"Ah! I finally found you..." Marvin pulled Shiro out of the elevator and said, "We've got a meeting tomorrow. There's only a month left until the Gym Challenge begins, and the League is also making preparations."
"What do you mean?" Shiro frowned, confused.
Marvin glanced around, making sure no one else was nearby. Lowering his voice, he asked, "Do you know how strong your opponent is?"
Opponent? The one he would have to face in the Gym Challenge?
Shiro understood. His assigned location was Spikemuth, which meant his opponent was none other than the town's Gym Leader's son—Piers.
He knew Piers' Pokémon lineup like the back of his hand: Scrafty, Malamar, Obstagoon, Skuntank…
Seeing Shiro nod confidently, Marvin furrowed his brows. "I'm talking about their actual strength! Do you know how many Advanced-level Pokémon he has? How many Gym-level ones?"
"Gym-level?" Shiro muttered, then suddenly realized what Marvin was getting at.
These legacy trainers were likely at an Advanced-level themselves, but since they were competing in the Gym Challenge, they'd definitely have one or two Pokémon handed down from their family.
And those Gym-level Pokémon could be the biggest obstacles in battle.
Shiro lowered his head, thinking. "Didn't Chairman Rose investigate the Gyms' exact strength?"
"It's not that easy. You think Gym Leaders would just hand over that kind of information to the League?" Marvin shook his head. "One of our squad's tasks is to assess their real strength."
Some Gyms had declined over generations. Their current Leaders might be stuck at Advanced-level, relying on a couple of inherited Gym-level Pokémon to maintain appearances.
But some Gyms had deep resources and plenty of talent. They might even have Elite-level Pokémon at their disposal.
Marvin sighed and patted Shiro's shoulder. "I know my own family's situation best. Gordie is probably the weakest out of all of them. That old hag Melony only has a few Gym-level Pokémon left from my father, but I don't know if she'll give any to Gordie."
Shiro nodded slightly.
Circhester had been in decline for years and Spikemuth was probably in a similar state. They might only have two or three Gym-level Pokémon left, but in terms of raw ability, Piers was probably stronger than Gordie.
"Anyway, we'll find out more at the gathering tomorrow," Marvin added before glancing at Shiro suspiciously. "By the way, where were you just now? I checked a few floors and couldn't find you."
"Took my dog for a walk downstairs," Shiro replied casually.
"A walk?" Marvin's brows knitted together in disbelief. "Seriously, Shiro? You have time for that… Wait, actually, yeah, you do."
He suddenly remembered Shiro had an Elite-level Drakloak. The realization sapped his enthusiasm. Here he was, the second weakest in their squad, worrying about a guy who practically had a cheat code on his team.
"I'm going to train. We'll see what happens tomorrow." Marvin patted Shiro's arm before heading into the elevator.
Shiro also headed back to his room.
His first priority was taking care of his Pokémon. He ran warm water and gave Growlithe and Dreepy a thorough bath, scrubbing away the day's dust and making sure their fur and scales were spotless.
Then, he released his other Pokémon and placed some Pokéblocks in front of each of them.
With that done, he pulled out his laptop and checked on the status of his research paper.
"Hmm. It went through..." He exhaled in relief and closed the laptop, tucking it into his backpack.
His biggest concern had been a rejection with no explanation. If that happened, he wouldn't even know what went wrong and would have to rewrite everything from scratch. That would be a nightmare.
Satisfied that his work was safe for now, he stretched and got ready to head to the cafeteria. But just as he reached for the door handle, something caught his eye—Gastly floating beside the table, happily munching away at the Pokéblocks.
The ghost Pokémon was practically bouncing with energy, its mischievous grin wider than usual.
That reminded him—he still had training to do.
"By the way, Gastly…" Shiro hesitated for a moment but decided to save it for tomorrow.
After all, he had promised a break this afternoon. If he suddenly changed his mind, Gastly might push back and resist training altogether.
After dinner, he returned to his room and got ready for bed.
The night passed quickly.
...
The next day.
Early in the morning, just as Shiro finished breakfast, the communication device in his backpack began vibrating.
Bzzzt—Bzzzt—
Inside the elevator, he pulled out the small rectangular device and checked the message.
It said: Mr. Shiro, please report to the first floor of the building. Urgent mission.
"Urgent mission?" Shiro murmured to himself, pressing the button for the first floor as the elevator began its descent.
When the doors slid open, only Granny Shae and Grandpa Edgar were in the lobby.
Shae sat at the reception desk on her small red round stool. Meanwhile, Edgar stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the counter with his back toward her. They didn't seem to be on good terms.
As soon as Shiro stepped out, Shae pressed a remote, and the large screen on the wall flickered to life.
On the screen, a refined young woman in a blue uniform spoke in a steady voice.
"Good morning, everyone. This is Galar Morning News. There is only one month left until the official start of the Gym Challenge. Galar's Gyms are fully prepared and ready to welcome challengers… Now, let's hear an important announcement from League President Rose."
The screen switched. The news anchor disappeared, replaced by Rose, dressed in a gray suit, sitting in his office at Macro Cosmos.
"Good morning, dear viewers," Rose greeted with a faint smile, the short stubble on his face shifting slightly as he spoke.
By now, Allister, Nessa, and Marvin also arrived in the lobby one after another.
"As everyone knows, the Gym Challenge holds great significance for Galar. This grand event gathers the most talented young trainers from across the region. I sincerely hope that all challengers achieve great results."
Rose spread his hands and chuckled lightly, his expression as calm as ever.
"Now, let's turn to our host for a brief introduction to this year's challengers."
As soon as Rose disappeared from the screen, Marvin quietly leaned toward Shae and asked, "Granny, what's our mission this time?"
"Don't rush. Watch the news first." She gave him a sidelong glance, her eyebrows slightly lowered as she motioned for him to stay put.
Understanding the hint, Marvin straightened up immediately, standing even straighter than before.
On the screen, a thin man was gesturing animatedly as he introduced the challengers, giving the audience an early impression of the competitors.
"Following the strongest contenders for the championship—Leon and Raihan—we have the highly anticipated genius martial artist, Bea! Hailing from the renowned fighting-type family of Stow-on-Side! And from Hulbury, there's Lina! Her father, Nathan, was once an unexpected dark horse in the Champions Cup!"
At this moment, Shiro keenly noticed Nessa, also from Hulbury, staring intently at Lina's image on the screen.
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