Rose had slightly tanned skin, with a short ring of stubble around his chin and mouth. A single strand of black hair fell from the neatly slicked-back style on his right side, hanging loosely over his face.
For a moment, Shiro locked eyes with him. Rose wore a faint, knowing smile. Just as Shiro remembered why he was here and opened his mouth to speak, Rose interrupted.
"Oh? You must be Shiro, right?" Rose's voice carried a lazy amusement as he twirled the stray strand of hair around his finger. "That's not exactly a Galarian name… is it?"
Shiro hesitated for a second before answering, "My father—"
"I know!" Rose cut him off, his tone flat and uninterested. "You're from Spikemuth, aren't you?"
Shiro nodded, "Yeah."
Rose's smile widened. His fingers twisted the strand of hair a bit tighter now, as though the motion helped him think. He spoke slowly, almost like he was narrating a story.
"Shiro. From Spikemuth. A naturally gifted trainer, well-known throughout the town. Everyone believed you'd make it to the Champion's Cup and bring glory to Spikemuth, maybe even help the town recover from its decline. But the Gym Leader gave his endorsement letter to his only son, Piers, instead."
"You were furious. When you confronted him, he threw you out and banished you from Spikemuth. The townspeople also saw it as unfair, so you traveled to Wyndon and pleaded with the League for justice."
"Sounds about right?"
Rose's voice stayed light, but the finality in his words felt almost like a verdict. He wasn't asking a question; he was stating facts.
Shiro didn't flinch, nor did he question this new version of his past. He nodded without hesitation. "I'll remember that."
"Good." Rose sat up straighter and grabbed a file from the desk. "The report says you caught Drakloak on your own. Is that true?"
Shiro gave a brief rundown of what happened.
Rose listened intently, nodding along. When Shiro finished, Rose's hands came together in slow, deliberate applause. His smile stretched wider.
"Impressive. Very impressive. You've got talent, Shiro... you know that Drakloak was originally supposed to be a Macro Cosmos catch, right?"
Shiro gave a slight nod.
Rose leaned forward, his sharp gaze locking onto him.
"I've read your file, including what happened in Hammerlocke. You even killed a League official there, didn't you?"
Shiro didn't get the chance to respond.
"But you never lost a single match in the Hammerlocke Stadium," Rose continued smoothly. "You even used a newly caught Gastly to take down Raihan's younger cousin. Rylan, wasn't it? Beat his prized Jangmo-o, a Pokémon his Dragon-taming family had been carefully raising."
Shiro's chest tightened. He wasn't scared, but he knew where this was going. Rose wasn't just complimenting him; he was building up to something. This was a setup. Rose was about to push him into a corner with demands far higher than what the other trainers faced.
"You know," Rose toyed with his hair again, not getting to the point just yet. "A trainer's talent comes down to two things. One: the ability to bond quickly with Pokémon. Two: the skill to command them in battle."
He paused, his grin widening.
"Kid…"
Rose leaned back in his chair, voice lowering to a near-whisper.
"I want you to make it to the Champion Cup's semi-finals. At least."
…...
Shiro stepped out of Rose's office, processing the conversation inside. The situation left Shiro with no room to argue. He agreed without complaint.
Despite Rose's harshness, there had been an upside: promises of top-tier resources throughout the journey, with priority over other trainers.
Shiro thought it over carefully. If he wanted to reach the semifinals, he'd need a full team of six Pokémon, and five of them, aside from Drakloak, would have to be Advanced-level at minimum.
There was only a month and a half left before the Gym Challenge began.
It sounded tight, but in reality, he had more time than it seemed.
The Gym Challenge wasn't a straightforward competition; it was a region-wide, live-streamed event where trainers traveled from Gym to Gym. The fastest ones, like Leon, might finish it within a month. Others, less skilled, could take over half a year.
The Champion Cup would only start once the Gym Challenge ended.
With Shiro and the others involved now, the whole schedule was bound to slow down. Rose was effectively giving him close to a year.
It wasn't a bad deal: a rare chance to grow stronger, without having to struggle for resources on his own.
The only downside…
Everything he did would be under Macro Cosmos' watchful eye.
...
Shiro was deep in thought as he stepped into the elevator, not paying attention. He bumped straight into someone.
He only paused for a moment, but the other person, much lighter than him, nearly stumbled to the ground.
It was a dark-skinned girl with delicate features. Her long, black-blue hair was tied neatly behind her head.
The moment Shiro got a good look at her, he couldn't help but blurt out.
"Nessa?"
The girl, barely regaining her balance, widened her eyes in surprise.
"You know me?"
Shiro's mind raced. In the original timeline, Nessa was the Gym Leader of Hulbury. But now, she hadn't reached that point yet. He wondered if she was also part of Rose's "special assignments."
"I... I saw you before in Hulbury. Just surprised to run into you here…" he said quickly, trying to cover his tracks.
"In Hulbury?" Nessa frowned slightly, trying to recall any memory of seeing him there.
"Just from a distance, never talked," Shiro added, smiling awkwardly. "You're probably here to meet Chairman Rose, right? He's inside. Please, go ahead."
Nessa gave a puzzled nod, then walked toward Rose's office.
The elevator doors hummed shut. Shiro let out a long breath, finally relaxing.
In the original story, Nessa later became a famous model; her tall, slender figure definitely made her stand out. But that came after she became a Gym Leader.
Thinking about it, meeting her wasn't all that surprising.
Even though Shiro had been in this world for almost a month now, the butterfly effect hadn't changed the timeline drastically yet.
Nessa's background wasn't ideal either, but she undoubtedly had the potential to become a Gym Leader.
This special assignment from Rose seemed like a key turning point for her, and indirectly confirmed the mission's chances of success were high.
The elevator descended slowly. Shiro didn't know where to go or what to do next, so he decided to head to the first floor and ask around.
He was officially a member of Macro Cosmos now, after all.
What he wanted to figure out most was how the resources would be allocated. There was no way Rose would hand him whatever he wanted on a silver platter. And besides, the mission's main focus still revolved around Leon.
If Leon defeated Raihan and became Champion, Rose's plan would already be halfway complete.
...
Ding!
The elevator reached the first floor.
Shiro stepped into the spacious lobby, glancing around.
On either side were curved, silver-white reception counters. Behind each counter stood staff members in white uniforms, handling reception duties.
Shiro approached one of the counters and asked a muscular man in sunglasses.
"Where's my room? And where are the other mission members?"
The man stayed silent for a moment, then replied slowly, "Marvin's on the twelfth floor. He'll fill you in."
"Got it."
Shiro turned back to the elevator and hit the button.
...
Twelfth floor.
The elevator doors slid open, revealing a wide, minimalist lounge, completely empty of furniture.
"Yo, you finally made it?" Marvin asked, sitting on the floor. "Been waiting a while for you."
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