At his mother's insistence, Yong had been forced to rest at home for another day, delaying his challenge at the Dewford Gym.
Today, he finally met his mother's goal of getting "proper rest" and earned his freedom.
Honestly, although he enjoyed being pampered by his family, staying obediently at home really wasn't what he wanted.
Arriving at the Pokémon Home, Yong met up with his companions.
"How's it going, everyone? Did you rest well these past few days? Do you like it here?"
"Roar!"
Steelix was the first to respond, nodding happily. The other little ones chimed in too, indicating that it was a great place.
Even the usually haughty Aerodactyl smiled and nodded. Its cave was in the mountainside right beside the courtyard, dug out by its own efforts. Just over the hill lay the sea.
Clearly, it was very satisfied with the meat delivered on schedule every day.
Yong smiled at them and said,
"Well, our downtime is almost over. We can't slack off for too long! Next, I'm going to challenge a Gym. Who wants to come with me?"
"Maru!"
"Kwak-kwak!"
"Ka-ka!"
"Ya~ na~"
Apart from Steelix and Aerodactyl, Marshtomp and the others all responded enthusiastically.
Yong was pleased, but this time, he planned to take Marshtomp, Baltoy, and Aerodactyl.
Marshtomp was close to the level needed to evolve and had already accumulated enough energy, so battles were essential right now, whether in a Gym challenge or elsewhere!
He was bringing Baltoy purely for its typing. Psychic-type Pokémon had a strong advantage against Fighting-type Pokémon, and Baltoy could even fly for short periods.
Aerodactyl had been caught most recently, and Yong still needed to build their rapport and bond. To ride it and soar into the sky as soon as possible, he would have to keep it