Yesterday, 10 p.m. at night.
Kanto League.
"Oak, can you give a reason as to why you called all of us here at night?", asked Agatha with a stern voice.
"It is good to see you too Agatha.", replied Oak.
Agatha scoffed at Oak's remark. They were rivals at their time. Agatha could be considered to be the most powerful of the elite 4. The meeting late at night was just called 2 hours ago by Oak.
The message was so erupt that all of them were surprised. All the gym leaders, the members of elite 4, and the Champion Charles had attended the meeting with no one absent.
"Mr. Oak, you have called this meeting saying it is an urgent one. We just want to know what it is?", said a man with red hair. His name was Quivery, an ice-type elite 4. He was the uncle of Lorelai.
"Decent as always. Learn something from his young man, Agatha", said Oak.
"Prof. I know you like the suspense but could you tell us what is it about?", asked a young man with big muscles. He was Bruno, another elite 4 of the Kanto region. Bruno was young and had just been promoted to elite 4.
"Yes, Prof. Let's hear it.", added Charles, the current Champion.
"There is a Pokemon tide that is coming to a town named Burbos."
"How big is the tide? Is it apocalypse-level? I have not heard of such big tides now.", asked Agatha with concern. Pokemon Tide had been a real pain for the league. They would cause a huge amount of destruction and there were never enough forces for it.
"No, it is only low-level Pokemon tide."
"Then why did you call all of us here?", asked Agatha.
Low-level Pokemon tide were normal occurrences as per league experience. They had to deal with such tide on a weekly basis.
Normally, nobody interrupts or questions Oak due to his standing except for Agatha. So, when such a meeting occurs with Oak attending it, only Agatha would be the one talking with Oak.
"Axel is on Burbos now."
"What? Is he okay?", asked Agatha with concern. She may not like Oak but she was fond of that kid. That kid was hardworking and humble.
"For now."
"When is the tide occurring?", asked Charles.
"After 8 to 10 days."
"That leaves us plenty of time to rescue Axel. Do you want us to send a rescue team or do you want to go there yourself?", asked Bruno
"That is the reason for this meeting. I want Axel to be a part of this Pokemon tide.", said Oak.
"Sir, no disrespect, but Axel just started his journey 1 year ago. He is still a kid. It would be too much for him to be a part of a Pokemon tide.", said Quivery. He felt sorry for the poor kid.
"Quivery, Axel is already an advanced ranked trainer now. There is no backing off.", said Agatha.
"Really? Didn't he start his journey just a year ago?", asked Quivery in disbelief. He had not been keeping tabs on the new successor as he was busy. Learning that Axel was already an advanced ranked trainer surprised him. It was a tremendous achievement.
Being an advanced rank trainer had a lot of benefits but it also came with heavy responsibilities. One of the many responsibilities was that they had to participate in the Pokemon tide if they were near it. They could not back off. Even the league and Oak could not do anything about it.
"I have looked towards their files. They have a total of 32 elemental-ranked Pokemons. That is a good number. Although they have enough numbers to survive the Pokemon tide, I think sending more support to protect young Axel would be a good decision.", said Bruno.
But Giovanni immediately refused. "I refuse. If we want him to be our future Champion, he needs to earn it and not be gifted.
If he can't even survive this with his Pokemons, he might as well give up his dreams. I will think he doesn't have what it needs."
"Don't you think that you are being too harsh on him? He is still too young. I remember you seem to know him personally, so why are you so strict with him Giovanni?", asked Bruno.
"I too agree with Giovanni.", added Agatha, and this surprised all of them as they felt with how much she cared for him, she would be the first to disagree.
"You didn't see him in battle. I did. He is a fighter and this is a great battlefield for him. It is his domain and he is the warrior."
"But lady Agatha, isn't this too much? He is still too young. He shouldn't face this type of problem. You are being too strict on him and it would break him."
"You think that I am too much? You know he is the successor of Oak right?"
"Yes, we know and that is a great decision. At least he would be protected by those leeches."
"Yes and Samuel made a deal with him.", said Agatha.
"What kind of deal?"
"That he would spend a month in the badlands."
"Preposterous!!!"
"Prof. Have you gone senile?"
"If you want to kill him, don't play such tricks."
The gym leaders and the elite 4 started to rant after they heard what Agatha said. Nobody knew how Agatha knew about this as she would consider eating a Taurus dung than talking with Oak.
"Calm yourself.", said Oak to everyone.
"Prof., Can we ask why did you propose such a thing?", asked Charles.
"Prof. You know it as well as us just how important young Axel is to us. How can you make such a decision without thinking about his safety?"
Oak didn't seem to be affected by the accusations sent to him and simply said, "Whatever decision I made regarding my successor, do I have to ask for your advice?"
It was a simple sentence yet the glint in his eyes told something else.
"This is the second time you people have questioned my decision on Axel. Remember the second time. There won't be a third.", said Oak releasing his aura.
The room started to feel heavy.