Chapter Seven: Yaning's Ace Pokémon

Magikarp didn’t know many moves—just two, Splash and Tackle. Aside from those, it couldn’t do anything else. Although Zhao Fang wished he could teach Magikarp a move like Thrash, Magikarp seemed to have a particular fondness for Tackle. Helpless in the face of this, Zhao Fang had no choice but to focus his training on Tackle and Splash. From the moment he woke up that morning, Zhao Fang had been guiding Magikarp in refining these two techniques. While he wasn’t an expert himself, Zhao Fang held to a simple principle: as long as the force was strong enough, the aim was true, and a Tackle hit a weak spot, it could still deal significant damage.

“You’ve done a good job raising this Magikarp,” Anning, the gym leader, remarked. Though he wasn’t especially powerful, his eye for Pokémon was sharp. Just seeing how high Magikarp could leap, he could tell this one was exceptional.

Zhao Fang scratched his head awkwardly. Could he admit that he’d only started training Magikarp the day before?

Even with Anning’s praise, Zhao Fang didn’t break his focus on the battle strategy.

“Magikarp, use Tackle!” Zhao Fang gave the only command he could for now.

Magikarp flicked its tail with force, propelling itself rapidly towards Machop. This tail-driven acceleration was something Zhao Fang had taught Magikarp that very morning. If the opponent had been a mere Caterpie, the battle would already be over.

“A great opportunity! Machop, grab it and use Seismic Toss!” Anning’s eyes shone. With that kind of speed, he almost wanted to offer praise, but as the leader of a fighting-type gym, he promptly issued his command.

Machop, following Anning’s instructions, sidestepped and caught Magikarp’s speeding tail. With a swift motion, it hurled Magikarp to the ground in a powerful Seismic Toss. Dust rose from the heavy impact, and Magikarp lay helpless on the ground, unable to continue battling.

“Magikarp, you did well. We’ll become stronger.” Zhao Fang hurried over, gently stroking Magikarp’s body before recalling it into its Poké Ball.

Looking at Machop beside Anning, Zhao Fang sighed. As expected, it was impossible to defeat a gym leader after only one day of training—even if Anning was just an unofficial gym leader not yet recognized by the league.

Zhao Fang also knew that even if he challenged the Rock-type gym, it wouldn’t be Camellia herself who faced him. She would only send a student to battle him—unless Zhao Fang had already collected several badges, then Camellia would step in personally.

Of course, even if Camellia did step in, whether she’d use her main team was another question—most likely, she’d use her secondary lineup.

“You did quite well. If your starter wasn’t Magikarp, you might’ve lasted a bit longer. Still, with your current performance, you’re not quite ready for official recognition.” Anning approached and offered his hand in a friendly gesture.

“I’ll work hard.” Zhao Fang shook Anning’s hand. If he could defeat such strong trainers with a Magikarp he’d only had for a day, this world would be far too strange.

“Was that Machop just now your main Pokémon?” Zhao Fang asked curiously.

That Machop was so well-trained that even Zhao Fang himself would call it a true ace if it belonged to a trainer out in the field.

“Machop is one of my main Pokémon, but my ace is even stronger. Would you like to see it?” Anning smiled broadly, his presence unique.

Zhao Fang nodded eagerly, but first he had to take Magikarp to the Pokémon Center for treatment.

After tending to Magikarp and returning to the fighting gym, Zhao Fang saw a blue figure standing beside Anning, who now sat cross-legged on the floor with his eyes closed.

Zhao Fang’s pupils narrowed at the sight of that small blue figure. He never expected that Anning, this ordinary fighting-type gym leader, would actually possess an Aura Pokémon—Lucario!

Lucario was an incredibly rare Pokémon. Even in the games, it was a favorite among many players, but in the real world, Lucario was all the more valuable. Zhao Fang recalled seeing a Lucario egg auctioned off for thirty million league coins on television.

Now, Zhao Fang began to wonder if Anning was really from the Hoenn Region, since normally, Lucario wasn’t native to Hoenn.

“Hya!” Anning suddenly stood up and struck a peculiar pose, and Lucario mirrored him in perfect sync. Judging by the position of their fists, it seemed they were about to attack the stone in front of them.

“Ha!” Anning punched forward, and Lucario’s paw glowed blue. In an instant, the blue light erupted, and the boulder before them shattered.

“Aura Sphere?” Zhao Fang clicked his tongue. The power was truly enviable—what a formidable move.

“Oh? You recognize Lucario?” Now it was Anning’s turn to be surprised. He hadn’t expected a rookie trainer like Zhao Fang to know about Lucario, a Pokémon not found in Hoenn.

“Yeah, my friend’s father is Professor Odamaki,” Zhao Fang replied naturally, shifting the credit to May.

Anning nodded in understanding. If it was Professor Odamaki, then it made sense—his fame in Hoenn was considerable.

“Would you like to join my fighting-type gym? I can teach you how to raise fighting Pokémon.” Anning stood before Zhao Fang, hands behind his back, brimming with confidence.

Zhao Fang’s expression was a bit odd. He was now fairly certain that Anning had shown off Lucario and demonstrated Aura Sphere just to recruit him into the gym.

Zhao Fang touched the Poké Ball at his waist, then shook his head.

“Sorry, I really like Magikarp, so I won’t be joining your gym.” His eyes were resolute.

“…I respect your choice,” Anning said, surprised but solemn as he nodded.

“Besides, my goal is to become a Dragon-type master,” Zhao Fang added.

“…Well, Gyarados is actually Water and Flying type,” Anning said after a brief pause.

“I don’t care, it’s got ‘dragon’ in its name—why shouldn’t it count?” Zhao Fang rolled his eyes. After all, Gyarados could learn moves like Twister and Dragon Rage.