Under Wyatt's guidance, the two arrived at another location within the estate.
This was a venue-like facility, only much larger in scale, with lights blazing inside.
Faintly, Caster could even hear the sounds of Pokémon battles.
His heart stirred, as he seemed to guess what this place was.
"This is the core of the estate: the Battle Club."
Walking into the venue, Wyatt introduced it with a smile.
"This Battle Club is the largest and most premier Pokémon club in Blackthorn City. Even in the entire Johto region, it ranks among the top.
The battle and training facilities inside are extremely comprehensive."
"However, the barrier to entry is quite high. You must have experience competing in regional tournaments, meaning you need to have collected at least eight badges."
"Ah?"
Caster froze mid-step, worried. "But I only have three badges. Will I be turned away?"
"Don't worry. I'm bringing you in with me. No one will stop us!"
Wyatt waved his hand dismissively, shaking his head with a chuckle.
This estate was his family's property. Who would dare stop him?
And this Battle Club was a place where members of their Dragon Tamer clan conducted practical combat training and recruited promising trainers. It gathered powerful trainers from various regions.
He'd brought Caster here partly because after all that special training, his hands were itching for a battle.
On the other hand, he also wanted to show off his wealth and influence, and give Caster a taste of what the big leagues looked like.
"Young Master Wyatt!"
As soon as they entered the venue, the beautiful receptionist at the front desk hurried over to greet them, her smile gentle and her demeanor graceful.
"Mm~"
Wyatt merely acknowledged her coolly, appearing extremely aloof, a complete contrast to the guy who'd been hustling away with his arms around twins just moments ago.
A man zips up his pants and suddenly finds his backbone!!!
Entering the training area, Caster immediately spotted numerous distinguished-looking trainers and their Pokémon, most of them in their final evolutionary forms.
There was a Typhlosion with flames erupting from its back, a lovely Bellossom, a noble and elegant Espeon, a stern and resolute Scizor...
Pokémon that were usually rare and hard to find seemed commonplace here.
"See anyone you want to battle? If so, you can go right up and challenge them."
Seeing Caster's eyes sparkling with barely contained excitement, Wyatt quickly encouraged him with a grin. "I usually spar with people here myself to build up real combat experience."
"Huh? That person is..."
Just then, Caster spotted a young man massaging a Rapidash. He appeared to have just finished training, and Caster's heart suddenly leapt.
"What? You're interested in Jon Dickson?"
Seeing Caster staring at the man, Wyatt's expression became somewhat unnatural, but he still advised, "I'd recommend you don't mess with him, though. Jon is extremely strong. Even if I go all out, I'm no match for him..."
After saying this, Wyatt couldn't help but admire Caster's eye. Among so many trainers, he'd immediately zeroed in on Jon.
This also seemed to prove, in a roundabout way, just how exceptional Caster was!
"So it really is him, Jon! No wonder he looked familiar..."
Caster understood now and quickly looked away.
Jon was the Silver Conference champion from the tournament during Ash's travels through Johto.
Though he'd gotten lucky because Harrison's Blaziken couldn't compete due to injuries sustained in its battle with Charizard, being able to fight through the entire tournament and claim the championship meant his strength was certainly no joke.
Even Wyatt directly admitted he was no match for him, which showed just how formidable he was.
"Wyatt, we haven't seen you at the club in several days. Where have you been off enjoying yourself this time?"
Just then, a girl with a full head of green hair walked over with a smile.
Before she even arrived, Caster caught a whiff of perfume.
"Enjoying myself my ass! Don't even mention it. I've been doing special training!"
Wyatt cursed under his breath first, then threw his arm over the girl's shoulder with a grin.
"Trixie, it's been forever since we battled. I'm actually getting a bit restless right now. How about a match?"
"A match? Pass!"
The green-haired girl Trixie pouted and flatly refused. "I like a good fight, not a good beating.
Fighting you? I've never won once. Pokémon battles are only fun when both sides are evenly matched."
With that, Trixie looked at Caster curiously. "Wyatt, is this guy your friend? He's really unfamiliar!"
"Trixie, top forty-eight at last year's Silver Conference."
Wyatt immediately made introductions between them. "Caster, a trainer from the Kanto region. Exceptional potential and strength not to be underestimated."
Since Caster had no tournament record, Wyatt emphasized his potential instead.
Trixie understood.
After all, if he didn't have something special about him, he obviously wouldn't catch Wyatt's eye, much less qualify to be his friend.
"From the Kanto region?"
Trixie's eyes lit up in delight. "Then you must have lots of signature Pokémon from Kanto, right? Caster, want to have a Pokémon battle?"
"Signature Pokémon from Kanto?"
Caster scratched his head and admitted honestly, "I actually don't have any of those!"
Pichu wasn't uncommon in Johto either, and as for Gyarados, that was a Pokémon found across all regions. Anywhere there was water, you'd find them.
However, since he was already at the Battle Club, Caster naturally wanted to test his skills.
After all, he was already here!
Besides, after "training" in the Dragon's Den for so long, Caster wanted to check the results of his Pokémon's progress.
Seeing that Caster seemed eager to accept after Trixie's battle invitation, Wyatt dropped any thought of stopping him.
He was actually quite curious about Caster's true level as well.
Caster smiled and agreed. "Then let's have a match!"
"Great, straightforward!"
Trixie nodded with satisfaction, then asked, "The guest should choose. Caster, little bro, how do you want to do this? We have one-on-one and three-on-three here.
Of course, if you're up for it, we can even do a full team battle. I'll go along with whatever you want!"
"Full team battle, six on six?"
Caster smiled wryly and shook his head. "Let's skip that!"
He only had two Pokémon total right now. What was he supposed to fight a full team battle with?
Forget six on six; he couldn't even manage three on three.
Stroking his chin thoughtfully for a moment, Caster looked up. "How about we try something new? What do you say to a Double Battle?"
"Double Battle?"
Trixie was taken aback at first, then a unique light flowed through her eyes as she smiled.
"I really didn't expect you to be familiar with Double Battles, which are more popular in the Hoenn region.
Caster, you've got quite the international perspective. I'm suddenly looking forward to this match."
Double Battles were a battle mode introduced in the third generation of Pokémon games, where both sides use two Pokémon simultaneously on the field.
Because the number of battling Pokémon increases, this battle mode really tests a trainer's commanding ability.
"Come on, let's find a field!"
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