Harrington?
Aiden, walking toward the door, paused for a moment. The name sounded somewhat familiar.
So he decisively opened the door.
Soon, a middle-aged man with a warm smile and a mustache appeared before him.
Also entering Aiden's field of vision was Miraidon, quietly enjoying the sun on a cushion by the gym entrance, completely indifferent to what was happening outside.
"Hello, Gym Leader Aiden."
The man named Harrington smiled and greeted him proactively.
"Director Harrington."
Aiden nodded.
In the Scarlet and Violet game, when players enrolled in Naranja/Uva Academy, the director had already been replaced by Clavell.
However, just a year before the start of the main storyline—right at this point in time—the director was still Mr. Harrington.
"Is there something important that has brought Director Harrington here to Sunshine Gym during the holidays?"
Aiden asked directly.
Logically speaking, if it were League-related business, it should have been delivered by either Chairman Geeta or one of the Elite Four members. There would be no need for the Director of Naranja Academy to personally visit.
It wasn't as though Aiden was a student enrolling...
To Aiden's confusion, Harrington simply smiled and then lifted his briefcase.
"I'm just delivering something on behalf of Chairman Geeta, and I thought I'd come see the now-famous 'Teacher Azure' among the students of Naranja Academy."
"Deliver something?"
Aiden paused momentarily before quickly realizing what he meant.
It must be Gym Badges!
Sunshine Gym hadn't previously been part of the eight-gym lineup and thus didn't have the authority to issue badges.
But starting this year, things were different.
One of the conditions for advancing through the Victory Road was collecting eight badges representing victories over the eight gyms.
In other words, only after being recognized by all eight Gym Leaders as examiners could challengers move on to the official phase of the Victory Road—
Challenging the Elite Four and the Champion!
Harrington soon opened his briefcase, revealing neatly arranged, exquisitely crafted badges inside.
"These are this year's badges for Sunshine Gym. If you run out, you can request more from the League."
After handing over the briefcase with a smile, Harrington suddenly asked:
"By the way, these badge designs look quite similar to the Mega Stones discovered in Kalos and Hoenn. Does Gym Leader Aiden have any knowledge about Mega Stones?"
Aiden nodded.
"Somewhat."
How could he not be familiar with Mega Stones? He currently had one right on Bagon.
"Ah, I see."
Receiving Aiden's response, Harrington nodded quickly.
"No wonder Gym Leader Aiden knows so much about Pokémon from other regions. It seems you've traveled elsewhere before, right?"
?
Aiden slowly raised an eyebrow.
Where did you get that idea? Your imagination is pretty wild!
"Actually, besides Chairman Geeta's commission, I'm also personally very interested in Gym Leader Aiden."
Having completed the League's task, Harrington relaxed his expression and finally transitioned to the main topic after a few casual exchanges.
"Lately, the students of Naranja Academy have reignited their interest in Pokémon battles, which makes me very pleased."
"However... I have to admit, compared to the role Naranja Academy has played, perhaps Gym Leader Aiden is the key factor in rekindling their enthusiasm."
At this point, Harrington couldn't help but force a bitter smile.
"You flatter me."
Aiden humbly replied, also noticing Harrington's expression.
Come to think of it, due to the disappearance of two professors and many researchers, the atmosphere at Naranja Academy around this time was indeed off.
In the year before the start of the game's storyline, even severe cases of bullying occurred.
Local noble students from Paldea looked down on and excluded other students and international students, leading to the formation of bullying cliques, which directly resulted in the emergence of the "Team Star."
Aiden didn't know whether other teachers contributed to this negative atmosphere, but Director Harrington seemed to be a good person, actively mediating among the students.
Unfortunately, the power of one individual was limited.
Later, conflicts among students escalated until events like the "Operation Starfall" made those who bullied others realize their mistakes.
However, after the incident, the vice-director came forward and exposed everything, unfairly blaming the Team Star as "bad students," despite them merely voicing reasonable demands.
Although this matter had little to do with Aiden himself, out of guilt, Director Harrington resigned voluntarily, triggering a major reshuffle of the school's teaching staff.
This led to the faculty seen after the protagonist's enrollment, where the teachers were all very likable people.
Even after improving the school's atmosphere, Harrington continued to work hard to help the Team Star members return to school.
Thus, Aiden held great respect for this Naranja Academy director with pure educational ideals.
"No, no, Gym Leader Aiden, my words are sincere."
Aiden's modest reply instead caused Harrington to become serious, continuing earnestly:
"Perhaps you're unaware, but..."
"The events of last year had a significant impact on Naranja Academy."
"The disappearance of several senior teachers led to a decline in teaching quality, new teachers lacked competence, and factions formed within the academy, creating exclusionary attitudes. As a result, our school lost its purity, and the students were heavily affected."
"I believe you can sense it too; this year's students' battle levels have noticeably declined compared to previous years."
Seeing how serious Harrington was, Aiden could only nod.
As a Gym Leader, he had interacted with far more students than Harrington, so how could he not notice?
At first, when these students challenged him, they often carried an arrogant attitude, but their skills didn't match their confidence.
There was only one explanation—
Naranja Academy's academic atmosphere had gone astray.
This was also the root cause of the eventual "Operation Starfall" incident.
However, after some time operating Sunshine Gym, the students who still came to challenge him and sought improvement became much more normal.
Compared to their initial poor reactions after losing, they now calmly accepted defeat and found ways to improve through review sessions.
This responsibility originally belonged to Naranja Academy.
But coincidentally, the tactical-focused style of Sunshine Gym he established perfectly filled the gap the school currently lacked...
Thanks to this little butterfly effect caused by him, the school's atmosphere had likely improved significantly.
Thinking this, Aiden couldn't help but give himself a mental thumbs-up.
Impressive, Teacher Azure! You effortlessly achieved what Naranja Academy couldn't!
In a way, he could even be considered the godfather of Paldea. Every one of these students could count as his disciple!
Shouldn't Director Harrington present him with a banner or something to commend him at this point?
"So... I have a request, and I hope Gym Leader Aiden will agree."
Alas, no banner was forthcoming, but Harrington suddenly spoke again, his gaze inexplicably fiery.
"Gym Leader Aiden... No, Teacher Azure, would you be willing to become an official teacher at our Naranja Academy?"
?
Hearing Harrington's request, Aiden froze.
The relationship between the League and Naranja Academy was indeed close, as Chairman Geeta also served as the academy's chairman.
Other teachers, like Hassel and Tyme, were even active Elite Four members or retired Gym Leaders.
So his invitation seemed reasonable?
But the problem was that he was currently an examiner for the Victory Road. How could he find time to teach at Naranja Academy...
Just as Aiden was about to decline outright, Harrington seemed to read his mind and quickly added:
"Don't worry, Teacher Azure. It's just a nominal position—you won't be required to teach classes at the school."
"Just continue doing what you usually do: assess and review students on the Victory Road, guiding them to improve."
"Naranja Academy will also regularly organize students to watch Teacher Azure's tactical lessons, broadening their understanding of Pokémon battles from a strategic perspective."
"As for salary and compensation, it'll follow the standard teacher rates."
After hearing this, Aiden couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
Wow, so it's just a title?
Doing the same work as a Gym Leader, receiving subsidies from the League while also earning a salary from Naranja Academy—what a deal!
So, the answer didn't require much thought!
"Alright, I accept."
Aiden nodded and smiled at Director Harrington.
Well, now I'm truly "Teacher Azure."
"Please convey my thanks to Chairman Geeta for her kindness."
Though he wasn't particularly sharp in this area, he wasn't so dense as to not realize this was Chairman Geeta's doing.
After all, directors didn't have that much authority. Even if it were Director Harrington's idea, it would still need Geeta's approval.
In a way, this could be considered an official reward for helping clean up Kitakami and discovering the Crystal Pool.
After hearing Aiden's response, Harrington paused briefly before quickly smiling again.
"I will."
"By the way, Chairman Geeta has a small suggestion for Teacher Azure to consider—"
Harrington continued.
"If possible, we hope Teacher Azure can set higher standards for students this year."
"After the Victory Road concludes in the first half of the year, the League may soon restart its exploration plan for Area Zero to uncover what happened there."
"Area Zero is dangerous, but capturing special Pokémon there would be beneficial for Trainers."
"Therefore, Paldea needs a sufficiently strong new Champion who can lead the exploration of Area Zero this year."
Hearing Harrington's words, Aiden fell into deep thought.
------------------------------------------------------
40+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)