After Victor made a reservation to attend the auction on the 8th on the top floor of the Pokémon Comprehensive Center, he called the contact number for the team leader provided by the club.
He took out his phone, entered [1145141919810], and dialed.
After a brief intro, a strange song played:
> "Crying Love Heart"
"涙はお前にはにあわない" (Tears don't suit you)
Victor frowned. Why are there so many odd songs like this?
"Hello, who is this?" A male adult voice answered the phone.
"This is Victor. I made a reservation for a mountaineering activity at the club, which is scheduled to start tomorrow morning."
Victor quickly explained.
"Oh, Mr. Victor. I just received the notice. We'll start the climb from the foot of Icepeak Mountain at 5 AM tomorrow."
"No problem. I also wanted to ask, if I complete the gym challenge that day, when will we return to the city?"
Victor was worried about missing the auction. It might be better to delay the mountain climb for a few days.
"If we leave on time tomorrow morning, we'll reach the mountainside by midnight. The whole round trip will take about three days."
"Okay, that works for me, Captain Roger."
"Great! I'll add you on we chat later, and I'll send you a list of the equipment you'll need for the climb."
"Just call me Roger."
"Got it."
---
Preparation
After hanging up the phone, Victor looked at the long list of equipment sent by his new friend, Captain Roger. He compared it with the items he had already purchased according to the guide and found that they were nearly identical, so he didn't need to buy anything extra.
With that settled, Victor decided to head back to the hotel to rest and recuperate before the hike the next morning.
At the hotel, Victor handed his phone to his Carbink as usual. His Incineroar and Milotic were playfully rolling around nearby.
"Na na?"
[Hehehe, we can continue watching the third episode~ When will cherish become a magical girl?]
At that moment, Carbink had no idea what was waiting for her...
"Na na na na na na————!"
The screams of Carbink echoed throughout the hotel suite.
---
The Climb Begins
Have you ever seen Frostwind City at four in the morning? Victor had.
It was still dark, but he had arrived at the foot of the mountain, where three people were already waiting.
"Brother Victor? Over here!" The strong man at the front waved to greet him.
In addition to the strong man, Victor recognized the other two people. They were the same ones he nearly bumped into when he went to buy mountaineering equipment yesterday.
"Hello!" Victor stepped forward and greeted the three people.
"Hello, we meet again!" Dennis and Alice were surprised to see Victor so soon and greeted him in unison.
"Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Victor, and I'm here to climb the mountain with Captain Roger to challenge the Extreme Ice Gym."
Victor introduced himself with a smile, showing off his white teeth. He was curious if these two were also planning to challenge the gym.
"Ah, you're going to challenge the Extreme Ice Gym too?" Alice asked, surprised. Now, she could observe the fighting power of Victor's Incineroar up close.
---
Introductions
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Alice. I'm a junior at Brightspire City University, specializing in Fire Pokémon."
"This is Dennis. Like me, he's a junior at Brightspire City University, specializing in Steel-type Pokémon!"
Dennis, who was being introduced, remained silent. He carefully observed Victor with his silver-blue eyes, as if trying to confirm something.
"..."
"I'd like to ask, Victor, how old are you?" Dennis suddenly spoke, his voice curious.
Victor felt that it was probably because he looked younger that Dennis was asking.
"Me? I'm seventeen now, a senior at Celestial High School!" Victor replied.
"Seventeen!?"
"Senior year of high school!?"
Dennis and Alice both exclaimed in shock.
They had both experienced the time when they first received their starter Pokémon in their senior year of high school. Normally, at this age, they should still be in school, training their highest-level Pokémon. So, how was it that Victor was challenging a gym now?
Dennis and Alice exchanged glances, both surprised.
"Brother Victor, may I ask, are you challenging the beginner's gym challenge?" Roger, who had been watching the conversation, suddenly interrupted.
"Correct," Victor nodded, confirming Roger's question.
"Wow, Brother Victor, you're really impressive!" Roger gave a thumbs-up, showing his admiration.
It's rare to find someone who's capable of taking on a beginner gym challenge at such a young age.
---
Into the Wild
"Now that we're all here, shall we set off? If we delay, we'll have to spend the night in the snowy mountains," Roger suggested.
"Okay," Victor agreed.
Climbing the mountain with an experienced guide made a huge difference. Roger helped Victor and the others avoid countless potential risks along the way.
The Sneasel and Abomasnow tribes occasionally launched ambushes.
Victor sent out his Incineroar, Dennis released his Metang, and Alice called out her Blaziken. The three elite Pokémon, together with Roger's professional Pokémon, successfully repelled the Sneasel tribe.
During the battle, an ordinary-level Weavile and an elite-level Abomasnow took advantage of the distraction caused by Incineroar and attacked Victor at incredible speed.
Dennis, Alice, and Roger were preparing to use their Pokémon to block the attack, but what happened next left them shocked.
Victor calmly aimed at the rapidly approaching Weavile, rubbed his hands together, and after two and a half seconds, formed a basketball-sized azure Aura Sphere.
The sphere struck Weavile, knocking it unconscious immediately.
---
Hidden Potential
Seeing the question marks above their heads, Victor calmly explained that he possessed special abilities.
There was no need to hide this from the Crimson Alliance, as it would only attract more attention from alliance resources. However, he planned to keep it a secret from other countries, especially those dominated by aristocratic families.
Dennis and Alice quietly discussed the matter, deciding to wait and see how Victor performed in the gym battle. Even if Victor lost, they could still recommend him to their school for an advantage!
Just three months after receiving his starter Pokémon, Victor's ace, Incineroar, already had elite-level combat power. He was clearly a potential prodigy!