"We lost."
Wataru accepted the result calmly.
He recalled the unconscious Aerodactyl, replaying the battle in his mind.
Every time he replayed it, goosebumps rose all over his body.
No, he should replay his battle with Steven Stone instead.
That match with Jing He kept making his scalp tingle.
And he made up his mind.
Once he got back, every one of his Pokémon would have to learn Taunt! Otherwise, there was no way to deal with this.
As expected of someone Drake recommends. Even using someone else's Pokémon, he could employ such... such tactics. His tactical skill might already surpass that of most ordinary Gym Leaders.
After all, he had been commanding someone else's Pokémon.
He did not know its traits, its moves, or how proficient it was with them.
The difficulty was far greater than commanding his own Pokémon.
Besides.
Steven Stone's Skarmory was no weakling, yet it had been willing to follow Jing He's commands. That in itself was an affirmation of his ability.
In Wataru's view, Gastly was instead what limited Jing He's strength.
Still, Jing He's Gastly has been trained exceptionally well. And now that he has Agatha's "Fearful Insights," its strength is bound to improve rapidly.
Wataru had received the blessing of Viridian Forest and possessed Viridian Power. Though he was not particularly proficient with it, he could still sense some things.
Jing He's future strength... was hard to predict.
At the very least, he could reach the Elite Four level.
"It really was..." Steven's eyes gleamed.
"Absolutely brilliant!"
When Jing He had previously offered him suggestions, he had taken them seriously. But due to his habits, he had not yet found the time to try or learn them.
Today's battle had truly taught him a lesson.
It was as though it were saying—see