Charizard is unable to battle. Both sides may now switch their Pokémon,” Sun Qian, the referee, announced.
The challenger, a top student from Kyoto University, seemed a bit disgruntled.
He recalled Charizard and immediately sent out a new Pokémon.
“Go, Magmortar! Show them what you’ve got!”
As soon as Magmortar appeared, its ‘cannons’ on both hands pointed directly at Ye Gai.
Ye Gai smiled and shook his head.
“You worked hard, Ludicolo, come back.
Go, Breloom!”
As soon as Ye Gai’s Pokémon appeared, the challenger immediately commanded, “Magmortar, use Flamethrower.”
“Mach Punch!”
Breloom reacted quickly, charging towards Magmortar as soon as it emerged from its Poké Ball. Its ‘Mach Punch’ even landed first, striking Magmortar.
However, Magmortar had attacked first, and Flamethrower also hit Breloom.
The challenger snorted, “Hmph! I can do that too! Magmortar, use Flamethrower again with your other hand!”
Magmortar nodded, following its trainer’s command, and fired another “Flamethrower” from its left hand, retreating to create distance from Breloom.
“Keep going, don’t stop! Use Fire Blast! Use Lava Plume…”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
On the field, Magmortar’s flames bombarded the area for nearly three minutes.
The flames spread across the grass, like a monstrous fire dragon, baring its fangs and claws to devour all the greenery.
Thick smoke billowed into the sky, still choking Chen Kai even through the protective barrier.
During this time, Ye Gai stood with his arms crossed, his expression still calm.
“Is this okay? Aren’t you going to call a stop?” Chen Kai asked, a little confused.
“It’s fine, just watch,” Bai Yuchun said calmly.
“Although Magmortar’s firepower was strong at first, from the third flame onwards, it started to lose strength. These current ‘Flamethrower’ attacks aren’t even one-tenth as powerful as the initial ones; it’s just putting on a show.”
As soon as Bai Yuchun finished speaking, Magmortar simultaneously stopped its attack, panting. The flames on the field receded, but black smoke still billowed, obscuring the view inside.
“How about that?!” the challenger said triumphantly.
Ye Gai smiled and shook his head, “You’re still far from it! Breloom! Show him our spirit!”
“Breloom!” A resolute cry echoed through the sky.
A whirlwind stirred within the black smoke, revealing Breloom. Its body was scorched black, but it stood firm, its bright eyes shining.
“How could mere flames make our well-trained body fall!” Ye Gai was no longer calm, shouting excitedly as he pumped his fist, “Show him the results of our 30 years of training! Breloom! Mach Punch!”
“Breloom!”
Chen Kai had just heard Breloom’s Growl when Magmortar flew away, and Breloom was now in Magmortar’s original position, maintaining a punching pose.
Only then could the “Thump! Thump! Thump!” of impacts be heard.
Chen Kai hadn't even seen Breloom punch; both he and the challenger were too stunned to close their mouths.
“This…”
“Hehe, impressive, right!” Bai Yuchun said smugly, “A normal Breloom can only use Mach Punch once, but Teacher’s Breloom can throw several punches in an instant. Even our Dragon Nation’s Elites and Champions wouldn’t dare to take that punch head-on.”
“Amazing, what’s our Teacher’s Breloom’s ability?”
“Teacher’s Breloom has ‘Technician’!”
Chen Kai couldn’t help but exclaim, “That’s terrifying.”
The challenger felt the same way. Before Sun Qian could make a judgment, he let out a sigh and said, “I surrender.”
Upon hearing this, Sun Qian ruled, “This match is over. The Kyoto Gym Leader is victorious.”
The challenger recalled the fainted Magmortar and said apologetically, “I’m sorry, it was my misjudgment.”
After speaking, he looked up at Ye Gai, “I’ve learned a lot, Leaf Gym Leader. The Kyoto Gym Leader is indeed strong.”
Ye Gai smiled and said to him, “You’re still young. After a few more years of refinement, I believe you will definitely become an Elite-level trainer.”
Both sides politely shook hands, ending the match.
Chen Kai couldn’t help but sigh. Although it felt like both sides were at daggers drawn during the battle, the sportsmanship at the end was quite good.
“Alright, Teacher, the camera is off now,” Bai Yuchun said, and the two combatants instantly stopped shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries.
The challenger turned and left immediately.
Ye Gai also promptly left the battle arena to go treat Breloom.
Chen Kai intermittently overheard Breloom saying to Ye Gai, “Why not fight back when you can… always standing still and taking hits… every time you show off, I’m the one who gets beaten. Can’t we switch to Ludicolo…?” and so on.
Chen Kai could only understand parts of Breloom’s language, not hearing it clearly.
Ye Gai kept saying nice things to Breloom, and Chen Kai vaguely saw him leading Breloom with a fawning smile through the back door to the Pokémon Medical Center.
Similarly, due to the obstruction of tree shadows, Chen Kai couldn’t see clearly.
Since Ye Gai had to heal Breloom, Chen Kai went home early.
Chen Kai was currently pondering what to eat for dinner.
One doesn’t know the cost of living until one manages a household. Prices in Kyoto were truly high. Although he had over 100,000 in his pocket, he felt it wasn’t enough to buy honey apples for Applin, so he had to be frugal, always taking Miraidon and the others to eat at buffets.
Successfully, he and Miraidon became famous in Kyoto’s buffet industry.
The buffets near his home no longer allowed him entry. Last night, he had intended to go to a more distant place for a buffet, searching five or six buffet restaurants along the way, all of which had signs on their doors saying, “No purple Cyclizar allowed.”
Last night, he had no choice but to find a random restaurant to eat at. Chen Kai saw that Miraidon was only half-full but felt too embarrassed to eat more.
Even so, Chen Kai spent over a thousand yuan.
He was even preparing to cook dinner himself, but Miraidon and Xiao Mei were somewhat against it.
Just then, his grandfather called.
“Xiao Kai! How’s your training going lately?”
Chen Kai answered truthfully, “It’s going well. Teacher Ye’s teaching style is very unique, and I feel that Applin, Xiao Mei, and I have all made great progress.
And Chun Jie has been very helpful and taken good care of me.”
His grandfather said happily, “Oh! That’s great.
Even if training is busy, remember to visit your grandfather’s house when you have time!”
Chen Kai scratched his head and said, “Well, Grandpa, can I come over for dinner tonight?”
His grandfather readily agreed, “Of course! Your grandma misses you too, so come over for a meal.”
“It’s just that my Pokémon might eat a lot…” Chen Kai said awkwardly.
At that moment, his grandmother’s voice could be heard from the phone, “It’s good to eat a lot! I’ll cook more for you all tonight.”
Chen Kai chuckled, “Okay, I’ll be right there.”