The battle was over, and it was time to head to the Pokémon Center to treat the three heroes of the day.
Among them, Chansey and Mawile were practically unscathed. Chansey had successfully avoided being touched by Swellow or Crustle the entire time.
As for Mawile, her duel against Tauros had been a stroke of pure creative genius—she had transformed into a matador, unleashing her full power in the most spectacular way possible.
When asked how she'd thought of climbing onto Tauros's back, Mawile simply signaled it was a "spark of inspiration." Honestly? She just wanted to hop up there and hammer that bull's head into the dirt.
Back in training, she spent half her time trying to scale Aggron's back, and she did the same whenever she sparred with Steelix.
It was just a habit.
Who would have guessed that a Tauros's back was its ultimate blind spot? If she'd tried that on Aggron or Steelix, they would've bucked her into the next time zone.
It was a lucky break, but it gave Mawile a brand-new perspective on how to take down giant opponents. She made a mental note to burn that "Bull-Riding 101" experience deep into her memory.
...
Then there was Aggron. As the only one actually "injured," the drain on his stamina was secondary to the visible damage on his chest and abdomen. The metal plating of his armor was covered in deep gashes from Zangoose's claws.
- Wound Depth: Half a finger wide.
- Appearance: Deep, crisscrossing scars that looked positively gruesome.
It was a testament to just how hard that Zangoose could hit.
Unfortunately for the cat-ferret, it hadn't realized just how tanky Aggron really was. Aggron had completely ignored his boosted offensive power and opted for Metal Burst as a counter-measure, finishing the job with a brutal Superpower.
To be fair, Aggron had actually held back. If that dual-claw hammer-fist had landed with full force, Zangoose would have been in the ICU for at least four days. By choosing to let the elemental energy take the brunt of the impact, Aggron ensured Zangoose would only be down for a short nap.
Call it the "Mercy of the Great Kaiju."
Unsurprisingly, Aggron viewed those scars on his belly as brand-new medals of honor. He stared at the half-finger-thick gouges with immense satisfaction, seeing them as solid proof that he could now tank 4x super-effective moves and keep on smiling.
...
Once the healing was done, Kashiwagi didn't rush back to the inn. Instead, he kept Chansey out of her Poké Ball and took her for a stroll through a nearby park.
He could tell her mood was in the gutter. She was clearly still obsessing over the battle, and he wanted her to relax.
While her "mistake" had been minor and hadn't changed the outcome of the match, the fact that she felt she'd been a burden to her teammates was weighing heavily on her heart.
She'd finally gotten a chance to shine on stage... and that was how she performed?
"You did great, Chansey. Don't overthink it," Kashiwagi said, gently patting her head. "The result matters, but so does the process. As long as you learn something from a setback, it's never a waste of time."
Fundamentally, her strategy against Swellow and Crustle hadn't been wrong. The issue was simply that her current move pool wasn't deep enough to shut down an opponent determined to go out in a blaze of glory.
Besides, was it really so strange for an opponent to fight back?
Not at all.
The problem was that Mawile and Aggron were so dominant that they usually crushed their opponents' hopes the moment they tried to counter-attack. Chansey was feeling the "performance gap" because she couldn't do the same.
"Lucky..." Chansey sighed.
As Kashiwagi's second-ever Pokémon, Chansey found this hard to swallow.
The harder she tried to keep pace with her companions, the further away they seemed to drift.
She knew she was being "greedy"—she wanted to handle the team's logistics, she wanted to be the ultimate support, and she also wanted to be a powerhouse in combat.
How could one Pokémon have it all?
But... if she didn't? If she didn't show her own unique brilliance, Chansey feared she wouldn't be able to stay by her Trainer's side forever.
She rarely asked for much. But the feeling of waking up every morning to see Kashiwagi's peaceful sleeping face—the way her whole body relaxed until she couldn't help but crawl back in for a nap—was something she could never give up.
Without that, she would honestly start to doubt everything. She'd fear that the warmth she'd felt, the joy, the praise, and all those smiling faces were just a cruel hallucination. She'd fear she was still trapped in that dark, cold cage, dreaming impossible dreams.
For her, the day only truly began the moment she saw him in the morning.
"Lucky...!"
Feeling the warmth of his hand continuing to stroke her head, Chansey shook off her gloom. She understood that her Trainer was right; the most important thing wasn't the failure, but what she learned from it.
She had to overcome her weaknesses. Even without direct attacking moves, there were still so many things she could master.
Chansey had never been more determined in her life.
...
...
Back at the inn, news traveled fast.
Wally had already heard about Kashiwagi's victory—and the scandalous theft at the Battle Tent. When he saw Kashiwagi walk through the door, his face was a chaotic mess of emotions.
He opened his mouth to offer a joyous congratulations, remembered that the prize Pokémon Egg had been snatched, and promptly clamped his mouth shut.
His face turned a deep, concerning shade of crimson.
Kashiwagi couldn't help but chuckle at the kid. "Alright, just say it. I'm not going to bite."
"...Congratulations!" Wally finally blurted out, looking instantly relieved before his expression shifted to righteous indignation. "Those thieves are just horrible! How could they do something like that?"
Kid's got a strong sense of justice, Kashiwagi noted.
"They just want something for nothing. I've dealt with people like that plenty of times back in the day," Kashiwagi replied with a casual wave of his hand. "Don't worry, they'll get caught. You can't walk along the riverbank forever without getting your shoes wet."
Wally nodded, though his curiosity was piqued. "Dealt with them plenty of times? Kashiwagi-san, were you a police officer before?"
"How could I?. The International Police don't recruit minors. I just... helped maintain public order in my old neighborhood."
"Whoa—so how did you usually handle thieves like that?"
"Why are you so excited?" Kashiwagi glanced at Wally's sparkling eyes before dropping a bombshell with a perfectly straight face. "Usually? We'd break their legs. Or maybe take a few fingers."
The light in Wally's eyes vanished instantly. He looked at Kashiwagi's deadpan expression, realized the man didn't look like he was joking, and let out a weak, nervous laugh. "B-break legs? Cut off fingers? Kashiwagi-san, you have such a... dark sense of humor."
"Humor?"
Kashiwagi gave him a slow, meaningful look, his gaze drifting pointedly toward Wally's own hands and legs.
"Maybe." He finally flashed a brilliant, radiant smile.
"It's definitely a joke! Please tell me it's a joke! Stop scaring me like this!" Wally wailed, grabbing Kashiwagi's arm and refusing to let go until he got the answer he wanted.
Kids these days have no mental fortitude, Kashiwagi thought, watching the boy sag with relief.
"By the way, remind your cousin and keep an eye out yourself. If they're bold enough to rob the Battle Tent, they might try their luck at the inns next."
"...Good point. We should be on guard."
The green-haired boy sobered up quickly. Better safe than sorry—losing your gear because you were careless was a one-way ticket to a crying fit.
"I'll go tell her right now! Wait for me!"
Wally vanished in a blur of motion to find his cousin, Wanda.
...
...
Kashiwagi checked the time. Dinner was still a while off. After sitting in the stands all day, it was time to get moving with his Pokémon—especially Porygon.
That laptop hadn't been a waste of money. Yesterday, Porygon had coded a simple, 8-bit mosaic racing game. In the game, there were "special zones" where the faster you tried to accelerate, the faster your opponent got—but the slower you went, the faster you actually moved.
That logic had triggered a massive "Aha!" moment in Porygon's move-learning subroutines.
"So, you finally have a lead on Trick Room?" Kashiwagi asked, feeling a surge of excitement.
For a team like his—which was generally on the slower, bulkier side—Trick Room was a literal game-changer. It would turn their lack of mobility into an absolute advantage, meaning they wouldn't have to rely solely on explosive bursts of speed to close the gap.
They headed to the practice field.
"Pah-ree!"
Porygon materialized, hovering slightly off the ground via electromagnetic levitation.
Kashiwagi noticed the little guy had put on some "size" lately. He'd actually measured him a few days ago and confirmed it—Porygon was definitely bigger.
It was bizarre. Do man-made Pokémon even have "growth spurts"?
When he'd asked his contact at the lab, the assistant mentioned that Porygon does have a physical scaling program, but when asked how big it would get, the answer was a cryptic "Hard to say."
Hard to say? Kashiwagi imagined a Porygon the size of a house. At that point, its Tri-Attack wouldn't be a move; it would be a literal artillery barrage.
"Today's objective: Trick Room!"
"Pah-ree!"
Porygon nodded solemnly. It tapped into its latent Psychic energy, constructing a virtual space in its mind based on the code it had written. Slowly, a shimmering, hazy blue dimension began to manifest.
In the real world, Kashiwagi saw Porygon's eyes glow a sharp red. The boundary lines of the battlefield suddenly pulsed with a sky-blue light. Vertical beams of energy shot up, weaving together to form a massive rectangular prism.
Distorted blue light, like shifting glass or rippling water, encased the entire field.
There was no doubt about it. Porygon had nailed Trick Room on the very first try.
"Incredible..." Kashiwagi muttered. He remembered Porygon learning Thunderbolt the same way—instant success, as if it were just downloading a TM.
It was almost too smooth compared to the trial-and-error his other Pokémon went through.
I guess that's the perk of being a digital lifeform; learning a move is just a matter of running the right program.
...
Just then, Wally came sprinting back. "I'm back—WHOA!"
He stepped into the Trick Room and nearly did a face-plant as his momentum was suddenly, violently throttled. "What's going on? Is this... Trick Room?"
"Good eye!" Kashiwagi grinned. "Not bad, kid."
"Hehe... I've seen it before, so it left an impression." Wally looked at Porygon with wide eyes. "Want me to help you test it out?"
"If you're up for it, I'd love the help."
"No problem at all!"
Pop!
Wally's fastest Pokémon, Talonflame, appeared. It prepared to give a powerful flap of its wings, but the thrust felt... wrong.
"Flaaaa—?" (Wait... why... are... my... wings... so... heavy...)
Talonflame's face strained with effort, its wings moving in slow motion. Meanwhile, down on the ground, Porygon was suddenly zipping around like an F1 race car on a sugar high.
"Pah-ree! Pah-ree!"
Watching Porygon buzz around like a caffeinated mosquito while the majestic Talonflame "flew" like a snail was a sight to behold. The effect was instantaneous and hilarious.
However, the duration was short. In the games, it's a fixed five turns; here, it lasted about three minutes.
As Porygon zipped around, Kashiwagi noticed the way its blocky "feet" moved. A wild idea struck him.
"If Sharpen lets you change your body's geometry, can you add more vertices to your feet? Like, make them 'round'?"
He imagined Porygon using Magnet Rise to spin its legs like actual wheels for an even greater speed boost. He walked over and gently rotated Porygon's left leg backward.
It spun smoothly. No resistance, no pain. Porygon just tilted its head in confusion.
Kashiwagi explained the concept of "Porygon-Wheels" to Wally and the Pokémon. "What do you think? Is it doable?"
"It's worth a shot!" Wally nodded, actually thinking it through rather than just agreeing blindly.
Porygon started rotating its feet, imagining them turning into gears. A sense of digital excitement bubbled up. "Pah-ree!" It loved the "creative" side of move sets!
At Kashiwagi's nod, Porygon was shrouded in a white light. Its feet began to shift—from pentagons to hexagons... then heptagons... octagons... nonagons...
The number of vertices kept increasing, and its silhouette grew smoother by the second. By the time it reached a regular 18-gon, it looked remarkably like a set of polished wheels.
"Pah-ree..."
Porygon was feeling a bit drained from the intense data processing required for the transformation, but the sight of its brand-new "wheels" sent a surge of adrenaline through its circuits, overriding the fatigue.
It couldn't wait another second. It deactivated its levitation to give the wheels a literal spin on the pavement—
"Wait!"
Kashiwagi reached out to stop it, but he was a millisecond too late. Without the stabilizing force of electromagnetism, Porygon's center of gravity betrayed it. It lurched forward, its entire body tipping over like a malfunctioning pile-driver.
SPLAT.
The sound was crisp, clean, and undeniably pathetic.
"Oof..."
Kashiwagi winced, covering his eyes before rushing over to pick up the digital Pokémon. Porygon looked completely dazed, a perfect little crater left in the dirt where its beak had face-planted into the earth.
"Pfft—!"
Wally let out a strangled noise, his shoulders shaking as he fought the urge to burst into laughter. It was a valiant struggle, but he looked like he was about to pop.
"Right. It seems that besides working on the transformation, we need to do some serious balance training," Kashiwagi said, dusting off Porygon's forehead.
The little guy looked incredibly embarrassed. Luckily, its face was already bright red by design, so no one could actually tell it was blushing.
Still, the direction was correct. Increasing the vertices worked; Porygon just needed to get used to the physics of its new body. Once it mastered the "Gear-Legs," who knew what else they could DIY?
Maybe Dr. Akihabara designed Sharpen specifically so Trainers could get creative with their geometry.
It was a shame the Porygon line had been sidelined by so much real-world drama over the years.
...
"Ready for a battle?"
Kashiwagi turned to Wally, who was finally regaining his composure. "Do you have some time?"
"Always!"
Wally's eyes lit up instantly. Even though he had sparred with Kashiwagi dozens of times already, the novelty never wore off. He reached for his Poké Balls, his focus sharpening as he prepared his lineup.
To pour one's whole heart into every match and express every emotion through the heat of battle—that was Wally's creed.
"I won't hold back!" Wally declared, the air around him crackling with the competitive spirit of a true rival.
...
...
Another full day drew to a close.
Night fell.
Kashiwagi let out a long yawn, glancing at the bright moonlight filtering through the screen window.
Compared to last night, Zweilous had made real strides with Draco Meteor. He could now fluidly concentrate his energy and blast it toward the sky in one smooth motion.
The only hitch was the final explosion—the "fireworks" part. Much like Ash's Gible back in the day, the projectile just wouldn't burst properly.
It was clearly the most difficult stage of the move.
Kashiwagi wasn't in a rush, though. He wasn't so desperate for firepower that he needed Draco Meteor right this second. Zweilous had been a bit anxious at first, but seeing his Trainer's calm demeanor, he'd settled down too.
After all, he hadn't even reached his final evolution yet; there were bigger things to worry about.
"Time for sleep!"
He clicked off his phone and slowly closed his eyes. Seeing their Trainer settling in, the rowdy Pokémon quickly hushed.
Shortly after the lights dimmed...
...
On the balcony, a jagged red stripe on the wooden floor shimmered slightly. It quivered, then darted into the nearby bushes, slipping through the lush grass to reach two figures dressed entirely in black.
The creature revealed its form—a green, lizard-like Pokémon. It was a Kecleon.
"Are they out?"
"Ka-koo!" Kecleon nodded. Despite the curtains, it was certain Kashiwagi was fast asleep.
"Perfect."
The two intruders exchanged a look and a nod. They moved toward the inn with practiced grace, their footsteps making absolutely no sound on the pavement.
Hovering beside them was a limp, ragdoll-like Pokémon with a single horn—a Shuppet.
Seconds later, they reached their mark.
"Use Foresight," one whispered.
Shuppet's eyes glowed with a ghostly blue light. A ripple of energy washed over the room, allowing the thieves' specialized goggles to see the heat signature of the person lying in bed.
There were no other Pokémon in sight—just several Poké Balls neatly lined up on the nightstand.
Jackpot.
The duo pulled the sliding glass door open just a crack, slipped a nozzle through, and pumped a stream of sleep gas into the room. After waiting a few beats and hearing nothing but silence, they slid the door wide and stepped inside.
"Phew... man, this is a lot of work," one complained.
"It's called 'professionalism,' you idiot. Do you think being a master thief is easy? Use your head!" The other thief smacked his partner's cap.
They crept toward the nightstand. One of them paused to look at Kashiwagi's peaceful face and sneered.
"What good is a handsome face when you're this much of a loser? We're robbing you blind, pretty boy! Rule number one: never leave your Poké Balls out in the open."
"Shut it and move!" the partner hissed, reaching for the Poké Balls.
Suddenly, he froze. "Wait... where's the Zweilous?"
"It's not here? Maybe it rolled under the bed?"
"Well, look for it! Don't just stand there!"
"Oh, right, right..."
"Here, let me help you."
A pale, steady hand extended from the bed, holding a Poké Ball right in front of the thief's face.
The thief subconsciously nodded. "Oh, thanks—"
He stopped dead. A cold shiver raced down his spine. He looked up to find a pair of sharp eyes and a mocking smile staring back at him.
"Good evening, gentlemen."
Before the thieves could even process the shock, Kashiwagi clicked the button on the ball.
POP!
White light flooded the room.
One thief reacted with surprising speed. Instead of running, he lunged at Kashiwagi, hoping to pin him down. But Kashiwagi was faster. He rolled out of bed, using his momentum to deliver a brutal, waist-powered kick squarely into the man's chest.
CRASH!
The force of the impact sent the thief flying backward, smashing through the wooden wardrobe behind him.
Meanwhile, Zweilous materialized in the center of the room. He didn't even glance at the humans; instead, both of his heads reared back, unleashing twin streams of brilliant blue dragon-fire at the pouncing Shuppet and the hidden Kecleon!
BOOM!
The room was instantly plunged into chaos. Dragon breath scorched the air, smoke billowed everywhere, and the thief in the wardrobe groaned as he tried to scramble away. But before he could even stand, Kashiwagi had grabbed the second thief by the throat and slammed him right on top of his partner.
THUD!
The two thieves collided in the wreckage of the wardrobe, their heads spinning. Their only coherent thought was: Who IS this guy?! Since when are "pretty boy" trainers this violent?!
"I figured I should keep a guard up, just in case," Kashiwagi muttered. Hearing panicked shouting from the hallway, he grabbed both of their heads and gave them two firm, final thuds against the wall for good measure.
He hadn't been this "hands-on" since leaving Orre, but some people just needed a physical reminder not to touch other people's things.
The two thieves slumped over, out cold.
Their Pokémon didn't fare much better. Kecleon tried to turn invisible and bolt, but Zweilous's keen sense of smell tracked it instantly, pinning it down with a firm bite. Shuppet was intercepted by Galarian Corsola, who had emerged from the shadows to wrap the ghost in its misty, spectral tentacles, leaving the Shuppet shrieking in pain.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Kashiwagi-san! Are you okay? What's happening?!" Wally's voice screamed from outside the door, followed by Wanda's frantic shouting.
Kashiwagi recalled his team, leaving only Chansey to keep an eye on the prisoners, and went to open the door.
...
The door swung open to reveal Wally, Wanda, and several other tenants peering in with wide, worried eyes.
"Better call Officer Jenny," Kashiwagi said, stopping Wanda before she could speak. "I think I've caught our Battle Tent thieves. Or at least some very dedicated copycats. Either way, get the police here."
The crowd gasped in unison. Wanda didn't waste a second, sprinting toward the front desk.
"Are you hurt?" Wally asked, his eyes darting to Kashiwagi's hands and feet.
"I'm fine... want to come in and see?"
Kashiwagi stepped aside. "As for the rest of you—instead of watching the show, you might want to check your own rooms to see if anything's missing."
The "spectators" turned pale. Realizing they might have been hit too, they scattered back to their rooms in a panic.
Wally followed Kashiwagi inside, his eyes widening at the splintered wardrobe and the two unconscious men. He immediately checked the thieves' arms and legs.
Seeing that no limbs were broken and no fingers were missing, he let out a massive sigh of relief.
"Oh, thank Arceus..."
"Thank Arceus for what?" Kashiwagi asked.
"Th-thank Arceus you caught them!" Wally squeaked, quickly changing the subject. "How did you even know they were there? They seem so... stealthy."
"Zweilous smelled them. These two idiots didn't realize that even if a Pokémon is invisible, it still has a scent. They left a Kecleon on the balcony like a neon sign."
Kashiwagi grinned, patting one of Zweilous's heads.
"Zwei-lous!"
Zweilous barked proudly—though since one head was still busy clamping down on a Kecleon, it was a bit muffled.
Wee-woo! Wee-woo!
The sirens wailed in the distance. Officer Jenny and her team arrived faster than expected—clearly, they were sick of the overtime these thieves were causing them.
I just hope they're the real deal and not some fans of the original thieves, Kashiwagi thought while looking at tied up thieves.