Bea's guarded expression shifted, turning into a secret little grin.
Still, she was a bit puzzled.
So Master's that straight with girls?
Well, fine—she was a straight girl herself.
Even more of a match!
"Why?"
Nessa asked in disbelief.
She wasn't narcissistic, but she knew exactly how attractive she was to men.
You shot me down in under a second, do you even know how awkward that is for me?
"Your level's too low. Also, you can't learn Haki."
Allen looked Nessa up and down twice. After two seconds of silence, he spoke again.
At that, both Bea and Nessa fell silent.
Wow, could he be any more blunt?
And Allen honestly felt it wasn't that he wanted to be blunt.
It's just that there was no high-EQ way to answer this.
His bear disciple was his very first Pokémon, and he still hadn't taught it Haki, right?
It's like how Luffy in the original only barely had the qualifications to train Haki once his bounty hit three hundred million.
If he were only at thirty million back then, he wouldn't have deserved to learn it.
And the Nessa in front of him was exactly at that thirty-million level.
"I really have no way to get stronger?"
Nessa murmured, head lowered.
Tears she could no longer hold back spilled from her eyes.
Even Bea couldn't help but feel sorry for her at the sight of her breaking into tears. She tugged at Allen's sleeve and whispered:
"Master, is there any way you can help Nessa?"
Bea still hadn't realized how serious this was.
She would deeply regret this decision in the future.
Allen pinched his chin and thought for a long time. After several minutes, he lifted his head again and asked Nessa:
"Do you really want to get stronger?"
Hearing that, Nessa snapped her head up, not even bothering to wipe away the pearly tears at her lashes.
"Yeah!!"
She nodded hard.
Allen held her gaze for a few seconds. After a brief pause, he said:
"Alright. Tell your Pokémon to get ready. Tomorrow morning you'll do basic training alongside my bear disciple."
"Your Pokémon's fundamentals are terrible. You'll have to build from zero."
Nessa nodded hard. "No problem."
Watching Nessa cry from joy, Bea quietly ate the last bite of cake and thought:
"Treasure your last easy night, Nessa."
…
That night, Galar League headquarters, Rose Tower.
"Chairman, Nessa from the Hulbury Gym sent an email."
Oleana, looking as if she still hadn't woken up, walked to Rose's desk with a file in hand.
"Hm? Is she sending her resignation letter?"
Rose looked up.
As someone who discovered Leon and cherished talent, Rose was protective of anyone who could serve Galar.
But Nessa… there was nothing to be done. Her performance these last two years had been terrible.
It even felt like she was dragging down the league's average.
Rose had gradually lost confidence in her.
He was starting to think she'd be better off as a pretty model than a deadweight Gym Leader.
"No. It's a long-leave application."
Oleana passed the file to Rose, her tone utterly flat:
"She says she wants to apply for an extended leave to train in Stow-on-Side."
"Stow-on-Side?"
Rose raised an eyebrow.
He took the document and read it carefully.
Nessa only stated she would be conducting special training for her Pokémon in Stow-on-Side and thus wished to apply for long leave.
But Stow-on-Side…
"That city is Bea's territory. Could Nessa's special training be related to the mysterious master of Bea's that Leon mentioned?"
Rose ventured.
"It's possible."
Oleana replied:
"Should I look into it?"
Rose folded his arms across his chest, pondered for a long while, then shook his head:
"No, that won't be necessary. If it really involves him, I'm curious to see how far he can take those two."
He smiled, full of expectation, and added:
"Rather than interrupting now, wouldn't it be better to wait for the next Galar Star Tournament and see the results directly?"
"Yes."
Oleana nodded.
Rose then signed Nessa's leave request.
Keep in mind, the Galar League has double-digit Gyms.
Missing Nessa doesn't matter at all.
On the contrary, if she stops performing as poorly as she did these past two years, Rose would be thrilled.
…
A new morning arrived—
No, couldn't be called morning yet, because the sun hadn't climbed to the horizon. The round moon and the stars still occupied the night sky.
Stow-on-Side Gym, at Bea's home.
"Wake up. Lazy woman."
After knocking repeatedly on Nessa's door with no response, Allen had no choice but to break in.
"Hey! Time to get up!"
Allen stood by the bed and called out.
"Mmm—"
Nessa, sleeping on her side, let out a drowsy hum. Her long lashes fluttered slightly, but she still didn't get up.
"How can you sleep? At your age, like a log? Have some ambition, girl!"
Allen pinched one corner of the quilt and yanked it up.
And then he saw the famous nose bleeding moment those anime loved to highlight back in his old world.
She was only in her underwear and...
In short, Allen quietly saved the "screenshot" to the C drive of his brain, then hurriedly pulled the quilt back over her.
Unfortunately, she must have felt the sudden rush of cold air.
Nessa's lashes trembled again. She blinked awake, bleary-eyed.
A fuzzy silhouette came into view, then grew clearer and clearer…
"Yaaaaaah!!!"
Three seconds later, Nessa's scream echoed through the entire Stow-on-Side Gym.
"Y-you, you! How did you get in here!?"
Nessa shrank into the corner, clutching the quilt to her body, eyes teary like the heroine in a certain kind of movie.
"I knocked for a long time. You were the one who wouldn't get up."
Allen said, dead serious:
"Get dressed and move. Didn't you say you wanted to train with me?"
With that, Allen turned and left the room.
A blush still lingered on Nessa's tan skin.
Hearing the occasional night-time cries of Blipbug and other Bug-type Pokémon outside the window, she looked up at the clock on the wall.
F-four thirty AM!?
…
It was autumn now. At this hour, a thread of cool wind swept by, making the now-tracksuit-clad Nessa shiver.
When she reached the door, Allen and Bea had already been waiting for some time.
"Let your Pokémon out."
At Allen's instruction, Nessa flicked several Poké Balls from her belt.
Drednaw, Golisopod, and the others appeared in bursts of white light.
"Alright. Move out."
Allen said, then jogged toward the edge of town.
"aya—"
Kubfu stuck close at his heels, its two short legs pattering in steady rhythm.
Nessa exchanged a look with her Pokémon, then broke into a light run after them.
"So training is just running? That's a bit too easy, isn't it?"
***
T/N: Oh, how she's about to regret those words...