First Gym Challenge

Inside a café.

Heiduo sat on the sofa, with Mina and Kenzaki across from him.

In front of the three of them were three cups of coffee, a large stack of photographs, and a video currently playing.

Honestly, even after seeing so much evidence, Heiduo was unwilling to believe them outright. After all, a Pokémon called Ditto could perfectly transform one person into another.

But at the very least, Heiduo was willing to hear them out.

As for Heiduo's parents... he actually did not want to meet those two. For one, he had none of the original Heiduo's memories. For another, he had stolen their son's body. He simply could not bring himself to call them Mom and Dad.

According to Mina and Kenzaki, they had become Heiduo's parents' students within the last two years, so they had never met Heiduo. Coupled with his amnesia, it was only natural that he did not recognize them.

But then Heiduo was left somewhat dumbfounded.

According to them, Heiduo had grown dissatisfied because his parents had been away from home for long periods, leaving him alone in Sinnoh while they worked in Hoenn. He had run away from home, then somehow vanished without a trace.

It was not until today that they had learned of Heiduo's whereabouts.

As for Heiduo's parents, Mina and Kenzaki's expressions became a little strange when they mentioned them. They both said that his parents were currently extremely busy with work and likely would not be able to see Heiduo for the next two years.

Just look at that. So busy with work that they could not see their own son for two years. No wonder the original Heiduo had run away from home.

Impressive. Truly impressive.

By the end of the conversation, Mina said she was willing to teach Heiduo Pokémon massage and other related knowledge whenever he wished, but Heiduo refused.

Heiduo always felt uncomfortable accepting that kind of favor.

You could call him pretentious, or say he wanted to keep up appearances while acting shamelessly. He had clearly survived thanks to the original owner's parents' connections, yet he was unwilling to accept even some lessons.

But Heiduo truly did not like taking advantage of two strangers. He was just that hypocritical.

The main reason the two had come this time was to see Heiduo, check how he was doing, and give him some money while they were at it.

Heiduo already felt too embarrassed to accept the lessons, much less the money.

His refusal to accept anything worried Mina and Kenzaki terribly. They earnestly tried to persuade Heiduo to take the money.

Eventually, Heiduo simply got up and left. Only then did Mina and Kenzaki relent.

The three parted on good terms. Heiduo took nothing with him, only promising to regularly let them know he was safe and asking them to pass that on to his parents.

Though he did not understand why it needed to be passed on, Heiduo offered no opinion.

At around one in the afternoon, he parted ways with Mina and Kenzaki.

At that point, Heiduo only wanted to leave Violet City as soon as possible. The city was no longer worth exploring. If possible, he wanted to visit Goldenrod City next. As Johto's largest city, Goldenrod City would surely satisfy his needs.

The next day.

Heiduo arrived at Violet Gym early and took the elevator up to the battle arena.

At the center of the field stood Falkner, who had been waiting for some time.

Heiduo had come to Violet Gym the previous night to schedule today's Gym Challenge, so Falkner had spent the entire evening preparing.

Preparing himself mentally, as well as preparing his Pokémon's condition.

"You seem to be in a hurry?" Falkner looked at the fully equipped Heiduo, then at Shuangye hanging behind him.

He had never asked about Shuangye because he knew her background.

As a member of the Johto police, Falkner was well aware that Shuangye, the famous "rising star of the police force," no longer had a status that needed to be kept secret.

She was also the first undercover agent in recent years to go legitimate and become an [International Inspector] affiliated with Pokémon Association headquarters.

Her existence had restored confidence to countless undercover agents, who continued their infiltration with her as their goal.

That was beside the point.

Falkner withdrew his gaze. Perhaps because he was nervous, he unconsciously shifted his attention in an attempt to ease his psychological pressure.

Heiduo smiled faintly. "Because I don't have much time. If talent isn't enough, hard work has to make up for it!"

Pokémon massage was an important part of becoming a Breeder. If you could not massage Pokémon and relieve their physical fatigue, then you were not qualified to be a Breeder.

Hearing Heiduo's answer, Falkner was slightly stunned. "This is the first time I've met someone who admitted that they lacked talent!"

Heiduo did not respond. He knew exactly what he was like. If he really had talent, he would not have been troubled by Kakuna's slow leveling.

"Enough talk. Let's begin." Heiduo threw a Poké Ball.

Bang!

Kakuna appeared on the field.

Seeing Kakuna, Falkner bit his lower lip. He did not ask some foolish, mocking question like, "Are you stupid for using a Bug-type Pokémon against a Flying-type Gym?"

Bug types might be weak against Flying types, but Falkner believed Heiduo had his own considerations and was not simply acting recklessly.

He sent out his first Pokémon.

Bang!

A flash of white light appeared, and a Pokémon with three heads, resembling an ostrich but with extremely long beaks and black crest feathers atop its heads, appeared on the field with a piercing cry.

"Dodrio, huh?" Heiduo narrowed his eyes as Dodrio's information appeared before him.

[Pokémon: Dodrio / Gender: Male / Level: 33]

[Ability: Early Bird / Type: Normal + Flying / Trainer: Falkner]

[Moves: Fury Attack lv2 / Drill Peck lv3]

[Tri Attack lv3 / Agility lv2]

Mostly level-three moves. His chances were not low!

Heiduo glanced at Kakuna's status panel. He intended to let Kakuna gain some experience through this battle; winning or losing did not matter.

[Pokémon: Kakuna / Gender: Male / Level: 9]

[Ability: Shed Skin / Type: Bug + Poison / Status: Nervous]

[Additional Attributes: 18 / Friendship: 86]

[Moves: Iron Defense lv2 / Electroweb lv2]

[Poison Sting lv2 / String Shot lv2 / Bug Bite lv2]

It had reached level nine during their attack training last night. In his memories, Kakuna evolved at level ten. If luck was on his side, it should evolve today.

As long as it did not press B like Yellow.

Many Trainers believed Evolution was the end, but that was not the case. Evolution was only the beginning.

Throughout a Pokémon's long growth process, Evolution was merely an interlude in its life. Even without evolving, a Pokémon could still become strong.

For example.

In Pokémon Adventures, Ruby's friend Wally, who had asthma, rescued a Treecko caught in a flood and trained alongside it at Sky Pillar. In only half a day, he made the Treecko evolve into Grovyle.

He could be called the number one master of rapid Evolution!

There was also an example of the strong remaining strong.

When Ruby was young, under Norman's guidance, he used Poochyena, Ralts, and Skitty to successfully drive back a Salamence and protect Sapphire.

You had to know that Shelgon only evolved into Salamence at level fifty, and that Salamence belonged to Zinnia. It was impossible that it had been injected with Team Rocket's forced Evolution drug.

Ruby had driven back a Salamence of at least level fifty with two unevolved Pokémon. The importance of a Trainer was plain to see.

"The Violet Gym Challenge begins now. Challenger—Heiduo!" Feng stood off to the side and thoroughly explained the rules of the Gym Challenge to Falkner and Heiduo. He would serve as both referee and spectator, watching from the sidelines without speaking throughout the match.

Compared to the battle between Feng and Shangzhu, Heiduo's first Gym Challenge was full of ceremony.

Now that it was Heiduo's turn to attack first, he certainly would not be polite with Falkner.

"Iron Defense!"

At Heiduo's command, Kakuna immediately turned its pale golden shell silver-gray.

Iron Defense greatly increased a Pokémon's Defense, roughly doubling it. Since Dodrio only had physical moves, Iron Defense greatly enhanced Kakuna's ability to survive.

"Agility!"

"String Shot!"

The moment Falkner finished speaking, Heiduo followed up. He wanted Dodrio to use Agility to increase its mobility? Heiduo certainly would not let him get his way.

Sure enough, just as Dodrio's two thin, chopstick-like legs began to move, Kakuna sprayed out a massive amount of silk, blocking its path forward.

Unlike tough spider silk, the Bug silk Kakuna sprayed could not support its body and let it move using the threads. But it had the advantage of quantity and was far stickier.

"Gah!" Dodrio had nowhere to step and was at a loss.

Falkner did not panic at all. "Jump! Use Drill Peck!"

Although Dodrio had no wings, its developed leg muscles allowed it to leap dozens of meters into the air, almost as if it were flying.

Thump!

With a muffled sound, Dodrio launched itself upward, spun its body in midair, transformed into a massive drill, and plunged down under the acceleration of gravity!

"Iron Defense!" Heiduo once again had Kakuna use Iron Defense. He refused to believe Kakuna could not withstand even one hit.

The facts proved otherwise.

Kakuna really had nearly failed to endure it.

Dodrio's beaks spun against Kakuna's body, opening a small crack in Kakuna's abdomen that made Heiduo's heart tremble.

"Electroweb!" Heiduo gripped Kakuna's Poké Ball tightly, nearly unable to stop himself from recalling it.

Hearing this, Falkner shouted, "Don't give it an opening! Tri Attack!"

Dodrio stopped spinning and immediately kicked off the ground, retreating backward.

At the same time, its beaks opened. Its three heads formed a triangle, and red, blue, and yellow colors appeared within their mouths.

Kakuna could not simply sit and wait for death. The pain sharpened its thoughts and ignited its desire to counterattack. It spat out threads wrapped in electricity, which exploded into a polygonal web and suddenly enveloped Dodrio!

Bzzzzzzz!

Electricity surged over Dodrio's body. It stopped attacking, restrained by the Electroweb, and let out a miserable cry.

The greatest feature of Electric-type attacks—they made those hit by them involuntarily stop attacking!

Now!

Seizing the opening while Dodrio could not control its body, Heiduo swiftly recalled Kakuna and sent out Elekid.

"Ice Punch!"

He pointed at Dodrio's bird heads and shouted.

Falkner's expression changed, but as the Gym Leader, he could not recall his Pokémon. He could only try to call out to Dodrio and wake it up.

Just as Dodrio finally broke free from the Electroweb's restraints, it saw Elekid's fist growing larger before it, radiating icy air.

Thud!