The guy didn't seem all that surprised at my answer which probably made sense considering the nature of my pokemon. Variants may be rare but not to the point that it was unheard of for a team like mine to exist. People with teams filled with variants pop up every now and again so my story wasn't hard to believe at all. I chatted with the guy a bit after that in order to get a feel for any mistakes I may have made. The advice I got was not to immediately try to get the opponent with a trap.-

This guys entire strategy revolved around the frankly irritating amount of defensive buff skills that Seedot learns naturally. Pretty much he buffs to crazy durable levels before using nature power and bide to slowly wear down his foes. Not a bad strategy all things considered but much too passive for my tastes. I personally preferred a more direct approach when battling with a bit of trickery to up the odds in my favor. We continued down the road challenging people as we went but we never found another trainer that actually looked prepared to face the gym ahead.-

Rune got another three levels putting him at fourteen at the moment though he didn't get any new moves. After following the road for a while I finally got to see the city start to appear in the distance. It would be hard to miss honestly as the multistory building stuck out like a sore thumb even from miles away like I was. An interesting fact about the city was that the lake in front of it was actually used as part of the defense against breaks from the nearby forest.-

The wide walkway that went over the top of the lake could actually be retracted in case of a break forcing the non-flying pokemon in a break to swim. Which was where the second defensive measure came in the form of the water type pokemon that live in the lake. Magikarp might seem useless to most trainers but the things could drown you very easily if you got in the water with them. The city kept a stable population of the things in the lake specifically because they will do this if a break happens. That little detail left me ever so slightly reluctant to walk over the walkway despite knowing it was perfectly safe.-

Still my team and I went over the lake as it was the only way into the city from this direction. The architecture of the city was frankly speaking odd , see there were old style brick apartments alongside metal ones and even fully paved roads and ground. Like any real city there was various restaurants , stores and houses for as far as the eye could see. All of my pokemon other than Tank were in their balls at the moment but I could tell that they were in awe of the place too.-

If I thought the stares in the towns were bad then they had nothing on what I was getting from the people in the city. Hundreds of people pausing to gawk at the huge man walking down the street in nothing but a pair of shorts. The best part in my opinion though was the sheer amount of interested women amongst the crowds. I had been a bit pent up so knowing I would more than likely get laid while I was in town had me in a good mood. The first thing I did was follow the main road of the city until I spotted my goal , the gym.-

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

It was very similar architecturally to the pokemarts and centers except it was both much much larger and also had a golden or polished brass look to the roof. I wasn't surprised to find that upon entering the gym I found myself in a reception area that had a handful of other trainers in it. Most seemed to be waiting on their challenge but there was a short three person long line of trainers setting a challenge appointment. That was the unfortunate downside to reality versus the games as walking into a gym and going to work immediately wasn't a thing.-

The sheer amount of trainers that challenge it made that impossible for at least the first four gyms. Instead one needed to set an appointment and then wait for your turn to step up to the plate. The other trainers in the room all looked at me nervously as I towered over all of them to the point that I needed to hunch over slightly to keep my head off the ceiling. Soon enough though it was my turn to set an appointment and I stood in front of the clerks desk trying to look friendly.-

I admit that the woman behind the desk was very good at her job and only blushed a little as she took my details. My challenge was officially set for four days from now at noon and as an added bonus the clerk passed me a note telling me she got off in an hour. "I'll see you then!" I called over my shoulder with a smile as I left the gym. Women in this world were very transparent in how they show interest. I could visibly see it on their faces as if they had nothing to be ashamed of.-

I made a quick stop at the nearest general store and got a contraceptive for men and some knowing looks alongside it. Contraceptives in this world were very different in this world than on earth for men as it was a pellet created by pill masters. Since stds weren't really a thing here due to the stupidly good medicine condoms had never been invented and instead you simply took a pill as a guy and no matter how much you came in a women she wouldn't conceive at all as the pill caused your body to break down the sperm cells in semen rendering the thick liquid sterile.-

Women had a similar thing as well and if taken together there was no egg or sperm during sex so no messy surprise nine months later either. Basically the only way an accidental child came about was if both the man or woman forgot or couldn't take the pill while the woman was fertile and had sex. The morning after pills also worked near perfectly so rape babies and unwanted children weren't really a thing here.-

The clerk I found out after meeting up once she got off was named Melissa and she wasn't interested in dating. "The start of the season is always rather stressful as I have to deal with a bunch of trainers. You will be moving on after you get your badge like the rest correct?" she asked after greeting me and I nodded. "Great! Wanna fuck while you're in town?" she asked in the most straight faced manner I have ever seen. "Sure you want to shack up with a stranger like this?" I asked a bit curious about how eager she seemed. "Look a girl has needs and you are by far the best looking temporary partner who has shown up so far , besides this is actually pretty common for gym staff during the league season." She said honestly.