As Axel got the badge, he went towards the gate to go to his hotel. But how could his journey be so relaxing?
He was immediately swarmed by a bunch of reporters and fans. Axel couldn't count how many reporters there were but there were a lot. All the reporters were hell-bent on asking their own questions. Axel could concentrate on any of them.
He finally raised his hand and gestured for all of them to shut up. It took some seconds, but there was finally silence.
"Only one question. You over there, ask away.", said Axel pointing at Hakone new reporter.
Axel knew that this guy would ask some good questions.
"Sir, how do you feel beating one of the best gym leaders of the Johto region?", asked the reporter.
"It was quite thrilling. I found Ava very experienced and it was difficult for me to grab the win."
"Sir, who is better? Kent or Ava?"
"Kent, no doubt about it.", replied Axel clearly. There was just no comparison. Kent had a length of experience, powerful Pokemons, and a creative mind at his disposal. There was just no way that Ava would even compete against him.
After answering a couple of questions, Axel went to his hotel room. Ava had also seen the interview. She also knew that she wasn't Kent's match but hearing it from Axel on TV made her feel angry.
She had also decided to gather other gym leaders, elite 4, and the champion for a meeting. She wanted to discuss about Axel.
###
Axel went to his hotel room to think about Ava's proposal. The passive move of Miltank was just too good to give up. However, Ava had said that she would only train 1 Pokemon of Axel for a month. So, he was having trouble choosing one.
Only a few Pokemons would be able to enhance their neural reactions and Axel didn't know which Pokemon of his would be able to do it. He wanted his young Pokemons to get this passive move but he didn't who would be good enough for it.
As he was thinking about it, he got a call from his mother. Axel's match was broadcast live so they knew that the match was over. Agnes began to ask him a round of questions on how Axel was able to win a battle like that. She was now getting interested in being a trainer.
After talking with the family for 30 minutes, Axel lay on bed thinking about his next plan. He had 2 badges now and he could go for the third gym badge and also easily win. However, unlike before, he clearly felt that gym battles were very good for nurturing Pokemons. So, he would make a sizable gap between each gym badge.
Axel had 2 things to do immediately right now. The first one was to meet Gerad since it had already been 2 months and they had also built a base. The Second was to meet with Gyarados and Steelix on Aeus island. He also wanted to have a chat with the old Lucario about the mega-evolutions.
Yet, he was just going to sleep and eat today. He needed a good relaxing day to flush everything down. He called out all of his Pokemons. First of all, Primeape was the main hit of the day. It had done the impossible and won against Miltank in a one-on-one fight. Of course, a lot of luck was involved in it.
Aerodactyl was also congratulated all of its friends on its rank up. But it was not so happy about almost losing the battle against that Stantler.
"Don't worry, accidents happen. We did win. So let's celebrate."
Axel wanted to lighten the mood of his Pokemons. The main contributor to Aerodactyl's frustration was actually Squirtle. Axel didn't know what it was saying to Aerodactyl, but he could clearly tell that it was making some fun of it.
###
"Tring.. Tring.. Tring.. Tring..."
Katchak...
"Hector, how are you guys?", asked Axel.
"We are doing well. We are actually moving towards the league. It might take us couple of days to get there.", responded Hector.
"That is good. So, you got the appointment?", asked Axel.
"Yes sir. we did. When will you be coming?"
"I will also reach there in 3 days. Don't worry."
Having a meeting with Gerad was not easy. They had to call multiple times to fix the schedule. Axel knew that Gerad was doing this intentionally but he didn't care. He just wanted the badge of the mercenary team.
###
After 3 days,
Axel's feet finally landed on Kanto League City. This was the headquarter of the league and also where they would be meeting Gerad. The team had already booked multiple hotels and also booked one of them for Axel.
Axel met with the team. This time, all of them had not come up. Only the important people had come including Krishna. The rest of them were managing the base.
Axel greeted all of them. He didn't say anything about the upcoming meeting. Axel knew that Gerad was going to make some trouble in one way for the other. They would just have to beat Gerad on his own game. The requirement for creating their mercenary team and getting it approved from the league was already documented and signed. So, Axel was not much worried about it.
"Sir, are we going to discuss tomorrow's meeting?", asked Krishna.
Krishna had not yet met with Gerad, so he had no idea how bad tomorrow's meeting was going to be.
"Nah, just leave it. We will deal with that problem when we need it.", said Axel.
###
Next day,
Axel and the team went to the league building. They were well received by the receptionist. After waiting for an hour, they were finally called inside the meeting hall.
"Axel!!! Long time no see. You have grown a bit.", said Gerad with a smile and gave Axel a hug. Axel knew that all of this was fake. He could already sense that Gerad was up to something.
Gerad and his secretary looked at the reports of their base. Gerad was obviously surprised that they could make one in just a short amount of time. There were many pictures of the base as the people from the league had already gone there to investigate.
Axel and the team had done a perfect job with no mistakes. Gerad looked at the reports for at least 15 more minutes and sighed. He could not find any mistake at all.
"I am satisfied with the report. The base has fulfilled all the requirements. Congratulations, you have fulfilled the first condition. Now you only need to participate in a tide battle and fulfill those conditions.", said Gerad.
"Thank you, Gerad. It means a lot. Now on to the second condition. What type of tide would we be facing?", asked Axel.
"You and your team will be facing the tide based on the size and the numbers of your group. But unfortunately, there are no such tides right now. You may have to wait for some time. Till then I suggest you to get ready and get your team ready."
"Sorry for butting in but what is the estimated time that we would have to wait?", asked Krishna.
Gerad looked at Krishna. His face said that he was not happy about Krishna talking.
"We don't know. We can only tell you about it when we are informed.", said Gerad.
"But as per the local news, there are actually 5 villages, 2 towns, and 1 city that are going to face tide in a month. Don't we fit into any of these categories?", asked Krishna.
Before coming to the meeting, Krishna had done some research on the tide they might be facing. So, he had made a list of those villages, towns, and cities that were going to face the tide.
Gerad was not happy about it.
"The soldiers for all those villages, cities, and towns have been deployed. Some of the hired guns have also been selected for it. You guys were just too late for it.
So, you will have to wait for some time.", replied Gerad.
Krishna had already understood what was happening here. Gerad was clearly lying to them and wanted to delay the tide battle.
The base would need money to run. The team could do simple missions but this would not be enough for to last for a long time. They do have some back money but that could only last them for a year or two. If Gerad refuses to give them any tide mission for 2 years, then they would be in trouble.
Krishna was already angry at Gerad and the league. In the meanwhile, Axel was very calm. He knew something like this would happen. He had another plan to go with the King but for that, he would have to wait for some time.
"So, can we register our name for the next tide mission?", asked Axel.
"Yes, you can obviously do it. Just follow my secretary and she will lead you to the process.", said Gerad and went after saying his goodbyes.
The secretary made him sign a couple of documents and also charged 50k Poke dollars. It was not a lot of money for a mercenary team like them but Axel was still pissed off.
###
"Sir, what should we do now?", asked Hector.
They had already came out of the league building and now they were in a restaurant.
"Don't worry, if Gerad wants to take it slow, then we can also take it slow. I will be going to Aeus Island for half a month. Till that time, get the new members adjusted and it is also finally time for us to divide the team and make a hierarchy.
Consult Krishna about it. He has some experience. After that half a month I will come to the base and look at your progress."
The hierarchy was very important. Till now they were just like family. However, the family had increased to more than 50k and now it had become difficult to arrange them properly. This would be even harder in the future. So, a proper hierarchy was needed.
After talking to all of them, Axel went to his hotel room. He had a flight tomorrow for Violet city. He would then have to take another cargo plane for the Aeus island.
Aeus island was a very special island and there were a lot of restrictions to go there.
###
After 3 days,
Axel finally stepped into Violet City. This might be the most visited Johto region city of Axel as he had frequently come here for many reasons.
He took a deep breath and got ready for another flight after 2 hours. Axel didn't want to wait at the airport for 2 hours, so he decided to roam around the shops outside of the airport.
That was when everything got dark for Axel.