Orpiment Tower, late at night.
Inside the high-tech arena.
Wally and Gallade ran laps around the edge of the red-and-blue Poké Ball design.
The final battle was approaching.
He should have been resting and getting himself ready, but he kept tossing and turning, unable to sleep. In the end, he had come here to burn off his restless energy.
Eldes appeared outside the arena and called, "Wally! Don't overdo it!"
"Okay, sir!"
Wally stopped with a grin, bent over with his hands on his knees, and caught his breath.
Gallade offered him a towel with a concerned "Gallade~"
"Thanks."
Wally took it, swept his messy bangs aside, and wiped away the sweat.
For the past few months,
he had been staying in Realgar Town.
Partly because he did not want to trouble Baimu, and partly because he wanted to train his Pokémon through ranked battles.
With his exceptional skill, Wally had quickly climbed into the top ten. Then he overtook Baimu in eighth place and went straight to number one at Orpiment Tower.
That was how Eldes had met him.
The master of Orpiment Tower thought highly of the frail-looking boy. So before the Orre League Conference began, he had set aside an arena for Wally to train his Pokémon and work out strategies.
Wally had not disappointed him, winning match after match to reach the final.
The trouble was,
he was facing a monster.
Back then, Eldes and his two sons together had been no match for Ryuto, and the Shadow Team had fallen as a result.
Yet a trainer that powerful had been defeated so easily.
Eldes could find no better word than "monster." Remembering how effortlessly Baimu had challenged Orpiment Tower, he was simply glad he had changed sides.
"Wally... give it everything you've got!"
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