Chapter 189:
When Hayashi Kaede emerged from his room again, aside from the Pidgeotto on his shoulder, he was also holding an Alolan Vulpix in his arms.
A few Eevees also followed beside him.
It started when Alolan Vulpix, after breakfast, asked Hayashi Kaede if he had anything to do today.
Hayashi Kaede replied, "There might be people coming to challenge the Pidgeotto today?"
Alolan Vulpix's eyes immediately lit up, clamoring that it wanted to watch too.
Well then, he had to bring Alolan Vulpix along.
But if Alolan Vulpix was going, its little buddies—the Eevees—naturally wanted to join in the fun.
"Vulpix~!"
But seeing Hayashi Kaede come out holding Alolan Vulpix, the girl who had been talking about challenging earlier immediately brightened up, her eyes practically sparkling with little stars.
╰(*°▽°*)╯: "Wow... can I hold it?"
"Vulpix~"
Alolan Vulpix stuck its tongue out at her, then snuggled deeper into Hayashi Kaede's arms, meaning no holding.
Every human who came to the Breeding House wanted to hold it; it wasn't that easy!
The Trainer said it would get its fur pulled out.
The girl's excitement immediately plummeted, a disappointed expression appearing.
Hayashi Kaede pinched the nose of the Alolan Vulpix in his arms as a sort of punishment, then said to the girl, "follow me."
With Alolan Vulpix in his arms, Eevees following beside him, and a few people in tow, they reached the familiar venue. Hayashi Kaede patted the Pidgeotto on his shoulder, and it immediately spread its wings and flew into the sky.
"The challenge area is this cement-covered space. Two modes: offense and defense. You choose. Also, the Pidgeotto won't fly higher than five meters."
When it came to Pokémon battles, the girl immediately became serious. "Offense!"
Hayashi Kaede nodded and stepped back until he was next to Akira.
This was the viewing area Hayashi Kaede had cleared out.
For this, he had specifically asked for a few bags of cement during the road construction and asked Hoopa to build some cement benches like those in parks for people to watch from.
No sooner had he sat down, Akira came over holding a selfie stick and sat beside him.
He also raised the selfie stick. "Everyone wants to see the challenge difficulty and the Alolan Vulpix next to you."
Hayashi Kaede nodded in understanding, then turned his attention to the challenge site.
For the offensive side, each challenge lasted 1 minute.
But actually, the offensive side had an advantage: within the two-hour limit, they could increase the frequency of attacks.
Because after each failed challenge, the rest period depended on the Pidgeotto. If the Pidgeotto still had energy, challenges could continue.
And the Pidgeotto's stamina... that went without saying; they were all masters of long-distance flight.
What surprised Hayashi Kaede was that the girl's Pokémon was a Frogadier, a starter from the Kalos region.
And its strength wasn't weak.
[Pokémon: Frogadier]
[Gender: Female]
[Ability: Torrent]
[Aptitude: Blue]
[IVs: HP (12) Attack (24) Sp. Atk (23) Defense (15) Sp. Def (16) Speed (26)]
[Level: 25—27]
[Moves: Double Team, Water Gun, Quick Attack, Water Pulse, Swords Dance...]
This strength was considerably higher than the Pidgeotto on the first level. So, the moment the girl started, she said confidently, "Frogadier, take it down with one Water Pulse!"
Intense Water-type energy gathered in Frogadier's hands, and then a circular water sphere shot toward the Pidgeotto.
Its speed was so fast that the few young people who had come to watch couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
"Such a fast Water Pulse!"
Even Hayashi Kaede expressed praise for its strength.
Just this Water Pulse showed that this Frogadier was very well-trained in moves and cultivation.
However, just a Water Pulse like this alone couldn't take down the Pidgeotto in the sky.
It flashed its wings, a bright white light shimmering on its body, then swiftly dodged, agilely avoiding the Water Pulse.
Quick Attack.
In fact, even these Pidgeotto, used just for deliveries, mostly ate the Energy Cubes Hayashi Kaede had spent an afternoon perfecting for the first Pidgeotto—ones that increased Flying-type Pokémon's move proficiency.
Plus, during deliveries, some Pidgeotto even used "Quick Attack" to hurry.
So their evasion and speed were truly absurd.
This was also why Hayashi Kaede was somewhat worried about whether anyone could clear the challenge.
Because in terms of move proficiency, average Trainers really struggled to surpass them!
For this, Hayashi Kaede had set a series of restrictions on the Pidgeotto, like not flying higher than five meters.
Seeing this, the initially confident girl below showed a flash of astonishment.
She exclaimed in surprise, "So fast?"
Then she had Frogadier try Water Pulse a few more times, but to no avail.
Soon, the first minute passed.
The girl didn't choose to rest, and neither did the Pidgeotto.
But the second challenge went the same way.
The girl, unwilling to accept it, started a third challenge.
Failure.
Fourth... Failure....
As time passed, the crowd of onlookers from the Breeding House grew larger.
They marveled at the girl's quick reactions.
Because during the fourth challenge, she promptly adjusted her strategy.
Since the opponent moved quickly, she had Frogadier also use Quick Attack and then execute Water Pulse.
The Water Pulse launched at high speed became even more unpredictable in trajectory.
Since she had never tried this kind of attack before, Frogadier's initial attempts weren't smooth.
However, it became more proficient later.
Finally, on who-knows-which challenge, after about an hour had passed, the girl first had Frogadier use Quick Attack, then Double Team, using the clones to distract the Pidgeotto, and then secured the hit with Water Pulse.
"Whew... hit it!"
"Frogadier..."
When they saw the Pidgeotto hit by the water sphere, the girl and Frogadier were stunned at first, then let out cheers.
"Congratulations!"
Hayashi Kaede waved, signaling the Pidgeotto to go back to Indeedee (big brother) for medication, then took out a box of Salac Berry Energy Cubes for the girl.
The girl, after the tense mental strain, was now left with joyful surprise.
She picked up the equally exhausted Frogadier with one hand and took the Energy Cubes with the other, her expression excited. "Thank you, Mr. Hayashi!" Then she looked at Frogadier. "See? Frogadier, this is the fruit of our efforts!"
"Frogadier!"
Frogadier also replied excitedly.
It felt even more tired than when challenging Gyms before.
Seeing this, Hayashi Kaede couldn't help but smile.
For the rest of the day, aside from making Energy Cubes and preparing meals for the Pokémon and the construction team, Hayashi Kaede moved back and forth between the venue and the Breeding House.
He was there to explain the rules to Trainers who came for the Sky Challenge today and to watch for any special situations.
Things went smoothly, but among the three Trainers who came for the Sky Challenge today, only one fairly skilled Trainer successfully cleared the first level and took away the currently expensive box of Salac Berry Energy Cubes from the Breeding House.
That was the first girl.
This was within Hayashi Kaede's expectations.
Although the two weakest Pidgeotto in the Breeding House had just evolved, with energy levels around 23-24, it still required Trainers who had been on their journey for a while to succeed.
During the challenges, Hayashi Kaede also had Rotom follow along to take photos of the process.
Capturing the moments when everyone's Pokémon challenged the Pidgeotto, and edit the more exciting parts.
Like the moment a challenge succeeded, or when the Pidgeotto dodged just in time.
Speaking of which, the Breeding House had quite a few guests today. Although partly due to the road repair and challenge promotion, many guests who bought Energy Cubes today didn't leave but stayed to watch the Sky Challenge, pondering if they could clear it themselves.
When they saw that while the first level's difficulty was a bit high, Hayashi Kaede really did give away a box of Energy Cubes upon success, everyone's hearts were instantly aroused for trying out the selves.