Blackthorn City, Johto region.
A friendly-faced Dragonite appeared in the sky above the city.
Its tiny wings not only supported its round, robust body all by itself but could also maintain supersonic speed while carrying a person.
If Aiden had witnessed this scene, he would have sincerely exclaimed—
"Sure enough, the humans in the Pokémon world are tougher than steel..."
Upon reaching their destination, Dragonite deftly plummeted at high speed, emitting several successive booms in the air. It weaved through the mountains and soon came to a steady stop in front of a modern building.
"Thanks for your hard work, Dragonite."
Lance patted its shoulder, leaped off its back, and noticed a woman with light blue hair wearing a similarly tight-fitting blue outfit standing nearby.
"Long time no see, Clair."
Lance greeted her with a serious expression.
"Cousin."
Clair nodded in response, her expression equally grave.
Dragon Tamers were often rather arrogant people, so when two Dragon Tamers met, aside from battling, there was only—
Silence.
Until Clair spoke again, looking earnestly at Lance:
"You'll be participating in this Dragon-type Master Tournament in Paldea, right?"
"Mm."
Lance slightly nodded, as if he had anticipated her question.
"This Dragon-type Master Tournament has many strong veteran Dragon Tamers as participants. It's good for you to face them and gain some experience."
After hearing this, Clair immediately furrowed her brows.
"I'll prove it to you—I already possess the strength worthy of being called a Dragon Envoy!"
"So watch out. If I accidentally meet you before the finals, just wait to get swept by my Kingdra!"
"Hmph—"
Still maintaining his aloof demeanor, Lance sighed only after watching Clair leave in a huff.
He seemed to have said something wrong again.
He had intended to encourage his younger cousin, to ease her pressure and learn more from those powerful seniors...
How did it come out sounding like he was belittling her?
"Indeed, it's better to speak less in the future."
Yes, because Dragon Tamers were mostly a group of people who weren't good at words, they always gave other trainers the impression that "these guys are too pretentious, they look down on others!"
And because they weren't good at explaining themselves, they lacked the ability to clarify.
Over time, this stereotype gradually took root in people's minds.
Lance scratched his head and soon followed Clair's footsteps into the Blackthorn Gym.
After passing through a secret passage inside the gym, the surroundings suddenly opened up to reveal a cave where people seemed to live.
This was the homeland of the Dragon Envoys, also known as the "Dragon's Den."
Because he concurrently served as an Elite Four member of the Indigo League and an International Police officer, Lance rarely had time to return here.
This time, apart from having free time due to participating in the Master Tournament, he had another important purpose.
To reciprocate the favor to the Paldean Gym Leader named "Azure Wings."
Although they hadn't formally met, both he and Clair had received considerable assistance from him.
From an online battle with this young man, Lance learned a lot.
Since he let the rookie officers of Kanto act freely, not only did their strength improve rapidly, but the security of nearby cities also improved significantly.
As for Clair,
Her newfound confidence in the Master Tournament stemmed from learning a new strategy for Kingdra from "Azure Wings."
In Dragon-type battles, the pressure of consecutive Draco Meteor attacks was extremely terrifying.
That's why she seemed a bit overconfident.
Thinking about this, Lance helplessly shook his head.
The Dragon Envoys never owed favors.
So, he would repay Clair's debt as well.
For trainers, the best thank-you gift should be a Pokémon with great potential, right?
Coincidentally, he recently exchanged a batch of Dragon Eggs with Hoenn; judging by the timing, they should be close to hatching.
Lance quickly arrived near the Dragon Shrine at the center of the cave, glanced at the Pokémon eggs placed here, and soon picked out what he considered the best one.
This child's life energy was very vibrant, and even before hatching, it displayed a strong competitive spirit; its future strength shouldn't disappoint.
Being blessed by the Viridian Forest and appearing once every ten years as a holder of the Viridian Power, Lance was highly sensitive to Pokémon's emotions and life energy.
His choice wouldn't be wrong.
...
In the following days, nothing happened.
Time quickly reached December 5th, Friday.
On a normal weekday, few people came to challenge the gym, so Aiden had quite a bit of free time these days and could only watch Pokémon movies with Eevee.
The start date of the Master Tournament was the Monday after next, leaving 10 days of preparation time.
And Cynthia would arrive in Paldea on the 10th.
Five more days…
Recalling his last meeting with that Miss Champion, it felt like it was ages ago.
While Aiden's thoughts wandered, Eevee also noticed his vacant eyes.
"Buii…"
Hopeless.
Eevee shook its head, feeling speechless about its somewhat embarrassing trainer.
If I were the trainer, I would have—
Forget it, that Garchomp looks too fierce; even combined with Riolu, we might not be able to beat it…
Let the trainer figure it out himself!
Eevee flicked its tail and continued to watch the movie on the screen with great interest.
Just as Aiden's thoughts were running wild, someone suddenly knocked on the gym door.
At the same time, a childish voice came from outside.
"Is anyone there?"
Another challenger?
Though puzzled, Aiden quickly went over.
When the door opened, he didn't notice anyone at first glance. Only after lowering his gaze did he spot the small challenger.
"Hello?"
Aiden was somewhat perplexed but quickly recognized the identity of this little girl.
One of the future Elite Four members of the Paldea region, a 9-year-old trainer skilled in raising Steel-type Pokémon, Poppy!
She should be around 7 years old now in this timeline, could it be that she's already a trainer at this age?
Can you humans in the Pokémon world stop being so outrageous!
"Hello, big brother, this is Sunlight Gym, right?"
Poppy looked up at Aiden.
"Yes, are you here... to challenge the gym?"
"Mm-hmm! I heard that the leader of Sunlight Gym is a very powerful trainer, so I came to try challenging him!"
Poppy smiled, brimming with energy.
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