Blue took the mic next, shaking his head. "No, short stuff. You weren’t lucky. You’re just that good."
I groaned loudly, slumping against my Aerodactyl, who rumbled in amusement. "Can we just move on already?"
Brendan grinned. "Okay, okay, let’s talk about something else then! How about the time you convinced a psychic Pokémon so powerful it could level an entire city to become your friend? That’s normal, right?"
I covered my face with my hands. "Anyone could do that if they just talked to them."
May scoffed. "No, they couldn’t, Mia! That’s literally why we’re saying all this! You don’t realize how amazing you are!"
I peeked through my fingers. "I just… do things. It’s not a big deal."
Pikachu sighed dramatically, resting her head against my neck. "Pikaaaa…"
Steven chuckled, taking back the mic. "Well, regardless of what you think, Mia, you’ve done incredible things, and we are all honored to have you here today."
The crowd erupted into cheers, and I shrank into my seat. Why was this so embarrassing?
Pikachu, finally deciding she had enough, let out a long-suffering sigh before giving me a little zap. I yelped, glaring at her. "Traitor!"
She flicked her tail smugly. "Pika."
Meanwhile, Red, who had been silent this whole time, simply stared at me with that unreadable expression of his. No one could ever tell what he was thinking, but I knew.
He was silently saying, You’re an idiot.
And I was silently saying back, Yes, I know.
But I still didn’t move from my seat.
Not one inch.
And that, in my book, was a victory.
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I slumped into my seat in the stands, arms crossed tightly over my chest. Pikachu hopped onto my lap, tilting her head as she studied me with those big, knowing eyes. She’d seen this before—this habit of mine. The second I was in the spotlight, I ran for the shadows.
"Pika..." she muttered, rubbing a paw over her face.
"Don’t start," I mumbled, sinking further into my seat.
The ceremony continued without me. Steven, ever the professional, barely hesitated before moving forward. "As I was saying," he addressed the crowd, "we are gathered here to celebrate the efforts of our Neo Champions—May, Leaf, Brendan, Blue, Red…"
