After completing the authorization ceremony for the Thunder Badge, Agatha greeted each of the Gym Leaders one by one before saying, "Gym Leader Blaine will preside over the remaining events. Asea, assist Blaine."
As she spoke, Agatha looked toward the woman seated in the section reserved for Fuchsia Gym.
"So the Gym Leader of Fuchsia Gym is… Asea? Elite Four Agatha's student, right? I heard she's also exceptionally skilled at using Poison-type Pokémon. Sooner or later, she'll probably succeed her mentor, Agatha, as the new Poison Elite Four[1]¹."
"Hmm? Although lately there have been rumors that Elite Four Agatha is using her Ghost-types more. Maybe she…"
People in the crowd had already begun whispering among themselves.
So the Gym Leader of Fuchsia Gym was this woman named Asea, and she was also a student of Agatha. How had Koga later become the Gym Leader instead? It really was puzzling. Whether in terms of strength or status, Koga and Asea clearly weren't on the same level.
"Yes, Elite Four Agatha."
After Agatha finished speaking, Asea stood up and replied.
She then walked over to Blaine and said, "Leader Blaine, please preside over the remaining events."
Blaine did not put on airs and said, "No problem. By the way, Elite Four Agatha, are you leaving already? Are you maybe busy~?"
Agatha shook her head helplessly and said, "…You're the clever one. You retired in time and now live a carefree life on Cinnabar Island, while at my age I still have to run around everywhere."
Blaine burst into laughter. Having always specialized in Fire-type Pokémon, he had an outgoing and enthusiastic personality.
Despite his advanced age, Blaine still joked and played around with many younger Trainers, looking every bit the cheerful old prankster. He then said, "Even Pryce from Johto has retired. What's the point of me remaining an Elite Four member? I'd rather retire early and enjoy my later years."
After chatting with Blaine for a while, Agatha hurried away. She still had many matters waiting for her attention.
Blaine had originally been Kanto's Fire-type Elite Four. His combat power had even surpassed Agatha's. However, by nature he was free-spirited and unwilling to be constrained within the League, so he had resigned from the Elite Four early and returned to his hometown of Cinnabar Island to enjoy life.
As for Cinnabar Gym, it had been specially established by the Indigo League for him. As a Gym Leader, he was still an active League official, so whenever any major matter arose, Blaine was still expected to lend his support.
---◓---
Tetsuya was also rather disappointed. He had hoped to see Giovanni here. That man truly was elusive. Holding the three positions of Gym Leader of Viridian Gym, leader of Team Rocket, and an executive of Silph Co., the largest company in Kanto, Giovanni's capabilities were truly astonishing.
Next came the opening of Vermilion Gym itself. Only Trainers who could prove with their Pokédex that they had previously achieved a top-eight finish in a League Conference were qualified to challenge any of the Gym Leaders.
Of course, everyone was allowed to enter the audience stands of the Gym, and the various media outlets entered as well. With the exception of those Gyms that did not focus on battling too much, these Gym Leaders were all extremely powerful. Their true combat power was such that even League Investigators were no match for them. In their eyes, these Trainers were nothing more than kids.
Naturally, those Gym Leaders who were not skilled at battling had prepared performances in advance to avoid embarrassment. For example, the dance performed by the Sensational Sisters together with their Water-type Pokémon had already set the entire venue ablaze with excitement.
"Humph! Completely neglecting your duties!"
To everyone's surprise, the words Sabrina was thinking were spoken aloud through the doll she was holding.
The faces of the Sensational Sisters immediately turned red with anger. However, they had to admit that Sabrina, who was about the same age as them, was far stronger than they were.
Young people were naturally proud, so how could they tolerate such an insult? The Sensational Sisters walked straight over to Sabrina and mocked her. "Our Cerulean Gym may not specialize in battling, but even so, we have more followers than you, and we have our own advantages. Unlike your Saffron Gym, which supposedly focuses on battling, and you still lost a bet to some little kid. It seems your real capacity isn't all that impressive after all, huh~"
Tetsuya was also taken aback. How did the Sensational Sisters know about his battle with Sabrina? They even knew about the bet. Logically speaking, battles held inside Saffron Gym were completely closed to the public. The only explanation was that the people training their psychic powers at Saffron Gym had spread the news.
Although Sabrina was inwardly furious, she had no way to vent her anger. She was also wondering who had spread the information. Naturally, her suspicions fell upon those psychic practitioners. She was already considering driving every one of them out of Saffron Gym.
Outwardly, Sabrina remained "perfectly" calm and said, "As for that 'person', among the Gym Leaders present, I believe no one except Blaine, Flint, and Asea could defeat him."
"Heh… he's not even here anyway. You can say whatever you want~" The Sensational Sisters said dismissively.
"He is here."
Sabrina had already sensed Tetsuya's presence, which was why she spoke with such certainty. At that moment, she was using her psychic powers to pinpoint his exact location.
Tetsuya immediately sensed that something was wrong. There were so many media outlets present. Under no circumstances could his identity be discovered by the Shadow Team, so he absolutely could not expose himself to the media.
He immediately used Teleport to leave the audience stands!
Sensing Tetsuya's departure, Sabrina also used Teleport to pursue him!
After several days of practice, Tetsuya was already capable of using his psychic powers to teleport over a considerable distance. However, because his mind was occupied by too many thoughts, he was unable to achieve any greater results.
Psychic abilities were still something best practiced by those with simple, pure minds. Free from distracting thoughts, they were able to concentrate far better.
That was why his Slowbro had such powerful psychic capabilities. The primary reason was that it had no distracting thoughts. Its mind was clear and transparent, as vast and boundless as the ocean.
Tetsuya had only learned Teleport so he would have one more option at critical moments. Comparing himself to Sabrina in that regard was like comparing a tiny stream to the ocean.
Before long, Sabrina blocked his path.
"…Why are you running?" Sabrina demanded.
'Watch out for yanderes... watch out for yanderes…'
"I… I don't want to appear in an occasion like that," Tetsuya replied.
"Everyone else wants to use this opportunity to become famous, yet you're doing everything you can to avoid it? You… you're truly difficult to understand," Sabrina said.
"Eh? This is Kanto, while I'm from Johto. What good would making a name for myself here do? If you really want to restore your reputation, how about organizing a private battle between Asea and me? If I can defeat her, wouldn't that clear your name?"
Tetsuya said this because he had never encountered Asea in his previous life and wanted to see just how strong she really was. More importantly, she was the student of Agatha. Perhaps he might gain some inspiration from battling her.
•.
•.
¹. First Gen Agatha's pokemon: Gengar line, Arbok, Golbat. We make fun of the Flying Master Lance… But what about the Poison-type Agatha!!!!!?
[1] First Gen Agatha's pokemon: Gengar line, Arbok, Golbat