Right behind Luther came an official from the local Bounty Association. Whenever a large reward was involved, an official had to witness the task's completion, so the moment he heard Luther had accepted the job, he had hurried right over.
Luther paid no attention to the mansion's dazzlingly lavish interior. Nor did he have any interest in chatting with the pretty little girl in a white dress standing before him, her long black hair flowing down her back.
"Everyone's here. Can we begin?" Luther asked bluntly.
"You're certainly in a hurry." The girl circled him, studying him from every angle. "No one has accepted this job in two weeks. I thought nobody in Sunheart City wanted to play anymore. Judging by your tone... you seem very confident."
According to the limited information provided by the client, her name was Yayoi. Between the enormous mansion and its extravagant furnishings, it was obvious her family was extremely wealthy.
The first thing she had said upon seeing Luther was that she wanted to "watch a show," and now she was calling it a game. Apparently, hiring Pokémon Trainers to challenge her staff was simply how she entertained herself.
If Luther played along, she would probably enjoy herself even more, so he decided to remain silent and spoil her fun.
Sure enough, his lack of response left Yayoi visibly bored. She waved, and a smartly dressed middle-aged man who appeared to be a butler approached them.
"Uncle An, I'll leave it to you."
The butler nodded to Yayoi, then gestured for Luther to follow him into the rear courtyard.
A regulation-sized battlefield had been constructed there, complete with the same boundary markings used in official matches, a remarkably professional setup. Accompanied by her maids, Yayoi sat on a stone bench atop a raised platform beside the field, leisurely enjoying tea and snacks while looking down at the coming battle.
Once both competitors were in position, the Bounty Association official synchronized his stopwatch with one of Yayoi's maids. The two then took their places on opposite sides of the battlefield.
"The client's butler will send out his Pokémon first. The challenger is... Old Fruit Farmer."
Luther's chosen nickname made Yayoi spit out her tea.
The official continued, "The rules are as follows: the challenger must defeat six Pokémon within one minute. There are no restrictions on Pokémon or moves." After explaining the rules, he stepped aside, raised his hand, and swung it down.
Luther and the butler released their Pokémon at the same time: Azumarill versus Clefairy.
A faint smile appeared on Luther's face. He already understood the butler's strategy.
"Clefairy, use Minimize!"
At the command, Clefairy's body shrank until it became incredibly tiny. Just as Luther expected, since he had to defeat six Pokémon within one minute, his opponent had no reason to attack or directly obstruct him. Their entire strategy would revolve around wasting time.
"Blizzard."
Pale blue light flashed. At the butler's command, the tiny Clefairy had only just begun moving when a bone-chilling cold seized its feet and spread across its entire body. Despite the blazing summer heat, Yayoi felt as though winter had arrived as she sat drinking tea above the field.
The entire battlefield froze over, with Clefairy trapped in the ice. Still posed halfway through turning to flee, it had become an ice sculpture.
The official hadn't expected the battle to unfold like this. His hand trembled, and it took him two full seconds to stop the clock. Yayoi's maid reacted the same way.
According to their stopwatches, Luther had needed only five seconds. Most of that had been spent on Blizzard's brief windup and Clefairy's opening move.
Luther had timed it himself as well. When he saw the result, he clicked his tongue. Azumarill had done little besides eat and play since arriving on the island, and it seemed her battle skills had grown rusty.
Luther wasn't satisfied with either the move's power or how long it had taken her to launch it.
Standing close enough to notice his reaction, the official stared at him as if he had seen a ghost. What was wrong with this man? His Pokémon had won in one hit, and he still wasn't satisfied?
Yayoi's maids carried Clefairy away, and a professional Pokémon doctor immediately began treating it. Yayoi had clearly prepared for every possibility.
The butler sent out his second Pokémon, the Ghost-type Drifblim. Drifblim was fairly durable, was he planning to use Protect or some disruptive move to waste more time?
"Tailwind."
Drifblim swayed in midair as an invisible wind swept across the battlefield. Its body grew lighter, allowing it to move swiftly through the air.
Azumarill's Aqua Tail came down like a war hammer. It struck the erratically moving Drifblim with perfect accuracy and sent it flying out of the field before it could waste even a second.
"What are you doing?" Yayoi sprang to her feet and leaned over the railing. "Pay attention, Uncle An! You've already lost two Pokémon!"
Uncle An turned and bowed apologetically to her. When he faced Luther again, however, his expression was extremely grave.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
Clefairy's defeat could be blamed on Blizzard's freezing effect activating at exactly the wrong moment, preventing it from escaping. But Drifblim had been trained specifically for endurance, there was no way it should have fallen to a single attack. Had Aqua Tail landed a critical hit?
It didn't matter. Tailwind was already in effect.
The moment Ninjask appeared on the field, Luther smiled. Another prediction confirmed.
Clefairy was supposed to waste time with Minimize. Drifblim would set up Tailwind and rely on its durability to hold out for a while. If the challenger somehow got past both of them, they would then have to deal with a Ninjask boosted by Tailwind, Speed Boost, and Double Team.
That combination had probably crushed most Trainers who came hoping to claim the bounty.
After using Double Team, Ninjask seemed to become a ghost. It vanished with a single burst of movement, making its path impossible to follow.
The official had already watched plenty of challengers lose to this tactic. It was an infuriating strategy, but anyone who accepted the challenge should have been prepared for something like this.
"Use Hail above the battlefield, then follow it with Blizzard."
After summoning the hail, Azumarill looked up and unleashed a tremendously powerful Blizzard into the air, completely ignoring the Ninjask darting wildly around the field.
The butler had no idea what Luther was trying to accomplish. Ninjask could easily dodge the falling hail; with its speed and exceptional motion vision, avoiding each piece would be effortless. Did Luther not understand that?
It didn't matter. The butler only needed to run out the clock to win, so he ordered Ninjask to use Agility and increase its speed even further.
"Is he another Trainer who's simply given up?" Yayoi muttered, losing interest.
The seconds ticked by.
When only thirty seconds remained, the shivering Bounty Association official was the first to notice something was wrong. The cold permeating the air had begun to stiffen his hands and feet.
Meanwhile, Ninjask, previously so fast that even its shadow was impossible to track, was gradually slowing down. Frost had formed across its wings, making every wingbeat a struggle.
Azumarill didn't even wait for Luther's command. The instant Ninjask began losing altitude, she lunged forward and smashed an Ice Punch into its head.
The overwhelming force launched Ninjask like a cannonball. It tore through the metal railing around the battlefield and went flying out of sight.
(End of Chapter)
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