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Liam stared at the three boys and girls Axu had brought over, wearing a rather strange expression. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
"Uh… Senior Liam? What's wrong with you?"
It wasn't until Axu asked in confusion that Liam snapped back to his senses.
"Ah? Oh! Nothing, nothing. Haha. I just didn't expect them to be from the Hoenn region. They all look so young—traveling such a long distance at this age really surprised me."
Liam waved his hand as he explained with a smile, but his gaze kept drifting back and forth between Wallace and Steven, his heart filled with speechless thoughts.
'No wonder they looked so familiar… so it's them. Hoenn's two future champions and Gym Leaders. To think I'd run into them here.'
'It's a shame—at this age, even they shouldn't be that strong yet. Otherwise, I really would've liked to have a proper match with them.'
As these thoughts crossed his mind, a trace of regret appeared in Liam's eyes.
At that moment, Steven—the blue-haired boy standing in the middle—stepped forward eagerly. His large eyes sparkled with excitement and fighting spirit as he clenched a fist and held it out toward Liam.
"Senior! Since you're Brother Axu's senior, your strength must be even greater than his, right? My name is Steven! I love battling and stones! If possible—could you battle me?!"
Steven wore a smile on his face. Though his words sounded like a request, his tone was firm and resolute, carrying a faint aura of authority.
"Steven, don't mess around. Just like you said, Senior Liam is my senior, and his strength far surpasses mine. You don't stand a chance against him."
Hearing Steven challenge Liam, Axu frowned slightly and immediately turned around to stop him.
"Hehe~ Now that you say that, Brother Axu, I want to see Senior's strength even more! Senior, is that okay? I really love Pokémon battles!"
Not only did Axu's warning fail to discourage Steven, it instead fueled his excitement as he called out to Liam once again.
Axu: "…"
"A battle, huh… Heh, I like Pokémon battling too. Since you want to fight me… alright, I accept. Let's go—there are free practice battlefields prepared for contestants up ahead. We'll go there."
Liam actually liked Steven's enthusiasm. Smiling, he accepted the challenge and turned to walk toward the tournament's training battlefield with Delia.
"Haha! That's great! Senior, wait for me!"
Steven was so surprised by Liam's sudden acceptance that it took him a moment to react. Only after Liam had taken a few steps did Steven realize what happened, then hurried after him with a delighted grin.
Axu: "…"
Watching Steven chase after them so happily, Axu silently prayed that Steven wouldn't be hit too hard later.
At this time, Wallace walked up beside Axu. Seeing Axu's troubled expression, he asked in confusion.
"Senior, why do you look so worried? Are you worried about that senior just now? Hehe, don't worry. Even though Steven is reckless, he knows his limits. It's just a spar—he shouldn't go too far."
Wallace naïvely thought Axu was worried about Liam and tried to reassure him.
Axu: "…Sigh. Don't say anything. Let's follow them. You'll understand soon enough."
After hearing Wallace's words, Axu didn't even know how to respond. He could only sigh and lead Wallace and Winona after them.
The battlefield provided by the Silver Conference was a simple dirt arena, surrounded by wire fencing. Floodlights hung around the perimeter, clearly meant for nighttime training and battles.
Liam's group soon arrived and casually chose one battlefield. Liam and Steven took their positions—the battle was ready to begin.
"Senior! I couldn't help but fight a few matches on the way here, so I only have two Pokémon left that are still in good condition. But they're both my main partners. How about we do a 2v2 elimination match?"
Steven spoke excitedly as he took out a PokeBall and looked at Liam.
"Huh? Oh, sure. Whatever makes you happy."
Liam didn't really mind. Though, thinking carefully, aside from his Elekid Elekid, practically all his Pokémon could be considered main forces.
'Wouldn't that be bullying?'
"Great! Then let's start! Senior, let's flip a coin to decide who sends out first! Heads or tails?"
Steven pulled out a coin that looked like it had been polished from a gemstone and asked Liam which side he chose.
"Heh, no need. I'll go first. Come out, Elekid! It's your turn!"
"Bzzzz!!"
Looking at the gemstone coin in Steven's hand, Liam suddenly felt like he was being underestimated. Shaking his head helplessly, he displayed some senior-level composure and sent out his Pokémon first.
"Oh! An Elekid! Hehe, Senior, then you can't blame me! The two Pokémon I'm sending out aren't really afraid of electricity! Come out—Grovyle! I choose you!"
Seeing Elekid appear, Steven immediately smiled. He swung his PokeBall forward, and in a flash of light, a green Grovyle with long leaf-blades on its arms appeared on the field.
"Graah!!"
The moment Grovyle appeared, it locked its eyes onto its opponent and let out a provocative roar.
However—
"Bzzz! Bzzz!"
The Elekid that Grovyle saw as its opponent completely ignored it. With an angry symbol popping up over its head, crackling sparks dancing around its fists, it chased Liam instead and started poking him repeatedly with electric jolts!
"Hey—hey—hey! Elekid! Stop messing around! We're battling! Battling! This is your first important fight! Go fight the opponent properly!"
After getting shocked several times, Liam finally grabbed Elekid by the plug on its head, shouting as he hurled it onto the battlefield. He then looked up at Steven—whose face was now full of black lines—and gave an awkward, bashful smile.
"Senior… you just said this was this Elekid's first battle. I didn't mishear that, did I?"
Steven asked quietly, barely suppressing his anger.
"Uh… it's his first trainer battle, but I've trained him all along! Elekid is really strong!"
Suddenly questioned like that, Liam felt inexplicably guilty—but still shouted back confidently.
"…Hmph. That's too much. If you didn't want to take this seriously, you could've just said so. Sending out a Pokémon that's never even battled before to brush me off—this is going too far!"
Steven could no longer hold back his anger. Fury burned in his eyes, and he didn't even call Liam "senior" anymore.
"Huh? Brush you off? No, didn't I say it already? Elekid is really strong. If you underestimate him, then—"
Liam felt a headache coming on as he tried to explain, but Steven cut him off.
"Enough! Say no more! Let's start the battle! Grovyle, prepare to attack!"
"Graah!"
Steven's sharp command interrupted Liam's explanation. Grovyle immediately lowered its stance, arms raised, ready to strike at any moment.
Liam: "…Heh. Fine. We'll talk after the fight. Elekid! Get ready—we're battling!"
The helpless look on Liam's face faded, replaced by calm focus. He ordered Elekid to prepare for combat.
"Bzzz!"
Elekid glanced at Grovyle, a mocking smirk appearing at the corner of its mouth. It lightly clapped its round fists together—
Golden electricity instantly surged through its entire body!
Then, a slightly majestic voice echoed from the speaker on Elekid's head—
"I am the Thunder God Elekid! For the glory of Pallet Town!"