Chapter 313: The First Challenger

Chapter 313: Chapter 313: The First Challenger

A/N:1/3 Bonus Chapters

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By the time all the Trainers who had come to register for tomorrow’s Gym challenge had finished signing up, more than an hour had passed.

Kai let out a breath of relief.

"Master, a total of 108 Trainers registered! I don’t think we can receive that many challengers in one day, can we?"

Julian shrugged.

"Then tomorrow, we can only hang a notice on the front door. Because there are too many Trainers registered for Gym battles..."

"Veilstone Gym will temporarily stop taking reservations. When exactly reservations reopen will depend on tomorrow’s battles."

Unless they completely disregarded the quality of the Gym challenges, Julian would not be able to receive all 108 Trainers even in a week.

The slower Trainers could only be wronged.

"Kai, tell them to challenge other Gyms first."

Kai nodded.

"I’ll update the announcement online right now."

Julian also returned to his room and logged onto the Trainer forum.

He wanted to understand why so many Trainers had come to register as soon as he reopened.

These Trainers seemed as if they had been waiting in Veilstone City for his return for a long time.

As soon as Julian logged onto the Trainer forum, he saw a fresh post.

[TheBoyWhoChasesTheWind: Tomorrow, I will be the first to challenge Gym Leader Julian. Do you know what the newly upgraded golden touch does?]

[TheBoyWhoChasesTheWind: You don’t! All you can do is watch me challenge Gym Leader Julian and enjoy the best version of the golden touch!]

Julian blinked.

What did he mean, newly upgraded golden touch?

How did he not know when this nonexistent golden touch of his had upgraded?

Julian continued scrolling through the posts and finally found one that ForeverBurning had posted while he was in Alola.

That guy Phil had speculated that Julian, in order to smoothly become the official Gym Leader of Veilstone Gym, had entered strict closed-door training.

Not only had he increased his Pokémon’s strength, but he had also made the golden touch even more powerful.

For the newly upgraded golden touch, the first Trainer to face Julian would definitely be able to enjoy the strongest effect.

The Trainers who challenged him afterwards would no longer be able to fully trigger their Pokémon’s potential because the previous Trainer had already consumed part of the golden touch’s effect.

Therefore, the correct time to challenge Veilstone Gym was to fight for the first challenge slot on Julian’s first day back at work after a break!

The corner of Julian’s mouth twitched.

That was purely because after a holiday, his condition would be better than after several consecutive days of work.

It was not because a break accumulated the golden touch’s effect!

That guy Phil was spreading nonsense online again.

Meanwhile, in an internet café not far from Veilstone Gym, Aen, was jumping out through the window to escape.

Who asked him to offend so many people?

And who asked them to guess that he would definitely go onto the Trainer forum and make a post bragging about having stolen first place?

He definitely did not dare return to the Pokémon Centre.

This internet café was the best choice.

Under normal circumstances, Aen would battle however many people challenged him.

But!

Tomorrow, he was challenging Julian. This was the first use of the upgraded golden touch.

If he and his Pokémon could not face the challenge in their best condition, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

Julian decided to control things a little tomorrow and have his Pokémon perform more normally.

He would actively break the myth of the golden touch.

These Trainers needed to stop crazily challenging his Gym alone.

That put a lot of pressure on him!

Aen was going for his eighth Badge, so Julian arranged a Gym battle lineup of Combusken, Electabuzz, and Sirfetch’d.

Because there were too many challengers, Julian did not arrange a four-on-four battle.

It would take too long, and his Pokémon would consume too much stamina.

Besides, if Aen sent out four Pokémon and one of them happened to learn a new move or god forbid, evolve...

The next day, at half past eight, Julian had Kai open the Gym doors early.

Aen and the group of Trainers who had been waiting for a long time were let inside.

Aen agreed to let them watch the battle and confidently waved to everyone.

"You lot who couldn’t outrun me, just wait and watch my brilliant performance!"

Julian sent out Combusken first.

Although he had yet to evolve, his time in Alola had clearly not been wasted.

Between the rich food, the intense training, and the constant exposure to Alola’s natural energy, his body had become noticeably stronger.

The moment he stepped onto the battlefield, a fierce heat spread from him.

He was still a Combusken, but the pressure he gave off already carried a faint shadow of Blaziken.

After briefly thinking it over, Aen said, "Go, Gliscor!"

Julian nodded slightly.

Aen had raised this Gliscor very well.

Combusken was probably going to be dragged into a hard battle.

The challenger attacked first.

Aen waved his hand.

"Gliscor, Acrobatics!"

Julian said calmly, "Dodge. Fire Punch."

Gliscor flew nimbly through the air, dazzling them with a series of movements as he tried to escape Combusken’s line of sight.

Then he suddenly rushed at Combusken from the rear-left, swinging his pincer hard.

A sharp light flashed in Combusken’s eyes.

His footwork shifted with agility, avoiding Gliscor’s pincer, and flames suddenly ignited around his fist.

He turned and punched towards Gliscor’s abdomen.

"Defend with your tail!"

Gliscor flicked his tail, colliding with Combusken’s fist.

Borrowing Combusken’s strength, he rushed back into the sky again.

"Vertical drop, Stomping Tantrum!"

Gliscor descended rapidly, spun once, and whipped his tail fiercely towards Combusken.

"Dodge. Flame Charge!"

Combusken suddenly leapt.

Gliscor’s tail struck the ground, making the earth tremble.

Combusken charged towards Gliscor, his body burning with scorching flames.

Aen immediately said, "Double Team!"

Seven or eight Gliscor lined up in a row, and Combusken only scattered one illusion.

The watching Trainers were somewhat surprised.

A bespectacled boy muttered softly, "Didn’t expect this guy to have more than just a sharp mouth. He really does have some skill."

Another athletic-looking boy said disdainfully, "Gliscor’s strength is decent, but what’s the point if his attacks don’t hit?"

"He called himself the boy who chases the wind, but his speed is only at this level."

Whether he heard those words or not, Aen suddenly withdrew Gliscor.

"Go, Pidgeot!"

Looking at Pidgeot’s glossy, fluffy feathers and sharp eyes, Julian knew this was another elite Pokémon.

It seemed Aen was a Trainer specialising in Flying types.

"Pidgeot, Quick Attack!"

Julian immediately ordered, "Protect!"

The emerald-green barrier had only just appeared when Pidgeot crashed into it.

The speed Pidgeot displayed directly shut the mouths of the watching Trainers.

Aen was still not mature enough, letting the words of the people around him affect him.

"Pidgeot, Air Slash! Let them witness our tempest blade!"

Julian narrowed his eyes slightly and decided not to give Aen the chance to use it.

"Combusken, Flare Blitz!"

Seeing Combusken rapidly turn into a blaze and charge towards Pidgeot, the surrounding Trainers were quite shocked.

The bespectacled boy pushed up his glasses.

"To use Flare Blitz this skillfully while still a Combusken... as expected of Gym Leader Julian’s Pokémon."

Pidgeot had not expected Combusken to arrive so quickly and was struck head-on by Flare Blitz.

Enduring the scorching flames, Pidgeot flapped his wings and adjusted his posture in mid-air.

Aen gritted his teeth.

"Pidgeot, use Air Slash again!"

Combusken had only just landed when Pidgeot flapped his wings and circled around him in the air.

At the same time, blades of wind formed from every direction, cutting towards Combusken at the centre.

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