Chapter 40: The Atmosphere Takes a Turn for the Worse!
“It’s going to be hard for Satoshi to win… ”
Meanwhile.
Many experienced Gym Leaders and Champion Trainers were noticing the same problem.
【Oda: Blaziken… if I remember correctly, that’s its final form, right? Which means it’s definitely got tons of battle experience.】
【Kona: You got it! Satoshi’s being all psyched up by the other guy’s words, and all he’s thinking about is using Charmeleon to prove its power.】
【Korrina: Ugh, it’s going to be hard for Satoshi to win! But it just feels so bad seeing Satoshi and Charmeleon lose to that guy!】
Kalos Region.
Korrina, the champion who also happens to be an actress, was enjoying a leisurely afternoon tea.
The screen that had appeared in the sky was a welcome distraction for her.
Satoshi, in the screen, brought her all sorts of happy feelings.
No matter how his emotions changed.
They were mostly positive.
Even though she’d complain out loud sometimes, Korrina loved this feeling.
Until—
Cross showed up.
“You idiot!”
Korrina angrily set down her delicate porcelain teacup, her whole body radiating rejection.
AAAAARGH!
She really didn't want to see this guy win!
“Even though we should respect the diversity of species, seeing **him** still makes me so angry!”
Trainers who respect Pokémon, trainers who don't respect Pokémon, trainers who treat Pokémon like family, trainers who treat Pokémon like tools… and so on.
As the Kalos champion.
Korrina had seen so many different kinds of Pokémon.
There were always some that made a strong impression on her.
But never.
Never anyone like Cross, who made her so angry she wanted to charge in and personally teach him a lesson!
Pokémon need to be nurtured!
Time!
Love!
And effort!
Cross, you’re a trashcan!
You just want to take shortcuts!
“Satoshi!”
“Use your incredible skills!”
“Give this guy a lesson!”
Korrina was so excited she was practically going to become Satoshi’s personal cheerleader!
…
On the screen—
Satoshi had no idea what he was up against with Blaziken.
After all, the Satoshi on the screen was still a young kid who had just left his hometown.
How could he possibly know about a Pokémon from a region he wouldn’t reach for another ten years?
So.
Satoshi chose to rush in headfirst!
Not knowing anything about it didn’t matter!
He was just going to go for it!
“Charmeleon, Flamethrower!”
“Slash!”
“Go! Charmeleon! Use Earth Power!”
Satoshi and Charmeleon worked together perfectly, landing three consecutive hits right at the start.
Satoshi's face broke into a delighted smile.
…
“That’s it!”
“Beat that guy good!”
“Prove to him!”
“That Charmeleon isn't weak!”
Seeing Charmeleon beat the crap out of Blaziken, Satoshi got all pumped up!
Yes!
That’s the him in this other world!
That’s what he wanted to do!
Charge!
Beat that guy into the ground!
Satoshi was practically dancing with excitement, like he was the one facing Cross.
Next to him, Brock watched the one-sided battle in the screen, his brows furrowed.
“Something’s not right…”
He had barely finished speaking.
And Soichi, in the screen, said the exact same thing.
Something’s not right…
Misty also had a bad feeling, and her expression wasn’t looking good either.
“That guy… he can’t be as weak as that Daigo we met, right?”
“It feels like Cross is scheming about something?”
As a Water-type trainer, Misty didn’t know much about Fire-type Pokémon.
But she had a feeling.
That Blaziken, Cross’s Pokémon, had some secret weapon they didn’t know about!
“If Satoshi loses to that guy…”
As she spoke, Misty’s face darkened.
Not just Satoshi.
Even she was angry!
Satoshi, who had been celebrating, noticed Brock and Misty’s clear disapproval and stopped dead in his tracks.
“Is something wrong?”
“Is my other world self and Charmeleon not cooperating well?”
Satoshi scratched his head, confused.
Brock sighed.
Misty sighed.
Ugh!
They already knew.
Satoshi wasn’t exactly brilliant when it came to strategy and tactics.
“…Just look at the chatroom. It’s going to be really hard for you to win against Cross.”
Misty sighed, giving Satoshi a serious explanation.
“I don’t know much about Blaziken’s moves and abilities.”
“But you can tell from the video that Charmeleon hasn’t been a Charizard for very long, right?”
“But Blaziken is different.”
“As its final form, it’s definitely seen a lot of battles, and has tons of experience.”
Brock nodded in agreement with Misty.