Even Sinnoh champions have to work hard.

"You're going to have a problem with this? Is that Mythic clone really that troublesome?" Sephiroth's tone was somewhat incredulous, after all, the combination of Kazama Shirai and Flygon was something that even Rayquaza could defeat.

“No, quite the opposite.” Kazama Shiromo smiled. “In my opinion, that dream clone’s strength is barely at the level of a Heavenly King. Even if it is barely considered a second-level god, it would be at the bottom. I even think that this clone would have a hard time dealing with Lugia’s three minions. It is not a high-level threat at all.”

Sephiroth pondered for a moment: "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I've been watching this battle for a whole day. Even if someone is really hiding their strength, it's impossible to completely conceal their energy fluctuations, especially during battle. No matter how good their control is, their energy will still leak out a little. But after watching for a whole day, this clone is only at this level."

“After all, it’s just a clone. Sigh.” Sephiroth sighed. “Perhaps the League had too high expectations from the start.”

"The league had too high expectations from the start."

"The alliance had overly high expectations from the start?" Kazama Shiramo felt as if he had heard something incredible.

"Yeah, after all, the league's budget is a real problem. Even if they had the dream eyelash fossil, they didn't have the extra energy to deal with it. So it was better to just hand it over to the Rockets to handle. Now it seems they really are useless."

Kazama Shiramo's lips twitched slightly: "Whose idea was this?"

"Chairman Damaranchi, he's usually the one who makes the decisions on these things."

"I think I underestimated how ruthless the president is."

"Stop being sarcastic." Sephiroth coughed twice. "Since everything's alright with the Rockets, hurry back. There's something else to take care of here."

"What's up? Are you meeting a client?"

“In a sense, that’s not wrong.” Sephiroth paused. “Cynthia has come to Kanto.”

"Bang!" Kazama Shiramo's communicator fell to the ground.

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P.S. I'm so tired. I haven't even finished the second update yet, and I still have a 3,000-word practice report due tomorrow. I'm deep in thought. Should I prioritize my life or my perfect attendance record? What if I lose it? Anyway, I don't seem to have many criticisms left, so losing them won't hurt me too much.

Chapter 38 It's Sinnoh Album season again!

Cynthia.

Current Sinnoh Champion.

The most well-known Pokémon are Lucario, Masquerade, Milotic, Togekiss, Manatee, and Garchomp.

She is an absolutely top-tier champion among active players, and with her captivating mature charm and exceptionally beautiful appearance, she enjoys unimaginable popularity among champions!

At the same time, she is also Kazama Shiramo's successor, theoretically speaking—her junior.

It's really super difficult to deal with!

"Why did Cynthia come back to Kanto? Are all champions this free these days?" Kazama Shiramo rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

"What's wrong? You don't get along with the current champion of Sinnoh? It's okay, I'll help you get revenge!" Ho-Oh reacted immediately when she saw Kazama Shiro's troubled expression, even though they had never met before.

“It’s not that we don’t get along.” Kazama Shiramo leaned against the wall, reminiscing about the past: “Cynthia and I are very close in age, although she always calls me senpai.”

"But actually, in terms of strength, Cynthia was very close to me back then. I don't really understand why she always calls me senpai. Maybe she's just pretending to be young?"

"Besides, her personality is actually a bit strange. Sometimes she's very gentle, and sometimes she's cold. I don't understand these strange girls. Phoenix King, do you understand?"

"How could I understand?" Although Kazama Shiramo couldn't see it, Ho-Oh still couldn't help rolling its eyes inside its Poké Ball. "I am Ho-Oh, and theoretically, I am genderless. How could I possibly understand the thoughts of a human girl?"

“That’s true, but it’s not a big deal that Cynthia’s attitude towards me is hot and cold. After all, Cynthia is still a good girl. The key is…” Kazama Shiramo looked troubled: “I don’t know why, but Cynthia and Rie used to be very close. However, for a while now, they seem to be particularly at odds.”

'Hmm, I don't understand such complicated emotions in you humans either. There must have been some conflict...'

“I think so too.” Kazama Shiromo nodded. “But what kind of conflict can last this long? You know, the two of them used to be best friends who could talk about anything. I don’t know why they have become like this. They haven’t seen each other even once in eight years.”

'I don't know anything about such complicated emotions.' The Phoenix King lazily shrank back.

'Don't ask me such complicated questions. I have no interest in other humans' feelings. All I need you to remember is that I'm your favorite Pokémon! Alright, don't bother me anymore, I'm going to sleep.'

All you need to do is become your favorite Pokémon! Favorite! Favorite!!!

Gardevoir, still in its Master Ball, felt a terrible malice welling up deep within its heart. Having known the whole story back then, Gardevoir certainly knew the reason why Rie Kugimiya and Cynthia had become enemies.

Because Rie Kugimiya ran away! As a Pokémon that can sense human emotions, Gardevoir is well aware that the two girls who were once best friends both harbored very deep feelings of love for their trainer.

However, after that incident, Rie ran away. She took advantage of her master's disheartened resignation as Sinnoh champion and confessed her feelings to him first. Then, she got her wish and got together with her master.

Cynthia, one of Sinnoh's most talented trainers at the time, was forced to take on the responsibility of becoming the champion. When she came to her senses, she found that Rie Kugimiya had confessed her feelings first, completely disregarding their years of superficial friendship, which completely shattered their relationship.

But the owner has no idea what's going on.

Gardevoir sighed helplessly. She disliked both Rie Kugimiya and Cynthia Gardevoir, those two bitches who were vying for her master's attention. However, rationally speaking, Gardevoir still felt very sorry for Cynthia.

Being betrayed by your best friend and having your favorite person taken away must be incredibly heartbreaking.

Yes, it hurts. Gardevoir clutched her chest, feeling an inexplicable heat and pain. This must be what heartache feels like.

My master's favorite Pokémon can only be me, and no one or no Pokémon can change that, not even Ho-Oh!

——————————————————————————————————————

"Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm." At Kazama's house, Rie Kugimiya hummed a song happily as she cleaned the house. She was petite, and the apron seemed a bit long for her.

However, this was not a big problem and did not affect her happiness at all.

"My darling will be back in a couple of days," Rie Kugimiya thought happily. The thing that probably made her most unhappy right now was Shiramo Kazama's business trip.

After all, Kazama Shiromo has to go to work, and she also has to take on many other things, so the two of them don't have much time to spend together to begin with. And then they have to be interrupted by business trips, so they have even less time to be together!

"It's all that damn Sephiroth's fault. Why did he have to make his darling handle this kind of thing? Where is that red-haired Lance who looks like a gay guy when he smiles? Is the mighty Kanto Flying-type Elite Four member hiding in some corner having sex with fans when trouble comes up?"

Rie Kugimiya, missing her lover, vented all her frustrations on Sephiroth. Yes, it's all that guy's fault! She cursed him to never find a wife and to become a dead gay man forever!

Despite her initial malice, Rie Kugimiya became highly motivated. After gesturing around the house briefly, she began preparing the ingredients.

Cooking is actually a very interesting thing. If you are in a hurry and just want to fill your stomach, you can make simple dishes quickly. But if you want to make some delicious and exquisite dishes, some ingredients need to be prepared very early.

Rie Kugimiya carefully prepared the sauce, marinated the chicken wings she would use in a couple of days, then casually stuffed them into the refrigerator and quickly sliced ​​ginger.

However, a sudden knock on the door interrupted her work.

"How strange. Nothing should have happened these past two days. Who could it be?" The knocking made Rie Kugimiya feel a sudden pang of anxiety, but her good manners made her quickly put down what she was holding, wash her hands, and hurry towards the entrance.

"Coming, coming!" With a cute shout, Rie gently opened the door, but that moment felt like an eternity as she saw the beautiful figure outside.

"Long time no see, Rie!"

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P.S. You guys win! I rushed to finish my perfect attendance, but I still have a 2,000-word report to write. I have class at 8 a.m. tomorrow, and I have to have lunch with a junior. Damn, thinking about my schedule, I feel like I'm doomed!

P.S. Please vote for me with a monthly pass, or even just a recommendation would be nice, just for your peace of mind.

Chapter 40 The Fierce Little Girl of Viridian Forest

The journey home was pleasant. Lying on the back of the desert dragonfly, Kazama Shiramo hummed a song listlessly, imagining going back to continue his sweet and happy life with Rie, along with the occasional shameless and carefree moments. Just thinking about it made him happy.

'Master is such a pervert! He thinks about...' all day long.

'Oh, who do you intend to shamelessly flirt with behind my back?'

……

I miscalculated. I forgot that I not only have a Gardevoir by my side, but also a Ho-Oh that I've already slew.

"Flygon, are you sure you want to come back to Dead Leaf with me now?" Kazama Shiro ignored Gardevoir's coquettish jealousy and Ho-Oh's resentful and accusatory words, and turned to communicate with Flygon, which had nothing to do with this.

"Awooo!" Unlike Gardevoir and Ho-Oh, Flygon didn't have complicated thoughts. As the Pokémon that had accompanied Kazama Shiromo the longest in the entire team, it was the Pokémon that had accompanied Kazama Shiromo the longest and understood him the most, even more so than Altaria, which was nominally his starter Pokémon.

So, compared to Gardevoir, which harbors complex feelings towards Kazama Shiro, Flygon is different in that it's more like Kazama Shiro's close buddy who has lived in the same bunk bed for over ten years.

So even though it understood that its trainer was trying to distract it, Flygon didn't refuse. After all, it had done this more than once or twice, so it wouldn't affect it at all.

"Yes, Rie would be very happy to see you too." Kazama Shiramo, who had cheerfully changed the subject, suddenly realized that this might be a bad example.

'It's Rie-nee again.' Even though telepathic conversations don't involve tone of voice, Kazama Shiramo could clearly hear something was off about those words.

'Trainers like you who only have women in their heads and no Pokémon should just die!' Very well, Ho-Oh's tone was even more direct.

Kazama Shiro felt a little like crying. Compared to the Magnemite, which was still lying in its healing ball, he thought it was really cute. Although it was a little weak, lacked talent, and was somewhat underdeveloped, it was still a wonderful Pokémon with relatively low intelligence that wouldn't play mind games with you.

"Awooo!" The desert dragonfly's roar timely saved the embarrassed Kazama Shiromo.

"What's wrong, Desert Dragonfly?"

"Awooo!!"

Kazama Shiramo followed Flygon's gaze downwards to the firelight rising from Viridian Forest: "Based on strength, the Pokémon in that area are at least at the peak of the elite level, and most of them probably have Gym-level combat power. Pokémon with this kind of strength shouldn't be fighting each other much, right? Could it be a dispute over territory or offspring?"

"Awooo." The desert dragonfly hissed twice and turned its head to look at Kazama Shiramo.

"Understood." As if they were telepathically connected, Kazama Shiramo understood Desert Dragonfly's meaning: "After all, you are the king of Viridian Forest, so it's only natural that you want to stop this conflict."

"Awooo!" The desert dragonfly let out a joyful roar, flicked its tail, and plummeted rapidly towards the Viridian Forest.

Kazama Shiro used his superpower to protect himself, and his eyes narrowed as he watched the rapidly appearing scene.

"Charizard, use Flamethrower!" A spirited yet adorable voice conveyed the command.

The fire-breathing dragon, hovering in mid-air, opened its mouth, and its flames shot out like a fire snake towards the fast-swimming frog still in the stream.

"Croak!" The Swiftfrog retaliated by spitting out a water gun, which sprayed the Charizard in the face, leaving it looking a bit overwhelmed.

"So it's a trainer trying to catch a wild Pokémon?" Kazama Shiramo glanced at it; this guy looked familiar. "Charizard? Is that the blue-haired girl who challenged Giovanni's Gym the first one today?"

'Is it the one with the really unique name?'

“Yes, that one called Righteous and Awe-inspiring.” Kazama Shiromo nodded, watching the battle, which was barely passable, with great interest.

Since it's a trainer's capture battle, it's not a territorial or mate dispute, and Flygon doesn't seem to want to stop it.

"It's a bit difficult," Kazama Shiromo thought, looking at the somewhat thrilling scene before him. Faced with Politoed's relentless attacks, Charizard could only rely on its flying advantage to harass Politoed. This was a common tactic used by flying creatures against those that couldn't fly. A certain Flying-type Elite Four member had mastered the art of using flying-type combat.

However, although Kazama Shiramo managed to hold his own by relying on his aerial dodging and the experience of being a trainer, it was clear that this battle was extremely difficult for the blue-haired loli.

That Poliwrath is very strong, with genuine gym-level combat power. Wild Pokémon of this level are basically leaders of their groups, and their ability to evolve to this level on their own means their aptitude and combat experience must be exceptional.

In comparison, the Charizard's strength was only at the peak of elite level, barely reaching the Gym level. It was no match for this Poliwrath and didn't have an advantage in terms of attributes.

Charizard is a Flying/Fire type, while Poliwrath is a Fighting/Water type. From an attribute perspective, the two Pokémon are roughly evenly matched. However, Poliwrath didn't give Charizard a chance to get close. In the long-range beam battle, Charizard was completely outmatched.

Wait a minute, this fast-swimming frog... it's incredibly experienced.