Considering the urgency of time.
Sister Xiangfen didn't linger long in Lavaridge Town and headed north to Fallarbor Town.
She was very familiar with this place because her family's old house and garden were nearby. Many acquaintances lived in the small town, and they greeted her warmly upon her arrival.
The Gym Leader of the Fallarbor Gym was also acquainted with Sister Xiangfen. According to the narration, the female Gym Leader's parents were familiar with Sister Xiangfen's family, and Sister Xiangfen often played at the Gym during her childhood and interacted with various Pokémon.
The specialty attribute is Flying Type, and in terms of attribute compatibility, it is even more restrictive than the Lavaridge Gym, causing Sister Xiangfen to battle twice before securing a victory.
After concluding the Gym Battle, when the Gym Leader discovered Sister Xiangfen only had five Pokémon, they gifted her a Pokémon that had a fondness for her—
Tropius.
And mentioned that Tropius's passenger-carrying flying ability might assist her in the future.
[You've acquired Tropius, and your journey partner count has increased]
Sister Xiangfen accepted it, bid farewell to her friends and family in Fallarbor Town, and set off for Shuijing City in the east of the Hoenn Region.
On the way, she passed through Verdanturf Town.
[You've arrived at Verdanturf Town, and seeing the numerous houses built on large trees feels intriguing]
Since the area hadn't yet developed to city scale, the road along the way wasn't very easy to navigate. Fortunately, with Tropius's assistance, she reached her destination smoothly.
Verdanturf Town was inhabited by many bird and insect Pokémon. By collecting scale powder from insect Pokémon, Sister Xiangfen made new progress in her essence development journey.
Heading all the way east.
The scene shifts to Shuijing City on the horizon.
[You've arrived at Shuijing City]
As the largest city in the eastern Hoenn Region, it appeared as bustling as ever even decades ago.
Sister Xiangfen watched the bustling crowds, lamenting that she didn't have much time to stay, and hurriedly made her way to Shuijing Gym.
The Gym Leader here was an elderly man who looked quite robust, utilizing Fighting Attribute Pokémon.
Despite being the seventh badge, the process felt rather challenging, causing Baimu to break out in a sweat. However, with the help of Masquerain and Tropius, both Flying Attribute Pokémon, she ultimately managed to pass in one attempt.
This likely stands as the most unsatisfactory Gym Battle outcome for a Blue Talent simulation subject.
Nonetheless, due to the league conference only being open for a few years, many aspects were still in exploration stages, leading Gym Leaders to establish varying levels of difficulty based on the challenger's badge count.
The leap in difficulty from the fourth to the fifth badge was rather absurd, though also attributed to compatibility, but the Pokémon used by the Gym Leaders evidently displayed some transcendent qualities.
This left the competitors categorized not just as elite?
While Baimu pondered, Sister Xiangfen traveled by ship to the last Gym's city—
Glazed City.
[You've arrived at Glazed City, where most buildings are situated within the unique volcano crater structure, necessitating the use of Tropius to enter]
At this time, Glazed City hadn't fully opened to facilitate external exchanges, requiring people either to walk through caves or find alternative means to enter the volcano's interior.
Sister Xiangfen chose the latter option.
The Gym Leader of the Glazed Gym was undoubtedly not Mikoli, considering that possibly even his mentor Adam might have only recently been born. Sister Xiangfen leveraged her advantage of having a majority of Grass-type Pokémon, coupled with the Sunny Day tactic learned from Lavaridge Gym, to achieve her final victory.
[You defeated the Glazed Gym Leader and earned the Raindrop Badge]
At this moment, Sister Xiangfen had hurried throughout, leaving more than two months until the start of the league conference.
Excitedly, she immediately resumed her vigorous pursuit in the essence business, though admittedly she hadn't forgotten about battles, ultimately focusing more on therapy and essence making in her daily routine.
Seeing this, Baimu realized the chances of winning the championship were slim.
While Sister Xiangfen certainly exerted effort in battles, to compensate for her lack of experience, she often engaged in and sought advice from various wild Trainers and learned strategies, such as weather tactics, from different Gym Leaders.
Unfortunately, her love for healing and essences outweighed her dedication to battles…
Reaching the top eight or top four would be considered a victory.
——
The scene fast-forwards through the fleeting two months.
During these two months, Sister Xiangfen had a fulfilling time, roaming between several cities in the eastern Hoenn, encountering many Pokémon she hadn't seen before, and crafting more essences suitable for different attribute Pokémon.
Though mass production hadn't yet been achieved, many people sought her out by name to purchase.
Of course.
Sister Xiangfen didn't forget to continue nurturing her Pokémon to prepare for the conference. It might be her first and last competition participation, hoping to achieve a satisfying result.
With such thoughts, the sixth Ever Grande Conference was formally underway.
To Baimu's surprise, participant numbers were far fewer than before, eliminating pre-qualifying rounds to determine Trainer performance in Gym Battles, starting straight from the primary selection round, the top sixty-four.
An entire year yielded only sixty-four people who cleared eight Gyms?
He felt astonishment at the difficulty level and realized that everything gradually developed over time, estimating that decades ago the conference hadn't yet become the aspirational dreamland for Trainers.
Since there were only sixty-four contestants, Sister Xiangfen faced a remarkably tough first opponent, making it a rather challenging win.
Fortunately, the "Treatment" secret skill proved effective, along with Sister Xiangfen's continuous learning of various tactics.
Reached the top thirty-two where opponent strength significantly increased—two of them were acquainted, having been in Kanaz City circles before. However, even amidst familiar reunions, everyone turned red with rivalry, pushing their full efforts.
Ultimately, Sister Xiangfen excelled, securing the win through powder-based moves.
Similarly, it went for the top sixteen; although Grass-type Pokémon displayed weakness in attack, leveraging powder moves along with endurance skills still left opponents overwhelmed.
[You defeated your opponent and advanced to the knockout tournament]
The top eight confidence was firm.
Baimu also relaxed; he ended up feeling more nervous watching simulations than participants battling, given that opponents capable of winning eight Gyms were truly formidable.
Final knockout tournament first round.
It was evident Sister Xiangfen struggled extensively; her opponent's battle expertise far outmatched hers, with remarkable Pokémon adaptability.
Specifically, they mastered the Three-word Truth's essence.
Yell "Dodge quickly," and they genuinely dodged; yell "Hold on," and minutes later they held off Roserade's Sunshine Blaze.
At the moment of adversity.
Sister Xiangfen suddenly awakened the ultimate skill within the Three-word Truth—
"Patient arrives, stand up!"
The nearly fainted Roserade instantly rose, concluding its opponent with Falling Flowers.
Baimu understood this was the result of well-trained cultivation, encompassing willpower in its comprehensive strength, but the habit developed through Roserade's years of rescue participation was also the reason for Sister Xiangfen's victory.
With patients around, no matter how tired or weary, it would stand up.
Therefore, when Sister Xiangfen provided treatment, effort extended beyond just her; Roserade and other Pokémon were striving alongside her.
Regrettably, given Sister Xiangfen's strength, the top four was her final phase.
She failed to defeat her opponent in the semifinals, even with her and Pokémon's strength at their peak.
[Your competition ends here; earning a top-four finish left you exceedingly satisfied, with your top-eight performance echoing your name across Hoenn]
[Through personal efforts, you transformed essences from liquid to solid aroma, had the scent manufactured in familiar factories, instantly sparking demand across Hoenn upon sale]
[You returned to your old house, using the tournament prize and aroma income to renovate and expand, establishing the Pokémon Aromatherapy Research Institute]
[You named it "Green Hall"]
[Simulation Ends]
"Indeed, it's Green Hall…" Baimu set down the cup in hand, sighing as he looked poignantly at the rising blue smoke in the distance, undoubtedly emanating from Green Hall's aroma.
Only, Sister Xiangfen… the founder of Green Hall passed away several years ago, now her granddaughter serves as the head.
Regrettable.