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"Hello, Miss Roxanne. My name is Kai, and I'm here to challenge the Rustboro Gym."
"Hi, I'm Misty. I'm Kai's traveling companion."
The moment Kai introduced himself, and after Roxanne got a clear look at his face, a trace of surprise appeared in her eyes.
"It's really you!" Roxanne exclaimed in delighted shock. "Just a few days ago, we were restoring and analyzing your battle footage from the Silver Conference! I never expected that the real you would appear here so soon!"
The students beside her immediately swarmed over as if they had just seen a superstar. Their faces were full of excitement as they gathered around Kai some asking for photos, and one of them even magically produced a marker for an autograph!
It was an overwhelming level of enthusiasm, yet completely understandable. After all, these students were still in school. A Trainer like Kai, who had already achieved results in a Pokémon League Conference, was someone they would never normally come into contact with.
Watching Kai being surrounded like this, Misty unconsciously puffed out her small chest.
The person she liked being admired so openly filled her with pride as well. She couldn't help feeling secretly happy inside.
Kai was left with no choice but to spare some time to satisfy the students' requests. Only after their excitement had settled down a little did he finally manage to turn his attention back to Roxanne.
Smiling, Roxanne said, "So you've already arrived in Hoenn. You must be preparing to challenge the Ever Grande Conference next, right? I really hope to see your performance on the big stage soon. By the way, since it's you… Would you like to battle my main lineup? To be honest, after watching your matches, I've really wanted to face you myself."
"Sorry…" Kai shook his head. "I've already left my main team elsewhere. This journey is focused on training newly captured Pokémon. Please treat me as an ordinary rookie Trainer—no special treatment."
"A 'rookie' with two League trophies?" Roxanne covered her mouth and laughed softly. "That's quite the eye-catching rookie. Very well then—I'll use my standard Gym lineup to battle you."
Hearing that a Gym match was about to begin, the students immediately perked up and hurried to both sides of the battlefield to set up recording equipment.
Roxanne smiled apologetically and said, "Would it be all right if we record this match? As you can see, besides being a Gym Leader, I'm also a Pokémon School teacher. These are my students and assistants. We usually analyze recorded Gym battles afterward to improve their experience and judgment. I'd really like to archive this battle as well."
"Of course." Kai nodded without hesitation.
There was no tactical secrecy involved, and his Pokémon were all newcomers anyway. Since they wanted to watch, he didn't mind contributing to their training material.
After a brief exchange, both Trainers walked to their respective command positions.
An older student stepped forward to act as the referee and announced the rules:
"This Rustboro Gym Battle will be a two-on-two match! Only the challenger is permitted to switch Pokémon during the battle!"
These were standard rules nothing unusual. Most Gyms used similar formats.
After hearing the rules, Kai turned his gaze back to Roxanne.
At first glance, just like her attire, Roxanne appeared gentle and refined, carrying herself with scholarly elegance. But once she stepped onto the battlefield, a confident aura replaced her earlier softness. Even her expression changed completely.
As the Gym Leader, Roxanne made the first move.
With a flick of her wrist, she threw out a Poké Ball. A Geodude materialized on the rocky battlefield.
As one of the most common Rock-type Pokémon, Geodude was practically standard issue for Rock- and Ground-type specialists like Brock and Roxanne. Many Trainers with a tough battle style would also add one to their team.
But even among Gym Leaders, not all Geodude were equal. Whether Roxanne's was stronger than Brock's would only be determined through battle.
As for Kai's response…
After a brief moment of consideration, he sent out Eevee.
Among his newly caught Pokémon, Eevee was currently the most reliable. Although it hadn't evolved yet, its experience and accumulated strength were already considerable. It was only missing the proper Evolution Stone.
Once it evolved, it would undoubtedly stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Dragonite, Scizor, and Tyranitar in Kai's current lineup.
The moment it appeared, Eevee bounced in place excitedly, sizing up its opponent.
Seeing this, Roxanne smiled again. "Unlike its Trainer, this Eevee doesn't seem very calm. It looks quite impatient."
"That's true." Kai nodded with a fond smile. "This little one is very lively. But that's not a bad thing—different personalities allow for different battle styles."
In stark contrast to the tense standoff between the two Pokémon, the Trainers themselves were remarkably relaxed, even casually chatting.
The only one feeling unsettled was Misty, seated in the spectator area.
She wasn't sure whether she was just being overly suspicious, but seeing how warmly Roxanne treated Kai made her feel restless. She couldn't help worrying that if they interacted too much, this Gym Leader might also develop… improper intentions toward Kai!
After all, Kai's charm had been thoroughly proven already. Sabrina and Erika had both fallen to it—and she herself was completely helpless before it as well.
What gave her a bit of comfort, though, was that although Roxanne held a status equal to Sabrina and Erika, her looks were clearly several levels below theirs.
There was no way Kai would be attracted to her!
With a mildly smug expression, Misty thought:
'With beauties like Sabrina and Erika before him and herself, the world's number-one pretty girl, right at his side how could Kai possibly be interested in someone so ordinary?'
Of course, Kai had no idea what was going through Misty's mind at that moment.
If he did, she would surely receive a firm flick on the forehead.
But there was one thing she wasn't wrong about after being "tempered" by Sabrina, Erika, and even Maya; his aesthetic standards had really been raised dramatically.
Someone like Roxanne, ordinary at first glance, mildly attractive on closer inspection, simply wouldn't stir his heart at all.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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