The people in the waiting area nodded one after another, showing their agreement.
But they did not notice that, while they were discussing without lowering their voices too much, in the special waiting area not far from them, there was a person who heard every word of what they exchanged.
He wore light-blue clothes, with a dark-red cape hanging behind his back. He had quite a handsome appearance, but most importantly, together with his attire, he gave the feeling of being a young hero, with an imposing and gallant presence.
After hearing all of that, that person swirled his cape and left the Pokémon Center without hesitation.
It was only then that those who were discussing noticed that, not far from them, there had been such a person.
Immediately, their expressions stiffened.
"The one who just left... couldn't be... couldn't be the Blackthorn City Gym Leader, right?"
As the only person who had challenged the Blackthorn City Gym, the one who had just compared the Blackthorn City Gym Leader with the mysterious expert on the mountain, and who had said with such certainty that the strength of the mysterious expert on the mountain was superior to that of the Blackthorn City Gym Leader, began to show many small beads of sweat on his forehead.
Gulp!
"It should... be him."
After such a fright, although those present still had expressions as if they wanted to continue talking, they no longer dared to say much more.
At least, they could not continue talking too much in a public place like that.
The person who had just left the Pokémon Center was precisely the current Blackthorn City Gym Leader, the already-designated next patriarch of the Drako family, the eldest legitimate son of the current patriarch: the famous Kael Drako.
The current Kael was also beginning to become famous throughout the entire Pokémon League, and together with Giovanni of Viridian City, he was called one of the two great new stars of the Kanto region.
Generally, this kind of new star always had more or less quite a bit of pride in his heart, even if he was the next patriarch of the Drako family.
After all, he was the Gym Leader of Blackthorn City. The people who arrived in Blackthorn City either came for tourism, drawn by its fame, or came to challenge him.
But without anyone knowing since when, on the back mountain of his Blackthorn City, a Trainer with quite outstanding strength suddenly appeared.
At first, only some people with a relatively high desire to challenge others went to try challenging him. But little by little, the challengers became more and more numerous, and that person's fame also grew more and more.
Even, to a certain extent, he came to eclipse him, the Blackthorn City Gym Leader.
That is how people are. When a serious and recognized expert appears, although they respect him, they do not feel too much curiosity, because everyone has seen his growth.
But if an unknown expert suddenly appears, the number of interested people becomes many.
Kael originally did not want to get involved in the matter. After all, his identity was different, and there was also no written rule forbidding someone from living in the mountains outside the city or accepting challenges.
Only, just at that moment, when he was compared in front of him and, moreover, they said with such certainty that he was inferior to another, Kael finally felt interest.
It was not that he wanted to go ask for an explanation. He had truly become interested and wanted to see what kind of strength that person had, a person who had never used a second Pokémon to defeat a Trainer.
After leaving the Pokémon Center, he directly summoned his Dragonite and flew in a straight line toward the back mountain.
He was somewhat impatient to meet that expert and see whether that person's strength was really as powerful as the rumors said.
Meanwhile, on the back mountain of Blackthorn City, in a secluded corner, a young man who seemed to be less than twenty years old was enjoying lunch together with his Pokémon.
In reality, this kind of life without any pressure, spending monotonous days together with his Pokémon again and again, did not feel so bad. That young man even enjoyed it.
It was the first time he had lived for so long without feeling any pressure at all.
Every day, he trained together with his Pokémon, and occasionally there were some Trainers with decent strength who came to challenge him.
The young man used those Trainers to test the results of his Pokémon's recent training. If he was in a good mood, perhaps he would even give them one or two small pieces of advice.
Only, lately, more and more people had been coming to challenge him, and their levels of strength were very uneven. That made the young man begin to feel that perhaps he should change places.
"Let's wait one more month. If in another month he still does not take the bait, then we will move and see whether there is any other method," the young man said with a smile while stroking the soft fur of the Lucario beside him.
"Lucarr!"
Lucario let out a soft sound, his eyes half-closed. Evidently, he greatly enjoyed the young man's caresses.
During this time, these had truly been the most comfortable and happiest days for Lucario.
Although the daily training was still very hard, after training every day, he could enjoy his Trainer's caresses and relaxing massages. That made him feel extremely happy.
"Gardeerr!"
But upon seeing Lucario so happy, Gardevoir, sitting on the other side of the young man, was not willing to fall behind.
The young man smiled even more.
"Fine, fine. You want some too."
As he said this, he placed his other hand on Gardevoir's head and gently patted it.
Feeling the warmth of the young man's palm, the corners of Gardevoir's lips rose, and her eyes also narrowed just like Lucario's.
If one looked from a little farther away, one could discover that the young man, Lucario, and Gardevoir were sitting beside a specially colored Venusaur. They were leaning against Venusaur, feeling the comfortable coolness coming from her back while taking in the sunlight that filtered through the trees.
That Venusaur was lying on the ground, sunbathing with a calm and carefree appearance.
(End of chapter)