"Up ahead is Cerulean City. Get ready to land, Charizard."
Seeing the outline of the city ahead, Gu Yuan couldn't help but feel excited.
Charizard was already close to Senior Rank before evolving, and after two days of training, it was just one step away from a breakthrough.
With a few more days of focus, he was sure that Charizard could break through.
Next was Eevee. Its situation was similar to Charizard. It was just one step away from the Intermediate Rank.
Kadabra was not as strong as Eevee, but it was also close to Intermediate Rank.
With this strength, even if Charizard's type would be disadvantaged against the Cerulean Gym Leader, Gu Yuan was confident he could earn the Cascade Badge.
If needed, he could also let Charizard or Eevee break through during the battle. That was why he hadn't pushed them to the next rank yet.
Others might need to rely on luck for this, but for Gu Yuan, it could be controlled.
"All right, Charizard, you can rest for now."
After landing, Gu Yuan recalled Charizard into its Poké Ball.
Cerulean City had abundant water resources.
Here, there was the Cerulean Gym and a famous bicycle shop.
The bike that Misty rode in the anime came from this store.
Like the Space Backpack, these bicycles had special technology, allowing riders to move easily through forests or rough terrain while maintaining speed.
Naturally, bikes with these features were expensive.
Outside Cerulean City, there was also Cerulean Cave.
Like Mt. Moon in Pewter City, Cerulean Cave attracted trainers looking to train or catch rare Pokémon.
Unlike how it was in the games, you didn't need to have participated in the Indigo League to enter, and Mewtwo was not inside.
After the Gym battle, Gu Yuan planned to explore the cave.
There were many Water-type Pokémon there, for even if he might not need them, he could still exchange them with Shadow for things that he wanted.
Walking into Cerulean City, Gu Yuan felt a refreshing breeze pass by, though it might have been his imagination.
He first went to the Pokémon Center to arrange accommodations before heading to the Cerulean Gym.
As with Pewter Gym, Gu Yuan had no special treatment and had to wait in line.
The good news was that the Cerulean Gym was managed by Misty's three older sisters, so three challengers could battle at once, making it faster than Pewter Gym.
According to staff, Gu Yuan could challenge the Gym tomorrow.
"All right, let's see if any competitions are happening here recently."
Holding Eevee and Mankey, Gu Yuan walked to the bulletin board and looked carefully.
After participating in a battle competition in Pewter City, he felt like it was a good idea to attend more of these events.
It allowed him to fight strong opponents and earn points.
Not to mention that if he got into the top ranks he would obtain some extra rewards. Gu Yuan saw no reason not to participate.
Checking his points, Gu Yuan looked at his task list.
Ever since he unlocked Challenge, and Hunt features, he cared less about the rewards.
Unknowingly, many tasks had been updated and several were already completed.
With his recent accumulation, his points exceeded 5,000 reaching 6,000.
It looked like a lot, but it was just enough to increase a skill with 90 power from Advanced to Expert.
"Looks like we're unlucky this time. No battles or competitions at all."
Gu Yuan said with slight regret.
Feeling his mood, Eevee and Mankey rubbed their cheeks against his, trying to comfort him.
"It's fine, even without competitions, we still have the Cerulean Cave."
"Come on, I'll train you all to prepare for tomorrow's Gym battle."
Mankey's eyes lit up.
Mankey had brokenthrough, and was now a Rookie Rank, ready for training and battles.
Watching Charizard and the others in battle, Mankey felt its fighting genes awaken and became a battle maniac.
It wouldn't refuse training or battles, just like Charizard.
Eevee was different. It thought it shouldn't have comforted Gu Yuan and should have let him feel upset.
"As usual, Charizard, your task is to practice Air Slash and Heat Wave. In your free time, also train Dragon Dive and Dragon Claw."
"Eevee, the new moves you learned are waiting. Raise their proficiency to Intermediate quickly."
"Kadabra, pause meditation training and work on other skills. I'll later boost your meditation proficiency a lot at once."
"Mankey, train the moves you already know. After leaving Cerulean City, I'll find wild Pokémon for you to battle. Work hard then."
Entering the training room, Gu Yuan assigned their training plans.
He sat in a corner, studying trainer knowledge and observing their practice to correct mistakes.
With Mankey now able to train and battle, Gu Yuan started thinking about which Pokémon to catch next.
The Indigo League required six Pokémon to participate.
This was the minimum. To respond more flexibly, he needed seven or eight Pokémon.
Even with points, he had to capture them in advance.
Shadow had said that experienced trainers preferred capturing Newborn Rank Pokémon unless they found exceptional wild Pokémon or needed immediate power.
Training them from the start allowed the development of a battle style, proficiency in important skills, and building trust and bonds.
Catching wild Pokémon late required time to adapt styles and could force training of low-proficiency or disliked moves.
Without a compatible personality, building trust and bonds was difficult.
So Gu Yuan needed to gather all his Indigo League Pokémon while he still had the chance.