Changing Stereotypes

Roy's opponent was contestant number one, a little girl in a skirt. Perhaps because it was her first time on stage,

Roy felt that her entire body was tense, as though she might run back to the preparation area at any moment.

The little girl's name was Erika, and her Pokémon was one of Johto's Starter Pokémon, a Chikorita with a large leaf on its head.

As one of Johto's Starter Pokémon, Chikorita was also extremely popular.

However, compared to Roy's Litwick, which hardly anyone had seen before, it drew far less discussion.

System Scan

Pokémon: Chikorita

Level: 16

Gender: Female

Ability: Overgrow (When HP is reduced, Grass-type moves become more powerful.)

Moves: Tackle, Growl, Razor Leaf, Poison Powder, Photosynthesis, Leech Seed

Held Item: Miracle Seed

Inherited Moves: Vine Whip, Ingrain

Individual Values: 20

Technical Machine/Move Tutor: None

Chikorita was only level 16?

Still, this Chikorita's talent was astonishingly good. It was Roy's first time seeing a Pokémon with Individual Values over 20 in another Trainer's hands.

It was even carrying a Pokémon item like Miracle Seed, which could boost the power of Grass-type moves.

The little girl's identity clearly was not as simple as she looked, but that had nothing to do with him. All Roy could say was, with both a type advantage and a level advantage, sorry about that.

The flame atop Litwick's head surged instantly, splitting into countless tiny flames that circled around it in an endless whirl.

"The match begins now!"

At Mary's command, the discussions throughout the venue fell silent, and everyone turned their eyes toward the center of the battlefield.

"Chikorita, use Bulbasaur..."

Chikorita on the field had a huge question mark over its head. It turned around and looked at its Trainer. How was it supposed to use Bulbasaur?

Erika also realized she had misspoken, but she was simply too nervous. She had even called out the wrong move name.

Her mind went blank. She quickly thought of something, but though the words were at the tip of her tongue, she could not say them.

"I'm dying, bro. What do you mean, use Bulbasaur...? No, my stomach hurts from laughing."

"That's it!? You want to be a Coordinator? And you think you can enter a competition like everyone else?"

"Woo~ If you can't do it, go practice for a few more years. Hahaha."

Several mocking laughs came from the spectator stands, especially piercing in the quiet arena.

Hearing the laughter, Erika, who had already been nervous, instantly panicked. This was her first time entering a Pokémon Contest.

She had practiced countless times in the battle arena at home before finally gathering the courage to come here.

The judges' expressions darkened at once, especially the president of the Pokémon Coordinator Association. He had specifically used his connections to become a judge this time in order to encourage newcomers who wished to become Coordinators to participate.

A few rotten eggs actually wanted to ruin the whole batch.

More importantly, Erika was the granddaughter of an old friend. If that friend found out about this, where would he put his face?

The hot-tempered Agatha beside him was just about to speak up and reprimand them. Of course she knew how important a first match was for a rookie Trainer.

Before she could say anything,

A gentle yet calm voice came from across from the little girl.

"Don't be nervous. Don't let a few pieces of trash ruin today's match. The fact that you came here to compete already makes you much braver than those who don't even have the courage to sign up, doesn't it?"

Roy's voice was amplified through the sound system at the command platform, reaching everyone's ears clearly.

Everyone in the arena was dumbfounded by Roy's behavior. You're telling me this guy was the Trainer of a sinister, cunning Ghost-type Pokémon?

The stereotypes surrounding Ghost-type Pokémon Trainers were shattered by Roy once again.

Those who had laughed moments ago could no longer laugh. The hostile looks from the people around them made them afraid to utter another word.

Roy's towering image made them look like the kings of Gotham by comparison.

They could only rise from their seats in embarrassment and hurry out of the Contest venue. If they stayed any longer, whether they would get clubbed on the way out was anyone's guess.

Erika looked at the boy comforting her from across the field with immense gratitude, as though she had grabbed hold of a lifeline.

Just that one glance.

A faint smile hung at the corners of the buzz-cut boy's eyes and lips.

At that moment, a perfectly timed spotlight fell upon Roy, making his entire figure seem taller.

In the little girl's eyes, Roy became even more imposing.

Erika nodded excitedly, and the words at her lips finally came back to her.

"Okay!"

"Chikorita, let's use Leech Seed!"

"Chiko!"

A jade-green seed grew from the leaf atop Chikorita's head and shot toward Roy's Litwick, but Litwick easily dodged it.

"Your movements are still a little slow. You can train your Chikorita's speed and move accuracy."

"Okay!"

Encouraged by Roy, the little girl grew more confident with every exchange, and her moves became increasingly fluid.

Even Chikorita on the field felt as though its Trainer had become a different person. Even when the little girl practiced alone in the battle arena at home, she had never been this confident.

This was the Trainer Chikorita knew!

A perfectly good battle had been forcibly turned into a coaching session by Roy. If not for the time limit imposed by the battle rules, Roy would have liked to drag it out a little longer to see whether he could accumulate more Popularity Points.

Chikorita's level was still far too different from Litwick's, and with the type disadvantage, it could not deal much damage at all.

Before Leech Seed could even get halfway there, Litwick's flames burned it to ashes.

Razor Leaf never hit Litwick even once; every attack was dodged.

Roy gave guidance, but he did not deliberately go easy on her. On the battlefield, the greatest respect one could show an opponent was to give it everything.

When the match reached the twenty-ninth minute, Litwick's Fire Spin engulfed Chikorita. Knowing she could not win, Erika chose to forfeit, and Roy had Litwick stop its flames.

Chikorita, standing at the center of the ring of fire, had not suffered the slightest injury. Clearly, Roy had been waiting for the little girl to concede.

As Erika left the field, she did not forget to give Roy across from her a deep bow, thanking him for his guidance and help.

Roy likewise bent in return like a gentleman, then stepped down from the stage.

Once again earning a full venue of applause and cheers.

His sunny, handsome appearance and gentlemanly manners instantly won over every female spectator in the arena.

With this match, Roy had practically pasted the words "good person" directly onto his face.

Seeing that the battle had ended, Mary immediately spoke from the aircraft.

"What a wonderful exhibition match. It seems that we have always misunderstood Ghost-type Trainers.

Even I was moved by contestant Roy's gentlemanly conduct. I wonder what the judges think?

Now, please have our judges score Roy and Erika!"

The first few judges all gave Roy the maximum score of ten, while the little girl Erika received seven.

What else could they do?

He had directly morally blackmailed them. What choice did they have?

The scoring stalled when it came to Stone Mu Jin. His brows were tightly furrowed, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Mu Jin had watched the entire match with a frown on his face. Was this right?

Back then, this brat had not treated Roxanne like this. He had thrown dirty tricks like Will-O-Wisp, Haze, and Minimize at Onix.

And now, at a Pokémon Contest, he had turned around and become a saint?

Could Roy possibly have a twin brother? One born evil, the other kindhearted as a bodhisattva?

In the end, Agatha beside him could not stand it any longer and poked Mu Jin. Only then did he realize it was time to score. Seeing that Professor Oak, Agatha, and the old man before him had all given ten points, Mu Jin wisely raised scorecards for ten and seven respectively.

Roy advanced to the next round with a perfect score.

Agatha had watched the entire battle with immense satisfaction. It had been truly refreshing. Although Roy had not displayed his true strength in this match,

Still!

Did they see that? This was what Ghost-type Trainers were supposed to look like.

This boy was a good prospect, and his character was upright as well. Her own strength had already reached its peak, with almost no possibility of advancing further. But if she properly nurtured that boy on the command platform in the future, perhaps he could...

Better to act than to think. Remembering Oak and Mu Jin's conversation just now, Agatha turned to Mu Jin.

"Mu Jin, this child is a student in Rustboro Academy's beginner class, right?"

"Huh? Yes, he is!"

Mu Jin instinctively answered as he lowered the scorecards in his hands.

"Then his teacher..."

Mu Jin truthfully told her that the two old people on Mt. Pyre had entrusted him with arranging Roy's admission qualifications for Rustboro Academy.

Just as she had thought, Roy was from Mt. Pyre. No wonder he carried that familiar aura. This made things somewhat difficult.

It seemed she would have to set out tomorrow to meet those two.

Mu Jin roughly guessed from Agatha's words that she wanted to take Roy as her disciple.

He wondered whether he should tell her about Roy's performance at Rustboro Academy. After thinking it over, Mu Jin decided to forget it.

"Wow! Brother Roy is so handsome!"

May's eyes sparkled with little stars. Clearly, she too had been charmed by Roy's gentlemanly bow.

His own daughter was praising another man right in front of him!

"I don't care! Dad, I want a Litwick! I want one! I want one! Buy me one! Buy me one!"

Norman spat out another mouthful of blood.

That brat Roy was trying to cut off his Gym's legacy.