Pokemon: My Pokemon Has a Tailed Beast Template

Chapter 281 281: The Gym Exchange Tournament

Indigo Plateau.

"Does Lance really plan to do this?" Bruno asked with a smile.

Lance replied expressionlessly, "The lives of these Gym Leaders have become too comfortable. It's time to put some pressure on them."

"Lance, you're about to ruin the jobs of every Gym Leader," Bruno reminded him. "Don't forget, your sister is also a Gym Leader."

"When you hold a high position, you must take responsibility for it," Lance said calmly. "If someone lacks the strength, then it's better for them to step aside and make room for someone more capable."

"Alright, I'll send out the notice immediately."

Viridian City.

The doors of the Viridian Gym were tightly shut.

"Huh? Why is the Viridian Gym closed today?" a challenger asked in confusion after arriving at the entrance.

"Lots of Gyms have been closed recently," another boy replied while pointing at the notice posted on the door. "Gym Leader Sam went to attend the Kanto and Johto Gym Exchange Tournament. It'll probably take more than half a month before he comes back."

"Gym Exchange Tournament?"

"Yeah. I heard it's a large-scale competition between the major Gyms of Kanto and Johto. The official announcement should be released soon."

Cerulean City.

Sakura paced back and forth anxiously inside the Cerulean Gym, her expression filled with worry.

"Sis, can you stop pacing already? You're making me even more upset," Violet complained irritably.

"Then what do you expect us to do?!" Sakura shouted as she stopped walking.

"I heard that any Gym that performs poorly in this exchange tournament might lose its Gym qualification! What are we supposed to do now?!"

What should they do?

If Violet and Lily knew the answer, they wouldn't look so miserable right now.

Kicking a nearby chair aside in frustration, Lily grumbled angrily:

"What is the Pokémon League even thinking? Since when has there ever been a Gym exchange tournament like this?!"

Violet's mood wasn't much better.

"It's one thing if we embarrass ourselves," she muttered, "but if we embarrass the Cerulean Gym in front of all Kanto and Johto, everyone will know we're the weakest Gym."

After hearing that, Lily couldn't help but add:

"Pretty sure everyone already knows Cerulean Gym is the weakest Gym."

Both Sakura and Violet instantly fell silent.

The Cerulean Gym had fallen from one of Kanto's prestigious Gyms to its current state, and the sisters themselves were largely to blame. If they had focused properly on training and raising their Pokémon instead of neglecting their responsibilities, the Gym would never have declined this badly.

"Why don't we just use the Pokémon our parents left behind?" Lily suggested quietly. "We could use them for the competition."

Sakura instinctively wanted to refuse.

Using someone else's Pokémon in an official Gym competition was basically cheating. Unless absolutely necessary, she didn't want to stoop that low.

Seeing her hesitation, Violet hurriedly tried to persuade her.

"Sister Sakura, just listen to Lily! If we use our own Pokémon, we'll only embarrass ourselves."

"It's already difficult enough for our Pokémon to deal with beginner Trainers, let alone Gym Leaders from Johto. None of the Johto Gyms are easy opponents."

Sakura sighed bitterly.

Her younger sisters were still too naïve.

It would be obvious if they used their parents' Pokémon, and getting exposed would only make things even more humiliating.

Still… her sisters weren't wrong.

They truly had no other choice.

For the first time, Sakura deeply regretted not taking Pokémon training seriously in the past.

If she had worked harder before, the Cerulean Gym wouldn't be facing such a crisis now.

She only hoped she wouldn't become the sinner who destroyed the Cerulean Gym's legacy.

If the Gym truly lost its official status, she wouldn't even have the courage to face her parents.

Fuchsia City.

"Father… are you really going to participate in this exchange tournament?" Janine asked carefully.

Koga didn't answer directly. Instead, he changed the subject.

"Janine, after I leave, the Fuchsia Gym will be entrusted to you."

"Huh?!"

Janine froze in shock.

Although she had always trained hard with the goal of inheriting the Fuchsia Gym, she never expected that day to arrive so suddenly.

She had once imagined feeling excited when the moment finally came.

But now that it was actually happening, all she felt was fear.

Was she really capable of managing the Fuchsia Gym properly?

She didn't have that confidence.

Looking at his still-young daughter, Koga sighed helplessly.

Everything had happened too quickly. Originally, he had planned to hand over the Gym to Janine several years later.

Not long ago, Lance had invited Koga to become one of the new Elite Four members.

After careful consideration, Koga ultimately accepted.

Very few Trainers could resist the allure of becoming part of the Elite Four.

After all, Trainers spent more than a decade training for fame and recognition. Now that the opportunity had finally appeared, Koga had no intention of letting it slip away.

The only thing he still worried about was Janine and the future of the Fuchsia Gym.

He could only hope that his daughter would mature quickly, become a qualified Gym Leader, and preserve the reputation of the Fuchsia Gym.