Setting Out for Petalburg City

Last night, Sapphire had secretly overheard her father's phone call. It seemed someone had asked him to help with something, and she had a strong feeling they would get to go out and have fun.

Sure enough, early the next morning, Professor Birch called the three of them together. He had not originally intended to bring Sapphire along, but last time, he had been unable to resist her pleading and softheartedly agreed. Now he could only resign himself to it.

"Professor Rowan from Sinnoh has recently become interested in Hoenn's ancient myths. I remember there are several ancient murals deep within Granite Cave in Dewford Town. Go make some rubbings and bring them back!"

"We're going to Dewford Town? That's wonderful!" After waiting so long, Sapphire had finally gotten the chance to leave home.

"Behave yourself. While you're out there, you must listen to your eldest senior brother, understand? If you disobey, I won't let you go out again."

"Got it, got it."

"Teacher, if we're heading to Dewford Town from here, we have to pass through Petalburg City, right?" Zeno had already thoroughly studied Hoenn's map and knew exactly which route would save the most trouble.

"That's right. Littleroot Town isn't too far from Petalburg City, so I won't be seeing you off this time. Walk there yourselves and take in the natural scenery along the way."

Professor Birch had great confidence in his eldest disciple's strength. With Gu Yan leading them, the two younger ones would not run into any danger.

Gu Yan had originally planned to go by way of Littleroot Town, but Sapphire insisted on taking the forest route, saying she wanted something more thrilling. There were no particularly fierce Pokémon in this area, and Gu Yan felt confident he could protect the two of them, so he did not object.

Littleroot Town was not far from Petalburg City. Cutting through the forest would shorten the journey considerably.

"There are so many Wurmple here."

Not long after the three entered the forest, Sapphire was stunned by the sheer number of wild Pokémon. Almost every tree had one or two Wurmple clinging to it.

"There are quite a lot of Wurmple around here. They barely have any natural enemies." Gu Yan had visited this area several times and knew it fairly well.

"Senior Brother, these bugs are so lazy. All they do is lie on trees and eat."

"They're storing energy for evolution!" Zeno did not think much of it. Every Pokémon had its own habits; that was perfectly normal.

"Evolution... Wurmple can branch-evolve, right? I remember Beautifly is one of their forms."

Maybe girls were naturally predisposed to dislike caterpillars. Sapphire had no particular feelings toward them, though she thought Beautifly was quite pretty.

"Right, and the other form is Dustox."

"You know quite a lot, Junior Brother. So, can you guarantee that a Wurmple will evolve into a Beautifly?"

"You think too highly of me. From the moment a Wurmple is born, its genes have already determined its evolutionary path. That can't be changed."

"Do you like Beautifly, Junior Sister?" Gu Yan asked curiously when he heard her question.

"Of course! Who wouldn't like pretty Pokémon?"

"That one's easy. Every year, when the north wind arrives, Beautifly begin their migration. When that time comes, you can see tens of thousands of Beautifly around here!"

"Really?" Sapphire imagined the scene and felt a deep longing for it.

"Why would I lie to you? I discovered it when I was helping Teacher collect data before. I'll bring you two here to see it when the time comes."

"Okay! Okay!"

The three chatted as they followed the stream, treating this trip entirely like sightseeing. Suddenly, a young boy carrying a bug-catching net blocked their path. He looked about Zeno's age, though somewhat thinner. His clothes were old and worn, but his eyes were resolute.

"Hello, my name is A-Lu. Would you battle me?" The boy's tone was earnest. This was the only way he could gain experience.

Zeno looked at his senior brother and saw that Gu Yan had not expressed an opinion, leaving him unsure of what to do.

"Why are you looking at me? Go on. You don't expect me to bully a kid that young, do you?" Gu Yan whispered in his ear.

"Alright. My name is Zeno, and I accept your challenge. But I only have one Pokémon at the moment."

"No problem. Thank you!"

"I'll be the referee!" Sapphire exclaimed excitedly, forcefully squeezing her eldest senior brother aside.

"Can you handle it?" The moment Zeno said that, he met Sapphire's death glare and immediately changed his tune. "Fine, I have no objections."

"Ahem. The Pokémon battle between Trainer Zeno and Trainer A-Lu now begins. Each side may use one Pokémon." To show how professional she was, Sapphire even plucked a leaf to use as a flag.

"Go, Carvanha!"

"I choose you, Ninjask."

The moment he saw the Pokémon, Zeno felt this battle would not be easy. Ninjask was incredibly fast, and its Ability might be Speed Boost as well. Carvanha would have a hard time gaining the upper hand.

"Carvanha, Aqua Jet!"

"I won't let you succeed! Ninjask, Double Team!"

Ninjask concealed itself among a host of duplicates, leaving Carvanha completely unable to tell which one to attack.

"Good opportunity, Ninjask, use Fury Cutter!"

"Carvanha, take it head-on. When it gets close, use Scary Face!"

Ninjask was too fast. Unless he limited its speed, Carvanha would have a hard time even touching it. That Fury Cutter did not hurt Carvanha much, but Scary Face could greatly reduce Ninjask's speed.

"Ninjask, use Aerial Ace." A-Lu had not yet realized how serious the situation was.

"Don't be afraid. Clash with it head-on—Ice Fang."

The two Pokémon collided, and both suffered considerable damage. Carvanha was in relatively better shape, since it was not afraid of Flying-type moves. But that Ice Fang left Ninjask in a terrible state. Cold air swirled around its body, and it seemed to have suffered frostbite.

A-Lu's strategy was not very clear. Zeno had Ninjask's speed completely under control, and it was far too fragile. Seeing how poor Ninjask's condition was, Gu Yan knew it would definitely faint if the fight continued, and treating it would cost a large sum of money.

"Alright, that's enough. Hurry and check on your Ninjask. It looks like it has frostbite."

"Ah, then who won?" Sapphire sounded helpless. Was it over that quickly? She had barely had any presence as the referee.

"I lost. I'm an unqualified Trainer—I didn't even notice Ninjask's condition." A-Lu admitted defeat wholeheartedly.

Zeno sprayed some Full Heal on Ninjask, and it looked much better.

"Your Ninjask has been raised well. Its speed is excellent, so you should focus more on that. Just don't let others control its speed." Gu Yan offered his advice. He thought A-Lu had potential; after all, the knowledge he had access to was simply too limited.

"Thank you for your valuable advice. I'll remember it."

After the battle, the three continued toward Petalburg City. They had already covered more than half the distance, and after walking a little farther, they could see Petalburg City in the distance.