Establishing a Gym?

Hearing Aoki's words, Matsuda was obviously taken aback.

He had lived for a long time, and there weren't many people who had directly cared about his health like this.

Immediately, he laughed. "Okay, okay, you brat are now lecturing me."

There was no sign of anger at all. On the contrary, his originally urgent expression slowly relaxed.

He suddenly realized just how tired he felt.

After all, he was getting older. He wasn't young anymore, staying up for days at a time for experiments was no longer an option.

Aoki also smiled at his response.

Since maintaining his position within the League was necessary, sometimes he really had to play the role.

"Alright, let's talk. What's going on?" Matsuda took a sip of tea, sat down in his chair, and spoke.

"Well, Teacher, you should know that I'm already in the Hoenn region, right?" Aoki asked.

"Hoenn? You went to the Hoenn region?" Matsuda's sudden exclamation made the atmosphere awkward.

Matsuda should have been paying attention to Aoki's whereabouts and should have already known that he had gone to Hoenn.

But now, it was clear that wasn't the case.

"Ahem, well, I see. You're in Hoenn. Go on," Matsuda said after clearing his throat.

Aoki's face was slightly embarrassed.

"So, I recently arrived in Hoenn, and I've come to really like the region. I'm thinking about developing myself here.

During my travels, I found a small town with a great location and environment, so I bought a house and decided to settle down.

After walking around the town a few times, I realized that its facilities and development are quite lacking. I want to help improve things here.

After thinking it over, I believe opening a Gym would be the best way to contribute, so—"

Matsuda interrupted Aoki mid-sentence.

"Wait, you want to build a Gym in a backward town in the Hoenn region? Are you sure?" Matsuda nearly choked on his tea as he spoke.

"Yeah." Aoki nodded.

"If you want to build a Gym in Hoenn, why not enter the League's official competition? If you place in the top three, you can open a Gym and even choose your location. Security in Hoenn isn't the best, and the League is looking to expand its influence there." Matsuda stated directly.

"…"

If entering a competition was the plan, there wouldn't have been a need to bring this up.

Even though Aoki was confident he could place in the top three, the problem was that the next competition wasn't for another three months.

Having only been reborn for three months, waiting another three months wasn't an option.

"Teacher, I don't want to wait that long. The next Hoenn tournament is three months away, and three months is more than enough for me to grow significantly."

Matsuda gave Aoki a thoughtful look.

He knew Aoki had great potential, and wasting time just waiting didn't make sense at his current age.

Aoki was at the stage where his strength would grow the fastest.

In fact, only regions like Hoenn, which had been acquired by the League later on, held competitions for Gym openings. In Kanto and Johto, Gyms were already well-established, and opening a new one wasn't as difficult.

Many of Hoenn's big cities already had Gyms, but some remote towns didn't. That's why these competitions still took place, though they weren't frequent.

"Why do you want to open a Gym in Hoenn? While it's possible, the League has been tightening regulations there. If you went to Sinnoh or Unova instead, I might be able to pull some strings and get you set up directly." Matsuda sounded hesitant.

Aoki knew he was being honest. However, Hoenn was where Team Rocket was most eager to gain control. While Sinnoh and Unova were also valuable, they were too far from Team Rocket's influence, making it difficult to gain a foothold there.

"I have a few friends in Hoenn. If I go elsewhere, I'd be alone." Aoki explained.

Matsuda suddenly thought of Aoki's friendship with Steven.

His eyes lit up. "If Steven helps, it might be easier. Do you think you can convince him?"

Convince Steven?

Steven would likely agree if Aoki asked, but some things couldn't be done for free.

Even among friends, there had to be a balance between giving and receiving.

Aoki hoped the Gym's construction would serve as an investment, inviting Steven to help develop Verdanturf Town together so both of them could benefit. That way, it would also serve as repayment for Steven's past support.

However, it wasn't appropriate to trouble him for direct assistance with the Gym itself.

Aoki felt helpless. Though Matsuda had a certain status within the League, he wasn't a high-ranking official, so there was only so much he could do. Seeking favors from others was inevitable.

But that meant Matsuda would owe people favors, which made things complicated.

Aoki sighed silently. He hadn't wanted to use this as a bargaining chip, but it seemed there was no other way.

Taking a deep breath, he said, "Teacher, if I make a significant contribution to the League, and with your help, could you get me the approval to open a Gym in a short time?"

Matsuda was already considering how to help Aoki.

It wasn't impossible, but the cost would be high. He might have to contribute some of his experimental results to the League—his life's work. Unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't want to make that sacrifice.

Hearing Aoki's words, Matsuda asked, "Oh? And what contribution do you have in mind?"

He was genuinely curious about what Aoki could offer the League.

Still, he had already made up his mind. If Aoki had nothing concrete, he would contribute a few of his research results, then shamelessly call in favors from old friends. That should be enough.

After all, Aoki was his first and possibly last disciple. Since Aoki was asking him for something for the first time, Matsuda wanted to do it right.

One day, all his research would be passed on to Aoki anyway. This was just giving some of it to the League earlier than planned.

Aoki thought for a moment before saying, "What if I discovered a new method of Pokemon evolution?"