Strength Rankings

"Hehehe..."

"What's wrong with him?"

Watching Leon rub himself all over a large chunk of Charcoal with a besotted look on his face, getting his clothes and face a little blackened in the process, Lulina asked helplessly.

"He might just be a little too excited. It's fine, he should calm down after a while."

Blake was also somewhat helpless. His only thought was that he absolutely had to make Leon wash his hands and face before they ate. Although item Charcoal did not shed nearly as much dust as ordinary charcoal, this was not how it was supposed to be handled.

"Sorry, sorry. He's just a little too excited."

Sonia's face was also full of embarrassment. Her childhood friend was being far too humiliating.

"It's fine. Just remind him to wash his hands and face. I'll go serve the food."

Blake waved his hand and turned toward the kitchen again.

"Char..."

Charizard walked over to Leon with a helpless expression. Wasn't that something Haunter had given him? Why was his Trainer hugging it so tightly?

"Ah, ah, ah, sorry. Here, Charizard. Sorry, sorry."

Seeing Charizard before him, Leon finally came to his senses. He seemed to have gotten too excited. He hurriedly handed the Charcoal over to Charizard, then casually wiped his face. It would have been better if he had not—after one wipe, his entire face became smeared black.

"Go wash your hands and face already! We're about to eat!"

Seeing her childhood friend making a fool of himself, Sonia pushed Leon forward.

"Hey, hey, hey, I know, I know!"

Leon stumbled toward the washroom. By the time he returned after washing up, the food had already been placed on the table.

"Um, Blake, I feel like this Charcoal is a little different. It's not like I've never seen Charcoal before, but the one I saw before felt much worse than this one."

Leon asked curiously while shoveling food into his mouth.

"Maybe it's because of time, or maybe it has something to do with the strength of the Pokémon that made it. The Pokémon that make the most ordinary Charcoal usually aren't very strong, or perhaps too much time has passed, causing the energy inside to dissipate or be absorbed, leaving it unable to exert enough power. Although my dad isn't exactly a proper Trainer, he's still pretty strong. At the very least, Chandelure and Trevenant are both probably close to Elite Four level."

Blake said this after swallowing the food in his mouth. To be honest, determining a Pokémon's strength in this world was a rather mysterious matter. Although many people had roughly divided it into tiers, those tiers were far from rigorous. Pokémon were miraculous beings, after all. No one could say when they might create a miracle. Pikachu's Thunderbolt could severely injure Ground-type Pokémon, and Bellsprout's Razor Leaf could cut through steel. So what truly counted as Elite Four level was often impossible to define clearly. But one thing was beyond doubt: once a Pokémon reached Elite Four level, it truly opened up a gap between itself and ordinary Pokémon. It was a difference visible to the naked eye. Pokémon below Elite Four level could almost never create miracles when facing a genuine Elite Four-level Pokémon.

"Elite Four level? Ah, I really want to battle one!"

The moment Leon heard that, his whole body perked up. He spoke with a longing expression. He was that kind of person—he wanted to challenge anyone and everyone, and had never known how to spell fear.

"You'll have the chance. But my dad isn't very good at battling, at least not official battles. He's better at fighting wild Pokémon in ruins."

Blake did not feel that Leon was overestimating himself. After all, this guy was practically built like a Champion within a year. Someone like Blake's dad, who was not good at formal battles, really might not be able to beat Leon. Perhaps by the time Leon reached his sixth or seventh Gym, he would surpass Blake's dad. His Pokémon might not be strong enough yet, but a Trainer's ability could make up for that gap.

"Come to think of it, is Uncle coming back soon?"

Lulina asked.

"Yes. He said it should be sometime in the next few days, though that isn't certain. It's not like this is the first or second time he's stood me up. I'm used to it by now."

Blake shrugged indifferently. His dad's work truly involved too many uncertainties. Sometimes, he might even get intercepted on his way home and suddenly head off to another ruin. Of course, that was rare, but one should not forget that ghosts and evil spirits truly existed in this world. That had been his family's original mission as well. Although such incidents had become increasingly rare with the passage of time, with most now being urban legends repeated from person to person, some were undoubtedly real. Blake still remembered the thousand-year-old ghost girl at Maiden's Peak in Kanto.

However, Kanto and Johto were not his family's jurisdiction. There was a family in Kanto responsible for that area. Apparently, the two sides had declared long ago that they would have nothing to do with each other until death. If something happened locally and both sides arrived at the scene, one side would immediately turn around and leave. So Blake's family did not touch Kanto business, and that Kanto family did not come anywhere near Galar.

Still, that was the older generation's tradition. These days, both sides were suffering from a severe lack of talent. They would not take the initiative to contact each other, but they also held a largely indifferent attitude. If members of the two sides met, they probably would not even recognize one another. After all, no one wore those highly recognizable outfits from the past anymore.

"What a shame I can't stay much longer. We've already delayed too much. We only have half a year, yet it took me a whole month just to reach the second Gym. We need to speed up from here on."

Leon said regretfully.

"Why don't you mention whose fault it was that we moved so slowly?!"

Sonia glared fiercely at Leon. Other people who traveled slowly could reach Hulbury in two weeks, and those with transportation could get there even faster. Yet they had taken an entire month!

"Sorry, sorry. It won't happen again."

Leon pressed his palms together and said with a flattering smile. However, all three people present had witnessed Leon's sense of direction. No one believed him at all.

"Hmph, I told you I should drive, but you refused no matter what."

Sonia said angrily.

"Don't be ridiculous. You don't even have a driver's license, and we aren't old enough anyway."

Leon immediately shook his head. More importantly, he had once ridden in a car Sonia had secretly driven from home. That was the time Leon had felt closest to death. Over the course of fifty meters, they had destroyed ten meters of fence, three side-by-side trash cans, a utility pole, and one unlucky neighbor's small storage shed. As for Sonia's grandmother's cute little pink car, the fact that it had not exploded was already a blessing from above. For a long time afterward, Leon had developed an indescribable fear of cars.

"As long as... as long as... as long as we don't get caught, isn't it fine?"

Sonia muttered softly and haltingly.

"Pfft—cough, cough. Sorry, something went down the wrong pipe."

Blake could not hold back his laughter. A person with no sense of direction paired with a road menace really was a classic combination.

"Ah, it's fine. Let's eat, let's eat. Oh, right, my teacher told me that your match is ready for tomorrow. But are you sure you want to take on the challenge under high-standard rules?"

Lulina did not know what had happened, but she still tried to smooth things over and changed the subject.

"Of course! It's a shame I don't have enough Badges to challenge the highest standard, but since Charizard has already reached its third stage, that's enough for a high-standard challenge."

Leon said, giving a thumbs-up.

"All right. As long as you're confident."