Genzo And Brandon

Watching Taro practicing archery with full concentration in the courtyard, Yuga was puzzled. Wasn't he supposed to go in a different direction? How did he return here so quickly?

Yuga and Starla returned without alerting anyone in the courtyard. Mr. Genzo seemed to be saying something to Decidueye with a focused expression, occasionally nodding thoughtfully. Taro, on the other hand, remained quiet and focused, aiming his arrows at the targets in the distance, not letting his attention wander.

"Grandpa, I'm back!"

Starla suddenly shouted as she bounded into the center of the courtyard. Taro, with his right arm extended straight as he was preparing to shoot, unconsciously trembled at the sudden noise. The arrow on his bowstring shot out with a "whoosh" and hit the wall beside the target with a "thud," missing the mark! Mr. Genzo's snow-white eyebrows couldn't help but twitch, his expression visibly darkening.

"Coming back is one thing, but must you make such a racket?" Mr. Genzo scolded Starla with a stern face. However, Starla showed no fear at all. Instead, she burst into laughter at Taro's missed shot and her grandfather's serious expression, indicating that such incidents were not uncommon.

"Hehehe..." Starla's clear laughter echoed in the courtyard. In no time, Mr. Genzo returned to his usual demeanor, and even Taro, who usually had a blank expression, couldn't help but slightly curve his lips when he looked at the lively and adorable Starla.

After returning, Yuga and Starla sat bored under the corridor, watching Mr. Genzo patiently instruct Decidueye in archery. Feeling the boredom creeping in, Starla suddenly said to Yuga, "Hey Yuga, do you want to give it a try? I can teach you!" She pointed at Taro, who was shooting arrows.

Yuga was momentarily surprised by her suggestion, then he became quite interested and said, "Sure, that would be great! I appreciate your guidance, little master."

Starla sprang up from the ground with determination, patted her chest proudly, and said with her nose held high, "Leave it to me!"

With that, she grabbed Yuga and led him into the nearby house to change clothes.

Opening a conspicuous cupboard in the room, Starla said, "Come pick out some clothes."

Yuga looked inside the cupboard and saw rows of archery outfits of various sizes. He picked out a set that seemed to fit him well.

Looking at the clothes in Yuga's hand, Starla glanced at them and said, "My grandpa said this seems to be my dad's. And this set, and this one, and this one too." Starla pointed out several sets of archery clothes, some of which were of different sizes, obviously worn by the same person at different ages.

Yuga paused for a moment, surprised that he had coincidentally picked up the archery outfit that once belonged to Starla's father.

Regarding Starla's family situation, Yuga had only heard a bit from Reggie. Mr. Genzo's son and daughter-in-law passed away early, leaving only Starla, a young daughter, whom he relied on for company. Other than that, Reggie wasn't clear about the details.

However, there were only two sets of archery outfits in the cupboard that fit Yuga's size, and they both belonged to Starla's father. Yuga couldn't just put them back, and seeing Starla react normally when mentioning her father, he calmly took the clothes to change.

After changing into the clothes, Yuga, under Starla's guidance, picked out a bow suitable for his height and arm length.

As Yuga walked out of the house wearing the archery outfit and carrying the bow, Mr. Genzo seemed momentarily stunned. He seemed to see a glimpse of his late son in Yuga; his son seemed to be as tall as Yuga.

"Decidueye."

Seeing Mr. Genzo lost in thought, Decidueye let out a soft call, bringing Mr. Genzo back to his senses. He glanced at Yuga, who stood tall in the archery outfit, holding his bow.

From a distance, he looked more like his son.

Once Yuga was in position under the corridor, he raised the bow and mimicked Taro's movements, shooting an arrow with a "whoosh."

"Thunk"! The arrow hit the target, but only grazed the edge.

Meanwhile, Starla, standing by, shouted confidently, "No, that's not right! Your posture and the way you hold the bow are all wrong! Everything's wrong."

Yuga put away the bow and rubbed his nose helplessly. "It's my first time! Why are you so strict?"

Starla puffed out her chest. "Of course, I'm your teacher now! I have to be strict with you!"

In reality, while Starla's archery skills were decent, they were far from being able to teach others, and she had no intention of teaching. So, Yuga found her pretending to be "impressive" quite amusing.

Seeing Yuga tease her, Starla became frustrated. "You're laughing at me!"

Yuga quickly denied, "Of course not, not at all! I just think you have the same style as Mr. Genzo."

"Of course," Starla said proudly, not noticing Yuga's efforts to hold back laughter.

Yuga had no real intention of learning archery, and Starla wasn't a qualified teacher, so the morning quickly passed in their antics.

As noon approached, Taro returned home ahead of them. Yuga walked over to Decidueye and asked, "How's it going learning from Mr. Genzo?"

Decidueye raised its wing and gave a thumbs-up gesture, indicating that its learning was going smoothly.

"That's good to hear. As long as it helps with your training a bit, our trip to Pacifidlog Town won't be in vain," Yuga remarked.

Mr. Genzo's house had an elf named Slaking who helped with household chores, but it couldn't cook. So, Mr. Genzo personally prepared lunch, and Yuga felt a bit embarrassed just watching, so he went into the kitchen to assist.

Mr. Genzo was a man of few words, and since he didn't initiate conversations, Yuga couldn't find common topics to talk about. Thus, the atmosphere was very quiet as one person cooked while the other picked and washed vegetables.

When the dishes were ready, Yuga was about to serve them when Mr. Genzo suddenly asked, "Would you like to learn archery with Decidueye and me?"

Yuga paused in his steps with the dishes, not understanding why Mr. Genzo suddenly brought this up. "I don't think I have any talent for archery," he said. At least, that's how he felt. After spending half a morning learning from Starla, he hadn't made any progress.

Mr. Genzo replied, "I watched your practice this morning. Your arms are strong, and you seem to have some talent."

Yuga thought to himself, My arms are strong because I'm tall and well-built.

Mr. Genzo didn't dwell on the matter. In the afternoon, while teaching Decidueye, he also called Yuga over. Since Yuga had nothing else to do, he agreed to accompany Decidueye.

Mr. Genzo was strict and serious when teaching Decidueye, but he wasn't as harsh on Yuga. He answered Yuga's questions meticulously when asked and didn't overly scold him when he slacked off. It seemed like inviting Yuga to learn archery with him wasn't just an impulsive decision. Compared to Starla, Mr. Genzo was indeed a good teacher, and Yuga gained new insights into archery.

So it went, Yuga and Decidueye practiced archery with Mr. Genzo for five consecutive days. What puzzled Yuga was that Taro didn't show up even once during these five days. Whenever they needed to buy something, Yuga rode on his Dragonite with Starla to the town.

Worried about Taro, Mr. Genzo even asked Yuga to check on Taro's house while they were in town. Yuga didn't know where Taro's house was, but Starla did.

At Taro's house, Yuga and Starla didn't find Taro, but they met Taro's parents. According to them, Taro had gone out for something, and there was nothing wrong.

On the seventh day at Mr. Genzo's house, Yuga encountered an unexpected visitor.

Early that morning, as Yuga got up to practice archery with Decidueye, he heard the sound of a spacecraft landing outside. When he stepped out, he saw a pyramid-shaped spacecraft parked not far away.

The mention of a pyramid-shaped spacecraft immediately brought to mind Mr. Brandon, the chief of the Battle Frontier and the Battle Pyramid.

Sure enough, Yuga soon saw Mr. Brandon descending from the spacecraft. Mr. Brandon, known as the chief of the Battle Frontier, he was very famous, particularly for his two Legendary Pokémon, Regirock and Regice.

Although Yuga hadn't met him before, he recognized him at once.

However, Mr. Brandon, despite owning two Legendary Pokémon, he didn't hold the title of Master level Trainer. That's because his Regirock and Regice were discovered in ancient ruins. Buried underground for too long, these two Legendary Giants couldn't fully unleash their powers.

In addition to being the chief of the Battle Frontier, Mr. Brandon was also a renowned explorer and archaeologist. He had tamed Regirock and Regice while exploring ancient ruins.

As Mr. Brandon descended from the spacecraft, he noticed Yuga and Decidueye standing at the door. When Yuga recognized him, he also recognized Yuga as well.

Mr. Brandon belonged to a branch of the Temple family. Although he hadn't returned to the Temple family for a long time, he had heard of Yuga's name from the people in the family. However, he was puzzled by Yuga's presence here.

"Visitors?" Mr. Brandon approached Yuga and inquired.

Yuga nodded. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Brandon."

"Hello, nice to meet you too." Mr. Brandon wasn't much of a talker. Though curious about Yuga, he didn't say much, only asking, "Is Genzo here?"

Sensing Mr. Brandon's familiarity, Yuga guessed that he might be acquainted with Mr. Genzo. "Yes, he is. Let me call him for you."

Soon, Mr. Brandon was invited into the house. After some introductions, Yuga learned that Mr. Genzo's son and daughter-in-law were originally members of Mr. Brandon's expedition team. Unfortunately, they passed away during an adventure, so Mr. Brandon had been looking after Mr. Genzo and Starla ever since.

Mr. Genzo used to be a renowned archery master in the Johto region. After his son and daughter-in-law's passed away, he moved with Starla to settle near the Pacifidlog Town. That's why Yuga hadn't heard about Mr. Genzo's name in Hoenn before.

"Why do you have time to visit us?" Mr. Genzo sat cross-legged opposite him after pouring him a cup of tea.

"Just came by to see how you and Starla are doing lately," Mr. Brandon said after taking a sip of tea.

"We're doing alright, just the same as usual. What are you referring to is the Sky Pillar, right?" Mr. Genzo asked with a rare smile.

The Sky Pillar was the most famous ruin near Pacifidlog Town. However, it was complicated, and despite many years passing, nobody had managed to enter it.

But both Mr. Brandon and Mr. Genzo knew that Mr. Genzo's son and daughter-in-law had been inside. Unfortunately, they passed away shortly after coming out. That's also why Mr. Genzo chose to settle near the Pacifidlog Town.

"The Sky Pillar was built by the ancestors of the Draconid People to worship Rayquaza. I want to know what secrets lie inside and what Ken and Nasha encountered inside," Mr. Brandon said solemnly. Ken and Nasha were Starla's parents.

Mr. Genzo sighed. "You shouldn't worry about Ken and Nasha anymore. What happened to them had nothing to do with you."

Mr. Brandon remained silent upon hearing this. After a moment of silence between them, Mr. Brandon stood up. "Well, I'll leave now. I'll come back another day to see you and Starla."

After Mr. Brandon left, Mr. Genzo slowly rose from his seat and walked to the cabinet behind him. When he opening it, he retrieved a brocade box and carefully opened it, revealing a grass-green pearl inside.

"What exactly are you?" Mr. Genzo muttered softly as he looked at the grass-green pearl.

This grass-green pearl was entrusted to him by his son and daughter-in-law before they died. They had instructed him to not let anyone know about it. Therefore, despite moving near Pacifidlog Town where his son and daughter-in-law had met their end, Mr. Genzo had never dared to investigate the origin of the pearl or disclose its existence to anyone, including Mr. Brandon.

Thinking about his son and daughter-in-law's solemnity before their death, he knew that this pearl must be a taboo that must not be revealed.

As Mr. Brandon emerged from Mr. Genzo's house, Starla happily jumped to his side. "Is Mr. Brandon leaving?"

Mr. Brandon affectionately ruffled Starla's head. "Yes, I'll come back to see you and your grandfather another day."

Starla looked up excitedly. "Promise?"

Mr. Brandon nodded. "Promise."

As Mr. Brandon left, he passing by Yuga who was practicing archery with Decidueye, he nodded at Yuga before leaving the courtyard. Shortly after, Yuga heard the sound of a spacecraft taking off outside.

"Is Starla close to Mr. Brandon?" During a break, Yuga asked Starla about her relationship with Mr. Brandon.

Starla smiled and replied, "Yes, Mr. Brandon often comes back to see me and my grandfather."

Yuga nodded in response and didn't ask further questions. Knowing that Mr. Genzo and Mr. Brandon were acquainted and very close to each other surprised Yuga because he previously thought that Mr. Genzo had no connection to the world of trainers. Little did he know that Mr. Genzo's son and daughter-in-law were trainers under Mr. Brandon.

Yuga stayed at Mr. Genzo's house for a few more days. During this time, Mr. Brandon visited once again, but his visits were always brief.

Taro still hadn't returned.

However, Yuga planned to stay for two more days before returning to Verdanturf Town. Mastering archery wasn't something that he could be achieved overnight, and he couldn't stay in Pacifidlog Town indefinitely. However, Decidueye could stay here for some time.

One morning, as usual, Yuga went out with his Pokémon and Starla for training. He planned to return and practice archery with Decidueye later. However, after a while, he suddenly saw thick smoke billowing from Mr. Genzo's house.

Then, two Salamence soared into the sky and began to fighting each other.