Chapter 320: Wait… I Was Supposed to Be the One to Beat Lance!

Wallace: My dearest friend! Congrats on becoming Kanto Champion! Truly worthy of being my closest companion! I'll be heading to Kanto soon to organize a Contest Festival—will definitely stop by to see you again. (You're awesome.jpg)

Steven: Congratulations, Dylan—Champion of Kanto! (Thumbs-up.jpg)

Cynthia: Congrats. When will you visit Sinnoh for a tour?

Alder: Hahaha~ Impressive, Dylan! You even dethroned Lance! (So strong.jpg)

Mustard: Heh~ Congratulations on reaching the peak of Kanto, Dylan.

Mr. Goodman: Hahaha! I told you all! My son was born to be a Champion! (Unstoppable laughter.jpg)

After the Kanto League's official announcement of Dylan's appointment as Champion and the new Elite Four, the congratulations had been pouring in nonstop.

Friends from other regions called or messaged, offering sincere congratulations. Though they weren't exactly surprised.

With Dylan's strength, it wasn't unbelievable that he could defeat Lance and take the throne. What did raise eyebrows, though, was that Dylan had never seemed interested in the Champion title.

And... what happened to Lance?

Steven and the others were certainly curious, but since they were from different regions and Goodshow hadn't disclosed the reason for the previous team's departure, they were left guessing.

Dylan becoming Champion did, of course, bring changes to his life.

Even though he'd already told Goodshow he wouldn't involve himself in League affairs, the Champion title held massive weight.

Previously, with the Indigo Conference about to begin, the Rota Gym had few challengers.

Now? In just the five days since Dylan had returned, despite the Conference having already started, challengers and spectators flocked to the Rota Gym.

Everyone wanted to see what it was like—Kanto's Champion still serving as a Gym Leader?

Tourism in Rota had exploded.

"Whoa whoa whoa!! Gym Leader Bro! You really knocked Champion Lance off the throne? Does that mean if I want to take the title next year, I have to fight you? Am I gonna have to betray my master?!"

Selene's excited but exasperated voice echoed from the phone.

"Watch your mouth," Dylan said, half-laughing, half-scolding.

"Seriously! You used to say I'd fight Lance as my graduation boss battle, and now you took him out yourself!"

Selene pouted. Before she'd set off on her journey, Dylan had constantly nagged her to develop an unbeatable will, get stronger, and eventually take down Lance.

And now? Dylan had gone and done it himself. If she wanted to dominate Kanto, didn't that mean she'd have to challenge her own teacher?

That seemed… kinda hard. Maybe just let Lance come back instead?

"Pfft—" The girls nearby, Asha and the others, couldn't help but stifle their giggles.

"Didn't you say you were going to challenge other regions' Champions?" Dylan asked.

"Yeah well, the plan was Hoenn's Wallace. He looked easy, but then you forced him to retire too!" Selene huffed in frustration.

"Don't worry, I believe in you. I might step down sometime next year anyway. Whether you can become Kanto Champion will depend on your own ability," Dylan said nonchalantly.

"Huh?"

"What 'huh'? Hurry up and get stronger. The current Elite Four are way tougher than the last group. You don't want to end up the bottom rank, do you?"

At that, Leaf pouted and muttered under her breath. She definitely felt called out.

"Pfft~! Gym Leader Bro, you're looking down on me! I'm already Champion-tier now! I'm going to be Champion next year!"

Selene's voice was full of pride and energy. As long as Dylan wasn't in her way, she wasn't afraid of anyone. Monsters, ghosts, whatever—she'd crush them all!

"Whoa! Selene's Champion-level now?" Asha gasped with delight.

"Oh my god, what a freak of nature!" Leaf clutched her head. This was unreal. Selene had only been gone for like two or three months and was already Champion-tier?

That kind of growth rate wasn't just comparable to Red—it might've been faster, given how solid her foundation was.

"Selene's amazing!" Yellow beamed with admiration for her senior disciple.

"..." Silver fell silent. If what the others said was true, then Selene had only just started her journey not long ago...

Clearly, if he wanted to challenge for the title of Dylan's strongest disciple, it was going to be a long road.

"Do you want a beating? How many times do I have to tell you—you're a girl! Stop calling yourself 'ya boi'!"

Dylan sighed in exasperation, laughing despite himself.

"Hehe~" Selene giggled shamelessly.

"How's that Ultra Beast coming along?"

"It's strong! That Kartana you sent me is totally busted! Its Sacred Sword can cut anything!"

Judging by her excitement, Dylan started to wonder what exactly she'd been cutting...

Yep, he'd sent her a Kartana—her own choice, actually.

"Good. When are you coming back to Rota?"

"Uhh... not for a while. I'm in the Mt. Silver area right now, hoping to find a Tyranitar."

"Alright. When you're back, come by the gym. I want to see how much you've grown. Hanging up now."

"Roger that! Bye-bye Gym Leader Bro~ love ya, mwah~!"

"..."

This damn girl. Who did she even learn this nonsense from?

Dylan stared at the call log, feeling vaguely disturbed. His first carefully-raised disciple turned out like this?

At least Asha and Silver were respectful and hardworking. Thank goodness for small blessings.

A week passed.

The Indigo Conference continued in full swing across all regions.

Dylan didn't go watch in person—instead, he monitored the battles via live stream in the gym's screening room.

On screen, Jeanette was currently battling.

Watching her Nidoqueen lay down Toxic Spikes and secure victory, Dylan nodded in approval. Jeanette was getting stronger.

"Dylan, I'll give you credit—you've definitely influenced the meta. These days, 9 out of every 10 Indigo matches feature Poison-types," Leaf commented, eyeing him sideways.

If Kanto had more Dark and Ghost-types, she had no doubt those would be booming too.

Nowadays, even Trainers who weren't Poison-type specialists had to keep one or two Poison or Steel-types in their team.

No one wanted to get caught off guard by a random Beedrill or Golbat spreading Toxic Spikes, or survive a surprise Venoshock only to slowly die of poison stalling.

The battle culture in Kanto had been utterly "poisoned" by Dylan's influence. You either adapted or got wrecked. People were building counters specifically for him.

"I'm proud," Dylan said with a serene smile.

Elevating the average quality of Kanto Trainers? That was the ultimate honor for a Gym Leader.

"Did you hear? Koga and Surge have been reinstated," Leaf said.

"Yeah, Lily pulled them back into the group chat," Dylan replied with a nod.

"Goodshow really has guts. Those two were Rocket Executives," Leaf marveled.

"There aren't many replacements for Gym Leaders. And Koga and Surge... are trustworthy," Dylan said.

He hadn't expected Goodshow to be that bold, though—bringing them back so quickly.

Two days ago, Koga and Surge were added back to the Gym Leader chat, and Lily roasted them hard.

They got dragged so badly they probably couldn't lift their heads for a day.

"But that's gonna bring problems," Dylan said with a dry chuckle.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Leaf blinked.

"If Lance finds out, he won't let it go. Even if they've turned over a new leaf."

With Lance's zero-tolerance for evil, there was no way he'd accept former Rocket operatives returning to the League.

The League believed in redemption and second chances.

Lance did not. To him, Koga and Surge were nothing but filth—former scum who could never be clean.

Turncoats? He'd "cleanse" them personally.

"...Yeah, you're probably right," Leaf muttered.

"This could blow up," Dylan said.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Lance once used just a Dragonair to annihilate all of Vermilion City.

The casualty count was unknown.

In that story, the Kanto Elite Four sought to eliminate humanity to create a perfect world. City-level destruction wasn't out of place.

If things escalated here, Dylan wouldn't be surprised if Lance targeted Vermilion City directly.

"Gym Leader Bro, you've got a challenger. And, um..."

Asha's voice came through the intercom.

After hearing the rest, Dylan's expression turned... complicated.

Standing before the Rota Gym's roulette wheel was a massive, shirtless man with wild blue hair and sculpted muscles.

He wore white martial arts pants and black wristbands. His face was rugged. His eyes, serious.

"Bruno?" Dylan said as he walked out, blinking in surprise.

The former third-ranked Elite Four member had arrived.

"Dylan... no, Champion Dylan," Bruno corrected himself.

"Don't call me 'Elite Four' anymore. I'm not one of them."

Though Bruno looked like a meathead, he had more brains than people gave him credit for.

He'd always stayed quiet in the League—mostly because the other three were complete lunatics.

Plus, Agatha had him under psychic control.

"Didn't expect you to come here," Dylan admitted. He and Bruno had only met a few times.

Among the former Elite Four, he was closest with Lance, then Lorelei. Agatha was... complicated.

Bruno? They barely spoke.

"I had no choice. Lance and the others have completely lost it," Bruno groaned.

"You have no idea the crap they're planning. I think they've all lost their damn minds."

"Champion Dylan, I came to tell you: I'm not like them. I'm normal, okay?!"

Under Dylan's slightly baffled gaze, the muscleman began pouring out his heart.

He hadn't slept well in days.

"I believe you, Mr. Bruno," Dylan said with a knowing smile.

So he'd come to defect, huh?

Looks like Bruno was smarter than he looked.

"I joined the League to fight strong Trainers and grow alongside my Pokémon," Bruno sighed.

"And instead I get these lunatics rambling about 'vermin' and 'corruption' every day—it's like they're cursed!"

"Worst part? That old lady uses hypnosis on me sometimes! What did I do to deserve this?!"

Bruno was heartbroken. He'd had such promise—now it felt like he was headed straight for prison.

Which was so not the path he had envisioned for himself.

"I'm telling you, Champion Dylan—I'm one of the good guys! A model citizen! Not one of those fanatics!"

End of Chapter 320