Our Paldea Really Is Brimming with Talent

The rest of the battle had already become garbage time.

It was the complete opposite of what the chat had expected: the streamer "giving it everything he had, yet struggling to beat" Paldea Elite Four member Larry.

Even though Qingyu's offensive maintained its unhurried pace, Larry's Flying-type squad still couldn't hold it off.

Even with a durability-focused build, Talonflame's damage output after Bulk Up was nothing to scoff at.

Add in Acrobatics, whose power doubled after its Flying Gem was stolen, and the pressure it exerted was almost on par with Brave Bird.

Not to mention the combined advantage of its Speed and Gale Wings, which reliably let it seize the first move.

This was where the advantage of using Acrobatics instead of Brave Bird became clear.

Larry had no good answer. Even when Final Gambit left Talonflame badly injured, it stubbornly recovered with Roost.

Without Brave Bird's recoil putting extra pressure on its HP, Talonflame, its feathers blazing like flames, became a legendary phoenix. All on its own, it sent every remaining opposing Pokémon packing.

In the end, the score settled at 6-1.

An overwhelming victory for Qingyu.

Winning this promotion match also meant Qingyu had finally reached Great Ball rank.

[Holy crap, the streamer can even steamroll an Elite Four member?]

[Any strategy that can beat an Elite Four member is a good strategy. I'm taking that!]

[Got it. Tomorrow I'm bringing my Talonflame to solo the streamer in person!]

Talonflame's display of brutal elegance left the viewers marveling. Who would have thought a mere Route 1 bird could have the strength to nearly solo an Elite Four member's entire team?

The approach was also incredibly straightforward.

Find an opening to boost with Bulk Up, then use Gale Wings-boosted Roost for terrifyingly efficient recovery, and finally turn into a merciless bulldozer that flattened everything in sight.

This actually seemed learnable!

Still, although he appeared to be only one step away, he remained a long way from Master Ball rank, which required placing in the top hundred.

After all, the players in Great Ball rank were no slouches, and every so often he would be matched against a regional mainstay like Larry.

Qingyu was confident, but at his current pace, it would indeed take quite some time.

"Lost after all..."

Larry weakly put down his controller and slumped into the couch.

He had been perfectly happy just after getting off work and eating his grilled rice balls.

Why did I even start this match?

Larry felt he might have made the worst decision of his evening.

Still, there was a silver lining: he had gotten to see an interesting Flying-type strategy.

Guess it wasn't a total loss?

As Larry reflected, he suddenly remembered something that had caught his attention right from the start-

Which region was the little prodigy behind the username "Azure Feather" from? They had actually come up with a new way to use Talonflame.

Even in real battles, this strategy was quite viable.

For Trainers who needed to fight extended battles, such as newcomers taking on Victory Road, it was an especially valuable way to minimize losses.

Probably a very creative young Gym Leader?

Through his match history, Larry opened Azure Feather's profile.

Then his eyes instantly widened.

"Huh?"

Paldea Sunshine Gym Leader, Qingyu.

This guy was a Gym Leader from our Paldea Region?

Larry sucked in a sharp breath.

We only recently got a new batch of Gym Leaders. Who knew there was an expert among them?

Our Paldea really is brimming with talent!

"But the Sunshine Gym..."

Unlike Kanto, with its staggering number of Gyms scattered throughout the region, Paldea strictly controlled the scale of its Gym system.

So he did recognize this Gym's name.

If he remembered correctly, the two Gym Leaders who had accompanied the expedition into Area Zero as guards had come from this Gym, hadn't they?

After they went missing, their Gym Leader credentials should have been transferred to...

Larry immediately got up, went to his computer, and accessed the League's internal network. He soon found the Sunshine Gym Leader's personal details.

Qingyu, eighteen years old.

No prior battle experience. A completely novice Trainer.

His Gym had even been closed for six months, and he had been placed on Geeta's priority evaluation list.

That couldn't be right, could it?

Larry frowned slightly.

Judging by the tactical skill the kid had just displayed, whether he could become a Champion was still open to question.

But if he only wanted to be an ordinary Gym Leader, he should already have what it took.

Even the League's supreme Top Champion, Paldea's one and only sun, could misjudge someone?

The League was short-staffed lately. It would be a real shame to let such an outstanding young talent go unnoticed.

Larry sighed, quietly took out his phone, and dialed a number.

"Hello, Geeta?"

"There's a young man you might want to pay special attention to."

"As for why..."

"Once you watch the recording I send over, you should find your answer."

The Paldea League, northwest of Mesagoza, Paldea Region.

"Well, this is a first. Larry actually calling of his own accord after work?"

A slender woman in a crisp suit, her bearing sharp and spirited, sat at a desk and snapped her fingers at the other woman as she put away her phone.

"Larry recommended a newcomer to me."

Geeta smiled and strode over to her, her wild mane of long black hair swaying slightly with her steps.

"Was the person I just asked you to look into called Qingyu?"

"Yes. You're not old enough to be worrying about dementia yet, are you?"

Momentarily speechless, Rika delivered a biting retort.

She should have been off work by now, but an unexpected development had forced her to stay.

Sinnoh Champion Cynthia had visited Paldea today without informing the League.

That in itself wasn't really an issue. Even Champions were entitled to some private time, after all.

Geeta, however, felt this might be an opportunity to deepen cooperation with the Sinnoh League, so she had specifically asked Rika to investigate the purpose of Cynthia's visit.

Yet Cynthia had only spent a little time at a nearly bankrupt Gym in Cabo Poco before leaving?

What could she possibly do in that little time?

Surely she hadn't come for a blind date...

Rika was mentally grumbling when a thought suddenly struck her. She looked at Geeta and instinctively asked:

"Was Larry's call about this kid too?"

"You guessed it. Even I didn't expect such a coincidence."

Geeta smiled.

"Larry apparently ran into him in the game and thought Qingyu had talent, so he took the rare step of contacting me himself."

"If not for what happened today, I wouldn't even have known Paldea had such a promising young man hidden away. He certainly deserves special attention."

"Tsk..."

Noticing her expression, Rika lowered her head into her hand and silently mourned for this unfamiliar Gym Leader.

As the League's Top Champion, Geeta was a highly responsible and capable leader. The Paldea League's development owed much to her planning.

At the same time, she was also a merciless workaholic.

It would have been one thing if she only pushed herself.

But under her principle of working useful people into the ground, not a single capable employee in the entire League escaped being overloaded...

Hope he survives.

"Larry also sent me a recording of their match. Want to watch it together?"

Geeta pointed at the computer behind her and extended the invitation.

"Yes!"

Rika didn't hesitate.

She genuinely wanted to know just how strong someone had to be to catch the attention of both the Sinnoh Champion and Elite Four member Larry.