As Shiro thought about it, the sobbing beside him caught his attention.
Sapphire tightly gripped his clothes and buried her head against him. Her back trembled as if she were having spasms.
Shiro softened his voice and gently patted her shoulder. "Sapphire?"
She raised her head. Her entire face was scrunched up like a steamed bun that had been flattened, and tears kept rolling down from the corners of her eyes. She suddenly threw her arms around Shiro and buried her face, along with her tears, into his black clothes.
"I'm so scared..." Sapphire struggled to speak between sobs. "Big brother, I'm so scared..."
Shiro remained silent as he looked around.
Corviknight circled overhead before landing on the grass. Gengar's eyes emerged from the shadows. Growlithe sat crouched nearby, while Bewear held its head in its paws and tilted its head in confusion. Rhyperior was lying in the forest...
Shiro waved his hand and returned them to their Poké Balls. He then slowly crouched down, picked Sapphire up, and followed the road toward Birch's lab.
"Let's go home."
* * *
Birch Research Institute.
Shiro stood outside the door and waved goodbye.
Inside, Soyln was holding Sapphire in her arms with a kitchen knife in her hand as she charged toward the stairs.
"Birch!"
Her sharp cry seemed capable of echoing throughout Littleroot Town. Even Birch, who was taking notes on the third floor, couldn't help but shudder.
'What happened this time?'
Birch felt a chill in his heart and hurriedly got up before going to the window.
Littleroot Town outside was still peaceful. The only person on the dirt road was an old man who had come out with a walking stick to enjoy the sunlight.
Bang!
The door was violently kicked open as if pirates were raiding the place.
Soyln raised the kitchen knife, its cold and merciless blade moving closer and closer to Birch's face.
Clang!
The blade sank into the edge of the wooden window.
Birch's face turned pale. He raised both hands and shook his head helplessly as cold sweat covered his forehead.
'What's going on this time?'
If he were not so overweight and unskilled, he would have jumped straight out of the window.
"Soyln... I was wrong. I was wrong. Please, don't get worked up," Birch said as he tried his best to calm her down.
Soyln grabbed him firmly by the collar with a cold expression and asked heavily, "Did you offend Drake before?"
Birch's fear and confusion mixed together as his mind went blank.
'Dra... Drake?'
The Hoenn Elite Four member, Drake!
Birch had indeed treated that man rudely in the past, but that was all old history. He wasn't even close to Drake now.
"What... what happened?" he asked cautiously.
"Drake. That damn Drake..."
Soyln gritted her teeth as her hand once again gripped the knife handle beside the window. Birch immediately sucked in a sharp breath.
"He actually sent a Salamence to attack Sapphire!"
"How is that possible?"
Birch found it unbelievable.
Even if the two of them had some insignificant conflict, it was still nothing more than a dispute within the League. Both of them were at least considered senior members of the organization. Surely they wouldn't stoop so low as to target each other's families?
"It was Shiro who saved Sapphire... Do you want to ask Sapphire yourself? Or should I have Hoenn's chief professor explain it to you?" Soyln's voice was filled with disdain and sarcasm.
Birch felt his teeth ache, while the coldness of the blade above his head made him tremble.
It was true that other League trainers might not do anything like this.
But Drake was different.
If the person who had attacked was Drake...
Drake was a famous troublemaker in the Hoenn League. He had ignored the League's laws and regulations countless times whenever he wanted to do something. After all, he had once been the former Champion. Every time, people simply looked at the results and saw that things had turned out fine. Since his actions had never caused any major consequences, the matter was always brushed aside.
Yet this old troublemaker had actually dared to target his family!
Birch clenched his fists as his expression gradually turned dark and livid.
Back when Drake was Champion, he had been impeached and forced to resign because he had illegally slaughtered Pokémon in the Safari Zone while searching for a criminal. The document sent to the League's central authorities demanding his impeachment had been written by Birch himself.
But Drake had already come to confront him over it back then.
So what was the reason this time?
"Think about it carefully yourself," Soyln said coldly. "If you can't give me an explanation, I'll take Sapphire and move to Kanto!"
"Absolutely not!" Birch suddenly showed a rare burst of firmness. He scrambled to his feet and shouted, "You absolutely cannot go to Kanto!"
Kanto was currently in its most chaotic period. Team Rocket, the League, and the nobles were all involved, while Legendary Pokémon, political upheaval, and purges were quietly brewing beneath the surface.
As Birch's family, Soyln and Sapphire would at the very least be placed under supervision if they went to Kanto.
It was far too dangerous.
"Why?" Soyln instead calmed down. "Why can't we go to Kanto?"
"Because... because..." Birch felt as if a mass of anger had lodged in his chest, yet he could not get the words out.
Because Kanto was too dangerous?
Then why was it dangerous?
How was he supposed to explain something like that? How could he possibly make it clear?
"Heh!" Soyln turned to the side and sneered. "Then what about Kalos? How about I stay with Professor Sycamore for a while?"
"Sycamore?" Birch's voice rose as his face turned red.
Who didn't know that Sycamore was a beast who liked helping married women? Relying on his status as the youngest professor, he had ruined the lives of countless innocent women.
Some busybodies had even given Sycamore the title of "Lover of the Masses."
'To hell with him!'
Birch could no longer care about being refined and cursed furiously in his heart.
When Sycamore had come to Hoenn for an academic discussion, he had even invited Soyln in front of Birch to visit the hotel where he was staying. He had claimed that there was a frog there that could use ninjutsu.
What the hell? Even frogs can use ninjutsu now?
Birch felt so irritated that his chest tightened. He angrily asked, "Go see a jumping frog that can use ninjutsu?"
"Sycamore said it was a frog-like Pokémon that could use moves similar to ninjutsu!" Soyln corrected him before snorting. "And you're a Pokémon Professor?"
"I..."
Birch suddenly remembered that he was the Pokémon Professor of Hoenn, and his confidence immediately dropped. He had no choice but to ignore his wife's mockery, as well as the question of why she remembered this nonsense even more clearly than he did.
"Actually, Kalos is pretty good too." He took off his glasses and lowered his head to wipe them. "I've heard that its technology is quite advanced."
Slap!
Birch's head turned to the side as a red mark appeared on his face.
Soyln slapped him across the face, then turned around and left with Sapphire in her arms. Sapphire blinked her eyes as she watched.
"Coward!"
Bang!
The door was slammed shut.
Birch could vaguely hear the heavy footsteps fading away on the stairs. He had no idea whether Soyln had actually left yet.
The Pokémon Professor, who had just entered middle age, slumped against the wall. His heart was filled with complicated emotions, but in the end, they all turned into resentment.
"For the League, for the League... All they know how to do is shout slogans every day."
"Even Team Aqua and Team Magma can run rampant throughout Hoenn."
"That old bastard Drake only knows how to bite people at random."
"Groudon, Kyogre... Are we just supposed to wait until they beat each other senseless in Hoenn?"
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