In the world of Pokémon, any place where people gathered to live always had to be backed by some form of protective strength, Pokémon attacks on settlements were no joke.
Yet Miyu, as the mayor of Boshire Town, showed absolutely no concern about the fact that the town had only one Trainer. In fact, she seemed to think… it was perfectly normal?
But then again, judging by the reverent looks Miyu's family gave Sato, they didn't seem like people who had encountered a truly powerful Trainer before; suggesting that the one in town wasn't particularly strong either.
'…So how was the safety of this small town even being maintained?'
Sato suddenly became quite intrigued. Could it be that he'd accidentally stumbled upon a "hidden" Elite?
---
Nights in remote towns were always quiet and still. People rose with the sun and rested at sunset. Staying up late wasn't part of their lives.
Nothing happened overnight. The next morning, the trio got up early for morning training, only to find that Miyu had already prepared breakfast, she had been up even earlier than them.
"Old people just don't sleep much. Come eat, and I'll take you to meet Komachi at the school," Miyu said with a smile. The "Komachi" she mentioned was the only Trainer in Boshire Town.
After breakfast and morning training, the three of them followed Miyu toward the town center.
The town wasn't large, so naturally there was only one school. Even before they got close, the clear and youthful voices of students reading aloud could already be heard.
Everyone instinctively lowered their voices and footsteps so as not to disturb the morning reading session.
The teachers at the school knew Miyu, of course. After she explained their purpose, a slightly older male teacher led them toward the faculty office.
"Teacher Komachi won't be here for another half hour. Mayor, you might need to wait a bit," the male teacher said with a smile, inviting them to sit and rest.
Half an hour later, the students' morning reading session had ended, and it was break time. That was when the three finally saw a slightly plump middle-aged woman rushing in, flustered.
"Good, good… I'm not late. Yesterday we didn't finish the part about the difference between Mothim and Wormadam. Mhm, let's continue with that today…"
Before Miyu could even call out to her, the middle-aged woman had already rushed off again with a stack of books in her arms.
At that moment, the class bell rang...
"Komachi must have gone to teach. Um… shall we wait a bit longer?" Even Miyu seemed a little embarrassed now, silently sighing that Komachi was still as unreliable as ever.
"It's fine, Miyu. We're not in a hurry. Actually, I'd like to sit in on one of… teacher Komachi's classes, if that's alright," Sato said after thinking for a moment, feeling that calling her "teacher" would be more appropriate.
"Of course you can! Komachi's really easygoing. She may be a bit scatterbrained sometimes, but the kids love her classes," Miyu quickly agreed with a smile.
Afterward, the three stood in the hallway outside the classroom without going in, just listening quietly to the lesson from there.
"Today we're going to continue learning about the connection between Mothim and Wormadam. You all know that both of them evolve from Burmy, right?"
"Yes!" xN
"Alright, now as for Wormadam […]"
Outside the classroom, Sato and the others were a bit disengaged at first, but soon found themselves drawn into Komachi's rhythm, unconsciously following along in thought.
That level of teaching skill was impressive. Especially since the three of them weren't children and certainly weren't clueless about Pokémon.
Even so, they still gained something from Komachi's lesson.
The class bell rang soon after, but almost none of the children left the classroom. Sato stood on tiptoe to peek inside through the window and saw that Komachi was completely surrounded by the kids… she couldn't get out at all.
It wasn't until the bell for the next class rang and the next teacher calmly arrived at the classroom door that Komachi finally pushed her way through the children and hurried out.
"Komachi! Komachi! You're free now, right?" Miyu also rushed over, perfectly on time, just to introduce her to Sato and the others.
Her dedication was almost adorable.
"Ah! Mayor! You were looking for me?" Komachi said quickly upon seeing Miyu.
"These three are Pokémon Trainers passing through Boshire Town: Sato, Mark, and Joseph. When they heard you were the only Trainer in town, they wanted to meet you," Miyu got straight to the point.
"There's no such thing as being a real Trainer. I'm almost fifty already… this world belongs to young people now. Anyway, you can call me Komachi or Teacher Komachi, whichever you prefer~"
Komachi chuckled cheerfully. Her mannerisms and behavior were totally ordinary, showing no signs of being a "hidden master". Sato felt a little let down… but at the same time, his curiosity grew.
"Teacher Komachi, if I may ask, has Boshire Town always been this peaceful and quiet?"
"It always has been," Komachi replied, looking a bit puzzled by the question.
"Then, Teacher Komachi, are there any strong wild Pokémon around Boshire Town? We're hoping to add some new partners to our team," Joseph stepped forward, phrasing his question a bit more tactfully.
"Sorry, I rarely leave Boshire Town, so I wouldn't really know," Komachi shook her head, still wearing that clueless expression.
"Then about Boshire Town-"
"Teacher Komachi, I found your lecture on Wormadam really interesting. Would it be alright if I asked a few questions?" Mark interrupted, seeing that Sato and Joseph weren't getting anywhere and nearly blurted out their thoughts.
They chatted a bit more about the three different forms of Wormadam, and the topic of town security was temporarily set aside.
If Komachi didn't want to talk, Sato and the others had no right to push her. But the more they didn't know, the more excited they became.
"I suggest we stay a couple more days. I have a strong feeling there are a lot of secrets hidden in this little Boshire Town," Joseph said proactively.
"Agreed, agreed! I fully support meddling in other people's business!" Mark chimed in as well; getting into trouble was his favorite thing these days…
After all, where else would they find new partners? Back at Miyu's home, the three of them volunteered to stay two more days, and she readily agreed.
"The spare rooms are usually empty anyway. You three being here makes the house feel livelier. It's just… just that…"
"Miyu, is there something you need us to do? Or would you like us to pay a little extra for the stay?"
"Oh no, no. I just meant… you're headed to Veilstone City, right? Would you mind taking something to my eldest son for me?" Miyu waved her hands quickly, worried Sato would misunderstand.
"Of course, no problem~ Just give it to us before we leave," Mark responded before Sato could say anything, patting his chest confidently.
"Great, thank you all so much."
"We should be the ones thanking you for letting us stay at your home, Miyu..."
----
Behind Boshire Town, in a hidden cave deep within the mountains, the sound of hurried footsteps suddenly echoed.
Komachi strode inside, and before long, she reached a massive Gliscor fast asleep in its nest.
"Gliscor, wake up!"