Testing Their Mettle

"Staravia, use Double Team!"

At Bai Shi's command, a swarm of Staravia's afterimages appeared across the field.

For a moment, the opposing Pokémon could not tell which Staravia was real.

It was a new move Staravia had learned after evolving.

"Staravia, use Quick Attack!"

Hidden among its many afterimages, Staravia suddenly shot forward and struck its opponent before it could react.

The opponent let out a cry and collapsed unconscious.

"Staravia!" (Too weak! Too weak!)

After winning, Staravia held its head high and cast a smug glance at its opponent.

Since evolving, Staravia no longer considered small fry like that worth its attention.

"Nice work, Staravia!"

Bai Shi nodded with satisfaction and praised it freely.

After evolving, Staravia had improved noticeably in both speed and strength.

Its moves had grown more powerful, too.

Bai Shi wanted to test Staravia's strength after its evolution.

So he sought out several Pokémon Trainers slightly stronger than Sakai and challenged them to battles.

Every time, Staravia won with ease.

It was proof enough that Staravia was no longer the Pokémon it once was.

Its strength had grown by leaps and bounds after evolving.

Bai Shi reckoned he was now strong enough to beat most ordinary Pokémon Trainers who had only just set out on their journeys.

"Staravia has more or less gotten used to the power its evolution gave it."

"And Dunsparce has mastered Mud-Slap through training."

"It's time to wrap up this round of training."

Lately, Bai Shi had been busy improving his Pokémon's strength.

He had no time to think about anything else.

As a result, his savings were nearly gone.

If he hadn't gotten lucky the day before yesterday and received a large bag of Pokémon Food through his check-in,

Bai Shi might have been on the verge of bankruptcy.

Fortunately, the inn he had found was cheaper than the Pokémon Center.

Otherwise, he might not even have been able to pay for his room.

Bai Shi had no choice but to cut the training short.

He began looking for a new way to earn money in Sandgem Town.

His growing strength had also raised his standards.

Jobs that took too long and paid too little were out of the question.

As a coastal town, Sandgem Town had plenty of ships docked at its southern port.

Every day, ships left for towns and cities across the region and beyond.

To avoid attacks by wild Water-type Pokémon or pirates during the voyage,

many small and midsize merchant ships hired capable Pokémon Trainers to travel with them.

Bai Shi found several recruitment notices near the docks.

The pay they offered was tempting.

Unfortunately, their requirements for a Pokémon Trainer's strength were high.

Even if Bai Shi applied, there was no guarantee he would be chosen.

The work also came with unpredictable dangers.

If his luck turned bad and something went wrong at sea,

Bai Shi, who had no Water-type Pokémon, would be helpless.

He decided it would be safer to wait until he was stronger before trying.

Luckily, he had another option.

North of Sandgem Town lay the famous Jubilife City.

It was, without question, the most developed city in the Sinnoh Region.

Bai Shi was sure he would find more opportunities to earn money there.

His only worry was that his remaining savings might not last until he arrived.

After careful thought, Bai Shi decided to raise the travel money by entering a small tournament held regularly in town.

The organizers awarded prize money to the top three finishers.

Each Pokémon Trainer could use only one Pokémon in the tournament.

The prize money was not as generous as in larger tournaments, but it would solve Bai Shi's immediate problem.

The smaller prize pool also made the tournament less appealing.

Few powerful Pokémon Trainers bothered to enter.

Bai Shi even visited the venue to ask the staff about the competition.

He learned that only a few dozen people had signed up.

Compared with regional tournaments that drew hundreds, it was tiny.

It was smaller even than the Twinleaf Festival in Twinleaf Town.

With Staravia's evolution, Bai Shi felt confident he could stand out and place well.

"Spinarak, use Poison Sting!"

A barrage of purple, needlelike projectiles shot from Spinarak's mouth.

"Staravia, dodge, then use Gust!"

Staravia accelerated sharply and easily evaded the attack.

Then it beat its wings hard, unleashing a powerful current of air.

It dealt Spinarak a little damage.

"Spinarak, use String Shot!"

Seeing this, the opposing Pokémon Trainer immediately gave Spinarak a new command.

Spinarak opened its mouth and spat a sticky white strand toward Staravia.

It tried to pin Staravia down.

"Staravia, use Quick Attack!"

At Bai Shi's command, Staravia became a streak of white light. It swept around the incoming thread and struck Spinarak before it could respond.

"Staravia, finish it with Wing Attack!"

Bai Shi seized the opening and ordered Staravia to press its attack.

Staravia spread its wings and struck Spinarak across the head.

That gave Bai Shi a winning start to the tournament.

"Your Staravia is incredible!"

"Thanks. Your Spinarak was good, too!"

After exchanging a few words with his opponent, Bai Shi went to watch the other matches.

"The players advancing are mostly so-so."

"Apart from one strong Pokémon Trainer using a Beedrill, none of them should be a problem."

"As long as Staravia performs normally, I should at least reach the final."

After watching the other matches, Bai Shi felt optimistic about his chances.

The following matches unfolded just as he expected.

"Staravia, use Quick Attack!"

"Staravia, use Double Team!"

"Staravia, use Aerial Ace!"

Bai Shi won match after match and advanced smoothly to the final.

There, he would face A Le, the Pokémon Trainer with the Beedrill, for the championship.

"Staravia!" (Not one of them could put up a fight!)

The string of victories had gone to Staravia's head.

Even with the final approaching, it seemed unconcerned.

It thought it could crush its opponent with ease if it put in even a little effort.

"Staravia, this is the last match. Don't get careless!"

Bai Shi had noticed signs of trouble.

So before the final began, he made a point of warning Staravia.

From what he had seen, A Le was probably the strongest Pokémon Trainer he had encountered so far.

Not only had A Le's Pokémon reached its final evolutionary stage, but it had also mastered several moves.

A Le could not be underestimated. Bai Shi would have to give it everything he had to stand a chance of winning.

"Staravia!" (Leave it to me!)

Staravia patted its chest with a wing and readily agreed.

But Staravia's carefree expression only made Bai Shi more uneasy.

There was very little time between matches.

Bai Shi had no chance to correct Staravia's attitude.

I hope I'm worrying over nothing...

In the end, he could only pray and steel himself for the match.