Chapter 196: An Old Steed in the Stable

Having obtained the Rising Badge, the Ranch Uncle headed downward and soon arrived at the seventh city—

Violet City.

With a clear goal in mind, he chose to challenge the Gym without hesitation.

As a young-generation Trainer who inherited the Gym from his father, Atsushi proved his excellence, though there was still a certain gap between him and the old veteran the Ranch Uncle had once battled.

So even at the strength of the seventh Badge, after three sessions of special training his battling skills were mature enough, and with the Three-Character Mantra in hand, the Ranch Uncle passed in one attempt.

This left Atsushi—who had claimed before the match that Electric-type attacks meant nothing to Flying-type Pokémon—rather embarrassed.

【You have defeated Violet City Gym Leader Atsushi and obtained the Feather Badge】

【You learned from Atsushi that his father was traveling abroad and had left the Gym in his care, and you couldn't help feeling a little envious】

Envious…

Envious of what? Your daughter isn't old enough to inherit your ranch?

Weren't you just saying you'd let the Ranch Girl pursue her own dreams!

Baimu stared at the screen speechlessly, and amid a tranquil background melody, the Ranch Uncle arrived at the final town on his list—Azalea Town.

Azalea Gym's Leader was Bugsy, an androgynous young man and the youngest among all the Gym Leaders; with extensive research on Bug-type Pokémon, he was determined to become a Pokémon Professor.

Even the move 【Fury Cutter】 was discovered and named by him.

And in the Gym battle, Bugsy's Scizor fully demonstrated the qualities of an eighth-Badge-level strength; the Swords Dance it used could actually form a protective ring to ward off ranged Fire-type attacks.

"Spinning in circles can block flames? Really?"

Baimu was somewhat skeptical, feeling there might be deeper techniques hidden within.

Something like a Counter Shield.

If he let Steelix and Mawile learn it, these two might be able to carry it forward at a critical moment… Should he rush to Azalea Town to study—could Bugsy teach it?

Baimu lowered his head in thought.

Inside the light screen.

Seeing that ranged flames were ineffective, the Ranch Uncle quickly switched his tactical approach, switching to close-combat Fire-type moves, and at a critical moment used 【Endure】, allowing Rapidash's Flare Blitz to break through Scizor's defense.

In the end, he successfully took the Azalea Gym.

【You have defeated Azalea Town Gym Leader Bugsy and obtained the Hive Badge】

The thirty-seven-year-old veteran successfully earned the qualification to enter the Conference, and the joy that welled up from within made the Ranch Uncle immediately share the good news with his wife and daughter back at the ranch via video call.

Then, without pausing, he hurried home.

Yet when he arrived, he found that his upcoming participation in the Silver Conference had already spread throughout the entire small town; nearly all the townsfolk had come to celebrate with him, wishing him good results and saying they'd be there in person to watch.

This made the Ranch Uncle very embarrassed, and he felt a deep pressure.

Originally it had only been to keep his daughter from being looked down on at school, and to fulfill a dream from his youth; he hadn't expected things to get this complicated.

Seeing the expectant look in the Ranch Girl's eyes, the Ranch Uncle couldn't bring himself to say something like "just making it into the preliminaries is a victory."

He thought it over and over.

He ran to Cerulean City to seek help from Aya.

Thus, the fourth special training officially began.

Working so diligently and focused on special training was extremely rare even in Baimu's past simulations—perhaps because he realized his own talent and battle experience were insufficient to compare with those striving young people.

When natural talent isn't enough, make up for it with effort.

But one thing worth complaining about was that despite it being Pokémon special training, the Ranch Uncle as a Trainer was getting stronger and stronger.

In the past, he could only rely on big slaps to knock Tauros down; now he could grab Tauros by both horns and push it back step by step, fully demonstrating the feat of four legs beating two.

At the same time, riding atop Rapidash, he increasingly had the bearing of an ancient general.

Give him a suit of armor and a Fangtian Huaji, and he might just be able to cos Lü Bu.

When Piloswine evolved into Mamoswine, the Ranch Uncle riding atop it inexplicably brought to mind the sight of barbarians invading the civilized world in Western fantasy novels.

He also arm-wrestled with Ambipom—Ambipom used two tails, he used one hand.

Absolutely terrifying.

Baimu really wanted to rush in and remind the man that Trainers aren't allowed on the battlefield!

—

The special training continued until a few days before the Silver Conference began.

The Ranch Uncle believed he had done his utmost; if results were still poor after this, there was nothing more to say.

His talent as a Breeder gave his Pokémon healthy and strong bodies; his diligence as a Trainer gave Rapidash and the other Pokémon ample battle experience.

And there was the 【Three-Character Mantra】—in fact, this thing seemed mystical but was actually a manifestation of their bond.

Success or failure hung on this one move.

Not long after.

The scene flashed to the day the Silver Conference was held.

Just as promised, the townsfolk came in droves to watch the Ranch Uncle's matches.

At first the Ranch Uncle was under a lot of pressure, feeling that everyone around him was a teenager in their teens, and that a middle-aged man like him standing here was very out of place.

But he soon discovered there were actually quite a few contestants around his age.

【You discovered you weren't the only veteran participating in the Conference, which greatly relaxed your emotions】

"The First Cause of All Realms"

With confidence restored, the Ranch Uncle could finally smile and wave at the Ranch Girl in the stands, and his first match arrived.

However.

The battle went surprisingly smoothly.

The Ranch Uncle had even taken down his opponent before he had a chance to use the Three-Character Mantra.

The second match went the same way — he took down his opponent in five minutes and advanced successfully.

The Ranch Uncle grew more confident with each fight, but never became overly proud or complacent; as a man in his middle years, he well knew that among the strong there were always stronger, that one mountain was always higher than another. His Pokémon had repeatedly taken the crown in head-to-head matchups against their own kind, and the reason was his humility and hard work.

Just as he had expected, the moment he broke through the preliminaries, the Ranch Uncle ran into a formidable young Trainer.

The opponent's outstanding qualities dragged the Ranch Uncle into a bitter fight. The Ranch Girl in the stands was deeply worried, with punctuation marks symbolizing anxiety popping up over her forehead from time to time.

Fortunately, the three-word mantra did its job.

The opponent was indeed strong, but had underestimated the old veterans' tenacity.

Most of the Ranch Uncle's Pokémon were already advanced in years, and they weren't the kind blessed with especially long lifespans whose bodies could defy the decay of time. This tournament might well be the stage where they shone their light and gave their heat for the very last time.

They did not want to, nor were they willing to, simply leave like that.

The Ranch Uncle's dream had never been his alone — it was also the dream of Rapidash and the rest of them.

When young, they set out on the journey; the Pokémon who walked beside their Trainer surely had their own considerations of their own. As battle after battle drew their souls ever closer into resonance, how could they not come to yearn for the League Tournament?

An old steed in the stable yet aspires to gallop a thousand li.

The Ranch Uncle, with his old partners, their fierce will forged into unwavering resolve, pressed on step by step toward greater heights.

Top sixty-four, top thirty-two, top sixteen, top eight…

The Decisive Championship!

At last, the final had arrived.

The Ranch Uncle himself could hardly believe he had made it this far; the little figure symbolizing him fidgeted restlessly.

All Baimu, watching from beyond the screen, was in a fairly calm mood thanks to the background music — though of course he was also curious about where the Ranch Uncle's journey would end… the tournament champion?

That would depend on whether some dark horse suddenly burst out of the pack.