"Brock..."
An image immediately sprang into Qingyu's mind: a square-faced tough guy with a resolute expression.
A man as strong as rock, the Pewter Gym Leader who had mastered the ways of Rock types.
"If Brock has already taken over the Gym at this point..."
"He probably isn't the comic relief character from the anime."
Qingyu quickly reached that conclusion.
Unlike his anime incarnation, who couldn't budge whenever he saw a pretty older woman and acted as the group's mother hen, Brock in the games was a very dependable Gym Leader.
His rock-solid willpower and serious, professional approach had already earned him the deep respect of Pewter City's residents despite his youth.
As he met more and more popular characters he knew from his previous life, Qingyu's understanding of this world grew clearer.
Still, Kanto was a little too far away.
How far Team Rocket had developed over there wasn't something he, a Paldea Gym Leader, needed to worry about.
He should focus on doing his own job as a Gym Leader first...
After a quick wash, Qingyu soon arrived in the lounge.
As usual, Eevee lay in the corner of the sofa, engrossed in the movie playing on TV.
But things seemed a little different from normal today.
Beside Eevee sat a Baile Style Oricorio, occasionally letting out a laugh of "Mew, mew, mew."
"..."
Qingyu's expression grew complicated.
The sound alone told him there was definitely something wrong with this Oricorio. What bird cried like that?
How did this little wanderer end up at our Sunshine Gym?
Don't you have a World Tree to protect?
"Mew?"
Noticing Qingyu's strange gaze, Oricorio quickly turned toward him, then covered its mouth with both hands and laughed again.
With that signature gesture, it was hard not to guess its identity.
Qingyu