chsdbacks Chapter 405: Talking with Blue
Chapter 405: Talking with Blue
"Challengers are coming this early in the year?"Inside Viridian Gym, Blue, who was sweeping the floor, lifted his gaze as he sensed footsteps approaching from outside.
He had inherited the position of Gym Leader this year and was waiting for new trainers to arrive. In the meantime, he also kept an eye on the new generation of trainers from Pallet Town.
That was how it worked for Gym Leaders.
No trainer who set out on a journey could keep going forever. They would grow up, get married, settle down, and eventually watch a new generation walk the paths they once walked.
And yet, as they grew older or achieved their goals, they would inevitably find themselves missing those passionate days of youth.
Blue set down his broom and looked toward the gym entrance. In the sunlight pouring in from outside, two silhouettes appeared faint and blurred.
But when they stepped inside, Blue froze.
"Lin… Lin Feng?"
He rubbed his eyes, doubting whether he was seeing things.
When he confirmed it really was Lin Feng, his confusion only deepened.
"Boss Blue, haha."
Lin Feng walked into the gym and greeted him casually, while Mewtwo glanced around the interior.
The Viridian Gym had changed drastically compared to the era when Giovanni ran it.
Back then, the gym was dimly lit. There were no windows at all, and the entire atmosphere felt oppressive and cold.
Now, many windows had been opened, letting in bright natural light that made the place feel completely different.
Blue had always seemed arrogant in the anime Lin Feng remembered, almost like Gary.
But after meeting him in person, Lin Feng found Blue was actually quite decent.
Blue's expression turned strange.
He was not naive. Someone like Lin Feng traveling all the way here definitely had a purpose.
In fact, Blue often watched the videos Lin Feng uploaded.
As a breeder himself, he wanted to learn something from Lin Feng's methods of raising Pokémon.
But what he saw was… unusual.
Very unusual.
Everyone knew that the key to strengthening Pokémon was battle. That was the universal truth.
Only through constant fighting could Pokémon grow stronger and refine their skills.
Yet in Lin Feng's videos, there were very few battles.
Instead, most of it was daily life training, cooking different kinds of food, teaching Gardevoir and the maid-like Pokémon how to make Pokéblocks, or having Serperior maintain fields of grass.
Even for Blue, who prided himself as a breeder and had even been acknowledged by his grandfather, it was hard to understand.
His Pokémon clearly spent most of their time eating and relaxing, with only minimal training before competitions.
And yet… they went undefeated in the Horizon League?
That shocked him even more than seeing Red's Pokémon.
Especially that Shiny Gardevoir.
If he remembered correctly, that was the same Gardevoir he had once failed to handle.
At the time, it hadn't even seemed particularly strong. Just rare.
He had even assumed it was simply an uncommon but moderately powerful Gardevoir.
But during the East China Horizon League…
It had even used Darkrai's Dark Void.
In other words, the "simple" approach Lin Feng had mentioned during their first conversation… really had been simple.
Thinking about it now, Blue had actually wanted to visit East China and exchange knowledge with Lin Feng.
He never expected Lin Feng would come to him first.
"I came to the Kanto region to take care of some matters, and I also had some questions I wanted to ask you, so I came over," Lin Feng said politely.
Even though Blue looked about his age, Lin Feng still spoke with respect.
In Kanto, Blue and Red had become extremely famous in recent years. They had placed first and second in the Indigo League and even challenged the Elite Four. Unfortunately, neither of them ultimately became Champion of the region.
Only recently had they begun to fade from the spotlight, stepping aside for new trainers to rise.
Blue's mouth twitched slightly at Lin Feng's address.
"Boss Blue… what a weird way to call me. Just call me Blue."
Still, his curiosity was strong. "Actually, I also have something I want to ask you. You go first."
Blue shook his head, brushing his hair back. His competitive spirit had been stirred again, and confidence flickered in his eyes.
Lin Feng did not waste time.
"I want to ask about Team Rocket, and what the Kanto League thinks of them."
Blue froze for a moment.
"Team Rocket?"
"How do we view them?"
He glanced at Lin Feng, then briefly at the pink-haired boy standing beside him.
From the beginning, he had felt something was off about that boy. As a breeder, his instincts told him this was not a human, but rather a Pokémon.
A Pokémon capable of transforming into a human, following Lin Feng everywhere.
What kind of Pokémon was that?
Blue pushed the thought aside and answered,
"Team Rocket in Kanto has a bad reputation, but what they actually do isn't that extreme. Mostly just fringe members stealing Pokémon from rookie trainers. That used to be annoying, but those members don't have much ability anyway."
"Since Lance took over as boss, they've been cracking down hard on those people. Much stricter now."
"More importantly, Team Rocket is involved in a lot of industries in Kanto. As long as they don't cause major incidents, they're basically manageable."
Lin Feng continued, "What if someone finds evidence of major crimes they've committed?"
Blue paused.
"…"
A question mark seemed to appear on his forehead, but he still answered.
"If someone actually uncovered serious crimes, it would be a huge surprise for Lance. He's been trying to purge internal Rocket members for a long time. There are simply too many of them in the League itself."
"I see," Lin Feng said thoughtfully.
Blue looked at him, increasingly puzzled.
But before he could ask further, Blue shifted the topic.
"Lin… Lin Feng, those foods you make… did they help your Gardevoir resist Darkrai's curse?"
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