Peerless Trainer: Way of the Dao

by FluffyDao

Humans are weak. Their power exists by proxy through tools, numbers, and tamed beasts. It is simply their fate to be reliant on others. But cultivators defy fate, and claim power directly for themselves. After a fierce battle that decided the fate of his planet, one such cultivator finds himself in a strange new world... And he recognizes the beasts within.

6. Chapter 6

"No he isn't!" Keith roared into the stadium's speakers.

Keith was figuratively seeing red. He could not allow this geezer to cheat him like this. 'He must have fed that luxio an everstone, it's the only way! That old bag must secretly be some cheat veteran from another region that faked his identity!'

He planned to show the Longwei why you don't mess with Keith Ohagi. Zero-badge challenges allowed the Gym Leader to use up to three pokémon, and he'd take full advantage of that!

In his blind fury, Keith grabbed his ace's pokéball and threw it to the field. His prized standard-variant samurott appeared on the field. He didn't even bother catching the pokéball as it flew back to him, instead allowing it to tap against the top of his hand and harmlessly fall to the floor.

The crowd jeered, and Keith smirked. They knew the old man was cheating, that this wasn't fair! Keith would make sure the referee lost his job after this for allowing such blatant foul play. Nobody would ever hire them after this!

Longwei palmed Luxio's pokéball, ready to return her at a moment's notice and beat a tactical retreat. The match had already been called in his own favor, and the crowd was equally supportive of him. Would this arrogant young master really dare to go against his sect so brazenly?

Luxio tensed up. She already won, didn't she? So why was there another pokémon? She wasn't confident in fighting another samurott, she was too tired!

Samurott looked at her softly and shook his head, then laid flat on the ground. Luxio's nerves eased significantly. This samurott didn't want to fight apparently, so that other human must just be a sore loser!

Keith cackled madly. "The fight resumes now! Samurott, Sacred Sword!" he yelled, pointing at Luxio.

But Samurott did not move. Instead, it barked something in the pokémon tongue at Luxio. Luxio tilt her head in uncertainty and responded with a confused mraow. Samurott, head still on the floor, nodded awkwardly.

With a bit of hesitance, Luxio fired a weak Thunder Shock that struck Samurott's nose. What happened next shocked everyone. Samurott immediately rose from the floor, stood on its two legs, and clutched its heart with another hand held dramatically over its head. It then let out a mournful cry, twirled three times, and collapsed onto it's back, eyes closed and tongue lulling out of its mouth.

Everyone was silent except for the juniors in the crowd who were boisterously laughing.

The ref took his chance to finally end this sham. "Challenger Longwei Sun is the victor!"

"He is—" Keith's mic was cut off mid-sentence, making him no longer able to be heard over the cheering crowd. "not!"

Two young masters who looked to be in their mid twenties approached from the tunnel on the Gym Leader's side of the field. Or rather, they had been approaching for a short time now, but it was only Longwei who noticed them at first. The male, who wore a uniform that was more red than the others, was flanked by a Ghost-variant typhlosion. The female, whose uniform was more green, walked beside a Ghost-variant decidueye.

Others began to notice their arrival and the crowd gradual quieted down. Keith, in his hubris, interpreted that as them hushing themselves so he could be heard. He spoke when the noise was reduced to mere whispers. "This cheater has not earned the Survey Badge! He—!"

A large, clawed hand suddenly pressed down onto Keith's shoulder, forcing him to his knees. He whirled around with a furious snarl, but before he could find out who dared to touch him he was met with a pair of glowing crimson-purple eyes. In an instant, his world went dark.

Typhlosion picked up the now-unconscious Keith Ohagi like one would carry a princess and began walking back to the Gym Leader's tunnel.

"We apologize for that display." the young woman said, her voice transmitting over the stadium's speakers. The transparent barrier around the stadium pulsed for a brief instant, then disappeared entirely. "Longwei Sun, if you would meet my older brother in the center of the field to collect your badge and reward, please?"

Longwei kept his face neutral as he walked, with Luxio falling into step once he walked by her. He would collect his prize and leave. These other young masters were clearly intending to place all of the blame on their junior, most likely to elevate themselves in the process. It was obvious to Longwei. Perhaps they had done something to rile their junior young master up, perhaps they knew he had a hatred for some trait Longwei possessed, or perhaps they were simply waiting for the fool to finally snap. Regardless of what truly transpired, it would be unwise for him to press for further justice; to do so would only place him in danger. Taking his reward and leaving without a fuss would make all parties happy.

The young man in front of him bit his lip awkwardly. He was much shorter than Longwei, just like most people were, and felt like a child apologizing to their grandparents. "We're uh, sorry about that." he said, voice not carrying over the speakers. His weariness was as evident in his voice as it was in the bags under his eyes. "Your mic's off by the way, so if there's anything you want to say…"

Longwei stoically responded. "It is not my place to speak. How another sect manages itself is none of my concern."

"Right… Well, if it matters, we saw the whole match—" Longwei knew then and there that these young masters were complete fools. That was an admission of incompetence at best, and one of guilt at worst; to say nothing of its redundancy. He wondered where their elders were and why they were allowing these young fools to drive the Jubilife sect into the ground. "—and know for sure that you've earned the badge and full reward. Plus a little extra."

The crowd began cheering once more when he handed a small case to Longwei.

Longwei stored the case in his robe without opening it. He couldn't verify the contents easily with only one hand— he had to keep his right hand stiffly held to his side in order to hide the blood. That and verifying the contents would be an implication of suspicion against the young masters, which would make them lose face. If they conned him then he would just have to deal with it; a bit of money wasn't worth making enemies so early.

He was not yet powerful enough to purge corruption out by the roots. Moreover, he didn't want to be burdened with such responsibilities again. This world would have to fend for itself. He had interest only for Yongyu, but even that had largely waned. Everything he treasured there had already been destroyed, save for Willow who was still beyond his power to save. His heart wrenched and his eyes briefly lost focus as the same scenes played out in his mind.

"So, uhh…"

Longwei refocused on the waking world, then bowed politely, hands kept stiffly to his sides. "I thank you for your time. May the heavens watch over your sect closely." He then turned and left the arena without any fanfare.

The crowd, which had not been able to hear the exchange, began gossiping up a storm at Longwei's sudden quiet departure. Many theories, both logical and baseless, began circulating. But there was one thing everyone knew to be true: Keith Ohagi would lose his position as Gym Leader and Warden. The Jubilife Pasture, for the first time since the Hero of Hisui first walked the region, would have less than three Wardens.

(~)

Longwei walked briskly through the stadium's empty hallways. He retrieved the case as he moved and opened it, quickly checking the contents. Satisfied, he returned it to his robe.

'So they had not conned me. Is that a trick as well? One to make me lower my guard?'

Several curious spectators wanted to ask Longwei questions before he left, but Longwei and Luxio had already left the Gym grounds entirely by the time the first of them reached the main lobby.

Luxio didn't know why they were walking so fast, but didn't care enough to ask.

Longwei's first destination was obvious, which was part of why he was in a hurry. Pokécenters provided free treatment to pokémon, as well as free rooms and discounted meals to active trainers. There were also phones and computers available for anyone to use, and typically a pokémart nearby if not immediately next door. It was the first logical destination of the majority of trainers who had just finished a gym battle.

This meant his movements were predictable. With the risk of sect politics or a vengeful young master causing him trouble, Longwei felt this was very bad and needed to be fixed quickly.

He marched into the pokécenter and approached the front desk. Within moments Luxio was escorted by a chansey further into the building for her checkup and treatment.

While that was being done, Longwei went to the cleaning area, purchased some cleaning soap, and washed the blood out of his clothes. He dried his sleeve quickly, wringing the water out of it and holding it under a hot-air device for a brief moment, then immediately went to the computer terminals. He needed to discover his options, and fast.

His computer skills were still very rusty, but he had found a very helpful website last night that made finding what he sought quick and easy. He asked a question, the site provided a link with a brief overview, and he clicked it. After a couple seconds of loading, a league-approved interactive map of the region appeared. The graphics were simple, which made it hard to judge the region's true layout, but he wasn't looking for a detailed geographical map.

Whenever he clicked on a point of interest, a small window filled with information on it and its surroundings would appear. Longwei quickly began sifting through the information on nearby cities and towns that could be reached by train.

He would not head east to Oreburgh. That area was primarily home to a typing that Luxio was vulnerable against. It would be a foolish decision to escape from the lion by jumping into the dragon's den.

He would not head west to Canalave. While its surroundings were more diverse, there were no cities further west. There was the possibility of further travel by boat, but there was a problem with that. Boats were slow and he would be unable to escape while on board, and the sea Canalave was situated against was not connected to the world at large meaning it could only travel domestically to the few towns situated along Sinnoh's northwestern coasts, making it a predictable course of travel. Longwei would be backed into a corner if he went this way and tracking him would be a trivial task.

He would not head north either. There were a multitude of smaller cities or towns that way which would make him difficult to track, but many of the fae lie that way. If this world's Fairy types were anything like the fae of Yongyu, he wanted nothing to do with them. Not until he was stronger at least.

That left south to Sandgem, but there was a slight problem. The Sandgem Gym specialized in Psychic types. Divination and mind-reading were problems he was unwilling to deal with. However, all that meant was that he would have to avoid the local sect. He had always been good at evading divination, so as long as he kept his stay in the city brief there should be no problem.

His options going from Sandgem were both numerous and limited. The Sandgem port was attached to the world's ocean, so in theory he could flee to an entirely different region if he so desired.

However, leaving the region was not a wise option. Firstly, the price to do so was considerable. He wouldn't be destitute after purchasing a boat ticket, but he knew a steep price tag when he saw one. Secondly, he was a registered resident of Sinnoh. While he could travel to any of the League-affiliated regions without legal issue, he knew better than that. The League had only formed in the last decade, so tensions between regions were bound to be lingering.

That left only domestic travel. Sandgem had several options by train, two of which were good for him.

One went northeast to Oreburgh. This wasn't something he would consider unless absolutely necessary for reasons already stated, but simply the option being there would make him difficult to track.

The next was a railway that went along Sinnoh's southern borders. There were a multitude of towns that way, each prospering from being situated along the ocean connecting Sinnoh to the world. Finding Longwei among them would be like finding a white jade in a snowstorm.

The second railway became even more appealing to him when he examined the next Gym along its path. Or rather, Gyms plural. Situated in Pastoria City were two Gyms. One specialized in Water types, the other in Poison types. He would have to look into its leaders before he made his challenge to avoid a repeat of Keith Ohagi, but at the very least Luxio would have an advantage in one while the other was neutral.

Decision made, he immediately got up and marched into the neighboring pokémart. It was a rather large building with several floors, even larger than the pokécenter was. Being the pokémart closest to the gym had done good for the mostly blue and soft-white trainer shopping center.

He first went to the stone section on the third floor, not bothering to wait for the elevator and instead hurrying up the stairs. There were many stones available, all locked behind reinforced windows. Longwei quickly observed them with his spirit sight and picked out one dusk stone that stood above its peers in terms of quality and pricing. The nearest clerk looked at him oddly when he asked for that stone in particular, but they didn't make a fuss over a paying customer.

A thunder stone was preferable so he could assist Luxio's Electric cultivation as well, but none of them were of good enough quality and their pricing was much greater than that of the dusk stones.

Most important purchase made, he changed floors again to purchase a bag of holding. The price for even the smallest hammerspace bag was immense and all of their abilities were laughably pitiful compared to the bags of holding on Yongyu, but Longwei had no choice. A cultivator without a bag of holding was no cultivator at all. Longwei purchased a small bag of holding, losing the vast majority of his financial cultivation in the process. He attached the bag near his hip, the same place he had kept his last bag of holding.

Next he purchased some basic but vital supplies. He had done this song and dance before, and so knew what was necessary for survival when one found themselves a mortal again. His final purchases were slowed slightly by the need to find items equivalent to Yongyu's, but he managed to get everything he needed. While Yongyu relied mostly on magic and this world relied mostly on the mundane, the difference between a fire spark stone and a mechanical lighter was largely semantic. Both created fire quickly and easily.

Longwei left the pokémart with barely enough money remaining to afford the first train ticket. When he walked into the pokécenter next door he had only a moment to brace himself before Luxio jumped into him. Skillfully catching her under the front legs, he raised her up in the air. She mewled happily, lazily swishing her tail back and fourth.

The display invoked mix reactions in the people present. The Nurse Joy manning the reception counter simply thought it was sweet, and the chansey beside her felt the same. The rest of the humans in the lobby—mostly teenagers and young adults—felt a mix of intimidation and awe. How could such an old man be so much stronger than them?!

After setting Luxio down and patting her gently on the head, Longwei approached the Nurse Joy to get the quick rundown. Nurse Joy told him there was nothing serious and that Luxio was already fully recovered, with the disclaimer that she's probably too tired for any further battling or training tonight.

Longwei thanked the healers for their service and promptly left with Luxio by his side. He briefly considered visiting Mr. Farview at the hotel he said he would stay at, but ultimately decided against it. If he was already being tracked then he would only be endangering the Farview family by meeting with them.

With a heavy sigh, Longwei began the arduous process of navigating a bustling city at night. The metro station was too packed for his liking, and the streets were too crowded to take the bus or taxi, so he had to make do on foot. He maneuvered through the city hastily, making Luxio confused. "There is somewhere we must be, but if we do not hurry then we will not be there in time." he said to her while waiting for vehicle traffic to pass, having noticed her confused looks.

Time had almost ran out when they reached the train station. The attendants quickly ushered the two aboard and directed them to their cabin. Longwei locked the door, explained to Luxio that it would be some time before they reached their destination, and went out like a light the moment his head touched down on the bed. Exhaustion had already begun creeping up on him even before their Gym battle, and by now his body was aching for rest.

(~)

Longwei awoke to Luxio rustling beside him. She was looking at the door eagerly, and when she noticed he was awake she placed a paw to his side and gently shook him with a smile.

Arching a brow, he leaned up. "What is…" Longwei looked to the wall-mounted clock, which was clearly illuminated by sunlight that broke through the cabin's glass windows. "Ah, it is time for the scheduled breakfast."

Longwei readied himself for the day, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and putting his robe back on. He strapped his bag of holding to his hip and waited for the meal trolley to arrive, spending the short idle time in meditation while Luxio tapped her paws up and down next to the door.

It didn't take long before he heard it approach the rooms nearby. He assumed Luxio's sharper ears had heard it arriving far sooner than he had, considering he didn't tell her about the scheduled meals.

There was a knock on the door, and Longwei let the attendant in. Several trays of freshly-cooked food were placed on the cabin's table and another few were placed in a secure tray on the floor. Longwei thanked the man as he left.

An outstretched hand stopped Luxio from immediately digging in. "Hold, disciple. We have much time. Allow this one to gauge your technique."

She looked up at him with a face of shock and betrayal, but Longwei soldiered on. He sat on the dining chair, but he remained facing outwards towards luxio. He then bent over and picked one of the whole berries from her meal and placed it closer to her. "Ingest this berry and try to capture its essence wholly. I will observe the efficacy of your energy gathering."

After a brief pause and look of confusion, she did so. Longwei observed her through his spirit sight, which was not a struggle for him given their close proximity.

She chewed a couple times and then swallowed. Longwei frowned as he watched most of the energy slip through her spiritual system. "Disciple, you are being wasteful."

Luxio looked shocked. She ate the whole thing, that's not wasteful!

He shook his head in response, knowing her thoughts from look alone. "You must do more than simply consume the item. You must also capture its Qi, its essence."

She furrowed her brows, confused.

"Hmm… Perhaps your foundation has more holes than I thought." Longwei circulated his cultivation base to make sure he was ready for a basic technique. "Here, disciple," he held out the palm of his hand, "take my hand."

She placed a paw in his hand, confused but going along with it.

"I will now utilize the Qi Transference technique. This technique will channel a sliver of loose Qi from within my spiritual system to yours." He channeled some Qi out through his hands and into Luxio's paw, a glowing blue process perceptible even to those not using spirit sight. "Do you feel it?"

Luxio's eyes went wide. She stared down at her paw, amazed at the strange sight and feeling. She didn't know humans could do this stuff!

"Good. Next, I will inaccurately send the Qi your way. Much of it will simply phase through you if you do not capture it. To capture it, imagine the Qi being drawn inwards. Your spirit is a beacon, and the Qi is drawn to that beacon."

She scrunched her eyes shut and tried to imagine what he said. It only barely worked, and much of the Qi only bent slightly before continuing on into the empty void of space.

"Hmm… Perhaps, try to imagine you are using the move Charge. You are concentrating energy within yourself and—!" Luxio quite literally used the move Charge. Longwei felt a tingling sensation in his hand from the electricity bouncing about Luxio's fur, but he remained focus on the Qi. Very little of it was escaping Luxio's spiritual system now.

Longwei smiled and nodded. "Yes, just like that." He retracted his hand and shook it free of lingering tingles. "Although, one should not need to utilize a technique for such a basic process. Dispel the Charge and let us try once more, this time without using a move."

Luxio relaxed, removing the effect of Charge. She then placed her paw back on his hand and tried again, this time without using moves as a handicap.

They continued for several more minutes with Longwei providing his truly profound insight where needed. He finished the lesson by testing her once more with a berry. Satisfied with her results, he nodded. "That is enough for now. You may continue to practice this technique on your own time." He then turned away from the center of the cabin and faced his table, where his own meal was waiting. "Remember what you have learned and try to utilize it as you eat. There is much power in food. The sooner you improve your control of the fundamental energies and expand your comprehension of the Dao of Nutrition, the better."

Longwei dug into his meal with the refined decorum of an imperial emperor, capturing the energies within flawlessly. He chuckled between bites, amused. 'Spirit beasts may be more inclined to Qi than humans, but my how they often have such strange holes in their foundation.'

Luxio dug into her meal with the decorum of a turtle, taking careful but oddly aggressive bites clean out of her tray every now and then. She was focused intently the entire time, which was quite unlike her. An entirely new world had opened up to her, and she had only touched its surface. She felt overwhelmed. The good kind of overwhelmed.

(~)

The rest of the day was rather uneventful. Since they still had to wait for the train to reach Sandgem, all they had was time.

Longwei spent that time going over the basics of cultivation for Luxio's sake. Evidently, she had far more holes in her foundation than he had thought—she didn't even know what meridians were for heaven's sake! He was only further shocked when he discovered she couldn't utilize spirit sight. That was a technique considered essential to any cultivator, for without it they could not appraise their own cultivation and decide how to proceed—or know when to kowtow ten times and slap themselves twenty after offending someone far stronger than them! It was simply absurd to Longwei. How had she survived in the wild until now?

Luxio, on her side, fought the ever-present urge to play around and instead listened attentively. She couldn't quite figure out the spirit sight thing her human was talking about, and she couldn't control "Qi" like he explained yet, but she did start to feel a lot more. Sure she felt something whenever she used a move before, but this was on a whole different level. It was like he had scratched an itch she never knew she had until now, or like being reminded she has a snout and suddenly she can't not notice it in her vision anymore… drat!

Like that, night soon approached. But there was no time to sleep.

A soft *ding dong* played through the speakers that were present throughout the cabins, followed by a very suave voice. "This is your conductor speaking. Sandgem City is in sight and we will be arriving shortly. Please collect any loose belongings and prepare to disembark. Thank you for riding with Ingo Express, and enjoy your travels."

---

Greetings Porybot43686f79, welcome back to the Pokénet online message board.

You are in News/Sinnoh/Events/Contests
[CONTEST SUPERSTAR JOHANNA BERLITZ WINS THE JUBILIFE CONTEST! RETIRES ON A VICTORY!]
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GlameowSuperfan431
How many times do we have to say it! This! Was! Not! A! Wrestling! Match! It was a contest! Johanna won fair and square!

MachoMan69
Johanna ain't WON till she can beat the KING in a REAL battle! BERLITZ would CRASH in his WAKE if the judges weren't picking favorites in the finals!

SupremeHyperdeath8008135
Your FOOL of a FALSE KING would NEVER have had the chance to face her, let alone WIN the finals, if the GOD OF ROT AND DECAY HIMSELF wasn't ROBBED of his FATED VICTORY against her in the semifinals!

GlameowSuperfan431
I just can't even with you people. I'm done. I'm done!

HeavenDefyingImmortal
Map of Sinnoh Region League map cities map. Where to buy spirit stones. Spirit stone location. Bag of holding where to buy. Enter question to receive answer.

Porybot2274a
HeavenDefyingImmortal, are you asking for information? Please click this link to be directed to a porybot help thread where we may provide information. We will clean this and your post once you have engaged with the thread provided or once 24 hours have passed.

MachoMan69
ROT stands no chance against THE WAVE OF BULK! Your SLUDGE SLICKER would have lost the INSTANT the battle started because HYDRATED MUSCLES are MIGHTIER than SKINNY FROGS and CHUNKY SKUNKIES!

(~)

Greetings Porybot43686f79, welcome back to the Pokénet online message board.

You are in Help/Porybot/Asks
[Porybot2274a help thread 14581ae05a]
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Porybot2274a
Hello HeavenDefyingImmortal! I have created this thread to answer your questions to the best of my ability. This thread is visible only to you and licensed porybots.
I will start by answering the questions you had provided in the other thread.
1)Map of Sinnoh Region League map cities map.
Here is a link to the Sinnoh Region League-Maintained map. Simply click the colored text right before this sentence to automatically open the interactive map in a new tab! There you may click on certain locations to receive further information on that area.
2)Where to buy spirit stones. Spirit stone location.
Did you mean evolution stones, everstones, float stones, or mega stones? If so, visit your nearest pokémart and ask the staff to receive further information on availability and pricing!
3)Bag of holding where to buy.
Did you mean a hammerspace bag? If so, visit your nearest pokémart and ask the staff to direct you to their hammerspace bags! These items are supplied to every pokémart and are always available for purchase while supplies last!
Please let me know if these answers have helped you, and feel free to ask more if you still have questions!

HeavenDefyingImmortal
Thank your Porybot again you have my undying gratitude.

Porybot2274a
Glad to be of assistance! If you have any further questions feel free to post them in this thread.
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