Pokémon: My Online Friend Is Cynthia

Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Target

Julian would give Maylene a chance.

He understood that blocking was worse than guiding.

But the chance he gave her was like a carrot hanging in front of a Donkey Pokémon.

She could see it.

She could not eat it.

As a Fighting girl, Maylene’s greatest weakness was studying.

This wilderness survival test was not really about wilderness survival.

It was about the test.

Julian was not only good at taking exams.

He was good at making them.

That very night, he prepared a wilderness survival exam paper.

The contents covered every aspect of wilderness survival and were divided into multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and short-answer questions.

Julian placed the paper in front of Maylene.

"Do it. I don’t need you to get full marks. As long as you score eighty, you can go travelling."

The moment Maylene saw the paper, her head began to hurt.

Question 1:

When your Pokémon accidentally touches a roadside Vileplume, inhales the toxic pollen it sprays, becomes paralysed, and has difficulty breathing, which of the following is the correct response?

A. Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation

B. Parlyze Heal

C. Aspear Water Grass

D. Pecha Berry

Maylene chose B without thinking.

If it was paralysed, of course you used a Parlyze Heal.

However, the toxic pollen and paralysis in the question were both traps.

The key point was difficulty breathing.

In truth, this was an allergic reaction caused by inhaling pollen.

Aspear Water Grass was the correct answer.

There were many similar questions.

Forget scoring eighty.

For Maylene, even finishing the paper was difficult.

After holding on for half an hour, she collapsed in despair at the first fill-in-the-blank question.

"Julian, can’t we skip the exam and go straight to wilderness training?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"You can’t even pass the theory. How can you say you’ll pass wilderness training?"

"Finish the paper first, then hand it to me for marking. After that, use the results to study the parts you don’t know."

"If you want to travel alone, then you need to learn independence first. I shouldn’t need to tell you where the entrance to Veilstone Library is, right?"

Maylene sighed.

"I know."

Julian smiled and rubbed her head.

"All right. Go to sleep first. Think about how to answer the paper tomorrow."

Maylene left with her head hanging.

Even Riolu seemed to share her misery, drooping his head just like his Trainer.

After the girl and her Pokémon left, Julian told Darius what Uncle Frank had said.

Darius instantly put away his playful smile.

"If that’s the case, then from now on, you shouldn’t accept challenges in my place. Leave it to me."

"Once you have six Pokémon, apply to the League immediately to change the Gym’s registered Leader."

Julian rolled his eyes.

"Leave it to you? Can anyone trust that?"

Darius immediately raised a hand.

"I promise. This time, I’ll honestly stay in the Gym and accept challenges from Trainers."

Julian waved him off.

"No need. You only have to make sure your phone is always reachable, and that you can hurry back to accept challenges."

"If I completely stop you from going to the Game Corner, I feel like you’ll cause even bigger trouble. The Gym closes at five in the afternoon. You can play until midnight, then come back and sleep so you’re ready for the next day’s challenges."

Darius laughed awkwardly.

"Then let’s do it your way. So... can I go back and play now?"

Under Julian’s murderous stare, Darius obediently returned to his room to sleep.

The main reason was Galarian Farfetch’d.

A Fighting-type Farfetch’d like that was extremely rare in Sinnoh. Many game lovers were working hard to save up coins for it.

If Darius did not double his efforts, he might not be the first one to exchange for the Galarian Farfetch’d as his son’s gift.

Now that he was restricted to going to Veilstone Game Corner between five and midnight, Darius calculated that he should still be able to reach the required coin total first.

As long as he gambled against a few of the top-ranked players, he could ensure the Galarian Farfetch’d fell into his hands.

The next morning, Darius praised the breakfast Julian made again and again.

Home-cooked breakfast really did hit differently.

In the morning, Reggie brought Paul over to visit.

Although Maylene was still somewhat unhappy about Reggie abandoning Croagunk, that dissatisfaction was soon washed away by the joy of having barbecue in the backyard at noon.

"Have you finished your exam paper?"

Maylene froze instantly.

"What exam paper?"

"Paul’s grades are good. Why not let him help you?"

Reggie’s praise made Paul lift his head proudly.

Julian set up the grill.

"Maylene, bring out the paper and let Paul tutor you."

Maylene’s eyes shifted, suspicious.

"Can you do it?"

Paul held his head high.

"I’m first place at the preparatory Trainer school. There’s no question I can’t answer."

Seeing his confidence, Maylene decided to bring the paper out and let him look.

After seeing it, Paul frowned slightly.

"You got the first question wrong. For Vileplume pollen, you need to use Aspear Water Grass."

While the two children worked on the paper at the side, Reggie prepared the ingredients in his hands.

"On my way back, I ran into a Primeape on a mountain west of Veilstone City. It blocks the road and challenges Trainers. It’s already beaten quite a few of them."

"That Primeape should suit you. If you catch it, you can expand your team and greatly strengthen your lineup."

Julian nodded.

Primeape was the kind of Pokémon that could be used as immediate combat power once caught.

And Primeape could evolve into Annihilape, a Ghost- and Fighting-type, which would raise its strength another level.

A Primeape that blocked the road and challenged Trainers.

Just hearing that, it was obviously ambitious.

"Why didn’t you catch it?"

Reggie shook his head.

"A Pokémon like Primeape, which can’t control its temper, doesn’t fit my standards. I don’t have the patience to train it into managing its anger."

"You’re patient, Julian. Leaving Primeape for you to catch is the best choice. You should go soon. Since it has blocked the road and beaten so many Trainers, it’s probably already famous."

"If you’re too slow, another Trainer might catch it first."

Julian smiled.

"If it’s that easy for another Trainer to catch, then it means that Primeape isn’t that special."

Reggie did not understand.

For Primeape, the angrier, the better.

Darius’ Primeape had caused Veilstone Gym a lot of trouble because it could not control its temper, but Julian had never thought about making it control itself.

Primeape’s strength came from anger.

Even its evolution was born from that uncontrollable rage.

After all, Annihilape could be called the monkey that got so angry it died.

That Ghost typing was basically saying Primeape had literally angered itself to death.

Reggie nodded.

"That’s true, but you should still go see it yourself. Only after battling it personally will you know whether that Primeape suits you."

Julian added onions, ginger slices, cooking wine, and spices to a large basin of lamb chops to marinate them.

"Father is back and working properly, so I’ll go take a look tomorrow."

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