You're not allowed to play Pokémon!

Chapter 23 Our dojo is thriving!
"Eh?"

Nemo stood there, stunned.

It wasn't until Qingyu made her judgment that she realized what had happened.

Mr. Qingyu and his Eevee did not make any decent attacks throughout the entire match, but they easily won the victory with just two moves.

It's like releasing a vast ocean...

Clearly, this has nothing to do with the Pokémon's strength; it's a complete domination by the trainer's skill level!
Was it his own command error that caused Bu Bo to waste almost all his energy?

Nemo didn't know.

I don't even know how I lost...

But because of this, she became even more excited.

This feeling, really...

"That's amazing! Mr. Qingyu is incredible!"

"Can we have another round? I promise I'll last even longer this time!"

Nemo's eyes sparkled as she stared at Qingyu, who was letting out a sigh of relief, making him feel a little uneasy.

"Nemo, Buppus and Eevee are already very tired. As a trainer, you can't be too willful."

Qingyu shook his head and pointed to the cloth lying on the ground.

So, her tendency to get carried away in battle had already started at this point?
"Ah, Bubo, I'm so sorry!!!"

After being reminded by Qingyu, Nemo remembered that her Pokémon had lost its ability to battle, and she immediately panicked.

Mr. Qingyu had repeatedly emphasized the importance of Pokémon, but he still forgot about it.

"I'll take you to the Pokémon Center right away!"

"No need, your cloth is not injured at all, it's just that you've run out of energy."

Qingyu smiled helplessly and reached out to interrupt her action of pulling the cloth back into the ball.

"There are some spirit fragments in the dojo. Give it one and let it rest for a while, and it will be fine. Come with me."

……

Just as Qingyu said, after using the Yuanqi fragment, Bubo quickly recovered from his coma.

"Phew—that scared me to death."

Nemo breathed a sigh of relief and then turned her gaze back to Qingyu.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Qingyu!"

After saying that, she took out a pink pouch with Pikachu printed on it from her pocket.

"This is impossible!"

Noticing Nemo's actions, Qingyu immediately interrupted her spellcasting.

In the Pokémon universe, battling is a very common sport, and a trainer might suddenly pop out of the bushes in the wild at any time.

"When trainers' eyes meet, it's the signal that the battle is about to begin!"

Of course, there is also an unwritten rule that if you lose a challenge, you have to pay money as an apology.

Defeating and training new trainers in battles earns you a portion of the League Coins, which is also a major source of funding for gyms.

From a procedural standpoint, it is reasonable and legal.

However, Nemo was still a minor at this time, and Qingyu always felt that it was a bit strange for him to take her money...

He wasn't short of money to begin with, and accepting challenges from new trainers was part of his job.

After the battle ends, there is actually one last step left.

"Nemo, this must be your first time commanding a battle, right? I can tell you're very good at commanding, and there haven't been any obvious problems."

It is also the responsibility of the curator to identify the challenges the challengers face and guide them toward improvement.

"Yes! I've challenged gyms in the Unova region too!"

Nemo nodded repeatedly.

Before coming to Padilla, she had also tried to become a trainer in Unova, and even challenged the Snorlax Gym.

However, due to health reasons, I had to recuperate for a long time, so I decided to start over in Padiya.

This Mr. Qingyu is indeed very capable; he noticed so much information from just one battle.

“However…” Qingyu suddenly changed the subject.

"You may need to put in some more effort in training your Pokémon. Being scared by Eevee and stopping your moves is a serious mistake."

"Also, this Brutus should have the Iron Fist ability, right? So developing its power and speed is very important. We can try to train it in those two directions next."

Although Brutus is an Electric-type Pokémon, after evolving it becomes an Electric/Fighting type, and is a relatively rare Electric-type physical attacker.

Most electric-type physical attackers have the awkward flaw of not being able to learn their own type's powerful moves, but the popular Electric Mouse lineage has a unique advantage in this regard.

Both Pikachu's Volt Slam and Babubo's Thunder Strike are very useful moves.

Therefore, the simplest training method is the "252 method" in the game, which focuses on physical attack and speed as the main development direction.

"Yes, yes! Mr. Qingyu is right!"

Nemo nodded repeatedly, accepting all of Qingyu's guidance.

Even though she was just a new trainer, she could tell that Qingyu's advice made a lot of sense.

Moreover, besides the Fanba Gym, she has actually challenged other gyms and received advice from several gym leaders.

However, they are generally limited to content within the battle itself.

This was the first time she had ever seen someone like Qingyu skip over her performance in a battle and instead carefully instruct her on how to raise Bubo.

As expected, Mr. Qingyu is a very powerful gym leader!
I wish I could challenge him every day...

If I could play a match every day, I should be able to reach champion-level strength very quickly!

"Mr. Qingyu, can I come to the dojo to challenge you often in the future?"

As a maverick and a doer, Nemo didn't hesitate to express her thoughts.

It was Qingyu who was stunned.

Oh no, why are they targeting me?
Nemo's insatiable thirst for battle is something most people can't handle.

Hiss—wait?
It seems there's another solution?
After a moment's thought, Qingyu didn't give a definite answer, but instead posed another question to Nemo:
"In that case, Nemo, would you be interested in becoming a dojo apprentice at our Sunshine Dojo?"

Gym Apprentices are NPCs who are permanently present in each gym in the Pokémon games. They are an important part of the gym assessment.

For a dojo to continue operating, it needs dojo apprentices.

The reason is very simple—

Because once the tournament started, the gym owner alone simply couldn't handle so many challengers.

Furthermore, if the gym leader wants to improve, it's common for them to go out to learn new skills and recruit new companions.

In such situations, apprentices can temporarily assume the duties of the headmaster, preventing the establishment from closing down.

Although Sunny Dojo isn't very famous yet, and Qingyu alone might be enough, it's clear that it's on the right track to growing stronger, and expanding its influence is only a matter of time.

This is a good time to reflect and improve, boost Eevee's confidence through practical battles, and also guide Nemo to become a qualified trainer.

And it won't affect her path to the Padilla Championship next year.

What a win!
"Huh? Can I?"

Nemo was a little confused by Qingyu's question.

For a novice trainer, becoming a gym apprentice is definitely a fast track, as they can often receive personal guidance from the gym leader, which is far more valuable experience than actual battles.

But because of this, she, who was just excited, is now a little insecure.

"Don't worry, Nemo, I can sense that you have the potential to become a champion."

Qingyu smiled faintly.

"If it were you, you might become the dark horse next year."

"Really?!"

Nemo's dream has always been to become a powerful trainer, if even Mr. Qingyu thinks he can do it...

Then she will definitely work even harder to become the champion!

If I could learn the powerful combination technique that Qingyu just used, I should become stronger too, right?

"Please take good care of me from now on, Aoba-sensei!"

Diary of a Fallen Hero, May 4.25
Fun fact: Nemo knows Ziyu and even challenged Fanba Dojo before. The dojo leader is Ziyu's father, Kiku.

Nemo's poor stamina has been demonstrated multiple times in the Zhu Zi game, so based on the above setting, I created a secondary setting where she takes a break midway through the game.
Judging by appearances alone, Nemo seems like a complete athlete, but it turns out she has to climb the school stairs several times. She's clearly a total noob (laughs).

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(End of this chapter)