NOVEL NEXT Chapter 318: Interesting Teammates
Arthur was naturally happy to accept Old Flame's daughter's request.
Although Old Flame's fighting spirit had recently been rekindled, and he looked like he could borrow another five hundred years from the heavens, the effects of age are a law of nature. Old Flame had already far surpassed the normal lifespan of a Charizard. If he had a successor, he could retire with peace of mind in the future.
So, Arthur was more than willing to teach Old Flame's daughter.
And as it happened, this rebellious little dragoness wasn't lacking in talent. Even with her own haphazard training in the wild, she had developed impressive combat strength. Currently, in their daily spars, she could already fight Greninja to a standstill.
She was now the strongest among his group of "descendants"! Stronger even than Little Eevee and Little Lapras, the children of his old friends.
It was just her rebellious nature that needed to be addressed!
Therefore, as willing as he was, when it came to training, Arthur was as strict as ever.
"Your evasion is too wide! How many times have I told you to keep your movements simple and clean! Too many unnecessary actions! And what is this claw attack?! Is that your Dragon Claw? A Charmander that hasn't even been weaned can scratch better than that!"
After a few days, Old Flame's daughter finally began to understand where her father's astonishing strength had come from…
Even she, who had always been proud and strong-willed, was recently pushed to her limits by the training, almost to the point of tears.
But just when she thought the torment would continue, one day, right after a short training phase, Arthur suddenly called her over.
"That's enough for today. It's time to go back. We'll pause your training for now. Go and get yourself into top condition."
"Roar?"
Old Flame's daughter was confused.
Arthur smiled.
"I'm taking you to a competition."
This sudden surprise caught Old Flame's daughter completely off guard.
"Really? You're really letting me compete? Can I go on stage just like this?"
During her training, she had been constantly beaten down and criticized. Arthur had even stepped in personally to teach her a lesson. While this had quickly worn down her bratty attitude, it had also inevitably been a huge blow to the confidence of this sheltered little delinquent.
It was the first time she had realized she couldn't even beat a human…
So now, it was time for Arthur to help her recharge that confidence.
In truth, as long as she stopped being rebellious and obediently followed his commands without getting carried away, there was no problem with Old Flame's daughter competing in the main singles scene.
After all, back in the valley, she had been able to trade blows with Julian's captain-level Charizard.
"That's right. You'll be one of the mains in the upcoming matches."
The Devon Cup wasn't a particularly important tournament. The rankings didn't decide anything, and the champion didn't get any merits or Rare Candies.
It was mainly for the major teams to drill their troops and adjust their lineups.
Using Old Flame's daughter was not a big issue. After he had reported it, even the coaching staff had agreed.
Talented players always get a bit of special treatment.
Not to mention, in a recent internal team scrimmage, Arthur, with all his main Pokémon, had gone through the entire roster of his seniors, successfully earning himself a "+50 Coach Tolerance" buff.
On this day, when Arthur returned to the strategy room, several of his seniors who had arrived early greeted him with concern.
"Hey, Arthur, is your Gengar's condition stable? Are you sure it can compete?"
"Hey, Arthur, how's training going? I think those backup Pokémon of yours have a lot of potential."
"Hey, Arthur, come sit over here. The coach will be here soon."
Main singles players are generally older. Most of them are promoted from the doubles scene after the age of thirty. In terms of age, they were all more than a full cycle older than Arthur, so they always called him "Little Chen."
But although Arthur was the junior in title, everyone's attitude was incredibly warm.
The Starlight and Frost team didn't have any particularly big-name main singles players. Not a single one had been selected for the All-Stars this year. Their skills were all solid but not spectacular.
In the previous internal scrimmage, the three of them had taken turns facing Arthur. Two of them had been completely swept. They had no choice but to be polite…
Among the three, the captain, Leo, was a particularly enthusiastic uncle. He was cheerful, straightforward, and took great care of his teammates.
Besides being short, he was a reliable, high-quality middle-aged man in every other aspect.
Known in the circuit as the Dragon Slayer!
Because his main Pokémon included a Cloyster, an Azumarill, and a Weavile.
A master at bullying dragons!
Besides the captain, the team's other starting main player was much younger, though of course still older than Arthur.
Thirty-two-year-old Alex. Compared to the captain, he was more quiet and steady, but he was also a warm-hearted person. He was the first one to ask about Specter's condition when Arthur arrived.
Alex was a Dark-type enthusiast. His strongest mains were an Absol and a Bisharp, and he also had a Houndoom and a Pangoro.
Players who specialize in one type like this are common among younger main singles players.
At the end of the day, a person's energy is limited.
These types of players generally still have some principles and are unwilling to completely delegate their Pokémon's training to instructors like the Demon King Team does, but their own time and energy are limited, so they have to temporarily specialize in one type.
This way, their Pokémon can attend classes and train together, and they can also communicate and improve with each other, saving time and effort.
Of course, this approach has its drawbacks. Specializing in one type makes you easy to counter and also puts pressure on the team's overall lineup.
As their professional careers progress, they will eventually have to diversify their rosters. This is only a temporary measure.
Back in the day, Luna had been too proud to compromise and had chosen not to specialize in the Water type. Otherwise, her path to becoming a main singles player might have been smoother.
But then again, if she had done that, her opportunities to play after being promoted would have been limited. It was probably a mixed bag of pros and cons.
Finally, the team's substitute main player was named Aaron. He was a rookie who had been recruited when Ivy and Bianca's parents bought the team last year.
He was a rich young master. His Pokémon were all top-tier, including a pseudo-legendary Garchomp, a Milotic, and an Inteleon.
It was said that his family knew the sisters' family, and he was just playing professionally to experience life.
Some people speculated that his main goal was actually to win over one of the two sisters, which would be equivalent to getting the entire club.
Unfortunately, the two sisters didn't seem to like him very much. Since he joined last year, he had been frequently rotated out, and the number of times he had played in a season could be counted on one hand. Most of the time, he was warming the bench…
But this Aaron had a surprisingly optimistic personality. He was often seen holding a thermos, and the moment he saw Arthur, he would invite him to sit down, eager to discuss the art of brewing and drinking tea.
Who knows, maybe being close to the water cooler gave him an advantage in tea-making…
In any case, Arthur's current impression of this team of main singles players was quite good. They were an interesting group of teammates.
A little while later, the door to the discussion room opened again, and everyone fell silent—
The coach had arrived.
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