Cianwood Gym was Cianwood City's official Gym, and its only one. It specialized in Fighting-type Pokémon, and defeating Chuck would earn a challenger his Storm Badge.
When Xia You arrived, Chuck was already dressed and waiting for him at the entrance.
Seeing Xia You jog slowly toward him rather than exhaust himself trying to keep up as other challengers did, Chuck nodded approvingly.
"Very good. Unlike those simple-minded fellows, you knew to conserve your energy by keeping your own pace, and you didn't cut corners, either. A qualified Pokémon Trainer with brains who isn't lazy!"
Despite Chuck's praise, Xia You couldn't feel happy about it.
Bending over slightly, he caught his breath, then wiped the sweat from his forehead and couldn't help looking up at Chuck.
Although Chuck looked strong, he had a rather large, fat belly. Xia You had originally thought that, as a judo master, he might be skilled in combat but probably wasn't much of a runner. Now, though, it seemed his stamina was at least considerably better than Xia You's.
Sigh, if I hadn't been up dealing with things all last night, and hadn't wasted so much time because I didn't know the way to the Gym, it wouldn't have taken me so long to get here...
"Mr. Chuck, can we start our Gym battle now?"
Chuck nodded and led Xia You into the Gym, one following the other.
What Xia You didn't know, however, was that despite Chuck presenting himself as an athlete and expressing such approval of Xia You, he had only just arrived himself, barely a few minutes earlier.
His recent fondness for sweets had steadily increased his body fat. Running here from the beach had likewise left him sweating nonstop, with even his calves going weak.
This time, he had merely gritted