mouth dropped open. "What? So early? You just caught it today!"
She stared, flabbergasted. Evolution was supposed to come after enduring hardships, after building a bond through trial and pain—not from one or two battles. It just didn't make sense.
'Is this… also Lucky Guy's effect?' Rael wondered.
To be continued...
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