Pokémon: Hard work pays off, moves can be upgraded infinitely.

Heihe Dojo, training room.

A young man with spiky hair was training several Pokémon in a gravity-defying environment.

Outside the gravity zone, a middle-aged man with a similarly spiky, steel-needle-like head crossed his arms and asked with a curious expression.

"Xiaoqi, what's wrong? You've been practicing all morning. I've never seen you work this hard before. Why are you suddenly so energetic?"

"Uncle, don't worry about me. I just want to try my best before the school team selection!"

Qu Qi, the spiky-haired youth, wiped the sweat from his brow and shouted.

He wasn't intimidated by Mu Yun, a soon-to-be freshman; he just felt that there were always people more capable than him, and there was always something beyond his understanding, so he couldn't afford to slack off.

"Alright, then take it easy. I don't want to wake up one morning to find Xiao Ning standing at the head of my bed with a dark face."

Qu Hecheng shrugged and complained.

Even though Qu Ning was his niece, for some reason, he felt a little scared whenever that girl had a dark expression.

"Beep beep--! Master Qu, a new challenger has arrived. Please proceed to the main battle arena immediately!"

Just then, an electronic notification sounded inside the room.

"Hey, Xiao Qi, a challenger has come to the door. Do you want to take a look? When it comes to Pokémon battles, you can't just rely on hard training. You need to watch more to gain experience. How about it, go take a look?" Qu Hecheng said.

Upon hearing this, Qu Qi, who was half-bent over and panting heavily, glanced at the exhausted Manila and the others, and finally nodded.

Rome wasn't built in a day; it can't be rushed.

"Uncle, you go ahead, I'll take a shower and come right away."

"Okay, then hurry up."

..............................

Meanwhile, in the main battlefield.

"Is this the Heihe City Dojo? It looks so small!" Chi Duoduo curiously observed her surroundings and then muttered a complaint under her breath.

"After all, it's just a city-level dojo, so it can't compare to the Evergreen Dojo, which is at the provincial capital level."

Mu Yun gently rubbed Chi Duoduo's head and explained.

Although Heihe City is very famous, in terms of status, Heijiang City, as the provincial capital, is indeed higher.

Even the Kuroe Dojo, one of the league's top ten national dojos, is located in Kuroe City.

Its predecessor was incredibly famous, being the current regional champion of the Northeast region.

If it weren't for the Ling family and Heijiang University being located in Heihe City, the dojos in Heihe City probably wouldn't even be able to be rated as city-level dojos.

The rating of a dojo determines its size, so the dojo in Heihe City is naturally not very large.

Good afternoon, challengers!

A moment later, a middle-aged man with spiky hair wearing an off-the-shoulder jacket appeared in the main battlefield.

It was Qu Hecheng, the owner of the Heihe City Dojo.

From the name and the thick, spiky hair, Mu Yun could tell that the other party was probably closely related to Qu Qi.

Indeed, the position of gym leader is not easily attained by just anyone.

After a brief greeting, Qu Hecheng led Mu Yun to the main battlefield.

"Since you already have eight gym badges, the next battle will no longer be a traditional three-on-three."

Qu Hecheng said.

Mu Yun nodded, indicating his understanding.

Previously, when I challenged the gym in Bao City, North River Province, the gym leader directly reduced the number of battles to one-on-one.

Therefore, Mu Yun was not unfamiliar with Qu Hecheng's words.

One-on-one is fine too; even a small mosquito is still meat.

However, Qu Hecheng's next words surprised Mu Yun.

"So, would you mind playing a game of six-on-six?"

"Six against six?"

Mu Yun raised an eyebrow. "There's such a good thing?"

Hearing Mu Yun's puzzled tone, Qu Hecheng clearly misunderstood and explained, "Normally, we wouldn't have this many battles, but I happen to have a junior here to learn, so I thought I'd give him a few more matches to gain experience. Of course, if you don't want to, we can change the number."

He spoke very frankly, which cleared up Mu Yun's doubts.

But, junior?

For some reason, an image of a young man with a similar spiky hairstyle appeared in Mu Yun's mind.

It can't be that much of a coincidence.

"So, what do you think?"

Qu Hecheng asked.

Mu Yun replied, "Let's go six against six."

Let alone six against six, even six against sixteen, he would be quite happy.

Grind for experience points; the more the better.

Just as the two finalized the number of opponents, a young man with spiky hair jogged into the audience.

Almost the instant he saw the figure in the challenger's seat, he was struck dumb, his steps faltered, and he stood frozen in place.

"Mu...Mu Yun!!!"

Was he too tired from exercising this morning and his head was a little foggy?

Why did he feel that the person in front of him who was about to challenge his uncle looked so much like his soon-to-be freshman brother?

Hahaha, he must be seeing things. Brother Yun is just a freshman about to enter university, how could he possibly be challenging a dojo?

They probably just look alike.

That's right, that's it.

Just as Qu Qi was trying to console himself, the referee in the arena began explaining the rules.

"...Please release your Pokémon!"

Awesome! *2

On Qu Hecheng's side was an elf with a haggard face, melancholy and aggrieved eyes, carrying a pair of wide-legged trousers that looked as if they might fall off at any moment.

Headscarf thug!

..............................

[Elf: Bandana Thug]

Gender: Male

[Attribute: Dark + Fighting]

[Level: 65 (Gym Level)]

【Characteristic: Shedding skin (sometimes heals abnormal conditions by shedding the skin)】

【Items to bring: None】

[Potential: Dojo Level]

[Racial stats: 488]

..............................

The Headband Thug is a defensive Pokémon that looks frail but actually has extremely high defense and magic resistance, making it exceptionally durable.

Of course, besides its defenses, its physical attack stat is also quite high.

What's even more amazing is that despite his short and thick legs, his kicking power is truly astonishing.

"Did my uncle send out thugs with headscarves...?"

In the audience, Qu Qi looked at the elf in front of Qu Hecheng and muttered something softly.

He then looked at the challenger who resembled Mu Yun, but was definitely not Mu Yun (as he believed).

At that moment, the figure of an elf appeared in front of him.

However, the figure felt strangely familiar to him.

He even saw it in his dream last night!

It was a figure with thin wings fluttering slightly, its crimson eyes utterly calm—

Beedrill!!

"No, it really is Mu Yun?"

Qu Qi was greatly shocked, and his facial features scrunched up.

He didn't understand. Didn't Mu Yun say that Beedrill had already used its full strength yesterday? How could he dare to challenge the gym?