The next morning.
Inside the yet-to-be-completed Violet Gym.
Some early-rising Trainers were lining up with their Pokémon, receiving guidance from Jiang Fan.
"Filly, your Wartortle will master Protect after 45 more practices. Once it has mastered Protect, you can then take Wartortle to practice High-Speed Spin and Water Pulse.
The counts are 121 times and 134 times respectively. Currently, the proficiency of these two moves is a bit low. I believe you must have noticed it yourself when battling others; the power is always inferior to theirs."
A young man listened to the guidance and nodded repeatedly: "That's right, Gym Leader. Last night, when I battled other Water-type Pokémon, I always felt that Wartortle's move execution was a bit lacking and couldn't compare to the opponent's."
"Just take Wartortle and practice more these few days as I told you. Also, praise it more during practice to boost its confidence. It's no worse than other kids." Jiang Fan smiled, squatted down, and gently stroked the shy Wartortle, who was tightly hugging its Trainer's leg.
"I understand, Gym Leader."
The young man left with Wartortle.
Soon after, another young man came to Jiang Fan with a Pikachu.
Jiang Fan continued to give guidance, resting only after about an hour of instruction.
With some free time, he turned and walked towards another open space.
Soon, he saw Charmeleon practicing Fire Fang and Munchlax practicing Metronome in the open space.
This was the practice he arranged for them both this morning.
"Rua~"
"Ka~"
Seeing Jiang Fan approach, the two Little Fatties immediately stopped practicing and scurried over.
However, Charmeleon ran directly into Jiang Fan's arms, while Munchlax stood to the side, watching.
"Charmeleon, you truly are one in a million! You're only thirteen practices away from learning Fire Fang."
Jiang Fan first dotingly stroked Charmeleon's head.
Then he looked at Munchlax, who wanted to get closer but didn't dare.
He directly pulled it over and petted them both.
"Munchlax, you too, you were very diligent today, which truly impressed me. I'll give you an extra meal after lunch at the Pokémon House."
"Ka~"
Munchlax, having received recognition and a reward, looked at Jiang Fan with a silly grin.
The next second, Jiang Fan received a notification.
【Munchlax's affection increased】
【Affection: 8 (-21 to 8)】
Jiang Fan chuckled.
After petting them for a while, he let the two Little Fatties continue their practice.
He then walked to a tree.
Old Man Fuji was sitting there at the moment.
"Jiang Fan, I think you should just catch Munchlax now. This Little Fatty is following you, so he obviously recognizes you." Old Man Fuji said kindly.
"I have that thought too, but let's wait a few days. I'm not very well-off financially right now." Jiang Fan smiled and shook his head.
His idea was to only throw a Poké Ball to catch Munchlax when its affection reached 9 points.
Because at that time, the affection combined with the 30 points added by the Poké Ball would Just right reach 60 points, unlocking the first tier of rewards.
If he threw a Poké Ball now, all of Munchlax's expenses would fall on him.
Not worth it, not worth it.
For now, he'd take as many advantages as he could; after all, Munchlax wasn't going to run away.
"You rascal!" Old Man Fuji showed a hint of speechlessness.
As soon as he heard this, he understood that the other party was afraid of catching him too early and bearing Munchlax's food expenses too soon.
Jiang Fan chuckled.
He then took out the ancient text dictionary he had gotten from Old Man Fuji last night and began to study ancient texts with Old Man Fuji.
At the same time, a golden-haired girl with a heroic demeanor, accompanied by a Gabite, arrived in Lavender Town from Route 10.
"This should be Lavender Town, known as the Pokémon graveyard," the girl murmured, standing at the intersection and gazing at a prominent tall tower.
"It wasn't easy; we finally made it here."
"Gabite, we'll have to stay here for a while."
"Ga~"
The girl stroked Gabite's head, then led it into Lavender Town.
After much wandering and with directions from passersby, the girl finally arrived at the Pokémon House.
However, she didn't go inside; instead, she was drawn to a construction site across from the Pokémon House, which had a sign for the Violet Gym.
Standing outside, she watched the many Trainers inside, either directing their Pokémon in special training or engaging in Pokémon battles.
She couldn't help but exclaim:
"Is the training atmosphere in this place really this strong?"
"Gabite, I'm starting to look forward to our learning and life here."
"How about... we battle a few Trainers here first, and then go find Old Man Fuji, whom my grandmother mentioned?"
"Ga~"
Receiving a response, the girl led Gabite inside.
She challenged the Trainers within.
And the Trainers inside, seeing the girl's beautiful face, eagerly vied to battle her.
But,
It wasn't long before they started to regret it.
Because the girl's Gabite was terrifyingly powerful.
It defeated six Trainers in a row.
Not a single person's Pokémon lasted more than four rounds.
Finally, the girl couldn't help but complain:
"Are there any stronger people here? Honestly, I challenged you all with such high expectations, but your strength really disappoints me."
"Don't be so arrogant." Xiao Hao, in the crowd, heard this and became enraged, his neck red. "You wait, our Gym Leader is very strong. You won't be arrogant when you face him."
His words immediately resonated.
"That's right, that's right! You won't be arrogant when you meet our Gym Leader. He's a Trainer who can teach Charmeleon Sunny Day!"
"A Charmeleon that can use Sunny Day?" The girl's eyes lit up. "Then why don't you let your Gym Leader come out and battle?"
"Then come with me."
Xiao Hao turned and left.
Soon, he scurried to Jiang Fan, who had just finished studying ancient texts with Old Man Fuji.
"Gym Leader, someone's here to challenge the Gym!" he said anxiously.
"Challenge the Gym?" Jiang Fan raised an eyebrow, a little surprised. "Where is he?"
"It's her!" Xiao Hao pointed behind him.
Following his refer to, Jiang Fan saw a golden-haired girl with a heroic demeanor and a tall, slender figure.
Jiang Fan frowned slightly.
Why did she look a little familiar?
The girl also saw them at the same time.
Then her eyes lit up, and she immediately stepped forward.
"You must be Grandpa Fuji." The girl quickly approached Old Man Fuji.
Old Man Fuji observed her, then smiled and replied, "You must be Zilan's granddaughter."
"Yes, I'm Zhu Lan. Zilan is my grandmother. Grandmother said you are very knowledgeable and have a deep understanding of ancient texts, and she told me to come and study with you." The girl politely introduced herself.
"Your grandmother told me about this; she said you're very interested in ancient culture, which is a very good hobby. I thought you wouldn't arrive for a few more days, but I didn't expect you to make it today."
"I'm a bit impatient, so I came early." Zhu Lan scratched her head, a little shyly.
Old Man Fuji chuckled.
Then he looked at Jiang Fan.
"This is the daughter of an old friend I told you about last night. From now on, you two will study ancient texts with me."
"Hello, I'm Jiang Fan." Jiang Fan extended his hand to Zhu Lan.
"Hello, I'm Zhu Lan." Zhu Lan smiled and extended her hand.
As they shook hands, Old Man Fuji interjected:
"Zhu Lan, he is the Gym Leader of this Gym. Are you going to have a Pokémon battle with him?"
Zhu Lan looked directly at Jiang Fan, her fighting spirit high:
"Yes, they said their Gym Leader is very strong and has trained a Charmeleon that can use Sunny Day. I want to see it for myself."