Baimu once thought Shunsuke and Shuji were orphans too.
It was only through conversation that he learned their parents were traveling the world, coming back just a few times a year.
Isn't that too carefree?
Leaving their eight-year-old children just like that, you could almost call it irresponsible.
Having to manage a Gym and also take care of Shuji, that troublesome kid, Shunsuke is quite capable.
There are three paths to becoming a Gym Leader: One, inherit someone else's Gym. Two, be recommended by many esteemed people. Three, start from an unofficial Gym, and when you gain enough fame, apply to the Pokémon Alliance, after which a Pokémon Inspector will come to assess and investigate.
Shunsuke became a Gym Leader through the second route.
"Excuse me, may I ask a question?"
He looked at the other's expression, and seeing him nod, said, "Shuji mentioned that your Gym is about to close?"
Shunsuke's face stiffened, then he smiled wryly, "Yes, although I don't want to admit it, due to the unsatisfactory number of badges issued in the past year, when the Pokémon Inspector comes next time, my Gym might close."
"Unsatisfactory means..."
"Three."
"Wow." Baimu couldn't help but gasp, "Are so few people coming to challenge?"
Shunsuke awkwardly said, "Few challengers is one thing, perhaps my standards are a bit high."
"How so?"
"I generally set the difficulty based on Mr. Qianli's standards. To some Trainers, I may seem a bit too arrogant."
The young Gym Leader sighed.
As a devoted fan of Mr. Qianli, Shunsuke not only modeled his Gym's appearance after Petalburg Gym but also closely followed its rules and requirements, getting everything just right.
Baimu: "..."
After listening to Shunsuke, he seemed to understand why no one came to this Gym.
"Phew—" He took a deep breath, "There's a question I want to ask."
"Please go ahead."
"What's the unique characteristic of your Gym? Or in other words, what makes it attractive?"
"Characteristic..."
Shunsuke was stunned, "Is that important?"
"Isn't it?"
Baimu could hardly eat his meal, full of question marks, "Pardon my directness, but if you're imitating Mr. Qianli in every aspect, how do you plan to attract challengers? Why would people choose an imitation over the authentic version with more prestige?"
"Calling it an imitation is too..."
"Sorry, maybe that was a bit blunt, but you should understand that since you have established a Gym in North Petalburg City, you and Qianli are competitors, right?"
"Competitors? No, no, I wouldn't dare say that!"
Shunsuke waved his hands repeatedly, his face full of a sheepish smile.
Baimu, however, couldn't smile at all, wishing he could pry open the other's head to see what was inside. Idolizing to this extent...
He took a deep breath, maintaining gratitude for the dinner, revealing the stark reality to Shunsuke bit by bit.
Competing with someone more famous in two neighboring cities is already hard enough, and the latter even actively increases difficulty from hell mode to abyss, who will die if not you?
However, since it's inevitable anyway, at least understand why.
Shunsuke's face turned stiff after listening.
Strictly speaking, he's actually quite smart; otherwise, he wouldn't have received recommendation from esteemed people to become a new Gym Leader.
Some of the things Baimu mentioned are obvious upon reflection, but Shunsuke found it hard to accept this fact.
"You've also been a Gym Leader for a while, so you should understand there's intense competition among Gym Leaders. Imitating everything about the Petalburg Gym, who knows about your North Petalburg?"
He wasn't worried about the latter losing his temper, he had already said what needed to be said.
Good thing.
Shunsuke wasn't the type to get angry when faced with facts, he sighed longingly and said, "Seems like I'm not suitable to be a Gym Leader after all?"
"There's no such thing as being suitable or not, I just think your mindset has issues."
Baimu said, "Admiration isn't wrong, the problem is your admiration affecting your judgment. Many things you can actually understand without me saying, but your admiration for Qianli blinds you—have you talked to Qianli?"
"Huh?"
"Looks like you haven't, why not chat with him? I think as a senior, Mr. Qianli wouldn't mind sharing his Gym Leader experiences."
"But we aren't competitors..."
"Playing dumb? Competitors aren't enemies, after a Pokémon battle, do you become enemies? Understand what healthy competition is? There are tons of Trainers in the world; Qianli won't blame you for taking his challengers."
Baimu even mentally criticized, Qianli might even appreciate Shunsuke.
After all, when the reputation grows, challenges inevitably become overwhelmingly frequent, crazily occupying his leisure time. Qianli, barely in his thirties, in his prime and deeply in love with his wife, must be craving more personal space.
Shunsuke's expression changed, "Then, I'll go ask him tomorrow—"
"No, go the day after tomorrow."
Baimu stopped his restless heart, "I'm challenging Petalburg Gym tomorrow, wait till I get the badge and then go."
"...Okay."
Shunsuke nodded, then asked, "Would you like to try my Gym?"
"Let me challenge Petalburg Gym first, this will be my first badge, I want to give it my all."
Baimu finished the last bite, "Thanks for the meal, the dinner was really good."
"I'll see you out!"
Shunsuke got up hurriedly; he actually wanted Baimu to stay the night, but had been refused well beforehand.
——
A peaceful night passed.
The next day.
The sun was shining bright.
Baimu did some warm-up exercises, then woke up Galarian Corsola for a pre-battle notification. Under its resentful gaze, he arrived at Petalburg Gym half an hour early.
The Gym entrance was very clean today, no sign of North Petalburg's flyers, looks like Shuji really learned his lesson.
Opening the door, a boy with dark green hair came up to greet.
"Hello Challenger, did you make an appointment?"
"Yes, I did. My name is Baimu."
Baimu showed the reservation information on his phone to the boy.
The boy was initially stunned, then blinked and exclaimed, "Ah! You're Baimu!"
"Uh... what's the matter?"
"Xiaosheng called the teacher and his wife, specifically mentioning you! The teacher has been waiting for you for a while now!" The boy laughed heartily, "By the way, I'm Jin Zhi, serving as an assistant at Petalburg Gym."
Jin Zhi...
Baimu recalled, gradually matching the person in front of him with the green-haired boy from the anime, and smiled back, "Hello, Xiaosheng mentioned you too."
It's true, something he heard while idly chatting with Xiaosheng.
"Really? That makes me very happy, ah! Wait, I'll go inform the teacher right away!" Jin Zhi suddenly thought of something, darting towards the Gym's interior, turning back to shout, "Please wait a moment!"