Chapter 236: Teacher Du Juan

Bidding farewell to Miss Liuqi.

There were still eight days until the next-next Grand Contest opened.

Baimu thought it over and over and still decided to finish challenging the Kanaz City Gym first; he had been preparing for a long time, watching Kanaz Gym's battle footage ever since leaving Orange City.

156n.

After finishing over there, he would focus wholeheartedly on studying the various themes of the Grand Contest, as well as the moves and linking techniques he would need to employ.

Biguilt also gave its support for this; after watching Miss Liuqi's coordination with her Swanna, it was no longer satisfied with just stepping onto the Grand Contest stage directly — going up with no preparation at all would make it feel embarrassed.

"Are you going to take the field for that gym challenge?"

"Biguilt!"

"Both, huh…"

Baimu realized Biguilt had chosen to bloom on both fronts, unwilling to give up either battling or the Grand Contest.

That's pretty good too.

He didn't really want to specially split into two teams for the League Conference and the Grand Contest; it would be best to be like Mi Ke Li, who could both battle and be beautiful.

Taking the tram to Kanaz Gym, as soon as he got close he spotted the gym's outer facade wrapped in numerous giant boulders, a heavy and solid aura rushing toward him.

Speaking of which, Kanaz Gym's leader Du Juan was also a rock enthusiast; her choice of Rock-type Pokémon as her specialty type stemmed from her love of stones.

Not only that, she was also a teacher at the Pokémon Trainer School, and her reputation online was extremely good; almost every trainer who had challenged Kanaz Gym said they had learned a great deal from battling her, and called her, alongside Nagisa, one of the two most beautiful gym leaders in Hoenn.

She even had numerous fans.

Baimu was also very curious how much he could learn from her.

"Beep! Reservation successful!"

The smart navigation system at the entrance emitted a success signal, indicating that Du Juan would be free in an hour; she was currently giving a class at the Trainer School.

"An hour works."

Baimu glanced around, spotted a bench for passersby, leaned against it, and began watching Pokémon Grand Contest videos.

With the development of the times, just as Pokémon battles had various conferences and tournaments big and small, the Grand Contest had also spawned a great many variants.

Such as the Kalos region's Triple Crown Satellite Tournament, and the Hoenn region's planned Grand Live Contest, among others.

However, as the ancestor of them all, the Grand Contest's popularity remained extremely strong; like the League Conference, it was deeply beloved by the public, and the frequency of events held in various places had changed from once a month at the beginning to once a week.

Affected by this, apart from the Grand Festival, Baimu might find it hard to see those three judges from his childhood.

"So dancing and spinning really are the secret techniques for scoring…"

Watching the Coordinator Trainers appearing in the first round of appeals in the video, he noticed that those especially beautiful techniques generally required the Pokémon to spin to unleash them.

On one hand, this could reduce the power of the move, preventing it from casually exploding into smoke; on the other hand, it expanded the range, increasing the grandeur of the performance and creating visual impact.

Baimu thought it over and formed a preliminary plan for his performance theme.

"Challenger?"

A gentle female voice suddenly came from not far away.

He looked up and suddenly saw Kanaz Gym's leader Du Juan standing not far away holding books, a quiet scholarly aura rushing toward him.

Twin tails and butterfly ribbons symbolizing youthful vitality, a serene and dignified face, a gray dress paired with bright red tights — every bit of it spoke of her charm.

No wonder she was called one of Hoenn's most beautiful gym leaders, and a strong contender for the world's most beautiful gym leader.

However.

Baimu still leaned more toward casting his vote for Misty, and he happened to have done exactly that.

"Yes, hello, Gym Leader Du Juan."

He stuffed his phone into his pants and greeted her.

Du Juan smiled, her eyes curving; his polite attitude left a good impression on her. "Hello to you too. What is your name?"

"Baimu."

"Very well, it looks like you're the one who made the reservation. Please follow me." She took the lead, walking toward the gym.

Baimu followed closely behind; passing through the gym's main door, he actually saw a museum — a museum of various fossils and gems.

"What's displayed in here are fossils and special stones from all over the world. If you're not in a hurry, feel free to look around as much as you like." Du Juan said with a smile, looking just like a collector showing off his collection to outsiders.

He politely declined, "Please allow me to finish the gym challenge before coming to admire them; I can hardly wait to experience your Pokémon."

"Very well."

Du Juan smiled reservedly and continued leading the way forward, pushing open a door at the end of the long corridor to reveal Kanaz Gym's specialty — a special field strewn with strange rocks and uneven ground.

"This is the Rock-type field set up by Kanaz Gym; I imagine you've already done your homework." Du Juan waved her hand at the air, and immediately a Rotom Drone was seen flying up from a corner.

The Rotom Drone was a recent popular replacement for ordinary referees; it would explain the challenger's information to the gym leader, state the battle rules, and record the battle process.

"Do you need some time to mentally prepare?"

Du Juan turned her head and asked.

"No need, thank you." Baimu shook his head and declined, then followed her gesture to the challenger's position.

Seeing that the gym leader was also in position, the Rotom Drone emitted a robotic voice.

"The Kanaz Gym challenge now begins. Two Pokémon are to be used. If all of either the gym leader's or the challenger's Pokémon are unable to battle, the match is considered over. Only the challenger may switch Pokémon freely."

The battle rules had been stated.

But Du Juan didn't rush to release her Pokémon; in a voice neither loud nor low, she said, "Kanaz Gym is your second Badge?"

"Yes!"

"In that case, I leave it to you! Graveler!"

She tossed a Poké Ball high into the air.

Bang!

A flash of Bai Guang.

A giant Geodude with four arms appeared on the field.

Baimu tossed a Poké Ball while simultaneously registering it in the Pokédex, "I'm counting on you!"

Bang!

"Roar!

The Steelix that landed with a thunderous crash let out a muffled low growl, looked at the opposing Geodude and Du Juan, and an interested expression came over its face.

Finally!

Finally it's my turn to have a proper battle! Awesome!

"What a tall Steelix."

Du Juan showed a slightly surprised expression, but quickly composed herself and praised, "To be able to raise a Steelix to this size, you must be an excellent Trainer."

"No, it grew to this size naturally." Baimu wasn't vain enough to accept the credit by default; after explaining, he hurriedly said: "Excuse me, Magnet Rise!"

"Roar!"

Steelix let out another low growl, with bright sparks of electricity constantly jumping around its body, which then lifted it off the ground and into the air.

Now then.

Looking at the Steelix that seemed to blot out the sky, Du Juan couldn't help but be even more amazed.

But Geodude wasn't as carefree as its Trainer; looking up at the terrifying monster that cast a shadow over it, it felt uneasy and anxious.

Size isn't everything when measuring combat power, but when the opponent is this big, of course you'd be intimidated!