16 Lost!

Bernie had bluffed.

Yes, it was something to be frowned upon, but it wasn't against the rules.

Raiden had learned many things from this, and it gave him many new ideas and tactics for future battles.

But for now, it was time to focus.

Tens of poison needles were heading towards Pikachu who was in mid-air.

It looked hopeless, but Raiden had a few cards up his sleeve.

"Pikachu, shield yourself, with Iron Tail!"

Pikachu's tail turned into steel and shone a metallic luster.

He then grabbed it and held it in front of him. Pikachu hid behind his tail!

Pikachu couldn't deflect it because it was a stream of attacks, not just one.

Tens of Poison Stings blew Pikachu away and smashed him into the ground.

Boom!

The impact sent dust flying into the air.

When it cleared, Pikachu could be seen slowly standing up.

The force of the Poison Sting sent him flying, but he wasn't poisoned.

It was because Poison had no effect on Steel.

Pikachu quickly shook off the dust and the pain from the crash, took on a battle stance, and prepared for round two.

Surprise filled Bernie's heart.

Pikachu could use Iron Tail? Then why didn't he use it earlier?

During Pikachu's first attack, it could have caused great damage if it used Iron Tail then.

Or that time when he was surrounded by Poison Stings, it would be a lot easier to break through.

Bernie then understood.

Raiden didn't show Iron Tail so that it would catch him by surprise or used in a critical moment like this time.

Bernie felt a smile creeping up to his face.

Battling not with sheer strength, but strategies and tactics.

This is truly enjoyable.

"Pikachu, you still good?"

Raiden looked at Pikachu, a little worried.

"Pika-Pika!" I can do this all day!

Pikachu was getting even more heated up.

"Ahahaha! Having a battle with you is truly a great decision! Let's continue! Double Team once again!" Bernie was now really into the battle.

He didn't think of Raiden as a junior and a new Trainer anymore, but as a peer and a rival!

"Krooo!"

Nidorino once again split into nine and tried to surround Pikachu.

"Pikachu, keep using Thundershock while backing away! Don't get surrounded!" Raiden instructed while observing the battlefield.

What could he use to turn the battle around?

Pikachu was throwing Thundershocks everywhere, but only a few truly landed on a copy.

While he was thinking, Bernie kept pressing on.

"Nidorino, horn attack!"

Nidorino showed a new move as the remaining six Nidorino copies had their horns light up.

Aura concentrated into a single area.

Nidorino's horn had been greatly enhanced and getting directly hit by it would end the battle.

"Avoid it no matter what Pikachu!" Raiden was sweating hard.

He couldn't think of a way to counter Double Team.

Double Team uses a lot of mental energy as it manipulated many copies at the same time. The sight and sound would directly be inputted onto the opponent's mind.

In a battle, it could only be used at most three times.

But three times was already aplenty for Raiden.

Even if Pikachu could endure this second Double Team, he would definitely be defeated by the third.

He needed to find a solution.

If Nidorino didn't use Poison Sting to attack, he wouldn't be able determine where Nidorino wa-

Ah. It was actually quite easy.

"Pikachu, feel if the ground near each Nidorino is shaking! If it didn't, ignore it!" Raiden felt relieved.

The Nidorino illusions didn't have weight, so he could utilize this weakness.

As Pikachu didn't feel the ground shaking on one of the Nidorino, so he ignored it.

That was a mistake.

Bernie smiled.

"Nidorino! Double Kick Dash, now!"

The real Nidorino pierced through the copy that Pikachu ignored, surprising him.

BAM!

"No! Pikachu!"

Pikachu got hit hard as he flew away for a few meters.

He crashed heavily onto the ground, before rolling roughly for a long time to a stop.

Double Kick Dash was Bernie's tactical application of using Double Kick on the ground to accelerate and tackle.

It dealt a lot more damage than a normal tackle and with Nidorino's weight, it caused a lot of damage.

It was even a critical hit as Pikachu didn't have time to brace for impact.

The only good thing was that two moves of the same manifestation couldn't be used together.

Horn Attack and Double Kick used Aura, so Horn Attack got deactivated.

But this Double Kick Dash was enough to put any other Pokémon out of commission.

Pikachu was greatly injured and breathing heavily. It even seemed like he was poisoned.

Poison Point had definitely activated.

Raiden felt his heart drop.

It was because of him that Pikachu ignored the danger and got hurt.

He was the one who made the command, so it fell on him.

It seems like they were going to lose their second battle.

But what worried Raiden the most right now was Pikachu's condition.

"Pikachu! Are you alright!?" Raiden called out.

Pikachu was trying to get up but was struggling to do so.

Every time he tried to grab hold of the ground, his legs would tremble and he would fall again and again.

As Raiden looked on, his heart ached.

Raiden thought it was enough.

"Alright, that's it! We admit def-"

"PIKA!" NOT YET!

Before Raiden could surrender, Pikachu cut him off.

Pikachu's legs were shaking as he got up, but he still expressed his will to battle.

"Pika-Pika!" I can still fight!

Raiden looked at Pikachu with worry.

Why still fight? Wasn't the battle good enough?

"You've done enough. You were great, but we can't win against-"

"Pika-pi." I believe in you.

Pikachu just stared at him.

Raiden was silent.

He looked at Pikachu's eyes which were filled with complete trust in him.

Raiden took a deep breath.

"Alright."

If Pikachu, the one who was fighting, didn't give up yet, then why should he?

Raiden slapped himself to wake up.

Pikachu took on a stance.

They got ready to fight.

They got ready to win.

Bernie watched on with interest.

Is this really the bond of a new Trainer and his Pokémon?

Even most Senior Trainers and their Pokémon who were with them for years didn't have a bond this strong.

By the way, it was a rule not to attack a Pokémon when it was down. That's why you either had to finish it in one go or use a combo to fully defeat it.

It was the same for fighting games like Pokk*n and Tekk*n, there is an invincible period after being knocked down.

Just so you know.

Now they were back in the game.

But Pikachu was already badly injured, and a single hit would probably defeat him, and this time for sure. And if they took too long, the poison might get worse.

Anyways, they had to settle it, right here now, for the last time.

"I admire your courage and determination and your bond with Pikachu is strong! But you can't win against me!" Bernie praised before giving his evaluation.

He wasn't bragging. It truly was what he predicted.

Raiden was great, but he just started his journey.

Hell, it was his second day and he was better than most second year Trainers!

Even if it was just his third Pokémon, and a recently captured one too, Raiden was able to stand toe-to-toe with him.

He had three Junior Badges! Three! In one year!

That placed him among the best in Lynier Fort!

And Raiden…

Maybe in the near future, they would once again battle as rivals.

But for now, more training would be good.

"Nidorino, Double Team!" Bernie would make sure to end this fast.

"Krrooo!!"

Nine bodies of Nidorino appeared again on the battlefield.

"Horn Attack!"

Bernie used the same tactic again.

"Pikachu, run!" Raiden shouted.

Pikachu ran at full speed.

If Raiden had tried to stall the last time Double Team activated, it would've used up its duration.

That's why Raiden regretted ignoring the copy.

But now, they couldn't stall because Pikachu was injured and poisoned, so they had to finish this, and fast.

Pikachu was just running all around the battlefield without attacking, which confused Bernie greatly.

Raiden must have known that he couldn't stall, so what was he doing?

But it was good for him.

As he was thinking, Raiden suddenly shouted.

"There! Pikachu head towards that Nidorino!" Raiden pointed out.

Bernie was shocked. How did he find out!?

He then took a look at the battlefield and finally understood.

There was a long squiggly line covering the ground.

Pikachu was running while drawing a line with his tail!

This was Raiden's solution.

By drawing a line across the entire field, it would serve as an alarm.

Double Team copies were just illusions so they couldn't affect the environment.

But there was one real Nidorino!

Raiden just had to find what body was erasing the lines wherever it went.

Bernie was really astonished.

It was brilliant!

This battle had shown him the weaknesses of his tactics and opened his mind to more.

He was learning from a battle against a new Trainer.

That was a first!

It really was a great battle.

Nidorino was running in full speed in a straight line.

And when he and Pikachu had a race earlier, they knew it was hard to suddenly stop or change direction.

This was his chance!

"Pikachu, predict where Nidorino would be after three seconds and use Thunder!" Raiden shouted.

Pikachu narrowed his eyes and quickly observed Nidorino.

When it came to the calculation of speed, Pikachu was the best!

A short moment later, Pikachu's eyes brightened as he sent an enormous amount of electricity towards the sky!

"Piii-Kaaa-CHUUU!!" A huge thunderbolt went out from Pikachu and into the sky above where he predicted Nidorino would be.

The Thunder move falls straight toward the ground, so if Nidorino continued as predicted, it would definitely get hit.

"Hahaha! Good! What a great strategy! But, Nice try…" Bernie applauded.

"Nidorino, use Double Kick Dash to the side!"

As Nidorino was running, it stomped both its left front leg and left hind leg and darted to the right.

It would cause muscle strain or even a muscle tear, but it could avoid getting hit by Thunder.

It was a great trade-off.

Bernie smiled. Now that Raiden plan has failed, Pikachu would no longer be able to use electricity and the poison will-

"Now, Pikachu! Use Iron Tail to dash like Nidorino, towards Nidorino!" Raiden suddenly commanded.

Pikachu who was still running, suddenly used Iron Tail at the ground and use it as a spring to get close to Nidorino.

Nidorino was still in mid-air while Pikachu was under him, also in mid-air.

Bernie was confused what was the use? They were both in mid-air and couldn't attack without momentum.

Nidorino was above and couldn't fire Poison Sting, while Pikachu couldn't use electric attacks after that Thunder.

But what happened next made everything clear to him.

It was already three seconds.

Raiden had excitement written on his face.

"Pikachu, now! Lightning Rod!"

Pikachu smiled at Nidorino as he raised his tail.

CRACCKK!

A wicked thunderbolt dropped at the place where Nidorino was supposed to be at before Nidorino forcefully changed direction.

But then, it suddenly curved towards Pikachu.

Pikachu wasn't worried.

Because, he had an umbrella.

"Nooo!! Nidorino!" Bernie shouted.

Nothing could be done to avoid it.

BOOOM!!

"KROOO!!" Nidorino's cry of pain was heard all throughout the area.

Dust flew 10 meters high up into the air, as Nidorino was slammed to the ground with great force.

As Raiden watched all this with great pride and confidence, he suddenly remembered something.

His face turned pale and his hands were shaking.

Oh no… Pikachu was under Nidorino!!

Did our plan of a great reversal backfired on us!?!

He rushed towards the new crater created in the clearing, with Bernie also doing the same.

The dust was so thick that they couldn't breathe, and they had to wait until it subsided.

When it did, Raiden gasped as they saw the scene.

Nidorino was lodged into the ground. Its body was burnt badly by the Thunder and it was bleeding from the mouth.

When Bernie hurriedly checked, he sighed in relief as he could still feel that Nidorino was still breathing, although faintly.

Raiden hurriedly looked around the crater and found no Pikachu.

If Pikachu wasn't around, then he was below.

Raiden was about to faint.

"Pikachu… Oh no…" tears welled up in Raiden's eyes.

"Pika-pi…" Oh no…

Raiden didn't react to it for a full five seconds.

When he finally did, he saw Pikachu sitting calmly beside him, chewing on a leaf.

"Pikachu! Where have you been!?!" Raiden didn't know if he should feel happy or angry.

"Pika-pika-pi…" I was blown far away into the trees…

Raiden then quickly put Pikachu into his arms and hugged tightly, as he was scared that if he let go, Pikachu would vanish.

Pikachu accepted the hug and enjoy the warmth it brought to him and to his heart.

"Pikachu. Don't ever leave me." Raiden said with a begging tone.

"Pi." I won't.

After a few minutes, Raiden let Pikachu go, wiping away his watery eyes.

Good thing his tears didn't fall.

Pikachu was feeling very weak. It had been injured badly during the fight.

He closed his eyes as he tried to rest.

Suddenly Raiden's Pokédex rang.

[Nidorino is unable battle. Pikachu wins the match!]

[Junior Trainer Raiden Creed is the winner!]

[You won (150 x 3 Badges)= 450 Poké dollars.]

[Battle Record]

[Total Number of Battles: 2

Wins: 2 Loses: 0

Win Rate: 100%]

The results came late. After all, there was a grace period to see if the Pokémon could wake up and fight.

Raiden then turned towards Bernie.

"Is Nidorino okay?" Raiden asked worriedly.

They were the ones who did the damage. If something went wrong, it wouldn't be their fault, but he would feel guilty.

"Ah. Nidorino will be fine." Bernie smiled as he tended to Nidorino with a full set of medical tools in a storage box.

There were Potions, Antidotes, Ice Heal, Paralysis Heal, Burn Heal and many more.

Raiden also took note that Bernie used the words 'will be fine' instead of 'is fine'.

"Are you sure? Nidorino looks really bad."

"We've had worse." Bernie smiled kindly. A Pokémon battle was a battle nonetheless.

'Worse than this!? What could be worse than this!?'

Raiden tried to imagine what could have happened, but he only scared himself.

No one could guarantee what happens, nor you should take responsibility for your opponent.

You agreed to battle; thus, you should know the risks.

Raiden just maintained his silence as he watched Bernie treating Nidorino.

"Ah, right. Here. Use this to cure Pikachu's poison." Bernie handed over an Antidote.

He always carried some for his opponents.

Using poison in a battle far away from the Pokémon Center could lead to death.

Raiden tended to Pikachu, curing the poison and using his own Potion.

After Bernie and Raiden finished, they turned to each other.

"That was a great fight. You're really good. Better than most second year Trainers." Bernie said with a heartfelt praise.

"I didn't really beat you. Nidorino is only your third Pokémon." Raiden knew that if they truly battled, they would instantly be defeated.

"What are you saying? A lose is a lose. It even says so on my Pokédex. Nidorino is also my Pokémon." Bernie said with conviction.

"Ah okay. Then, thank you for the battle." Raiden bowed.

This truly was a great experience.

He learned many things from Bernie's tactics and polished his own.

Raiden and Pikachu would only get stronger and stronger.

"I'm leaving the fort soon. Maybe in the future, we'll meet again. Then on that day, we're gonna have a full battle. Okay?" Bernie winked.

"Yes! I look forward to battle you again!" Raiden smiled.

They shook hands.

"Waahh! Newbie, you were great! Big Bro you too!" Mob and the others finally came close.

Raiden and Bernie had forgotten about them during the intense battle.

"Arghh… I forgot I have to teach them. Sorry Raiden, we'll look for another place." Bernie said as he looked at the time.

He had already been paid, so he had to do his job.

"Ah! You can use this place. We're were gonna train but we already got good training during the battle." Raiden offered the place.

Pikachu had woken up from the noise.

"Pikachu, let's rest for today. You've done a good job."

"Pika-pika!" Of course I did!

Bernie thanked him as Raiden and Pikachu waved goodbye to the group.

They had to check in at the Pokémon Center.

===========================================

Raiden trudged through the forest holding his Pokédex while Pikachu rested on his shoulder.

The sun was directly above them, sprinkling sunlight through the leaves of the trees.

Raiden kept looking at the sun and at his Pokédex.

He had a calm look in his face, but inside...

'Where is the East!? Where is West!?'

Raiden's head ached.

He had the Pokédex, but it didn't have the compass app installed.

It had been with him for only three days, and he forgot to install it.

He was facing the consequence now.

The next best thing to look at to locate direction was the sun.

But it was directly above him. It was hard to figure out where it was moving.

Raiden had to stop to look at it every few minutes.

He also didn't know whether the sun now rises northeast, south east or directly east.

Sigh. I'll definitely download the compass and learn about this blasted sun.

Raiden maintained a poker face, but...

"Pi?" Are we lost?

Pikachu weakly asked.

Raiden didn't answer.

"Pi." We are lost.

We haven't lost, but we are lost.

Raiden and Pikachu sighed.

They wandered around the forest while looking for the road.

More than an hour had passed until they finally found the trail and hurriedly went back to the Pokémon Center.