Ilene was evidently a bit confused, but Dylan didn't explain much.
The reason Ekans could evolve into Arbok so quickly was due to the level-up cheat of the growth simulation, something he obviously couldn't share with Ilene.
Dylan believed his talent as a trainer wasn't bad, but he wasn't exactly sure how good it was.
After all, he was a man blessed with the power of Viridian.
Who are the people blessed with the power of Viridian?
In the special edition, there's Giovanni, Lance, and then Yellow.
According to rumors, every ten years or several decades, a person with special abilities is born in Viridian, and every person chosen by Viridian is extremely unique.
Giovanni and Lance need no introduction. In the later stages of the special edition, they could even hold off one of the three deities of Sinnoh in the Sinjoh Ruins, facing the deity head-on and successfully delaying it. This achievement is absolutely top-tier among champions.
Yellow is even more special. She not only possesses the basic abilities of the Viridian power, like healing and sensing Pokémon's thoughts, but also, as her fighting spirit rises, her Viridian power can temporarily enhance her Pokémon's strength level!
She can cheat for her Pokémon on the spot, how about that?
This special Viridian power is unique to Yellow; Giovanni and Lance don't have this ability.
So, it's proven that no one chosen by Viridian is weak.
As for Dylan, he hadn't found anything particularly special about his Viridian power yet. It seemed to only have the abilities to heal Pokémon and sense their emotions, along with a natural affinity with Pokémon.
Yes, Dylan mainly relied on this 'affinity,' barely using his healing ability.
…
A few more days passed.
"Ah! Hitmonlee!"
In the Rota Gym, amidst the heart-wrenching cries of the challenger, a heavily poisoned Hitmonlee fell.
Releasing its fangs still shimmering with a dark purple poison glow, Arbok flicked its tongue and slowly slithered back to Dylan.
"Hitmonlee is unable to battle. Arbok wins. Since challenger Koichi's two Pokémon are both unable to battle..."
"The winner of this match is Gym Leader Dylan."
The referee uncle raised the flag, announcing the battle's result.
"Darn it! So close!"
The muscular Koichi, dressed in a karate uniform, gritted his teeth in frustration.
"…"
As Dylan walked over to say a few words, his eyelids twitched, glancing at Arbok, which was almost spotless, and fell into deep thought.
If he remembered correctly, Hitmonlee didn't even touch Arbok during the battle.
"I'm sorry, but you didn't defeat me, so I can't give you the Rota Badge for now."
"During the battle, you were too emotional, making many wrong decisions, putting your Pokémon at more risk."
"Maybe you should work on honing your patience."
Dylan smiled, walking up to the glaring Koichi and speaking slowly.
Koichi was taken aback, then recalled that he indeed made several overly aggressive mistakes during the battle, causing his Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee to fall behind.
But...
Koichi's expression turned grim. He couldn't bring himself to admit his mistakes, as he was straightforward and proud by nature.
Especially not to this guy!
As a fighter who revered Fighting-types and direct confrontation, he despised Ghost-type trainers who relied on tricks the most!
Those are abominations!
As a trainer, instead of thinking about how to use strong attacks to crush opponents head-on, they resort to flashy tricks.
Whenever Koichi encountered those Ghost-type specialist trainers, he would spit before walking away.
Teaching them a lesson? Hmph, as a noble Fighting-type trainer, why bother with those Ghost-type trainers?
Let them rot on the blacklist!
But now, Koichi felt he had to add another type to his blacklist.
"A gym without any trainer spirit! I don't want this badge anyway!"
Retrieving his Hitmonlee, Koichi disdainfully replied and turned to leave.
Damn it, what a lousy gym! A grown man using such despicable poison tactics!
Thinking of how his Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee were poisoned during the battle, Koichi felt like he was going to explode.
He wanted to use his years of karate training to fight this frail-looking gym leader, but reason told him that Officer Jenny's silver bracelets were quite sturdy, and jail food wasn't tasty.
Yes, he had tried.
So, he had only one thing to say to Dylan.
"Abomination gym!!! I'll never come back!"
"…"
Watching the burly Koichi's retreating figure, Dylan tilted his head. Why was this guy so fragile? And he called him an abomination?
"Mr. Koichi."
Dylan seemed to recall something.
"?"
Koichi turned around with a sour expression.
"Before the challenge, we agreed that if you didn't succeed, you would leave a good review for my gym."
Dylan's smile was clean and harmless.
"You!"
Koichi's face turned red instantly. This abomination! After tormenting him, he still wanted a good review?
"Mr. Koichi?"
Seeing Koichi silent and staring at him, Dylan asked again with a puzzled look.
Koichi's face turned green!
"…Fine!"
Koichi squeezed out the word through gritted teeth and then quickly walked out of the gym without looking back.
Damn!
He felt like he must have had a brain freeze, seeing that notice board and impulsively challenging the gym.
Before coming, he even mocked the idea, thinking who would advertise a gym so ostentatiously? It was the first time he saw an advertisement at the town entrance, formatted like a notice board. Interesting.
And then…
But it didn't matter! At least he tested the waters for his comrades!
Walking out of the gym, Koichi took out his phone and entered a group chat consisting of many Fighting-type trainers, including those who practiced karate and martial arts.
Seeing several people had already tagged him, asking about the results, Koichi felt a wave of embarrassment.
Before entering the Rota Gym, he had bragged about showing this gym leader the true spirit of a Fighting-type trainer!
But now… it was a bit awkward.
Inside the Rota Gym.
"Pfft~ That big guy's face kept turning red and green, so funny!"
The receptionist girl laughed, finding Koichi's expressions too amusing.
"The challengers these past few days seem quite inexperienced."
Dylan shrugged. The notice board was effective; at least the number of challengers had noticeably increased in the past few days.
Yes, Koichi was already the third challenger today.
Moreover, Dylan noticed that even if he won, some challengers wouldn't leave good reviews.
For instance, a self-proclaimed elite trainer left a bad review after losing, clearly unable to handle defeat.
'Terrible review! The gym leader lacks any trainer spirit, using Toxic Spikes and stalling for time. How can such a person be a gym leader? Disgusting! Disgusting!!'
Seeing this obviously salty review, Dylan just smiled.
After this incident, Dylan realized that getting good reviews needed to be agreed upon before the battle. Unless the challenger was extremely unsporting, they would honor their promise and leave a good review, even if the battle left them mentally exhausted.
With good reviews, more people would come to challenge, creating a positive cycle.
Although some recent reviews seemed a bit strange.
"How to say... Gym Leader Dylan is warm and sunny, and he pointed out my shortcomings. I highly recommend this gym, definitely worth a try!"
"Good review. Next time, I'll bring Steel-type Pokémon! Can someone tell me where to catch them?"
"Ugh… Gym Leader Dylan is very handsome, but the difficulty is too high! My head was spinning after the gym battle."
"Even though I didn't win, I acknowledge the gym leader's challenge level. But I still refuse to accept it! Abomination gym!"
"A trip to Kanto isn't complete without challenging the Rota Gym! Everyone should try it! Oh, by the way, Gym Leader Dylan uses a Water-type team, so I recommend using Grass-type Pokémon."
"Gym Leader Dylan is strong… By the way, the person above, are you okay?? (smile.jpg)"
"Hehe~ I told you all, this gym is pretty good."
Dylan was satisfied, looking at the positive reviews from the past few days.
(End of chapter)