area51novel Chapter 305 Welcome to Unova
Chapter 305 Welcome to Unova
A name that stretches for a thousand kilometers is naturally the longest on the Hoenn continent.
Ignoring her partner's lame joke, Mary earnestly began explaining to the two unsuspecting members of the Hoenn region—
"Mr. Senri of Petalburg Gym is one of the most powerful gym leaders in the Hoenn region. Because of his ruthless nature in battle, many trainers will bypass Petalburg Gym and hone their skills under other gym leaders before challenging this strict gym leader. Even so, Petalburg Gym still has the lowest success rate among Pokémon gyms in the Hoenn region."
"As for the Pokémon that this Mr. Senri is good at using, they are Normal-type Pokémon such as Slaking, Exploud, Ursaring, and Spindle. It is said that the reason he chooses Normal-type is because this type has a balanced coverage, which is conducive to adapting to different situations and choosing tactics."
Blackie nodded in agreement, saying, "That's a very worthwhile point of view. It reminds me of Aloe Vera from the Seven Treasures Gym. The reason she specializes in Normal-type moves is because she believes that Normal-type moves are the foundation of all types, and most Pokémon's first move is almost always Normal-type."
"That's an interesting point. By the way, Blackie, what type of gym leader do you plan to specialize in?"
The photographer solemnly handed the phone to the other party while asking a question.
"To be honest, I haven't decided yet."
The black-haired youth, who looked like a top student, gratefully browsed the document that had been displayed on the screen, and replied.
"The Pokémon I carry with me now were all caught during my Pokédex-collecting journeys, so their types are relatively mixed. I plan to choose a specific type to specialize in after passing the exam. Although I don't know the regulations in other regions, according to the Unova region, trainers can choose a type to specialize in after passing the exam and becoming a Gym Leader candidate. After all, if candidates are unable to give their all to pass the exam due to a forced type change, wouldn't they be wasting their time?"
"So that's the situation on the Unova side."
Having heard the unique and interesting stories of the area, Miss Mary wrote with great speed and ease.
"In the Hoenn region, the position of Gym Leader is generally passed down through generations or by invitation. For example, Mr. Wallace and Mr. Adam are master and apprentice, and Ms. Aysa from Lavatown inherited her Gym from her grandfather. Trainers who inherit Gyms specialize in learning knowledge and skills of a certain type of Pokémon from a young age, while those who are invited usually have already shown outstanding talent in a certain type before being invited—like this Mr. Senri."
"Mr. Senri's daughter has recently started to make a name for herself in Hoenn. I wonder if she will follow in her father's footsteps as the Gym Leader in the future," Dai added.
Does the difference in talent selection mechanisms between Hoenn and Unova represent a difference between tradition and modernity?
Mary silently noted this down; it might be a good story to tell.
The population of the Hoenn region is much smaller than that of the Unova region, and its economy is also much worse. Therefore, it needs to rely on targeted training through inheritance to cultivate excellent local trainers.
However, blindly sticking to old ways for too long can also lead to a decline in the overall combat strength of all trainers. Therefore, it is necessary to occasionally invite outstanding trainers from other places, such as Senri, as competitors to continuously raise the League's requirements for the quality of Gym Leaders... From this point of view, Senri's strict attitude towards challengers is quite understandable.
In contrast, the Unova region's affluent economic conditions, coupled with former champion Alder's emphasis on education, mean that the local league doesn't need to do much extra work. It can rely solely on mass training programs like Pokémon Schools and a wide variety of commercial events like the Higanbana Tournament to allow ordinary trainers like Blacklink to accumulate enough knowledge and experience to pass multiple rounds of auditions and enter the shortlist of Gym Leader candidates.
Of course, this mechanism isn't without its flaws. If any part of the selection process malfunctions, it could easily lead to a wide range of quality among the new generation of dojo leaders. However, given how seriously Blackie is preparing for the exam, such a risk is unlikely to materialize for a long time to come…
"Ah, I see the part about the champion battle. The assessment rules are a two-on-two doubles duel."
While the reporter was lost in thought, Bai Lu, who was also looking closely at her phone screen, exclaimed in surprise.
"Hmm, considering time efficiency, two-on-two doubles does provide a more comprehensive assessment of a challenger's abilities. Will the new champion here also choose this testing method? Or will they choose the rules entirely based on their interest, like the previous Four Heavenly Kings...?"
Hei Lian placed his hand on the bridge of his nose and began to think.
His childhood friend, however, couldn't wait to see what happened next—
"Oh dear, against Mr. Senri's Normal-type Pokémon, Champion Steven actually sent out two Steel-type Pokémon, one of which was even an ace. Isn't that a bit too unfair?"
In the document, a reporter from Mauville TV asked Gym Leader Senri: "During the strength test before becoming a Gym Leader, when facing the Metagross and Skarmory combination sent by Champion Steven, with Metagross being the champion's main Pokémon, were you ever worried that you wouldn't be able to unleash your full potential?"
“Strength comes from diligent and continuous training; it is not something that increases or decreases depending on how well you perform. In battles, many trainers assume that their partner’s failure to perform as well as usual is due to a lack of on-the-spot ability, which is actually a misconception.”
"What do you mean by that?" the reporter asked.
"Whether it's a human or a Pokémon, it's the same: to become stronger, you have to work hard and strive. Failing to unleash a Pokémon's full power is also a sign of a trainer's lack of skill. To avoid this, trainers must learn to improve their ability to anticipate the opponent's tactics and adapt their next move accordingly."
—Yes, your adaptable tactics seem to have played a significant role in your match against Champion Daigo. The Champion has mentioned several times after the battle that even when facing type resistance, Senri almost defeated him using his tactics. Could you share the specifics of that situation with us?
"Actually, the situation at the time was not that dramatic."
The owner of Qianli Pavilion said in the interview with a strong sense of rigor.
"In the battles against Skarmory and Metagross, I sent out Slaking and Spinny—at that point, my tactical intentions were already quite clear."
Both are Normal-type Pokémon with very obvious strengths and weaknesses—the reporter had clearly done a lot of preparation for the interview.
While Slaking is a Pokémon with an extremely high potential and is also the Gym Leader's ace Pokémon, its "Sloth" ability severely slows down its battle rhythm. Spinda has an unpredictable and deep move pool, but compared to other Pokémon of similar skill levels, its physical attributes are perhaps not particularly outstanding.
"These are indeed their individual characteristics. However, when the two of them appear together, a more wonderful complementary effect will occur."
Qianli raised his index finger.
"Squirrel can learn a move called 'Ability Swap.' By swapping Slaking's 'Sloth' onto itself, it can completely remove the latter's ability. Then, Squirrel can use that move again to transfer 'Sloth' back to Steven's Metagross or Skarmory, further weakening the opponent—this is our plan, and one of our tactical contingency plans before the assessment begins."
"So that's how it is. You used this tactic to outmaneuver Daigo and win the championship?" the reporter asked with great admiration.
"Quite the opposite. The tactic was too obvious, so Steven immediately realized my intention the moment the Pokémon appeared. Thus, we spent a considerable amount of time maneuvering around Spinda's 'Ability Swap'."
Qianli said—
"After the first swap, Slaking's combat power increased significantly, while Spinda, temporarily possessing the 'Sloth' ability and being exceptionally vulnerable, had to rely on Slaking's cover to avoid being fatally struck by the opponent. Intimidated by Spinda's second 'Ability Swap,' Steven's Metagross was unable to utilize its close-range physical attack advantage, and could only rely on ranged attacks and Skarmory's 'Roost' move to maintain the situation, while Slaking constantly used 'Slack' to conserve its HP—and so the battle became a stalemate."
Even with tactics in place, implementing them remains a significant challenge, the reporter remarked.
"That's the point. Composing a strategy isn't difficult. How to stick to it and execute your plan correctly depends on your daily accumulation of experience. Fortunately, because I used to live in Asagi City in the Johto region, which has the world's first Steel-type Gym, I have relatively more experience in dealing with Steel-types that are at a disadvantage."
The owner of the Qianli Pavilion smiled as he recalled the past, recounting the most crucial turning point—
"Finally, in that battle, I seized the moment when Skarmory was briefly distracted by the patterns on Spinda's body, allowing Slaking to use Focus Blast to attack Skarmory's vulnerable Special Defense the instant it landed with Roost, successfully eliminating one of Steven's Pokémon. At the same moment, Spinda also took advantage of the opening created by the opponent's elimination, successfully transferring the Sloth ability to Metagross—this is probably the experience Steven Champion mentioned, the one where he almost lost."
"No way? He's been given the extremely disadvantageous Landmine ability, and the opponent still has two Pokémon left, both in such a desperate situation. How can Champion Steven possibly turn the tide? How did he do it?"
Upon seeing this, Bai Lu in the real world couldn't help but be quite surprised.
"Don't worry, it'll be written on the next page."
Hei Lian calmly swiped his finger down the screen.
More than the performance of the Elite Four member, he was actually more concerned about Daigo's true strength. What exactly was the difference in strength between the so-called League Champion and the top-tier gym leaders?
On the next page of the document, there is a brief description of the battle's outcome by the Master of the Senri Hall—
"Of course, as you know, I still lost that match in the end. Champion Daigo used his hidden trump card, and I failed to deal with that situation in time. Perhaps it can be said that my training was insufficient. If I had conserved more of Slaking and Madara's stamina in the earlier stages of the battle, and if I had been less careless when the plan succeeded, perhaps the final result would have been very different—but there are no 'ifs' in a battle."
The report on the battles ended there. The reporter then spoke with the Gym Leader of Senri about the difficulty level of the Petalburg Gym.
The excited Bailu was immediately doused with cold water, and like a wilted eggplant, she stared blankly around with lifeless eyes—
"That's it? How did that champion win? What was their so-called secret weapon?"
"Ahem." Miss Mary coughed lightly twice to clear her throat.
"This interview is from a long time ago. As for that trump card, it's not exactly a secret in the Hoenn region now. In a sense, it's also related to our purpose in coming to the Unova region."
"Hmm, I can probably guess what's going on."
Even the photographer, Dai, nodded knowingly with his arms crossed.