Tetsuya had never expected that Sheila's Cloyster could unleash such powerful attack with Return.
Sheila walked to Cloyster's side, treated its injuries, and then recalled it into its Poké Ball.
"Tetsuya, your battle level truly makes me look at you in a new light… However, you should also go and check on Piloswine's injuries immediately. Do not learn that from Pryce!"
As she spoke, Sheila let out a long sigh. "Haaahhh… I only hope Pryce's Piloswine will appear again and resolve the knot in his heart."
'…'
Tetsuya's gaze flickered slightly.
"…Then I will go to the Pokémon Center to check on Piloswine's injuries."
After speaking, Tetsuya prepared to leave.
"Wait! How about this, I will take you to Battle Park tomorrow morning. Your Piloswine is almost immune to Ice-type moves, and I only have Ice-type Pokémon. The effects of my help in your training are no longer useful to you. It would be better to go to Battle Park early and see various different Pokémon."
After Sheila finished speaking, Tetsuya began thinking about a place, which happened to be near Mahogany Town and was in the same direction as the Battle Park operated by Pryce.
"No need, Shelia. The League may come at any time to handle the procedures for opening the Gym. Please write me a recommendation letter. I can go there myself."
Sheila hesitated for a moment and said, "That's fine, I guess… With your current level, as long as you do not take any detours, you should not encounter any danger. In that case, go to the Pokémon Center first. I will contact the person in charge of Battle Park and also inform Pryce, and prepare a recommendation letter for you."
"Mm, thank you, Shelia."
After speaking, Tetsuya headed toward the Pokémon Center.
Inside the Pokémon Center in Mahogany Town, there was no one except Nurse Joy and Chansey. Tetsuya handed over three Poké Balls to Nurse Joy. Since he was about to depart, having Nurse Joy do a full treatment was also very necessary.
Nurse Joy took Tetsuya's Poké Balls and said, "You are the first person to come to this Pokémon Center today~"
"After Pryce-san was promoted to the Elite Four, Mahogany Gym had no successor, which is why this situation occurred," Tetsuya casually replied.
Nurse Joy nodded and said, "Yes. Mahogany Town is located at the northernmost part of the Johto region and has always had sparse population. Only after Elite Four Pryce successfully established a Gym here did the flow of people increase, and our Joy Family decided to build a Pokémon Center here.
However, after Elite Four Pryce left and Mahogany Gym had no one to take over, our business also declined, sigh…
Fortunately, Sheila applied to become the Gym Leader of Mahogany Gym this time. Our Family also provided considerable assistance. Mahogany Town should soon regain its former prosperity!"
So that was the case. 'Thanks for that info dump, I guess…'
Tetsuya nodded. It was exactly as he had imagined. Sheila's application to become a Gym Leader would receive full support from the local government. He had not expected that she would also receive support from the Joy Family. 'Heh, no wonder it had gone so smoothly.'
---◓---
Returning to the cabin, there was still some Pokéfood left. Tetsuya packed all of it into the Spatial Backpack. These items absolutely could not be wasted. Although he still had some money now, the pressure was also considerable.
The food for Piloswine and Ditto was a continuous expense.
Haunter's strength had also improved rapidly over the past month. Although it had not yet reached the conditions to evolve into Gengar, once it did, it would certainly require more Poison-type Pokémon's Poison Glands to stimulate its Evolution. "Tch."
At present, he only had three Pokémon, and each could only fight independently, unable to form effective coordination. He was still far from the cohesive strength of an advanced Trainer. Even an ordinary League Investigator possessed such level.
He was currently driven only by the desire to obtain powerful Pokémon and had not yet formed systematic coordination. If such a system was not properly considered, catching more Pokémon in the future would be futile, because they would not be able to exert overall strength and might even interfere with one another.
For example, although Piloswine could now summon Hail like the Snow Warning Ability, using it would inevitably affect Haunter, because Hail dealt damage to Pokémon that were not Ice-type. Therefore, if he wanted to maximize Piloswine's role, he would have to build an Ice-type team.
As for Haunter, within the Poison-type team composition of his previous life, it would only serve as icing on the cake. Thus, he could confidently continue nurturing and training Haunter.
As for Ditto, its primary positioning was not as a combat Pokémon. However, if it possessed sufficient strength in the future, it could become a versatile Pokémon, freely filling any vacancy within a team.
After packing everything up, he prepared to depart, because he would be stopping at a place along the way. The purpose was naturally for a Pokémon. This one would be a Pokémon he intended to train over a long period.
If he had the opportunity to obtain it, it would become a fixed rear artillery platform and could freely manipulate external objects for its use. Most importantly, its appearance could freely fill any vacancy in his teams, maximizing overall strength.
Leaving the cabin, Tetsuya went to find Sheila. She still needed to prepare the letter for him to go to Battle Park.
Arriving at Sheila's home, she was already waiting for him.
Seeing Tetsuya arrive, Sheila stood up and asked, "Oh~ Tetsuya, have you finished packing?"
"Mm."
"Here, this is the recommendation letter I prepared for you. When the person in charge there sees this letter, they will naturally make arrangements for you. I have also called Pryce. He will also inform the person in charge there." After speaking, Sheila handed an envelope to Tetsuya.
Tetsuya probed cautiously, "Oh, right, Shelia. Did Elite Four Pryce make any suggestions regarding Piloswine's training?"
"Oh, Pryce. He was indeed surprised by Piloswine's current state. After all, becoming immune to Ice-type moves requires absorbing the power of Eternal Ice. And being able to continuously maintain Hail in the Piloswine form is truly astonishing, he said. Even Pryce's Swinub has still not been allowed to evolve in order to maintain the Hail ability."
As Sheila spoke, Tetsuya still felt uneasy. It seemed that Pryce still had doubts in his heart. He was not confident that he could completely deceive an Ice-type expert like Pryce. If necessary, he would have to use the piece of Eternal Ice from the mausoleum as an excuse.
"It is probably because Elite Four Pryce's training method is strong!" Tetsuya forced a smile.
Sheila nodded. "It could also be that this Piloswine was born with extraordinary Ice-type energy. Otherwise, there is no other explanation!"
"Does Elite Four Pryce think so as well…?"
"Yes, Pryce said the same. After all, there are many things in this world that cannot be explained. Pokémon with extremely high potential are rare and can only be encountered by chance. One can only say that your opportunity was very good," Sheila said.
Tetsuya revealed a faint smile. If Pryce also thought so, then he could finally feel at ease.