“Mr. Mula, I’ll take my leave now as well.”
After bidding farewell to Ash and his companions, Kebi left the Fuefuki Gym and headed to Mt. Chimney for training.
By the time Ya Sha returned, only the elderly Mula remained in the Gym.
Mula looked at her sternly, “How did you lose today?”
After listening to Ya Sha’s account, Mula, frustrated by her lack of effort, poked Ya Sha’s forehead.
“I told you to pay more attention to your Pokémon’s physical training and the precise control of their moves, but you wouldn’t listen. You always preferred pursuing high-power move attacks. Now you know, Burn Up won’t work every time, will it?”
“That kid went to Mt. Chimney for training. You go too. Use all your strength and have a good battle with him. If you can win, I’ll completely rest assured in handing the Gym over to you.”
Ya Sha nodded. She was actually unconvinced and would be delighted to have another battle with Kebi.
“Once Torkoal is well, I’ll go up the mountain. I won’t come back until I win!”
Mula gave her another exasperated poke and scolded, “I’m telling you to go make up for your shortcomings, not to go be competitive!”
“From your description and the personal demeanor I witnessed, that kid is destined for greatness. Being a rival to him for a period will be very beneficial for your Growth.”
As a retired Fire-type Elite Four of Hoenn, Mula’s judgment was naturally not poor.
His assessment of a person’s future achievements was almost always spot on.
In fact, Mula didn’t hold much hope for Ya Sha defeating Kebi.
He merely wanted to use Ya Sha’s competitive spirit to unleash the full potential of his lazy granddaughter.
Ya Sha was very intelligent. If she could unleash her full potential, she might not succeed him as the Hoenn Fire-type Elite, but she could at least become a strong contender for the Elite position.
Earlier, when he was training Torkoal with Ash, he had clarified why Ash wanted Torkoal to learn Sunny Day.
Upon learning of Kebi’s suggestions regarding ability development and physical conditioning, Mula knew Kebi was not simple.
Without understanding Ash’s Torkoal, such specific advice could not be given.
By following Kebi, he hoped Ya Sha could learn something from him.
Kebi wouldn’t be at a disadvantage either. Ya Sha had played in Mt. Chimney since she was young, so whatever Kebi wanted to do would be easier with Ya Sha’s Helping Hand.
“Leave Torkoal to me. Take your six strongest Pokémon into the mountain. You must make Kebi realize that the Fuefuki Gym is not just for show.”
Ya Sha saluted respectfully, “Understood, sir!”
To track Kebi’s whereabouts, Ya Sha chose to ride Arcanine into the mountain.
Meanwhile, Kebi, who had used Teleport to leave the city and enter the forest, was marveling at how robustly the surrounding herbs were growing due to the nutrient-rich volcanic Ash spewed from Mt. Chimney.
Especially the Energy Root he had just dug up, which was almost as thick as a child’s arm, possessing extraordinary medicinal power.
In just half an hour, Kebi had dug up a complete set of medicinal ingredients for the Chimchar muscle-building and bone-strengthening formula.
After acquiring Fu Ye’s herbal knowledge, the biggest beneficiaries were Seedot and Treecko, his two Grass-type Pokémon.
Seedot, with its single-minded focus, trained only the Seed Machine Gun move. Combined with nutrient solution, its overall abilities rapidly improved.
Aside from a slightly smaller accumulation of internal potential, it had basically met the conditions required for evolution.
But even faster than Seedot was Chimchar. The power of the lava stone enhanced Chimchar in all aspects, but the contained power was too overbearing.
Kebi needed to temper it with herbs so that Chimchar could absorb the lava stone’s power to the maximum extent and safely during evolution.
Carrying the lava stone could make it stronger, but Kebi hoped that during evolution, Chimchar would absorb the lava stone to forge an even more powerful physique.
Devouring the lava stone required Chimchar’s body and will to meet the standards.
Currently, Chimchar was still a bit short of the mark.
Mt. Chimney is the largest active volcano in the Hoenn region, brimming with abundant magma energy.
Many exposed magma vents can even be found within the mountain.
Kebi, of course, wouldn’t ask Chimchar to bathe in magma.
However, by utilizing the scorching environment of the magma, Chimchar could quickly allow the ingested herbal medicine to take effect throughout its body.
When Ya Sha found Kebi riding Arcanine, Kebi was still gathering herbs. Ya Sha dismounted from Arcanine’s back and watched Kebi use Psychic to completely remove a herb from the soil.
“Why are you always digging up weeds? And so extravagantly using Psychic to dig?”
Kebi shook his head, “These aren’t weeds, they’re medicinal herbs.”
She was already the Gym Leader of the Fuefuki Gym, yet she lacked such basic knowledge.
Ya Sha suddenly understood, “I remember once I fed Growlithe a whole bag of Pokémon food, and he ate too much. He then ran out and dug up two plants to eat.”
“After eating the plants, Growlithe quickly stopped feeling stomach discomfort. I asked Grandpa, and Grandpa said they were medicinal herbs.”
Although Ya Sha had fair skin, was beautiful as a flower, and had an outstanding figure, she was essentially a female Ash.
Kebi didn't want to argue with her. “Why did you come out here? Aren’t you managing the Gym anymore?”
Ya Sha immediately perked up and tossed aside the twig she was poking into the dirt pit.
“I came to challenge you! This time, there’s no Gym Leader and challenger, only two Trainers!”
Kebi glanced at her indifferently, “I’m busy.”
Ya Sha seemed to have all her strength and tactics drained from her. “How can you… You said that when our eyes met, we’d battle. Kebi, you’re not a qualified Trainer.”
After collecting enough herbs, Kebi went into the mountain and found a valley with significant geothermal activity. He released Chimchar, and Ya Sha stubbornly followed him.
“To allow you to absorb the lava stone’s power all at once during evolution, you must stop carrying the lava stone for this period and undergo rigorous training.”
“Do you have confidence!?”
“Jiji!”
Chimchar took out the lava stone. Kebi used Confusion to pick it up. After leaving Chimchar, the lava stone immediately stopped emitting heat.
Although it had only carried the lava stone for a week, suddenly losing it made Chimchar feel a deep emptiness.
Kebi took out the materials and made them into lychee-sized pills.
“Eat one.”
Chimchar put the pill in its mouth and swallowed it forcefully.
Separated from the lava stone, Chimchar’s body desperately craved new power.
“Ya Sha, do you know where there’s a magma vent?”
Ya Sha gave Kebi an eye roll. Now he remembered her.
Kebi looked at him indifferently, “How about this: once I’ve taken care of what I’m doing, I’ll have a serious battle with you?”
“Deal! I’ll take you to my secret training base right now! But isn’t it a bit too early for Chimchar to train in magma?”
Kebi shook his head and said, “It’s just using the environment for training. Although magma is rich in energy, it has too many impurities and toxins. Chimchar can’t handle it yet.”
In Kebi’s Psychic perception, Mt. Chimney was a giant energy source, driving the vigorous development of the surrounding natural ecosystem, a natural treasure trove.
“Get on, I’ll take you.”
Kebi didn’t stand on ceremony with Ya Sha. The two rode Arcanine together to a scorching cave entrance. Deep inside the cave, they could see Slugma crawling on the rock walls.
Above them, there was also an eruption vent about five meters wide, ensuring the interior of the cave was bright.
Ya Sha proudly put her hands on her hips, “How is it? My secret base isn’t bad, right? I accidentally stumbled in here when I was little and even picked up a feather that burned like a flame.”
Ya Sha stroked Arcanine’s head, “Unfortunately, the feather was eaten by him when he was still a Growlithe, otherwise I could show it to you.”