my pokemon player.

Raymond glared fiercely at Karl, then turned to his beloved daughter, forcing a smile:
"Alright, alright, I won't talk about them anymore. Why did you come to see Daddy today? Did you miss him?"

Meeting Raymond's expectant gaze, Bella blinked her big eyes and said sweetly:
"Mmm, I miss Daddy. Does Daddy miss me?"

Raymond's smile widened upon hearing this: "Of course I miss her! I think about my darling daughter every single moment!"

Bella's eyes lit up, and she stepped forward to hug Raymond's leg, raising her little face to plead:

"Can Daddy play with me?"

Raymond reached out and ruffled Bella's hair, asking with a smile:

"What kind of game are we playing? Pokémon battles?"

Bella nodded vigorously: "That's right, Brother Karl has to patrol and he's not very strong. It's much more interesting to fight against Dad!"

Upon hearing this, Karl's lips twitched slightly, and he muttered to himself:

"Children's words are without restraint, children's words are without restraint!"

Although Carl's voice was very soft, Raymond still heard it. He glanced at Carl and said:

"What do you mean by 'children's words are innocent'? Is my daughter wrong? If I hadn't stopped Bup from using the Dig move, you would most likely have lost this match."

"As a militia member who guards our territory, you can't even beat a child. Aren't you ashamed? You're making our militia look bad!"

Karl chuckled and said, "You can't blame me for this. Little Bella is your daughter, and she inherited your excellent talent. It's normal that I can't beat her."

Raymond snorted coldly: "Don't think you can get away with flattering me. Come find me after your shift change today, and I'll personally give you extra training!"

"Huh? Okay."

"Speak louder! Haven't you eaten yet?!"

"As ordered!"

Hearing their conversation, Bella quickly raised her little hand and said:

"Dad, I want to practice more too!"

"No, if your mom finds out, I'll have to go to sleep again."

Raymond paused mid-sentence, glanced at Karl who was quietly listening, and continued:
"In short, it won't work. How can a girl like you be so enthusiastic about Pokémon battles? Can't you just play house like other kids?"

Bella let go of his hand upon hearing this, pouted, and retorted, "What's wrong with being a girl? All the older brothers and sisters have said that girls can hold up half the sky too!"

"Dad, you're discriminating against women! I'm going to tell Mom that you look down on her!"

Raymond's eyes widened: "When have I ever looked down on your mother? Don't listen to those trainers' nonsense!"

"I don't care, you either have to battle me in a Pokémon battle or train with me, otherwise I'm ignoring you from now on!"

Bella raised her little head, put her hands on her hips, and said in a spoiled manner.

Seeing this, Raymond had no choice but to squat down and explained helplessly, "My dear daughter, it's not that Daddy doesn't want to play with you, the problem is that Daddy really can't get away."

"You heard the horn just now, right? Whenever the horn sounds, it means Daddy has a lot of things to do. How about we play together after I'm done with this?"

Bella nodded obediently: "I know. Every time I heard this sound before, Daddy wasn't home, and Mommy would get very scared and hold me tightly. Will it be the same this time?"

Raymond shook his head gently: "This time is different. Although Dad will be very busy, he will make time to come home. Your mother won't be afraid anymore, because the Lord will definitely bring us victory!"

"Victory? Does the lord also have to fight against others?" Bella asked, bewildered.

Raymond replied gently, "It's not just the lord, but also the trainers and knights, and of course, Dad. That's why Dad doesn't have time to play with you."

Bella nodded, seemingly understanding, "Are those older brothers and sisters going out to fight too? No wonder they stopped playing with me when they heard that voice!"

Raymond was about to nod when he suddenly seemed to remember something and asked Bella suspiciously:

"Wait! Could it be that the trainers stopped playing with you, so you suddenly wanted to play with Dad?"

Bella panicked upon hearing this, stammering, "How...how could this be! I...I came here to find my father from the beginning."

Looking at Bella, whose eyes were darting away, Raymond understood everything.

He forced back the tears welling up in his eyes and said, "Really? My dear daughter, you should remember what your mother taught you, right? Children shouldn't lie!"

Bella lowered her head, fiddling with her fingers, and said softly, "I didn't lie. I originally wanted to play with you, but I met some older boys on the way, and then I played with them for a little while."

"Creak, creak, creak!"

"what sound?"

Bella looked up and curiously surveyed her surroundings, but the voice suddenly disappeared.

"That's strange. I clearly heard what sounded like Rada's voice. Dad, did you hear it?"

Raymond gritted his teeth and said, "No!"

“Brother Karl, did you hear that?” Bella turned to Karl and asked.

Karl desperately suppressed the urge to smile, shaking his head faster than a rattle-drum:

"No! I didn't hear anything!"

"You didn't hear it either? Did I hear it wrong?" Bella scratched her head in confusion.

Seeing this, Raymond coughed twice and changed the subject:
"Alright, Dad and those trainers are all busy. You should stay home and keep Mom company these days."

Bella looked dejected upon hearing this, but she was always sensible and knew not to disturb Raymond's work.

So she rubbed her cheeks, forced a smile, and said to Raymond:
"I know, I'll stay home and keep Mom company these days."

Seeing Bella so obedient, Raymond's heart softened, and his gaze became even gentler.
"My daughter is so good. I'll definitely play with you after I'm done with this busy period!"

Bella quickly shook her head: "No need, I don't want to disturb your work."

Listen to this! How sensible and considerate my daughter is!
Just like the most accurate saying among trainers, a daughter is her father's little cotton-padded jacket!
"It's alright, I won't bother you!" Raymond's tone carried a hint of smugness and triumph. "I'll play with you all day long!"

Bella frowned and refused again, "Thank you, Dad, but really, it's not necessary!"

Raymond waved his hand dismissively: "Why are you being so polite with me? It's decided!"

"But."

Bella's little face was full of struggle. Just as she was about to tell the truth, she heard Carl's laughter.

"Pfft~"

Raymond glared at Karl, annoyed, and said, "What are you laughing at?!"

Karl quickly covered his mouth, his shoulders trembling slightly, and a muffled voice escaped from between his fingers:
"I'm sorry, I... I couldn't help myself." Raymond asked, puzzled, "What's so funny about chatting with my daughter!"

"Nothing, nothing, I was just thinking about something happy," Carl replied casually.

Raymond sneered, "Ha, your wife gave birth?"

"What you're saying is wrong! I didn't have a wife!"

Carl suddenly realized what was happening, and then said to Raymond with an awkward expression:
"You've heard this reason from trainers too?"

"Nonsense! When I was interacting with those trainers, you hadn't even caught a Rockruff yet!"

Raymond raised his chin and said with a hint of pride, "Although I don't have a good impression of those trainers, when it comes to knowing them well, the entire militia combined can't compare to me!"

No, there's nothing to be proud of!
Carl inwardly grumbled, then Raymond's voice rang in his ears again:
"So don't try to fool me with this lame excuse. What are you laughing at?!"

Upon hearing this, Carl glanced at Bella and noticed that she didn't seem to intend to stop him. It seemed that Bella also wanted to use herself to reject her father.

Since that's the case, then he'll risk his life to help Bella this once!
Karl took a deep breath and said seriously, "Captain, please forgive my bluntness, but you will only have time to play with Bella after the war is over."

"But by then, the trainers would be free too. Compared to them, do you think Bella would still want to play with you?"

"Bella has been too embarrassed to tell you the real reason, obviously because she's afraid of upsetting you. Can't you be a little more perceptive?"

Hard! The fist is hard!
Raymond clenched his fists tightly, his eyes filled with shame and anger.

Of course, he couldn't possibly blame his beloved daughter. Little Bella was just having more fun; what did she do wrong?

The ones at fault are those bastard trainers who corrupted their daughter! If they hadn't been taking Bella out to play all the time, how could Bella have refused to play with her father!

At this moment, Raymond wished he could have a close-quarters battle with the player. Don't ask why he didn't use Pokémon battles; the answer is simply that he couldn't win!
However, the players were all preparing for the impending war, and he didn't want to cause trouble, so he turned his attention to Karl, who had revealed the truth.

"Don't I have any sense?" Raymond said, standing up. "Karl, you've really grown up, huh? Now you dare to lecture me!"

"Are you going to replace me and become the new captain in a couple of days?"

Karl shook his head repeatedly: "I'm innocent! I wouldn't dare!"

Raymond patted Karl on the shoulder and said in a deep voice, "Oh, so you're all talk and no action. Should I offer to step down for you?"

Karl said with a mournful face, "Captain, please stop joking with me. I know I was wrong, okay?"

Raymond shook his head: "No, you're not wrong. I should thank you for telling the truth for Bella."

"To express my gratitude, I will extend my training time and continue training until this war is over!"

Karl's face instantly fell, and he reluctantly accepted the order, saying, "Yes, sir!"

"Speak louder, I can't hear you!"

"Yes! Obey!"

Raymond looked at Karl, who stood tall and proud, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

In reality, he wasn't that angry, nor did he hold a grudge against Karl.

His anger was simply a pretext to give Karl extra training.

This kid isn't very talented. If I want to groom him as my successor, I have to make him put in much more effort and work twice as hard as others.

After all, in the militia, you have to rely on your strength. If you don't have the strength, even if you force Karl to take the position, the others won't be convinced.

Seeing Raymond's angry expression, Bella thought her father was really angry, and her little face scrunched up.

She was very grateful to her brother Karl for speaking her mind and didn't want him to be punished because of her.

So Bella twisted the hem of her dress, looked up at Raymond pitifully, and said:
"Dad, please don't be angry. I did something wrong. Can you please not punish Karl?"

Looking at Bella's tearful face, Raymond's already waning anger vanished completely.

He quickly comforted her, saying, "Don't cry, my dear daughter. Daddy isn't angry, and he didn't punish your brother Karl."

"I just want to train him and improve his skills so that he won't embarrass the militia again in the future!"

Bella murmured softly, "Really?"

“Of course it’s true, when has Dad ever lied to you!” Raymond said with a smile.

Bella smiled upon hearing this: "Yes, yes, I knew Daddy was the best!"

"But Daddy is so good, and you don't even want to play with him. Daddy is very sad right now!" Raymond said, feigning sadness.

Bella quickly hugged Raymond's leg, rubbing her face against his pants:
"Dad, don't be sad. I was just pretending to play with them. It's only when I'm with you that I'm really having fun!"

Upon hearing this, Raymond could no longer maintain his facade and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Okay, then after you've pretended to play with them, you can really play with Dad, okay?"

"Uh-huh!"

Listening to the conversation between the father and daughter, Carl understood that Captain Raymond intended to train him.

He pursed his lips, hesitated for a moment, and said to Raymond, "Captain, you know I don't have the talent of a trainer, why?"

Before Carl could finish speaking, Raymond waved his hand to interrupt him, saying:
“I know what you’re going to say. You don’t have the talent to be a trainer, but you’re very suitable to be a militiaman.”

"Besides, I just thought you were easy to look at and was going to give you a chance. Whether you can seize it or not is up to you."

Carl nodded thoughtfully, dropped the matter, and instead praised Bella:
"I wish I had Bella's talent. She can command Pokémon in battle so smoothly at such a young age."

Raymond grinned and said smugly, "Of course, don't you know whose daughter she is!"

Carl then asked, "With Bella's exceptional talent, Captain, in which direction do you plan to train her?"

Raymond shook his head slightly: "I haven't thought about these things. As long as she's happy in the future, any profession is fine."

Bella overheard their conversation and eagerly chimed in, "Actually, I've already decided what I want to do in the future!"

"Oh? You've already thought it through so early? Can you tell me?"

Carl asked with interest, but Raymond didn't answer, though a hint of nervousness showed on his face.

Bella hugged Bubba tightly and said firmly:
"I'm going to become the strongest trainer!"

“Pamo!” Bubo shouted in agreement.

Upon hearing this, Karl's heart sank, and he thought to himself, "Oh no!" He quickly turned his head to observe Raymond's reaction.

Sure enough, Raymond's face instantly darkened, and he forced out a sound through gritted teeth:
"No! Absolutely not!" (End of Chapter)