Carl put away his phone, stood up, and patted Evan on the shoulder, smiling as he said, "It's all for your own good."
Evan forced a stiff smile in return. "Thanks a lot!"
"You're welcome," Carl replied, waving his hand without looking back. "I'm off to grab a shower and then head to the gym for a battle. Feel free to get a seat if you want to watch."
Watch a match? Evan mentally rolled his eyes. But then a thought struck him, and suddenly he was intrigued.
"This is Carl's tenth challenge match. Once it's done, Serena will realize she's been bamboozled. That'll be quite a show!" With a newfound sense of excitement, he decided, "I have to be there to watch!"
Meanwhile, Carl was oblivious to Evan's scheming as he made his way back to his bedroom. But as soon as he opened the door, he noticed something was off—the bed was a mess, and pillows were scattered on the floor.
"Did someone break in?"
He cautiously activated his psychic abilities, inching closer. Upon spotting a large wet patch on the sheets, he stopped in his tracks.
"Who's the prankster? So childish!"
Carl quickly zeroed in on the culprit. "It has to be Sabrina. Just wait until I get my hands on her."
As he cleaned up the sheets, a faint, pleasant fragrance lingered in the air.
"Smells nice... but this isn't over!" he muttered to himself, stuffing the sheets into the washing machine and locking the door behind him.
As he walked towards his wardrobe to grab fresh clothes and clean sheets, he began to undress, unaware that the wardrobe door was slowly closing.
"Uh-oh!"
In the dark confines of the wardrobe, a pair of startled red eyes peeked out from behind a few shirts. Sabrina was curled up, her usually composed face now tinged with panic. If Carl opened the wardrobe now, she'd be completely exposed.
He had just mentioned punishing the prankster. Would he be harsh on her?
Normally, she could use her psychic powers to resist or teleport away. But the recent prank of drenching Carl's bed had drained her energy, leaving her weak and unable to control her powers.
Using them forcefully could be damaging, but she saw no other choice.
Seconds ticked by, each one stretching into what felt like an eternity.
"Creak—"
The wardrobe door opened slightly.
Sabrina clenched her fists, ready to muster up her psychic energy.
"Carl, Carl!"
Serena's voice suddenly called from outside the door.
"Serena?" Carl retracted his hand, turning towards the bedroom door.
"What's up?" He peered out, not daring to open the door fully. Despite his confidence in his physique, he didn't want to risk being called a pervert if Serena saw him half-dressed. Women, he mused, always seemed to feel shortchanged whether they saw or didn't see.
But Sabrina was an exception. She wouldn't care about such things.
"Carl, Sabrina's gone missing!" Serena's voice was filled with urgency.
"Missing? She's probably in her room," Carl replied nonchalantly. "She can teleport, so she might have gone out for a bit. No need to worry."
"It's not that... um..." Serena hesitated, clearly wanting to say more.
Seeing her hesitation, Carl realized it was something serious. "Don't keep me in the dark; what's really going on?"
Surely, Sabrina hadn't been harmed by his antics, had she? That would be a shame.
"Actually..."
After a moment of indecision, Serena finally relayed what she and Lillie had seen.
After Carl's explanation, he couldn't help but shrug it off. Wet clothes and torn stockings on the bed? Hardly anything to fret over.
In his view, Sabrina had probably come to pull a prank, only to end up embarrassing herself. Since she wasn't in the room, she'd likely gone to relax in the hot springs. If he could teleport, he'd have joined her rather than rushing back to rest.
"Don't worry, head over to the hot springs with Lillie. You'll likely find her there," Carl reassured with confidence.
"Hot springs?"
"Can you really expect someone who can teleport to think like the rest of us?"
Oh! Serena had a moment of realization. The next step after undressing was, of course, a bath. How had she and Lillie overlooked that?
"I'll go find her at the hot springs," Serena said, quickly leaving.
Watching her hurried departure, Carl chuckled as he closed the door. "That girl is too naive, doesn't even realize when she's being tricked."
Carl walked over to the wardrobe and suddenly let out a roar, "What the heck! Even my wardrobe wasn't spared! Sabrina, you prankster, this isn't over!"
After showering, Carl stormed over to Sabrina's door, resolute in his decision. Even if he had to use his special abilities, he was going to give Sabrina a lesson she wouldn't forget.
Standing at her door, he didn't look pleased.
Lillie was busy cleaning the wet sheets when she looked up to see his expression. "What's wrong?"
"Where's Sabrina?" Carl asked, not sounding friendly.
"Serena said she's at the hot springs," Lillie replied.
Figures, she picked the perfect spot. Carl rolled his eyes. He couldn't possibly chase her down there; that'd be absurd.
Lillie blinked, tentatively asking, "Did Sabrina upset you?"
"She pulled some stunts in my room," Carl brushed off the incident lightly before asking, "What about those sheets?"
"Sabrina did it, there's water everywhere," Lillie showed him the sheets, "It's like she was sweating a lot, but this spot is extra wet. How odd, right?"
Carl stared at the sheets, then at the clothes nearby, and an odd thought crossed his mind.
Could it be… he mused inwardly.
Could a few playful words have such an impact? Even food doesn't have that effect. Maybe Sabrina is particularly sensitive to such things?
At that thought, Carl's annoyance faded, finding the situation rather amusing.
If his speculation was true, he couldn't entirely blame Sabrina. Perhaps it was his own charm to fault?
As he indulged in his musings, Lillie finished folding the sheets, casually remarking, "If we can't figure it out, we can just ask Sabrina after her bath."
No! Don't ask! Carl swiftly interjected.
"Why not?" Lillie looked puzzled.
"Well... you're still young, and you wouldn't understand," Carl said seriously, "Just know, asking would turn you into a doll."
"Really?" Lillie was startled.
"Absolutely," Carl nodded convincingly.
"Okay, then I won't ask."
"Good girl, you handle the cleanup here. I'll be downstairs waiting for you all; we still have the gym match later."
"Sure thing, Carl!" Lillie agreed happily. She loved watching Carl command his Pokémon in battles.
After tidying up, Lillie glanced at the sheets in the washing machine, murmuring, "What's this mystery that I have to grow up to understand? I'm so curious... Maybe I should ask Serena?"
Meanwhile, Serena, turned into a doll by Sabrina, was silently crying: Help! Curiosity killed the cat!
Half an hour later, at the Summit Gym's viewing seats.
"Serena, Sabrina, you're here!" Lillie turned to greet them.
"Lillie..." Serena replied weakly.
"Mm," Sabrina nodded coolly, scanning the surroundings.
"What happened to you, Serena?" Lillie asked, curious.
"Nothing... really," Serena forced a smile, "Just remember, a girl shouldn't be too curious."
Lillie was perplexed: Why is everyone saying that? Are they targeting me?
Feeling defiant, she decided to challenge the notion and directly asked Sabrina, "Why did you guys take so long?"
Next to her, Serena shivered at the memory of her ordeal.
The experience of being turned into a doll was unbearable, even if it lasted only half a minute. She never wanted to endure that helplessness again.
"Soaking in hot springs is good for the skin," Sabrina flatly lied.
This wasn't about skincare, but recovering strength. The earlier incident in Carl's room had drained her significantly, especially after Serena left. Her remark had suddenly triggered Sabrina's psychic ability, teleporting her to the hot springs. But these details couldn't be shared.
They're definitely picking on me! Lillie felt a bit dejected, suspecting they were teasing her for being younger. But her spirits quickly lifted, as the match was about to begin.
"Go, Blaziken!" Carl was the first to send out his Pokémon.
The same old Blaziken. Challenger Ethan adjusted his glasses. Was it a lack of options or sheer confidence? He released his Pokémon, and in a flash of red light, a Trevenant with blood-red eyes appeared on the field.
This Trevenant was clearly focused on its ghostly traits. Carl immediately became wary. "Looks like I need to watch out for guerrilla tactics."
"Root!" Ethan commanded. Trevenant's roots quickly dug into the ground, absorbing nutrients to replenish its energy.
"Planning a long game?" Carl thought to himself, "I have the type advantage, but to avoid a Destiny Bond, I need to end this quickly."
Carl responded swiftly, decisively instructing, "Boost your stats!"
Blaziken immediately focused, enhancing its own abilities.
Ethan adjusted his glasses again, calmly ordering, "Power surge!"
Trevenant also began accumulating strength.
Carl frowned slightly but chose to continue the boost. "Boost again!"
Ethan's lips curled into a subtle, almost imperceptible smile as he suddenly switched tactics: "Phantom raid!"
Trevenant darted towards Blaziken like a specter.
"Flame Kick!" Carl countered immediately.
The empowered Blaziken was a force to be reckoned with, leaping into the air with its fiery right leg aimed at the opponent.
The distance between the two closed rapidly, with Blaziken seemingly holding the upper hand. But suddenly, Carl realized something, his expression shifting dramatically.
"Could he be planning to..."
"Take it down with you!" Ethan's voice boomed across the arena.
The audience erupted in chaos.
Trevenant suddenly halted, its body glowing with an eerie light. Blaziken's kick was unstoppable, striking Trevenant hard as it became engulfed in ghostly energy.
Boom!
With a tremendous impact, Trevenant was sent flying, engulfed in flames, completely knocked out. Meanwhile, Blaziken was affected by the mysterious power, slowly collapsing.
The battle concluded in a draw.
Sabrina's eyes turned icy cold. "Such a disgusting tactic."
Serena and Lillie shuddered. They were certain that if Ethan stood before Sabrina now, he'd be turned into a doll.
Carl pocketed the Pokéball, a smile on his lips though his eyes were even colder than Sabrina's.
"I've encountered ice assassins before, and now I've met a Pokémon assassin. How interesting."
The term Pokémon assassin referred to trainers who used self-destructive strategies to take down an opponent's main Pokémon. Such tactics were especially common in rookie gym battles.
Gym match rules allowed challengers to choose the number of battles. If a challenger had four professional-level Pokémon and the gym leader wasn't as strong, it was easy to fall into a war of attrition.
But Pokémon assassins were even worse. They meticulously planned, using sacrificial tactics to eliminate the opponent's main Pokémon, then crushed the remaining team with professional-level creatures. While within the rules, this approach was despicable.
"That's too much!"
"It's against the spirit of being a trainer!"
"You can't treat Pokémon as mere weapons!"
Hearing Sabrina's explanation, Lillie and Serena were indignant. Ethan had never intended to fight fair, instead setting a trap to take down Blaziken with Trevenant.
Carl's move to boost Blaziken's attack twice had played right into Ethan's hands. The growth move was just bait; the true aim was to make Destiny Bond succeed.
"Don't get too worked up."
Evan's voice suddenly interjected, catching the attention of the three girls.
Seeing Sabrina raise a finger, he quickly added, "I know Carl well. He'll definitely give it back double. Just wait and watch him shine."
"Really?" Lillie and Serena immediately turned their gaze back to the field.
Seeing Sabrina lower her hand, Evan breathed a sigh of relief, silently reminding himself to be more concise in the future.
The audience was abuzz with chatter.
"Did I miss something?"
"What happened?"
"I just kissed my girlfriend, and the match ended."
"Stop showing off!"
"Destiny Bond? But that Trevenant was in great shape, why would Ethan do that?"
"Maybe he thought he couldn't beat Carl, so he settled for a draw?"
"Guess we'll see Carl's second Pokémon now?"
"Anyone know what else he's got?"
"No idea, but it'll be interesting to see."
The swift end to the match left spectators speculating about Ethan's intentions, while many were eager to see which Pokémon Carl would bring out next.
These murmurs didn't escape Carl's notice. "You think my second Pokémon isn't professional level, planning to trade with Blaziken and then crush me with a water-type?"
Carl looked calmly out at the field, unfazed by Blaziken's drawn battle.
Ethan smirked internally: Keep up the act, let's see how you handle this. He withdrew Trevenant and sent out his second Pokémon—Gourgeist.
[Species: Gourgeist (Male)]
[Type: Water/Ghost]
[Ability: Water Absorb (immunity to water-type moves, recovers HP)]
[Strength: Elite Level (47)]
[Moves: Melt, Water Gun, Poison Sting, Night Shade, Water Pulse, Rain Dance, Brine, Shadow Ball, Hydro Pump]
"Gourgeist, Rain Dance!" Ethan was quick to command.
Clouds gathered swiftly, releasing a downpour. He feigned politeness, "Carl, aren't you going to send out your Infernape?" Implying: Stop stalling, I know your ace, just give up.
Carl chuckled, "Infernape is at home learning new moves, it's unavailable today."
Ethan's face froze—his plan had gone awry. He challenged Carl specifically for publicity, having confirmed that Carl's second Pokémon was Infernape and not yet at professional level. For extra assurance, he'd had a friend test the waters first.
The outcome was unexpected. Carl's MEGA Blaziken had defeated two opponents in a row, but it also revealed that he didn't have many Pokémon at his disposal. Normally, MEGA evolution should be saved as a last resort tactic.