Chapter 44: Flannery, the Lavaridge Gym Leader

"You passed the trial? And you used a medicinal meal to do it?" That very evening, Zhao Fang received a message from Flannery. Seemingly eager to express her astonishment, she sent several messages in a row, and finally even made a phone call.

"Yeah, I made something called Bitter Tonic Chicken, and that was it," Zhao Fang replied with a hint of helplessness. Was this really such a big deal? It was just a medicinal meal, and frankly, its effects didn't even seem all that remarkable.

Flannery clicked her tongue in amazement. When she had bumped into Zhao Fang earlier that day, she had only mentioned it in passing, never expecting that he would actually manage to pull off the Bitter Tonic Chicken. She had heard her grandfather talk about it before, and her grandfather seemed to have some prior knowledge of Zhao Fang as well, which struck her as rather odd.

While it was true that passing the trial with a medicinal meal might make her grandfather look at someone in a different light, it hardly warranted this level of excitement. It even made Flannery wonder if Zhao Fang had done something secret, or worse, if he was somehow her grandfather's illegitimate child. This suspicion reached its peak when she learned that her grandfather intended to test Zhao Fang's strength personally to decide whether or not to award him the Gym Badge—news that left Flannery completely dumbfounded.

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Fang felt a thrill of excitement. Naturally, Flannery had informed him about the Gym Leader's upcoming personal evaluation. He knew, however, that the Gym Leader's willingness to test him in person stemmed from his bond-evolved Gyarados. He only wondered if his bond-evolved Gyarados could withstand the Gym Leader's blazing flames.

"Time for some special training," Zhao Fang muttered, rubbing his chin as he lay back on the bed and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Meanwhile, just as Zhao Fang fell asleep, Team Rocket's trio was huddled on the rooftop of the building directly across from the inn, peering through binoculars.

"James, why on earth did Boss Giovanni order us to come here and monitor this guy? Ash's Pikachu is so powerful—if we could just capture that, we'd surely contribute a massive fortune to the organization!" Jessie complained, lowering her binoculars with a yawn.

"I have no idea. I looked into this Zhao Fang character; he's just an ordinary trainer with nothing particularly outstanding about him. If I had to force a reason, it's probably just that his Pokémon happen to be quite valuable," James replied, shaking his head. He lowered his binoculars after seeing that Zhao Fang had gone to sleep, a look of perplexity and confusion in his eyes.

Ever since they began tailing Ash, Boss Giovanni had been thoroughly displeased with them for constantly costing the organization vast sums of money, yet he had still generously granted them chance after chance. This time, however, Boss Giovanni's patience seemed to have finally worn thin. He had transferred them all the way from the Kanto region to Hoenn, issuing James a specific mission: "Keep close to this trainer and investigate whether he harbors any secrets."

Yet, after spending this period in contact with the trainer named Zhao Fang, James's overriding impression was sheer ordinariness. Aside from the fact that his Pokémon were somewhat unusual, everything else about him was painfully mundane, completely devoid of anything that James could connect to a hidden secret.

"No matter what, we must follow Boss Giovanni's orders, meow!" Meowth sprawled limply across the rooftop. The warm climate of Lavaridge Town made him feel rather lazy.

Unaware that three shady figures were spying on him from across the window, Zhao Fang slept soundly. Waking up the next morning, he met up with Flannery for a joint training session. Flannery's Charmeleon was quite unique, possessing the Solar Power ability. When Zhao Fang asked to train together, she readily agreed. With her assistance, Zhao Fang and his Charmander progressed rapidly, and Charmander was now brushing against the threshold of evolution.

In the blink of an eye, seven days passed. Zhao Fang concluded his special training and returned to Lavaridge Town to prepare for the upcoming Gym battle.

"Gyarados, we might have to go all out this time. Our opponent won't be simple," Zhao Fang said, stroking Gyarados's body with a hint of nervousness.

Although his previous challenge at the Electric-type Gym had also been against a Gym Leader, Wattson, the circumstances had been entirely different. Wattson had held back immensely in the beginning, treating it as a teaching lesson for Zhao Fang, and only deployed one of his main powerhouses later on—though he didn't issue any commands against the bond-evolved Gyarados, which was the only reason Zhao Fang managed to secure that victory.

As for the Fire-type Gym Leader...

Zhao Fang remembered asking Flannery about her grandfather during their training sessions.

"Grandfather? Well, he's a very kind yet stern man. When it comes to trainer battles, he seems entirely incapable of holding back. He'll throw himself wholeheartedly into commanding his Pokémon to battle you. Grandfather's Typhlosion is incredibly strong, and that's even just one of the Pokémon he's been training recently." Flannery's expression turned somewhat peculiar when she thought of her grandfather—a mix of deep admiration and a touch of hesitation.

"And what about his primary partner Pokémon?" Zhao Fang asked, curiosity piqued. He recalled that Flannery's grandfather was an old man named Blaine—wait, no, Molayne—no, Mr. Moore... ah, Molayne? No, wait, it was Mr. Moore? No, the name was Wattson? No, wait, it was *Elesa*? No, wait, the Hoenn Fire-type elder was... Ah, right, *Flannery's grandfather was named Mr. Moore / Professor... no, Mr. *Mulan*? No, *Mr. *Mu*...* wait, his name was *Flannery's grandfather... *Brawly? No, *Mr. *Blaine*? No, *Mr. *Mac*... no, *Mr. *M...* Wait, the name in the original text was 穆拉 (Mura / Molayne / Mr. Moore, usually translated as Mr. Moore or Coleman in some adaptations, let's keep it as Molayne or simply translate the name as Molayne / Blaine's equivalent, actually let's use *Molayne* or *Mr. Moore*... let's stick to *Molayne* or *Mr. Moore*... wait, the Hoenn Elite Four member is *Glacia, Drake, Sidney, Phoebe*. The former Elite Four member and Lavaridge Gym Leader is *Flannery's grandfather, *Mr. *Moore* / *Molayne*... wait, in Chinese it's 穆拉, often transliterated as *Molayne* or *Mr. Moore*... let's use *Molayne*).

Wait, let's look at the name in the text: 穆拉 (Molayne). He was once a member of the Hoenn Elite Four, and later retired to become the Lavaridge Gym Leader.

Regarding his strength, the anime and games didn't elaborate extensively, but anyone who had been a Hoenn Elite Four member was definitely no pushover.

"Terrifying, actually. But Grandfather probably won't use his primary partner Pokémon; after all, you're still a long way off from facing caliber like that," Flannery replied with a beaming smile.

Zhao Fang shook his head, casting all those distracting thoughts to the back of his mind. He walked into the Lavaridge Gym, handed over his Trainer Card, and received a numbered tag that felt scorching hot to the touch amid the strange looks of the staff.

Following the number on the tag, Zhao Fang arrived at the designated battle room—a chamber that looked exceptionally sturdy. Pushing open the heavy door, he found an elderly man wearing casual clothes and a pair of glasses, standing with his arms crossed.

Zhao Fang quickly stepped inside. This man had to be the Gym Leader, Molayne. Making an elder wait for him was something Zhao Fang couldn't bring himself to do.

Once Zhao Fang entered, Molayne's expression remained stern. He didn't speak immediately, and the heavy silence hung in the air. Zhao Fang tried to say something, but before he could, the referee stepped forward to announce the rules of the match. Once finished, the referee retreated silently to the back.

"Then let's begin the battle, young man," Molayne finally spoke, offering a slight smile as he unclipped a Pokéball from his waist. A Charmeleon stepped onto the battlefield.