"M-Max, huh? What's up?"
Seeing the strange expression on the young man's face, Max instinctively shrank back a little.
"You mean the son of Norman, the Petalburg Gym Leader in Hoenn? That Max?"
Kashiwagi scrutinized the boy's face. Once a 2D drawing is translated into a 3D reality, some famous faces can be a bit tricky to recognize.
Max was also surprised that Kashiwagi had linked his name to his background so quickly. After a quick guess, he asked, "Big brother, have you challenged the Petalburg Gym before?"
"No, I'm planning to head to the Hoenn Region to challenge the Gyms there, so I did my homework online beforehand. That's how I knew your name."
Kashiwagi shook his head, offering a casual excuse. "I'm Kashiwagi. You can just call me by my name."
In the anime, Norman, the Petalburg Gym Leader, had a daughter and a son: May and Max. Max had traveled with Ash and Brock through Hoenn and Kanto and had witnessed his fair share of Legendary Pokémon.
If you'd watched the show, it was basically impossible not to know him.
It looked like as Ash moved on to other regions, Max had finally hit age ten and earned the right to start his own journey. Good grief, people actually age here unlike crap logic of anime!
"I see!"
Max didn't suspect a thing. His father and sister were both quite famous—one was considered a strong contender for the next Hoenn Elite Four, and the other was known as the "Princess of Hoenn," a top-tier Coordinator in the making.
Since the surrounding area was too noisy, the two found a quiet spot to chat.
Through their conversation, Kashiwagi learned that this was Max's first journey and his goal was the Unova Region, which they would reach in a week.
"You're not choosing Hoenn?"
"I want to gain more experience before I go back to challenge the Hoenn Gyms. Plus, I'm really curious about the unique Pokémon in Unova..."
Max scratched his head sheepishly.
Kashiwagi understood his reasoning. Max was likely afraid of not getting a good result at the Ever Grande Conference and embarrassing his father and sister. When your family members are that outstanding, being "ordinary" can lead to a lot of self-doubt.
Upon hearing that Kashiwagi was from the Orre Region and was also on his first journey—aiming for the Hoenn Gyms—Max's eyes lit up. He felt like he'd found a kindred spirit and began non-stop describing the specialties of Hoenn.
This kid was definitely the type to trust people too easily; he told Kashiwagi everything.
They chatted for over half an hour.
Then, out of nowhere, Max suddenly said, "Why don't we have a Pokémon battle!"
"...Sure."
Kashiwagi wasn't sure how the conversation had detoured there, but he agreed nonetheless. After all, he had come to the Battle Arena to fight.
Battling Max was as good as anything else.
The two walked out and waited about fifteen minutes before snagging an open battlefield.
The field was an open-air style, fifteen meters long and eight meters wide—not particularly large. Looking up, you could see the brilliant blue sky. There seemed to be no visible protective measures around the perimeter, and spectators were packed tightly around the edge.
In reality, there was an invisible defensive screen to ensure that all destruction caused by the Pokémon stayed within the bounds of the field.
"What battle style do you prefer, Kashiwagi? Single? Double? One-on-one, three-on-three, or a full six-on-six?" Max's voice called out from across the way.
"I only have four Pokémon with me right now."
Kashiwagi had decided the environment here was a debuff for Steelix, so he'd excluded it entirely.
"In that case... how about a one-on-one first?"
"Fine by me."
With the decision made, the professional referee looked at them and raised his flags. Once both had a Poké Ball in hand, he blew the whistle.
Tweet!
Both threw their Poké Balls forward simultaneously.
Pop! Pop!
White light flashed.
"AGGRON!!"
A soul-shaking roar rang out first. Aggron swung its barrel-thick tail, looking down indifferently at the petite, girl-like Kirlia across from it.
"Kir-lia~"
Kirlia let out a soft cry.
Seeing the impossibly massive Aggron, Max's eyes sparkled with awe. "What a huge Aggron! Kashiwagi, you—"
"Flash Cannon!"
Kashiwagi didn't waste time chatting; he launched an immediate attack.
Aggron opened its massive maw, and a cluster of silver light rapidly gathered, transforming into a thick beam that blasted forward. The brilliant shine was enough to make the sunlight seem dim!
BOOM!!
"Dodge it, quick!"
Max shouted. Kirlia immediately twisted its body as if dancing, dodging the Flash Cannon by a hair's breadth. The beam struck the purple barrier that suddenly shimmered into existence.
"Use Confusion!"
"Kir-lia!"
Kirlia raised its small hands, but just as it was about to pour its psychic energy forward, it saw that Aggron had already taken heavy strides. With a thunderous thud-thud-thud, it was already in front of Kirlia, spinning its massive body!
"Iron Tail."
Whoosh!
The wind howled!
A tail shimmering with silver light, like a giant morning star, slammed directly into Kirlia!
BAM!
The overwhelming force sent Kirlia flying horizontally, where it crashed hard against the massive purple light screen.
Then...
Kirlia's eyes turned into swirls.
Tweet! The referee blew the whistle. "Kirlia is unable to battle! Aggron wins!"
The crowd of onlookers erupted.
"So strong!"
"A one-hit KO!"
"Well, that was because of the type advantage."
"Roar... Roar?"
Aggron wanted to let out a triumphant roar, but looking at its opponent, it suddenly felt bored. Was there really anything to be proud of in bullying a little kid?
It didn't even bother roaring.
Max ran to Kirlia's side. Seeing it wasn't seriously hurt and had simply fainted from the impact, he let out a sigh of relief.
He adjusted his glasses and looked at Aggron and Kashiwagi in amazement.
"T-That was incredible."
"You need to fix that habit of not giving orders as soon as the match starts. You're taking your opponents too lightly," Kashiwagi said, not acknowledging the praise.
"Hehehe, sorry about that."
Max knew his performance had been a bit subpar and scratched his head in embarrassment.
Kashiwagi pulled him up from the ground, only to see someone else already standing in his original spot on the field.
"Come on! Let's battle!"
The newcomer looked at Aggron and Kashiwagi with burning eyes, clutching a Poké Ball with impatient excitement.
Seeing this, Max quickly retreated into the crowd, instantly switching from "battler" to "spectator."
"Good luck, Kashiwagi! I'm rooting for you!"
This brat...
Kashiwagi stood back in his spot helplessly and recalled Aggron.
"One-on-one?"
"One-on-one!" the person nodded vigorously.
The referee went through the usual motions. Once both sides were ready, he blew the whistle. Tweet!
Pop! Pop!
Two Poké Balls opened!