Aaron's lips twitched. He shot Yuri a look.
"That's a Talonflame. Solid potential. Catch it."
Yuri stared at the charred bird on the ground, then did a double take.
"What!?"
"You're telling me that is a Talonflame!?"
He pointed at the blackened, unmoving body, disbelief all over his face.
"Quit whining. Take it or leave it."
"Alright… I trust you!"
Yuri pulled out a Poké Ball and caught it.
Then he grabbed a healing spray and used it on the Talonflame.
The burnt body started to recover.
Within moments, the blackened feathers cleared, revealing its original form—a proud Talonflame, sharp and imposing in the air.
If it knew its new Trainer was this fishball-faced guy…
"Kreee!"
It called out to Yuri in greeting.
"Hahaha—hey, Talonflame. Welcome to the Fishball family."
Yuri grinned, clearly thrilled.
Talonflame gave a small nod.
"Well? See? Told you I wouldn't mess with you. Not bad, right?"
Aaron drifted over on Gyarados, stopping nearby.
"Kreee!"
The moment it saw Gyarados, Talonflame stiffened and cried out sharply.
Way too strong. Terrifying. One hit was all it took.
Why did I even provoke it? That was just asking for trouble.
It almost wanted to smack itself.
"Relax. You're on the same side now, alright?"
Yuri tried to reassure it.
Talonflame nodded quickly. Honestly… having something that strong on your side wasn't so bad.
Just then, Aaron's trainer-watch buzzed with a video call. He paused and checked the caller ID.
Brutus.
They'd exchanged contact info back at the Tidecrest.
He accepted immediately. A virtual screen appeared in front of him, Brutus's rugged, stubble-covered face filling the display as he broke into a wide grin.
"Aaron, where are you right now?"
"Almost at Sealine."
"I need to talk to you."
Aaron paused.
He needs me? For what?
"Send me your location. I'll come to you."
He shared it right away.
"Got it. I'll be there soon. Wait for me."
Brutus glanced at the location, saw it was nearby, and ended the call.
Straight to the point—just like a Fighting Champion.
"Aaron… did I see that right? Or did I hear it wrong?"
"You just called him Brutus!? Holy shit…"
"Don't tell me that was the Fighting Champion, Brutus!?"
Yuri stared at him, stunned.
"You saw right. You heard right. It's Brutus," Aaron said.
"You… how do you even know him? And you've got his contact!?"
Yuri just stared, mouth hanging open.
A sudden gust of wind swept through the area. A deep blue figure dropped from above—Heracross.
A muscular man jumped down from its back.
BOOM.
He hit the ground hard, dust blasting outward.
The figure stepped out of the cloud—a burly man with a buzz cut.
Brutus. The Fighting Champion.
"Aaron—haha, long time no see."
He walked over and slapped Aaron on the shoulder, laughing.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
Aaron's lips twitched.
An ordinary person would've been knocked out by now. Luckily, his body had been strengthened—otherwise he wouldn't have lasted through Brutus's "shoulder pats."
"Brutus… long time no see."
"What did you need me for? You even came out here yourself."
"Heh. Got some big news for you."
Brutus grinned.
"Big news?"
Aaron raised a brow.
"Yeah."
Brutus glanced at Yuri, who was still standing nearby, practically buzzing with excitement.
"Sorry about this."
Thud.
One clean chop to the neck, and Yuri dropped.
"You… son of a—"
His eyes went wide, then everything went black.
...