Chapter 199: This Girl Is Terrifying—She Must Not Be Allowed to Grow!

Chapter 199: Chapter 199: This Girl Is Terrifying—She Must Not Be Allowed to Grow!

Is the Sword and Shield protagonist really supposed to have this kind of personality?

Sora felt that Gloria’s characterization was far sharper than that of the anime heroines modeled after the female game protagonists, such as Dawn or May.

How should he put it?

Anyone familiar with Pokémon lore knew the relationship between Ash and Red.

Sora had looked through the records of the Kanto League Conference, yet found no trace of Red or Blue.

Gloria, on the other hand, gave him the same feeling as Red and Green from Pokémon Adventures.

More talented.

More exceptional.

The gap between Ash and Red needed no explanation.

One wandered through seven or eight regions, with Pikachu’s level seemingly resetting every time he reached a new one.

The other traveled for only a few months before crushing Elite Four members and Champions alike, becoming practically invincible before retiring to Mt. Silver in lonely solitude.

If Gloria’s aptitude isn’t the anime-nerfed version, but the game—or even Adventures manga—version...

...then that’s honestly terrifying.

Thinking that, Sora secretly sucked in a breath.

He almost blurted out, "This girl is frighteningly gifted. She absolutely must not be allowed to mature!"

Of course, it was only a joke.

This was the Pokémon world, a beautiful utopia. Even if Gloria grew into a powerhouse, she’d still be one of the good guys protecting peace.

Still... she wasn’t even in the Journeys anime?

At that thought, Sora couldn’t help sighing.

Gloria really had it rough.

Pokémon Journeys didn’t even have a proper female lead. Instead, it gave Ash a male co-star who ended up taking a huge portion of the protagonist’s spotlight.

Hop at least made an appearance, but only as a minor supporting character.

Looking back across every generation of the anime, Gloria had definitely gotten the short end of the stick.

I wonder what kind of storm she’ll stir up in Galar a few years from now, once she begins her own journey.

For some reason, Sora found himself looking forward to it.

He honestly suspected Gloria might bulldoze her way through the entire Galar League.

If she really could...

Then perhaps one of the plans in the back of his mind could be entrusted to her.

Every region has Gyms.

Some have Battle Frontiers.

So... why not create something even bigger?

Using the entire world as the stage.

Connecting Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Galar, and Paldea into one massive competitive system.

Compared to Leon, Sora actually believed the future Gloria would be a better choice to stand as Galar’s guardian.

Still... that’s just wishful thinking for now.

He hadn’t even finished building the challenge facilities on the Nebel Plateau.

A project on that scale was nothing more than a dream at the moment.

Besides, he didn’t have suitable candidates.

Someone capable of single-handedly suppressing an entire region, yet not serving publicly as a Champion, Elite Four member, or Gym Leader...

How could someone like that possibly be found so casually?

Putting those unrealistic thoughts aside, Sora stepped in to stop the silent battle of wits between Gloria and Emma.

Taking on the role of teacher, he began introducing Pokémon like Sylveon to them.

As for Ogerpon and Calyrex...

It was still too early for Gloria to know about Legendary Pokémon.

If she truly displayed the same potential as her Pokémon Adventures counterpart, Sora wouldn’t mind taking on one more disciple and guiding her onto the path of becoming a true protagonist.

As for Goh?

Let’s see him survive once my Gloria beats him black and blue.

Afterward, everyone had lunch at Gloria’s home.

Sora discussed the plans for the Slumbering Weald with Korrina and Emma.

When they learned they would have to stay behind in town instead of entering the forest, Korrina looked rather disappointed.

Knowing her current strength wasn’t enough to help Sora and Cynthia—and might even hold them back—she secretly resolved to train even harder and become stronger as soon as possible.

"You’re going into the Slumbering Weald?"

After hearing about their destination, Gloria’s mother asked worriedly,

"That place is dangerous. Are you really going in?"

Her name was Yuuka, sounding quite similar to Gloria’s own.

People in this world generally married young and retained their youthful appearance for a very long time.

Although Yuuka already had an eight-year-old daughter, she still looked like a girl in her early twenties.

"The Slumbering Weald is covered in dense fog all year round. Outsiders can easily lose their way once they enter."

Even the residents of Postwick, who lived right beside the forest, regarded it with caution.

The Slumbering Weald never harmed humans or Pokémon.

But once someone entered, they could become hopelessly lost.

Eventually, they would emerge alive...

Yet no one could say how long they had wandered inside.

"Don’t worry."

Sora answered without the slightest concern, confidently raising what was basically a death flag.

"It’s just the Slumbering Weald. It’ll be fine."

"Huh?"

Seeing how confident he was, Yuuka didn’t know how to stop him.

Trainers were all like this.

The more dangerous a place was, the more eager they were to dive into it.

Every last one of them had nerves of steel.

She had already seen countless Trainers head into the Slumbering Weald to explore.

"During this time, I’ll have to trouble you to look after Korrina and Emma, Yuuka."

Not knowing how long they would remain inside the forest, Cynthia entrusted the two girls to Gloria’s mother.

"No problem."

Yuuka hadn’t seen her daughter this happy in a long time.

With new friends staying over, both Gloria and she genuinely welcomed them and hoped they would remain for a few more days.

Well...

Most game protagonists only had a mother, never a father.

Take Ash, for example.

His father had been missing for over a thousand episodes and never appeared even after Journeys ended.

It was hard to imagine how Delia had managed all these years.

Did the man really abandon his wife and child entirely just to chase his dream?

"Master, Cynthia, be careful."

At the edge of the Slumbering Weald, Korrina watched the two disappear into the forest.

Only after they had vanished did she return to Gloria’s house with the three children, where she resumed her Aura training with Lucario.

This... this is ridiculous...

Neither Hop nor Gloria had ever imagined humans could become this strong.

Was Korrina even human anymore?

Had that just been an Aura Sphere?

She had caught an Aura Sphere with her bare hands.

Seriously?

Leaving the thoroughly shocked children behind, Sora and Cynthia released their Pokémon after entering the forest.

Cynthia chose Garchomp.

As for Sora, he left the Regi Titans and his ordinary Pokémon with Gloria’s family.

Traveling with him now were Victini, Ogerpon, Magearna, Volcanion, Calyrex, and Calyrex’s two loyal steeds.

Seven Pokémon in total.

Anyone who didn’t know better would think they had come to flatten the entire Slumbering Weald.

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