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"A newly researched move?" Alexis asked Chris as he left the battlefield.
Such a devastating attack was typically saved as a "finisher," yet Chris had used it at the beginning of the match. This suggested it was likely a newly developed technique being tested in the Gym Trainer arena.
"Yes, I've only used it once or twice before, but it seems to work well," Chris replied modestly.
"It's far more than 'working well'—future Trainers facing you will need serious strategies against that move!" Alexis was stunned by the strange Aura Sphere from Chris's Hariyama.
The attack possessed terrible penetrating power, an enormous blast radius after explosion, and frightening impact force. The most troubling aspect was its tracking ability.
Within the specified range of a battlefield, Teleport was essentially useless against it.
Even if a Trainer managed to escape it with Teleport, the move would remain a serious threat.
Consequently, any Gym Trainers present who hoped to battle Chris or even defeat him would first need to solve the problem of Hariyama's special Aura Sphere.
Particularly, the first three Gym Leaders who had already defeated their rivals now considered Chris a potential opponent. They couldn't wait to return to their quarters to study countermeasures.
Otherwise, Remi would be a cautionary tale for them all.
Chris looked forward to seeing what methods these Gym Trainers would develop to counter the spiral Aura Sphere.
He wasn't concerned about his technique being figured out; in fact, he hoped these Gym Leaders would provide insights to help him optimize the Aura Sphere.
Even if the spiral Aura Sphere was countered, didn't his other Pokémon have their own special moves?
That evening, after dinner, Chris and Alexis visited Remi.
He had fully recovered. While the power of Hariyama's Aura Sphere was indeed remarkable, it had been weakened by two Pokémon with their moves and physical bodies before being resisted by Slowking's Reflect. Slowking had also shielded Remi from the brunt of the shockwave.
As a result, Remi had merely fainted from the shockwave.
After receiving a Life Dew treatment from a Pokémon, he had nearly fully recovered.
Nevertheless, a visit to show concern was still appropriate.
"No need to worry—injuries are inevitable in Gym ranking battles, and I didn't suffer any real damage," Remi smiled and waved dismissively, though he didn't seem completely satisfied. "If there's an opportunity, perhaps we could arrange another private battle?"
Having three Pokémon defeated by a single Aura Sphere, and even losing consciousness himself, had clearly dented his pride.
Remi must have felt somewhat reluctant to accept the outcome.
If he were to face Chris again, he certainly wouldn't lose as easily when confronting this unusual Aura Sphere. At the very least, he wouldn't make the mistake of attempting to counter Hariyama's special attack head-on.
Naturally, Chris didn't refuse and agreed immediately.
However, Remi didn't set a date right away, probably because he wanted to study Chris's capabilities more thoroughly first.
That evening, Chris rented a training ground from the Trainer Association.
It was the highest specification facility, capable of withstanding attacks from lower-tier Elite Pokémon.
This was specifically to train Hariyama's spiral Aura Sphere, as ordinary training venues and targets couldn't handle this technique at all.
After further testing, Chris confirmed that the power of the "spiral Aura Sphere" enhanced by the "Black Belt" item had truly reached Elite level.
Hariyama had become the second Pokémon in Chris's lineup to reach Elite-level strength.
"I didn't expect Hariyama to actually surpass the others so quickly," Chris remarked with surprise.
The Pokémon in his team considered themselves combat specialists. After Greninja's example as their "crown jewel," each had been striving to improve, hoping to become the second Pokémon with Elite-level capability.
Unexpectedly, the "cook" who wasn't even considered a primary combat member had suddenly claimed second place.
This proved even more motivating for the others.
They trained diligently while Hariyama prepared meals for everyone. Despite their efforts, none had reached Elite-level power, yet Hariyama had achieved it.
Why? How?
These Pokémon were somewhat confused and began questioning their own training methods.
Their reaction was understandable—imagine studying diligently for three years but still falling short of getting into a prestigious university.
Meanwhile, your classmate drops out for two years to work in the school cafeteria.
Then suddenly, they get accepted into an elite institution.
Each Pokémon was now reflecting on their year of training.
However, what Chris wanted to explain was simple:
Hariyama's training had been no less intense than that of his main Pokémon.
Chris had once instructed Hariyama to cook using Aura power.
When kneading dough, chopping meat, washing vegetables, and stirring, Hariyama consistently applied its Aura powers. Over time, it naturally incorporated Aura into everyday activities, which explained why its Aura power level had surpassed even Greninja's!
Of course, this was also due to Hariyama's natural talent with Aura.
"Everyone, keep up the good work!" Chris could only offer this encouragement.
"Gron!"
"Saur!"
"Gar~" The Pokémon responded one after another, but they weren't discouraged. All of them maintained good relationships with Hariyama and genuinely congratulated it on its achievement.
Besides, now that second place was taken, they would compete for third!
Aggron, Venusaur, and other Pokémon exchanged glances—the senior team members were racing toward the peak of destructive power.
The members of the second-string team didn't need to overthink things.
More practically, they first aimed to surpass the effectiveness of the first team.
Everyone began training enthusiastically. Though the environment was unfamiliar, the competitive atmosphere motivated them even more.
While coaching his Pokémon, Chris received a phone call. Checking the number, he saw it was from Roy.
"Hello, Senior Roy. What's the matter?" Chris answered.
"Are you free in July and August?" Roy's voice came through the phone.
"I don't have any plans at the moment," Chris replied, thinking only of his Gym responsibilities.
"Then clear your schedule. The Professor has pulled some strings to secure you a place in the Bird's Secret Realm, and you'll be retreating there for two months."