Jubilife City, East Suburbs.
While Wayne was having a heart-to-heart conversation with Feebas,
A Charizard soared rapidly through the sky above.
A handsome young man with a confident smile, a pendant hanging around his neck, and straight brown hair arrived at the location.
"Thank you, Charizard."
The handsome young man returned the Charizard that had flown him here into its Poké Ball.
"Wait—are you Champion Blue?"
A female voice caught Blue's attention.
Turning around, he saw Bell watering plants in her garden, with a Growlithe standing faithfully by her side.
Blue nodded slightly. "I am indeed Blue, though I'm no longer the Champion. I currently serve as the Viridian City Gym Leader."
Despite his youth, Blue remained proud but never arrogant—a balanced confidence earned through countless battles.
Bell chuckled and waved her hand dismissively. "That's fine! As long as you were Champion once, that's impressive enough."
Bell had heard the rumors about the fastest Champion in history—the trainer who'd held the title for the shortest time before stepping down.
"I really admire you. Could I trouble you for an autograph?" she asked hopefully.
Blue signed his name without hesitation, then casually remarked, "No problem at all. Your Growlithe shows good potential, by the way."
Bell covered her mouth and giggled. "Really? Arcanine Master said the exact same thing!"
"Arcanine Master?" Blue repeated, slightly puzzled.
Could it be that she also possessed the Power of Viridian?
That special ability shouldn't be that common, though...
Bell pointed toward the Breeding Center down the road.
"It's the Arcanine belonging to Wayne—he's the son of the Breeding Center's owner. Arcanine comes by every afternoon to teach the little Growlithe new moves."
At this point, Bell asked curiously, "By the way, why did you suddenly come all the way to Jubilife City?"
Blue placed one hand on his hip and smiled slightly. "I came here specifically to find someone."
"Oh? That sounds interesting," Bell remarked.
Blue shook his head. "I was asked to come by someone else. Whether it turns out to be interesting or not, I'll only know once I meet him."
"I think it definitely will be interesting," Bell insisted.
Blue ran his right hand through his hair and grinned. "Well, now you've got me a little curious. I should get going."
"Take care!"
Blue simply waved as he walked away.
The Breeding Center's reputation had grown considerably, and people often traveled specifically from the city center or other towns just to visit.
Even though it wasn't quite nine in the morning yet, several people were already walking along the path leading to the Center.
"Look—isn't that Blue?"
"I'm not completely sure..."
"It definitely looks like him! But isn't he from the Kanto region? Why would he be here in Sinnoh..."
The discussions around him grew louder, especially after Blue entered the Breeding Center grounds.
Blue paid no attention to the whispered conversations. His focus remained entirely on observing the overall condition of the Breeding Center and evaluating the living conditions of the Pokémon residing there.
In the distance, Brother Alan was leading an Incineroar to feed the Pokémon, while Luo Ye took careful notes on berry growth patterns, occasionally jotting down detailed observations.
Claire was leading a few newcomers through the process of properly grooming and cleaning Miltank.
What interested Blue most, however, were the Lucario, Arcanine, and Shiny Metagross that were actively training themselves.
"A Shiny Metagross... reading a book?!"
Blue couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in surprise.
While Blue frequently had his own Pokémon train independently without constant supervision,
Seeing a Pokémon actually reading a training manual on its own was extremely rare—even by Blue's exceptionally high standards.
From Blue's expert perspective—having earned the title 'The Breeder' from Professor Oak himself—
Lucario, Arcanine, and the Shiny Metagross all displayed excellent potential and had clearly been trained with great care and expertise.
Blue himself owned an Arcanine and had also observed Crystal's Arcanine extensively.
From a breeding standpoint, Wayne's Arcanine showed absolutely no issues whatsoever. It was perfectly conditioned.
Based on everything he'd observed so far, Blue felt quite satisfied with the Breeding Center's operations.
Wayne hadn't noticed Blue's arrival yet.
He was currently attempting to lure Feebas out of hiding using high-quality Pokéblocks.
At this moment, Feebas remained hesitant, but Wayne had finally managed to catch glimpses of its eyes.
"What are you doing?" a voice suddenly asked.
Wayne looked up toward the source of the voice.
"Blue?!"
Looking at the handsome young man standing before him, Wayne felt completely dumbfounded for a moment.
Why had Blue suddenly appeared out of nowhere?!
"Blue?!"
Leon, who happened to be passing by while eating a leek pancake, let out a shocked scream.
It was a leek-pancake-flavored scream of surprise.
"Blue!!!"
This time it was Brother Alan, who came rushing over with his Incineroar in tow.
"You're my fan—wait, no! I'm YOUR fan!" Alan stammered excitedly.
Three startled screams in rapid succession left Blue feeling somewhat at a loss for how to respond.
"Everyone, please clear out for now!" Fumie called out firmly.
She physically dragged the stunned Leon away from the scene.
Brother Alan also reluctantly departed, though he kept glancing back.
Since Blue would apparently be staying at the Center for several days, there was no rush to meet him immediately.
"I was invited by Mr. Lionel to provide you with personal instruction for seven days. Be prepared," Blue stated directly.
"?!"
Wayne quickly glanced at his phone. The time showed exactly nine o'clock in the morning.
According to his grandfather's words earlier, the timing matched perfectly.
Wayne had never dreamed in a million years that it would be Blue himself.
Blue and Professor Oak were actually the first two people he'd ruled out as possibilities!
Did his grandfather really have that much influence?
Blue crossed his arms and asked again, "You still haven't answered my question. What were you doing just now?"
"I was trying to have a conversation with the Feebas in the pond," Wayne explained.
Wayne's words immediately caught Blue's attention. He walked over to the edge of the ornamental fish pond.
"What kind of conversation?" Blue inquired.
"This Feebas was abandoned here by a Trainer... It has some very serious psychological issues."
Following Wayne's subtle guidance, Blue quickly scanned the water and spotted the Feebas hiding among the rocks.
Wayne and Blue's first meeting proceeded without formal introductions or social pleasantries. They immediately dove into a serious discussion about Feebas's psychological problems.
"According to my analysis, it must have been severely traumatized by a human, but it absolutely refuses to communicate with anyone," Wayne explained.
Blue rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his eyebrows knitting together. "How long has it been like this?"
"Almost ten days now. For the first week, I only focused on feeding it regularly. Now I'm trying to engage it in conversation."
Blue nodded slightly. This matched the scene he'd just witnessed moments ago.
Coincidentally, Wayne had some blue Pomeg Berry Pokéblocks prepared nearby.
Blue picked up one of them and examined it closely. "High-quality Pomeg Berry Pokéblocks. It should definitely like these."
"It does eat them, but it absolutely won't show itself to people. Even Lucario's attempts at telepathic communication haven't worked."
Blue's initial thought aligned surprisingly well with Wayne's—both immediately recognized that Yellow's Power of Viridian would be extremely valuable in this situation.
However, Blue didn't immediately suggest contacting Yellow.
If there was absolutely no other solution available, it wouldn't be too late to reach out to her then.
The situation hadn't reached that critical point yet. At least Feebas was still willing to eat.
Wayne had been researching various solutions for a while now and casually mentioned another possibility.
"Another option would be Ribombee, but unfortunately, that's a Pokémon native to the Alola region. They're extremely rare here in Johto."
Blue looked at Wayne with a hint of genuine admiration and nodded in approval.
"Good thinking. Leave the Pokéblocks here for now, and let's talk while we walk."
Wayne proceeded to give Blue a comprehensive tour of the entire Breeding Center facility.
During the tour, Blue overheard various unusual nicknames that employees used when addressing Wayne.
However, both their minds remained entirely focused on brainstorming solutions to Feebas's problem.
Blue asked, "Besides talking with Feebas to help open its heart, what other approaches are you considering?"
"Whoever tied the bell must untie it. First, we need to determine whether Feebas's original Trainer has some connection to the problem," Wayne suggested.
Wayne had already formulated this idea earlier but hadn't had the opportunity to implement it yet.
Feebas's Trainer had completely disappeared after abandoning it at the Center.
It wouldn't matter so much if they'd simply chosen not to return—but the concerning part was that there had been absolutely no news or contact whatsoever.
Blue nodded approvingly. "That's an excellent suggestion. I can ask Officer Jenny to assist with a formal investigation."