5.00 am
Cerulean Gym
Hisoka woke up the next day as usual and went straight to the bathroom to wash.
After taking a nice shower, he put on a black tracksuit and walked out of the room with Sneasel, who wasn't fully awake yet as she followed after Hisoka with sleepy eyes.
When sleeping at night, Hisoka will usually release his Pokemon from their Pokeball. Although sleeping in the Pokeball doesn't have any adverse effect on the Pokemon, it still doesn't beat sleeping in a nice comfy bed. Even if the Pokeball has a certain recovery effect on the Pokemon's physical strength.
Kirlia will stay in the room for the time being. Psychic-type Pokemon with strong mental strength like her do not need to do much physical training. They'll only need to meditate in peace, honing their psychic power, and their strength will increase steadily.
Hisoka's plan for this morning was to train Sneasel. Her physical fitness is still a little bit poor, in his opinion. Moreover, she still hasn't mastered the Dark-type move Night Slash yet. And she can only perform the Swords Dance once during a battle, though he might let her train that particular move a bit slower. Forcing her to perform Swords Dance twice when she doesn't have strong fitness will only make her injured.
They finished their warm-up exercise as the morning sun was starting to rise on the horizon. While the resident of Cerulean City was still immersed in their sleep, a man and Pokemon had already started their morning jog around the Cerulean Gym.
Thirty minutes later, Hisoka started to slow down his run and soon started walking as he enjoyed the morning view around the city. Meanwhile, Sneasel continued her morning exercise as she ran around the Cerulean Gym for several laps.
The physical quality of a Pokemon has always been much stronger than a human being. Especially for an agile Pokemon like Sneasel with explosive power and fast speed. The only thing she is lacking right now is stamina, which Hisoka told her to work on.
"Sneasel!" She stopped running suddenly and beckoned to Hisoka as if she was telling him to stop slacking off and continue his exercise.
"Alright, I'm coming," he shook his head in laughter as he started to pick up his pace and followed her lead.
An hour later, Hisoka and Sneasel were already sweating and panting as they rested under the shade of a tree.
"Let's stop for now," Hisoka told her after seeing the sun had fully risen.
...
After going
back to his room to take a nice cold shower, Hisoka brought Sneasel with him to the kitchen, which is currently empty. There was no one besides them except for the food placed on the table.
"Well, it looks like we're the first to arrive," Hisoka joked. He then picked up three plates and started to fill them up.
Bacon, scrambled egg, fried tomatoes, and a few slices of bread for him.
For Sneasel, he chose a big juicy steak and a few fried eggs, her favorite breakfast.
Kirlia prefers a light meal for breakfast, so Hisoka just mixed a few berries and some greens into a salad and packed it up for her to eat later.
It wasn't until thirty minutes later that people started walking into the kitchen one after another. Most of them were the staff, who worked in the Gym, but there were also a few Gym trainers among them.
A few minutes later, Hisoka, who had just finished his breakfast, left the kitchen with Sneasel under the curious eyes of everyone.
...
Hisoka amusedly watched the fat boy, Choji, running toward him with a sandwich in his hand. If it weren't for the selection competition, Hisoka guessed that he would probably still be sleeping by now.
"I was almost late!" Choji said breathlessly.
"Hisoka, have they announced the first match?" he asked, finishing his sandwich.
"Not yet. You are just on time," Hisoka replied.
"Thank God!"
Choji, the fat boy, is about three years younger than Hisoka, who was 17 years old this year. They struck a friendship during their talk yesterday.
"Attention!" Suddenly, a shout captured their attention.
"The first match of the knockout round will start now! Hisoka from Viridian City will fight against Luigi from Porta Vista." Daisy, the eldest of the Sensational Sisters, said loudly through the microphone.
"Trainers, please head to the pool in the middle of the stage."
Today's competition venue is no longer held on the standard arena but has been replaced by a pool, which is also the mainstay arena of Cerulean Gym.
There are two white floating boards on the pool, each with a person width for a non-Water-type Pokemon to stand. Trainers without a Water-type Pokemon are undoubtedly at a disadvantage in this kind of arena.
The blue-haired young trainer named Luigi was a little nervous. After all, he was matched against Hisoka, who showed a strong performance yesterday. It would be a lie to say that he wasn't afraid. But, after seeing the pool venue where they were going to fight, a glimmer of joy appeared in his eyes.
"Hisoka will start first. Are you ready? The match starts now!"
'Oh, well. There goes my advantage.'
Shaking his head silently, Hisoka threw a Pokeball in the air. With a bang, the Pokeball opened as a red light fell on the floating board.
A second later, the light dissipated, and Kirlia's beautiful figure appeared in front of everyone.
Everyone was surprised to see Kirlia's appearance. After all, it is a kind of Pokemon that has never been seen before in the Kanto region. Moreover, Ralts biological species is considered rare even in the Hoenn region. Hisoka wasn't surprised by everyone's reaction.
"Wow! So pretty!"
Lily screamed and immediately shook her older sister's arm.
"Sister, look. I have never seen such a beautiful Pokemon. It looks just like a little princess."
The blue-haired second sister, Violet, didn't say anything, but her twinkling eyes also revealed her current thoughts. Kirlia's appearance has managed to capture the hearts of the three sisters easily.
"Phew!" Luigi sighed in relief.
Although he had never seen the Pokemon chosen by Hisoka, he knew at a glance that it was not a Water-type Pokemon.
'Looks like I'm going to win this fight.'
He was secretly delighted as he threw his Pokeball toward the field.
There was a flash of red, and a Pokemon that looked like a jellyfish appeared in the pool.
...
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