His luck from last time didn't hold.
[You lost to the Saffron Gym Leader.]
The Gambler left the Saffron Gym undiscouraged and headed straight out of the city.
[You knew full well that, more than getting lucky and beating the Gym Leader again, what mattered was whether the Gym Leader would accept your way of battling.]
"Ah."
Baimu understood. He had done some homework after serving as a temporary Gym Leader himself.
Gym Leaders had considerable authority. With good reason, they could refuse to award a Gym Badge even if a challenger won the match.
And in the Gambler's era, Gym Leaders likely had even more authority.
If his One-Hit KO Style angered a Gym Leader, no amount of effort would help.
At its heart, the problem was simple.
Beating a Gym Leader's three Pokémon with nothing but one Pokémon that knew a One-Hit KO move was simply too far-fetched.
Even if luck gave him the win, the Gym Leader might not accept it.
[You understood deeply that to win with your cards faceup, you needed enough chips in hand.]
What was all that about a gambler's beliefs and principles?
Baimu grumbled inwardly, though he agreed with the Gambler's basic logic. He also understood why the old man had rushed out—
To catch a new Pokémon.
The Gambler and Poliwhirl searched the wilderness, passing over countless Wild Pokémon. He clearly had something specific in mind.
[To your frustration, Machop, which you could normally find even in cities, seemed to have become rare in the wild. Was the God of Gambling punishing you?]
The narration supplied the reason.
Though the Gambler had resolved to set out on a Pokémon journey, he was getting on in years and had no reliable means of transportation. In his era, even Kanto, a major region,