Speculation remained just speculation.
After witnessing the power of the Serpent Patterns firsthand, Grandma Liu asked Kenji with a smile if he wanted to leave Arbok at Mt. Dreadmist a bit longer, or perhaps stay here himself for a while.
Kenji couldn't leave Arbok behind again. If he did, the ship of their friendship might actually capsize.
As for staying longer at Mt. Dreadmist, that wasn't really an option either.
Kenji still held the invitation from the Tyranitar Guardian Clan in his hand, not to ntion the many badges he still needed to collect.
Seeing Kenji's persistence, Grandma Liu didn't push further.
Kenji stayed at Mt. Dreadmist for a few days.
Swish Swish Swish!!! —
BANG!!! —
In the air, ga Beedrill was locked in combat with Grandma Liu's Gengar.
But no matter how fast ga Beedrill moved, it couldn't land a single touch on Gengar.
The chubby purple ghost grinned its wide grin, holding its round belly as it dodged effortlessly, giggling all the while.
It seed to treat ga Beedrill's attacks as nothing more than a ga.
"Not bad. Not bad at all," Grandma Liu nodded from below, praising repeatedly.
"To train a Pokémon like Beedrill to this level... I've truly never seen anything like it before," she complinted generously.
Kenji didn't take the praise to heart. Instead, he watched the dogfight between Gengar and ga Beedrill with a solemn expression.
Is this the gap between Master-rank and Champion-level?
ga Beedrill, who had suffocated a ga-Evolved Champion-level Altaria, was completely helpless against Grandma Liu's non-ga Evolved Gengar.
"Your Beedrill's speed and power have completely surpassed ordinary Champion-level Pokémon. Even my Gengar, if hit, would find it hard to bear," Grandma Liu analyzed.
When Grandma Liu said "Champion-level," she ant Levels 90 to 99. This ant that after ga Evolution, ga Beedrill's speed and power were virtually unmatched by anything below Master-rank (Level 100).
But against a Master-rank opponent, it wasn't quite enough.
Kenji recalled ga Beedrill, deciding not to let it waste any more energy.
However, Kenji remained extrely curious about just how strong a Level 100 Gengar really was.
Grandma Liu pondered for a mont, then gave Kenji a definitive answer.
Below Level 100, all are equal.
aning, unless the opponent was also Level 100, even a Level 99 Legendary Pokémon would have zero chance of winning against Gengar.
This answer shocked Kenji quite a bit.
However, Kenji understood the Legendary Pokémon hierarchy of this world well. Ancient monsters like Ho-Oh, Lugia, Kyogre, and Groudon, who had lived on the planet for eons, were all indisputably Level 100.
But the "Secondary Legendaries" below the First-Class Gods—like the Legendary Birds (Zapdos, Articuno, Moltres) and the Legendary Beasts (Raikou, Entei, Suicune)—were explicitly stated to exist as species/populations. Their strength varied wildly.
The strong ones, like the original Beasts resurrected by Ho-Oh, were undoubtedly Level 100 Master-rank.
But the weaker ones might only be at Elite or even Gym Leader level.
There were rumors that soone abroad had once caught a Suicune with a standard Poké Ball, utterly humiliating the dignity of Legendary Pokémon.
Like the Raikou Kenji encountered on Black Thunder Mountain.
At Level 93, it was likely considered above-average strength for its species.
But if it fell into the hands of Grandma Liu's Gengar, it would probably just end up as a toy.
Although Grandma Liu said "below Level 100, all are equal," there were gaps even among Master-rank entities. If Gengar encountered a Master-rank First-Class God, its only option would be to run away as fast as possible.
This got Kenji thinking again.
Beedrill hadn't even reached Champion level yet, but its strength was already at the ceiling of the Champion tier.
When it officially stepped into the Champion tier, maybe it could wrestle with a Master-rank opponent.
So, what would happen when Beedrill eventually reached Master-rank?
"Grandma Liu, who is stronger: your Gengar or Senior Zhurong's Blaziken?" Kenji's curiosity about Master-rank power levels was bursting, so he pressed for an answer.
"Hmph. Those folks from the Zhurong Clan... they just rely on the blessing of a god..." Grandma Liu muttered grumpily.
Although she didn't answer directly, the answer was clear.
By saying that, she was essentially admitting that her Gengar likely couldn't beat Blaziken, who possessed the blessing of Ho-Oh.
This gave Kenji a headache. It seed his chances of defeating Zhurong Yun in this year's Huaxia League Conference were slim.
...
A few days later, Kenji left Mt. Dreadmist and set off toward Spring City (Kunming), the location of the Southern Cloud Gym.
Spring City, the capital of Southern Cloud Province, earned its na from its perpetual spring-like climate.
Wung City was at the northernmost tip of the province, while Spring City lay in the center.
Thus, Kenji and his Pokémon continued their journey southward.
This ti, Kenji chose not to fly.
He traveled by land.
Firstly, the scenery in Southern Cloud Province was famously beautiful, and Kenji wanted to appreciate it properly.
Secondly, high-potential Pokémon could appear in the wild, and Kenji wanted to try his luck to see if he could encounter a good prospect along the way.
Before heading to Spring City, Kenji stopped by the Pokémon Center in Wung City to pick up the Special-Grade Pokéblocks he had asked Director He to forward.
With ample supplies, Kenji officially began his trek to Spring City.
It was nearly May, the transition between spring and sumr. The forests were lush and thriving, bursting with life wherever one looked.
But beneath this vibrant spring scenery lurked countless dangers. If you were lucky, a Caterpie or Weedle might pop out.
If you were unlucky, you might step right onto an Ekans or a Spinarak, poisonous Pokémon lying in wait.
Fortunately, Kenji was riding on Ninetales. Under Ninetales's psychic detection, the location of every Pokémon in the vicinity was exposed.
And sensing the powerful aura radiating from Ninetales, any Pokémon with a shred of sense ran as far away as possible.
By the afternoon, Kenji arrived at a clearing while riding Ninetales.
The clearing had clearly been made by humans; there were even traces of tent setups and old campfires.
Having traveled all day, Kenji checked his map. This was a "Yellow Zone," indicating that no powerful Pokémon clans lived nearby. It was a good spot to rest for the night.
At his current pace, he would reach Spring City in just two more days.
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