051 [The Iron Princess] / 052 [First Battle!]

Qiao Ran nodded, but Eve quietly tugged at his sleeve and whispered to him.

"When Sister Tie comes out later, don't call her by her name. Just call her Gym Leader Tie."

"Why?"

"Well... Sister Tie's name is a little special, so she doesn't really like people calling her by it. It often leads to all kinds of misunderstandings," Eve explained awkwardly.

"What's her name?" Instead of being deterred, Qiao Ran became even more interested.

"Um... it's Iron Maiden..." Eve blinked. "The name itself doesn't mean anything special. It's just that Sister Tie's parents happened to..."

"They happened to have the surnames Tie and Ji, right?" Qiao Ran instinctively finished her sentence, answering before she could.

Yet after saying that, Qiao Ran felt that something was a little off.

"A-Anyway, just don't call Sister Tie by her name." Eve's face reddened ever so slightly.

After Eve repeatedly emphasized it, Qiao Ran quietly committed it to memory. No matter what difficulties he encountered, he would never say it—unless he couldn't help himself.

Their wait at the Gym's front desk did not last long before a strikingly dressed woman appeared before Qiao Ran and Eve.

She was a beautiful woman in her twenties, with long silver-gray hair that shimmered as it swayed with her movements. Yet Qiao Ran's first impression of her was actually one word: cool.

She was tall and shapely, wearing a pair of long boots. Her fitted top and skirt resembled a military uniform, and she also had a long white trench coat draped over her shoulders.

But what drew the most attention was not any of that. It was the shining steel shovel in her hand. Heaven knew what she was carrying that thing for.

Fixing pipes??

"Eve—!"

The moment she saw Eve, she rushed forward and pulled her into an embrace. As for the shovel, she tossed it aside, where it landed with a terrifying BOOM.

Qiao Ran secretly glanced over and found that the marble floor beneath the shovel had actually been smashed into a crater. Just how strong was this woman?

"Pfft!" Caught off guard, Eve was immediately buried in Iron Maiden's soft mounds. Though her outfit was tight-fitting, Iron Maiden's assets were still terrifying.

"I never expected it, I really never expected it. I actually get to see you again at the Gym."

Iron Maiden hugged Eve for a while before finally releasing her, just before Eve suffocated.

"The last time I saw you, you were still a little girl. I never expected you to have improved so much."

Iron Maiden smiled as she patted Eve's head.

"Hehehe." Eve smiled as well. Being praised by an elder she admired made her very happy.

"But I never expected you to do so many things..."

"I didn't really do anything," Eve said, embarrassedly touching her cheek.

However, Iron Maiden suddenly shook her head.

"How can you say you did nothing? Didn't the two of you already elope from home? You actually had the courage to do something like that... Not bad, not bad."

"Huh?"

Eve's smile froze on her face, and her cheeks turned bright red.

Elope... e-e-e-e-elope??????

When did I ever elope???

Iron Maiden did not notice Eve's expression. Instead, she turned her gaze toward Qiao Ran. Compared to how she treated Eve, her eyes were far colder, her narrow gaze filled with icy hostility.

"Isn't that right, little boyfriend? You're the one who tricked little Eve into running away, aren't you?"

Facing Iron Maiden's hostile gaze, Qiao Ran could not help breaking out in a cold sweat. As expected of a Gym Leader, her pressure was truly terrifying. Yet his mind was filled with question marks.

Eloping???

Eloping??

I, Qiao, stand upright and sit straight. Why would I do something as meaningless as eloping?? Besides, even if he were going to elope, he would not do it with a loli-like girl such as Eve!

He did not want to get hauled away by the police!

"Eve and I are just traveling together. We only happened to be traveling together, and there's no special relationship between us. Once her sister gets here, I'll hand her over to her sister."

Qiao Ran anxiously defended himself. This concerned his reputation, so he had to make things clear. Otherwise, if his mother watched the news and saw her son appear on television in handcuffs with his face censored, it would be far too late.

"Your name is Iron Maiden, right? As a Gym Leader, how can you fail to see something so simple? We're just traveling together!"

Qiao Ran spoke with heartfelt sincerity, every word ringing like a bell. Yet the moment he finished speaking, the entire Gym fell silent as though it were haunted.

Iron Maiden's face darkened completely. She silently walked to the side and picked up the shovel from the floor with a clank.

"Saying my name wasn't enough, and you had to add that word on purpose..."

"Looks like... I underestimated you. You're quite the disobedient little brat..."

Iron Maiden

BOOM!!!

A tremendous crash rang out inside the Gym.

Watching the shovel fly past his forehead before burying itself deep in the wall behind him, Qiao Ran had only one thought left. If heaven gave him another chance, he would say only three words to the shovel's owner—"Fuck your mother."

"Not bad. You actually dared to provoke me, and you didn't wet your pants when facing my shovel. Little Eve really did pick herself a good man."

A sadistic smile curled across Iron Maiden's face as she removed the glove from her right hand.

She narrowed her eyes and lightly licked her lips with her tongue.

"Let me see what you're really made of. I'll cancel all my other matches this afternoon and focus entirely on dealing with you, little brother... Although your records say you only have one Badge, I won't treat you by one-Badge standards. Don't cling to any naive fantasies."

Iron Maiden's boots clicked crisply against the marble floor as she walked over to Qiao Ran and yanked the shovel from the wall. Cracked pieces of brick rolled across the ground.

The terrifying strength made Qiao Ran's heart tremble. Was this woman even human??? Could she be a Pokémon??

If this were not a Gym challenge, he might have pulled out a Poké Ball on the spot.

"Oh my god... More repairs again..."

The staff member beside them stared at the ruined floor and wall and let out a despairing cry, but nobody present heard her.

"Challenge me with everything you have! Exhaust your wits, your strength, and your very soul!"

Iron Maiden stopped a short distance from Qiao Ran, planting the shovel before herself and smashing another small crater into the floor.

"—Any man who cannot endure the trial of iron and blood can get the hell out of here!"

"The official battle begins in thirty minutes. Enjoy your final moments of leisure!"--------------------------------

The thirty-minute break was not very long, but Eve lowered her head and immediately apologized to Qiao Ran.

"I'm sorry... It's all my fault. Maybe I made Sister Tie angry, otherwise she wouldn't treat you like this... And she even increased the difficulty for you... She's really like an older sister to me..."

"It's fine. I think it might be my own problem."

Faced with Eve's apology, Qiao Ran rubbed his head in distress.

He felt as though he had been afflicted with a debuff called "whenever a humanoid woman he meets for the first time comes within three meters of him, her Favorability rapidly decreases." Long Jiangxue, Shi Yiyi, and even Iron Maiden had all been hit by this strange buff. As for Eve, the only one spared... perhaps it was because she had not come within three meters of him when they first met.

Not only that, but these Gym Leaders were stranger than the last. Longjiang City's Gym Leader had terrifyingly high mobility but did whatever she wanted, and she liked giving incomprehensible speeches about justice. As for this Iron Maiden... her name was strange, her clothes were strange, and even her strength was absurdly strange. Qiao Ran had the feeling that once the Pokémon battle began, the Trainer herself might charge onto the field carrying a shovel.

"Has she always been that strong?"

Qiao Ran was a little puzzled. If he had that much strength too, how could he keep getting pinned to the ground by his own Pokémon without being able to resist?

"Um... I'm not really sure. Sister Tie seems to have been like this since she was little, but I've heard some rumors."

Eve looked around before—

She quietly leaned close to Qiao Ran's ear.

"I'll tell you quietly, but you absolutely can't tell anyone I was the one who told you."

"I know, I know."

Qiao Ran swore that he would absolutely not tell anyone else. At most, he would chat about it with his own Pokémon.

"Okay... I heard that Sister Tie's ancestors were a little unusual... Apparently, her bloodline... contains Pokémon ancestry..."

"Wha..."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Ran's eyes widened in shock. He truly had not expected Iron Maiden's monstrous strength to be related to something like that.

"Shh—It's only a rumor. Nobody knows whether it's true or not. Humans couldn't possibly be with Pokémon, right? Something like that would be... way too perverted."

Eve placed a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture. Personally, she did not really believe such rumors. Humans and Pokémon were two different species, after all. At most, something like that could only be treated as legend.

"Mmm... yeah, humans couldn't possibly be with Pokémon, hahaha."

Qiao Ran nodded awkwardly, though nobody knew what he was really thinking.

Could Pokémon really not be with humans?

No—in the Pokémon world, examples and legends like that did exist. In the Unova region, there was a boy named "N" who had been born with the power to sense hearts. Judging from that ability and his green hair, he might very well have been the child of the telepathic Pokémon Gardevoir or Gallade.

And judging from how Rotom constantly mentioned "Humanshape Group, Humanshape Group," perhaps such a thing was not impossible. Though would they lay eggs, or give live birth?

No... no, why am I thinking about this stuff?

Qiao Ran shook his head and hurriedly drove away those messy thoughts. His Gym challenge was about to begin. This was not the time to think about such things.

Half an hour passed quickly. Under the staff's guidance, Qiao Ran arrived at the indoor arena of Jinling Gym.

There were no spectators here, nor was there a dazzling stage. It was merely an ordinary battle arena, though the decorations around it were filled with metallic, modern beauty.

"Welcome, challenger from Longjiang City."

Iron Maiden appeared on the other side of the arena, holding her shovel.

"You didn't run, and you didn't cower... Good. You are indeed qualified to stand here."

"The Gym Battle will be three-on-three. I'll send out my first Pokémon first. Think carefully about how you intend to respond!"

Iron Maiden took a silver-gray Poké Ball from her belt. Qiao Ran recognized its shape. Without a doubt, it was a special Poké Ball used to catch heavy Pokémon—a Heavy Ball.

"My first Pokémon will be—come out! Cacne..."

Iron Maiden shouted, but upon hearing that, Qiao Ran could not help sighing in relief.

Cacne... The only Pokémon with a name like that was Cacnea, which also happened to be a Steel-type. If it really was just an unevolved Cacnea, then the first Pokémon would be fairly easy to deal with.

However, seeing Qiao Ran's expression, Iron Maiden gave a light chuckle and suddenly stopped in the middle of throwing her Poké Ball.

"You... just sighed in relief, didn't you?"

"...!"

Having his thoughts suddenly exposed, Qiao Ran's eyes widened.

This woman...

"When you heard Cacne... you thought of Cacnea, didn't you? But that is undoubtedly wrong. The reason I called out Cacne is simply because that is this Pokémon's nickname. Don't think I'll go easy on you. Don't be so naive."

Iron Maiden wagged a finger, took out the Poké Ball again, and assumed a throwing stance.

"Come out! My first Pokémon—Ag! G! RON!!!"

First Battle!

BOOM!!

An explosive roar erupted from the ground. The instant that steel behemoth appeared on the battlefield, it radiated an overwhelming pressure. That earthquake-like shaking had been caused merely by it landing on the ground.

This was a Pokémon whose body was mostly covered in iron armor. It even had two sharp metal horns on its head, and every part of it exuded a sense of explosive power and strength.

ROOOAAR!!!

The giant beast roared, its almost tangible imposing presence washing over him. This was the unique solidity and weight of a Steel-type Pokémon.

"Aggron..."

Qiao Ran muttered, a drop of cold sweat sliding down his face.

"Aggron, the Iron Armor Pokémon. Level—32!"

Seeing the data displayed on the Rotom Dex, Qiao Ran took a deep breath. Just as that strange Gym Leader had said, she truly had no intention of holding back this time!