Chapter Forty-Two: Master of a Thousand Miles

Cheng Cheng arrived in Petalburg City with his Pokémon and headed straight for the Petalburg Gym. Upon entering, he found that someone was already in the midst of a challenge. The challenger was using a Grovyle, and the gym leader facing him must have been Mr. Norman, who had sent out a Vigoroth.

It wasn’t long before Grovyle defeated Vigoroth and earned the badge. In Cheng Cheng’s eyes, Mr. Norman had clearly held back and not used his full strength. But that made sense—although a gym leader’s Pokémon might not always be the strongest, their battle experience made defeating ordinary challengers a simple matter. It seemed that the true skill of a successful gym leader lay not in overwhelming strength, but in how well they could go easy on their opponents.

“Cheng Cheng, you’re here!”

Cheng Cheng turned around to see Max.

“Max, it’s been a while.”

“Yes, we haven’t seen you since Rustboro City.”

“Dad, Cheng Cheng—the one I told you about—is here!” Max waved to Mr. Norman and ran down from the stands, with Cheng Cheng following close behind. Mr. Norman had already noticed him.

“Oh, you must be Cheng Cheng—the one May and Max talked about. Thank you for looking after them.”

“No need to thank me. In fact, they’ve taken care of me just as much.”

“Well, this isn’t the best place to chat. Come with me.”

“Mr. Norman, please wait a moment—I’d like to challenge you to a battle.”

“A battle? Of course, that’s fine.”

“I’ll be the referee!” Max volunteered.

“All right, let’s have a one-on-one match!”

“No problem, but I hope you’ll give it your all, Mr. Norman.”

“We’ll see if you can make me. Go, Vigoroth!”

“Vigoroth, huh?” Cheng Cheng checked his Pokédex.

Pokémon: Vigoroth
Type: Normal
Level: 32
Rank: Deep Green
Rarity: Rare
Ability: Vital Spirit
Held Item: Sharp Claw
Moves: Focus Energy, Fury Swipes, Encore, Uproar, Scratch, Endure, Slash
Egg Moves: Protect, Rest

After reading Vigoroth’s data, Cheng Cheng noted its rank had reached Deep Green—worthy of a gym leader’s Pokémon. It also knew Protect and Rest, indicating it had been well trained. Cheng Cheng decided to pick a Pokémon of similar strength.

Go, Mr. Mime!

Pokémon: Mr. Mime
Type: Psychic/Fairy
Level: 34
Rank: Green
Rarity: Rare
Ability: Soundproof
Hidden Ability: Technician
Held Item: None
Moves: Confusion, Barrier, Slap, Light Screen, Mirror Coat, Double Slap
Egg Move: Thunderbolt

“Both sides, take your positions. The battle begins!”

“Vigoroth, use Focus Energy!”

“Mr. Mime, use Confusion to stop it!”

Mr. Mime’s Confusion successfully interrupted Vigoroth.

“Vigoroth, use Fury Swipes!”

“Mr. Mime, set up a Barrier!”

A translucent wall appeared between the two Pokémon. Vigoroth scratched at the glassy barrier, unable to reach Mr. Mime.

“Vigoroth, use Slash!”

Vigoroth switched moves quickly; its Slash shattered the barrier and landed a heavy blow on Mr. Mime.

“Mr. Mime, use Double Slap!”

At such close range, the attack landed directly on Vigoroth.

“Vigoroth, dodge quickly!”

Mr. Norman’s experience showed—Vigoroth slipped away before Mr. Mime could finish the attack.

“Now, Mr. Mime, use Thunderbolt!”

“Vigoroth, Protect!”

Vigoroth’s Protect blocked the Thunderbolt.

“I didn’t expect your Mr. Mime to know Thunderbolt. It’s very well trained.”

“Your Vigoroth is impressive as well, Mr. Norman.”

To give Mr. Mime some ranged power, Cheng Cheng had spent 300 achievement points to exchange for a Thunderbolt TM. It wasn’t expensive, but it could only be used once, which made him wince. Still, the move had significantly improved Mr. Mime’s strength.

“Mr. Mime, use Thunderbolt again!”

“Vigoroth, Endure!”

Vigoroth braced itself, taking the hit but clearly suffering.

“Vigoroth, use Encore!”

Suddenly, Mr. Mime was compelled to use Thunderbolt again. Since it wasn’t his own move, the attack missed.

“Vigoroth, charge now!”

Dodging the attack with ease, Vigoroth rushed at Mr. Mime.

“Vigoroth, use Slash!”

The move landed squarely, and Mr. Mime took a heavy hit.

“Mr. Mime, Double Slap!”

“Vigoroth, Fury Swipes!”

In the end, Mr. Mime could no longer fight—he had lost the ability to battle.

“Mr. Mime is unable to battle. The winner is Vigoroth!”

There was no denying the gap between Cheng Cheng and Mr. Norman. His strategy of using barriers hadn’t even gotten off the ground before Mr. Norman dismantled it. The fast pace of the battle had rendered Cheng Cheng’s defensive style ineffective.

“Cheng Cheng, you’re really impressive,” Max said.

“Not at all—I still lost to Mr. Norman.”

“No, you’ve done very well. To train your Pokémon to this level at your age is quite an achievement.”

“That’s because I’m a Pokémon Breeder. Naturally, I have to know how to raise Pokémon.”

“May and Max never mentioned that. How far have you gotten?”

“I spent some time at the Breeders’ School, and not long ago passed the Junior Breeder’s Exam—at least, I think I did. I’ve also opened a breeding house. That’s actually why I came to see you, Mr. Norman—I need your help.”

“All right, let’s talk inside!”

Cheng Cheng followed Mr. Norman out of the battle arena and into the house behind, which was clearly their home.

“May, your friend is here.”

After Mr. Norman spoke, a girl came over.

“Cheng Cheng, long time no see.”

“It’s been a while, May.”

“May, go help your mother with the cooking.”

“Okay! Cheng Cheng, you have to stay for dinner today.”

“Thank you, I’ll be in your care.”

“Take a seat.”

Mr. Norman gestured to the seat across from him, and Cheng Cheng sat down, picking up the teacup before him.

“So, what brings you to me?”

“Well, I opened a breeding house, but since I don’t have any channels, I have very few Pokémon and eggs to sell. So I wanted to ask if you could help me connect with someone who can supply Pokémon and eggs in large quantities.”

“You live in Fortree City, right? There are plenty of Pokémon species there—you shouldn’t be short of options.”

“Please, just call me Uncle Norman.”

“All right, Uncle Norman. There are indeed many Pokémon in Fortree, but most of them are Flying-type. My breeding house only sells Psychic-type Pokémon. Since there are so few Psychic-types, I came to you for help.”

“Psychic-types, is it? Why focus on only one type? That must make running your breeding house much more difficult.”

“It does, but my dream is to become a top Psychic-type Pokémon Breeder. I want to raise the best Psychic-types—and all my own Pokémon are Psychic-type as well.”

“I see. This will require some thought. If it were ordinary Pokémon and eggs, I could help, but just Psychic-types… that’s tricky. Let me think about it.”

Cheng Cheng fell silent, knowing that finding a large supply of Psychic-type Pokémon would be no easy task.

“I don’t personally know anyone who can provide Psychic-type Pokémon and eggs in large quantities, but I can recommend someone who might—Professor Birch in Littleroot Town.”

“Professor Birch? I know of him. I’d thought of seeking him out, since with his connections he should be able to help. But I don’t know him personally, so I’ll have to trouble you for an introduction, Uncle Norman.”

“No trouble at all. I’ll just introduce you—the rest is up to you.”

“Thank you, Uncle Norman.”

“Well, let’s not talk about this now. Dinner’s ready—come join us.”

Cheng Cheng entered the dining room and saw May and a graceful woman.

“This is my wife, Caroline.”

“Hello, Auntie.”

“Hello! May and Max have told me about you. Opening a breeding house on your own is impressive.”

“It’s nothing, really—I inherited it from my father, and now I can only sell Pokémon food and Pokéblocks. If I can’t find any Psychic-type eggs or Pokémon, I might have to close my breeding house.”

“All right, enough about that—come, sit and eat.”

Mr. Norman patted Cheng Cheng’s shoulder and sat down.

“In that case, thank you for the meal.”

Cheng Cheng sat beside Max.

“Let’s eat!”

Aunt Caroline’s cooking was excellent.

“By the way, Cheng Cheng, where did you go after we parted?” Max asked.

“After returning, I stayed a few days in Fortree, then joined the Pokémon Breeders’ School in Mauville City for a few months. I even ran into Ash’s tournament. Most of my time was spent studying—I only just finished recently.”

“What about you two?”

“We had plenty of adventures after that. Ash entered the Battle Frontier, and my sister competed in the Grand Festival. On our journey, we even encountered a Pokémon from space!”

“A Pokémon from space?” Cheng Cheng already had a guess.

“A Pokémon from space? Was it Lunatone?” he asked, feigning ignorance.

“No, it was Deoxys.”

“Deoxys! How did you meet it?”

“We ran into it on the way to the Battle Frontier. Deoxys was injured, and after we treated it, it left. It even spoke with me.”

“Did it say where it was going?”

“It seemed to be traveling around Hoenn, but I’m not sure exactly where.”

“I see.”

Cheng Cheng asked no more. Deoxys was a Psychic-type Pokémon, one of his most desired companions, but even if he encountered it, there was little chance he could capture it now. It seemed he still had to improve his strength.

After lunch, Mr. Norman wrote a letter for Cheng Cheng to deliver to Professor Birch.

“Thank you all so much.”

“It was nothing—just a small favor.”

“Still, thank you.”

“You’re always welcome to visit.”

“Thank you. I’ll be off now. Goodbye!”

“Goodbye!”

And so, Cheng Cheng bid farewell to the Norman family and set off for Littleroot Town.