Pokémon: Garchomp
Level: Veteran Rank – Mid Stage
Potential: Champion Tier
Ability: Sand Veil
Held Items: Dragon Fang, Landorus Core Essence (Fusion Progress: 20%)
Moves: Dragon Breath, Dragon Claw, Dragon Tail, Stomping Tantrum, Dual Chop, Bite, Substitute, Slash, Dig, Sand Tomb…
Evaluation: Through the core essence of the Legendary Pokémon Landorus, Garchomp can absorb and convert Electric- and Flying-type attacks into its own power, growing stronger the more it battles.
Lanturn's pupils shrank.
It stared in shock at the Pokémon before it—Garchomp was openly venting its excitement, roaring toward the ceiling as arcs of residual electricity faded from its body.
To be honest, without even realizing it, Lanturn had already developed a strong reluctance to ever face this Pokémon again.
Even though Garchomp's actual level was still a full major rank below its own, what it had just witnessed was simply too terrifying.
"This worked! From now on, you've got another way to grow stronger!"
Oliver ran over excitedly and patted Garchomp's body, quietly releasing a strand of Viridian Force to check its condition.
Although Landorus's core essence was continuously repairing Garchomp's injuries, the damage it had suffered was far too severe. Most of the absorbed energy had gone toward its breakthroughs, so in reality, Garchomp's injuries had only recovered to about fifty percent.
Oliver carefully fed more Viridian Force into its body, helping to ease the damage.
This method of growth is fast, he thought, but it's far too dangerous to use recklessly.
Garchomp, however, didn't think that way at all.
As long as it could become stronger, any amount of pain was worth it.
Otherwise, it would never have willingly endured repeated full-power attacks from Lanturn after already taking that first devastating blow.
After all, under the effects of Charge, Lanturn had been fighting at more than one hundred percent power.
Oliver recalled Garchomp into its Poké Ball so it could slowly recover.
Then he turned to Mu Xue.
"Thanks. I really owe you for this."
Mu Xue looked at him with clear admiration in her eyes.
"Your Pokémon are just like you," she said softly. "Always doing things that completely shatter expectations."
It had only been two days since they arrived in Luocheng, and Oliver's leave was far from over. So the two decided to stay a few more days before heading back to Rongcheng.
Of course, training never stopped.
Aside from Garchomp—who needed rest—every other Pokémon completed their daily training as usual.
During these days, at Mu Xue's suggestion, they even went to see a newly released movie. With masks on and the dim lighting of the cinema, no one recognized them.
They also visited several famous spots around Luocheng.
Finally, on the day before returning to Rongcheng, Garchomp's injuries fully healed.
That same day, Oliver decided to head to the Pokémon Center to upgrade his Trainer rank.
The biggest difference between an Advanced Trainer and a Veteran Trainer lay in Pokémon requirements.
An Advanced Trainer only needed to own a single Advanced-rank Pokémon.
A Veteran Trainer, however, needed three Pokémon that had all reached Veteran rank.
With Garchomp's successful breakthrough—and excluding Celebi, who couldn't be revealed publicly—Oliver finally met the requirements.
He now officially possessed three Veteran-rank Pokémon.
It was time to obtain his Veteran Trainer License.
At the Pokémon Center, Oliver approached the front desk.
"Hello, I'd like to take the Trainer certification exam."
"Of course," the staff member replied politely. "Which level would you like to apply for?"
"Veteran level."
The staff member paused, eyeing Oliver with surprise.
Even with sunglasses and a mask, the voice clearly belonged to a teenager.
"Sir… did you mean the Advanced Trainer exam?"
"No," Oliver replied calmly. "I'm applying for the Veteran Trainer exam. Here's my Advanced Trainer license."
The staff member took the certificate—and froze.
It was genuine.
"I—I see! My apologies!"
She immediately straightened up. "No problem at all. I'll submit your application right away. Please wait in the lounge, and a staff member will guide you to the assessment shortly."
The second floor of the Pokémon Center primarily served as a Pokémon medical ward.
Although specialized Pokémon hospitals existed, their costs were extremely high. Unless the injury was severe, most Trainers preferred treatment at Pokémon Centers instead.
Coincidentally, at that very moment, the Luocheng Gym Leader was also on the second floor, accompanying their Pokémon for treatment.
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