Other People's Gym Challenges

Violet Gym.

Heiduo stood before a mushroom-shaped Gym, hesitating as he looked at the bizarre building.

The Gym's design was so unsettling that he did not even know where to begin criticizing it.

The excessive number of windows on the main structure was neither attractive nor practical, since they were all sealed shut. The purple paint dividing the exterior into floors clashed terribly with the building's gray-white brick walls. The entire Gym looked like a joke some architect had made while drunk.

Heiduo could not help suspecting that the designer had some sort of grudge against Falkner's family.

Pushing open the Gym's front doors, Heiduo was amazed by what he saw inside. The entire building was hollow, with the ceiling at the very top, inside that protruding section. The layers of purple paint outside were only for... decoration?

A statue found in every Gym in the games stood beside the entrance. Even now, Heiduo still could not tell which Pokémon it was supposed to depict.

"Hello! Are you here to challenge the Gym?"

The statue suddenly spoke in a stiff mechanical voice, startling Heiduo.

After hesitating for a moment, Heiduo said, "No, I'm here to scout the place. And you are?"

"Scout the place? What does that mean? I am a staff member of Violet Gym. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me." The statue explained Heiduo's question and waited for his response.

Heiduo understood. The statues in the games really did speak, but as game AI, they could only repeat the same line.

He said, "It means inspecting a place in advance to prepare for officially coming here later."

"Oh, I see. But why do you need to scout the place? Are you lacking confidence in yourself, or in your Pokémon?" The statue's mechanical voice was rather grating, making Heiduo instinctively move farther away.

Keeping a straight face, Heiduo said, "If caution can be considered cowardice, then I admit it."

"Hahahahaha." The statue's speakers immediately produced distorted laughter, and Heiduo covered his ears.

"Come up! There's an elevator over there! I'll wait for you on the top floor!" After saying that, the statue clicked twice and fell silent.

An elevator?

Following the "staff member's" instructions, Heiduo successfully found the elevator and arrived at the top floor of Violet Gym.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, a battle arena resembling a football stadium appeared before him, complete with spectator stands around it but no grass.

The enormous battlefield was incredibly empty. Heiduo could count the people there on one hand.

At the center of the field stood a silver-gray-haired man with stubble all over his face. He wore a flight jacket and goggles, watching Heiduo with a smile.

"Hello! Future challenger! My name is Feng! I'm the Gym Leader of this Gym!" The middle-aged man radiated a wild, unrestrained air. He looked nothing like a Gym Leader and more like one of those adventurers from American movies.

Feng!

Heiduo froze. Wasn't this the author of the book he had read yesterday?

And wasn't Falkner supposed to be Violet City's Gym Leader...?

Ah! Falkner's father! The man Suicune had attacked, who had later joined forces with Chuck, the Cianwood Gym Leader, yet still failed to capture it!

In an instant, Heiduo remembered Feng's background. This man had barely appeared in the manga special chapters. He had not expected Feng to still be a Gym Leader at this point.

"Hello, my name is Heiduo. I'm a Pokémon Trainer." Heiduo gave a small bow, and his vision suddenly blurred.

A large metallic bird swooped down from the air and landed beside Feng.

Skarmory!

[Pokémon: Skarmory / Gender: Male / Level: 76]

[Ability: Sturdy / Type: Steel + Flying / Trainer: Feng]

[Moves: Steel Wing lv8 / Slash lv7 / Swift lv7]

[Aerial Ace lv7 / Metal Sound lv7 / Agility lv7 / Roost lv7 / Fly lv7]

Wow! As expected of a veteran Gym Trainer!

Heiduo's eyes shone. It was the first time he had seen such a high-level Pokémon. Seven level-seven moves and one level-eight move left him utterly astonished.

He wondered how long Feng had spent raising this Skarmory to such a level. Feng did not have a cheat like Heiduo's; he had relied entirely on his own training.

It was a pity Feng had not become one of the Elite Four later on. That junior, Will, had taken an Elite Four position instead.

"You seem pretty interested in it?" Feng noticed Heiduo staring at Skarmory and patted its metal wing.

Its wing made a loud, metallic clang clang.

Unlike its heavy appearance suggested, Skarmory's wings were hollow, allowing it to soar lightly and freely through the skies.

Heiduo realized his gaze must have been rather obvious. Two people had already noticed him staring at their Pokémon.

"I'm just surprised by how strong it is." Heiduo told the truth. Level 76 was the highest he had ever seen.

What level would a Champion's Pokémon be?

Eighty? Ninety?

Surely they could not be max level, right?

Feng paused, then laughed. "Are you flattering me? That's not a good habit!"

"...If that's what you think, I have no objection." Heiduo could not refute him. After all, he could hardly tell Feng that he could see a Pokémon's energy level with his naked eye.

"Hahaha, you've got quite the stubborn mouth!" Feng laughed heartily, glancing sideways at Skarmory. Was it really so strong that someone could tell just by looking at it?

Skarmory spread its wings. "Skaa—!!"

It had already grown capable of understanding most human speech.

No one disliked being praised.

Heiduo's compliment pleased it greatly, and it could not help developing a little fondness for the boy. If Feng used it to battle Heiduo's Pokémon, it would not mind going a little easy on him.

"Vain thing!" Feng laughed and scolded it, patting Skarmory on the head. He had lived with Skarmory for over a decade. Their mutual understanding had reached a frightening level, so how could he not know what it was thinking?

Skarmory did not care. Flapping its wings, it trotted over to Heiduo and pecked at his hand with its metal beak.

Heiduo reached out to touch Skarmory's armor-like head. As expected, it felt icy cold beneath his hand.

Its wings and body bore countless tiny scars. Heiduo knew they were the marks of injuries that had not been treated in time, accumulating over the years.

That was what adventures in the wild were like. If there was no team medic and a Pokémon's injuries could not be treated immediately, scars would remain after later treatment. Those scars would not harm the Pokémon itself, but to a Trainer, they were a mark of shame branded with the word "neglect."

"If you want to observe another Trainer challenging the Gym, you can head to the spectator stands now." Feng suddenly interrupted the interaction between Heiduo and Skarmory, pointing behind him.

Heiduo understood. Turning his head, he found a panting young man standing behind him, followed by a huge blue-skinned creature that looked both like a dinosaur and a crocodile.

[Pokémon: Feraligatr / Gender: Male / Level: 52]

[Ability: Torrent / Type: Water / Trainer: Shangzhu]

[Moves: Ice Fang lv5 / Crunch lv5 / Thrash lv4]

[Slash lv5 / Hydro Pump lv4 / Surf lv5]

"Sorry! I'm the challenger who made an appointment yesterday! My name is Shangzhu! Is there a battle scheduled for me today?" Seeing Heiduo, the boy assumed he was a challenger who had arrived before him. He sounded anxious but remained polite.

Generally speaking, Gym challenges had to be booked in advance, since Gym Leaders were not necessarily at their Gyms at all times. Furthermore, a Gym Leader only had so many Pokémon. Pokémon that had battled needed rest, so even the hardest-working Gym Leader could only receive three to five challengers in a day.

Anyone arriving later would have to wait until the next day.

Heiduo knew his place and silently headed toward the spectator stands.

Feng chuckled softly and said warmly, "Of course. I've been waiting for you for quite a while."

"That's wonderful! Mr. Feng, when can we begin?" Shangzhu was delighted. To deal with Feng, the renowned Johto "master," he had specifically done some homework today.

Feng had seen plenty of challengers as impatient as Shangzhu. He knew the boy must have come prepared, but he was very confident in his own strength.

Shangzhu was led by Feng to the center of the battlefield.

"How many Badges do you have?" Feng did not immediately announce the start of the match. Instead, he asked Shangzhu this question.

Gym Leaders generally determined the difficulty of a battle based on how many Badges a challenger possessed. Few challengers could make a Gym Leader go all out.

At the mention of Badges, Shangzhu's face filled with confidence. He proudly said, "Five! This will be my sixth Badge!"

Shangzhu was extremely confident in himself. He felt that he would definitely conquer the Violet City Gym this time.

"Haha, confidence is a good thing, but too much confidence becomes arrogance!" Feng recalled the Skarmory beside him and removed a Great Ball from his waist.

Bang!

A Pokémon about the size of a human torso appeared. With a wingspan close to four meters, it resembled a swallow, with an extremely long, scissor-like tail. It beat its wings and hovered in midair.

[Pokémon: Swellow / Gender: Female / Level: 49]

[Ability: Guts / Type: Normal + Flying / Trainer: Feng]

[Moves: Fly lv5 / Aerial Ace lv4 / Air Slash lv4]

[Double Team lv4 / Substitute lv4 / Mirror Move lv4]

"It is a Pokémon I caught in Hoenn two years ago! Its name is Swellow, a Normal- and Flying-type! It's an incredibly determined girl! I only caught her because I was moved by her spirit!" Feng stroked the feathers on Swellow's chest. A bird's flight speed and endurance were closely tied to whether it possessed strong chest muscles, but unfortunately, Swellow did not have the big pecks ability.

Shangzhu's eyes lit up. Encountering a new Pokémon always excited him, especially one with Swellow's gorgeous, handsome appearance and proud gaze. It struck right at his weak spot.

He decided that Hoenn would be the next region he traveled to. He had to visit it at least once, if only for Swellow.

Watching Shangzhu's shining eyes, Feng smiled silently and said, "This is the first Pokémon I'm sending out. Your turn."

Unlike in the games, Trainers only needed to use three Pokémon when challenging a Gym. The challenger could switch Pokémon freely, but the Gym Leader could not.

Furthermore, the Gym Leader had to send out a Pokémon first, while the challenger got to make the first move.