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With Koume accompanying her, Erika headed to another room to attend the flower arrangement class, while Kai split off and made his way alone through the covered corridor, around the back of the house, arriving in the estate's rear garden.
While the scenery was largely the same as the front garden, the atmosphere here was clearly different.
If the front garden was a place for men and women to admire flowers, watch the koi pond, and chat quietly, then the back garden was definitely the livelier of the two.
Just as Koume had said, quite a few people had gathered here. They were all gathered around a simple battlefield, watching two Trainers locked in a Pokémon match.
The Trainers were a young man and woman, both dressed in traditional kimonos, with average looks and nothing that particularly stood out.
Looking at their Pokémon, the male Trainer had a Sentret, and the female Trainer was using a Teddiursa.
Under their respective commands, the two Pokémon were locked in combat.
However…
Scratch, Leer, Lick, Growl, Defense Curl, Tackle…
No matter how long Kai watched, all he saw were basic moves over and over again.
From his perspective, both the Trainers and their Pokémon were beginners at best. The battle wasn't particularly exciting, just a straightforward clash of basic moves.
Still, the surrounding spectators seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Even without flashy techniques, people always loved a good brawl with solid back-and-forth action.
After a while, the match concluded with the female Trainer's Teddiursa narrowly defeating the Sentret.
Applause rang out from the crowd as the winner basked in the cheers and praise.
As the Teddiursa returned to its Trainer's side, the woman ruffled its fur affectionately, then stood up proudly, hands on her hips, and scanned the crowd with sparkling eyes. "Who's next!? Anyone else brave enough to take me on!?"
It was clear the win had gone straight to her head.
Before anyone else could react, Kai stepped forward from the crowd.
"I'll take you on."
Seeing his handsome face, the woman's eyes lit up. "Ooh, a handsome guy! But don't think I'll go easy on you!"
"That's perfect." Kai chuckled, giving her a disarming smile. "I'm hoping you'll push me a bit. But if this is the same level as before, I'm afraid you won't last long."
"Tch, talk about arrogance!"
Annoyed at being underestimated, she pointed dramatically toward the field. "Teddiursa, go teach this guy a lesson!"
The Teddiursa scampered into the arena and let out a few cute growls at Kai.
"Hmm, good spirit."
Smiling politely at the Teddiursa, Kai reached into his belt, running his fingers over a few Poké Balls before choosing one. He tossed it into the arena.
"Go, Scyther!"
With a flash of blue light, Scyther, who hadn't battled in a while, appeared before Teddiursa.
The moment it entered the field, Scyther struck an aggressive pose, fully ready to go all out. But when it saw that its opponent was just a tiny Teddiursa, it tilted its head and looked back at Kai in confusion.
'Huh? What's going on? Why is my opponent such a weak little Pokémon? I finally get to battle again, and this is what I'm up against?'
Noticing Scyther's hesitation, Kai shook his head slightly. "Don't overthink it. No matter who your opponent is, always give it your all."
With that, Scyther turned back and locked onto the Teddiursa.
It had no choice if the Trainer gave the order, then it had to fight seriously.
Under the weight of Scyther's intense gaze, the little Teddiursa visibly shuddered like a deer caught in a predator's stare.
Unaware of her Pokémon's fear, the woman gave the first command.
"Teddiursa, use Fury Swipes!"
Teddiursa nervously charged forward, tiny claws raised high and glinting.
Just as it got close, Scyther suddenly lunged forward. Its bladed arms slashed out in a brilliant silver arc, and the two Pokémon crossed paths in an instant.
All the onlookers heard was a sharp "shing!"
A cold glint flashed through the air. Teddiursa stood frozen, motionless like it had been hit with a paralysis move.
"Teddiursa!? Are you okay!?" The Trainer panicked, having no idea what had just happened.
In the center of the field, Scyther calmly lowered its arm, like a swordsman sheathing their blade after a swift strike.
And just as its arms dropped completely, Teddiursa's body collapsed like a marionette whose strings had been cut, raising a small cloud of dust.
Scyther turned and gave its opponent a very humanlike shake of the head.
Seriously?
I barely even tried, and you're already down!? Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.
"Teddiursa!!"
The female Trainer cried out and rushed to her fallen Pokémon, cradling it in her arms.
She couldn't believe it, her Pokémon had been knocked out in a single move! Was this guy really that strong? But… surely it wasn't supposed to be that one-sided!?
After thinking for a while, she could only blame the loss on Teddiursa being worn out from its earlier battle against Sentret.
Kai let out a sigh. Honestly, this fight had been far too easy. The gap in strength was just too big.
You could tell just by looking at the reactions of the crowd.
If the battle had been close, like before, the victor would've been celebrated with cheers. But because Scyther won so effortlessly, the crowd was left stunned and silent, unsure of what they'd just witnessed.
Kai cleared his throat and looked toward the onlookers. "Anyone else want a battle?"
Naturally, there were a few who stepped forward.
Many still didn't fully grasp how strong Kai was, and like the last Trainer, they chalked the result up to Teddiursa's low stamina.
The crowd came alive again. A male Trainer stepped up and was swiftly defeated. Then a female Trainer came forward, only to meet the same fate.
After five back-to-back wins, all effortless, Kai realized the level here just wasn't going to challenge him.
Shaking his head, he returned Scyther to its Poké Ball and walked away, leaving the stunned crowd behind, completely disinterested.
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