Closure? Mutual Suspicion

Chapter 61 Closure? Mutual Suspicion

Upon learning that the Crimson Lotus Dojo had closed down, Natsuki was shocked.

After all, the Indigo League is just over a month away, and closing the venue at this time would undoubtedly dash the hopes of trainers who have already obtained seven badges to get their eighth.

Although there are more than a dozen dojos in the Kanto region, these dojos are scattered throughout the entire Kanto region, and the distance between the dojos is quite far.

Trainers typically choose specific gyms to challenge with a specific purpose in mind.

They walked along the route one after another.

If we were to turn back now, not to mention whether it would be too late, no one would want to accept it.

Therefore, this disturbance was inevitable.

Xia Mu remained silent, sensing that Xia Bo had a reason for doing so.

Otherwise, if the gym were to close at this time, the League would certainly not allow it, and if the matter were to escalate, the Crimson Lotus Gym would be blacklisted.

If it becomes an obscure gym, then Cinnabar Island and even the surrounding islands will no longer attract a large number of trainers.

"What, you want to stand up for those trainers?" Blaine saw through Xia Mu's thoughts and asked.

Xia Mu shook his head and did not answer.

Having lived two lives, Xia Mu knows the saying that too much talk leads to mistakes, so when faced with a difficult question, he simply keeps quiet and listens.

Moreover, the fact that Bob brought it up now means that he will take the initiative to tell him the reason.

Seeing that Xia Mu remained calm, Xia Bo's shrewd eyes revealed a hint of appreciation: "No wonder Xia He has been praising you to the skies lately. Indeed, there is a big difference between before and after falling into the water. Although we haven't seen each other for almost two years, I have a deep impression of you, and I have been keeping up with your news."

"Think back to the past, you didn't dare to breathe loudly when you saw me, and you kept your distance. Now you respect me on the surface, but in reality you have your own opinions and are keeping a low profile."

"You flatter me. I really didn't know your intentions." Xia Mu's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected Uncle Xia to have such sharp eyes.

Fortunately, he did not lie.

Blair nodded, not dwelling on one point, and continued, "Actually, the reason I did this is very simple. You already know why these trainers came to Cinnabar Island. The vast majority of them are not only fake, but even those who are really here for the badges are just hoping to take this opportunity to get one."

The words slowly came out of Xia Bo's mouth, and Xia Mu listened attentively without interrupting.

"At first, I didn't pay much attention, but now this trend is getting more and more wrong. Closing the gym is not only being responsible for yourself, but also for the trainers who are really trying to challenge the gyms to win badges in the League Tournament."

"The notice of closure was issued early yesterday morning. There was no disturbance yesterday. The reason why so many trainers gathered today must be because someone is secretly plotting something. Once I open the door, it will create a situation where I have to accept challenges from all the trainers. I don't know if I can withstand it, but I will definitely be forced to give out badges to quell this farce."

"I want to let those trainers who try to get badges by using sheer numbers know that I don't fall for that."

"No matter what, we can't end up like some dojos, where things get out of control and all we can do is go through the motions and give everyone a badge."

"Three new dojos have been added in the Kanto region this year. Some of these dojos have done a lot of unscrupulous things in order to cooperate with the local economy. I really want to see if this year's Quartz Conference will break the record for the lowest level in history."

……

After listening to everything Xia Bo said, Xia Mu was greatly inspired.

Thinking back to some of the gyms at the beginning of the original anime, such as the most famous Cerulean Gym, you can get a badge just by going there.

Is the badge, touted as the easiest to obtain, really as simple as it appears?

Actually, that's not the case; what you see is only the surface.

The Cerulean sisters' use of water ballet attracted many trainers to take on the challenge, with the original intention likely being to promote the development of Cerulean City by helping trainers from outside the city. The League also played a supporting role behind the scenes.

Trainers did arrive, but they couldn't control the situation, and it eventually turned into a situation where anyone who challenged the Cerulean City Gym could get a badge.

The news spread from one person to ten, from ten to a hundred, from a hundred to a thousand... and completely spiraled out of control.

The three flower basket sisters are in a situation where they did something beyond their capabilities despite not having sufficient ability.

However, Xia Mu remembered that in the end, the three Cerulean sisters also transformed into the star attraction of Cerulean City, with people flocking from all over the country to watch their synchronized swimming performance, so they were successful in this respect as well.

Of course, this is something.

Xia Bo's current situation is similar to the situation that Cerulean Dojo faced back then.

However, this was not driven by Blaine and the League, but by the so-called "strongest Pokémon trainer".

Through communication with Xia Bo, Xia Mu roughly determined that Xia Bo and the Alliance were currently suspicious of each other.

Xia Bo suspects that the Alliance is behind this, but the reason is still unknown. However, it is highly likely that it is targeting the Xia family.

If Xia Mu hadn't known the original plot, she probably would have thought the same thing.

However, given the current situation, Xia Mu, with his God's-eye view, can guess that the Alliance probably also thinks that Xia Bo is behind it all.

This whole thing was staged to attract enough trainers to travel to the archipelago.

Both sides treated it as a clown show, so neither of them investigated it further.

That's why no official personnel came forward to investigate Mewtwo's case. Even if they went to New Island to investigate after the incident was over, it would have been meaningless.

"Alright, let's leave those trainers' business alone; it has nothing to do with you. I was quite happy that you volunteered to battle this old man yesterday. Xia and that kid told me that you've been working hard on training your Pokémon lately, so as your grandfather, let me give you a good check and see what you're capable of." Uncle Xia stood up and gestured for Xia Mu to follow.

Suddenly faced with a battle, Xia Mu was actually a little hungry.

I came here as soon as I got up this morning, without even having breakfast.

But since Bob had already said that, he couldn't really say anything.

The two arrived at the Crimson Lotus Dojo, deep underground.

The battleground is right here.

Because it is a volcanic area, the huge underground space, with a little modification, can become an absolute battlefield of fire.

To Xia Mu's surprise, there was a huge space below, which was the living place of Blaine's Fire-type Pokémon.

Xia Mu had seen the full picture of the Magpie family. Excluding the unevolved baby Magpie, the highest-level Magpie reached level 60, and the lowest-level one reached level 30.

Xia Mu finally understood why Charizard could defeat Blaine's Magmar in the original anime; it must have been a Magmar with average strength that Blaine possessed.

Otherwise, based on Charizard's evolution level and the progress of the story, Charizard would be at most level 40 or so.

……

PS: Thank you to Lazy Cat Sama for the 500 Qidian Coins donation.

(End of this chapter)