Pokemon: Master of tactics

Alex went to Scizor and patted his shoulder as he proudly said, "Good job."

Scizor looked at Alex and replied, "Not really. I've had tougher fights."

Alex looked at Scizor—looking like he wasn't satisfied with this fight—and shook his head with a soft smile.

He was very happy with Scizor's self-critical words—showing no sign of satisfaction.

The hunger to get stronger quickly can make a substantial difference in one's progress.

A Pokémon that trains with his everything will gain results much faster than a Pokémon that does it half-heartedly.

Alex has read that the temperament of a Pokémon is an extremely important factor and can make the training efficiency higher or lower.

Brock walked in front of Alex after he had cured his Pokémon and handed him an A-rank [Boulder Badge] without a word.

Then without saying another word, he turned back and started walking away with his stoic face—pretending as if Alex was never there.

Alex didn't care about Brock's attitude as he ignored him and instead examined the [Boulder Badge] he had just received.

It looked almost exactly the same as in the games. But when Alex looked at the backside of it, he found a barcode of some kind.

Although this was nothing like the barcodes in Alex's world, Alex immediately deduced that it probably had a similar function.

Alex put the [Boulder Badge] in a small case specially made to keep the Badges and walked out of the Gym.

After he got this Badge, he saw no reason to stay in this Gym.

He made his way to the hotel where he and his Pokémon would get something to eat and then think about their next plan.

He got bored while walking and sent a message to Steven & Maria.

He told them that he had just fought Brock and that they could both watch his match online.

Although it was also broadcasted on TV, it was a live broadcast, and therefore, you could no longer watch the match on it anymore.

Fortunately, the Alliance uploads every Gym battle for A & S-rank Badges on their website, so Steven and Maria could easily watch the match whenever they wished to.

He also thought about writing a message to Daniel and Elise but felt that it wouldn't be a boss like behaviour. Especially when you consider that he is the boss of a group that is part of an underworld organization.

...

30 minutes later, Alex was eating his meal with his Pokémon in the hotel when he received a message.

Steven wrote: <Good fight. But why do you insult a Gym leader so much?>

Alex wrote the whole story and explained why he has such a bad relationship with Brock.

Steven smiled as he sent the message: <Hehe, of the two Gym leaders you've met, both of them hate you.>

Alex quickly replied: <Hey, I met Janine, and although we didn't talk to each other, I don't have a bad relationship with her.>

<???>

<What are you talking about? Janine is not a Gym leader.>

Alex, who saw these words, suddenly felt that he should be careful not to answer in a hurry without thinking, or more mistakes like this are bound to happen.

<Yes, but she is the daughter of Koga, so it is very likely that she will take over the Gym.>

<Alex>

<Am I imagining it, or can you never just admit your mistake?>

Alex saw how he had convinced Steven with his excuse and let out a relieved breath. It doesn't really matter if Steven thinks that he thinks Janine will be a Gym Leader, but he should be careful not to say too much.

Even if it is difficult to overwrite the general knowledge of what he had from the Pokémon world without thinking about it.

<Steven~ O Steven~.>

<How can you say something so heartless to your only friend?>

Steven knew that Alex was joking and smirked as he wrote.

<I didn't even know that I only had one friend, but if my only friend told me that, it has to be true.>

Alex and Steven wrote and stayed for a few minutes before Alex got another message.

<Hey, call me.>

This message came from Maria, who had apparently gotten his message just now and wanted to talk a bit.

To make fun of Steven a bit before calling Maria, he wrote a message.

<Steven I would like to talk to you more, but my hot girlfriend really wants to talk to me right now. So I, unfortunately, had to make a choice. I know you, as a person who has never had a girlfriend, can not understand that. But I have to tell that it was not a very difficult choice for me.>

Steven knew that this message from Alex was a joke, but he felt annoyed.

<Ha! -_- >

<And you have the cheek to say that you are my only friend?>

<Sry Steven, but not everyone is into men like you.>

<You bastard!!!. You know exactly why I don't have a girlfriend, and it's absolutely not because I'm into men.>

<Ah, you mean it's because of your face, then?>

<Wow! You really are brave to say that with your face. If you weren't a talented trainer, you'd stay single forever.>

Steven had struck a sensitive nerve of Alex.

<Bro, don't exaggerate. My face is easily better than most of the people you can find in this world.>

<Who told you that?>

Alex thought for a moment and couldn't remember where anyone had praised his looks.

He looked at the message and felt that this surprisingly cut deeply.

<I hate you, Steven.>

Alex wasn't actually angry or anything. But it is hard to figure out emotion from only the text.

Steven was not sure whether this was a bit exaggerated or had actually hurt his feelings.

<Alex, that was just a joke, and you are really a handsome guy.>

In reply, he only got this.

<Gay.>

*****

[EN]: It's okay, Steven. As long as you say "no homo", you are safe.

------

If you want to see the next chapters (50+ chapters) earlier or just want to support me

https://www..--patreon.com/alex02373