-115- The Elf Freedom Room (1/3) (Please subscribe!)

"That is roughly the situation. Tongsi, I apologize for the trouble."

The staff member at the Jinyao Club shared his frustrations with Tongsi.

...

Today was a holiday, and Tongsi had arrived at the Jinyao Club early in the morning for special training. This marked his fifth consecutive day at the club.

Electabuzz’s Fire Punch and Ice Punch were finally being used with increasing proficiency. Moving forward, he only needed to increase their power to utilize them perfectly in actual combat.

For the past few days, Tongsi had been leaving Eevee and Shuckle in the Pokémon Free-Battle Room. The results were noteworthy. Eevee’s level had risen to twenty-three, and Shuckle’s level had actually reached twenty-four, surpassing Eevee. This was almost unbelievable to Tongsi.

However, just moments ago, after the staff member described the scene inside the Free-Battle Room, Tongsi frowned, feeling quite annoyed.

The staff member’s exact words were: "Tongsi, the Free-Battle Room was originally intended for Pokémon to engage in open sparring, but now, it has essentially turned into a vacation resort. This... is all thanks to your Eevee. Could you please recall Eevee into its Poké Ball to avoid further conflict with the other members?"

Upon learning this, Tongsi went to the Free-Battle Room to take a look, and he nearly died of frustration. Eevee had basically become the "big sister" of the battle room.

Of course, if Eevee had achieved this on its own merit, Tongsi wouldn't be angry; he would have applauded it and rewarded it with five Alcremie-made cream ice creams. But after watching the surveillance footage from the room, Tongsi saw the entire process of Eevee’s "conquest" clearly.

At first, Eevee moved around a bit and fought a few weak Pokémon. Then, after Shuckle entered the room, Eevee had a sudden inspiration and began using its good buddy Shuckle as the ultimate tool. Eevee started commanding Shuckle in battle, utilizing Shuckle's incredible defensive power to defeat a host of Pokémon with higher levels. Those Pokémon, seeing they couldn't break through Shuckle’s defense, simply gave up.

But Eevee wasn't finished. It would take the initiative to attack those Pokémon, provoking them, and then hide behind Shuckle whenever they flew into a rage. A classic scene ensued:

Eevee: "I just love watching you guys get annoyed at me while being unable to do anything about it."

"What on earth is Eevee doing?" Tongsi was rendered speechless.

Several of Tongsi’s fans, who were watching the footage alongside him, were also fuming but dared not speak. They admired Tongsi, but Eevee’s behavior was simply too detestable.

The footage continued to play.

A few of the more hot-headed Pokémon launched attacks, but with Shuckle blocking the front, none of them could lay a finger on Eevee. Instead, Shuckle kept increasing its own level while using the recoil damage from its Rocky Helmet to knock out its opponents.

"Shuckle is actually performing quite well," Tongsi remarked, stroking his chin. He was quite satisfied with Shuckle’s performance. It was becoming increasingly skilled at the counter-damage strategy using the Rocky Helmet.

As the footage continued, Tongsi saw that no Pokémon in the room could break through Shuckle’s defense, so naturally, none could hurt Eevee. Consequently, Eevee had simply started vacationing in there. Meanwhile, the other Pokémon, seeing how relaxed Eevee was, began to wonder why they should bother trying at all. One by one, they started slacking off. Once the first one started, the rest followed. Eventually, the entire Free-Battle Room became a resort.

Tongsi covered his eyes, unable to bear watching any longer. When it came to resting and relaxing, Eevee was undoubtedly a genius! In terms of laziness, Tongsi couldn't find anyone better than Eevee.

After retrieving Eevee and Shuckle from the room, Eevee looked blankly at him, wondering why it was being let out of "school" so early. Tongsi stared at Eevee with a stern expression.

"Eevee, in two days, I will officially become a Normal-rank Trainer. By then, I’ll be able to register Pokémon other than Electabuzz with the Pokémon Association, and I might even be able to take you to participate in a Pokémon Contest," Tongsi said seriously.

"Bui..."

Eevee was initially delighted to hear this. It had finally reached the Pokémon Contest it had dreamed of. Eevee was incredibly happy. However, being quite perceptive, it sensed that Tongsi was displeased and kept its excitement to itself.

"I saw everything you did in the Free-Battle Room," Tongsi said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to steady his emotions. "To be honest, I am very disappointed in you!"

As Tongsi opened his eyes, Eevee trembled. This was the first time Tongsi had lost his temper with Eevee since arriving in this world. Eevee, encountering such a serious Tongsi for the first time, felt a pang of fear.

"Bachi, bachi..." Shuckle crawled over, seemingly wanting to say something on Eevee's behalf.

"Shuckle, you don't need to speak for it. I’ve seen the footage of everything that happened in that room. Honestly, Eevee really went too far."

Before entering the room to retrieve them, Tongsi had already apologized to the other trainers. After all, Eevee had disrupted their special training.

"Eevee, Shuckle, I let you into the Free-Battle Room to improve your strength. Shuckle, you did manage to do that, and I saw it. I also understand your desire to protect Eevee."

Through the footage, Tongsi saw that while Shuckle fought under Eevee’s command, it was primarily focused on shielding Eevee. If not for Shuckle, Eevee would have likely been knocked out many times over.

"But in the Free-Battle Room, every Pokémon other than yourself is an opponent. Even Eevee is your opponent!" Tongsi said without hesitation.

From the moment the Jinyao Club established the Free-Battle Room, there had been a rule: Pokémon belonging to the same trainer were forbidden from teaming up. The room was designed for free-for-all combat, where every Pokémon was an opponent to the others.

"Bachi..." Shuckle lowered its head, realizing its mistake.

Tongsi patted Shuckle’s head; he didn't really want to blame Shuckle. Shuckle had actually done a good job and even leveled up, showing great progress in its defensive counter-strategy. The person Tongsi mainly wanted to reprimand was Eevee.

For a long time, Eevee had ignored his instructions, following its own whims. It was too lazy and unwilling to undergo special training. Tongsi was even considering whether to register Eevee as his second official Pokémon. Once registered, it could not be changed. He had to think carefully. Before, he would have done it without hesitation, but Eevee’s performance over the last few days had truly disappointed him.

"Bui..." Eevee came to Tongsi’s side and tugged on his pant leg, as if realizing its error.

"Eevee, for the next few days, you must train as hard as Electabuzz. Even if you participate in a Pokémon Contest, there is still a battle segment. If you don't want to lose, if you want to be the most dazzling Pokémon in the contest, you must achieve it through your own hard work. In the Pokémon Contest, Electabuzz won’t be there to help you defeat your opponents, and Shuckle won’t be there to block their attacks for you. Everything will depend on your own strength."

Tongsi had truly given Eevee a thorough lecture today.

... (To be continued)