Chapter 197: Cultivating Memories

Semi-finals.

Ranch Uncle faced his strongest opponent so far.

The opponent was clearly no first-timer at the tournament; four of their Pokémon were exclusive to the Hoenn region, fully demonstrating the depth of a multi-region traveling trainer.

Strictly speaking, Ranch Uncle was participating in the tournament for the first time, and his Pokémon were at a noticeable level disadvantage compared to the opponent's.

Fortunately, his other profession as a Breeder could compensate for this shortfall.

A Pokémon's battle power is never determined solely by level; whether it has been carefully cared for is also a decisive factor.

The love Ranch Uncle poured into his Pokémon, and the decades of unspoken understanding between him and his Pokémon, would never lose to any trainer's.

If you played both sides' advantages like poker cards, there was no reason to lose.

But as each Pokémon fell one by one, the battle entered its final stage; his ace Rapidash had already fallen alongside the opponent's, leaving Ranch Uncle with only one Pokémon—a Tauros suffering from burn, its steps stumbling frequently.

The opponent's Pokémon still had ample HP.

Victory seemed already decided.

【You seemed to see the end of the match; the fallen companions, old and new, told you the path ahead was over—at this moment, you heard a voice.】

【You heard your daughter's shout, you heard your wife's shout, you heard the heavy breathing of your Pokémon.】

【You knew—the match was not over.】

The scene seemed frozen.

The next moment.

Get up! Tauros!

Exploding bubbles roared like a battle cry beside Baimu; the Tauros, its forelegs kneeling, glared with eyes blazing with unprecedented raw strength, and countless flashes of images passed around it—each time knocked down, each time rising again.

Even scenes of it leading a herd of Tauros galloping across the plains.

It had risen—successfully!

Moo—!

Though burn had stolen ninety-nine percent of its HP, it held on, and facing the opponent's final Pokémon, unleashed its strongest move—

Take Down

【Hold On】!

Even from a game perspective, Tauros's move was terrifying: Burned, Fighting-type, Hold On—yet the opponent's Pokémon was not a Ghost-type.

And facing Tauros's all-out attack, the opponent's Pokémon naturally did not sit idle.

Unfortunately, the pixel-art visuals exaggerated Tauros's effect so wildly that though only one Tauros was charging, it appeared as if countless Tauros were charging together.

Overwhelmed by the visual effect, the opponent's Pokémon was felled in one blow, sending Ranch Uncle into the finals.

Baimu's heart surged, and his breathing became heavy and coarse.

Could the tournament champion really be within reach?

Sadly, it seemed proven that human strength has limits, and the importance of breeding more than six Pokémon—Tauros, due to its severe injuries, could not participate in the final match.

It had to be replaced by a Dunsparce Ranch Uncle had bred later.

Still, Ranch Uncle gave his full effort in the battle.

The final opponent was the same as in the semi-finals, possessing extensive tournament experience, and one special trait—

Mega Evolution.

This opponent held one more card than the previous one, preventing Ranch Uncle from fully overwhelming him; in the end, he could only rely on the Three Words of Truth to make up the difference.

But the opponent clearly also met the prerequisites for using the Three Words of Truth; his bond with his Pokémon was no less than Ranch Uncle's—otherwise, he could never have unlocked Mega Evolution.

So no matter how loudly Ranch Girl and her Ponyta shouted.

Ranch Uncle still lost to the opponent.

Even though the Flareon's 【Burn Out】 had taken down the opponent's Mega-Evolving Pokémon.

Ranch Uncle was stopped at runner-up.

After the match.

He embraced his family; though regret lingered on his face, there was also the peace of fulfilling a long-held dream, and as townsfolk offered congratulations, a smile icon appeared above Ranch Uncle's head.

【You achieved your dream, and did not disappoint your daughter. You and your Pokémon proved that even in middle age, one can still shine brightly on the tournament stage.】

【Your story resonated with many middle-aged people; responding to your call, more middle-aged trainers went to challenge Gyms.】

【Soon after, you saw off your wife as she set out to pursue her dream of a three-peat in the Super Contests.】

【Simulation ended.】

The middle-aged dream-chaser…

Too bad—if he'd won the tournament, perhaps more people would have taken notice.

Baimu couldn't help but feel a tinge of regret.

He rubbed his face, then looked out the window at the scenery, squinting against the blazing sun.

"What book are you reading? You look both gritting your teeth and excited."

Terry suddenly asked.

She had been observing Baimu for a long time.

The latter didn't mind, telling her the book's title—after all, only he could see the simulator, so it didn't matter what he said.

Then.

The simulation reward popped up.

Baimu had been looking forward to this simulation reward; after all, Ranch Uncle was a gifted Breeder, and perhaps he'd receive a valuable gain.

【Fixed Reward: TM ×3 (selectable type)】

【Fixed Reward: Ranch Uncle's Pokémon Breeding Memory—Health Management Chapter (re-readable)】

……

【Choice Reward One: Any Pokémon raised by three levels (below Lv. 70)】

【Choice Reward Two: A clue to an obtainable Pokémon (attribute may be specified, Excellent quality)】

【Choice Reward Three: Move — Endure (a chosen Pokémon may learn it)】

【Choice Reward Four: Carry the 【Sturdy Body】 talent over to the next simulation round】

Whew!

Health management!

All Baimu couldn't help but feel like whistling — surely this had to be one of the most important parts of being a Breeder, right?

Only when Pokémon were healthy enough could they bring out one hundred percent of their battle strength, and to make sure their own Pokémon stayed healthy enough, most Trainers would regularly hand their Pokémon over to professional Breeders for a few days.

The wealthy would simply hire a Breeder to work for them outright.

With this set of memories, All Baimu's journey from here on out would save him quite a bit of money.

As for the selectable rewards.

All Baimu agonized for a moment but still chose One, Two, and Three. If Reward Four could let a blue-grade talent carry over, he would definitely pick Reward Four, but a mere Sturdy Body…

simply couldn't have any decisive effect on the outcome.

——

He had accumulated three Pokémon clue rewards.

He had used one before, which had brought All Baimu an Axew… and a baffling background story.

Now another one had come.

He gazed at the deserted plain before him, wondering whether he should use one.

He had been trying hard all this while to recall the base stats of those excellent Pokémon in his mind, and in the end he did manage to recall quite a few — but he didn't dare be sure they were correct.

This thing was like a math problem with no standard answer; it had to be verified through practice.

After much thought, in order to fill the empty sixth slot on his team, he still decided to use the one he had just obtained.

So then, which attribute should he switch to choosing?