Flint stepped forward and, without hesitation, grabbed Axel's hands.
"Master, although your Pokémon almost beat me to death and the Glastrier was still moving around wildly on top of me, I really don't blame them at all."
"It's all because I didn't master my skills before. As long as I follow you and train well from now on, this kind of thing will definitely never happen again!"
Axel: "..."
'When did I become your master?'
'And what do you mean by "moving around wildly on top of you"?'
'Are you trying to slander me?'
Off to the side, Raihan and Cyrano couldn't help but open their mouths wide, unable to stay calm.
Although Flint's seniority wasn't that high, he was still one of the League's Elite Fours.
For someone like that to formally ask to become an apprentice, just hearing it was shocking.
Especially since the person he wanted to apprentice under was just a student who had only just taken the Aurient college entrance exam.
Briar and Norton, however, could still stay calm, even finding it somewhat natural.
'You're surprised over this?'
'If I told you that there's a legendary pokémon in Axel's house, you'd be scared to death!'
"I really can't be your teacher," Axel let go of Flint's hands, feeling a bit of a headache.
"I'm still a student myself right now, not even a class leader. How could you become my apprentice?"
"At most, I can be your team leader..."
Before Axel could continue, Flint had already impatiently nodded.
"Team leader is fine, then team leader it is!"
Right now, he only wanted to learn from Axel. Whether it was "leader" or "master" didn't matter.
From the very first time they met, Flint had been shocked by Axel's commanding ability.
That was when his Infernape first lost to Cynthia's Spiritomb.
It was also the first time his Infernape had lost to a Pokémon borrowed from someone else.
By the next day, he admired Axel even more.
One after another, Axel had pulled out three Pokémon, each more terrifying and ferocious than the last.
Although their personalities had issues, Flint was confident. His Infernape would definitely not be led astray.
Axel sighed helplessly.
Flint had even accepted "team leader." What else could he do?
He hadn't even taken a single university class, what kind of training could he teach?
Just cook a few meals and send him away.
But of course, the food wouldn't be free.
'Iono and Raihan didn't eat for free, so why should you?"
Axel spoke to Flint, "Emmm... fine, team leader it is. But you'll have to help me with something in the meantime."
"Take Duraludon, Gyarados, and Dragonair to play ranked matches in school. Play until you unlock the Elite Fours rank."
"Just make sure to keep an eye on them and don't let them cause trouble."
Flint nodded, pounding his chest hard.
"Don't worry, leader, victory guaranteed!"
Cyrano and Briar were stunned.
They'd invited Flint over to play an exhibition match against Raihan, how had things suddenly gone in such a strange direction?
'Letting a Elite Four play ranked matches in school, only you could think of that.'
———
After chatting with Raihan and the others for a while, Axel learned that five days later Raihan and Flint would be having an exhibition match.
After inviting the two to a meal, Axel took the food back to his dormitory.
There were still two people at home...
"Lord Axel, you're back!"
As soon as he opened the door, Axel saw Karen and Iono looking eagerly at him.
It seemed they were getting along quite well. Already going from strangers in the morning to walking arm in arm now.
Axel nodded, then took out the spicy sandwiches and a spicy rabbit head he had prepared earlier, placing them on the table in front of them.
Iono's eyes immediately lit up.
As an Electric-type trainer, most of her Pokémon loved spicy flavors.
Over time, she had grown to like the taste herself.
After a few bites, her eyes lit up, "So fragrant! I'll reward you later!"
"No, that's not necessary," Axel quickly waved his hands. Although the spicy flavor was good, it was also a bit too stimulating.
"Just so happens I'm free these next few days. Flint is helping me play ranked matches, so we can go out for a bit."
"Great!", Iono's eyes brightened, and she nodded vigorously, smiling sweetly at Axel.
She knew Axel was very busy, yet he was making time to be with her.
That meant Axel still had feelings for her.
"I just heard that the Unova region has a lot of fun places," Iono puffed her cheeks as she chewed, mumbling around the food while counting on her fingers, "Pinwheel Forest, Desert Resort, and Skyarrow Bridge, my fans specifically requested I visit them."
"Alright, then we'll go after you finish eating."
After speaking, Axel turned to look at Karen.
"Has Pryce contacted you these days?"
"If you feel there's any danger, when you get to Johto, find Leon, by now he should have arrived there."
Axel had calculated the time based on how long it would take Leon and Charizard to travel around the world.
If they just searched every region, they would eventually reach Johto.
Karen glanced at Iono, hesitating.
Only when she saw Gardevoir nod behind Axel did she start talking about Johto in front of Iono.
"Pryce contacted me just this morning, asking where the Glastrier was."
Thinking of Pryce's terrifying battle strength, Axel narrowed his eyes seriously.
"What did you say?"
Karen glanced weakly toward the hallway outside, making sure no one was there, then spoke quietly, "I said I'm at Blueberry Academy now, and I've seen Glastrier appear with Raihan and Flint at the same time."
"And Glastrier seemed to have been captured already, but I didn't know who caught it."
Hearing this, everyone else in the room paused briefly.
As expected, no one who could become a Elite Four was simple.
Karen's lie was extremely clever, every part of it was true.
Even if it was exposed in the future, Pryce wouldn't suspect she had deceived him.
More importantly, the lie wouldn't have too severe an impact on Raihan and Flint.
With Pryce's current understanding, he definitely wouldn't dare go to the Galar region to demand an explanation from Raihan.
And as for a Elite Four... Flint was one of the few who could match Pryce.
"Then just go to Johto for now, and make sure to stay safe."
"Also, Leon already knows Pryce is a bad guy, if something happens, you can consult him."
"Yes, my lord!"
Karen pulled a pair of pants from Axel's suitcase, put them on, then, without even turning around, grabbed two grilled sausages and jumped out the window.
Axel: "..."
"Karen, wait! Those pants, Leon has seen them, he'll get the wrong idea!"
Karen's lips curved slightly upward. She bit lightly at the corner of her mouth and waved behind her.
"Absol, run!"
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