Pokémon Heart Journey

Inside the Pokémon Center, Xiaozhi was lying on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, and Pikachu beside him also followed his example and lay on the bed.

He took out a gray hexagonal badge, which was a dark gray badge that proved he had passed the Nibee Gym. This badge was given to him by Xiaogang after he drove away Team Rocket.

Xiaozhi took it up and looked at it with a complicated expression. He clearly did defeat Xiaogang, but why did he feel so unwilling?

Close your eyes and think about everything that happened today, as well as the majestic figure of Steelix.

Suddenly he opened his eyes, turned over, and muttered to himself: "I am far from enough."

"Pickup?"

Pikachu tilted his head and looked at Xiaozhi who suddenly stood up in some surprise.

Xiaozhi did not respond, but picked up the clothes and hat beside the bed, put them on, and walked straight out. Seeing this, Pikachu hurriedly followed.

In front of the telephone booth, Xiaozhi was waiting for the call to be connected, and Pikachu was standing quietly by the side.

Suddenly, the screen in front of me lit up white, and a beautiful woman in pink pajamas and sleepy eyes appeared in it.

"Haha~, what's up so late, Xiaozhi?"

"This is what happened..."

After a while, Hanako, who understood Xiaozhi's current problem, also put away her lazy expression.

She really didn't expect that Xiaozhi would encounter so many things in just the past few days. At the same time, she also understood Xiaozhi's inner thoughts.

"Mom, is that the true strength of a gym leader?"

Hanako clearly felt Xiaozhi's excitement. She knew her son very well. He was passionate about fighting and not afraid of any challenge.

If he hadn't encountered Charmander, Xiaozhi would have continued to train himself and his Pokémon, and then continue to challenge Xiaogang until he really defeated him. But now...

"Xiaozhi, do you feel now that you shouldn't have this badge?"

In response to Hanako's question, Xiaozhi did not give a direct answer, but said: "Xiaogang, his strength is really strong. If Team Rocket hadn't come out to make trouble, I might not have noticed that not only did he not use his main force, but he even let his command go."

"I know the rules of the gym, and I also know that I have only been here for a short time, and our strength is not up to standard yet, but I..."

At this point, Xiaozhi couldn't help but lower his head, muttering to himself: "My current strength is far from enough."

"Alright alright," Hanako clapped her hands slightly.

"You've only been out for a few days, and it's already quite remarkable that you've gotten your first badge. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. You may not realize that your current strength has already surpassed most novice trainers."

"Mom knows that you want to better protect your companions, whether it's the poaching group or Team Rocket, Xiaozhi, you hope that you have enough ability to face and protect them, right?"

"Yeah," Xiaozhi nodded, clenched his fists, and said, "With my current strength, let alone collecting all the badges and entering the Quartz Conference, I feel powerless even to protect Pikachu and the others."

"If Mingye hadn't helped us during the time with the poaching gang, Pikachu and I would have been in danger... The same goes for Team Rocket this time. Without Brock, not only the Pokémon in the gym, but even Pikachu and the others would have been in danger."

"Xiaozhi, it's a good thing to be in this mood. It means that you value Pikachu and the others very much. But too much worry will make you lose your direction. I think you should stop now."

"Uh, what do you mean?"

Xiaozhi looked at Hanako on the screen with some confusion. Although Xiaozhi was no longer so naive under Hanako's careful education, he was still a little confused about things that were too profound.

"I think you can stop collecting badges for a while. In fact, those who can participate in the league conference have either gone through a long period of training or have received great support from their families. Otherwise, let alone making it to the finals, I'm afraid they won't even make it to the preliminaries."

"Although there are some talented teenagers every year who can achieve good rankings based on their own strength and talent, the process they have to go through is not easy, because the gym leader will adjust his lineup according to the strength of the challenger and exert corresponding abilities. Unless your strength exceeds that of the gym leader from the beginning, it will be absolutely difficult to get the badge."

"I understand." Xiaozhi pounded his palm with his fist. "Mom, you mean to let me take Pikachu and the others to practice for a while, and then challenge the gym after my strength reaches the appropriate stage, right?"

"But won't it be too late?"

"Don't worry about the time. There are still nine months until the opening of the Quartz Conference. If you hurry up, it will only take two months to complete all the gyms."

"But based on your current situation, Xiaozhi, you'd better give yourself five months. In other words, you can calm down and practice well for three months."

"Okay, I understand, thank you mom"

"Pikachu, let's become stronger from now on." After understanding what Hanako meant, Xiaozhi couldn't help feeling excited and immediately said to Pikachu beside him.

"Pickup!"

And Pikachu also clearly felt Xiaozhi's determination and was also full of fighting spirit.

"Oh, yes, there is also..."

At this moment, Hanako suddenly interrupted Xiaozhi's actions and said, "There is a good place that may be suitable for your next training."

The next day

"Excuse me, is Gym Master Xiao Gang here?"

Xiaozhi arrived at the door of Nibi Gym early in the morning and knocked.

At this time, the iron gate slowly opened, and Xiaogang, who was standing behind the door, looked at the man and pet in front of him with surprise.

"Ash, Pikachu, why are you still here? Is there something wrong?"

"It's like this, Xiao Gang..."

After listening to Xiaozhi's explanation, Xiaogang said, "In other words, Xiaozhi, you are planning to go to the place called Lanling Island that your mother mentioned to practice, right?"

"Yes, the reason I came to see Xiaogang is actually for this," Xiaozhi said as he took out a badge from his pocket and handed it to Xiaogang.

"This is a gray badge. Xiaozhi, although I didn't use my full strength during the battle, you have indeed passed my approval and are qualified to have this badge, so you don't have to return it to me."

In response, Xiaozhi just shook his head and said, "That's not the case, Xiaogang, I actually want to..."