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James’s father was about to complain about the sudden silence, but then he spotted Rio across the way and remembered his purpose. He pointed excitedly at Rio: "Yes—him! You have to beat him in the next battle. Win, and you’ll be well rewarded!" The tattooed man broke out in a cold sweat, swallowing hard, unable to utter a word for a long moment. Rio, however, smiled and spoke first: "Come on—let’s battle. Do you want to go up against my Charizard that can re-evolve, or my Munchlax that opens with Metronome?" Before the tattooed man could respond, James’s father, Dairo, was left utterly bewildered. Even he could figure out who the tattooed man had just been describing. And so— His blood rushed to his head. His eyes rolled back. "Father!" "Sir!" "Dairo!" Two hours later, having secured the position, Rio flew back to Lavender Town on Charizard with 1.4 million League coins in hand. Why 1.4 million instead of 1.6 million? Well, because someone had ultimately backed out, leaving him with only 1.4 million for now. As for when he’d return—that would be two days later. First, he’d go to James’s place to guide his Growlithe’s training, and then he’d bring Primeape to Silph Co. "This trip was incredibly fruitful," Rio said, beaming as he sat on Charizard’s back and tallied his gains. Besides catching the Red Gyarados and obtaining the Silver Wing needed to summon Lugia, he’d also found an ancient Poké Ball containing a Level 60 shiny Haunter with Champion-tier talent. Though he couldn’t do anything with that Haunter at the moment, he was confident he’d find a way eventually. At the very least, once his other Pokémon caught up in strength and could protect him, he’d try releasing it again. Charizard, for instance, now had a friendship of 90—just 5 points away from unlocking its second-tier reward. He was certain that unlock would give Charizard another qualitative leap. As for Primeape, not only had it unlocked its first-tier reward, but with the Red Gyarados around, a huge weight had been lifted from Rio’s mind. He no longer had to worry about being punched to death in his sleep. Whenever Primeape needed to vent, it could just beat up the Red Gyarados—and everyone benefited: Rio stayed safe, Primeape got its release, and the Red Gyarados got what it wanted. It was a perfect win-win-win. Especially the Red Gyarados—look at how its friendship was skyrocketing from all those beatings. Just 17 more points and it would unlock its first-tier reward. Then there was Munchlax—as long as he had money, friendship was never an issue, and it would occasionally surprise him. "I wonder if I’ll ever get the chance to catch a few legendary Pokémon to ride. I’m not asking for the regional guardians—at least something on the level of Entei or Raikou would be nice. Otherwise, that’s a huge missed opportunity," Rio mused. As he muttered, he pulled out the Pokémon Hunter’s phone. Someone had just @everyone asking how many Electric-type Pokémon they’d caught today. Rio didn’t reply right away. Instead, he searched online for some Electric-type Pokémon photos and posted those as his response. The group admin didn’t suspect anything and went on to urge others to report their catches. Even now, Rio still didn’t know where the operation to capture Raikou would take place. "These guys sure know how to keep their secrets tight." An hour later, Rio and Charizard returned to Lavender Town, landing directly at the Lavender Gym. The Gym was now nearing completion. Rio’s return was immediately met with a swarm of trainees crowding around him. Why all the enthusiasm? They were eager for his guidance on their Pokémon training—otherwise, why would they be so excited? It wasn’t like he was a beautiful female Gym Leader. "Easy, easy—one at a time," Rio said with a helpless sigh at the Gym entrance. Being handsome and strong really made you popular. After over an hour of giving guidance, Rio finally managed to free himself. He spotted Mr. Fuji and his granddaughter Rina sitting under a nearby tree, watching him with kind smiles. "Grandpa Fuji, Rina." He waved and greeted them. "So, kid—made quite a haul on this trip, didn’t you?" Mr. Fuji said with a smile. Rio grinned. "Not bad—I caught Mankey and even evolved it into Primeape." "You caught Mankey and evolved it into Primeape? Good for you, kid—that takes guts. You must have taken quite a beating on this trip," Mr. Fuji said. "I didn’t actually get beaten—though someone else did." "Someone else? What do you mean? Did you find someone willing to take the hits for you?" Mr. Fuji asked, puzzled. "Believe it or not, I actually did." Rio laughed and pulled out a Poké Ball. With a flash of light, the Red Gyarados appeared. "ROAR!!!" Its deafening roar immediately sent a wave of pressure through all the Pokémon at the Lavender Gym. "A red Gyarados! You caught a shiny Gyarados—you really had some luck on this trip!" Mr. Fuji’s eyes widened in surprise. "Just a bit." Rio scratched his head. If he told Mr. Fuji he’d also found a shiny Haunter, the old man’s eyes would probably pop out even more. "But what does that have to do with you not getting beaten?" Rina chimed in. "You’ll see in a moment." With another flash of light, Rio released Primeape. "Pu-cha!" The moment it appeared, Rio gave its head a firm slap. "It’s itching for a fight—hit it!" Rio pointed at the Red Gyarados. "Pu-cha!" Under everyone’s stunned gazes, Primeape began pummeling the Red Gyarados. After watching for a moment, Mr. Fuji’s gentle expression turned furious: "Rio! This is Pokémon abuse! You can’t just let your own Pokémon get beaten to save yourself! This is worse than not having caught Primeape at all—and the Red Gyarados will end up hating you!" Seeing Mr. Fuji so agitated, Rio quickly tried to calm him down: "Grandpa Fuji, please—just wait and see." "How can I wait? This is disgraceful! Stop it, stop Primeape now—or I’ll call the police!" Rio stood his ground: "I can’t stop it, Grandpa Fuji. If you trust me, just keep watching. If not, then call the police." He was doing this now to preempt any future shock and concern. Mr. Fuji looked at Rio’s calm demeanor and, in the end, didn’t make the call. About half a minute later, Primeape stopped its assault. The Red Gyarados lay limp on the ground. Rio walked over and fed it a Revival Herb. Soon, the Red Gyarados recovered—not only showing no anger or resentment, but actively placing its tail back in Primeape’s hand, as if asking for more. Rio turned around and shrugged. Behind him, everyone stared with their mouths wide open, looking as if they’d seen a ghost. (⊙０⊙)