"Stop. Here's fine. These are premium Water-type Pokéblocks, plus four or five Water Gems. They're for helping Magikarp evolve…"
"Rai-nii… how do I even make Magikarp evolve?" Gulzar had been spacing out the whole way. He only snapped back when Reiji told him to stop. He halted, scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, and didn't dare meet Reiji's eyes. He knew nothing about a Pokémon like Magikarp.
They were in an open clearing—grass underfoot, no trees. The surrounding woods had a roughly fifty-square-meter gap, like someone had cut out a square of empty space. Was Magikarp really going to evolve here?
"You don't need to worry about the evolution part," Reiji said, waving it off. "What you need is to get along with Magikarp. Use the food. Later, just follow my lead and act your part."
If Gulzar and Magikarp could relate to each other, it would be a lot easier to build the trainer–Pokémon bond between them.
"I get it," Gulzar said quietly. He understood what a bond was. He'd had that with his starter, Gloom… before it was gone.
This wasn't the time to dwell on that. He released Magikarp, and without water it could only flop and bounce helplessly in the grass. Gulzar hurried over and soothed it with both hands.
"It's okay, Magikarp. I want to catch you and be your partner. Will you come with me?"
His smile was honest, and the Water-type Pokéblocks in his hand didn't hurt either. Magikarp calmed down quickly and started eating.
The taste hit, and Magikarp's eyes narrowed in pleasure. It drooled a little, clearly wanting more, leaning into the feeding and the gentle pats like it had been starving for them.
Right then, Reiji charged in like a storm, drove a hard kick into Gulzar, and spat abuse at both boy and fish.
"Useless! You can't even catch a Magikarp. You're the same as this thing—trash. Both of you are trash!"
"Rai-nii?" Gulzar froze. He knew he was supposed to act, but he'd had zero warning. For a split second, he honestly thought Reiji meant it.
Then he saw Reiji give him a quick, subtle wink.
Gulzar's expression crumpled on cue, and he shrank down like he'd been cornered.
"Pathetic," Reiji snapped, glaring at them. "If you can't catch it, we go back and stew this Magikarp."
His eyes turned predatory as he stared at Magikarp, like he was already imagining the meal.
Gulzar threw himself over Magikarp, shielding it with his body. Magikarp trembled under him, and Gulzar leaned into the role without hesitation—using the instinct to protect to lock in that bond.
Magikarp saw the look in Reiji's eyes, and the looks from the other two Pokémon beside him. It didn't doubt it for a second: they would eat it.
Poliwhirl clenched its fists. Scyther rubbed its scythes together, blade on blade, and even flicked its tongue over the corner of its mouth.
Magikarp's fear spiked. The boy protecting it was too small. If those two attacked, Gulzar would get hurt.
"Move," Reiji barked. "You useless piece of trash."
He grabbed Gulzar by the collar with one hand, flung him aside, and planted a boot on Magikarp, grinding it into the grass—pure cruelty, meant to force something to snap.
Gulzar, already deep in character, scrambled back and wrapped both arms around Reiji's leg, crying as he begged.
"Rai-nii, please! Don't eat it! It's my partner! Please, just let it go!"
Reiji answered with a cold laugh and a sharp slap across Gulzar's face.
The crack was loud. Gulzar went wide-eyed and stunned, and even Reiji's hand stung from the impact.
Reiji didn't hold back. If he did, Magikarp would see through it.
"So dramatic," Reiji sneered, and kept going. "You can't even protect your own Pokémon. This fish is trash, and you're trash for trying to catch it—"
He drove another kick toward Gulzar, still cursing them both, pushing harder and harder to trigger Magikarp's instinct to protect.
"Karp! Karp!"
Magikarp's cry turned feral. It watched Gulzar get kicked away—Gulzar, who had fed it, soothed it, and tried to protect it. Rage surged up in a straight line, hotter and higher, until its whole body exploded in a blinding light.
It couldn't take it anymore.
It was going to evolve.
It was going to bite this human in half.
Gulzar stared, stunned. Now he understood why Reiji had said the evolution part didn't matter. This was how Magikarp evolved.
And somehow, in the middle of that brutal act, Gulzar had built a bond with it.
"Don't just stand there," Reiji snapped. "Feed it the Water Gems, and then this."
He pulled out a palm-sized blue scale—cold to the touch. It was a Dragon Scale, something he'd "found" in Riku's bag, and he shoved it toward Gulzar like it was nothing.
To Reiji, this was the real investment. A Magikarp was easy to replace. The river had plenty of them.
But if this Dragon Scale could push Magikarp even further… then the "real" Dragon Scale he had could go to Magikarp too. Seadra could wait.
A top-tier Magikarp with a high-end evolution item was a better bet. If he wanted the strongest Gyarados possible, this wasn't even a choice.
"Rai-nii, what is this?" Gulzar asked, after stuffing the Water Gems into Magikarp's mouth. He stared at the blue scale in his hand, curiosity flaring even through the tension.
"No questions," Reiji said fast. "It's about to evolve. Put the scale into its gills—now."
Gulzar didn't waste a second. He pried open Magikarp's gill cover and slid the scale inside.
The evolution light surged.
Magikarp's body stretched—longer, thicker, taller—rising off the ground as the blue scale fused into the new form like it had always belonged there. A powerful pressure blasted outward, bending the grass flat and whipping up a violent wind that forced both Gulzar and Reiji to stagger back with their arms raised.
A roar rolled over the clearing.
A massive, vicious Pokémon stood at the center of the grass—seven to eight meters long, four to five meters tall when it reared up. Gulzar and Reiji both locked up in place, while Poliwhirl and Scyther tensed as if the fight was already on.
"Intimidate," Reiji muttered, eyes shining. "That's the kind of presence I want."
"Gyarados…" Gulzar breathed.
He could barely make himself move closer. One careless tail-swing from that monster could turn him into paste.
He didn't know whether Gyarados still remembered him—remembered the Pokéblocks, the gentle hands, the boy who had thrown himself over Magikarp to protect it.
Reiji decided to test it. He reached out slowly for Gulzar's collar again.
Gyarados moved instantly.
It surged forward, charging straight at them with killing momentum.
Reiji stepped away at once, clean and deliberate, leaving space between Gulzar and himself as the answer became obvious.
"Gyarados!" Gulzar didn't realize Reiji had already backed off. He collapsed onto the grass, eyes squeezed shut, bracing for impact.
He expected to be crushed under that bulk, or swallowed whole.
Instead, a blast of wind hit him—then Gyarados stopped right beside him and rubbed its massive mouth against his face like an oversized, awkward pet.
"Ah—!" The icy touch made Gulzar flinch. He forced his eyes open and saw that jagged maw inches from his nose. It was bigger than his head. One bite could end him.
"Rrrr…" Gyarados rumbled, almost hurt.
It had come to protect him, and he was scared.
Gulzar blinked, then turned his head and finally spotted Reiji far away, still winking at him like a director on the edge of a stage.
Gulzar understood immediately. His fear drained away.
He reached up, stroked Gyarados's huge mouth, then hugged it with both arms and laughed through the adrenaline.
"Gyarados… thank you for protecting me."
Gyarados narrowed its eyes in satisfaction.
It wasn't the weak Magikarp anymore. Now it had the strength to protect this boy. No one would bully him again.
"Come on," Reiji called, waving Gyarados over with a taunting hand. "Beat me. Prove it. Two pieces of trash together are still trash."
Even if Gulzar had already caught it, Reiji still intended to put Gyarados in its place. If it was going to run with him, it needed to know who the top trainer here was.
And a battle was the fastest way to deepen a bond.
Gyarados didn't rush in mindlessly. It lowered its head, gently bit the back of Gulzar's clothes, and carried him to the edge of the clearing before setting him down. Only then did it turn back toward Reiji and roar, loud enough to shake the trees.
Gulzar caught Reiji's meaning. He slapped Gyarados's thick body with an eager grin, then faced Reiji with burning confidence and shouted.
"Gyarados! I protected you before—now we fight together! We'll beat them and prove we're not useless!"
He was firing Gyarados up, strengthening their bond through shared combat. He knew the truth: Reiji was an Elite Four–tier trainer. They weren't winning this. This was still a performance.
But somewhere along the way, it stopped feeling like acting. Gulzar meant every word, and he truly liked Gyarados.
This was his first partner since he became a trainer again, and even fresh out of evolution, it already looked like it could take him far.
"ROAR!" Gyarados answered with defiance.
It would show that "villain" something. It wasn't some stupid fish, and it wasn't trash. It was a monster.
"Gyarados, use your strongest move!" Gulzar commanded, launching their first battle side by side.
Even if Gyarados went all out, he didn't worry about hurting Reiji. A newly evolved Gyarados wasn't beating him.
Gyarados opened its jaws and fired a destructive orange-yellow beam—raw, violent force—straight at Poliwhirl in front of Reiji.
"Poliwhirl, it's Hyper Beam," Reiji said sharply. "Protect."
Poliwhirl stepped forward and raised its fists.
A pale green barrier snapped into place.
The beam slammed into the shield, split to either side, and tore through the woods behind them, dropping several trees before the light finally died.
The power was frightening. Even so, Poliwhirl held on—boots sliding, body driven back several meters—until it stopped the blast completely.
Reiji didn't let the opening go.
"Poliwhirl, it can't move right now. Close in—Ice Punch!"
Poliwhirl didn't need a fancy counter. It only needed the move it was best at.
"Poli!"
It burst forward with Waterfall, stamping two craters into the grass as it launched itself in. Ice crystals formed over its fist, and it drove a heavy punch into Gyarados's face.
The impact sent Gyarados flying.
"Gyarados!" Gulzar shouted, sprinting after it as it crashed through two trees and finally stopped against a third.
Before he could reach it, Gyarados forced itself up again, roaring with fury. It spat a terrifying, rainbow-colored beam, and within the light a phantom dragon head formed—jaws wide—lunging to bite down on Poliwhirl.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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