Having gained a new companion, Yong was in high spirits as he warmed up with his partners for the Gym challenge.
Early the next morning, Yong got himself ready, left the Pokémon Center, and headed for the Sunyshore Gym.
Since both buildings stood atop the cliff, it took him little time to reach the large, circular building.
Unlike the other Gyms in the Sinnoh Region, the Sunyshore Gym required challengers to register in the lobby first.
Because of Volkner, there were two ways to challenge this Gym.
The first was intended for trainers who were highly confident in their abilities and had sound judgment. They could display the Gym Badges they had already earned, and the Sunyshore Gym would assess them in a battle of an appropriate difficulty based on the number and level of their badges! Once they passed, they could face Gym Leader Volkner directly in the final challenge.
The second, in Volkner's words, was for trainers who knew their own limits. They could tackle the Gym's mechanisms step by step, defeat the trainers guarding them, and then proceed to the Final Battlefield.
Of the two options, the first required considerable strength, because Gym Leader Volkner hated that sort of false confidence most of all. As he put it,
"How could anyone be more arrogant than me? Let me see what you're really made of!"
The latter option was much easier. Not only were the Gym Trainers guarding the route relatively weak, but they also deliberately held back. Anyone who wasn't a complete beginner could make it to the end. Volkner wouldn't take them as seriously as trainers who chose the first option, either, so their chances of passing were higher.
Yong stood before a screen, rubbing his chin as he considered his options.
*Should I choose the