"Amazing, Nemona!"
"The first Champion of the year is indeed her. I wonder if any other students will break through Chairwoman Geeta—"
"According to past experience, there usually is only one Champion, right?"
When Nemona's smiling face appeared on the large screen outside the Victory Road, the students had already learned of her challenge result.
Naranja Academy's first Champion of the year was finally born!
For Nemona's excellent achievement, most students' eyes were filled with envy and admiration, feeling happy for her success—
After all, everyone had watched the entire battle and experienced it personally, so they had a clear idea of what strength was needed to become Champion this year.
Nemona's battle just now could even be said to be the most valuable Champion ceremony in nearly ten years.
Of course, the reason might also be attributed to Teacher Azure, who suddenly appeared this year as a hardcore powerhouse, like a demon lord descending from heaven, directly giving the whole world a harsh lesson.
You had to admit it—at least in terms of influence, even the Champion couldn't compare to him.
But among the students, there was one figure who, after seeing Nemona become Champion, only silently pressed down his cap brim, then turned around without looking back and walked toward the Victory Road.
Nemona had already become Champion one step ahead of him—he had to work harder too!
About an hour later.
Under the students' cheers, Red went all out, following Nemona to break through five challenges in one breath, officially becoming Paldea's second Champion this year.
Unfortunately, the "five-minute Champion incident" that Aiden enjoyed watching ultimately didn't get recreated in Paldea.
This made him slightly unhappy, but thinking about it carefully, it was reasonable.
After all, Paldea wasn't Kanto. There was no rule that you had to enter the Victory Road as a boss immediately after becoming Champion, so the "Championship battle" between Red and Nemona didn't happen.
And just how strong would you have to be to consecutively defeat the previous four Elite Four members and the new Champion within five minutes?
An average of one minute to speedrun each, 10 seconds to knock out a Pokémon!
Was that reasonable?
Of course not!
Even Red took about an hour to challenge the entire process.
He was slightly faster than Nemona, but still far from the legend of "speedrunning Kanto in five minutes."
This wasn't because the current "young Red" was too weak—actually, his speed was already astonishing, even startling Chairwoman Geeta.
Of course, that surprised look quickly transformed into a desire for talent (workhorse)—
After watching his entire clearance process through the large screen, even Aiden began to wonder—after Red finishes leveling up and returns to Kanto, would Blue still be able to claim the title before him, at least leaving the title of former Champion?
Would it be a bit difficult?
The day quickly passed, and soon it was off-duty time.
—
Although today started with the pair of Nemona and Red, Aiden's workload actually decreased.
After all, he was the first challenge of the Victory Road, and so far the pass rate was less than 10%, meaning 9 out of 10 people would fall at his starting line.
So being busy as a spinning top was the norm for this stationed Elite Four member. Instead, Nemona and Red's challenges gave him two hours of rest time, allowing him to leisurely watch them roll over the other Elite Four members and even Chairwoman Geeta.
For Aiden, being able to guide newcomers was essentially his job, but being able to slack off during work hours was naturally welcome.
Thus, Aiden was in an especially good mood when getting off work today.
"Today's a good day for ranking up~"
"Why not splurge at that seafood restaurant I used to go to with Cynthia before going home!"
But as soon as he stepped out, he immediately discovered there seemed to be two figures still waiting for him outside the Victory Road.
"As expected, I knew Teacher Aiden hadn't left yet!"
When she saw Aiden, Nemona was the first to jog over, waving at him.
"Nemona, and—Red?"
Unexpected that someone was still waiting for him outside, Aiden first froze, then spoke confusedly after recognizing the two in the sunset light.
"Why aren't you celebrating becoming Champions? Why are you still waiting here for me?"
Aiden joked with a smile, but inwardly he was already somewhat terrified—could it be these two battle maniacs, even after becoming Champions, still weren't satisfied and wanted extra practice with him?
No, I don't want to work overtime like Uncle Larry!
"Hey, because I want to share this joy with Teacher Aiden!"
After being questioned by Aiden, Nemona somewhat embarrassedly rubbed her hair, then quickly revealed her signature silly smile.
"After all, I could become Champion thanks to Teacher Aiden's guidance along the way!"
"..."
Red followed behind Nemona, not speaking, his lowered head letting the baseball cap completely cover his face.
However, his bobbing cap brim already indicated his attitude.
Red: Same here!
"So that's how it is—"
Aiden narrowed his eyes, his gaze quickly becoming gratified and kind, with an expression of "my children have finally grown up."
Completely forgetting that he was only eighteen, practically the same generation as Nemona and Red.
"Then I should properly congratulate you too. Well done."
"But becoming Champion isn't the end of a Trainer's journey. On the contrary, it's only the first stage of maturation. Work even harder in the future~"
As he spoke, Aiden had already assumed the identity of an elder, unconsciously reaching out to use the "head-pat kill" that was super effective against Pokémon on Nemona.
Although it was an elder's lecturing posture, Nemona and Red didn't find it annoying.
After all, the things Teacher Azure taught were really useful. What he said was definitely for their own good, so they had to remember it carefully!
So, Nemona not only didn't dodge Aiden's large hand, but straightened her back, looking very receptive, generously accepting Aiden's praise.
As expected of the humanoid Paradox Pokémon.
And Red behind her, the look in his eyes beneath the cap brim was somewhat confused—does this mean I should also be head-patted by Teacher Azure?
But we're not children anymore, such things—
Forget it, it's Teacher Azure anyway, who was truly like a guiding light for him, so it probably wasn't unacceptable!
And just as Red finally prepared himself mentally, ready to learn from Nemona and proactively step forward, Aiden suddenly stopped the head-patting motion.
"To celebrate two Champions emerging from my students today, I'll treat you to a big dinner tonight. How about it?"
"—"
"Yay!!!"
Half an hour later, at the Seafood Fresco Restaurant in Mesagoza.
At an inconspicuous corner seat, Aiden was feasting with the two new Champions, successfully attracting heated gazes from other customers.
Of course, the gazes were mainly focused on Aiden.
For Paldeans, if you asked who had the biggest reputation this year, it had to be Aiden—even Chairwoman Geeta couldn't compare to him.
Major and minor events throughout the year, even major events outside Paldea, seemingly all had this "temporary Elite Four member" participating, and the internet was full of news about him.
It was hard not to recognize him, not to mention many of the people sitting here were Naranja Academy students.
However, Aiden didn't care about their gazes, still eating his own food.
"Mmm, still the same taste."
While tasting the restaurant's signature seafood pasta, Aiden nodded in satisfaction.
He had only been here twice before. The last time was with Cynthia—oh, and Caitlin the third wheel was there too, but Aiden couldn't remember what she said at the time.
"Mmm—not bad!"
"I really want to poach the chef and bring him home to cook seafood for me~"
The only one who could say this was naturally the little rich girl Nemona.
As soon as her slightly 'rich' words came out, not only Aiden, but even Red who was silently eating nearby froze, almost dropping his chopsticks.
Is this how people in Paldea live? Too luxurious!
"Although I don't know what you're thinking, Red, it's definitely wrong."
Aiden glanced at his stunned expression, casually said one sentence, then looked at the "Pokémon dining table" nearby.
The Pokémon who had been busy all day, at this moment also couldn't care about grace and elegance. Their eating speeds were all comparable to Snorlax, and before long the plates on the table were already stacked high.
Of course, the one with the largest appetite was naturally Red's—
What? There's actually a master with even faster eating speed than Snorlax?
Not to mention him, even Red's Snorlax was stunned by this "unbeatable opponent."
Originally just finding it interesting and taking an extra look, Aiden also froze, but when his gaze passed through the mountain of plates and locked onto a metallic figure, he immediately understood.
Oh, so it was his own Miraidon.
Then it's fine!
After all, it's a Pokémon that needs to generate electricity, so eating more to store energy is very normal—right?
After solving the case, Aiden decisively withdrew his gaze and turned to look at Nemona and Red who had just finished dinner.
"Ahem—"
Aiden cleared his throat with great seriousness, immediately attracting the attention of the two.
After dinner, it was time to talk business!
"Since you've both become Champions, there's something I should tell you."
"Originally this should wait until after the Victory Road completely ends, but telling you earlier will let you prepare sooner——"
"I know! It's about catching Paradox Pokémon in Area Zero, right!"
Before Aiden finished speaking, Nemona suddenly raised her hand excitedly, interrupting him.
"I saw it on the school forum. The reason Teacher Azure is guarding the gate this year is because Champions have to go to Area Zero to catch Paradox Pokémon. You raised the difficulty because you were afraid we couldn't beat them, right!
Aiden: ?
It seems—it's not impossible to understand it that way?
Although he didn't know how Nemona's peculiar brain circuit grew, the general meaning was indeed correct.
In a sense, it was indeed about taking the Champions deep into Area Zero to catch more Paradox Pokémon, preferably even reaching the lowest level in one breath, trying to understand what actually happened back then.
However, with Nemona's interruption, what was originally a very serious, even potentially life-threatening dangerous operation, suddenly seemed to become as relaxed as a tourist trip?
Aiden looked up at the sky, and after two or three seconds nodded, maintaining a serious expression.
"It's roughly this meaning, but Paradox Pokémon are all very powerful. Even you need to be extra careful when encountering them."
Just how dangerous Paradox Pokémon were, people who hadn't seen them with their own eyes couldn't understand. After all, modern Pokémon rarely showed hostility, even killing intent toward humans anymore.
"Isn't that even better?"
Unexpectedly, Nemona still looked at him excitedly.
"Only if they're strong enough is there the fun of challenging them. This year's Champion benefits are really nice!"
Benefits——?
Aiden blinked, subconsciously looking at Red beside him.
"..."
Although Red didn't speak, his nodding motion already indicated his attitude.
Originally, the reason he came to Paldea to challenge the Victory Road was to hone himself, while also testing whether his current level was qualified.
Aiden had also told him some time ago that if he could become Champion, he would take him to see the world.
This was probably what he was talking about, right?
Red's heart was already full of anticipation for the upcoming journey.
"..."
This time it was Aiden's turn to be silent.
Alright, the facts proved he was overthinking.
This year's two Champions weren't normal people—perhaps this was the best choice?
Aiden's mood was somewhat complex for a moment, but more of it seemed to be gratification.
As long as their strength was sufficient, there was indeed no need to fear those Paradox Pokémon.
As for the even more powerful beings inside————wasn't there still himself as the team leader to handle it? It wouldn't be these two children's turn to help anyway.
"In short, just knowing there's such a thing is enough. After the Victory Road challenges end, we'll start moving soon."
"Besides you two Champions, there should also be helpers responsible for technical support and temporary medical care."
"As for the candidates—they're roughly confirmed to be Arven and Penny."
"Oh oh oh! That's great, they're all familiar people~"
Hearing familiar names, Nemona was very excited.
Of course she was familiar with Arven—she had known him before enrolling, and his cooking skills and ability to soothe Pokémon were very strong.
More importantly—what happened in Area Zero back then seemed to be related to his parents.
Nemona just wasn't very observant, not stupid. She had heard quite a few conversations between Arven and Teacher Aiden, so she naturally understood somewhat.
This was probably the reason Teacher Aiden wanted to bring him to Area Zero together, right?
As for Penny, they hadn't known each other for very long, but as Team Star's BOSS, it was indeed reasonable for her to join the team.
He just didn't know what Teacher Aiden meant by "technical support"?
But these weren't important!
For Nemona, having Teacher Aiden lead the team already filled her with a sense of security. What was the difference between going to Area Zero and going on a tour?
Since it was a tour, having more people was definitely more lively!
------------------------------------------------------
30+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)