Ace nodded, taking a longer look at Platinum, the future catalyst for the Sinnoh region's storyline.
"First, congratulations on your victory," Professor Rowan began. "We invited winners like you here to ask a question."
With that, Professor Rowan looked at Mr. Berlitz.
Mr. Berlitz smiled and continued Professor Rowan's thought, "The purpose of this competition was to find a trainer-mentor for Platinum, to teach her some of the ropes of being a trainer. But I know you're not short on money, Ace, so let's just leave it at that. Congratulations again on making it to the group stage."
Ace smiled to himself. Rich people really knew how to play games. To hold such a massive event just to find a mentor for his daughter—the "unfathomable wealth" of the Berlitz family was already on full display. It was no wonder that in the future, Platinum wouldn't feel a shred of pain when she saw a four- or five-meter-tall solid gold statue get turned into a chew toy for a Bidoof. Ace remembered how he winced in pain just from reading that part of the manga. Now, it seemed Platinum wasn't playing hard enough.
"Teaching your daughter is probably not a good idea," Ace said with a smile. "My training methods are quite brutal, and getting injured is a daily occurrence. It wouldn't be suitable."
Hearing Ace's words, Mr. Berlitz nodded. He had only one precious daughter, and he couldn't bear to let her endure such hardship as her father.
"Don't underestimate me, okay?" At that moment, Platinum put down her book and spoke with the precocious air of a child. "Commanding Pokémon in battle—how hard could it be?"
Listening to Platinum's childish but cocky remarks, the three adults couldn't help but laugh. Although Professor Rowan and Mr. Berlitz were researchers, commanding Pokémon in battle and being an expert at it were two different things. To become proficient or to reach a higher level in any field, a lot of experience and practice were required. Platinum's words were indeed a bit naive, but considering she looked only about three or four years old, the three of them didn't mind and simply took it as innocent child's talk.
Seeing that the three of them were completely ignoring her, Platinum's cheeks puffed up in frustration, looking quite defiant.
Ace had nothing else to do, so he took the opportunity to chat with Professor Rowan and Mr. Berlitz. Ace's unique insights into Pokémon research earned him high regard from both of them. Over the course of their conversation, they grew familiar with each other.
"Ace, if you weren't a trainer, I would've seriously dragged you into my research team," Professor Rowan said with emotion. "Your insights on some Pokémon are probably better than those of some of my regular researchers."
"You're too kind," Ace said with a laugh. "Professor Rowan, you must have a dedicated training area here. The competition doesn't start for two more days. Could I borrow it to keep my Pokémon in their daily routine? Is that a problem?"
"I should've known you had an ulterior motive after all that talk, kid." Professor Rowan rolled his eyes, then pointed to the training room next to them. "Go ahead. Just don't break anything, alright?"
"Will do. Thank you." Ace smiled, stood up, and headed for the training room.
Once Ace was inside, Professor Rowan glanced at Mr. Berlitz and said with a smile, "Want to take a look?"
Mr. Berlitz, holding a still-pouting Platinum, nodded. "Let's go see."
With that, the two of them walked to the other side and entered a viewing area for the training room.
Inside the training room, Ace had released his Pokémon. Crobat continued to practice variations of its Poison Wings. Gible and Larvitar were exchanging ideas with each other. After getting some inspiration, the two Pokémon tried them out and then started to battle. As for Combusken, Ace had drafted it into his own training. Inside the training area, the two of them had a back-and-forth sparring session. Of course, this was with Combusken not attacking and just defending against Ace's attacks.
Once Ace was warmed up, their battle began in earnest. And then, there was no "and then." Combusken, accustomed to high-intensity training, was on a completely different level from Ace. After three moves, Ace was taken down by Combusken, and that was with Combusken holding back. Without it, the moment they engaged, Combusken's physical prowess alone would've taken Ace out instantly.
After being taken down, Ace quickly got back up. After stretching a bit, he began to coach Combusken on some of its techniques. Combusken nodded continuously as it listened, and after trying some things out, it immediately went over to Gible, who was battling Larvitar. The two old rivals clashed once more, engaging in a pure physical brawl, with every move aimed at a weak point, holding nothing back.
Watching from outside the training room, Professor Rowan and Mr. Berlitz were stunned. Even Platinum was taken aback, and she looked at her dad and asked with confusion, "Dad, won't they get hurt if they train like this?"
"It's not a question of getting hurt anymore. If they don't handle it properly, someone could get killed!" Mr. Berlitz said in shock. "Professor, we can't let him train like this. If he continues, someone might die!"
"Calm down." Professor Rowan held back Mr. Berlitz, who was about to go stop Ace, and said seriously, "That's his training method. We can't interfere. Unless Ace really doesn't know what he's doing…"
CRACK!
Before Professor Rowan could finish his sentence, inside the training room, Combusken found an opening on Gible and landed a punch directly on Gible's side. Gible barely managed to block with its arm, but the powerful force instantly broke Gible's arm and sent it flying.
"Go stop him, now!" Professor Rowan's mustache bristled in anger. He roared, dragging Mr. Berlitz into the training room.
"Professor Rowan, Mr. Berlitz, what are you doing in here?" Ace, who was squatting and treating Gible, saw the two of them rushing in angrily. He stood up and asked with confusion.
"Ace, this is not the right way to train your Pokémon! Where's Gible? You have to treat it right away. If its bone is broken, it could affect its future…" Mr. Berlitz said anxiously. Then, he saw Gible walk out from behind Ace, flexing its now-healed arm, and looking at Mr. Berlitz with confusion.
Mr. Berlitz's mouth fell open. He was speechless. In just a few minutes, his twenty-plus years of worldview had been completely shattered!
"Never mind, never mind. You continue." Professor Rowan awkwardly cleared his throat a few times, then pulled Mr. Berlitz out of the training room.