Mankey seized on Poliwhirl's post-burst opening—slipped past the strike, caught Poliwhirl's punching arm, and slammed it over the shoulder, defeating Skinny's Poliwhirl.

Sigh. Still not enough mastery; the weaknesses of Waterfall's burst had been spotted.

This was exactly why Reiji had said the move had to be used on the counter, must burst within one meter, and must chain bursts—otherwise it shouldn't be used at all.

If Skinny's Poliwhirl had those down, the battle wouldn't have dragged on. One slip, one clean punch, and it would've been over.

"Still not there yet, huh, Poliwhirl…" Skinny exhaled, recalled Poliwhirl, and remembered what Reiji had explained last night.

Two flaws in a Waterfall burst flashed through his mind: once airborne you can't turn, and you can't dodge. The only fix is to shorten the burst distance.

No wonder Reiji kept stressing "within one meter." If you can't burst right in their face, the opening is too big. He'd just watched both flaws get punished.

"Kid, your Poliwhirl's using that burst trick too, right? Just a bit green—can't control the power yet. If you were as sharp as that masked trainer from yesterday, I might've lost…"

"So he noticed…" Skinny sighed. He'd used it only three times and the opponent had already read it.

"Do you know that trainer from yesterday? I saw you together. I want to meet him—can you introduce us?"

"I'll let him know," Skinny nodded lightly. He didn't linger, tossed over ten thousand credits, and turned to leave the field—

—only to find Reiji standing behind him. Clearly, he'd watched the whole match.

"Reiji?"

"Your grandpa said you were here," Reiji stepped up. Seeing Skinny pay out, he figured the kid had lost.

"You're back from the lessons?" Being caught again, Skinny wasn't as embarrassed—Reiji had said wins and losses were normal.

"Yeah. Was heading back, came to grab you." He'd barely finished when passersby who'd been hunting for him swarmed over.

"Poliwhirl's trainer! You finally showed—fight me!"

"Hey, no cutting! I was first!"

"Make way if you can't afford the fee!"

"Quiet, everyone. Poliwhirl can't battle today—its arm's still hurt from yesterday. Today it's a hundred thousand a match, three matches only. If you want in, queue over there."

Reiji could only marvel. Were there really this many who wanted to challenge him? The stampede to give him money was… baffling.

At his reminder, would-be challengers rushed to the opposite platform to fight for the three slots. Another batch was already betting on Reiji to win; smaller stakes than yesterday, but last night's show was fresh in mind.

A few didn't leave, and Reiji knew what they wanted.

"Poliwhirl's trainer, will you sell your Poliwhirl training method?"

"I want the super-burst method!"

"Name a price—I'll buy it!"

"Settle down," Reiji pressed his palm down, signaling for quiet.

When they calmed, he said, "That 'burst' is just a move—Waterfall. Any Poliwhirl can learn it; lots of Pokémon can. Don't crowd me, I still have matches."

"So it was Waterfall—I thought it was some brand-new tech…"

"Then why does the burst look so different?"

No one bothered answering the silly question. Of course it looks different—that's training. Learn a move and expect to explode like someone else right away? Dream on.

Mention of Waterfall reminded many of the recent starter exhibition—plenty of Waterfall users, plenty of explosive bursts. Poliwhirl bursting wasn't strange at all.

Reiji didn't reveal the true secret, not even to Skinny.

He'd only told Skinny what to do, what it achieves, and the drawbacks—Waterfall's three core keys, its two weaknesses, and how to chain bursts.

He hadn't said that compressing the distance also meant coordinating the whole body and detonating all power at a single point—"inch force."

Not that it mattered: while teaching, Poliwhirl would demonstrate inch force anyway; Skinny just didn't know the term.

"What about the explosions yesterday—care to explain?"

"Yeah, what caused that blast?"

"Ahem. Quiet." Reiji coughed and waved them down. "Explosions in battles are normal. You've never seen them? Other Pokémon don't explode?"

"Right—battles explode all the time. What's to ask? No explosions would be weird."

"Who asked that? Ask something useful!"

"Clear out, clear out—don't disrupt the match!"

The gamblers were getting antsy. Enough dithering—start the fight and open the book already!

"Whew." As the crowd dispersed, Reiji let out a breath. Good—he'd muddled through. He'd worried they'd stick and try to shake him down.

Waterfall's trick is "simple" only on paper; the grind is the hard part.

On the deserted island, a Rhydon had helped his Poliwhirl learn to marshal Waterfall's power—funneling the full-body burst into the fist as inch force. That was the real core.

How Poliwhirl had picked it up was still a mystery; he'd guessed it happened on that island.

Even without it, Poliwhirl could learn the trick with time—Reiji knew inch power himself and could train it. Poliwhirl just… picked it up on its own, which surprised him.

Once the "secret" was out—just Waterfall—most people lost interest and peeled off. If you're curious, catch something that learns Waterfall and tinker; nobody's stopping you.

The spectators didn't leave the grounds, though—they wanted to watch Reiji battle. He stepped back onto the trainer's dais, and Skinny joined him.

Not caring what the other side would send, Reiji tossed out Rhyhorn first. Whatever the matchup, so be it.

"He's doing it again—sending first!"

"This time it's Rhyhorn. Where's the confidence come from—sending first and yielding priority?"

"Who knows? He gave up counter-pick and first move yesterday and still won three straight. Guy's just that confident."

"Here we go—first up is a Water-type. Four-times effective on Rhyhorn. Let's see how he answers."

The opponent sent out Kingler. Reiji didn't bat an eye and called across, "You're sure you want Kingler?"

"Sure." The stranger nodded—Kingler versus Rhyhorn it was.

"Great. Pay up." Reiji held out his hand. No money, no match.

"Here's a hundred thousand." The trainer flung the cash—he'd watched last night and knew the rule.

Pelipper swooped to fetch the stack; Reiji thumbed ten bills, stowed them, and nodded to begin.

"I'll give you first move," he said, same as yesterday.

"Kingler, Water Gun!" Getting priority drew a smirk. Four-times advantage or not, he still didn't dare get sloppy against a guy with three wins yesterday.

As Water Gun fired, Reiji didn't order a dodge. Instead he shouted, "Rhyhorn, Double-Edge!"

Rhyhorn took the spray head-on, hooves pawing deep ruts. With a bellow, it flared gold and charged like a meteor toward Kingler.

"Kingler, evade!" Several Water Guns had done nothing—panic rising, the trainer called for a dodge.

Rhyhorn didn't care. It only ran faster, slipping in a Rock Polish mid-rush; when Kingler dodged, Rhyhorn carved a turn and thundered after it again.

"Kingler, Dig!" Sweat beaded now—why did Water Gun do nothing?

Seeing Dig, Reiji almost laughed. Digging against a Ground type? "Rhyhorn—Stomping Tantrum!"

Boom—boom—BOOM! Twice denied its hit, Rhyhorn's frustration detonated. It reared and hammered the earth; the ground heaved like a quake.

Even spectators and Reiji up on the dais felt the jolt.

Kingler, underground, had it worst. Realizing too late, the trainer shouted, "Kingler, get out—now!"

It burst from the soil foaming at the mouth, eyes spiraled, and flopped over.

"Who's next?" Reiji recalled Rhyhorn before it could barrel around, then looked to the opposite dais for the next challenger.

Another trainer stood, hurled a hundred thousand across, and yelled, "My turn!"

"Rhyhorn, go again." Reiji sent it back out, Pelipper fetched the cash, ten bills—check—and he gestured for the send-in.

"Go, Breloom!" Having seen water fail, the trainer switched to another four-times weakness.

"Breloom?" Reiji sighed. True, Rhyhorn had shrugged off water, but it was still four-times weak to Grass.

Count them up—Rhyhorn's got a lot of holes. Two types hit for quadruple, four more for double: Fighting, Ground, Steel, Ice…

Ground/Rock takes six weaknesses. Brutal.

Still, Rhyhorn was already on the field. If it lost, whatever—Reiji could afford a hundred thousand. He called out, "You move first."

"Breloom, Bullet Seed!"

A hail of brown seeds spat from Breloom's mouth like bullets, drumming Rhyhorn's hide.

"Rhyhorn, Dig to evade!" Reiji ordered.

Rhyhorn didn't budge. It tanked the barrage and lunged straight for Breloom.

"What?"

"Did it go out of control?"

"It's not listening?"

"Is this Rhyhorn not fully tamed?"

"Come on! You field an unruly 'mon? I've got tens of thousands on this!"

"Same here—hope we still win. I'm not betting on him next time…"

With Rhyhorn ignoring commands and charging on its own, everyone could see the problem—including the opponent.

He seized the chance: "Breloom, Leech Seed!"

Breloom pushed off lightly, sidestepped the wild rush, and spat a seed that sprouted on contact—slender vines and leaves whipped across Rhyhorn's body, cocooning it. Bound fast, Rhyhorn couldn't move.

The vines glowed red as they drew energy, flecks of green drifting back into Breloom's body—Leech Seed was restoring its strength.

(End of Chapter)

[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]

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