The next day,
Bai Yu, having left the game world, saw the Poké Balls on the table. The
Acodora he'd caught in the game, and the Mudkip Poké Ball given to him by the fishing uncle, were there.
Besides them, there was also the Thunder Stone he'd obtained from the old man in the ruins.
He'd gotten quite a lot this time.
On his way back, Bai Yu had a few more battles,
raising Acodora's strength to level 25 and
Mudkip's to level 18. Mudkip
also successfully evolved into Marshtomp and learned the new move, Tackle.
The strength increases weren't significant, so Bai Yu only briefly familiarized himself with the moves before leaving the game.
He couldn't stay in the game for too long; he still needed to manage the gym left by the old man.
Reaching a new level of strength in a short time would take some time.
Bai Yu roughly estimated that within a month,
his team would undergo a dramatic transformation.
He might even encounter some Pokémon in the game earlier than expected.
The Hoenn Legendary Pokémon!
Or perhaps it's a Pokémon from outer space, Deoxys.
As for the three giant Regice deep within the ruins, Bai Yu wasn't particularly interested.
Although they were the three legendary Regice, two other legendary Regice appeared later, but this didn't change the fact that the three legendary Regice were inherently weak.
In the anime, the three legendary Regice also had a very low profile; they were caught by Brandon and easily defeated by Ash and his friends, showing their lack of strength.
"Besides Gary, Blue also came to challenge the Gym earlier."
"Given Blue's personality, he definitely wouldn't leave Marsh City."
"Partly for Gary, and partly to get the Gym Badge."
Blue was a typical softie with a sharp tongue; he kept saying Gary was no good and that he was just going through a rough patch.
Deep down, however, he still respected Gary. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sat in the stands watching Gary's match and praised his earlier tactics.
"High Speed Spin."
"If it weren't for releasing Stealth Rock at the last moment."
"Gary didn't understand the other effects of High Speed Spin; Stealth Rock would have been countered long ago."
At the last moment, Gary used High Speed Spin to attack instead of clearing the surrounding rocks.
Perhaps even Gary himself didn't understand the purpose of High Speed Spin clearing those rocks.
Currently, Gary's tactics are still too immature. Perhaps after experiencing one or two failures, he'll know how to improve his strength.
"Seed Iron Ball, after learning Toxic Spikes and mastering Gyro Ball, I can enter a deeper stage."
Bai Yu also put the Poké Ball in his hand into his waistband.
He'd been using Seed Iron Ball for so many days; it was time for a change. He
couldn't rely on just one trick.
Outside the Macha Gym.
Qinglv had been waiting at the door for a long time.
He returned to the Pokémon Center and asked his grandfather again about the shortcomings of the Stealth Rock move.
He also gained a better understanding of the controllability of certain moves.
The Stealth Rock, which he initially thought was unbeatable, turned out to be so easily countered.
No wonder in the previous battle, Bai Yu chose to use Stealth Rock only after Wartortle was paralyzed and he was confident he could defeat it.
He probably knew about Stealth Rock's weakness from the start and used his attacks to mislead and conceal Wartortle's ability to clear the field with High Speed Spin.
"Shigeru, he's met a good opponent."
Qinglv also recalled yesterday's match.
The trainer named Shinji possessed excellent command skills.
His trained Pokémon were also of exceptional quality, and he would become a formidable rival to Gary in the future.
Thinking this, Qinglv saw the gate slowly open before him.
Without much thought, he walked towards the gym.
Shinji, who had just come out of the Pokémon Center, followed suit.
"You bastard, don't even think about escaping!"
"Yesterday's battle isn't over yet!"
Gary angrily retorted, wondering where this guy had come from.
His strength was in no way inferior to his own, especially his Sneasel, whose fighting spirit was terrifyingly strong, and the Sinnoh starter Pokémon Torkoal, which easily suppressed his Wartortle even when their strengths were similar.
When had the usually arrogant and conceited Gary ever suffered such humiliation?
He had originally thought his only opponent was Ash, also from Pallet Town, but now it seemed that the world's trainers were not as simple as he had imagined.
"The gym is open,"
Shinji said without further ado.
He strode towards the gym. He'd stayed at the Macha Gym for days, all for revenge!
He wouldn't forget that defeat so easily.
"Hmph~"
Gary snorted and followed.
Inside, they saw the guy they'd both been longing for.
Their first defeat on their journey was because of him!
"Nice to meet you, I'm Oak Azure from Pallet Town!"
Azure had already walked to the center of the arena, giving a brief introduction to Bai Yu.
The guy who was meant to come would finally appear.
It was just unclear what stage this guy's strength was at.
Gary's Squirtle had evolved into Wartortle in such a short time; his main Pokémon had probably already evolved into Blastoise.
The best defensive Pokémon for Water-types was Gastrodon with its Water Absorb ability.
Bai Yu didn't have Gastrodon.
The only Pokémon that could create a type advantage was Magneton.
It seems we'll need to find another way to win this match.
Pokémon battles aren't just about skill; they also require various status effects and luck!
"Each player can only use two Pokémon. The match ends when one side's Pokémon are all unable to battle."
"If you can defeat me, this badge is yours."
Bai Yu took out the Macha Gym Badge from his pocket.
He also wanted to see what level Qinglv was at.
Just how good could a trainer called a monster be at raising their Pokémon?
"Qinglv!"
"Grandpa has always praised you; what level of skill do you possess now?"
"Let me see."
Xiao Shi was also curious. They had set off at the same time, riding in a so-called sports car, defeating many trainers along the way to evolve his Squirtle into Wartortle.
How good could Qinglv, who had always been ahead of him, be at raising his Squirtle?
Shinji coldly observed the green on the field. He glanced at Shigeru beside him; the two looked to be about the same age, and he wondered who was stronger!
The high-speed spinning clearing method—directly clearing while attacking—seemed unrealistic; after all, this wasn't a game. It was just tha the high-speed spinning had a clearing function, slightly different from a game, and he hadn't explained it clearly to everyone immediately.
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(End of Chapter)