Looking at Clair after she had changed back into her normal clothes, Red said with slight regret:
"Come with me."
To be fair—
although Clair was a bit shy in front of Red,
as the future Blackthorn Gym Leader, she adapted quickly.
"Gym Leader… what are we going to do now?"
Clair asked.
"Of course—Gym Leader duties."
"What duties?"
Red led her to the backyard.
"Taking care of Pokémon."
Clair immediately responded:
"As a Gym Leader, no matter how busy you are, you must spend time getting familiar with your Gym Pokémon."
"They are also your Pokémon. If they don't even recognize you, then you're just a puppet Gym Leader."
The moment Red stepped into the backyard—
Poliwrath, Kingdra, Vulpix, Lotad, and others surrounded him happily.
Vulpix even burrowed straight into his arms.
This caused a certain Ninetales in the Gym to grind her teeth in fury.
"Seductive at such a young age?! This one must not be allowed to stay!"
Xiaowen shook her head helplessly and continued reading.
"Gym Leader Red really has a great relationship with his Pokémon."
After playing with them for a while, Red explained:
"Songzao Gym actually has relatively few Pokémon."
"Some Gyms have over a hundred."
"But raising that many—forget training—even daily food costs are astronomical."
"Right…"
"But the number also can't be too small."
"And their strength should be layered—so you can handle different challengers."
"For example, if someone brings a Rattata and you send out Dragonite… that's a bit inhumane."
Clair nodded.
"That makes sense."
"Then there are your core Pokémon—that's basic trainer knowledge, so I won't go into detail."
Clair looked at the three Pokémon training seriously nearby and nodded.
"I understand that."
"But Gym Leader… why is your Larvitar training with a lollipop in its mouth?"
Red followed her gaze—
and saw Larvitar practicing sand control—
while holding a lollipop.
He paused.
Then said with a straight face:
"That's also part of training."
"A special regimen I designed."
"Oh~ I see! As expected of you, Gym Leader Red!"
After finishing the tour—
Red asked:
"So? Do you have a general understanding of Gym operations now?"
Clair, overwhelmed by new information, nodded dizzily.
"I… think so."
"Good. Then all the challengers we've accumulated today are yours."
"…Me?!"
"That's right. You're up."
Red glanced at the sky—
then hurried off.
Clair froze.
"…Where is Gym Leader Red going?"
"What could be more important than challengers?"
Xiaowen replied calmly:
"Challengers show up every day."
"But someone willing to go shopping with him doesn't."
Clair blinked.
"…Wait. Is he going on a date?!"
"…Basically."
"Seriously?!"
Fireworks Festival
Fireworks. Summer night. Goldfish scooping stalls.
Yakisoba. Taiyaki.
A classic festival scene of the Pokémon world.
To prepare for tonight's date with Sabrina—
Red had simply used money power—
to bring forward a fireworks display that normally only happened during holidays.
At the Gym entrance—
Sabrina was already waiting.
Seeing Red, she asked:
"…Just the two of us?"
"That's right. Just us."
She lowered her head slightly, embarrassed.
"Let's go. There's a fireworks show tonight."
"Really?"
Her eyes lit up instantly.
As night fell—
lanterns lit up the stalls.
The streets glowed warmly.
Clearly—
this was Sabrina's first time seeing such a scene.
"Red, what's that?"
She pointed at a fish-shaped snack.
"Taiyaki. It has different fillings. Want to try?"
She nodded eagerly.
Holding the hot taiyaki—
Sabrina took a bite—
and immediately burned her mouth.
But she refused to spit it out.
Instead—
she puffed air from her mouth while fanning herself.
"So hot… but so good!"
"Eat slowly. No one's taking it from you."
Red smiled.
After eating—
Sabrina wandered around like a curious child.
"Red, did you organize this festival?"
She asked, holding an ice cream.
"Yeah."
"Songzao City didn't have anything special."
"But the food street on Champion Island gave me inspiration."
"If we don't have something worth showing—then we create it."
"And this festival was born."
Vendors greeted Red warmly:
"Gym Leader Red! Try our pancakes!"
"Our shaved ice is great!"
"Want to play shooting games? Win a prize for your girlfriend!"
At the word girlfriend—
Sabrina immediately turned away—
her ears bright red.
Then she smiled softly.
"…Then you'd better stay with me the whole time."
"Of course."
As the crowd thickened—
Red took her hand.
"Careful. It's crowded."
Sabrina nodded quietly—
and didn't pull away.
Fireworks
At midnight—
fireworks bloomed across the sky.
Colors reflected in Sabrina's eyes—
like shimmering light.
Later—
Red said:
"It's late. Want to stay at the Gym tonight?"
Sabrina's heart pounded.
But then—
she lowered her head—
and saw the watch on her wrist.
To others, it looked ordinary—
but it was a Team Rocket symbol.
Her expression changed.
She remembered—
She was part of Team RocketRed was a rising, brilliant Gym Leader
And—
Joy Xue with Latias
The girl at the Gym
Clair
That fox Pokémon…
She lowered her head.
"…Sorry, Gym Leader Red."
"I need to return to Saffron Gym."
Before Red could react—
she used Teleport—
and vanished.
Red stood there, confused.
"…Did I scare her?"
He sighed.
"…Too rushed."
Then—
he looked at his hand—
still holding her warmth.
"…But I guess I didn't lose out either."
He scratched his head.
"Whatever. Time to head back."
"I still need to plan new training for Marshtomp and the others."
He sounded calm.
But inside—
he was already regretting it so much his teeth almost cracked.
◇ You can read 60+ chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/ElaraVance1
✨ Bonus Chapter Goals ✨
10 Reviews = 1 Bonus Chapter
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter