Alex recognized the woman from when he disembarked the ferry earlier that morning. His impression of her was quite good overall. She was fit and powerful, and she would certainly be enough of a challenge for him to spar with, although whether she was as strong as Lucas remained to be seen.

“Ah, allow me to introduce you,” Mustard said as he daintily set the brush aside. “This here is Bea, our head student and the one most likely to succeed me, ho ho. She set her sights on becoming a Gym Leader and came quite close a few decades back when she first reached Champion rank. Just missed it in the finals against Allister, though. Since then, she’s chosen to stay and keep honing herself here, waiting for her next chance.”

“Hi~,” Bea said, her cheeks flushing. “I’m a big fan of your Battle Royale and Flying Arena streams. I especially like that it keeps getting bigger every year. Do you think you would eventually allow other people to join, or just those who are part of your organization?”

“I haven’t—”

“Not that I’m forcing you or anything,” she hastily added as she started twirling her bangs. “I just figured it would be more fun to watch if people from outside were allowed to join. Maybe…”

“You can probably tell from watching our streams, but our bounty hunters are trained to build up their bodies, so the level of combat you see is possible because they’ve had extensive training that allows them to survive. Plus, they’ve signed a waiver that removes any liability from the Silver Network if they die,” Alex answered.

“Right, but I just think more people would probably make the fighting more interesting, right? You could even set up a minimum physical standard and have them sign the same waiver. If there are too many people, you can probably just give out invites. I bet there are plenty of Fighting type trainers or even Gym Leaders who would love to participate. Imagine if you had Maylene or Koichi join up or something,” she said, twiddling her thumbs while looking down.

Alex had the initial impression that she was quite taken with him, but only now did he realize she just wanted to join the Battle Royale instead. She was a woman after his own heart, a battle junkie who took an interest in the fights he streamed.

“You’re more than welcome to join any time,” Alex said with a smile. “I’ll even come pick you up from Galar once the next battle is scheduled. Although, we could probably do one here if—”

“YES!” she shouted, her eyes lighting up with excitement. “We can totally do one here. I’ll make sure everyone signs the waivers and stuff. Where should we hold the battle? Oh! The Battle Court out back would be perfect. It’s definitely big enough. Do we have enough people? Maybe just the Champions participating isn’t enough. I have to go ask around. Do we have enough cameras? I have to go make preparations.”

As fast as she came, she disappeared, leaving a stunned Alex and a smiling Mustard.

“Quite the promising young lady, isn’t she?” Mustard said with a pleased chuckle.

“She is,” Alex agreed. “She’s certainly a battle junkie.”

“You’d make a fine pair, ho ho.”

“You’d give up your successor?”

“No, no. But perhaps you’d be willing to move here instead, hmm?”

“That would be nice,” Alex said. “Our place has been getting a bit too small for my Pokémon lately. Once they all reach Champion rank, our little backyard probably won’t be enough anymore.”

Mustard nodded in understanding. “It’s why I bought the island so long ago, heh heh. Now, return to your writing practice.”

Alex spent the rest of the day practicing calligraphy without getting anywhere. It wasn’t something that would take a few hours, let alone a few days, to become proficient in. At minimum, he estimated it would take months to see improvement and perhaps close to a year before he could confidently start attempting to write the Scroll of Steel.

Fortunately, he was good with his body and more than familiar with building up muscle memory. Coupled with his higher than human senses, flexibility, control, speed, and power, he would give calligraphy geniuses a run for their money back on Earth. The benefits of being at Champion rank were simply that impressive.

The next day, he woke up early and put on the dojo’s yellow and black gi before heading downstairs to meet up with his new Pokémon, assuming of course he succeeded in writing the scroll and could allow it to evolve.

“Hello, little one,” Alex said as he addressed Kubfu. “Before we get started, why don’t you show me all your moves so I know what I’m working with?”

“Kubfu!” he shouted before he began demonstrating.

Name: Kubfu, Elite lvl 70

Type: Fighting, Male

Ability: Inner Focus

Moves:

Expert:

(+100% Damage): Rock Smash, Aerial Ace, Headbutt, Brick Break, Iron Head, Dynamic Punch, Counter, Close Combat, Focus Punch, U-turn, Fling, Thunder Punch, Low Kick, Low Sweep, Reversal, Fire Punch, Acrobatics, Dig, Ice Punch, Take Down, Facade, Body Slam, Tera Blast, Double-Edge, Zen Headbutt, Metal Claw 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

(Effect Up +2): Leer, Endure, Focus Energy, Scary Face, Detect, Bulk Up, Protect, Sleep Talk, Swords Dance, Substitute, Helping Hand, Rest

Description: Kubfu, the Wushu Pokémon. It is a hardworking Pokémon that trains its mind and body by running through wild fields and scaling steep mountains. It possesses a unique organ that produces "fighting energy," which it intensifies through disciplined breathing and deep focus. Though it may appear small, its spirit is incredibly courageous, and it seeks out strong opponents to sharpen its skills. It is known for its earnest and polite nature, always showing great respect to its mentors and those it deems worthy.

“Not bad, but not the best either,” Alex commented once the scan finished. “He’s definitely on the older side since he’s already halfway through the Elite rank. His moveset is at least complete and already at Expert, so it shows how much effort he’s put into training, although the lack of priority moves is concerning. Is this why Mustard insisted on this Kubfu being Steel type?”

Alex didn’t know how Mustard knew this particular Kubfu would benefit from a Scroll of Steel. He figured it was simply Mustard’s experience and intuition. Still, Alex had no way of telling, so the best he could do was simply try his best and teach Kubfu his fighting style and mentality.

“Today will be the start of your training in my fighting style. It’s called mixed martial arts, or MMA for short. It’s a style that combines striking, wrestling, and grappling into a cohesive whole, with a pragmatic approach to selecting techniques.”

Kubfu stood at attention, nodding along while a few of the younger students in the dojo listened in as well. They were still impressed by Alex’s dominance over Lucas the previous day and were eager to learn from him.

“MMA doesn’t belong to any single tradition or philosophy,” Alex continued. “It evolves by taking techniques from different styles, testing them under pressure, and keeping what works in real combat. The point is function under stress. If a technique fails in a real fight, it’s discarded or adapted. If it works, it’s refined and kept. Over time, you build a toolkit you can rely on without hesitation.”

His gaze moved briefly over Kubfu, then the watching students.

“So you learn widely, test everything in live combat, and keep only what holds up when it matters. By the end of it, you would not only have a set of techniques to work with but a body that is familiar with the other styles that can be used against you and knowledge of how best to counter them. The more you experience, the more you grow as a fighter, the more powerful you become over others.”

Kubfu’s eyes beamed with anticipation at Alex’s lecture while the other students winced. It was a brutal fighting style that relied on unending practice, a literal mix of fighting styles whose only goal was victory. It was barbaric, disingenuous, and too difficult to practice.

“To help you with that,” Alex said as he called over Raticate. “You will be learning this fighting style with your body, and Raticate here will teach you.”

Raticate stood at the same height as Kubfu and knew all the techniques Alex liked to use. Also, as Alex’s first Pokémon and the only one he could Mega Evolve, Raticate was the most knowledgeable about Alex’s mentality, so Kubfu stood the best chance of learning from him.

“Fu!” Kubfu said with a respectful bow.

“Rati!” Raticate said while picking his nose and slumping lazily.

“Take this seriously, Raticate,” Alex scolded. “Don’t you want to refine your talent for spotting openings? This is your chance to do that.”

“Rati?”

“Yes, you will get to improve it if you teach it to someone else. The process of teaching forces you to understand aspects of a technique you may never have consciously examined but instinctively know just work. Just give it a try and see how it works out.”

“Raticate!”

“Good. Be gentle with him and slowly ramp up the intensity. Make sure he faints by the end of the day, but not before.”

With a sudden flicker, Raticate punched Kubfu square in the jaw, launching him away before following up with a Quick Attack in pursuit.

Alex shook his head and called over Clawitzer to help, hoping she could keep Kubfu alive for the training. Then he moved on to his other new Pokémon, who would likely join Kubfu as part of Alex’s fifth attack team.

There was Grimmsnarl, who would handle harassment, and Azuking as the bruiser. Together with Kubfu, whose technique and combat sense were superb, Alex hoped the three could replicate Raticate and Kommo-o’s teamwork.

Azuking was paired with Kommo-o due to Kommo-o’s battle hunger, which should be able to endure Azuking’s Huge Power. Grimmsnarl was paired with Ceruledge and Togekiss, both of whom had strong supportive timing.

As for Alex himself, he returned to calligraphy. He would have preferred to stretch his body and fight, but consistency and prolonged practice were key to improvement. It was best to use his time wisely.