As for what he had just told Candice, along with that goal of becoming "the world's number one Gym Trainer," it was naturally meant to encourage her to push further.
Besides, in theory, wasn't it perfectly reasonable for an Ice-type Gym Leader to draw with-or even beat-a Dragon-type Champion?
If that really didn't work out, she could work harder and aim for the Elite Four. That would make even more sense.
After all, the Kanto Region already had an example of a Dragon-type specialist in its Elite Four who, being weak to Ice-types, had eventually gone next door to the Johto Region to become Champion.
And compared with Cynthia or the Gym Trainers of the Sinnoh Region, Candice was several years, or even decades, younger than most of them. She was still young and had plenty of time, which gave her the potential to grow stronger.
Of course, everyone had to forge their own path. What the future held still depended on their choices.
After watching Cynthia's interview about clearing the Lost Tower from the sidelines for a while, Qingliu didn't try to strike up a conversation or engineer a chance encounter. Instead, he followed Candice straight to the Pokémon Center.
Even if Cynthia had a nice personality and was actually approachable despite her cool appearance, striking up conversations really wasn't his strong suit. And without any context, she obviously wasn't going to declare that he had the makings of a powerful Trainer and teach him her training secrets.
"Waiting until I can approach her directly might actually be faster."
At the Pokémon Center counter.
"Hello, your two Pokémon have finished recovering. Snover has a few injuries that need some minor treatment. We're also still reviewing the Oran Berry purchase, so please wait a little longer."
Nurse Joy spoke gently, dressed in a white medical uniform.
"All right. Sorry for the trouble."
Candice picked up the Poké Balls containing her two recovered Pokémon and sat down in the nearby lounge.
"Nurse Joy said Snover would take a little longer. They're still checking whether the Berries meet their quality standards, too, so we might have to wait a bit."
"That's fine. With a price that much higher, I don't mind waiting."
Qingliu nodded as he replied.
After arriving at the Pokémon Center, he had explained why he was there and handed the Berries to Nurse Joy. Following a brief inspection, she had given him an estimate.
Excluding the ones Snover and Agumon had eaten along the way, the remaining forty-five Berries could sell for around 990 League Coins.
That came as a slight surprise to Qingliu.
Based on his recollection of Berry prices in the games and what he had learned from Candice, Oran Berries generally went for between ten and fifteen League Coins.
If market demand was high or the Berries themselves were particularly good, then, with a few other factors taken into account, they could sell for as much as twenty League Coins. That was also the price Qingliu had expected to accept.
But before he had even haggled, they had seen that his Oran Berries were good quality and offered him more than the highest market price. He hadn't expected that.
"I heard more people have been challenging the Lost Tower these past few days, so more Pokémon have been getting injured and needing treatment. The Pokémon Center has had to buy more of every kind of Berry," Candice said beside him.
"So that's why."
Qingliu looked around, his gaze settling on the people coming and going.
Ever since he had entered the Pokémon Center, there had been plenty of people carrying Pokémon in for treatment or taking them back out, all hurrying along.
Clearly, these were most likely Trainers who had seen Cynthia clear the Lost Tower and receive generous rewards, then immediately felt they might be able to do it too-or thought they could luck into some easy gains-and gone to challenge it themselves.
Only, judging by the looks of things, they had all failed.
"Miss Candice, here's your Pokémon."
Nurse Joy wheeled a cart over to them and handed Candice one of the Poké Balls.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
After giving Candice a small nod, Nurse Joy turned and took out an envelope.
"Mr. Qingliu, here are the 990 League Coins from the final sale of your forty-five Berries."
Qingliu took the envelope and gave its contents a quick glance.
Seeing this, Nurse Joy continued, "To thank you for helping us during this unusual situation, I can apply a discount whenever you buy anything at this Pokémon Center in the future."
"Then let's use it now."
Qingliu pulled two hundred-dollar League notes from the envelope and handed the rest back to Nurse Joy.
"Right now? Certainly. What would you like?"
"Five days' worth of Pokéblocks for Dragon-type Pokémon and general-purpose Pokéblocks, six Poké Balls, and spend whatever's left on Heal Sprays."
"Certainly."
After briefly repeating his order, Nurse Joy took the envelope of money and left.
"Pokéblocks and Poké Balls are necessities, so having extra is fine, but why are you stocking up on so many Heal Sprays?" Candice leaned closer and asked.
"I'm going to do a few days of special training. I'd rather stock up so I don't get caught out if they sell out. Besides, running back and forth wastes time."
"Special training? Don't tell me you're planning to cram in a few days of training and then challenge..."
Candice's voice rose despite herself. Then she remembered they were in a public place and quickly lowered it. "You're not actually going to challenge Cynthia, are you?"
Qingliu immediately rolled his eyes at her.
"Relax. I'm not so oblivious to the gap in our strength that I'd think a few days of special training would let me beat her. But you... what kind of brain would even come up with that idea?"
"What's with that look? You're staring at me like I'm an idiot!"
"I'm not just looking at you like one. I think you are one."
"Qingliu!"
Candice shot to her feet in agitation, instantly drawing everyone's attention. The hand she had raised to strike him froze in midair, and she hurriedly bowed around the room in apology.
Seeing Candice's face flush red with embarrassment, Qingliu couldn't help laughing.
In that relaxed atmosphere, his thoughts began to wander, and he started considering his upcoming training plan.
Basic conditioning was essential. Every attack, defensive action, and movement required physical stamina to support it. Even when using moves, stamina played a crucial role.
As their physical conditioning improved, their overall abilities would improve along with it.
A major reason the Elite Four, Champions, and even Legendary Pokémon were synonymous with power was their formidable stamina. Even after enduring countless attacks, they could still get back up.
Aside from conditioning, another equally important aspect was moves.
Their moves didn't necessarily have to be powerful, nor did they need a lot of them.
But they absolutely needed variety in their attacks-coverage and ways to switch up their moves-so they wouldn't find themselves without any means of countering an unfavorable situation and be forced entirely onto the defensive.
Before you continue