Chapter Sixty-Three: Accepting the Challenge

Year 200 of the League, April 30th, Nibi City, outside the Pokémon Center.

Am and Misty had just dismounted from their Rhyhorn.

“How’s your preparation for tomorrow?” Misty looked at Am with a serious expression.

“Huh? Preparation for what?” Am was completely baffled.

Am’s righteous tone left Misty momentarily speechless. “What? Isn’t Professor Oak’s grandson scheduled to battle you on May first?”

“But I never agreed to that!” Am replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Misty: …

“Hey! He’s already said as much, you’re not going to chicken out, are you?” Misty puffed up in indignation—she really got into her role.

“No, I just never agreed to it.” Am honestly had no intention of battling Gary right now.

Just then, Gary’s voice sounded from behind Am: “Oh? Should I take this as a sign you’re scared?”

Misty felt awkward—after all, being caught right in the act of ‘backing down’ was embarrassing!

Am’s expression didn’t change as he replied, “Sure, if you want, I can call Professor Oak right now and tell him, ‘Gary is doing great, there’s no need to use me as motivation for him anymore.’”

“You—!” Gary became even more furious.

“If you really want to compete with me… why not make it a contest of potion-making?” Am offered magnanimously.

By now, Am had reached the entrance to the Pokémon Center, casually pulling out his Pokédex—he’d need it to book a room in a moment.

He also noticed, now that he was in Nibi City—in the signal area—there were unread messages that had piled up previously.

As he scrolled through them, Am suddenly paused…

Meanwhile, Gary, annoyed by Am’s nonchalant attitude, caught up and said, “If you’re still a trainer with any backbone…”

“How about in two days… the third, eight in the morning, at the Battle Club… you book the arena.” Am said directly.

Gary was caught off guard by Am’s sudden about-face, and by the time he processed it, Am was already at the front desk booking a room. Seeing Am already in line, Gary couldn’t follow him, so he could only shout from behind, “Don’t you dare run away!”

Misty, watching this, grew curious. As far as she knew, Am wasn’t someone so easily provoked.

“Why did you suddenly agree?” Misty asked, puzzled.

“Professor Oak heard about it… He asked me, if possible, to defeat his grandson at least once, so he doesn’t get too full of himself.” Am replied as he read through the unread messages on his Pokédex.

Previously, Professor Oak had even saved a top-quality Bulbasaur for Am. Although it was at Granny Leshy’s request, Am was still grateful to the professor.

Since Professor Oak had said so…

“Can you beat him?” Misty grew worried again.

“Not necessarily. Now that I’ve accepted, I’ll just have to prepare carefully.” Am answered, half modest, half serious.

Gary had only been on his journey for two months… And though he was Professor Oak’s grandson, aside from an Eevee, he didn’t have any Pokémon specially raised in advance. It was nothing like dealing with someone like Bajir.

Still, Am couldn’t say he was sure to win—not even counting the rest, just the Arcanine Gary had revealed was a significant threat!

And as a star pupil and a naturally gifted new trainer, Gary’s short-term training results probably weren’t inferior to Am’s.

After all, Am was only a Sequence 8 “Beastmaster” right now…

More importantly, Am’s training was carefully planned, aimed at doing well in the rookie tournament, not just for a quick power boost.

As for Gary’s Pokémon…

Arcanine, evolved from Growlithe with a Fire Stone, could reach its final form quickly, and with a base stat total of 555, it was formidable.

His Eevee—if it followed the route from the anime and evolved into Umbreon—would depend on a deep bond with its trainer, and could also evolve early; its base stat total of 525 was nothing to scoff at.

As for the starter—who knew if Gary’s Squirtle had reached level 36? If so, and he brought a fully evolved Blastoise, Am would be in trouble.

But that seemed unlikely.

Am’s Ivysaur was only level 30 at the moment.

Part of the reason was that Am hadn’t rushed Onion’s level—or, more generally, its growth—but instead focused on solid skill learning.

Otherwise, if he’d just trained every new skill as soon as it awakened, growth would have been rapid, but the foundation would be weak.

Am figured, had he used a rush-to-grow approach, Onion would probably already be level 36 by now!

After all, Am had personally “manually” awakened every hereditary skill that Onion could learn—those dozen or so inherited moves opened up many additional avenues for growth.

But Am’s approach to training was always long-term: mastering each skill before moving on to the next, to avoid interference between them.

If he faced Gary in the rookie tournament in September, he’d be confident—but right now, he wasn’t.

Still, Am calculated that Gary surely didn’t have any supernatural advantages, so… even if he focused on fast leveling, the odds of his starter reaching level 36 were slim!

“All right! Then starting tomorrow, I’ll help you with special training!” Misty declared, not forgetting her self-declared role as Am’s archrival… At least, in her own mind.

Am didn’t refuse her kindness. Although Misty was obviously a water-type specialist and Gary didn’t have a clear type bias, having another person to spar with was certainly a good thing.

“Okay, then tomorrow morning, let’s go to the Stark Store first… Since this is important, I’ll need to get a battle item or two.” Am was ready to take things seriously.

The biggest supplier of potions was the Groudon Group, the largest supplier of battle items was the Stark Group, and the leading supplier of Poké Balls and field gear was the Daidoji Group. All three had dedicated stores in major cities.

In Kanto, Daidoji Group was the most influential, as its headquarters were in the neighboring Johto region, both part of the Indigo League. Groudon Group’s headquarters were in Hoenn, and Stark Group’s in Unova, so they were outsiders with chain stores only in big cities.

The truly local Suzuki Group mainly dealt in ores, fossils, and energy, so they didn’t need retail outlets, just a few fossil museums and exhibitions.

“Huh? Tomorrow? Will there be enough time?” Misty asked, doubtful.

Battle items weren’t just for carrying around—their use required some skill, and it wasn’t easy to adapt to them on the fly.

“It’s fine, I just need to buy a few simple-effect items. I already have something in mind.” Am’s eyes grew a bit distant.

As for berry-based medicines for battle, Am didn’t need to buy any—he was already an expert-level potion maker himself.

“Why not go today? Even if the Stark Store is about to close, we could check out the whole Battle Item Street…” Misty seemed even more anxious than Am.

The Stark Store’s main selling points were variety, quality, and wide availability, not monopoly.

“No, it’s not that urgent… The Stark Store has a better selection.”

Am preferred convenience over bustle and bargains.

Besides, he was planning to call Granny Leshy and Sister Kiyomi to let them know he was safe.