Wallace—Juan's personal disciple and the former Gym Leader of Sootopolis City—had once held the title of Sootopolis Gym Leader himself. Later, when Steven Stone stepped down as the Champion of Hoenn to travel the world in search of rare minerals, Wallace took over the position of Hoenn Champion, while Juan returned to reclaim the Sootopolis Gym.
But don't be mistaken—just because Steven relinquished the Champion's seat didn't mean Wallace was weak.
On the contrary, Wallace was widely regarded as the second-strongest Trainer in the entire Hoenn region, surpassed only by Steven himself.
Even the Elite Four were nowhere near his level.
And as if that weren't impressive enough, Wallace was also the greatest Coordinator in Hoenn—the undisputed king of Pokémon Contests.
To reach the pinnacle of both battling and coordinating was something almost no one in the world could accomplish. Wallace was one of the very few who could.
In fact, among all regions, Hoenn was arguably the strongest overall.
Why?
Because Hoenn alone possessed two Champion-tier powerhouses.
In every other region—even counting the future Champions who were in their prime and under thirty years old—there was usually only one Trainer who truly stood at the Master level.
If it weren't for the Masters Eight rule that allowed only one representative per region, Wallace would easily have been far stronger than that guy Alain.
Kanto had Lance.
Sinnoh had Cynthia.
Unova's current Champion, Alder, was already past his prime, while Iris hadn't yet risen.
Kalos had Diantha.
Galar had Leon.
Only Hoenn had both Steven and Wallace at the same time.
Kanto used to be extremely powerful, but after splitting into Kanto and Johto, their individual strength dropped sharply compared to Hoenn.
(And Ash Ketchum represented Alola, so he didn't count as Kanto anymore.)
As for Lance?
He was the only top-tier Trainer left in Kanto—and it was even rumored that he'd gone to Johto to become Champion because he couldn't beat Lorelei.
Pathetic.
No wonder he went from being the strongest in the first generation to losing to Leon in the first Masters Eight and ranking second, then dropping to fourth later, and by the time Ash competed, he was eliminated in the first round, with his so-called ace becoming a Shiny Gyarados.
At that very moment, far away in Kanto, Lance suddenly sneezed.
…
Soon after, Aiden Flint arrived at the Pokémon Center and finally met the legendary Coordinator and current Hoenn Champion—Wallace.
Wallace looked about twenty-five years old, one or two years younger than Steven. He carried himself with refined elegance, yet without giving off any effeminate air.
The moment he saw Aiden, Wallace walked over on his own initiative.
"So you're the Trainer Steven told me about—the one with remarkable strength who saved Mauville City. Aiden Flint, right?"
Hearing that, Aiden wasn't surprised in the least.
If Wallace knew him, then Steven must have mentioned him.
The only question was… did Wallace know about Rayquaza?
"Steven isn't the type to run his mouth, right? He even warned me not to casually show Rayquaza, so I don't attract unwanted attention…"
With that thought in mind, Aiden spoke up.
"Champion Wallace, I stayed in Mauville City specifically to wait for you. Officer Jenny told me the League prepared a reward for me because of the incident there."
"As for Steven, we did battle. We're friends now—he even gave me my Metang."
Hearing Aiden mention the reward right away, Wallace felt a flicker of curiosity.
"This kid's only eighteen… what exactly makes Steven praise him so highly that he insisted I come test him personally?"
But when he heard that Steven and Aiden had already become friends, Wallace couldn't help feeling slightly sour—yet even more intrigued.
That was how people were.
When a close friend suddenly kept talking about someone new, you couldn't help but be curious.
Not to mention, Steven had even given Aiden a Beldum—the most promising one from his private mines.
That alone was enough to make Wallace take Aiden seriously.
And if Steven was willing to give out a pseudo-legendary, then Wallace, as Hoenn Champion, certainly couldn't offer something inferior.
Clearing his throat, Wallace said,
"In light of your actions in stopping Aerodactyl's rampage in Mauville City, the Hoenn League has decided to grant you a special set of Poké Balls—including a Master Ball—and allow you to apply for a pseudo-legendary Pokémon through the Pokémon League."
"I've brought the Poké Balls with me. As for the pseudo-legendary, you'll need to tell me which one you want so I can submit the request."
When Aiden heard the words Master Ball, his heart leapt with joy.
And being allowed to choose a pseudo-legendary?
Tyranitar.
Dragonite.
Salamence.
Hydreigon.
Garchomp.
Dragapult…
His decision was made almost instantly.
"If I can choose, then I'd like one from the Salamence line. It's Hoenn's native pseudo-legendary, so the League should have some especially high-quality ones, right?"
Aiden had already thought this through.
Hoenn was famous for Bagon and Beldum, so the League's stock of pseudo-legendaries here would definitely be top-tier.
And besides—
Salamence was just too cool.
Using it as a flying mount made Vibrava in his System Space suddenly feel… a lot less appealing.
After all, he'd only caught Vibrava because he hadn't run into any Bagon back then—it was just a backup plan.
Wallace smiled and nodded, then handed Aiden a full set of Poké Balls.
At the same time, he submitted a request to the Pokémon League for a high-quality Bagon or Shelgon to be sent via Pokémon transfer.
With Wallace personally handling it, the League staff moved fast—but even so, it would still take at least an hour to reach Mauville City.
"Alright," Wallace said. "The reward is on its way. Since we have some time, why don't we step outside and have a battle? Let me see for myself why Steven praises you so much."
Aiden blinked.
But if Wallace wanted to get beaten, that was his choice.
"Of course," Aiden replied with a smile. "It's my honor to battle the Champion."
And so, both of them took out their Poké Balls and headed toward the open plains outside Mauville City.
Far away, in Steven's private mine, Steven suddenly paused and chuckled.
"By now, Wallace should have met Aiden… I wonder how badly he's about to be shocked."
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