"Elite Sidney!" Two trainers stepped forward, one in front and one behind, trying to lift Sidney up. However, he stubbornly stayed sprawled on the ground and refused to move, leaving the two trainers at a loss.
"Elite Sidney, what happened? Are you injured somewhere?"
Sidney raised his head. The red mohawk on top of his head had already gone flat against his scalp like seaweed, while his usually wild face was filled with unwillingness. "That, that guy..."
The two trainers immediately listened carefully.
"Shiro! That Shiro! He—"
Before he could finish, the two trainers interrupted him. "Oh! You mean Professor Shiro? I remember he's the Champion of Galar. He's very strong."
"That's right. I heard the Team Aqua members from earlier were also driven back by Professor Shiro. Apparently, it only took him two minutes to make most of the enemies flee. Not only was one of their commanders captured, but the Pokémon they had stolen were recovered as well. It sounds like he even saved your life, Elite Sidney!"
"Oh! So that's what happened! Elite Sidney, don't worry. We understand..."
As they spoke back and forth, the two trainers lifted Sidney up. He looked confused. "What exactly do you understand?"
The two exchanged a glance before answering one after another. "We understand that Professor Shiro is powerful, righteous, compassionate, and extremely capable… Deep down, you're just admiring and grateful to him!"
"Exactly! He's your lifesaver, after all. Of course you'd be moved beyond words! Elite Sidney, we understand how you feel!"
Sidney's mouth hung open as his entire face stiffened. "No... I mean that Shiro. His strength is actually greater than mine..."
"Elite Sidney, Professor Shiro was already stronger than you to begin with." The two trainers reminded him with complete sincerity. "There were even trainers who calculated it before. He should be more than a hundred times stronger than you."
Sidney's face turned bright red. He let out a muffled groan and closed his eyes.
"What's so strange about that?" the two trainers said as they exchanged another glance.
They glanced at the people around them who were discreetly looking in their direction, especially the menacing gaze of Officer Jenny, and both breathed a huge sigh of relief.
They didn't want to tell the truth either. Wasn't it better to crack a joke and let Sidney and everyone else have a good laugh?
The situation simply did not allow them to do otherwise.
Of course, this was also a way of protecting Sidney…
The two trainers couldn't imagine what would happen if everyone found out that Sidney had no gratitude or admiration at all and was instead obsessing over the difference in their strength. They would probably tear into this mentally fragile new member of the Elite Four.
* * *
Outskirts of Lilycove City.
After following a narrow road lined with thick shrubs on both sides, they soon reached the forest ahead.
An extended black sedan sped along the road toward Fortree City.
Inside the car, Cairo pointed toward the forest with a smile. "Professor Shiro, I wonder if you've heard about this place... Fortree City. The trees here are so tall and dense that everyone builds their houses in the trees."
Shiro nodded slightly. "I've heard of it."
Fortree City was a small city located between Mauville City and Lilycove City. Aside from the Fortree Gym, almost all of its buildings were built among the trees. The frequent heavy rainfall caused the trees here to grow much taller than those in other places.
Most of the people living here were healthy and long-lived. It was also common to see wild Bug-type Pokémon flying through the houses.
"After hearing that you wanted to build your research institute in Hoenn, Chairman Goodshow of the Pokémon League personally chose this city for you. The environment is excellent. There's also a large lake in the northern part of the forest, with grassland farther north..." Cairo spoke with some emotion, both admiring and envying the young man beside him. "It's more than enough to build several Pokémon ecological parks for different types."
As the Champion and a Pokémon Professor, Shiro had easily gained the favor of the League Chairman. That was something countless people could never obtain no matter how hard they tried.
Cairo still remembered how Mr. Stone, the President of the Devon Corporation, had once spent a great deal of money trying to expand the Pokémon Navigator into other regions, yet he couldn't even get a chance to meet Chairman Goodshow.
Given enough time, it was entirely possible that Shiro could even succeed Goodshow as Chairman of the League.
That was also why Mr. Stone had personally instructed him to come and receive Shiro properly.
"Fortree City really is a good place." Shiro lowered the car window and quietly breathed in the faint scent of soil and leaves drifting over from the forest.
The League had assigned specialists to handle the specific arrangements for building the research institute. They would be responsible for planning its size and design, contacting construction companies, and other related matters. On Shiro's side, Dale had already been sent over to supervise the construction.
Judging by the schedule, the research institute had probably only just begun construction. He was merely stopping by to take a look at its general progress.
Shiro turned to Cairo. "Mr. Cairo, how far along is the research institute now?"
Cairo thought for a few moments before taking out his communication device. "The construction company that was hired isn't under Devon Corporation, but Devon Corporation does hold a stake in it. I know the president of that company, so I'll just ask him."
A moment later, the call connected.
Although the speaker was not turned on, Shiro could still roughly hear the extremely respectful and flattering tone coming from the other end.
As Devon Corporation's Chief Financial Officer, Cairo's position was firmly among the company's top five. At times, he was second only to Mr. Stone.
The call ended quickly. Cairo put away the device and said, "Half of the research institute has already been built. They just finished marking out the area for the breeding grounds."
"The research institute is slightly larger than the clearing in the forest. They cut down some trees and used the wood as raw material to build part of the fencing."
"Devon Corporation will send people to provide assistance. It should take another month or two. By then, the basic construction should be finished."
Shiro nodded thoughtfully after hearing this.
During the month or two before the construction was complete, perhaps he could stay with Birch for a while. He could also send Sapphire over at the same time.
Not long after, the car began to slow down.
They entered a narrow road through the forest.
Following the edge of the forest northward, they soon arrived beside a clear lake that shimmered with white light.
North of the lake, on a newly cleared patch of land connected to the grasslands, the basic frame of a silver-white building had already been erected.
Many workers in blue uniforms were busy at the construction site. They directed their Machoke and Machamp to carry materials that gleamed with a metallic shine. One Gurdurr after another, along with several Conkeldurr, carried steel bars and other materials as they hurried back and forth.
This construction company ranked among the best in Hoenn. The Fighting-type Pokémon used by its workers were generally high-level, with quite a few having reached Advanced-level.
Even from a distance, Shiro could already see Dale wearing a white lab coat.
He was standing on a small mound of earth that had been piled up by hand, speaking with a middle-aged man in a well-tailored suit beside him.
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