The stubborn Kaka

Chu Xin really wanted to see what a Gym Leader's Pokémon training area looked like.

So, with Chen Huan leading the way, Chu Xin and his companions arrived at an empty room.

Why was there nothing here?

Chu Xin looked around in confusion. It really was an empty room. Was there something unusual about it?

Chen Huan did not keep Chu Xin guessing. He brought out Vespiquen for a demonstration, while he and Chu Xin went into the control room to watch.

"Don't underestimate this training room. There are over a thousand mechanisms in here, and every one of them fires projectiles. It's a huge help when training monsters to dodge."

Chen Huan pressed a button in the control room. A small hole suddenly opened in the training room, and a rubber ball shot out toward Vespiquen, who deftly dodged it.

Then countless holes appeared throughout the training room, firing rubber balls one after another.

"The training room fires rubber balls from random locations. Getting hit won't cause much damage, but the monitoring equipment records every hit and gives the monster a score at the end of the session."

Chu Xin stared at the control room monitor in shock. Countless rubber balls bounced erratically around the training room on the screen, but Vespiquen dodged them no matter which angle they came from. Not a single ball managed to hit Vespiquen as she flew through the air.

So this was a Gym Leader's strength!

"Of course, Vespiquen is using the highest difficulty setting right now. She's already completely familiar with the training here, so this room can hardly help her get stronger anymore. But it's still perfect for training your monsters."

"They're Pokémon, not monsters."

Chen Huan scratched his head awkwardly. Children were always fond of saying strange things.

Vespiquen's demonstration soon ended. Unsurprisingly, she had been hit zero times. It seemed Chen Huan was right: the training here could barely do anything for her anymore.

"Well? Want to let your own Pokémon give it a try?"

Chu Xin decided to let Xiao Wu go first. He wanted to see what sort of score Xiao Wu would get now.

A few minutes later, Xiao Wu came out of the training room covered in bruises. Seeing Xiao Wu's score practically sent Chu Xin's blood pressure through the roof.

After entering the training room, Xiao Wu had failed to dodge even a single rubber ball. Although the balls did not hit very hard, they still left Xiao Wu howling in pain. In the end, Xiao Wu could only huddle in a corner, coiling up to take fewer hits.

"Xiao Wu, you really can't keep being this lazy!"

Chu Xin looked at Xiao Wu with a heavy sigh. Xiao Wu had become a completely useless Pokémon!

"Wu!" (But it really hurt!)

Xiao Wu looked pitifully at Chu Xin. Although seeing Xiao Wu hurt pained him too, he had to harden his heart if he wanted Xiao Wu to grow stronger.

"No. You have to train, or I'll cut your daily Pokéblocks in half from now on!"

Chu Xin's words even startled Vespiquen nearby. Cutting the daily Pokéblocks in half? She got one Pokéblock a day, so half would mean just half a block!

Q-Q!!! How cruel!

Xiao Wu also stared at Chu Xin in shock.

"Wu~" (Chu Xin, you've changed. You don't love me anymore!)

"Acting cute won't work. You have to train. No training, no Pokéblocks!"

"Mumu!" (I want to train!)

Chen Huan awkwardly recalled his embarrassing Vespiquen. His monster really had been scarred by poverty. The moment she saw Pokéblocks, she lost her head.

How embarrassing!

Once Xiao Wu's training test was over, it was Kaka's turn. Chu Xin did not have particularly high hopes for him as a Farfetch'd. Stamina was Kaka's weakness. Even if he could dodge a few rubber balls, he would run out of energy sooner or later.

"Kaka, if you feel you can't keep going once you're inside, tell me. I'll stop the training right away."

No matter what, Chu Xin did not want his Pokémon to suffer any physical problems. Keeping them healthy was the most important part of training.

Kaka nodded and walked into the training room. As soon as Chen Huan pressed the start button, a rubber ball shot straight toward him.

Kaka darted aside and dodged the ball. In the control room, Chu Xin watched him on the monitor with some surprise. Not bad. But this was only the beginning.

Several more rubber balls shot toward Kaka, but he nimbly dodged them without panicking.

As expected of a Pokémon who had escaped from a restaurant, he had an extraordinary gift for dodging. But dodging a few attacks was nothing. What mattered most was how long he could keep it up.

Kaka's small body let him dodge the incoming rubber balls with ease. Even when he could not avoid one, he could knock it away with the leek in his hand. Despite being much weaker than Xiao Wu, Kaka had actually lasted longer.

Watching Kaka on the monitor, Xiao Wu could no longer sit still. Didn't this make me look terrible?

No! How could I let Kaka outdo me? I'm the precious darling Chu Xin values most!

Watching the figure on the screen twist and turn to evade the rubber balls, Xiao Wu made a firm resolution to surpass Kaka.

Kaka soon found himself in trouble inside the training room. The constant dodging rapidly drained his stamina. Several times, he should have been able to avoid a ball, but his exhausted body forced him to knock it away with his leek instead.

Even that defense soon stopped working. The rubber balls in the training room grew more powerful as time went on. Before long, several struck Kaka, knocking him to the floor, and several more hit him afterward.

Chu Xin's heart leaped into his throat as he watched from the control room. Kaka was nowhere near as tough as Xiao Wu. As a Dratini, Xiao Wu had much higher defenses than Kaka, not to mention considerable strength already. Those rubber balls only caused Xiao Wu a little pain.

But Kaka had already taken many hits on the monitor and suffered significant injuries. Chu Xin could not let him continue.

"Chen Huan, stop the training. I'm going to bring Kaka out."

Chen Huan did not rush to stop the training. Instead, he watched Kaka on the monitor with a solemn expression. Chu Xin turned back and saw that Kaka had stood up again. Although rubber balls kept striking him, he was still doing his best to knock them back with the leek in his hand. No matter how badly he was hurt, Kaka still refused to give up the fight.

"This monster will definitely become strong someday! Just look at how hard he's trying!"