"Huh?"
Nemona froze on the spot.
It wasn't until Qingyu announced the result that she finally realized what had happened.
Mr. Qingyu and his Eevee hadn't launched a single proper-looking attack throughout the entire battle, yet they had still secured victory with just two moves.
That was basically giving her the whole ocean…
Clearly, this had nothing to do with Pokémon strength anymore.This was a complete Trainer-level stomp!
Was it her own poor commanding that caused Pawmi to waste almost all of its stamina?
Nemona didn't know.
She didn't even know how she lost…
And yet, because of that, she only grew more excited.
This feeling—it was really…
"That was amazing! Mr. Qingyu, you're incredible!"
"Can we do another battle? This time I'll definitely last longer!"
Her eyes sparkled like stars as she stared straight at Qingyu, who had just let out a sigh of relief, making him feel slightly uneasy.
"Nemona, both Pawmi and Eevee are already very tired. As a Trainer, you shouldn't be too reckless."
Qingyu shook his head and pointed at Pawmi lying on the battlefield.
So her tendency to get completely fired up the moment a battle started…It had already begun showing itself at this stage, huh?
"Ah—Pawmi, I'm so sorry!!!"
Only after Qingyu reminded her did Nemona remember that her Pokémon had already lost the ability to battle, and she instantly panicked.
Mr. Qingyu had repeatedly emphasized the importance of caring about one's Pokémon, yet she had still forgotten in the heat of the moment.
"I'll take you to the Pokémon Center right away!"
"No need. Your Pawmi isn't injured at all—it just ran out of stamina."
Qingyu smiled helplessly and raised a hand to stop her from recalling Pawmi into its Poké Ball.
"There are Revive Shards here in the Gym. Give it one and let it rest for a bit—it'll be fine. Come with me."
…
Just as Qingyu said, after using a Revive Shard, Pawmi quickly woke up from its fainted state.
"Phew—scared me to death."
Nemona let out a long breath, then turned her gaze back toward Qingyu.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Qingyu!"
As she spoke, she took out a pink pouch from her pocket, embroidered with a Pikachu pattern.
"You really don't have to!"
Seeing her movement, Qingyu immediately stepped in to interrupt her casting.
In the Pokémon world, battling was an extremely common activity—so common that even in tall grass, another Trainer could jump out at any moment.
"When Trainers' eyes meet, that's the signal for battle!"
Of course, if you lost a challenge, there was also an unspoken rule about paying prize money.
Defeating and guiding rookie Trainers through battles and collecting a portion of League Points was an important source of Gym funding.
Procedurally speaking, it was perfectly legal and reasonable.
However, Nemona was still a minor at this point, and Qingyu felt a little strange about taking her money…
Besides, he wasn't short on cash, and accepting challenges from rookie Trainers was part of his job anyway.
After the battle ended, there was still one final step left in the process.
"Nemona, this shouldn't be your first time commanding a battle, right? I can tell you're quite comfortable with issuing commands—there weren't any obvious problems."
Identifying a challenger's issues and guiding them toward improvement was also part of a Gym Leader's duty.
"Yes! I challenged Gyms back in the Unova region too!"
Nemona nodded repeatedly.
Before coming to Paldea, she had also tried becoming a Trainer in Unova—and had even challenged the Driftveil Gym.
However, due to health reasons, she had to rest for a long time, which was why she decided to start over in Paldea.
This Mr. Qingyu really was impressive—he'd noticed so much from just a single battle.
"But…"
Qingyu suddenly changed his tone.
"In terms of Pokémon training, you still need to put in more work. Being scared into stopping your moves just because of Eevee is a very serious mistake."
"And since this Pawmi has the Iron Fist Ability, developing its power and speed is especially important. You should focus on those two aspects going forward."
Although Pawmi was an Electric-type Pokémon, after evolving it would become Electric/Fighting—a relatively rare physical Electric attacker.
Most physical Electric-types suffered from the awkward flaw of lacking strong same-type physical moves, but the electric rodent line was uniquely advantaged in this regard.
Whether it was Pikachu's Volt Tackle or Pawmot's Double Shock, both were extremely powerful moves.
So the simplest training approach was the classic in-game "252 method"—prioritizing physical attack and speed.
"Mhm! You're absolutely right, Mr. Qingyu!"
Nemona nodded vigorously, fully accepting his guidance.
Even as a rookie Trainer, she could tell that Qingyu's advice made a lot of sense.
In fact, aside from Driftveil Gym, she had challenged other Gyms before and received advice from several Gym Leaders.
But usually, it was limited to what happened during the battle.
Someone like Qingyu—who skipped over her battle performance entirely and instead carefully guided her on how to train Pawmi—was someone she'd never met before.
As expected, Mr. Qingyu really was an amazing Gym Leader!
I wish I could challenge him every day…
If she could battle once a day, she'd probably reach Champion-level strength in no time!
"Mr. Qingyu, can I come challenge the Gym often from now on?!"
True to her impulsive, action-first personality, Nemona voiced her thoughts without hesitation.
This time, it was Qingyu who froze.
Uh-oh—why is this directed at me?
Nemona's endless hunger for battle wasn't something most people could handle.
Hiss—wait a second?
There might actually be another solution?
After a brief moment of thought, Qingyu didn't give a direct answer. Instead, he threw a question back at her.
"In that case, Nemona, would you be interested in becoming a Gym Apprentice at Sunlight Gym?"
A Gym Apprentice was essentially the NPCs that existed in every Pokémon Gym in the games—an important part of the Gym challenge structure.
For a Gym to operate long-term, apprentices were indispensable.
The reason was simple—
Once tournaments began, a single Gym Leader couldn't possibly handle that many challengers alone.
And if the Gym Leader wanted to improve, going out to train or catch new partners was also common.
In those situations, apprentices could temporarily take over Gym duties, preventing the Gym from shutting down entirely.
Although Sunlight Gym didn't have much fame yet, and Qingyu alone was currently sufficient, it was clearly already on the right path toward growth. Expanding its influence was only a matter of time.
This was the perfect opportunity to build a solid foundation—using real battles to boost Eevee's confidence, while also guiding Nemona into becoming a qualified Trainer.
And it wouldn't affect her participation in next year's Paldea Champion Path at all.
Absolutely winning.
"Huh? Me? I can?"
Nemona was completely stunned by the question.
For a rookie Trainer, being a Gym Apprentice was basically a fast track—regular personal guidance from a Gym Leader was far more valuable than ordinary battles.
But because of that, the excitement on her face was replaced by uncertainty.
"Don't worry, Nemona. I can tell—you have the potential to become a Champion."
Qingyu smiled faintly.
"If it's you, you might even become next year's dark horse."
"Really?!"
Nemona's dream had always been to become a powerful Trainer.If even Mr. Qingyu believed she could do it…
Then she'd work even harder—aiming straight for the Champion title!
If she could learn a powerful combo like the one Qingyu used just now, she'd definitely become stronger too, right?
"Please take care of me from now on, Teacher Qingyu!"
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