Leon: "..."
He wanted to say that he wasn't a child anymore, but thinking he might get lost, he swallowed those words.
Finally, he replied, "Okay."
At 10:20 in the morning, Naoki finished buying groceries and headed to the Squawkabilly Flying Taxi station in Porto Marinada Town.
After waiting for about ten minutes, a Squawkabilly Flying Taxi descended from the sky onto the platform.
The door opened, and Leon emerged from inside.
Naoki spotted him right away, rolled down the window, and patted the passenger seat, gesturing, "Get in!"
Leon didn't mind that Naoki's little pickup was old and basic; he just opened the door and got in.
"Long time no see!" Leon beamed with a cheerful smile.
"Indeed, it's been a while." Naoki started the car, made a turn, and drove out of Porto Marinada Town.
It had been a year since Naoki last met Leon. Back then, it was because of Leon that Alder came to the ranch and managed to save his Volcarona's life.
"Isn't work busy in the Galar region?" Naoki asked.
He often saw news about Leon online and noted he had taken on many commercial endorsements, with his cloak covered in various brand labels for each battle appearance.
"Busy!" Leon admitted helplessly. "If I weren't busy, I'd have been here challenging you long ago."
Naoki: "..."
"Especially recently." Leon chuckled, looking at Naoki, teasing, "That whole Calyrex situation caused quite an explosion in the Galar region!"
Initially, Naoki didn't think much of it since Calyrex wasn't a resource of any particular region; it was a being with independent thought.
But after Leon's mention, he suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.
"Was it that impactful?" he asked.
"How to put it?" Leon pondered briefly before saying, "It greatly affected the Galar Royal Family; their actions faced public criticism, disgrace, and their influence in the Galar region diminished significantly, though it didn't impact the Galar League much."
After all, the public was quite rational, as the Galar League wasn't responsible for what happened.
The Galar League had always been devoted to developing and building the Galar region, much better than the Galar Royal Family who did nothing but steal credit.
"I see..." Naoki nodded, sinking into thought.
From Leon's reaction, it seemed the Galar League didn't regard Calyrex with much importance.
Compared to Calyrex, Chairman Rose clearly prioritized Dynamax battles more now.
To completely solve the Galar region's energy problem, he secretly established an underground energy plant, but didn't foresee that the leaked energy would cause Pokémon everywhere to start Dynamaxing uncontrollably, eventually releasing the rampant Eternatus.
If Eternatus were entirely under Chairman Rose's control, what would the Galar region look like?
Naoki didn't know, but he sensed that the current Galar region had quite a "commerce-over-agriculture" vibe.
Not that it suppressed agriculture; it wasn't that extreme yet, just gave a sense of being neglected.
"But to think that such events happened in the Galar region in the past is unimaginable," Leon marveled.
The Legendary Pokemon saved the Galar region from the Darkest Day, which for modern-born humans like them, seemed unbelievable.
Not to mention that the Pokémon was once the ruler of the Galar region.
"It's not just the Galar region; many regions have their own ancient legends, though Galar's are a bit complex and were misconstrued by later generations," Naoki said.
"Let's not talk about that!" Leon shook his head, spiritedly saying, "I'm here today to battle you; last time I challenged the Grass Trial, and this time I want to challenge the Storm Trial and Thunder Trial!"
"There's more than just those three trials at the ranch now!" Naoki laughed.
Instantly intrigued, Leon exclaimed, "Hmm?!"
"It's a hidden trial at the ranch, only available to Trainers who have passed any preliminary trial. Since you completed the Grass Trial last time, you can now take on this trial," Naoki explained.
"What is it?" Leon eagerly asked.
"I call it the Ancient Trial," Naoki introduced. "Although, unlike the previous trials, in this one, you can choose between a single or double battle."
"For singles, you only need to defeat one Pokémon, Koraidon, to pass, but for doubles, you need to defeat both Pokémon."
Naoki was curious to see how Koraidon's strength compared to Leon, the strongest Champion.
Ancient Trial, Koraidon...
Leon immediately envisioned the robust, crimson Pokémon.
His eyes sparkled with anticipation: "Then I'll take on this trial!"
"No problem, I'm also looking forward to our battle," Naoki smiled.
During the chat, the pickup truck arrived at the ranch.
From afar, Naoki saw Geeta at the entrance of the ranch.
Hmm? Geeta?
Why is she here? Isn't the Paldea League busy?
Naoki was a bit surprised, and as they got closer, he stopped the car.
Geeta also noticed them and cheerfully said, "Long time no see, Naoki. I'm here for a visit; hope I'm not interrupting?"
Naoki: "...Not at all."
Is this a leader's inspection?