Pokemon: Gym Leader

How should I put this? Dylan did feel quite awkward at the moment, but it wasn't too big of a deal.

"Isn't this Clefairy from my brother's yard?" Lillie thought, recognizing the chubby Clefairy. After all, you don't often see one this round outside.

"Oh? Little one, what brings you here?" Dylan feigned surprise as he looked at the 'Clefairy' before him.

"Me?" Clefairy floated slowly toward Dylan, staring at him with large, suspicious eyes. It seemed certain.

The aura of the rock guardian had disappeared from this place, and Clefairy had no doubt Dylan was capable of capturing it.

But how could it be? That rock guardian was left behind as a gift by its dear friend!

"Meow~ Meow?"

"I don't understand what you're saying." Dylan gently pinched Clefairy's ear, laughing.

"Did you capture that big, dumb rock guardian?"

The sudden sound of a crisp, sweet voice, like that of a young girl, echoed in the ears of the trio.

This voice? Was it telepathy?

Lillie stared in astonishment at the peculiar Clefairy. It had to be coming from it!

Leah's eyes narrowed—something about this Clefairy was definitely off.

"You finally decided to use telepathy, huh?" Dylan wasn't surprised. For legendary Pokémon like Mew, telepathy was something they should naturally possess.

But to them, there often wasn't a reason to use it.

"You haven't answered my question, Dylan. Did you capture the rock guardian?"

"You mean Regirock?"

"Yeah, meow."

"Yep, just caught it. Impressive, right?"

Dylan pulled out Regirock's Ultra Ball, waving it with a smile.

Clefairy tilted its head—it could indeed sense Regirock inside that Poké Ball.

Now this was a bit troublesome. Clefairy had grown quite fond of Dylan, after all this time of eating, sleeping, and playing with him. He almost felt like its owner.

But when it came to Regirock...

"We were just wandering around when we suddenly came across Regirock. What luck, right?"

Clefairy: "..."

"What's wrong? Is there an issue?" Dylan asked curiously, seeing Clefairy deep in thought.

"Meow~ Dylan, could you put the rock guardian back?" Clefairy asked after some consideration.

Its thoughts weren't that complicated. Regirock was left by its dear friend to guard the Tree of Beginning—a precious gift.

"This is something I caught on my own. You'll have to give me a reason," Dylan raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm... Because it's guarding the Tree of Beginning! Long ago, the guardian left Regirock and its siblings to guard and protect the tree, just in case someone wandered into it or harmed it," Clefairy explained as if it were the most natural thing.

With Clefairy's power, it didn't need Regirock's protection.

Regirock and the others were there to prevent ordinary people from accidentally entering the Tree of Beginning. The tree had its own defense mechanisms, and once someone was swallowed by it, they wouldn't be coming back.

"The Tree of Beginning?" Leah and Lillie were unfamiliar with this name. But looking at the enormous tree in the distance—was that it?

And...

Were Regirock and its siblings specifically created by some Pokémon to protect the Tree of Beginning? That was a lot to take in.

"Is it protecting that giant tree?" Dylan chuckled softly.

"Mhm~" Clefairy blinked its big eyes and nodded, looking quite adorable.

"The inside of the Tree of Beginning is really dangerous, meow. Keeping people from entering is also a way to protect them," Clefairy's telepathic voice was sweet and crisp, sounding like a human girl of about seven or eight years old.

"That's not really secure," Dylan shook his head.

On the way here, he had thought about this issue. Though it was called the Tree of Beginning, it wasn't a tree in the true sense but rather a rock-like crystal structure with tree-like features, possessing its own consciousness.

It coexisted with Mew, and unless a Champion-level trainer attacked the tree from the outside with all their might, it was unlikely that anything would happen to it.

But the Tree of Beginning had an automatic defense mechanism, similar to the human immune system. It would instinctively destroy or swallow anyone who entered it.

And in the movies, Mew became extremely weak after using its power to rescue Ash and the others from the tree's defenses. Due to their symbiotic relationship, the Tree of Beginning became equally weakened as a result.

"Meow?" Clefairy tilted its head in confusion.

"Can the three of them really guard the entire perimeter of the Tree of Beginning? My little friend, here's an idea," Dylan said, lifting Clefairy with a warm smile.

"I'll buy all the land in this area. That way, this whole region will become my private property, and no one will be able to enter."

Clefairy was stunned. Although it was innocent, it wasn't clueless. If Dylan truly bought this land, then everything on it would belong to him.

Wait... wouldn't that mean the Tree of Beginning and I would belong to him too?

"And then I'll hire a team to patrol the perimeter. That way, we can make sure no one trespasses into the Tree of Beginning. How does that sound?"

That... that would cost an astronomical amount of money, right?

Leah and Lillie were stunned. How much money would that cost? The Tree of Beginning alone occupied a huge area, not to mention the surrounding region.

Oh, right, Dylan is the heir of Silph Co. Never mind then.

Ugh, how awful! Filthy rich people! You're buying all this land just to make a Clefairy happy?

"Not bad, Dylan, you're such a good person, meow~" Clefairy's eyes lit up, and it smiled warmly. Even if Regirock patrolled day and night, there would still be times when it couldn't cover everything.

But if the area became Dylan's private property, they would have the legitimate authority to prevent anyone from entering.

"Isn't that great?" Dylan smiled.

"Very good! As long as you're alive, there shouldn't be any more intruders, meow. I hope you live a long life and don't die too soon, meow."

Clefairy's innocent telepathy, in the voice of a young girl, could sometimes be a bit blunt.

Dylan's smile froze for a moment, as he reminded himself it wasn't worth getting upset over a child's remark.

"So about Regirock..." Dylan brought up the rock guardian again.

"Hmm... but Regirock was a gift from my dear friend, meow..." Clefairy gnawed on its little paw, clearly torn.

On one hand was its beloved caretaker, and on the other was its friend's precious "gift."

"Hey, cutie, didn't you say you ran out of tuna cans? I'll buy you ten more boxes!"

"Really? But..." Mew's big watery eyes lit up, though there was still a bit of hesitation.

"Twenty boxes!!"

"Waa... Dylan, you're so bad... This would be unfair to the Rock Guardian..." Mew whimpered.

"Thirty boxes!"

"Actually, the Rock Guardian isn't that important, Meow. It's always mischievous. It's normal if it gets lost, Meow. Seriously, it loves running off."

Mew spoke seriously. What Rock Guardian? The Rock Guardian got lost hundreds of years ago. All it had now were the Steel Guardian and the Ice Guardian, Meow.

By the way, how many boxes of tuna cans could the Steel Guardian and the Ice Guardian be traded for?

No, no, I can't! I'm awful for even thinking that! After all, they're the guardians left behind by the big Guardian to protect the Tree of Beginning, Meow! Hmm, and there are already thirty boxes, woohoo~!

Leah: WoW!

Lillie: (-)

What did they just witness? So filthy!!

"Dylan, Dylan, when will the tuna cans arrive, Meow?"

Mew sat on Dylan's shoulder, pulling his hair eagerly as she asked.

"Tomorrow morning, I guess. I'll arrange it when we get back," Dylan rolled his eyes.

"But I want to eat some tonight, Meow..." Mew's gaze turned sorrowful, her voice weak and spiritless.

"I'll have someone check if there's a nearby store selling some."

"Hehe~ Dylan, you're the best, Meow."

"I remember telling you to take it easy last time. Look at your belly. It's gotten bigger again."

"Dylan, you're talking nonsense! I haven't gained weight! My belly just... stuck out on its own!"

Mew protested unconvincingly, her usual 'Meow' quirk gone from her speech.

Dylan fell into thought. At this rate, he wondered if Mew might actually be unable to fly one day.

The three of them, along with Mew, left the area of the Tree of Beginning. By the time they drove back to Rota, it was nearly dark.

"Dear Father, recently, I've been wanting to buy a large piece of land and need your financial assistance."

After sending this message to his father, Dylan quickly received a notification. Seeing the endless number of zeros in his account, he nodded in satisfaction.

As expected from his father! Reliable!

Then, Dylan contacted President Charles Goodshow. Although purchasing land should be handled by a specialized department, with Charles Goodshow's influence, the process would naturally be faster, cutting out a lot of unnecessary steps, which was obviously better.

"With Regirock now captured, the golden section can become 3vs3."

Dylan mused. This was certainly good news, though he was a bit disappointed.

Aside from Ritchie drawing a golden legendary lineup once, no one else had managed to get it again. That 1% probability really was too small.

Dylan wasn't planning to increase that probability either. After all, the golden legend was just an easter egg. He hoped the next lucky person would appear soon.

Dylan had also asked his father for help with the Ghost-type Pokémon. He hadn't been able to visit the northern village as he had wanted.

"Area Zero in Paldea is also worth visiting. Who knows, I might be lucky enough to pick up a motorbike."

Dylan thought about Area Zero in Paldea. The Paradox Pokémon in there weren't weak, especially the strongest Paradox species, 'Paradise Guardian Dragons' Koraidon and Miraidon.

The world is so big, and there are many places he wanted to visit. But for now, he would take it one step at a time.

Dylan looked at his phone. It had been a long time since he had checked the Gym reviews. He opened the website and browsed through them.

"Very good, very good. Dylan has been absent from the Gym for several days, and the Gym has successfully evolved from the Evil Gym to the Evil Ghost Gym. Congratulations! (smile.jpg)"

"This spinning mechanism is pure genius! I'm a Fighting-type specialist, how am I supposed to fight Ghost-types? It's disgusting!"

"I heard such amazing things online, so I went to challenge it this afternoon. It was a bit tough but not too much, just the normal level for a Gym. I easily won with my Grass-type team. I recommend others give it a try."

"As a lady, I've always believed that Rota Gym is the beacon of the Kanto region! A Gym as warm and sunny as Rota Gym is the moral standard for all Gyms! Strongly recommend everyone to challenge it!"

"You're overdoing it. While I also believe Rota Gym is excellent, such words are inappropriate. Today, I challenged the dark purple team, and I'm really grateful for Dylan's guidance. (smile.jpg)"

"I came from Sinnoh to challenge gyms in Kanto, and I must say, Rota Gym is more worth challenging than any Gym in Sinnoh! There's a new surprise every day."

Dylan nodded in satisfaction. It seemed everyone still loved Rota Gym.

Once the Ghost-type team was fully formed, he would prepare the next surprise for them!

(End of chapter)