Chapter 5:

After a good meal that ended up actually not costing a single penny (all meals at Pokemon Centers were free to trainers, much to my eternal gratitude and delight), I then exited the Pokemon Center and led our trio to the stadium with a smile on my face and my Pokemon being quite happy too.

"And I thought you said you were the one who got robbed... you were supposed to pay for our meal, but it didn't cost anything! Now I feel we're the real losers," Hop complained.

"Aw, it ain't all that bad, bud! Besides, now we know that Poke-Centers give free food! We kin git a smorgasbord every time we go there!" Gloria smiled widely as we got into the main gym and I decided to approach the counter first.

"Excuse me, I wanted to know if I could attempt the Gym Challenge here in Turffield? Here's my League Card," I smiled as I gave it to the guy in front of the gate and he smiled at me after inspecting my card.

"Ah yes, the one who doesn't like the TVs, am I right?" the guy asked, me nodding at that. "Well, lucky for you, the champion himself insisted that, if you happen to get to fighting our Gym Leaders, then the Jumboscreens are to be turned off for your battles. I do hope you're okay with the cameras being on you, however," the guy said, me smiling at that.

"Cameras are fine, so long as I'm not the one using them," I smirked.

"Okay, then you'll need to change into your gym challenge attire," the guy said, me smirking as I simply took off my regular armor to reveal I'd been wearing my gym attire underneath it, which I could tell surprised him. "Heh... you keep those surprises up and the crowds will love ya! Okay, please proceed forward to your gym challenge for Turffield Gym," the man said, me going forward and smirking at how I had entered an area that looked like a very long pasture. I was then stopped by another person who looked at me with a smile.

"Greetings, challenger! Here you will face the first trial of the Gym Challenge. Before you can even get an audience with Gym Leader Milo, you'll need to prove yourself with a special task," they said as they then showed me forward and I saw that there were a whole bunch of Wooloo in front of me. "You will need to herd the Wooloo over to the goals in order to progress. Watch out for the Gym Trainers and the Yamper. The Wooloo will instinctively run away from the Yamper and the Gyn Trainers will halt your progress and challenge you to a battle if you cross their line of sight. You'll need to go the whole way to the end in order to have an audience with Milo. Good luck," the guy said, me smirking at that.

"This should be cake," I smiled as me and my group of Pokemon proceeded to herd the Wooloo forward to the goal, which was very easy, considering I had 6 Pokemon with me. And once all the Wooloo were in the goal, they then combined their rolling bodies to demolish a giant haystack! I did this for at least 3 more different areas, defeating a couple basic trainers in the process and managing to get Ralts to evolve into Kirlia in the process, which I knew she would be the one I'd use for the G-Max fight. And after the last haystack blockade was demolished, I then got to the end and pushed a small button to prove that I had completed the challenge, the door opening up soon after. I then went through and smiled as I saw I was in the arena's tunnel. I proceeded through to the center of the field as Milo appeared from the other tunnel, looking pretty happy.

"So you're this Ransei character that I've been hearing about lately, are you? Name's Jo, right?" he asked, me nodding at that.

"Yep. But as for what my stage name will be. You can call me... G-Max Jo!" I smirked widely, doing a battle-ready pose afterwards.

"Hah! And you're spunky too! I love that! I'm Milo, the first of the Gym Leaders. To be quite honest, being the first gym is very difficult. I have to make sure that my challenges are tough, but fair, while also making sure not to be too rough on the newcomers. But you look like you had fun herding all those Wooloo. And now, I'd say it's time for us to battle. For this fight, you may only use 2 of your 6 Pokemon, so choose your duo carefully, because the other four will have to stay on the sidelines," Milo said, me smirking at that. I knew it'd be unfair to have Primarina fight, since she was at the maximum power she could be, so I decided to choose from the other 5 I had on my team.

"I'll go ahead and choose Kirlia and Klink for this fight. Kirlia, you'll be the first to fight," I smiled, her nodding at that and Primarina looking a bit upset before I went to her and petted her hair. "Sorry, darling... but it just wouldn't feel like a fair fight if I had you in the front and center this soon. It wouldn't be fair to Milo or the crowds if I one-shotted all of his Pokemon with your amazing songs. I'll let you fight whenever I feel the Gym Challenges get tougher, okay?" I smiled, Primarina then trilling at that and going to the sidelines with my other partners.

"Such love and care for your Pokemon! I can see why Ransei is known as one of the most peaceful nations now, despite them using Pokemon for territory disputes," Milo smiled.

"Yeah, you got me there. So are we doing this, or are you going to keep your Pokemon inside those balls all day?" I smiled, Milo smirking at that.

"Right! Time to give the people a show! Come on out, Gossifleur!" Milo smirked as he sent out a Pokemon that looked like a small bouquet of flowers, which I thought adorable.

"Okay, Kirlia, take center stage!" I smiled, the nimble dancer doing so with a smile.

"Battle begin!" the announcer exclaimed as I heard the crowds roar with excitement.

"Kirlia, use Psybeam!" I smirked, Kirlia sending the psychic laser at Gossifleur and me seeing that it actually managed to get it in the red.

"Impressive first attack! Now, Gossifleur, use Magical Leaf!" Milo smirked, Gossifleur doing just that and me smiling at how he used a move that never misses. But Kirlia didn't even get sent into the orange after the hit.

"Take out Gossifleur with Draining Kiss, Kirlia," I smiled, Kirlia then sending out a smooch that drained Gossifleur of its remaining health and made it return to its Pokeball after it fainted.

"Good job, Kirlia!" I smiled as Milo then smiled at me.

"Not even two turns and you took out Gossifleur. That's impressive! But now you'll meet it's evolved form. I hope you know how to Dynamax!" Milo smirked as he sent out another Pokemon, this one looking like it had a giant head full of white cotton with a very cute lower body. "Eldegoss, let's show this Ransei lady what we're made of! Dynamax time!" Milo smirked as he then activated his Wishing Star and, after returning Eldegoss to its Pokeball, it then grew enormous and brimmed with energy. He then threw it very far behind him and I saw Eldegoss grow to be at least 80 feet tall!

"And now you will know why I am named G-Max Jo. Kirlia, time to show the secret weapon we've been saving for now! Time to... GIGANTAMAX!" I exclaimed as I touched my Wishing Star and Kirlia then brimmed with energy, her then changing form as she grew immensely. And when she was in her Gigantamax form, the crowds roared with the most excitement I'd ever heard since I became the first Warlord of Viperia to get over 300 Pokemon!

Kirlia's Gigantamax form showed her in a more elegant dancing gown that had longer pleats in certain areas, her green hair turned into long dual pigtails, and she actually had her legs and arms grow in length slightly! She then let out her cry and everyone started to chant one thing at once.

"GO! JO! GOGO JOJO! GO! JO! GOGO JOJO!" the crowds chanted as I then used Kirlia's G-Max move, which I saw was a psychic type one. "Okay, Kirlia. G-Max Ballet Blitz!" I exclaimed, Kirlia then using the move by rushing towards the giant Eldegoss and connecting a flurry of dangerous ballerina spin kicks to its face before finishing with a final leg sweep upwards that knocked Eldegoss backwards a bit before it made it explode and shrink back to normal before returning to its Pokeball!

"GIGANTAMAAAAAAAAAX! GIGANTAMAAAAAAAAAX!" the crowds chanted like a chorus as Kirlia then shrunk back to her old self and I smiled widely and did an epic pose for the camera.

"And that's why I shall be known from now on as G-Max Jo! And don't you forget it!" I smirked widely as me and my Pokemon then went to the middle of the arena and I saw that Milo looked a bit surprised. But he quickly regained his smile.

"Hahaha! That was one of the most exciting defeats I've ever had! I dunno what kind of special Wishing Star you have, but it's obviously got some serious firepower to it! You have more than earned this Grass Badge," Milo smirked as he handed me the badge and I put it into the tin that was given to me by the people during the opening ceremony. "Now you can befriend Pokemon up to level 25 and you can train our native Pokemon to level 30. And as a token from me, you're more than welcome to take this," Milo smiled as he handed me something... odd. It looked a lot like a disc, but it was colored green and had a number on it with the words Magical Leaf being on it.

"What's this?" I asked.

"That's a TM, or Technical Machine. I've read a bit about Ransei history in the past and they actually allow TMs to be used by those who travel outside of Ransei. TMs hold the ability to have your Pokemon learn the move on the disc. Just push the button next to the TM and point it at your Pokemon and you can teach them the move Magical Leaf," Milo smiled, me smirking at that.

"Well, I guess I'll use it with Steenee and some of my other Pokemon if they can learn it," I smirked as I then left the field through the exit by the big Jumboscreen and I smiled as I found myself back in the lobby for some reason.

"Great job at defeating Milo with such ease, G-Max Jo! Everyone here in the lobby was floored by that performance! You sure know how to keep the surprises coming! Haha!" the man at the gate smiled, me smirking at that as I then put on my Ransei battle gear with a smile.

"I perform best with an audience, whether it be humans, Pokemon, or both," I smiled.

"Well you certainly put on a 'ell of a good show, mate!" Gloria smirked at me from the lobby as I saw that she was waiting there and that Hop wasn't anywhere nearby. "Now I see why ye decided to call yerself G-Max Jo. It's coz any Pokemon ye link with can G-Max, eh? That's sure to be entertaining for the crowds in the future! If I were you, I'd use a different G-Max Pokemon each time you enter a gym fight, just to give the crowds what they came for!" Gloria smiled at me.

"Thanks, Gloria. I guess Hop's doing his part in the challenge now?" I smiled.

"Yep! An' I'm up next. Ye can go on a'ead to the next town over if ye wish. That's Nessa's domain. That lady uses Water Type Pokemon, so ye'd better find a way to counter them... FYI, I'd use Steenee to pound 'er ass into grass," Gloria smiled at me.

"And what if I wanted to use my super big Pumpkaboo instead? He doesn't have a G-Max form either, right?" I smiled.

"Not what I'm trying to get at, but you do you, I guess," Gloria smirked.

"And I say the same to you, Gloria. Be sure to make the crowds happy for your fight, too," I smirked at her as I then proceeded out of the gym... to find the stuck-up guy from before waiting outside for me.

"Ah, the thief returns," I frowned.

"Peh, don't try to say that victory was well-earned, because both of us know it was a bogus victory. And I'm not going to take your Wishing Star. No... It'd be better to let you keep it so that, if we do end up facing each other in a Dynamax battle, I can destroy any G-Max Pokemon you want to use it on!" Bede smiled at me with a glare.

"Do as you wish, just don't get in between me and my growing fanbase. And from now on, you may only address me as G-Max Jo. Understood, Stuck Bede Up Your Bumb?" I asked, Bede growling at that.

"You have a way of antagonizing me with very creative methods, I will admit that much. Let's see which of us will have the honor of facing the champion Leon in the final fight... that is, if your G-Max strategy can last that long to start out with," Bede smirked, me nodding at him afterwards.

"And you be sure not to cheat or steal from others, because that's not what someone wants to have on their permanent record... especially when working for someone as highly efficient as Chairman Rose. I bet he'd be pretty skived if he found out one of his challengers that he personally endorsed was stealing others' Wishing Pieces and Wishing Stars just to make him happy," I smiled, Bede growling at me as I then snubbed my nose at him and ,my Pokemon then mocked him as well in their own ways. Primarina splashed some of her water towards him with her tail, Vespiquen buzzed angrily, Steenee stuck her tongue out, Klink grinded her gears, Pancham punched the air, and Kirlia actually gave him her the middle finger before bounding off along with me.

"Good job, partners," I smiled at them as we then proceeded down to the east of Turffield to the next area on the map, that being Route 5.