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Chris sat by the window, playing his handheld console while admiring the scenery outside. He was now on the train heading to Dragon University.
It had been three days since they defeated Rustboro Gym Leader Roxanne.
After the victory, Chris logged offline and took a well-deserved rest. The next day, when he logged back on and left the Rustboro Gym, he ran into the old man from the Petalburg Forest. Unfortunately, the man hadn't escaped the misfortune of having his briefcase stolen by Team Aqua.
The robbery happened right at the entrance of his company, "Devon Corporation."
However, Chris quickly helped him retrieve the briefcase from the Rusturf Tunnel, located to the east of Rustboro City.
The same Team Aqua grunt, who had been easily defeated by Chris before, still hadn't learned his lesson. His Pokémon hadn't improved at all, so Chris easily defeated him again.
Along the way, Chris also helped an elderly man named "Mr. Briney" recover his Wingull, which had also been taken by Team Aqua.
Back in Rustboro City, the old man introduced Chris to the president of Devon Corporation, Mr. Stone, who was also the father of Hoenn Region Champion, Steven.
Mr. Stone entrusted Chris with a letter to deliver to Steven, who was currently exploring Granite Cave on Dewford Island.
Chris then returned to Route 104 and took Mr. Briney's boat to Dewford Island.
Luckily, Chris wasn't interrupted by his rival on this trip. In hindsight, he should have had a battle with her before leaving the Rustboro Gym, but it hadn't happened.
Sailing from Route 104, they crossed Route 105 and soon arrived at Dewford Island.
Dewford Island also had a gym, the Dewford Gym, which specialized in Fighting-type Pokémon.
Chris immediately went to challenge the gym because he needed the Flash HM to navigate the dark Granite Cave where he had to deliver the letter.
The Flash HM wasn't hard to get; an old man mining at the entrance of Granite Cave gave it to trainers. However, like Cut, Flash could only be used outside of battle if the trainer had earned the appropriate badge.
To progress further in his journey, Chris needed to defeat the Dewford Gym first.
But, not long after entering the gym, Chris was beaten badly. His nose was bruised, and his face was swollen.
The junior trainers at the Dewford Gym weren't too strong. Their Pokémon were only around levels 17 and 18, which Chris's Combusken and Frogadier could handle easily. But the gym leader, Brawly, was a different story. His first Pokémon was a level 23 Meditite, and his second was a level 26 Machoke.
Chris didn't even get to see the third Pokémon before being sent back to the Pokémon Center.
Fortunately, this version of the game didn't require Chris to lose half of the money he had. Otherwise, he would have been devastated, as his bank balance had reached 300,000 Pokédollars.
If he had lost 150,000, anyone would feel the sting.
Determined to defeat the Dewford Gym, Chris entered "grind" mode—more specifically, leveling mode.
There were two good spots for leveling up. One involved fishing.
By talking to a fisherman on Dewford Island, Chris received an "Old Rod." With it, he could go fishing on the beach.
The Pokémon he caught were either Magikarp or Tentacool.
Both Magikarp and Tentacool were decent for training, with levels ranging from 10 to 15.
However, the chance of catching a Magikarp was overwhelming, and the experience it gave was less than half that of normal Pokémon.
The leveling speed here was just too slow.
The other option was Granite Cave.
On the first floor of Granite Cave, the path was still visible. Four types of Pokémon could be encountered here: Zubat, Makuhita, Geodude, and Abra.
Zubat's final evolution, Crobat, wasn't bad.
Makuhita could evolve into Hariyama, boasting high attack and HP, but low speed. Chris figured it was better to train a Snorlax or even a Slaking for that kind of role.
Geodude could evolve into Golem, but... well, it wasn't quite as impressive as Hariyama.
As for Abra, its final evolution was Alakazam, which could also Mega Evolve. Chris had once debated between training an Abra or a Ralts.
No matter which of the four Pokémon had the Flash ability, Chris didn't mind raising them. They could be part of his second team or just mascots. Especially if he found a shiny Abra, Chris would definitely rotate it with his Gardevoir in the future—Gardevoir could handle beauty, while Abra would be the one dishing out damage.
"Arrived at Dragon Station. Next stop, Dragon East Station."
Chris quickly stood up and exited the train, finally reaching his destination.
As he left the station, he noticed the bustling crowd. Compared to his previous life, this world was much more crowded due to the abundance of Pokémon living alongside humans.
Fortunately, due to city regulations, large and heavy Pokémon like Snorlax and Rhyperior weren't allowed in places like train stations and airports. Otherwise, the number of trains during busy travel seasons would have to be tripled just to accommodate the chaos.
Chris didn't feel much about the big city, which was several times more prosperous than Rustboro City. He had visited Dragon City in his previous life, back when it was even more developed than it was now.
But seeing this beautiful scene of humans and Pokémon living together for the first time, even more vivid than what he'd seen in the anime, left Chris in awe.
On his way to the exit, he noticed a girl with earphones, dressed stylishly, waiting for the next train with an Eevee in her arms.
At the exit of the station, a young man in a floral shirt with gold-framed glasses stood in the distance, waiting for his girlfriend with a Smeargle by his side.
As Chris stepped out of the station, he saw security guards patrolling with a Stoutland by their side, keeping order.
The sun was shining brightly on a giant Poké Ball-shaped building, and people nearby were cheering and celebrating. The sight was simply beautiful.
That massive Poké Ball-shaped structure was called the "Pokémon Battle Tower." If Pokémon battles were a sport, this was the equivalent of a gym.
"I'll have to come back here to compete someday," Chris murmured to himself.
After catching a taxi, Chris checked into a hotel called "Munchlax." Tomorrow would be the first admission test for Dragon University's Department of Breeding.
Join my Patreon for 40 more chapters and earlier updates for all members( For free members too):
patreon.com/Tempest_29
100 power stones=1bonus chapter
7 reviews=1bonus chapter
Check out my other novel Pokemon: A different ash (Also in patreon )