I skillfully swiped my card to get to the 10th floor.
Steven's Training Ground was deserted.
Steven has been away at Sinnoh on business with Mu Jin for the past two days and hasn't been at the Training Ground.
He's using the entire Training Ground by himself right now.
"Want to have a match, Primeape?"
"Extremely popular!"
Roy wrapped his hands with bandages, put on his boxing gloves, and walked into the battlefield with Primeape.
Agatha also lent Roy the Fighting type techniques from the Bruno's Fighting Dojo, and after practicing, Roy seemed to have opened a new door.
Since the second half of the year, Roy, feeling that his Fighting type skills training was nearly complete, began to spar with Primeape.
During this time, Primeape is not allowed to use skills, and Roy cannot use his Ghost Power either.
Both use the most basic Fighting type techniques, whether it's boxing or wrestling.
Primeape launched the first attack. He was nearly 30cm shorter Roy, making it difficult for him to attack Roy's upper body.
So Primeape focused its attack on Roy's chest and below, charging up a Stockpile punch towards Roy's chest with a fierce gust of wind.
Faced with Primeape's attack, Roy didn't try to take it head-on, but instead stepped back and dodged Primeape's Stockpile punch.
After dodging a punch, Roy seized the opportunity while Primeape was Stockpile and unleashed a powerful leg kick.
A year of training had greatly increased Roy's strength; his immense power even forced Primeape to retreat, completely unlike the bravery he displayed when facing Scizor.
Roy's continuous leg techniques forced Primeape to push back and block in defense.
The two exchanged about ten more blows on the battlefield before Roy finally threw Primeape.
The fists collided, and both were pushed back two steps by the reaction force of the other's force.
Even outside the arena, Misdreavus and Lampent could feel Roy's punches; the flames inside Lampent's lampshade flickered in the force of the punches.
Sometimes they wondered why Roy didn't go up and fight himself; otherwise, they wouldn't have had to lift a finger.
Back to the Rustboro Academy.
The gatekeeper had already left the gate open for Roy, and after Roy greeted him, he went inside.
Upon arriving at the back of the mountain, Roy found that the Mediterranean Director was already waiting for him at the door.
Compared to a year ago, the only change in the Mediterranean Director was that his hair had gone bald again, and the bald patches had expanded once more, but he still had a smiling face.
Roy's reputation at the Dome Arena is that he's a student of the Rustboro Academy, which will increase his Popularity Points.
This action also brought the Academy a high level of recognition.
This year's recruitment focused on Agatha's substitute coaching and Roy's performance at the Dome Arena, attracting many new students, including those from other regions.
"Roy, you must be exhausted again today. The director only knows you, you little rascal..."
Roy interrupted the Mediterranean Director's next rambling and asked directly:
"Just say what's on your mind, Director."
"Can't the director come to see you if there's nothing else?"
The Mediterranean Director, interrupted, expressed his dissatisfaction.
"Oh, well, I've seen them. If there's nothing else, I'll head back."
After Roy finished speaking, he turned to leave.
"No, no, no, it's nothing serious. It's just that the Jubilife Academy from the Sinnoh Region is coming to have an exchange with our Academy the day after tomorrow. There might be some battles involved, and we might need your help then."
Sinnoh's Jubilife Academy?
Exchange competition?
Don't worry, it definitely won't affect your Arena match tomorrow afternoon.
Mediterranean Director certainly knew the difference between the Academy Arena and the Dome Arena, as well as the significance of Roy's 99- Intermediate Division.
With Roy around, he didn't need to worry about the inter- Academy competition at all.
Roy raised his hand and rubbed his middle finger and thumb together.
The Mediterranean Director certainly knew what Roy wanted; as long as Roy was willing to help the Academy win, anything was negotiable.
"Understood! The director understands, you'll definitely get your share. Besides, if we win this exchange match, both Jubilife Academy and our Academy will receive rewards."
"Thank you very much, Director."
After saying that, Roy went straight back to his villa.
"Gengar, didn't our teacher come back today?"
"Ghost."
Gengar shook his head. In a year, he only leveled up by one level, reaching level 84. After that, it became very difficult to level up even one more time.
Of course, it could also be a limitation of talent.
Agatha now only comes back from Kanto about once a month, and Roy is completely left to his own devices, because she's realized she doesn't seem to have much to teach Roy anymore.
Whether it's training methods or combat skills, Roy has surpassed his teacher. Roy has mastered all sorts of underhanded tactics, such as Minimize Haze Will-O-Wisp, or using poison to protect others.
In terms of training, Roy can now use intermediate Evolution Stone Shard to create Pokéblock.
The magical crafting techniques were beyond Agatha could teach, and the rest of the training was supervised by Gengar and Arbok.
Roy took out the materials he had bought at the Devon Tower, and was about to turn on the Berry Blender when...
A large purple tail swayed in front of Roy's eyes, followed by the emergence of a gigantic snake head.
It was Agatha's Arbok.
Arbok accompanied Roy during his training in the Hoenn for a year, basically following Roy around every day, opening its gaping maw to bite Roy.
Roy can now accurately predict when Arbok will open its mouth and tighten its buttocks when it does.
The tacit understanding between the human and the snake was also cultivated.
Arbok discovered that Roy and he had many things in common, for example: they were both afraid of Agatha's sharp tongue.