Chapter 638 - Aoki Was Thrown Down

Aoki had Devon's "work meal" in his office with Steven.

Once again, Aoki witnessed the extravagance of the wealthy.

It was simply excessive.

A massive dining table was covered with dishes, yet Steven typically ate only a small portion by himself.

Since his Pokémon were not present, much of the food was likely wasted every day.

This was more extravagant than Aoki's joke about drinking soy milk—pouring one cup after another was like buying a car just to discard it!

The power of money was terrifying.

Following the principle of avoiding waste, after Steven finished eating, Aoki summoned Slowking, Drapion, and Gengar to help finish the remaining food.

For Drapion, with its enormous appetite, such a small meal wasn't nearly enough to satisfy it alone.

After the meal, using Aoki as an excuse, Steven skipped work.

The official reason was to take Aoki to the Rustboro City Gym, introduce him to the Gym Leader, and familiarize him with the place.

No matter what his secretary said, Steven left with Aoki in a hurry.

The Rustboro City Gym wasn't far from the Devon Corporation building, so Steven drove them there directly.

Today was the Gym's closed day, so without Steven's introduction, Aoki wouldn't have been able to enter.

Gyms in every city weren't open all day. After all, even Gym Leaders had their own lives—they couldn't sit around waiting for challengers indefinitely.

Thus, each Gym had scheduled open and closed days.

Like the Verdanturf Town Gym where Aoki worked, aside from the initial opening period when Whitney stayed on standby for challengers, it later adopted fixed operating hours. The schedule was posted on a sign at the entrance, listing the days it would be open.

Challengers could either travel to another city for a battle, wait until the Gym reopened, or train in the meantime.

This system also helped Gyms sell spectator tickets.

After all, they couldn't just sell tickets without offering battles, right?

That would be dishonest.

Though the Verdanturf Town Gym currently didn't charge for spectating, that could change in the future.

If Steven hadn't brought him, Aoki wouldn't have gotten in today.

Then… they met the Rustboro City Gym Leader, Roxanne.

She wore a short skirt resembling a school uniform, with two long ponytails, giving her a youthful appearance.

Age-wise, she seemed slightly younger than Steven, around Aoki's age.

As expected of a top graduate from the Pokémon Trainer School, becoming a Gym Leader at just sixteen or seventeen was impressive.

Moreover, being the sole Gym Leader of a major city like Rustboro spoke volumes about her skill.

Roxanne, who had been training her Pokémon, looked surprised when she saw Steven enter with Aoki.

After recalling her Pokémon, she rushed over, arms wide open, shouting, "Cousin Steven! Long time no see!"

Steven smiled wryly and sidestepped her hug.

But while he dodged, Aoki wasn't prepared. Roxanne, eyes shut in excitement, didn't notice Steven moving aside.

The result?

Thud!

Sabrina crashed into Aoki, knocking them both to the ground.

Aoki's head spun—he'd only wanted to watch Steven's reaction, so how did he end up as collateral damage?

With no time to brace himself, he was sent sprawling.

"Oww…" Roxanne rubbed her head and sat up—only to realize she was on top of Aoki.

"Uh… could you get up first?" Aoki asked awkwardly, pinned beneath her.

It wasn't embarrassment from contact with a girl, but from being unable to stand.

Aoki had met plenty of women in his past life and wasn't easily flustered.

"Ahhh!!" When Roxanne saw she'd tackled a stranger instead of Steven, her face turned beet red.

She scrambled up, bowing deeply.

"I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" she stammered.

Aoki stood, dusting himself off. "It's fine. I just lost my balance."

Truthfully, he could've handled her weight easily, but being caught off-guard behind Steven left him vulnerable.

Meanwhile, Steven was barely containing his laughter. Normally a gentleman, he only laughed this hard when he couldn't help it.

"Pfft—HAHAHA! Well, that's one way to break the ice!"

After composing himself, Steven cleared his throat.

"Aoki, let me properly introduce Roxanne, the current Rustboro City Gym Leader. She's my cousin—her father was the previous Gym Leader, and her family has close ties to mine."

Aoki's confusion faded.

So that's why Roxanne called Steven "cousin," and why she became a Gym Leader so young—nepotism.

Even if she'd excelled at the Pokémon Trainer School, that alone wouldn't have secured her the position. But with her father's legacy and connections to Steven's family, it made sense.

Rich people helping rich people.

Aoki was almost jealous.

Then again, he'd become Verdanturf Town's Gym Leader partly due to his mentor's influence.

He'd relied on connections too—just less blatantly than Roxanne.

"Now, Roxanne, this is my good friend Aoki. You might've heard of him—the 'Star of Hoenn,' one-half of our region's rising stars. He's also the Verdanturf Town Gym Leader, and the one who battled Cynthia in that viral video a while back. Quite the impressive guy," Steven said proudly.

"Oh! I know you!"

Roxanne snapped her fingers.

"The Verdanturf Town Gym Leader, Hoenn's Twin Star, the youngest mid-tier Breeder in history…" She listed titles until Aoki flushed.

Now, should he act humble?