"Rotom, search for the exact location of the Champion League's Viridian City branch."
After leaving the Viridian Gym, Paul took out his Rotom Phone and gave the command.
The Champion League, being a special organization with only a small number of members, had very few physical branches. In each region, only a handful of cities hosted such facilities.
As it happened, Viridian City—one of Kanto's most important cities—was home to one of the Champion League's branches.
"Rotom~ I've found the exact location for you, Trainer! Follow me!"
The Rotom Phone blinked open two bright green eyes and floated into the air, leading the way.
Paul didn't even need to glance at the map—he simply followed Rotom's lead.
Before long, the Champion League facility came into view.
Unlike what Paul had imagined—a large, imposing establishment—the Champion League's branch here was modest, even smaller than a standard Pokémon Center. It consisted of just a single lobby, a large battle arena, some basic equipment, and only a few staff members working about.
But thinking about the nature of the Champion League, it made sense. Arranging matches and challenges could be done entirely online via smartphones or computers.
Once an application was approved, the League's official system would assign a time and place for battles, much like how third-party intermediary platforms operated.
As a result, the importance of physical branches had been greatly diminished.
The moment Paul stepped inside, the staff's attention turned toward him.
"Hello, Trainer. Is there anything we can assist you with?" One of the staff members greeted him warmly.
"I'm here to join the Champion League."
Paul handed over the invitation he had previously received, speaking concisely but clearly.
"Understood… Do you have any identification or a Pokédex with you? I'll register your information." The staff member said after verifying the authenticity of the invitation.
"Here."
"Please wait for a moment."
After Paul handed over his Pokédex, it didn't take long for the staff member to complete the registration process. Shortly after, two messages were sent to Paul's Rotom Phone.
"These two messages—one contains the Champion League's official website along with your account and temporary password. Through the site, you can purchase exclusive items, register for trainer challenges, and more. You're free to change your password once you log in."
"The other message is an invite to the Champion League members' group chat. Apart from the group owner, every participant in the chat is a registered member. You can use it to interact and communicate with other trainers." The staff lady explained kindly.
"Please help me apply for a battle against Drake, the Orange League's Supreme Gym Leader."
Paul didn't immediately check the information; instead, he made his request directly.
"Are you sure?"
The staff member looked slightly surprised. "Mr. Drake is extremely strong. In recent years, aside from Champion Red and Gym Leader Blue Oak, all other challengers have been defeated by him."
"I would recommend challenging some of the newer members who joined within the past couple of years. Battling opponents of a similar strength level tends to be more beneficial for growth." She suggested.
"If I apply now, when would the match be scheduled?" Paul asked.
"Mr. Drake's situation is a bit special. The earliest possible match would be arranged one or two weeks from now."
"Then please help me schedule it for three months from now. Thank you." Paul said after a moment of thought.
One or two weeks would be a little too rushed for him.
Challenging a trainer in a casual wilderness battle was one thing—winning or losing wasn't crucial; the experience mattered most.
But an official match was different. Victory and defeat carried real weight.
That way, nothing would interfere — everything would fall perfectly into place.
"All set. I've submitted the application for you. Once the schedule is confirmed, the system will send you a notification." The staff member said.
"Thanks." Paul nodded curtly before turning to leave. He had Rotom join the group chat and changed the password before casually starting to browse the Champion League Discussion Group.
That was when he realized — there were actually several hundred Trainers gathered there, spanning across all regions.
A number of unfamiliar Trainers were exchanging training insights, but Paul only glanced briefly before losing interest.
Their training methods were laughably basic and inefficient. It was far better to dive straight into non-stop battling — fighting, fighting, and fighting again — to force strength out through sheer battle experience.
"Come out."
Just as he was about to put his phone away after closing the group, Paul paused as a thought struck him. He took out a Poké Ball and released Froslass.
"Eeno~"
Froslass gave a small nod, a faint smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
"I'm entrusting Rotom to you. Train under its guidance." Paul instructed.
He let go of the Rotom Phone, allowing it to float freely and follow Froslass. Without looking back, Paul headed out toward the outskirts of the city.
"Eeno~"
Froslass cradled the Rotom Phone in her arms, smiling warmly as she followed Paul toward Viridian Forest.
...
The next day, somewhere deep within Viridian Forest, Paul was training his Pokémon while steadily making his way toward Pallet Town.
Garchomp and Aggron were sparring together — Aggron trying to learn Outrage by imitating Garchomp, while Garchomp used Aggron as a live target to hone his Sandstorm attacks.
Drapion was dueling Hisuian Samurott from a distance — a flurry of Pin Missile and Cross Poison clashed against Air Slash and Razor Shell in midair, each side countering the other's moves in real time.
However, in both raw power and deceptive attack patterns, Samurott was clearly no match for Drapion.
Samurott's blade skills were excellent up close, but his training in long-range combat was clearly lacking.
Unlike Drapion — whose specialty was Pin Missile, had been honed to perfection — sharper and more precise even than Torterra's Stone Edge.
Even though Drapion lacked Torterra's magical precision to lock onto targets like with Magical Leaf, he still possessed enough control to bend his Pin Missiles mid-flight, chasing his opponent with terrifying accuracy.
Meanwhile, Ursaluna was sparring with Froslass, practicing how to attack or block her without relying on Foresight.
It was a drill meant to sharpen his burst speed and reflexes.
Paul's Pokémon didn't need to be fast all the time — but they had to be able to explode into action in an instant. Only with overwhelming burst speed could they seize the moment to block an opponent and immediately counterattack.
"Beep—"
"Rotom~"
Suddenly, the Rotom Phone, which had been set aside to meditate, flew up into the air, emitting a shrill beeping as it hovered in front of Paul.
"Trainer, anomaly detected: time fluctuations nearby. Approaching the disturbance zone. Regarding temporal energy..."
"Time fluctuations? Could it be Celebi?"
There were only a handful of Pokémon associated with time, and deep within a forest, naturally, the most likely one to appear nearby was Celebi, who often traveled through such places.
"Let's check it out. Lead the way."
After recalling all of his Pokémon—including Froslass back into their Poké Balls, Paul followed Rotom as they dashed off in the indicated direction.
"Illusion Veil."
"Eeno~"
Keeping close to Paul's side, Froslass activated an illusionary technique, seamlessly blending herself into the surrounding environment.
Weaving through the vast expanse of the Viridian Forest, Paul quickly covered a distance of over a thousand meters and arrived at a certain location.
(End of Chapter)
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