“Vigoroth is unable to battle! Crawdaunt wins! The challenger, Kuroba, is victorious!”
The referee raised the red flag and announced the result.
Kuroba looked at Crawdaunt with satisfaction.
“You worked hard, Crawdaunt. Come back and get some proper rest.”
After recalling it, Kuroba took out his Pokédex.
“Beep, beep, beep—”
“Crawdaunt, the Rogue Pokémon. Water and Dark type. The evolved form of Corphish. Crawdaunt has an extremely violent temperament and will readily start fights. Other creatures avoid ponds inhabited by Crawdaunt, leaving those places lonely and deserted.”
“Ability: Adaptability. Gender: Male. Height: 1.3 meters. Weight: 40 kilograms. All physical indicators are well above the species average. Excellent development.”
“Known moves: Swift, Vice Grip, Leer, Bubble Beam, Harden, Bubble, Protect, Double Hit, Knock Off, Night Slash, Razor Shell, Aqua Jet, and Dragon Dance.”
Kuroba studied Crawdaunt’s newly updated information on the screen and smiled.
“We’ve been together for a year now, and you’ve finally evolved. That star on your head doesn’t look half bad.”
To outsiders, Crawdaunt might have looked fierce—even ugly.
But to Kuroba?
It looked incredibly cool.
Norman walked over at that moment.
“Congratulations, Kuroba. This is proof that you defeated me—the Balance Badge.”
Kuroba accepted the Badge with both hands.
It resembled a set of scales, though from another angle it almost looked like a dumbbell.
A quiet happiness rose inside him.
His lips curved upward.
“So this is my first Badge…”
Norman had already developed a strong appreciation for the talented young Trainer before him.
After watching Kuroba battle firsthand, he felt even more inclined to offer him some guidance.
“The lesson I want challengers to take away from me as a Gym Leader is balanced development.”
“Most people will tell you to raise each Pokémon according to its natural strengths—to emphasize what it excels at and compensate for what it lacks.”
“But personally, I prefer a more balanced approach.”
“If you can train a Pokémon’s weaknesses until they become comparable to its strengths, then your Pokémon will have no obvious openings for an opponent to exploit.”
Norman’s words struck Kuroba harder than he expected.
“Big Brother! Big Brother! You won! You actually beat Daddy! You’re amazing!”
May came racing over on her short legs, her bright eyes sparkling as she looked up at Kuroba with undisguised admiration.
Kuroba could only smile helplessly.
“This little girl really thinks I defeated Norman for real. She doesn’t realize this was only a Gym challenge—a teaching battle from beginning to end.”
If Norman truly fought seriously, Kuroba suspected that only an Elite Four-level Trainer would have a realistic chance against him.
Norman, meanwhile, looked somewhat awkward.
His own daughter was celebrating Kuroba’s victory without offering even a single word of comfort to her defeated father.
He kept smiling on the outside.
Inside, however, his heart was bleeding.
“Kuroba.”
Norman’s expression turned serious.
“Devoting yourself completely to Pokémon is a difficult road. I hope that one day I’ll see you standing on the stage of the League Conference.”
Kuroba bowed respectfully.
“Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Norman.”
“There’s no need to thank me. Just remember to register the result at the Gym’s front desk.” The source of this chapter is g.com.
Norman gave May a few brief instructions before turning and leaving.
The Gym had only just been established, and an endless pile of tedious administrative work still needed to be handled.
For a battle fanatic like Norman, who cared far more about Pokémon battles than paperwork, it was enough to give him a headache.
“Congratulations, Trainer Kuroba! Your battle record and video footage have been uploaded to the League database. You may review them at any time through your Trainer identification card or Pokédex.”
After confirming the information, the receptionist spoke to him respectfully.
Kuroba lifted the Balance Badge toward the overhead lights.
Under the illumination, the Badge gleamed beautifully.
“My first Badge…”
His heart surged with ambition.
“Then I’ll treat this as the starting point of my conquest of the League.”
A Trainer needed eight Gym Badges to challenge the League Conference.
Of course, Hoenn did not have only eight Gyms.
In reality, there were likely more than twenty officially recognized Gyms scattered throughout the region.
And those were merely the League-certified ones.
There were also many privately operated Gyms that the League did not officially recognize.
After leaving the Gym, Kuroba hurried back to the Pokémon Center.
Fortunately, the two buildings weren’t far apart; both stood near the center of Petalburg City.
“Nurse Joy, I’m counting on you.”
Carvanha had been badly injured by Vigoroth and was still unconscious inside its Poké Ball.
Crawdaunt had suffered lighter injuries, but it had also just evolved and needed time to adjust to its new body.
Kuroba therefore handed both Pokémon over for treatment.
“Don’t worry, Kuroba. Leave your Pokémon to me.”
Joy Rin’s voice remained as gentle as ever.
The Chansey beside her clapped its little hands.
“Chansey!”
Kuroba sat down in the lobby to wait.
While his Pokémon were being treated, he began reviewing the battle in his head and analyzing his mistakes.
Post-battle review was an indispensable habit for anyone who wanted to become a powerful Trainer.
“Balanced development… So that’s Norman’s philosophy as a Trainer?”
It wasn’t long before Nurse Joy returned.
This was one of the privileges enjoyed by Trainers directly affiliated with the Pokémon League: even their Pokémon’s treatment received priority.
Plenty of ordinary injured Pokémon were still waiting nearby.
Even when their Trainers saw someone being moved ahead of them in line, none dared complain.
These were rules established by the League.
Few people dared challenge them.
“So his Corphish has already evolved into Crawdaunt?”
After Kuroba left, Joy Rin recalled the condition of his Pokémon.
“Judging by the hardness of its shell and its overall size, it has developed extremely well. Kuroba really may be a genuine talent.”
She silently memorized his name.
“I’ll upload the information to the family database first. Whether he’s worth drawing closer will depend on the family’s assessment.”
Joy Rin watched Kuroba’s departing figure and transmitted the information to the Joy family.
If the family later decided that Kuroba possessed sufficient value, they would most likely consider arranging a marriage between him and a woman from one of the Joy family’s branch lines.
To put it less politely, it would essentially mean marrying into the Joy family.
Even so, countless male Trainers would probably consider such an opportunity a dream come true.
…
“Big Brother, Daddy is so useless! You beat him way too easily!”
May held Kuroba’s index finger as the two walked through the bamboo grove behind Petalburg Gym.
Kuroba immediately glanced back toward the Gym and broke into a nervous sweat.
“May, you shouldn’t say bad things about your father. That’s something a naughty child would do.”
“Oh… then I won’t say it anymore.”
May puffed out her cheeks unhappily.
She was still upset.
Her parents had been busy every day, and ever since their family moved to Hoenn, Kuroba had been the only person who consistently spent time playing with her.
“Big Brother, when I start traveling someday, I want to become as strong as you! When that happens, can we travel together?”
May’s eyes shone with expectation.
It was difficult to refuse a child looking at him like that.
Kuroba smiled and gently patted her head.
“Sure. But I wonder which Pokémon you’ll choose as your first partner when that day comes.”
The question seemed to stump May.
She raised her little fingers and began counting her choices.
“Hmm… Torchic seems nice. Mudkip is really cute too. Treecko looks a little too cold and serious, so I don’t like it as much.”
Kuroba’s mouth twitched.
“As expected of a Gym Leader’s only daughter. She’s considering nothing but the three Hoenn starters. Other Pokémon don’t even enter the discussion. That’s what you call being born rich.”
Still, he offered her some genuine advice.
“Treecko might not fit every girl’s idea of cute, but Unburden can be an excellent Ability. Mudkip has a very favorable type combination once it fully evolves—Swampert’s only type weakness is Grass, although it’s four times weak to it.”
“As for Torchic…”
Kuroba smiled.
“If you can get one with Speed Boost, that would be almost perfect.”
May stared at him blankly.
She had never imagined that choosing a first Pokémon could involve so many considerations.
She had only thought Torchic looked the cutest.
Her admiration for Kuroba grew another step.
Big Brother really was amazing!
“A Torchic with Speed Boost…”
May quietly repeated the words.
Without realizing it, a tiny seed had been planted in her heart.
You can join my P.
@.
T.
R.
3.
0.
N to get access to 50 additional chapters!
/Meegoatbaa Whether you join as a free or paid member, you’ll also get access to 2 extra chapters.