Mr. Moore
Houndour cave was close to the summit of Mt. Chimey, and Yuga reached the top in no time.
At the summit of Mt. Chimey, there was hardly any vegetation apart from a few plants that could survive in high-temperature environments.
The area was dominated by exposed soil and rocks, and the temperature was uncomfortably high. Yuga was sweating profusely shortly after arriving.
As Yuga looked at the occasional passing of Slugmas and Magcargos, he couldn't muster any interest.
It was said that there were many Fire-type Pokémon living on Mt. Chimey, but Yuga couldn't spot many Fire-types now that he was here.
Could these abundant Slugams and Magcargos be the Fire-types they were talking about?
Indeed, there were a lot of Slugams and Magcargos, but Yuga thought that "many" referred to a variety of species. Moreover, the qualities of these Slugmas and Magcargos were incredibly poor, not even reaching Yellow quality, let alone Green.
After searching around and finding no suitable targets, Yuga finally climbed to the volcano summit.
Upon seeing the situation within the volcano crater, Yuga realized why he hadn't seen other Fire-type Pokémon. They were all concentrated here.
Yuga took a quick look and spotted various kinds of Fire-type Pokémon: Torkoal, Vulpix, Growlithe, Magby, Magmar, Numel, Camerupt, and more.
These Pokémon varied greatly in level, ranging from around 10 to over 50, with diverse qualities spanning from Red to Blue, although most were Green or below, with only a few Blue.
Thanks to Yuga Insight ability, these Pokémon appeared colorful and impressive.
Although Yuga was envious of these Pokémon, he couldn't muster the courage to provoke them.
Some were training their skills, others building their physique, a few meditating, and some even bathing in lava.
While Yuga was dumbfounded by these Pokémon, they also noticed his presence.
Yuga hadn't been aware of the situation here, which was why he had appeared so openly at the volcano crater.
Now he regretted it deeply and feared these Pokémon might breathe fire on him, turning him into charcoal.
However, the Pokémon glanced at Yuga and then continued with their activities, seemingly unconcerned.
While Yuga sighed with relief, he couldn't help but wonder: did they sense I'm not a threat? Or can they gauge my strength from my appearance?
"Hey there, young one, what are you doing here?"
Just as Yuga found this situation strange, a voice suddenly sounded behind him.
Yuga was startled and quickly turned to see who was speaking.
Before him stood an elderly man in his fifties, with white hair, accompanied by a Charizard and an Typhlosion.
Yuga Insight ability had been active all along. When he glanced at Charizard and Typhlosion, he was even more astonished.
<<Charizard>>
Gender: Male
Ability: Blaze
Quality: Blue
Level: 72
Moves: Wing Attack, Flamethrower, Shadow Claw, Protect, Will-O-Wisp, Roar, Iron Tail, Dragon Rage, Dragon Dance, Hex, Flamethrower, Smokescreen.
<<Typhlosion>>
Gender: Male
Ability: Flash Fire
Quality: Blue
Level: 74
Moves: Ember, Take Down, Gyro Ball, Smokescreen, Thunder Fang, Flame Wheel, Extreme Speed, Hyper Beam, Rock Tomb, Flamethrower, Rest, Overheat, Eruption.
These levels, qualities, and moves were the configuration of Legendary-tier Pokémon. Who was this old man?
Seeing that Yuga was still in a daze, the old man called out to him again, bringing Yuga back to his senses.
"Sorry, sir, what did you just say?"
Yuga was a bit embarrassed; he had been lost in thought and hadn't heard what the old man said.
"I asked why you're here all alone."
The old man seemed kind and wasn't upset that Yuga had been distracted and missed his words.
"Oh, well, I heard that there are many Fire-type Pokémon living here, so I wanted to capture a few. But their levels seem too high for me; I'm no match for them. So, I thought it's better to leave them alone."
The old man suddenly realized and then chuckled, "Even if you could defeat them, how could you capture them?"
"Why not?"
Yuga was puzzled. Was this some kind of Pokémon protection area?
"Because the Fire-type Pokémon that live in this crater are all mine. They already have trainers, so how could you capture them?"
The old man explained with a teasing smile:
"Ah? Are all these Pokémon really yours?"
Yuga couldn't believe it. There were at least hundreds of Pokémon in this crater. How could they all belong to one person?
"Yes, is that so surprising? Haven't you heard that capturing is the basis of being a Trainer? I've lived for so many years; having this many Pokémon isn't unusual."
Yuga thought to himself: Of course, I've heard that saying, but you're taking it to the extreme.
However, the older generation is always wiser; the old man could tell what Yuga was thinking. He chuckled and explained to Yuga with a smile:
"From the look of you, I can tell you're a Trainer too."
Saying that, he glanced at the nearby Floette and Absol.
"You should know just how important a Pokémon quality is for them. But before we capture them, we don't know their quality for sure. While most high-quality Pokémon might show some unique traits, they aren't always obvious. Besides, there are exceptions; some high-quality Pokémon might appear quite ordinary."
"And so, we Trainers rely on capturing many Pokémon to screen their qualities. Gradually, as we capture more, the quality of the Pokémon we catch improves. While this might seem unfair to lower-quality Pokémon, that's just how it is, and there's no way to change it."
"Although places like Day Cares allow you to buy Pokémon with clear qualities, the majority of them are not high-quality. Old-school Ace Trainers almost always have this many Pokémon in reserve."
After hearing the old man explanation, Yuga thought for a moment and realized it was indeed the case. Not everyone could have an Insight ability like him, allowing them to know a Pokémon quality before capturing it.
The convenience Insight brought to Yuga was even greater than he had imagined.
Yuga looked at the elderly man before him. He was a Champion-level Trainer, and in the town of Lavaridge, there was only one Champion-level Trainer.
"Are you Mr. Moore, the Fire-type master among the Elite Four?"
"Ah, you caught me."
The old man chuckled.
Before his time travel, Yuga was a pseudo Pokémon enthusiast who didn't know much about the games. He had only watched the anime, and he couldn't remember most of the content. He only retained some main plot points and major characters.
His impression of Mr. Moore was faint, but he remembered a bit.
By the time the protagonist Ash traveled to Hoenn, Mr. Moore had already stepped down from his position among the Elite Four, even handing over the Gym Leader position to his granddaughter.
Mr. Moore looked younger than Yuga had expected, which meant the protagonist Ash might not have even begun his journey yet.
However, none of this mattered. The protagonist fate had no relevance to him. But before him stood a genuine Champion-level Trainer.
"Is Mr. Moore here to train his Pokémon?"
Yuga asked curiously.
"Haha, you could say that. I usually keep my Pokémon here because it's a perfect place for Fire-type training. The people in town know I like leaving my Pokémon here, so there's usually not many people around. I didn't expect anyone to come here today. You're not from Lavaridge Town, are you?"
"Yes, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Shimizu Yuga from Verdanturf Town. I came to Lavaridge Town for some business and decided to take a look at Mt. Chimey and capture Fire-type Pokémon while I'm at it."
"I see. Verdanturf Town, huh? It's not far from Lavaridge Town. But I'm afraid you might be disappointed in capturing Fire-type Pokémon. Years ago, this place did indeed gather a lot of Fire-types. However, as more Trainers came here to capture Pokémon, it disturbed the Fire-types here, so either their left or scattered. Nowadays, it's quite difficult to capture a high-quality Fire-type Pokémon. That's also why I can keep my Pokémon here. If those Pokémon were still here, I wouldn't be able to keep this place to myself."
Yuga hadn't expected this to be the case, but he wasn't disappointed. He had already captured a Murkrow and a Chimecho, which was quite satisfying. After all, it wasn't easy to find high-quality Pokémon.