Chapter Ninety-Eight: Mistralton Gym, Cheng Cheng’s Fury

The next day, Cheng Cheng rose early.

After eating breakfast in the lobby of the Pokémon Center, he prepared food for his Pokémon.

By then, most of them had recovered; only Gardevoir was still a little weak.

Two days earlier, Cheng Cheng and Gardevoir had finally undergone their first Mega Evolution. Because everything had happened so hurriedly, Cheng Cheng had not been able to properly savor that state. All he remembered was that, in that moment, a connection had formed between him and Gardevoir far closer than ordinary psychic communion; he could feel everything Gardevoir felt.

Once Gardevoir had fully recovered, Cheng Cheng wanted to try it again and carefully experience the changes that came over them during Mega Evolution.

After they had eaten, Cheng Cheng took the Pokémon out for a short training session so they could get their rhythm back. After all, he was about to challenge Mistralton Gym.

Cheng Cheng brought his Pokémon to the front of Mistralton Gym. Before the Gym there was a long runway, likely a strip for gliding planes.

When Cheng Cheng arrived, he saw several people already waiting there, along with a staff member who seemed to be from the gym.

"Hello," Cheng Cheng said as he stepped forward.

"Hello. Are you here to challenge Mistralton Gym?"

"Yes. My name is Cheng Cheng, and I’ve come to challenge Mistralton Gym."

"All right. There happens to be an open slot this morning. Would you like to make a reservation?"

"Of course."

"Then please take out your Pokédex. I’ll register your information."

Cheng Cheng handed over his Pokédex and made the reservation.

"Please wait here a moment. The Gym Leader will be back soon."

Sure enough, not long after, Cheng Cheng saw a plane flying in from the other side. It landed on the runway, rolled forward a while, and came to a stop.

"Hello, everyone. Sorry to keep you waiting."

A woman wearing a helmet climbed out of the plane. She must have been the Gym Leader of Mistralton Gym.

Cheng Cheng knew that every Gym Leader chose some other side occupation or hobby to fill their everyday life with interest. It seemed this Gym Leader must simply love flying planes.

"All right, everyone. I am Skyla, the Gym Leader of Mistralton Gym. We’ll begin the battles in order."

Cheng Cheng noticed that seven or eight people had already lined up. They all seemed to be here to challenge the gym. He was a little surprised; he had assumed these people were merely here to watch the planes, yet they were challengers as well. Could a Gym Leader really handle so many challengers at once?

While Cheng Cheng was still thinking, the first battle had already begun.

"All right, out you come, my Pokémon."

Skyla released all three of her Pokémon at once: Woobat, Unfezant, and Swanna.

It seemed that the Pokémon used by the Mistralton Gym Leader were all Flying-types. These three were all high level, and their combat power was excellent. It looked like there would be a fierce contest today.

Yet the very first battle left Cheng Cheng somewhat bewildered. Skyla closed her eyes and thought for a moment, then directly decided the outcome. She simply declared that the challenger had won and handed over the badge.

Cheng Cheng suddenly remembered this peculiar style of battling. This was the legendary imaginary battle. No actual combat was involved; instead, the result was determined after calculations made entirely in the mind.

In truth, after Cheng Cheng acquired the ability to view a Pokémon’s combat power as data, he too could have relied on comparing strength to determine which Pokémon was stronger and thus decide a battle’s outcome. But Cheng Cheng knew that although Pokémon could be strong or weak, the most important thing was still the trainer’s command. Moreover, a Pokémon like Pikachu, with cheats of its own, could absolutely not be judged by ordinary standards. So Cheng Cheng would never underestimate any Pokémon and would always give every battle his full effort.

Very quickly, all of Skyla’s battles with the eight people in line were over. Three of them received badges, while the other five failed outright.

Watching her way of battling, Cheng Cheng felt increasingly uncomfortable.

"All right, next."

Cheng Cheng stepped forward and released his three Pokémon: Chimecho, Mr. Mime, and Lunatone.

Once again, Skyla closed her eyes and thought carefully. Ten seconds later, she opened them and declared that Cheng Cheng had lost.

"All right, that concludes this morning’s battles. It’s still early, so I’m going up for another flight."

With that, Skyla prepared to put on her helmet and climb back into the plane.

"Wait, Skyla. I’d like to ask what exactly you’re using to determine the outcome of these battles."

"Naturally, I use my imagination. In my mind, my Woobat lost to your Chimecho; Unfezant defeated Chimecho and Mr. Mime, then lost to Lunatone; and in the final matchup, Lunatone faced Swanna, and Swanna prevailed. So you lost this battle."

"Skyla, do you know what moves my Pokémon can use?"

"Probably the usual ones. Pokémon’s moves are all more or less like that. I may not remember every one of them, but that isn’t very important. In terms of typing, my Flying-types have a complete advantage, so it’s only natural that you lost."

"Is that really so, Skyla? I think just my Lunatone alone could beat your three Pokémon."

"Impossible. Even if your Lunatone is a Rock-type Pokémon, my Swanna has both Flying and Water typings. At most your Lunatone could draw with my Swanna, while my Unfezant could easily defeat your other two Pokémon."

"Skyla, that’s only your opinion. You imagine that you won the battle, while I imagine that I won. What are we supposed to do about that?"

"I’m the Gym Leader, so naturally I decide the outcome."

"Then you’re not fit to be a Gym Leader."

Cheng Cheng was truly angry now. He had never imagined someone could treat battle so casually. At most, before, he had only been a little annoyed; he would not have been this furious. But after his journey in the ancient world last time, he could no longer accept something like this at all.

"Skyla, as a Gym Leader, you must seriously battle every challenger. If you continue like this, then I’ll have no choice but to report you to the League and have your gym stripped of its name."

"Kid, whether our gym can keep operating is not up to you. If you want to file a report, go ahead. I’m going for a flight."

With that, Skyla climbed into the plane and prepared to take off.

"You’re not going anywhere."

Cheng Cheng directly unleashed his psychic power and destroyed the propeller on the right wing. Though his psychic abilities were still not very strong, breaking one propeller was well within his power.

"What happened? Why won’t it take off?"

Skyla discovered that the plane could not rise into the air.

"Skyla, there’s a problem with the right-wing propeller. It was suddenly damaged," the nearby staff member reported.

"How could this happen?"

Skyla jumped down from the plane and inspected the propeller.

"Well, there’s nothing to be done. Hurry up and replace the propeller for me. I’ll fly again this afternoon."

"Skyla, do you have time to battle me now?"

"I already told you, you cannot possibly beat me. If you want to report me, then go ahead."

With that, Skyla moved around Cheng Cheng and headed back toward the gym.

"Stop right there."

At that moment, Skyla suddenly froze. She found that her body could no longer move, as though it had been controlled by something.

Of course, the one controlling her was Cheng Cheng.

Cheng Cheng walked toward Skyla.

"Skyla, please battle me. If you refuse, then every time you prepare to fly, I’ll destroy the propeller again. That way, you’ll never take off."

"Damn it, so it was you. What exactly do you want?"

"I already said it. I just want a battle."

"Fine. If I win, you get out immediately."

"No problem. If I win, you hand the badge over to me, and I’ll leave this place too. But if I find that you haven’t used your full strength, then I’ll stay here anyway. Even if you go to Officer Jenny and file a report, it won’t matter, because you won’t be able to find any evidence."

"You..."