The Lost One

Early the next morning, after dragging Leon back four times when he tried to wander off, they finally arrived at the Hulbury Gym.

"I'll head in through the staff entrance first. Good luck."

Lulina waved goodbye and left. Her wish of good luck was not for the battle, but for whether he could make it through the maze at the beginning.

"Then I'll take Sonia to the stands. Good luck."

Blake patted Leon on the shoulder, hoping he could successfully make it out of the Hulbury Gym maze. Hopefully...

"Leave it to me!"

Already changed into his official competition uniform, Leon spoke with complete confidence before striding toward the challenger area. Sonia followed Blake toward the stands.

After that, half an hour passed. Then an hour. Then an hour and a half. Lulina had long since arrived at the stands. She was the first Gym Trainer Leon had faced, and she had lost decisively. But now two hours had passed. Every Gym Trainer in the maze had already been challenged, yet Leon still had not emerged. Haisewai, who had been ready and waiting, stood in the middle of the battlefield and was practically turning to stone!

"Send someone! Go bring that kid out!"

Haisewai shouted helplessly into her earpiece. She had seen people get lost in the maze before, but this was the first time she had seen someone fail to come out after two hours!

"So he got lost after all?"

Blake slapped a hand over his face. The Hulbury Gym maze was already considered fairly simple. If Leon ever reached the Stow-on-Side Gym, he would probably get lost until he died, wouldn't he?

"I knew it. Whatever. It already happened once in Turffield."

Sonia wore an expression of utter despair. She truly seemed to have gotten used to it.

Fortunately, after Haisewai sent someone to look for him, they finally brought over Leon, who had passed by the main entrance three times. Watching him scratch his head with an embarrassed look on his face, Haisewai could only sigh helplessly. Still, Leon had arrived late, and most challengers had either finished and left or gotten stuck in the maze, so Haisewai was not busy and could afford to spend the entire day here.

"Then! The Hulbury Gym Challenge begins! Under the 3 VS 3 challenge rules, only the challenger may switch Pokémon. Dynamax is permitted. Now! The match begins!"

"Go! Poliwhirl!"

"Get in there! Thwackey!"

After much anticipation, the match finally began. Overall, it went quite smoothly. Thwackey managed to take down Haisewai's Poliwhirl and Slowbro in a one-against-two exchange, though it could not hold on and collapsed afterward. Mr. Mime was then defeated by Dynamaxed Kingler—Kingler was not one of Haisewai's main Pokémon and could not Gigantamax—but it successfully forced Kingler out of its Dynamax state. Finally, Charizard, which had undergone all three stages of evolution and could Gigantamax because it had trained on the Isle of Armor and drunk Max Soup, finished the battle in a single move. Leon earned his second Badge.

"Whew—I won!"

Leon let out a breath. Although the battle had seemed uneventful, he knew better than anyone that the Pokémon she had sent out were, at most, her second-string team. Yet two of his own Pokémon had lost the ability to battle. If his Charizard, the last one he had sent out, had faced an opponent with enough stamina left, it would definitely have been hit hard. After all, its own typing was at a disadvantage, while the opponent was a Water-type specialist. When fighting against an advantageous type, her strength was certainly not merely doubled.

"Congratulations, kid. Among this year's participants, you're the first to succeed in the high-standard challenge. Congratulations."

Haisewai recalled Kingler, walked over, and extended her hand to Leon.

"Thank you for your guidance. I still have many shortcomings. To be honest, I think I was a little overconfident. I had originally wanted to challenge the highest level, but now it seems I was too arrogant."

Leon shook Haisewai's hand and accepted the Badge she gave him.

"The highest difficulty? Perhaps you'll be able to try it before long, but not now. Keep working hard. I can already feel a new star rising."

Haisewai patted Leon on the shoulder. At the same time, she could not help glancing in one direction. She knew who was there—another rising star she thought highly of. Unfortunately, he did not seem interested in becoming a Trainer who challenged the Pokémon League.

"No, actually, before this battle, I nearly lost to someone. I met a really formidable guy."

Leon said humbly.

"Ha, Blake, right? That kid has a strong grasp of tactics, though his overall strength still falls far short. You two are around the same age, so you should interact more. If that kid starts putting more effort into being a Trainer because of this, that would be a very good thing."

Haisewai immediately knew who he meant. She had known about Blake for some time, but until he had so cleanly toyed with Lulina, she truly had not realized how skilled Blake himself was at tactics. Over the past month or so, she had looked into him as well. The result was that it would be such a shame if Blake did not become a Trainer, but she could not force him. Now that a boy around his age had appeared, perhaps it would awaken a little competitive spirit in him.

"No, Blake's tactics are really strong. Back when my Charizard was still a Charmeleon, his Haunter defeated it so thoroughly that it couldn't even fight back."

Leon scratched his head sheepishly. If Blake knew, he would probably say it had only been a draw. But in Leon's eyes, a loss was a loss. Only by admitting defeat could one discover one's own problems, correct them, and become stronger. For example, while he had ultimately won this time, he had also realized that he had been too proud. His battle with Blake, meanwhile, had made him understand the importance of tactics. Two Pokémon with roughly equal strength—one attacked the whole time, while the other took hits the whole time without ever touching its opponent.

"Is that so? Looks like that kid was still holding back. It seems I'll need to have a proper talk with James next time. All right, the match is over. We can discuss anything else outside."

Haisewai patted Leon on the shoulder and headed out first.

"Ugh—why do I suddenly have a bad feeling about this?"

Blake suddenly shuddered and looked around suspiciously, sounding deeply puzzled.

"What are you thinking about? Come on, let's go. We waited so long I'm getting sleepy. Ah—I'm sleepy and hungry. No, Leon has to treat us! Treat us!"

Lulina stood up, stretching as she shouted.

"That's right! That guy should treat us! Treat us!"

Sonia also stood up and shouted loudly.

"All right, no matter what, we should go down and congratulate him, shouldn't we? This was a high-standard challenge. Ordinary people would not choose it. Leon really is impressive."

Blake spoke sincerely. Leon's performance in that battle had truly been commendable. And some of the little tricks they had discussed yesterday, such as using simple signals, had already been put to use today. This guy's ability to learn and command was terrifyingly strong.

"I just want food. I'm starving. Carry me! I don't want to walk anymore!"

Pouting, Lulina jumped straight onto Blake's back and clung to him without any intention of getting down.

"You... people are watching. Sigh, never mind."

Blake was utterly helpless when it came to Lulina's occasional childish behavior, but he indulged her as always. With both hands, he supported her and carried her on his back toward the exit.

Sonia, seeing the intimate interaction between the two, instantly blushed. She could not help glancing toward the field, wanting to see Leon, but unfortunately, Leon had already run off to change clothes. Sonia's flushed face immediately turned into a deadpan stare, and she followed Blake and Lulina out dejectedly.