"Gym Leader Red, you'd like to apply for a high-tier resource?"
The League staff member looked hesitant.
After all, even with Red's points doubled, he still didn't have enough to exchange for a high-tier resource.
"Gym Leader Red, you know the situation. Your points simply aren't sufficient..."
Red waved his hand dismissively.
"That's fine. I don't mind."
"I can make up the missing points with money or other resources."
"My points were doubled, after all. I'm not that far away from qualifying for a high-tier exchange, am I?"
"The gap isn't large..."
"But Gym Leader Red, that isn't really in accordance with the rules."
"My authority is limited..."
Looking at the staff member, Red felt a headache coming on.
When Pupitar had evolved, it had benefited from companion resources related to two Legendary Pokémon.
Naturally, Red wasn't expecting that sort of absurdly high-end resource again.
After all, that opportunity had been pure luck.
But neither did he intend to let Marshtomp evolve without any preparation at all.
(The Thousand-Year Ice was for move training, not an evolution resource.)
Just as Red was wondering what to do, he suddenly heard the sound of high heels approaching.
Click. Click. Click.
For some reason, Sabrina appeared beside him.
She took out a card and placed it on the counter.
"I'll cover the missing points for Gym Leader Red."
"That shouldn't be a problem now, should it?"
"S-Sabrina-sama!"
The staff member felt a chill run down the back of his neck as he looked at the icy-faced Psychic Queen.
"O-Of course!"
"If Sabrina-sama is willing to provide the points, then that's perfectly acceptable!"
Clearly, compared to a Gym Leader whose fame was still relatively recent—
The legendary Sabrina, rumored to turn people into dolls, was far more intimidating.
Sabrina glanced at Red and snorted softly.
Then she transmitted her voice directly into his mind.
"If you lose, then for the rest of this mon—"
"You won't get to touch even one of my fingers."
With that, she turned and walked away.
Leaving Red standing there in a daze.
Then he muttered to himself:
"Does this count as living off my girlfriend?"
A moment later, he shook his head.
Eating my own girlfriend's soft rice doesn't count as soft rice!
Watching Sabrina's departing figure, Red used telepathy to call out:
"Sabrina!"
"If losing comes with a punishment, then winning should come with a reward too, right?!"
The moment she heard the word reward, Sabrina's frosty expression instantly broke.
Her face turned red.
Without answering, she simply used Teleport and disappeared.
Watching her leave, Red felt completely satisfied.
"If she didn't deny it, then she agreed."
At this point, he had Sabrina's personality figured out completely.
"Gym Leader Red, please follow me."
The staff member led him into one of the League's storage facilities.
Red barely glanced at the ordinary high-tier resources displayed openly.
Instead, he headed directly toward the premium materials that the League kept tucked away.
Professor Oak mentioned that there were quite a few Water-type resources hidden here...
As expected of the Pokémon League.
It didn't take long for Red to discover three Water-type options.
The first was:
A fragment of an eggshell from Phione, the Prince of the Sea.
The second was:
A molted remnant left behind by a Champion-level Water-type Pokémon.
And the third was:
Water collected from the core region of the lake once inhabited by Suicune, the Embodiment of the North Wind.
Looking at the three resources, Red's first instinct was the Phione eggshell fragment.
It would undoubtedly improve Marshtomp's control over Water-type energy.
Yet for some reason—
His intuition kept telling him that the Suicune lake water held a surprise.
"Oh, Gym Leader Red."
The staff member explained:
"This sample of Suicune's lake water seems to have been contaminated by some Dragon-type Pokémon."
"The Water-type energy isn't completely pure anymore."
"Contaminated?"
The moment Red heard that, he immediately made his decision.
"Yes."
"I'll take this one."
"This is exactly the kind of contamination I'm looking for."
Of course, this wasn't merely intuition.
His system possessed appraisal capabilities.
[Black Lake Water]
[Special lake water containing a trace amount of blood from the Paradox Pokémon Walking Wake.]
"It's actually a resource connected to Walking Wake..."
Walking Wake was a Paradox Pokémon originating from the Paldea region.
And among Paradox Pokémon, it was particularly strange.
According to its lore, Walking Wake was an ancient Paradox form of Suicune.
But everyone knew that Suicune had been resurrected by Ho-Oh from an unknown Water-type Pokémon.
Suicune itself was Ho-Oh's creation.
It shouldn't have existed in ancient times at all.
So where did the ancient Paradox Beasts come from?
Red could only speculate.
Perhaps this was the very nature of Paradox Pokémon.
They were called Paradox Pokémon because their existence itself contradicted common sense.
"Sigh..."
"The mysteries of the Pokémon world really have to be explored personally."
There was another reason he chose Walking Wake's blood.
A small idea had taken root in his mind.
What if Swampert could awaken a Paradox form as well...?
For now, though, it was nothing more than imagination.
After selecting the resource, Red immediately took Marshtomp away to begin its final evolution preparations.
Incidentally, Marshtomp was currently Level 41.
Even Red was eager to see what level it would reach after evolving.
And what kind of strength it would possess.
That night, a massive storm approached the Indigo Plateau.
At the same time—
The final showdown between Ash and Gary officially began.
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