"That… yeah, that sounds like a scam."
The moment Grey said it, the other three in the dojo nodded in unison.
"'Please come with us. Our Boss wants to see you'"?
That never leads anywhere good.
If he'd gone along, they'd probably have bagged him, lifted his Poké Balls, and left him with nothing—if he even saw the sunrise.
Silver figured if he really followed them, he might be found dead in some scrubland a few days later.
"Green, how's my anti-scam radar? I learned it from you! I've got counter-surveillance down cold now. Team Rocket? They're the ones who fall into my traps."
Silver flicked back his hair. Just remembering those Rocket grunts running circles made him grin.
"Not bad, but they still found you a few times, didn't they? Don't say you learned that from me with skills like that—you've got a lot left to learn."
Green laughed. Silver wasn't there yet.
If he were, he'd have ridden the Magnet Train and arrived in Kanto the same day.
"Alright, business."
Grey cleared his throat, drawing Silver's attention.
"If you want to be a dojo apprentice, you'll have to be tested. As for the test, you'll see in a minute."
He led Silver into the battle hall.
These past few days, he'd splurged on a new field.
With a gym-leader discount, he'd gotten a multi-purpose arena built for just one million.
"Dojo apprentices are trained in three directions—Battling, Refereeing, and Breeding. A gym trainer must learn all three."
Grey stood on one side of the field and motioned Silver to the other.
Once Silver was set, Grey continued:
"In my dojo, refereeing isn't the focus. Battling and Breeding are."
"How you battle, your command mid-fight, whether you can react in time. And how you treat your Pokémon day to day—those are all evaluation points."
"In my view, the most important thing is being in sync with your Pokémon. If I see that spark in this fight, we'll skip the rest—you're in."
"Good. I'll show you my tactics!"
Silver clenched a fist, then dropped his gaze and ran his fingers across the three Poké Balls at his belt.
Right now he had three Pokémon.
Days of travel had sharpened them fast.
He figured this test wouldn't be a problem.
"In that case, the rules are two-on-two. When both Pokémon on one side can't continue, that side loses."
Grey drew a Poké Ball and sent first.
"Quaa!"
A duck Pokémon with deep-brown plumage and sharp eyes appeared at Grey's side.
It hefted a leek thicker than itself, long green leaves dragging on the floor, leaving pale streaks where they scraped.
[Pokémon: Farfetch'd (Galarian Form)]
[Type: Fighting]
[Level: 18]
[Ability: Steadfast]
[Moves: —]
It had only hatched not long ago.
But between the dojo's "three generals" playing doting dads and some "system" buffs, it had reached level 18.
Good enough to tussle with average challengers—Grey often used it in live practice.
It actually had some battle experience.
As a foil for Silver, it was a fine pick.
"What Pokémon is that?"
Silver frowned. It looked familiar—yet off.
"That's the Galarian form of Farfetch'd. Fighting-type."
Grey kept it short.
"Got it. Then—your turn!"
Silver braced one hand in front and, with the other, whipped the second ball from his belt and snapped a quick throw—red light bursting midair.
"Nice. Good ball speed."
Grey's eyes flickered; he couldn't fault that toss.
In a field skirmish, that'd score high.
Thump!
When the light faded, a blue alligator Pokémon with a little belly puffed its chest.
Blue-and-yellow markings striped its hide. It didn't look nimble, and the spiky ridge running from head to tail gave it a punk vibe.
[Pokémon: Croconaw]
[Type: Water]
[Level: 18]
[Ability: Torrent]
[Moves: —]
It had only evolved recently, roughly even with Farfetch'd.
Who held the edge was anyone's guess.
It would come down to command.
"Silver, mind if I go live?"
Grey toggled his streaming room. If Silver didn't want to be on camera, he'd just aim it at himself.
"No problem."
Silver shook his head.
"Cool. Let me set it up and we'll start."
Title: [A Dojo's Rookie Apprentice]
Tags: [First Trial][Live Battle][Indoors][Newbie][Fresh]
[666—Streamer's not worried about getting taken down by moderation?]
[Total rando here—who's the newbie?]
[???]
[Leader Grey, I'm already in Saffron! Challenging you soon! Pikachu and I are ready! (sends Popularity Tickets ×99)]
"Thanks to 'Aiming to Be a Pokémon Master' for the 99 Popularity Tickets! If you're challenging the gym, just come straight to the dojo."
"I'm recruiting an apprentice and running the test right now. Once it's done, we can start the gym challenge~"
[Whoa—Leader Grey's taking on an apprentice? Any requirements, like you must have a Fighting-type?]
[Feels like no—kid's using a Johto Croconaw, so no restriction, right?]
"Nope. I rarely take apprentices anyway—it's mostly when I happen to vibe with someone."
Grey refocused ahead. "Challenger, you can take the first move."
"Croconaw, Aqua Jet!"
Silver liked opening fast—same as Grey.
"Let's go!"
The slightly paunchy Croconaw drew a deep breath. Water surged around its feet, foam bubbling as it shot forward, skimming inches above the ground.
Unlike the tight, compact Aqua Jet Grey often saw, this one favored big, sweeping momentum.
Grey fixed on the incoming Croconaw and called back, "Tank it—then use Payback."
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810