"..."
Raihan silently stared at the scarlet word "Defeat" on his screen.
I actually lost?
But honestly, he didn't find his defeat all that surprising.
The Trainer on the other side clearly wasn't some ordinary Gym Leader.
At first, he'd thought his opponent was just a Poison-type specialist skilled at using poison, but as the match progressed, Raihan quickly realized something wasn't right.
His opponent seemed to read the thought process behind every command he gave with pinpoint accuracy, then immediately adjust accordingly.
In other words, every exchange of mind games ended with his opponent winning through predictions so accurate they seemed like cheating.
Perfectly timed defenses, paired with relentless attacks that pressed in whenever he tried to catch his breath, had unexpectedly created an almost artistic feast of transitions between offense and defense.
This is ridiculous...
Losing never felt good, but Raihan still did his best to rein in his refusal to accept defeat.
Before long, he had saved the replay of the match.
"If you can't face defeat, you'll never be able to go any further."
That was the conclusion he had reached through his battles with Leon.
Though this was only a win or loss in an online game, it still held considerable value as a reference for him.
His opponent's command and prediction skills were worth learning from.
With that thought, Raihan was just about to review the reasons for his defeat when-
Knock, knock, knock-
A knock sounded at the door, and a man wearing a red cape with decorative trim soon walked in.
(Pictured: Gloria, the female protagonist of Pokémon Sword and Shield; Leon, Galar's Champion; and my wife Marnie.)
"Hey, Raihan! Long time no see!"
Raihan covered his face with one hand at the sight of the visitor, shaking his head in exasperation.