My Pokémon Training Method is Definitely Not Normal!

Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari

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At this moment, Roark walked over, holding a gray badge in his hand.

"What brilliant tactics... Come, Marcus, this Coal Badge is yours."

Marcus took the badge, looked at Roark's face, which held a mix of helplessness and unwillingness, and awkwardly rubbed his nose: "Sorry, Gym Leader Roark, since it's a 2-on-3 battle, I really had to devise some slightly... different tactics."

Roark's mouth twitched, and he grumbled: "Don't mention it, you really exploited the loophole of not being able to switch out..."

Thinking of how Geodude's Rollout was rolling so much it was smoking but still dealt no damage, he felt a wave of frustration.

Marcus smiled politely and said nothing.

Ultimately, it was still Roark who underestimated him.

Otherwise, Marcus wouldn't have won so easily...

If Roark had taken two uses of Baby-Doll Eyes from Buneary more seriously, he wouldn't have exposed his final strategy; that way, he would have had more tactical options.

And in Geodude's move pool, there was the option of changing the weather with Sandstorm.

As long as the Rainy Weather was broken and Weather Ball lost its boost, Marcus would have had to settle for using Mega Drain to sweep the team.

In that case, the power would have been greatly reduced.

At the same time, Stealth Rock was copied with Mimic and became a hidden danger, directly breaking Onix's Sturdy ability, leading to it being knocked out in one hit.

By the third battle, Roark's mindset had clearly shifted; he actually thought about forcing a knockout with Flamethrower.

But at that time, the Rainy Weather still had a little time left, and Smoliv's defenses had already surpassed those of her peers by too much, which led to the final team sweep.

Marcus had to admit he'd gotten lucky with Roark underestimating him as a first-time challenger. Most Gym Leaders would go easy on newcomers and wouldn't use their full tactical arsenal right away.

Slightly putting the insights from this battle back into his heart, Marcus walked out of the Oreburgh Gym at a leisurely pace.

At the same time, a System sound rang in his ears.

[Ding, the main quest 'First Gym Challenge' has been completed, you have obtained TM: Work Up, Draw Chance ×1!]

[Work Up: Encourages itself, raising its Attack and Special Attack by 1 stage each.]

[Ding, a new main quest has been issued, please check the quest panel!]

[Sinnoh Gym Challenger Expert]

Requirement: Challenge Gyms in the Sinnoh Region and obtain the corresponding Gym Badges.

Reward: Obtain TMs and master points based on challenge difficulty and number of badges.

————

"Hmm... looks pretty good~" Marcus smiled slightly.

With Work Up, Buneary's Baton Pass strategy now had a crucial boosting move.

He selected the TM and used it on Buneary's Poke Ball.

Before he could release the little rabbit to see the effect, his eyes were covered by a pair of soft small hands.

"Guess who I am... If you guess correctly, there's..."

Before the girl could finish speaking, Marcus interrupted: "Whitney?!"

"Ah... not fun! How did you guess?"

Marcus pulled her hands down and turned around, only to see the pretty girl pouting slightly, stomping her feet in place.

"Ahem... Actually, I didn't guess, you told me.."

As he spoke, his gaze lingered on a certain prominent spot for a moment, and Marcus couldn't help but recall the wonderful feeling of her pressing against his back just now... His thoughts wandered for a moment.

Then, noticing the dark circles under the girl's eyes, Marcus said softly: "Why did you suddenly come looking for me? Did you stay up late?"

"I... I was worried you'd be nervous challenging the Gym for the first time!" Whitney's eyes darted around as she hid her guilt: "And, you haven't returned Miltank for so long, I had to come and make sure she was okay... Right, Mary?"

"Ah, yes, yes, yes..." Mary indicated she was already full and didn't want to eat anymore...

"Is that so..." Marcus didn't think too much about it and directly returned Miltank's Poke Ball.

Following him, Miltank's daily life wasn't as free and easy as it was on the ranch.

Taking the Poke Ball, Whitney felt a bit regretful again and gave him a worried look: "Actually... actually..."

"It's okay, my partners and I are already very strong, you must have seen it just now, right?" Marcus smiled: "If I'm not mistaken, you snuck in to watch the battle?"

"Hehe..." Whitney gave a playful smile, cutely getting away with it.

"I was the one who called the Gym Leader back, otherwise you might not have been able to challenge the Gym until tomorrow..." Mary interjected, seemingly wanting to break the good atmosphere of 'dog food'.

"Huh?" Marcus was startled, finally realizing the meaning behind Roark's words, 'So you're the one challenging the Gym'.

"Don't worry about these little things for me every day, you should take good care of yourself too..." He reached out and ruffled Whitney's head, thinking of her lazy demeanor when he called her in the morning, and said with some heartache: "You haven't adjusted to the time difference, have you? Look at your red eyes."

Whitney narrowed her eyes, smiled sweetly, and nodded: "Mm!"

"..." Mary's eyes were slightly moist.

Didn't I personally go and call the Gym Leader?

How did the focus turn into Whitney worrying about it herself when it got to you?

Should I just leave??

...

Due to matters at the ranch and the radio station, Whitney and Mary didn't stay long.

Under Mary's repeated urging, Marcus sent the two of them to the shuttle bus heading to the airport.

"Then, wait obediently at home, I will definitely fulfill our dream!" Under the setting sun, Marcus smiled brightly and waved.

Through the car window, Whitney also waved, her usually cute and sweet face now tinged with reluctance.

"Screech——"

Amidst a mechanical friction sound, the shuttle bus slowly started.

The figure of the young man standing and gazing in the distance slowly became smaller in her vision, and gradually blurred.

"Marcus——!"

Whitney suddenly shouted out, her tender and cute voice having a sense of determination for the first time.

Under Mary's shocked gaze, she actually jumped directly out of the car window, stumbled, and then ran towards Marcus.

"Driver, stop the car!" Mary quickly called for the driver to stop.

Behind the shuttle bus, the girl had already rushed into Marcus's arms like a young swallow returning to its nest, her big eyes filled with tears: "What... what if I miss you?"

Marcus's breathing quickened, his heart seemingly struck by Giga Impact...

Gently wiping away her tears, he didn't answer, but just wrapped his arms around the girl's waist, holding her tightly, as if wanting to merge her into his body.

With their breaths so close, the soft and tender embrace, Marcus lightly sniffed her hair, narrowed his eyes, cupped the girl's slightly chubby cheeks, met her pair of pink beautiful eyes, and slowly brought his chin closer.

Her heart raced at this moment, and Whitney completely lost the ability to think.

Under the vibrant setting sun, the two shadows finally merged into one...

...

"Huff..." After a long time, Whitney finally broke free from Marcus's embrace, breathing heavily, her cheeks flushed.

She gazed steadily at him, and finally, both of them smiled at the same time.

"I... I... like you, since a very long time, I liked you..." The girl finally mustered the courage to reveal the feelings in her heart.

Marcus reached out and wrapped his arm around her slender waist: "I know... It's just that I might have known a bit late."

He straightened her messy bangs for her, raised her delicate chin again, aimed for her cherry lips, and kissed her.

"Mm... Hmm..."

...

Ten minutes later.

"Hey... the whole bus is watching..." Mary got off the bus with a face full of black lines, looking at the couple embracing, and said sourly.

"Ah?" Whitney let go of Marcus with a 'pop' and quickly turned around.

She saw a row of uncles and aunties on the bus, and even the driver Uncle had an auntie-like smile on his face...

"Ahhh!! It's over! So embarrassing..."

Whitney covered her face and scurried back onto the bus.

Marcus watched her leave, the smile on his lips blooming with an unprecedented curve.