Time passed, and it was December 10th, Wednesday.
It was the day Aiden had previously agreed with Cynthia to come to Paldea for a competition.
"Bui..."
When Aiden woke up from his squashed nightmare, a large lump called Eevee on his chest nearly left him breathless.
Good grief, do you know how heavy you are? This is like trying to murder your trainer!
Skillfully grabbing Eevee by the scruff of its neck with one hand and tossing it onto the bed, Aiden finally exhaled deeply.
After shaking off the fur that Eevee had left on him, Aiden quickly changed his clothes and went to the washroom.
While washing up, he repeatedly checked himself in the mirror, ensuring every detail was perfect.
Move the bangs on my forehead five millimeters to the right!
On normal days, Aiden, who led a wild life, might not have been so meticulous.
But today was different. It was the long-awaited day to meet his childhood friend again, so naturally, he had to tidy himself up properly.
Looking in the mirror, Aiden smiled.
"Not bad for an 18-year-old me, I still look pretty handsome when I make an effort!"
After finishing washing up, Aiden quickly entered the living room.
Eevee was still sound asleep in the bedroom, while Riolu had already gone out for a morning run.
Besides him, the only other awake being in the gym was Miraidon, which was punctually waiting outside the kitchen, raising its head proudly for Aiden to feed it.
Three meals a day, none can be missed, and occasionally there would be an extra snack.
This was Miraidon's daily routine.
After preparing breakfast for the three Pokémon, Aiden stepped out of the gym and took down the sunny doll hanging at the entrance.
Due to the Mediterranean climate, the Paldea region often experienced rain during winter.
However, due to some special reasons, it absolutely couldn't rain today.
Fortunately, although this system prop was questionable, its effect was surprisingly good.
The dense clouds from last night had completely disappeared, and by morning, the sun was already quite warm.
"Gao..."
Basking in the warm sunlight, Miraidon yawned sleepily and was about to lie back in its little nest for a nice nap.
"No way! You can't sleep today!"
Aiden immediately shouted.
I still have to go to Mesagoza to pick up my beautiful friend. If you fall asleep, I can't possibly walk there...
Miraidon growled discontentedly but obediently got up, waiting for Aiden to mount it before setting off immediately.
"Thank you, Miraidon!"
All those sandwiches weren't eaten in vain. Despite high fuel consumption, it was still reliable when needed.
After mounting his beloved motorcycle, Aiden sped towards Mesagoza.
Unlike the last time she directly came to Sunlight Gym, this time, Cynthia came to Paldea to participate in a competition with some official nature and needed to stay for a while.
So she needed to register first at the competition site in Mesagoza.
"The Dragon Master Tournament..."
Sitting on fully autonomous driving Miraidon, Aiden suddenly muttered and looked up at the sky.
Dragon Masters from all over the world gathered here; he was actually quite interested in watching such a high-level competition.
Maybe I should just take a few days off and come to Mesagoza to watch the matches?
...
Near the entrance of Mesagoza, the registration point for the Dragon Master Tournament.
"OK, Ms. Cynthia, your registration information has all been recorded."
"Alright, thank you."
After completing the process, Cynthia was about to turn and leave.
At this moment, another elegant black-haired woman appeared in front of her.
"Hello, Ms. Cynthia, the new champion of Sinnoh."
Geeta smiled slightly and greeted this young champion.
"I was really surprised when I heard that a champion was participating in this Master Tournament."
Unlike the "Master Championship," held once every four years as the highest level event worldwide, the Attribute Master Tournaments were just high-level Ultra Ball competitions.
Generally, only Elite Four members or Gym Leaders aiming to accumulate international competition points and secure tickets to enter the Master Championship would sign up for these attribute-specific tournaments.
As the strongest champions of their respective regions, they were granted direct entry into the elimination rounds of the Master Championships.
Thus, it was rare to see champions participating.
However, considering she was still a newcomer, perhaps she just wanted to gain more experience in major tournaments?
Geeta didn't think too much about it. Seeing Cynthia merely smile faintly without any intention to discuss the topic further, she continued,
"By the way, this Dragon Master Tournament will last over a week. Ms. Cynthia, do you have accommodations arranged in Mesagoza? Would you like the League to arrange it for you?"
"No need, someone will come to pick me up."
Cynthia shook her head and, as if sensing something, raised her gaze to look into the distance.
Upon noticing a certain riding Pokémon speeding towards her and the young man sitting on its back, waving with a smile, Cynthia smiled gently.
"He's here, so I'll take my leave now, Ms. Geeta."
After politely waving goodbye, Cynthia walked briskly and soon met up with Aiden.
"Did you wait long?"
"No, I just arrived in Mesagoza."
"Then let's get on the bike and talk at home. Hold on tight!"
"Okay."
???
Aiden seemed to have not noticed the nearby Paldea Champion Geeta, but precisely because of this, Geeta witnessed an extremely familiar scene between the two.
Geeta knew that Cynthia and Aiden were acquainted.
Ever since Cynthia's sudden visit to Paldea last time, she already knew that the destination of this new Sinnoh Champion was the Sunlight Gym.
However, Geeta hadn't expected their relationship to be this close?
Their interaction mode was like...
A bold conjecture immediately surfaced in Geeta's mind.
If that's the case, Cynthia's reason for participating in the Dragon Master Tournament made sense.
Though it was outrageous, Geeta vaguely felt she had discovered the truth.
There might be something unusual about the relationship between these two!
Geeta quickly realized.
In that case, could this relationship be used to strengthen the ties between Sinnoh and Paldea...
Geeta couldn't help but think this way.
At the same time, she immediately took action, pulling out her phone to call Rika, who was working at the League office.
"Do we still have internal tickets for the Master Tournament?"
"One ticket is reserved. Why?"
"Hmm... it's hard to explain why directly, but if Gym Leader Aiden applies for leave in a couple of days, just approve it directly."
"That's it, I'm hanging up."
Rika scratched her head on the other end of the phone, completely puzzled about what Geeta was thinking.
"Well, after all, I'm just an employee. Geeta must have her own considerations for doing this..."
"What's worrying about it!"
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