In the blink of an eye, another several days had passed.
Good times always seem to go by quickly. With his Pokédex fully recharged and his Pokémon's strength having grown immensely, Paul finally bid farewell to Mew.
Under Mew's reluctant gaze, Paul soared off into the distance on the back of his Garchomp.
Just as he disappeared into the skies, a cute voice echoed in his mind—
"Come play again sometime!"
Paul blinked, momentarily stunned. Then the corners of his lips curled upward as he calmly responded:
"Count on it."
"Mew~!"
After Paul had completely left, Mew, now back inside the Tree of Beginning, discovered something strange inside its hidden treasure cave—a smartphone!
It was Paul's old phone, the one he had previously replaced for Rotom's Pokédex upgrade. Knowing how bored Mew had been, Paul had decided to leave it behind as a toy.
With Mew's high intelligence, learning how to use a phone wouldn't be hard at all.
As for the internet? Just outside the Tree of Beginning's boundaries, there was enough signal. No problems at all—nothing to worry about.
"Mew~!"
From that moment on, Mew began a happy new life with its phone—becoming the newest net-addicted Pokémon.
...
On the other side of the world shortly after leaving the Tree of Beginning, Paul arrived just outside the Battle Arena near Goldenrod City.
His purpose this time was simple: to challenge Greta to a match, test the strength of his Pokémon, and claim the Symbol of Guts.
Of course, Paul personally didn't think this opponent would pose much of a challenge. After all, most Fighting-type trainers were hot-blooded muscleheads, reckless, and straightforward.
And those types were often the easiest to beat.
"Anyone here? I'm here to challenge the Frontier Brain."
Staring at the fortress-like structure of the Battle Arena, Paul walked up and knocked on the door, raising his voice slightly.
But everything remained quiet, not a sound in return.
"Long time no see, Paul. I didn't expect you to be here now."
At that moment, a man wearing a blue T-shirt and white cargo shorts stepped out—it was Scott.
"I had more important things to do. I just stopped by while I was in the area." Paul replied calmly.
Greta was strong, sure—but nothing exceptional. In Goldenrod and its surrounding areas, only one woman truly piqued Paul's interest.
"You're doing it all wrong. You've got to shout it with some fire, that's the only way to awaken Greta's fighting spirit and open the Arena doors for your challenge."
Hearing Paul's dry tone, Scott couldn't help but shake his head with a sigh.
"Shout with fire? Fighting spirit?"
Paul raised an eyebrow indifferently. Then he looked up and called out—
"Anyone here? I'm here to challenge the Gym!"
For a moment, the air seemed to freeze. Then, the doors creaked open, revealing a group of martial artists—all of them visibly displeased.
At the front stood a blonde woman dressed in traditional martial artist attire. Her expression stiffened slightly.
"Who taught you to say it like that?"
Scott leaned in and whispered, "You could've just said it clearly and with confidence. But you shouted it like a challenge. Was that on purpose, or just carelessness?"
"It worked, didn't it?" Paul shot back with a cool respond.
"Well yes, it did work, but... Didn't you see how they nearly tore you apart?"
Scott didn't finish the second half out loud, but the way the group of martial artists and Greta, the Arena Tycoon herself—were practically brimming with fiery rage in their eyes made him uneasy.
In this situation, Scott was certain of one thing: during the battle, Greta was going to fight at a hundred and twenty percent of her strength.
"Welcome to the Battle Arena. I'm the Frontier Brain and Arena Tycoon of this facility... Greta!"
Despite her words of welcome, Greta struck a series of powerful fighting stances, each one slicing through the air with audible force.
"Greta, this is the challenger, Paul. And, uh... don't mind what he said earlier. He was just joking." Scott said with a strained smile, the corner of his mouth twitching awkwardly.
"I'm Paul. I look forward to a full-strength battle with you." Paul gave a slight nod, voice calm and measured.
"'Challenging the master' isn't something you toss around lightly. If you don't have the strength to back it up... then you'd best be prepared for the consequences."
As she said this, Greta clenched her fist, and the martial artists behind her all turned to Paul, their eyes blazing with a smoldering heat.
Clearly, those "consequences" likely involved being surrounded and overwhelmed by a group of intensely enthusiastic martial artists. Possibly in ways Paul would not appreciate.
Paul merely responded, "I don't mind. If you think you can."
"Good! Then come at me, Paul! Spin the roulette!"
As Greta finished speaking, a circular roulette rose from the ground. Each segment was marked with a number: 1, 2, or 3.
"The number the roulette lands on decides how many Pokémon each side can use. 1 means a one-on-one battle, 2 means two-on-two, and—"
Before she could finish, Paul had already pulled the lever, setting the roulette spinning.
The wheel spun rapidly and eventually came to a stop—on the number 2.
"Two-on-two. First to win two rounds takes the match. That's fine by you?"
"Fine."
"Then let's do this!"
With just those simple words, Greta led Paul and the martial arts apprentices into the interior of the arena.
Shortly, a vast open indoor battlefield came into view with the main battle stage positioned in the center.
Once the referee took position, the apprentices—all except Greta knelt around the edge of the arena, folding their arms and watching with intense focus.
"This is the official Frontier Battle between Arena Tycoon Greta and Paul from Veilstone City!"
The referee's voice rang out across the battlefield.
"Alright, I choose these two!"
Greta shouted as she tossed two Poké Balls into the arena.
With a snap and flash, the Poké Balls popped open, releasing a Medicham and a towering, broad-shouldered Hariyama, both taking solid stances on the battlefield.
In the Battle Arena format, all chosen Pokémon must be sent out at the start. The rest of the trainer's team may watch from the sidelines, but only the selected combatants participate.
"Garchomp, Electivire—prepare for battle!" Paul had already made his selections in advance for this match.
"Gaaaarrr!"
"Vireee!"
With coordinated timing, Garchomp and Electivire entered the battlefield. They exchanged a quick glance, grinned, and slapped hands before throwing their arms around each other's shoulders, casually turning to size up their opponents.
They'd never fought a Hariyama before—but Medicham? They'd never lost to one.
"Vireee~"
Seriously? These guys look pretty average... Are you sure you even need me in this one?
Sensing the opponents' strength, Electivire—who was still a step away couldn't help but mutter to itself.
Lately, it had been fighting so many Elite-tier opponents, including even Legendary Pokémon that it had grown numb to ordinary foes. Truthfully, most standard-level opponents didn't even excite it anymore.
"Gaaar~"
Just sit back and watch, bro. I'll handle both of them myself!
Garchomp puffed out its chest with confidence. Though it hadn't yet fully mastered independent Mega Evolution, it had gained control of its Rough Skin damage-return ability from its Mega form, effectively granting it a dual ability setup.
With that alone, how could an average opponent possibly stand a chance?
"Hariii!"
"Chaaam!"
Medicham and Hariyama, who'd caught fragments of their opponents' conversation, suddenly felt completely disrespected. Locking eyes, they saw the same burning fury reflected in each other's gaze.
"They came here to challenge our gym. Give it everything you've got!"
Greta called out with renewed focus.
"Hariii!"
"Chaam!"
Fired up by those words, the fighting spirit in the two Pokémon reignited once more.
(End of Chapter)
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