“It’s okay.”
Aiden didn’t hold it against her.
Of the three Pokémon currently on his team, the one with the deepest unresolved issues was actually Sprigatito—the same little cat who spent nearly every waking moment clinging to him for affection.
As one of Paldea’s starter Pokémon, her presence at a Pokémon Center in Unova had always raised obvious questions.
But Sprigatito had never volunteered an explanation, and Aiden had never pressed her for one.
Nurse Joy, Snivy, and Aiden himself had all formed their own suspicions about her past.
Rather than forcing the issue, they had quietly waited for the day when the right opportunity might come along and help Sprigatito finally step out from under whatever shadow she had been carrying.
And now, apparently, that opportunity had arrived.
Aiden continued gently stroking Sprigatito to reassure her as he looked at the visibly guilty Lacey.
“Tell me everything you know.”
“All right.
It’s like this…”
Lacey didn’t refuse.
As she explained, Aiden gradually learned what had happened.
Blueberry Academy had only been established a few years ago, but the creation of the BB League ranking system had quickly fostered an intensely competitive culture throughout the school.
Students constantly battled one another to improve their rankings, and the experience they gained through that environment had produced impressive results.
Blueberry Academy students began placing highly in major competitions, and the school’s reputation soared until it became a destination for talented young Trainers from many other academies.
But that culture had also created problems.
With everyone obsessed with battling and desperate to climb the rankings, fewer and fewer students were willing to patiently raise a Pokémon and build a genuine bond with it.
When a Pokémon lost too often or failed to meet its Trainer’s expectations, many students simply gave up on it.
Some sent their Pokémon back to breeding facilities in their hometowns.
Others left them in the Academy’s own Pokémon habitats.
And some went even further, abandoning Pokémon that had accompanied them for a long time without the slightest hesitation.
Lacey had entered Blueberry Academy full of excitement, only to discover this side of the school after enrolling.
She had made her disapproval very clear.
Unfortunately, Blueberry Academy was a place where strength carried enormous influence.
At this point in time, Lacey had yet to become one of the BB League Elite Four, so her opinion simply didn’t carry much weight.
But she hadn’t given up.
She joined the League Club and began steadily climbing the rankings herself.
Along the way, she discovered one of the people most responsible for spreading the attitude she despised.
A third-year student named Togo.
He had been among the earliest students to treat catching and discarding Pokémon as something completely disposable.
Worse, rather than being ashamed of it, he openly encouraged others to do the same.
And he was Sprigatito’s former Trainer—the person who had brought her from Paldea to Unova and later abandoned her.
After hearing the full story, Aiden rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“So he’s basically written like some third-rate scrub.
Honestly, he doesn’t sound important enough to be my rival.”
Aiden was completely serious.
Lacey, meanwhile, stared at him in confusion.
She had no idea where that confidence came from, but she could also tell that Aiden genuinely regarded Togo as little more than an amateur.
From Aiden’s perspective, the reason was simple.
Togo hadn’t merely thrown away the most important part of Pokémon training—the bond between Trainer and Pokémon.
Somewhere along the way, he had also lost sight of what being a Trainer actually meant.
According to Lacey, Togo had originally climbed the League Club rankings by constantly catching new Pokémon.
He would use them to win battles until they started losing, discard them, and then search for stronger replacements.
His considerable wealth gave him access to a large number of high-level Pokémon, allowing him to rocket up the rankings.
But there was an obvious weakness in that approach.
Because Togo never took the time to properly train or bond with them, the Pokémon he obtained through money and other means had little reason to push themselves to their limits for him.
In a real battle, getting even eighty percent of their true ability out of them would already count as an unusually good performance.
More importantly, the process had gradually robbed Togo himself of both the patience and the ability required to raise Pokémon properly.
Aiden had reached that conclusion from one simple detail: lately, every Pokémon Togo added to his team was already fully evolved.
It reminded Aiden of using cheats in a video game.
Once someone got used to skipping the grind entirely, it became difficult to return to patiently leveling a team one Pokémon at a time.
Togo no longer wanted partners he could raise.
He wanted finished products that were ready to fight immediately.
And there was something else.
After repeatedly failing to advance any further in Blueberry Academy’s League Club rankings, Togo had suddenly announced that he would enter the Vertress Conference.
To Aiden, that said plenty.
Togo had probably reached the limit of what his current methods could accomplish.
Lacey saw the situation very differently.
Ever since Togo announced that he would compete in this year’s Vertress Conference, most students and faculty at Blueberry Academy had agreed that, unless someone on the level of Tobias and his Legendary Pokémon appeared, Togo was the clear favorite for the title.
That widespread confidence alone demonstrated how formidable his collection of Pokémon was considered to be.
He also owned enough Pokémon to tailor his lineup specifically for almost any opponent, building teams designed around favorable matchups.
Lacey herself was confident enough in her battling ability to believe she could defeat three opponents in succession with Excadrill under the right circumstances.
Even so, she still had to seriously consider what she would do if Togo deliberately brought an entire lineup designed to counter her team.
Which made Aiden’s casual dismissal of him as a scrub even harder for her to understand.
Aiden, completely unaware that Lacey was still trying to figure out where his confidence came from, gently stroked Sprigatito’s head.
“If he wants to use the Vertress Conference to make a name for himself, then I’ll show him something.”
His voice remained calm, but the joking edge had disappeared.
“Only a loser blames every failure on his Pokémon.”
Aiden looked down at Sprigatito.
“Sprigatito, I’m going to win that championship.
Help me.”
At his words, Sprigatito slowly lifted her head from his chest.
She studied Aiden’s serious expression in silence for a moment before giving a firm nod.
“Spriga!”
Then she leaned forward until her forehead rested gently against his, breathing in his familiar scent.
“Meow~”
Unable to resist, Sprigatito gave his cheek a small lick.
The sight instantly drove every thought of Togo out of Lacey’s mind.
She clasped both hands against her chest, her eyes practically sparkling.
“Aaaah~!
That’s so cute!”