Curious Baby

"Pidgeot!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Pidgeot turned its head and saw its Trainer standing in the Observation Room.

It cried out in response to its Trainer's instruction, then turned its massive body with unnatural agility and flew to the corner of the room.

Watching Pidgeot's movements, Tetsuya quickly shut down the machine.

Before stopping training in the Wind Pressure Room, it was necessary to communicate with the Pokemon and let them prepare. Otherwise, if the machine was suddenly turned off in the middle of intense resistance, the Pokemon might lose its balance and center of gravity without warning, resulting in unnecessary injuries.

That was an important point Tetsuya had been told when he first arrived.

He pushed open the small door beside him and entered the now-peaceful Training Ground.

"Good work, Pidgeot." He smoothed down Pidgeot's messy feathers.

"Pidgeot~" Pidgeot kept rubbing its head against Tetsuya's body affectionately.

Patting Pidgeot on the head, he said, "All right, go rest in your Poke Ball for now. Once Combusken finishes training, I'll take you all out to eat."

Pidgeot nodded, and Tetsuya took out a Luxury Ball and recalled it.

He then headed to the Energy Room and Materials Room in turn, recalling the Combusken and Roggenrola that had finished training into their respective Luxury Balls before making his way to the small dining hall.

When he arrived at Brock's private kitchen, Brock had already prepared the food and was waiting.

After releasing his three Pokemon, Tetsuya placed their prescribed meals into their bowls, and also made a serving for Brock's Geodude.

As for Onix, it was too big to come inside. Brock had placed it in its living area beforehand.

Yes, Brock generally did not recall Onix into its Poke Ball. After all, with a body over nine meters long, no matter how spacious a Luxury Ball was, it could not compare to the comfort of the Outside World.

Tetsuya could only say that it was fortunate the area behind the Gym was large enough. Rich people really were different.

The two began eating dinner, and Brock happened to remember the question he had not finished asking at noon.

"About when are you leaving?"

"Ten days from now," Tetsuya replied indistinctly through a mouthful of Synthetic Beef.

He took a sip of the drink beside him. "By then, Roggenrola should be about ready to reach Normal Level. Going by what you said, it can still be sent out to gain some experience."

Brock nodded. "More or less. Most of the Gym Successors competing in the Kanto Region this year have just turned sixteen. Basically, everyone has two Pokemon.

"The ones who competed in previous years were their Older Brothers and Older Sisters. This year, they're all over the age limit.

"Even people like me, whose Starter Pokemon has broken through to Elite, are rare. Most have either two Normal Level Pokemon, or one normal Starter Pokemon and one Novice Level Pokemon."

"Then what's the point of having 3v3 matches in the semifinals and finals?" Tetsuya quickly found the key point.

"Can't the representative be a Trainer backed by investment? And not everyone has just turned sixteen," Brock said helplessly. "Of course, that's also an Unspoken Rule. Generally speaking, only the Eight Gyms of Kanto can send Trainers like you to compete in place of the successors.

"Usually, those replacing them are around seventeen or eighteen. They won't push it right up to just under twenty, or it would be too hard to justify. But they basically all have three Pokemon."

"Has there never been a case where it came down to the end with both sides having only two Pokemon, or one side having only one?" Tetsuya refused to give up, arguing with Brock while eating.

"There has. Then they just change the rules to 2v2," Brock replied casually.

"Huh?"

"What do you mean, huh? It wasn't some especially formal tournament to begin with. What does it matter?" Brock glanced at Tetsuya.

"Then couldn't you just say I only have two Pokemon?" Tetsuya quickly found another loophole.

"What exactly goes on in that head of yours?" Brock was utterly helpless. Tetsuya really would not stop until he got what he wanted. "Even if it isn't formal, the number and levels of your Pokemon have to be submitted before the competition.

"If someone finds out something is wrong, it'll be Pewter Gym that loses face."

Tetsuya curled his lips. "Fine. If you put it that way, what can I do?"

Rubbing his throbbing head, Brock was starting to feel overwhelmed by Tetsuya.

"When the time comes, you'll receive information on the other thirty-one competitors from the Gyms. Take a look through it over the next few days."

"Thirty-one? Only official Gyms?" Tetsuya wiped his mouth. He was nearly done eating, and as he drank his beverage, he kept questioning Brock like a Curious Baby.

"Mm. The other Gyms aren't qualified," Brock said flatly.

Tetsuya had nothing to say to that. After all, Pewter Gym had the strength and qualifications to say such things.

It was clear from the fact that only the Eight Gyms of Kanto could freely send investment-backed Trainers to replace successors, while other official Gyms could only do so when they truly had no one available.

Successors from other official Gyms still had to participate in this competition when they turned sixteen, while Brock did not need to go at sixteen and could simply have Tetsuya do it for him.

As for whether Gym Successors were really so numerous, people in this world had strong constitutions, and there was no strict requirement for monogamy, though most people still practiced it.

Furthermore, even the sons and daughters of a Gym Leader's brothers and so on could inherit the Gym, so every Gym still had plenty of so-called successors.

Pewter Gym was one of the few exceptions. Brock was the only Eldest Brother, ten years older than all his Younger Siblings, so he was basically Pewter Gym's future successor.

"Your Pidgeot's energy level is probably quite a bit higher than those of the same age, so it'll hold a considerable advantage.

"As for Combusken, it won't be at a disadvantage in terms of level, and its aptitude is relatively higher. As a Starter Pokemon, it's also quite strong in battle.

"Also, for successors like us who haven't reached Elite or Quasi-Elite Four Trainer, our elders won't spend the money to hire an Advanced Breeder to raise our Pokemon. They let us do it ourselves, which also promotes bonds and communication with our Pokemon.

"So your breeding has a major advantage as well."

Brock skillfully cleared the Dining Table while continuing his analysis.

Tetsuya drank his beverage and said bluntly, "No need to analyze so much. You're saying you're considered strong among them, but you still can't beat me, so they can't beat me either. Isn't that okay?"

Brock's face darkened.

Indeed, over the past month, the two had battled privately several times, but Brock had not won even once.

The newly raised Geodude could be set aside for now. It was one thing for Onix to be unable to beat Pidgeot and get Kited, but Combusken could also barely defeat Onix.

Brock suspected Tetsuya's Combusken had Quasi-Champion aptitude. After all, his own Onix was a Champion-aptitude Pokemon, yet despite being a whole stage ahead, it could only fight Combusken evenly.

Although that had something to do with Tetsuya raising Combusken primarily as a Fighting Type, which countered Onix, it still would have been impossible without high aptitude.

It was precisely because Tetsuya was indeed stronger than him, and by quite a lot, that Brock felt reassured after reviewing the others' information and let Tetsuya compete in his place.

Otherwise, if his Grandfather lost face, he would not let Brock off easily.

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P.S.: There may be one at nine.