Hard Enough

“Goooooooooood morning listeners old and new! Today! Huge news! Our old friend Rachel Raul has set us up with one of the hottest topics around! Today, we’re joined by Gym Leader Brock of Pewter City! Listeners! Can you dig it or what!?” The scruffy-looking radio host grinned into his microphone.

When he turned in his chair he made sure to drag the microphone with him. “Brock! Loved your fight during the lead-in to the Indigo Tournament! Weren’t you worried about stepping up against the Champ? Lance had an amazing showing when he ascended for the championship, that had to be playing on your mind! How did you do it? You had to be sweating buckets, right my man?”

I played with the microphone before speaking, “I didn’t let the situation go to my head. That gets more people than most will understand. I just went in with a goal to accomplish.”

I put my hands together in front of me and pushed them forward like a spear. “I had a trainer that I needed to win against. In a few ways, Lance is easier than some of the challengers I get, because I could research a lot of information on his team and his methods. He had plenty of tricks that I hadn’t planned for, but I was confident in my ability to adapt.”

“I imagine Lance is going to be cursing that you forced his hand so much, no?”

“Not really, I got the chance to talk with Lance and he was really relaxed after the fight. The fight was tense, yeah, but, it helped bleed the poison, to use a metaphor,” I said in reply.

“You mentioned not letting the situation get to you, but you were very aware of the crowd, no? How’d you shift from battle to crowd like that, or was it all just acting?”

I chuckled. “I like to think a lot of them were cheering for me. When you have a crowd like that, it’s all noise, energy and emotion. There was one moment that they made it clear, but… it was easy for me to twist.”

“Which… Oh! The moment with Dragonite getting called out?”

“Yeah, it got this huge lead-in. Super hyped up, but the way they did made me laugh, and that just made it easier.”

“Laugh? Why was that?”

“Well, the crowd did this thing where they stomped twice then clapped. They meant it for Dragonite, but it felt like a rock song opening which is something I’m kind of all about.”

The radio host laughed at that. “Hahahaha! Nice one! I’ll have to check with my producers ‘cause I don’t think there’s a song like that?”

“Nah, more's the shame but there should be, I imagine that as a rock song intro.” I couldn’t help but lay the breadcrumb trail. I really wanted some good music like ‘We Will Rock You’.

“Heh! Any aspiring rock stars out there, you heard it here first! Make us a song for that beat!”

A few more questions were bandied about before the host began to get to the ‘meat’ of the questions. “So, Brock, the circuit’s over, your Gym’s trainer is done with her running of the tournament, ah- an amazing run by the way.”

“Thanks, she really impressed me out there,” I said.

“What’s next?”

“Next is the down period for us at the Gym. I get to give my trainers time off, and I get to do other things like let my pokemon recover. Run some maintenance around the place and also spend some time in the community.”

“Ho? What’s that entail for you?”

“I like to train youths with Little League Baseball.”

The host raised his hands up and tamped down the air. “Wait, wait, wait, you? Brock, you train pokemon most of the year and during your off-season train kids?”

“Coach them, it’s got a lot of overlap and some of my pokemon can throw a mean curve ball or fastball. Makes for great training for the kids. I only get them for a few months but it's a ton of fun.”

“Ever thought of trying your hand at some of the major leagues?”

“Ha! No, I’m not good enough for that. I went the pokemon training path instead of the athlete. I like where I’m at right now.”

The host shook his head back and forth. “I never understood the whole training and playing during the winter months.”

“Blame the pokemon circuit. It runs longer than any other sporting season but it’s not such an issue for us, even in northern Kanto, thanks to the indoor training facility that we have.”

“Lucky~! There’s actually an early snow predicted this year I believe, so if you’re listening from northern Kanto, I’m talking Cerulean and Pewter, make sure you button up next week!” The host turned once more to me. “So? Baseball for the off-season? Anything else planned?”

“Probably a trip down to Fuschia for some warmth. Might even go down to Cinnabar with my family.”

“Nice!” The host grunted as a stick appeared from the side to prod him. I tracked it back to its origin to find Rachel holding a broomstick. She held up a whiteboard.

‘Talk about what’s new and coming up for the gym!’ was written in large letters.

The host grinned. “You got a big payout from your match with the Champ, anything new coming to Pewter Gym?” Rachel lowered the broomstick.

“Ha! There are going to be a lot of changes. I’m happy to announce Pewter Gym is expanding the stable capacity for trainers ready to start their journey, starting at competitive rates for the applicants next year. I also will be taking on at least two additional sponsorships instead of the one in past years. With these expansions, I’m also on the lookout for pokemon trainers looking to sign on for employment at the Gym, along with stable handlers and some receptionists to make things run smoothly for next year’s circuit. There are also some long-term plans to perhaps one day run a contest out of the Gym.”

“Wow! Looks like you’re about to become a Super Gym! And contests? Bleh! I’m sure the Hoenn trainers might like that but I'll stick with the tried and true pokemon battles.”

“I think Pewter needs to be big, as it’s the most frequented Gym. Lots of trainers start their journey with us. I know in the past we’ve always touted Pewter as the first challenge and that should be something that is really memorable for anyone challenging us. I’m all about making the experience a great one for people on their journey.”

I decided not to push on the topic of the pokemon contests opening up trainers to a wider dynamic than just fighting. I could see it being much more popular than most people stuck with their traditional mindset might realise.

The host nodded, “Cool, cool, cool my man. Now! Listeners, it’s that time of the day! With Brock as our guest, our producers will begin screening calls. Call in now and you, lucky listener, might get the chance to ask Brock a question! We’re going to a song now, it’s the hottest hundred songs count back with, ‘That Ain’t My Wool, That Ain’t My Mareep!” He then held up three fingers and counted down. When the last finger dropped the light signalling we were on air turned off.

The host leaned over his screen before waving for a glass of water. “You need a drink, man? This is good stuff, don’t let yourself go dry from talking too much.”

“Tea?” I said. Rachel nodded and rushed up with a thermos.

“Yolanda mixed it up when I asked her what you drink,” she said when I hummed in appreciation

“Heh, thanks.”

The host grinned. “Ah, I remember when you all used to keep me good to go with snacks and coffee. You just don’t get the same help like the old days!” This earned him a round of jeers from the producers that could cut in when they wanted. He ignored them and winked at me. “You take care of little Rachel for us Brock!”

I smiled at him, but any further conversation about Rachel’s past work at the radio channel had to wait as he raised up his fingers and began counting down slowly. He then flicked a switch and a red light above him announced silently that we were ‘on air’.

“Welcome back listeners! Isn’t Alisha Shepherd something special with that hit song?! We’re back live with Brock and now we have some call-ins crossing to….” he looked at the screen, “Joel, hello! Joel, what's your question for Brock?”

“Hello, Seventy-Six! My question for Brock is this: what pokemon would be best to start out with?”

“Oh, the classical starter question to start things off!” said the radio host as he swivelled to me.

I chuckled at the joke before leaning into the microphone. “Professionally, any pokemon can serve as a good starter. Personally, I prefer if the pokemon has the capacity to grow with a person starting out. If you’re inheriting a powerful pokemon or having it fall into your lap you're doing yourself and the pokemon a disservice, because there are a lot of little things that you learn early on with a fresh starter that you don’t with older, stronger pokemon. So start small and plan to grow rather than going out hard.”

“Thanks for your question Joel! Now we have Chelsea!”

“Hi, there! Long time listener of seventy-six! Wooooh!” called the woman before she settled down and asked her question. “Which pokemon is the prettiest you’ve ever encountered?”

“Ah, I’ve had the pleasure of fighting a Latias actually. It was a real treat as afterwards, the trainer was nice enough to stick around and let me pet it.”

I found myself relaxing more and more as the radio show continued. I wasn’t sure why I’d been worried about this, it was just talking, and Rachel had covered most of the questions that would be asked to me already.

There were some really good questions being asked. Such as; "Brock, how do you find the time necessary to train and take care of such a large cadre of Gym pokemon, your own personal pokemon, and your Gym? I struggle to find the time with only four pokemon!"

“Wow, that’s a well-thought-out question with a lot of parts to it. In the early days when you’re starting out as a trainer on your journey, things are hard because you don’t have a great handle on how best to train your pokemon. You don’t have an idea of how your team will work or not work together. I find that it’s great to have a team that is synergistic or willing to work together. Sometimes I will have my pokemon train with themselves or in set patterns. I admittedly have it easy with most of my pokemon being the same typing which makes a blanketed training approach highly appropriate. Type specialists will always have this as a benefit but there are lots of considerations. I find setting out a plan for the week can be one of if not the most important thing I can do. It’s like anything, it’s always better with a plan. Put in the important items for you and plan your exercises or your discussion time depending on what’s coming up. That’s the easiest way thing to implement.”

Another asked more personal questions.

“If you or your family couldn’t run the gym for whatever reason who would you pick to be your stand-in?”

“Oh! Now, this is an interesting question as I have a delegation of authority if something were to stop me from acting as Gym Leader. Forrest my younger brother is currently listed as Vice-gym leader in the event something put me out of action however after that it would pass to Rocko, who’s our senior gym trainer.”

Things were going quite well in my opinion until one lady called in.

“Are you a playboy?” she giggled. I sat there dumbfounded.

“I’m not sure what you mean?” I answered with a bemused cough.

“Well it’s just that I heard a rumour about a number of ladies coming around to your room, and then there was that date with Erika, and then you had two young girls in your trainer box during the match with Lance! So you must be rather popular, no?”

I stared at the blinking light that signified that we had a caller on the line.

For a long moment, silence filled the room until the host leaned forward, causing his seat to creak. I could tell he was extremely interested, in a way his interest probably reflected everyone listening in. I licked my lips realising that I had probably let that go on too long.

“Ah well, I’ll have to dash your image of me, sorry! The meal that got ordered was because of Surge, a fellow gym leader and close friend, who called around to hang out. He also brought Erika to introduce her to me as she wanted to meet me properly. We ended up going out as a group but Surge got called away. The news didn’t mention him being there but it had started out that way. Erika and I are just friends.” I took a sip of my drink to wet my tongue.

“And lastly, the two girls that came into the bunker were Celia, who was my gym’s sponsored trainer and a close friend of hers. I thought I’d treat them to front row seats to the action.”

“Hoooooo,” sighed the woman sadly. I quirked an eyebrow and glanced at Rachel. Had the woman wanted me to be a playboy? I looked over to the radio host but he had a huge smile on his face that seemed to be his default expression.

“Thanks for the question! Next we have—” before the caller was even identified I felt a sliver of premonition. The next questions were going to be about my love life, weren’t they?

“Got a special someone?”

Called it.

The questions continued until the next small break for a song. This time it was Electric Exploud Evolution playing out over the waves. I was about to ask Rachel how she thought things were going when my transceiver rang. I glanced down at it and frowned. I was about to hang up on the call when I noticed who it was that was calling.

“Hello! Gym Leader Brock? This is Lapras Cove over on Chrysanthemum Island. We just had someone claiming to be acting on your behalf to secure your Lapras?”

I stiffened at that. ”I most certainly did not authorise anyone to take Tide away from the cove!” A dread formed in my stomach. Someone was making a play for one of my pokemon.

“Not to worry! They didn’t seem to know which Lapras was Tide, and then they tried to say you wanted him to come along with a few of his ladies! They got greedy so we kicked them out.”

I stared at the transceiver and felt my eyebrow twitch. “So you were initially going to let them take Tide if they hadn’t messed up and tried for more?” The music in the background and the very pointedly eavesdropping radio host and producers were distant concerns for me.

“...” There was silence on the line as they realised they’d given themselves away. “Oh! I think my manager is calling for me! Please swing around when you have the chance!” The worker said quickly before hanging up. I glowered at the transceiver on my arm and exhaled hugely.

“Rachel, I think something has come up,” I said to my PR manager. She nodded and stepped in, handing me a few things. I glanced at the radio host. “I’m sorry, but—” “Brock you can’t go now, we’re getting into the good stuff!”

I inhaled and exhaled slowly. “I need to go.” I felt my annoyance spike as the host raised his hand only to stop when I directed my glare unto him. “I’m very sorry but I have to go. Rachel, I’ll let you handle this,” I said, dumping the task of dealing with the fallout of having to duck out from my radio show only about halfway through.

“Yup! You, ah, go take care of that!” she said as she marched towards the producers.

I nodded, feeling my annoyance spike. I charged through the building and when I was outside a pokeball was flicked out. Zephyr appeared and I expertly leapt onto his back. “We’re going to Chrysanthum Island buddy! Let’s go!” It took a minute for me to realise that I had probably been channelling Dark-type energy with how annoyed I’d been at the news.

This made three strikes. I hadn’t needed more than one to know that someone had it out for me. This felt different though. More targeted.

This stunk of Team Rocket.

The Cove’s manager, a portly older man, must have been warned as he was waiting for me upon my arrival at the cove. Hiding behind him was a very sheepish-looking worker. I gave them both glares.

“Is Tide alright?” I asked before I had even landed on the beach.

“Tide is fine, thankfully we ran them off before they could try to claim him or any other pokemon.” I looked over his name badge.

“Alright. Vincent, where is Tide?” Vincent led the way to part of the shore where a number of Lapras had deliberately beached themselves to get pampered by what looked like some local kids. Their shells were being scrubbed and their necks were being massaged. A lone female lingered on the water and a dark shape rested in the water underneath her. She trilled a greeting at me but kept an eye on the open water.

Looking at the Lapras on the beach I quickly realised they were much younger due to their smaller size. “Baby pokemon?” I asked.

“Yes! We were able to incubate a new clutch recently and these Lapras are now roughly two months old. Give them another six and they’ll be up to size with their mother.”

I hummed before smirking. “Any of them likely to reach their father’s size?” I eyed the dark shape in the water realising what it was. The man shook his head before I put fingers into my mouth and whistled out a tune that Tide would recognise.

Bubbles shot up from the dark mass and a few seconds later a large blue head emerged, water cascading as it continued to rise. Tide was a large pokemon for his breed. Not an alpha variant, or with a king gene as some researchers and rangers referred to the huge pokemon that occasionally appeared in reserves.

Lapras sang in greeting and I eyed him off as he swam to shore. His head was easily the size of my entire torso and when he pushed his head into my I slid back in the sand before giving him some scratches.

The part of me that had been worried fully relaxed now that I had my Lapras in my arms acting like a giant puppy.

The kids that had been cleaning the smaller Lapras were all staring in shock. Even the smaller Lapras were staring. I grinned and continued to scratch. I paid special attention to where he had some scars along his neck and down towards his shell.

Vincent watched on with a chuckle and the worker that had been hovering stepped hesitantly forward. “Sir! I am so sorry I let those people proceed like I did! I won’t let it happen again!”

I continued to scratch Tide’s neck as I answered. “No, certainly not, ‘cause we’re going to do an overhaul of your security from now on. Also, you’re going to tell me everything about the people that came in. If you have any pictures or videos that would be even better.”

One thing I learned from watching the cartoons, Team Rocket weren’t usually the sort to give up unless you —sometimes literally— blew them away.

When I had talked through the security measures I wanted put in place I had spent an hour riding around the cove on Tide. The big lug had been more than happy to frolic around and, despite the circumstances of me being called down here, I found myself relaxing as I recalled the summer where I had glided through the islands down south with him. We’d spent long days surfing the waves and even the odd night on the water. Tide enjoyed it as well, and we must have made for a sight swimming slow laps around the entire cove. Tide’s kids followed us in their tiny school with a trio of the mothers following along, always with a careful eye kept on open water.

When I was satisfied I returned to shore and extracted a picture of a man and a woman that had come to claim him in my name. I stared long and hard at it.

I’d never seen these two before. I had no idea who they were.

But I’d remember their faces.

“I’m going to do a sweep of the island,” I announced eventually, not willing to leave things at just a review and update of security.

The manager nodded, understanding where I was coming from. “Very well, but just be aware that the north-eastern side of the island is currently undergoing a lot of construction. There are plans to build a large resort.”

“I thought they couldn’t build on the nature preserve? Isn’t the inner part of this island all-natural rainforest and vegetation?”

“That’s the draw, or at least one of the draws. The people funding it are hoping to make Chrysanthemum into a town of the future, with an eye for tourism and nature retreats while having amenities close by. There will be established nature hikes, swims of the reefs and some rock climbing along the coast. All of that, and we’re only ten minutes boat ride from Fuschia.”

I raised an eyebrow at the man’s pitch. “The cove will stay safe for the Lapras?”

“This is private land that is donated to us under the direction of seeing to the nurturing and maintenance of re-establishing the Lapras population. We will be working with a few conservationists but the hotel shouldn’t impact us much. Might see some more traffic. The owner of the land is committed to making sure Lapras are no longer endangered.”

The man rubbed his chin. “Probably needed to update our security as you told us in the future anyway. Today’s incident was just a wake-up call, we’re isolated but not separate from the outside world here.”

I merely grunted, released Zephyr and waved goodbye to the cove. Tide saw me off with a loud sonorous call.

We performed a long slow sweep of the island. I could see the construction as the manager had said. It looked like in a few years there would be a well-established town, at the very least. I could see it becoming a popular site for tourists.

I performed three carefully measured laps of the island in the next hour.

Sadly, nothing jumped out as being suspicious.

There were no large mechanical constructs lumbering towards the cove. There was no secret base within the rainforest. There was no naval base hidden along the coast line or even a convenient ship at anchor nearby.

I could only growl in annoyance. If only the people were more like the cartoon, and more determined to have another run straight away, but it seemed they were at least competent and had gone to ground at the first sign of push-back. I clicked my tongue and tapped Zephyr on the back. “Home time I think, boy.” It’d take a few hours but we’d get there.

I couldn’t linger around, not with the audit I’d be facing tomorrow. I rolled that over in my mind. Did they know I was being audited and assumed I wouldn’t be able to follow up if they’d gotten away with the theft? Did they know I had been busy with the radio show? I stewed on those thoughts all the way back home.

No answers presented themselves.

My paranoia was justifiably spiked with all that had happened in the last few days.

When it rains it pours, is how the proverb goes. I was expecting the auditor to be someone out to get me in a way that I couldn’t deal with. When the day arrived I sat in the kitchen after feeding everyone, fidgety and completely unable to relax. When the doorbell rang early, I panicked a little. I wrenched it open only to find Lawrence bemusedly smiling at me.

“On edge?”

I grunted and quickly waved him inside before outlining what had happened since we’d last spoken. He drummed the kitchen countertop and nodded. “Hmmm, yeah, I see why you’re so worked out. Think it’s the same official trying something?”

“Doesn’t feel the same. If anything, this feels like a Team Rocket probe.”

He raised his eyebrow. “You’ve tangled with Team Rocket before?” I flapped my hand, not willing to explain that I only had peripheral experience. Lawrence let it sit. But he still watched me as I cleaned the countertop for the third time that morning.

“Brock, you signed the retainer, so I want you to know that even if the worst were to happen,—” His hands shot up to pat the air in a relaxing gesture, “—which it won’t, you will have me here. This is standard procedure and that’s all that’s going to happen, alright?”

“Sure,” I said tightly.

“Very well. Now when this Auditor returns—”

I listened to Lawrence, his calm tones helping to relax me until the doorbell rang once more causing the tension in my body to ratchet up.

“He’s here!” I said. Lawrence held up a hand and I remembered to stop and breathe in and exhale loudly. Then, once I had relaxed I stepped up and opened the door to find the same boring little man smiling up at me blandly.

“Hello there! Ready for your audit?”

I know he was just being polite, but… “No?” I coughed, “Could I check your credentials first, if you wouldn’t mind?”

“Certainly not!” Said the man, as if pleased I had asked for such. His briefcase popped open and a folder with his credentials and a license to operate as an auditor for the Pokemon Inspection Agency, for the accounts and assessment division, were clearly pronounced with the number and the name of his supervisor.

“Agent Timothy?” I said, reading over the paperwork. The man merely nodded affably. I made sure to get a picture of his official credentials, much to Lawrence’s approval. Timothy then produced a signed ‘Order of Investigation’. My mind shortened it to ‘warrant’. Lawrence intercepted the document before I could do more than read the top line. He glanced over it and took his own photograph before handing it to me.

“Everything appears to be in order,” Lawrence said to me. I grunted, looking at the man happily standing at the front door.

My own eyes glazed over the document only to sharpen when I came to the section where the official signature was recorded. “Who’s Helga Masken? Oh never mind she literally wrote her title…”

I stared at the form proclaiming that the Secretary of the Pokemon League had ordered this audit. I felt a little piece of information lock itself into place.

It felt good having a name. Perhaps if I had been more aware with Joy I might have gotten this information earlier. Sadly I had no idea what to do with it but I made a note of it nevertheless. Who was the secretary of the pokemon League was that like a C.E.O’s assistant or was it something much more grandiose?

“Ahem?” said a polite but intrusive voice. I glanced up to see Timothy smiling blandly at me.

“Shall we, Auditor?” I asked with a pained smile, gesturing up towards my office.

“Certainly!” said the man that surely must have fed on others' happiness to be that gleeful. My mind ascribed all the world’s evils to him. Surely a man like this must kick Growlithe puppies when no one was looking? His mild manners had to be a front! Or, I just wanted him to be evil.

Lawrence followed along and mimed taking another deep breath. I grumbled at him but tried to force myself to relax and not glare too much at Timothy. I claimed my seat behind my desk while Lawrence sat down next to Timothy as the auditor began reviewing my accounts.

It wasn’t a quick process.

The man drew out a notepad that was probably stolen from an orphanage somewhere while using a pen that probably used distilled tears and burnt dreams as its ink. I sat and watched him like a Noctowl, when I got bored I tried to find something else evil about his horribly bland appearance.

Occasionally, he would ask for some clarification or tap away at his calculator to do some sums. Lawrence observed and occasionally shot me some reassuring looks.

“Hmmm, I can see the receipt of sale for your Onix here. The impressive sum of money for such a pokemon. For what reason… Ah, I see it was a variant of Onix that’s never been seen before. A crystal Onix?”

I nodded from my seat.

“The sale was done on an international account?”

“That’s all I was informed of from the auction house. The buyer paid them extra to remain anonymous,” I said, not willing to voice my suspicions.

Across the table, the Auditor happily made another note on his file as he cross-referenced my earnings and expenditures with receipts of sale. His questions made me wonder if I was failing in some manner.

It was worse when he didn’t say anything. Merely tapping his pen and making a note. Each scratch of his pen made me feel like I had a Weedle crawling up my back. The stinger on its head glistened as it readied itself to drive into soft, exposed flesh.

It brought back old memories of tests I’d undergone at university in my old life. I’d hated those tests at the time, and the memory of them slamming to the forefront of my mind only intensified my feelings of anxiety. I wanted to walk out and leave him. Part of me thought that would make it easier.

It probably would have been less emotionally taxing. I could go and do things like train pokemon or work with my Gym’s trainers but another part of me railed at the idea of leaving this man alone with my records. Lawrence made it slightly better. It helped settle my nerves having someone nearby ‘in my corner’.

“You chose to auction the Onix instead of training it? That seems to be an odd choice for a Rock-type trainer. It would have been a large boon for your gym.”

“My client was able to use the earnings to establish his Gym much further than by keeping the pokemon. He already had a number of powerful or unique pokemon.”

Timothy noted this response down before asking his next question. “I noticed the unique pokemon you displayed in the recent fight. I see here that you’ve started up a breeding program along with the sale of these pokemon?”

“Those pokemon do not count towards the cap that all Gym Leaders have to deal with of having less than one hundred pokemon at any time.”

“Eh?” I murmured, surprised by what Lawrence had just said. “I can only own a hundred pokemon?”

Lawrence nodded “It’s an archaic law from when wars with pokemon were more common. The treaties that were signed between regions state that there is a hard cap on the number of pokemon any one Gym Leader can own for their roster. Even with the pokemon you have on hand and that others hold for you in trust, you’re only up to seventy-four. The pokemon you have in your breeding group don’t count.”

I leaned back at that. Huh, that kind of made sense. More pokemon meant more ability and influence to exert power. “What’s my holding limit allowed to reach?” I asked out of curiosity.

“Ten, like any other Gym Leader. Only Elite Four members or Champions are allowed to carry twelve pokemon on them at any point in time.”

“Your ‘Shin’ and ‘Don’ will of course not be discounted from the counting of your pokemon, viable as they are to the breeding roster. They are still listed as part of your strongest team,” Timothy said as he made a note of the pokemon in my gym.

“Which still leaves Brock at seventy-four,” Lawrence calmly stated.

I decided to lean back and let Lawrence do his thing. It was an odd feeling being thankful you’d spent your money well.

“Your Omanyte, Kabuto, and Aerodactyl were previously extinct pokemon, however. As previously extinct pokemon, these pokemon are supposed to be granted to reserves that the League has set up, do you understand?” Timothy said without inflection.

I was surprised that this actually was something I knew, having read about it in what little law books I had perused before initially hiring Lawrence. Lawrence still spoke up first though, experience at this sort of verbal sparring leaving him quite prepared to counter.

“Those pokemon were encountered in the wild during Brock’s journey. They were not resurrected from labs as some others have attempted for their own profit and therefore incorrectly labelled. It was merely that people hadn’t encountered them yet. Brock’s pokemon are therefore not subject to release to the League unless he voluntarily does so of his own volition.” When Lawrence paused to look at me at the same time as Timothy I shook my head. “And there you have it. The League may purchase a breeding set of the pokemon for their own purposes, but Brock’s pokemon will not be subject to the Resurrection Act.”

“Jolly good, then!” The auditor didn’t even seem phased that he’d been rejected, carrying on without missing a beat. Lawrence gave me a smile and a nod. I settled back trying to get comfortable as the man continued to scrutinise my work.

Eventually, he turned over the last page, made another note on his pad and then began to efficiently pack his things away into his briefcase. “My thanks for your work here, and for streamlining the process. I dare say this has been one of the most straightforward audits I have had to do!” He said with his signature wide smile. He reached across the table and shook my hand before repeating the gesture with Lawrence. “I shall submit my report to my superior.”

“You’re done?” I said in surprise. That felt completely anti-climatic. Shouldn’t he grow frustrated and try and slip in some information or a document that would work as a ‘gotcha!’? I’d half expected someone to call me up and announce that Tide was in danger from a small platoon of Team Rocket. I glanced around and clicked my transceiver to make sure it was working.

“Indeed I am. It has been a pleasure working through your books. Very well kept, I might add! Timothy merely packed away his things in an officious manner.

“We would request a copy of said report be sent through to our office, for our records,” Lawrence interjected. I felt my stomach lurch. I both did and did not want a ‘report card’ but trusted Lawrence on his reasons.

“Of course!” With that said, Timothy waved once and was led out.

Lawrence and I retreated to my kitchen where I slumped onto a stool. Timothy made a note. “Alright, I’ll write up the notes and make some calls to make sure everything progresses smoothly. Any more questions before I go?” Lawrence said while checking his watch.

I considered him for a moment. “How do you think it went? Is that it?”

“As well as it could. He didn’t take any of your pokemon or point out any large irregularities. With a copy of his report, we will know more and also be able to make sure no one misrepresents his findings.”

Lawrence steepled his fingers, “And for as mild-mannered as it was, the financial audits can be just as deadly to some Gyms Brock. You handled this correctly by requesting I consult with you along with having Georgina square everything away. ”

I nodded, pleased but still feeling like something else was lurking around the corner, ready to jump out at me. I chewed my lip. “Joy could only audit me once a year… does he have any such restrictions?”

Lawrence drummed his fingers on the counter. “They should only do that with probable cause, or with something suspect being clear to them. None of your accounts were, as we had them all sorted before his arrival.”

“But they still can if they want?” He nodded and I grimaced as a potential worry was confirmed. “What's stopping them from bugging my Gym with further audits?”

Lawrence’s face twitched. “I could make a case for harassment if they did such an action within the next two years. There have been previous cases in the past where things got political with local councils. The ruling is currently highly in favour of the Gym Leaders in such cases as everyone wants the Gym to operate seamlessly. Something you are known to be very good at.” He waved his hand around. “They can’t just walk in and take away your hard work, Brock.”

“And if they dragged things out? Made it costly?” I waved my hands towards the lounge room. “Couldn’t the League throw their weight around?”

“It would raise serious flags. From what has been described to me, they’d flush themselves out if they chose to pursue such an action and then Lance or others could step in. Also, there would be public outcry so I think we’d be safe over that course. You’re very popular and known as a good Gym Leader. The fight with Lance has only cemented that.” He reached out and put a hand on my shoulder, “You don’t have to worry about that, alright?”

I sighed before nodding my head. “Well at least I know it was worth putting you on retainer.”

“Lawyers are always worth having on retainer,” he said with a serious expression.

I gave him a flat look. “Said the Spinarak to the Caterpie.” He snorted and patted me on the shoulder. At that moment Tilly walked in, stopping when she spotted Lawrence.

“Well hello there, little one!” he said in a friendly manner.

Tilly put her hands to her mouth and started giggling like crazy. I turned to watch as she giggled manically. “Never seen her react like that to someone before,” I said when Lawrence winked at me.

Tilly got control of herself to shoot off back into the house. “Yolanda there’s a big Pidgeotto man in our kitchen!” I snorted as Lawrence ran a hand over his mohawk with a pleased expression.

“Ah, kids always react that way. My nieces and nephews all love it when I visit.” He nodded at me before walking to the door. He didn’t escape before Tilly led more people in to see the ‘Pidgeotto man’.

The next day he called. “It seems dear Auditor Timothy is an efficient sort of man. Open up the file and see what he’s written.” I gave the video image of Lawrence a dubious look but did as asked when I reached my office computer.

I began to look over the report and felt my eyebrows climb upwards. “He’s… actually complimentary of the Gym?”

Lawrence nodded, “Oh yes! Quite by the book. So by the book, in fact, he’s found the points where the League owes you money and agreed!” I blinked and scrolled further before finding out that Lawrence was right.

“Huh, I was not expecting that,” I said.

Lawrence gave me a fanged smile, “While it might be chump change for the League, it’s still a bit of egg on their faces. Certainly a good result, no?”

I agreed and felt my stomach unclench. With that out of the way and plans in place for other situations, I felt back to even footing after the recent events that had come hard and fast. I might now be able to move on and enjoy a bit of breathing room.

Somehow I doubted it’d be that easy.