In the office, the three Elite Four members were clicking their tongues in wonder at this young "genius youth" Red.
Therefore, no one noticed that their leader, Chairwoman Geeta, currently had a gleam in her eyes, staring at the battle between Red and Aiden for a long time without speaking.
If Aiden were on the scene, he would probably immediately understand what Geeta was thinking—such a high-quality Trainer (workhorse), not having him develop in Paldea would truly be a waste of talent!
Of course, Aiden, who was currently engaged in a battle of wits with Red, naturally had no way of knowing.
At this moment, he and Red were both staring intently at Venusaur, and Lucario who was trapped in its "bondage play," constantly throwing punches trying to break free.
The confrontation of fighting spirit and endurance had already reached its climax. At any second, one of them might collapse and lose consciousness.
And as for the result—
Even Aiden wasn't quite clear.
Although he felt that with Lucario's durability, having been beaten by Garchomp since childhood, it shouldn't faint from Venusaur's Earth Power.
But what if?
This was the bad thing about battling protagonists from the story—Aiden really couldn't tell if they would suddenly explode with power.
So respect must be given.
Even though Red's displayed strength wasn't much stronger than Nemona's, Aiden had almost used the limit of the strength he restricted himself to.
Under these circumstances, if Red could still defeat him, then there was nothing to be done.
And just as Aiden was thinking this, the situation changed once again:
Lucario, trapped in the cocoon, suddenly stopped punching. The vines that were about to burst from its expansion seized the opportunity to tighten inward with full force again.
Lucario ran out of strength?
Aiden raised an eyebrow, subconsciously feeling something was off.
But when he felt the subtle connection established between himself and Lucario, proving it was still full of vitality, he quickly breathed a sigh of relief.
The next moment—
"Lucario!"
A white light flashed. Lucario's roar appeared together with flashes of blades and shadows. The vines restraining its body almost instantly broke apart cleanly, falling silently to the ground after losing control.
Its lower body, which had been repeatedly struck by Earth Power, already showed some wounds, and its aura had become somewhat ethereal due to the enclosed space. However, overall it should be fine.
At least it didn't affect its ability to battle.
So that's how it was—it was Sacred Sword?
Aiden nodded.
Against soft objects, swords were indeed much more useful than fists.
However—in order to prevent his Pokémon from subconsciously displaying overpowered abilities, he clearly hadn't let Lucario bring the disaster sword transformed from Chien-Pao, right?
And the two bone spikes shining with white light on the back of its hands immediately made Aiden understand what had just happened.
Goodness, so it was using a hand blade?
That's right, Lucario indeed wasn't carrying a suitable weapon, but its body had long been tempered through thousands of trials, possessing extremely terrifying explosive power.
Not to mention—it still had spikes extending from the iron bones on the back of its hands.
They were a bit small, but after learning that certain sword dog's lazy slash move, it was enough for emergency use.
"Lucario, take it down in one breath now!"
After understanding the situation, as a Trainer, Aiden immediately followed Lucario's rhythm and added a command.
"Lucario!"
"—"
Red didn't speak, only shaking his head helplessly, admitting his defeat.
After all, with the two Pokémon so close together, perhaps before he could finish speaking, Lucario's fists would already be coming at him.
And indeed that was the case.
Venusaur, who wasn't good at close combat, even with Mega Evolution boosting its durability considerably, simply couldn't withstand a few hits when facing the "Martial Arts Master" Lucario.
If the reaction was extreme enough, perhaps a zero-frame Protect could help it block some impact, but—
This Lucario was a monster in both stats and mechanics. Protect was meaningless against it.
Red, who deeply understood this, already knew the outcome.
Moreover, his Venusaur itself had already been hit by the Earth Power previously blasted out, losing considerable HP.
So when Lucario used Wicked Blow, continuously striking its most vulnerable flower stalk with several punches, Venusaur immediately let out pained wails.
Until the sound gradually weakened and completely disappeared, Venusaur's robust body also collapsed with a crash, its eyes rolling back as it fainted.
The pressure was once again on Red's side.
The battle duration wasn't actually that long, but Red wished every second could be infinitely extended, giving him more time to think.
Battling Teacher Azure—was experience really the biggest problem?
His most trusted Pikachu and Venusaur had already fallen one after another, and even his final trump card Mega Evolution had been played early. Yet the result was still a 2:0 that made one want to black out their screen?
This was really—
Too exciting!
At this point, Red basically confirmed that his idea before coming to Paldea was absolutely correct—he wasn't as strong as he imagined. It was purely because challenging Gyms in Kanto had been too smooth, giving his previous self the illusion that "I've got this."
If he couldn't even pass the 'Easy Mode' Elite Four Teacher Azure, what talk of becoming Champion!
So, he must cherish this hard-won opportunity to challenge a true expert, striving to grow from every battle!
In order to become Kanto Champion—
No, wrong!
He hadn't embarked on his Trainer journey for such shallow reasons. From beginning to end, he had only one goal!
Challenge stronger opponents, then become stronger!
When Red raised his head again, his gaze seemed to burn even hotter.
Noticing his battle-filled eyes, Aiden also became cheerful—rarely having such a hardworking student, if he didn't properly torture—ah no, should say guide him, wouldn't that make him seem unprofessional~
Don't disappoint me, future battle legend Red~
About half an hour later.
As Red's final Pokémon on the field, Espeon "Vee," lost consciousness, their battle finally came to an end.
"I've learned a lot, Teacher Azure!"
After recalling the fallen Vee, Red's will wasn't affected in the slightest, still maintaining his fiery gaze toward Aiden.
When bowing to Aiden, his voice was also full of youthful vitality.
Seeing his mentality still so stable, Aiden couldn't help but nod.
As expected, Red's personality was born for battles. Even with a score of 6:1, almost a completely one-sided crushing defeat, he could still accept it all with an unchanged expression.
Looking at his spinning eyes, he might even have already started mentally reviewing the battle, thinking about improvement plans for his tactics?
—
What a good seedling!
"If there's nothing else, you can leave first. Until the Victory Road closes, the other three Elite Four members and I welcome you to challenge us anytime."
"However, Chairwoman Geeta's side—"
Before Aiden could finish speaking, he suddenly felt the Rotom Phone in his pocket start vibrating, so he reached in and took it out.
Opening the screen—
He had just mentioned Chairwoman Geeta, and she immediately sent a message?
What a coincidence?
His gaze glanced at the camera in the corner. He already roughly knew what was going on.
[Geeta: Aiden—what do you think of Red?
[Geeta: If he could become Paldea Champion together with Nemona, exploring Area Zero should also be a good experience for him, right?]
Chairwoman Geeta only sent two sentences, but they immediately made Aiden's gaze become subtle.
Goodness, these days poaching people could be stated so righteously?
Truly worthy of you, Chairwoman Geeta!
However, Aiden could actually understand why she was so urgent, making it clear to him to find a way to make Red stay immediately after the battle ended—
After all, Red was truly strong!
A Trainer who currently had little fame but whose strength was absolutely among the top of the new generation—he wouldn't be buried anywhere he went.
Moreover, their battle just now had perfectly showcased this little guy Red's personality.
A pure Trainer who, like Nemona, thirsted for battles and strong opponents, and who could also grow rapidly during battles, quickly adapting to the opponent's strength—
Even when losing, he wouldn't be frustrated, but immediately start reviewing whether he could improve further, firmly remembering the pitfalls stepped on in the first battle and applying them to the next time.
Both thirsting to become stronger and very rule-abiding, not causing any trouble, even willing to sit outside for a whole day just to battle Aiden, watching him battle others with great interest——
This wasn't a newcomer, this was clearly walking gold!
For Chairwoman Geeta, Red was simply the most perfect Champion spokesperson.
However, Aiden was a bit hesitant.
If Red came to Paldea, wouldn't that mean the Champion was basically predetermined for Blue?
Then I'm missing the 1 minute Champion aspect—(crossed out)
Then wouldn't Red and his good friend be separated by vast distances, having no more interactions from now on?
That's not good!
After thinking it over, Aiden decided to stop burning his brain. He might as well throw the choice to Red himself and first ask for his opinion.
Unexpectedly——
After listening to his long explanation, Red only frowned slightly, then asked a soul-searching question: "Paldea Champion and Kanto Champion—do they conflict?"
Damn it Red, you're truly a genius!
After being "enlightened by one sentence" from Red, Aiden immediately realized he had been stuck on the wrong thing just now.
That's right, who said you could only have one regional Champion?
It's just that no one had ever tried before. There were no similar rules in any region.
Moreover, the opening times of Kanto and Paldea's Victory Roads didn't conflict anyway—they were several months apart.
Since Red had the ability, then first come to Paldea to "pad his resume," follow him to Area Zero to play some high-end matches, and after leveling up, return to Kanto to become Champion——
Wouldn't that settle it?
"So, little Red, interested in staying in Paldea a bit longer? After becoming Champion, I'll take you to Area Zero to see the world~"
After thinking everything through, Aiden immediately issued demonic whispers.
"See the world—?"
"Yeah, the origin of Paldea's Terastalization phenomenon is Area Zero! And many special Pokémon called 'Paradox Pokémon' have appeared inside now. Each one is very powerful!"
"——?!!"
Just looking at his expression, it was clear this move was super effective on Red.
"I want to go!"
Red almost didn't hesitate, immediately nodding in agreement.
"Alright, then work hard. Strive to become this year's Paldea Champion together with Nemona."
After Aiden responded, he reached out and patted Red's shoulder.
When speaking again, his tone was quite like an elder speaking earnestly to a junior.
"Even for Red, if you don't bring out your full strength and resilience, it'll be hard to pass my challenge too~"
"Mm, I understand!"
Just like that, Red was recruited to Paldea by Aiden in a few sentences, and sincerely began looking forward to the future Teacher Azure spoke of.
Being able to repeatedly challenge Teacher Azure and other regional Elite Four Champions, and following Teacher Azure to see the world, battling "Paradox Pokémon" that couldn't be seen in Kanto———
And after finishing, he could return to Kanto to continue challenging the Kanto Elite Four. Perhaps by then his strength would have improved considerably.
Then becoming Champion and making that kid Blue look at him with new eyes would also be a natural outcome, right?
There was actually such a good thing in the world?!
Red felt he had profited, and Teacher Azure's image in his heart grew a few points taller;
Aiden also felt he had profited, actually being able to keep this little genius Red for more high-end matches, and taking him to Area Zero would also be a good teammate who could be trusted with his back;
Geeta felt she had already won big. After all, she didn't need to pay anything and had persuaded a powerful newcomer to stay in Paldea. In the future, he might even become a mainstay of Paldea——
Was this the influence Aiden brought? Pushing him to become an Elite Four member back then was indeed the most correct decision!
A win-win-win situation was completed in just a few sentences from Aiden.
"Achoo—!"
Just as Aiden was marveling at his own cleverness, a certain spiky-haired youth in Pallet Town, Kanto, who had been sleeping soundly, suddenly sneezed while turning over, startling awake from his dream.
"Who's thinking about me? Could it be that kid Red?"
"No, it might also be Giovanni hasn't tortured me enough, feeling it was a pity to let me run away—"
Thinking of this, Blue suddenly felt a chill in his heart, and his sleepiness completely vanished.
He had been grinding at the Viridian Gym for several months already. His strength had barely met that unc with particularly high requirements' standards, who had finally recognized him as a "junior." He couldn't think about these random things anymore and cause himself suffering!
Blue shook his head violently, driving the previous thoughts out of his brain.
"However, how did that kid Red suddenly disappear?"
Looking at the somewhat eerie bright moonlight outside the window, Blue suddenly felt a bit——lonely?
"Forget it, whatever happens to him!"
"Since he doesn't want to practice together, then I'll secretly train hard on my own and outdo him!"
"If you lose to me on the Victory Road then, don't cry, Red~"
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