Chapter 173: The Volcanic Hot Spring Celebration

Chapter 173: The Volcanic Hot Spring Celebration

In a hot spring inn in Fuquan Town, a young boy slept soundly.

"Ding-ling-ling—"

The alarm clock on the bedside table rang on time.

The quilt on the bed stirred, and a sleepy-eyed electric mouse emerged.

"Yawn~ Pika, pika."

Pikachu rubbed its eyes, then pushed its trainer with its small, short hands, trying to wake him up.

Red paid no attention.

Pikachu pushed again.

Red rolled over.

"…"

Crackling electricity began to flow in the electric sacs on Pikachu's cheeks.

And then.

"Pika... CHU!"

"Nggghhh!"

The poor young man. His wonderful morning began with being woken up by Pikachu with an electric shock.

After washing up and eating breakfast downstairs, Red felt that the fatigue accumulated from his recent travels had been completely eliminated after a wonderful soak in the hot springs last night and a full night of comfortable sleep.

Walking on the main street of Fuquan Town, the view was still of various buildings and houses shrouded in hot steam. But perhaps because autumn was approaching, the gentle breeze in this usually scorching town actually carried a very slight hint of coolness.

"We have an appointment to challenge the Gym today. So, it's all up to you, Pikachu, Frogadier."

Red cheered on the Pikachu on his shoulder and the Poké Ball at his waist.

"And you too, my new little partner."

A brand-new, blue-and-white Great Ball shook.

Suddenly, a somewhat familiar young girl rushed past from a distance. At a glance, the girl also had a fluffy Pokémon standing on her shoulder, and a slender, beautiful Pokémon figure followed closely beside her.

Red scratched his head. He was just about to say hello, but the girl, like the wind, disappeared in a flash.

"...Forget it."

Nothing was more important than the Pokémon Gym challenge. He'd go and greet her after getting the badge.

Red thought so.

He was very confident he could obtain the Gym badge in one challenge. The first reason was that he was relatively confident in his own strength. The second was that the Pokémon Gym in Fuquan Town was also a Guiding-type gym, so its strength would not be particularly high. Most importantly, the gym here was mainly composed of Fire-type Pokémon, and as it happened, he had a Water-type Pokémon that had a type advantage.

His confidence only lasted for a short while.

Until he heard about the format of this Pokémon Gym challenge, which made him start to doubt his life.

"Hello, challengers! I am the assistant of the Fuquan Town Pokémon Gym. Due to the relatively large number of challengers recently, the Gym Leader has decided not to conduct the Gym challenge in the usual 1-on-1 battle format, but has adopted a new format—the Volcanic Hot Spring Celebration!"

"The rules are as follows: The challenge will be an uphill battle on Fiery Volcano, with 14 challengers, 5 Gym apprentices, and the Gym Leader as participants. Each person can only carry three Pokémon, and the use of items is prohibited. During the ascent, 1-on-1 or multi-group mixed battles are allowed. Those who ascend to the summit of the volcano can snatch the flag planted on the summit. The challenger who finally obtains the flag and successfully descends the mountain will receive the Gym badge."

Conventional Pokémon Gym challenges involved challengers entering the gym one after another. When the previous challenger failed, it was the next one's turn. And these trainers who came to challenge in Fuquan Town were mostly rookie trainers. The more experienced ones had at most two badges. For some fledgling trainers, this might even be their first Gym challenge. It was no wonder that the group of trainers, after hearing these strange challenge rules, was in an uproar.

"Is this Gym Leader joking? How can you turn a Pokémon battle into such a child's play?"

"Exactly, exactly! I've long heard that many trainers are dissatisfied with this Gym Leader's strange ideas every time. They've complained to the League many times."

"We should petition the League to revoke this Gym Leader's qualification! How can she mess around like this?"

"…"

A large group of challengers blocked the gym entrance, their mouths full of dissatisfaction.

The assistant in the uniform skirt looked at the clamoring group of trainers with a calm face.

And high up in the Pokémon Gym behind her, Flannery and the old man Akagi were also watching the commotion happening at the gym entrance.

"So, the League protects these trainers too well. A fair 1-on-1 battle, unlimited use of medicine and items... don't make me laugh! If they were facing the extremely vicious Team Rocket, Team Aqua, or Team Magma, would those evil organizations give you a chance for this kind of 'fair' battle? Not to mention the terrifying power that those evil organizations possess..."

As if remembering some past event, Flannery's face was uncertain.

"Alright, little Flannery. After the disaster ten years ago, the League was determined to sweep away those evil organizations with a thunderous force. The trainers nowadays have very little contact with the dark side of the world, so it's understandable that they don't value the cultivation of coping abilities in this area."

The old man Akagi comforted Flannery, then also said with considerable emotion.

"It's not like in our time. Those evil organizations were like bamboo shoots after the rain. After wiping out one batch, another bunch would pop up. Their figures were everywhere. At that time, when we were trainers, if we hadn't defeated a few evil organization executives, we'd be too embarrassed to call ourselves professional Pokémon trainers."

That natural disaster from ten years ago.

The huge red-black shadow that ruthlessly swept past, the scene of the scorching sun hanging high and the land barren for thousands of miles, and the lava that rolled along with that terrifying figure, as well as the miserable situation of corpses lying everywhere and wreckage all around—unconsciously, it all reappeared in Flannery's mind.

It made her unable to help but clench her fists.

Flannery took a deep breath, calming her thoughts again.

"To face difficulties head-on, to be fearless in the face of arduous challenges, to bravely move forward to break one's own limits... the trainers nowadays no longer have this kind of will."

"That's right. So if we can occasionally find a few people with this kind of will, isn't that also a very happy thing?"

"So, is that the reason you are willing to train that Pokémon, Grandpa Akagi?"

Flannery looked at the old man Akagi.

The latter smiled as he looked at the situation at the gym below, not saying a word.

…

A few days ago.

"Are you willing to become this kind of Peerless Pokémon?"

After Charizard had displayed its unique heroic posture, the old man Akagi had suddenly asked Rio.

"…"

Rio closed his eyes, then opened them. They were full of determination.

"Yes! Please teach me!"

"Even if it's very hard and very tiring, even if..." the old man Akagi looked at Míng Rìzhào, "even if your trainer will be affected?"

Rio and Míng Rìzhào were taken aback.

"Thirty years ago."

The old man Akagi began to recall the past.

"A certain person swept through the major Pokémon Gyms with an absolute posture. The Elite Four were no match for him. Just as he was about to vie for the champion's throne, he withdrew from the championship battle. Aren't you all very curious about what happened?"

The group nodded furiously. Not a single person or Pokémon was not curious as to why such a powerful trainer chose to retreat at the height of his career instead of ascending to the highest peak of glory.

The old man Akagi slowly pulled up his pant leg.

Looking closely, one could see that both his calves were covered in burn scars. Some places were even scorched black. His originally thin legs due to old age, coupled with these terrifying injuries, looked somewhat miserable.

"This is!"

Míng Rìzhào couldn't help but cover her mouth.

So much time had passed, but those scars and marks were still so distinct, not having faded. One could imagine how severe the injuries the old man Akagi had suffered at that time were.

It was no wonder the old man Akagi still walked with a limp.

"This is the destructive power of being Peerless."

The old man Akagi pulled down his pant leg, then said faintly.

"After challenging the Elite Four, Charizard and I already felt we had reached our limit. We didn't have enough confidence to challenge the champion. And at that time, I had already sensed that Charizard was on the border of a certain limit, so we trained extremely hard, trying to break through the limit."

"And what was the result?"

Fengling asked with great curiosity.

"We succeeded. Charizard successfully ascended to the stronger tier of a Peerless Pokémon. However, it was precisely because of our success that it led to our failure."

"The moment its life tier sublimated, Charizard itself couldn't control the rampaging flames on its body. And in the end, those flames engulfed my legs. From this injury, I spent a full year recuperating. And a year later, also because of my own injuries, it was very difficult to support me in high-intensity battles anymore, so I decided to withdraw from the path of a professional trainer."

All the people and Pokémon were silent. No one would have thought that the reason this former "strongest Charizard trainer" retired from his profession was precisely because of his Charizard.

"By the way, have you tried soaking in the hot springs here?"

The old man Akagi suddenly asked an unrelated question.

Míng Rìzhào and Fengling shook their heads. The former was originally invited by Flannery to soak in the hot springs, but because she went to look for Rio, she didn't succeed. And the latter, worried about Míng Rìzhào's safety, had also run out with her.

"Then you must try it later, because the hot springs here have a magical healing effect for both humans and Pokémon."

The old man Akagi smiled and pointed to his own legs.

"My legs, too, only managed to recover to this extent after soaking in the hot springs here for many years."

Fuquan Town's hot springs have such benefits? No wonder so many trainers came from far and wide to soak in the hot springs, and no wonder the old man Akagi was determined to build a small town in this place of hot springs.

"So, you also know now that after becoming a Peerless Pokémon, there might be an impact on the trainer."

The old man Akagi brought the topic back.

"I'm not sure what impact a Riolu-type Pokémon will have after achieving the Peerless status, but because you are in a trainer and partner relationship, it's hard to say whether there will be an impact on each other."

Rio's heart struggled somewhat.

To become the strongest Peerless Pokémon—this was the path he had always been pursuing.

But if, because of him, an accident happened to Míng Rìzhào, that was also something Rio could not accept.

"Forget it. It's no big deal not to be the strongest. I don't believe there aren't other ways to become stronger."

Rio was just about to speak when Míng Rìzhào spoke first.

"I would like to ask you to guide Rio, to let him become the strongest Pokémon!"

"Xiao Zhao..."

"Go and achieve your strongest form, Rio! Just as we said before, I believe in you!"

Míng Rìzhào looked at Rio and said seriously.

"Moreover, you are a Fighting-type Pokémon, not a Fire-type like Charizard. I don't have to worry about the danger of being burned. In addition, I believe Grandpa Akagi should also have a way to guard against it."

"So, let go of the burden in your heart."

"For your sake, and for mine, become the strongest!"