Lin Feng had no idea what was happening up in the sky.
Even if he did know, he would probably just smile and ignore it.
As for the battle itself, the remaining members of his team, Serperior, Dragonite, Salamence, and Gardevoir, were not particularly suited for fighting Ice-type Pokémon.
Of course, Gardevoir was simply too powerful.
As for Dragonite and Salamence, they were Dragon-types, and even Serperior wasn't exactly fond of freezing temperatures.
The fact that Lin Feng had brought them at all only showed that he didn't mind continuing the battle.
On the other side, Reika wasted no time.
The moment she stepped down from Pidgeot's back, she walked straight toward Lin Feng.
"What exactly happened with your Alolan Ninetales?"
"Why did it suddenly emerge from the sea?"
"Even Mr. Rime couldn't locate it."
She asked directly, without any hesitation.
"Hmm? You mean Alolan Ninetales?"
"Actually, as soon as Blizzard was activated, she used Dig and jumped into the ocean."
Lin Feng answered casually.
"She stayed underwater the entire time?"
Reika asked in surprise.
"That's right."
"Since she was born, she's loved catching fish in the water, so she's naturally better at holding her breath."
"She also learned how to create ice crystals underwater to help her breathe."
Lin Feng replied with a perfectly straight face.
In reality, the underwater breathing effect came from the exclusive dish Alolan Ninetales had eaten.
"..."
Reika fell silent.
"That's... unusual."
Still, as a trainer who had traveled the world for more than ten years, she had seen countless strange Pokémon.
An Alolan Ninetales that learned how to breathe underwater by creating ice crystals sounded bizarre...
But not entirely impossible.
Nearby, Alolan Ninetales happened to overhear the conversation.
Thinking about how she had actually learned underwater breathing, she opened her mouth.
Then quietly closed it again.
She decided not to expose her trainer.
Reika crouched down beside Alolan Ninetales and gently placed a hand on her snowy fur.
Perhaps because she had spent so many years with Ice-type Pokémon, Alolan Ninetales, who normally disliked being touched by strangers, surprisingly didn't avoid her.
"Beautiful fur."
"Abundant Ice-type energy."
"Clear eyes..."
As she examined the fox, she asked,
"What Ability does your Alolan Ninetales have?"
"Snow Warning."
"Snow Warning?"
Reika's eyes brightened.
"That's an incredibly powerful Snow Warning."
"Even my Froslass can't create a Blizzard as strong as yours."
The more she looked at Alolan Ninetales, the more satisfied she became.
This Alolan Ninetales had reached near perfection.
Whether it was appearance, talent, or growth potential, everything was exceptional.
And on top of that, she possessed the newly discovered Fairy typing.
Against Dragon-type Pokémon, she was one of the best counters imaginable.
To an Ice-type specialist, Alolan Ninetales was practically a dream Pokémon.
Originally, Reika's next destination had been the Alola Region.
She had hoped to catch an Alolan Vulpix herself.
Unfortunately, after Fuyo introduced a new policy requiring Elite trainers to help recruit promising trainers each year, she had been forced to postpone those plans.
Finally, she asked the question that had been bothering her for a very long time.
"How did you train her?"
As a trainer devoted to climbing higher and higher toward the peak, seeing a Pokémon of the same type reach this level without understanding how was unbearable.
If she couldn't figure it out, she probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.
"Huh?"
Lin Feng blinked.
He hadn't expected an Elite trainer like Reika to openly seek advice from him.
As for how he trained Alolan Ninetales...
Even he wasn't entirely sure how to explain it.
After all, he had never fed her Rare Candies.
So after thinking for a moment, he simply answered:
"...She eats very well."
"Eats well?"
Reika froze.
Then her expression became serious.
"You're lying to me."
No matter how well a Pokémon ate, it couldn't possibly reach this level in less than a year.
Right?
"Uh..."
Lin Feng felt completely helpless.
For once, he was telling the truth.
And nobody believed him.
Surprisingly, Reika didn't seem offended.
She patted Alolan Ninetales on the head again before standing up.
"I understand."
"A training method like that certainly can't be shared casually."
Lin Feng: "..."
You understand?
No.
You understand it far too well.
Keeping a polite smile on his face, Lin Feng chose not to explain further.
The secret behind food with special effects wasn't actually difficult to guess.
Most trainers who frequently purchased the expensive Pokéblocks from his ranch could probably figure it out after a little thought.
Just like Professor Blue in Kanto.
Even from another region, simply watching a few videos had allowed him to suspect that Lin Feng's cooking possessed unusual effects.
Others could certainly reach the same conclusion.
But guessing and publicly confirming it were two very different things.
If people figured it out themselves, that meant they were clever.
If they came and asked him directly, he would simply pretend not to know.
And if someone tried to take it by force?
Well...
He wasn't exactly lacking in combat power himself.
At that moment, Reika stood quietly on the ice, her eyes flickering as though she were deeply considering something.
Lin Feng wasn't in a hurry.
He simply watched her.
Because he was thinking about something too.
Specifically...
What reward should be given for clearing every stage of the Sky Challenge?
According to Indeedee, the last time Reika attempted the challenge, she had only asked whether he was still around before leaving empty-handed.
She had even stated that she wasn't interested in the rewards at all.
The problem was that Lin Feng himself had never seriously decided what the final reward should be.
After all...
No one had ever cleared the final stage before.
The two stood silently on the frozen ocean.
Meanwhile, far above them, Liam was suffering.
He couldn't hear what they were discussing.
Even though they had landed, he still didn't dare fly down directly.
The previous Ice-type battle had already pushed him to his limits.
Aegislash's stamina had been heavily drained, and it even seemed slightly injured.
More importantly...
He had absolutely no idea where the cruise ship had drifted by now.
If Aegislash ran out of stamina before he found it again, he would be stranded at sea.
The viewers in the livestream kept urging him to wait.
Just wait a little longer.
Maybe the two would start fighting again.
Eventually, however, the atmosphere changed.
The two trainers finally began moving.
"Reika?"
Lin Feng had already decided that if he couldn't think of a proper reward later, he'd simply cook something special and see what effect it produced.
If that didn't work, he could always reward her with a barrel of Honey Wine and some premium Chocolate Liqueur.
After all, Mr. Rime was also a Psychic-oriented Pokémon.
"Hmm?"
Reika looked up.
"The battle's over."
"Do you want to head back?"
Lin Feng reminded her.
After all, she didn't have any Flying-type Pokémon.
He couldn't exactly leave her stranded in the middle of the ocean.
"Oh. Right."
Reika nodded.
In truth, she hadn't been thinking about the battle at all.
She had been thinking about her future.
Or more specifically...
Her path forward.
Originally, she had planned to travel to the Alola Region.
But because the region still lacked an established League and had no official League Conference, those plans had quietly fallen apart.
Compared to that, she now found herself far more interested in discovering the secret behind Alolan Ninetales' growth.
Which meant she needed a reason to remain in Wutong Town.
And when she thought about it carefully...
The answer seemed surprisingly simple.
Within the Eastern League...
There just happened to be a shortage of Ice-type Gym Leaders.
------------------------------
Love the story? Show your support and unlock early access to new chapters by joining me on Patreon! and if we hit every 250 Power Stones, a bonus chapter drops!
[email protected]/_tey
Change @ to a.