"Welcome, trainer! How many I help you today?"
"I reached the intermediate-level, so I want to update that information on my Trainer Id."
"Oh? Congratulations! Let me see...Eric...registered for a trainer 38 days ag- wait what?!"
It was rare for Nurse Joy to be so surprised that she broke her professional mannerism.
Cough cough. "Sorry about that. Let me just check a few more things."
After saying that, Nurse Joy began a deep dive on Eric's data. 38 days was too fast to become an intermediate-trainer.
And after the news article about Red and Blue, there were many people trying to fake their registration time to gain fame. Unfortunately for them, the league's methods for verification were quite advanced.
'Let's see… started off with a Level 6 Gastly… semi finalist in the Redwood Tournamet with a lvl 18 Poliwag, lvl 19 Spearow, lvl 24 Gastly… became a beginner level breeder and the disciple of Breeder Rudy?!'
Seeing that Eric was a breeder as well shocked Nurse Joy even more. And she confirmed that all his information was legit.
"Sorry for the delay. I have updated your information. Once again, congratulations on achieving this milestone. Is there anything more I can do for you?"
"No, thank you. This was it."
After he was done, Eric left the Pokémon Center. He was sure some sharp reporter on the lookout would take notice of his status. Now he just had to wait.
---
"Lisa! I have news! You need to write an article immediately!"
"Oh? That urgent? What is it?"
"Someone else also surpassed Lance's record to become an intermediate level trainer! And this Kid is an orphan without a background too!"
Lisa's eyes immediately lit up. Someone else had beaten her to write the article about Red and Blue. She was pretty bummed about that. To make it worse, that article was not good.
"Give me all the details, I'm finishing it within an hour."
---
True to her words, Lira finished that article in less than an hour.
"Lance's record broken again. Kanto is truly the land full of prodigies."
There was a photo of Eric in the article, taken from the Redwood Tournamet.
After reading it, Eric thought that it was really exaggerated. They had made full use of him being an orphan to appeal to the general public, showcasing how someone went from Rock bottom, all the way up to surpassing the face of Kanto's new generation.
They had even written about his time in the Redwood Tournamet.
Eric couldn't finish the article, as he felt cringey reading about himself like this. But he had to admit, whoever wrote this article knew what they were doing.
---
"Hm? Belle look! Isn't this the kid from that tournament?"
"Huh? What's up big sis? Oh! It's Eric!"
"I thought he was talented when I met him, but this caught me by surprise. And he's a breeder as well?"
"Eric is awesome! But Belle is the youngest ever Intermediate trainer, so she is even more awesome! Isn't that right Vice Leader Sparkles?"
"Pi Pichu!"
Blaire sighed. "You really need to learn to humble yourself…"
"But this kid… I wonder if I should invite him for 'that'?"
---
"Now who the hell is this?!"
"Young master Alister, please don't throw things in the study."
Alister was sitting in his family's study with his attendant, with whom he had no pretenses.
"First it was those 2 from Pallet Town, and now this guy. Who even wrote this? It's just about reaching the intermediate level. It's not even a big deal."
" I believe he was with you in the tournament that happened in Redwood."
"Haah? Do you think I would remember such a thing? Well whatever. These 3 annoy me, but it is far less than that damn brat! I sweat I'll show all of them…"
---
Iris was taking a break from training her Pokémon when she saw Eric's article and frozen for a second.
Eric had made quite the impression on her. She had even started training harder because of their last battle. Had it not been for that, Eric would've surpassed her! Fortunately she dedicated more time to training and reached the intermediate-level.
Even then, the gap between them was closed a lot.
---
Ethan read the article with Scyther by his side. After getting a tier-2 crystal, and with some training, his Scyther had long since broken though the intermediate level.
Since then, his financial struggles had also reduced by quite a bit.
Still, he was just a little short from becoming an intermediate level trainer.
Eric had completely surpassed him.
"That kid truly is something don't you think, Scyther?"
"Scyth!"
"Hahaha, I don't think it'll be possible. His pace is too fast. But don't you worry, cause I won't give up."
"Scyyth!"
---
"Wow, Eric truly is awesome!" Alan said out loud when he read it. He then immediately messaged Eric to congratulate him.
Others who Eric knew, like The barber Eddie, also read the article. Eddie even went around telling people that Eric was his customer.
---
"So there is another interesting kid our age huh." Blue thought as he scrolled past the article. It made him slightly curious but that was about it.
Red didn't show much of a reaction after reading the article. But if you observed him closely, you'd notice that he was a little happy. He always liked more competition.
---
Many people across Kanto, and even from other regions, read the article. Some were impressed, some didn't think much off it. Many even thought this was a PR stunt from Kanto.
But one thing was certain.
Eric's name was on people's mouths.
And while most higher ups in the league didn't care, there was one who was very interested in this article.
Professor Oak!
His long term goal was to give regular people an equal chance as a Pokemon trainer. Eric, being someone from without any background, could help a lot in this. It was still too soon to tell, but Oak saw a chance.
---
Eric's popularity increased overnight, as he gained over a 100,000 followers in a day, reaching the goal he had set for himself in one go.
After becoming a breeder, and an intermediate trainer, his AP had increased as well.
Name: Eric
AP: 1350
Followers: 102,208
Now, his every move in public would draw some attention. And that is exactly what he hoped. This was the perfect start.
Now he just had to maintain this as he did his Gym challenge. As his fame and power grow, many roads would open up for him.
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