Chapter 41 Fallarbor Town

Zhao Fang felt a tinge of curiosity, though upon second thought, it might not actually be Entei. After all, there were one or two Fire-type Pokémon that resembled lions, and children often tended to exaggerate when speaking. It could just as well be a Growlithe or an Arcanine. Still, Pyroar was the one that bore the most striking resemblance to a real lion, as that species was genuinely tied to the feline motif.

"Wait, I don't think Pyroar is native to the Hoenn region, is it? Oh well, running into one is questionable enough as it is. If it really is Entei..." Zhao Fang thought of the Rainbow Wing in his backpack. Anyone holding this item would become a Rainbow Hero, accept the trial, and meet Ho-Oh. And legendary beasts like Entei, Raikou, and Suicune were, in a sense, under Ho-Oh's command.

Zhao Fang recalled seeing Entei and the others secretly protecting Ash from behind in the legend of the Rainbow Hero.

Losing interest in further examining the Battle House, Zhao Fang hopped onto his bicycle and set off toward Lavaridge Town. The path to Lavaridge Town was actually quite easy to find; there was no need to take a cable car up to the summit of Mt. Chimney and hike down like in the games. The League had already mapped out a proper route, and if Zhao Fang wanted to, he could even ride his bike all the way up the slope.

However, he eventually abandoned that thought. Upon reaching the base of the incline, he dismounted from his bicycle and began scaling the sheer rock face before him.

Zhao Fang intended to condition himself. Otherwise, his physique would be too fragile to sustain the immense physical toll demanded by Bond Phenomenon.

"I wonder what the trial for this Fire-type Gym is. The Electric-type Gym requires you to pass an electrician's certification exam, so the Fire-type Gym test surely won't require me to design a thermal power plant, right? That's stretching it." Scaling the rock wall was not a particularly difficult task for Zhao Fang, and as he climbed, his mind wandered to other matters.

It was safe to say that the League's Gyms were utterly bizarre. Yet, the mere thought of the unknown entry trial for the Fire-type Gym filled him with curiosity. In the games, the Fire-type Gym was quite bothersome, requiring challengers to step onto geysers and be blasted to various platforms. He wondered what the real-life Fire-type Gym would look like. Though, the current Gym Leader should still be Flannery's grandfather, a formidable powerhouse who was once a Fire-type Elite Four member.

Even though the old man was advanced in years, Zhao Fang did not expect him to be a pushover. After all, any trainer who managed to attain the rank of Elite Four was undeniably one of the absolute elites standing at the very pinnacle.

Although that Fire-type Elite Four member probably wasn't as terrifying as Lance, whom he had met yesterday, Zhao Fang still felt a surge of curiosity about him. He wondered what kind of Pokémon the veteran trainer used and whether he would send out any unique and powerful partners.

That, of course, assuming his opponent ended up being the Gym Leader himself.

There were plenty of people on Mt. Chimney. Aside from tourists, there were several mountaineers, but Zhao Fang noticed that the vast majority were trainers. Some trainers had even ducked into cave entrances, preparing to head elsewhere—likely to hunt down a special kind of Pokémon native to this area.

Mt. Chimney was a dormant volcano, but a volcano nonetheless. The Fire-type energy here was exceptionally rich, which drew a large gathering of Fire-type Pokémon. Among them, two particular kinds of Pokémon commanded the most attention from trainers: one was naturally Charmander, a member of the starter trio, possessing immense popularity alongside formidable strength.

The other, however, was a genuine powerhouse—Larvesta, a mighty Pokémon capable of evolving into Volcarona.

Yet, Larvesta was exceedingly rare. Many trainers could spend an entire year lingering on Mt. Chimney and not catch a single glimpse of one.

Of course, Zhao Fang held no particular interest in Larvesta or the like. He pushed straight ahead, scaling the rock face until he reached the summit shortly after. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he looked around. The closer he got to Lavaridge Town, the higher the ambient temperature became. Even though it was currently winter, Lavaridge Town showed no traces of snow. Standing here, Zhao Fang could already make out the distant silhouette of the town.

Just as he stepped into Lavaridge Town, Zhao Fang spotted a massive billboard advertising the town's proudest specialty: Lavaridge Senbei, renowned for its miraculous ability to cure all status conditions. The pricing was quite reasonable as well, costing only two hundred League Dollars per rice cracker. Compared to a Full Heal, which ran for five hundred, it was a bargain. If it weren't for the fact that Lavaridge Senbei could only be purchased within Lavaridge Town and nowhere else, Zhao Fang figured the sales of Full Heals would plummet drastically.

"There are so many people here," Zhao Fang muttered in astonishment, casting a glance around. People were everywhere, the vast majority of them women dressed in exquisite attire, chatting and laughing as they headed toward a specific destination. Out of curiosity, Zhao Fang followed them to take a look, and sure enough, it led to Lavaridge Town's most famous hot springs.

However, there was no shortage of men at the hot springs either; Zhao Fang even noticed several elderly gentlemen standing in line, waiting for their turn to soak. The real-world Lavaridge hot springs covered a massive area. Curious, Zhao Fang struck up a conversation with an uncle waiting in line, managing to gather some information about the establishment.

According to the uncle, the hot springs in Lavaridge were graded into different tiers. The cheapest option was an artificially excavated pool where the water was pumped in manually, making it an artificial hot spring. The mid-tier option consisted of natural hot springs. The most expensive and sought-after, however, were the sulfur springs, whose waters were said to connect directly to the volcanic depths of Mt. Chimney, naturally infusing the water with sulfur while remaining entirely harmless to the human body, yielding wondrous therapeutic effects.

When mentioning those benefits, a knowing, man-to-man smile crept across the uncle's face. Zhao Fang felt a mild wave of resignation. Was the demand for that particular aspect of life universally high across every single world?

Not in any rush to visit the hot springs, Zhao Fang set out to find the Fire-type Gym first. He stationed himself right behind a line of waiting trainers, eager to see what kind of trial this Fire-type Gym actually entailed.

"Excuse me, do you happen to know what the Fire-type Gym trial is?" Zhao Fang politely asked the trainer standing directly in front of him.

"Oh my, oh my! This is my first time here too, so I haven't the slightest idea~" A young girl turned around with a beaming smile. As Zhao Fang looked into her face, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

Wasn't this freaking Jessie?! Glancing slightly ahead, Zhao Fang saw James standing right there as well, while Meowth trotted by James's side, turning its head back to look at him every now and then.

Zhao Fang was left somewhat speechless. How on earth did this comical trio end up in the Hoenn region? If they were here, did that mean Ash had arrived in Hoenn too? Was the timeline of this world completely out of whack?!

"The Fire-type Gym in Lavaridge Town is super tough, you know? Oh, Zhao Fang? You're here?!" A cheerful voice called out. Turning his head, Zhao Fang saw Flannery, whom he had briefly met before, standing nearby with a Charmeleon by her side.