Rustboro City,

Alex stood in front of a villa surrounded by a large fence that could only be entered through a massive entrance gate.

The villa itself was enormous and divided into several different sections. It had almost everything one could imagine: a large pool, several high-class cars parked near the main building, playgrounds, a huge garden, a sauna, and even a battlefield specifically built for Pokémon battles.

As Alex looked around, he could even see a small mine not far from the villa.

Alex and his Pokémon approached the gate, Gardevoir suddenly paused.

"Father, we're being watched by a Psychic Pokémon," she said immediately, informing Alex through their mental connection.

Alex smiled slightly. "Oh? Do you know how strong that Pokémon is this time?"

Gardevoir closed her eyes for a moment and focused on the presence she felt. Then she smiled proudly.

"Hmm… it should be around level 53 or 54."

She was clearly pleased with herself. Compared to the last time Alex had asked her a similar question, her strength had become far more powerful.

Alex, however, wasn't surprised at all by the "weak" strength of Steven's guards.

Although a mid-elite trainer was considered very powerful by most people, to truly strong trainers they were little more than meat shields—useful, but nothing exceptional.

Even the weakest Gym Leaders were usually late-elite trainers, as long as they weren't extremely young. Someone like Misty was an exception because of her age.

That was also the reason why Brock was sometimes mocked by other Gym Trainers. His strongest Pokémon was only around level 54, which many considered far too weak for a main Gym Leader in his age.

Of course, that criticism only applied to the 8 main Gyms in each region.

Gyms themselves were classified by the Alliance into three categories, and those categories determined the highest level of Badge that could be earned after completing a Gym challenge.

The first category was Unofficial Gyms. These Gyms received no support from the Alliance and could not award official League Badges.

The second category was Official Gyms. These Gyms were recognized and supported by the Alliance, but they could only award B-Badges to successful challengers.

The third and most important category was the Main Gyms. Each region only had eight of them.

Main Gyms not only received massive financial support from the Alliance but also held significant political influence. Trainers who defeated them could receive higher-tier badges, including B-Badges, A-Badges, and even the prestigious S-Badges.

For Official Gyms, the expected strength range was generally between level 45 and 54.

If an Official Gym became stronger then this level range, he/she could attempt something extremely rare—a Gym Challenge against one of the eight Main Gyms.

This challenge was the only way an Official Gym could advance and replace a Main Gym.

However, the requirements made it incredibly difficult to actually succeed.

First, an Official Gym could only attempt this challenge three times in its entire existence, and it could challenge each specific Main Gym only once.

Second, the defending Main Gym was allowed to choose the battle format—whether it was one-on-one, two-on-two, three-on-three, or even larger battles—and they could also select the battlefield itself, which often gave them a major advantage.

Finally, a Main Gym Leader who was younger than twenty-five could not be challenged.

Because of these strict rules, Gym Challenges were extremely rare.

Badges are also divided into three ranks, which show how much strength the Gym Leader is allowed to use during the battle and Gym Challenges are like a S Badge with higher stacks

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B Badge: A trainer can earn this badge without fighting the Gym Leader directly. Usually the challenger only fights a trainee or junior trainer who is responsible for rookie challengers. When someone attempts a B Badge challenge, the defending side can only use Pokémon between levels 10 and 39. In most cases, the Gym will use Pokémon with levels close to the challenger's team.

A Badge: This badge can only be obtained by defeating the Gym Leader personally, and it usually requires an appointment. These battles are sometimes broadcast when the Gym Leader believes the match will be exciting or entertaining, which helps increase the Gym's popularity. In an A Badge battle, the Gym Leader uses Pokémon between level 40 and level 49.

S Badge: These badges are extremely rare, and very few trainers possess even one. To obtain an S Badge, a challenger must defeat the Gym Leader while the leader uses their strongest Pokémon. The Gym Leader can choose the battle format—such as 1 vs 1, 2 vs 2, 3 vs 3, or more—and may also select the battlefield.

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These three badge ranks also serve another important purpose.

Every year, each region holds a major tournament that is considered the most important event in the region.

In Hoenn, this event is called the Hoenn Champion Tournament.

As the Kanto one, only the strongest trainers are allowed to participate. However, to enter the tournament, a trainer must meet at least one of the following requirements:

1: At least 6 B Badges and 2 A Badges.2: At least 3 A Badges.3: At least 1 S Badge.

Alex walked up to the entrance gate where a small camera was mounted beside a metal intercom. He pressed the button on the panel.

"Hello, this is Alex Stark. Steven should be waiting for me."

After a few seconds, a polite voice answered from the speaker. "One moment, sir, please. I will inform the young master immediately."

A quiet mechanical sound followed, and the massive gate slowly opened.

Alex stepped forward and began walking down the long road that led toward Steven's villa.

As he moved along the path, he noticed several Flying-type Pokémon circling high in the air above the estate, clearly acting as guards.

Out of curiosity, Alex checked their information. He couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. Only six of them had even reached the Elite rank, and just one of those had reached level 50.

Still, the security was far more than what most wealthy families could afford.

The land owned by Steven's family was enormous. It took Alex several minutes to walk along the road before he finally reached the main entrance of the villa.

Several butlers and maids were already waiting outside and standing in front of them, smiling, was Steven.

Steven stepped forward immediately and greeted Alex with a friendly bro fist. "Alex, welcome back. Nice to see you again."

Alex returned the gesture with a grin. "Yeah, it's nice to be back. Especially since I don't have to endure a ship ride to visit you anymore."

Steven laughed lightly. "Come on in. I have something interesting to tell you."

Alex raised an eyebrow, looking intrigued. "Oh? You too? Want to bet who has the better surprise?"

Steven's smile immediately turned confident. "Ha, Alex. If you're ready to lose this bet, I have no problem with that."

Alex, who was convinced Steven couldn't possibly have anything more impressive than Mega Evolution, smiled broadly at Steven's confidence.

"We both have enough money," Alex said casually. "So let's make the bet interesting. The loser has to do something embarrassing that the winner decides."

Steven looked at Alex's expression and hesitated for a moment.

Something about Alex's confidence made him slightly uneasy. For the first time, Steven wondered if there was actually a chance he might lose.

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*This is a reference to the first time when Gardevoir wasn't strong enough to accurately determine its strength or level.

Hey, in this chapter I talked about Gyms and Badges again.

Since it's been almost 300 chapters since the last time, I repeated some information, but to avoid boring readers who already know about it, I added more new information, like Gym Challenges or level expectations for Gym Leaders.

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if the story gets 150 powerstones in 24 hours, I will upload 1 bonus chapter tomorrow.

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If you want to see the next chapters (30+ chapters) earlier or just want to support me

https://www.--/alex02373