"We're almost there. Let's prepare to descend."
"Understood, Leader Sato."
In the sky, two Hydreigon flew side by side. Their six pairs of slender wings barely moved, yet their speed was anything but slow.
On their backs sat Sato and Lotta, both just returning from the Village of Dragons.
Lotta, in her early twenties, was quiet by nature and not fond of talking. She always answered questions when asked, but from beginning to end, it was Sato who made the effort to start conversations.
However, Sato wasn't exactly the talkative type either, and every attempt at conversation quickly fizzled out.
So he simply let things be. This way, both sides were more comfortable.
Lotta's appearance couldn't match up to Cynthia's, but she belonged to that kind of girl who was pleasing to the eye the more you looked at her.
Her long dark blue hair reached below her waist, and her calm demeanor made it hard for anyone around her to dislike her.
At the very least, Sato found her easy to deal with. Though that could just be because they weren't familiar with each other yet.
Originally, Sato had planned to head straight to Celadon City for his duties. But settling Lotta and the Hydreigon family came first. So he decided to take Lotta back to Shadownight Gym for now, also as a way to show how much he valued her.
At that moment, Shadownight Town was already in view. The first things they saw were several high-rise buildings erected in recent years, and plenty of construction sites still in progress.
Clearly, thanks to Sato, Shadownight Town was entering a rapid development phase.
Aside from the two of them, Sato also noticed several other Trainers riding Flying-type Pokémon toward the town.
He didn't think much of it. After the Tournament ended and he had first returned, the skies above Shadownight Town were even busier than they were now.
"We've arrived. Let's descend."
"Mhm!"
Soon, they approached the Shadownight Gym and began their descent.
But suddenly, more than a dozen Murkrow burst out from the Gym, forming a small flying squad that quickly surrounded them.
"Honchkrow, go join your flock. No need to rush back, I'll be home resting tonight."
"Kroow!"
Honchkrow gave Sato a small nod and, full of joy, led the Murkrow deep into the Forest of Shadows.
This time, it had grown much stronger from the Unova trip and was eager to go brag to its mom.
When Sato and Lotta finally touched down at the training grounds, they were immediately surrounded by a crowd of Gym trainees.
"Leader!"
"Leader, you're back!"
"..."
Sato smiled and nodded to everyone, then turned to Akira and Sia and said, "Make sure everyone gathers in the cafeteria for dinner. I've got something to announce."
"Got it, Leader! By the way, why did you come back so suddenly? Is something important going on?"
Akira nodded in response and shooed away the curious trainees, sending them back to their training.
"Mhm, just came back from Unova. Solved the issue of Lefty and Righty's evolution. I'll head back to Celadon University tomorrow."
"I see… not staying a few more days?"
Sia looked visibly disappointed, though she had no reason to stop him.
"Yeah, things are a bit tight. But this trip back is also to introduce a new member of our Gym to everyone."
"Lotta, from the Village of Dragons in Unova. An extremely talented Dragon-type breeder."
"Hello everyone, I'm Lotta!"
Only then did Akira and Sia realize that there had been a beautiful woman following behind Sato this whole time.
But it wasn't really their fault. When Sato dismounted from Hydreigon, Lotta hadn't followed immediately.
Faced with so many people watching at first, she chose to quietly stay on Hydreigon's back until the crowd had dispersed.
"Nice to meet you, Lotta! I'm Kinoshita Akira, but you can just call me Akira."
Akira was a few years younger than Lotta and actually felt a little shy when he first saw her.
"It's really great to have you with us, Lotta! The Gym is full of Trainers who only focus on battling, we Breeders are super rare!"
Sia, always wise beyond her years, immediately clung to Lotta's arm with enthusiasm, as if they had been best friends in a past life.
Lotta, quiet by nature, looked a bit awkward, but in the end, she didn't pull away from Sia. Having someone warmly welcome her would help her settle in faster.
"Akira, Sia, I look forward to working with you," Lotta replied softly, so calm and reserved that it was hard to imagine she could handle so many hot-headed Dragon-type Pokémon.
But she really did have that ability.
----
At dinner, everyone from Shadownight Gym had gathered in the cafeteria, including Amber from the intelligence team, Trish, and even Ponyo and Sosuke from the other two villages.
Aside from Sina, who was still traveling, every student from the Gym's first intake was present.
Of course, trainees from the second, third, fourth, and fifth intakes came if they could as well.
Thankfully, the cafeteria had been built large enough during the Gym's founding, or it really wouldn't have held this many people.
Seeing the crowd, Lotta couldn't help but feel both nervous and moved. After all, Sato had gathered everyone here just to formally introduce her to the group.
And that was exactly what was happening. When some well-informed trainees learned that this whole gathering was simply to introduce Lotta, their curiosity spiked.
'Could it be that Joseph (Mom) and Mark weren't around, so the Leader couldn't hold back and was secretly making a move?'
With that thought, the way they looked at Lotta -who was quite attractive- turned a bit scrutinizing.
Just then, plate after plate of delicious dishes began arriving, and many Gym trainees who had trained all day started to quietly swallow their saliva.
…But no one dared sneak a bite in front of Sato.
Looking at the lavish dinner spread, it was clear that the kitchen staff had gone all out.
After all, Sato had returned unexpectedly and was only staying one day, and it was rare for everyone to be gathered in one place.
Once everyone was seated, Sato didn't take up much time. He gave a simple introduction for Lotta, making sure to highlight her skills.
A Dragon-type specialist breeder.
And she brought seven pseudo-legendary Pokémon!
Hssss~
A wave of gasps rippled through the room, and everyone's gaze toward Lotta changed.
Even Amber, who usually remained calm, couldn't help but glance at her twice, wondering where exactly the Leader had found such a hidden gem.
Lotta then stood and greeted everyone. She openly said that while she was here at Shadownight Gym, she would help match Deino and the others with suitable Trainers.
Those words were something Sato had reminded her to say. Since he would be heading to Celadon University soon, if he just left Lotta behind without explanation, she'd have a hard time truly becoming part of the team.
And once the group realized they might actually have a chance to receive a pseudo-legendary as a partner… their breathing became visibly heavier.
Especially those trainees who weren't among the strongest. They all started imagining: 'What if Deino's eyesight was bad and it somehow picked me?'