Chapter 9: Beedrill's Debut! A One-Hit KO!
A slight smirk played on Kenji's lips.
Finally... he took the bait.
Everything, from the moment they finished eating, had been part of his plan.
The student who had suggested the Pokémon battles? Kenji had put him up to it.
The ones who had hyped up Chase, stroking his ego and pushing him into the spotlight? Also Kenji's doing.
It was all for this single moment.
"It's not much of a battle without something on the line, is it?" Kenji said, his hands in his pockets, his tone deceptively lazy.
"Oh? What are you betting?" Chase asked, surprised.
"I'm willing to put something up. The question is, are you?" Kenji countered, not answering directly.
His words immediately sent a ripple of excitement through the crowd. Chase, who had been put on a pedestal by his peers, had no room to back down now. Without thinking, he blurted out, "Whoever chickens out is a coward!"
A satisfied look appeared on Kenji's face. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bank card.
"There are 50,000 Pokédollars on this card. Are you in?" Kenji asked.
Fifty thousand!
Chase's eyes went wide, and for a second, he thought he had misheard. Fifty thousand! How could a broke nobody like Kenji possibly have that kind of money to gamble with?
"Kenji... that's..." Lyle also stared in shock, stepping forward to intervene. This had gone far beyond a simple friendly match.
Kenji glanced at Lyle, then fixed his gaze back on Chase. "What's the matter? Don't tell me the great and powerful Chase can't even scrape together 50,000?"
"Who says I can't!" Chase's face flushed red. "Fifty thousand is only a lot of money to a broke loser like you!"
"Ohh~" Kenji drawled, his expression full of mockery.
"Fine! I'll take that bet! You're going to regret this!" Chase snarled, shooting Kenji a hateful glare.
He refused to believe it. His Geodude was going to lose to a Weedle? Impossible!
Kenji smiled. Seeing that Chase hadn't disappointed him, he finally let out a silent breath of relief.
Since Chase himself had agreed, Lyle couldn't object any further. In no time at all, the other students formed a large circle, clearing a space in the middle of the clearing for the battlefield.
Kenji and Chase stood on opposite sides.
"Go, Geodude!" Chase roared, throwing his Poké Ball. A beam of red light shot out and solidified on the ground.
"Geo-dude!" the rock Pokémon cried, raising its two stony arms high in the air.
Chase crossed his arms, looking at Kenji with the confidence of a man who had already won.
Kenji took the shrunken Poké Ball from his belt and enlarged it with a touch. He lifted it, took a deep breath, and called out, "I choose you, Beedrill!"
Poof!—
The Poké Ball opened, and a flash of red light shot out, materializing in the air above the battlefield.
"WHAT?!"
"No way!"
"Is that for real?!"
The crowd of students gasped, their heads tilted back as they stared at the Pokémon hovering in mid-air. It beat its transparent wings, its two lance-like stingers held at the ready.
"Bzzzzzz—"
"A... A Beedrill?!" Melody's eyes widened, her voice a shocked whisper as her expression turned to one of utter disbelief.
"H-How is that possible?!" Chase's pupils constricted, his mind reeling as if hit by a shockwave.
It was impossible! It had only been ten days since they received their Pokémon! How could Kenji's Weedle have already evolved all the way into a Beedrill?!
"Can we begin?" Kenji asked, ignoring the dumbfounded Chase and addressing Lyle, who was acting as the referee.
Lyle snapped out of his shock. "Uh... right! The battle... begin!"
"Beedrill! Use Poison Sting!"
The instant Lyle gave the signal, Kenji gave his command.
Swoosh!—
Beedrill's wings vibrated, and its crimson eyes locked onto the Geodude below. Its two massive stingers glowed with a purple sheen as it shot toward its target like a missile.
"Geodude! Dodge it, quick!" Chase yelled, his breath catching in his throat as the Beedrill closed the distance in an instant.
Kenji's lips curled into a smirk. Does he really think shouting 'dodge it' is a real move?
The difference in speed between the Beedrill and the Geodude was a massive, unbridgeable gulf. There was no way a simple command could change that.
CRACK!—
Beedrill's stingers slammed into Geodude's rocky body.
An expression of immense pain crossed Geodude's face as its round, stone body was sent flying backward.
"Geo... dude..."
It crashed heavily to the ground, but after a moment, it wobbled and floated shakily back into the air, though it was clearly struggling.
Kenji recognized the effect immediately: Geodude's Sturdy ability. Like a budget Focus Sash, it prevented a Pokémon from being knocked out in one hit from full health.
A single Poison Sting—a move with a paltry base power—had been boosted so much by Huge Power and Beedrill's insane stats that it had broken through Geodude's defenses and activated its ability in one blow.
The power was terrifying.
"Damn it..." Chase's face had gone pale, and his body was trembling slightly.
Just as Kenji was deciding whether to order a finishing blow, the wobbling Geodude shuddered. A strange purple aura flickered across its body, and with a thud, it fell back to the ground, unconscious.
Kenji blinked, then it hit him.
The secondary effect of Poison Sting... Geodude had been poisoned and the damage had knocked it out.
As Geodude fainted, the last bit of color drained from Chase's face. He clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white, his teeth grinding together as a silent scream of rage echoed in his mind.
Why?! Why, after only ten days, does he have a Beedrill?!
"Impossible! That's impossible! I don't accept it!" Chase screamed. "How do you prove that Beedrill is the same Weedle you got from the school?!"
Hearing this, some of the other students began to murmur with suspicion, but the doubt was quickly dismissed. They were just high school students, not even apprentice trainers, let alone licensed ones. Possessing an unauthorized Pokémon was a serious crime, classified as a major public safety offense. As unbelievable as a ten-day evolution was, they couldn't believe Kenji would be stupid enough to commit a crime right in front of them—especially not with the Gym Leader's daughter present.
Chase's accusation sounded less like a valid point and more like a desperate attempt to deny his own defeat.
Kenji, however, wasn't bothered in the slightest. He shrugged. "I don't break the law. If you doubt my Beedrill is legitimate, you're welcome to come with me to the Pokémon Center when we get back to Edgecliff and have its Poké Ball verified. I'm just wondering... when can I expect that 50,000 Pokédollars you owe me?"
His calm confidence made Chase's accusation look pathetic. Every Poké Ball had a digital record of every Pokémon it had ever held, making it impossible to swap out an officially issued Pokémon.
"Kenji, what are you talking about?" Leo jumped in, slinging an arm around his friend. "Our friend Chase here is a man of his word! A measly 50,000 is nothing to him! He wouldn't dream of backing out on a bet, right, Chase?"