If life had a color, Candice believed that at this very moment, it would undoubtedly be green.
Snover ignoring her or giving her the cold shoulder was a common occurrence.
It had even run away this time, forcing her to search through more than half the forest before finally finding it.
Yet, even after all that, Snover still refused to pay her any attention.
Candice even felt that it would be perfectly normal if Snover simply decided it didn’t want her as its Trainer anymore.
But now, in front of this person it had probably known for less than half a day, it was behaving so obediently.
Even when she had called out to it, Snover had refused to show itself.
Yet, after just a few simple words from this “Sinshi”—who looked to be around her age—it had walked right out.
Although it still looked like it had no desire to interact with her, at least it had taken action.
This intense and obvious difference in treatment dealt a heavy blow to Candice.
Even someone as usually vibrant and energetic as her couldn’t help but feel depressed in this moment.
‘I was here first.
I’m Snover’s Trainer, so why…’
‘Could it be that my dream of becoming a Gym Leader is going to die right after I set out on my journey?’
‘No, I need to pull myself together!
I have to show some spirit!’
Candice clenched her fists, quietly cheering herself on.
Standing off to the side, Sinshi watched Candice cycle between depression and sudden bursts of enthusiasm.
Seeing her completely lost in her own confusing world, his brows couldn’t help but furrow.
Snover happened to look over at him with an “I told you so” expression before letting out a helpless sigh.
‘No wonder,’ Sinshi thought.
‘To anger a gentle Snover enough to make it run away…
you’d definitely need to be a bit unhinged to pull that off.’
As Candice continued her baffling display, Sinshi couldn’t help but dig up more memories of her in his mind.
Having Abomasnow launch a sneak attack during their first meeting, occasionally spouting chuunibyou-style declarations, and even dramatically shedding her jacket during Gym battles.
‘These…
really don’t seem like things a normal person would do.’
‘If you can’t keep up with her erratic train of thought, you naturally won’t be able to adapt to her pace.
Spending time with her would likely be exhausting.
Judging by Snover’s reaction, that seems to be exactly the problem.’
The reality was exactly as Sinshi had anticipated; Candice’s behavior was deeply troubling for Snover.
Since the vast majority of Gyms operated on a hereditary system, one only needed to pass an evaluation by an investigator dispatched by the Pokémon League to inherit the Gym from a family member or relative.
Therefore, in order to pass this evaluation, Candice had been instructed by her father—the current Snowpoint City Gym Leader—to set out on a journey to gain experience.
Perhaps due to being immersed in that environment since childhood, Candice was also highly interested in becoming a Gym Leader.
Thus, she began her journey immediately after graduating from Pokémon School.
And her starter Pokémon was Snover.
In the beginning, because Candice was full of vigor and Snover had a very gentle disposition, there were no conflicts between the two.
That was until later on.
As they passed through more cities and regions and met more people, Candice—being a very typical trend-follower in the Sinnoh Region—gradually began to appreciate popular fashion and trendy items.
Having personal hobbies and interests was everyone’s right and perfectly understandable, but Candice had truly maxed out her talent tree in this particular area.
Stopping dead in her tracks upon seeing trendy outfits on the street was one thing, but when her obsession flared up severely, she would presumptuously intercept strangers on the street.
She would fire off questions at lightning speed for a solid half hour, leaving the intercepted pedestrians feeling incredibly awkward.
Of course, since she was its Trainer, Snover tolerated all of this.
The final straw that caused their conflict to erupt happened yesterday in Hearthome City, known as the place “Where Hearts Gather,” where they had planned to challenge the local Gym.
Because the Gym Leaders knew each other, Candice’s father had made an advance reservation with Fantina, the Hearthome Gym Leader who always loved to abandon her Gym to go traveling.
However, Candice ended up glued to the spot after spotting a recently released collaborative designer dress on the way.
Left with no other choice, Snover had to go challenge the Gym all by itself.
Unsurprisingly, it received a severe beating.
As a result, the more Snover thought about it, the angrier it got, eventually leading it to run away from home until it bumped into Sinshi today.
After listening to Candice’s description, along with Snover’s occasional interjections, Sinshi finally understood the whole story.
He couldn’t help but look at Candice with a bizarre expression.
Chasing fashion was fine, but for it to be so severe that Snover had to fight a Gym battle completely alone was simply…
unheard of.
It was no wonder Snover wanted nothing to do with her.
Feeling Sinshi’s gaze, Candice’s face instantly flushed red.
It certainly wasn’t anything to be proud of; in fact, it was utterly humiliating.
So, after finishing her explanation, Candice bowed her head toward Snover and apologized.
“I know I was wrong, Snover.
I’m so sorry, please forgive me.”
“Sno-ver!”
Snover shook its head resolutely, looking completely unwilling to give her another chance.
Watching the interaction between the girl and the Pokémon, Sinshi cast a measuring gaze over Candice.
His eyes lingered on her torn shirt and calf socks, as well as the faint, easily overlooked scratches on her arms.
He then glanced at Snover, who stood with its arms crossed in a haughty posture, though it occasionally stole sideways glances back at her.
Sinshi formed a general idea in his mind.
He then slowly asked, “Compared to apologizing, I think correcting the behavior might be a bit more effective.
But since this has happened so many times, I take it your attempts to change have failed?”
Candice nodded dejectedly and said, “I’ve loved these things since I was little.
Even though my dad didn’t really discipline me much, being at home was always different.
Now that I’m traveling alone and completely free, I feel like I just can’t control myself around the things I like.”
“You’re over ten years old, right?”
The sudden shift in topic caught Candice off guard, but she nodded anyway.
“Yes, I’m eleven, turning twelve soon.
I already meet the League’s adult standard for traveling with Pokémon.”
“Having your own hobbies and interests is perfectly normal, but as an adult, the very first thing you need to learn is self-control.”
Sinshi paused for a moment before continuing, “Self-control.
Do you understand what that means?”
Sensing that Sinshi was implying she had absolutely no self-control, Candice nodded awkwardly.
Before she could say anything, Sinshi’s voice rang out again.
“This is incredibly basic, and it’s something you absolutely must achieve.
That goes double for a Gym Leader.
If you can’t even manage this much, I feel like your father would rather have the Gym deregistered than hand it over to you.
Do you know why?”
The barrage of words left Candice’s mind a bit blank.
Hearing the question, she numbly shook her head.
Sinshi stared at Candice and enunciated every word clearly, “Because you don’t have the qualifications.
To put it simply…”
“You!
Are!
Unworthy!”
Hearing this, Snover—who had previously been standing with its arms crossed, wanting nothing to do with Candice—couldn’t help but look at her with concern.
As for Candice, her expression went completely slack for a moment.
Having her goals spoken of in such a manner instinctively filled her with anger.
She wanted to retort, but as she opened her mouth, she found she didn’t know how to argue back.
Because, despite some minor differences, the ultimate truth was exactly as Sinshi had stated.
She simply hadn’t wanted to think about the problem, trying to solve it through evasion.
But running away couldn’t solve anything; it only kept the problem hidden until it delivered a fatal blow at a critical moment.
Lies don’t hurt; the truth is the sharpest blade.
And so, Sinshi had directly ripped the scab off this wound.
Just as Sinshi prepared to continue his verbal assault, Candice spoke up.
“No…
that’s not true, I…”
Candice clasped her hands tightly together, her body trembling slightly as she stammered, “I will definitely…
do it.
Even though right now I…
I know I can…”
Halfway through, Candice’s voice gradually choked with sobs.
But Sinshi had no intention of showing any tender sympathy.
He slowly opened his mouth, ready to ruthlessly tear her down.
“No, you can’t do it, nor do you have the ability to…”
Finally, unable to watch any longer, Snover stood up and blocked Candice, its large green eyes staring straight at Sinshi.
Sinshi understood the meaning behind its gaze.
‘Stop…