Violet Gym.
Heiduo stood before a mushroom-shaped Gym, staring at the bizarre building with some hesitation.
The Gym's design was so horrifying that he did not even know where to begin criticizing it.
The excessive number of windows on the main structure was neither aesthetically pleasing nor practical, since they were all sealed shut. The purple paint used to divide the floors on the outer walls clashed terribly with the building's grayish-white bricks. The entire Gym looked like a joke some architect had made while drunk.
Heiduo could not help wondering whether the designer had some grudge against Falkner's family.
Pushing open the Gym's doors, Heiduo was astonished by the sight inside. The entire building was hollow, with the ceiling located at the very top, in that protruding section. The layers of purple paint on the outside were only for... decoration?
Beside the entrance stood one of those statues found in every Gym in the games. To this day, Heiduo still could not figure out which Pokémon it was supposed to depict.
"Hello! Are you here to challenge the Gym?"
The statue suddenly spoke in a stiff mechanical voice, giving Heiduo a small fright.
After a moment of hesitation, Heiduo said, "No, I'm here to scout the place out. And you are?"
"Scout the place out? 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 reply.
Heiduo understood. The statues in the games really did speak, but because they were game AI, they only repeated the same lines.
He said, "It means inspecting a place beforehand to prepare for officially coming here later."
"Oh, I see. Then why are you scouting the place out? Are you not confident in yourself, or not confident in your Pokémon?" The statue's mechanical voice was somewhat grating, making Heiduo instinctively step farther away.
Without changing his expression, Heiduo said, "If being cautious can be seen as cowardice, then I admit it."
"Hahahahaha." The statue's speaker instantly blared out 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 a few times and fell silent.
An elevator?
Following the "staff member's" instructions, Heiduo successfully found the elevator and arrived at the very top floor of Violet Gym.
As the elevator doors opened, a battle arena resembling a soccer stadium came into view. There were stands on all sides, but no grass.
The vast battlefield was incredibly empty. Heiduo could count the people present on one hand.
At the center of the arena stood a silver-gray-haired, stubble-faced man wearing a flight jacket and goggles, smiling at Heiduo.
"Hello! Future challenger! My name is Feng! I'm the Gym Leader of this Gym!" The middle-aged man exuded a wildly carefree air. He did not resemble a Gym Leader in the slightest, but rather one of those explorers from American movies.
Feng!
Heiduo froze. Wasn't this the author of the book he had read yesterday?
And shouldn't Violet City's Gym Leader be Falkner...
Ah! Falkner's dad! The man who had been attacked by Suicune and had ultimately failed to capture it even after joining forces with Chuck, the Cianwood Gym Leader!
In an instant, Heiduo recalled Feng's background. This man had appeared very little in Pokémon Adventures. He had not expected Feng to still be a Gym Leader at this time.
"Hello, my name is Heiduo. I'm a Pokémon Trainer." Heiduo gave a small bow, when suddenly his vision blurred.
A giant metal 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 Leader!
Heiduo's eyes gleamed. This was the first time he had seen a Pokémon of such a high level. Seven Level Seven Moves and one Level Eight Move left him in awe.
He wondered how long Feng had spent training this Skarmory to such a degree. Feng did not have Heiduo's Golden Finger; he had relied entirely on his own training.
What a pity that he had not become one of the Elite Four later, letting that junior Will take the position instead.
"It looks like you're quite interested in it?" Feng noticed that Heiduo had been staring at Skarmory and patted its metal wing.
Its wing made a loud clang, clang sound.
Unlike its heavy appearance, Skarmory's wings were hollow, allowing it to soar lightly and freely through the skies.
Heiduo realized that his gaze must have been rather obvious. Two people had already noticed him looking at their Pokémon.
"I'm just surprised by how strong it is," Heiduo said honestly. Level 76 was the highest level he had ever seen.
What level would the 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 objections." Heiduo could not refute him. After all, he could not tell Feng that he could see a Pokémon's Energy Level with his naked eyes.
"Hahaha, you're quite stubborn!" Feng laughed heartily and glanced sideways at Skarmory. Could it really be so strong that anyone could tell just by looking at it?
Skarmory spread its wings. "Skaaah—!!"
It had already grown to the point where it could understand most human speech.
No one could avoid feeling pleased when praised.
Heiduo's praise made it feel quite satisfied, and it could not help developing a bit of fondness for the boy. If Feng used it to battle Heiduo's Pokémon, it would not mind going easy on him.
"Show-off!" Feng laughed and scolded it, patting Skarmory on the head. He had lived with Skarmory for more than ten years, and their mutual understanding had reached a terrifying level. How could he not know what Skarmory was thinking?
Skarmory did not care. Flapping its wings, it ran over to Heiduo and pecked his hand with its metal beak.
Heiduo reached out and stroked Skarmory's armor-like head. It felt as cold as he had imagined.
Its wings and body were covered in countless tiny scars. Heiduo knew they were scars accumulated over the years from injuries that had not been treated in time.
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. These scars would not harm the Pokémon itself, but to a Trainer, they nailed them to the pillar of shame marked "dereliction of duty."
"If you want to observe another Trainer challenging the Gym, you can head to the stands now." Feng suddenly interrupted Heiduo's interaction with Skarmory and pointed 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 arranged for me today?" Seeing Heiduo, the young man assumed he was a challenger who had arrived before him. He sounded anxious, but remained polite.
Generally, Gym Challenges had to be booked in advance, because a Gym Leader would not necessarily be at the Gym at all times. Furthermore, a Gym Leader's Pokémon were limited. Pokémon that had battled needed rest, so even the most hardworking Gym Leader could only receive three to five challengers in a day.
Those who arrived later would have to wait until the next day.
Heiduo knew his place and silently headed toward the stands.
Feng chuckled twice and said gently, "Of course. I've been waiting for you for quite some time."
"That's wonderful! Mr. Feng, when can we begin?" Shangzhu was delighted. To deal with Feng, this "master" famous throughout Johto, he had specifically done some homework today.
Feng had seen plenty of impatient challengers like Shangzhu and knew that he must have come prepared. Still, Feng was very confident in his own strength.
Shangzhu was led by Feng to the center of the battlefield.
"How many badges do you have?" Rather than immediately announcing the start of the match, Feng asked Shangzhu this question.
Gym Leaders generally decided the difficulty of a battle based on how many badges a challenger possessed. Very 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 the sixth badge I'm about to earn!"
Shangzhu was very confident in himself and believed that he would definitely conquer Violet City's 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 roughly the size of a human torso, with a wingspan nearly four meters wide, resembling a swallow with extremely long scissor-like tail feathers, flapped 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 type and Flying type Pokémon! It's a very determined fellow! I only caught it because I was moved by its spirit!" Feng stroked the feathers on Swellow's chest. A bird's flight speed and endurance were closely related to whether it possessed strong pectoral muscles, but unfortunately, Swellow did not have the Big Pecks ability.
Shangzhu's eyes shone. Discovering new Pokémon always excited him, especially with Swellow's gorgeous and cool appearance and its disdainful gaze. It scratched him right where he itched.
He decided that Hoenn would be the next region he traveled to. He had to visit it at least once, even 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 their Pokémon first, while the challenger got to attack first.
Before you continue