Lance stared at the young man in front of him—though calling him a "boy" didn't feel quite right anymore—and sighed deeply.
He was tall for someone born in Kanto, standing at about 183 centimeters. His eyes were ocean-blue, and his short, wavy brown hair gave him a roguish charm that only annoyed Lance more. Seventeen years old—barely—and yet he was the one who had dethroned him.
The new Champion.
And what had he done after that monumental victory?
Disappeared. Vanished straight back to sleepy little Pallet Town like nothing had happened. Never mind that he'd just become Champion of not one, but two entire regions. Kanto and Johto had shared a Champion since before most trainers were born, and now their fate rested in the hands of someone who apparently thought ghosting the entire League was a valid career move.
"Took you long enough to find me, Lance," the young man said with a cheeky grin, standing casually beside his Blastoise, who looked like it could demolish a skyscraper for fun.
That Blastoise… it was a beast. No, a legend. Lance had fought many over the years, but this one? This one was different.
They called it Titan—and for good reason. Nothing brought it down. Its shell might as well have been forged from mythril, and its glare alone made veteran trainers reconsider their life choices.
"Blue," Lance groaned, dragging a hand over his face. "You can't just drop off the radar. The media's losing its mind. The League Council is ready to send bounty hunters. You're the Champion now. Do you even get what that means?"
Blue tilted his head, mock-thoughtful. "Ah yes, because naturally, being good at throwing Pokémon at other Pokémon means I should also be good at managing politics, infrastructure, and, oh yeah, international diplomacy."
Lance blinked.
…Fair point.
It did sound ridiculous when you said it out loud. But power was power, and in this world, the strongest trainer wasn't just famous—they were practically royalty. Worshipped. Feared. Handed a seat at the regional decision-making table whether they wanted it or not.
And what stung the most?
This kid had gotten his starter maybe a month ago. Then blitzed through the Gyms, crushed the Elite Four, and took the title without breaking a sweat.
With a monotype team, no less.
Lance still couldn't wrap his head around that part.
Red, the other Pallet Town prodigy, had only just earned his first Gym Badge. Professor Oak had called him a genius—and sure, he probably was—but at least Red's progress made sense.
Blue? Blue had stormed the League using nothing but Water-types. It was madness.
"Don't give me that look," Blue sighed, as if he was the one who had to deal with all the nonsense. "Things are only going to get weirder from here, you know."
That wasn't comforting.
What annoyed Lance more than Blue's cryptic attitude was the fact he had utterly, comprehensively crushed every opponent. Including Lance. And with a water team. Water.
Sure, Water-types were strong—especially in Kanto, where the selection was great—but Lance specialized in Flying-types. He should've had the upper hand.
Instead, he got flattened.
"Okay, Lance, here's the deal," Blue said, eyes gleaming with the kind of plan that practically screamed you're going to hate this. "Running one region is already a fast-track to early grey hairs. Running two? That's suicide."
Lance grunted in agreement.
"And then there's the whole Kanto-Johto thing. You know—centuries of tension, cultural sniping, mutual resentment. The usual."
Lance grimaced. As a Johto native, he knew exactly how deep the old wounds still ran. The two regions might share a League, but they didn't like sharing.
"That's why," Blue continued, flashing a grin that made Lance immediately suspicious, "I've decided. I'll stay as Champion of Kanto. You keep Johto. Time to split things cleanly, once and for all."
Lance blinked.
That… actually sounded reasonable.
In fact, it was a shockingly elegant solution. Johto had always resented being ruled by someone from Kanto—and vice versa. Splitting the role could ease tensions. Maybe even make the League more functional.
But of course, there was a catch.
"But," Blue said, holding up a finger, "Victory Road, the Indigo Plateau, Mt. Silver, and Route 28? Kanto territory. Officially."
Lance grimaced. There it was.
Indigo Plateau being claimed by Kanto was going to spark more than a few Johto Council arguments. But Mt. Silver? Honestly, that place was so untouched it may as well have belonged to the mountain itself.
Blue just stood there, all confidence and smug smiles, with Titan looming beside him like a silent bodyguard made of water and terror.
Lance sighed. There really wasn't much of a choice.
"Fine. I'll accept. I'll manage Johto. But what about the Elite Four?"
"Simple," Blue shrugged. "Lorelei, Bruno, Agatha? All technically from Kanto. But if they want to follow you to Johto, I'm not stopping them."
"Fine. I'll inform the press." Lance pulled out a Poké Ball. His Dragonite emerged with a thunderous beat of its wings, towering beside him.
"When are you finally going to show your face, Blue? Kanto's waiting."
"Oh, soon enough." Blue waved a hand. "For now, I'm letting Grandpa deal with the press. He likes talking. And I like not being hounded by journalists who think asking about my 'strategy' means I'll suddenly explain how I steamrolled the League with Surf spam."
Lance smirked. "Must be nice, being Professor Oak's grandson."
"Says the guy who was born into a dragon-taming warrior clan. You've got, what, three Dragonite? Four? Most people never even see one!"
"There's no such thing as too many Dragonite!" Lance shot back, indignant.
Blue chuckled. "Sure, sure. Good luck with Johto. You're gonna need it."
"And you'll need it even more," Lance said, mounting Dragonite. With a powerful flap of its wings, they soared into the sky, leaving only wind and the faint echo of his words behind.
Blue watched him disappear into the clouds, expression unreadable.
"I could've just chilled, y'know," he muttered. "Spent my days fishing, or training Magikarp into memes."
He rubbed the back of his neck.
After reincarnating as the Blue—rival of Red, legend of Kanto—he'd been so pumped that he gunned straight for the Champion title. It had felt like the natural thing to do. After all, he had access to all his old game save files—resources, items, even EV-trained Pokémon he remembered using on his DS.
It had been absurdly easy.
Too easy.
"I used to complain Pokémon was too easy," he grumbled, staring at the horizon.
"…And now that it's real life?"
He sighed again.
"Still too easy."
A beat passed.
"I really should've started with a Nuzlocke."