Chapter 19: Gym Challenge Begins
Chen Xi raised an eyebrow as he looked at the middle-aged man in front of him, who claimed to be the Gym Leader of Yuanzhi Gym in Yuanzhi City, and then carefully scrutinized him.
The current Gym Leader of Yuanzhi Gym was naturally not Melissa, who the Alliance would transfer from other places ten years later to balance the various forces in Sinnoh and serve as an Alliance 'nail'.
Instead, it was the native Sinnoh Spirit Hunter, Shi Ying, who specialized in the more common Normal Type Pokémon.
Chen Xi had once used the Yuan Family's intelligence to dig into the background of this Trainer, whose origins he completely didn't know.
He only knew that Shi Ying came from a commoner background and became a Trainer by following the path of a Spirit Hunter.
Later, he was noticed by the high-ranking officials of Qiefeng Academy, recommended to study there, and after graduating, he still became a Spirit Hunter.
Then he settled in Yuanzhi City, established the Yuanzhi Gym, and became a bridge of communication between Qiefeng Academy and the Hunter Association.
Because he was one of the few people in Sinnoh who climbed up from the bottom, he was very considerate of other Trainers from similar backgrounds.
And he often recommended them to the Hunter Association, earning him the title of 'Boss' among the Spirit Hunters in the region.
Chen Xi glanced at Shi Ying and said, "I am Chen Xi, a student undergoing assessment for the Elite Class of Qiefeng Academy. This is my ID. I came to Yuanzhi City for Qiefeng Academy's Gym challenge."
As Chen Xi spoke, his gaze swept towards Zhen Xing and the other Hunters who had already left.
At this moment, Zhen Xing and these Spirit Hunters were diligently retrieving the fishing net, appearing extremely obedient.
Seeing this, Chen Xi took a slight breath. It was clear that the information stated this person's prestige within the Yuanzhi City Hunter Organization was almost unrivaled, making him a popular candidate for Hunter King of the Hunter Alliance. At least, a glimpse of that could be seen here.
Strictly speaking, Yuanzhi City was not controlled by the so-called aristocratic families; rather, it leaned towards the Hunter Organization.
Its location was almost a crucial transportation hub for the entire Sinnoh region, connected to the southeast, northwest, and all directions. Therefore, this city naturally had the shadows of various aristocratic families, with everyone extending their feelers, but no one truly submitted to anyone else.
And Shi Ying, in front of him, was both a Letter Hunter of the Hunter Organization and had studied at Qiefeng Academy. Moreover, he single-handedly founded the Yuanzhi Gym, becoming an iconic figure within the Hunter Organization and a relatively popular candidate for Hunter King. In short, this complex background made him the most suitable person.
However, why did such a figure almost disappear without a trace ten years later? It's simple: he likely died very early on.
Of course, whether Shi Ying lived or died, or when he died, had little impact on Chen Xi, as long as he helped him with the assessment.
Therefore, since Shi Ying himself didn't care about Zhen Xing and the others' borderline hunting of Gyarados, Chen Xi naturally had no interest in it either.
After all, to put it plainly, protecting world peace was the protagonist's job; what did it have to do with Chen Xi?
Shi Ying looked at Chen Xi, who simply and directly presented the proof, and then spoke, "I understand. Give me a week. After the Magikarp fishing season ends, I will await your challenge at the Yuanzhi Gym."
Chen Xi nodded in understanding upon hearing this, and said nothing more.
At this time, Gyms were not like the Gyms under the Alliance organization later, where Trainers challenged them almost daily.
At this time, Gyms were more about teaching beginner Trainers relevant knowledge, or conducting in-depth training for certain Trainers who wished to specialize.
Compared to later Gyms which would receive funding from the Alliance, most Gyms at this time were responsible for their own profits and losses.
Therefore, Trainer challenges like this were not common occurrences and were usually postponed. Chen Xi didn't say anything about it; after all, he still had time and wasn't in a hurry.
Seeing Chen Xi agree, Shi Ying also breathed a slight sigh of relief and said to Chen Xi, "Thank you for your understanding."
"By the way, Gym Leader Shi Ying, I happen to have something I'd like to ask you. Due to the recent Magikarp fishing season, I wonder if there's a relatively calm river nearby where my Staryu can do some training!" Chen Xi asked.
Of course, the main reason was for Floette, but that was his trump card, so it was better to reveal it as little as possible.
Hearing Chen Xi's words, Shi Ying was quite willing to point Chen Xi to a location that would not be affected by the Magikarp fishing season.
The two did not exchange much; due to their age difference, it was difficult for them to find common ground, and due to their differing stances, it was hard for them to have the same will.
Furthermore, Chen Xi had just clashed with Zhen Xing and others. If Shi Ying had too much goodwill towards Chen Xi, Chen Xi would probably feel a tightening in his gut.
Therefore, it was best for Chen Xi that the two did not interfere with each other or communicate.
The following week, Chen Xi's schedule was quite packed.
First, Floette successfully mastered the Water Type Awakening Power.
Of course, for Floette, this growth meant almost no increase in strength.
But at least Floette had mastered four Awakening Powers and began developing her fifth Awakening Power; Chen Xi chose Psychic.
Compared to Floette, Chen Xi's main training targets this time were still Grotle and Staryu.
The only difference was that Chen Xi began to try and teach Grotle to master the powerful Grass Type move, Energy Ball.
However, even if Grotle mastered it, it still wasn't a complete system; it could only serve as a single enhancement to Grotle's offensive capabilities.
As for Staryu, Chen Xi's main task for these seven days was to take it to battle powerful Pokémon, and in just five days, it consecutively leveled up four times, reaching level 28.
After all, Staryu didn't have a battle system, so naturally, its level had to compensate.
As for the remaining two days, Staryu was sent to study Bubble Beam.
Because if used well, the move Bubble Beam could completely support a tactical system, although even Chen Xi was only in the conceptual stage.
So, the remaining two days were basically spent on having Staryu hone this skill.
Soon, the Magikarp fishing season ended, and Chen Xi arrived at the Yuanzhi Gym in Yuanzhi City.
Inside the Yuanzhi Gym, there were many fierce-looking Trainers, and even many Spirit Hunters were present.
If he hadn't known beforehand that this was truly a Gym, Chen Xi might have thought he had entered some illicit gang hideout.
"You, what are you doing here!" Zhen Xing emerged from some corner and shouted at Chen Xi.
"Gym challenge!" Chen Xi glanced at Zhen Xing, noticed the Spirit Hunter emblem on his sleeve, and said, "Spirit Hunter?!"
"I'm a certified Spirit Hunter now! Scared, aren't you!" Zhen Xing boasted to Chen Xi.
Chen Xi indicated that he couldn't understand the child-like thought process of Zhen Xing and directly said, "Where is Gym Leader Shi Ying?"
"The boss is waiting for you inside!" Zhen Xing pouted, but didn't do anything deceitful.
Chen Xi quickly found Shi Ying inside, who was happily processing some documents.
However, upon seeing Chen Xi's arrival, he quickly said to Chen Xi, "Come with me to the battle arena!"
Soon, the two arrived at the arena, and Shi Ying spoke, "Three Pokémon can be used in the Yuanzhi Gym. The challenger loses if all three are defeated. The challenger can switch Pokémon, but the Trainer cannot. I will go first."
"Come out, Girafarig!"
A Pokémon resembling a giraffe appeared on the arena. The front half of this Pokémon was primarily yellow with brown stripes, and it had horns on its head. The back half of its body was the opposite color of the front, making it appear as if it had heads on both ends.
"This guy actually has a Normal Type; I always thought it was Psychic..."
Chen Xi silently complained about Girafarig in his mind, but he decisively sent out his first Pokémon, Staryu.
This Girafarig was only level 29, not even level 30.
Clearly, Shi Ying had witnessed Chen Xi's Grotle's battle against Zhen Xing's Golbat last time.
So, he didn't directly bring out a high-level Pokémon to bully him.
Instead, he summoned this Girafarig as a benchmark to gauge Chen Xi's strength.
And when Chen Xi saw the moves this Girafarig had mastered, he knew that just from their last encounter, Shi Ying had already figured out a way to defeat his Grotle.
Because this Girafarig had mastered the Psychic Type move, Guard Swap.
As long as it swapped its Defense and Special Defense stat changes with Grotle on the battlefield, the Charge system would be broken.
Therefore, Chen Xi did not send his Grotle to lead the Charge, but instead sent his Staryu into battle.
"Oh, ah!"
Staryu let out a very arrogant cry as it arrived on the arena.
After a month of training, Staryu was quite obedient to him.
And Chen Xi also wanted to test Staryu's newly constructed tactical system in this battle.
"Is it Staryu?!" Shi Ying didn't care too much when he saw Chen Xi hadn't summoned that Grotle.
Since he already knew that the Grotle had strong defenses, the Pokémon he sent out later would eventually target it.
Exposing too much battle information to Trainers of the same level could be absolutely fatal.
It was this Staryu, whose abilities were unknown, that Shi Ying found truly difficult to deal with.
"Use Psybeam!"
"Bubble Beam!"
Both sides issued their commands.
A Psybeam erupted from Girafarig's mouth.
And Starmie, not to be outdone, launched a Bubble Beam.
In an instant, the two beams of light collided almost simultaneously.
A thunderous explosion stirred up clouds of smoke. This clash was evenly matched, and neither Pokémon was significantly harmed.
This initial exchange, a mere test of strength, made both sides realize that the two Pokémon were almost equally matched in power.
In terms of raw ability, Girafarig was one level higher than Staryu, but when it came to actual stats, Staryu was not inferior.
However, after Psybeam was fired, it disappeared, but the Bubble Beam contained a trace of Starmie's Confusion, and a good amount of it was preserved.
Even the explosion just now didn't completely eliminate all the bubbles; many still lingered and swirled on the battlefield after this clash.
Looking at the bubbles swirling on the battlefield, Shi Ying wasn't particularly flustered. Instead, he said to Girafarig, "Use Zen Headbutt."
As he spoke, Girafarig charged and lunged towards Staryu, its head emitting a blue light.
Chen Xi slightly narrowed his eyes, watching Girafarig's glowing head.
To be honest, Zen Headbutt was not a move that a level 29 Girafarig could master.
Girafarig's ability to master it early indicated that Shi Ying had specially trained it in this aspect.
"Use Bubble Beam on the ground, and fly up!" Chen Xi seized the opportunity and decisively commanded Staryu.
In an instant, Staryu was seen spraying Bubble Beam at the ground, leaping into the sky.
Girafarig charged straight in, unable to brake, and could only crash into the Bubble Beam.
However, as the Bubble Beam landed on Girafarig, its tail was seen emitting a Confusion glow.
Waves of Confusion rippled, and at this moment, Girafarig was clad in a Psychic garment. The Bubble Beam landed on Girafarig, causing countless ripples. Although it inflicted damage on Girafarig, the damage was not fatal.
"Huh!" Chen Xi was slightly stunned. Although Girafarig still took damage in this attack, the damage was clearly reduced.
It was the application of Confusion's Protect form.
"Don't underestimate Girafarig's tail. Although the brain on its tail is just for decoration, it can give it the ability to make certain moves instinctive!" Shi Ying said, "Alright, this battle is over! Zen Headbutt!"
As he spoke, Girafarig leaped up and charged directly at Staryu in mid-air!
But at this moment, Chen Xi said, "You shouldn't underestimate my Staryu either. Shinny!"
In an instant, an unparalleled dazzling bright light bloomed on the arena, its brilliance assaulting everyone's eyes.
Their eyes simply couldn't open!
Compared to the stimulating sensation brought by a normal Shinny, the light emitted by a Pokémon with the Illuminating ability was at least several times stronger than a normal Pokémon's Shinny.
But even so, Shi Ying remained composed, "Even without eyes, Girafarig can confirm its target using Confusion. Your Staryu is just struggling in vain!"
"Is that so..." Chen Xi replied with a sneer.
Finally, as the light gradually dispersed, everyone's eyes slowly adjusted to the surrounding brilliance, only to see Girafarig being knocked away by the Bubble Beam.
Chen Xi said, "Girafarig's tail at the back has the ability to stay awake for twenty-four hours, I already knew that.
But you're right, it doesn't have a brain. If I use Confusion to build a model with the bubbles from Bubble Beam, even with Confusion's sensory ability, it will still Charge right into it!"
However, despite this, Girafarig stood up again at this moment.
Although Girafarig didn't successfully attack Staryu, the Bubble Beam that landed on Girafarig was blocked by that seemingly continuous Psychic cloak.
So, at this moment, Girafarig still appeared energetic and full of stamina.
