There seems to be something wrong with these Pokémon

The journey to Jinhuang City was accompanied by familiar friends, and the originally boring journey became interesting.

Xiaoye and Xiaoying are both trainers, and they have an extraordinary passion for Pokémon. Even if it is just a Spearow flying overhead, the two will happily discuss its whereabouts and purpose, until they make up a complete story line for this Spearow perched on a branch.

Not long after, Sakura, who was chatting and laughing just now, suddenly had her eyes lit up, and then she climbed up the tree easily like a monkey monster and looked at the city in the distance.

"Great, I can finally go home!"

"Go home?" Xiao Ye stretched out her hand to help the girl who had jumped down from the tree to steady herself, and asked curiously, "Are you from Jinhuang City?"

"Yeah, that's unexpected!" Sakura patted the fallen leaves on her shoulder and said with a smile, "You must be wondering why I haven't got the gold badge even though I'm from Golden City?"

After seeing the boy nod, her expression changed, she lowered her head with a bit of loneliness, and added softly, "The Golden Gym is different from all the gyms we have come into contact with before. The gym trainer there... is simply not a human!"

When Xiao Ye heard this, the three gym trainers he had met so far emerged in his mind.

Uncle Wu Neng, who is very powerful in Nibe City, is famous for his huge Onix. In the words of Xiaoxia, he is a trainer who is a hundred times more powerful than Xiaogang. For Xiaoye, the gym battle where he has given his all has not even shown one tenth of his strength. Under his rock-hard appearance, he often shows indulgence and love for his children. He is definitely a child slave.

The three sisters in Cerulean City are the opposite of what Xiaoye knows about gym trainers. Not only are they not strong, but they rarely show any desire to fight. The Pokémon in their hands, represented by the little sea lion, are all performance Pokémon. The residents of Cerulean City despise them as the Pokémon in the hands of the weakest gym trainers in the entire city.

Mr. Ma Zhishi of Vermilion City conducts selection based on the "evolution concept". For weak Pokémon and trainers, he will simply and roughly give a unified and universal concept to help novice trainers grow. However, although he looks fierce and cold on the outside, he is actually very protective of his Pokémon, but he has a bad temper.

Thinking about it this way, it seems that the three gym trainers we met before are not the kind of characters that people imagine, who have meticulous thinking, remain calm when encountering enemies, and can kill enemies from thousands of miles away.

Maybe the "difference" that Sakura mentioned is just an ordinary difference?

"As expected, all trainers who have never faced Nancy will think I am exaggerating."

Seeing Xiaoye's expression, Xiaoying realized that he didn't take her words to heart. She laughed at herself and said, "Nazi is a holder of superpowers. She is a genius that only appears once in a thousand years, and she is also a rare talent that only appears once in ten thousand years..."

"...tyrant"

tyrant?

Xiao Ye stopped and repeated doubtfully in his heart.

For the people living in this world, a city’s gym trainers are equivalent to the guardians of that city and are respected and beloved by the city’s residents.

Even strangers rarely use the word "tyrant" to describe others, but Sakura, a resident of Golden City, actually whispered this word tremblingly.

Sakura took a deep breath and whispered with a hint of fear in her eyes.

"If you are not as obsessed as I am with going there, I suggest that you don't challenge the Golden Gym to collect the badges of the first-level gym. Instead, just find a second- or third-level gym under it to gain the qualification to challenge the Quartz Alliance."

"What kind of person is Nazi?"

"She has powerful super powers given by God."

Sakura took a step back and leaned against the sturdy tree trunk, as if only in this way could she draw some courage from the tree that always stood firm.

She slowly closed her eyes and recalled the days that had become a nightmare.

----

At that time, Sakura, who had just become a novice trainer, was young and frivolous. She stood in front of the door of the Golden Gym with her partner Bulbasaur.

"Since we are from Jinhuang City, our journey must naturally start from Jinhuang City!"

Sakura had her favorite light pink headphones around her neck, which were also a gift from her parents for her sixteenth birthday. She pointed her index finger towards the gym with its closed glass door.

She has loved music since she was young, and her family is very supportive and understanding of her, so much so that she has mastered about three or four musical instruments so far.

But she has no intention of developing music into her future career. She just has a pure love for music and has no other pursuits.

But when she was ten years old, during a break in her violin practice, her attention was inadvertently distracted by her best friend who was screaming in front of the TV, and she saw two Pokémon fighting against each other.

Sakura still remembers it vividly. It was an exhibition match between Master Kona's Laplace and Master Watari's Dragonite.

All kinds of fantastic skills collided and exploded on the screen, and the noisy tones turned into melodies in her ears. Every change in the trainer's tone brought about the flow of notes.

At that moment, she seemed to have found the meaning of her future life.

Doing what you dream of while pursuing your hobbies at the same time.

Stand in the center of the stage where everyone is watching, and compose a song that belongs only to Pokémon!

But how could a fledgling novice trainer know that the Golden Gym in front of him had just undergone an internal transformation not long ago?

The amiable gym uncle that everyone used to talk about was nowhere to be seen, and in his place was a small wooden doll.

The wooden doll has long red tea-colored hair, and the expression carved on its face seems to be self-blaming and pleading. If you look closely, there seem to be crystal tears flickering in the corners of its eyes.

This... is just like a living person!

The small wooden doll floated in front of the frightened Sakura, and spoke in a cold voice that was completely different from its appearance.

"Challenger?"

"Yes Yes!"

Sakura suddenly came back to her senses and shouted subconsciously, swallowing her saliva and forcing a smile to comfort Bulbasaur who was so scared that he shrank behind him.

"Bulbasaur, don't be afraid. The Golden Gym has a good reputation, and the gym leader is very kind."

"can."

Sakura was interrupted by the puppet before she could finish her words.

As a faint blue light appeared beside him, the puppet turned its back and floated away as if controlled by some mysterious force.

Sakura looked at the doll's departing back, hesitated for a few seconds, but still, with her trust in the Golden Gym Leader, she dragged Bulbasaur and followed in small steps.

Soon, Sakura arrived at the center of the gym's battle arena.

But the strange thing was that from the moment she entered the door, the entire gym was dark, as if the lights had never been turned on.

It was the same now, so that Sakura could only hear the young girl's emotionless voice, but could not see her true face.

"The Golden Gym's Gym Challenge will now begin. Both teams can use only one Pokémon..."

"Wait, please wait a moment..."

Sakura didn't know why, but her violently beating heart seemed to have a premonition and was urging her to leave.

Even the beautiful musical notes that had always been circling in my mind had changed in flavor, becoming drawn out and out of tune, like the mourning of a ghost.

She couldn't help but back off and wanted to escape from this golden gym that had become extremely weird.

"...the game ends when all of one side's Pokémon lose their ability to fight."

However, the female voice didn't seem to hear Sakura's slightly trembling words and continued to talk about the rules.

"After the game, if the challenger wins, he will receive a recognized gold badge from the gym trainer. If he loses..."

For some reason, even though the tone was still so cold that it didn't stir up any ripples, Sakura could hear a hint of yearning and excitement in it.

"Then just stay and play with me forever, just like my mother!"

Who wants to stay here forever?

Sakura's fear completely took over her body, and the fear that now prevailed immediately guided her body movements.

"No, I won't challenge you! I want to leave here!"

She turned around, quickly bent down, picked up the frightened Bulbasaur, and ran towards the open door with quick steps.

Run away! Never come back!

"Um...?"

The girl's voice was tinged with confusion as she asked in a low voice.

"Are you going to...give up the challenge?"

As the girl finished her words, Sakura, who was only one step away from the door, stopped in horror, took a step back in disbelief and looked at the exit that suddenly turned into a stone wall.

"No, it's impossible!"

Panicked, Sakura banged her shoulders against the solid wall, unable to believe what she saw.

This is a monster! She is not human!!

The next second, the suddenly lowered perspective made Sakura even more frightened. She struggled to pick up Bulbasaur that suddenly fell from her arms, but found that her arms were as stiff as wood and she could not move at all.

No...her arms have literally turned to wood!

The girl opened her mouth wide and turned into a puppet without even uttering a final scream.

It was only then that the girl who had been sitting in the stands sneered.

"If you give up, it will be considered a failure."

"Then...stay and play with me forever."

----

"Nazi's gym is very scary. When you fail in an ordinary gym, you will only get frustration and unwillingness. But with Nazi, you will get fear that is enough to break your heart and loneliness that will last for a hundred years."

Sakura was still whispering, but her right hand touched the empty neck, as if looking for something.

"If it weren't for... an uncle in strange clothes who risked his life to rescue me, I would probably still be a doll in Nancy's arms, unable to even control my own body."

"The funniest thing is, I never saw Nancy's true face until I completely left the Golden Gym. I even heard the name 'Nancy' by chance when a group of weird people who seemed to worship superpowers came to pay homage to Nancy."

His tightly closed eyes slowly opened, the determination in them remained.

The Poké Ball at her waist shook slightly, and Sakura lowered her hand to stroke its surface.

"Now I have grown up and become strong enough to face this fear."

"But... I always feel like something extremely important has been lost in the Golden Gym."

The girl's eyes gradually became empty. She looked at the clear sky through the gaps between the trees. She slowly opened her mouth but could not utter a word.

"When I was sixteen, I was locked in the Golden Gym forever by Nancy. Now I can't seem to recall how brilliant I was when I loved music. I can't even sing a single note."

"I'm going to...get it back!"

But soon the girl smiled shyly again, her tone no longer had the heroic spirit it had before, and she lowered her head and laughed at herself.

"It's a bit far-fetched to say that. Even the Pokémon Inspector of the League was helpless against the powerful Nancy. My parents, who always indulged me, also advised me not to be stubborn and sent me away from Golden City. My brother, who has always been careless, also took care of me like a little chicken and accompanied me every step of the way to complete the journey..."

"I think you're very brave."

The girl's slightly frustrated words came to an abrupt halt. She suddenly looked up at the handsome boy with a gentle smile, and the corners of her light red lips twitched slightly.

"You know, fear is human nature. People always have things they are afraid of, things they don't want to face, or even things they want to avoid."

The boy's words were like the drizzle in the rain forest in the early morning, gently washing away the fear that had always been lingering in the girl's heart, gnawing at her like a poisonous snake, hidden in the very corner.

Perhaps she herself did not even realize that no matter how hard she struggled or how hard she tried to catch up, the doubts and retreats of the people closest to her still brought her a lot of negative emotions, so much so that she now has a little avoidance.

Although her beloved family was thinking about her, the constant care made her already tense heart even more tense.

She could hardly breathe.

This is also one of the important reasons why she decided to escape from the world under her brother's protection.

"But true bravery is never the absence of fear." Xiao Ye was still speaking softly, not noticing the change in the expression of the girl in front of him.

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but the presence of fear and moving forward anyway.”

Sakura was stunned. This was the first time she heard such a confident affirmation since the nightmare at the Golden Gym.

It is not a concern that hides fear, nor is it a protection that contains fear.

"After listening to the story and your thoughts just now, I thought of someone." Xiao Ye also turned around and leaned against the other side of the tree trunk and said, "He is a reckless boy. In my heart, you two actually have nothing in common."

"But, at that moment, you were exactly like him."

"Same approach, same determination, same gritted teeth resistance."

A dark-skinned little boy appeared in Xiaoye's mind. He was lying on a fragile branch with his hands and feet, looking firmly at the young Popo birds that were being besieged by a group of Seraphim not far away.

"Although there will be some small price to pay, there is no doubt that what is gained is flawless success."

----

"Hey, I'm just slightly injured. I'm glad I was able to save the Bobos!"

"Dumb..., if I were you, I would choose a safer way to help the Pidgeots, rather than running all the way back to Pallet Town with three Pidgeots in my arms under the sharp beaks of a flock of Spearows."

"Okay Xiaomao, talk less."

"There are so many Seraphim, covering the sky like dark clouds. Aren't you afraid?"

"Scared..." The boy scratched the back of his head with his bandaged hand, and smiled belatedly, "Of course I'm scared, but I can't be like before in the summer camp, watching the Pidgeot being besieged by the Toucans and being unable to do anything but howl on the side, right?"

----

Sakura's eyes were slightly red, but her whole body felt warm.

It turns out...the feeling of being affirmed by others is so sweet.

She took a deep breath, smelled the fragrance of the earth, and felt peaceful in her heart.

Fear is a really strange thing.

When there is no one behind you, it becomes a nightmare that is difficult to overcome in this life, and every night it will use its sharpest claws to prick your already broken heart.

But when you know that there is someone standing behind you, firmly supporting you, it will disappear without a trace, and no matter how you call it, you will never be able to see it again.

It is nothing more than a paper tiger that bullies the weak and fears the strong.

Sakura wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and patted her cheeks. The few strands of hair that were not tied up moved in the wind.

"Let's go, I can't wait to challenge Nancy to take back the music that belongs to me!"

Sakura laughed, pulled the area under her eyes with her index finger, and made a face with her slightly red eyes.

"Competition! Let's see who can reach Golden City first!"