Chapter 333:
Mona was not from Shoshu Province; she was a child of Matto City, a relatively central city in the Eastova League.
At a young age, she had not only passed the trainer assessment but also acquired a second Pokémon.
Influenced by her grandfather, she had also become an excellent breeder.
She didn't really know why her grandfather had suddenly decided to build a house here, and it even seemed like he had intentions of establishing a research institute.
But since she was on vacation, she decided to come along and see the situation.
As soon as she arrived, she was surprised to discover that in this small town, there was a very skilled female trainer.
She found it somewhat unbelievable.
Whether it was that Blastoise or that Floragato, from a breeder's perspective, they were impeccable.
Their skin, fur, and physique were all top-tier among Pokémon of their kind.
From a trainer's perspective, the first thing Mona did after arriving here was to challenge her to a battle.
The girl readily agreed.
So, very quickly, Mona witnessed the strength of that Blastoise and that Floragato.
Her Roselia could still put up a fight against Floragato, but when facing Blastoise's Hydro Pump, it had no chance to resist at all.
That Blastoise...
It felt like it already possessed strength beyond that of a typical gym challenge.
Even in Matto City, those who could raise a Squirtle to this level in such a short time after obtaining their trainer license were few and far between.
But this Aogiri Town...
A place that on the map only had a location name, without even a Pokémon Center—how could there be such a powerful young trainer here?
Holding this doubt, she began asking the girl how she raised her Pokémon.
But the answer she got was—
"Bathing, battling, eating?"
Mona: "???"
The girl continued, "Besides, I'm not the strongest trainer here. The strongest trainer in Aogiri Town is Brother Kaede. You know, the biggest house near the forest. Hehe, there's also a Sky Challenge there. Brother Kaede raises twenty Pidgeot. You can go try it, though it might be closed now."
So, she headed over.
"Challenge me?"
"The Sky Challenge?" Hayashi Kaede was momentarily stunned. "The Sky Challenge isn't open now. It's too cold in winter, and the Pidgeot don't really want to come out and move around. Wait until spring."
"No, no," Mona shook her head.
The man in front of her didn't look much older than her.
But his tan skin showed that he was someone who often worked under the sun.
"Not the Sky Challenge?" Hayashi Kaede was even more confused. "Don't tell me you want to challenge me?"
Mona nodded very seriously, "Yes."
"Uh... Well..."
Hayashi Kaede never expected that one day someone would come to challenge him.
Because even when the Sky Challenge was open, no one had ever challenged him.
But he didn't refuse her outright. "How about this: release your Pokémon for me to see, or if you've challenged any gyms, you can show me your gym badges."
"Okay."
Mona nodded.
This wasn't strange. Some gyms or Elite trainers, when accepting challenges, would require challengers to show corresponding proof to demonstrate whether they had the ability to challenge the gym.
She took out two Poké Balls.
With a light press,
A Pokémon with two roses in its hands—one red and one blue—its eyes narrowed, appeared beside Hayashi Kaede.
The other was a small blue bird. Its wings were composed of pure white, cloud-like feathers, fluffy and full. It also had two tufts of hair on its head, making it look quite cute.
Hayashi Kaede checked the energy levels of the two Pokémon.
Roselia: Lv. 21–24.
Swablu: Lv. 12–15.
The potential and individual values of the two Pokémon were quite good.
Swablu: Red. Roselia: Purple.
But these energy levels...
Hayashi Kaede slightly shook his head. "I won't accept your challenge. It's better to wait until spring and try the Sky Challenge then."
"Or... you can come find me after you've obtained four gym badges."
"Four gym badges?" Mona's eyes widened.
You know, with eight gym badges, you can already participate in the Pokémon League Conference.
How could a trainer in this small Aogiri Town require four badges?
"Yes."
Hayashi Kaede nodded.
If the gym badge level isn't specified,
It defaults to provincial-level.
"It requires that many?" The girl opposite clearly seemed doubtful.
"Ooo~?"
Just then, Gardevoir walked out of the villa with Dragonite and Blaziken.
Following behind were Floragato, Serperior...
Blaziken was the first to come over.
"Blaziken, Blaziken."
It was saying it was time for training.
"Alright, in a moment." Hayashi Kaede turned back and nodded.
Then he looked at the stunned Mona again. "Well, you should still wait until spring next year. No challenges are accepted for the rest of this year."
Then, he closed the villa gate, leaving only Mona outside, somewhat dazed.
What had she just seen?
What was that just now?
A Dragonite a whole head taller than her?
A Shiny Gardevoir, Serperior, Blaziken...
Heavens!
Forget having so many fully evolved Pokémon,
But these Pokémon were basically all larger than average?
As a breeder, Mona knew very well that while some special Pokémon might be particularly large within their groups, this was a relatively special case, and they usually became the leader of the group.
But the Pokémon she had glimpsed just now— Every single one was larger, some by a little, some by a lot.
Especially that Dragonite just now; she felt it was considerably larger than her grandfather's Dragonite!
You should know, her grandfather's Dragonite had already reached Elite Four level five years ago!
She walked a bit along this bluestone path, seemingly wanting to explore the secrets of this villa.
But looking around, she only saw a large Berry Plantation behind the villa.
Although it wasn't bearing fruit yet, it was lush and clearly very well-maintained.
So,
The man from earlier was a plantation owner?
That sounded a bit far-fetched.
Logically, plantation owners usually focus their work on their plantations.
How would they have the time to raise each of their Pokémon to such a level?
After thinking for a moment, Mona focused her attention on the Berry Plantation. "Little Blue, can you help me take a look from the sky?"
The Swablu flying in the sky nodded.
It was about to fly up to take a look.
But barely after flying into the sky for a short while, it shivered and landed, looking fearfully at the sky.
Mona was startled and looked in the direction Swablu was afraid of.
An enormous Pidgeot shot into the sky like an arrow.
"Pidgeoooot!"
Mona: "!??"