Pushing open the door to his room, a clean and concise atmosphere greeted him. The room was decorated very simply with no redundant decorations. On a corner of the desk against the wall sat a silver computer, next to which were stacked several books related to Pokémon training.
Shinji casually tossed his backpack onto the foot of the bed and walked straight to the desk to sit down, lightly tapping the computer's power button with his fingertip.
The cold light of the screen reflected off his sharp-featured face, a sharp glint flashing in his dark purple eyes. He skillfully tapped the keyboard and quickly entered the official Pokémon League website, directly searching for information related to the Ever Grande Conference in the Hoenn region.
The screen quickly loaded the entry list, match recordings, and contestant profiles of the conference, with dense text and dynamic images arranged in an orderly fashion.
As the page scrolled, Shinji's gaze swept across it rapidly. Soon, the avatar of a young boy wearing a familiar-style League logo hat caught his attention.
The name under the avatar was—'Ash'.
"As expected, it's him." A flash of realization crossed Shinji's eyes. Ash had indeed been present at the Ever Grande Conference he had participated in.
He didn't linger for long and instead searched for the latest news on the Battle Frontier. After the page refreshed, a piece of news caught his eye: Ash, a Trainer from the Kanto region, is about to challenge the Battle Pyramid facility of the Battle Frontier and face off against Frontier Brain Brandon.
Seeing this line of text, Shinji's gaze became increasingly firm as the timeline became clear: "It seems the Sinnoh region plot will unfold very soon."
Shinji closed the webpage and leaned back in his chair. He raised his hand to rub his brow, quickly organizing his recent plans in his mind:
First, Chimchar needs to overcome its psychological shadow regarding Zangoose, and then attempt to completely master that Blaze ability. Afterward, head to Sandgem Town to find Professor Rowan to update his Pokédex and officially begin his journey through the Sinnoh region.
As for that recently captured Zangoose, it was merely a temporary practice opponent. Once Chimchar overcomes its fear, there would be no need to keep it.
Having finalized his plan, Shinji no longer hesitated and shut down the computer. He turned and walked toward the door, intending to go see the partners who had been sent home earlier; after all, becoming a Pokémon Master couldn't be done alone.
Just as he walked out of the room, Raiji's gentle voice came from downstairs: "Shinji, come over and help me distribute the Pokémon food."
Shinji's footsteps paused for a moment, an imperceptible trace of surprise flashing in his dark purple eyes. He then composed his emotions and walked toward the source of the voice.
In the open space of the Nursery, Raiji was standing next to a pile of buckets filled with food. Seeing Shinji approach, a gentle smile immediately appeared on his face as he handed over one of the buckets of pre-mixed Pokémon food: "Please distribute these to the little guys over there; they are all Pokémon being boarded here."
Shinji took the bucket, and it felt heavy in his hand.
He looked down at the carefully formulated food in the bucket and then glanced at the various Pokémon gathered nearby—there were round Geodude, furry Shinx, and several cute-looking Skitty.
He naturally knew that besides raising their brothers' Pokémon, the family Nursery also took on boarding services for other Trainers, while also breeding and selling some Pokémon Eggs. These were important economic sources for maintaining the Nursery's operations.
Without any hesitation, Shinji carried the bucket straight toward the group of Pokémon. His movements weren't practiced, yet they were exceptionally serious. Each time he scooped out food, he controlled the portion, precisely pouring it into each Pokémon's food bowl.
Raiji, who had followed him out, saw this scene, and the smile on his face became even softer, his eyes full of gratification.
He thought to himself: "Shinji really is different from before. In the past, his eyes only held his own Pokémon and training. For these 'irrelevant' Pokémon, even a single glance would have been considered redundant."
Feeling both gratified and somewhat uncertain, Raiji decided to test him further.
He stepped forward, grabbed a handful of food from Shinji's bucket, and placed it in the bowl of a Shinx that had approached. He spoke seemingly casually, yet his tone carried concern: "Shinji, about what happened at the Ever Grande Conference... what's past is past. You must remember, while strong power is certainly important, the trust and bonds between you and your Pokémon are the most solid foundation on a Trainer's path. You were just too impatient back then."
Hearing his brother bring up the past again, Shinji's movements faltered slightly.
He remembered very clearly that right after the conference ended, Raiji had said almost the exact same words over the phone, and his reaction at the time had been to hang up the phone directly with extreme impatience.
After a brief pause, Shinji continued his feeding movements, his voice calm without a single ripple: "I know."
These two simple words left Raiji feeling greatly surprised.
He had thought Shinji would react with impatience and argue as before, or even turn and leave. He hadn't expected such a calm response.
After the surprise came even more joy. He could be certain that Shinji had truly let go of his previous obsession and had begun to understand how to reflect on his own problems.
A genuine smile appeared on Raiji's face as he reached out to take the now-empty food bucket from Shinji's hand, happily patting his younger brother's shoulder: "Good! Then I'll be looking forward to your performance in the Sinnoh region! Go on, go spend some time with those old partners of yours; they must miss you too."
Shinji watched Raiji take the bucket and felt the warm Pressure of the other's hand on his shoulder, an inexplicable feeling rising in his heart.
He didn't ask more, only nodded and turned toward the deeper part of the Nursery—there was a specially partitioned area where the Pokémon he had previously captured were settled.
Walking down the familiar corridor, Shinji secretly mused that Raiji must have noticed his changes to have acted that way just now.
Those words about bonds had already been said once by Raiji on the phone; bringing them up again now was likely because he wasn't yet sure if Shinji had truly changed.
But none of that mattered. The most important thing right now was to see those long-unseen partners and prepare for the upcoming training.
When he reached the Nursery's backyard, Shinji saw his Pokémon eating quietly—except for Elekid and Chimchar.
Those two little guys were never still, pushing and bumping into each other as if they had an inexhaustible supply of energy.
Looking at these Pokémon that belonged to him, a flash of eagerness crossed Shinji's heart. He then pulled up the panel to check the information of each Pokémon.
[Torterra♦]
Level: 49 (Gym Leader Level)
Type: Grass + Ground
ability: Shell Armor
potential: Excellent
base stats: 525
Moves: Earthquake, Razor Leaf, Leech Seed, Synthesis, Hyper Beam, Solar Beam, Leaf Storm, Frenzy Plant, Giga Drain, Sunny Day, Stone Edge, Crunch, Protect, Grass Knot, Sand Tomb, Seed Bomb
[Nidoking♦]
Level: 39 (Superior)
Type: Poison + Ground
ability: Poison Point
potential: Good
base stats: 55
Moves: Earth Power, Double Kick, Thunderbolt, Poison Sting, Horn Attack, Hyper Voice, Poison Jab, Take Down
[Lairon♦]
Level: 38 (Superior)
Type: Steel + Rock
ability: Rock Head
potential: Good
base stats: 43
Moves: Iron Defense, Metal Claw, Headbutt, Iron Head, Protect, Rock Tomb, Earthquake, Double-Edge
[Froslass♦]
Level: 32 (Superior)
Type: Ice + Ghost
ability: Snow Cloak
potential: Good
base stats: 48
Moves: Hail, Psybeam, Ice Shard, Shadow Sneak, Destiny Bond, Night Shade
[Drapion♦]
Level: 41 (Gym Leader Level)
Type: Poison + Dark
ability: Battle Armor
potential: Excellent
base stats: 50
Moves: Poison Sting, Pin Missile, Cross Poison, Toxic Spikes, Poison Fang, Dig, X-Scissor, Hyper Beam
[Weavile♦]
Level: 38 (Superior)
Type: Ice + Dark
ability: Pressure
potential: Good
base stats: 51
Moves: Blizzard, Psybeam, Metal Claw, Swords Dance, Ice Shard, Quick Attack, Slash, Feint, Assurance, Shadow Claw
[Murkrow♦]
Level: 23 (Advanced)
Type: Dark + Flying
ability: Super Luck
potential: Good
base stats: 45
Moves: Haze, Aerial Ace, Hurricane, Wing Attack, Night Shade, Shadow Sneak, Aerial Ace
[Dugtrio♦]
Level: 35 (Superior)
Type: Water + Ground
ability: Storm Drain
potential: Good
base stats: 475
Moves: Muddy Water, Body Slam, Water Pulse, Psybeam, Hydro Pump, Stockpile, Spit Up, Mud Shot
[Slaking♦]
Level: 37 (Superior)
Type: Fighting
ability: Sheer Force
potential: Good
base stats: 474
Moves: Arm Thrust, Force Palm, Focus Energy, Drain Punch, Focus Punch, Brick Break, Earthquake
Aside from Elekid, Murkrow, and Chimchar, the others were already in their thirties or forties. It seemed Shinji had indeed put a lot of heart into training his Pokémon during his travels over the past two years.
Furthermore, the Pokémon he had captured all had Good or Excellent potential, meaning their upper limits were high and they were well worth training. This was especially true for Torterra, Drapion, and Elekid, who all had Excellent potential.
Torterra, in particular, lived up to its status as Shinji's first Pokémon. It was exceptionally well-trained and already at Level 49; with proper cultivation, reaching the Elite Level was well within sight.
Shinji closed the panel and turned his gaze back to his partners by the food bowls.
Overall, these Pokémon were not weak; they were his most solid reliance on his path to chasing his dreams. With them by his side, his goal of becoming the strongest Trainer was by no means out of reach.