Chapter 298: The National Fighting Dojo, The Dragon-Tiger Cup
Inside his room, Hikaru was browsing the internet to check the exam requirements for attaining the Master-level Trainer certification.
"The examinee must undergo the assessment in a National-level Gym, with the Gym Leader's approval."
"During the assessment, the examinee must list all of their Pokémon."
"The examiner is authorized to ban one of the examinee's Pokémon."
"Furthermore, in the battle, Pokémon are allowed to attack the Trainer. The examinee will be provided an energy shield, and if its damage exceeds a certain threshold, the examinee is deemed to have failed…"
"The format is 2v2—one Pokémon must be Master-level, and the other at the peak of the Elite tier!"
After reading the rules, Hikaru found it a bit vexing.
The rest was fine—he wasn't worried about burdening his Pokémon.
The main issue was that the Gym's examiner had the right to ban one of his Pokémon.
Without a doubt, if they were going to ban any of his, they'd definitely choose Latias.
"Ah well, I'll just take it one step at a time and give it a try," he thought.
Even without Latias, using Greninja, Charizard, Gardevoir, and so on, it might still be feasible.
As for the closest National-level Gym near Kyoto, he'd just looked it up. It was a Fighting-type Gym.
Word had it that the Gym Leader's main Pokémon was Falinks, which was near the Champion level in a multi-strike combo style.
Apparently, after some popular live broadcast, the Fighting-type National Gym—Jingwu Hall—became a holy ground in the eyes of Fighting-type Trainers.
It was said that you could meet all sorts of renowned Fighting-type Trainers there, as well as numerous Fighting-type Pokémon.
Having made up his mind, Hikaru didn't dawdle.
Early the next morning, the day after returning from Dragon Island, he left the campus, hailed a ride, and set off straight for the outskirts of Kyoto.
A side note: he'd finally received the "mysterious grand prize" from the freshman military training. It turned out to be one Master-level energy cube and some Expert-level cubes.
Hikaru glanced at them:
The Master-level cube boosted Special Defense. He gave it to Tyrunt.
The Expert-level cubes were all sorts of miscellaneous types.
He didn't plan on feeding them to his own Pokémon; he'd likely sell them sometime. After all, "Master Breeder-crafted energy cubes" could fetch a good price, right?
Before heading to the Fighting-type Gym, he made a detour to the Relic Bureau, where he bought a large batch of Psychic-type relics from the familiar clerk in a qipao.
He nearly cleared out their entire stock.
Having done that, he was left with just enough money to cover the upcoming assessment fees.
Seeing the stunned expression on the clerk's face as he left, Hikaru couldn't help but sigh to himself.
Latias's power recovery is getting faster and faster, he thought, so she's consuming more and more resources.
I just have to keep making money… otherwise I can't afford to feed them all…
No wonder most large families only raise one pseudo-legendary—raising multiple is genuinely unaffordable.
Even a massive fortune can be drained quickly.
And in Hikaru's case…
Gible,
Tyrunt,
soon-to-be Dratini,
plus Latias in the Poké Ball…
All of them are money sinks!
Mulling this over, he finally arrived at the Fighting-type Gym.
Calling it a Gym entrance might be misleading—he actually stood at the foot of a towering mountain!
Even from inside the car, before he got out, Hikaru could vaguely hear the shouts of various Fighting-type Pokémon.
"Machop! Machop…"
"Machoke…"
"Spaaar…"
When he stepped out, the scene took him aback.
Even at the base of the mountain, quite a few Fighting-type Trainers were working out with their Pokémon:
Machop and Machoke doing push-ups with weights – sometimes the Trainer sat on Machop's back, or did push-ups on Machoke's.
A Throh vigorously pounding away at a wooden stake, practicing its striking technique.
A Sawk hauling boulder-sized stones to perfect its throwing form.
What caught Hikaru's eye most was a muscular young man sparring against his own Hitmonchan in a ring at the foot of the mountain—real fist-to-fist combat, each blow landing with audible impact.
Cheering spectators surrounded them, making for a lively atmosphere.
Hikaru walked closer to watch, intrigued.
Not bad—
That Hitmonchan was nearly Level 29, just shy of Gym-level. And the Trainer could still hold his own in a direct fight!
Impressive. The pinnacle for some Trainers was effectively becoming a Pokémon themselves.
After a bit, Hikaru decided to move on.
He spotted multiple routes leading up the mountain:
1. A standard footpath used by what appeared to be tourists.
2. A set of staggered steps with each step extremely tall—much higher than Hikaru's height. Quite a few Fighting-type Pokémon, legs strapped with weighted sandbags, were hopping up those steps to train their endurance.
Their Trainers were training alongside them. In the world of Fighting Pokémon, you had to hone your body too, not just raise your Pokémon's energy levels.
Looking at it, Hikaru mused,
"This place is brimming with raw hormones…"
He muttered under his breath, feeling self-conscious among all these heavily muscled trainers. Even female Trainers here had a sleek, agile fitness to them.
Since he'd come for the Master-level Trainer assessment, he saw no need to choose the steep training path. He headed for the normal staircase.
But as soon as he stepped onto the steps, he noticed something:
Many of the people and Pokémon who'd been training below were also heading up the ordinary path now, all of them in a rush.
He was about to ask why when a voice called out from the side:
"Hey, friend! You're here for this year's Dragon-Tiger Cup too, right?"
Hikaru turned and saw a young man, only a bit older than him, with an honest face. The guy was likely fresh off training, wearing only a white tank top drenched in sweat, and a Mienfoo by his side. Its sharp eyes shone with the resolve of a martial artist.
Hikaru quickly sized him up—Level 36—but before Hikaru could speak, the man spoke first:
"I feel like I've seen you somewhere before, but never mind. Let me tell you…"
"Every year, after the Dragon-Tiger Cup…"
(The chapter ends here.)
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