In Celestic Town, Cynthia and her grandmother, Professor Carolina, were eating dinner. Carolina placed a piece of fish in her bowl and suddenly said, "The League is on the move again."
"I figured as much."
Cynthia continued to eat, having guessed this day would come ever since she learned Ace had arrived in Sinnoh. That was why she had rejected her grandmother's suggestion to intervene, and instead let the events unfold.
"Cynthia, what's on your mind? Can you tell me?"
Carolina looked at the mature and composed Cynthia, feeling a strange nostalgia for the innocent girl she once was.
Cynthia looked up at her grandmother, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I want to become a Champion."
"You want to join the League?"
Carolina was surprised, finding it difficult to understand Cynthia's reasoning.
"The League's momentum is unstoppable. Trying to fight against it is pointless, the criminal organizations are the best example of that."
Cynthia poked her rice with her chopsticks, her thoughts distant. "There's no benefit to coming at them head-on. You tried to hide what happened to my parents from me, but I'm not an idiot. I know exactly what happened. To get justice, I need a certain level of status, a position that gives me a voice. The Champion position is a good one."
Carolina looked at Cynthia, who had a somewhat aloof air about her, and sighed softly. "If that's what you want to do, then I'll support you. Although I don't have much experience in Pokémon battles, I do have some insights into how to raise them."
"I know, Grandma."
Cynthia bit her lip. "But I'm still too weak. Training in isolation has too many limitations. I need more real-world combat, like Ace. Fighting between life and death is the fastest way to improve my strength!"
"Take it one step at a time. You can't get fat in a single bite."
Carolina walked over to Cynthia and gently stroked her soft, golden hair. After comforting her, she said, "There's a competition you can try out. It's a good chance to test the strength you've gained from all this training."
"Where is it?"
Cynthia looked up and asked Carolina.
"Sandgem Town."
Ace left the villa. As Crobat carried him into the sky, Ace looked down at the massive villa below and felt a headache coming on. The villa was too big. Without a large staff to clean it, it would just gather dust over time.
"Forget it, I'll sell it."
Ace hesitated for a moment but decided to sell it. He had already settled in Kanto, and while the Sinnoh property was dozens of times better than his current house, it just wasn't practical for him. It would be better to sell it and convert it into liquid assets, which would allow him to live a more carefree life.
And who would take over the villa?
The first family that came to Ace's mind was the Berlitz family, whose real estate business was spread throughout the entire Sinnoh region. As staunch supporters of the League, the Berlitz family had managed to stay out of the recent crisis. While they did suffer some minor setbacks, the profits they gained were insignificant in comparison.
As for how to find a member of the Berlitz family? It was simple. Just go to any hotel and tell them you're looking for the Berlitz family to sell a house, and you would be connected with a family member very quickly.
Ace did exactly that, and after a simple appraisal, the villa was valued at around 100 million Pokémon dollars. The final price was 120 million Pokémon dollars. Because the price included all the furnishings and decor, the price was very fair to Ace; they hadn't tried to make much profit off of him.
As Ace looked at the new amount in his bank account, he felt a sense of unreality. With his current liquid assets, the annual interest alone would be enough to cover his daily expenses with plenty left over. He had achieved true financial freedom!
"You're a Trainer, aren't you, Mr. Ace?"
After the deal was done, the Berlitz family member said with a smile, "Actually, our Berlitz family is about to hold a Pokémon competition. The prize for first place is very generous, and I'm sure it will satisfy you. Of course, it's fine if you're not interested, but the Berlitz family is honored to have met you."
"I don't care about the prizes."
Ace said in a very "rich" tone. "What I care about is whether there are any strong opponents. Oh, and by the way, what's the prize for first place?"
"A very rare Pokémon, along with a 100,000 prize," the man said with a smile. "As for opponents, I'm sure you won't be disappointed, Mr. Ace. The competition has a very high 'gold content.' There are some very good cash prizes for the top ten, and many people have already signed up."
Ace's eyes narrowed, then he nodded.
The competition hosted by the Berlitz family would likely attract many exceptionally strong Trainers. The reason for this was that being a Trainer was truly expensive. Ace had seen a glimpse of this from the high sales of his orchard Berries.
And that was just for Berries. Pokémon food, nutritional supplements, post-training recovery items, and so on all required money. So, every powerful Trainer, unless they were wealthy, would have a massive resource drain. Most common Trainers were generally very poor.
If the Berlitz family was offering so much prize money for a competition, there was no need to guess. Those common Trainers would do everything they could to get into the top ten, and there would undoubtedly be some top-tier Trainers among them.
Ace needed to battle against strong Trainers to test his skills. Specifically, his Combusken and Gabite were on the verge of evolving. Ace had been suppressing their evolutionary energy, hoping to unleash it all at once during their evolution to greatly enhance their overall strength.
After a brief chat with the Berlitz family member, Ace left Jubilife City.
Crobat took him into the sky, flying quickly toward Sandgem Town, where the competition was being held.
At the same time, Cynthia was also riding on her Dragonite, who was flying her toward Sandgem Town.
On a cruise ship in Canalave City, a cloaked figure stood by the railing, completely shrouded. As he watched Canalave City grow smaller in the distance, he looked up and said coldly, "Finally, I've escaped. Goodbye, Sinnoh. The League, and that Ace, you just wait. When I rise again, the hatred for my clan's destruction and the pain of losing my son, I will make you pay a hundred times, a thousand times over! Just you wait! Just you wait!!!"
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