Chapter 61 - 136

In a dark room, a television clicked on.

"— and I'm Chuck Clearskies on today's Battlecast showcase! Today's big match saw Ace trainer Will challenge Gym Leader Brock to an Ace battle! With pride on the line and the event hyped as the match of the week, it didn't fail to deliver!" said the sports host on the Battlecast channel.He stepped swiftly to the side and indicated the screen behind him that had pictures of Brock and Will's heads slamming together with a flash of electricity between them. Shards of rock exploded against pink energy as the eyes of Will's picture glowed."This match was a nail-biter coming down to the last exchanges! It came down to the final two pokemon being utterly spent and unable to stand after a prolonged exchange between multiple pokemon! The match itself has raised a lot of controversy, however, as Will was noted to use moves that guaranteed him certain advantages. Brock is widely being praised for clawing his team back into the fight, while Will has raised questions with the League about certain rules and situations that haven't been seen before."A snort from someone off-screen made Chuck twitch, but he continued to smile. "Joining me today to discuss the match is our battle analyst, Abby Actar!"The camera shot widened to reveal three other people sitting along a row of couches. The woman that had been introduced preened. "Thanks for the introduction, Chuck!" she said to her longtime co-host."Jason Memea!" said Chuck pointing towards a tall, shaggy-haired individual who winked."Yo!" said Jason.Chuck nodded and then indicated the final man, a swarthy individual who leaned back with his arms spread, allowing him to claim a section of the couch for himself. "Coming in with what I have no doubt is a hot take, we have the current Ace trainer and ranked fortieth on the Ace standings, Gavin Glady!"The man winked and shot finger guns at the camera. "It's only hot cause it'll have so many couch trainers breathing fire!" said the man smugly."Ha!" said Chuck, "I'll give you your moment; don't doubt it! For now, let's recap! We can certainly say there was some tension between Brock and Will with this match, wasn't there? Lots of people were wondering at the end if either trainer would shake hands to acknowledge the fight the other had put in!"Jason chuckled. "Brock looked liked he manned up in the best way! Quite a strong handshake there I'd say!""He's a sore loser," said Gavin dismissively.Abby whipped her head about, locking onto Gavin. "He didn't lose! Despite Will's… You know what! I'm just going to say it! I think Will cheated!"Chuck leaned back, looking shocked. "Wow! Oh wow! That's a strong allegation to be throwing down there!""I'll stand behind it!" said Abby."More like you'd let Brock stand behind you," muttered Gavin snidely.Abby's head turned slowly. "What did you say?" she snarled."You heard me," Gavin said unrepentantly. "You and everyone else are Brock simps these days. Wah wah wah! Brock had some questionable tactics used against him. So what!" Gavin said raising his voice.He shot a finger in Abby's face. "I'm part of the Ace circuit, things aren't as clean there as people like to pretend. Tactics like these? You see them all too often. It's just that they don't get televised. Most Ace trainers need a bit more resilience to advance to even the top hundred, things get scrappy after that, and you need methods to beat them. Brock's a Gym Leader, and he thought he could take on all challengers without having some tough battles."Gavin made a dismissive gesture. "I for one am glad Will showcased moves and tactics others have shied away from using!""It was pretty fucking dope that Brock picked up that Aggron of his and carried it off the field, no?" said Jason with a grin.A clip played of Brock lifting his pokemon and Jason whistled. "That is strength right there."Gavin sniffed. "He'd had his pokemon use Autotomize. That means it wouldn't have weighed as much."Chuck coughed. "Actually, I've been told that the weight would have returned to normal with his 'Knight' being knocked out; something about energy spilling out once a pokemon loses consciousness?" Chuck said, while holding a hand to his ear."My thanks to the data crunchers in our team!" Gavin said as he raised a thumbs up to a man who appeared briefly, looking extremely overworked while sitting in front of a wall of screens. They appeared for a second before returning to the talk show."That right there!" Abby said standing and jabbing a hand at the screen. "The researchers just showed that Will had to be cheating! Mean Look shouldn't have stopped a recall when his pokemon were knocked out!"Gavin waved a hand. "Specialty training methods can allow for all types of niche skills to be developed. This is just one of them; honestly, Will should be applauded for having so many niche skills, his Slowking, Exeggutor, Medicham, Jynx, and Alakazam." Gavin ticked off a number of fingers.Chuck coughed and smiled for the camera. "Well, he certainly has a strong pokemon team. Will has also stated before that he would advance along the traditional Kanto Gym route and has a number of Gym matches at the highest level booked. He's doing this to showcase himself and also challenge some of the iconic trainers that most Kanto trainers face, in his bid for Elite Four. Throughout the week, he will also be facing off against a number of Ace trainers!"A list of known matches appeared, with the next gym match highlighted. Chuck made a show of looking it over. "Oh, he's going to face an Ace trainer in two days and then facing off against the Cerulean Gym… before facing Surge next weekend. That should make for an interesting week!"Jason clicked his tongue. "I'd like to say you're right there, but… well, the Cerulean gym isn't where he's going to be getting his qualifications to be an Elite Four tested. That's going to come from his Ace trainer matches and against Surge… The Cerulean Gym…"Gavin huffed. "They run some nice performances, but that's about it."Abby bit her lip, clearly not happy to agree with Gavin, but she eventually nodded.Chuck nodded. "That's a fair assessment, I know the girls do well, but I think a lot of eyes will be turning to next weekend's match against Surge."Jason made a noise of disagreement, and everyone paused to look his way. "I again have to disagree with you there, Chuck. The match I'm looking forward to is the Will versus Brock rematch."Jason raised his hands to ward off the others from speaking over him. "Now, I know Brock didn't come into that match with ideal circumstances, but he revealed a lot of depth and heart to bring it back. The man won a lot of fans out there, and I want to see more of him."Gavin waved a hand. "Will isn't beholden to that. He's shown he's just as good, and Brock is going to have to deal with the result. That's life and the Ace circuit sometimes."Abby huffed. "I'm not sure many people will be looking to support Will's run if today's performance is an indication of how he operates. He fought more like a dark-type trainer and that's saying something, as we have a literal dark-type trainer doing the same thing in Johto in a bid for the Elite Four position!""She's not that good," Gavin said quickly.Jason tilted his head. "Didn't she beat you two weeks ago?"Gavin gained a look like he'd sucked a lemon, and Abby grinned."Yes… she did, and now she's not accepting any of my requests for a rematch," said Gavin heatedly.Abby adopted a saccharine smile. "Oh… well, that's life sometimes," she said, causing Gavin to glare at her."Oh, go run the weather segment," said Gavin with a wave of his hand.Abby shot to her feet and said, "I am a professional battle analyst! I have been doing this for years! I'm not some washed-up Ace that is tumbling down the ranks after barely making it into the top twenty!"Gavin snorted. "Tough talk from a never was!" he said, waving his hand dismissively."Let's go to an ad break!" said Chuck as Abby reached for a pokeball while Gavin jutted his chin.Jason reached behind the couch and pulled out some popcorn, looking extremely pleased with this turn of events.The show broke with an ad for Fastballs racing across the screen right as Abby hurled her own fastball.The tv remote was raised with a scoff, only for a smaller, more delicate hand to be placed atop it."Babe no! I want to see what they're going to say!" said the blonde woman.Surge sniffed, but relinquished the remote. "I know what they're gonna say, and it's Tauros shit is what it is. That puke Will is a cheap son of a bitch.""He won by rules lawyering, that's obvious and no one really likes that, but it's still allowed… for now at least. I doubt the League is going to let that sit, though…"She changed the channel, and sure enough, a newscast was playing out showing some people chanting and raising banners in front of the League headquarters at the Indigo Plateau.Surge snorted. "I bet most of those people are butt hurt that they bet big on Brock and he got cheated, and then they got cheated. There are a number of bookies laying low with their winnings this time instead of paying out.""You didn't bet on Brock?" said the girl."Tiffany! Who do you take me for!? Course I bet on my boy Brock! I just ain't out there complaining cause my bet didn't pay off."The woman shot him a glare. "It's Hannah.""Oh, sorry babe! I'm just so muddled up with how pissed Will has me!" Surge said.Hannah nodded dubiously, before deciding to drop the issue as a fight not worth having.She instead tilted her head and considered Surge, "If you're so close with Brock, how come you weren't there during the match?"Surge stuck out his bottom lip in a fake pout. "Didn't you want to hang out with me?""Hmmm, nah, I'm glad you called me up." She shot him a wink and gestured at the bed. "It was fun and all, just curious why you didn't go?""I ain't going to be there for every pretender that takes a run at Brock," Surge said simply. Then he shifted. "It's also probably for the best… Might not have been able to contain myself.""Ah, you'd have ambushed Will?""Yeah, sure, him too," Surge said before taking a swig of his beer. "After what he pulled, he'd deserve it."Hannah clearly didn't understand as she tilted her head. Surge waved it off, and she huffed and played with the remote to return to watching the Battlecast show.Surge snorted and ignored the talking heads. Like they had any clue. Used to be a time when the League wouldn't entertain the idea of some puke from Hoenn waltzing into the League and talking himself up like he was going to be one of the Elite Four. They'd gone soft and crazy, which was a dangerous combination.When Hannah hummed, he tuned back in. "They make it sound like Will got lucky with how Brock had half his team injured in the lead-up to this match."Surge narrowed his eyes and considered the sequence of events that had played out. "Yeah… luck," he said thoughtfully."You don't think it was luck on Will's part?" Hannah asked."... It's awful convenient… too convenient."Hannah chewed her lip as Surge went quiet. Like a man formulating a plan on how to do something dangerous. On the television, the conversation turned to the next matches.The hosts once again didn't bother with mentioning the Cerulean sisters and instead focused on the Ace Trainer matches and then Surge's match. Surge narrowed his eyes when Gavin spoke up."Surge is a begone relic. He doesn't fight in the big matches much, he's going down mark my words. He's as simple as they come and Will is going to take him out. Six to two is my bet on that match."She licked her lips. "You alright there babe?""No, I'm fucking not," Surge said tightly.She shifted in close as Surge took a long pull on his beer. "What're you going to do when you fight him?"Surge put down his beer and exhaled slowly.When he spoke, he did so with a bass that made her shiver and all the small hairs on her body stand on end."I'm gonna bring the lightning.""—what will the League's response be?"Kruger adjusted the microphone. It stung his pride that he'd had this press conference to discuss the End of Circuit Conference, but once again a situation with Brock had forced his hand.Now he was having to answer questions about rules-lawyering.He stared at the reporter, who was gleefully waving his microphone at him. Kruger had to visibly hold in his annoyance. If it hadn't been this one, it would have been another reporter. The biggest difference between being a Mayor and rising to President of the Indigo League had to be how cutthroat the journalists were.It was days like this that made Kruger curse the idea of independent press on certain topics within the League. Today was supposed to be a discussion of the funding allotment that would be put forth by the League to increase Ranger response as well as help repair the damage that the 'fire caused by trainers' had caused.None of the reporters wanted to talk about that right now. They had a new hot topic to chase.Eventually, Kruger sighed and shook his head. "While that issue is a separate concern from what we've been discussing today, I know that won't satisfy a lot of people."The crowd of reporters shifted. They'd been expecting him to say something generic, such as 'no comment'."The League will need to discuss the match between Brock and Will, while what occurred is within the rules, it can be seen as a match that has caused a significant social outcry. This match was not one that we as a League can point to and be proud of as a fierce contest. Many people were left with a bitter taste due to the circumstances of the match. Will has stuck to the rules… as they currently stand, but it will be something that we examine in the near future as he has highlighted and brought to light a serious issue which has been reported to plague Ace matches that the public don't see on primetime television."Kruger raised his hands to forestall the bloodsucking zubats that were the reporters, as they all clamoured to shout their questions. After a minute, they settled down, and he was allowed to continue speaking.He huffed in annoyance. Yes, indeed, it was a world of difference to go from being a Mayor to President. "At the end of the day, there will be questions, but an official investigation will not occur as neither trainer was drastically impacted by the event.""But doesn't this put into question Will's strength as a trainer! Some people are calling him equal to Lance with his draw with Brock!"Kruger gave that a dismissive snort. "Please, those people are reading far too much into an Exhibition match. It is not a simple affair to go from Ace to Elite Four, or Champion, I can assure you!" he said heatedly.Kruger coughed. "As I was saying, it is fortuitous the match ended in a draw, as analysis has raised a number of points where interference has been potentially identified.""Was the interference for Will or Brock! Sabrina was noted to be in attendance!" shouted one reporter.Kruger leveled his most withering glare at the blood-sucker. It didn't seem to be very effective, as the man remained poised while other reporters leaned forward in anticipation."Sabrina was observed at all points during the match. Whereas Will was called out on an interference towards the end of the match, by attempting to support his Jynx into a standing position.""What would the League's response be if this sort of match were to happen with Will facing off against Bruno? Lorelei? Or even Lance himself?""Obviously, more stringent assessments would be conducted. Will's tactic of delaying Brock's ability to withdraw his pokemon and send out his next pokemon would not occur at the Indigo stadium as there are methods we have to handle this," he said, not bothering to detail how big a lie that was.They would have to establish methods to manage this, as if such a match were to play out in the Indigo League both Kanto and Johto would riot, especially if someone like Lance were to fall to such methods."So the League knew such tactics were possible and didn't create subclauses to stop people like Brock from being penalised?!" said one clever-minded reporter.Kruger swallowed a curse before deciding on a palatable explanation. "The administration and creation of rules around pokemon battles is usually a slow-moving process. This can be seen as a good thing, as if we were to create that subclause straight away, we could be making a drastic mistake. The League will be considering a sub-clause in future, but it will have to be debated with key policymakers so as to not cause more issues than it would solve.""Is a new clause the only method that could be used? Couldn't an official invalidate the match for not standing up to the spirit of fair contest?" one perfectly innocent-looking reporter said.Kruger happened to know that woman specialised in poison types, so he treated her words very carefully. "The League does have other options available to it…" He cast his mind back to some meetings he'd had a few weeks ago. "The options that perhaps could play out would be to set up a variable format."This caused a number of reporters to blink. "Variable format?" the woman asked.Kruger swallowed, he couldn't say he remembered the entirety of the presentation, but the most salient points should do for now. "Instead of doing a winner take all match, a series of matches such as a first to claim two victories could play out over an afternoon or even a few days."Kruger raised both hands as though he were lifting a box. "This would allow trainers to demonstrate a wider range of their pokemon teams and their personal skills, resulting in perhaps the truly best contenders rising up the ranks. This format might be worth testing, but it would take the League a while to set up."Kruger shook his head sadly. "In truth, anything the League sets up would have to be a gradual process, lest we leap before we look. I would advise that trainers set up methods to deal with the restrictions on not being able to withdraw your pokemon and incurring the minute penalty. Perhaps more people will see that occur going forward, or perhaps not. Other people have known about this for a while and it typically is handled between trainers."Usually, with one trainer storming off in defeat, Kruger didn't mention."What about the incident where Titan had caught Alakazam in his jaws! Will had to have interfered—" Kruger waved a hand and stepped to the side, ignoring the shouted questions. He'd given them enough soundbites to work with that they should be content for now."That is all I have time for today. Thank you for coming to listen to the League's funding announcement, I have another release later in the week that will discuss the end-of-circuit format. Please direct any other questions to our consultant regarding the changes," he said, not breaking his stride.The reporters barely gave the new consultant a look. Most of them hadn't come to talk about the funding, they wanted the big Magikarp.Kruger stepped out into a hall and sighed reflexively. Allowing himself to relax, he loosened his tie and took a drink of water from one of his members of staff. "How do you think that went?" he said tiredly, as he massaged his temples."I'm not sure many will report on the changes," said the staffer honestly."I think you did well," said another voice.Kruger straightened up and turned to find Lance leaning against the wall watching him."Champion," Kruger said carefully."President Kruger," Lance said with a nod. Kruger tried to stifle the happiness being acknowledged like that brought him, but he might have smiled a little.Lance nodded his head. "You're resembling the man who ran for President more and more these days.""Feh! Some days I feel like I should have stayed in Chrysthanmum Town," he said."City now," Lance pointed out with Kruger nodding along. He then waved a hand at his staff member to give himself and Lance some space."I'm thinking of not running for a second term," Kruger said once they had a little privacy.Lance hummed in thought, and Kruger raised an eyebrow in surprise. He would have thought Lance would be glad to see the back of him.Instead, Lance sighed forlornly. "A shame, the man you are now, is the man Indigo needs. You've gotten much better to work with." Lance stood and walked away. "I think we'd be worse for your loss," he said as he left.Kruger stared after him. He felt a strange mix of pride, annoyance, and guilt roiling through him.He eventually sighed and rubbed his temples. "Damn young trainers causing me more headaches," he said as he found himself reconsidering his goals. He considered the hall for a moment before tapping at his transceiver to make a call."Gramps? Are you looking for Mum?" said a much younger voice than he'd expected to answer.Kruger felt himself go soft. "No, I think I got just the person I needed. Tell me about your day!" he said, knowing that a five-year-old had no concerns about the League, or the match. Instead, she told him all about simple, happy moments.When he was done talking with her he strode through the halls of the League with his shoulders back, re-energised for the long night ahead of him.Giovanni savoured the taste on his tongue as he inhaled from his cigar.Before him, the Executives were arrayed around the Rocket boardroom as Executive Archer detailed the success of the recent operation."The bookies that are our agents were able to collect a killing thanks to the odds we had for Brock against Will. Lots of people are raising complaints, but the police aren't batting an eye in regards to people who bet bigger than they could afford."Executive Archer clicked another slide, which cut away from their expected haul from the match, to Police pictures of a few civilians that now had warnings on them, listing them as chronic gamblers. "They're even being used as examples of people who gambled too much," said Archer snidely."Anyone of interest that we might be able to leverage?" said Executive Proton. Giovanni nodded slightly, indicating he agreed with this line of questioning, and Archer sighed forlornly and shook his head."Sadly not. The only people we were able to garner were small karp, there were however enough of them that we've made up a sizeable percentage of our recent losses.""Hmmm might be something we need to set up more in future, if we can get an in I think we have options for it. Any chance the other matches will draw as much attention or money?" asked Proton."Not for the next few matches, Surge isn't popular enough to really get people worked up like they were for Brock," replied Proton."Not until he goes against Gym Leader Sabrina at least," said Ariana, speaking up for the first time during this meeting. Her own position at the end of the table and most distant from Giovanni showed how she'd fallen out of favour.Next to her Madam Bossue looked positively amused at what was being reported. Giovanni held in a smirk, so she was feeling comfortable was she?Unmindful of the plan he had in play Archer continued the discussion. "Hmmm Psychic versus Psychic, should be possible." Archer wet his lips and turned to Giovanni. "Boss… will our Agent be able to boost Will's match like he did against Brock?""It is possible," Giovanni demurred. He allowed a small smirk to play out on his lips before adopting a stoic expression. "I'm considering the wisdom in that though. Will was supposed to beat Brock, not draw with him."The boardroom fell silent as everyone's eyes flicked from Giovanni to Madam Bossue."He did admirably and has a lot of attention on him now though. We can pinch him for more concessions and lock him down fully," said Madam Bossue.Giovanni shook his head. "I feel that this Will is a perfect example of the sunken cost fallacy playing out. No, he failed the task that was set to him. Let him know he won't garner any further support from us and that he is to return the Jynx to us. I don't want that pokemon falling into the hands of Silph co or Devon, or any other organisations."Madam Bossue put a hand to her cheek. "This is rather cutthroat of you, Gio…" she said demurely.Giovanni blew out a puff of smoke, savouring the moment. "It is just business, I think you can go talk with him. Carry this out immediately and wait for assignment to other duties." He pressed a button under the table, and the door opened in a clear invitation.Madam Bossue assessed him, understanding the unspoken dismissal. She inclined her head and her lips quirked up. Despite himself, Giovanni preened at the unspoken 'well played' that his mother granted him even as he evicted her from the boardroom. She'd need to come back with another plot if she wanted to truly make plans in Team Rocket.The executives watched her go in silence, awed and now not sitting anywhere near as comfortably, knowing that they might be next in being shown the door. Only a bare few truly knew of Giovanni and the Madam's actual relationship.The click of the door as it closed behind the Madam was a symphony of well-orchestrated music to his ears.Giovanni drew in on his cigar, enjoying the quiet looks of worry and calculation that shot between the various Executives. He had them rattled now, which was just where he wanted them."If I may ask…" began Ariana only to pause as Giovanni raised his eyes to her and exhaled smoke. The effect caused his eyes to glow ominously in the still-darkened room. Ariana reconsidered her words, and Giovanni shot Archer a look to dismiss his hologram and instead turn on the lights once more.Giovanni blinked slowly at the return of the lights but made sure to keep his attention on Ariana. She regathered herself with the lights back on. "How did our Agent escape Sabrina's notice?"Giovanni considered her for a long moment.Around the table, others shifted in obvious interest.They too had no idea how he'd snuck interference against Brock under the nose of a trainer that had been considered the best psychic trainer around.Sabrina was after all, the main reason that only certain Rocket members were allowed even close to Saffron City. They needed a certain level of mental discipline to shield their thoughts or hide from her. Her legend was well deserved, as while she was not as widely known as Koga, she was no less effective in dealing with crime in her city.Now the Rocket Executives were wondering how he'd snuck something past her. Giovanni enjoyed their hungry gazes before tossing them a sop. "My Agent is simply that skilled. We were able to set up conditions that suited their capabilities. I have no doubt that in the future they will be able to repeat such performances if I deem them necessary."The executives all straightened at that, and a few smiled. They likely anticipated this would see them return to strength.Giovanni wasn't too worried about that. He was already setting up a Board of Executives for the Orre region and the Orange Islands. Team Rocket in Indigo might be struggling, but Team Rocket as a worldwide organisation?They were going from strength to strength.Sadly, not all the goals were being met as he hoped, but he knew better than to expect such wild goals to be accomplished."Have we finished the count on the pokemon garnered through Operation Burning Mountain?" he asked."Yes sir! We have a large number of rare and powerful pokemon captured. Training and submitting to orders is still ongoing.""Assign a quarter of the pokemon to sales. I want to make the most of the recent… fervour with which trainers are looking to acquire a Tyranitar.""We only got one of those but we have seven Pupitar, seventeen Larvitar and just as many eggs.""Separate the eggs, it's not guaranteed that all of those eggs will be Larvitar. Unless the markings match known larvitar eggs clearly, I want our men to be on the watch for any situations where other pokemon have snuck their own eggs into the clutches," Giovanni said firmly.Archer nodded quickly.Giovanni considered the table. His mind cast back to the video feed he'd had of Mewtwo battling that Moltres. He'd ordered Mewtwo to engage but it had quickly overwhelmed Mewtwo, something that wouldn't be allowed. Giovanni might have inadvertently weakened the Legendary bird before its encounter with Brock, in his bid to attempt to capture it.His eyes had been too big though and he'd tried for too much.Still, with Mewtwo and a Moltres he would have been able to act with more impunity. No that all his options were exhausted… he'd need to consider his options."I want…" he considered the boardroom. Sird was the wrong tool to use, Proton was ambitious, Ariana was still being punished for her backing Madam Bossue, Petrel was best at recruiting… which left only…" Archer, I want you to go into the archives and reopen Project Monster sightings. I want you to start investigating that quietly. If anyone sniffs around, I want you to tell me immediately," Giovanni said."Will do Boss!" said Archer loyally.Giovanni nodded and considered the final item on today's agenda. "Proton, Ariana, continue your work with Project Silph, I want actionable intel on their base in Saffron for future decisions," he said. Both eyed each other before nodding."That appears to be all the points of consideration for this meeting," Giovanni declared.He swept his gaze around the eight Executives. "Unless anyone has something else to bring forth?" he prompted. The group shifted, sharing glances but not speaking up. It was a rare day indeed, it would seem.None of the Executives had plans to promote.Perhaps the recent showing from the League might have curtailed their greed. He narrowed his eyes in thought. That, or they were performing operations without his authority. He inspected them all, lingering on Ariana. He'd culled much of her power within Team Rocket but she might still dare if she felt she could get away with it.His earlier demonstrations of what failure could result in with the Madam, would certainly have helped cow them.For now, it seemed that they were satisfied and awed by his response. The elusive 'Agent M' also seemed to have won him a good deal of respect. If a man could order someone able to hoodwink Sabrina?Obviously, Giovanni had more up his sleeves than they'd realised. They might be reassessing their stances and loyalty.Giovanni would have to make sure to solidify any that found themselves wavering.He stood and nodded to the Indigo board of Executives— as he'd begun to call them to himself—before sauntering out, his cigar held in two fingers. The doors swung open at his approach without a sign from him, and he held in a chuckle as some of the executives blanched.Agent M had been listening, after all, and was ready for this little power play.Now, for the next move. Giovanni marched through his base towards a distant wing. Here he didn't bother with theatrics he placed his hand against a scanner and was buzzed in a moment later. He stepped out of a cold metallic former military base— one that no authority figures ever learned about— and into a plush home. He kicked off his shoes and walked into the loungeroom, eyeing the dark emitters that were intact on the walls.When he reached the lounge, he sank back into the chair. He then raised a remote and toggled the screen to display one of the safehouses.The screen blinked on to reveal Will sitting hunched over on himself."— couldn't they have given me more support? I just needed a little push to finish it!" Will was saying."Will, they gave you lots of opportunities," The Madam said as she placed a pokeball on a receptacle that led to a computer. Giovanni was pleased to see it wink away. Bill's invention might still be debated in the League but Giovanni knew a useful tool when he saw one."If they had thumbed the scales too much, it would be obvious that you had outside interference. As it is, Brock and Sabrina will be highly suspicious."He'd consider digitising most of the pokemon they stole, if it wasn't for the issues of sales, orhampering their ability to call out a roster of powerful pokemon at short notice."I'll do better! I can't believe that… that! Aberration was able to fight back like that!" Will growled."He is rather strong, isn't he?" Madam said as she sat next to Will, feigning interest in the idea of Brock. Giovanni grimaced. It was bad enough he knew how this exchange his mother was having with Will would end, let alone the idea of that ever playing out.Still, she had her wiles and Will didn't even realise how the Madam was wrapping her coils around him.It paid to watch her work occasionally. A pokemon sauntered into view and Will perked up.Giovanni rolled his eyes as the boy's attention flickered to the blue haired Gardevoir.The pokemon wasn't just a pretty showpiece, as some liked to think of it. It seemed the Madam was going in for the kill as she leaned in, her pokemon depositing some tea that wouldn't be drunk until later, before sitting itself down on Will's opposite side."What you need to do, Will, is show the world just how good a trainer you are," the Madam said even as Will flicked his eyes from woman to pokemon.Giovanni snorted and clicked the remote. He had seen enough. The Madam would continue to support Will and when he was prominent enough bring him back into the fold, with Team Rocket ready to get more out of the boy.It would be telling if she decided not to bring the boy back in and instead tried to have him challenge Blaine or Giovanni himself. If she did that, he'd have to destroy the boy.But he doubted it would get that far. The boy would probably fight until Erika, and then make another plea for their support.In the meantime, Giovanni could shift his attention to other projects that were worth his time.Saul yawned as he settled down for dinner with his wife. "Looks nice dear," he said while giving her a smile."Hmm," she said as she read a magazine to the side. Saul rolled his eyes and raised his fork and knife, only to pause when Sabrina teleported into the corner they'd set up for her."Sabrina?" Saul said before shaking off the surprise. "I thought you'd be staying with Brock tonight?""You saw the match then?" she said her voice shifting into her monotone.Saul swallowed. "Ah, yes, that. It wasn't very clean. Is Brock alright?""He is castigating himself unfairly. He also used too much aura and has fallen asleep," she said. She flicked her hair. "I will wake him up when it is time for dinner and then put him back to bed."Saul twitched in his mind, unable to not see how that might play out. For all their estrangement, he didn't like the idea of his daughter with a boy. Sabrina raised an eyebrow at him and he shifted his attention to his dinner. It wasn't like he could stop her anyway.Sandrah lowered her magazine. "Is something the matter Sabrina?" she said causing Saul to realise that yes, he'd missed the obvious. Sabrina was here instead of being with Brock, looking over him.Sabrina shifted and looked to the side. Saul blinked, recognising that she looked embarrassed but unable to reconcile it with his grown-up daughter. It had been years since she'd shown emotions like that! She was usually unashamed of most things."I…" she started, only to pause as a long atrophied parental instinct in Saul made him stand and wrap and arm around his daughter."Hey, it's alright. How about you sit down and tell us about what's bugging you."Sabrina shot him a flat look and Saul only realised he'd accidentally told a joke. Bugging a psychic. Heh, he'd have to remember that one.She sighed and accepted the seat. "I… wasn't good enough. Will cheated… or rather someone else cheated for Will but.. They were better than me. I barely detected them; their skill with manipulating psychic energy was… I couldn't tell where the pokemon's energy began and where the other person's began.""You're sure it wasn't Will?" Saul said.Sabrina nodded. "His use of psychic energy is rather crude. I also think he would not be able to stop himself from showing off if he was more skilled than he is. No, it was someone else."Saul frowned. That was worrying. Someone better than Sabrina? It had been scary enough dealing with Sabrina. If someone was going around interfering in high profile matches…"Are we sure it was a person?" Sandrah said.That caused both Sabrina and Saul to blink and Sabrina to inhale sharply. "There was a pokemon that fought Moltres when we were in the Silver mountains… it was psychic and extremely powerful."Sabrina frowned before chewing her lip. Saul shared a look with Sandrah. Sabrina was emoting a lot today. Eventually, Sabrina nodded to herself and swallowed. "I… I need to be better if I want to have a chance at stopping it from acting again."She turned and bowed her head to Saul. "Can you help me get stronger?"Saul blinked in surprise. If Sabrina had done this years ago, he'd have denied her. But now? She was much better, and more importantly, he knew she wasn't just doing this for strength but rather for others."Sure thing kiddo! I'll look through the archives and dig up some tricks you can start working on."Sabrina flicked her eyes to the side. "I got into those years ago," she confessed, causing Saul to blink.Oh.His worst nightmare back then had played out, but she'd never acted on it. Oh, that was… good?"I'll… talk with some other Psychic types. I'll find something!" he said as Sandrah nodded at him.His wife nodded along before smiling at Sabrina. "Your father will handle that but perhaps you should go back to your boyfriend?""I will.Thank you, mother, father," Sabrina said, giving them both small smiles. She then teleported out.Saul huffed. "Why'd you tell her to do that?"Sandrah rolled her eyes and lifted her magazine up. "Your dinner is getting cold dear," she said.Saul grumbled in annoyance into his meal.Clefairy glowered at his fists. Chansey tsked at him as she worked."I need to get stronger," he said."Please, you're throwing yourself around too much. You end up in this medical bay more than any other pokemon," said Chansey dismissively, her hand stopped glowing and she walked off.Clefairy perked up, only to stiffen as his body protested the movement. "I don't feel fully healed?"Chansey sat on a swivel chair and slapped a poster that had to be new, off to the side. Clefairy eyed it. "I don't read human."Chansey huffed. "It says I'm not healing you again today," she said waspishly.Clefairy glowered at her ineffectively. When she raised a cup of soda to slurp at, to show how much she was unaffected by his ire, he huffed. "I could have helped out with that fight today if I'd been stronger." In his heart of hearts, the one Bertha always talked about her magic powers coming from, he knew he was right."Arrogance," rumbled a deep voice.Clefairy stiffened, remembering that he wasn't the only pokemon in the medical bay right now. He turned and found the pokemon that had fought laid out on various beds. He noted they were resting with cushions under them and they had carts of healing potions next to each of them.On the closest bed, laying on his stomach, Titan rested with a single eye watching Clefairy."What do you mean?" Clefiary asked."It is arrogance to assume that you alone could have changed the course of a battle. A battle is a larger event. Brock must bear much of the responsibility as our trainer, but even he isn't the only one who decided the outcome of the fight. It comes in many decisive moments.""Moments like when you went down, Tide!" croaked Shrek the Swampert from his bed.Clefairy leaned to the side to find Tide the Lapras with his head in the corner occasionally bumping it.Tide shot Shrek an annoyed look. "I'd like you to go years with a harem and then try not getting worked up after a dry spell!"Shrek croaked a laugh, but Titan raised his head. "That's enough, Shrek; Tide is not incorrect." Shrek lowered his head, and Tide shot him a victorious look, only for Titan to keep talking. "But Tide isn't going to live this down for a while."With both pokemon quiet, Titan turned his attention back to Clefairy. "You will be a strong part of the team in the future, but don't try and rush yourself too much like you have been. Brock will help you reach your full potential. Brock has a method that might take months, but in the past it took years. It has been something he has developed. Right now, you only have a limited idea of what that entails. I myself am not sure if I have reached my peak yet, with how Brock sometimes talks."Clefairy gazed in awe. Titan could get stronger? Wow, their trainer was amazing.Clefiary fidgetted on the bed. "I jus… I know I'm close to being able to help out."Titan inspected Clefairy. "You have come a long way, I and the others have noticed. You are an inspiration to us." Clefairy blushed at the praise. Titan merely nodded. "Don't begrudge yourself the time. You can go the distance.""I will! I will go the distance!" shouted Clefairy.Titan nodded his head and made a show of looking around at the other pokemon in the medical bay with them. "We will all be right there with you," he said, causing the other pokemon to perk up.Titan lowered his head. "But for now we must rest and recover our strength; this is not a weakness as it allows us to dream of the heights we will reach."Clefairy grinned and laid down, all too able to imagine himself soaring high. When he awoke, he just knew he'd be ready to grow stronger.He didn't notice Chansey moving up to him and healing him properly as he slept.In a secluded hospital wing, a woman's hand twitched once. It would have been missed if the woman sitting beside her hadn't been watching the slumbering woman.She stiffened. "A-agatha?" said Karen, sitting up. Her eyes searched for even a hint of further movement. She considered calling for the nurse to check on Agatha, only to pause."You awake, you shitty old hag?" she said firmly.Agatha didn't even twitch. Karen frowned. Then she eyed the television she'd been using to dull the boredom of her visits. She turned the television to a music channel and cranked up the volume as loud as it would go."—ichu, Nidoqueen, Bellsprout, Starmie!"Whoo, we're at the halfway point. Dooing great so far!""WE? What's this 'we' stuff? I'm—""Turn off that garbage!" growled Agatha, causing Karen to grin."Ha! I knew you were faking it, you old hag!" she said, pouring a glass of water and handing it to Agatha.When Agatha cracked open a red eye and glared at her and then at the television, Karen cut the noise to the obnoxious 'Pokemon Rap' that some clown had put together. Wherever he got the idea of one hundred and fifty, Karen had no idea, but it was catchy, and dumb kids liked it, so it was on the music charts, and therefore perfect to tweak an old woman's nose with.A nurse was buzzed, and one promptly bustled in to run some observations and check over the old woman. She collected some answers from Agatha on how she felt and such, that Karen ignored. When the old woman ordered some food, Karen knew she was feeling better."So, I get injured and you drop everything to watch over me like some chick that can't leave the nest?" Agatha said eyeing the mess of sheets that Karen had used as a bed."T-tha!" She stammered, only to scowl. "I was just waiting for you to die so then I could go hunt all the closest Gastly!""Ho, that's rich! Do you have any idea what that sounds like? You admit to needing me to help you out for the rest of your life!? Grow up brat!""Shitty Hag!" snarled Karen."Naive brat!" snapped Agatha back.The two women locked eyes, and with anyone else, a pokemon battle might have broken out. Instead, they both relaxed a little and looked away, smiles on their faces.Agatha yawned and leaned back into her pillow. Karen bustled around and nudged the older woman to drink some more water, and when her meal arrived, she cut it up so the old woman wouldn't choke on it.When the water and food were done, Agatha sighed. "Alright, that's enough rest for a wicked soul like me."She levelled a look at Karen. "Tell me what's been going on since I fought with that pokemon, granddaughter!"

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