Chapter 293: A Stirring of the Heart
"What do you think of that Swampert?"
Arthur asked with a smile.
But his question wasn't for a teammate or a bystander. It was for Specter.
That Swampert was one of Roman's aces. Its power couldn't be categorized as simply "Elite Four level"; it was a genuine "Captain-level" Pokémon! It belonged to the small handful of beings at the absolute peak of the competitive scene.
On Arthur's current team, only Specter could truly go toe-to-toe with such a Pokémon. The younger ones, like Greninja and Little Lapras, were still a long way off in terms of experience.
"Tch, nothing special!"
Specter replied with his usual world-weary arrogance.
Even after materializing, his posture on the sofa was that of a big shot looking down on the world.
It was just a shame his legs were a bit short. If his feet could touch the ground, the pose might have been a bit more intimidating.
"Be serious."
Arthur tossed him a pill, thoughtfully coated in a layer of sugar that wouldn't affect its efficacy.
Specter's tongue shot out with incredible speed, snatching the pill in mid-air. He then retracted his tongue and swallowed it whole, his body remaining perfectly still throughout the process, like a frog catching its prey.
Watching from the side, Greninja couldn't help but tilt its head, a look of dawning realization on its face.
Wait, am I the frog or are you the frog? How are you so good at that?
Specter continued to lounge on the sofa with a sagely air. Back when he was a Gastly, he had been quite skilled with his mouth. It was only after evolving that he had switched to achieving his dreams with his hands.
But after sucking on the pill for a moment to get the sugar coating off, Specter became a bit more serious.
"If it were a life-or-death battle, I'd take some damage at most, but it would definitely die! In an arena, there might be a bit of uncertainty, but I should still win!"
Arthur nodded.
This conclusion was similar to his own judgment.
"Captain-level" was a definitive peak in a Pokémon's power, both in the competitive arena and in the grand scheme of the era.
Even in the war-torn era Arthur was familiar with two centuries ago, a Pokémon that reached this level was considered a first-tier elite just below a Champion's ace, a truly elite fighting force!
A Champion had never appeared in the competitive scene, and as far as Arthur knew, it was very likely that there were no longer any "Champion-level" trainers in the current era with the same level of strength as those in his time.
This was a choice made by the era itself.
For one, it had been peaceful for a long time. Sometimes, peak power needs the crucible of war to be forged, and since the Great Reconciliation, there hadn't been such conditions for nearly two centuries.
Secondly, it was due to the advancement of human technology, which had given humanity more options in its struggle against nature.
In the past, there were many Champion-level trainers, including Arthur. In that era, they were the backbone of humanity, pushing back Legendary Pokémon and greatly expanding human territory!
But upon reflection, this practice of placing the fate of the entire alliance, the entire species, on the shoulders of a few individuals wasn't so much grand as it was a product of desperation.
Arthur himself knew that this was not a good thing.
The conflict between the four moderate Elite Four members and the two radical ones after he had left was the best example. Fortunately, it didn't escalate into a civil war in the end.
And now, with the progress of the times, humanity no longer needed to rely on powerful individuals to deter Legendary Pokémon and guard its borders.
The very concept of a modern army's structure had changed. There was more emphasis on cooperation between Pokémon, teams, and modern weaponry, rather than just the pursuit of individual, ultimate power.
Specter had experienced this firsthand!
When the Stitched Shadow Army was first formed, he could still wreak havoc, single-handedly dominating local battlefields and turning everything upside down. But as the times progressed and the power of human weaponry grew, he was slowly forced to think more about managing an organization and recruiting subordinates.
If life hadn't been so hard, who would want to resort to such things…
Ahem, pulling back from his reverie, Specter shook his head, quickly pushing the unpleasant memory from his mind.
In any case, in the current era, "Captain-level" was practically the pinnacle of a Pokémon's combat power. Arthur hadn't seen a single "Champion-level" Pokémon in this new age.
Perhaps the various league militaries still had some hidden away, but they would never be brought out lightly, let alone paraded around a competitive arena.
So, even though Specter's strength had been diminished by his long-term injury and subsequent treatments, and he was no longer as powerful as he was in his prime, he was still a top-tier Pokémon on the competitive stage in this new era.
With this realization, Arthur felt much more at ease.
Noticing the change in Arthur's expression, Specter finally sat up straight.
"What? Is it finally my turn to take the stage?!"
Over the past year, although Specter's relationship with Mismagius had heated up, and he could finally escape the shadow of his old Leafeon's teasing about his loneliness, after centuries of causing trouble, his restless heart couldn't help but stir.
It wasn't that he was dissatisfied with following Arthur; finding his master had fulfilled his greatest wish of the past two hundred years.
But he wasn't Little Lapras's grandmother. He wasn't the kind of gentle Pokémon that could find peace and joy just by staying in an ice cave and carving sculptures.
This was, after all, a being who would start a terrorist organization to raid a Legendary Pokémon's lair over a minor disagreement…
In the two centuries since the Great Reconciliation, Specter had been either directly or indirectly involved in practically every incident of a Legendary Pokémon's death and replacement.
For such a major destabilizing factor that posed a tangible threat to regional peace to obediently follow Arthur's arrangements and sit on the bench for half a year to recuperate was an extreme display of loyalty.
Arthur glanced at him.
"That depends on your behavior. Mismagius told me you haven't been taking your medicine on time again."
"She's talking non—"
Under Arthur's piercing gaze, Specter's volume dropped off a cliff, and he even managed to change his sentence mid-stream.
"—sense… she's giving me too high a dose…"
The innocent Little Eevee looked up and let out a few yelps, questioning whether that was what Uncle Specter had originally intended to say.
It was immediately met with a fierce glare from Specter.
This little brat! All my affection has been wasted on him!
This kid is a descendant of that lecherous Leafeon. No, this debt must also be recorded on the Leafeon's head!
Arthur smiled, paying no mind to Specter's subsequent theatrics.
This segment of doubles players challenging main singles players was still too early for him. Even if he wanted to sign up, he wouldn't be able to. If he did, he would probably just be seen as a show-off.
However, observing these matches up close was not without its uses.
Some things are different when you see them in person versus on a screen.
Being there live allowed him to more clearly and accurately judge the skill level of these main singles players, giving him a more intuitive and concrete understanding of the peak strength of this era's competitive scene.
After watching the first match, he recognized that there was indeed still a gap between him and a star captain like Roman.
But after watching the subsequent matches, Arthur gradually discovered that the level of most main singles players was perhaps not so far out of his reach.
This inevitably caused some new thoughts to stir in his mind.
But before these thoughts could fully ferment, it was time. It was Luna's turn to take the stage.
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