Serizawa flew away from the blast of the Dragon Pulse, arms flailing as he did so. He rolled, tumbled slightly, before getting back up to his feet. Howard pumped a fist. "Agreed. Serizawa is the best! I wish he wouldn't eat so much, though."

The Larvitar let out a growl in agreement, shaking little arms at Dracovish and Kouji. An ankle-biter, indeed.

Path P? Howard's eye narrowed. So that's what Kouji meant. He must've pre-planned out several different scenarios for each Pokémon, and assigned them different paths depending on the scenario. That must've taken Kouji a lot of practice. It was impressive. Was this what the best battlers in Hoenn did? Could he even compete?

"Rend...?" Howard grimaced. Shit. Kouji was right. A firm water-type move left him folded. He had nothing to respond to such an attack. Frowning, Howard bit his lip. If he had his Cradily, this would've been a breeze, but he didn't. Instead, he had to think.

For a moment—much too long—Howard pondered his options. His Larvitar would've been pounded while he agonized. "I'll just have to crush you first, before you can beat me with that attack! Hyper Beam!"

Serizawa's maw opened, and a bright light emerged, before erupting into a massive laser that ripped across the battlefield.

---

Kouji Matsubara

Shiiiiiiiiiit.

What did he do now? Cry? Surrender? The first that came to mind was to run away, given that his Hail Mary had failed, and that Serizawa would be as dead as a doorknob if Kouji was serious about taking him down. The Larvitar stared directly into the predator's eyes, unfazed at what the abomination would do to it if given the chance.

Howard wished he could be that brave.

"I... um..." Howard trailed off, eye looking around the arena, as if hoping that there would be a chalkboard with the answer written on it. Given that he wasn't even sure that Kouji could write, such a thing seemed unlikely.

"I... switch? Once I verify that your Pokémon is still standing? How am I gonna do that with all this dust?" If only Serizawa was bigger, he'd be able to sweep away this dust cloud with ease. As is, Howard had to do the seeing himself, and one eye missing made it easier to miss more than what was acceptable.

Plus, he was loathe to admit it...

"What am I supposed to see?" Howard asked. "You obviously can, but I... can't. I just can't."

---

Kouji Matsubara

As Kouji explained what Howard did wrong, he slumped even further. It wasn't a slump of disappointment, but moreso one of resignation. Everything Kouji said was correct, and Howard felt dumb. College had been hard, but he had found his way through it.

"Not seeing with my eyes, huh?" Howard let out a small chuckle and tapped his eyepatch. "I guess I'm halfway there, then."

This? He was blind. He was trying, but it seemed like an insurmountable obstacle. His Pokémon were strong, but he wasn't. Serizawa would've been leagues tougher with a better trainer. Howard had heard of Pokémon training, but what about trainer training? They never showed all that in the movies and shows. The trainer was just always talented.

Yet that was hardly realistic.

"My strengths? I have none in battle, so..." What was this, therapy? Did he need to get Kouji a chair and a sofa for himself to sit on? Maybe he'd tell his colleague about his life story, how he lost his eye, and how he had ended up with almost 100,000 PD of student debt.

"I'm an archaeologist, a paleontologist, I enjoy working with fossils. I'm a..." Howard closed his eye. What was he? What was the promise that he made? The promise to...

Right. Howard's eye opened and he stared at Kouji.

"I'm a survivor, and I watch history go by. I... see."

---

Kouji Matsubara

It wasn't for no reason, but it was for a childish reason.

That was fine. A childish reason was virtuous, born of a pure desire to accomplish something. Howard had wanted to see history go by. He wanted to chronicle it. In order to do that, he needed to read about it, study it, see it.

His missing eye twitched. Now, instead of seeing, there was nothing but darkness there. Was he a brainiac? Yes, but he didn't feel like one. He felt... foolish. Childish. He wasn't giving Kouji much of a challenge, and his fellow grunt drank his food from a blender.

"You're right!" Howard said, nodding. "Yes, of course. My own style, huh...?"

Historians didn't create anything. They simply preserved. Could Howard really create a fighting-style when his only virtue was his ability to preserve what other people had made? Perhaps he could simply copy some powerful trainer's fighting style? His eye wandered to Kouji.

No, that wouldn't work.

"Man, this is hard." Howard put his hands behind his head and sighed.

---

Kouji Matsubara

Blended foods... Howard's face turned green. Of course. He should've expected that Blender Guy would've done something like this. His head was completely mush, so naturally his taste in food had to be as smooth as his brain.

...but he had a point. Serizawa nudged Howard's leg.

Head still aching from Kouji's fist drop, Howard shook off the strike. His hat was askew, but it felt right. He could stop right now, go back to the submarine, and take the day to do some research on a few things. It was what was expected from him. He made Team Rocket money. He was no soldier on the front lines.

Yet he suspected that if he left this ruined gym, he'd never get a chance to train with Kouji ever again. Blender Guy was incredibly strong, even if his only achievement was strength.

"Alright, Blender Guy." Howard pulled off his eyepatch, revealing a gleaming Key Stone in his socket. "Round two!"

---

Kouji Matsubara