Pokémon：Trainer's Gambit

In a luxurious hotel in Canalave City, a certain Sinnoh Champion hadn't stepped outside for two days.

The exquisite handwoven carpet was littered with thick books and materials, all of which Cynthia had borrowed from the Canalave City Library.

Mythology, history, ancient ruins… Even during her vacation, Cynthia was deeply engrossed in these subjects.

As the sky darkened, Cynthia, wearing a white T-shirt, lifted her slightly weary face and lazily stretched. "Mmm—"

Leaning on the desk, her impressive figure was fully displayed. She took the water glass handed to her and smiled softly. "Thank you."

Lucario nodded silently and continued to stand guard on the balcony.

Roserade tidied up the books Cynthia had scattered around, using a soothing fragrance to dispel her fatigue.

Glaceon nimbly jumped onto the desk and licked Cynthia's cheek with its cool, tiny tongue.

Cynthia squinted her eyes and smiled. "Alright, I get it. I'll take you all out tomorrow."

Days of slacking off were always pleasant but fleeting.

The thought of the league's formalities gave Cynthia a headache. But maintaining the stability of the Sinnoh Region was the Champion's duty, and even Cynthia couldn't always do as she pleased.

Still, living in the moment was Cynthia's life motto.

"Alright! To celebrate my return to the league tomorrow, I'll reward myself with a night of gaming!"

Cynthia nodded to herself, her fatigue vanishing in an instant as she skillfully connected to the display.

[Cabbage Ice Cream] was Cynthia's alternate account, and her friend list only included [Diantha] and [Natsume-sensei, Are You Serving Dinner Today?].

Diantha didn't play often, only joining for a match or two when Cynthia insisted.

Thinking of the trainer who excelled at the Perish Song strategy, Cynthia brushed her golden hair aside and smiled. Today, I definitely won't lose again!

[Cabbage Ice Cream: Logging in. Let's play.]

Natsume was a bit confused.

Why is it that every time I want to focus on studying, someone always pops up asking me to play games?

Refusing was out of the question. He could never refuse playing games with a wealthy patron.

She's quirky, her words are sweet, and I absolutely adore her!

[Natsume-sensei: Got it.]

[Natsume-sensei: Voice chat?]

[Cabbage Ice Cream: What for?]

[Natsume-sensei: Voice chat costs extra. Commentary isn't free, you know.]

[Cabbage Ice Cream: No, I can understand without it.]

Though Natsume was skeptical of the patron's claim, the customer was always right.

As a first-time gaming companion, Natsume connected to the game and nervously asked, [Natsume-sensei: Gentle or direct?]

[Cabbage Ice Cream: ?]

[Natsume-sensei: Strategy style. I know a lot of them.]

[Cabbage Ice Cream: Use what you're good at.]

Natsume breathed a sigh of relief.

If the client had wanted an aggressive playstyle, Natsume wouldn't have been as skilled.

Strategies like Life Orb Conkeldurr or Dragon Dance Sweep weren't really his style.

Natsume happily dragged Gengar into his team.

After all, what I'm best at is SubProtect Toxic!

"Watch closely, this is the strategy you'll be using from now on!" Natsume called out to Gastly.

"Gastly!" Gastly nodded excitedly.

As the match began, Natsume was stunned when he saw the opponent's Pokémon.

Water splashed as a milky-white Milotic with two pink tendrils let out an ethereal cry!

Seeing this Milotic, Natsume immediately understood the opponent's strategy—

Coil could boost Milotic's Attack, Defense, and Accuracy by one stage each.

Milotic could use Coil repeatedly, eventually making Hypnosis almost guaranteed to hit!

But now that he'd figured it out, countering it would be easy.

Natsume smirked. "Trying to out-strategize me? You're still too young!"

On the other side, Cynthia smiled slightly when she saw the familiar Gengar.

But to her surprise, Gengar didn't start with Toxic or Perish Song.

Instead, it levitated in place, its eyes glowing eerily, a sinister grin spreading across its face.

"Nasty Plot?" Cynthia murmured. "Why the sudden change in strategy?"

Nasty Plot would greatly boost Gengar's Special Attack, but it also left its fragile body exposed to enemy attacks.

However, against a Coil Milotic, which lacked offensive power, an aggressive approach was the best choice!

"Gengar, Thunderbolt!"

On the screen, a thunderous bolt struck down, leaving Milotic with a sliver of health!

Gastly gave Natsume a puzzled look.

"Gastly?"

I thought this wasn't the SubProtect Toxic strategy?

Natsume awkwardly replied, "This one's not for you. The next strategy will be."

For the second Pokémon, Cynthia sent out Togekiss.

Natsume had assumed Gengar's Speed would far surpass Togekiss's.

But this Togekiss was holding a Choice Scarf, which greatly boosted its Speed.

Reluctantly, Natsume had Gengar use Explosion to chip away at Togekiss's HP.

With a loud boom, the screen was filled with the shattered remains of Gengar.

Gastly: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ

So the strategy you want me to learn is this?!

Natsume coughed awkwardly. "Not this one… well, maybe this one too…"

The opponent's strategy shifts had caught Natsume off guard, but he managed to hold his ground.

In the end, Natsume narrowly won with a score of 5-6.

After the battle, Natsume slumped back in his chair, muttering, "That was exhausting!"

"The wealthy patron's money isn't easy to earn!"

His phone buzzed.

[Cabbage Ice Cream: Again.]

[Natsume-sensei: Again?]

[Cabbage Ice Cream: 5,000 per match. 3,000 if you lose.]

[Natsume-sensei: I'm in!]

As the night deepened, Natsume, sore and exhausted, lay back in his seat and sent a message.

[Natsume-sensei: I really can't go on!]

In one night, they had played five full 6v6 battles.

Out of the five matches, Natsume had barely won two, and the other three were hard-fought losses.

"At least I lost," Natsume muttered. "Otherwise, it might've been a best-of-seven!"

On the other side, the highly competitive Cynthia smiled lazily and stretched.

[Cabbage Ice Cream: Not bad.]

[Cabbage Ice Cream: 21,000 in total. I'll transfer it to you later.]

Natsume gulped.

21,000… That was almost half a month's income for him!

Forget about Red or any other boss. This was the real deal!

[Cabbage Ice Cream: Other games?]

[Natsume-sensei: Sure!]

[Cabbage Ice Cream: I thought you were done.]

[Natsume-sensei: You'll see if I'm done or not!]

Though this world didn't have gaming giants like EA or Nintendo, there were still plenty of multiplayer games.

The two chose an FPS game similar to Resident Evil.

As a console player, Natsume was naturally skilled at FPS games.

By 1 a.m., as the level's boss fell and the cutscene played, the patron sent a message.

[Cabbage Ice Cream: We actually cleared this level…]

[Natsume-sensei: Don't tell me you couldn't even get past this?]

[Cabbage Ice Cream: …I'm logging off.]

The sudden logout caught Natsume off guard.

Wow, you log off faster than I end my streams!

But he couldn't afford to offend this wealthy patron.

After a moment of thought, Natsume typed out a message and sent it.

[Natsume-sensei: Get some rest.]

After waiting two minutes, he sent another message.

[Natsume-sensei: If you can't sleep and want to play games, just call me.]

Seeing no reply, Natsume tossed his phone aside.

It was late at night, and the cries of wild Pokémon echoed outside.

Looking up, he saw Gastly already asleep on the ceiling.

Natsume yawned and closed his eyes.

Half an hour later, his phone screen lit up.

In the dark room, Cynthia lay on her bed, her slender fingers tapping the screen.

[Cabbage Ice Cream: Okay.]

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