The sparring partner job at Hammerlocke Stadium ran from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, with a 30-minute break at noon. During their shifts, trainers could freely use the intermediate training rooms withiadium to train their Pokémon.

  However, there was orict rule—sparring partners had to remain ihe stadium at all times. Their presensured they could respond immediately whenever a battle request came in.

  Sparring partners were also ranked based orength of their Pokémon. Novid Beginner levels fell uhe Silver rank, while Intermediate and Advanced were cssified as Gold. Those at the Gym level her earhe prestigious Ptinum rank.

  Currently, there are no Ptinum ranked sparring partners at Hammerlocke Stadium, sirainers at that level earn far more by taking on missions or catg Pokémon.

  The majority of sparring partners here are at the Beginner or Intermediate level.

  With his Beginner-level Rookidee, Shiro was cssified as Silver Rank, earning him a base sary of 20,000 Pokédolrs. Though the bulk of his earnings e from issions.

  A one-hour session with a Silver rank sparring partner costs 1,000 Pokédolrs. With a 20% ission rate, Shiro earns 200 Pokédolrs per hour.

  This doesn't include battle wagers. If the hiring trainer loses, they must pay at least 1,000 Pokédolrs per match.

  Gar's long-standing tradition of betting on battles has made the sparring partner profession highly profitable.

  ......

  Now, inside Hammerlocke Stadium.

  The match betweewo Rookidee trainers had just ended, and the gathered spectators had thhly ehe intetle.

  Although her of the Pokémon itle were particurly strong or rare, Rookidee, as a representative Pokémon of the Gar region, has always beero among sparring partners of the same rank.

  The fight had been well-executed aertaining and was likely to be the talk of the stadium for the few days.

  After the battle, Shiro returo the stadium's main hall and asked Pym to book an intermediate training room for him.

  He could train his Pokémon while waiting for another match. However, Rookidee couldn't be pushed too hard—if it was too exhausted, it wouldn't perform well in battles.

  Pym sat at his puter, the glow of the blue s reflected off his gsses as his fingers moved swiftly across the keyboard.

  Suddenly, he stopped typing.

  "Shiro, someone just requested a battle with you."

  He adjusted his gsses and gave Shiro the battle location.

  "Battlefield 27… It's probably one of the trainers who just watched yht."

  "Alright." Shiro had no reason to refuse. If someone was eager to hand him money, he certainly wouldn’t turn them away.

  ......

  Shiro made his way toward the designated battlefield, his sharp gaze sing the occupied ay arenas until he found the corree.

  Standing on one side of Battlefield 27 was an older man with grayish-white hair. His pale, aged face made it hard to tell his exact age, but he could easily pass for sixty.

  This was the "old man" who had been watg from the sidelines earlier.

  "Hello, Shiro. My name is Bryan, but you call me by my niame—Old Man." Bryan smiled as he gripped a Poké Ball. His voice was as aged as his appearance.

  "o meet you. I'm Shiro, a sparring partner specializing in Rookidee." Shiro kept his introdu brief and stepped onto the battlefield.

  He tossed Rookidee's Poké Ball into the air with a flick of his wrist.

  With a burst of red light, Rookidee emerged, fpping its wings vigorously. Its crimson eyes gleamed with fighting spirit.

  The earlier battle hadn't worn it down. if anything, it had only fueled its excitement for the fight.

  "Looks like it's i shape." Bryan studied Rookidee with i before iing his League Card into the arena's metal terminal.

  Shiro followed suit, iing his ID.

  A soft pink psychic barrier rose around the battlefield, sealing the space for their match..

  Rookidee hovered midair, waiting for its oppo.

  Yet, Bryan didn’t send out his Pokémht away. Instead, he turoward Shiro and asked,

  "I remember you won a Dragon Scale from Ryn, didn't you?"

  Shiro’s gaze flickered.

  "Yeah," he responded, already guessing where this was going. Bryan probably wao buy it off him.

  "What are you pnning to do with it?" the old man asked.

  Shiro paused for a moment, then answered,

  "Feed it to my Pokémon."

  "Your Pokémon?" Bryan fell silent for a moment, then nodded and threw out a Poké Ball.

  Shiro only had two Pokémon, Rookidee and Gastly, her of which could bite through the Dragon Scale.

  But that didn't stop him from pretending as though he had the right Pokémon for the job.

  Out of Bryan's Poké Ball emerged a pure white, upright rabbit with red ears. It was Scorbunny, the Fire-type starter from the Gar region.

  Scorbunny's feet were long and thick, stantly boung in pce, with small fmes occasionally fring around it.

  From its appearance, Shiro could tell that this Scorbunny was close to evolving, likely at level 16.

  "Hehe, let's see if I get it to evolve through this battle," Bryan casually remarked.

  Shiro nodded slightly and fidently said, "You go first."

  Bryan didn't hesitate, shouting, "Scorbunny, use Fire Kick!"

  'Fire Kick?'

  Shiro quickly searched his mind, but couldn't recall a Fire-type move by that name.

  Even so, he swiftly issued his and, "Rookidee! Use Quick Attack to dodge!"

  Otlefield, Scorbunny kicked off the ground with great force, ung itself into the air at incredible speed, far faster than Ryn's Jangmo-o.

  Pokémon like Scorbunny had a natural talent for speed, and its body was built for quick, offensive moves.

  It spun mid-air and shot toward Rookidee with its fmi, delivering a powerful kick.

  Rookidee reacted instantly.

  With a sharp cry, it became a blur of gray light, narrowly avoiding the fiery strike. The moment it passed by Scorbunny, it clipped the Fire-type with its wing.

  Caught off guard, Scorbunny lost bance midair, tumbling awkwardly toward the ground.

  In the nick of time, Shiro had instructed Rookidee to use Quick Attack to dodge. If it had depended solely on its wings, it might have been hit.

  The Fire Kick seemed to be a bination of two moves, making it incredibly strong. If Rookidee had been hit even o would have sustained serious damage.

  "Hmph, not bad. You reacted well." Bryan nodded, impressed by Rookidee's swift dodge and terattack.

  "Rookidee, Hone Cws!" Shiro khat Bryan's Scorbunny was strong, so he issued a hasty and once Rookidee had dodged.

  Rookidee's body glowed with a white light, and it rubbed its cws together.

  ‘Is he feinting?’ Bryan narrowed his eyes.

  After a brief hesitation, he anded, "Scorbunny! Keep moving and use Growl!"

  Growl was a move that lowered the oppo's attack. Bryan wasn't sure if Shiro was really going for an attack with Hone erely using it to feint. He had no choice but to issue the and.

  If Rookidee was going to use Air Cutter, Scorbunny could quickly stop Growl and dodge.

  But if Rookidee was really just using Hone Cws, then Growl would teract the potential boost from Rookidee's move.

  "Rooki!" Rookidee called out loudly, pleting its move.

  Despite being startled by the sound, Scorbunny still mao use Growl.

  "Scor!"

  "Rookidee, Air Cutter!" Shiro quickly followed up with his and.

  **

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