To be honest, neither Steven nor Wallace could really be called diligent, hard working trainers in the traditional sense. One of them spent most of his time obsessing over collecting rare stones, with his attention rarely focused on Pokémon training itself. The other was completely absorbed in fashion and the aesthetic performance of moves, with no intention of pursuing the path of a purely battle focused trainer at all.
And yet, these two individuals possessed such terrifying natural talent that it was almost unreasonable. With only casual training, the position of Champion of the Hoenn region seemed to fall into their hands as if it were nothing. It was as though winning battles came as naturally to them as eating or drinking.
Winona, on the other hand, was widely recognized in Fortree City as a prodigy among Flying type trainers. But whenever she stood beside Steven and Wallace, all of her brilliance seemed to be instantly overshadowed, leaving her appearing no different from an ordinary trainer.
Such an immense psychological gap was something very few people could truly understand.
In truth, it was also because Winona was too stubborn. She insisted on comparing herself with those two.
After all, even among trainers who possessed so called special abilities, unless their powers were at the very top tier, they would still have no way of competing with people like Steven and Wallace.
Who was Wallace?
He was the young master of Sootopolis, the successor of the Sootopolitan, and the future priest of Kyogre. How many trainers in the world could possibly compare with that?
And what about Steven?
He was the sole heir to the Devon Corporation, the largest enterprise in the Hoenn region.
What was Devon Corporation?
It was a massive commercial empire that dominated industries such as Poké Ball manufacturing, fossil revival, infinite energy research, aerospace technology, and countless other advanced fields. Even within the unified league of the five regions, Devon still stood as an unquestionable giant.
Steven lacked nothing. If anything, the only thing he had in abundance was money.
You could say his special ability was wealth itself.
He was like Bruce Wayne from the DC universe, or Tony Stark from Marvel.
There was even a famous quote about him circulating online.
"I have never cared about money. I have no interest in it at all."
Being around people like that, it was easy to imagine just how immense the pressure on Winona must have been, especially given her competitive nature.
Theo's thoughts moved rapidly as he tried to comfort her. At the same time, a faint green glow appeared in his hand, just like when he had once made contact with Kyogre during a livestream.
He was deliberately letting Winona see it.
This was actually his method of manifesting a basic energy orb from the system space.
Since he had already revealed his identity as an ability user during that Kyogre livestream, most people assumed he possessed the ability, Viridian Power. So casually showing a small green energy sphere would not raise suspicion.
As long as he did not reveal the white move discs or the various colored vitamin potions, there would be no problem.
With a light toss, Theo flicked the energy orb toward the small Ice Vulpix.
The little Alolan Vulpix wagged its six tiny tails, its face showing a look of pure enjoyment. Although a basic energy orb no longer had any real effect on it, the stimulation of the energy still felt pleasant.
"Well, even having special abilities does not make someone invincible," Theo said with a smile. "A trainer without them can still defeat those who have them, as long as they train their Pokémon well."
He continued with a casual example.
"Look at the Champion Lance from Kanto. When he runs into Elite Four Lorelei, he still has to keep his distance. There are so many funny images online of him greeting her respectfully, calling her 'Big Sister Lorelei'. It is honestly pretty amusing."
Winona could not help but laugh at that.
She had also seen plenty of those fan made images online. Some showed Lance bowing to Lorelei with captions like "Please spare me, Big Sister Lorelei." Others deliberately captured moments where he stood far away from her. There were even edited pictures of him carrying her bag, massaging her shoulders, or looking like he was begging for mercy.
Those images always made people smile.
"You really dare to say that," Winona said, shaking her head, though the sadness in her eyes had already faded somewhat. "Aren't you afraid that if Lance hears about this, he might come looking for trouble?"
"I am just stating facts," Theo shrugged. "There are so many memes about him online, even calling him the strongest Flying type Champion. Compared to that, what I said is nothing."
He added lightly, "Besides, he really cannot beat Lorelei. No matter what kind of trainer you are, strength is what truly matters. It has nothing to do with whether you specialize in battles or not."
Hearing this, Winona paused for a moment before letting out a relieved smile.
"You are right. I was overthinking things. I should just focus on training my Pokémon properly and not worry about things outside of that."
Her eyes regained their determination.
"One day, I will stand alongside people like Lorelei and Cynthia, becoming an Elite Four member, or even a Champion."
The shadows in her heart gradually dissipated.
Meanwhile, the spectators in the viewing area were also drawn into the conversation, beginning to discuss excitedly.
"Wait, is that true? Does Champion Lance really fear Elite Lorelei?"
"It is true. Didn't you know? Even our Hoenn Elite Four Drake gave him a new nickname. The strongest Flying type Champion in Kanto. All his Pokémon get completely countered by Lorelei's Ice types."
"So that is why Lance always keeps his distance from Lorelei during public appearances. There is actually a reason behind it!"
The livestream chat exploded with excitement.
"Wow, the streamer is bold! Using Lance as an example just to comfort Winona, I give full marks!"
"Screenshot taken! I am going straight to Lance's social media to 'share' this!"
"Better cling to Lorelei if you ever go to Kanto, otherwise you might get ambushed at night by Lance!"
"Lance: Do I not deserve any dignity?! Why drag me into this just to comfort someone!"
"Honestly, the interaction between the streamer and Winona is kind of sweet. Maybe they should just get together."
"Yeah, I agree."
"Same here, adding one vote!"
Just as the chat was buzzing with playful teasing, a dazzling golden animation suddenly streaked across the entire screen.
Immediately after, a prominent donation message appeared.
User "Cynthia" has donated 100,000 League Coins. Message: The streamer is really good at comforting people. Here is a reward.
Following the message was a shining official verification badge.
Sinnoh League Champion, Cynthia.
The entire livestream instantly erupted into chaos.
(End of Chapter)