Kashiwagi couldn't help but feel relieved that he'd encountered a Water-type field so early in the qualifiers.
At the same time, he had to credit a rather clumsy Tentacruel for his smooth sailing. Not only did it make the critical error of attacking a Steel-type Pokémon with Poison-type moves, but it was also so startled by Aggron's Surf that it froze up, effectively handing over the victory.
On paper, the Tentacruel actually had the type advantage.
However, its hesitation was understandable—Aggron wasn't exactly a typical surfer.
Thanks to the brief adaptation period provided by that first match and the opportunities granted by the subsequent two Water-type opponents, Aggron became increasingly "like a fish" in the water. He even figured out how to do the backstroke.
Honestly when it came down to it, Aggron was quite the daredevil. For a Pokémon weak to Water to have the guts to counter a Water-type's Surf with his own was a move Kashiwagi might not have even dared to command. Yet, Aggron didn't just try it; he successfully suppressed a STAB Surf to the point where it barely tickled him.
It wouldn't have even surprised Kashiwagi if the big guy had learned a Water-type move on the spot.
And having adapted to the water to this extent, he certainly didn't believe Aggron hadn't developed at least some resistance to Water-type moves.
Of course, staying in the water for that long had likely exhausted the big guy.
"I guess there's still plenty of room to grow. Lots of potential for improvement in every area," Kashiwagi mused.
As he recalled his three Poké Balls, he checked the countdown in the corner of the screen, only for a text-heavy window to pop up. An announcement blared from the speakers.
Reading through it quickly, his expression turned into one of "just as I thought."
The reason the initial three rounds of the Battle Tent were called "Open Qualifiers" rather than "Preliminaries" was that, based on performance, two participants would be selected to jump directly into the semifinals.
It was called the Qualifier Reward Mechanism.
Unlike traditional tournaments where pairings are decided only after everyone finishes, the Battle Tent used a "fast-track" matching system. Winners were paired with other early winners until the three rounds were complete. The computer predicted match durations and adjusted the brackets in real-time.
Since Kashiwagi's team had swept three rounds before noon, they were among the fastest, naturally earning that skip ahead. Now, they were only two wins away from the championship.
This format, designed by Scott, prioritized speed and competition—a hallmark of the Battle Frontier's unique style.
While great for Scott's personal venues, you'd never see such an "entertainment mode" in a standard League Conference.
"Two more matches..."
He stood up and stretched his limbs before heading for the exit.
The schedule for the main event would be texted to his phone, and the staff would even call him if he was late. Since the other brackets would likely take a while to finish, he decided to use the time to visit the Pokémon Center for a check-up and grab some lunch.
But before all that, there was a task of utmost importance:
Cleaning Mawile.
While Sludge Wave is mostly composed of elemental energy, it still carries a bit of the user's bodily fluids. Getting hit by a Tentacruel's sludge wasn't exactly a spa treatment. Mixed with the sludge, the smell was surely unpleasant.
It was a mercy that the special structure of the Poké Ball allowed Mawile to endure it for this long.
Kashiwagi had offered to clean her up in the Battle Tent's restroom, but Mawile had violently rattled her Poké Ball in protest. She wanted a proper bath at the guesthouse.
...
...
Outside the Battle Tent
The benches by the flowerbeds and the streets were packed with spectators and Pokémon, all staring up at the massive outdoor screens broadcasting the ongoing matches.
Kashiwagi glanced over and noticed that almost every screen showed a grueling war of attrition.
Without a trainer's guidance, Pokémon often lost their "strategic brain." They became easily influenced by their surroundings, and a lack of understanding of their opponents led to poor decision-making.
In most cases, this resulted in messy brawls.
On one screen, a Machoke and a Hariyama had stopped using moves entirely. They were just grappling in a raw test of strength—it looked less like a Pokémon battle and more like a heavy-weight wrestling match.
On another, a Golduck and a Dusclops were spamming Hyper Beam at each other. Neither was a Normal-type, yet they used it relentlessly, likely leading to a collapse of both stamina and energy.
Then there were the Forretress vs. Shuckle matchups—two defensive walls just staring each other down, neither willing to attack. Who knew how long that would take? It was a pure endurance test.
It wasn't surprising that Scott introduced a skip-ahead mechanism; some Pokémon just loved to drag out the clock.
Without trainers, their individual personalities took over: some were hesitant, some decisive, and others purely feral.
As Kashiwagi walked away, he overheard the crowd talking about his Aggron.
"What a shame! I wanted to see that Aggron fight again!"
"Right? Who knew it could be that strong in the water?"
"Is it a land Pokémon or a sea creature? It swam so fast!"
"The key is how smart it is. It's got a whole routine down: paralyze with Electric moves to close the distance, then take them out with one powerful hit! That Mantine at the end obviously wanted to ram into it, but once Aggron realized it had a low tolerance for Electric moves, it changed strategy instantly."
"Seriously, how did its trainer raise it?"
"I hope we see its match this afternoon."
"Haha, fat chance. With that performance, it's definitely seeded for the semis. The others will be fighting for at least another day, maybe two."
The group of passersby walked past, chatting and laughing.
Two days?
Kashiwagi looked back at the screens. He hadn't believed it at first, but seeing the theatrical mess of some of those battles, it seemed entirely possible.
...
...
A short while later.
At the Guesthouse
He didn't see Wally at the front desk, so he assumed the boy had obediently gone back to catch up on sleep.
"Welcome back!"
a girl he didn't recognize greeted him from the desk.
"Could I get one lunch for myself and six servings of Pokémon food? The types are..."
Kashiwagi had decided not to cook today just in case a match was called early. Plus, he wanted to try the local cuisine.
Norman's wife, Caroline, had mentioned that Verandurf Town had excellent agricultural products, so the food was bound to be good.
"Your request has been noted," the receptionist bowed.
He nodded and headed straight to his room. In the bathroom, he released Mawile.
"Mawile!! (Gross!!)"
As soon as Mawile emerged, she smelled the stench on her body. She immediately ran under the shower head, turning it on without even adjusting the temperature and rinsing herself frantically.
Only after the surface slime was washed away did she breathe a small sigh of relief.
But then, she sniffed her arm and made a face of pure disgust.
"Mawile! (Help!)"
"Coming, coming," Kashiwagi said, adjusting the temperature and handing her a bath sponge soaked in her specialized soap. "Don't scrub too hard, you'll lose fur. If the smell lingers, we'll do an incense steam bath later."
"Mawile~" The pleasant scent calmed her down instantly. She nodded and proceeded to scrub herself into a mountain of bubbles.
After finally finishing and blow-drying her fur—and proving to her that the Poké Ball was definitely not smelly and didn't need replacing—Kashiwagi breathed a sigh of relief.
The crisis was temporarily averted.
Unlike Ash's Dusk Form Lycanroc, which went berserk if its fur got dirty, Mawile just got incredibly grumpy. But leaving it for too long would have certainly been a blow to her psyche.
As he prepared to leave for the Pokémon Center, he opened the door to find Wally sitting on the edge of the flowerbed by the entrance.
The boy's head was down, lost in thought.
"Weren't you going to sleep?" Kashiwagi asked.
"Ah, Kashiwagi... I already did," Wally lied, his dark circles telling a completely different story. "How did the Battle Tent go? I was just about to go watch..."
"Got seeded into the semifinals," Kashiwagi replied.
"That's amazing! Was it with the other Pokémon I haven't seen yet?" Wally stood up, sounding excited.
"Just some common Pokémon."
Kashiwagi pressed the boy's shoulders, forcing him back onto the ledge. "You need to find a way to sleep before you drop dead. Here..."
Kashiwagi pulled out a homemade incense spray and gave Wally two quick spritzes in the face.
"Ah!"
Wally jumped, but soon his expression softened into one of deep fatigue. He started blinking rapidly. "W-what is this? Hypnotic spray?"
"You're overthinking it. It's just a mist made from Lucid Sleep Essence. It only works on people who are actually tired; healthy people just feel refreshed. Kids shouldn't stay up late reading... inappropriate books."
"What... inappropriate... books?"
"Nothing. Take this and go to bed before you collapse in the doorway." Kashiwagi stuffed the spray into Wally's hand, then reached for the Poké Ball on the boy's belt and released Gallade.
"Take your trainer back to his room,"
He pushed Wally int Gallade's arms.
A sense of peace washed over him, and Wally's heavy eyelids could no longer stay open; they slowly closed.
Gallade carefully picked up its Trainer and shot Kashiwagi a grateful look.
"No need for thanks. When your Trainer wakes up, remember to tell him to battle me more," Kashiwagi said with a wave as he sent them off.
Good.
Favor earned.
Knowing Wally's personality, he'd feel guilty enough about the spray to agree to more training sessions later.
And besides, maybe more battling would help the kid snap out of his current funk.
Perhaps... He couldn't be sure.
...
...
After a quick stop at the Pokémon Center—where Aggron was declared perfectly healthy—Kashiwagi took his team to a local park. Aggron was still riding the high of his new "swimmer" status.
"Maybe you really should learn Hydro Pump," Kashiwagi joked, patting Aggron's arm. He held an invisible microphone to the Pokémon's mouth. "So, Mr. Aggron, have you considered a career change to a Water-type?"
"Groooon!" (Definitely!)
Aggron lowered his head and nodded seriously, imitating the Pokémon interviews he'd seen on TV.
"Haha, you're such a dork!" Kashiwagi laughed, giving him a playful nudge.
Aggron also laughed, swinging his thick tail.
Just as Kashiwagi was about to say more, a voice rang out from nearby.
"Whoa! Look at that huge Aggron! It's awesome!"
"It really is!"
The two turned to look and saw a group of Trainers with their Pokémon approaching.
They held out Poké Balls, asking incessantly,
"Do you want to trade your Aggron for my Dodrio? Three-headed Pokémon are very interesting!"
"Trade with my Gengar! He'll keep you laughing all day! You need humor on the road!"
"No, no! Take my Snorlax! He eats a lot, but he's super soft and great to lean on!"
Kashiwagi and Aggron shared a look. The former waved his hand. "Sorry, Aggron isn't for trade. And I'm not participating in a Pokémon Trade Fair!"
Hearing this, the Trainers stopped their persuasion, looking a bit embarrassed.
"Oh, just a passerby?"
"I thought you were one of the participants."
"Sorry, pretend we weren't here."
Before Kashiwagi could respond, another shout echoed from across the park.
"Everyone, look! Someone's offering Shiny Pokémon! There are tons of them!"
Shinies?
Kashiwagi blinked. The crowd that had just surrounded him vanished instantly, sprinting toward the commotion like a school of startled Magikarp.
"I guess wherever trainers gather, this kind of thing happens," Kashiwagi noted.
Aggron swung his tail dismissively.
"Grooon." (Aren't we going?)
He knew his trainer had been looking for a Shiny Feebas, even if they hadn't even found a regular one yet.
"You're right. Let's take a look."
Kashiwagi patted Aggron's head, recalled him into his Poké Ball, and walked toward the noise.
In the middle of the dense crowd, he saw several Pokémon whose colors were distinctly different from their peers, striking various poses. In the center was a smiling, somewhat goofy-looking fat man.
"A Shiny Wooper, Shiny Lotad, Shiny Slugma, and... a Shiny Cascoon? Wait, why are there two?"
Kashiwagi realized they were likely from the same batch of Wurmple.
Even in the games, it was hard to determine the evolutionary path of that Pokémon since it was decided by hidden data. This guy must have had bad luck; neither evolved into Silcoon.
A pity.
Personally, Kashiwagi thought Shiny Dustox looked better than Shiny Beautifly anyway. Beautifly's colors felt a bit "washed out," like an old photograph, while Dustox looked like a cool, distinct "dead leaf" moth.
"If you want my Shinies, you gotta bring your own Shinies to trade!" the man shouted.
Shiny for Shiny?
Many trainers turned away immediately. A few stayed behind, trying to talk the man into a deal by hyping up their own Pokémon's strengths, but the man didn't budge.
Kashiwagi watched for about twenty minutes. Seeing that the man wasn't making any trades but still looked very happy, he realized this guy was mostly out to show off his collection. There was a "professional" term for this: "Shiny Bragging."
Quite flashy.
He just hoped the man wouldn't get scammed by a Pokémon with dyed fur.
Kashiwagi knew that in the anime world, many Trainers liked to dye their Pokémon's fur, and some criminals even sold dyed Pokémon as Shinies.
While it didn't enhance a Pokémon's combat power, being different from others could provide a sense of superiority, so there were still many fans of it. There had even been Trainers whose goal was to collect every Shiny Pokémon.
He looked away and returned to the guesthouse, feeling a bit disappointed.
Coincidentally, lunch was ready. He and Aggron, along with the other Pokémon, finished their meal while waiting.
...
...
In the afternoon.
Since there wasn't much to do, Kashiwagi began training the Pokémon that weren't participating in the tournament, such as Galarian Corsola.
The main goal was to let them learn more useful moves and slowly increase their energy levels.
The goal: Will-O-Wisp and Protect.
Will-O-Wisp would give her a fighting chance against physical attackers, and Protect would prevent a repeat of yesterday's quick knockout by Roserade.
Galarian Corsola, sensing Kashiwagi's determination, resigned herself to the "overtime" work.
It couldn't be helped.
Even a slacker's life was complicated.
Sometimes, working a little harder now was for the sake of better slacking in the future.
Kashiwagi strictly followed Professor Kukui's teachings, never taking a passive stance in teaching moves but participating actively instead.
So, how does one participate in learning Will-O-Wisp?
Thinking about its, he bought some white phosphorus, intending to conduct chemical experiments next to Galarian Corsola to "develop" a Will-O-Wisp himself.
Then again, looking at Ash's Gengar's learning method, maybe letting Galarian Corsola watch more Pokémon use Fire-type energy would also be a good choice?
Try everything.
Perhaps the method was actually viable.
As Kashiwagi ignited a gauze soaked in white phosphorus, trying to create a ghostly green flame, a small flicker of blue ghost-fire also appeared in front of Galarian Corsola.
It was gone in a flash, but Kashiwagi caught it precisely.
"...Ha! Looks like we found the trick," Kashiwagi grinned.
Every beginning is hard; once you have one and two, three will follow.
Galarian Corsola, her mouth turned downward as always, glanced at him and gave a rare response. "Sola..."
Then there was Porygon.
Kashiwagi was at a loss on how to teach it Trick Room.
You couldn't exactly "force" a dimension to warp.
He had considered asking Dr. Akihabara for a "Move Patch," but the technology wasn't quite there yet.
However, a lab assistant had given him a lead:
Have Porygon code a program that simulates Trick Room—making fast things slow and slow things fast.
The theory was that the coding process would stimulate its internal learning units, leading it to automatically realize Trick Room.
It was a good idea.
So Kashiwagi spent a fortune on a laptop.
Currently, Porygon was in the middle of a fantastic programming session, so Trick Room was put on hold for a bit, and the move goal was changed to Ice Beam.
The Ice-type was quite formidable in terms of coverage.
The learning process was simple.
Stuff Porygon into a refrigerator to stimulate the Ice-type program loaded into its body. Once it could channel Ice-type energy, it would learn Ice Beam.
That's how artificial Pokémon were; they were different from normal Pokémon in every way.
The same went for learning moves.
Finally, he looked at Zweilous.
Kashiwagi hesitated for a moment.
He felt that rather than learning moves, Zweilous should focus on leveling up—
And the latter felt the same.
Losing to Wally's Roserade yesterday had left Zweilous feeling very unwilling. Zweilous believed that if Aggron had faced Roserade, he definitely wouldn't have lost.
Where was he lacking?
Raw power!
To be even more blunt: stats!
His Dragon Rush had been completely neutralized by Pin Missile purely because of the power gap.
Evolution. That was the only word in Zweilous's two heads. He wanted to grow, to become the ultimate ace, and to finally surpass Aggron.