The two, silent along the way, soon stopped on an open patch of land.
"Come out, Machoke!"
The foreman wasted no time and summoned his only Pokémon still capable of fighting.
"Machoke!"
A flash of red light appeared, and a muscular, gray-blue humanoid Pokémon about 1.5 meters tall landed in front of Icarus.
"Alright! Send out your Victreebel!"
Seeing Machoke in peak condition, the foreman nodded confidently, clearly pleased with himself. Even if his strength had declined, as long as Machoke still had its muscles, it was more than capable of both fighting and labor.
"Heh… who said I'm using Victreebel?"
"Come out, Pidgeotto!"
Icarus sneered and released Pidgeotto instead.
"Pidgeotto!"
The bird Pokémon soared into the air, eyes sharp with excitement.
Finally—a real battle against another trainer. This time, it wouldn't lose!
The foreman's expression darkened.
"Damn… where did that idiot find a brother this strong? Two Pokémon at the normal level at this age…"
He already knew—this fight was basically lost. At best, he could try not to lose too badly.
"Machoke, focus energy!"
"Machoke!"
A white aura gathered around its body as it prepared itself.
"Pidgeotto, use Whirlwind—control it first!"
Seeing Machoke standing still, Icarus immediately gave the optimal command.
"Whoooosh—!"
Pidgeotto flapped its wings, summoning several small tornadoes that quickly converged on Machoke.
"Machoke, get out of there!"
The foreman shouted anxiously.
"Machoke—!"
But it was too late.
One of the tornadoes caught Machoke instantly, dragging it into the swirling wind.
"…He really hasn't trained much. Those reactions are way too slow."
"Pidgeotto, combine them—make a large tornado and send it into the sky!"
"Pidgeotto!"
With another powerful beat of its wings, the smaller tornadoes merged into a massive vortex.
"WHOOOOSH!"
"Machoke—!"
The giant tornado lifted Machoke off the ground. Inside, it felt like countless blades were slicing across its body.
"BAM!"
At last, the tornado dissipated, and Machoke crashed heavily onto the ground, covered in cuts.
"Machoke! Get up! We haven't lost yet!"
The foreman's eyes showed a trace of pain—but he couldn't back down now. Losing in one move would be humiliating.
"Machoke…"
It struggled, pushing against the ground, trying to stand.
"Still not giving up?"
"Pidgeotto, finish it. Don't let it get up."
Icarus had no intention of waiting for a comeback.
"Pidgeotto!"
A powerful gust of wind surged forward.
"WHOOOOSH—!"
"Machoke…"
With one final blow, Machoke collapsed completely, unable to continue fighting.
---
The surrounding workers erupted in shock.
"Damn! The foreman lost just like that?"
"Didn't even put up a fight!"
"Stone really found himself a powerful backer!"
Some of them immediately turned toward Stone, their expressions changing.
"This kid's gonna rise now…"
"Stone! Don't forget me! I taught you how to mix cement!"
"Yeah! I even bought you water before!"
Others quickly lowered their voices.
"Hey, keep it down. The boss can hear you."
"Right, right—he only lost because of type disadvantage!"
"Yeah, and that flying Pokémon… too hard to deal with!"
The foreman's expression eased slightly upon hearing that.
He recalled Machoke and spoke loudly:
"Hmph. You just won because of type advantage and flying. Don't get cocky!"
"But I keep my word. From now on, that kid is none of our concern."
"Let's go!"
With that, he turned and left with his workers.
---
"Heh… works for me."
"Come back, Pidgeotto—"
Just as Icarus was about to recall it—
"Pidgeotto! Pidgeotto!!"
It cried out loudly, its voice filled with emotion.
I won! I finally won!
I'm not useless anymore! I helped Icarus win a trainer battle!
A dense layer of energy suddenly erupted around its body.
"…It's breaking through!"
"I knew it—this battle was the trigger."
"Pidgeotto, eat these!"
Icarus quickly tossed out Flying-type energy cubes, which Victreebel delivered using its vines.
"Pidgeotto—!"
After swallowing a few, the energy surrounding it flared brightly—then rapidly condensed back into its body.
Breakthrough complete.
It had officially reached the mid-level Normal rank.
"Congratulations, Pidgeotto."
Icarus smiled as he returned it to its Poké Ball.
The ball shook twice in response—full of excitement.
---
This wasn't just a physical breakthrough.
It was mental.
The inferiority, the frustration from being ignored in past battles—it had finally let all of that go.
This victory proved something to it:
It wasn't a burden. It was a fighter.
---
Icarus turned to Stone, patting his shoulder.
"So? You saw that, right?"
"I'm strong now. And if you follow me, you can become just as strong."
"We'll grow together."
Stone looked at him, his lips trembling slightly before forming a clumsy smile.
"…Yeah."
Under the moonlight, their shadows stretched long across the ground.
-------------Author---------------
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