"Long time no see, Gym Leader Red ."
Officer Jenny gave Red a formal salute the moment she saw him.
"Officer Jenny, what brings you here today?"
Red did his best to remain calm. Even if Jenny had evidence, he was fully prepared to deny everything to the end.
"I'm actually here to ask for your help with something…"
Red paused, then asked:
"You're just here for help?"
"Yes. It's a bit embarrassing, but recently someone seems to have infiltrated the police station. We've had to allocate a lot of manpower to investigate that matter, so we're currently short-staffed."
Hearing this, the corner of Red 's mouth twitched. He quickly raised a hand to interrupt her.
"Don't worry, Officer Jenny. Protecting Songzao City is my duty as a Gym Leader!"
"Just tell me what you need."
"Thank you so much, Gym Leader Red ."
"It's like this—recently, traces of poachers have been discovered in the forests around Songzao City. I'd like to ask for your help in dealing with them."
"No problem! Leave it to me!"
"Thank you, Gym Leader Red ."
After handing over the task, Officer Jenny left the Gym in high spirits.
Only Red remained, looking at the report about the poachers.
"Good thing this isn't about us breaking into the police station…"
Gary and Xiaowen both let out sighs of relief as they walked over.
Red immediately shot them a glare.
"What police station? Have you ever been to a police station? Of course not!"
"Gym Leader is right!"
After a moment, Red frowned at the report in his hand.
"These poachers really have no idea what death means."
But as he looked at this group of fools practically delivering themselves to his doorstep, a thought suddenly formed in his mind—
A way to get Ash to become his disciple.
"This might be an opportunity."
"Gary, go to the Pokémon Center and bring Ash and Misty over to help."
"Understood, Master."
...
Not far from Songzao City, high in the sky—
Joey Xue sat on Latias, gently speaking to it:
"Latias, you won't be angry that I gave your scale to him, right?"
Latias let out a clear cry.
'Those were things I didn't want anyway. Xiao Xue can do whatever she likes with them.'
Although it didn't say it outright, Latias actually had a good impression of Red —at the very least, better than that person who tried to touch it the moment they met.
And for some reason, Latias felt a special energy from Red that attracted it.
At that moment, Joey Xue took out her phone.
Without hesitation, she selected "Pass" on the Songzao Gym evaluation.
Meanwhile—
In a gloomy, ghostly domain somewhere—
An elderly woman in a purple dress, with a head full of white hair, was training a legion of Ghost-type Pokémon.
Her face was stern and shadowed.
She was none other than one of the Kanto Elite Four—
Agatha, the Ghost-type master.
"It's been four or five days. Why hasn't that girl from the Joy family submitted the failure report yet?"
"And that old geezer Oak keeps urging me. So annoying…"
At that moment, her phone lit up.
With a wave of her hand, the terrifying ghost legion instantly reverted to normal—revealing themselves as a group of Haunter and Gengar.
But the moment Agatha saw the report—
A sharp glint flashed in her eyes.
"That kid actually passed the Gym evaluation?! What kind of joke is this?"
"Even if he inherited his father's Pokémon, there's no way he could defeat that girl's Latias!"
Her cane tapped rhythmically against the ground.
After a moment of hesitation, she still decided to call Joey Xue.
"Who's calling me?"
Seeing the caller ID—Elite Four Agatha, her direct superior—Joey Xue immediately straightened her clothes and answered .
"Hello, Elite Four Agatha. How can I help you?"
"I saw the report you just submitted. Did Songzao Gym really pass?"
Agatha's eerie voice came through the phone, accompanied by countless ghostly faces behind her.
Even Latias felt a chill.
But after hearing the question, Joey Xue didn't get angry—
Instead, she looked pleasantly surprised.
"So you noticed it too, Elite Four Agatha?!"
Agatha frowned slightly.
"Noticed what?"
"Yes! There must be something wrong with the Songzao Gym evaluation—there may be high-ranking figures in the League interfering behind the scenes!"
That single sentence nearly made Agatha—the real mastermind—panic internally.
"I originally thought the new Gym Leader was just a useless heir living off his father, just like the report said."
"But after personally investigating, I discovered —"
"The Gym Leader of Songzao Gym, Red , may not be very strong right now, but he absolutely has the capability and determination to inherit the Gym!"
"This completely contradicts the League's report!"
"And during my inspection, I even encountered a conspiracy targeting the Songzao Gym…"
Joey Xue laid out everything she had discovered , detail by detail—
All directly to the true culprit: Agatha.
"So I suspect that someone in the League has tampered with the report for personal gain, trying to sabotage the rightful inheritance of the Gym!"
Her eyes became firm.
"I sincerely request that you investigate this thoroughly, Elite Four Agatha! We cannot allow such parasites to remain in the League! Justice must be upheld!"
Her speech was passionate and righteous.
But to Agatha—
Every single word felt like a blade stabbing into her chest.
"Parasite… criminal… justice…"
Her expression grew darker and darker.
She didn't care much about reputation—
But being scolded like this to her face was a first.
And the worst part?
Every word was correct.
Even she felt a rare trace of guilt.
"…Alright. I understand. Don't worry—the League will give you an explanation."
"Thank you, Elite Four Agatha, for standing up for Gym Leader Red !"
That final sentence was another stab to the heart.
After hanging up, Agatha sighed and looked up at the sky.
"I'm getting old… I actually got fooled by that old man's sweet talk…"
After a moment of thought, she called Professor Oak.
"You old fool! Do you have any idea how serious it is to interfere with League decisions for personal reasons?!"
"If it weren't for certain considerations—!"
Professor Oak was scolded relentlessly.
Only after being berated for half an hour did he finally piece together what had happened.
"So… Agatha got scolded by a junior and came to vent at me?"
He stroked his chin and sighed.
"…I might have gone a bit too far this time."
After some hesitation, he made a decision.
"Looks like I'll have to personally visit Songzao City."
"I'll bring Gary back—and give that young Gym Leader some compensation as well."
At the same time, Agatha also made up her mind and called her assistant.
"Investigate the Meng family. Give them a warning."
"And upgrade Songzao Gym's benefits—raise it from D-rank to C-rank."
Recalling Joey Xue's words, Agatha narrowed her eyes.
"If I remember correctly, there are quite a few high-quality Ghost-type Pokémon near Songzao City…"
"If I have time, I might go take a look myself."
Even if she wouldn't admit it—
She wanted to see for herself what kind of Gym Leader could earn such high praise from Joey Xue—
And even get her scolded like that.
Of course—
It definitely wasn't because she wanted to get revenge.
Definitely not.
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