It was evening.
After a short get-together at a barbecue stall, Roy took Bado and a group of his fellow apprentices to the port of Cianwood City.
As they parted, Roy noticed that Maylene wasn't in a good mood; his head was drooping and he seemed listless.
He knew the reason as well.
As if he had run into a jinx, Maylene was incredibly unlucky in this Martial Arts Tournament. First, he ran into Buying, Advanced Martial Artist he had previously fought in the finals.
The difference in strength meant that Maylene couldn't even last 10 seconds before Buying threw him off the arena.
In addition, her Lucario was outmatched and was eliminated by Korrina's Lucario.
So Maylene and her Lucario were eliminated in the preliminary rounds.
As the senior disciple, Bado didn't know what to say. He had witnessed Maylene's hard work at the dojo.
Every day before dawn, I have to go with these veterans from the dojo to face Bruno's extreme human training.
Moreover, being a girl, her physical condition was naturally weaker, but she still persevered throughout the entire process.
But Bado is bad with words. He can fight, but he really can't persuade Maylene. He opens his mouth for a long time but doesn't know what to say to comfort him.
In the end, Roy walked over to Maylene's side.
In a bad mood, Maylene felt a large hand land on her head. When she looked up, she saw Roy's smiling face.
"Maylene, your fight yesterday was fantastic, you've improved a lot."
"But... but I lost."
"So what? You're already better than you were a year ago."
"Am I stronger than I was a year ago?"
Roy placed his Gold Belt in Maylene's hands.
Maylene looked at the Gold Belt in her hand, wondering what Roy was up to.
Is it heavy?
"Heavy... heavy?"
"Is it so heavy you can't lift it?"
"No, not at all."
"Since it's not so heavy that you can't lift it, I believe you'll eventually be able to lift it on your own."
"Maylene, victory or defeat can happen in an instant, but what I saw was you and your Lucario fighting to the very last moment. You didn't let your teacher down. In my eyes, you are already your own champion."
"Am I my own champion?"
Maylene kept thinking about Roy's words; she did seem to be much stronger than she had been a year ago.
Roy nodded and took the Gold Belt from Ali's hand and put it on Maylene's body.
"Please bring the Gold Belt to my teacher."
"Good!"
After listening to Roy's inspirational words, the light that had appeared in Maylene's eyes when he first arrived in Cianwood City returned.
Roy was certain that even if Maylene were defeated by Shinji in this state, he wouldn't break through his defenses immediately; he might even have a real-life solo fight with Shinji.
As Roy said these words, Bado was somewhat surprised that Roy had become so refined and scholarly.
However, seeing that Maylene was feeling better, he didn't want to say anything more.
After seeing Bado and the others off at the port as they returned to their dojo, Roy went back to Aya's house behind the Azure City dojo.
When he returned, he found that Damaranch was no longer there.
After Chuck's explanation, Roy learned that Damaranch had other competitions scheduled, so he rode a Pidgeot away from Cianwood City after the Martial Arts Tournament.
Mustard, who was standing to the side, was not doing anything. He had come out to relax and travel the world, so he planned to stay in Cianwood City for a while before heading to the Kanto Region to visit Bruno.
Chuck was thrilled that Mustard was willing to stay in Cianwood City, and even wanted to become Mustard's apprentice.
However, Mustard stated that he had closed his doors and would no longer accept apprentices.
"Of course, I could consider those talented and young Pokémon Trainer."
As he said this, Mustard's gaze drifted towards Roy, intentionally or unintentionally.
But Roy seemed not to hear him and said to Mustard:
"I'll be leaving soon, Master Ma."
Seeing that Roy did not respond, Mustard felt a little disappointed, but did not press the matter further.
Mustard patted Roy on the shoulder.
"You were wearing your training clothes when we sparred earlier, kid. Are you looking down on this old man?"
Roy said "How dare I," but he didn't mean to belittle Mustard. He was wearing the training uniform for his own safety.
Although the training suit is heavy, it also offers some protection.
The training suit designed by Bruno, made of special materials, can withstand Explosion from an Intermediate King level Golem.
Wearing training clothes would actually better ensure his safety.
After all, Marshadow isn't in his shadow right now. If Mustard were to Kamehameha or something, and Chandelure and the Ancient Gengar didn't react in time, this weighted training suit would be his last line of defense.
"Roy, kid, let's have another match."
Roy nodded, and he and Mustard returned to the Gym.
However, both of them overlooked one person.
At this moment, Chuck was squatting in the corner of the Gym, drawing circles.
He's not young, and he doesn't have the talent yet...
After taking off his weight training clothes, Roy looked at Mustard.
Mustard stood with his hands behind his back, looking quite relaxed.
Roy swung his fist and charged at Mustard.
Although Roy had given it his all, Mustard's Master Martial Artist skills were undeniable.
Roy ultimately lost to Mustard, but it was a much better defeat than the last time when he was easily taken down.
Roy's punch even grazed Mustard's shoulder, almost knocking Mustard to the ground.
Feeling the occasional throbbing pain in his shoulder, Mustard nodded in satisfaction.
With his current strength, Roy is among the top fighters of the new Fighting type.
After his battle with Roy, Mustard was in high spirits. He took a fishing rod from his Spatial Bracelet and decided to go sea fishing on the beach.
"Master Ma, please take this."
Seeing the Pokéblock in Roy's hand, Mustard didn't refuse. He took it, waved to Roy, and went fishing.
Roy also released Dragapult, intending to leave Cianwood City.
Before leaving, Roy returned to Chuck's house.
"Misdreavus, Mimikyu, we should go."
"Dream!"
Hearing Roy's call, Misdreavus and Mimikyu appeared from the yard. They bid farewell to Rena, who had chased after them, and then entered Roy's Poké Ball.
"Aren't you going to stay a couple more days just to have a meal?"
Chuck originally wanted to keep Roy for two more days, but Roy refused, because Cynthia and her grandmother Professor Carolina's cruise ship was about to arrive in Goldenrod City.
He had to go to the port to wait for the two and then take them to the Ruins of Alph.
Seeing that Roy was busy, Chuck looked disappointed. He had originally wanted Roy to help tidy up the Gym that had just hosted the Martial Arts Tournament.
Do you want me to do manual labor again?
"I knew you weren't being kind; you're so insidious!"
"You've been eating at my house for a month, shouldn't you stay longer and do more chores?"
Roy waved to Chuck, patted Dragapult on the back, Dragapult soared into the sky.
Watching Roy's departing figure, Chuck sighed:
"It's great to be young, you can go wherever you want, unlike me. It's a pity that the Gym's cleanliness is left to those brats."
"What are you thinking about? Come back and help with the cooking!"
Upon hearing his wife Rena's voice, Chuck turned and walked towards the house behind the Gym.
"They're here!"