"Um, Gym Leader Shimizu, do we have any grievances?" Solidad asked timidly.
Oh my god, we were just having a friendly match, and you completely overwhelmed my Butterfree!
"No, no, it was just a momentary slip," Yuga quickly waved his hand, feeling quite embarrassed.
"That's good, that's good," Solidad breathed a sigh of relief. It's not like I complained a bit about you not selling me any Pokémon, and you held a grudge against me, right?
"Gym Leader Shimizu is indeed formidable," Solidad sincerely praised.
"I'm not that good, not that good at all," Yuga remained humble, feeling uncomfortable under the gaze that implied, "You're a master."
Just then, Yuga suddenly heard a noise coming from a nearby thicket.
"Who's there?" Yuga swiftly turned around, looking in the direction of the noise.
Seeing no response, Gengar appeared out of thin air with its chubby arms pointing, and its purple eyes shimmering. It grabbed the "thing" hidden in the bushes.
Seeing Gengar appear out of nowhere right in front of her, Solidad was surprised. But when she felt the aura emanating from Gengar, she thought it was only natural.
This must be why others outside consider him a Elite level Trainer.
Comparing Gengar to the Venusaur from before, it was like night and day.
She didn't know exactly how strong a Elite level Trainer was, but it felt like it should be like Gengar.
With these thoughts in mind, Solidad felt that the way her Butterfree was defeated earlier was quite reasonable.
"Let me go, let me go!" Yuga saw that it was a little boy holding a Budew.
The little boy, clutching a Budew, was gently placed in front of Yuga by Gengar. After sitting down with a dissatisfied look, he glared at Gengar.
The boy appeared to be eight or nine years old, with hair so green it was almost startling. He was currently staring intently at Yuga.
Hmm? Why does this child seem somewhat familiar? Yuga wondered.
"Kid, why were you hiding?" Yuga tried to make his expression as friendly as possible.
"I'm not a kid!" The boy was a bit indignant at being called a kid.
"Uh... I'm sorry about that. What's your name? Why were you hiding over there?" Yuga thought about it and realized that in the Pokémon world, an eight or nine-year-old wouldn't really be considered a kid.
"I'm Drew. I was watching your battle," the boy replied succinctly. Although his expression seemed a bit cool, he probably had a good-natured personality.
Could this be the Drew I know? Yuga was puzzled.
Upon closer inspection, the hair color matched; in terms of age, it was about the same age with May and the Budew he was holding...
Just that his personality seemed somewhat different from what Yuga remembered, probably because he was younger.
"You were watching the battle, so why hide? You can watch without hiding," Yuga said, realizing that they didn't look like villains.
"Yeah! We wouldn't stop you from watching!" Solidad added, obviously thinking the same as Yuga.
"I don't know you guys, and Mom said I should be careful outside," Drew replied earnestly.
Alright, he's indeed a well-behaved child.
Drew had actually come to Lilycove City for a vacation with his family. In the morning, while playing around in the vicinity, he heard the sounds of a battle and decided to hide and watch the match between the two trainers.
This big brother is really amazing!
That's what Drew truly thought.
"By the way, Gym Leader Shimizu, I'd like to ask you for a favor."
Solidad suddenly blushed, feeling a bit embarrassed as she said, "Um, could you help me with something?"
"Help? Please, go on," Yuga replied with a puzzled expression.
"Well, earlier, I saw a Pokémon nearby that I wanted to capture, but there was another strong Pokémon in the vicinity, and I couldn't handle both of them. So... so..." Solidad stammered, feeling very awkward about asking Yuga for help.
Initially, she had given up on the idea of capturing that Pokémon. But after witnessing Yuga's strength today, her hope had been rekindled. Finding a Pokémon that clicked with her was a rare opportunity.
Yuga thought for a moment and saw no harm in helping. It was a simple task, a way to make amends for the earlier battle. Sometimes, fateful encounters led to positive connections.
"That's great. Thank you, Gym Leader Shimizu," Solidad said happily when Yuga agreed.
"Can I come along?" Suddenly, the boy named Drew spoke up.
Before Yuga could respond, Solidad quickly shook her head and said, "No, no, you're too young. It's not safe for you."
Capturing wild Pokémon could be dangerous, and this child probably wasn't even a Trainer. If anything went wrong, they wouldn't know how to contact his family.
Yuga glanced at Drew, holding a shy Budew, and wholeheartedly agreed with Solidad's caution.
"I'll just watch from the sidelines, and I won't cause any trouble," Drew said with stars in his eyes, eager to witness a Pokémon capture.
"It's not about causing trouble. It's just not safe. If something happens to you, and we don't know your family, how would we explain?" Solidad's tone was firm.
Seeing that Solidad didn't agree, Drew turned his hopeful gaze toward Yuga, his eyes shining. Yuga was tempted to agree, but he ultimately shook his head.
Seeing Yuga's refusal, Drew felt a bit disappointed and disheartened.
He was about to reach the age to become a Trainer and was very eager to see what it was like to capture a Pokémon himself. Budew was given to him by his family, not caught by him.
Seeing Drew's disappointment, Yuga couldn't help but say, "You really want to go? Well, capturing Pokémon isn't all that fun."
"But I've never seen it before," Drew replied in a subdued voice.
"Well... How about this?" Yuga hesitated for a moment, then sighed and said, "Alright, you can come, but you must stay close to me at all times."
He thought to himself that he should be able to protect a child like him.
"Okay, I promise to be good," Drew's voice was filled with joy.
Seeing Yuga's agreement, Solidad didn't object. After all, she was the one asking for help.
"Is the Pokémon you want to capture far from here?" Yuga asked Solidad.
Solidad shook her head and said, "No, it's not far, just a short walk from here."
So Yuga, accompanied by Drew, followed Solidad towards their destination.
As they walked, Yuga couldn't shake the feeling that this place looked somewhat familiar.
After thinking for a while, he realized that it wasn't far from where he had captured Clauncher, Clawitzer, and Greninja.
Drew had started his journey earlier than May, so in this story, he's assumed to be older than her, though not by much.