Rex noticed that Volker seemed to be lost in thought again and sensed that he didn't want to engage in conversation. So, he and Lenka moved to another spot.
The view from the observation deck was indeed quite beautiful; one could take in the entirety of Sunyshore City at a glance, and even see the Pokémon League building on the other side clearly.
"Lenka, now that you're a Pokémon Trainer, what are your plans?"
Rex asked, handing over some snacks he bought from a street vendor that morning to Lenka to start the conversation.
"Well, I'm a bit unsure. I only have Buneary right now, so I don't know what to do for the time being!"
Lenka fed her Buneary some snacks first, then replied with a hint of frustration.
"It doesn't really matter what you do; the most important thing is to try. Keep experimenting, and you'll eventually find what you enjoy," Rex said, tossing a snack into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully.
"Yeah, I'm thinking about signing up for the Pokémon Contests. I really like the performance style of the contests, but I'm not very confident in my ability to do well," Lenka admitted, opening up about her thoughts.
"Everyone starts as a novice. As long as you keep working towards a goal, you'll always get something in return. The difference is just in how much that return is," Rex encouraged.
Not far away, Volker heard Rex's words and felt somewhat moved.
He remembered the days when he trained hard with Flint as a child, battling against the dark forces of Sunyshore City.
In the end, he chose to stay and become the Gym Leader of Sunyshore City, while Flint went off to train elsewhere and eventually became one of the Sinnoh Elite Four.
It was Flint's influence that made Volker think about traveling after finding that battles with Gym challengers were too easy and uninteresting for him.
Without the passion for these battles, he grew more and more tired of them.
"Hey, Rex, could you help me train my Buneary? My Buneary has never won a battle," Lenka asked, a bit embarrassed.
"Of course, no problem! This afternoon, I'll have my Carbink spar with your Buneary for some training," Rex said, releasing Carbink.
"It's a deal then!" Lenka said happily, looking at the slightly silly Carbink.
At this moment, Carbink's diamond on its head had a slight pink hue. Looking closely, one could see many pink specks scattered inside the diamond.
"If you want to have a Pokémon battle, I can lend you one of the battlefields in the Vista Lighthouse," Volker suddenly offered.
Volker wasn't sure why he wanted to lend the field to them. He sensed that Carbink was not weak, while Buneary was clearly a novice Pokémon.
Still, he was curious to see the battle between the two, as it reminded him of his battles with challengers.
"Thank you, Gym Leader Volker!" Rex was surprised by Volker's offer, but he was happy to have a place to battle.
Soon, led by Volker, the two entered the inner part of the Vista Lighthouse, a restricted area only accessible because of Volker's guidance.
Rex looked around, seeing strange cables and devices everywhere. It felt like a blend of technology and craftsmanship.
Volker led them into a room with a small battle arena, which was enough for the two to have a match.
With Rex and Lenka in position, the battle began.
"Carbink, Harden!"
"Buneary, use Pound!"
Rex immediately chose to have Carbink strengthen its defenses, while Lenka opted for a direct attack.
After Carbink completed the Harden move, Buneary's Pound landed on it. However, the effect was negligible—so minimal that Carbink barely felt it.
With Carbink's impressive physical defense and the boost from Harden, the damage from Buneary's attacks was minimal.
But this was part of Rex's plan. Given the gap in strength, he wanted Carbink to act as a punching bag, allowing Buneary to unleash its full potential.
Next, Buneary used Double Kick and Quick Attack in succession, repeatedly striking Carbink, who didn't dodge and let Buneary hit it.
At first, Buneary was happy to see Carbink not fighting back. In previous battles, Buneary was often the one taking hits. Now that it was the one dishing out attacks, it felt very satisfying.
However, as the battle continued, Buneary's mood shifted. It realized its attacks had no effect on Carbink. Each time Buneary hit Carbink's hard body, it also had to endure some recoil.
Lenka, as the Trainer, felt even more discouraged. Though Buneary wasn't getting hurt in the battle, the lack of damage made it feel pointless and humiliating.
Just as Lenka was about to call off the match, Rex spoke up.
"What's wrong, Buneary? Is that all you've got?"
Hearing Rex's words, Buneary felt incredibly annoyed—how dare he belittle it!
Already frustrated by its ineffective attacks, Buneary's eyes turned red with anger. Driven by this fury, it pushed off the ground with its legs and charged at Carbink head-on.
"Bang!"
Buneary's head slammed into Carbink, pushing it back several steps.
"Great, Buneary, you learned Headbutt!"
Lenka cheered and rushed over to hold her dizzy Buneary.
Rex approached with Carbink. Although Buneary's Headbutt didn't do much damage to Carbink, Rex's goal had been achieved. He had deliberately provoked Buneary to unlock its potential.
Based on his observations and experiences, Rex knew that emotions could be a powerful force, enabling Pokémon to exceed their usual capabilities.
Feelings of joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness could all unlock a Pokémon's hidden potential and lead to extraordinary bursts of strength.
However, Rex hadn't expected Buneary to learn Headbutt. He had only guided it slightly; whether there was a breakthrough depended on Buneary itself.
Buneary still held a grudge against Rex for his earlier remark. When it saw him approach, it turned around and burrowed into its Trainer's arms for comfort.
"Sorry, Buneary. I was just trying to push you to unleash your potential. I didn't mean it that way," Rex apologized, patting Buneary's head.
Hearing Rex's words, Lenka and Buneary both understood, though Buneary remained a bit bashful. Still, it had forgiven Rex.
Volker had been watching the battle from the side. Initially, he was disappointed with Buneary's performance, finding it no different from other challengers, perhaps even worse.
But when Rex helped Buneary learn Headbutt, Volker found himself deep in thought.
(End of Chapter)