Cynthia suddenly realised that, as his online friend, her tone just now had been a little too harsh.
She quickly tried to fix it.
[KingGarchomp:You can joke around, but you can’t hurt a girl’s feelings. At the very least, you should be sure you like her before pursuing her, right?]
[Singing Jangmo-o:You’re right!]
[KingGarchomp:First, tell me how you feel about that girl]
[Singing Jangmo-o:When we first met, she stood in front of the ice cream cart for more than an hour and still couldn’t decide what flavour to buy]
[Singing Jangmo-o:She seemed a little dazed. Also, during the time it took to drink tea, she went to the bathroom twice. I feel like her kidneys might not be great]
Cynthia stared at the screen.
For a moment, she did not know what to say.
Then she gritted her teeth.
[KingGarchomp:What about her good points?]
[Singing Jangmo-o:Obviously, she’s beautiful]
Idiot.
Is that all he focused on?
And he wanted to pursue her?
Not in this lifetime!
Fine.
She would ruin it herself.
[KingGarchomp:When pursuing girls, you need to be direct. Go up to her, pin her against the wall, and I guarantee her heart will start racing. She’ll fall for you before she even knows what happened]
[Singing Jangmo-o:Isn’t that a little too bold?]
[KingGarchomp:Why are you being cowardly now? You were very bold when you talked about going to that kind of place. Don’t tell me you’re only brave online?]
[Singing Jangmo-o:Me? Afraid? Next time, I’ll definitely try it. I’m going to practise wall-pinning right now]
Once her anger faded, Cynthia suddenly realised something...
The person he wanted to pursue was her.
Which meant that next time they met, she might be the one getting pinned against a wall.
She felt like slapping herself!
After sending the message, Julian really did start testing different wall-pinning poses against the kitchen wall.
Maylene walked in.
"Julian, what are you doing?"
"....."
He froze awkwardly.
"I’m a little tired. Just stretching."
"Is the food ready? Everyone finished training and they’re waiting for the post-training meal."
"Almost. Tell everyone to gather in the dining room."
...
Early the next morning, another challenger arrived at Veilstone Gym.
He wore a sleeveless leather jacket that exposed his scrawny frame. His hair stood up like a broom, several earrings hung from his ears, and his face was full of arrogance and disdain.
He looked like a street thug.
"I’m here to challenge the Gym. Who’s the Gym Leader of Veilstone Gym?"
Maylene stepped forward.
"Please wait in the reception room. He will be here soon."
The thug pointed at himself and lifted his chin.
"What? You’re making me wait? Do you know who I am?"
She shook her head.
"If you want to challenge Veilstone Gym, you wait. If you don’t want to challenge, leave."
The thug snorted coldly and dropped onto the sofa.
"Fine, I’ll wait. But if Veilstone Gym’s strength doesn’t satisfy me, I’ll proport you to the League!"
Maylene’s lips twitched.
"You mean report."
His face flushed.
"Hurry up and call your boss out!"
Maylene badly wanted to kick him twice, but since he had come to challenge the Gym, Veilstone Gym could not refuse.
She could only hope Julian beat him properly later.
When she went in to report, Julian frowned slightly.
This kind of person was like gum stuck to a shoe.
Not dangerous, just disgusting.
They had to handle him carefully, or he really might go to the League.
Julian called his father.
At this hour, the man definitely had not woken up yet.
Sure enough, his phone was even turned off.
"Looks like I’m going again."
He attached the Poké Balls for Machop, Machoke, Hitmontop, and Croagunk to his belt, then went to the reception room.
"May I ask how many Badges you have?"
The thug asked arrogantly, "What? Can’t I challenge without Badges?"
"No. We decide the number and strength of Pokémon used based on how many Badges the challenger has."
The thug stood up directly.
"I’ve got plenty of strength. Send out your strongest Pokémon! Otherwise, even if I win the Badge, it won’t mean anything!"
So he was a complete rookie.
He probably wanted a Badge just to show off to his friends.
"All right. Please follow me. The match will be two-on-two."
"Two?"
Julian raised an eyebrow.
"Is there a problem?"
"No problem."
For some reason, the thug’s voice sounded a little guilty.
Once they reached the battlefield, Julian noticed that the mud Croagunk had splattered over an artificial hill yesterday had not been cleaned up.
Forget it.
It did not affect the battle.
"Go, Zubat!"
He was this arrogant with only a Zubat?
Fine.
Julian would give him an evenly matched battle.
"Croagunk, I’ll leave it to you."
Croagunk had not expected work to come so soon after joining.
"Zubat, Supersonic!"
"Dodge. Sludge Bomb."
Croagunk moved lightly and spat four clumps of sludge towards Zubat.
After the explosions, Zubat was blasted straight to the ground.
"Bulk Up."
"Zubat, use Leech Life!"
"Brick Break."
Croagunk struck the top of Zubat’s head with one palm.
Zubat fainted on the spot.
Croagunk stared at his palm in surprise.
Had he improved this much after just one afternoon of training yesterday?
"Challenger, please send out your next Pokémon."
The thug recalled Zubat, turned, and ran towards the exit.
"I forfeit!"
Not long after he left, another Trainer arrived.
He wore glasses, and his eyes looked rather gloomy.
"Hello. I’m Aiden from Eterna City."
A local Sinnoh Trainer.
Julian went through the usual explanation, and Aiden nodded.
"I already have four Badges."
Julian smiled.
"Then the battle will be three-on-three. Please follow me."
"Go, Machoke."
"I’m counting on you, Hypno."
The moment he saw Hypno, Julian knew the opponent had come prepared.
"Hypno, Hypnosis."
"Machoke, Mud-Slap."
A clump of mud flew out and directly interrupted Hypno’s Hypnosis.
"Knock Off."
Before Hypno could wipe the mud from its body, Machoke’s dark-coated hand was already pressed against its face.
Smack.
Hypno’s head snapped aside, and it flew out before fainting the moment it hit the ground.
"Drifblim, Shadow Ball!"
"Knock Off!"
Machoke twisted his body to avoid Shadow Ball, stepped onto a rock, and leapt forward, striking Drifblim across the face with one palm.
Drifblim endured better than Hypno and did not faint.
That was fine.
Machoke immediately pounced.
Another slap.
Before Drifblim could even react, two heavy palm strikes knocked it unconscious.
To deal with Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokémon, Dark-type moves had always been a key part of Veilstone Gym’s training.
"Starmie, Psychic!"
"Dig."
Machoke quickly dug underground and disappeared, causing Starmie’s slow-starting Psychic to lose its target.
When he emerged from below, a fist wrapped in lightning sent Starmie flying.
All three Pokémon had fallen with almost no resistance.
"Veilstone Gym may not be one of the most popular Gyms, but it can’t be beaten just by catching a few Pokémon with favourable types."
"I hope next time, you’ll train those three properly before challenging us again."
The challenger said nothing and with a dark expression, he left Veilstone Gym.
Resentment built in his heart.
Julian’s words had cut him deeply.
He felt looked down on.
He had to find a way to get back at him.
Maybe he could ask around nearby and see if Veilstone Gym had any weaknesses.
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