I was, all told, a huge fan of being lazy where possible. When I was hiring people there was a simple way to stick to this ideal.
I enlisted a local employment agency that managed most of my needs. I'd used them in the past and gotten a number of good candidates. I actually found Dennis from them and most of the job seekers that use them were serious about their applications.Most people were content with posting something on community notice boards and letting things take time. But I was from a time and place where you had access to things at your fingertips. So I had a local Job Agency recruited to help speed things along. I had to pay for the privilege of browsing resumes and getting access to the better candidates that were around.But that just made them more professional in my mind. Plus, in all honesty, it wasn't all that much in terms of cost. but something about the Media Consultant role seemed to inspire people to act out. To be seen and heard.Their resumes were all different fonts, colours and styles. They screamed personality-or lack thereof-to the reader, and after the third one, I had a rapidly developing headache.Each person's information was screened before I received it. I only had some loose qualifications, which I hoped would simplify the process. I preferably wanted someone that had been local for at least a few years and, if not, I needed someone that had experience with modern facilities. While my gym was old in terms of how long it existed, it was new in facilities and with me at the helm.I cut through a number of resumes. Some seemed to have been very pigeonholed with their experiences. People with experience in governments had bland, no-nonsense resumes that spoke of getting a message across and just that. They had a formula that could only be described as calculated when they wrote their resumes. I read one and then found I had for all intents and purposes read the next five available to me.Their resumes all had a feel of being what was considered tried and true. They stuck with the conventions. Their resumes were stark with barren blank spaces to read and I almost found myself falling asleep a few times.On the other end of the spectrum, younger consultants went overboard with colours and fonts, making a confusing mismatch of stimulus that occasionally made me wonder what I was reading.Only one truly caught my eye and kept it.A young girl with a range of different roles working in traditional media for Celadon Radio as a host. Until she had gotten in front of the camera. Now she was something that she referred to as a Social Pokenet Specialist.Her resume had each segment alongside a photo of her working in the role with a diagonally cut picture of her. It almost read more like a life story than it did a resume except that each milestone was one of employment and development. In each picture she had herself smiling hugely.I read and found myself watching a girl become a teenager, then into a young confident woman. I liked the way she had pictures of people in parts of her resume with a descriptor mentioning them by name if they were willing to be her reference.It was heartwarming to see. It wasn't cold or formulaic but personal. By the end of the resume, I wanted to be part of her life story and possibly see pictures of myself among these others. She was certainly good at marketing herself.When I asked about her to the employment agency though, they were baffled. They were still rather traditional in their methods and didn't see the appeal of her style or skills. For all that the world was easily on par or, in some areas, better than my previous life, they didn't have developed online media platforms yet.They had Battlenet for pokemon battle videos, and a streaming website that was pretty much entirely cute pokemon, but they didn't have anything like Twitter, or Facebook. Hell, they didn't even have an MSN messenger equivalent.But people did have Pokenet pages where they posted information and thoughts. The world was becoming more linked together. There was not yet a connection to Hoenn, and there might not be one for a number of years, but there were talks of Orange and Sevii being linked up soon.This girl, therefore, was something of a revolutionary. "I think I'll give her a call," I said to the employment agency's guide. I clicked a link on her webpage and was drawn into a gallery of photos of her posing with various pokemon and their trainers. She had a good eye for detail, and a rather expansive collection to display. She also had some nice landscape photos of Mt. Moon and the surrounding mountain ranges. She even had pictures of the Rota Kingdom.I stared at those for a long time. I really wanted to go there. For so, so many reasons. Sadly my life had never, after my journey ended, allowed for me to spend the month it would take to have a dedicated pokemon acquisition trip up to Rota. As a Gym Leader, there would probably be a lot of scrutiny on me as well. I doubted I'd just get to waltz up to them and walk around the Tree of Beginning, if I could even find it. It was somewhere in the forest in Rota but that wasn't as easy as finding Sunburst island or Grampa Canyon."Oh! Well, thank you for your time Brock! Your account will be billed as per normal rates! Is there anything else we can do for you?" The agent over the phone asked, jerking me back to the moment."Oh! Sorry, got lost in one of her photos." I coughed, having gotten drawn into dreaming about all the pokemon that I could catch that'd be amazing for the Gym in Rota. I shook myself to return to what I was supposed to be doing. Namely, interviewing this woman. "No, or… Yes actually, put out an advertisement for a few weeks time. I think I might be expanding the Gym. Do up one for trainers looking for a berth for at least a year. I will have more to expand on later.""The results of your victory, hmmm?" hummed the woman. I could hear her pen scratching away. "Alright! I'll get a generic trainer ad set out like we used last time. You'll handle interviews?""Yup. If that's all?" I asked. When they said it was, I gave my goodbye and hung up.I dialled the number and a young woman's voice answered. "Hello, Rachel Raul here?""Hey, Rachel. It's Brock from the Pewter City Gym. I'm in the market for a Media aide or… well, a Public Relations Manager for the gym. Are you still interested in taking on an interview?"There was silence on the other end. I waited for a bit before coughing. "Hello? Did the line cut out?""Brock?" she asked, "Brock from the Pewter gym?""Yes," I said back. I wanted to say a number of clever quips but decided to keep my mouth shut and remain professional."This isn't a joke? You're calling me for a job?""An interview really. I'd like to meet you and see what you could offer, and if you'd be a good fit. Standard contract if you did take the job. You'd have a period to test things out but you'd be paid for your time.""Oh, that would be wonderful…" She swallowed loudly enough it carried over the line. "Uhm… when would be good?""When's good for you—" "Now?! Now's great!" I didn't even get the chance to finish as she blurted an answer at me.I chuckled."I'm so sorry!""No, no, it's fine. You're eager. Tell you what, it's three now. Let me make up some snacks for my family then come around the back at five." I considered something. "You are in Pewter right now, right?""Yeah! No worries, I can be there at five!""Awesome, I'll see you then."I ended up opening the door and inviting her in when she arrived at four-thirty.She had marched up well before even that. For a while I had only a vague awareness of someone walking around the front entrance. And then, a woman roughly twenty years of age hustled up along the hedge before peeking at the front door. Then she hustled back before starting to walk circles up and down the path. She had a folder in her hands which she continually flipped through as she walked.I stopped cleaning up in the kitchen after my family's afternoon snack and watched her on my tiny projected transceiver screen. It wasn't obvious, but I did have cameras along the hedged path. When someone walked up I typically got an alert. Most of the time it was trainers, or my own family running up and down the front garden. I usually ignored it most of the time.I watched her for a little while before stepping out the front door. I timed it well enough that I met her on the way back.She continued to flip through her folder while muttering under her breath. "If he's looking for…"I decided to cut her off. "Rachel, I presume?"Rachel snapped her head up. Her pink hair bobbed at the violent action and my eyes were drawn to the tips that were coloured like a rainbow. She hadn't had those in the last picture in her resume. "Oh my gosh! I'm sorry–I'm not crazy, I swear!"I merely snorted. "No, I get it. It's an interview. Did you want to come inside and sit down? If you want we can start early…" I eyed her thick folder. "Or you can continue to review your notes for another thirty minutes?""No! Let's do it right now!" She said, like a man marching into the ring for a match with a Machamp. She seemed determined to move before her mind could catch up with any actions she had already committed to.I decided to lead her into the kitchen. Thankfully there were only a few plates still dirty so it didn't look too sloppy. Rachel turned her head and looked over the room. Not in a critical way, but rather with an air of interest. She lingered on the hung-up finger paintings and the markings of height that featured near the pantry.She relaxed slightly, and a smile formed on her face. She looked much better like this instead of manically working through her notes. When she noticed me watching her, she sat upright."Sorry! I was just curious to see how a Gym Leader lived.""Not to worry. It's pretty much like everyone else. My home just has a lot more people than most I think." Her eyes flicked towards the family photo. She tilted her head after a moment as I saw a question form in her mind about the missing parental figures. That was rather telling. "You're not someone that grew up in Pewter, I take it?"She shook her head. "Is that an issue? I moved here roughly two years ago.""Thinking of sticking around?""Well I was thinking of hanging on for a bit longer, but Pewter doesn't have the big businesses that need promoting." She waved her hand about. "It's not a sleepy place, but it's very relaxed… I was hoping to find work here with maybe the museum, or with the local radio station? She waved her hand about, "But they weren't hiring so I took on some other jobs."I nodded, glancing around for her resume that I had left… somewhere. "I remember reading that you were currently working as a waitress…" A resume was offered. I smiled, pleased that she had a spare ready to go.The rest of the interview progressed from there. She was an interesting girl, and I made sure to express my interest in growing the Gym's Pokenet presence, which had her perking up. When I asked her to outline potential improvements for the perception of the Gym, she got a huge smile before reaching into her folder.I remember when I had graduated from my degree I had issues with demonstrating how smart I was by saying everything and everything that was there–necessary or not. It was an issue of how I'd been taught at university. You had to give a deluge of information; more was always better in the university setting was how I'd been taught; especially for verbal questions. Sadly, in the medical setting that was very much the wrong thing to do to a client.When Rachel began motor-mouthing how I could increase exposure and highlight all the wonderful facilities to get more local interest with battle clubs, hiring out the outside fields, having dedicated days for markets, or 'Come and Ceet' events for the Gym, she spoke her words like she was a racer that had just seen an open track with a fueled car waiting for them.She had other ideas as well, and I sat back allowing her to talk at me, instead of to me. She obviously had a lot to say, so I let her get it out of her system while jotting the ideas down as she spoke. I made a note to myself that I'd probably have to ride herd on her if this sort of behaviour continued beyond her first few weeks. Still, as she spoke I noted the fire in her eyes. It wasn't a bad thing to have someone that was so passionate in the team. Most of us in the Gym right now were generally laid back in our approach. I could do with a firebrand go-getter to push us.I held up both hands which saw her lurching as if she was crashing out. "Alright, there are some good ideas I like here." I tapped the notepad. "The starting salary is thirty thousand pokedollars. That's if you require board and keep. Without, we'll give another ten, but you may still use the amenities whenever you need to.""Does… does this mean you want to give me the job?""Of course, but you'll need to pick out which office you–" Then she leapt across the kitchen bench and hugged me."Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Oh! This is going to be amazing! I have so many ideas!" She gushed into me.I patted her on the back gently. "Yeah, I sort of noticed. We'll workshop some of those ideas, but for now, I think I better show you around."I lead her toward the single-room apartments available to her with her contract. She looked it over before shaking her head. Apparently, she already had a fairly nice rental that she shared with a friend. She gaped at the facilities that were at the back of the gym, and got giddy when I showed her what amounted to a rather basic office that was still unfurnished."You'll be right next to the Tauros pen, which is where most of the trainers complete reports for things like patrols, matches, pokemon training plans, and such." I pointed to a meticulous desk. "Dennis sits there," I then pointed towards a much more…relaxed desk. "That one is Rocko's. If you have questions and can't find me you'll need to talk to either of them as they're senior trainers.""This is so awesome!" She gushed before coughing into her fist and standing up primly. "So! Is there anything that you're looking for me to focus on, specifically?"I chewed my lip. "As I mentioned earlier, I mostly want you to help push a positive public image and keep it that way. I've been noticing some channels being much more critical of our Gym. I thought I should get someone to help me handle media appearances.""Cool, want to get on a talk show? That's a good way to get your voice out there and can stop things from being negative or too fantastical.""Not… really?" I said, not enjoying the idea of parading about while understanding that it was probably the best option. I just didn't enjoy that, at all."You may as well capitalize on your fame Brock." She grasped the air in front of her, then exploded it outwards, "You're the hot topic and I think it would be a good idea to get out and talk about your experiences. You hired a Public Relations Manager with me! And I'm going to make sure people love you!" She wiggled a little as she said it.I couldn't help but chuckle at how she had, in the space of a few hours, gotten over her nerves. She was certainly pitching ideas with gusto."So, my advice is to get on some radio and a talk show and discuss what's happening, and maybe even what this will mean for the Gym!" She tilted her head. "What are you going to do with the money, if it's alright to ask?"I rubbed my chin. "Well… I was thinking of developing the stable area, and hiring on another trainer to handle pokemon raising so that more locals can get affordable stabling options for their journey.""Do you not like the larger corporate stables?""I prefer having the smaller, more intimate ones that grow naturally. I typically add in time with myself and advise trainers that rent stables from the Gym.""What are your current caps for trainers that rent stables with you? How many pokemon can they each have on their team before you won't take them on?""Currently I have eight stable slots free for the next circuit but I want to grow that to fifteen by the time the circuit comes around. Each trainer has a capacity to store twelve pokemon with us for a team of eighteen in total unless they can earn an increased carry limit."Rachel snorted at that and I nodded, agreeing with her. I only got the increased limit due to being a Gym Leader. "Anything else new for the Gym?" She asked as she wrote down notes on the stable expansion. She underlined a fifteen before glancing up."More pokemon for the gym. Right now we don't have any pokemon to stabilize injuries that occur." I clenched my jaw, remembering a match that had gone wrong in all the worst ways last year.I now had a small plot in the local cemetery for my pokemon."I want to fix that by buying a Chansey the next time they come up for auction." Rachel whistled at that. I nodded tightly. With the League supplying all pokecentres with the pokemon there was always a set price that Chansey would never dip below. Sometimes hospitals looked to add them to their own rosters as ready-to-go nurses and support staff.You needed to be ready to drop a few million if you wanted a Chansey."I'm also going to put out a bounty for Corsola, and Relicanth.""Corsola are little rockfish pokemon, yes?" Rachel asked. I nodded. "What about Relicanth?""They're actually pokemon that have survived since ancient times, and they still swim the oceans. So it is possible to find them all over the world, like Wailord and Sharpedo, but… Well, they typically only swim around in extremely deep water, which makes them much harder to find. I'd like to get one for the gym, but I'm expecting that one to take a while." I hummed in thought. "I'd also like some Bonsly."Rachel flicked through her folder with a frown. "Don't you already have a Sudowoodo?""I do but I'd like to have Bonsly for more options in the lower-tier fights. My Sudowoodo is great in my four badges or higher brackets, I want to have more diversity with lower-tier pokemon instead of Geodude, Rhyhorn, Onix, and the rare Aron making up my challenges.""Oh wow, didn't know it could get that strong.""Most pokemon can get that strong," I said, which made her flick her gaze up.She stared at me long and hard. When she spoke she did so with a tone of faint surprise. "Huh, you really believe that?""I think it depends more on the training methods and the trainer. Any pokemon, or person, can rise. It's one of the best things about the world we live in." I glanced ahead as I said that remembering how far I'd come since my initial arrival.Rachel stayed silent for a while as we continued our tour of the gym. Eventually, she spoke up and resumed the conversation where we had left it. "Huh, well I might use that for something later with regards to you.""Hmmm?" I asked, not understanding the non-sequitur."Never mind. Instead, how about I write up a press release for the Gym's website to announce what's coming up soon? It would be better to hear all of this from your own mouth! Can I tentatively feel out some talk shows for you to appear on?""Sure.""Cool, people will love to hear about you getting pokemon like these!""Ah, I had two others I was also going to acquire." She perked up. "I'm going to order an Eevee for my family… and a Scyther" I feigned a sheepish look. "For myself.""Are you secretly a bug lover?" she said in amusement before shaking her head to show that the question was rhetorical. "Boys and their Scythers. That pokemon has to be the most popular around, I swear." She grinned. "Definitely tell people about that, cause there are tons of kids and adults that would love to hear about you having a 'cool' pokemon like that."I smiled at her innocently, like butter wouldn't melt in my mouth.Scyther had always been a pokemon that I'd wanted on my team.But, I had another reason. Scyther, it turned out, had a rock-type evolution available to it. I'd sat down and put words on paper about potential pokemon that could be complimentary for my future candidacy as Pewter City Gym Leader before my journey. I hadn't been able to acquire one during my journey, and I hadn't been able to justify buying one before this. Now I could pass it off as a whim. Something chunni even.Once I had it, I just needed some Black Augurite. Then it'd all come together.Before she left I held up a hand. "You won't be expected to fight but do you own any pokemon? Part of being an employee of the Gym is that you have a full team roster allowance and the pokemon can receive care and food from us."Rachel perked up. "I hadn't known that! I can get my Growlithe and Magnemite sent over from my mother's house!" I chuckled at her enthusiasm to have her pokemon returned to her."What do you have these days?""Just my Persian.""Alright, well from now on always keep at least two pokemon on you in case people try to hassle you when you come in or out of the Gym, alright?"She shot me two thumbs up. "Got it! Oh! I can't wait to post about this! People reading my blog are going to be so impressed! This is great!" Rachel trotted off after that, her documents signed and ready to start in the next few days.Trouble, it turned out, came in twos. The morning after I had hired Rachel I received another knock on my door just after breakfast.This time when I opened it, I found a man I could only describe as a bespectacled accountant. He wore a plain white shirt with a pen and calculator in his top pocket. To his side, a black briefcase sat at his feet. The tie around his neck was played with once before he moved his hand upward to adjust his spectacles."Good morning Gym Leader Brock! I am from the Inspection agency!"I noticed the lack of a given name. For some reason, I didn't doubt his words. This man seemed to enjoy acting as a faceless number. Merely one in a crowd that you wouldn't think of any more than a second if you passed him in the street. This man was more of a minion. Or perhaps he was more like a wheel in the machine?"I was already audited by Nu—Agent Joy less than a week ago." I pointed out reasonably.The man chuckled and patted the briefcase by his side. "I'm afraid this is rather different from Agent Joy's audit. This is an audit of your financial credibility. I am here to look over your books! As they say?" He said the last with a little tilt of his head and a smile as if to soften the blow of my stomach plummeting through the floor.I was no crook but this man was dangerous.My mind instantly leapt to a plausible excuse. "Don't I have to see a written warrant first?"It was a shot in the dark. A statement that was so flimsy anyone would scoff at it surely. It was only a technicality. Anyone would see that I clearly had no idea what I was talking about. I'd read through Flint's old notes, and he'd never mentioned anything about having his accounts looked through!To anyone else, the tissue-thin paper excuse would have been ignored.This man paused, and inspected the words that were spoken. He blinked in surprise before nodding. "Ah! You didn't receive a week's notice? Well, that is a problem. Hmmm." He readjusted his spectacles in an idle gesture as he considered this issue."Ah! I know! I shall reschedule for next week! Thereby giving you the week's notice." He checked his watch and nodded to himself. "Very well then! It is nine am, Tuesday. I shall return in seven days. Please accept this as verbal notice that you are being audited." He handed me a business card. "If you wish to reschedule for an earlier time you may contact me on this number!""Can I reschedule for never?" I said before I could really stop the words escaping my mouth.The man blinked at me before bursting out into laughter like the very idea was ludicrous. Like I'd just said a marvellous joke. He waggled a finger at me. "Oh! That was very good, yes! I shall return in seven days!" he bobbed on the spot, collected his briefcase and strolled off.I stared after him, gobsmacked at what had just happened. Then I mechanically shut the door.I stared at it for a long minute before turning and sprinting into my office."No running!" called Yolanda before realizing it was me. "Brock? What's wrong?"I turned on my computer and began to scroll through my accounting software. "Yolanda! We're getting audited!""Uhm? You already did bro?""No! This is worse! This auditor is a Bureaucrat!""That doesn't sound that scary?" Yolanda gave me a look that conveyed just how little she knew of the world and the monsters that lurked within it. I gave her a forlorn little shake of the head."Oh, you're so young Yolanda." She looked perplexed. I shook a finger at her. "When you get the chance to, ask the Mayor or any adult about dealing with bureaucrats! You watch what they say! Okay? Just trust me, they'll understand!""Alright?" she said, her tone laced with dubiousness. She watched me for a bit as I sighed in relief before I turned away from the computer to rifle through a filing cabinet. "Can I help in some way?"I had no remorse as I pulled another stack of files and slammed them onto the table. "Go through that and pull out anything that even vaguely mentions Mt. Moon! I don't want that place getting skimmed over at all!"Yolanda nodded, suddenly serious. Forrest might have been the last of my siblings to go with me to Mt. Moon, but Yolanda had been there first and returned with me the most out of all my siblings. I'd known she'd love seeing the Clefairy. She understood that secret, but also understood that it wasn't something to be simply given out. Thankfully I had only vaguely mentioned one other secret in my personal logs.Now I just needed to find them. When I had gone through two sections of the filing cabinet I stopped for a break. Yolanda got me a cup of tea but I couldn't relax. I needed to work through this issue instead.I opened a pad.This was a new method of attacking the Gym. I didn't have to wait for a third 'strike' on my interests to lock in the person's actions as 'enemy action'. I'd need to review a few of my other interests just in case something else was quietly being pulled out from under my nose. This new avenue was rather telling though. I jotted down my thoughts. Using bureaucratic actions meant that they had some pull.I liked to think that this ruled out any of the Elite Four. As trainers, surely they wouldn't try this method to damage me? I chewed my lip while my eyes swept over another document.My understanding of Bruno ruled him out as a straightforward person but then again how much did I really know about him? He could be using a persona for the media. It was unlikely, but still possible.Lorelei was a straight-laced trainer. An Ice-type user.That was all I had on her. I jotted 'Not enough' information under her name as well.Agatha had reached out to me to seemingly recruit me but was that part of this? I remembered her being shady in the manga but not how bad it was. She was an enemy to the main cast in some form, wasn't she? Wasn't Lance as well? She'd bear watching. I had a potential avenue to gain more information on her through her recruitment pitch.I suddenly had a lot of unease over the offer.I pushed the thought away for later examination.There wasn't currently a fourth active Elite four member as when Lance had ascended to challenge for the champion position there had been an older Johto trainer by the name of Shafner. He had been a trainer that specialised in flying-type pokemon.Lance had beaten him with one pokemon in his Charizard alone. Shafner had announced his retirement directly after the loss. I remember watching that and being surprised before feeling sad for the older man. His devastating loss had only sped up Lance's ascension to Champion.Shafner had retired entirely from the public, announcing that he felt he no longer had what was needed to meet the new challenges.He hadn't been seen since, and Lance still had to fill the spot.Lance. Lance, I wanted to dismiss.I felt I had a good read from him after fighting him. He was a straightforward sort of guy that had loads of power in his hands with his team. That was actually likely to grow after I had defeated him with a more robust roster becoming available. That would only grow as more regions became accessible. I could count a few that would soon appear such as Salamence, Flygon, and Aerodactyl. I made another note to reach out to Lance before considering that. Did I want to empower him if I had been wrong in my assessment? I rubbed my forehead in annoyance.I was forgetting someone… who… Blaine. Blaine had been one of the Elite Four prior to Shafner. He'd been there since the union of Kanto and Johto to form the Indigo League. Now only Agatha remained. I had a vague understanding of the man but I knew he was a researcher, known for his work on Cinnabar island along with his aggressive battling styles. I didn't think I had done anything to draw his ire.He had been at my match with Lance.As had Giovanni… which instantly made me think of his attachments.I frowned as I recalled seeing both of them there at the start of the match only for them not to be there at the halfway mark or the end. That had seemed so insignificant at the time… Was I jumping at shadows though?Perhaps it was true what they said. You shouldn't succeed unless you are willing to deal with the issues that come with success. I certainly hadn't been expecting this as a result. The money and increased fame? Yes, those I had prepared for. …somewhat.The sudden acts against me from the League though?Never even entered my mind. I'd been expecting acts or raids from…I jotted another note down. I needed to be more active with Team Rocket. I'd have to set some serious time aside into considering what I could do about them. They also potentially had the reach into the League necessary to instigate this. I was well travelled and read enough to know that you didn't become a major criminal organization without setting people into power that looked out for your interests."Brock, aren't you supposed to be looking through these files as well or did you want me to do your job for you?" Yolanda said, cutting through my thoughts.I glanced at her work and was impressed with her work ethic. She'd already gone through several stacks and cleared them of anything with Mt. Moon in them. I added those to my pile and got back to work.In the end, I had a few small documents that reference my ownership of a very specific section of land. Yolanda eyed the deed. "What's there? Is that where the Clefiary meet up?""No, that's protected land. The Rangers made sure of that years ago.""Oh," Yolanda said, sad that the secret wasn't something limited to just our family. I patted her on the back before she looked at me. "What is that deed of land for then?""It's a surprise," I said, bopping her on the nose. She grumbled at me before gesturing at the documents."So are you hiding these away?"I shook my head. "I think I need to speak to my lawyer first.""You have a lawyer?" she asked."Yeah, I do. Got one after… well, Dad, you know?" She nodded, her face falling into shadow. I continued. "Well anyway, I need one now, 'cause I had no idea I could get the man to go away by saying I hadn't been notified beforehand.""Weird," Yolanda said. I nodded, still unsure how things had gotten to the stage that someone had sent the pokemon world equivalent of an IRS agent after me… Or was it that I needed to talk to a lawyer for help?Life was weird.
26
I'd beaten the champion, but I found the looming audit of my books a far more terrifying challenge. Instead of sleeping I chewed my lip and rolled over and over in bed.I'd lost more sleep wondering if a misplaced decimal was going to spell my doom than calling out the Champion for a duel in two days.Was that arrogance or practicality? Or was it a mania caused by lack of sleep? Was this what Flint went through after the twins were born? Why did the man keep having children? I twitched in bed before standing from my sleepless position.What other options did I have? Could I contest this? I'd need to ask my lawyer tomorrow when they came around.Was this something I should talk to Surge about? He'd been a solid friend to me in the past, giving me a shoulder to lean on while I weaned into the responsibilities of being a Gym Leader.… I didn't want to run to him every time I had a problem though. I wanted to be able to stand on my own.Sabrina… was much the same. She'd definitely be able to help; she was so terrifyingly smart I couldn't imagine her not having a solution. On the other hand, she might just resort to intimidation with her psychic powers if she knew I was stressed out. I didn't want her getting in trouble… and much like with Surge I also didn't want to trouble her all the time. She hadn't come around since the Exhibition match and most messages she sent were short. In Sabrina language that meant she was probably still tired from dealing with all the thoughts at the match.Erika, I didn't know well enough.I just needed to trust that I had this. Now if only I could go to sleep.I tried stretching. I tried my normal anxiety management methods of methodically pressuring myself and releasing tension. None of it helped; I was left frazzled and out of sorts.I ended up stalking out of my room and into the kitchen, where I made myself a messy snack, glancing around guiltily when I mixed up the vanilla ice cream with some chocolate toppings before devouring it. It was amazing I hadn't had Munchlax storming in demanding some when I'd opened the fridge.I mentally patted myself on the back for getting away with it. I dropped the bowl off and made my way into the lounge room where I found Munchlax passed out. He reminded me of my dog from another life, lying spread-eagled on the couch with a dopey smile on his face. Not a care in the world.He kicked out a little. "Mun! Munch! Munch!" he said in his sleep.I snorted and sat down on another section before turning on the television for some late-night program.The pokemon world had different shows at night than during the day. It was very much a restriction on appropriate television and content as I understood it. Anyone could learn about some very dark truths that were occurring in the world, but they either had to subscribe to receive an email each day about what was going on or they had to stay up and watch the late news."—an unlicensed fishing operation was seized today off the coast of Fuschia after the Carvanah nets broke and a nearby beach became dangerous for swimmers. Thankfully, a team of Rangers and Fuschia's own Gym Leader were able to stop the pokemon swarm before anyone was fatally injured. Twelve were rushed to hospital and are expected to make a full recovery." On the screen, an aerial shot of water near a beach with a facility that reminded me of the old tuna fish farms rested, only this one appeared to be attached to a boat that had broken down. I narrowed my eyes. Or had it been sabotaged? It was dumb of them to enter Koga's territory."Devon stock was shorted on today with international investors betting against Steven—"I changed the channel."—when your woman isn't enough for a man's nee—" Another change, I didn't like the look of that Jynx winking at me. I knew what late-night ads for those typically meant."—the mating call of the—" I twitched and changed the channel again. I especially didn't want to know anything about what that Tentacruel was doing.I ended up settling on what was the equivalent of the Pokemon history channel.On the screen, a large Arcanine was shown in a cage. It paced around the small space before slumping down and whining lowly. I watched it for a moment, wondering what this show was talking about. I was just about to change the channel, but then I recognised the articulated voice of the narrator. Professor Oak."During the latter half of the war, it was realized that pokemon trainers' deaths were not just affecting their families and communities, but also that of their pokemon. When their trainer died during the war, unless they were claimed by a person the pokemon recognised, they were usually aggressive to captors.""Or if the captors were rivals that the pokemon knew to be enemies?" On the screen, the Arcanine narrowed its eyes as a shadow of a person fell over it. You could see the muscles ripple in preparation for the leap."They became violent," Oak said just as the Arcanine attacked.I settled back and watched the show. It wasn't as well understood by the layman, but pokeballs operated on linking in with people's aura to capture and keep pokemon contained. When you ran out of pokemon you also typically found yourself passing out as the energy you invested in keeping them stable in their balls caused you to go into shock.It was why it was always best to keep at least one strong pokemon on hand in any situation. If you went through a complete team wipe it typically left you dangerously exposed. If you could limp into a pokecenter with one pokemon? You could sleep it off.It was interesting to see the issues this dilemma created during a war.I'd never thought of what might happen to my pokemon if I was… taken out. I swallowed and continued to watch. Apparently, a lot of the pokemon, if they didn't get claimed, would pop out of their pokeballs and discover their trainer's body."Normal behavior for pokemon that have lost their trainers is very similar to most humans. They mourn the loss. Some struggle to understand it. Their minds are initially unable to comprehend the concept, but like children, they learn the harsh truth." On the screen, the Arcanine howls mournfully at the moon with tears trickling down its face.I continued to watch as Oak outlined how entire teams of pokemon attacked trainers from any side of the war after a while. This led to large disturbances to the ecosystem they had found themselves in. As more and more pokemon trainers fell, more and more powerful pokemon eventually found themselves in the wilds."This created pokemon that were wise to trainers tricks in capturing them, and often nature became the greatest hindrance against humanity's attempts to tear itself apart." Oak's voice was overlaid to a forest on fire as eyes that I could only describe as evil glinted out from the shadows.And then the credits rolled. "Muuuuuunch!" said the pokemon that had crawled into my arms at some point during the show."Mhm," I absently replied. I now saw why these shows were only shown so late at night. This was graphic horror fuel. It was meant for adults. It was darkly interesting. I now felt like I had a new reason why I wasn't going to fall asleep tonight.I turned the tv off and carried Munchlax up to my room where I cuddled with him. Something about having the small pokemon in my arms helped me to relax. I felt a little bad that I'd accidentally scared him, but I made up for it by helping him relax and going to bed. At least I felt that way.He got me back by eating my shirt during the night. Apparently, there had been some chocolate on it.It didn't bother me all that much. I was just thankful I had been able to get a halfway decent night's rest. I'd made do on less before, but I was little better than a Slakoth as a result. Thankfully I had four hours in me and could now get on with my day productively.I had slightly less time than before to deal with the looming audit. I had a lawyer.Not one on retainer, or anything as serious as that, but I did have a man that I consulted with. When I'd originally returned home from my journey I had needed someone to investigate the legal status of the gym, and my right to take it over as Gym Leader from my father.This had led me to the office of Lawrence Wright. I'd almost dismissed Lawrence when I'd first met him.In my defence, I'd never seen a lawyer with a mohawk.It hadn't struck me as acceptable in a courtroom for one. But I was quickly proven wrong. In fact, no one else batted an eye at the man in a tailored suit with his outrageous mohawk when we walked from his office to my Gym to review my paperwork. He'd actually been highly recommended, and when the Grannies asked who was making sure things run smoothly they patted me on the head for hiring him and thought better of me.It had been a very strange experience as a then thirteen-year-old. I'd won approval from very tradition-bound grannies by hiring a man that looked like he enjoyed roaring up and down highways in leather and chains. It really hadn't made any sense to me.I ended up just chalking it up as anime logic and shrugged it off.I called the day before, but he sadly hadn't been able to come around yesterday. Instead, they booked him in to come to the gym today after lunch. This suited me wonderfully, as it gave me enough time to watch Celia's next match.He swaggered up the path, his mohawk bobbing with each step before rapping his knuckles on the front door. I opened it and gave him a wave. "Yo Lawrence, thanks for coming.""Not a problem Brock, not a problem. As you should know, I'm happy to help out.""I'm sure your rate has nothing to do with that." I snarked at the man as I gestured for him to follow me to the office.He put a hand on his chest in mock affront. "You wound me Brock." He winked. "I don't charge that much, don't worry. Although I certainly wouldn't mind having you sign a retainer for my services. Need some solid locked-in work. Then I could hire on others like you're going to be.""Who told you I was hiring anyone?" I asked, thinking that the employment agency had yet to send out the advert.Lawrence rolled his eyes at me. "You're young with a huge, state-of-the-art Gym. You don't dream small, Brock." He gestured towards the Gym properly. "You're making something big here."I scratched my check self consciously. "Ah well, I think I just had a case of my eyes being bigger than my stomach when I designed the place." Lawrence snorted at me."Suurrre you did. Still, I'd love to have a proper contract set up if you're interested. Now show me what your concerns are."It took all of ten minutes of looking through my accounts for him to drop two files on the table. Then he stared at me before speaking, "Brock, I can tell something has been plucked from these files. They're very sparse on details, and they're also notably different from everything else here. Both are land titles outside of Pewter. They're not investments and there is no rent or returns listed in your accounts." He stared at me, his mohawk now pointed right at me. "What are you trying to hide?" My hesitation to speak made him sigh. "Client privilege Brock. If it's something illegal—" "No, it's just sensitive information I don't want to be known.""Well that's good to hear. I was worried for a second that you might not be as 'aww shucks' of a good guy as you appear!" he said with a laugh. He leaned back in his chair amused as I shook my head."I'm not seen that way by people am I?" I said with a splutter.He shrugged. "By some around town. You're like a slice of nice apple pie. Humble young man that listens to his elders, while still looking out for his family. Good local lad. The 'stains' on your record are more others making than your own. And yet you've held up mighty fine indeed." He tapped the paperwork, "Now, no more diversions. Care to read me in?" He raised one report that I had redacted. I relaxed a little at that, not too worried about that site. I didn't own it after all. It was Ranger preserve land."Mt. Moon… It's got a colony of Clefairy and also fairly often has meteors that hit. I've gained a number of Moonstones that I occasionally sell off. I had previously listed off the site as I take my family up there and also check in on the local pokemon.""Huh. Yeah, I can see how that getting out would be troubling. Lots of trainers and bounty hunters would sweep the place if it got out as common knowledge. Still got the documents for how much you've earned?" I nodded and sent the nanny Graveler out to get the files from my cabinet. Lawrence snorted at that. "At least it's not as cliche as under your bed!" He tapped his chin. "Anything else at Mt. Moon?""Nothing I've actually profited on, from Mt Moon. More of a hope for the future." Lawrence considered that before clicking his tongue."Usually I would consider that good enough, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to push. You have two land claims here Brock." He raised both deeds up to me. "The first one that is glaringly obvious to me as being something different. That's due to its location. So, Brock. What is on this tiny bit of land on Sunburst island?"I worked my jaw back and forth. I didn't want to talk about it. I wanted to be as secretive with this as possible."During my travels I discovered that pokemon can have larger variations than most understand," a lie, but a plausible one. If I was going to confess to owning some land I was going to establish an alibi now."Sunburst island is where I found a rare cave that is entirely made of crystals. I discovered an Onix there that was entirely made of said material. I have since been keeping female onix there to mate and lay eggs with the other Onix. I own it, but I keep it in the area. Any eggs that I can hatch I raise in the area so that they can develop with hides made of crystals. It's something I've only been able to get one crystal Onix from as yet, however.""Lower fertility rates?" he asked. I shrugged. Lawrence nodded his head. "Alright, that's actually a damn good idea." He made a circle with a finger. "I'd bring in a professional on the matter however, for all you know it might be an easy fix.""Yeah," I nodded slowly. If I looked at it a little, perhaps this audit could be a good thing by forcing me to be more active with Sunburst island."So," Lawrence tapped the other plot of land I had. "What's this one? It's actually local so it might not get as much attention."I coughed. "... diamonds…" I said quietly.Lawrence leaned forward. "I'm sorry I didn't catch that, did you say Diamonds?""Ahahaha yeah I have a theory about some pokemon that I'm keeping an eye out for."Lawrence sat back and whistled. "Damn, right well I can see how you felt so comfortable throwing out your bid like you did." I frowned at him."Can you ever be comfortable bidding that much money?"Lawrence laughed at me. "Ha! You obviously haven't gone to the Celadon casino before! The high rollers throw down that sort of cash nightly for things way less sure than a pokemon battle!" I nodded slowly."Lance said something like that.""Brock, my young friend, you are moving up in the world," he said with a smile. He sat back and laced his fingers. "Brock, I'm going to be honest. You're a big name now. Your Gym is not small by any measure. I can easily see you being the big Gym. I'd have to check the publicly available information so bear with me. But I think that based on the numbers, you're already there with the number of trainers walking through your doors. More than any other Gym due to the prestige of being the first traditional Gym, along with being one of the few that will face all challengers regardless of badge level."He pointed at me. "You need a lawyer full time, and you need an accountant full time. It makes the most sense for me if you have me on retainer for that. I can expand with your backing, and I will in turn be backing you, Brock. I need to look into any land claims and possible disputes of previous sites with valuable goods. Is the land at least closed off?""Yeah, I have it marked off and I have put out signs stating that it is a testing site for Pewter Gym pokemon attacks."Lawrence nodded. "Alright, that should be fine for now. I'll look into it. Have a think about my offer as well, but get yourself a full-time accountant, free yourself up." He put the form down and laced his fingers together. "Now, when this Auditor returns… what did you say his name was?"I opened my mouth before closing it. Lawrence raised an eyebrow before sighing. "Really leaning into that aww shucks image Brock. Always get their name, and if possible get a picture of their credentials so you or I can look them up. They're not common, but masters of disguise exist. Professional sneaks can slip in if you're not careful. Your recent match with 'Agent Joy' could have been a fake-out by dressing up as her. Unlikely as it is, with you being highly familiar with Nurse Joy. Some criminals are dangerous like that."I bit my lip, remembering all the wacky disguises that Jessie, James, and Meowth used in the anime. They'd seemed so innocent in the show, but now they potentially were people trying to steal from my family.Urgh, how was I going to handle them? I actually enjoyed some of their antics and felt bad about their personal situations, but still, they were Team Rocket. I pushed that off for future Brock to deal with and instead continued to work through tightening up my accounts for the coming audit.When Lawrence had looked things over enough that he didn't have any issues that he could see he sat back. "Alright, like I said, I've covered things as well as I can. We'll need an actual accountant to look things over." He rubbed his chin. "Mind if I recommend someone to you? She's a whiz with numbers and she's been out of work for a while now, but is looking to start building up a nest egg for when her daughter begins her journey.""Think she can get through my accounts by the time the auditor comes back next week?"Lawrence sits back and smirks. "She's a whiz. You're good with pokemon, she's good with numbers.""Alright, I'll let her come talk with me and I'll go from there. Got her number?" He handed me the number and informed me that he'd spend a bit of time working on reviewing claims. I glanced down at the contact information. Georgina Glass, accountant. He waited for a moment before reminding me that he will be dropping a contract for retaining his services long-term my way soon."Joy, I'm looking forward to that." He smirked at the comment before tilting his head."How have you been otherwise? All recovered from your match with the Champ?"I huffed, "Yeah, just annoyed with this popping up out of nowhere. I have better things to do with my time.""I can imagine. The circuit is just ending and this comes rolling around? The League can't even be faulted for it, as they will just claim that they were making sure everything was clear." He stood and clapped me on the shoulder. "Give Georgina the accountant lady a call soon, yeah?""I will after I watch Celia's next match," I said as I rose from my office and made my way towards the lounge where my family and I sat to watch Celia's quarter-final match.My family trickled in and claimed spots around, or on top of, me to watch Celia's upcoming match. Forrest came in last with a bag of treats almost as big as him and a morose-looking Munchlax. When Forrest handed out a handful of treats to start things off Munchlax was quick to give each recipient a look of absolute sadness.His eyes watered and his lip quivered. His ears were tucked back and a sad croon of hunger escaped him. "Muuuuuuuuuunch."He got treats from five of us before realizing he was now looking at me. He gave me a wink before moving onto Yolanda only to get a tap on the nose. "Nice use of babydoll eyes, Munchlax but it's not very effective!"Munchlax recoiled at that before turning onto the other two siblings to find Salvadore and Forrest both impervious. He grumbled at that before sitting next to Forrest. He'd have gotten smaller, more constant meals from sitting next to Suzie or Tilly but he obviously had his eyes on the prize in Forrest's lap."Don't let go Forrest!" Salvadore warned. I chuckled at them, not all that bothered and instead watched the announcers talk through the trainers before their match up."Celia's been red hot as a trainer, Henry! I think she's coming into this match strong! She's the leader of the pack from the Pewter City gang. I'm backing her!" announced the female presenter.The man nodded along. "A nice conclusion, but you're wrong!'' This drew some boos from my family. The man snapped to the camera. "Celia's a young trainer and she still has a long way to go! She's shown she's got tricks, but her pokemon don't have the legs in them for this match! She's fought a lot and I think her pokemon are running low on energy! You need more to proceed!"Yolanda tapped me. "How many pokemon does Celia have? Does she have enough depth?"I clicked my tongue and counted off the pokemon she had in my head. "She's got ten pokemon but only nine of those are at the level to fight at this tournament. Her Phanpy is a bit young right now. She could have gotten away with fielding it in the earlier rounds and I think she should have, to give her younger pokemon some easy experience.""But wouldn't that mean she wouldn't have done as well?" Asked Forrest.I wave my hand in a so-so gesture. "It's something you can do if your goal is beyond just the tournament. It's honestly incredible that Celia has gotten as far as she had. She's now in the top eight trainers this year. Most of the others are trainers that have at least three years under them, and at least eighteen to twenty pokemon to pick from that have all fought in tournaments before." I gestured to Celia as she marched out."Celia is doing herself a bit of a disservice by thinking she needs to win this tournament. She's pushing herself hard, and that's not a bad thing. I just think she isn't enjoying the process enough. But then again this is her first major tournament as well." I shrugged, "I think she's got good odds today.""But didn't you bet on her to win the whole thing?" Salvadore chimed from his spot next to Forrest. Munchlax glowered at him, having been nudged away from the food by Salvadore's arrival."Yeah, but that was to show my support. It wasn't anything too serious.""Are… No. How often do trainers win tournaments in their first year?" Yolanda said."Well, some tournaments are around only for first-year entrants. Those are good to enter so technically you can win a few tournaments, but the big internationally recognised tournaments like the Indigo Conference? I think there's been one first-year winner in the last decade.""Was it you?!" said Billy excitedly.I snorted and shook my head. "No, actually it was a trainer by the name of Lance." I smirked at them. "Lance Blackthorn? You might have heard of him?"My family reeled back. "Eh!?" They said as one realizing that I was speaking about the trainer that I just so happened to beat a while ago."Lance won on his first circuit!? When was this?" Forrest said.I grimaced. "It was around three years ago."The younger members of my family tilted their heads in confusion. Trying to, and thankfully failing to remember what had been going on three years ago. Yolanda, Salvadore and Forrest all nodded slowly. They had been rather withdrawn back then, and more worried about things closer to home. When I'd come back they'd returned to their previous selves, but it hadn't been a quick process. I wasn't surprised they hadn't watched the tournament that year."So, if Lance won three years ago how come he didn't try and become Champion then? I thought if you won you gained the right to challenge the Elite four?" Forrest said with a frown.I threw some popcorn into my mouth and munched on it before tossing Munchlax a kernel. "That's right, you have the right to challenge the League's Elite Four if you win. What's not commonly known, is that you don't have to do it there and then. You have three years before your right to challenge is revoked. Lance used the entire three years to travel Johto, Kanto and then do a tour of the frontiers with the Rangers before returning with his team. In that time he got to watch every other challenger that went against the Elite Four. This wasn't just the other victors of the Indigo Plateau, but also the Masters Battle club tournaments, any of the Elite Rangers who complete a tour of service, Gym Leaders, or even the Elite trainers that had won enough prestige to earn a wildcard invitational right to challenge."He got to work out how Shafner fought with his flying types. That the old man loved being evasive and forcing engagements at extreme distances which suited him best." I ticked off one finger."He got to watch how Agatha tricked people and poisoned them. Confused and beguiled them into sleep before draining them away." Another finger rose."How Bruno clobbered people into submission with powerful pokemon that could take hits only to dish them out." a third finger. I raised the fourth finger and twitched it about, every set of eyes, even Munchlax's, focused on it. "Then I think he got really fortunate.""How so?" Yolanda said, ever quick off the mark.I twitched the finger again. "Instead of keeping on Bruce who was an electric type master, the previous champion dismissed him and gave Lorelei his spot in the Elite Four."Forrest nodded. "I think I remember something about that? Wasn't it a big deal?""Yup! Now I think he did it for a few reasons, but most people like to point out that Lorelei is his Granddaughter so they claim nepotism but that's—" "What's nepotism?" said Suzie, cutting me off. I scratched my head. Right, I wasn't giving a speech to a group of academy students, but my family. Some of them were only just learning some of these words."Nepotism is showing favour to someone that you're related to. Like, if I gave Forrest all the easy jobs in the Gym and left the hard stuff for the other trainers that would be nepotism.""You could show me some nep—" I leaned over and flicked him on the forehead lightly. He grumbled at me while Yolanda and the girls giggled."It's character building," I said, falling back on the tried and true reason for not going easy on him."Urgh!" he groaned loudly. That only got more laughter instead of commiserating looks. I smiled at the rest of my family. Their time would come eventually.On the screen, the presenters were going over Howard and Celia's teams. They were doing a wonderful job of analysing Celia's pokemon thus far. They had her Nidoqueen, Wartortle, Jigglypuff, Gloom and Ninetails all on display with video."So what were you saying about Lorelei being Pryce's granddaughter being a bad thing?" Salvadore said."Hmm?" I said, turning away from the tv towards Salvadore. "What was that?"He rolled his eyes at me. "Brock! Don't play dumb! Why was it a bad thing that Lorelei was his granddaughter!?"I replayed what we'd been talking about. I had gotten distracted explaining nepotism, hadn't I?"Oh right! So instead of holding her back later, he put her as the first trainer that anyone would face in the Elite Four roster. That was where he made a big tactical error. See Lance got to watch everyone have a run at her. And she fought with a lot of pokemon extremely similar to that of Pryce so Lance realized he needed to focus his scouting on her the most, cause she was giving away a lot of Pryce's tells.""So he had been able to watch all of the Elite Four and the Champion's fighting style before he challenged them," Yolanda said. I nodded at her and made a ticking gesture she smiled."Right in one. When he challenged, he came through like a hurricane. He had them all planned out and had a method ready for each of them. He even predicted the adjustments that Pryce was going to make to his team after he thrashed Lorelei." I splayed my hands out. "Which resulted in him becoming the champ a couple of months ago, right before his right of challenge would have expired.""And then you beat him!" cheered Billy which most of my siblings cheered at. I grinned at them and thought about mentioning all the tricks I'd used to come in stronger.Forrest shot me a look. "So are you going to be a champ or an Elite Four? As a Gym Leader you have the right to challenge once every two years, yeah?"I nodded at him, pleased he'd been doing some reading on what came with being a Gym Leader. "Yeah I could." I shrugged. "But I don't want to, I've got enough on my plate looking after the gym and you guys. I'm happy riiiiiiight here!" I grinned at them and reached out to tickle Billy and Tilly who squealed and rolled away. Munchlax hoovered up their dropped candy before running away as they gave chase.For a moment the living room got loud as they shrieked and ran about. I watched them fondly only to feel a gaze boring into me. I looked over to find Yolanda staring at me. I wiped my mouth. "Got something on my face?"She gave me half a smile and shook her head. She looked to the tv without saying anything.I tapped her on the shoulder. "Something wrong?""No, nothing is wrong," she replied before glancing away. She glanced at my side before tapping Cindy who'd claimed the spot to my left. "Can I sit there for a bit?" Cindy leaned over and pushed Timmy out from my right. Once she had secured that spot she clambered over without a care for her foot placement. Yolanda slid into a cuddle at my side.It would have been a nice sweet moment, if not for Tilly and Billy shrieking loudly and for Cindy having stepped on my groin.Being a pseudo parent really had a lot of drawbacks sometimes."Are you okay?" Yolanda said when she saw me biting my knuckles to keep in a groan."Never better," I said hoarsely. "Billy! Tilly! Sit down, the match is about to start!" They broke off chasing Munchlax and hopped onto the couch. Munchlax staggered to the front of the couch and collapsed tiredly in front of us all, too tired to beg for scraps. I'd give him some more treats later. A small soft pokemon like him was great for burning off my siblings' energy.Charles Goodshow, much like he had for my match, took center stage with two flags in hand. "Alright! On the northern side of the arena, Celia Shardness from Pewter City!" The crowd and my family cheered loudly as she rose on her podium, her ginger hair was tied into a ponytail today and she had a stern look on her face while she held a pokeball in her hand ready to be thrown forth."On the southern side, Howard from Bluefinland!" My siblings sat down and didn't clap but the crowd on the tv continued to cheer.A teenager with long wavy blue hair appeared and smiled widely. He waved at the crowd and received a louder cheer and a scoff from Forrest for his efforts. He selected a pokeball from his belt after eyeing Celia for a moment."Trainers!" Shouted Charles with both flags raised. "Are you ready?" Both nodded and Charles dropped the flags. "Begin!""Go Boomer!" Celia called revealing an Electrode as she released her first pokemon.Howard was halfway through his toss but I could already see him flinching "Go Tentacruel!"Yolanda shot to her feet. "Yes! Nice match up to start with!" I nodded along with the other siblings while Yolanda sat back down on the edge of the lounge."Boomer use T W!" She called."Screech to weaken it up Tentacruel!" Commanded Howard. Tentcruel opened its beak and released a shriek that was only mildly annoying to listen to across the tv. Celia grit her teeth, revealing it was more than just an annoyance on the field. You could almost see the air ripple as soundwaves radiated towards Boomer, only for the grinning white and red sphere to blast out electricity with a harsh 'zap' that reminded me of a noise from lightning hitting a faraday cage.The blast of electricity overwhelmed the supersonic scream and cancelled out the noise only for the electrical waves to continue out and zap Tentacruel. It spasmed before growling and standing upright."Rain dance!" Declared Howard. His pokemon twitched but released a gout of water that exploded above the pokemon's head to cause rain to fall over the entire field. The tentacruel notably relaxed as the raindrops touched it."Must have a restorative ability if it's gaining health from being in the rain.""Thunderbolt!" Was Celia's answer."Wait! Wait! Now! Throw yourself to the side Tentacruel!" the pokemon leapt to the side only for the paralysis to kick in. Instead of trying to stay upright however the pokemon let itself fall which served to help as it flopped to the ground, avoiding the attack."Water pulse!""Thunderbolt again!"This time Tentacruel shot three rings of water at the Electrode as lightning raced across the field. Both attacks slammed home. Boomer shook off the attack and leered at his foe. I leaned forward and stared into the electrode's eyes. Was one a slightly different size than the other that would mean…"Fight on Tentacruel!" Tentacruel rose slowly with trembling limbs that grew more controlled as the rain continued to fall."Finish it with thunderbolt Boomer!" Shouted Celia. Boomer nodded and shot a bolt of lightning. It missed. "Eh? Boomer again!""Tentacruel use Toxic spikes!" While Boomer fired and missed, Howard made the most of the situation and began scattering spikes all over the field."What's going on?" Shouted Salvadore. Yolanda chewed her thumb in annoyance leaving me to point out what I'd noticed a few moments ago."Boomer is confused. That water pulse has knocked him around and he's not able to accurately judge distances right now like he should. Notice how his eyes are different sizes?" Everyone in the room leaned forward; Munchlax lifted his head up slightly."Eh?! That's wrong! He's an electric type!" said Forrest."It happens sometimes, pokemon can take a bad hit. It's why you have to go through a lot of toughening up. It can still happen in the higher ranks of pokemon battles."I gestured towards Celia's look of annoyance. "But it's rare and you're rolling dice when you try it. You have better consistency with your victory percentage if you don't rely on lucky hits disorienting your foe." It was actually supposed to be better odds but I knew Boomer should have been strong enough to shrug that water pulse off.Howard had gotten extremely lucky and he knew it. "Toxic spikes!" He called as he ordered the field filled. When he ordered another round I shook my head."He should have tried to put more hits onto Boomer instead of going for a fourth round of spikes. Three field effects are more than enough before it drops away."Yolanda and Forrest nodded seriously; Salvadore drew out a notepad and wrote what I'd said down."Thunderbolt!" This time Celia's order resulted in a hit. And this time Tentacruel went down. Howard wasn't worried though. If anything he looked very pleased with how his pokemon had performed. I sighed and sat back. That… Had not been a good start for Celia. Unlucky? Extremely so.It seemed her foe was going to take that tiny moment though and run with it. When Howard called out a Dugtrio, Celia answered perfectly with a Gyroball. It would have worked out wonderfully as Dugtrio were typically speedy pokemon and that would have resulted in a smaller gap for more damage with the gyroball."Earthquake!" Sadly Howard had the moves to stop it dead in its tracks.Boomer went down. Celia growled and weighed up two pokeballs in her hands. The decision of which pokemon to throw out right now playing out in her mind. I sat up. "Come on Celia, you can do this.""Go Spunky!" she called out. I sniggered as a gloom took to the stage. Yolanda and Forrest huffed at my sniggers.Salvadore gave me a confused look. "What's so funny about Spunky?""Spunky's Rocko's friend!" I said, aware that they wouldn't get the reference. I had no doubt Celia thought I might have been teasing Rocko when I had suggested the name. It was anything but a tease against Rocko in truth. Sometimes knowing shows from a past life was amusing, but referencing such shows only ever got you strange looks.Yolanda shook her head. She probably thought I meant Rocko the gym trainer and his habits with his own gloom that I'd spoken to her about a few months ago.Salvadore looked confused. Forrest just patted him on the shoulder. "Big Bro is weird sometimes." And that seemed enough of an answer for Salvadore as he turned back to watch the toxic spikes have no effect on Spunky."Sleep powder!" said Celia."Dig!" Dugtrio vanished into the ground. Celia leaned forward. For all intents and purposes, she appeared to be studying the field but I could see from her body language she was paying a lot of attention to where Howard was looking on the field."Wait for it! Wait for it!" Just as some rocks shifted near Spunky she swept her hand out. "Leap up with Vine whip!""Gllllloooom!" shouted Spunky as he leapt upwards. Dugtrio followed after him for a bit revealing its mole-like body, only to startle as it realized it had left the earth. It scrabbled at the air to no avail."Spin to constrict your vines!" Ordered Celia making her still soaring Gloom turn about. The vine closed around Dugtrio. Spunky landed roughly, but Celia merely grinned. "Use Megadrain while it's in your clutches!"That was enough to take out the Dugtrio."Yes!" Yolanda pumped her fist. "She's got this."I nodded. Not willing to voice that I thought it would have been better to send out Lizzie, her Nidoqueen. Both Lizzie or Spunky could ignore the toxic spikes, yes, but Lizzie had the moves in her arsenal to handle the field-effects permanently. She might have fallen into the trap of a trainer holding back their starter pokemon too long out of pride.I hoped I was wrong.Sadly I wasn't. Right as the rain gave out Howard tossed out a Rapidash to blitz through Spunky. Instead of sending out Lizzie to answer, Celia held back her starter and sent out Stylish, her Wartortle. The little guy took a face full of spikes only for Howard to withdraw his pokemon and send out an Ampharos which the announcers reported as his starter pokemon.I clicked my tongue at that. Forrest scowled. "Is that allowed at this level?""In the finals, yes. It's no restrictions on withdrawals. It's clunky but you can still do it. You can't do it to dodge a move, but if you're quick and set up a lull between moves it is allowed." I said. In truth, there was a lot more to it, but Howard was using his right to change out his pokemon well.Well enough that he was able to beat Celia.Lizzie held out against the Ampharos, and the Rapidash, only to fall to a still fresh Victrebell.Celia slumped down with the loss and a collective groan went through the room at her defeat. Tilly and Billy both threw themselves onto Munchlax. "Noooooooo! It's not right! She's not supposed to lose."Munchlax instead of crawling out from under them to eat their dropped food, consoled them as they cried into the pokemon. I mentally gave myself a reminder to give the little guy a big treat later on as I let him continue to soothe them. They eventually calmed down and watched Celia accept her defeat by shaking hands with Howard.Both of them looked spent. I doubted Howard would advance past the next round, unless he had some stronger pokemon still in reserve. Celia waved to the crowd and they cheered her on despite her loss. She walked out and I stood from my seat.It wouldn't be good to leave her to stew in her loss.I made my way to the office to let her know we were all proud of her.