Chapter 195: Maternal Aura

After leaving Edge Town, Rancher Uncle headed east the whole way.

Unlike the previous walking simulation subjects, the driving Rancher Uncle could carry far more gear, making the camping far more extravagant.

In any case, Baimu rarely saw a tent so large that it could simultaneously house cattle, horses, sheep, monkeys, and orangutans… ah no, a burly middle-aged man, and still look completely spacious.

《The Era of Genes》

Not only that, Rancher Uncle also brought a stove, cookware, and other professional kitchen utensils, tables, chairs, benches, even a small generator — none were lacking. The camp was lit up bright as day, and he even brought a laptop to video-call his family.

Light a small fire, set up a small pot, stir-fry a small dish, sip a little drink — life couldn't get more beautiful.

When idle, he'd fish for Magikarp and Feebas by the creek, occasionally feed wild Pokémon passing by, and when the mood struck, mount his Rapidash and gallop across the vast plains, announcing to trainers along the way that the world had not only white-horsed princes, but also white-horsed burly men.

Then use Pokémon battles to teach those young trainers who looked down on middle-aged uncles a lesson.

What a delightful camping trip.

Too blissful, really.

Baimu couldn't help but question Rancher Uncle's purpose for traveling.

Was it really to help his daughter hold her head high and chase her dream, or had a middle-aged man simply wanted a private hobby and seized the chance to slack off?

Hard to say, really hard to say.

Meanwhile, during this period.

The Pokémon egg obtained by luck successfully hatched, and the Pokémon that came out left Baimu quite astonished.

【Your Pokémon egg has hatched】

【You obtained a Swinub, adding another partner for challenging Gyms】

A Pokémon egg left behind by a group of Psyduck hatched into a Swinub? Are they in the same Egg Group? Was it the duck mother cheating, or did the duck father grow a third leg?

It was just as miraculous as Ash, after his big battle with Aerodactyl, suddenly ending up with an egg that hatched into an Igglybuff.

Regardless, the arrival of the Swinub filled Rancher Uncle, this iron man, with immense joy. His maternal aura instantly overflowed — not only did he frequently video-call to show the Swinub to the Ranch Girl, but the time he used to spend fishing was basically all transferred to it.

As an excellent Breeder, the Swinub grew up rapidly under Rancher Uncle's care.

At the same time, the fifth Gym's town, Mahogany Town, had arrived.

Although it was only the fifth Badge, Rancher Uncle, who had experienced Mahogany Gym in his youth, knew very well how powerful Pryce was, and brought out a hundred and twenty percent of his energy.

Fortunately, his ace Rapidash and Ampharos countered many of Pryce's Pokémon — type advantage was very handy in Gym challenges — and on top of that, the blue talent 【Three-Word Mantra】 finally came into play for the first time.

So although it was difficult, Rancher Uncle still won.

【You defeated Mahogany Gym Leader Pryce and obtained the Glacier Badge】

The hurdle blocking Rancher Uncle had been cleared, and Baimu inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't help but recall that camping boy from back then who had gone astray because he couldn't beat Pryce.

And the victory at Mahogany Gym not only earned Rancher Uncle the Badge, but also allowed his Aipom to learn Double Hit.

【Your Aipom evolved into Ambipom】

The Ambipom, who admired Rancher Uncle's powerful arms, received a major boost — its two thick tails were comparable to 【Lovetail】, increasing both the force of its strikes and the number of hits.

Congratulations all around.

After the Gym battle ended, Rancher Uncle didn't leave right away, but struck up a conversation with Pryce.

【You are very curious about the change in Pryce's personality. The Mahogany Gym Leader in your memory was cold and ruthless, bearing the powerful title of "Pryce of Winter." After many years, Pryce's strength had grown considerably, but his personality had undergone a tremendous change】

Ah! This is!

Baimu recalled the reason for Pryce's personality change in the anime.

The latter had a Piloswine that, when he was burned by fire, went off to find medicinal herbs to heal him, only to encounter danger and never return.

The injured Pryce mistakenly believed Piloswine had abandoned him, and in despair never opened his heart to Pokémon again, until Ash and the others arrived and the misunderstanding was cleared up.

To never open his heart to Pokémon and still become a renowned, powerful Gym Leader, earning the honorific "Pryce of Winter," showed just how terrifying his talent as a trainer was.

Of course, the present Pryce, with the misunderstanding cleared up, had regained his love for Ice-type Pokémon, and was no longer as harsh as before — the title "Pryce of Winter" no longer suited him.

On the other side, during their conversation, Pryce also learned the reason Rancher Uncle was challenging Gyms at his age, and upon hearing he had a Swinub that had only just hatched not long ago, very enthusiastically offered to teach him how to raise this kind of Pokémon.

【Hearing Pryce's suggestion, you couldn't help but be overjoyed, and agreed at once】

"This… Pryce of Winter has become Pryce of Summer."

Baimu inexplicably felt sour.

——

Rancher Uncle stayed in Mahogany Town for quite a while.

The Swinub, under the guidance of Pryce's Mamoswine, successfully evolved into a Piloswine.

Overall strength rose rapidly.

Baimu couldn't help but start getting curious about Rancher Uncle's sixth Pokémon.

Cattle, horses, monkeys, pigs, sheep — aside from the monkey, all were standard ranch series. Would the remaining one be a Grass-type Pokémon? Or pick a Miltank from the ranch?

Soon.

The Rancher Uncle on screen gave him the answer.

He saw him arrive at a town not in the game, and pick up a Pokémon from a breeding house — an Arcanine.

A dog!

Right! How could the ranch series be complete without a canine Pokémon?

【You picked up your entrusted Pokémon at the breeding house in Ecruteak Town】

【Your Arcanine successfully won the championship of the "Handsomest Arcanine" contest, and you shared this good news with your wife and daughter】

It turned out Ecruteak Town had recently been holding a "Handsomest Arcanine" selection contest, and Rancher Uncle's Arcanine, as the three-time champion of the event, was participating for the fourth time.

Seeing this, Baimu fully realized just how talented Rancher Uncle's family was at breeding.

Whatever the judging criteria, being able to stand out among Pokémon of the same type in a region was enough to prove that this Pokémon had been raised excellently.

Rancher Uncle's "switching from martial to literary pursuits" might well have been a correct choice on his life's path.

He took back Arcanine.

His team could be considered preliminarily complete.

Although it was unclear whether the Ranch Uncle planned to add a seventh Pokémon to the team, after Arcanine's return, the Ranch Uncle quickened his pace of challenging the Gyms.

Blackthorn City.

Once a mysterious city nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains, it had long since been connected to the outside world — there were even bullet trains arriving here.

【You have arrived at Blackthorn City. To get home as soon as possible, you have decided to challenge the Gym】

Blackthorn Gym Leader Clair was a powerful Trainer who used Dragon-type Pokémon, which happened to be a perfect match for the Ranch Uncle's specialty — the latter had just learned quite a few techniques for using Ice-type Pokémon from Pryce.

In the Gym battle, Piloswine indeed showed the results of its training at the Mahogany Gym, and as the MVP of the Blackthorn Gym battle, it accompanied Arcanine, Tauros, and Rapidash in securing this victory.

The Blue Talent triggered twice during this battle — 【Stand Up】 and 【Hold On】.

Allowing Piloswine to pull off a reverse-kill against Clair's Dragonair.

【You have defeated Blackthorn Gym Leader Clair and obtained the Rising Badge】