Chapter 20: The Dojo

After building a snowman together, Nero and his Combusken returned to the house. At that moment, Nero's father, who was sitting on the sofa watching a soccer match, called out to him.

"Hey, Nero, there's something I want to talk to you about."

Nero stopped in his tracks and replied, "Dad, what is it?"

"Hold on a sec." His father rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a small, crumpled note. "So, here's the thing. This morning, I ran into an old classmate of mine. He's currently running the dojo his father left behind, and he's been looking for new disciples. I thought you might want to give it a shot. What do you think?"

"Huh..." Nero scratched the back of his head. "A dojo? Wouldn't that be expensive?"

Earlier around noon, Nero had done some research on different training facilities.

Whether it was an elemental dojo or a martial arts dojo, the fees were ridiculously high. If a family wasn't well-off, it was better not to even consider it.

"He mentioned that he doesn't charge anything."

His father's expression remained calm as he spoke.

"No fees? There's something like that?"

Nero was taken aback.

A free dojo? Was that even possible?

"Yeah. I told him that your Pokémon is a Combusken, which has a Fighting-type attribute. After hearing that, he got even more excited than I expected and said he couldn't wait to meet you. He wants to help train both you and your Pokémon to become martial arts masters."

"Honestly, I don't know much about these dojos, so I wanted to discuss it with you first. If you're interested, you can go check it out tomorrow. If not, I'll call him and let him know."

Hearing his father's words, Nero nodded thoughtfully.

He knew that whether it was an elemental dojo or a pure martial arts dojo, they usually existed to make money. Yet, this dojo master, whom his father knew, wasn't charging a single cent.

That seemed a little suspicious.

However, Nero felt a slight excitement within him. He had always wanted to train at a dojo—having an instructor could help him avoid unnecessary mistakes in his training.

The main issue was that every dojo charged exorbitant fees, which made Nero give up on the idea time and time again.

Now, hearing that there was a free option, he thought about it for a moment and made up his mind.

"I'll do it. I'll check it out tomorrow."

Nero took the crumpled note from his father.

If it's free, there's no harm in trying, right?

If the instructor turned out to be completely useless and self-training proved more effective, Nero would simply stop attending.

He glanced at the small, slightly wrinkled note. It had the dojo's address written on it. Opening his phone's navigation app, he found that it wasn't too far away—a short bus ride of just over ten minutes.

The next day.

Taking the bus, Nero followed the address on the note and arrived at the dojo his father had mentioned.

Looking up at the wooden structure before him, he furrowed his brows slightly.

"I guess I can just go in, right?"

After thinking for a moment, he stepped forward and gently pushed open the wooden door.

As he walked in, he took a look around. The atmosphere here felt somewhat different.

Unlike other high-tech, modern dojos, this one had a much older and more traditional design. The entire place had a strong sense of history and simplicity.

Just then, from the courtyard, Nero heard a series of powerful, rhythmic strikes.

Following the sound, he saw a middle-aged man practicing against a wooden training post. He was dressed in a karate gi, his limbs strong and muscular, with clearly defined muscle lines.

"Um... Hello, my name is Nero."

The man paused his movements and turned to look at Nero.

And at that moment, Nero froze in place.

This guy—it wasn't just anyone!

It was the same tough-looking man he had seen yesterday at the park, locked in an intense battle with a Machamp!

What were the chances? Nero found the coincidence unbelievable.

Since he had been hiding while watching the battle, the man had never noticed him before.

Now, seeing Nero for the first time, the man smiled, walked over, and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

While gripping his shoulder, he nodded as if in deep thought.

"Young man, I can see it in your bones—you have the potential to be a martial arts prodigy!"

Wait, why did the entire tone of this conversation suddenly feel... off?

Was this world about to turn into some kind of fantasy martial arts realm?

Nero had no idea how to respond, so he settled for an awkward but polite smile.

"Welcome to my dojo."

"Machamp!"

The moment he heard that name, Nero tensed up.

From inside the house behind the man, a Machamp emerged—wearing nothing but a pair of shorts.

Seeing it up close, Nero really wanted to say something about this.

If it were a male Machamp, only wearing shorts would still make sense. After all, many professional fighters also went shirtless during matches.

But in the case of female fighters...

Yesterday, Nero had been at a distance when he saw the Machamp. Now that he was up close, he realized that this particular Machamp seemed... taller than usual.

Normally, Machamp were around 1.6 meters tall, but this one was at least 1.75 meters!

"Machamp~"

The Machamp greeted Nero politely, and he greeted it back. But the moment it laid eyes on Combusken, something unexpected happened.

The Machamp suddenly threw a flirtatious glance.

Machamp used Attract!

Combusken was hit!

Combusken took 10,000 points of emotional damage...

"Cha-mo... Chamo..."

Yesterday, from a distance, Combusken had caught sight of that towering figure—powerful and brimming with hardened muscles. As a fellow Fighting-type Pokémon, there was a part of Combusken that couldn't help but admire its strength.

But now, seeing it up close…

Why did that massive brute just throw a flirty wink at him?!

Come on, guys, can we not make this weird?!

For the first time, Combusken trembled and hid behind Nero, shivering in fear…

-----

Want to read ahead of schedule? 

Join here for advance chapters: patreon.com / madbot635