Chapter 405:
"Are Challengers arriving this early this year?"
Inside the Gym, Blue who was sweeping the floor, hearing footsteps outside raised his eyes.
He had taken over as the Gym Leader this year, awaiting novice Trainers to come knocking, while also keeping an eye on the new Trainers emerging from Pallet Town.
That's how it is for Trainers.
Trainers who embark on journeys can't stay on the road forever. They grow up, become adults, get married, have families, build careers, and then watch the new generation walk various different paths.
It's just that when you're older, or after achieving your goals, it's hard not to reminisce about the passionate days of youth.
Putting down the broom, Blue looked toward the Gym entrance. In the sunlight streaming in from outside, two shadows appeared somewhat blurred in the light.
But as they walked in, Blue's expression froze.
"Is that young man... Hayashi Kaede?"
He rubbed his eyes, almost doubting his vision.
Upon confirming it was indeed Kaede, Blue became even more confused.
"Hey there, Senior Blue!"
Walking into the Gym, Kaede greeted him with a rather familiar ease, while Mewtwo surveyed its surroundings.
The current Viridian Gym was very different from how it was under Giovanni's management.
Back then, not only was the lighting dim, but there weren't even any windows, giving the entire Gym a gloomy, oppressive atmosphere.
Now, many windows had been added, making it bright and airy.
When watching the anime before, he always thought Blue seemed arrogant, with a personality similar to Gary's.
But from their initial chats, he felt Blue was actually quite decent.
"You... what are you doing here..."
Blue's expression was odd.
He wasn't a fool; for Kaede to come all this way meant he definitely had business.
He actually often watched the videos Kaede posted.
As a fellow breeder, Blue also wanted to learn some Pokémon breeding knowledge from Kaede's videos.
But he found Kaede's breeding methods strange!
Very strange!
As everyone knew, for Pokémon to grow stronger and hone their energy, the most important thing was battling!
This was true for any Pokémon.
Only through battle after battle could they gain greater power and more proficient skills.
Yet in the videos, he rarely saw Kaede's Pokémon battling. Instead, there were more daily Pokemon Breeder activities posted, like how to make various dishes, or having Gardevoir and Indeedee learn to make Energy Cubes, or having Serperior cast Grassy Terrain on plants.
Even he, as a breeder, had his Pokémon participate in some battles.
But during that Pokémon League Conference, the performance of every one of Kaede's Pokémon made his eyelids twitch—and he prided himself as a breeder, even recognized by his grandfather.
Clearly, many of those Pokémon just ate and drank every day, only undergoing a few proper training sessions before the conference.
Yet like that, he didn't lose a single match in the tournament?
This shocked him more than seeing Red's Pokémon.
Especially that Shiny Gardevoir!
If he guessed correctly, that was the same Gardevoir he had been helpless against back then.
When he encountered it, that Gardevoir's strength clearly wasn't that high, right?
He even thought it was just a relatively rare, somewhat capable Gardevoir.
But at the Eastova Pokémon League Conference...
It even used Darkrai's exclusive move Dark Void...
So, during their first chat, when Kaede said "it was simple"... he really meant simple!
Truth be told, Blue really wanted to go to Eastova to find Kaede for some mutual study and exchange.
He never expected Kaede would come here first.
"I came to the Kanto region for some matters, and also had some things I wanted to seek advice on from you, Senior, so I came over."
Facing Blue, who appeared to be around his own age, Kaede still used respectful terms.
In the Kanto region, Blue and Red's popularity had been very high in previous years. They not only won the championship and runner-up of the Indigo League respectively, but also each challenged the Kanto Elite Four. Unfortunately, in the end, neither of the two young genius Trainers became the reigning Champion of Kanto.
Only recently had they both gradually faded from the spotlight, intending to make way for newcomers.
Hearing Kaede's words, Blue's mouth twitched. "What's with this 'Senior'... such a strange term. Just call me by my name."
But his curiosity about Kaede was still strong.
"Coincidentally, I also wanted to ask you some things. You go first."
Blue tossed his hair. Facing a peer, and moreover one he acknowledged as a worthy rival, his competitive spirit was ignited again, a faint gleam of confidence appearing in his eyes.
Kaede didn't waste words. "What I want to ask about is Team Rocket. The Kanto League's view on it."
Blue was someone who had almost become... or one could say had already become the Champion of the Kanto League. Regarding information on Team Rocket, he would definitely know more or less.
"Team Rocket?"
Blue was taken aback. "Our view on it?"
Blue looked at Kaede, then glanced at the pink-haired boy beside him.
From the very beginning, he had sensed something off about this boy. His breeder's intuition told him this probably wasn't human, but a Pokémon.
A Pokémon that could transform into a human, following Kaede around?
What Pokémon could that be?
Thoughts flashed through his mind as he spoke. "Team Rocket in the Kanto region, while somewhat notorious, actually, what they do isn't too extreme. It's mostly some fringe members stealing novice Trainers' Pokémon. That kind of thing was quite annoying before, but those fringe members aren't very competent either. After Lance became Champion, he started cracking down hard, so it's much better now.
The main thing is, Team Rocket is involved in quite a few industries in Kanto. So, if they don't commit major offenses, it's not really a big deal."
"What if someone found evidence of them committing major offenses?"
Kaede followed up with the question.
"???"
A question mark appeared on Blue's forehead, but he still replied, "If someone really dug up proof that Team Rocket committed major crimes, that would be a big surprise for Lance. He's been wanting to clean up the League internally for a long time. There are just too many Team Rocket members within the League."
"Oh, I see."
Kaede seemed thoughtful.
Blue looked at him, also having his own speculations.
But he didn't voice them. Instead, he started asking his own questions. "Umm. Kaede, can I asked if it was through the food you made that your Gardevoir resisted Darkrai's curse?"