Steven woke up feeling refreshed.
He took a deep breath of the fresh air following the rain, feeling instantly comfortable. There was just a hint of an earthy smell lingering in the atmosphere.
Steven still couldn't determine whether he had dreamed about last night's events or if he had actually witnessed that scene with his own eyes.
The mysterious girl in white dancing gracefully under the moonlight...
The distance had been too far, and Steven had just woken up in a groggy state, so his vision hadn't been clear enough to make out the details.
However, he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that this girl in white might be the same one he had encountered on the ship before.
"Metagross, can you sense anyone nearby?" Steven asked calmly as he walked across the soft, rain-soaked soil.
"Meta-gross..." Metagross concentrated for a moment before shaking its head.
"I see." Steven fell into contemplation.
Was it because he had seen her once before and she had left such a deep impression on him? Is that why he dreamed of her?
Or perhaps that entity wasn't human at all?
Based on the current situation, neither Steven nor Metagross had sensed any malicious intent.
That was the best possible outcome.
Although he felt somewhat uneasy, the mysterious figure probably hadn't intended to harm him.
Still, he couldn't be entirely certain.
At the very least, he needed to figure out what that entity actually was.
By simply passing through this small forest, he would almost reach Fortree City.
There were also many tall patches of grass covered in morning dew nearby.
Steven had no choice but to ride on Metagross, letting it carry him through this area.
A little extra travel distance wouldn't hurt.
Since leaving the laboratory yesterday, Piplup had been returned to its Poké Ball, giving the little one some time to practice Calm Mind and better sense how much its physical abilities had improved.
At Metagross's normal traveling speed, Steven arrived in Fortree City in less than two hours.
Besides the regular city houses, Fortree City featured distinctive treehouses built high among the branches.
They gave the city a unique character.
Steven first visited the Pokémon Assessment Center to check his Pokémon's specific progress during this recent period.
The results showed: Metagross at 70%; Scizor at 68%; Skarmory at 53.1%; Lairon at 50%; and Piplup at 38.8%.
Metagross was temporarily stuck between the Quasi-Champion level and Champion level, though it appeared close to breaking through.
Although Scizor had narrowed the gap with Metagross, it would still require considerable time to overcome its current bottleneck.
Skarmory's doubled training regimen hadn't been in vain—it had entered the Overlord tier before Lairon.
Lairon was also temporarily stuck at the threshold of the Overlord tier, but it had consumed significant amounts of ore recently, so a breakthrough seemed imminent.
This situation was much better than last time when Lairon had forcibly evolved without properly touching that barrier.
This time, it had been approaching the threshold for a while, so Steven didn't need to worry about the Pokemon accumulating enough energy to break through the bottleneck.
As for Piplup, it went without saying—the little one was already approaching the strength of an Alpha-level Pokemon.
However, Steven hadn't observed any signs of evolution yet.
After evolving into Prinplup, Steven wondered whether Piplup would become more well-behaved.
Things were manageable now; Piplup only secretly dampened Steven's pillow and blanket, so having two extra sets would solve the problem.
Next...
Steven looked up at a tall, tower-like structure in the center of Fortree City.
The top of that tower housed the Fortree City Gym battle arena!
In the afternoon, Steven brought his well-rested and battle-ready Pokemon to the base of the tower.
Looking up at the seemingly endless stairs, Steven's mouth twitched involuntarily.
Although it was a Flying-type Gym, did they really need to build it this high just for exercise?
At the center of the stone steps stood two impressive stone statues.
The one on the left resembled Charizard, while the one on the right depicted Skarmory, which Steven was extremely familiar with.
For this battle, he would select Lairon, Skarmory, and Metagross.
His strategy had three purposes: first, to allow Lairon to break through and evolve during the battle; second, to properly test Skarmory's current strength; and third, to have Metagross available as backup.
The reason for including Metagross was straightforward.
Steven didn't want to challenge Winona as she would appear for a five-badge challenger.
Instead, he wanted to face Winona, the Fortree City Gym Leader, at her full strength!
As for why he wanted to challenge Winona at full power...
The reason was equally simple.
Steven wanted to discover the cause of Winona and Wallace's breakup and then help reconcile them.
That way, when Wallace and Winona eventually announced their relationship, nobody would speculate about his supposed bromance with Wallace.
Steven really didn't want to face Garchomp's wrath twice.
Having his head split open would be considered getting off lightly.
Garchomp definitely wouldn't hold back...
Steven gazed at the stone staircase stretching upward like a ladder to the heavens, gritted his teeth, and began climbing with determination.
Fortunately, his recent physical training had paid off well, and Steven was only slightly out of breath when he reached the top.
After all, he was someone who could maintain Mega Evolution for ten minutes now! He'd definitely improved!
At the battle arena situated at the tower's peak, Steven met the Fortree Gym's guide.
Following the guide's enthusiastic chatter, a beautiful figure wearing a blue flight suit, a flight cap, and pure white inner clothing with long, light purple hair arrived at the top of the tower, riding gracefully on a Skarmory.
Wait, so she just flew up herself?
Steven instantly felt foolish for climbing that endless staircase.
However, Winona's appearance was indeed outstanding—tall and slender. Similar to Cynthia, Steven estimated her height to be around 1.7 meters.
Still, Cynthia was prettier in his opinion.
"You're the challenger?" Winona dismounted from Skarmory and regarded Steven with interest.
After all, he was the person who had been involved in those "scandals" with Wallace.
How could Winona not remember him?
"Yes, I'm Steven from Mossdeep City..."
"Steven, I know. I just saw the news about you recently," Winona said with a smile, interrupting him.
However, her smile wasn't malicious or mocking—it was frank and genuinely warm.
"Ah... that kind of news isn't very reliable," Steven replied with an embarrassed smile.
"It's fine. I wanted to ask—how many badges do you currently have?" Winona inquired pleasantly.
Steven took a deep breath and stated solemnly, "I want to challenge Gym Leader Winona at your full strength."
Winona appeared startled by his words. Observing Steven's serious expression, a slight smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
"Alright, I'll grant your wish."
Are all the people associated with Wallace this confident?
"If I manage to defeat Gym Leader Winona, please accept one small request from me. Of course, it won't be anything too difficult for you," Steven said earnestly.
Winona rested her slender hand on her chin, contemplated for a moment, and then responded:
"Very well... I agree. However, if you lose, I will always battle at full strength whenever you challenge me again."
"Understood," Steven nodded in agreement.
Regardless of anything else, Winona was a newly appointed Gym Leader who hadn't held the position for very long. It was unlikely she would deploy Champion-level Pokemon for this battle, right?
Winona explained the battle rules to Steven, which weren't different from previous Gym battles—also following the three-on-three format.
However, Trainers had to take mechanical lifts to conduct their battles at high altitude.
Once both sides were prepared, Winona and Steven stood on separate lift platforms.
The two Trainers ascended to high altitude together. For safety purposes, railings surrounded the platforms to prevent anyone from falling.
"Oh, great sky, please grant me wings..." Winona knelt on one knee, placing her palms on her shoulders, and whispered reverently.
Steven raised an eyebrow as he watched Winona's theatrical performance.
This is pretty dramatic!
"Please grant me the powerful strength to withstand fierce winds, and then..."
Winona suddenly stood up, spreading her arms wide as if to embrace the vast sky itself, and proclaimed loudly:
"Guide us through the vast blue heavens! Let us bravely spread our wings!"
"..."
Steven briefly wondered if he should also prepare some kind of opening speech for future battles.
"Battle, begin!"
Following the guide's announcement through the megaphone, Winona revealed a confident smile and retrieved a Poké Ball.
"Soar magnificently through the sky! Swellow!"