"Battling."
"To me, it was once the path to my dream."
When Shan Ren was young.
He loved watching the Champion Leagues of different regions.
Whenever Champions defeated Elite Four members and challengers alike with overwhelming power, his blood surged.
His surroundings were hell, but sheltered by his parents, he was too young to understand much. He dreamed—
Of becoming a Champion.
Of possessing that unmatched strength.
Perhaps one day, he could use it to end the tragedies unfolding around him.
But...
Before Shan Ren had a chance to truly grow,
a sudden "accident" took his beloved mother from him.
At first, he hated his father, who kept up his false courtesies even after the person he loved most was gone.
But whenever a lonely night fell, whenever a nightmare jolted him awake, he found that the person he hated most, deep down, was himself.
If he had grown strong sooner, none of those tragedies would have happened.
And so,
his dream gradually became an obsession.
When he was twelve, a Team Snagem defector destroyed the plot of Silicon Beryllium City's mayor, Buckley—whose real name was Eya. Shadow Team, which had lurked behind Orre, suffered its first defeat.
Like a prisoner granted temporary freedom, Shan Ren got the chance to study abroad.
He treasured it.
After all, this was the closest he had ever come to his dream. The life he had longed for as a child was about to begin.
The night before he left,
Shan Ren contacted his father and promised to return as a Champion.
His father said nothing.
By then, they had not had a normal conversation in a long time.
Shan Ren chose to specialize in Psychic-type Pokémon. To him, the type represented endless possibilities, yet it also held the power to protect.
It suited