The train ride back was rather peaceful. The competition would still be going on for another 3 hours so most trainers were trying to catch the rarest Pokemon they could find and, therefore, taking their time.
When the trio got back to the front entrance of the Great Marsh, they were surprised to see someone unexpected. It was the current Gym Leader of Pastoria City, Mako Kajiki. He was a young man in his 20s who had just taken over the Gym a few years ago. His fighting style was said to be very aggressive, throwing even experienced Trainers off their game as they tried to adapt to him.
Marley instantly backed up behind Cynthia and Xander, scared of the man. It was not that he was rude to her but his muscular build was filled with scars that intimidated the weak-hearted and Marley was one of those.
Xander and Cynthia eyed the man curiously, thinking of him as prey that they were going to hunt. Neither was afraid of the man since he did not have a bad reputation like Alexander of Sunyshore so neither of them was afraid of getting caught.
Feeling the sudden fighting intent directed at him, Mako turned to the pair and showed a dangerous smile, showing off his sharpened teeth that resembled a row of shark teeth. He had surfed the ocean for years and battled with some of the fiercest Water Pokemon around such as Sharpedo.
Seeing him look over, Xander suddenly felt pressure wash over his body. It didn't feel like a human was looking at him but a strong and dangerous Pokemon.
'So this is what one of those wilderness trainers is like,' Xander had never met one before but he heard about them from Prof. Carolina. Wilderness trainers were trainers that spent large amounts of time among Pokemon in the wild, pretty much living as one with their Pokemon. Some people would spend years in the wild which would make some traits of Pokemon rub off on them such as their dangerous aura. And that was exactly what Mako had done.
After getting his starter Pokemon, he disappeared from the grid for 10 years before emerging in the Senior Conference at the age of 22. He completed all his Gym battles in less than a month before he competed. During his first conference, he dominated everyone with his Water Pokemon. Xander had seen the competition and knew just how strong the man was 5 years prior. There was no telling how much stronger his true team had gotten during that period after he fought against other powerful trainers and not just wild Pokemon.
"Not bad, brats," Mako walked up to the trio, focusing his gaze on Cynthia and Xander. "You guys aren't half bad. When do you have Gym battles with me?"
"4 days," Cynthia responded with her arms crossed. Being called a brat was something that she hated more than anything. The only one who could call her that was Prof. Carolina.
"No need. I have no interest in fighting you right now," Mako pulled up his wrist and started to fiddle with his Potech. Xander and Cynthia soon got the notification that they had received the badge from the Pastoria Gym. Xander and Cynthia glared at the man who held up his hands in surrender.
"It's not like that. You two have spunk but you're too weak to fight my real team. I don't want our first battle to be my loss just because I am stuck using weaker Pokemon or your loss when you haven't fully grown," Mako didn't mean to look down on them at all. He liked their spunk a lot. "Let's battle once you win the conference and get stronger. Then we can go all out in a fight."
Mako turned around without waiting for their answer, already having decided that this was how it would go in the future. Xander and Cynthia shared a look and one word popped into both of their heads.
'Weirdo!'
But they didn't say anything else since they got their Gym Badge. The trio then walked to the judging stage where the trio returned all their unused Safari Balls while Cynthia turned in the ball with Ivy in it.
"I caught a Bulbasaur. I assume that is the top Pokemon," Cynthia said proudly with her hands on her hips. The judges looked at her with surprise. They released the Bulbasaur in the area that they figured most trainers would avoid but it seemed like the pair had gone there first.
"I see. Then I must congratulate you," the judge who checked that Cynthia had indeed caught the Bulbasaur congratulated her. "You have indeed won the top prize. Besides your new partner, you have also won TM11 and TM22. That means you can teach your Bulbasaur or another Pokemon [Sunny Day] and [Solar Beam], respectively."
The Pokemon League decided to give these moves as the prize since they knew that both suited Bulbasaur and its evolutions very well. The Bulbasaur line gathered nutrients from the sun so by using the move [Sunny Day], a trainer could help their Pokemon get stronger much faster and eat more.
As for [Solar Beam], it was the perfect move to use in conjunction with [Sunny Day]. [Solar Beam] was powerful but it usually took a large amount of time to charge as one gathered energy from the sun. But by using [Sunny Day], the energy could be gathered very quickly.
The judge passed Cynthia back Ivy's ball as well as two items that resembled black and white Poke balls. Those were the TMs that could teach a Pokemon a certain move.
With the competition over, the trio celebrated Cynthia's victory and the Shaymin sighting at a new restaurant that they hadn't tried before. Once they were done, Cynthia and Xander returned to the Pokemon Center while Marley returned to her room at the inn to get some rest. Since the competition was over and the twins got their badges, it was time to head off to their next destination: Hearthome City.