I beg you female trainers to give me money even if you lose!

NO.343 You get as many coupons as you have friends!

The people gathered in the dojo room all seemed quite cultured, given that they were all dressed in white coats and wearing glasses.

They had the air of science students, and among this group, a bald old man in sunglasses and a white lab coat stood out.

This is Xia Bo, the dojo master of the Crimson Lotus Dojo. He stood at the end of the room and greeted Yang Xiying as she walked in.

“Young man, stepping into this place means you’re here to challenge the Crimson Lotus Gym, so let’s get straight to the point.”

"I am Blaine, the Gym Leader of Cinnabar City, and a Fire-type Pokémon Trainer. However, if you want to challenge me, you must pass the Level 1 trial."

"Of course, if you have a lot of badges, you can choose to skip it, and I won't waste my breath explaining the contents of the Level 1 Trial."

"I heard that challenging the Level 1 Gym Trial can not only earn you badges but also hot spring tickets, so I'm going to challenge the Level 1 Gym Trial."

"...How do I complete the Level 1 Dojo Trial?" Yang Xiying answered directly, while also probing based on the guide's words.

"A riddle?" The guide said that the Level 1 trial was a riddle, so the dojo room wasn't particularly large.

"Heh heh, so you're here for the hot spring vouchers after all?" Xia Bo's interest was piqued by Yang Xiying's words.

Because he loves designing riddles for people to solve, he sets up such trials to test gym challengers.

Giving away a few hot spring vouchers as a lucky charm is perfectly fine, after all, it will make their own hot spring hotel business even more prosperous.

"Alright, I'll tell you. The first level trial is a riddle-solving exercise. You have to answer ten questions I'll ask you."

"I will arrange for you to battle a number of Gym Leaders based on the number of questions you answer incorrectly, but a maximum of five."

"So, you can only get five questions wrong, but that doesn't mean you lose the right to challenge a gym."

"You can still get the Gym Badge if you defeat five Gym Leaders in a row, but you won't get the Hot Spring Ticket."

"You need to answer six or more questions correctly to get one hot spring ticket, eight questions to get two tickets, and ten questions to get three tickets. Also, you don't need to worry about the difficulty of the questions."

"These are common sense questions for Pokémon trainers. Of course, you have ten minutes to prepare."

"You could even ask friends who have challenged the Crimson Lotus Dojo what questions I asked them; they might even repeat some of the same ones."

"—However, asking others for help when you start guessing the riddle is considered being eliminated."

“…I understand. Let me prepare a little,” Yang Xiying nodded, then took out her phone and went online.

—And the people around him had subtle expressions on their faces; this person really wanted the hot spring tickets…

“I am ready, Mr. Chapel. Please give me your question.”

Not long after, Yang Xiying also stood in front of the riddle-solving table that had suddenly appeared in the room. The ○X displayed on the screen on the stage represented correct and incorrect answers.

"Very good. First question: Are Thunderbolt or Thunder moves particularly effective against Ground-type Pokémon? Yes or no?"

"No," Yang Xiying answered without hesitation, realizing that these were indeed common sense questions, and therefore his answer was correct.

"The first question is just a warm-up; the real challenge is yet to come. How many evolutionary forms of Eevee are currently known?"

"A, five types; B, seven types; C, eight types."

“Fire, water, electricity, sun, moon, leaf, ice, fairy, a total of eight, the answer is C,” Yang Xiying gave the answer again.

"Correct, you can even give an example, not bad at all. So, for the third question, how many times can the duckling evolve now? Once or twice?"

"Twice, its evolved forms are Magmar and Magmar."

"Correct. Magmortar is a Pokémon that was recently discovered in the Sinnoh region. Next is the fourth question: Pokémon of the same species and level."

Will the intensity be the same? Yes or no?

"No, Individual Values ​​(IVs), Effort Values ​​(EVs), Abilities, and learned moves are all determining factors."

"Correct, haha, good answer. Let's continue. Question 5: Which three Pokémon are referred to as the three legendary birds of the Kanto region?"

"Zetzart, Articuno, Moltres."

"Correct, question six..."

The questions between the two sides continued, and Yang Xiying answered fluently, not only giving the answers but also explaining the reasons behind them.

"Haha, young man, you're quite good. You not only gave the answer, but you also explained the reasoning behind it."

"It seems it wasn't simply a matter of asking others for answers," if it were just asking for answers, there would be no need to say that the answer was due to this reason.

"Because some answers may seem correct but are incorrect due to reality, just like Eevee, which used to only have three or five evolutions in the Kanto region."

Yang Xiying responded by saying that giving only the answer without explaining the reason might lead to being tricked, but she didn't mind spending more time explaining for the sake of the hot spring vouchers.

"That's right. Your solid foundation in Pokémon knowledge makes you a qualified Pokémon trainer."

"I have no problem giving you the badge directly for this, but you probably aren't satisfied with just solving riddles to complete the Crimson Gym challenge, right?"

"—There are also Level 2 and Level 3 trials here, with even richer rewards."

"Will there be more hot spring vouchers?" Yang Xiying asked subconsciously, which made Xia Bo's expression turn subtle.

"Are you involved in scalping?" Even if you bring three hot spring tickets with your family, that would be enough, Yang Xiying still doesn't seem satisfied.

"Uh, I mainly invited friends over, and there are quite a few, about ten or so," Yang Xiying said, unsure of how to explain.

When the wives were discussing the new year in their group chat, the topic quickly turned to how to spend the holiday.

Therefore, Yang Xiying felt that the girls were all relatively free, so if she invited them to Honglian Town to soak in the hot springs, it would probably be enough for more than a dozen people.

“Is that so?” Blair nodded subconsciously, then, as if remembering something, his sunglasses suddenly reflected light as he made this suggestion.

"In that case, how about we have a Level 3 gym challenge? If I win, I'll give you as many hot spring tickets as you have friends."

"Then please enlighten me, Mr. Xia Bo," Yang Xiying said, instantly becoming excited. Winning the fight would mean receiving unlimited hot spring vouchers—this was incredibly tempting!

"Hmph! Don't act like you've got the victory in the bag, or you'll suffer the consequences," Blaine said with a slight smirk.

Before the battle, both sides exchanged harsh words, and then, under the watchful eyes of several gym leader trainers around them, they took out their trainer cards and began to stack them!

The two began a level 50 five-on-five master battle, logged in the Pokémon they wanted to use, and then, under the announcement of the stick figure in the pink suit.

"Go! Nine-Tails!"

"Abandoned Monkey! You'll be leading the charge this time!"

—Both sides have also sent out their first Pokémon at this moment!

PS: Update!

P.S.: I haven't had much to do lately, how about I start a bounty?

NO.344 For whom does the sunny day truly bloom?

Both sides sent out their starting Pokémon at this moment. Yang Xiying's side sent out Abandoned Monkey, while Blaine's side sent out the evolved form of Vulpix!

A nine-tailed fox!

"Wow, that's a pretty rare Pokémon," Blaine raised an eyebrow as he looked at the Forsaken Pokémon that Yang Xiying had sent out, though it wasn't entirely new to Pokémon.

The red-hatted boy who challenged the gym last time had it, but we didn't let it lead the attack. This time, the opponent is leading the attack...

"Nine-Tails..." Yang Xiying looked thoughtfully at the Nine-Tails that the other side had sent out. The Nine-Tails on the other side also had the Solar Beam ability.

I don't know what configuration it has, but no matter what configuration it has, it's impossible to defeat its Forsaken Monkey without using a Z-Move!

"Abandoned Monkey! Invisible Rock!"

"Kyuubi! Will-o'-the-wisp!"

Both sides issued commands at the same time, and the Nine-Tails made the first move, with several balls of dark blue flames burning around its body!

It floated straight toward Yang Xiying's Abandoned Monkey, which was burned, but it still managed to scatter the invisibility rocks.

That's right, this time it's Forsaken acting as the entry hazard setter, which is quite deadly for Fire-type Pokémon. It would be even better if the opponent had a Flare-Flying Pokémon.

"An Invisible Rock?" Blaine looked at this thoughtfully, realizing that the kid opposite him was indeed no ordinary trainer.

After all, he hadn't expected this guy to be able to challenge a level three gym battle, but hey, this is kind of interesting...

"Nine-Tails! Flamethrower!" Sensing that the opponent wasn't a Pokémon resistant to fire, Blaine immediately ordered it to use Flamethrower.

"Abandoned Monkey! Fight for your life!" Seeing the Abandoned Monkey burned, Yang Xiying felt that its mission was complete, and now she could use this next!

Both sides acted at the same time, with Nine-Tails striking first, unleashing a flame that took away about 30% of the Abandoned Monkey's health!

Even with only 60% of its health remaining, the Abandoned Monkey refused to give up. It immediately slammed itself onto the Nine-Tailed Fox, and then its entire body emitted a white light!

A violent explosion occurred, and the Abandoned Monkey turned into particles and dissipated on the field, while the Nine-Tailed Fox was sent flying backward!

Its health bar dropped to around 90% and then it disappeared from the field. It turns out it was configured to use the escape button!

If a Pokémon holding this item takes damage from a move but is not near death, it will immediately switch out and can be replaced by another Pokémon!

This makes it easy for other Pokémon to enter the battle without taking damage, and Ninetales is very suitable for carrying this kind of item.

—If you haven't learned any exit skills like parting gifts or healing wishes...

"Even with only about 60% of its blood, it can leave my Nine-Tailed Fox with almost no blood left?" Xia Bo looked on in surprise.

He knew about the "Desperate Struggle" move, which deals damage based on the opponent's current health, so the Abandoned Monkey could deal 60% of that damage.

—But 60% of that is equivalent to 90% of the Nine-Tails' power, that's really strong…

“Now even if your Nine-Tails comes up, it’s doomed,” Yang Xiying said. With the Invisible Rock there, the Nine-Tails with its remaining health would die as soon as it came up.

"So what?" Blaine didn't care and sent out a second Pokémon, with Yang Xiying following closely behind.

Because both sides are removing their Pokémon at the same time, both sides must bring out their Pokémon at the same moment.

Blaine sent out a birdman, well, a red birdman with very well-developed legs, but it didn't have wings because it was a chicken.

Blaziken! A fire-type Pokémon that breathes scorching flames from its wrists during battle, bravely facing its opponents!

It was attacked by Stealth Rock as soon as it entered the battle, but since it also has the Fighting type, only 1/8 of its health bar was scraped away.

Yang Xiying's side sent out Azure Blade, and since it's sunny now, Azure Blade can also enjoy the bonus!

More importantly, it can resist fire, since there are too many Pokémon in his team that are weak to fire, such as Forretress and Vinegar, which cannot be used.

"Another Pokémon I've never seen before?" "Blaziken...?" Both sides were stunned for a moment when they saw the Pokémon they had sent out.

Xia Bo's side simply hadn't seen much of this before, while Yang Xiying's side felt that the other side had sent out something extraordinary.

The final evolution of the Pokémon used by beginners in the Hoenn region has an amazing ability: Speed ​​Boost.

Speed ​​increases by one level at the end of each round, and this thing is pretty powerful, with both physical and special attack exceeding 100.

It even has MEGA evolution, and with its rich skill pool, it has a lot of tactics, making it not easy to deal with.

"Blue Flame Blade Ghost! Get fit!"

Regardless, let's test the opponent's setup first. Yang Xiying took the lead in strengthening her attack and defense with bodybuilding.

Because in his mind, Blaziken with the Speed-Up ability would carry Protect, so its first-turn attack was useless.

It would be better to strengthen yourself with bodybuilding. Of course, the opponent might attack directly, but that wouldn't be enough to kill your Azure Flame Blade Demon in one shot.

Physical attacks can be mitigated by the item "Aura Sash," and it can also trigger Shattered Armor, making it take the opponent three rounds to outspeed you, even with speed boosts.

Special moves: Blaziken's only effective moves against Azure Blademaster are Fire-type moves and Grass-type Solar Beam.

However, none of these attacks can inflict normal damage, not even half. The Azure Flame Blade Demon has a chance to strike, and with one strike, it can take the opponent's life...

Blaziken! Protect!

The commands were issued directly between the two sides, and just as Yang Xiying had predicted, Blaziken ordered Blaziken to use Protect.

He wanted to get Blaziken's Speed ​​1 for free! But Yang Xiying also managed to get it for free, with her Attack and Defense increasing by one level.

"...!"

Upon seeing this, Blazer was immediately filled with doubt. The opponent had actually directly strengthened themselves. Did they anticipate what Blaziken was going to do?

Oh no, this is how you strengthen it...

Next, Blaine felt like nothing was going right, and he tried attacking with fire-attribute moves, but they didn't seem to have much effect.