Chapter 100 Challenger, Have You Heard of Ultra Beasts?
"I want to do some research… Of course, I won't harm the Toxapex in your hands, Gym Leader Baiyu."
Kukui did indeed have the idea of doing research, mainly to understand the difference between Totem-level Pokémon and ordinary Pokémon. The difference in size was so huge; would it lead to any enhancement in strength or other aspects?
Kukui also wanted to understand Toxapex's characteristics… which could provide considerable help in training Toxapex later.
Kukui's plan was quite good, but… why was Kukui so sure that Baiyu would help him?
For Baiyu, if a professor wanted to do research, or if he needed to examine a Pokémon, he could simply go to the research institute to find Professor Akihabara.
Although he was an expert specializing in Pokémon gene manufacturing technology, his research on Pokémon habits and other aspects wouldn't be too far behind; after all, he was a research professor.
"Why should I help you?" Baiyu didn't say much, speaking calmly.
Kukui paused, falling silent.
Indeed, Baiyu had no reason to help him, and Kukui couldn't think of a suitable reason for the moment.
Many thoughts flashed through his mind, finally settling on a certain item.
"I have a Z-Crystal and a device for Z-Moves."
Kukui pulled a Z-Crystal from his pocket; the purple crystal bore the Poison-type symbol, clearly indicating it was a Poison-type. He held a wristband in his right hand, with a diamond-shaped groove for holding the Z-Crystal.
This was a unique battle system specific to the Alola region; other regions could also use it, with different Pokémon unleashing different moves.
In official competitions, this battle system could only be used once, belonging to the same system as Mega Evolution and Dynamax.
"I'm not interested in any of that."
"I just want a promise: when I go to Alola, do me a favor."
Bai Yu was interested in the Z-Crystal, but he couldn't bring himself to say it out loud.
Besides, in official competitions, only one could be used—a Z-Move or Mega Evolution—and Bai Yu already had a Mega Stone, so he didn't need a Z-Move.
"Let that shameful trick be left to that idiot Ash.
" "A promise?" Kukui was taken aback.
He had nothing now, so he simply agreed.
Seeing this, Bai Yu nodded, patting Toxapex beside him. Toxapex reluctantly walked over. It only required some research; it wouldn't harm the Pokémon itself much.
It only affected Toxapex's growth during this period. With the system in hand, with a little more time, Toxapex's level could still be raised quickly.
"Gym Leader Bai Yu, I want to know what Toxapex's ability is..."
Kukui held the Alola Pokédex, which could scan Toxapex's moves, but it showed three different abilities. The National Pokédex could find Toxapex
's ability. After all, any Pokémon registered in the League could be found using the National Pokédex; if not registered, only basic information could be found.
This was the main reason why those random trainers couldn't find information about Bai Yu's Pokémon.
"Regenerator,"
Bai Yu said without hesitation.
Since Toxapex is being handed over to the other party for research anyway, there's no need to hide its ability.
Besides, the Regenerator ability only takes effect when switching Pokémon; when on the field, it's practically useless, significantly reducing its combat power, but it provides some additional healing options.
"It really is Regenerator." Kukui's eyes narrowed.
Just as he had guessed, judging from Bai Yu's battle style, the Toxapex in front of him was more likely to have the Regenerator ability. Compared to the Unjust ability, a Toxapex with the Regenerator ability would be much more troublesome.
"There's a research institute in Martha City. You can borrow my Toxapex for a maximum of two days to study it."
Kukui nodded after hearing this, and then said, "Just one day. I'll just do a little research; it won't take up too much time."
After all, he wasn't in the Alola region, so his research equipment was limited. He would only do a rough study, analyzing the Toxapex's growth path to pave the way for his own good and bad Toxapex.
Kukui got what he wanted and left the Martha Gym.
The gym became quiet. The referee sat to the side resting, and the receptionist also sat in her seat for a long time, as if they had finished a week's worth of work in one morning.
"Bai Yu, I think he probably wants to analyze the trajectory of your Toxapex's power increase."
Sabrina thought for a moment and voiced her thoughts.
A research fellow could naturally analyze the growth trajectory of a Pokémon.
Not to mention, the other party was from the Alola region, and Toxapex was a native Alola Pokémon, so conducting corresponding research wouldn't be difficult.
"Go ahead and research it. The growth trajectory of Toxapex's strength is something most people can't figure out,"
Bai Yu shrugged casually.
He didn't take it seriously at all. Toxapex grows through game battles, participating in so many battles a day; even if they could figure it out, they could only find out about
its growth trajectory within a single day's multi-player battles. Improving its strength through battles, there's no other growth trajectory to be found.
Toxapex hasn't had any targeted training yet, and even if it had, it had already completed the training in the previous match.
"Little Bai, I heard Alola is a great resort destination, how about..."
Sabrina didn't want to spend all her time in the gym watching Bai Yu's matches.
She rarely left Goldenrod City; she had previously visited a resort island, and now she was focusing her attention on Alola. She had also been watching videos about Alola on her Pokédex recently.
Warm beaches, a comfortable environment—living there seemed quite pleasant.
It's at least more comfortable than being cooped up in the gym all day, facing challenges.
"Let's wait a while longer, until the Indigo League is over, then we'll go to Alola,"
Bai Yu thought for a moment and didn't refuse Sabrina's suggestion.
It would still be a while; judging by the time, things should start to look up in Celadon City.
Red, that kid, will challenge the Viridian Gym after leaving Goldenrod City to get his eighth badge.
Celadon City is right after Goldenrod City, a town you have to pass through on your way to Viridian.
And Ash's speed in collecting gym badges means he should arrive in Celadon City by now.
Celadon City has a high appearance rate in the special episodes.
The reason is simple: Team Rocket has a secret base hidden beneath Celadon City.
It holds many Pokémon and is a crucial link between Viridian City and Goldenrod City.
"Whatever you say," Sabrina nodded; she just wanted to go out and have some fun.
Taking Bai Yu out for some fun was a good idea; he couldn't stay cooped up in the gym all day, participating in gym battles. He needed to get out and about eventually.
The little incident quickly passed.
Fewer trainers came to challenge in the afternoon.
A ton of rumors started circulating in the Pokédex again, the most prevalent being that the Gym Leader was playing too aggressively, using only Caterpie Pokémon.
The reputation was incredibly positive, but often these comments were followed by a couple of sarcastic remarks and some extremely hostile trolls—those who had genuinely experienced the Gym's trials and nearly reached a higher level. It was already a
miracle they weren't challenging anyone offline; they were just hurling insults online.
Bai Yu also entered the game to continue improving his strength. He
had already done everything he could in the Alola region.
Just like when he entered the Hoenn region, no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find a Z-Crystal. During his battle with the final regional champion, Professor Kukui, Professor Kukui brazenly pulled out a Z-Crystal at a crucial moment in the match and unleashed a Z-Move right in front of Bai Yu.
Seeing this, Bai Yu didn't hesitate to give him a Mega Evolution.
"Challenger, I lost. You're still too strong,"
Professor Kukui said, adjusting his hat with a slight smile.
He walked up slowly, holding a Z-Crystal in his hand.
"Challenger, do you know this?"
"This is a Z-Move! It can change the traditional moves of Pokémon. Only by connecting with the Pokémon's spirit can its true power be unleashed."
Professor Kukui clearly intended to give this Z-Crystal to Bai Yu.
This scene was similar to when Bai Yu battled Steven in the Hoenn region, and Steven gave him the Mega Key Stone—only giving him this item at the last moment?
Bai Yu didn't think much of it, placing the Z-Crystal in his system space and following Professor Kukui towards the Hall of Fame.
Compared to other regions, the Hall of Fame in Alola looked much simpler.
It was a newly established league; having such facilities was already quite good, at least enough to register Champion Pokémon.
"Professor Kukui, I heard you lost to a Dragon-type trainer back then. Is that true or false?"
Bai Yu suddenly remembered something and looked at Professor Kukui.
In the game, Professor Kukui had already experienced that incident, and Bai Yu wanted to know the inside story.
"Yes. If you reach the Kanto region, you must defeat that guy who uses Dragon-type Pokémon. Challenger, I believe you can do it now."
Professor Kukui's eyes were filled with regret for what happened back then.
He tried his best, but couldn't defeat his opponent.
The image of being utterly defeated by that Dragonite was still etched in Professor Kukui's mind.
"Challenger, have you heard of Ultra Beasts?"
After completing the registration, Professor Kukui didn't leave but turned to look at Bai Yu, mentioning Ultra Beasts.
Ultra Beasts are different from Legendary Pokémon and ordinary Pokémon.
They belong to an independent species, a species not belonging to this world, creatures from the Ultra Dimension of another dimension.
These creatures are extremely dangerous, which also leads to their rather bizarre base stats.
There are ten Ultra Beasts in total, strictly speaking, eleven.
Necrozma also falls into the category of Ultra Beasts to some extent.
It's also an Ultra Beast with a base stat total of 600. It can also increase its strength by absorbing the power of the Sun and Moon. In its Luna Mode, it has a base stat total of 680. After fully absorbing the power of both the Sun and Moon, its strength explodes, exceeding the base stat limit of a typical Legendary Pokémon, reaching a staggering 754 points.
The Alola region might not be a very competitive league, but the Pokémon born there are quite unique compared to other generations, especially the Ultra Beasts and the legendary Cosmic Pokémon.
"I've heard of them," Bai Yu replied, thinking to Professor Kukui.
"Since you haven't heard of them..."
Professor Kukui was about to continue when he suddenly froze.
He had heard Bai Yu say "I've heard of them," and for a moment, he didn't know what to say.
It was as if he had encountered a bug, and was completely stuck on the spot.
"Ahem... Challenger, you're really joking."
"Since you've heard of Ultra Beasts, I'll give you this Ultra Ball."
"If you want to catch Ultra Beasts, these Ultra Balls might be of great help."
Professor Kukui recovered at this moment and said this in an unconventional way.
He then placed an Ultra Ball on the table and turned to leave.
Seeing this, Bai Yu couldn't help but chuckle.
Sometimes teasing NPCs in games was quite fun.
At least it was more interesting than the real-life Kukui. The real-life Kukui seemed like a quiet, reserved person, but it hadn't yet experienced being brutally beaten by Lance, so its growth was definitely lacking.
"Ultimate Ball,"
Bai Yu reached out and took the Ultra Ball from the table.
Ultra Beasts only had one ability: Beast Boost.
This ability was, in a way
, quite overpowered. Defeating an opponent boosted any attribute except HP .
The more opponents defeated, the stronger they became, which was why Ultra Beasts displayed such terrifying power in the anime.
With the ability to continuously increase combat power, even a Caterpie could be upgraded into Rayquaza.
"I'll find a Celestial Maidenfire then."
"This thing can fly, and its resistances are pretty perfect, as are its defenses."
According to the anime, the most outstanding Ultra Beasts are naturally Buzzwole and Pheromosa.
Unfortunately, who knows if those two Pokémon can display power comparable to their anime counterparts in the games?
The strength of Ultra Beasts is truly inferior to the Alola region's Island Guardians.
Island Guardians have built-in terrain that can change the course of a battle.
They can have amazing effects in both singles and doubles.
Meanwhile, Tapu Fini has Misty Terrain, which halves the power of Dragon-type moves, making it the bane of Dragon-type Pokémon.
Just this Pokémon alone would be a sure thing against Lance.
If you add an Ice Vulpix with the Snow Cloak ability, just thinking about it is exciting.
Bai Yu even pictured Lance's arrogant face now showing frustration and helplessness…
…
"Ah-hoo~ Ah-hoo~ Ah-hoo!!"
Lance, who had just discussed Pokémon tactics with Steven at the Indigo League, sneezed three times in a row.
He had a nagging feeling that someone was spying on him, and he was absolutely certain of it.
He'd felt a chill down his spine earlier in the Johto region, which he'd attributed to the snow in Kaji Town.
Now it seemed… things were definitely not as simple as they appeared.
"It's definitely those Team Rocket rats."
"It's alright, I've found where you rats are hiding."
Lance had been searching tirelessly for Team Rocket. Team Rocket members were constantly appearing in Saffron City, so there were definitely Team Rocket hideouts in the nearby towns.
After searching for a long time, he finally found some clues in Celadon City.
Celadon Game City.
That seemingly ordinary game shopping street held a huge secret.
Thinking of this, Lance grinned, his blood-red eyes flashing with a hint of red light. This was a golden opportunity to wipe out Team Rocket; he would definitely not let those rats get away.
"What I told you, what do you think?"
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(End of this chapter)