"Of course. Actually, today just happens to be the first day since Sunlight Gym reopened. All challengers are welcome."
Qingyu smiled slightly and nodded at Nemona.
The training Eevee had just gone through wasn't particularly intense. By sheer coincidence, it had even served as a warm-up before its very first Gym Battle.
"However, before the battle begins, could you let me confirm your Pokémon first?"
From the moment humans in this world began taming "magical beasts" for battle over two thousand years ago, Pokémon battles had already become an indispensable part of human society.
After the modern Pokémon League was established, a complete competitive system centered around battles and Trainers was formed.
Trainers of the appropriate age challenge Gyms to earn Badges, gain eligibility to participate in regional tournaments, and finally determine a winner through intense elimination rounds.
If that winner then successfully clears the "Champion's Path," guarded by the Elite Four and the Champion—
They become the focus of all attention—
The Champion!
天天看小說 → 𝕥𝕥𝕜𝕤.𝕥𝕨
From this alone, it wasn't hard to see that the original purpose of Gyms was to select outstanding Trainers.
Under normal circumstances, a Gym should be equipped with multiple tiers of Pokémon teams to handle rookie Trainers of varying strength.
So Qingyu's question was simply part of the standard procedure.
"Okay! I only have one Pokémon—this little one!"
Nemona's voice was filled with obvious excitement as she took a Poké Ball from the pouch at her waist.
"Paw~"
A beam of red light shot out from the Poké Ball, and an orange, mouse-like Electric Pokémon quickly appeared before Qingyu.
"Pawmi?"
Qingyu raised an eyebrow.
Electric rodents were a long-standing Pokémon tradition—starting with Pikachu, every generation had one, and they were almost always pretty cute.
Pawmi from the Paldea region was no exception in terms of popularity.
Qingyu remembered that Nemona did indeed have a Pawmi on her team, but he hadn't expected it to be her very first partner.
That was fine. If it had been a stronger Pokémon, Eevee might not have stood much of a chance.
As Qingyu focused his gaze on the small Electric-type at Nemona's feet, looking utterly confused, several lines of text quickly appeared before his eyes.
[Pawmi (Male)][Type: Electric][Ability: Iron Fist]
The system Pokédex function activated automatically.
Compared to his own Pokémon, the information he could observe was pitifully limited.
Still, being able to know the opponent Pokémon's Ability before the battle was already extremely useful.
"Then, the rules for this Gym Battle will be a 1v1," Qingyu spoke again.
"I'll be sending out Eevee. The challenger moves first. The side whose Pokémon is unable to battle first loses. Any objections?"
"Mm-hmm!"
Nemona nodded repeatedly, clearly unable to wait for the battle to begin.
Qingyu soon led Nemona to the battlefield.
Since the entire Gym currently consisted of just himself, he had to take on the roles of Gym Leader, referee, and even technician all at once.
As for what the technician did—
With a few quick operations by Qingyu, the large screen on the wall of the arena instantly lit up, displaying the Trainer avatars of Qingyu and Nemona on opposite sides.
The Pokémon world was full of strange yet inexplicably cool technology.
For example, a standard Gym feature where simply swiping your Trainer ID automatically loads your virtual avatar.
"So cool!"
Seeing everything ready, Nemona subconsciously cracked her knuckles, fully prepared for the battle to begin at any moment.
However, before a Gym Battle could start, there was still one most important step left.
"Nemona," Qingyu said, his expression turning serious the moment he stepped onto the battlefield,"I can tell that you're a Trainer who truly loves battling."
"But precisely because of that, before you set out on your journey, I want to make sure that your heart and your Pokémon's heart are aligned."
"So use this battle to show me the answer in your heart."
"Now then—begin!"
Before a Gym Battle, how could one skip the traditional pre-battle trash talk?
A smile appeared on Qingyu's lips as Eevee behind him slowly walked onto the battlefield in response to his voice.
"I understand!"
Although she clearly had no idea what Qingyu was talking about, Nemona still nodded enthusiastically.
Maybe this was just what reliable adults were like?
"Pawmi, use Quick Attack and rush in!"
Gym Battles usually gave the challenger the first move, and Qingyu had confirmed this beforehand, so Nemona decisively issued her command.
Pawmi quickly pumped its stubby little legs, accelerating briefly before shooting forward like a rocket.
Quick Attack—the most common priority move, incredibly fast.
"Eevee, dodge!"
As everyone knows, the Pokémon world has many practical moves that were never officially recorded.
Moves like "Dodge!" or "Hang in there!" were god-tier all-purpose commands in real combat.
As long as you shouted fast enough and loud enough, you never had to worry about your Pokémon being too slow to react.
However—
After Qingyu gave the command, Eevee didn't move at all.
Qingyu was stunned.
Because of Eevee's performance over the past few days, he had subconsciously overlooked something critically important in real combat—
Eevee's personality and Ability had an absolutely fatal impact in battle.
It could train perfectly well against wooden dummies, but without any real combat experience, its first real fight was bound to make it nervous due to sheer cowardice.
His earlier thinking had been far too idealistic.
Maybe in theory and in games he was indeed top-tier—but in actual combat, he was still just a newbie.
He had completely failed to anticipate this situation.
Qingyu's mind began racing at full speed, desperately thinking of a way to resolve the crisis.
Thump—
Thump thump, thumpthumpthump!
At that moment, a deep, powerful heartbeat gradually became clear.
Like war drums beaten with passion, the rhythm grew louder and faster with each strike.
An invisible pressure spread around Qingyu, making even his breathing feel difficult.
"This is…?"
Qingyu froze and instinctively looked toward the opposite side.
It wasn't just him—even Nemona was clearly affected by the mysterious sound, her face filled with confusion.
But the one who felt it most strongly was Pawmi at the center of the field.
The Pawmi that had been charging at full speed suddenly slowed, as if it had been targeted by some terrifying presence, and soon came to a complete stop.
It abandoned its attack and instead stared straight ahead, fully alert, at the Eevee standing there without making a single move.
Qingyu swallowed instinctively, his gaze complicated as he looked at Eevee.
Perhaps because it was too nervous facing Pawmi's assault, Eevee's four short legs were planted stiffly on the ground, its center of gravity unconsciously leaning forward, looking as though it were bracing for a decisive battle.
If Qingyu hadn't known Eevee's actual condition, he might have been fooled by it too.
For a moment, Qingyu didn't even know what expression he should be making.
So scared of getting hurt that you even triggered the King Engine?
Hakibu… you little menace…
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