Chapter 53

Seeing as how the doors were bolted, Jax thought about summoning Vioarr out and destroying them. 'Sigh, forget it. The headmaster's office is probably secured against threats of that level.' Turning around, Jax faced the man who trapped him in here and waited for whatever the man wished to say.

"Ahem. Since you're only a child, I'll let your comment slide. Take note that I won't be as kind a second time." Saying so, Headmaster Leon chastised himself for sounding so distant from Oscar's and Doria's child. He had asked the child that question purely out of goodwill but it seemed the plan backfired.

"Mhm. Since I'm only a child, I'll let your rude question slide. Take note that I won't be as kind a second time, either."

Shocked at the boy's brazenness, Leon wondered if the boy even knew who he was talking to. 'Wait, no. He called me headmaster just a couple minutes ago. So this is how your child has grown up, huh? Haha! So young but already protecting his father's honor. How nice.'

"Pfft! You really are Oscar's and Doria's kid. You're as bold as your father was when he was your age."

"Mhm? You know my parents? Wait, you knew my daddy? W-what was he like?"

Hearing the boy's innocent question and seeing his face softening, Leon scolded himself for saying something so insensitive. 'Stupid! You know he's never met his father. Why would you bring him up!' Not knowing how much he could tell the child without overstepping his boundaries, Leon decided to just flat out ignore the boy's question. 'That's something mother and son should talk about.' Before Leon could dodge the bomb that he planted, Jax spoke again while he was in his own thoughts.

"Don't brush off my question. If you don't answer me, I'll go home and tell Mommy that you bullied me at school today. I won the annual Battle Competition, but Headmaster Leon didn't give me my pokemon egg. He also asked if my mommy was single and said I didn't have a daddy! Mhm, something like that!"

Hearing the boy's words, Leon started to feel cold sweat drip down his forehead! If Jax really went home and told Doria that, she would probably storm the school and burn it to the ground! 'This brat! He's really not going to give me any face!' Sighing, Headmaster Leon decided that he would tell what he could while still staying within acceptable boundaries.

"Ahem! No need to joke around, boy. Mhm, let's see. First of all, your parents and I go way back. While I was still a young boy just starting out my journey as a trainer in the Galar region, Team Rocket popped up for the first time. The whole world was in constant strife and war broke out across every region. As such, the world's finest trainers and professors came to build this school. I'm sure you already know all of this. When the school was first built, your parents and I attended this school together. Back then, your father was the most outstanding student at the time."

Listening to Headmaster Leon talk about his father, Jax had a perplexed but proud face. While he knew tidbits from his mother, that was from the perspective of a wife talking about her husband. Jax wanted to hear how his father was like as a trainer!

"Since your father and I both had a royal pokemon from the Kanto region, we were always being compared to one another. While I was chasing after his shadow, he never gave me the light of day. During our school years, we never actually battled one another. Not even during the annual Battle Competition. I don't know why, but your father never participated in our school's customs. As such, I eventually became the school's undisputed most powerful trainer, but I knew otherwise. It wasn't until after graduating that I started noticing Doria. I was completely smitten and chased after her shadow much like I did with your father."

Hearing the headmaster talk about chasing after his mother, Jax had a bewildered expression. Not only was his mom completely crazy about his dad, Jax's dad was even more crazy for her! Giving a silent prayer to the young Leon from the past, Jax continued to listen to the headmaster's ramblings.

"Once, out on a mission to infiltrate a Team Rocket base and blow it up from within, your mother was compromised. The rest of the team considered her dead and planned on retreating, but I went back to the base by myself to rescue her. By the time I arrived, where the base should have stood was nothing but a crater. Devasted, I thought Doria perished in an unknown explosion with the base but to my surprise, I later saw her on another mission. Only after asking around did I come to find out that a single man on Charizard had obliterated the whole base after rescuing a lone woman."

'This sounds like it was relatively soon after graduation! My parents couldn't have been older than 13 years old! My dad and his Charizard were already so powerful at that age!?' Jax couldn't believe what he was hearing. Back then, right after Team Rocket appeared, the whole world was still lost and confused. As such, Pokemon Academy didn't have nearly as many resources as it did now! Plus, from the looks of things, it didn't sound like his father used any of the school's resources either! If so, how did his dad get so strong so quick?

"Later on, I think it was when I just became the Galarian Champion, I got down on one knee and proposed to Doria. Before I knew it, a Charizard was on top of me and a man with hair like yours was staring down at me. I can never forget the words he spoke at that time, "The world is in too much turmoil for me to kill such a promising individual," and with that, flew off with the woman I had planned on marrying. That's all I can tell you at the moment, if you want to know more, I suggest you ask Count Freiders."

Hearing the unexpected name, Jax asked what Evelyn's father had to do with any of this. Not receiving a reply, Jax could only brew over his next decision, 'Do I go to the empire? Or should I continue my own training? My psychic abilities have started to slow down, and I could use the help. Mhm. It's been a long day. Let's go home and talk to Mommy.'