Chapter 685 - 685: 685. I heard you are strong

Kai turned around to see Misty standing on a low wall behind him, casually licking a popsicle.

When she noticed him looking over, she hopped down and walked up, handing him the extra one she'd been holding.

"Why didn't you go explore?" Kai asked curiously. "I gave you the day off, I told you that you didn't have to stick with me."

"There's not much to see yet," Misty replied, pulling the popsicle from her mouth and shaking her head. "It's mostly different styles of white buildings. After a while, they all start looking the same. And the festival is still days away you can't really feel the atmosphere yet."

She shot him a teasing look. "Good thing I came back, though, otherwise, I would've missed you fighting these kids so 'intensely.'"

"Intensely?" Kai rolled his eyes. "I was dominating."

"Right, right," Misty grinned. "Dominating two elementary schoolers, very impressive."

Ignoring her, Kai turned back to the two boys.

"So? Want to keep going? I'm happy to continue."

The boys exchanged a glance and shook their heads at the same time.

"No more, We can't beat you. But even if you beat us, we're not admitting defeat!"

Kai blinked. "You won't battle, but you won't admit defeat? What exactly are you planning?"

The boy in the baseball cap declared, "If you can beat Kinta, then we'll admit it!"

"Kinta?"

"He's the strongest among us!" the red-cheeked boy added. "We're no match for him. You definitely won't beat him either!"

Kai understood that "Kinta immediately" was the local kid leader.

"Fine, go get him. I'll wait."

As the boys ran off, Kai sat by the pool with his popsicle and called Milotic over to review the previous battles.

A proper post-battle analysis was essential for growth. Understanding mistakes, reinforcing strengths—these things mattered.

Yet even after finishing the review, the boys still hadn't returned.

Just as Kai began suspecting he'd been ditched, Misty pointed into the distance.

"There."

The two boys were back this time pushing another boy toward them.

He looked a year or two older, around the same age as Ash and Misty. His expression was full of reluctance.

"I'm busy!" Kinta complained from afar. "I don't have time for this childish nonsense!"

"It's different this time!" the baseball cap boy pleaded. "He's really strong! We couldn't beat him!"

Despite protesting, Kinta was shoved in front of Kai.

Before Kinta could speak, Kai smiled lightly. "I hear you're strong."

Kinta didn't answer immediately. Instead, he scrutinized Kai carefully.

He had clearly expected another kid not an adult.

"So you're the one who bullied them?"

"Bullied?" Kai laughed. "We had a friendly battle, They said only you could beat me, so here we are."

"You're an adult fighting kids and you're not embarrassed?" Kinta sighed like an old man trapped in a child's body. "Fine. I thought it was just some brat, but if you beat my friends, I can't ignore it."

Kai: …

This kid had quite the attitude.

And this was the second time today he'd been criticized for battling children.

What was wrong with battling kids? Kids grew up. Talent could appear anywhere. Hadn't they heard the saying about never underestimating the young?

Still, he couldn't deny one thing—

He fought seriously every time.

Whether facing Legendary Pokémon in the sky or children in a park, his mindset never changed.

His gaze flicked briefly to Milotic before Kinta released his Pokémon.

A flash of light.

A Tentacruel appeared in the water.

Seeing it instantly reminded Kai of the giant Tentacruel he once faced in Kanto. Back then, handling it had been difficult.

Now?

Even Legendary Pokémon were less intimidating than rookie Trainers.

"Battle start!" declared the baseball cap boy, now acting as referee.

From the very first exchange, it was clear Kinta was on a completely different level from the previous two boys. His commands were sharper. His Pokémon was stronger. His timing was better.

No wonder he had confidence.

But that was all.

He was still just a talented kid not yet on the level of true traveling Trainers.

Tentacruel's barrage of tentacles and poison initially caused Milotic some trouble But once Kai read Kinta's rhythm, he shifted the flow of battle effortlessly.

When Milotic used Refresh to cleanse the poison, the outcome was decided.

Tentacruel fell.

Kinta froze.

His two friends stared in disbelief.

"You… you lost?"

"I didn't lose!" Kinta snapped, cheeks burning. "I just slipped up!"

He looked at Kai again, voice rising. "That one doesn't count! Let's battle again!"

"Sure," Kai replied calmly.

He had no reason to refuse. The stronger the opponent, the better the training.

Kinta recalled Tentacruel and released his second Pokémon.

A Marshtomp landed solidly in the water.

As the evolved form of Mudkip, Marshtomp was clearly his ace.

The boy's expression turned serious. This wasn't pride anymore it was determination.

The second battle began.

Kinta fought with everything he had. But just like before, after a brief back-and-forth—

Something shifted.

It was as though his strategies had been seen through entirely.

Milotic dismantled Marshtomp cleanly.

Silence fell.

Kinta staggered back slightly, face pale.

"How…?"

His friends collapsed to the ground as if the sky had fallen.

Misty, lounging nearby, yawned. She'd seen far too many intense battles to be impressed by playground drama.

Kai recalled Milotic, gently patting its head.

Then he looked at Kinta.

"Well? One more?"

The tone was identical to before.

But this time, it stung.

No matter whom he lost to, Kinta didn't want to lose to someone who "picked on kids."

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

"Beating me doesn't mean anything. If you can beat my helper, then I'll truly admit defeat!"

Kai blinked.

Why did that sound so familiar?

He glanced at the two boys.

"Sure. Go ahead. I'll wait."

With one last glare, Kinta stormed off with his friends.

Watching them leave, Kai couldn't help but laugh.

He'd only meant to give Milotic an easy warm-up.

Instead, pulling one carrot had dragged out the entire patch.

But honestly?

That was even better.

Each opponent is stronger than the last.

He was genuinely curious—

Whom would they bring next?

◉◉◉◉◉

~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter

◉◉◉◉◉

For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:

P-atreon/iamxeno

(Just remove the - hyphen to access normally)

Thank you so much for your support and for reading!