Chapter 82: Arrival at Goldenrod City
"Goldenrod City is the largest city in the Johto region. It's bustling with tall buildings. It has a large Pokémon Center, a large department store, a radio tower, a magnet train station, a game corner, a flower shop, an underground path, and even a Pokémon salon. Goldenrod City has a Pokémon gym, a Normal-type gym, and its leader is Whitney." Ruby introduced his hometown to Ryan and Rosa.
"Let's go to my house and rest up first," Ruby suggested.
Ryan and Rosa nodded. After all, it had taken them five days to get to Goldenrod City from Azalea Town, and they were exhausted. They decided to rest up at Ruby's house before heading to the gym.
A big city, as expected. After a long journey, Ryan and the other two finally arrived at Ruby's house. They were greeted by Ruby's mother, Mitsuko, a beautiful woman with short hair and a gentle manner. She warmly welcomed Ryan and Rosa.
"Is Norman not home?" Ryan asked after lunch.
"Oh, my husband. He's been transferred to the Hoenn region. He said he needs to familiarize himself with the Petalburg Gym first. Ruby and I will also be moving to Hoenn next year," Mitsuko said.
"Ruby, your father is a gym leader," Rosa said in surprise.
"Yeah. I heard rumors that Norman is very strong. Not to mention gym leader, he should have no problem becoming one of the Elite Four," Ryan said seriously.
"That's not true. My husband is more family-oriented, so he chose to be a gym leader," Mitsuko said happily.
The three of them, fed a mouthful of affection, were gloomy. Ruby said, "Mom, I'll take Ryan to the Goldenrod Gym battle first. After that, I'll go to Ryan's ranch to choose a Pokémon. For the rest of the time, I'll accompany Ryan to finish the Johto League. When the time comes, we'll move."
"Okay. I understand. Ryan, I'll leave Ruby in your care," Mitsuko said.
"Don't worry, ma'am," Ryan said. "I'll take care of Ruby."
Ryan and Rosa then followed Ruby to the Goldenrod Gym, where they also met its Gym Leader, Whitney.
"Hey, Ruby? Why are you here?" Whitney, who was brushing Miltank's fur, asked curiously when she saw Ryan and the others.
"Hello, I'm Ryan from Pallet Town. I'm here to challenge the Goldenrod Gym."
"Oh, so you're the challenger. I accept your challenge, but my other Pokémon are resting. This Miltank is my ace, so let's decide the outcome in one round," Whitney said.
"No problem," Ryan replied.
"Go ahead, Mienfoo." Ryan sent out his own Mienfoo. "Mienfoo, this is your first gym match, so do your best."
Mienfoo performed several aerial somersaults and landed gracefully. With his fists clasped together, he bowed to Miltank and Whitney, then took up his stance, signaling Miltank to attack first.
"A Mienfoo!" Rosa and Ruby were immediately visibly shaken.
Over the past few days, they had witnessed Ryan's training of Mienfoo. It was almost harsh, but the results were truly remarkable. Rosa and Ruby had both attempted to challenge Mienfoo. But after the battles, it was clear that Mienfoo was nearly invincible in close combat.
Seeing Ryan unleash Mienfoo, a Fighting-type that countered Miltank, a Normal-type, they couldn't help but feel sorry for Whitney.
"Oh, he looks very strong. Then we'll attack first. Miltank, Rollout!" Whitney said.
"Use the opponent's force against them, redirect their power," Ryan said.
Mienfoo drew a circle with his hands, and after Miltank rushed over, he dodged it by turning sideways. With his left hand, he guided Miltank's direction, and with his right hand, he applied force and struck the rolling Miltank, which directly accelerated Miltank. The direction was completely uncontrollable and it rushed out of the field. It took a big detour to return to the battlefield.
"Interesting, what a strange fighting method. Miltank, keep using Rollout!" Whitney shouted.
Ryan laughed. The training of Mienfoo over the past few days had been very successful. It could be said that Mienfoo was able to quickly understand the meaning of the martial arts principles that Ryan taught it, and he could apply some of them through practice.
"What a shame. I'm conserving my resources now. I have to rely on natural training. Otherwise, if the system provided modified moves suitable for Mienfoo, Mienfoo would definitely be stronger than he is now," Ryan murmured to himself.
Without Ryan's command, Mienfoo dodged the attack again, and with a powerful strike, he once again disrupted Miltank's rolling momentum.
"No, although it's not very obvious, the speed and strength of Miltank have increased. We can't keep wasting time like this. Mienfoo, Dig!" Ryan shouted.
Mienfoo instantly dug a hole and dove underground, avoiding Miltank's rolling attack.
"Earthquake! Did you really think I only had one move?" Whitney shouted.
Miltank stopped rolling, and then stomped the ground hard. Mienfoo was instantly bounced out by the strong seismic waves and suffered significant damage.
"Now's your chance, Jump Kick!" Ryan shouted.
"No way you'll hit! Miltank, back away, then use Milk Drink to recover," Whitney said.
Miltank stepped back to make sure that Mienfoo wouldn't hit him, and then began to drink his own milk to restore his health. Ryan smiled without saying a word. Mienfoo spun in the air, landed headfirst, supported himself on the ground with both hands, spun his whole body around, and kicked Miltank who was still drinking milk directly with a flying kick, sending Miltank flying.
"Don't hold back, Drain Punch combo!" Ryan shouted.
Mienfoo rushed towards Miltank, attacking the opponent fiercely with both fists. When Miltank was hit, a dark energy field appeared around his body, and the power was absorbed by Mienfoo's arms.
Looking at Mienfoo who kept punching Miltank, Ryan thought to himself: This reminds me of those intense battle scenes from the manga, it's quite exciting.
After a flurry of blows, Miltank was stunned and fell to the ground, unable to battle.
"Miltank! Hey, Ryan, you went too far!" Whitney, distressed, helped Miltank up, then angrily said.
"Sorry, I got carried away and couldn't hold back," Ryan said, scratching his head sheepishly. "Here's a Max Potion. It fully restores your Pokémon's health."
Ryan immediately took out a Max Potion to apologize. Whitney used it to heal Miltank, then huffed and forgave Ryan, tossing him a badge as proof of his victory.
Mienfoo, a bit embarrassed, approached Miltank and bowed to acknowledge his mistake. Miltank, being a generous Pokémon, forgave him.
Rosa and Ruby exchanged a look of determination: If you encounter Ryan's Mienfoo, never engage it in close combat! Ranged attacks and slowly wearing it down are the best strategy!
I wonder if Ryan would be amused or embarrassed if he knew what they were thinking?
After bidding farewell to Whitney, Ryan and the other two prepared to fly directly to Pallet Town. Initially, Ryan hadn't wanted to go back, saying he'd wait for them in the next city. But then Professor Oak contacted him, saying someone from the League had come to evaluate Ryan's ranch's premium Pokémon.
With no other choice, Ryan had to go back for the time being. After all, an opportunity that's been delivered to your doorstep is worth taking advantage of! He still remembered how the League had shortchanged him during the Celebi incident, and he was determined to get back everything, with interest!
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