You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395
Hakuya left Luther with a peculiar first impression.
Shy seemed to be the strongest impression he got from this person his own age. But perhaps the saying is true: You can't judge a book by its cover.
Because this boy, who blushed while writing and looked like the timid next-door neighbor, actually had such impressive Gym Data.
The next morning, Luther woke up early and headed to White Wind Gym with Mai.
The number of challengers in front of White Wind Gym had clearly increased on the first day after maintenance. When it was Luther's turn to register, he was surprised to see Junna from the orphanage filling in at the front desk.
"You're actually a formal gym staff member now?"
Junna answered Luther's question with her actions.
She was clearly not very familiar with the system. Holding Luther's Pokédex to log his information, she managed to insert the data cable into the wrong port twice in a row. It wasn't until Mai gave her a hint that she finally got it right.
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Junna explained, "The receptionist had a family emergency and took half a day off, so I was pulled in at the last minute to cover."
No wonder the line had moved so slowly earlier. That was the problem.
Seeing Junna fumbling with the registration, Mai sighed. She shoved Chikorita, who was holding Milcery, into Luther's arms and decisively stepped inside the counter area.
"Luther, go ahead and compete. I know a little about this, so I'll help her handle things here for now."
With that, she swiftly picked up the next challenger's paperwork and began registering them. Thanks to Mai's intervention, the line at the entrance finally started moving again.
Luther sighed, picked up his registration token, and walked into the spectator area alone.
The moment he entered, the referee's voice rang out.
"Starmie is unable to battle! Staraptor wins! The victor is Gym Leader Hakuya!"
From his vantage point, Luther looked down and saw Hakuya holding his small notebook and smiling as he shook the challenger's hand.
The challenger with Starmie seemed reluctant. After a perfunctory handshake, he sulkily turned away, ignoring Hakuya, who was still scribbling something down.
Once Hakuya finished writing and noticed the challenger was already gone, he helplessly put his notebook away.
Luther frowned, but when he saw Hakuya return to his battle position, he could only silently curse the challenger's rudeness on Hakuya's behalf.
The next challenger sent out a Hitmontop as their first Pokémon, a standard choice since Fighting types are the only natural counters to Normal types.
Normal types lived up to their name; they neither resisted nor were resisted by most other types, except for being weak to Fighting types. They had no glaring weaknesses but also no overwhelming advantages. The most famous powerhouse of their kind was, of course, Slaking.
Facing the Hitmontop, Hakuya immediately sent out Tauros.
Is it about to happen?
While watching Hakuya's introduction, Luther resisted the urge to peek at the gym's stored battle recordings. He wanted to see for himself how Hakuya, who was unable to speak, would command his Pokémon in battle.
Hand signals? That would require the Pokémon to look back for confirmation, too risky.
Writing? That would require Hakuya to sketch quickly. Like gestures, it would still require the Pokémon to check and would always be one beat behind.
What other method could there be?
Under Luther's watchful gaze, Hakuya slowly took out a box from inside his clothes.
He pulled out a rectangular object, wiped it carefully with a cloth, held it in his hand, and raised it to his lips.
Luther had never been so shocked.
Hakuya had taken out something Luther knew well. Back in elementary school, their music teacher had asked them to bring it to class. But no matter how hard he tried, Luther could never play a complete tune on it.
His harmonica had gathered dust ever since that term of music class, untouched.
But how on earth was Hakuya going to use this?
Just because Pokémon could understand human language didn't mean they could understand fragmented melodies. Could something like this really work?
Hakuya went first, and the challenger immediately ordered Hitmontop to use 'Bulk Up'.
It was an excellent move, raising both defense and attack. Taking the opening turn to strengthen was absolutely the right idea.
The sound of the harmonica echoed. Luther couldn't tell what key it was in, but Tauros clearly understood Hakuya's command. He broke into a run, lowering his head slightly as he charged at the newly strengthened Hitmontop.
"Is that 'Tackle'?"
Just before Tauros's sharp horns could strike, the challenger made a clever prediction and had Hitmontop leap with 'Splash'. Using the force of his descent, Hitmontop landed a 'Brick Break' on Tauros.
This was very effective; not only did it nullify Tauros's Tackle completely, but Tauros also took damage from the counterattack.
Hitmontop then used Agility. Boosted in speed, he darted and weaved around the battlefield, making it seem as if multiple Hitmontops were moving all at once.
"My Hitmontop is very fast. You can't keep up with him, can you, Tauros?"
Hakuya gave the challenger a thumbs-up, then lightly blew into the harmonica. Tauros raised both forehooves, reared back, and slammed them down hard into the ground.
The force was so tremendous that even the stands where Luther was sitting shook. It was 'Stomp'.
From the point of impact, fine cracks began spreading across the battlefield floor. Hitmontop, who had just been dancing playfully, suddenly lost his nimbleness.
Though the move didn't land directly, the intense vibrations made his legs go numb. With Tauros's eyes now fixed on him, Hitmontop suddenly felt a chill, like pins and needles, crawl up his back.
"Hitmontop, don't let his momentum overwhelm you! Use 'Close Combat' and finish this in one go!"
Hitmontop roared, pumping himself up as he dashed toward Tauros's side. He raised his leg, ready to unleash the attack.
This time, Hakuya's harmonica played a flowing, lingering melody. Hearing it, Tauros slammed his forehooves into the ground, lifted his hind legs, and pivoted on his front hooves, shifting direction in the split second before Close Combat could land.
As soon as Tauros steadied himself, the harmonica sounded again.
With a roar, Tauros charged forward with unstoppable force, straight at Hitmontop.
Realizing Hitmontop was in danger, the challenger quickly ordered an Agility to evade. But Hitmontop didn't move a muscle.
Tauros unleashed Head Smash. The merciless strike sent Hitmontop flying right out of the battlefield and into the padded wall of the spectator stands.
The referee hurried over, confirmed the situation, and announced that Hitmontop was unable to battle.
While the challenger was puzzling over why Hitmontop hadn't obeyed him, Luther's expression grew grave as he watched Hakuya check on Tauros.
Head Smash wasn't like Dragon Rush, which forced opponents into fear through its sheer aura.
The only explanation for why Hitmontop's legs refused to move was that Tauros's fighting spirit was too terrifying.
From a spectator's seat, one couldn't feel it clearly. Perhaps only Hitmontop, who had faced Tauros head-on, truly understood the horrifying nature of its aura.
(End of Chapter)