Chapter 175: Battle in the Sky
A few days later, Ryan and Lillie arrived in Fortree City. After all, Ryan and Lillie had been delayed for too long by guild matters. After Ruby and the others received the Balance Badge from Sapphire, they waited for a while before heading directly to Fortree City.
After all, Ryan had already obtained the Balance Badge. Instead of waiting for Ryan and the others in Petalburg City, it would have been better to wait for them at the next Gym. When Ryan and Lillie arrived at the Fortree Gym, they learned that the Gym Leader, Winona, had already accepted Sapphire as her student and was ready to teach her well.
Upon learning this, Ryan couldn't help but comment, "There's something interesting about Winona and Wallace. Wallace accepted Ruby as his student, and Winona also accepted Sapphire as her student. We'll probably see what happens next."
Lillie smiled, "It's hard to say. Ruby and Sapphire still have a good relationship."
"Never mind them. When will our relationship take the next step?" Ryan said, holding Lillie's hand.
"Don't even think about it now," Lillie rolled her eyes at Ryan and said, "At least wait until we're married."
Ryan patted Lillie's head and said, "What are you thinking about? I'm talking about getting engaged. After all, your mother agreed to it, and I want to find an opportunity to make it official."
Lillie blushed instantly and said, "After you become Champion."
"Okay, that's what you said," Ryan smiled.
As the two of them gazed at each other affectionately, Ruby came out with a sullen look on his face, rubbing the goosebumps on his arms. He said, "Don't be so lovey-dovey, you two. Winona is waiting for you. Finish the match quickly so we can head to Sootopolis City. I only need one more Ribbon to participate in the Grand Festival."
Ryan smiled, hugged Ruby, and asked, "How have you been lately?"
"Not bad, just missed your cooking a little," Ruby smiled.
Ryan smiled and followed Ruby into the Fortree Gym. Entering the gym's battle arena, they discovered that Sapphire, commanding Blaziken, was conducting combat training against Winona's Altaria.
Ryan took a look and said, "Combusken has evolved into Blaziken. That was pretty fast."
"Yeah. Sapphire has been working really hard lately," Ruby nodded. "Gym Leader Winona, Ryan is here. Please have a Gym match with him."
Winona, wearing her flight suit, glanced at Ryan and said, "You must be Ryan, right? Pretty impressive! This is the first time the League has suffered such a major loss."
"Nothing much, just lucky enough to meet a good ally," Ryan said.
Winona nodded, recalled Altaria, and said, "Logically, for a Trainer like you, I could just give you the Gym Badge, but it wouldn't feel right without a battle. So, this Gym match will be decided in one round. And I know you have an Altaria, so use your Altaria against mine."
Ryan nodded and said, "No problem. Let's have a Sky Battle."
Winona nodded, had Sapphire step aside, and then took her place on one side of the battlefield. Ryan followed suit on the other. Then, the mechanism started, and the platform they were standing on slowly rose, lifting them into the air. The Fortree Gym was a true sky battlefield, perfectly suited for Flying-type Pokémon.
Ryan sent out his Altaria, and Winona also sent out hers. However, Winona pulled a pendant from her clothing and said, "This evolutionary system was discovered by you, Ryan, and it's now being promoted. Do you have Altaria's Mega Evolution Stone?"
As she spoke, a light emanated from Altaria's fluffy feathers, connecting with the light from Winona's pendant. Then, a Mega Altaria appeared on the field.
Ryan rubbed his chin and said, "I don't have a Mega Evolution Stone, but my Altaria won't necessarily lose to you. Steel Wing."
Altaria glared fiercely at its Mega-evolved counterpart. Upon hearing Ryan's command, it flapped its wings vigorously, the resulting force sending it hurtling toward its opponent. Its steel wings spread wide, and Mega Altaria had no time to react before it was knocked to the ground, where it landed heavily, cracking the battlefield.
"Wow! How did Altaria get so strong after not seeing it for a while? That's insane!" Sapphire exclaimed in shock, staring at the downed Mega Altaria in amazement.
And she was right to be shocked; Ryan had been training intensively. After all, Altaria had been trained to the point of being ready for high-level battles. Ryan had pushed its training to maximize its stats, instantly boosting its strength.
Looking at the Mega Altaria on the ground, Ryan said, "Hyper Beam."
"Protect, then Hyper Voice," Winona said.
Altaria's Hyper Beam was blocked by Protect, and then Hyper Voice swept across the battlefield. Since Mega Altaria's ability had transformed it into Pixilate, Hyper Voice also became a Fairy-type move.
But instantly, fluffy feathers fell, obscuring Winona and the others' vision. Then, Altaria's Brave Bird slammed down, slamming the newly recovered Mega Altaria back to the ground. Simultaneously, an Ice Beam was unleashed at close range, instantly freezing Mega Altaria into a block of ice.
Winona reluctantly recalled her now-reverted Altaria and said, "Sure enough, the gap is quite large. I don't know how you train your Pokémon. I accept defeat wholeheartedly."
With that, the platform gradually descended, and the two returned to the battlefield. Winona handed the Feather Badge to Ryan. Ryan took the badge and said with a smile, "Thank you, Leader Winona."
Winona waved her hand and said, "Ryan, let me give you a heads up. Phoebe and Glacia's resignation has left the Elite Four positions vacant. First place in this conference will be rewarded with a Legendary Pokémon, so the number of participants has increased dramatically. The League will use this opportunity to recruit a large number of talents to fill the vacant Elite Four positions. At the same time, I also want to give you a warning."
Ryan smiled and said, "When enemies come, I'll fight; when troubles arise, I'll deal with them. I'm not so easy to handle."
"They'll probably restrict your Legendary Pokémon, preventing them from battling," Ruby said seriously. "If that's the case, you'll probably have a tough fight."
Ryan shook his head and said, "I don't plan to use Legendary Pokémon in this tournament. This is the time to test my main team. I hope to push them to truly reach the Legendary realm. Only then can I truly achieve rapid development, and the League won't be able to stop me."
After all, the rewards for that system mission were very generous. As long as one of his Pokémon reached the Legendary realm and defeated a Legendary Pokémon, the rewards would help Ryan develop his team tremendously.
Ryan was actually curious why Winona told him this. After all, she was now the Gym Leader and technically belonged to the League. Ryan asked the same question, but Winona shook her head and didn't explain.
Ryan had no choice but to accept Winona's kindness. But this secret would probably take a long time to unravel.
(End of Chapter)
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