."How's it going? I didn't arrive too late, did I?"
Mr. Moore walked cheerfully toward Yuga.
Yuga smiled and replied, "You're not late at all. I'm delighted that you could make it, sir."
Yuga hadn't expected Mr. Moore to attend the appointment ceremony for a small Gym Leader. After all, he hadn't informed Mr. Moore in advance. However, Verdanturf Town was close to Lavaridge Town, so it wasn't surprising that Mr. Moore and Flannery would come.
"Haha, carry on with your business. Don't mind me and Flannery," Mr. Moore said before moving to the side and striking up a conversation with Mr. Norman.
As Flannery passed by Yuga, she playfully winked at him, making a comical expression.
Apart from Mr. Moore, as the opening ceremony began, Wallace, Steven, Ryuichi, Reggie, Flint, and Volkner all arrived.
Wallace's arrival caused a stir in the crowd as he was the most famous among the attendees.
Steven rarely appeared in public due to his position in the Supervisory Bureau.
Ryuichi, despite being an Elite Trainer, he only served as Mr. Kuni'o's steward and had no fame.
While Reggie had won the recent Hoenn League Conference, only a few people knew him.
As for Flint and Volkner, being genius trainers from the Sinnoh Region, they were relatively unknown in Hoenn.
Nevertheless, Yuga was pleased that Flint and Volkner had traveled all the way from the Sinnoh Region to attend his appointment ceremony. He had casually mentioned it to them, not expecting them to actually come.
Wallace's presence was entirely due to Robert's request. Robert, occupied with his teaching duties at the preparatory camp, couldn't attend and asked his senior to represent him. Steven, in this case, played a supporting role.
The friendships between Steven, Wallace, and Yuga were not particularly deep, so their attendance was inconsequential.
After Mr. Norman handed the gym badge to Yuga, he delivered his appointment declaration, outlining his responsibilities as the Verdanturf Gym's Leader. The entire appointment ceremony gradually drew to a close.
Overall, in the eyes of Verdanturf Town's residents, Yuga's appointment ceremony was grand and well-organized. Mr. Moore and Wallace's presence added luster to the event.
Next came the final stage of the appointment ceremony: challenging the new gym leader.
This phase was a test of the new Gym Leader's strength, and everyone in attendance had the opportunity to challenge the new gym leader. However, the limit for the gym leader to accept challenges was ten times.
Regardless of whether the challengers were strong or weak, once the gym leader reached the limit of ten challenges, the challenge phase would conclude.
As the challenge phase began, the spectators on the raised platform began to disperse, leaving only Yuga and Beidou, who acted as the referee.
"The challenge phase has begun. Anyone who wishes to challenge the new Gym Leader can step up," Beidou announced to the audience.
As soon as Beidou's words fell, a young male trainer jumped onto the platform.
"I'd like to learn from the new Verdanturf Gym Leader," he declared.
Yuga didn't bother asking for his full name, merely gesturing to the other side of the stage and saying, "Please."
The challenger stood on the opposite side of the stage, facing Yuga, and announced loudly, "I'm Mokuseki. Nice to meet you."
Yuga didn't mind the act of self-introduction by his opponent. Their goal was clear: to gain recognition by defeating Yuga.
Typically, League Gym Leaders were carefully selected and highly skilled, but during Gym battles, they often held back a bit. However, in the initiation ceremony challenges, Gym Leaders gave their all, as losing here would be embarrassing. Many Trainers aspired to defeat Gym Leaders in this setting to gain recognition.
Yuga proactively sent out his Pokémon, which was a Venusaur.
Mokuseki, on the other hand, sent out a Flying-type Pokémon, a Swellow, which had a type advantage against Yuga's Venusaur.
Seeing Swellow gracefully flying around the battlefield, Mokuseki wore a smug expression, thinking that Yuga was at a disadvantage for sending out his Pokémon first.
However, Yuga paid no heed to Mokuseki's expression and immediately ordered Venusaur to use Sunny Day.
Under the effects of Sunny Day and Chlorophyll, Venusaur transformed into a massive artillery piece, launching volleys of Sludge Bombs that completely blocked Swellow's movement paths. Swellow was easily taken down.
Witnessing Swellow fall to the ground, trailing smoke, Mokuseki's jaw dropped, nearly wide enough to fit a whole egg inside.
Mokuseki hadn't expected to lose so decisively.
"Next challenger, please," announced Beidou, after declaring Mokuseki's defeat.
As he watched Mokuseki retrieve his Swellow and leave the stage, Yuga shook his head. A Swellow of this caliber could have been easily defeated by Venusaur before its special training, let alone now.
During the month in Mauville City, Yuga and his Pokémon had undergone intense training specially tailored by Mr. Kuni'o. All of his Pokémon had made significant progress, particularly the Grass-types.
Yuga had never experienced systematic trainer knowledge and training before this month. This special training made him realize the importance of a skilled teacher, and it marked a significant leap in his abilities.
Moves: Tackle, Vine Whip, Leech Seed, Razor Leaf, Poison Powder, Sunny Day, Sludge Bomb, Energy Ball, Power Whip, Grassy Terrain, Photosynthesis, Solar Beam, Petal Dance, Earthquake, Frenzy Plant, Grass Pledge.
This was the result of Venusaur's special training during the month, with substantial improvements in both level and moves compared to before.
After Mokuseki, several more trainers took the stage one by one, and Venusaur easily defeated them all.
Venusaur had become more proficient in its defensive counterattacks, especially after learning Frenzy Plant. It had replaced Power Whip in its defensive counterattack strategy.
Compared to Power Whip, which was composed solely of Grass-type energy, Venusaur favored using Frenzy Plant, derived from its own sturdy roots. When Frenzy Plant was unleashed, it covered almost half of the battlefield with thick, brown, robust roots, capable of both defense and offense.
Initially, Yuga had no idea how Venusaur had learned Frenzy Plant, but Ryuichi later explained that Venusaur was actually the offspring of Mr. Kuni'o's main Pokémon, and Frenzy Plant was a move passed down by its mother.
With this explanation, Yuga understood that with guidance from a Master level Pokémon, learning new moves was a breeze.
Before, Yuga had been puzzled about his seemingly slow progress despite the numerous adventures and advantages he had encountered. Now he realized that the difference between him and Robert was simply the presence of a mentor.