Hard Enough

The judging might have been over but that didn’t mean my work as the host was done. Monique and Nurse Joy got to relax, albeit Monique did so by sweeping into the various large pavilion tents that had been set up for people to wine and dine while rubbing shoulders with the big names of Pewter City. Nurse Joy allowed herself to be tugged along into the tents to have more than a few people compliment her on her dress.

I considered it for a moment before turning away. I’d need to make an appearance but first I needed to seek out Greta and talk with her. I was feeling a touch guilty about not knowing she had caught more pokemon. We’d spent almost a whole week together and I hadn’t thought to talk to her about how her time as a trainee gym trainer was going.

I had been busy but that was an excuse. I needed to make time for her.

And A.J. and also Missy.

The other sponsored Gym trainers we had all had assigned time to have lessons and call ups.

I needed to make time for the people close and not forget about them. I penned a message to Alexa about simply reserving slots in my schedule for them. Missy was the easiest as she got the most from sitting in on sessions, where we discussed my movements up the Ace rankings or reviewed other important matches. All of which gave her a baseline to show her how we operated and researched opponents.

She got a solid grounding in what worked, what didn’t work and what to take into consideration beyond merely having a team of pokemon and a willingness to fight lots of matches.

I’d need to reflect on my revelations today.

I walked through the front area of my gym, now turned festival and waved or nodded at the various people who called out to me. A few people asked me for signatures and photos with both of us posing in front of my Crystal Onix.

I had to pat myself on the back for sending Jackson off to secure Crystal Onix.

Bianca had gone with him to get insight into the habitat of such a variant and made a few changes based on prior planning. Nothing beats getting such experience in person.

I rubbed his body, ignoring the way his rough edges dug into my skin. One of the perks of being able to call up rock energy? You’re quite thick-skinned in a sense, which leads to me being able to pet pokemon others couldn’t. Little Gible being the best example but with a Crystal Onix, you had to be rather careful due to how sharp some of his body parts became from moving around.

When I finally found Greta, she was on the battle courts with yet another pokemon in front of her, which felt like the final nail being hammered in. I really did need to spend more time with her.

“Pidgey Feather Dance!” Greta called.

“Ha! They’re trying to buff up! Charge in Raticate, with Hyper Fang!” called what looked like that standard ‘Youngster’ trainer. The Raticate leapt across the court, fangs exposed only for Greta to smile.

“QA!” she called, and her Pidgey went from fluttering to blurring as it shot back with a hard beat of its wings, dodging the Raticate’s fangs. As Raticate missed, it bolted back in with a powerful and fast attack that hammered into the top of Raticate’s head.

Raticate crumpled to the side and the youngster gaped. “What? But my pokemon should be stronger!?”

I was about to step forward, but a young girl dressed in a school uniform did so quicker. “Pokemon can grow faster if they remain unevolved. This Pidgey should have evolved with how strong it is. It has a well cared for look and the talons and wingspan all indicate a pokemon that is young, but has reached the limits of its growth. Therefore, one can conclude that it is being held back to improve its mental growth and what moves it learns naturally, no?”

Greta nodded slowly with a small tilt as she observed the rather insightful girl. “Yeah, I didn’t know it was that well known. Hi, I’m Greta by the way,” she said.

The other girl flicked her head and caused her hair to arc out around her like blown by a fan. Amusingly another student who’d been standing behind her copped a face full of hair and spluttered, rather ruining the ‘elegant moment’ for the girl.

Her cheeks took a pink hue, as she coughed and ignored the setback, instead locking eyes with Greta. “I am Giselle, the Head Student at the Pokemon Technical Institute.”

“Oh? That’s, nice?” questioned Greta, completely unaware that she was putting her foot in it. I put my hand to my face and sighed explosively.

The sound carried through the sudden frosty silence of the court that had developed with Greta’s words. Greta looked over and saw me. “Oh! Hi Brock!” she called.

I waved back at her. “Hey Greta,” I said, before turning to Giselle. “I think you’ll have to forgive my trainer for her ignorance. We haven’t yet had to deal with any of the PTA’s students so we haven’t educated any of this year’s trainers on the significance of the Head Student Role.”

“Ah,” Giselle said, shooting Greta considering look. “I suppose I will forgive her poor education, this time.” Greta frowned but was ignored. “But! Only if you will expedite my match against you Brock! I am meant to be the standard that other students attempt to reach but I am to face you last!?”

“This will not do!” She stomped her foot and shook her head, once more causing her mane of long brown hair to punish her fellow student, this time to whip the boy on the other side, as the first victim now knew to duck.

“Ah,” I said intelligently. It seemed Alexa’s little joke was still in play. I hadn’t considered how it would impact me and now it seemed my Hoothoot were coming home to roost.

“Yeah I can’t change that, it’s something that your Headmaster set up with us,” I said, lying through my teeth. “It seems he wants to keep the best for last and locked it in this way.”

Giselle paused at this. “He did? He assured me that…” The girl warred with this new information before shaking slightly, now causing all the boys around her to dodge away reflexively, not just the two to her left and right.

“Never mind!” Giselle roared, thrusting a finger to the sky. “He is a known scallywag! I shall simply be patient to demonstrate my skills!” she said. “Expect me in two weeks!” she announced grandly, like she was an actual threat to the Gym and not an academy kid.

I nodded along and Giselle marched off with her entourage.

Greta stepped up and tugged at my jacket. “I want to face her if she’s opting for a Gauntlet run,” she said, with a serious tone.

“Ah, rubbed you the wrong way?” I said, knowing that Giselle was the type to make enemies as easily as one might breathe outside of her controlled academy environment.

“She called me poorly educated just cause I didn’t know what Head Student meant!” Greta fumed at me. “What does it mean though?” she said.

I snorted, realising that she was more annoyed at not knowing something, than being called poorly educated. A flash of light announced my girlfriend’s arrival.

Onix, not used to Sbarina’s penchant for sudden arrivals, reared back in surprise. I put a hand on his body and pulsed a feeling of calm and safety into him with what bond we had, before he could lash out. I mostly cheated by linking our rock energies and carrying the message in that manner while speaking “Easy there bud, it’s Sabrina you’re fine,” I said.

“Oooooonnnn,” he rumbled, relaxing gradually and lowering himself back down to eye Sabrina.

Ralts stared up at the Crystal pokemon and waved shyly. “Ra-ralts!” she said in greeting.

Sabrina hefted her pokemon slightly bouncing Ralts in her arms. Sabrina didn’t flick her eyes away from mine, but she did go still for a moment. Enough that I knew she was reading the situation in some manner.

It took her a moment before nodding and turning away. “Ralts and I shall do some battling, it seems you two have things to talk about,” she decided, marching away and demanding a challenge to the first person willing to meet her gaze.

I coughed and turned back to Greta. “I wanted to congratulate you on your showing today. I knew that you were going to take part and I’m really glad you did,” I said.

Greta beamed at me. “Thanks! It was a really tough challenge with it being a side of training pokemon that I never got to experience!” she bounced from foot to foot. “All of my pokemon have grown from taking part in it!” she announced proudly.

“Right, that was another thing I wanted to talk to you about,” I said, rubbing the back of my head as I gestured for us to walk through a side entrance to the Gym.

“Hmmm?” she asked curiously.

“I didn’t know you’d caught Vulpix, or your Pidgey… or even your fourth pokemon. I feel like I’ve dropped the ball a bit while teaching you. We spent a week together during the recent run to Celadon and we didn’t really get much time to talk.” I offered her a pained smile. “I feel like I’ve been too busy or paying more attention to others.”

“I don’t mind,” said Greta easily.

I blinked, her simple statement usually would be a way to make up, but when I looked into her eyes I only saw honesty reflected back at me.

“You… don’t mind?” I said, testing the words back to her, lobbing a softball as one would to a rookie to test their skills at catch.

“I don’t, I know that others might, but well, you giving me a place to calm down from the initial rush of going on my journey and having a pokemon. Since then I’ve been able to study a lot of the videos and written information that you’ve compiled regarding various pokemon and put that to use. I rather liked the importance of having utility pokemon or pokemon that can serve various roles. It’s why I went looking for a Vulpix.

“Pidgey, as that girl Giselle pointed out, has been an experiment to test how fast I can get her to learn the stronger moves!”

At this point, Greta pulled out a notebook titled ‘Pidgey’s training program’. She handed it to me.

“I’ve got my sights set on Pidgey learning Aerial Ace, Roost, Tailwind, and Wing Attack before I let it evolve! Then I’m going to set my sights on teaching it Sleep Talk to make it super competitive against other pokemon, with staying power for days!”

I flipped through the notes seeing how she had started her pokemon on a specialised regime of food, training flights that worked agility, endurance and power on separate days. She also had days stencilled in for rest and team drills.

“You’ve been looking through my old training regime and what I currently do,” I said, pointing out the extremely familiar layout that I used for my own Elite team of pokemon.

There were even three, one hour blocks that were dedicated to ‘play/fun time with pokemon’ instead of training. I continued reading. “How are you handling Pidgey’s desire to grow stronger while restricting her from evolving?”

“I saw your notes on discussing it and how you have to individualise it to the pokemon!” Greta said happily.

“Ah, you have been doing a lot of reading then haven’t you?” I said. Usually that was a topic I handled during the off season and not during the time of the circuit, as I knew that most trainers had limited time frames to get their pokemon stronger. Ideally, it would be something taught to people early but… well it usually wasn’t a lesson that was well received by trainers early on as it felt like they were limiting themselves and their pokemon.

You had to let them experience a year ‘out in the wild’ so to speak. I still had it tagged in my notes for ‘things trainers need to know but don’t’. It was just something that you had to do a lot of reading to find, as it only got referenced once or twice in the earlier lessons.

“I’m impressed,” I said. If the catch analogue was still in play, she’d taken the ball, assembled a small team and started teaching them how to catch in a manner I’d considered top tier while I watched on. I licked my lips. “I still feel bad though, as I haven’t been giving you as much attention.”

“I don’t mind,” she said again. “You’ve been busy and I know that we have some time locked in for the coming weeks. When you have me working with the Gym pokemon you throw out a lot of insights on how to look for a pokemon’s temperament or how to consider a lot of little issues. Then you put things into practice.”

“I do?” I queried with a small frown.

Greta giggled. “I thought that was the case, you might not realise it but you give out tips to most people whenever you can, it’s been really great working here as I’ve gotten a really good look at lots of different situations. I know that next year I will want to continue my journey but this year is all about getting me and my pokemon stronger!” she said with her fists clenched.

I chuckled. “If that Pidgey and Vulpix are any indication, then you’re going to be a force to reckon with next year.”

“Bulbasaur is getting stronger as well!” she said with a firm stance.

“Are you doing the same regime for him as Pidgey?” I asked.

“Ehehehe! He’s already at the stage that I don’t have to hold him back any more, not unless the move ‘Frenzy Plant’ differs?” she said curiously.

I kept walking, not giving a hint of how much I was shitting myself.

She’d read that deep into my notes on pokemon? “Wow, usually no one reads about those moves,” I said, as I fished for time.

Greta grinned. “Dennis said it was super important that I read the Gym trainer manual and while he was joking about actually testing me on it, it still had a lot of neat information in it! Like if certain moves like Frenzy Plant, or Hydro Cannon get used, to withdraw your pokemon immediately and contact you!”

I blinked. “You found out about it from there?” I asked incredulously. I did have that as part of the training manual for new trainers to look over.

Certain moves like the one hit knockout moves, or more powerful moves such as Giga Impact, Hyper Beam, and yes the specialised tutor only moves that were up there had been included… I frowned as I recalled how I’d not included G-max moves in that list.

Whew, I’d dodged a Seed Bullet there.

I chewed my lip as I considered what to say about the move I had revealed.

“Frenzy Plant is an ultra rare, almost lost move. Only old masters from the bad times will know of it, so you’d need to find one of them to teach it. It’s a move that requires pokemon to use up a lot of energy much like Hyper Beam or Giga Impact, so if you do find someone, expect for it to be tough training,” I said seriously.

“Oh?” she said at my explanation. She searched my expression only to find it stoic. “Can… I ask about that a little more?” she said tentatively.

I sighed. “I looked into it… when I was starting out and found historical notes about powerful moves for most of the starter pokemon of Kanto but never the names. While the legends I found were super vague on details I always wondered.” I swallowed and tilted my head back and forth.

“It was only when I… gained more access to information that I looked into the topic once more, and what I found was that these moves were used to change entire battlefields, not just end one on one matches. They have a very sinister history associated with them and while it is only a move at the end of the day, if you were to find someone able to teach you these days just be aware that… they will have a complicated past,” I said, settling on something neutral.

“Keep yourself and your pokemon safe is what I’m saying,” I said.

Greta nodded. “Thanks for that, it’s good to know… I might ask Erika about it still if that’s alright?”

I coughed. “Today?” I said in surprise.

Greta blinked. “Erika is here today?”

“Well she was for a bit but I think she had to leave,” I said, causing Greta to deflate.

“I’ll wait until we meet up, I get the impression this isn’t something to talk about over an introduction pokemail message,” Greta said.

“Good idea, I can vouch for you but yeah, let her get to know you,” I said.

Greta perked up once again and I couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up. “Hehe,” I said, smiling at Greta.

“What?” she said defensively.

“It’s just that sometimes you and Erika act rather similar. She wilts and perks up all the time when you talk to her. Maybe it’s a grass type thing?” I suggested jokingly.

Greta pouted at me. “I’m not a monotype trainer! I have Vulpix and Pidgey! And Gastly too! Oh! And I also just recently caught another pokemon that none of the Gym trainers know about! A Beedrill!”

I blinked in surprise only to frown, the announcement of Beedrill was a surprise, but she’d skated past her Gastly very quickly there. Why? “Your fourth pokemon is a Gastly?” I frowned. “How did you find a Gastly around here?” I said sternly.

Greta coughed. “Promise you won’t get mad?” she said in a manner that all but confirmed she or someone she knew had done something dumb and that I would have every right to be mad except due to the promise.

“Can I be disappointed?” I said.

“No! That would be worse!” Greta said, waving her hands back and forth frantically.

I huffed. Before taking a breath and exhaling my emotions out. “Alright, let’s hear it, how did you get Gastly,” I said.

“Well there was this bet that Crystal and I made with each other, see? She said that the person who went the furthest into the graveyard—” as my frown deepened Greta hurried held up her hands, “—at twilight! Not evening!” she said quickly.

“Hmmmm,” I said. “What happened?”

“Well I went first and I had this… clever solution that I would just walk to through it, filming the entire way? I got jump scared by Gastly though and I ended up beating him up with Bulbasaur and capturing him?” She poked her fingers together. “The graveyard channeler was apparently walking behind me the entire time so I was safe really?” she said.

I sighed again and raised my hand. Greta flinched until I lowered it on top of her head and rubbed it. “Well, you had an adventure I suppose.”

“You’re not mad?” she said, peeking out from under my hand.

“Tiny bit,” I admitted easily, but mostly scared. You do realise there was still a risk?”

“Yeah, we thought we’d mitigated it but yeah… showed us,” she grumbled.

“What did you win for going the furthest?” I asked before frowning. “Was it just crystal or was Yolanda in on this too?”

Greta blinked at me and her eyes sort of wobbled guiltily .”Oh! I forgot Crystal still owes me!” she announced, before sprinting away. I stared after her. She’d basically just confirmed my sister had been part of the dare.

I sighed again. Being a big brother was hard sometimes. I’d have to think up a punishment for this.

A buzz on my Xtransciever showed that it was time to wine and dine some locals, so I headed back out and made a beeline for the pavilion tents.

There I found Alexa, Rachel, and Jennifer waiting for me. Jennifer waved, “Brock, glad you could finally make it! I need you to talk to the Pebblemans, Mrs Haridan, and Judge Howard with me.”

“Politics?” I asked seriously.

“Yup, you just need to be seen talking with Judge Howard honestly, the other two have some sway in Pewter so you need to give them some acknowledgement.”

“Let’s go with Mrs Haridan first then,” I said waving towards the woman that had occasionally stepped in for me before Flint had returned. We made some small talk for a while and I mentioned having her come over next weekend as I’d be out for most of the afternoon before I made to leave.

Mrs Haridan waved me off only to grimace as she took a step. “Ouch,” she said, and I immediately turned and offered her my hand.

“Need a hand getting to a chair?”

“Hmmm, no I think it best I head home. A good soak and a lay up for me will do wonders for my old bones I should think,” she said. “I’ve been away from home for a few days now, visiting grandchildren. Time to head home I think!” she said, as I escorted her out of the pavilion.

On the way a number of people appeared to bid her good evening and I had to blink in surprise when Janine appeared at one point, winked at me and then vanished into the crowd.

Mrs Haridan giggled at the byplay, proving that while her bones might ache, her eyes were still sharp. “That girl takes after her father!” she said with a smile.

She then released an extremely puffy looking Dodrio which sat to allow her to mount it side saddle. One of the heads twisted itself around Mrs Haridan before they took off.

I turned back and found a number of people pointedly lingering for me to ‘bump into’. I sighed and stepped forward only for Sabrina to step in with a pleased air. “Have some good fights?” I asked, peering at Ralts who was being cradled in one arm.

“She performed wonderfully,” Sabrina said, as she stroked Ralts hair. I linked my arm with her and escorted her around for the rest of the early evening.

Thankfully I was able to beg off instead of ‘following’ the party as some people were suggesting, back into Pewter where a bar was being proposed.

I could claim I needed to head home to look after my family and that was enough to have people waving and nodding. Sabrina joined me and we walked home to find my family all present with the inclusion of Crystal and Greta.

Greta locked eyes with me before I turned my gaze upon the other two of the ‘trio’. Greta coughed and shrunk in on herself. I ignored her as I gave Yolanda and Crystal my patented ‘disappointed face’ which lowered attack damage.

Now, it only made the girls know I knew they’d done something wrong and were being caught for it.

“So, what’s this about a graveyard bet?” I asked.

Yolanda coughed. “It was at twilight? And… well it worked out alright in the end?” She then perked up. “Can I go try and catch a Gastly as well?”

“No, not until you have your own pokemon trained up properly and as for you Crystal, I’m going to be informing your mother.”

“Grk! No! I only just got tv rights back again!” Crystal wailed. I rolled my eyes and sent the message off and Crystal grumped for the next few minutes. She perked up when discussion around the table turned to tomorrow’s battle phase of the contest.

Yolanda shot me a cheeky grin. “Brock? Can you please let me win?” said Yolanda, her face shifting into an innocent look.

Greta and Crystal slapped the air with the back of their hands. “Disqualify her,” they said flatly.

I snorted at their gag routine. “No, I’m not going to help you win. I’m the Judge, that means I need to be impartial, not biased.”

Yolanda nodded. “Can I borrow Bertha?”

“Hell no,” I said, joining Greta and Crystal in showing her the back of my hand.

Yolanda narrowed her eyes and considered me. “Nope!” I said, predicting that she’d ask for Sanchez next. Honestly she should have asked for him first.

He’d have donned a Lucadore mask or something like that and swooped head-first into the Contest scene. He loved being out there and fashionable.

“Finnnnnnne!” I’ll stick to using Izumi and Spot then!” she said.

Terra tugged on her shirt and gestured at herself. “Lar?”

“Sorry girl, you’re strong as a battler but your moves don’t quite have the control needed just yet. We’ll keep working at it though, so next year you can take part!” said Yolanda.

Terra blinked at her and then turned away from Yolanda and curled up into a ball. “Laaaaaaaar,” she said sadly.

I shot Yolanda a raised eyebrow while making sure not to say anything.

To me it was obvious she’d been spending a bit too much time focussing on other things if this was how her starter was reacting. Yolanda might have been excited to get her new pokemon with Spot pretty much confirmed but that came with the cost of her not spending as much time with Terra.

This was something they’d both need to learn to handle.

Yolanda floundered, unsure for a moment. “Uhm! No! Don’t be sad! If you want, how about we go out now and practise your moves! You can take part instead of Spot!” she said, carrying Terra out to the garden to do just that.

Terra perked up and I chuckled. Soon enough Terra would have Yolanda twisted around her little claws with how she could be sad and get what she wanted.

It felt nice to see the shoe on the other foot for once.

Crystal shot me a pointed look. “You’re not going to help your cute little sister?”

Greta shot her friend a look, then me, before firming up and coughing. “Y-yeah Yolanda needs all the help she can get!”

I took a long pull of the lemonade I’d made up for tonight, before exhaling in joy. “Ah! Well it’s a good thing that she has such good friends then, no?” I said.

A moment later I was proven right as Yolanda’s voice called out from the garden. “Greta? Can I borrow you and your pokedex for a moment? I want to see if Terra has any new moves since last week!”

“Coming!” shouted Greta.

Crystal huffed and poked her tongue out at me which had me chuckling. This led to the rest of my family charging out. Flint sighed and trailed after them with a small chuckle.

Zubat chose that moment to flutter into the house and land on me, where she whined at not getting to spend the day with me. “Sorry girl,” I said, giving her some pats.

She pretended to whimper for a little bit before perking up as her nose started to twitch. I watched as she crawled down my arm, stopping just short of my drink, only to begin lapping at it tentatively.

She licked her lips and grinned before diving into the glass whereby a draining noise started up much like a clogged drain.

I held up the glass and watched it vanish only for Zubat to burp when she was done causing the glass to vibrate. She then tried to inch her way back only to find herself unable to.

“Are you stuck now?” I asked, watching with great amusement as she squirmed and shifted.

“Zuuuuuuuub!” she screeched, realising her mistake. I reached into the glass and tugged her out.

“No diving into drinks like that. When you’re a Golbat you won’t fit anyway but it’s not the most hygienic way to get something tasty.”

Sabrina who’d been feeding Ralts nodded, and telekinetically lifted the glass over to the sink.

“It is in fact the best way for Zubat to drink, far superior to having to tilt a glass into her mouth if that is what you were thinking,” said Janine casually.

I nodded, controlling the urge to twitch in surprise. Damn, she’d been practising. “Hmmm that sounds right,” I said, realising that other pokemon were the same, what with needing their water to be below them to drink it properly.

Janine pouted at me and I rolled my eyes. “How long have you been here for?” I said.

“No, I’m not telling you if you’re going to be that way!” said Janine with a huff.

“She’s been in the house for two minutes, she snuck in as the girls left,” Sabrina supplied.

“Sabrina!” said Janine with a scowl.

“If you want to startle someone,” said Koga from behind me, causing a ripple of gooseflesh to break out over my body as I felt instinctive fear sweep through me, “You need to give it a touch of menace,” said Koga, only to move to the seat next to me.

“Raaaaaaaalts!” wailed Ralts having been startled as well. I shared a look with the little pokemon and offered her a nod of commiseration. Sometimes having your friends be ninjas meant putting up with things like this.

My fear vanished in a moment as I realised Koga was in a casual outfit with a drink in hand. It even had a silly straw and tiny drink umbrella. Had he gone to the after party before coming here? It would be where the big movers and shakers ‘let their hair down’ and spoke their minds a lot more so it made sense he’d investigate.

“Brock,” he said, raising the drink in my direction.

I opened my mouth before realising how powerful a flex it was for him, wearing casual clothes while holding a drink, to have snuck up on me. Didn’t that make him more terrifying, rather than less?

I wasn’t sure what to think so I just nodded in greeting. “Koga, congratulations on the early promotion,” I said, referencing the latest news that the League had released announcing Koga’s early ascension to Elite Four.

“My thanks,” he said easily.

I flicked my eyes from him to Janine. “Nice of you to drop around,” I said eventually, deciding to be a gracious, if unwitting host. “Have you eaten yet?” I asked.

“We got some take-out,” Janine said, raising up a bag from Mr Mime’s bashfully. I shot her an incredulous look and she didn’t meet my gaze.

Sabrina smirked, “They had a build your own castle set with the happy meal,” she said, and Koga nodded while Janine blushed.

“Oh cool,” I said, realising why that would be such a draw. “Cindy and Tommy have like five of them.”

“Do they have any spare Mahogany Town castles? I will trade them my excess—”

“Ahem, we came here for other business daughter,” said Koga, cutting off his daughter’s hobby of architecture and lightly reprimanding her.

Janine ducked her head and gave a soft “sorry,” to her father.

I now had the image of a room within Koga’s house being nothing but small, to scale replicas of famous buildings.

I smiled before tilting my head. “Have they come up with a replica for my Gym that you can build?”

“They have not in fact!” Janine said, brightening up immediately. Sabrina huffed a laugh to herself.

Koga shook his head at the two of us. “I’m glad you three are having fun but we do have something to report,” said Koga tiredly.

Janine straightened up and reached into a pouch at her back to reveal what looked like an intelligence dossier. “We’ve found the location where Mewtwo was created, within a hidden log in Giovanni’s terminal,” said Janine.

“New Island.” I breathed the name and blinked as I found pictures of the island over the course of what had been a three week time span.

In one picture, a trainer was taking a selfie with the island in the background where there was nothing but green open spaces and a tall face.

The second picture showed a structure in the distance. The picture didn’t focus on the island or the structures. In fact, the images were from a distant boat with the island just barely being in the background. A happenstance, more than anything calculated.

“We’ve thus far failed to get any more pictures despite sending reconnaissance pokemon with long range observation equipment.”

“You’ve investigated the site? Has any trainers been deployed as of yet? I wouldn’t mind heading…” I trailed off as Janine and Koga shook their heads.

“Thus far none of the people we have sent have made it close to the island. They get waylaid, they have pressing issues that suddenly arise, they fall ill the day before departure. Too often to be a coincidence.” Koga gestured at the pictures and the files. “I am merely keeping you informed of this latest development. It shall be discussed in more detail later but I cannot dedicate any more teams or even my own direct attention to this as yet.”

“Why’s that?” I asked, slightly relieved that Koga wasn’t going to poking the bear that was Mewtwo.

“Team Aqua vessels have been spotted in the Sevii islands,” he replied.

“Oh,” I said, frowning. “Are the local authorities being informed?” I asked.

Koga shook his head. “They are still not yet signatories for the G-men, they are interested but…” He trailed off meaningfully and I blinked.

Then I straightened. “Koga, I’m not comfortable with what you’re implying,” I said.

Koga huffed. “It would be for the best—”

“Who’s best? Sitting on intelligence like this isn’t doing good. It’s standing by while evil is done,” I said. “Let’s do some good and protect people,” I said.

“Brock is correct,” said Sabrina firmly.

Koga sighed. “That is a naive way of thinking,” he reprimanded.

Janine shifted and curled in on herself. I got the impression she hadn’t agreed with her father, and his words while pointed at Sabrina and I, might also apply to her.

I considered Koga. “The Guardians are a defensive group,” I said slowly.

Koga nodded. “Of course,” he said.

“Well, allowing an enemy force to empower itself isn’t helping us, it’s standing back and letting something become worse. We shouldn’t sit back and meet them on the back foot. Eventually Team Aqua will come knocking for us. I’ve read the histories, Indigo was attacked heavily by them,” I said firmly.

Koga nodded. “Fuchsia faced more than a few such raids,” he said placidly.

I paused and considered him. “You’re testing me right now, aren’t you?”

Koga smiled. “Indeed, I wanted to see your response. It was naive, but no less incorrect. We will pass on information while working to facilitate the G-men integration. Both objectives do not need to be mutually exclusive. International trainers in Sevii and Orange might be fewer in number, but there are still some people there that can be… relied upon,” he said.

I huffed and caught Janine looking pleased. Had she been acting before? I shook my head. “So apart from the test and the information about Mewtwo’s possible home base right now, was there anything else?” I asked.

Koga shook his head. “I thought it prudent to inform you both of Mewtwo seeing as you have also encountered it a number of times now,” he said. “It is a powerful and known threat.”

“He,” Sabrina said. “Mewtwo identifies as a he, not an it.”

Koga frowned but nodded. He then turned his gaze to the east. “Also, it has not yet been raised with the League, but should an enraged Zapdos appear, you will be needed as the best suited to face it.”

“Huh? Oh yeah, I suppose that makes sense with Giovanni out of action. Is that likely to happen?” I said.

“During the war it happened three times. After the war? There was one such incident that occurred when you were very young involving a Zapdos destroying a powerplant. Since then facilities have much more rigorous testing with emissions lowered to not create a charged environment, not that it stops certain groups from cutting corners on safety.”

Koga shifted slightly. “I shall have Janine send you the two known locations of Zapdos,” Koga said.

“Shamouti island is one, right?” I asked.

Koga blinked. “Ah, you are correct, one of them is there,” he said. I saw his eyes spark and his lips twitch as though he’d just confirmed something to himself.

Sabrina and I shared a look, Shamouti had been… interesting to go to.

Koga stood. “We will discuss more when we meet officially. For now I thought it merely best to keep you in the loop of the threats, you’ve proven yourself capable of surviving such encounters so I shall trust you with more,” he said. He then bowed politely and shot away. I heard the window slide open and closed in another room and then nothing.

Janine coughed. “Do not mind father’s words, he trusted you before this but he did not know if you would survive. During the later parts of the war, it was thought that up to eighty percent of people would be dead should they encounter a Legendary pokemon three times. After that people’s mortality rates plummeted.”

“Hmmmm,” I said, interested despite myself.

Janine, seeing my interest, smiled and puffed herself up. “The worst statistics came from Kanto and Sinnoh! Certain pokemon there had the highest mortality ratings while others such as Moltres and Articuno would cause debilitating injuries. If you encountered them again you usually weren’t able to flee a second time,” she said.

“Huh, that’s morbid,” I said. I had a good idea of which SInnoh pokemon she was talking about

“Very!” said Janine.

“How’s things?” I asked, deciding to shift the conversation to a more happy vibe.

“The trainer surge has well and truly reached me now. I am hoping to be done with it in the next few weeks but it is certainly… a test of my suitability as a Gym Leader,” said Janine.

Sabrina nodded, “Yes it is, “she said, showing her own feelings of exhaustion for the first time that evening.

Janine and her shared a small smile and I stayed out of it, letting their moment be just that. Their moment. After a bit Janine shifted and looked around

“Well if you’re hanging in there you’re doing good. Most places always struggle when there’s transition but if you’re holding your own, despite this being a tougher year with all the trainers, then you must be doing good,” I said, playing up how things would be. There was an inkling of truth in there, and I had no doubt that if Janine got the time to prepare she’d be well suited as the Fuchsia Gym Leader.

Janine smiled and bowed. “Thank you for your kind words,” she said.

“No problem, they’re just the truth,” I said. I waved a hand to the side. “Did you want something to drink?” I asked.

Janine asked for some tea lemonade. I got myself and Zubat another glass each, with Zubat’s being a small dish that she could drink out of properly.

“Mind if I pick your brain over training for Zubat?” I asked, bringing out my training program. Zubat perked up and scuttled up to watch.

Janine gave the program a quick look over. “Hmmm this seems to be in order for a flying type pokemon to make it a strong battler, but a poison type needs to make sure they are expressing their poisons to strengthen their effects. If you’re looking to have her use moves like Gunk Shot, Toxic, or Toxic Spikes then you need to work on this as well,” she said.

I frowned. I was pretty sure from my research of Zubat’s line, Gunk Shot wasn’t a move they could learn. I shot Janine a furtive glance as she continued to read through my training plan, a pen in hand as she made suggestions.

Sabrina had been able to teach Selene a move her species weren’t known for learning, perhaps Janine and Koga were capable of the same?

“—there are also useful moves to use in team fights such as Quick Guard,” Janine said with a nod.

I looked over the program only to find it littered with small suggestions and prompts along with a trio of movepool suggestions depending on what I wanted.

I hummed. “What if I had a very niche role in mind that could make use of a speed build?” I asked.

Janine tilted her head. “A further niche?” she asked.

I grinned and brought out another set of papers. Janine accepted them. “Counters for Mega-evolution pokemon?” she opened the first page and blinked. “Thief?” she said incredulously.

I smirked and Janine kept reading. “Switcheroo? Trick? Ah wait, you’re not sure if this move will work.” Janine kept reading. “Oh you’ve also thought of how to use a poison item or… what is a choice band?”

“I’ve been looking into item usage a bit more,” I said. “It’s something I heard about that locks a pokemon into a set move but boosts their power. Could be a good way to clock a strong pokemon into a useless move or force a switch from the trainer,” I said.

Janine blinked. “I’ve never heard of an item like that. I imagine methods like this would be used more otherwise,” she said with a frown. The poison item might work however. It’s just that it is… well a certain type of person to give pokemon an item that might injure them.”

“Unless they’re poison typed,” I pointed out.

Janine nodded and closed the notepad. She then directed a serious look at me. “We have used methods like this in the past. I’m surprised you thought it up yourself as it is something we teach to trainers that work with us. I can’t forbid you from using it as you’ve obviously thought it up yourself but be careful sharing it around,” she said.

“Oh, you already thought of it, and just don’t use it?” I asked.

“I use it at some of the fourth… tier battles,” she said, using my terminology for trainers with four or more badges. “Most people simply don’t mention their fights or have the time to reflect with us when they’re done. Invariably a few of the pokemon on their team are poisoned and they need to depart quickly even with liberal uses of antidotes,” Janine explained.

“Huh,” I said. This made me rethink a few things regarding my plans. It would take a while for Choice Bands or scarves to be truly effective and when they were, I would have to dust off my meta-knowledge as competitive pokemon fighting with items would shift the dynamic greatly.

Still, it was nice to know Janine guaranteed some of these plans I had would work.

We kept talking for a while longer with Zubat snuggling up into my lap as we discussed other battle methods that would work, or even that we could theorise about until Yolanda trudged in with a tired but happy-looking Terra in one arm while an exhausted Spot was held in the other wagging his tail limply as Yolanda carried him in.

She was followed by a pair of grumpy-looking friends.

Flint trudged in with some tired-looking kids. The boys must have been exhausted as they barely even perked up seeing Janine sitting with me.

Janine easily handled their leaps and tackle attacks before sending them on their way to bed, leaving us with just the older trio of girls who were arguing.

“This is such bullshit! If I’m fighting you tomorrow, I’m not letting you pull that off!” said Crystal firmly.

Yolanda just giggled. “We have a one in eight chance of fighting each other,” said Yolanda.

Greta shifted worriedly at that only for Crystal to glare at Yolanda. She then gained a shrewd look. “Not if I beat you up now!” she said, leaping at Yolanda and initiating a play fight.

Yolanda promptly subdued her friend in seconds leaving Greta gaping. “Oh, that wasn’t very smart of you Crystal,”

Crystal bucked only for Yolanda to remain in place, sitting on her back. Crystal growled and looked up to see me watching her. “What are you feeding her?”

“Vegetables,” I said with a proud nod.

When Crystal rolled her eyes at me I chuckled. “Nah she just works out a lot and carries Terra around most days.”

“Eh? What do you mean by—” Terra chose that moment to waddle onto Crystal’s back, thinking this a great game. Crystal started thumping the ground instantly. “Auntie! Uncle! Grandpa and Grandma! I give!” she said, as the rest of us giggled.

“Which match ups you’re hoping to get tomorrow?” asked Sabrina, ignoring the flailing Crystal.

“Not Solidad,” the girls said together. Crystal was allowed up after that and they all adopted thinking faces.

“Jessadia was also strong with her Mawile,” said Greta, pulling out her pokedex to look up the fairy-steel pokemon. “I scanned it earlier and I have to say she’s a strong pokemon,” she said.

“Good job on having the foresight to scan it. Did you scan the others to learn what moves they might have?” I asked.

Greta blinked and screwed up her eyes before groaning. “Urgh! I could have done that! Stupid!” she said.

Janine shook her head. “Reconnaissance is vital. Know yourself and your enemy and you will never lose,” she said wisely. Sabrina nodded along.

I just laughed and waved it off. “Don’t worry about it. Just remember it for tomorrow when you get a look at the people taking part, you’ll get a better shot at advancing thanks to your pokedex,” I said.

I once again resolved to myself that Yolanda at the very least, would be departing for her Journey with a pokedex. If I had my way, I was hoping to get every trainer under our banner to have one. It offered too many advantages to ignore.

When the trio started to yawn they headed inside to have their sleepover. I turned, only to find Janine had vanished during the chaos. I shot her a message complimenting her on her mysterious exit which earned me a smiley face in reply.

“She’s behind the kitchen counter,” whispered Sabrina, causing me to chuckle. I then lifted Sabrina up into my arms to carry her to bed with me. She gave me a soft kiss while cradling Ralts.

As we were making our way to my room to sleep, I passed the bathroom door and caught Yolanda flexing at herself in the mirror. Terra was copying her. Sabrina raised my Xtransceiver instantly and began recording.

“We are looking good aren’t we girl?” said Yolanda.

“Tar!” said Terra, agreeing.

Yolanda flexed a few more times only to freeze, as she caught sight of Sabrina and me in the mirror. “How long have you been there?” she asked.

Sabrina made her eyes glow ominous. “We saw everything,” she intoned.

I just winked and continued on to my room.

Yolanda pursued. “No! Delete it!” she shouted chasing after me.

I reached my room and shut the door behind me only to hear a thump a moment later. “Brock! Sabrina? Delete it! Please?”

I chuckled to myself as I deposited Sabrina and Ralts on the bed. Sabrina sent herself a copy with a smile before sitting up to stretch and join me for a shower.

Yolanda eventually left after Greta and Crystal came to find what was taking her so long. Yolanda made sure to whisper before she left. “Don’t you dare show that to anyone!”

Too late. I considered sending it to her friends straight away before shaking my head.

No.

No, videos like this you didn’t show and forget, you saved them for parties.