Surge bounced his leg and stared at the computer. He still hadn't heard anything from the situation in the west, but he was confident in his little buddy. Some of his old pals had informed him that Sabrina was with him, so he was sure to be safe.
Any moment now, he would hear from Brock. His eyes slid to a picture on his mantel of Brock, his platoon of little siblings, and Sabrina, in front of the newly created Pewter City Gym.He didn't like to think about what might happen otherwise. It reminded him of darker times, hearing that his friends had been sent out to battle only after the fact. Unable to offer advice or see them off.He scratched at a scar.His knee continued to bounce with nervous energy. Hurry up and wait; he was used to this, but that didn't mean he had to like it. If his old RSM could see him, he'd be running laps like a puke.Raichu sat on the desk, curled up but with an eye open, watching Surge. "I'm fine, Raichu! Just keeping warm!" Surge said, only for Raichu to continue to watch him. Surge huffed and stood to run his hands over his pokebelt.Raichu, Jolteon, Electrode, Electabuzz, Magnezone, Ampharos, Lanturn… and finally his transport pokemon in his Hypno. Check, all of them were ready and raring to fight. Sadly, he knew that a lot of the pencil pushers wouldn't call him into the Mt Silver kerfuffle.They'd take a look at his specialty and go, electric versus rock and ground type? Bad matchup. Keep Surge at home.Never mind that he had a proven history of surviving against terrible odds. Against pokemon and their trainers with type and numerical advantages. And where were those punks?They were in the ground.Surge sat and bounced his knee again, only to stop when his transceiver buzzed. He answered it before he even saw the caller id. "Hey bud—"Instead of his favourite rock headed buddy, Brock's little brother, Forrest, appeared on the screen. "Surge! We need help!"Surge opened his mouth to ask what the problem was, only for Forrest to point his transceiver around and reveal… Damn that was a big pokemon. He hadn't seen anything like that before. Not even during the war.He'd heard some rumours about Cerulean but…"Where are you at, little man?" Surge said standing and releasing his Hypno. He'd need to get there and do a proper sitrep."Porta Vista!" Forrest spoke quickly, only to gasp. "Hey! Ash, where'd Misty go?!"Surge whipped out a map and snapped his fingers to have Hypno approach. He stabbed a finger into the map where Porta Vista was. It was within teleporting distance. Easy. Heck, at a day's walk from Vermilion, it was also well within his jurisdiction for the local area.Hypno nodded and put a hand on Surge's bicep as Raichu leapt onto his shoulder. A moment later, they reappeared in a different location. Surge glanced around. It was like he'd been teleported back in time instead of space.The buildings were wrecked, and people were screaming as pokemon struggled and fought. There wasn't any smoke or dust in the air due to the damage being caused by a wave, but that would come. Surge knew all about the aftereffects of a broken city from a battle.From the position they'd teleported onto, they were atop a hill overlooking the town, Surge could see a lot.He swept his eyes over the area and spotted an Onix that stood out for how it wasn't knocked out despite being what would be shin deep for some people. Forrest must have trained it alright to handle such annoyances, as it wasn't reacting like a puke.Surge snapped his finger towards a still intact building. A building that was still upright but that was also close enough to the giant Tentacruel that was starting to lash out with powerful water attacks.Once more, Surge vanished in a teleport. When he reappeared, he moved. Pokemon exploded off his belt and Raichu leapt to the front."Alright team! Time to bring the thunder! We're gonna pack these fish up with a side of french fries!"His pokemon zapped either Raichu or his Magnezone. Both began building up their charges with their eyes locked on the enemy pokemon. Surge felt the hair all across his body prickle with the buildup of electrical energy.It took him back to a darker, simpler time.He was just about to punch forward and unleash the storm when a feeling… swept into him, for lack of a better term. He stiffened in surprise and blinked, only to snap his eyes down to where the feeling was coming from.There was a little girl down there.Surge stared. Shocked, despite himself, as the girl stood with none of her pokemon to back her up and no one around her.Her arms were spread like a silly non-com diplomat."PLEASE! STOP THE FIGHTING!" she implored with her shout.Surge wanted to snort. He wanted to shake his head at the idiot girlie.But he couldn't, 'cause her words... They'd gotten through and actually stopped the fighting.He gestured to his pokemon to hold instead of attack. His pokemon held, like they'd been trained to. They held and listened with him and half the damn town of Porta Vista to a girl, barely even into her journey, it seemed.They all watched on as the girl spoke with a monster from the depths, and the monster listened to her.Surge had never seen or heard of anything like it before. Pokemon respected power, speed, cunning, and intelligence.This… this was something new. Something surreal.While his trained instincts were telling him to neutralise the threat his… other thing, was telling him to wait. He scratched at his chest and sniffed. Maybe he ate something funky?Still, he held. And so the girlie kept talking with Tentacruel.A tank tread whine working its way through town had him stop listening to girlie. He quick marched it over to another side of the building to spot an ugly old hag with a bunch of fuckboys marching around in fake army fatigues. Surge disliked her straight away. Then she brought out some machine guns, which he knew were illegal.Never mind that he might have a stash or six furretted away for a rainy day. Hags like this shouldn't have access to that sort of equipment. "Magnezone, Thunderwave on them pukes, I don't want them ruining a good thing."Magnezone unleashed a powerful paralysis onto the group. Surge grunted in satisfaction when they all collapsed, twitching from the attack.The hag got shocked a little worse, but if she wanted to ride around in a tank, she could handle a bit of rougher behaviour. "Electabuzz, Ampharos, detain those pukes." he ordered before marching back to watch the damn giant Tentacruel leading its swarm of Tentacool back into the ocean while the girl watched on."Huh, well, look at that; she did it." Surge rubbed his chin and watched the girl turn and receive a standing ovation. He nodded.Girlie…No. The little Miss, deserved it and more. "Hypno, teleport me to that little pier she's standing on." He returned his pokemon but left Raichu out, just in case.Hypno's teleport was off, and it landed slightly off to the side. Surge returned it before it could fall into the water. The little miss whirled around and then tilted her head back to take him in.He grinned down at her. "Little Miss, I've seen some crazy things in my time and that just now? Easily top three." He put a hand on her shoulder. "I used to think water-type specialists were all weak woo-woo types." Like those sisters of hers, or those street performers, or those people that were basically beach bums!Damn beach bums, coming into his gym with surprisingly powerful fighting types. Dude had flowers in each hand that were tens easy!Damn Woo-woo water-type trainers.The little Miss looked a bit off balance and unsure, so Surge carried on. "But I ain't never seen someone calm down a rampaging pokemon like that. Never like that. That was impressive as all shit." Heck, this girl, she was better than some of the officers he'd served under. She had balls, that's for sure.He clicked his heels together and performed a picture-perfect salute for the Little miss."You're a credit to Kanto young Miss!" and he meant those words. "You seriously impressed me, ask me a favour and I'll think about granting it." Obviously, he wouldn't do anything too illegal, but he'd still entertain her if she asked for something."Maybe after we save everyone in danger first?" she said hesitantly.Surge glanced at the water and nodded. "Right you are!"He stood and inhaled before shouting in a voice that swept over the entire beach. "What are all of you yuppies looking at! A hero?! Damn straight, but there are people in danger! I want people with water pokemon on rescue! I want people with flying types doing search and rescue! Only got pokemon that can walk or crawl? There are wrecked buildings! Get searching!"It was all about having the loudest voice, and being able to be big and intimidating. He tossed out his Lanturn to help out and the little Miss sparkled with interest at his powerful pokemon. Surge grinned; she had good taste!"Misty! Are you alright?!" shouted little Forrest from the shore, atop his Onix. Surge flicked his eyes between the two. Oh? Oh ho ho ho! Well, if little miss grew up anything like her sisters, Forrest was in for a treat.With someone who had half a clue setting the crowd to work, they had a good chunk of the danger settled and most of the trainers fixed up. The others… Surge had them put under some sheets and away from all the kids' sight.No need to spoil their mood, they thought everyone had gotten out fine and dandy. During all the chaos, Surge made sure to set aside the tank and the machine guns for safe storage in a container that he marked to be transported to one of his storage facilities. Nastina herself was placed in cuffs and was going to get multiple counts.The sheets over bodies made his instincts start acting up, and he had his pokemon scouting out the Town, making sure that everything was safe. That no Tentacool were still in the town.When a crowd formed up of disgruntled locals, Surge marched up, towered over them, and gave them an unimpressed snort. "Ya'll look like good folk! I know you're hurting, but you're not going to be taking justice into your own hands today! Make sure you write down what you saw and what happened, though, 'cause the police will be mighty interested in any written testimonies."That made them stop being a mob and start thinking like people. They broke up and Surge nodded to his hovering Magnezone. No need for any anti-riot responses from his pokemon today.With the threat of a lynch mob broken up and another job kicked to people whose job it was to handle that sort of rubbish full time, he performed a final sweep of the town. He relaxed when no threats were reported by his pokemon or visible to his old eyes.Time for some answers. Surge marched towards a tent that he'd claimed. "Hup! You lot! On me!" he said, whistling and getting Little Miss' group of friends to round up on him.Little Miss trotted up to him with a Horsea in her arms and an innocent smile. Surge swept his eyes about and noticed that none of this group had the hunted look, like they'd seen the real cost of this clusterfuck. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Good.None of them were gonna have nightmares.He set out a few seats for Misty and her friends. He grabbed another and sat down. Then he pointed right at her."Alright, now talk," he commanded.And talk she did."Well it started with an announcement from Nastina—" Misty started singing a song of that old hag being a real piece of work. When they reached the point about the money, Surge flicked his eyes over the suitcase that the redhead and the bluenette had between them.They noticed him looking and leaned in, as if they could protect the little Meowth from him if he wanted to get to him. Surge assessed both as Misty played up the help that she'd received from the trio. Surge grunted like he was listening.Girl was obviously idolising the other woman. The redhead was hot, he'd give that to her. In another circumstance, he'd put the moves on her. Still can't hurt to lay future ground work in case she ever ditches the wimp… he shot her a wink but left it at that."There was also this poison that Nastina was going to use," Misty said.Surge stiffened up. "Poison?" He didn't like the sound of that. People were still suffering from Agent poke-orange from some parts of the war.Misty shifted and licked her lips, looking at the hot redhead who coughed. "The poison was something that Nastina was planning to use against the Tentacool."Surge snorted loudly, and everyone nodded in agreement. Redhead coughed and continued, "We realised that this would make her do a lot more damage to the ecosystem than the Tentacool, so we added a neutralising agent. It's why the pokemon that got splashed in it only got knocked out instead of… something worse."The blue boy nodded and said, "Yeah I don't want to become an eco-terrorist like those Hoenn crazies!"This time, when Surge snorted, he silenced everyone. Everyone stared at him, and he waved a hand. "Nothing, just that you said something funny." It was hilarious that most people bought into the shit that Hoenn's Army and Navy were ecoterrorists. Surge didn't need to smell the Taurosshit to know that the story of those organisations mutinying against the League when Hoenn joined up for new leaders, stunk to high heaven.He couldn't buy it.It'd take a special sort in both organisations to inspire such a response with the rank and file after all. Perhaps they had that for one of them, but for both? Yeah, nope!The easier answer was that it had been approved by some government official."Continue," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand while the kiddies shared confused looks. Oddly, the Meowth and the Pikachu kept their eyes on him. Weird response, that."Right… Well, the neutralising agent worked, cause I don't see a lot of floating Goldeen… or people out in the bay or worse. It should have diluted when it hit the water so I think it will remain safe to swim in as it breaks up… It sadly had another reaction when it landed on a Tentacool."Surge tilted his head."Franko saw it," said the woman.Blue boy nodded his head. "The barrel landed perfectly atop the Tentacool and caused…" he waved his hand towards the bay, and Surge resisted the urge to sit up. He stopped himself with just a short inhale.They'd caused that gigantic evolution? Did any of these people not understand the tactical… he hummed innocently. "The rest of the poison…" and the potential evolution agent for a Tentacool to super evolve? Hmmm super evolution… nah that name sucked worse than that girl last week. Surge mentally shrugged, it was a work in progress; he'd workshop it. "Where was it? We'll need to secure it."Franko— him and the girl had earned the right to names due to being interesting— coughed. "It was washed away in the wave.""Those barrels still sealed?" If they were sealed, chances were they'd be good still. Sunken, sure, but those would be worth more than gold. He'd even be able to claim them as hazardous materials. They'd be the perfect hidden ace if another fight broke out. Tanks and guns were nice, but they were cute when compared with the power of a strong, gigantic pokemon.Jessadia and Franko glanced towards the Meowth. The little cat shrank into itself and hid behind the suitcase. "M-Meowth?" It said like it didn't have half a clue what was being talked about.Jessadia coughed and shook her head. "No, when Meowth put the secret sauce into the barrels, he left them unsealed to let them spoil more." Surge nodded and made some plans to look around further for any barrels or suspicious puddles for collection."What was in the secret sauce?" he asked instead. He had other options first, though; he wasn't a dumb grunt after all."Uhm the sauce is made by a specialist… I'm not sure how to contact them," said Jessadia as Surge stared her down."I'll want her name," he said, knowing that it would probably be a dead end. "If you know anything or find anything, it'll pay well." He made sure to incentivise the carrot a bit more.Jessadia and Franko nodded and Surge grunted. Listening to the rest of the debrief with half an ear.When Forrest mentioned calling Brock and Sabrina first, Surge nodded only to pause when Forrest pouted like a schoolgirl. "What's that face for?" Surge asked."It's just I can't believe Brock didn't come… I needed his help and…"Surge huffed. "Come with me brat."He waved a hand and marched into a nearby cafe that had taken minimal damage. He snatched up a TV remote and turned it to the news channel. And sure enough, like he'd thought, there was a press release from the Rangers with Old Major Hank, glaring into the camera."—through a joint operation with our Johto brethren, we were able to mitigate a true disaster!" Hank was saying. He then gestured to the side. "I'd also like to make special mention to Gym Leaders Brock from Pewter, and Sabrina from Saffron for assisting uswhile investigating the cause, and then going above and beyond during the course of this disaster."The cameras swept to the side and revealed a sooty-looking Brock and Sabrina. Surge's eyes narrowed on the burn paste smeared across one of Brock's arms."Oh, wow, they look like they were fighting a wildfire," Ash said.Surge snorted but ignored the kids' inquisitive looks, instead waving it away with a nod. The kid was right, but probably wouldn't understand, in that it was probably like that, but wouldn't know as yet what sort... especially if it could burn Brock.Old Major Hank continued to praise the pair. "Through their selfless actions, a platoon of Rangers and their pokemon were rescued while injured. For this service, I will be awarding to each of them the highest honour a non ranger can be gifted, the Red Heart for Valour!" He opened two boxes and handed one to Brock and Sabrina who looked happy at being recognised.Forrest gasped, "He… he got into a rescue operation?!" he said."Feh! Please, he got into more than that, I reckon," Surge said. "Mt Silver ain't for sissies after all. The pokemon there are all extremely powerful. Only the folk that rank in the top sixteen get to go there, that, or Rangers themselves. Brock would have been in for a throwdown brawl if there was an emergency there. I was waiting for him to call me when I got your message and came running."He nodded to Forrest, "Good call by the way."On the screen, the reporters started clamouring. "Gym Leader Brock, Gym Leader Brock! Is it true a number of your pokemon sustained injuries and won't be able to fight this weekend against Will?!"Both Hank and Brock glared at the reporter, and Surge frowned. Now how would they know that? Were they just fishing for intel or was this something else?"Due to the nature of the fights that we got into, a few of my pokemon will need to rest but the depth that I have in my Elite team will be more than enough to put on a strong showing against Will.""Woah, that's crazy. Some of Brock's pokemon got injured?" Forrest leaned closer. "Man, Brock looks angry.""Which pokemon will that be!" shouted another reporter."You'll have to wait until the weekend to see," Brock said evasively before signalling that he would take no more questions. Sabrina likewise shook her head. The reporters turned to the only other person willing to talk."Commander Hank! Commander Hank! What do you say about allegations that this was a deliberate event? The perpetrators are still at large! Do you have a comment on this failure?"Surge whistled as Hank levelled a stare that was so frosty the reporter and those around them shivered on the spot."What should I say about this… event?" he said glaring directly into the camera."I say the following to the people that caused this event. I urge anyone involved in this disaster to turn themselves in to the police. If they do this, I will merely allow them to prosecute you." His glare intensified and flared as though a roaring fire was trying to stream out of his eyes. "But if you don't? I will hunt you down to the ends of the world and beyond. No lies or processes will spare you from what is coming to you. For I will find you, and I will destroy you."Surge whistled. "Huh must have been very touch-and-go over there for the Major to be this steamed."Jessadia and Franko shared a look while Jessadia mouthed 'Major?' to her friend. The other just shrugged."So… Brock just … couldn't come…" Forrest said with a slump.Surge shot the kid a look as Misty comforted him. Right, kid had issues, probably was worse off than Brock had been, back when he decided to drop in on the newbie Gym leader of Pewter. How to handle this?He mulled it over for a moment before shrugging. "Your big bro won't always be able to bail you out, you know?"Forrest twitched his head up and stared at Surge. Surge stared right back. "You're going to have to stand on your own two feet ya hear?" He made a circling gesture. "Not straight away and not against threats like that Tentacruel back there, but this journey you're on? That's what this is about, learning to be strong."Forrest nodded slowly at that, his jaw clenching.Ash crossed his arms. "We handled it though!"Surge nodded slowly and looked towards Misty. "Yeah, this time you did. But maybe it will be different next time. Who knows? You can't prepare for everything, but you can sure handle the stuff that you know might be coming your way."He let them think about that for a bit before sniffing. "Some things will take you by surprise, however," he said, glancing back out. "Zapdos knows that these people are gonna struggle for a while now. The government is going to make a big heap of noise about Mt Silver and Porta Vista might get the short end of the stick." He crossed his fingers out of sight from the kids, and hid his smirk as they accepted the lie.He pointedly didn't look at the suitcase in the Meowth's grasp. "Shame that money Nastina was toting never got secured. People around here could sure use it."The younger trio nodded sadly while the older pair and their Meowth squirmed in their seats.Jessadia and Franko shared a look, and then shot the Meowth one. He clenched onto the case tighter."Be a lot of hungry people… sad little faces, all dirty with tears…" Surge said, shaking his head and clicking his tongue in faux sadness. "Well! It's a shame! But they'll struggle on I suppose!"Meowth slumped and handed the suitcase over. Surge made a show of opening in. "Oh my goodness! The missing money!"He shot them a wide smile. "You're too kind!" he announced loudly, causing some of the other people in the cafe to look over. "Look everyone! The Heroine Misty and her friends found the money Nastina offered!"The people started excitedly whispering, only for the cafe owner to sidle up to him. "You realise there's not enough in there to fix the town right?" said the man out the side of his mouth."Shut up, I'll cover it. Don't tell anyone, though. In fact, pretend it was thanks to this group, make 'em a statue even," Surge said furtively.The cafe owner shot him a look and nodded slowly. Surge sniffed pointedly; it wouldn't do for folks to think he was a charitable sort. Otherwise, he'd have freeloaders and bootlickers crawling out the woodwork.He turned to Misty and her friends. They were all being patted on the back and praised. Surge nodded to himself, feeling good. When he glanced down, he noticed the Meowth eyeballing him."Good kitty," Surge said, leaning down and pawing at its head to give it a rub."Blah!" said the Meowth as its hair came away all mussed up. Surge straightened and clapped his hands together."Righto! So heroes like you folk deserve some recognition! I'm willing to give you my badge if you want it! Otherwise, I can gift you something from my Gym!" He scratched his chin. "Shame I gave away all my S.S. Anne tickets; I could have gotten you a week trip onboard, but that ship is mighty popular these days."Ash and Forrest perked up and shared a look, only for Misty to cough shyly. "Mr Surge sir?""Lieutenant Surge, sir" he corrected gently."Lieutenant Surge, sir! I, uhm, noticed that Brock had some pokemon that were water type that he was giving away to trainers that earned his recognition… do you think… is it possible to get one of your water types?""You want one of my Chinchou? Done!" he said happily. Girl like her would do well with a proper pokemon in her team. "Train it well, and it'll take you far!" Misty danced on the spot with glee.Surge turned to Ash and Forrest. "What about you two?""An early battle!" Ash shouted. Surge grinned widely and nodded."I can do that! Right now work for you?" Ash beamed and Forrest nodded, Jessadia coughed."May I join in on that?"Surge shot her another wink. "Anytime, for a lady like you!"Jessadia's grin wobbled a bit, but Surge ignored that, instead focusing on the excited kids in front of him.Time to spank some babies and show them how far they had to go. He'd keep their current bookings, but a quick throwdown wouldn't take too long.Ash quickly got them a space that would work. Surge had to laugh when the punk sent out his Pikachu. Just to show him how big the world was Surge sent out his own starter with Raichu.It took one slap of the tail with Iron Tail to knock out the little mouse. Surge just smirked as Asha gaped. "Heh! Who's next!" Surge said. Forrest licked his lips and seemed to realise how bad an idea this was. He still stepped forward though.When he was done with Forrest and Jessadia, they were all staring off into the distance, shocked. He clapped them on the shoulders. "It wasn't bad for a bunch of rookies, but you've got a ways to go before you can challenge me, ya hear?!""You could have gone easy on us with your Elite team you know?" Forrest grumbled at him.Surge rubbed Forrest's head in a noogie. "And not show you how far you have to go? Nah! Next time bring your A game! I know you're all booked in for a week's time! Get good and I'll see you then!" he said before marching off.Surge didn't feel at all bad using his strongest pokemon against them. In reality it was all he had on him, kids should have realised. Still… They'd impressed him. It was a rare sort of trainer that stood up to an army of Tentacool, let alone a giant. Surge glanced back at the now laughing group.It was a strange feeling to know that maybe… just maybe, the future was in good hands.Surge rubbed at his chin. Urgh, he was getting feelings or something. He shook himself and marched off to see if he could find anything like those barrels that had been mentioned. He reckoned he knew a man or two that'd be interested in those.Steven Stone swirled his tumbler of Shuckle wine as the yacht he was on began to pick up speed. He'd accomplished much of what he desired upon being drawn to Kanto. Blaine had been muzzled, and Devon Corp wasn't likely to see any mysterious firebombings with Lance leaning on the man. He'd identified a number of promising sites for acquisition for future mining operations with his hikes around Kanto, and met some truly remarkable people.Flint was a positive treasure trove if he could ever get the man to open up about where he found some of the stones and minerals he had on display. Sadly the man was a humble sort that also knew the worth of some of his goods.Perhaps a private investigator could piece together his ramblings of journey and distance to locate the sites that Flint identifies in his blog. Surprisingly, a good deal of the content saw the man wandering into the wilds.And not the wilds that saw people walking through tall grass, but rather the deep wilds, so that would be a tall order for any investigator.Steven waved a hand towards a steward for another fill of his tumbler as he loaded up his laptop. He'd need to do some work while they travelled, but then again, the work of a CEO never truly ended, did it?He took another sip from his tumbler and nodded to his steward in appreciation. "Inform me when we are an hour out from the Orange Islands," he told the man as he began perusing the list of sites that his representative had sent through to him.Mandarin Island north and south would need to be on the list, as well-developed city centres for offices, while mines could be established for phosphate on Butwal island. The island was a veritable goldmine with its phosphate readings. This had been one of the few sites that Steven had been able to secure from Flint during a brief discussion. It took a phone call to have a representative sent out to conduct soil samples on the island to discover that this was a source of huge amounts of phosphate.Steven worked through a few other islands that might hold promise, only to pause when he realised that local Gyms held the rights to the island. A not insurmountable task… but there could be issues. He'd need to talk with the local Leader to feel out how open they were to business development.With that done, he sat back and considered other tasks. Lance had gained Salamencite from him and now had had a few months to work with it, however, he suspected that Brock would be the first to build up the necessary bond, albeit in a few more months.Brock seemed to have a good handle on his aura and was prone to demonstrating rare pokemon and abilities without fully considering what he was doing.That gave Steven a deadline.He needed someone worthy to challenge him to allow himself to be shown as the modern master of Mega-evolution. The first reveal would always be the most memorable in people's minds.Steven swirled his glass and stared out at the waves as the yacht swept past them. He could admit to himself that he had a small stirring of fear in his stomach, what if Brock used Steelix in his match against Will?What if he'd been able to create the bond already? What if Brock just forced the evolution and unleashed an enraged Steelix? No, no. He was confident in his assessment of Brock, he wasn't that big a risk-taker. It was a risk but Steven considered it a low risk. Yes, that was all it was, a low risk.Indeed, it had taken Steven a year… but that wasn't a guarantee it wouldn't happen quicker for others. Lance was able to focus on just the league and working with his pokemon. He had the advantage of an entire clan also supporting him.Brock seemed no less confident in himself, and it had made Steven somewhat unsettled, but he'd made the deal and was going to stick to it.As soon as he had the Lileep, he would be sure to have it bred with others of its egg group to create his own breeding group, something that would be sure to earn him a good deal of favours with certain types, such as the Rustboro Gym leader, or their eventual successor.Still, the matter remained that he needed someone who could create a narrative that forced him to reveal his ace. Karen… she'd been good, but Steven hadn't wanted to reveal his hand against a Kanto trainer.Perhaps Drake would suit his needs. The man was getting rather agitated under his rule and it would be good to show that he wasn't Champion just due to his business acumen, but also his own power and skills as a trainer.Steven snapped his fingers. "Send a message to the League that I want to schedule a match against Drake for when I return to Hoenn.""Sir, Drake will be scheduled for a trek during that week; will a month and a half suit your needs? We can use the founding date as the reason for the match."Steven snapped his fingers at the steward. "Yes, that will work, lock that in my schedule and set aside some time in the lead-up for me to work with my pokemon for an extra hour…" Steven rubbed his chin. "Make that an extra two hours a day with them to shore up their skills. Drake is formidable, after all.""I'll make the adjustments to your schedule, sir," said the steward before fading back.Steven nodded to himself and sat back in his chair as he took a final sip of his wine before setting it aside. Yes, that would suit his needs well. In six weeks, he would face Drake as part of the Founding Day ceremony of Hoenn and reveal Mega-evolution to the world.Which would handily be months before Lance or Brock were capable of the act. Steven nodded to himself before turning his attention to the next item on his schedule.Lunch.
131
"Glad you're okay," I said to Forrest and the others through my transceiver. He smiled back at me and nodded.I grinned and said, "I love you, little brother!" Causing him to blush.He mumbled his own, "Love you too," before signing off before he could be mocked. I rolled my eyes. Ash and Misty weren't the sort to mock him for saying something like that. I settled into the chair and rubbed at the damp cloth that was resting on my arm.After everything was said and done Lance had swept through the clean up and we'd found a number of different pokemon herds that appeared to have been corralled and stolen away at the beginning. While the mountain had burned and people needed to be rescued, Team Rocket had been stealing away with pokemon. This was something that I had only learned after the fact.I still wasn't sure what to make of Mewtwo fighting Moltres like it had only to vanish. I was surprised to learn it had to pull out like it had, it was a sign of weakness that I hadn't been expecting from a pokemon I knew to be capable of impacting local weather events and hyper-intelligent. Or perhaps that wasn't accurate. Mewtwo had only displayed that prowess after it had escaped Team Rocket.An event that should still happen… but one I could only wait for. The moment it did, I would be advocating that everyone in the League and the Guardians storm every suspected Rocket base. A groan of pain drew me out of my thoughts to watch Nurse Joy work.I was in the private section of the Pewter Pokecenter alongside my pokemon. Bertha was lying on a bed with Nurse Joy carefully applying a salve to Bertha's fist. The rock-hard hide had been burned despite Bertha's resistance against fire-type abilities.On the other beds around her, being tended to by Chansey, were a few others of my team. Hypnotoad, who'd taken a hit protecting Bertha, was on her side as her back and front were rubbed gently with the same salve.Sanchez lay on another bed. He'd barely had a chance to close with that Moltres, but apparently just getting too close had been enough to injure him. Selene had another bed, but thankfully Nurse Joy had merely diagnosed her injuries as exhaustion due to how much fire she had shielded and protected us from.Don was the final injury on my team, and sadly, he was the worst. Everyone else on my team had taken glancing blows, but not Don.He growled fiercely as the Chansey from my Gym slapped salve on him before she ratcheted the straps tighter to make sure he couldn't flap around the room. He'd been able to get close to the Moltres only to have it erupt with its Sleep Talk ability.One hit had been enough to send him careening out of the sky. He would have been much worse off if it hadn't been for Zephyr catching him, and then Sabrina's pokemon helping to lower him to the ground.Five pokemon that were either exhausted or injured from a battle with two Elite Teams against one pokemon.One Legendary pokemon.Hank, Lance, Clair, and a number of other experienced Rangers all told me that was an amazing outcome. Especially considering we'd driven the Moltres off and had it on the ropes. Then it showed that it had the endurance to outlast and outfight us. If Lance hadn't come along, perhaps that pokemon might have whittled us down. Then again, it hadn't been an ideal situation.I had come into that fight tired from all the earlier events that were going on with the Silver Mountains. The fight with Empress, followed by the descent down Empress' mountain had been tiring. Rushing to rescue the injured Rangers had been hair-raising. Providing medical care, shelter, and then fighting against a Legendary?That situation had gotten extremely out of hand.Sabrina leaned into me. "They'll be alright," she said adjusting the towel over my burn.I nodded and glanced at her. "Are you and your team alright?""Yes, we got out lightly. Fatigue, migraines from the fight, and some heat stroke, but they're being looked after.""That got crazy huh?" I said, feeling rather numb."Indeed." She merely inclined her head, still leaning into me. I held her as my mind played out how that might have gone if she hadn't been there. It wouldn't have been good, I concluded."Thanks for being there with me," I said. "I love you.""And I love you," she said back. She tilted her head in silent request, and I leaned down and kissed her. We broke off the kiss quickly but stayed close, looking into each other's eyes, feeling the connection, and enjoying the closeness of the moment.Sadly, a loud smooching noise came from across the room, and I glanced up to find Bertha making smoochy faces at me. Nurse Joy chastised her, but the effect was rather ruined as she tried to stop herself from giggling at Bertha's antics. I rolled my eyes at her. "You want me to send in Titan to play nursemaid to you?"Betha considered that and then faked a swoon with her uninjured hand coming up to lay against her head. She lay back and allowed Nurse Joy to continue wrapping a bandage around her injured arm. I popped Titan's greatball and pointed at Bertha when he shot me a curious look."She wants you to pat her hand and feed her tasty treats."Titan huffed but stalked over to Bertha, his bulk forcing him to get on his belly to crawl past some medical equipment before reaching Bertha's side, where he did as requested. Bertha gave me a thumbs up.Nurse Joy stepped back, amused and shaking her head. She eyed the other pokemon of mine and nodded, satisfied at how things were for the moment. She approached and stripped off her gloves. "Well they're not in any fatal danger, which is good. The bad news is that the burns they have each taken were from an incredibly powerful pokemon." I nodded; this wasn't news to me.Nurse Joy fidgetted and sighed. "I've read reports on burns like this before, Brock. Blaine was notorious during the… bad times for injuring people and pokemon. Burns like this... might not heal as quickly as they should." She trailed off and swallowed before continuing, "Or at all with this medicine."I frowned. "How long are you expecting it to take?" I said ignoring the last part of what Joy had said.Nurse Joy inspected my pokemon once more. "All of your pokemon have resistance against fire-type moves, so I don't expect them to be permanently injured. But instead of taking days as it should, I'd bargain that these injuries might last… weeks if not months."I hissed at that. That was not good news."Damn, that's not ideal… But then again, they're going to be back up and moving around soon, no?"Nurse Joy nodded. "I'd keep them to light duties and stretching. No stressing their bodies too much.""You mentioned with this medicine earlier?" Sabrina said, quoting Joy's earlier words.Nurse Joy blinked. "Oh! Right! One of the medicines that was found to have the greatest effectiveness was herbs from—""Mahogany Town," I said, finishing what she was about to say.Nurse Joy blinked. "You're familiar with the herbs?" she said, perking up. "Do you…" She trailed off when I shook my head."No, I recently spoke with Pryce, and he mentioned that he was still looking for some.""Ah, Pryce. That makes sense." She shrugged. "Well, otherwise it will just take time."I nodded at that while holding in a sigh. "That's good news; thanks for doing what you could, Nurse Joy.""Not a problem!" she bowed. "While your pokemon might not be back to perfect health, they will be! We hope to see you again!" She half turned, and what she'd said reminded me of an old joke.I barked a laugh. "Bit mean to suggest my pokemon will need your services, you know?" I said jokingly.Nurse Joy got a sad look on her face. "The alternative is worse.'I blinked, my mind catching up with what my mouth had said. "Oh Jeez! Sorry that was thoughtless of me!"She shook her head. "It's nothing I haven't heard before." She leaned in and inspected Sabrina and me. "I think you two need to head to bed yourselves. You've had a long night, and it's now coming into the early morning, you know? I don't doubt there will be jobs to deal with this. Go home and rest. You'll need it."I nodded at that and offered a bow back. "Thank you, Nurse Joy, and again, sorry." I stood and then yawned, chuckling at how my body was right behind Nurse Joy in reminding me of how long the day had been. I shot Sabrina a look, and we vanished in a teleport before reappearing next to my bed.I didn't bother taking any clothes off. I merely flopped onto the bed with Sabrina in my arms.We fell asleep almost immediately.The next morning passed in a blur, with breakfast being a vague memory of food and noise. with my family fawning over Sabrina and me before we were asked to make an appearance at the Pewter Ranger HQ. There, we ran through a proper debrief, and Hank and a few others officially gave us the medal he'd mentioned during yesterday's abbreviated 'press conference'.When the reporters asked specifically about my team again, I barely withheld cursing them out. Now wasn't a good time to shift focus. However, I couldn't help but wonder at the timing of it.Was I being too paranoid… or not paranoid enough?Regardless, after the reporter annoyed Hank, he delivered a withering statement that had me leaning back. I knew Team Rocket had to be involved with the armoured form of Mewtwo fighting with the Moltres, or at least fight it enough to enrage it before vanishing. I'd suggested as much to Hank, and he'd grunted, saying that they were the most likely candidates.Apparently, there was going to be a meeting with the commander-level rangers. Sadly, I wasn't told what it would be about, but I could guess. It seemed like Team Rocket had drawn a lot of ire with this recent stunt. They were also being attributed with causing issues in Porta Vista by some news outlets.I wasn't sure if that was going to cause issues with Jessie or James. Personally, I felt they'd been lucky to come into my Gym when they had.If they'd come today, I would have cuffed them and dragged them to the League for intensive interrogation. I could only conclude that it was good that so many people were cracking down on Team Rocket. The more, the better.After the talks at Ranger HQ, I returned to the gym. With my morning blocked out I spent the time checking over the rest of my pokemon and making sure they were healthy. Thankfully, they were healthy. Tired, certainly, but overall healthy. Some of them even had a glint of determination coupled with thoughtfulness in their eyes from what they'd gone through. They'd seen what a powerful pokemon could do, and instead of being downcast, they were motivated.Titan, when he wasn't sitting next to Bertha, meditated and spoke with the others, making them think about everything that had happened. Gawain, Knight, and the others that I had left behind sat and listened in awe to Sanchez recount a tale — a most likely highly exaggerated tale— to them.A few of the other pokemon had energy build up sessions where they were working on their reserves. Others started to move towards doing physical workouts, but I waved them off that. Instead, I had them only do light workouts. Stretching, walking, and gently tossing around some balls I had for them. Nothing too strenuous. I didn't have any more Ace challenges until my match against Will which had been deliberate on my part.I wanted to put my best foot forward this weekend.With that in mind, I had to consider what I'd be fighting. I expected Will to have Exeggutor, Alakazam, Slowbro, Jynx, Grumpig, Medicham, or a Xatu. I doubted he'd have a Bronzong or a Metagross, but it was possible.I expected him to make good use of Disable, Teleport, Rest, Hypnosis, Amnesia, Baton Pass, Calm Mind, Barrier, Light Screen, and Dream Eater, just to name a few moves. Sabrina had trained against me and shown me how these could be used against me along with different ways to apply them, so I was in a good position to fight Will and anticipate his tricks.I just had to be vigilant.A strong Psychic trainer was never an easy task.From there I checked in with the Gym's pokemon and was about to check in with the Gym trainers when I heard a sad croon coming from behind some boulders. I wandered around and stopped dead upon finding Empress sitting with her back against the wall of the plateua, looking down at Terra and Yolanda.I felt my heart clench. I had warned Yolanda to stay away from her, but apparently, I hadn't been clear enough. I hadn't even known she'd come out of the pokeball she'd accepted going into! Another sad croon escaped the Tyranitar and stopped my furious self castigation.Oh, she was crying.Terra trilled worriedly and reached up to pat her little hands on the tears coming down Empress' scaly face. She needed Yolanda to hold her up to the larger pokemon, but she reached and tried, in the way of a child to wipe away the sadness from her mother. She wiggled and nuzzled, and this seemed to draw Empress out of her mourning.She stared down and sniffed at Terra, only to smile and nuzzle the little Larvitar back. She even went so far as to cuddle Terra.Terra wiggled happily at this, and Yolanda stepped back to allow them a little space. She then spotted me and trotted up. "So what are you going to do with her?" Yolanda fidgetted and flicked her eyes at me before they darted back. "Is she joining your Elite team?" she asked."No, that's not the plan." I considered what to tell her; I'd been brief this morning with her. I sighed. Yolanda could handle the truth of the world containing a bit of darkness. "She was attacked and her nest destroyed, which caused her to be enraged. We had to fight her to calm her down."Yolanda stared at me. "You fought her to calm her down?"I chuckled. "Bertha actually got through to her. When everything was said and done, she just sort of looked lost. I offered for her to come stay with Titan."I swallowed. "She was in her pokeball last I knew; I wouldn't have let you wander out here if I thought—"Yolanda shook her head. "She wasn't going to hurt me."I glanced at Yolanda. The certainty in her tone made me frown."You can't know that, Yolanda." I knew I was being extremely hypocritical, but I couldn't help but say it.Yolanda shook her head and tapped her chest. "No, I knew she wouldn't. She's hurting, but she's not going to lash out now." She stared at the large pokemon before nodding. "I think you made the right call bringing her here. She'll do well with Terra around…" Yolanda glanced to the side and giggled. "And Titan too."I looked and found Titan leaning around a boulder, sticking out like a sore thumb as he observed his mother and Terra cuddling. Yolanda snorted. "Boys!"She cupped her hands and shouted, "TITAN! GIVE YOUR MOTHER A HUG!"Titan stiffened at being caught out, and Empress and Terra paused in their hug to spot him out. Titan coughed and inched forward, giving the older Tyranitar a nuzzle before leaning in to offer his support. Empress snorted disdainfully but didn't pull away. I thought she might have even leaned into him a bit. Terra trilled happily, and the bigger pokemon relaxed, with the smallest making happy noises.Yolanda nodded, much happier with this arrangement. I wrapped an arm around her. "Nicely done, little sister," I said. If I'd said that to Titan, he would have been more awkward, but with Yolanda saying it? That made it much easier.Rachel jogged up at that moment. She glanced at me, then at the hugging Tyranitar, and raised a camera to take pictures. I coughed at her, and she shot me a thumbs-up. "It's great content!" She then cleared her throat. "But also, I came to talk to you about the young trainer you left with us before that whole… incident yesterday?""Ah A.J.? How's he been?" I asked."He recovered well, but instead of sticking around and waiting for you, he took over the weights room and is working with his pokemon. Dennis isn't sure what to make of him." She chewed her lip. "He's kind of being a bit rough as well? A lot of his pokemon have been lifting rather heavy weights, and he uses a whip."I frowned. I should have expected this from A.J. He was the first person to be shown working on a pokemon's resistances with what had to be a power band… or was it a power suit? But he was also extreme in how he trained his pokemon."I'll talk with him. The weights room yeah?" I asked. Rachel nodded, and I tapped Yolanda on the shoulders. "Can you handle Empress?""Her name is Empress? Cool name," she said with an impressed look."That's what she was dubbed by the Rangers," I said over my shoulder as I marched into the Gym. Rachel stayed behind to get a few more pictures of Titan being a dutiful son, and I chuckled. On a whim, I marched into the stacks of pokeballs and grabbed a specific pokeball with a capital I on it.I hoped I wouldn't have to use her, but she was a good example of one of the Gym's success stories. Maybe even one of the best success stories.I walked into the Gym still toying with the pokeball and hummed at what I found. A.J.'s Beedrill and Butterfree were playing tag through the air. On the ground, Rattata dragged some sleds on the open floor section of the room while a Sandshrew curled some weights. A.J. walked among the group, cracking his whip and barking orders."Rattata number three, you are faltering behind! Push harder! Butterfree! Stay close! Tighten your dodge! Sandshrew! Another set before we go into Roll Out training!"I'd seen enough. I clapped my hands together. "And that's where I'll call a halt right now!" My clap resonated through the room like two boulders had clashed together.The Rattata twitched to a stop. The Butterfree almost dodged into Beedrill's stingers while Beedrill broke off with the noise. Sandshrew continued to train, its eyes watching me but not stopping.A.J. turned around only to slump. "Oh, Gym Leader, were you looking to do some training?"More than that, I needed to talk with you first. Everything got crazy yesterday." I made a show of looking around. "If this is how you act, I can't say I'm impressed."A.J stiffened. "What!? My training is specia—""Whose Gym is this?" I said, cutting over anything he was about to say."Yours, Gym Leader Brock." He bowed at the hips instantly. "I apologise! I was overzealous in my desire to get stronger!"I considered him. "I can see that your goal is important to you, but you are rushing after it and potentially causing yourself more problems." I then pointedly looked at his whips. "Your methods also leave something to be desired." I held up a hand to forestall his protests."Before that, we need to work out what is happening here and now. You have a recommendation from Agatha." I sighed. "Agatha is…" Oh, what words to use when describing her?"Mercurial. It comes with her nature as a Ghost specialist. She can play games." I considered saying more, but that was enough.A.J grimaced. "She trounced me last year with just a Gastly."I raised an eyebrow. "You looked down on a pokemon trained by one of the Elite Four?" I was so going to make him spar against Izumi and record his reactions.A.J. slumped, "It was a single pokemon... and with my normal types, I thought I would have a serious advantage."I nodded. "Not a terrible line of thought, but strength can come in less obvious forms than just power. Your pokemon are strong, but how flexible are they? Can they counter weaknesses or counter counters to themselves? Adaptability can be tough to train."A.J. still had his gaze locked on the ground. "I… realised as much, and I was hoping to approach you. I need to fix my mistakes. I'm not…" he shifted from foot to foot, "progressing on my own.""Is that what you want?" I probed. I knew this had to be a bitter moment with how he was swallowing his pride, but perhaps the results of facing multiple strong trainers had forced him to re-evaluate his methods."Yes! I want to be the best!" he said, his eyes snapping up with a burning intensity within them. I nodded back."Good." I raised a finger. " I have requirements if you accept a trainer berth with my Gym, much of this will depend on what you want going forward." He tilted his head but didn't speak, so I continued."First of all, no whips. It does not look good, and it is antiquated. We're not some low budget circus pretending to work with dangerous pokemon."A.J. blushed and looked away. Had I hit a sore spot there accidentally? He coughed, "It's not just a circus trick! It works to motiva—" I raised a hand."If I was to take that whip and crack it over your head while you worked out, how would you feel about me?"He frowned and looked down at it. "... I…" He worked his jaw. "My pokemon don't seem to mind though?""Your Sandshrew mostly doesn't mind and his typing I doubt he even registers the whip as a threat. Your other pokemon? " I shook my head as A.J. took the whip off his side to look it over as if just seeing it for the first time."It's not a good method to train. As their trainer, you are more than a drill sergeant barking orders. You're also their caregiver. Their friend. The bond you form with them is important in more ways than one. There are methods of improving pokemon that can only be reached by having a close bond." Specifically, friendship evolutions, and Mega-evolution as it currently stood."My bond?" A.J. looked like I was speaking a different language."Indeed," I noted that he'd tossed the whip straight into a bin. It was an impressive toss, but he didn't even notice; his gaze was still locked on me. An impressive display, and it was interesting that it wasn't acknowledged by him. Was he that focused on me, or was it commonplace for him and a sign of physical skill on his part?"How can a bond be so important?" he asked.I raised a finger. "Some pokemon won't evolve without a certain level of friendship or more with you as their trainer. It's been researched, and there is a lot of support for the idea that pokemon that have stronger bonds with their trainers follow orders faster."I raised another finger. "Also, they can anticipate you more as there is an understanding, and this can free you up to watch for other aspects of a fight. At some of the highest levels, you need this, as if you're watching if your pokemon is following the move or giving overly precise calls, you will fail. Bonds become the foundations of greatness.""H-how do I grow my bonds?" he said as though mystified by this new aspect of pokemon.I stared at him. "Have you never had friends before?"He blushed and looked to the side. "I did! They just… moved to another town is all!"I shot him an incredulous look. Damn, this kid was rough… well, all over, not just the edges, but I couldn't say I didn't think he had potential."... We'll work on that. Now, how did you want to work on this? Did you want to be a roaming trainer that keeps in contact, or did you want to settle down for a while and train here?""Could I continue to complete the circuit while staying here?" he asked.I hummed. "We'd need to roster things in. If you stuck around here, I'd be able to coach you more. I have a contingent of trainers currently out and about that I call weekly to check-in. I have time set aside to work with them." I grinned. Humphrey and Mia were the standouts, but the other kids were making the most of the opportunities they'd been given. They'd just gotten past their third badge match in most of their cases, while Mia was up to her fifth.Humphrey had six and was devoting a lot more time to his team with only two more badges to go.A.J. bowed his head. "I'd like to train with you here and complete the circuit. I wish to continue challenging myself and my team!"I nodded. "Alright then, I'll accept you tentatively." I waved my hand around. "You will also be working with a number of other senior trainers. Dennis is the current second in command, and when he gets back, Rocko will also be above you. In fact, if anyone asks you to do something, I want you to do your best to help out. They will oversee some of your training, as I will be running the Gym. They will be sparring partners as well if you need it."I waved a hand around the room. "No more just claiming the weights room or a space. We'll assign you time for that."I hummed. "I was considering testing you out again but—""My pokemon can fight!" A.J. said firmly.I considered him and his pokemon. They all looked forward with determined glances. "Hmmm alright then. Time to put you through your paces." I checked my watch. I had another few hours; this should only take thirty minutes.I led A.J. back out to the arena. This time I didn't raise the podiums. I merely raised a single pokeball and smiled. "Let's go Izumi!"A.J blinked. "A geodude? Why not one of your stronger pokemon?" Izumi shot me a look, and when I smirked, she mirrored me.Oh, this kid was rough, alright. I had a lot to work on with him.When I was done smacking him around, he looked gobsmacked and more than a little defeated.I clapped him on the shoulder. "Hey! Don't be disheartened. Izumi is one of the strongest Geodude around, bar none! She has specialised technique training that allows her to hit way above of her weight category."I reached down and lifted the now much more dirty Izumi up to let her sit on my shoulder. "I'd use her for the Ace challenges if it wasn't for how perfect she is at testing trainers and pokemon.""Dude!" shouted Izumi.I handed her a treat and chuckled. "But with this and yesterday's showing, I have a pretty good idea where you're at right now. We can work on your speed of commands and setting up for combinations or trick plays. Controlling the battlefield and also gauging the best pokemon positioning at the start and during your matches will be something we need to work on. This can be taught through experience, and you'll get that here."I considered him for a moment, he did have problems with bonds... "I have someone that I think would be useful for you to meet."On the way, we passed Dennis, Missy, Alexa, and a few other trainers going about their duties. A.J. perked up each time I introduced them, obviously expecting the next person to be the one that I felt he needed to meet.I led him out to the reserve, where all of the Gym and some of my pokemon were roaming about. Bertha spotted me and waved a bandaged arm at me before grimacing. I sighed at her, waved back, and kept walking.I found Yolanda standing next to Empress, Titan, and Terra alongside what was a small creek I'd dug into the reserve. Lileep lined the banks of each side, and when Yolanda pointed them out to Empress, she leaned down to inspect the rock flowers, causing the Lileep to either shy away or feel her back with their fronds. Terra happily raced into them and greeted them while Titan watched on."Now see that Tyranitar there?" I pointed to Empress. A.J. nodded seriously. "Good, don't ever get near her without myself or the girl next to her right now. That's my sister Yolanda by the way.""Alright," said A.J., his eyes sliding back and forth with a frown on his face. "Is that Tyranitar poorly trained?""She's not trained at all. I took her in to give her time to heal from yesterday's event. She'll rip you apart without a shred of guilt." I raised a finger. "Now, Empress is impressive for her power, yes but she's not who I wanted you to meet.""Your sister is?" A.J. said with a tilt of his head. At his side, Sandshrew copied him."Yup, consider that Yolanda had no interactions with that pokemon before today. She is however able to walk along next to Empress without fear. She did this by understanding bonds and forming them very quickly."I tapped my chest. "She's got her heart in the right place and pokemon can feel intentions more than we understand. This will allow her to get closer to powerful pokemon and have a chance of having them join her team when she starts her journey. It will also allow her to train powerful pokemon without them disregarding her. They'll be able to know she cares for them through the bond they've formed. She also has more friends to help her out in tight situations.""Huh," A.J. said "How will I train with her? Is her Larivatar like your Geodude?"I coughed. "No, it's a baby pokemon. In fact, don't fight with her at all. Just talk with her and be friends. That's where she can teach you best.""Oh," A.J. said with a slump.I rolled my eyes. "If you want, you can ask her for a spar with some of the Gym's pokemon. Just don't annoy her or she'll ask…" I trailed off. If I told this kid that Yolanda could call orders for some of my elite, he might annoy her just to get a shot at them. That wasn't what I wanted from their interactions."Forget I said anything," I said.I scratched at the side of my neck in thought. This… would be a challenge. I flicked a glance over his clothes and noted that they were highly careworn and patched in places. A lot of his gear was beaten up and looked second-hand. It spoke of a rough childhood.No friends either… or at least none that he considered friends. Agatha had sent an interesting trainer my way. In some aspects, I think I could make him a great trainer. But I could also see that I'd limit him.I'd need to help him out with some of the other stuff. I wasn't sure how to approach that. Maybe I could tap Erika for some insight?I rolled my shoulders. "Alright, grab your pokemon some food and let them rest for today. I'll have Dennis show you how to give special blends of food to your—"A.J. raised a beaten notebook. "These are the recipes I use for my pokemon."I hummed and took it, wondering why this was triggering a memory of A.J. I blinked when I started to read his notes on his specialised diet for just one of his pokemon.I noted all of it was natural even. "This is impressive," I said as I continued to flick through it. "You've got the calories all accounted for when training and fighting for nutritional allotments. You need some for rest days as well, though, and I think we can source some easier nutrients, but there are some good points here about your pokemon." I handed it back. "This is very well done A.J."He straightened up and smiled widely. I chuckled; this confident, slightly proud look seemed more natural to him."Alright, go talk to Dennis and get your pokemon food. Rest today and check in with Dennis tomorrow for Gym duties. You'll start on half days to work things in. Also, talk to Alexa to set up your banking details.""... What for?" he said."For your pay?" I said, shooting him a confused look. Why else would I want those?"You're going to pay me to train here?""Mostly for the work you do, but some training exercises will be paid, such as the fitness groups we do once a week." I shot him a smile. "You'll love Trixie's method of motivating people.""Oh wow, I should have come here earlier! Next you'll tell me I get stabling rights!"I nodded slowly. "Yes?" I said. That should have been obvious.A.J. stared at me before slumping. "I should have taken that old witch's advice earlier." He walked away looking off-kilter.I turned towards my office to get some jobs out of the way, only for an icy feeling to cause me to stop in the hallway.I turned to find Rachel escorting Pryce of all people up to me. He glowered at me but his eyes locked onto my forearm as he approached."Brock, I heard about your adventure last night. If I'd been there, I would have handled the beast," he said icily.I hummed. I couldn't doubt that Pryce probably would have been a great addition to fighting Moltres, but I wasn't that certain. Pryce sniffed at my response only to glare at the wall like it had offended him. He then worked his jaw for a moment. "You were right," he bit out."I'm sorry? What about?" I said. I was rather lost about this conversation."Piloswine… and Ancient Power… and the herb." Every point he made caused a twitch, as though it pained him to admit I'd been right.He reached into his jacket pocket and handed me a large tub. "This is the salve to help speed up you and your pokemon's healing. Nurse Joy of Pewter reached out to me," he said. "It won't heal them overnight, but within a week they'll be in fighting fitness instead of months."I blinked in surprise. I'd forgotten about that."Oh thank—"Pryce shook his head. He finally turned to look at me, and something in his demeanour shifted."No, thank you." His chin wobbled, and for a moment, I was certain he was about to cry. "It is a wonderful thing to know your lifetime companion didn't abandon you," he said hoarsely as his eyes glimmered.He reached out and grabbed my shoulder, his eyes boring into mine without a hint of fighting spirit in them, only thankfulness. "Thank you; if you need anything from me, ask, and I will help you." He then turned and marched out. I suspected he didn't want to cry in front of me.Rachel, who'd retreated when Pryce reached me, approached cautiously as I smiled at the tub of salve. "What was that about? It looked intense. Was… was Gym Leader Pryce alright?""I think he's better than he's been in a long time." I played with the salve before breaking out into chuckles. Oh man, Agatha was going to be pissed when she woke up and learned I'd helped Pryce get stronger.I marched back out and immediately applied the salve to my injured pokemon. They all instantly sighed in relief. I felt a surge of gratitude at Pryce's gift. I hadn't known they were putting on such brave faces for me. Even if it didn't speed up their recovery rate, offering them pain relief like this was worth a lot to me.I undid my own bandages and wiped some salve on my arm, and felt an instant coolness spread through my arm. My shoulder unclenched, and I blinked.I hadn't noticed I'd been that tense. Huh, this salve was good stuff. I chuckled and checked over my pokemon again.When I was done, I made sure to wrap Yolanda in a hug and kiss her forehead. She giggled and smiled at me, and I smiled back.Bonds. They were important and so often invisible to us until they were as clear as day."Gym Leader!" A.J. shouted. "It's getting close to your first match!"I nodded to him and gave Yolanda another squeeze. It's time to be a Gym Leader and help trainers glimpse at the importance of bonds by challenging me. I felt more motivated than ever.We'd gone through the wringer but were going to be alright.Today I'd focus on being the best Gym Leader and big brother I could be.And in two days' time? I'd show the strength of my bonds to the world with my match against Will.