Faced with Mina’s overwhelming presence, Surge’s limbs trembled uncontrollably. Even as a veteran soldier, he couldn't overcome his primal fear. His legs shook, and his hands struggled even to grip his gun.

  ‘Damn it... Get a grip, you coward!’

  Surge roughly pulled the revolver from his jacket with a shaking hand. Mina merely stared at him, but her gaze alone exerted immense pressure. Surge gritted his teeth and raised the muzzle.

  The muzzle pointed not at Mina, but into the empty air right next to his own right ear.

  BANG―!!

  A deafening roar tore through the gym’s air, assaulting his eardrums. The smell of gunpowder stung his nose, and a sharp ringing tinnitus erased all sound from the world.

  But thanks to that shock, bordering on self-harm, the chains of fear that had bound Surge were broken. His paralyzed thought process was forcibly rebooted.

  Surge tapped his dazed ear with his fist and slapped his numb cheek with his own hand.

  Smack-!

  “Haa... haa...”

  Looking at Mina with bloodshot eyes, there was no longer any fear in his gaze. Only the murderous spirit of a soldier determined to kill the enemy glinted in his eyes.

  making a last stand, he screamed at the top of his lungs.

  “Let’s end everything!!!”

  With Surge’s roar, his Pokémon charged with murderous intent.

  “Chu! Discharge! Rai, Drain Punch!”

  But Mina didn't even blink. She looked at the being squirming in her shadow—the one who trusted and loved her more than anyone else.

  “Chris! Transform!”

  Pink sparks flew wildly from its entire body, as if proving Chris’s warmth. The crystal lightning at the tip of its tail constantly broke and reattached with bizarre chi-ik-chizzt noises. It was a ‘bug’ itself, mocking the laws of physics, something only Mina could create.

  Ditto had transformed perfectly into Surge’s ace, Mega Raichu Y!

  Mina commanded coldly.

  “Chris! Discharge!”

  Ditto’s Transform copies even the opponent's stat changes with chilling perfection. In other words, the monstrous Special Attack from the ‘3 stacks of Nasty Plot’ that Surge had painstakingly built up returned as a blade aimed straight at him.

  KRR-OOOM-!

  The electricity bursting from Chris’s body was on a different dimension. Blue lightning, surpassing the speed of sound, tore through space and swallowed Rai and Chu.

  Hit directly by the lightning, ‘Rai’ couldn't even scream properly. The energy of Mega Evolution was forcibly canceled, and its charred body slammed into the ground.

  “Rai!”

  Surge’s face contorted in shock. But as a veteran, he made an immediate judgment. ‘Chu’ was still holding on.

  “Chu! Counter with Discharge!”

  But a twisted smile already hung on Mina’s lips. She was about to turn this situation, where the battlefield was filled with electricity, to her advantage.

  “Chris! Surf!”

  Surge doubted his ears. “Crazy... Surf?! You’re going to use water in this Electric Terrain? Your Pokémon will be electrocuted too!”

  “It doesn't matter!”

  As Chris swung his tail, a massive tsunami was summoned from thin air. It wasn't simple water. It was an ‘Electric Tsunami,’ flashing golden as it absorbed the high-voltage current from the ground. It was a disaster that burned and drowned everything indiscriminately.

  Surge turned pale. He had to block it to survive. ‘Grass Knot or Discharge can't stop that tsunami. Then... I’ll counter it with a wave of my own!’

  “Chu! We use Surf too! Break through it!”

  Just as the water spray squeezed out by Chu soared like a dragon, about to collide head-on with the massive golden wave Chris was bringing...

  The glitch rising in Mina’s eyes shone chillingly.

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  “Now. Chris, Dazzling Gleam!”

  It was perfect timing. Just before the waves clashed, a flash like a swallowed sun exploded from Chris’s body.

  Flash-!

  Chu’s vision, accustomed to the darkness, was instantly blinded white. The power controlling the wave released, and the disoriented Chu was exposed defenselessly in the air.

  And from behind that curtain of blinding light, the massive disaster Chris brought crashed down.

  KRR-ASHHHH-!!

  The tsunami, weighing dozens of tons and charged with electricity, directly hit the blinded Chu. Its scream was buried in the sound of water. As the massive wave swept through the gym, only silence remained.

  Where the water receded, Chu, with its Mega Evolution canceled, floated on the water, unconscious.

  Ash, the referee, slowly raised his trembling hand.

  “Rai, Chu... both are unable to battle. Therefore, the winner is... the Challenger, Mina!”

  As soon as Ash’s declaration ended, Mina collapsed to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut. It was the end of a hellish fight.

  “Finally.... Finally.... It’s over...”

  “Mina!”

  Ash’s shout echoed through the ruined gym. The two looked at each other, unable to say a word. No, emotions deeper than words were exchanged in their eyes. As if looking into each other’s torn hearts.

  “....”

  Without needing to say who moved first, they embraced each other tightly. The smell of blood, gunpowder, and sweat mixed together, but in that moment, it was the most comforting scent in the world.

  Eventually, Ash burst into tears, releasing the emotions he had suppressed.

  “You idiot! Hic... I thought you were dead! Why do you make me worry like this, seriously...!”

  Ash’s back trembled as he cried like a child. Mina gently patted his back. A faint current flowed from her fingertips, but Ash didn't pull away.

  Burying her face in Ash’s shoulder, Mina voiced the question she feared most. Her voice trembled thinly.

  “Ash Ketchum.... Can I ask you one thing?”

  She looked up at Ash. Her button-like eyes held a mix of joy, sadness, and deep self-loathing. She feared that Ash might be scared of the ‘monster’ she had just shown.

  “Do I... deserve to live as a human?”

  Wiping away his tears, Ash nodded vigorously without a single moment of hesitation.

  “Yeah... Yeah! Of course! You are a living person!”

  It was at that moment.

  Clap, clap, clap.

  Slow, heavy applause broke the silence. It was Surge. He looked around his gym, which had become a battlefield, and let out a hollow yet relieved chuckle. It was the face of a man admitting complete defeat.

  “....Congratulations, Rubbish Girl.”

  “Surge?”

  Surge sighed deeply and rummaged through his pocket. In his hand was the orange-glowing Thunder Badge. He tossed it weakly to Mina.

  “Take it. You won, Kiddo.”

  As Mina caught the badge in bewilderment, Surge took off his broken sunglasses and threw them on the floor. His exposed eyes were bloodshot, but there was no longer any murderous intent. Just the eyes of a weary soldier.

  “Using ridiculous rules, even shooting a gun next to my head in desperation... but in the end, I can't beat a monster.”

  Through the hole in the ceiling, the dark evening sky of Vermilion City was visible.

  “But remember. 'The Light' is always watching you who hide in the shadows. They don't attack simply and ignorantly like me. They are much more persistent... and vicious.”

  He turned his gaze to Mina.

  “Even so... are you going to continue this hellish war?”

  Mina gripped the badge in her hand tightly. The cold touch of metal awakened her senses. She held out her hand to Surge and answered with unwavering eyes.

  “My answer is always the same.”

  Surge looked at Mina’s hand and smirked. It wasn't a handshake full of strength, but a heavy grip acknowledging a kindred spirit.

  “I can't stop for the sake of my broken dream. Even if that dream... ends in tragedy.”

  Surge let go of her hand and spoke in a low voice, too exhausted to shout.

  “...Foolish kid. Yeah, maybe you can do it.”

  He jutted his chin toward his staggering subordinates.

  “Boys, clear the way. The guests are leaving.”

  The soldiers moved in perfect order, opening a path for Mina and Ash. Lined up, they looked like an honor guard welcoming a triumphant general.

  To the two young trainers, Surge offered a sharp salute, filled with respect.

  “Good Luck. Rubbish Girl and Baby Champ!”

  The soldiers’ thunderous salute echoed through the gym. Although the gym was half-destroyed and Surge’s reputation cracked, his expression wasn't that of someone who had lost.

  “Salute!”

  For Surge, this match wasn't just about the joy of discovering a great Newbie. Perhaps it was the fact that he had created a massive, indescribable “debt” in his life.

  Meanwhile, in the dark corridor of the gym basement. Mr. Sparkle was holding Private Chris, who had attempted to desert, by the neck with one hand, pinning him against the wall.

  “Private Chris. How dare you disobey my orders and try to run away like a rat.”

  Chris tried to struggle, but the grip tightening around his neck was superhuman. Mister Sparkle flicked Chris’s dog tags and sneered.

  “They say blood doesn't lie. You act just like your uncle... that 'reporter guy.' Both of you don't know your place and try to climb up.”

  At those words, Private Chris’s eyes changed.

  “Urgh... K-Kuk...! Don't insult... my uncle! This is... a choice I made!”

  That was when the presence at the gym’s main entrance disappeared. Ash and Mina had escaped safely. Losing interest, Mister Sparkle relaxed his grip and threw Chris to the floor.

  “Hoh... Surge, failed in the end?”

  Private Chris, coughing roughly as he inhaled the dust on the floor, looked up at Sparkle with bloodshot eyes. He was recalling the will his uncle left behind.

  “Cough! Cough...! They... can change... fate... It won't go... according to your plans...”

  “......”

  Mister Sparkle looked down silently at the insect crawling on the floor. A moment later, his shoulders began to shake, and then uncontrollable maniacal laughter burst out.

  “Puhahahaha! Bwahahahaha!”

  The laughter was so bizarre and sharp that it seemed the underground air and the earth itself vibrated in terror.

  “My, my. So thanks to me letting them go, fate has changed... Their 'Will' exceeded the Core’s will and my expectations... Interesting. Let's watch a little longer for now.”

  Sensing death, Private Chris squeezed out his last bit of courage instead of fear. He staggered up and threw a punch at Sparkle’s face.

  “Who are you doing this for?!!”

  Thud.

  Mr. Sparkle caught the incoming punch lightly with his palm without even looking.

  Zing-

  "Ugh...? Aaaaaagh!!"

  Starting from the fist touching Sparkle, intense 'Light' began to encroach upon Private Chris’s body. His body was being replaced by pure light energy, his existence being erased.

  Into the ear of the soldier oxidizing blindingly, Mister Sparkle whispered sweetly like a devil.

  “For Team Rocket.”

  Flash-!

  A blinding flash swept through the corridor. Where the light faded, neither Private Chris’s corpse, nor a trace, nor those upright eyes resembling his uncle remained. Only Mr. Sparkle shone alone in the darkness.