January 23rd, Friday.
Since the challengers who were enthusiastic about Gym battles (and suffering) had already come in waves, today's Sunshine Gym became somewhat deserted.
During this time, there were still some genius teenagers passing Aiden's test.
However, overall, the pass rate was still relatively low.
This couldn't be blamed on Aiden's high standards. After all, he had already shown his tactics to the challengers and even chose two fairly ordinary Pokémon.
If they couldn't pass even that, it was purely because of being completely overwhelmed by Aiden's watered-down performance.
What is the goal of the Victory Road?
Select a new Champion to replace the busy President Geeta to explore Area Zero and find the true reason behind the accident that occurred in the Great Crater of Paldea.
The difficulty of this mission was visibly high since the previous investigation team consisted of elite trainers, including Aiden's parents, both Gym Leader-level trainers.
Yet, an accident still happened.
From this, one could see just how absurdly strong the game's protagonist quartet really was.
The protagonist was especially decked-out; they could even go head-to-head with the ferocious Miraidon/Koraidon, and during their second exploration, they even managed to capture Terapagos...
Although unclear why President Geeta decided to open Area Zero a year early, Aiden didn't know where the game protagonist Florian/Juliana currently was. But since the League had such requirements, he naturally intended to see it through.
Higher standards now meant selecting a more reliable Champion.
Although this year's Champion would likely be Nemona, who had disappeared, Aiden treated all other challengers equally.
Who knows if a sudden dark horse might appear, injecting new vitality into the Paldea League and becoming President Geeta's favorite new subordinate (or workhorse)?
His high standards seemed to have become the most attractive aspect of Sunshine Gym. In the first few days of the week, he accepted dozens of challenges, making him almost exhausted.
Fortunately, today seemed to have no visitors, promising a more leisurely day.
Aiden also enjoyed the peace and quiet, planning to take a nap hugging Sylveon.
[Wow, no one challenging the gym means streaming sleep, Teacher Azure, you've got some nerve!]
[Reasonably suspecting this is a brand-new way of live streaming; Teacher Azure is still too overpowered, even coming up with new tricks for live streaming...]
[Wow, Sylveon is so cute!]
[Wait? Why can the heartless Trainer Azure raise a Sylveon?]
The ever-diligent Rotom Phone continued broadcasting Aiden's "slacking off" attitude as he lay napping on the sofa, quickly sparking discussions in the bullet chats.
Just as Aiden's consciousness began to fade, suddenly, a knock sounded at the gym door, forcefully pulling his awareness back into his body.
Coincidentally, another guest arrived.
Aiden shook his head, reluctantly abandoning the idea of a nap and quickly rose to walk towards the gym entrance.
Opening the door, a student uniform-clad girl with red bangs, black-rimmed glasses, and an Eevee backpack appeared before Aiden.
"Teacher Azure, I'm here to challenge the gym..."
The seemingly socially awkward girl looked up, tried to make eye contact with Aiden briefly, then quickly averted her gaze back to the ground.
?
Aiden scratched his head.
Why could he instantly recognize this as a girl?
Of course, it was because he had suffered setbacks in the game!
Penny, the hacker and the 'straight man' of the Scarlet/Violet game protagonist group, left quite an impression on Aiden.
Who could have thought Penny was female and Grusha was male!
However, although Aiden knew her and was familiar with her personality, obviously in the Pokémon world, the two had never met.
"Hello, are you here to challenge the gym?"
Thus, Aiden decisively chose to initiate conversation, not letting this somewhat shy girl continue her social anxiety episode.
At this point in the timeline, she should not have founded Team Star yet, merely an ordinary Galar exchange student, right?
Then, her purpose in coming to Sunshine Gym should only be one—
To challenge the Victory Road and obtain a badge from him!
Thinking of this, Aiden quickly narrowed his eyes.
"Yes... yes..."
Penny immediately nodded, clasping her hands tightly together, looking a bit bashful.
Under Aiden's puzzled gaze, she quickly spoke again:
"That... Teacher Azure, I heard you have a Sylveon, may I see it?"
Wow, she came for the Eevee?
Aiden was taken aback but quickly nodded.
"Of course."
"Th-thank you very much!"
After receiving Aiden's permission, Penny's expression quickly turned excited.
"Sylveon~?"
It seemed someone called her, and the previously drowsy Sylveon on the couch suddenly stood up, peeking out from behind the couch.
Your little cutie has suddenly appeared!
"Wah, it really is a Sylveon!"
Upon seeing her "true target," the previously socially awkward Penny instantly lit up, taking a few quick steps to reach Sylveon.
"What shiny fur, and its body is sturdier than an average Sylveon. No wonder it's Teacher Azure's Sylveon..."
After just a few glances, Penny quickly made a judgment.
From this, it was evident that this future leader of Team Star, who bred an entire Eevee army, was indeed an Eevee fanatic.
"Vee~?!"
Her evaluation quickly startled Sylveon.
What does she mean by 'sturdier body'? Isn't that just saying I'm fat?!
To be directly told she was fat upon first meeting, this kid was really impolite!
Sylveon quickly turned her head away, showing no intention of dealing with Penny anymore.
"Hmm..."
Penny quickly realized she misspoke, so she immediately opened her backpack and took out a jar of paste-like ingredients.
"This... this is my apology!"
Penny opened the jar, and soon a fragrant aroma filled the entire Sunshine Gym, drawing the curious attention of the slightly annoyed Sylveon, who inadvertently glanced over.
And then...
"Vee~!!!"
Sylveon instantly puffed up, leaping off the sofa and disappeared without a trace, leaving only the sound of the bedroom door clicking shut.
Also drawn by the fragrance was Miraidon lying outside the main door, who quickly poked his head inside, examining the source of the scent.
But when she noticed the shape of the food in the challenger's hand, her head quickly retracted, and she swiftly retreated.
"..."
Aiden was momentarily speechless.
Judging by appearance alone, it did seem indistinguishable from the food he made...
Could it be that he gave them psychological trauma?
Surely not?
"How could this happen..."
Penny looked as if doubting life itself, muttering silently.
"But this should be the flavor Eevees love the most..."
"Cough cough—"
Aiden cleared his throat softly, walking over to Penny while catching her attention.
"Is this Galar curry?"
Penny, an exchange student from Galar, knowing how to make this was quite normal.
However, Aiden always wanted to comment, why is it that Galar, modeled after Britain, has almost exclusively curry dishes...
But thinking about it carefully, it somehow makes sense?
"Mm, mm!"
After Sylveon left, Penny returned to her earlier shy demeanor.
Aiden was quite interested in curry, but since he was live streaming now, his primary identity was still a Gym Leader, so irrelevant content could wait.
"Sylveon probably won't come out for a while, how about having an intense and thrilling gym battle instead?"
Aiden extended his thumb, smiling to reveal a row of white teeth.
"Okay..."
Without Sylveon, Penny seemed to lack interest in challenging the gym.
Perhaps, her initial goal in coming to Sunshine Gym was simply to see Sylveon?
Challenging the gym was secondary.
This was completely opposite to other challengers.
As expected of an Eevee fanatic, how could someone who loves Eevee be a bad person?
It seems the game mentioned that she actually doesn't like battling, preferring to solve problems peacefully. She would later consider her previous "Operation Starfall" a bit foolish.
However, like Arven, though they felt unsuitable for battling, their Pokémon levels were surprisingly high...
It could only be described as talent.
So, Aiden was genuinely curious about the current level of this Team Star boss.
A child so talented, if properly nurtured, might end up much stronger than Aiden remembered?
With these thoughts, Aiden quickly led Penny to the battlefield.
...
On the battlefield, after explaining the rules, Aiden quickly threw out a Poké Ball.
The nightmare-inducing Togekiss of countless challengers this week made a dazzling entrance.
"My starter is this one. You can think carefully about which Pokémon to use against it."
After Aiden explained as usual, Penny across quickly shook her head.
"No need, Teacher Azure."
When entering the battle, the previously somewhat socially awkward Penny suddenly became more confident, as if switching personalities, staring intently at Aiden's Togekiss.
"I often watch Teacher Azure's streams, so I've already thought about how to deal with this week's gym challenge."
"My choice is..."
"It's decided! Umbreon!"
Penny loudly announced, lightly tossing out a red-and-white ball.
After a flash of red light, a Pokémon similar in size to Sylveon but different in color and fur characteristics appeared.
It was another branch evolution of Eevee.
Umbreon!
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