Drake lost.
He lost completely.
If Bruno hadn't been deceived by Drake at the beginning, Hitmonchan probably wouldn't have even needed to use Mach Punch to confuse the opponent—a single Ice Punch could've directly finished off Dragonite.
Drake looked down at Dragonite lying on the ground, unable to stand anymore. Anxiously and uneasily, he covered Dragonite's frozen abdomen.
"Dragonite, hold on!"
"It's okay, you'll be alright soon."
"Awoo..." Dragonite responded weakly before being recalled into its Poké Ball.
"Young man, please leave the arena," Bruno said, sitting cross-legged once again in the center of the battlefield. He was actually issuing an eviction order.
"The arena is not a place for losers to linger."
"I can also see that you only have one Champion-level Pokémon. I advise you not to act impulsively. If an Elite-level Pokémon gets hit by Hitmonchan, it could lose its life."
Bruno had indeed hit the nail on the head.
Seeing Dragonite's miserable state, Drake—filled with anger—had been about to call out another Pokémon and fight Bruno to the death. Even if he was destined to lose, he wanted to at least take down one of Bruno's Pokémon. Otherwise, how would he show his face in the Orange League again?
"Drake, forget it."
Ayi, one of the Seafoam Islands Gym Leaders and a close friend of Drake, quickly tried to calm him down.
"Don't act rashly. He's a veteran member of the Elite Four. It's normal that you couldn't beat him."
"Don't worry, we're still here…"
At that moment, Bruno suddenly raised his head and looked toward the stands where the Seafoam Islands Gym Leaders sat.
The four Gym Leaders who had just been speaking immediately lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze. Only Riku and May, fearless as newborns, didn't back down at all as Bruno turned his head to look at them.
"Interesting."
Bruno nodded slightly.
"Since you're so gutsy, come down."
The four Gym Leaders exchanged glances, mistakenly thinking he was talking to them. They immediately regretted speaking out of turn.
But Bruno had already dismissed them from his mind.
His words were meant for Riku and May.
Riku frowned. "Can't we all go down and take him on together?"
"If he's that strong, a veteran Elite Four member, why bother being polite?"
The Gym Leaders smiled bitterly.
"Riku, I get how you feel. I'd love to gang up on him too."
"But this is the Meowth Island Arena, not the wild."
"There are rules. We can't do something like that, or we'll be in serious trouble afterward."
"Seriously?" Riku rolled his eyes.
What time is it now?
The Indigo League's Elite Four were treating the Orange League like their own backyard, and they were still worried about rules?
Driving the Elite Four out of the Orange Archipelago was the only real victory!
Bruno, having waited a while without hearing a response from Riku or May, suddenly stood up.
"Next week, I'll come to this arena again."
"I hope you can give me some surprises by then."
"And I'm only giving you one week."
"If the Orange League still can't send out a Trainer with real strength, then I don't see any meaning in its existence."
Leaving behind that threat, Bruno leaped into the air and vanished without a trace.
"Just as Lorelei said—he's a battle maniac," Riku said, shaking his head helplessly.
"With how things are going, relying on the Orange League will just get everyone killed. Seems like we've got to count on ourselves!"
---
Bruno's threat and overwhelming strength shook the entire Orange League.
The old council members on Citrus Island immediately convened a meeting, but even after nearly two hours of discussion, no solutions emerged.
They were simply too weak.
The Orange League had failed to form a complete set of Elite Four members for years. The fact that someone like Drake, who was only at the Elite level, had become the chief Trainer spoke volumes about their strength.
After saying goodbye to May, it was already past 11 PM.
Back on his island, Riku found that Lorelei was still awake.
After hearing Riku's report, Lorelei slowly shook her head.
"Your Orange League should just give up. You can't beat Bruno."
"And I'm not just talking about you guys."
"Even I'm no match for that lunatic."
"Do you know how many battles he's been in over the years, big and small?"
"Even though his Pokémon don't have exceptional talent or base stats..."
"Lance, who has a pseudo-legendary Dragonite, doesn't even want to mess with him."
Riku frowned. "Is Bruno really that strong?"
"That's right. He's very strong," Lorelei confirmed.
"Riku, take my advice—don't get involved in this mess."
"If all the Pokémon Trainers in the Orange League teamed up and summoned hundreds of Pokémon, maybe they could beat him."
"After all, he focuses on physical strength and doesn't have Pokémon with large-scale special attacks."
"But in one-on-one battles—even if you took turns—you'd just be sending yourselves to your deaths."
"Let me think about it," Riku said with a sigh.
After Lorelei went to bed, Riku couldn't sleep. He wandered into the berry forest to check on the three silly birds and the Little Red Shrimp.
Unexpectedly, they were also awake, having a midnight snack.
"Oh? Midnight snacks, huh?" Riku chuckled.
"Can I have some? I'm starving."
"Master, it would be our honor," the three birds and the shrimp said solemnly, even using a literary phrase.
Riku sat down and joined them, casually recounting the events of the day.
As he spoke, Riku made up his mind—he had to get involved.
"Farfetch'd, on that little island where I caught you, are there any stronger Pokémon?" he suddenly asked.
"That Bruno is a Fighting-type Champion. I need Pokémon faster than his—preferably Flying-types.
Otherwise, high defense could also work."
"Just attack power—or even special attack power—won't be enough to beat Bruno."
Riku had thought this through carefully.
In the world of martial arts, speed is the key.
If his Pokémon could outpace Bruno's, his odds would increase.
Otherwise, being nearly invulnerable could be another counter to Fighting-types.
Farfetch'd looked confused. "Master, the Pokémon on my island are all pretty weak. If you're dealing with normal Elite-level Trainers, I might be able to find something helpful for you."
"But... this is a Champion-level Trainer we're talking about..."
Although it said that, Farfetch'd was silently complaining in its heart:
With four legendary Pokémon by our side, handling a single human shouldn't be a problem, right?
Why are we still catching regular Pokémon...?
The troubled expression on Riku's face didn't escape the notice of the three birds and the Red Shrimp.
Exchanging looks, the trio suddenly darted into the thatched shed.
Their master's problems were their problems.
After eating and freeloading for so long, now was the time to step up.
--------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter