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"Good battle." Chris retrieved his Poké Ball and recalled the shiny Arcanine, "Little Sun," who still seemed eager for more action.
Wanda, who had been watching the match from the sidelines, rolled her eyes.
Her boss said the exact same thing after every battle, seemingly oblivious to how much resentment those words stirred up in his opponents.
When Daralon heard Chris's casual remark, his face flushed red.
He gritted his teeth, wanting to challenge Chris to another match immediately.
But then he thought about Arcanine's overwhelming performance just now, and then considered the shiny Lugia Chris also possessed.
If even Chris's backup Pokémon were this formidable, what about his main team?
Suddenly, he deflated like a popped balloon.
Challenge him again right now? It didn't seem like he had any Pokémon capable of handling that Arcanine.
Furthermore, Daralon found himself seriously reconsidering whether he should go through with the formal six-on-six challenge against Chris he'd been planning for a few days from now.
While Daralon stood there lost in thought, Chris had already climbed onto Lugia's back and was asking Christina a question.
"Where's my assigned island?"
"Please follow me." Christina patted her Charizard, which immediately took flight and began leading the way southward.
Watching the black Lugia that seemed to blot out the sky, Daralon remained silent for a long moment.
Although he'd known about it for ages and had seen it in videos, actually witnessing a legendary Pokémon in person made him feel the overwhelming pressure that only legendary Pokémon could emanate.
Daralon couldn't help but imagine replacing his earlier opponent—the shiny Arcanine—with the dark-colored Lugia instead.
Suddenly, Daralon's expression turned grim.
Fast forward to his next Masters Eight challenge?
He didn't want to compete anymore!
The island the World Pokémon Alliance had assigned to Chris wasn't particularly large—only about one-quarter the size of "Trial Island No. 7" where Chris had resided at Dragon University.
However, it came equipped with a villa featuring a backyard garden, plus a dedicated training ground and battle arena, which was more than sufficient.
Dense vegetation and protective barriers surrounded the island's perimeter, ensuring that even if trainers let their Pokémon roam freely around the island, nothing dangerous would happen.
"If you need anything, please contact me anytime." Christina bowed politely and departed.
"I'll be staying in the guest room downstairs. If anything comes up, I'll contact you immediately. For now, boss, you can relax and enjoy your games." Wanda waved her phone, demonstrating she knew exactly what duties an assistant should handle.
"Thanks, I appreciate it."
Chris walked to the backyard garden and tossed several Poké Balls into the air.
Although the Sky Island accommodations were quite nice, he didn't plan on staying permanently, so he hadn't brought too many Pokémon along.
He'd only brought Lugia and Gardevoir, along with several Pokémon from his second and third teams, plus Togepi and Jirachi. He hadn't even brought along his usual group of cheerful companions.
He'd left his personal chef, Lilligant, behind to look after the younger Pokémon as well.
The Poké Balls opened mid-air, and as silvery light flashed, the garden suddenly filled with Chris's Pokémon.
Arcanine, Venusaur, Kubfu, Slaking, Smeargle, Aerodactyl...
These Pokémon had been raised by Chris for quite some time. They didn't feel uncomfortable in the new environment and immediately went about their own activities.
Aerodactyl flew to the villa's rooftop to bask in the sun, posing like a gargoyle statue.
Slaking found a spot and immediately began resting.
Smeargle pulled out its easel and started painting with the garden as its backdrop.
Venusaur used Vine Whip to retrieve a watering can from somewhere and began watering the flowers, while simultaneously shooing away Arcanine, whose body radiated intense heat.
Kubfu started practicing its boxing forms on the lawn. Its level was already quite high, but Chris had no intention of evolving it yet—he was waiting for the right opportunity.
"Pokémon really are wonderful," Chris sighed contentedly before turning and heading toward the second floor.
The villa's second floor featured a balcony overlooking the garden, and Chris decided to use the room connected to that balcony as his personal quarters.
He set up a table on the balcony, and Gardevoir brought him tea and snacks.
It almost felt like being back on Trial Island No. 7 at Dragon University.
How relaxing.
However, he had other matters to attend to first, so he'd postpone gaming for the time being.
Chris pulled a notebook from his bag.
He'd brought his second and third teams along this time not simply because he thought he could handle everything without his primary team appearing—giving his main roster a vacation in the process.
His primary team already followed their own established training regimen and didn't require constant supervision.
But the second and third teams were different.
Whether it was Arcanine, Aerodactyl, Venusaur, or even Slaking—
In their development, Chris had focused primarily on raising their "levels" and "raw power," but he hadn't established proper tactical systems or defined combat roles for them.
This was mainly related to the fact that they participated in relatively few high-intensity battles regularly.
After all, in the past, Chris had always relied on his primary team to handle tough opponents, only deploying his reserve teams against weaker challengers. And those weaker opponents couldn't provide Arcanine and the others with meaningful combat experience.
Therefore, Chris planned to use his second and third team Pokémon as his "primary combat force" this time to explore each Pokémon's individual limits, then conduct extended training in tactics and move selection based on their unique characteristics.
The battle against Daralon had been revealing.
Arcanine had performed well.
But it had also exposed some problems. Arcanine had been able to overwhelm Daralon mainly because Daralon was relatively weak. Against a stronger opponent, the Conqueror's Haki effect wouldn't be nearly as devastating.
Furthermore, Arcanine only possessed one truly powerful offensive move—"Flare Blitz."
From other trainers' perspectives, that might be sufficient, but within Chris's team standards, it fell short.
His roster included Greninja's "Golden Flying Water Spiral Aura Sphere" up front, and Tyranitar's "Planetary Devastation" in the back.
To qualify as one of Chris's main battlers, a Pokémon needed to develop a signature technique to its peak—capable not just of dominating weaker opponents, but of fighting above its weight class in high-intensity battles.
Therefore, research into Arcanine's "ultimate technique" needed to be prioritized. As for which move to base it on, he'd need to consider carefully.
Beyond its limited offensive power ceiling, Arcanine had another issue—a lack of diverse attack options.
In other words, its type coverage was inadequate.
In Arcanine's current move pool, aside from Fire-type moves, it only had four other type-based attacks.
The Fighting-type move Morning Sun, the Normal-type move Extreme Speed, the Dark-type move Crunch, and the Fairy-type move Play Rough.
Chris recalled that there should be many more moves Arcanine could learn.
The Grass-type ultimate move "Solar Beam," the Normal-type ultimate move "Hyper Beam," the Electric-type ultimate move "Wild Charge"...
After thinking it over, Chris quietly pulled out his handheld gaming device. These move TMs didn't seem to be particularly rare items for someone who was already playing through his second playthrough of the game.