The group photo was taken on the eve of the last Suzuran Conference, and it was Sōjiro who finally contacted and organized it.
Because Sojiro's family environment is good, he pays for everything from organization to party expenses.
After spending so much effort, Sojiro said that his idea was actually very simple, just to leave a souvenir.
You don’t have to pay your own money. Sojiro is even willing to help pay for the round trip expenses. The party is set in Binhai City, which is close to Suzuran Island. After the party, you can also go to Suzuran Island to watch the game...
No matter how you look at it, it is a very heroic performance. No one would refuse such an offer.
However, the results of the meeting were already in front of Luther: out of more than forty people, only nine were willing to participate in the meeting.
"Why?" Luther asked.
Soujiro held the group photo and looked a little lost in thought. After a long time, he sighed.
"The reasons are complicated."
"Some people don't want to recall the past, some are afraid to face people and things related to Sirona, and some people hate the companions who have also given advice to Sirona."
Luther didn't speak. Sojiro took a sip of tea and continued.
"Actually, I have had very little contact with Sirona over the years. You will know that I also go through Mira who is active in Binhai City, not Sirona."
"Did Sirona do anything bad?" Luther asked, "Looking at your tone, it seems that Sirona's existence has caused many people to reject your invitation."
"No, Sirona will always be the trainer I admire, the creator of the undefeated record in the region, the youngest champion in the region..."
"I will always remember that afternoon." Sojiro's eyes flashed with nostalgia.
"The assessment battle between Vulpix and I reached a stalemate. With her gamble-like counterattack of abandoning all defenses, I was able to pass both blind and self-selected assessments in one go."
"The next afternoon, just as I was feeding Vulpix the tree fruit mixture and checking my health, the doorbell rang."
"When my housekeeper told me that Sirona came to visit me, I thought he was making fun of me and I blurted out, 'Stop it.'"
"But Sirona really came. She was sitting on the sofa in my house, um... just a little next to where you are now."
"Sirona asked me that I was very talented and she wanted to give me a chance and asked me if I would accept it."
"I was stunned. I never dared to imagine that this kind of thing would happen to me. Even though my family's conditions make it easy for me to attend the ceremony attended by Sirona..."
"But at that moment, she seemed to have stepped out of the illusion. She was not the distant, ethereal symbol of the Sinnoh trainer, but a real person."
Soujiro picked up the comb on the side and smoothed the hair of Vulpix. The proud Vulpix actually didn't run away, but squatted in place, letting Soojiro do it, and seemed to be recalling that dreamy afternoon along with his words.
"I didn't hesitate and agreed immediately, and then Sirona left with a smile."
"For a long time to come, I will be able to gain a lot of skills and experience in raising and training elves from Sirona."
"A champion can always teach you patiently when you have bottlenecks in training, and most of the time he will be there in person..."
Sojiro raised his head and stared at Luther: "You should know that feeling. After all, you are the one she chose, and you are also the one who has gone the furthest among us. You should experience it more."
This was the first time Luther heard the details of Sirona's teachings from other people.
Sojiro took it for granted that Sirona treated Luther the same way, but in fact it was not the case.
Sirona admitted that at first she thought Luther was pitiable.
In addition to the combat ability, the mentality needs to be polished, the experience needs to be accumulated, the self-confidence is extremely lacking, and it is wilting like a weed that is about to die.
Sirona did not focus on cultivating Luther. She only helped Luther develop the confidence he needed most and appeared when he needed help.
The battle tips came after Luther conquered several gyms, and Luther even exchanged the skills he developed for switching skills with Sirona.
That's right, if Sojiro and the others were the plants that Sirona deliberately watered, then Luther was the weeds that Sirona saw on the roadside and sprinkled some water on them casually.
The promising trainers failed one after another, getting further and further away from the original intention, and Sirona's mentality became more and more Buddha-like.
If you plant flowers intentionally, they will not bloom, but if you plant willows unintentionally, they will create shade.
Luther, a weed that was about to die, survived with arrogant vitality and became the most accomplished trainer among Sirona's favorite trainers so far.
Next are Ash, Shinji, and Misaki who doesn't know where they are.
Sojiro once thought that he was the only person chosen by Sirona, but it was not until much later that he realized that there were many people like him.
He did not feel disappointed, but worked harder to produce a result that would satisfy Sirona who had helped him.
However…
Sojiro took out his badge box.
Sinnoh, Hoenn, Kanto, Unova.
The badges of the four regional gyms were displayed in front of him, telling the story of Soujiro's glorious achievements.
Sojiro regards these badges as treasures, each one is well maintained and shines under the light.
He made it to the main draw of the conference every time, but every time he failed to make a bigger breakthrough in the main draw.
The best performance was when I entered the top 32 in the Hoenn competition.
"This is the difference between you and me." Sojiro's voice was a little depressed, "You participated in the conference for the first time and you made it to the finals in one breath."
"I follow every game of yours. You are really strong."
"It's so strong that it makes me feel like a waste. Why can't I be as good as you despite working hard for so many years?"
"Is talent really that important?" Soujiro clenched the hand holding the tea cup, "Can't I see your shadow even if I work so hard?"
"My scalp went numb watching your match with Dakdo and your match with Xiaozhi."
"Heiluga's life-sacrifice fighting style, Mariluli's terrifying brute strength, Gardevoir's incredible power-breaking skills, and Darkrai who I never dared to think I could conquer..."
"Everything... makes me jealous, and even makes me hate you a little."
"Luther, you are a very hated guy. You have easily achieved achievements that we trainers can't even imagine, but you have always acted calmly, as if becoming stronger is as simple as eating and drinking.
"
Luther fell silent, and the silence in the room spread. Miao Miao and Vulpix both looked at their master.
"The reason why you can't recruit enough people is because they don't want to face the past of failure, right?"
Luther could hear Soujiro's undisguised unwillingness.
"Not only that, some people really hate Sirona."
Sojiro said, "You heard it right, they hate Sirona who once taught them skills."