After returning to the Pokémon Center, Peter finally took out the photo Nessa had given him and studied it carefully.
The terrain in the picture was fairly easy to identify. Using the distant outline of Mt. Coronet as a reference point, he quickly pinpointed the location—it was most likely along the cliffside of the western sea.
Braviary was a Pokémon revered by humans since ancient times.
That reverence came from its nature—unity, bravery, and fearlessness.
Braviary would throw themselves into danger without hesitation for the sake of their companions. No matter how badly injured they became, they would never retreat, and they took pride in that fact.
In Braviary flocks, the more wounds a member bore on its front, the braver it was considered, and the more respect it earned. Conversely, those injured from behind—signs of retreat—were looked down upon.
Because of this, Braviary were known as "Warriors of the Sky."
From the moment they hatched, young Rufflet were mercilessly thrown off cliffs by their parents to train their flying ability. Even if they were battered and bloodied, there was no mercy. Any sign of cowardice meant abandonment.
This harsh upbringing was unique to their species, and their worship of valor was etched into their instincts.
A Flying-type Pokémon naturally covered Bug, Grass, and Fighting.
With Lopunny's Fighting type after Mega Evolution, and Hisuian Zoroark's Ghost type, Peter could form a full team of six Pokémon with no overlapping primary types and a coverage pool exceeding twelve types—perfectly meeting the system's mission requirements.
"Then it's settled," Peter smiled softly.
"The sixth partner… will be you."
He decided that in a couple of days, he would set out.
First, he'd head to Eterna City to claim his second Gym Badge. Then he'd travel along the coast—right on the way.
-----
Over the next few days, Peter focused only on daily feeding and training, deliberately staying away from the arena.
After all, his lineup wasn't complete yet. Advancing to Silver rank too early would actually be a disadvantage—without six Pokémon, he wouldn't even be able to queue for matches.
It was far better to challenge Gyms first, grow his popularity through SNS, and then return to ranked battles.
During this time, events unfolded much like in the original storyline.
Even when Pikachu "exploded" with thunderous power, Ash still failed to defeat Roark in his first challenge of the Oreburgh Gym and had to retreat to the coal mine for special training.
Peter even had the fortune—or misfortune—of encountering the true protagonists:
Team Rocket—Jessie, James, and Meowth.
The trio attempted to steal the fossil revival machine from the Oreburgh Museum, only to destroy the ancient ecological park instead, triggering a riot of revived ancient Pokémon.
The chaos was finally suppressed after Roark's Cranidos evolved into Rampardos.
…
To quickly bring Indeedee up to combat readiness, Peter and Ash began paired special training.
During this time, Peter learned a rotational combat technique.
By spinning the body to reduce the force of impact, a Pokémon could both mitigate damage and stabilize its center of gravity, allowing it to seize the initiative in battle.
In the original story, this was exactly how Ash defeated the Oreburgh Gym.
The principle itself was simple—conservation of angular momentum—but its application was anything but.
However, among Peter's Pokémon, only Lopunny could effectively use this technique.
Dolliv and Indeedee were both special-attack artillery units—learning it would be mostly pointless.
One notable event:
After sending out Ursaring and an evolved Electivire, Paul actually managed to win the Oreburgh Gym 2v3, just like Peter.
After setting a date for their next battle, Paul left Oreburgh City early.
After three days of special training, Indeedee reached Level 5, officially leaving its infant stage and gaining basic combat capability.
Peter bade farewell to Ash and his companions, then set off alone.
In just a short time, he had already grasped Ash's training style and travel rhythm.
At this stage, Ash was creative and intuitive—but still far from the future World Champion he would become.
If Peter's goal were merely to participate in the League Conference and achieve a decent ranking, following the original storyline might have been enough.
But with the system accelerating his growth at an absurd pace, taking things slowly would only waste time and squander his partners' talents.
-----
Peter mounted his bicycle and sped across the open fields.
Beside him, Lopunny, still carrying the Black Iron Ball, ran tirelessly.
Her long, slender legs and plush ears bounced in rhythm—cute and seductive at the same time.
In the basket, Indeedee floated slightly above the rim, eyes closed in deep concentration as it practiced Meditation, its little face full of seriousness.
On the back seat, Dolliv softly hummed the melody of Sunny Day.
Along the road, lush flowers and grasses spread rapidly, emerald light painting the forest like the work of a woodland fairy…
------
Five days later, Peter finally arrived at Route 206, on the western side of Mt. Coronet.
"Whew… it's seriously hot," he muttered, parking his bike and chugging down a bottle of water.
He had ridden hundreds of kilometers north over the past few days.
In the distance, he could already see a city nestled among mountains—Eterna City, rich with history.
"Half a day more," Peter said, patting Lopunny's head.
"You guys better be ready for battle~"
A pair of delicate white hands appeared, gently wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.
"Thanks, Little Ai~"
As time passed, Indeedee's nurturing nature became more and more apparent.
It had grown to nearly a meter tall, and its level had risen to 16.
With its psychic powers, Peter's daily life had become absurdly convenient.
Cooking? Indeedee followed tutorial videos and handled it.
Training? Indeedee recorded data on both "big sisters" for later analysis.
In the Dream Space? It even joined Lopunny and Dolliv in gaming sessions to optimize skill builds.
It even prepared Peter's foot baths every night.
As for… other personal assistance—Peter had firmly refused.
Honestly, aside from basic bodily functions, Indeedee handled almost everything.
That said, Peter was careful not to become overly dependent.
True bonds with Pokémon were forged by growing together, not outsourcing life.
After feeding the trio with high-quality Beginner Pokéblocks and Moomoo Milk, Peter dialed the Petalburg Gym.
He wanted to ask Norman about the Slakoth he'd requested help finding.
"Peter! You finally called!" Norman said excitedly on the screen.
"I was just about to contact you!"
"Ah? Professor—what's going on?"
"You little brat, still pretending?" Norman laughed.
"Did you really think you could hide something this big from your teacher?"
Peter laughed helplessly. "Hide what, exactly?"
"Well, you've been in the wilderness, so it's normal if you haven't heard yet," Norman explained.
"Remember your Oreburgh Gym battle video? Because of that match, the League changed the Gym Challenge system."
He quickly summarized the situation.
Just one day ago, all regional Pokémon Leagues jointly announced a new regulation:
👉 The rule prohibiting Gym Leaders from switching Pokémon has been abolished.
👉 Gym Leaders are now allowed one Pokémon switch per battle.
And the cause?
Peter's Oreburgh Gym challenge video.
A rookie Trainer.
2v3.
One Pokémon sweeping three.
Over-level victory.
Complete domination.
Any one of those descriptors would be shocking on its own.
Together?
It was seismic.
"They say it was personally approved by Champion Cynthia," Norman laughed heartily.
"You really did your teacher proud!"
"I can finally shut Juan up about his precious Wallace…"
Juan—former Sootopolis Gym Leader of Hoenn.
His disciple Wallace, a Master-level Coordinator, was said to have Champion-tier strength and was close friends with Hoenn Champion Steven.
"Uh… I see…" Peter twitched.
Cynthia really went straight for the patch notes, huh?!
He'd been planning to keep abusing that loophole for a few more badges…
Bug fixed.
By the Champion herself.
--------------
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