Professor Evergreen's research hit a bottleneck, temporarily yielding no significant progress. Unless they could find a method to sustain resonance for extended periods with Pokemon, it remained challenging due to lack of direction.
On that same day, Lian brought Kalia back to Rockcliff City and visited Louis's home. With her Mudkip, Louis now qualified as a novice Trainer.
Armed with knowledge from Kalia, Louis understood how to become an exceptional Trainer. The first step was acquiring Poké Balls to capture a second Pokémon. In support, Kalia provided Louis with essential Trainer supplies, such as Poké Balls and healing potions.
Next came challenging Gyms to earn badges. Within a few days, Louis planned to embark on this journey alongside another local friend, starting their path as Trainers at a nearby red-star Gym.
Back at their residence in Rockcliff City, Kalia prepared to challenge the Combat Dojo the next day. Her current strength, bolstered by Charizard's flying-type moves, made her well-equipped to counter Fighting-type Pokémon.
After defeating the gym and earning a badge, she could begin training Z-moves while also settling down for a period to focus on studies, preparing for the mid-level Trainer evaluation.
Later that evening, within the system space:
As usual, Lian entered the system space and glanced at his current Combat Points balance. After these recent efforts, he had accumulated approximately 15,000 Combat Points. However, it was still not enough. For his next move, Lian aimed to gather 80,000 Combat Points, which would allow him to increase his Fire-Type Mastery by another 10%, reaching a total of 60%.
After that milestone, he planned to consider boosting his Special Attack base stat. Honestly, with a current Special Attack base stat of 169, further enhancement would bring it close to 180—a value even more formidable than what some Legendary Pokémon possess.
Lian spent over two thousand Combat Points to raise his Rock Resistance to '1.3'. Over the past few days, he consistently allocated some Combat Points each day to improve this resistance, now nearing the crucial threshold of '1'.
Just as he prepared to enter the Dream World, Lian paused, noticing two new pieces of information beneath his data:
Mega Evolution: (Not Activated) Bond Points: 35%
"So Mega Evolution is indeed part of the system, but unfortunately, it's currently unavailable. Could these bond points be the key to unlocking Mega Evolution?" Lian felt both surprised and slightly disappointed. If bond points were indeed essential for unlocking Mega Evolution, having only 35% meant it might take a long time to reach the required 100%.
Most importantly, it seemed that combat value could not directly increase these bond points. Lian surmised they likely reflected his emotional connection with Kalia.
He thought his relationship with Kalia was quite strong, yet he only had 35% bond points. Considering they had been together for several months, reaching 100% seemed like a distant goal.
Surprisingly, Sceptile's bond points with Kalia were slightly higher at 41%. Although still not high, it was significantly more than Lian's.
Lian speculated this might be due to Sceptile's simpler nature. If Kalia treated Sceptile even better, would their bond points increase? Could this mean Sceptile could potentially unlock Mega Evolution sooner?
However, influencing emotions is challenging. While Kalia valued him greatly, it was possible that since Lian primarily developed through the system, her contribution played a smaller role, resulting in lower bond points between them.
"It seems I need to spend more time interacting with Kalia and nurturing our bond. Whether she can Mega Evolve depends on how strong our connection becomes." Determined to achieve Mega Evolution, Lian resolved to put in effort, but increasing bond points wasn't a one-sided endeavor.
Although Kalia values him greatly, Lian's growth has primarily relied on the system. Even Kalia might be puzzled, wondering how her Charizard's strength improved mysteriously without much direct training.
As Lian demonstrates greater power, Kalia may increasingly feel unworthy, leading to lower bond points between them.
"At least we have a direction now. Let's take it slow," Lian reassured himself, not feeling rushed. With the bond points established, he knows what needs to be done for Mega Evolution; the most daunting aspect was uncertainty about how to achieve it.
Later, Lian entered the Dream World. In recent days, it had become considerably calmer, with no signs of the Dark Guild members. Meanwhile, both Lian and Zapdos' strengths continued to steadily improve.
The next morning,
As Kalia prepared to head to the Fighting-type Gym, she noticed Sean arriving. It seemed another Toxic Orb had been sold. After greeting each other, Sean handed over the payment to Kalia, slightly less than before but still amounting to over 70,000 Alliance Coins. Kalia's wealth value surged once again, breaking past 100,000.
"Oh right, I heard about the double battle competition in Totem City. You're really impressive! Even Aurora couldn't stand against you. Now, everyone at the Pokemon Academy knows that Aurora lost to you!" Before leaving, Sean mentioned this, expressing surprise towards Kalia's achievement.
Aurora's defeat in Sebas undoubtedly left students from the Ellie Region feeling embarrassed, especially considering her formidable strength. They could only justify the loss by highlighting the differences between double and single battles.
Aurora's failure brought joy to the Sebas region's students, including Sean, who was naturally thrilled as well.
"It was just luck; Aurora clearly isn't familiar with double battles. In a singles match, I wouldn't stand a chance against her," Kalia humbly responded. Indeed, fortune played a significant role in her victory.
"Don't be too modest. You should hurry up and become a mid-level Trainer already. With your skills, it's surprising you're still considered a beginner. I'd say you're definitely the strongest among them." Sean chuckled.
Kalia felt somewhat helpless; after all, Charizard's power was exceptional. Considering she had been a Trainer for only a few months (excluding the time spent as a Gym Leader), obtaining so many badges was quite impressive.
"I'll head out now."
After a brief moment, Sean departed.
Kalia, accompanied by her Pokemon, made her way towards the Fighting-type Gym. Today, she planned to challenge it, but unlike other gyms, one couldn't directly face the Gym Leader at the Fighting-type Gym. Instead, there is a preliminary trial to overcome first.
Although it was labeled as a trial, it wasn't just for Trainers but also served as a test for the disciples of the Fighting-type Gym.
Gym Leader Takeshi, known for his martial prowess and exceptional skills as both a Trainer and a great master, often focused on personal training. Consequently, he delegated most challenges to his numerous disciples.
Only successful challengers could face Takeshi himself; those defeated had to restart from scratch. This made it the strictest gym with the hardest badge to obtain.
Despite being referred to as "disciples," their Pokémon were not weak at all. A less skilled Trainer might never even get a chance to meet Takeshi.
Upon entering the Fighting-type Gym, Kalia noticed many Trainers queued up. Most had previously failed the trials and sought another attempt, while some had unsuccessfully challenged Gym Leader Takeshi.
"Even need to register first?" Kalia muttered, quickly signing herself up. Now she just had to wait her turn for the trial, which required defeating seven consecutive disciples, each using only one Pokémon per match.
Successfully completing the trial would grant her the opportunity to challenge the Gym Leader.