Laverre City

On the bustling streets, a person dressed in peculiar attire walked slowly towards the Gym, holding a black umbrella.

Since he had been the subject of all the recent trending searches, Gui Ling had no choice but to disguise himself. He wore all black, including a black top hat, and used a skull mask to completely conceal his face.

This black umbrella? Oh, because...

“Now I finally have a bit of a villainous vibe, don’t I? Hehe~”

.........

“Hello, I’m here to challenge the Gym.”

The receptionist, who had initially greeted him warmly, was startled by Gui Ling’s strange attire. After she recovered, she complained angrily.

“Sir, could you please not dress so frighteningly and cause trouble here? Besides, there’s a fashion show happening right now, and the Gym Leader isn’t here.”

“Alright.”

After Gui Ling left, the lady let out an unpleasant snort.

“What a strange person.”

Gui Ling naturally heard her, but he wasn’t angry; instead, he felt a bit pleased.

“Ah~ as expected, dressed like this, people won’t recognize me, and I can avoid some people trying to curry favor~”

Fashion shows usually feature women’s clothing. By the time Gui Ling arrived below the stage, the fashion show had already begun.

“Welcome everyone to my fashion show! All my designs are inspired by Pokémon, as this brings out the beauty of nature. Of course, my designs can only be fully appreciated in battle~”

Valerie stood on the stage, hosting. After scanning the crowd, she noticed the strange person at the very back holding a black umbrella.

Because of his pure black clothing, Gui Ling stood out particularly in the crowd. Coupled with the fact that he was holding an umbrella in the middle of summer, it gave people a very oppressive and indescribable feeling.

“There’s a very strange person.”

Valerie thought for a moment, then pointed to Gui Ling at the back.

“Excuse me, sir, could you please come up to the stage?”

“Alright.”

Gui Ling had originally planned to challenge Valerie after her fashion show, but now he was directly pulled onto the stage.

Well, this works out. His plan was to have Kyogre end this Gym battle, so if that’s the case...

Gui Ling quickly removed his hat and mask. He certainly didn’t want his newly made disguise to be revealed just like that.

Gui Ling walked through the crowd to the stage, ready to jump up, but his foot slipped, and he ended up doing a ‘New Year’s Bow’ directly. Thankfully, he had taken off his mask, or it probably would have shattered.

“Gui Ling also wishes everyone a Happy New Year! Happy New Year! Give me red envelopes~ (˵¯͒♦¯͒˵)”

“Hahahaha!”

Gui Ling’s move made everyone burst into laughter. Seeing someone who was supposed to be quite imposing end up in such a disheveled state.

“Alright, alright, so instead of stepping into a pit, you’re face-planting now, huh? This is just too much!”

Gui Ling lifted his head, somewhat annoyed. As soon as he stood up, the people around him immediately quieted down.

“This young man looks a bit familiar…”

“Huh?! Isn’t that… that person who caught Rayquaza…?”

“Oh no, oh no, I just laughed at him. He won’t get angry and silence all of us, will he?”

Gui Ling: “I knew it…”

Valerie was also a bit stunned. She had only wanted someone to come up to the stage to battle her, to showcase her clothing designs. But what on earth had she pointed at?!

“Um… your name is Gui Ling, right?”

“I’ve been recognized. Let’s begin.”

“Wh-what?”

“The battle, of course? Didn’t you call me up here to showcase your designs? Conveniently, my goal is also your Gym Badge.”

Valerie thought for a moment, then smiled and spread her hands.

“Did I? I never said that~”

“No? Don’t you usually call someone up at this time?”

“Yes, but today I want to make an exception. I’d like to invite you to help me with something.”

Gui Ling was a bit speechless. He should have just kept his mask on. Valerie was definitely making an excuse because she didn’t want to battle him.

Valerie wasn’t foolish either. She wanted to showcase the charm of her clothing in battle, not to be utterly defeated.

“Alright then, whether I get the Badge or not doesn’t matter. I hope you can help me with my second objective.”

“What is it? Is there some difficulty?”

Gui Ling summoned Kyogre. Everyone was very confused and puzzled when they saw a little girl emerge from the Poké Ball.

“This is…”

“My Pokémon, the Lord of the Seas, Kyogre.”

“But this is clearly a little girl?”

Gui Ling nodded at Kyogre. Kyogre understood immediately and transformed back into her original form.

Everyone only saw the little girl turn into a ball of light, and then the light grew larger and larger until it enveloped nearly one-third of the city.

“Kyogre, a little smaller. Your size is a bit too big.”

The light shrank again, stopping when it was about the same size as a normal Kyogre.

“It really is?! Why did it turn into that just now?”

“You can think of it as my Kyogre having consumed something with extremely powerful energy, giving her the power to freely change her size. As for the human form you just saw, I can’t explain it yet.”

Valerie nodded, half-understanding, but she believed that the little girl was indeed Kyogre.

“So, what’s your objective?”

“I want you to make an outfit for Kyogre. The price doesn’t matter.”

Upon hearing this, Valerie’s spirits immediately lifted. She looked Kyogre, who had transformed back into her human form, up and down. Without a doubt, this adorable, innocent child instantly tugged at Valerie’s maiden heart.

“Oh, yes! I accept this request! We can discuss the details after my fashion show ends~”

“Alright, Xiao Ka, let’s go.”

“Mm.”

“Oh, right. I hope everyone here can keep quiet. Please don’t say what shouldn’t be said. Thank you.”

Gui Ling held Kyogre’s hand and went to wait inside the Gym. Xiao Ka was a name Gui Ling had recently come up with on a whim; after all, it was best to disguise her if they met people he didn’t know.

Calculating the time, Team Flare should have already begun their operations. With so many Legendary Pokémon, he must be on their list.

Humans, after all, are cunning creatures. He had to be on guard no matter what.

After nearly two hours, Valerie rushed over, somewhat afraid that Gui Ling might have left.

Seeing that Gui Ling was still there, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Mr. Gui Ling, this way please.”

Upon entering a room, Valerie looked at the adorable Kyogre, finding her cuter the more she looked. Girls simply had zero resistance to cute things.

“Miss Valerie, um…”

“Oh! Is it about the outfit? Of course, that’s no problem. I’ve always wanted to make clothes for Pokémon myself~ Xiao Ka is so cute, I’ll have to put a lot of thought into designing her outfit~”

“Uh… you heard that, huh?”

“Mm~”

“Alright, I’ll trouble you with the outfit. However, I need to collect Badges to participate in the Kalos League Conference…”

“Don’t worry about that~ Here you go.”

Valerie directly handed the Fairy Badge to Gui Ling. Gui Ling’s eyes nearly turned into those of an Ultraman, and it took him a while to react.

“So you’re just giving it to me?! I don’t need to defeat you?”

“I’ve seen the trending searches. With your current strength, battling you would be asking for a beating. Thank you for not embarrassing me on stage~”

“Alright, thank you.”

Then Valerie measured Kyogre’s height and waist, set the data, and told Gui Ling to come back in three cycles to pick up the outfit.

The Fairy Gym ended just like that.

Snowbelle City

This time, Gui Ling didn’t summon Yveltal to fly him. In this cold weather, he didn’t want to freeze everyone, so he decided to walk alone.

After walking for nearly five hours, Gui Ling finally climbed up.

Upon arriving at the Gym, Gui Ling took off his heavy black down jacket because he had come up with a bad idea…

The entire Gym seemed to be covered in ice and snow. The Gym Trainer, Wulfric, sat on a throne made of ice, nodding at the approaching challenger.

“Alright then, let’s go. It’s a 3v3 battle, and only the challenger can switch Pokémon. Ice can sometimes be very hard, and sometimes very fragile. So, I’ll determine my strength based on your Pokémon’s strength.”

“Really? I suggest you call out your strongest Pokémon, or you’ll regret it.”

“Hahaha! You’re quite boastful, young man! Alright then! Don’t you dare lose to me! Come out, Abomasnow!”

“Abomasnow!”

“Come! Experience the power of the Lord of the Earth! Go, Groudon!”

“Roar!!!”

Abomasnow was completely stunned, staring at the mountain-like Primal Reversion Groudon, lost in thought.

“The Groudon summoned by Hoopa is a Primal Reversion Groudon. Someone asked this question before, so here’s the answer.”

“Huh?! Are you messing with me, kid? Is this thing even fightable?”

“But this is my Pokémon~”

“Alright, alright! So this is how we’re playing, huh? No more salt, you mean?! Fine then! Let my ice cool down your mountain! Abomasnow, use Blizzard!”

“Flamethrower!”

Blizzard melted instantly upon contact with Flamethrower. Abomasnow was hit by Flamethrower, producing thick black smoke.

When the smoke cleared, Abomasnow was instantly knocked out.

“Good! As expected of the Lord of the Earth! Next up is you! Avalugg!”

“Avalugg! Ava…lugg?!!!”

Avalugg showed the same expression as Abomasnow, feeling like it wanted to die.

“Stone Edge!”

“Avalugg!”

Avalugg shook its head and launched its attack despite itself.

“Precipice Blades!”

Stone Edge shattered instantly upon contact with Precipice Blades. Immediately after, Avalugg was sent flying to the ceiling by Precipice Blades.

Avalugg was knocked out instantly from such a violent impact.

“What’s the point of playing anymore!!! No excitement here, your Pokémon’s high temperature is practically melting my Gym! I’m not fighting anymore! Take your Badge and get out!”

Then Gui Ling was just kicked out like that.

“Hey, no! Who kicks people out like this?!”

The door opened, and Gui Ling was about to walk in when the Iceberg Badge hit him on the head. Then the door wouldn’t open no matter what.

“Seriously… it’s not that bad, is it? Can’t I just not use Groudon?”