"So they're Gym Leader Blaine's apprentices?" Heath admitted he was genuinely surprised. He really hadn't expected the two of them to have that sort of connection with Blaine.
But on closer thought, Cinnabar Island wasn't very big to begin with, and given how everyone in the Pokémon world liked becoming a Trainer, it didn't seem strange that these two knew Blaine. Heath could understand that.
"Yes, Naoki and Akihito. They're Cinnabar Island kids too, born and raised here. Naoki was a successor I had high hopes for, but after learning that the League planned to abandon Cinnabar Island, he went from an outstanding Trainer to someone constantly running around trying to save it." Blaine sighed, a hint of regret in his eyes. He had run his Gym for so long, but Naoki was the only person who had given him any thoughts of a successor. He hadn't expected that, as the situation on Cinnabar Island developed, the boy would turn out like this.
Blaine somewhat regretted telling Naoki and Akihito about it, but there was nothing he could do. Even if he hadn't said anything, Naoki would have found out eventually, unless he took Naoki away from Cinnabar Island to train deep in the mountains. But he was a Team Rocket executive with plenty to do every day. He couldn't leave Cinnabar Island, so this was the only way things could be.
Heath scratched his head. It seemed there had been some problems with his earlier assumptions. He had even wondered whether these two young men had some strange intentions, which left him a little embarrassed. But he couldn't help it. Having been born in that era in his previous life and witnessed so much darkness, Heath, despite being a very sunny person, couldn't help questioning whether other people's intentions