[Please welcome the first challenger (victim)!]
[After so many online streams, this is actually the first time we're seeing Teacher Azure livestream a gym battle?]
[Didn't he stream once when Miss Iono came to challenge him? But that was just a friendly match between gym leaders.]
Under the barrage of comments urging him on, Aiden quickly opened the gym doors.
Then, he locked eyes with a very familiar, somewhat timid little boy.
"Kieran?"
Aiden was momentarily stunned, completely unprepared to see this young classmate from Kitakami at his gym's entrance.
According to the normal storyline, shouldn't he have only prepared to enroll in Blueberry Academy last year?
"Tea-Teacher Azure!"
Finally meeting the reliable man who had inspired him to muster courage, Kieran forced a smile and awkwardly spoke:
"I-I'm here to challenge the gym!"
...
Flashback - Half an hour earlier.
Walking along the path from Mesagoza to Cabo Poco, Kieran lowered his head, lost in thought.
Due to his age, this trip to Paldea hadn't led to his enrollment in Naranja Academy—it was merely a short visit.
For him, this journey to Paldea had only one goal—
To formally challenge Teacher Azure alongside his Pokémon!
Previously, in Kitakami, Teacher Azure's courage in facing the "ghost" and the villagers had left a deep impression on him.
Furthermore, hearing the villagers' tales about how "Our Savior of Kitakami, Mr. Aiden, can strangle a Okidogi with one hand and kick a Fezandipiti away with one foot!" made Kieran understand Teacher Azure even more profoundly.
Thus, this trip to Paldea was born.
He wanted to become a Trainer, to gather the courage to meet his companions, and to become as strong as Teacher Azure.
As for how to achieve this, the simplest method was naturally to understand Teacher Azure's heart through a battle.
In the world of Pokémon, there's no problem that can't be solved by a battle.
If there is, then another battle will do!
With this mindset, Kieran quickly traversed the entire Little Key Path and, guided by his Rotom Phone's map, found his destination—
The Sunshine Gym!
Upon arriving in Cabo Poco, he didn't even need the map to know where the Sunshine Gym was located.
Because not far from one of the buildings, the "ghost" he was familiar with was standing on the ground, using its masks to guide the forces of nature to accelerate the growth of seeds.
No, it should now be called Ogerpon, right?
Kieran shook his head.
Once, like the villagers, he had been misled by legends, believing the Ogre to be a terrifying existence.
Only Teacher Azure had completely ignored these rumors, choosing to trust his own judgment and steadfastly standing by Ogerpon's side.
Thus, Kitakami's ogre ultimately became Teacher Azure's companion.
Though Kieran had always considered the ogre as one of his own kind and hoped to meet and capture it as a partner someday...
However...
Gazing at Ogerpon, now smiling blissfully in the distance—so different from its demeanor in Kitakami—Kieran couldn't help but shake his head and refrained from greeting it.
When he failed to take that crucial step, he already knew deep down that he could never become the ogre's partner.
Only someone as brilliant as Teacher Azure was worthy of capturing Ogerpon.
Kieran despised his past weak self, so he resolved to grow stronger, aspiring to become as cool as Teacher Azure!
Silently thinking this, Kieran quickened his pace and soon arrived at the Sunshine Gym's entrance.
"Gao?"
On the cushion in front of the door, Miraidon, also one of Teacher Azure's partners, glanced at him before closing its eyes again to bask in the sun.
Did it recognize me?
Kieran was momentarily stunned.
To bid farewell to his former self, he had changed his hairstyle.
Unlike his previous gloomy sea urchin-like hair, he now slicked back the excess strands.
According to his sister, this would make him appear more spirited?
After psyching himself up for a few more minutes at the gym entrance, Kieran finally mustered the courage, slowly raising his hand to knock on the door.
"I-Is anyone here?"
"I've come to challenge the gym..."
However, the moment he spoke, his earlier confidence had almost entirely dissipated.
...
"Mmm, I see. So you haven't enrolled in Naranja Academy and are simply here to challenge the gym?"
After listening to Kieran's words, Aiden gave a subtle nod.
"Yes!"
Kieran nodded vigorously, looking up at Aiden with sincere, starry eyes.
"I want to become as strong as Teacher Azure, so I want to feel your heart through a battle!"
It wasn't that there was anything wrong with his actions. Cross-region challenges were entirely reasonable and compliant.
For instance, Nemona had honed her excellent command skills by challenging gyms across various regions since she was young.
The main issue was—
Isn't Kieran's hairstyle a bit dangerous?
In the game, this hairstyle only appeared after he turned 'dark', representing his descent into the 'Might makes right' abyss, even going so far as to throw a Master Ball at Terapagos without hesitation for the sake of power.
Aiden was seeing this play out in the Pokémon world for the first time, leaving him quite astonished.
If this was the dark version of Kieran, Aiden felt he had no choice but to use a battle as "psychological therapy."
However, judging by his current expression, he hadn't yet reached that stage—perhaps he was just a bit confused?
Thinking this, Aiden sighed quietly.
The gym assessment he had prepared for this week seemed unsuitable for Kieran's current state.
There was nothing to be done; he'd have to adjust during the battle.
"Then, let's start with some questions."
"Questions?"
Not only Kieran but even many viewers were taken aback.
[Questions? This is a gym, not a Pokémon school!]
[That's where you're wrong. Exams are a feature of the Sunshine Gym. Teacher Azure's questions hint at the tactics and setups for his weekly assessments. If you can answer them, you'll gain valuable information~]
[Interesting. This is truly Teacher Azure...]
Though he didn't fully understand Aiden's intent, Kieran at this stage was relatively obedient, at least unlike Okamoto or some Naranja Academy students who skipped straight to battling on their first visit.
For many past tactics, Aiden had essentially handed the information to them on a silver platter. As long as they guessed correctly, even those with mediocre skills could easily pass the assessment.
In such cases, they chose to skip key details, came in confused about the mechanics, and immediately slammed the gym with poor reviews afterward...
Could this really be blamed on him?!
Just thinking about it made his blood pressure spike.
Kieran picked up the test paper, which contained only five simple questions:
Question 1: List the weaknesses of the Dark + Ghost dual-type combination.
Question 2: What is the effect of the Prankster Ability?
Question 3: The three items in the Choice series share the same drawback. Please briefly describe it.
Question 4: What is the effect of the move Disable?
Question 5: What happens when a Pokémon is unable to use any moves?
These seemingly random questions made Kieran furrow his brows.
Though he hadn't enrolled in school yet, he still possessed some common knowledge. At the very least, he could answer the first three questions.
Thus, Kieran took out his Rotom Phone, opened the Pokédex, and began confirming his thoughts.
To this, Aiden merely raised an eyebrow and said nothing.
[Referee! Someone is blatantly cheating!]
[Teacher Azure didn't say anything, so it must be allowed to use the Pokédex, right?]
[Feels like Teacher Azure might even be a little relieved? Maybe he's thinking, "Finally, a challenger with brains" lmao]
Chat wasn't wrong—Aiden was even a little moved.
Over such a long period, nearly all students who challenged the Sunshine Gym were either hotheaded or stubborn.
Someone like Kieran, who directly pulled out the Pokédex to organize information, was undoubtedly an outstanding student among outstanding students.
Soon, based on the keywords "Dark + Ghost" dual-type combination and "Prankster Ability," he locked onto the answer—
Sableye!
This Pokémon didn't exist in Kitakami, so Kieran wasn't sure how strong it was.
However, based on the base stats provided by the Pokédex, this Pokémon seemed rather weak, not even having an evolved form.
[Such an ugly Pokémon—it's clearly a bad guy!]
[Very few Trainers use this Pokémon, almost no combat power. Teacher Azure really likes playing with these weird guys.]
[But this is Teacher Azure—we'll probably see some absurd tactic soon...]
[Teacher Azure, is your Sableye okay...]
Because Aiden was live-streaming with his Rotom Phone, he couldn't see what chat was saying.
Seeing that Kieran was almost ready, Aiden smiled.
"Since the Sunshine Gym has been promoted to one of the main Eight Badge Gyms, its difficulty might increase 'just a little bit.'"
"I understand!"
Kieran nodded.
He hadn't expected to win this time—he had only come to witness how a truly powerful Trainer battles.
Being able to face Teacher Azure in a proper battle was already worth the trip.
Aiden nodded and looked toward the battlefield outside the gym.
"Then, the rules for this challenge are..."
"Let's go with 2v2."
Considering the tactics he planned to use next, Aiden, after some thought, decided against his usual 1v1 battle format.
If he didn't allow switching, it might become difficult to break the deadlock, potentially causing Kieran's mindset to explode.
His intention was simply to gently guide Kieran's current mental state—not further agitate him.
With this in mind, Aiden quickly pulled a Poké Ball from his pocket.
Based on the exam questions, Kieran had already guessed his starting Pokémon, so he didn't bother hiding it.
It was none other than Sableye, rented from the League—a Pokémon rarely used in various regions.
(T/N: On a personal note, Sableye is one of my favorite Pokémon design-wise, what about y'all?)
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