Chapter 354:
The first light of dawn cast its glow between the towering buildings, draping Kyōka City, the most prosperous city in the Eastova League, in a layer of holy radiance.
The Eastova Stadium, which should have been quiet at this hour, was already buzzing with noise and excitement.
Early in the morning, most of the audience had already finished breakfast and taken their seats.
Even in the highest seats, Kazephyr had arrived early.
However, he wasn't alone today.
Accompanying him was Kaito.
Upon hearing that Hayashi Kaede was participating in this Pokémon League Conference, especially with that Gardevoir making an appearance, Kaito had immediately flown over on his Charizard.
"Huff, huff."
Before his seat was even warm, Kaito, sitting in the topmost spectator row, was already leaning forward, looking left and right, which made Kazephyr frown deeply.
"Can't you be a bit more mature and steady?"
Kaito was taken aback. "Huh?"
"Like me."
"Pfft, you wouldn't say that during your matchmaking sessions." Kaito curled his lip, completely ignoring him.
Although there was nearly a seven or eight-year age difference between them, their relationship wasn't bad.
Especially after Kaito discovered Kazephyr's weak spot.
Their bond had grown even closer.
Hey, don't be fooled by how impressive this Champion looks in public; during matchmaking, he immediately becomes hesitant, even stammering, barely able to say a few words to the woman.
Rumor has it he's been single since birth, and even now, he hardly dares to interact with women his own age.
The more beautiful and accomplished the woman, the fewer words he can manage.
This has led to his matchmaking attempts failing either because the woman feels insecure or because he can't hold a conversation.
"Tch!"
Seeing Kaito's fearless attitude, Kazephyr was stunned for a moment, then sucked in a sharp breath. He wanted to retort but found he couldn't, so he could only swallow his anger and say nothing more.
Just then, the door to the private room reserved for the League Champion and Elite Four members was knocked on again.
Under their slightly surprised gazes, a tall figure entered, wearing a light white dress and a wide-brimmed white hat.
She looked to be in her early twenties.
Her eyebrows were arched, giving her a very youthful appearance, as if she had stepped out of a painting.
But the expression on her face was extremely cold.
"Weren't you traveling in the Kanto region? You're back recently?"
Kaito asked, confused.
The newcomer was none other than one of the six officially recognized Elite Four members of the Eastova League, specializing in Ice-types, Rosaline.
Rosaline glanced at Kaito, her eyes flickering.
Although both were newly titled Elite Four members, and she looked much younger than Kaito, she was actually nearing thirty.
"I've been back for two or three weeks now."
"Huh?"
Kaito was stunned. "Why did you come back?"
Rosaline looked at the red-haired Kaito, who was asking this question again, then glanced at Kazephyr, chose to ignore him, and directly took her seat.
Kazephyr immediately leaned in and launched into a tirade at Kaito, "She's back to select candidates for the Pokémon League Conference. Speaking of which, Elite Four Rosaline has already chosen three contestants in just three weeks since returning. And you? Every day it's either this bar or that bar!"
"Up to now, you've only recommended one person!"
He was practically spraying spit onto Kaito's head.
But Kaito wasn't having it. "What joke is this? The candidates we select should be valued for quality, not quantity. The one I picked is definitely top 16 material!"
"Don't boast. Reaching the top 16 depends a lot on luck. If you're picking, you should pick someone capable of reaching the top four," Kazephyr retorted.
"Hey, me running to bars every day, isn't that because my Charizard likes to drink?"
"You're going to blame this on Charizard?" Kazephyr glared at Kaito, looking like he was blowing up a storm.
The two of them had basically bickered their way into a friendship.
Only Rosaline sat beside them, not saying a word.
In reality, their argument was entirely for her benefit.
Because she was often away from the Eastova League, traveling outside, her reputation as an Elite Four member wasn't very prominent since receiving the title.
It wasn't just her; within the Eastova League, aside from the Champion running around everywhere handling affairs, the other Elite Four members had a lot of free time.
This year's new policy was precisely Kazephyr's attempt to give each Elite Four member something to do, to at least gain some recognition among the public.
Kazephyr had probably learned this from observing Geeta in the Paldea region.
The Elite Four members in the Paldea region had plenty to do.
But to appease her, Kazephyr had to direct the conflict onto Kaito first.
This way, she couldn't say much.
But watching these two, neither of them young, with such clumsy acting, Rosaline couldn't help but shake her head.
She spoke up, interrupting them, "I saw someone in Kanto."
Sure enough, their argument ceased abruptly.
Almost in unison, they asked, "Who?"
Then, because they had spoken in sync again, they glanced at each other.
Simultaneously, they uttered a "Tch!" sound.
Kaito made faces at Kazephyr, his eyebrows practically dancing.
The meaning was, 'I'm taking the fall here, you owe me a meal!'
Kazephyr immediately returned a look.
Meaning, 'Deal, I'll even treat you twice.'
"Sigh..." This made Rosaline sigh again beside them.
For the Eastova League to end up with a Champion and Elite Four members like these... it was probably at its limit.
This was just a rare moment of internal rant for her. In reality, under Kazephyr's management, the Eastova League region was becoming more and more prosperous.
They had introduced the medically advanced Officer Joys and the highly justice-driven Officer Jennys.
They had also established various Gyms, and the Pokémon League Conference was being held more and more successfully.
Finally, after their silent exchange concluded, Kazephyr turned to Rosaline. "So, who did you see?"
"Ryō Fū."
Rosaline didn't hide anything; her nature was straightforward, much like most Ice-type Pokémon.
"Ryō Fū?"
"Ryō Fū?!"
Two exclamations of surprise came from Kaito and Kazephyr respectively.
The first was confusion; Kaito was only in his twenties. Although he had heard the name back then, it wasn't much, so he wasn't very familiar with it.
But for Kazephyr, this was a name etched deeply in his memory!
After their last battle, he had seen the other's Beedrill.
That Beedrill, originally aged and plagued with various injuries, had seen its stinger shine brightly once again during that battle!
He found it utterly incredible.
But after that battle, Ryō Fū had disappeared.
"He went to the Kanto region?" Kazephyr asked in surprise.