章 27: Mission Completed

Although he didn't like Gary's character, he had to admit that Gary performed quite well as a new trainer. In his opinion, Gary is much better than Ash in terms of being a trainer. But Gary, who had just set off for his journey, is naive and hasn't experienced any setbacks yet.

Furthermore, he doesn't have any bad intentions in his mind. Hisoka can also see that Gary loves Pokemon like his grandfather does through his decision to become a Pokemon researcher later. He is just an annoying little kid now.

Gary didn't want to give his opponent any chance to breathe, so he waved his hand and said, "Scyther, use Fury Cutter!"

"Scyther!"

Scyther's wing fluttered as it flew across the water toward Sneasel. It crossed his scythes and opened them up as they glowed light green.

"Sneasel, dive into the water," Hisoka ordered.

Sneasel isn't a Water-type Pokemon, but that doesn't mean she can't swim. Then, Sneasel leaned her body backward as she fell into the pool, dodging the Scyther's slash.

As a result, the flat board was cut into several pieces as Scyther missed its attack. A good trainer must take full advantage of their surroundings to use them to their advantage. It is also an important skill for a bounty hunter to learn. Otherwise, they'll have a hard time completing their task.

Bug-type Pokemon are not afraid of water. They just hate it. Scyther can only rely on its two pairs of wings to hover around the water surface. It didn't dare to enter the water like Sneasel because it couldn't swim. Once its wings are soaked in water, then they will only become useless.

"Tch! Do you only know how to hide?" Gary said, irritated by the current stalemate. He knows that Scyther couldn't fly in the air for a long time like a bird Pokemon. Moreover, moving the wings on its back consumes a lot of energy. If this continues, the opponent doesn't even need to make a move. They just need to wait for Scyther to get tired.

Hisoka said in response to Gary's goading, "You are too impatient. On top of that, you are only focused on winning. There's more to a battle than just winning."

Hisoka gave some advice to the young Gary. Besides, a Gym Leader was obliged to provide guidance to the new trainer.

"But you're cheating!" Gary shouted.

"Alright, since you asked for it," Hisoka shrugged his shoulders.

"Sneasel, drag it into the water!"

"Sneasel!"

Scyther suddenly felt something coming from below, but before he could move away, Sneasel, who had been hiding inside the pool, rushed out from the water right underneath it.

She then grabbed Scyther's leg using its two claws and pulled it down, dragging the Scyther down with her into the pool.

Scyther began to struggle fiercely as soon as it fell into the water. Its thin paper-like wings were soaking wet, making it unable to fly itself away.

Meanwhile, Sneasel kept its hold on Scyther's legs as she swam towards the bottom of the pool. Finally, Scyther gradually sank into the water amidst Gary's desperate shouting.

…

"Spearow is unable to battle!" The referee raised a red-colored flag and pointed it to Gary, who was standing in the corner dejectedly.

(AN: Time skip. Gary's third Pokemon is Spearow.)

"The winner is Hisoka from Cerulean Gym!" he announced.

Gary's second Gym Challenge ended in defeat, totally crushed by the more experienced Hisoka. This defeat is quite a blow to the 12-year-old kid.

"Did I go overboard?" Hisoka wiped his hair with a dry towel while looking at the spiky-haired boy slowly walking out of the Gym. Every so often, the five cheerleaders sobbed as they followed after Gary's figure.

"Oh well. He'll get over it soon enough," Hisoka shrugged his shoulder.

He then walked out of the Gym with Kirlia and Sneasel in tow. He was going to meet the Sensational Sisters at the city center to get his paycheck.

"I finally completed the mission," he smiled as he enjoyed the setting sun on the horizon as they cast an evening glow on the scenery.

…

"Yeah! We would no longer be known as the weakest Gym in the Kanto region."

The most lively of the three sisters, Lily held a glass of wine and said, "Hisoka, let's toast! All this couldn't happen without your help."

"And we heard something interesting at the Pokemon Center today," she laughed.

"What did you hear?" Hisoka curiously asked as he toasted her glass.

"Those new trainers said that the Gym ranking on the website is totally wrong. There's a rumor going on that there was no one could pass the Cerulean Gym Challenge in the past three days. It looks like they are starting to recognize our Gym's strength." she replied proudly.

"..."

Wasn't it him that won those fights? Why did it look like it was you who won? Moreover, wouldn't you still be the weakest Gym in Kanto after I leave?

Hisoka was stunned after seeing Lily's proud look.

During this time, Daisy came over to their table with a smile while holding three stacks of cash and a blue CD.

"This is your reward for completing the mission successfully," Daisy placed the rewards in front of Hisoka.

Then, Hisoka started to count the money as the three sisters sat around the table while waiting for Hisoka to finish. He soon found that the number count was wrong and asked with a curious tone, "Didn't you say it was 9,000 dollars for three days? There are 15,000 dollars here."

"That's your bonus."

"Huh?" Hisoka turned his head to Violet.

Violet then explained, "You performed pretty well as the acting Gym Leader during the past three days. A lot of trainers ventured away from the Cerulean Gym after hearing the rumors. Plus, this money is nothing to us. Our water ballet show alone made us a lot of money. So, you don't have to worry about anything."

Hisoka had almost forgotten that the three sisters were wealthy women. They received a lot of money every year from the Alliance and Cerulean City Council. Besides, their own water show was also a huge source of income for the three of them.

He finally accepted the extra bonus with a thankful nod. Although he didn't take the mission solely for the money, it was still nice to get some extra cash from the three sisters. With this extra cash, he can take a short vacation somewhere nice.

Work hard, play hard.

...