"Snubbull!"
Even Electivire hadn't expected a Gym Leader-level Pokémon to unleash a move that powerful after so few years.
Had it been too long since its last battle? Was it getting old? Or had the world outside changed beyond recognition?
How times had changed!
"You don't have to pay for it. This is a normal part of a Gym Challenge."
One glance was enough for Volkner to see what worried Ye Lan.
Ye Lan wore the same expression Flint used to wear after causing trouble. Back then, Flint had been a rookie Trainer, scrimping and saving to raise his Pokémon.
Volkner's words let Ye Lan breathe a sigh of relief, but then he heard him continue:
"You won this battle."
"If you can master that ability you just used, you could earn a place among the Elite Four."
It had been so long since Volkner had battled a Trainer that he hadn't expected to lose to a kid from the Huaxia Region.
In both command and his Pokémon's potential, Ye Lan ranked among the best rookies Volkner had ever met. Or had the Pokémon world undergone another transformation while he'd been shut away in his Gym, raising the standard of Trainers everywhere?
Maybe it was time to see what was out there...
With that thought, Volkner snapped his fingers. A swarm of miniature robots flew out of openings in the metal walls and began repairing the damaged battlefield. He signaled the Mechanical Gym Leader Substitute to hand Ye Lan the Sunyshore Badge, then turned to leave.
"Please wait, Gym Leader Volkner. Wasn't this battle enough to rekindle your passion as a Trainer?"
At Ye Lan's words, Electivire's eyes lit up. It glanced at its Trainer expectantly.
Electivire found itself warming to the young man.
"Trainers as unusual as you are