There were only about ten days left until the Silver League. Time-wise, that really wasn't much. Wanting to improve strength in such a short period was possible, but the margin of improvement was relatively small.
However, given Gemma's current situation, a small improvement wouldn't be enough. Forget about winning the League—even getting third place would be difficult.
So they could only rely on some "special methods."
Steelix—Level 61
Scizor—Level 58
Skarmory—Level 58
Aggron—Level 57
Mawile—Level 57
Empoleon—Level 57
Aside from Steelix being at the pseudo-Elite level, the other five main team Pokémon were all at the late-stage Advanced-level.
In terms of potential, Steelix and Aggron both had Cyan-grade potential, while the rest had Green.
In the backyard, Julian looked at Gemma's six Pokémon. The Probing Eyes had already fed him all their data.
Each of Gemma's Pokémon stood upright like soldiers awaiting inspection, their faces filled with tension.
It couldn't be helped—there were simply too many Steel-type "giants" around Julian.
Especially Gemma's Aggron—when it saw Julian's Totem Aggron, the feeling was like a commoner in ancient times seeing the emperor. It almost knelt on the spot.
Gemma herself was also very nervous, afraid that Julian would find her Pokémon unsatisfactory.
Julian took out seven Potential-enhancing potions and hands them to her.
"Two for Scizor, one for Skarmory, two for Mawile, and two for Empoleon. Have them take these first—raise all their potentials to Cyan."
[T/N: Before someone shouts about something... remember that her winning gets him pretty good rewards from the System.]
When they were at the same level and had similar battle experience, Pokémon with higher potential tended to be stronger.
Gemma hadn't expected such a huge surprise right from the start—directly raising her Pokémon's potential to Cyan-grade.
Even as a direct member of the Stein family, only her starter Pokémon, Onix, had Cyan-grade potential. All her other Pokémon had Green-grade.
Her Aggron had already been raised from Green, and she had already planned to gradually improve the rest—but that would have taken at least ten years.
Now, just by consuming these potions, their potential could be raised immediately.
There was no need to doubt Julian—because the Potential-enhancing potions developed by the Walker family were already well-known among major families.
They had a high probability of upgrading Green-grade potential to Cyan-grade.
Unfortunately, the Potential-enhancing potions were extremely difficult to produce, so the Walker family never sold them to the outside world—they were only used for exchanges or given to closely allied families.
The outside world had no idea that these potions weren't produced by the Walker family at all, but were actually purchased by Julian from the System.
Because of this, countless corporate spies—both domestic and international—still hadn't been able to find where the Walkers supposedly manufactured these potions.
After all, even a fool knew how important a potion that had a high probability of raising a Green-grade potential Pokémon to Cyan-grade was.
It meant the ability to mass-produce Cyan-grade Pokémon.
With more Cyan-grade Pokémon, the number of Elite-level trainers in the country would rise. And as the number of Elites increased, the nation's overall strength would also grow stronger.
And with more Elites, the probability of producing Champions would also increase.
Watching the Pokémon consume the Potential potions, Julian then took out a pile of treasures—things he had no use for, but were perfectly suited for Gemma's Pokémon at their current stage.
"Today's task is… to eat."
Julian said to Gemma's Pokémon.
All six of them nodded in unison, practically drooling as they looked at the treasures in front of them. This treatment was far better than what most trainers could ever provide.
"Coach, isn't this too much?"
Gemma had originally thought that Julian would just teach her some battle tactics or spar with her a few times, and that would be the end of the training.
But she never expected him to be this serious. Just those seven potions alone were already beyond something that could be measured with money.
And now there was an entire pile of treasures.
Gemma was completely dumbfounded—and also a bit embarrassed, feeling like she was freeloading.
Repaying him with herself? He probably wouldn't even be interested.
"These are just useless ones. What's too much about this?" Julian asked, puzzled.
Aside from spending some points on the Potential potions, Julian didn't feel the slightest regret over these treasures. Leaving them in the system space would just be a waste of space anyway.
An unintentional flaunting of wealth was the most lethal kind.
Gemma, who had never lacked money since childhood, suddenly felt how poor she was next to Julian.
"Let them be for now. Now it's your turn."
Julian looked at Gemma.
"Me?"
Gemma pointed at herself, then asked, "Coach, are you going to teach me battle tactics?"
"What's the point of that?"
Julian shook his head and continued, "Four of your Pokémon can Mega Evolve. You have their Mega Stones, right?"
Mega Evolution provided a huge boost to a Pokémon's strength.
"I don't have Aggron's Mega Stone," Gemma said, glancing at Julian.
After all, most of the Mega Stones for Metagross and Aggron line had long been monopolized by the Walkers. There were some circulating outside, but they were extremely rare.
"Here."
Julian took out an Aggronite and handed it to her.
"If you win the League, it's yours. If you don't, return it to me," Julian said calmly.
"Mm!"
Gemma nodded firmly. With the Potential potions and resources Julian had already given her, she had to aim for the Championship.
And this was only the first day of training—there was still more to come.
"Now, let's work on your mental strength."
The duration of Mega Evolution depended greatly on the trainer's mental strength and physical endurance.
"Gengar."
"Gen~"
A chubby Gengar appeared.
"In a moment, Gengar will hypnotize you, then use Nightmare on you. Do your best to survive inside the nightmare."
Hearing that, Gemma immediately took several steps back, her face turning pale.
"Coach, do we really have to go that far?!"
Using Hypnosis followed by Nightmare could indeed improve a trainer's mental strength—but it required precise control. Otherwise, the trainer's mind could be severely damaged, and in the worst case, they could become a complete vegetable.
"Begin."
Julian didn't give her a chance to refuse.
"Ghehehe~"
Gengar glanced at Gemma, and she instantly collapsed.
"Move her to the bathtub. There's a Physique-enhancing potion mixed in the water," Julian said to Gengar.
"Gen~"
Gengar nodded, then floated away with Gemma toward the villa.
"Bisharp, I'm leaving these six to you. As long as they don't end up dead or crippled, do whatever you want with them."
"Magearna, stay here and take care of them."
Magiana's ability, Soul-Heart, could rapidly increase the levels of nearby Pokémon and help them absorb the energy within their bodies faster.
Of course, this only worked on lower-level Pokémon.
Once they reached the Pseudo-Champion level, the effect of Soul-Heart was almost negligible.
*****
Upto 30 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/ReduxMagister