"You're certainly confident," Cynthia said with a smile. She turned to Zhang. "And you? Do you think you'll have the strength of an Elite Four member in three months?"
"It should be possible," he nodded, adding silently in his mind, I already have the strength of an Elite Four member now. In three months, I'll only be stronger.
"It seems I'll have to work hard too," Cynthia said with a smile.
"That's right! Let's all work together, shine in the Global Junior Tournament, and become famous all over the world!" Bea declared, full of confidence.
"Alright, Bea, the plane is about to take off. Keep your voice down," Zhang said, shaking his head with a helpless smile. The Bea in the games, after being repeatedly defeated by Leon, had become somewhat gloomy and single-minded. She had lost this vibrant energy. But this Bea had not yet been broken by a seemingly unbeatable rival. She was still young, spirited, and a little bit greedy for fun.
"Right, sorry. I got a little carried away," she said, a bit embarrassed. She had only just remembered they were on a plane.
As the scenery outside the window began to slowly rise, Zhang closed his eyes and began to mentally plan his Pokémon's training regimens. He had gotten a lot of inspiration from his conversation with Cynthia and Bea, and many of their training methods were useful.
Seeing him close his eyes to meditate, Cynthia did the same. Only Bea was a bit restless, wanting to keep talking.
"We have arrived at our destination."
A few hours later, they landed in the Shu region.
"I've heard the Pancham here are very cute. Do you want to go see them?" Bea asked as they disembarked.
"Bea, we're not here on vacation," Zhang chided gently. "Don't you want to win the Global Junior Tournament? If you're this easily distracted, it will be difficult to become a champion. Sometimes, the smallest difference in effort can decide a match. If someone works just one day harder than you, they might be able to beat you."
The Bea from the games, after her loss to Leon, trained relentlessly. This one was still young, had never really lost, and had never encountered a truly overwhelming opponent. Her mentality was a bit lax.
"I know, I know," she said, nodding. What he said made sense.
"The curiosity of a young girl is a powerful thing. Her reaction is understandable. There's no need to be so strict," Cynthia said with a gentle smile.
"Cynthia, you two are the same age. I'd think you were twenty or thirty years old," Zhang complained.
"That's right! You sound more like my elder sister," Bea agreed.
"Alright, you two, stop teasing me," Cynthia said helplessly.
"Finally, I've been waiting for you, Zhang!" a familiar, arrogant voice shouted.
He frowned and saw Hao Fei standing nearby.
"What? Here for revenge?" Zhang said, his voice dripping with disdain. "How boring. Aren't you afraid of the Pokémon League?"
"Don't be ridiculous. I'm just here to give you some good news," Hao Fei sneered. "The gatekeeper for the Pewter Gym this month is my older cousin. He's a Gym Leader-tier trainer. You won't be getting a badge this month." He let out a cold snort, then turned and left, looking very pleased with himself.
"How childish," Zhang commented. Even if he couldn't get the badge this month, he could just get it next month. It made no difference. He couldn't understand Hao Fei's "naïve" attempt at revenge.
"Zhang, who was that?" Bea asked, her curiosity piqued again.
"Just a boring person," he said, briefly explaining the situation with the seeded spot.
"I see. I wonder what his expression would be if he knew you were already at the Gym Leader tier," Bea mused. "I'd love to see it."
"It would certainly be priceless," he agreed with a smile. "To be honest, I'm curious too."
"You two have a mean streak, teasing a child like that," Cynthia chided, though there was a hint of amusement in her voice. Hao Fei's family might be influential, but they were nothing in her eyes.
At the top of Three Pillars Mountain, in front of a massive complex of ancient buildings, the trio arrived.
"What a huge building. It looks like an ancient emperor's palace," Zhang said in awe, looking at the classical architecture.
"The Daxia region is one of the most powerful countries in the world. Of course its eight main Gyms would be impressive," Bea said, equally impressed. "Still, this is amazing. No wonder these eight are so highly rated."
"I heard this place is called Three Pillars Mountain because three legendary Pokémon once came here," Cynthia said, looking around with interest. Besides being a Champion, she was also an archeologist, and she was fascinated by ancient legends.
"It was probably Regirock, Regice, and Registeel. The legendary titans," Zhang said.
"Oh, you know about them?" Cynthia's eyes lit up, as if she had discovered a rare treasure. Bea, on the other hand, was not interested in such things.
"I don't know much about the legend, just their names," he admitted, shaking his head.
"That's a shame," she said, a hint of disappointment in her voice.
"Alright, it's time for us to challenge the Gym," Bea announced, taking the lead and striding toward the entrance.
Their timing was good; the previous challenger had just finished.
"Zhang, you go first. I want to see the look on that guy's face," Bea instigated after they had registered.
"Alright, I will," he nodded and walked toward the challenge field, with Bea and Cynthia following close behind.
"That damn pretty boy, surrounded by girls," Hao Fei grumbled from the audience, his eyes red with jealousy. He had plenty of beautiful girlfriends, but they paled in comparison to Cynthia and Bea, who had an air of grace and power that set them apart.
Watching Gym challenges was free, so the audience was dotted with a few thousand spectators. In the best seats, a group of people surrounded several high-end cameras. They were from the Daxia Pokémon Channel.