Chapter 66 - 66 - Kid vs. Detective

After a little warm-up, Rico and Detective Trevor are next to battle. Their Pokémon are Litleo and Pyroar. The strange thing is that the two Pokémon are the first and final evolved forms. Trevor had worn his cape, making him more cooler than without it.

"Wow, I had seen that Pokémon before," Rico commented with positive enthusiasm. He then pulled out his Pokédex and point it towards Pyroar; his Pokédex then responded, "Pyroar, the Royal Pokémon, and the evolved form of Litleo. A Fire and Normal-type. The male with the largest mane of fire is the leader of the pride."

"So cool and strong," Rico commented upon hearing it. He then put his Pokédex back in his pants pocket and focused back on the battle.

"Let's see how strong you are now, Rico Titus," Trevor said to Rico seriously and in testing. Pyroar then responded with seriousness.

"Me and Litleo are stronger together," responded Rico back in coolness. Litleo then responded with seriousness. In the audience, Juan commented, "This is not gonna be easy."

"Yeah, Pyroar is much stronger than a Litleo," Emerson agreed with him in response.

"Me too as well," Campillo added.

Back at the stadium grounds, the battle had began.

"Pyroar, use Flamethrower!" Trevor commanded Pyroar with serious coolness. Pyroar then used Flamethrower, opening its mouth and scorched an intense blast of fire towards Litleo.

"Litleo, dodge it and use Headbutt!" Rico commanded Litleo quickly and seriously. Litleo then dodged it and used Headbutt, sticking its head out and rams towards Pyroar. But Pyroar dodged that quickly, and Trevor commanded it, "Use Fire Fang!" Pyroar then used Fire Fang, biting Litleo with flame-cloaked fangs, striking it with power. Litleo was struck by it, and it weakened it severely.

"Litleo! Are you okay!" Rico asked it in alerted surprise. But Litleo bȧrėly managed to get up and stand against Pyroar.

"Oh, no, he's gonna lose," Juan commented the battle. His Dewott then responded with doubt about this.

Back at the battle, Rico commanded Litleo, "Litleo, again, use Headbutt!" Litleo then used Headbutt, sticking its head out and rams towards Pyroar, striking it effectively. But it's not that effective, and Pyroar felt a minimum pain from it. Observing it while in battle, Trevor commented, "That was a strong move, but not that powerful." Then to Pyroar, "Pyroar, use Echoed Voice!" Pyroar then used Echoed Voice, attacking Litleo with an echoing voice. Litleo then tried to withstand it, but the echoes are so powerful that Litleo was blasted back with pain, weakening it to the ground again.

"Oh no, Litleo, don't give up!" Rico responded to it in surprised alert. And as Litleo struggled to get up, Trevor commanded Pyroar, "Pyroar, use Fire Fang again!" Pyroar then used Fire Fang, biting Litleo with flame-cloaked fangs, striking it with power. This finishes off Litleo, and it was defeated, shocking Rico severely with surprise, not with horror.

"Litleo is unable to battle," the referee announced, "Pyroar wins." Looking at the defeated kid, Trevor said to him with cool-style, "You did your best, Rico, it's okay, I really liked the battle." It was an irony moment, but Rico readily accepted his defeat, again. Calling his Litleo back, Rico said to it, "You did well, Litleo, you deserved some rest." Rico then put the Poké Ball in his Pokébelt and said to Detective Trevor with a positive outlook, "Yes, you are right. It's alright. I can't be strong in a short period of time. It will take a long time for me to be strong as you." Trevor then nodded in agreement. The rest in the audience really liked Rico's attitude towards being defeated, just like the previous one with Juan.

Later, at the city's big Pokémon Center, as he waits for his Pokémon to be healed, Rico was writing what had happened that day, from the part where he and Juan left Kawayan City, to where his defeat against Juan and Detective Trevor. His two remaining Pokémon are with him, looking at his passion for writing. After writing, Rico looked at them and told them, "It's alright if we lose or not. Being strong isn't easy; it will take a long time to be one. That's why our path will be much longer than we'll think." Hearing their Trainer's words, Piplup and Starly seems to get what he was saying, and accepted it. Rico then smiled at them, closing his journal and put his black, 0.7 gel pen aside from it. Then, suddenly, Rico's smartphone rang, interrupting their moment of happiness. Rico then picked it up and answered with, "Hi, dad, how are you?" In the other side of the line, Lucas, at his office in his workplace, responded back, "Hi, Rico, how's your day there?" Rico then told his father what had happened on that part of the day, including the part where he had lost twice. A few minutes later, Lucas was mildly surprised by this, commenting, "Well, that's okay, Rico, like I said before, Life isn't easy for a Pokémon Trainer."

"Yeah, I know, life isn't easy for me as a Pokémon Trainer," replied his son in agreement. "But anyways, I am doing fine here."

"Okay, I understand, I gotta go now," Lucas replied back. "I have work to do. I'll call you later tonight. Okay?" Rico then nodded in agreement with him, before ending their conversation with a positive effect.