Chapter 43: Quasi-Champion Level Gyarados' 'Intimidate' (Patreon)

Now that he knew the core of the conflict, a way to resolve it came naturally.

Renan patted his own chest and said calmly, "Besides being a psychic, I also hold a Novice Breeder certification. Once I finish this task in Blazing Town, I'm heading to Cerulean City next. The Gym Leaders there are going away on business, so I'll be taking over feeding the Water-type Pokémon that live in Cerulean Gym for a month."

"It's a stationed post, so during that time I can easily put together a training plan for Squirtle and your underlings too."

"I can't promise you'll evolve to the next stage. But raising your levels a bit, or even reaching Veteran grade, isn't out of the question."

A Veteran-grade Pokémon was already considered an absolute pillar of strength within any wild group.

Even in their base forms, five Squirtle working together could carve out a territory big enough to live on.

"So…" Renan dispersed his Confusion as he spoke. He first glanced at Officer Jenny Hong beside him. She gave a small nod, which probably meant she agreed with his idea, and only then did he hold a hand out toward Squirtle. "Are you willing to accept this proposal?"

Squirtle hesitated at that. Then it pointed at the Poké Balls holding its underlings in Officer Jenny Hong's hands and cried out twice, "Squirtle! Squirtle!"

Its meaning was obvious: it wanted to talk it over with its underlings before deciding.

Officer Jenny Hong was no weakling herself, and with an Elite-grade psychic standing beside her, she wasn't worried about the Squirtle Squad running off once released.

So she went along with it and tossed the Poké Balls.

The other four Squirtle had been locked inside their balls, but they hadn't missed a word of Renan's persuasion.

As soon as they appeared, they gathered around their boss.

Five light-blue heads. The little turtles looked at one another, and for a while, none of them said anything.

After about ten seconds, the Squirtle boss finally let out a "Squirtle!"

The other four exchanged glances, then answered, some with nods, some with cries of their own.

Watching the scene, Renan quietly let out a long breath.

Officer Jenny Hong couldn't help smiling, too.

…

With the Squirtle Squad problem in Blazing Town settled, Renan set out on the road again.

Much like that morning, he needed to finish the handover with the three Cerulean Gym sisters who had posted the quest as soon as possible. So instead of letting his three little ones trail along at a leisurely walk, he jogged the whole way at a fast clip, and every so often he used Thunderclap and Flash once or twice.

From Blazing Town to Cerulean City, the normal trip took four days.

But with Renan paying no mind at all to his own exhaustion, he reached the city proper by dusk on the second day. He asked passersby for directions and soon found Cerulean Gym.

The three sisters who served as Gym Leaders were about to leave for the Hoenn region to give a performance, so the gym had scheduled no water ballet shows for the time being.

The gym and the streets around it looked unusually quiet.

Renan walked up and pressed the doorbell of Cerulean Gym, which had long ago been converted into a large aquatic performance stage.

After a moment, a woman's voice came through the intercom.

"Hello there, cutie! Coming to Cerulean Gym this late, did you need something?"

"Oh, right. If you're here to challenge the Gym, you can just take a Badge from the box by the door."

"Cerulean Gym will count you as having passed the test."

The voice showed not the slightest awareness of being a Gym Leader.

And Renan had no intention of pointing out that this violated the League's rules.

He glanced left and right and quickly spotted the box with the Cascade Badges the voice had mentioned.

He didn't have any moral fastidiousness about insisting on a Pokémon battle with the Gym Leader before earning a Badge.

If they were willing to hand it over, he'd just take it.

Besides, judging by how busy the three Cerulean Gym sisters were with their water ballet, the Pokémon they'd send out couldn't be all that strong. Why risk hurting his own Pokémon or theirs just for a little peace of mind?

With that thought, he took a Badge from the box and slipped it into his pocket, then said calmly, "Hello, I'm Renan, the Trainer who accepted your gym's quest the night before last. I'm here today for the temporary keeper interview."

"Oh." The woman's voice sounded a little uncertain. "Let me take a look…"

About half a minute passed before she spoke again. "Found it. It really is you. In that case, come on in. After the door opens, walk straight ahead. I'll be waiting in the stage hall."

As her voice faded, the tightly shut gym doors swung slowly open from the inside.

Renan didn't hesitate and stepped through.

He passed down a rather silent corridor, and before long he reached the stage hall the voice had mentioned.

Not far ahead, a girl with long peach-pink hair was standing quietly at the edge of the pool.

She seemed to have heard his approaching footsteps. She turned around, wearing a polite but distant smile. "Hello there. I'm Violet, the third Gym Leader of Cerulean Gym."

Renan nodded at her. "Hello, I'm Renan."

As he spoke, he took out his Pokédex, about to hand it over so she could verify his Breeder qualification.

But Violet shook her head.

"I already confirmed that you're a Novice Breeder just now, through my League forum account."

"However, having a Breeder qualification alone doesn't guarantee you'll pass the Cerulean Gym interview."

Renan froze at that, puzzled. "Don't I only need to feed the Pokémon living in Cerulean Gym for the next month?"

Violet nodded, though her expression was a little strange. "In theory, yes. But if it were really that simple, why would my sisters and I offer a precious Pokémon Egg produced by the Gym as the quest reward?"

Renan: "…"

He let out a long breath, and his expression gradually turned serious. "So what test do I have to take?"

Violet didn't answer. She simply pressed her palms together, producing a crisp clap.

And then…

"ROAAAAR!!!!"

With a terrifying bellow, a Gyarados nearly twice the size of others of its kind leapt out of the pool beside Violet.

It flicked its tail in midair, then dropped back into the water. It didn't dive again. Instead it kept its upper body above the surface and just 'calmly' watched the boy a short distance away.

This Gyarados was at a high level, and its Ability was almost certainly Intimidate, one developed to an extremely refined degree.

Because at this very moment, even though Renan was only standing still and doing nothing, his mind felt as if countless outside forces were pressing down on it.

Had he not possessed, for the time being, Elite-grade combat strength, along with awakened psychic powers and Mind Magic,

his legs might well have given out and dropped him to the floor the instant the Gyarados appeared.

Of course, even now, things weren't much better.

To resist Intimidate, Renan used Confusion almost by instinct, 'pinching' a transparent barrier into being in front of him.