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By evening, Liam returned to the rescue center, thoroughly exhausted but still surrounded by a crowd of enthusiastic well-wishers. After handing over the PokeBalls containing Weavile, Arbok, Onix, and Aerodactyl to Nurse Joy, he turned around and headed straight to the dorms in the Trainer Village to rest.
This afternoon had been very productive for Liam—he was now only twenty-four wins away from completing his Thousand Battles achievement. He had battled fifty trainers in one afternoon, which had thoroughly worn out both him and his Pokémon.
Thankfully, most of the later matches weren't too demanding, as they mainly involved guidance sessions. He helped random passersby identify weaknesses in their Pokémon, refine their training focus, optimize move combinations, and even gave them pointers on suitable TMs. Safe to say, everyone walked away having gained a lot.
By the end, those who had battled earlier stayed to observe and learn, while those still waiting looked on in fascination. As for the ones currently battling, they hung onto Liam's every word while trying to apply his teachings.
Throughout the entire afternoon, Liam had built a huge reputation among this group, and when he finally decided to return out of sheer fatigue, they nearly insisted on carrying him back—afraid he'd collapse from exhaustion. It took Liam forcefully turning them down to avoid the embarrassment of being carried home.
He also earned a bit more Pokédex reward points, which, when added to the ones he got for registering Moltres, gave him a decent stash. Liam estimated that even after completing the Thousand Battles mission, he might still have about a thousand or two points left over. He resolved to use those to buy some essential supplies—just in case.
That night, Liam went to bed early and slept soundly. The next morning, he got up at dawn—he had no choice. When he returned yesterday, he'd promised the "apprentices" that they'd resume the sparring sessions first thing in the morning.
After waking and eating an early breakfast, Liam headed to the rescue center to retrieve his stored PokeBalls. Then he made his way toward the direction of Victory Road—except… he didn't get far.
Standing at the entrance of the League gates was a crowd already packed with people. Liam stared at them in shock as they all looked at him, grinning and chuckling to themselves. With a puzzled expression, Liam asked, "What… what are you all planning?"
Before he even finished speaking, the entire group suddenly shouted in unison, "Good morning, senior!"
Their voices were in perfect sync, loud and clear—totally energizing.
Liam instinctively stood upright and waved politely with a practiced smile. "Hey, everyone… cough, I mean, good morning. Why are you all up so early?"
With an awkward smile, Liam tried to salvage his casual tone.
"Senior, you said yesterday you'd be setting up another battle platform early this morning. We didn't know exactly how early you meant, so we decided to wait a little ahead of time. Also, we've already rented an official battle arena today. If you don't mind, could we do our practical training there today?" said the same energetic young man from yesterday—Axu—whose partner Pokémon was a well-trained Blissey with no small amount of strength.
One thing bugged Liam though—ever since arriving in Kanto, he hadn't once seen a wild Chansey or Blissey. How did this guy manage to get such a rare Pokémon? Definitely something worth looking into.
"Of course! I'd love that. Where is it? Let's go!" Liam didn't exactly enjoy using that makeshift arena, so now that they had access to something better, he was more than happy to switch locations.
So, surrounded by a sea of enthusiastic trainers, Liam was escorted in grand style to a League-owned battle facility available for rental. Inside were various types of battlefields that trainers could choose from.
Of course… the rental fees were outrageous.
Liam admitted he hadn't known this place existed. But after seeing the prices posted outside the arena, he also concluded that—even if he had known—he definitely wouldn't have used it. Way too expensive!
Obviously, this rental must've been crowdfunded by the entire group, and that touched Liam a little. He silently decided: once he wins today's battles, he wouldn't charge any challenge fees.
And so, another round of battle training began.
The rented facility had four types of battlefields: Grass, Water, Ice, and Rock—corresponding exactly to the four preliminary rounds of the League tournament. According to League rules, trainers must battle in all four terrain types in a 3v3 format.
Only those who won every match could proceed to the tournament's main bracket. So in that sense, these young trainers were getting valuable hands-on experience in advance.
"Senior Liam! After listening to your advice yesterday, I went home and thought a lot. I even came up with some new tactics. Would you have a serious match with me today? I'll give it my all!" Axu said, eyes gleaming, clutching a PokeBall.
"Sure! You're probably still using that Blissey, right? I'm curious to see how much you two have grown overnight."
Liam accepted the challenge with a smile.
They headed to the randomly selected Rock battlefield. Axu threw his PokeBall first, and with a flash of white light, a cheerful, pink Blissey appeared on the field, happily waving its stubby arms with a bright smile.
"Bliss~ Blissey~~"
Liam had already battled this Blissey yesterday—it was a real pain to deal with. It opened with Double-Edge, which, while not devastating, still packed a punch. Then it would immediately recover HP by laying an egg—its tactics were downright annoying.
Eventually, Liam had Weavile finish it off with one clean move, restoring peace to the battlefield…
At that point, Blissey hadn't learned any TM moves yet. It was still manageable. But once it picked up a full arsenal of moves? Heh…
"I'll stick with it. Go, Weavile! Meet yesterday's opponent again!"
Liam pulled a PokeBall from his belt and tossed it onto the field. With a burst of light, Weavile landed gracefully atop a rock.
"Weavile…"
Weavile narrowed its eyes at the sight of its opponent, recalling the psychological trauma from yesterday's slog of a battle. It shivered briefly before its expression sharpened—clearly, it had made up its mind… this fight was ending quickly.
"I'll start then, senior! Blissey, armor up—Defense Curl!"
Axu's excitement grew at the sight of Weavile. His motto was always to get back up where he fell. He'd lost yesterday with one hit—time to settle the score.
"Bliss!"
Upon command, Blissey's face turned serious as it curled into a ball, its body glowing with a metallic sheen. Its defense shot up significantly.
"Don't let it keep boosting! Weavile—Quick Attack!"
Liam gave a nod at the move but quickly changed his expression and pointed toward Blissey, signaling Weavile to launch a swift assault.
"Wea!"
With a crisp cry, Weavile transformed into a blur of light, darting off the rock toward Blissey.
"Blissey! Don't be afraid! Use Minimize!"
Axu didn't panic. His calm command came through loud and clear.
"Blissey!"
Blissey jumped lightly, and in the blink of an eye, its already round body shrunk dramatically, several sizes smaller. Weavile's eyes flickered in surprise as it zipped past, its attack missing completely.
"Ugh… this kind of battle is the worst. Weavile, use Snatch!"
Clearly annoyed by Blissey's tactics again, Liam's mind suddenly sparked with inspiration.
"Wea!"
Weavile's eyes gleamed with a strange light, and a peculiar glow shot from Blissey into Weavile's body. Its already small frame shrank slightly more, and a metallic gleam covered its form.
"What?! That move is brutal!"
Axu's jaw dropped as he stared at his now-normal-sized Blissey, his expression filled with quiet despair.