Hard Enough

Empress stared at the crowd of people.

She’d never seen so many people all at once in one place.

She’d watched the television that Brock had set up, but that was different, the people didn’t have the scents, the feel, the noise of the crowd.

She’d even observed the Gym entrance from atop the plateau and seen people coming and going, but never in such numbers.

The tribe had been only a few hundred and while they had been larger than her they’d never clustered around her or the girl when she’d been a part of them. They’d been present in her life but not loud towards her.

Never loud towards her. Always careful, quiet and respectful.

If the occasion had called for it they would celebrate around a fire loudly, but that was different.

The applause reminded her a little of that with how much emotion was being shown.

But it was different.

They were cheering for her. Such acts had only been given to her by her fellow pokemon at the Gym, Brock when she’d demonstrated her Hyper Beam, Terra… and the girl.

The girl had praised her a lot for tiny things in truth, but it had meant everything to her back then.

Now? She wasn’t sure what to make of a crowd of strangers shouting for her and Brock. She glanced back to see the podiums had lowered and Brock and the masked individual had shaken their hands.

The masked man had reminded her of some of the old wise men with his style of dress. They liked using the feathers from powerful Fearow, that the tribe had hunted down for meals for their outfits. He’d looked very similar.

The girl had only ever interacted with the wise men once, to present Empress to them just after she’d hatched.

From there Empress could scarcely recall seeing them around the tribe. She’d seen the old woman more, but then that had everything to do with the girl and the old woman being kin.

The old woman had good stories about how things had come to be.

The pokemon she lived with now said Brock filled much the same role for his own family, without the feathery outfit.

He told them stories of how Legendary pokemon acted within and upon the world around them. He told them stories of how to be good, earnest youths. How to navigate the land. How to secure food. How to judge bad men and women. All of this in the form of stories if you were wise enough to sit and listen, which the children were.

It was good to be part of a small tribe once again, even if things were different now.

The pop of pokeballs announced more Pokemon joining her and Empress blinked when the two youngest pokemon on Brock’s Elite team were released.

Link and Gawain both blinked uncertainly only to perk up when they noticed the battlefield they stood upon.

Gawain slumped when he noticed that the fight was over. “Ah, I wasn’t picked for this fight.” The Kleavor glanced over at Brock who smiled encouragingly.

“You three are currently the most popular pokemon that people want to see, can you do a slow circuit around the stands? Let people take photos and just look cool?”

Empress blinked, she had no idea how to do that.

A subtle glance towards Gawain showed that he was also floundering and unsure. Link was nodding.

“Ah! Of course! I’m the newest pokemon and Gawain is the new evolution! Empress is the new powerhouse!” he said with a rub of his chin. He turned towards Empress. “I’ll be in your care! If you can stand tall I’ll feel much more assured!” he said earnestly.

Empress stared at the little pink pokemon. He was honest and straightforward in everything that he did. Whether that be training or rest, Link was always eager to have a go and push himself. Now, when none of them had a clue what to do, he was more than happy to simply stand around and follow her lead.

She shifted nervously, was that all she had to do? Walk a loop and stand around? Or did they want more?

For her to growl?

Or perhaps use a Hyper Beam again?

Brock looked from Gawain, to her, and then paused on Link who was bouncing excitedly. “Ah, on second thought.” he released Titan and her son appeared with a shake of his head.

Her son smiled easily. “Hmmm? Ah, excellent fight mother, I was able to witness most of it, excellent showing.”

Empress merely grunted and waved a claw towards Brock. “He wants us to pose for the…” she waved a claw towards the people that had crowded around the edges of the stands looking down into the field.

Titan chuckled. “It’s not meant to be a chore or anything. This is just to show ourselves off. The people that come want to see Brock and us. We are sort of…” Titan scratched his chin in thought, his eyes darting between the three pokemon watching him.

Titan opened his mouth, only to shut it as he continued to think on what to say. A moment later he perked up.

Titan raised a claw. “Brock said that us walking among the people that come to watch the matches helps to reassure them. We are strong but not feral. We are like champions representing him and the other pokemon in our team. We are protectors of peace,” he said.

Gawain vibrated in place. “I love it! He should have mentioned that when he called me out in the past!”

“Yah! He should have! I like it!” Link vibrated in place, his head bobbing up and down.

Empress snorted. She shot Brock a look. He’d tried to pair her up with the two youngsters for their enthusiasm, hadn’t he? Only they hadn’t known how to act on their own. She shot her son a respectful nod. He was good at what he did.

Still, what he’d said made sense to her. So she strode to the edge of the stands and stared at the suddenly quiet crowd. The scent of fear wafted towards her and it took all she could not to snort in derision.

It would be too much for these beings.

Funny, that a child had more bravery in him than a host of other humans.

To this date, no other human had approached her as fearlessly as Brock had.

Empress looked away from the crowd and watched Brock inhale once before stepping towards a crowd of loud people with flashing equipment and small soft sticks. Bertha had told her what these were but she hadn’t much cared for them then. Now she found herself wanting to know more.

She turned back and nodded to the section of the crowd that she’d loomed over before stalking to another section where she loomed tall causing another burst of silence in front of her.

She huffed and once again felt the wave of fear grow.

She held, eyeing various people before her again before stepping away disappointed in them. She was about to stalk over to Brock and demand he return her to her ball when she overheard the people she’d just left talking.

“She was so regal!” “So powerful!” “Oh Wow! I think I get it, she’s just on another level isn’t she?” “It was so cool getting to see her up close like that!” “I almost peed myself!” “Me too!”

Empress tilted her head. What was going on?

“They’re bonding over the shared experience,” said Titan as she moved up next to her. “They’re not used to pokemon like yourself. Some pokemon exude a certain level of strength,” he said.

“I know this!” hissed Empress, chastising her son. You didn’t rule a mountain without knowing about the aura that strong pokemon exuded.

Titan nodded. “Yes, but most humans aren’t used to experiencing it, facing down you causing them a thrill as their bodies war with their emotions. Brock calls it their conscious mind with flight or fight responses,” he said with a thoughtful rub of his chin.

Empress sniffed, unsure what to make of it. “They like it?”

Titan shrugged. “Some people do,” he said. “That said, you can reduce it,” he said.

“How?” asked Empress.

Titan smirked and nudged her to the side, causing her to turn her head and notice her daughter in the hands of Brock’s sibling.

“Mum! Mum! Mum! Oh wow mum, you were so cool! Will I be able to do that? When can I do that? Oh! Can you see me! Hiiiiiii!” Terra waved her stubby little arms frantically to be seen even as she shouted for all her worth.

Empress felt herself soften at the sight and a smile began to stretch her facial scales.

“Yeah, just like that,” murmured her son from behind her. “Go say hello,” he said.

This time the people around Empress didn’t smell of fear. More of them took pictures and if anything, more of them praised her for various body features she had.

“Look at her scars!” “She’s taller than Titan?” “Thinner too, think that factors into her strength?” “She’s got a sheen to her scales doesn’t she?”

Empress smirked, as she saw Titan straighten up and pat his body.

Empress, channeling this new ‘soft’ feeling, approached other groups and eventually linked up with Link and Gawain to inspect people in the crowd. For the most part, Empress loomed in the back while Gawain and Link flexed and waved at people drawing more positive responses while her own presence caused a silent awe.

When they had finished a lap around the stadium, the four pokemon found themselves behind Brock. The cameras turned towards them and Empress found her ‘soft’ feeling vanishing in the wake of the annoying lights. She growled and a silence swept over the people.

The men and women all shot each other looks before packing up their gear. ‘I think we got enough!” shouted one before they darted over to the other man who was being harassed by people like them.

Brock chuckled and glanced up at the three ‘new pokemon’ “How’d you go? Have fun?” he asked.

“It was great!” shouted Gawain.

“I feel like I achieved a lot! I think the people will feel a lot safer now!” said Link happily.

Brock chuckled at their responses before his eyes paused on her.

She sniffed but nodded her head slightly. It had been interesting, and rather fun to spend time with Gawain and Link. Brock grinned. “Alright, well let’s get the others healed up, and go have some ice cream!”

Titan was suddenly at her side and looked attentive causing her to blink and glance at where he had been. Had he used his Giga Impact to get over here?

She shook the thought off as ridiculous and walked with Brock through the crowds of people to a trio of females who all had similar scents and faces. There was a clinical, clean smell to them that stung at her nostrils, and when empress leaned in to inspect the ‘Nurse Joys’ a Chansey appeared before her.

“Hey! No hassling the healers! Don’t you know anything?” said the pink ball waspishly.

Empress narrowed her eyes and snorted. “Whatever, I was just seeing why they smelt strange. They are all practically the same scent.”

The Chansey stiffened before growling. “Don’t ask those questions!” she barked.

She then scooped up the pokeballs that the Nurse had finished handling for Brock before shoving them into Brock’s hands. “Now get out of here! We don’t like your kind around here!” snapped the pink fluffball.

Brock palmed the balls and shot Empress and Chansey a confused look. “Bad interaction?” he said casually to Nurse Joy.

The woman shrugged her shoulders. “Must be, sometimes pokemon just don’t like each other on sight for some reason,” she said.

Brock patted Empress on the flank. “Hey, leave it. I don’t want you brawling with a Chansey. They might seem weak but they can be nightmares cause they’ll take a hit, heal up and then come at you again and again. They’re monsters for endurance battles,” he said as they walked away.

Empress gave Chansey another look and had to conclude that Brock might just be correct. It was a hidden powerhouse. Not that it would be enough to threaten her. If that puffball tried anything she’d flatten it.

She turned her head away, interested in experiencing this ice cream. She’d noticed how her son’s tail had wagged slightly at the mere mention earlier.

Yolanda and Terra joined them and as they moved into the city a cold sweet smell wafted on the breeze making Empress, Titan, Terra, Gawain, and Link all perk up. Titan licked his lips in excitement and Empress felt herself speed up a little.

Brock noticed. “Ah? You can smell it? Yeah we’re close,” he said, waving a hand in the direction they were walking.

When they reached the ‘ice cream shop’ Empress found that it was an open table with a glass display that allowed her and other larger pokemon to walk up and survey the selection of iced creams.

She stepped to the front, pushing aside the weaker pokemon and looming over the human at the front.

People started to protest only for their words to die as Empress shot them an imperious look.

Brock coughed. “Sorry, everyone! My treat to make up for this! She’s never had ice cream before!”

That seemed to mollify some people and Brock joined her with a shake of his head. “Should have realised you were going to do that.” He glanced towards Link who had his face pushed up against the glass mesmerised with what was within.

Empress snorted, dismissing the others before looking at the sweating attendant.

“H-hello maam! What flavour will you be wanting today? We have Sweet, Sour, Bitter, Dry, and Spicy!” said, the pimply faced human.

Empress narrowed her eyes and looked towards Titan. “I like Sweet and Sour!” he said pointing at two tubs, one yellow and one pink.

Empress pointed sternly and the clerk quickly assembled two scoops and presented them to her. Empress leaned down, her nostrils flaring as she inspected the offering before taking it into her mouth.

An explosion of flavours occurred in her mouth and she swallowed before she could control herself.

She found the taste lingering and without meaning to, her tail began to sweep from side to side, knocking Link and Gawain off their feet and batting them to the side.

They cried out in surprise before laughing as they got over their shock.”Is it really that good?” asked Link as he hopped from foot to foot, dodging her tail nimbly.

Empress cringed. That was embarrassing, she was not some Larvitar! She was a Tyranitar! She’d ruled a mountain!

Brock patted her on the side. “You liked it girl?” he said.

She nodded, still feeling shame at her lack of control.

Brock grinned. “I’ll take ten premade tubs of the mix and match and three of sweet and sour!” he told the attendant, causing Empress to perk up as much larger portions of ice cream were presented to Brock.

He shot her a grin and a wink as he packed them away. “We’ll get back to the hotel and share them out with the team, along with some for later. But you can have another double scoop for the road if you’d like?”

Empress found herself perking up, her tail shifting slowly back and forth as she found herself looking forward to this new experience. She rather liked this ice cream. She pointed to another two, this one a blue and the other a green before she tasted them. She found her mouth drying out even as a bitter taste took over.

She found she rather enjoyed it.

Later, when she was enjoying another double-stacked cone of ice cream with the other Elite pokemon, she listened attentively as Bertha spoke of other delicacies they’d gotten to try on Brock’s Journey.

Empress licked her lips and claws clean of what remained of her fifth helping of the treat. She turned towards Betha. “What other sorts of treats did you get to try?” she asked.

Bertha perked up. “Oh there are these things called Lava cakes that are just amazing!” said Bertha, as she began to loudly proclaim all the different tastes in foods she’d experienced on the Journey.

For the first time ever, she found herself oddly envious of her son and daughter. They’d gotten to, or would get to go on a Journey, where they’d taste and see new things.

Maybe she’d have to find a way to travel with Brock more?

Or at least get included when he brought around good food.

The pizza and ice cream had certainly been nice.

Humphrey sat in a dim room watching his mentor on the television as he handled a wave of questions from reporters with an ease that was enviable.

For a moment Humphrey considered heading to Celadon itself but then shook his head. He didn’t want to become too dependent on Brock. The sponsorship had been a lifeline, one he hadn’t been expecting to get after having to beg Spearow to help him out with the junior tournament for the sponsorship.

Humphrey still didn’t know how to face Mia. He owed that girl so much it was…crazy to think about. Around him, the pokemon he’d acquired over the course of the last few months shifted. A wet splash announced his water pokemon getting excited.

None of this would have happened if it hadn’t been for Mia speaking up.

The girl had waved it off when he’d approached her, still high on emotion at being given another chance, a huge chance all told from Brock thanks to Mia. She was too kind.

And she didn’t want anything from doing it.

Humphrey sighed, putting the issue of how to repay Mia to the side for now. He had other things to focus on.

He’d wanted to watch this match for any insights he could gain for Flying types as Masked Owl, or rather Walker had been known to use.

He’d learned a lot from the match, around him a small forest of notes had been laid out with brief commentary notes, or thoughts. His pokemon nudged a few into line or shifted so they wouldn’t trudge on them.

Next to him, Lairon growled softly. “Yeah, it was a strong match buddy,” he said, rubbing an oiled cloth over Lairon’s head.

“Lair!” agreed, his pokemon. “Ron,” continued the pokemon dejectedly.

“Yeah it would have been nice to see Knight be used today, but oh well. We got to watch champion Steven use his though,” Humphrey said.

This mollified Lairon as he leaned into the rubs.

On the other side of Humphrey, Pidgeot leaned in as replays of the fight were broadcast showcasing how swift Walker had been while Brock had blanketed the sky or laid traps where he could.

Walker’s Pidgeot was strong, and one day Humphrey hoped to be just as strong with his pokemon.

Pidgeot was the first pokemon to fully evolve and while it still had a lot of growing to do, Humphrey was hopeful he’d be able to ride his pokemon for longer trips soon. Then he’d get a lot more mobility.

Sadly he’d been too slow to get to Cinnabar before it got shut down, but with his recent match against Sabrina he now had enough badges to cover his inclusion into the circuit at the end of the year pending a victory against Janine, Sophia, and then Manny.

Humphrey had done his research and he also hoped that he could spend some time training with the minor Gym Leader. The man had a lot of insight and tactics that Humphrey wanted to make use of.

He didn’t like his chances at getting other Gyms to work with him so he didn’t ask. He’d have to rely on whatever insight could be garnered from the training camp towards the end of the circuit.

For now? He needed to consider his team, in a few months he’d have the best chance possible of earning a huge payday, enough that he wouldn’t be dependent on Brock if the worst happened and he lost his sponsorship.

He glanced over his team.

Lairon was a strong pokemon that offered a lot of versatility.

The Technical Machine containing Shadow Claw had come in big when he’d needed to face off against Sabrina. It had been money, hard earned money at that, that had been well spent.

Lairon had done great, knocking out two of Sabrina’s pokemon. He’d stood up that day.

As had Pidgeot, Nuzleaf, Houndour, Starmie, and Nidorino. All of them had been forced to endure power and precision with psychic type moves that could only come from facing a master of their typing. Reflexively Humphrey popped open his badge case to check the five badges he currently had.

It had been Nidorino that surprised him the most, with how he had held on to edge out a victory against Sabrina’s Kadabra.

He hadn’t been confident, no, he’d actually been ready to call the match when he’d had to send in Nidorino as his sixth pokemon.

The Poison Sting actually poisoning Kadabra had surprised him.

In the end it had felt like he’d won more through luck than skill but Sabrina had been quick to affirm his victory, stating that it was well earned.

Luck.

Wasn’t that a rub.

He continued his ministrations against Lairon and when he must have gotten a bit too hard with the pressure Lairon opened an eye and rumbled a question.

“No, I’m just… I’m fine buddy, just thinking is all. I don’t like that we had to rely on luck for our last victory,” said Humphrey quickly.

“Lairon!” said, his starter firmly nuzzling into him.

“No, I want to be stronger. We need to be stronger!” said Humphrey as he glanced up at the worn temporary rental they’d gotten. It was a cheap place, almost as cheap as the pokecentre but nowhere near as nice.

Still, with the surge of trainers coming in Humphrey had to be careful with who he fought and how often. The pokecentres, unless you got… lucky, were usually packed with people and pokemon.

It rubbed at Humphrey that he had to scrimp and save, then fight for every scrap he could to get for his pokemon, to just get a bit more of an edge. He’d been ambitious when he’d asked for Aron as his starter, but thankfully the extra costs of Lairon’s meals was something Brock was more than happy to cover.

Still, it felt like seconds were ticking down until Humphrey wouldn’t have that safety net to fall into. He needed to get stronger.

His pokemon needed it.

Humphrey laid out his team roster. It had been ambitious to catch certain pokemon, he knew, but he’d still done it.

Lairon, Pidgeot, Nuzleaf, Magikarp, Machoke, Houndour, Venomoth, Nidorino, Starmie, Exeggucute, Rhyhorn, and Graveler.

Twelve pokemon, with only six more spaces before he would have to start paying for more stable space, which was typically the biggest expense a trainer could accrue.

From the lessons Brock had given Humphrey, he knew there was a trick to evolving Machoke and Graveler which he’d need to work out. Nidorino required a special item which Brock must have supplied to Celia as the older orphan had mentioned using something to get her Nidorina to evolve before the final tournament.

Which just left Lairon and the others to evolve the normal way, through strength.

Well, Magikarp would also require some special circumstances but Brock had been firm in the lessons on Magikarp and Humphrey had listened intently. Magikarp were tough pokemon to evolve.

Brock had said as much, but he’d also mentioned that the payoff of having a loyal, well trained Gyarados made up for it.

Humphrey hoped that Magikarp would become a pillar of his team, but that would depend on getting his pokemon there which still looked like it would take a while.

Humphrey glanced at the final six pokeballs he had, all laid out before him. All of them were empty.

What else should he get to give himself the best chance?

Humphrey glanced up at the screen once more, watching as Brock laughed with his two Tyranitar.

That would be a great addition, that or a pokemon like it.

Humphrey sighed and shook his head. Who was he kidding, he wasn’t that lucky.

Then again, few people were.

“Yes! Suck it birdman!” Forrest shouted as he fist pumped into the air. “Rock beats bird!” he bellowed, drawing more than a few amused gazes from the others in the Fuchsia pokemon centre.

Next to him Ash was also jumping up and down.

Misty had been smiling along with him only to sink down as people’s attention turned to them.

“Forrest! Ash! Sit down! You’re embarrassing me!” she growled as they continued to dance around.

Forrest sat down while Ash huffed and paced back and forth. “Argh! I can’t believe that fight! I mean! I can so believe that Brock won but! But! Two Tyranitar!? Since when has Brock had two Tyranitar?”

“I know!” Forrest said. “He didn’t mention that when I called him last!”

“And when was it that you called him?” Misty prompted.

Forrest coughed. “I called him the last time we were in… He calls me? It’s the same thing!” he said firmly. “The point is he could have mentioned it!” he said.

Ash bounced on the spot. “Think he’d trade? Having a tyranitar is my dream!” said Ash plaintively.

Misty shot him a dubious look. “You forgot he had one until you started watching some of his Ace matches!”

“Yes, so what?” said Ash shamelessly.

Misty groaned and shook her head. “The pair of you are just… urgh!”

Forrest huffed only to perk up as the television continued to show the match. “Hey! Woah Masked Owl is taking off his mask!”

Ash and Misty locked their attention back on the television only to blink cluelessly as an older man was revealed. Ash tilted his head. “Who’s that guy?”

“I… think I know him from somewhere? Was he in a movie?” said Misty.

Forrest scoffed. “You guys are dumb! That’s Morty’s uncle!” he said smugly only to twitch as a banner of text rolled underneath the reveal man to state his name as ‘Walker - former Gym Leader for Violet Gym, son to former Elite Four member Shafner, and father to Falkner’.

Misty smirked. “Morty eh?”

“I…! The Johto Gym’s aren’t my strong suit, alright? They’re on the other side of the Silver range and not that relevant!” Forrest said even as Ash, Pikachu and Misty all laughed at his excuses.

“So is he a big deal, or not?” Ash said, after a moment only to blink as commentators appeared, both of them looking shocked.

“Walker must have been trying to rise up the Ace Ranks to challenge the Elite Four!” announced one.

“Couldn’t he have done so using his Gym Leader status?” said the other sceptically.

“Ah! You never saw that match, I take it?” the other said quickly. “It was an off season match and the thing is, Lance accepted. He set up the match for the usual gauntlet with Walker going up against one of the Elite Four members, he drew Bruno.”

“... shouldn’t that be a good thing?”

“It would have been but Bruno destroyed him on live television with his Hitmonchan alone! That thing is a beast!”

“Why do I not know this?” asked the second announcer.

Ash, Misty and Forrest all nodded their heads. This felt like a big deal! Why hadn’t it been shown?

“It was during the day, and more specifically it occurred during the same time as the Kanto cup racing event! Quite literally! It ended so fast that people thought Walker had fled the fight with the actual result being much worse, Bruno obliterated him!”

Misty and Forrest nodded. “Of course! The Kanto cup! That makes so much sense,” Misty said. Forrest nodded along.

Ash coughed. “What’s the Kanto cup?”

Forrest sighed. “Did your mum not let you watch the Rapidash races, these are like those, only better?”

“No, it’s got a lot of gambling and she’s kind of against it. She had me go out and play with Professor Oak’s pokemon during the day,” said Ash.

Misty hummed. “ Oh guess that explains it. The Kanto cup is like the Rapidash races. But only the fastest pokemon and their riders in the word can compete! The races usually only last like ten minutes so yeah beating a six pokemon team in that time is kinda of crazy

“So something else must have been up I guess.” Forrest said with a shrug. “Doesn’t seem like you’re the only one to miss it.”

Video clips of the match began to play and they watched with a critical eye.

“His pokemon are a lot faster and stronger now, no?” said Misty after a few minutes.

Forrest nodded. “Yeah, it seems that way, I think the Ace challenges might have made him stronger. Shame he’s going to drop down the rankings after today’s loss,” Forrest said as he brought up the rankings chart. “He’s currently tenth on the standings going into this tournament.”

“Where’s your brother?” asked Ash.

“Twentieth,” said Forrest.

Misty grinned. “Not for long! It seems like he’s going to jump a number of rankings, right?”

Forrest nodded. “Yeah I’m pretty sure he’ll win this. His biggest competition is out of the way and he’ll go the distance,” he said firmly.

“Speaking of distance, where are we going to go next? I’ve only got to get one more badge, but Cinnabar and Viridian…” Ash made a gesture and shook his head. “I’m glad we got to challenge Neon Gym before it got raided, that’s for sure.”

Forrest crossed his arms. “Cerulean, Vermillion, Celadon, Fuchsia, Sophia’s Gym, and the Neon City make six for me.”

“Heh, you’re one behind me!” said Ash smugly as he displayed his own badge case with the Boulder badge proudly on display.

“That’s only cause I’m going to go for the Bejeweled badge first off!” said Forrest. “I’m not taking it easy like you did by just challenging Brock! But challenging him at his strongest!”

Misty hummed. “Does that mean you might be facing off against that new Tyranitar of his?”

That caused Forrest to blink as the idea settled in. “Oh, yeah, you’re right. It’s… really strong, I’ve never seen a Hyper Beam break through stadium barriers like that before,” he said, chewing on his thumb nervously.

Ash waved his hand “Don’t sorry about that! It just means you have to get stronger! Heck! Show it to your pokemon team and it will motivate them!” Ash said, a fire in his eyes now.

“Pikachu!” said Ash’s starter pokemon, backing up his trainer.

Ash grinned and bumped his fist against Pikachu’s raised paw. “See? Pikachu’s not worried! He’d be able to fight against that tyranitar if he had to!”

Pikachu’s smile became very wooden as he nodded slightly. “P-pika,” he said.

Misty giggled. “Don’t worry, chances are you’d face off against someone else,” said Misty. She then turned to Forrest. “How does Brock actually determine who he’ll use for the Bejeweled Challenges?”

“Elite,” said Forrest reflexively. “They’re called Elite challenges, and he calls up a big spinning wheel that has all his Elite pokemon on it. You randomly draw from that as the wheel spins around. That is unless he feels you have to face off against a certain pokemon.”

Misty tilted her head. “So it’s not completely random then?”

Forrest frowned. “He only did it once… It was against the kid that… Well he and Brock had a history, cause the kid used pokemon too strong for even a basic fourth tier challenge… Brock used his own Onix who he never really rated as Elite, not yet anyway. Onix… didn’t recover from the match,” Forrest said.

“Oh!” Misty said sadly, as she realised what that meant.

Ash took a bit longer before he shrunk into himself. “Oh, that’s… what did he do to the other trainer?”

“Smashed him with Tyranitar as far as I can tell, when the guy came back the next year for the Bejewelled badge. Apparently he still qualified for the Gym circuit with only gaining seven badges for the end of year circuit. He placed third in the tournament two years ago,” said Forrest glumly.

“I’m surprised Brock didn’t do worse to him,” Misty said heatedly.

“Brock said he considered it, but knew it wouldn’t do anything beyond damage his own reputation. Brock proved he was stronger and has since gotten a lot more careful with certain matches. You might not notice it but Brock really works hard to be able to judge a pokemon’s strength from very little insight into them.”

Ash nodded. “Yeah, I got that impression when we were at his Gym.” Ash looked at his badge case. “I think I’d like to upgrade my badge, when does he allow challengers?”

“He starts from the halfway point, but honestly it’s not a good idea to challenge then.,” Forrest said with a shake of his head. “Most people leave it to the last few weeks so they have the most time to train up their pokemon. We should be able to secure our badges first.”

Ash nodded at this, “Yeah, I think I want Charizard to get a bit stronger, and I know that Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Pikachua and I can do more.”

“Don’t forget Primeape,” Misty said snidely.

Ash blinked. “Oh yeah! I should be able to collect him from Anthony for a bit!” Ash chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. “I can’t believe I forgot about him!”

Forrest shook his head. “I still can’t believe you handed him off like that, but it’s worth probably keeping him back there for now.”

“What? Why?” asked Ash.

Forrest shot Misty a knowing look before looking to his other traveling companion. “Ash? Are you going to want to finish out your badge case with only five of the major gyms, or are you going to go for the final Big Gym and get a six two split?”

Ash narrowed his eyes. “I want to show everyone how strong I am! Bring on the big Gym!”

“So then you’re going to have to beat Sabrina,” said Forrest smugly. “And you’re going to have to do it with the best team she fields against trainers looking for her badge.”

Ash blinked at that before scowling. “I’m not afraid! We can take her!” he said standing tall.

Forrest smirked. “Alright, your funeral, still it’ll give us all something to work towards for the next month or so.”

This caused Ash to scowl even harder. “We won’t take that long!” he said.

Forrest just shrugged. “All told, I’m amazed we got ahead of so many people. I think I’m going to spend some more time in the battleclubs working on my team. I think if I do I can get Beldum to evolve.”

Misty nodded at this, “I might be able to get the same with Wartortle, Psyduck, and Horsea then.”

A glint entered Ash and Forrest’s eyes, causing a sigh from Misty as she realised she’d sparked the boy’s competitive natures.

Falkner turned off the television, a tornado of emotions swirling through him as he registered what had been shown.

He’d… suspected for a while now, who masked Owl was.

The man had a lot of the patterns that matched up with his father.

But to see it revealed in this way?

It was unfortunate and it stung Falkner’s pride that his father hadn’t felt willing to share his goal with him.

It made sense to him, people needed to not look down on them due to how Grandfather had been ousted.

His father was doing something noble.

Except he hadn’t included Falkner in his plans, and that stung. Falkner glanced at the stack of letters that signified the only news he had from his father for the last few years. It had helped getting the letters and having some form of communication, even if it hadn’t been enough some days.

Still, Falkner was beyond that. He wasn’t the boy from years ago.

He was the Violet City Gym Leader.

Falkner stared at the blank screen for another hour before sighing and making up a pot of tea.

It was cold by the time his father flew in on his mighty Pidgeot, but Falkner had no compunctions with serving his father cold tea.

His father voiced no complaints knowing that if he did he would merely open himself up to rebuke. Part of Falkner wished he would so he could fight, but that was not the way they had been raised.

They were better, more aloof. More poised.

Falkner adjusted his kneeling position on the small cushion and inclined his head in greeting. “Father, you have returned, do you wish to stay or do you wish to continue your goal to demonstrate that our family is strong?”

Walker blinked. “You… are not demanding that I come back?”

“I have things well in hand here… but i would like you to come back and help train me and my pokemon more if you could, I… can’t do most of what you did against Brock, I thought it was a good showing but I am envious,” Falkner said firmly, his back straight.

Walker smiled. “That… I’d be happy to help you son,” he said.

“And I would be happy to provide my support, in whatever manner I can to you father. You want to represent our family? Do so with our facilities at your command.”

Walker blinked and swallowed as a suspicious dampness appeared at the corner of his eyes.

“My son… you have grown,” Walker said, and Falkner felt his heart warm at the admission.

“Thank you for noticing, father.” Falkner said hoarsely as he felt his throat tighten with emotion.

Walker beamed before launching himself forward to hug his son.

Father and son leaned into each other ignoring how their upbringing demanded them be stoic and calm. To be leaves in the wind, flying free.

In this moment they were not that.

They were just human.

They were just father and son, reunited once more.

If there were tears neither noticed.

When they released each other they shared a smile and Walker laughed. “You have grown well my son, I’m sorry I didn’t witness it myself.” He swallowed. “What should we tell the press when they seek us out tomorrow?”

Falkner smiled. “I have an idea,” he said easily, feeling suddenly much lighter than he had been.