I had a little bit of time before the press conference, so I assembled the… Well, I couldn't really call them my A team as Dennis and Rocko were both on leave while Forrest was on his journey.
I tilted my head and considered the room. I'd been able to get Rachel, Yolanda, Missy, Bethany— the old reception lady—, Lawrence, and Stephen. They weren't the people who would serve this discussion best, perhaps, but they had their strong points that I'm sure they'd bring to the table.Oh, who am I kidding? This was very slapdash.I coughed. "Alright gang, I called you here because there's going to be a press conference in an hour, and while there's going to be some talking points about the match, I pretty much know what I'm going to talk about for the most part." Rachel and Lawrence shared a look; both of them looked nervous for some reason."So what are we here for?" Yolanda asked.I raised a hand. "Bouncing an idea off mostly and also some impromptu research," I waved a hand at the computers we had. Then I raised a hand to forestall any further comments. "What I want to do is see how good an idea it would be to advance up the Ace rankings."That got a few whistles of surprise. Yolanda perked up. "That's a great idea!" she said.I shot her a pleased look while the others looked thoughtful. I coughed. "Now, that being said, I'd need to start from the basics. My own ranking."I brought up a computer that projected the image of the screen onto the wall with my trainer ranking. "Sixty-second?" I said. I tilted my head."Wasn't it higher the other day?" said Yolanda, mirroring my own thoughts.Missy coughed. "While Brock faces lots of challengers, they're not all Ace challenges that are determined by a points system. Now one of the issues is that the more you fight, the more you gain points. The top tier ace trainers also have their for and against rankings taken into account but every month a negative of a sort is applied that forces trainers to continually be fighting and performing."Missy walked up and tapped on another icon on the profile page to display a graph. Sure enough, a drop in my ranking did occur when the month ticked over."Huh, I didn't know about that," I said casually."It's something that you probably wouldn't encounter much of. It's crazy how high you got from just people challenging you to test themselves against a trainer that beat Lance," she said, pointing at the highest point.Yolanda chewed her lip. "Will… he doesn't really need to challenge you again… or any of the Gyms, does he?"I grimaced. "No, but there is a certain prestige associated with it. While most of us aren't ranked on the Ace leaderboard, we are acknowledged as some of the most powerful trainers around."Yolanda waved a hand. "What is the lowest rank he needs to reach to be able to challenge for an Elite Four position?"Missy hummed in thought. "Top ten, at least, and then he can attend an invitational midseason tournament where the prize is a lot of money or a shot at the Elite Four. Otherwise, he needs to attain the number one position by the end of the circuit for his next shot. Then an end-of-season tournament will occur between the top twenty trainers with a larger prize pool as well as a right of challenge."Yolanda frowned. "So… the winner from the mid-season tournament, the end of season number one, the winner of the end of year circuit, the end of year Ace circuit, and the Gym Leaders… Why aren't there more challengers against the Elite Four?" Yolanda said with a tilt of her head.Missy hummed. "A lot of Ace trainers make good money once they make the top thirty," At Yolanda's confused look Missy elaborated. "It's enough to retire after a year or two from sponsorship deals good money. For them, it would be worse to take on a position as an Elite Four member financially, and it is a lot more stressful with having to be part of the government."Missy rubbed her chin. "That being said, I have spoken with a number of Ace trainers, and there is a stipulation that if they make it to the Elite Four, they get a lot of money. Usually, there are… like two or three attempts a year?""I still would have thought that there would have been more changes in the Elite Four," Yolanda said.Stephen coughed. "I think living with Brock has somewhat skewed your perception of strength."I shot him a look, and Stephen shrugged. "You have a solid pokemon team, and I think your Ace ranking isn't reflective of your strength.""Hmmm," I said, unsure what to say about that. "Well we've gotten off-topic; I think it would be worth it to advance up the rankings. I don't want Will to have any choice but to have a rematch with me through social pressure or a tournament. That midseason tournament is perfect. Can I make the top ten in the next two months?"Missy rubbed her chin. "I think it's doable. You can start facing some stronger trainers. I think once you reach the top thirty, you'll need to be careful.""And what about the top ten?"Missy sucked on her teeth. "In reality, the top five is the position you want. The positions of sixth through ten change hands a lot as they are constantly challenged or challenging above them. You could return to fighting one or two matches a week and then ramp up to two or three in the month leading up to it,and I think you'd make it.""Top five, hmmm? Who are they currently?"Missy tapped on the computer and brought up a list of names.Missy brought up a profile and I blinked when a masked visage stared out from the screen. The mask was that of an angry Noctowl.Missy coughed. "The fifth position is a trainer that has always been a masked…" Missy trailed off as the section next to the name was clearly visible."Walker?" I tilted my head to the side. Why was that name familiar?Missy opened up her own transceiver and loaded up the profile. "Huh," she said eloquently.I raised an eyebrow. "What's up?"She turned her transceiver around to show that her account didn't list the fifth position's name. They were merely listed as Masked Owl. I blinked and looked at my computer. My computer was linked to my Gym and potentially my Guardian information network. I… was pretty sure I had disconnected that but… no this must have been a Gym level information setting that was allowing me to see Masked Owl's name."Oh," I said, realising that without meaning to, I'd accidentally unmasked an apparent celebrity and high-ranking Ace trainer to the room. I flicked a glance over the room. No one seemed to have made the connection just yet as to why a man named Walker might be interested in rising up the ranks of the Ace standings.Bethany adjusted her glasses and stared at the projected image. "Isn't that Shafner's boy?"With that, the pokepenny dropped. Lawrence hissed in surprise. "That's the former leader of the Violet City gym!"Yolanda gasped. "That's Falkner's dad?!" she said.I grimaced. "Whoops! So I guess I can expect a lot of Flying types from him then?" I said, deciding to ignore the accidental reveal. It honestly wasn't too crazy when you thought about it.A disgruntled and shamed former Gym Leader, son of the former Elite Four, dons a mask and rises through the ranks. Eventually, he earns the right to challenge the Elite Four, which he takes. Then with his victory, he reveals himself.Much drama, very wow.I didn't care.I'd check later if it was my Gym Leader account or my Guardian's intelligence that granted me the reveal. One of them implied that Falkner, and indeed most of the higher-ranked League officials, might know what Walker was doing, while the other might mean something else.Regardless, it wasn't what I was here for.… I might smack him around if I encountered him.For Falkner's sake, of course. I wasn't going to project because of how Flint and Walker's situations were similar. Yup, for Falkner's sake!"So! Moving on!" I said, causing the rest of the room to gape at me.Stephen shot to his feet. "You can't just drop knowledge like that on us and not expect us to talk about it!""I can and I will! This is a dictatorship!" I said, loading up the Ace in the Fourth position.A picture clicked into place, and I blinked as a ridiculously young trainer was revealed. I frowned as I read the kid's biography."Carr, He was runner-up for his circuit run three years ago. He went pro and has been clawing his way up the ranks as the youngest in the top ten in years." I tilted my head. "This kid is sixteen? He looks like he's ten!" I said, indicating the picture that was smirking in a manner that only a child could manage.Stephen shrugged. "Might just be a late bloomer or not look his age?"I huffed and inspected the kid… the young man's pokemon team. Steelix, Skarmory, Forretress, Scizor, Aggron, Magneton, Blastoise, Golem, Sudowoodo, Arbok, Weezing, and Raticate. Interesting. I looked for anything else note-worthy about him, but apart from his age… and childish appearance, he otherwise seemed to be a strong trainer."Corey, third-ranked on the Ace circuit currently," I said, deciding to keep moving. I clicked on his profile, and his image and information popped up.Something about this young man gave me pause. His face looked familiar to me for some reason. I looked at his pokemon team and found that he had a Pidgeot, Scyther, Hitmonlee, Venusaur, Sandslash, Tauros, Raichu, Fearow, Poliwrath, and a Rhyhorn as some of the pokemon he had used so far. Something about this kid… I couldn't put my finger on why I thought I knew this guy.I shook it off and looked at the next trainer.Number two was a young woman by the name of Valerie from Ecruteak City. Her pokemon team was listed as a Mr Mime, Mawhile, Clefable, Azumarill, Wigglytuff, Granbull, Persian, Lickitung, Furret, Smeargle, Farfetch'd, Dodrio, and Pidgeot."Lots of Fairy and Normal-typed pokemon," I said aloud as reviewed her pokemon. "She'd have a lot of pokemon with good versatility, however." Yolanda agreed with a nod while Stephen shifted in his seat."That typing is still up for debate, Brock," he said, like someone pointing out a technicality.I rolled my eyes only to find a note on Valerie's file. "She's sponsored by Samurai Furret, the television show?" I said."Oh! She is too! It says that the Furret they use for inspiration is her pokemon!" Yolanda said with a laugh.I chuckled, amused at how things were going, but I made a note that if I ever met Valerie, I would ask her for a picture with Furret. My family would love it."Number one!" I said, looking to quickly wrap things up.I clicked on the link, only to be surprised when a man appeared with numerous brands and logos appeared. His profile was littered with links to products and there was an in-built advertising segment."Bruce… of Blackthorn City," I said as a suspicion formed in my mind. I scrolled down to his pokemon team and hummed. Charizard, Gyrados, Altaria, Ampharos, Machamp, Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, Pidgeot, Dodrio, Vileplume, Starmie, Lapras, and a Kirlia were all listed as part of his team.His profile had a small bio on it. "A cousin of the current Champion and the Leader of the Blackthorn Gym, Bruce stands as another standout member of the Blackthorn clan. One who has travelled far and wide. Some of his pokemon have been considered contentious, but he is considered the strongest trainer beneath the Elite Four on the Ace circuit."I called Tauros shit.This had to be something the Blackthorn clan had set up to help protect Lance from getting challenged from trainers that rose up the Ace circuit."How many of the challenges that The Elite Four have faced in the last few years have been this guy?" I asked."About three? Recently, he's waived his right to challenge, just accepting the money," Missy said.I hummed. "Right. Well, good for him," I said. If Lance and the Blackthorn wanted to play things that way, they were welcome to it. In the end, it might just be another method that could be used to deny Will the opportunity to challenge for an Elite Four position.I did a quick search for Karen and was pleased to find her currently sitting in ninth place in the Ace standings. A search for Will revealed him to be thirty-first. With a number of matches already lined up for him in the coming week.With my curiosity quenched for now, I turned my attention to the list of trainers ahead of me on the standings. "Alright, I need to challenge some people. I have an idea of who I want to challenge first but any other suggestions?"Bethany surprisingly spoke up first. "Oh, Brock, you should challenge young Gertrude Goody! I know her grandmother, and she says the dear is a skilled trainer, but she needs some more attention brought her way!"I blinked, unsure what to make of the recommendation to go and beat a person Bethany was family friends with? I swear, only in a pokemon world… I coughed. "I'll take that under advisement, thanks.""Alright, so I have an idea of who I want to challenge first. Do we have any space in the schedule?" I said toggling the Gym's schedule. I had a break on Thursday. I quickly blocked it out for the Ace match I had planned. I then went into the coming weeks and blocked out two or three-time slots more. If I was going to do this, I needed to be proactive.When that was done, I straightened up. "Alright, that will do for today. Bianca, it might be a good idea if you stick around; I have someone coming into the Gym later on that I'd like you to talk with." I glanced at my transceiver and saw that it was time for the press conference."Time for me to go throw some chum in the water for the Sharpedo."Rachel shot upright. "Right! Brock, before you go in there I compiled a list of questions you should look over!" She handed me a clipboard, and I hummed as I glanced over the list. She'd also penned in some responses, ranging from no comment to…"If they ask, do I think Will cheated?" I read out loud glancing from the clipboard to Rachel. "I should say, anything from is the sky blue? Would you trust your child with a Kangaskhan? To a flat stare down before asking if that was an actual question."I shot Rachel an amused look as the rest of the room tittered in amusement.Lawrence coughed. "With what Lance asked from us, perhaps it might be best to skirt around that."I hummed and tapped the clipboard. "No, I don't think that is actually the right option. Will… he has to know that those moves and strategies would have gotten to me. I think I shouldn't curb my response too much. I won't say anything more aside from hoping that League officials consider this in the future and pay close attention to complaints of this sort of behaviour."I looked back over the list of questions. "Hmmmm responses to Gawain… how do I think I could have prepared for this match better? Where did I fail? What was my favourite part of the match…" I let a small smirk play out as I remembered Titan whipping that Alakazam like a ragdoll.I flicked over the rest of the notes and grunted before handing it back. "Right, thanks for that. Let'—" I started to move off, only for my transceiver to call with a number that identified itself as Silph Co. I frowned. What did they want? I rejected the call and waved a hand to indicate we should move along, as I departed, I turned back to the room to find Yolanda, Missy, Stephen, and A.J. standing around the whiteboard, writing down trainers that I could challenge in future."Don't stick around too long, everyone!" I said to them; they waved back, far too absorbed in their project of 'optimising a run' for me to take a top ten position in the Ace circuit. I noticed that Yolanda seemed to be very invested in it, which made me pause and observe her before I was nudged by Rachel to keep moving.We walked to the arena, where the stands on one side were almost filled with technicians, reporters, cameramen, and various other people setting up for the press conference. When I entered, people shot to their feet, only for me to wave them down.I marched to the setup table, which had a rolled-out banner wall featuring the boulder badge behind me. As I sat down, Rachel moved to stand in front of me, her back to the cameras. She fussed over me for a little bit before nodding. She then reached into her bag and deposited a small bottle of moo moo milk in front of me. I chuckled and nodded while she grinned."She's good people!" she said with a fake accent.I just shook my head. "I know that," I said, not at all bothered by the show of support for a local business.I chuckled and took in the stands. Instead of indicating I was ready, I set up the table to my liking and allowed myself to become comfortable. My transceiver buzzed again, with Silph Co being shown as the caller ID. I again hung up on them. Then I nodded to the crowd at large while reaching out and popping the cap on the milk bottle. I took a quick sip and sighed contentedly."Ah, that was good. Alright, sorry for the delay on this press conference, but I had to see to my pokemon yesterday, and after the battle, I needed some time to gather my thoughts. I understand that yesterday's match wasn't what people expected from myself or Will, but it happened, and I think it brought a number of points to light that I'm sure you'd like my thoughts on."I waved a hand, and in doing so, I released a deluge of voices that broke through the reporter's restraint."Gym Leader Brock!" "Brock!" "Gym Leader!" "—you think that you could have—" "—allegations of—" "—underperforming?" "—advancing despite your demand for a rematch?"I raised a hand and shook my head while chuckling to myself. "Yeah, I didn't think that would work, but I decided to allow it anyway. Let's do it another way," I said before glancing down at the entirely byzantine seating chart that had been placed before me."Let's start local Pewter radio; you're up!" I said.A man shot to his feet. "You revealed a new pokemon to the world with your Kleavor! How long have you had another ancient pokemon?""Gawain has been with us for a while now and has been a pokemon that I was building up to be part of my Elite pokemon team. He adds a wonderful set of abilities while being a solid performer, despite only having a handful of Ace battles to his name. I was pleasantly surprised when things worked out the way they did, Professors' Oak and Elm have already documented a number of his abilities and have some of the resident aides further recording observations about him. His reveal was something I always hoped to have occur soon and Will's announced specialty typing of Psychic pokemon made him an excellent first pick." I glanced down again."Kanto daily edition?" I said.This time, a woman shot to her feet. "Will used some questionable tactics; would you care to comment?"I hummed in thought. "Yes, I would, those tactics seem to be largely exploitative of existing gaps, and while they are within the rules, I can't say that they were in the spirit. I doubt that the people who wrote the rulers ever thought they would be used in the manner they were; I have in fact heard that a number of people consider the minute we already give trainers to return their pokemon as too long. Will's tactics yesterday add a new element to that debate.""Are you considering suing Will!?" shouted one reporter.I frowned before shaking my head. "I'm sorry but I'm not going to run the session like that, or else things will devolve into chaos and no one will get to talk," I said, deciding not to feed the troll, as some in my previous life would have said."Indigo Illusive?" I prompted."Yesterday, the President of the League suggested different formats such as best of three or best of five matches. What is your take on that?"I hummed. "I hadn't seen that comment from President Kruger, but it sounds like a novel way of avoiding off-matches that can have lasting impacts. I think best-of-one matches have their place and are certainly electrifying as they matter a lot, but there is also room for slower formats. I'm sure people would enjoy nothing less than for a trio of matches to play out. It would certainly change the way pokemon battles play out and the strategies that are required. I'd be interested in seeing such a format, perhaps in a tournament setting," I said."Do you think you'd do better!?" called out another voice.I sighed. "I'm going to have to ask the next person to shout out questions like that to please leave the press conference as it is disruptive and I'm not going to acknowledge that behaviour," I said channeling my rock energy to not snap the words out."Battlecast?" I said next.A woman stood and smiled. "I'm sorry, but this will be a two-parter if that's allowed?""I'm sure if you make it interesting, none of the other reporters will mind," I said, causing a chuckle to run through the crowd. I nodded and waved for her to continue."What is your take on the two self-proclaimed Elite Four contenders that have emerged and begun to challenge Gyms in the Indigo region at large? Karen has swept through Johto, while Will is now going to make his way through Kanto, it would appear."I rubbed my chin in thought. "Honestly, I think it's a good way to draw attention to a traditional advancement. Some of the gyms might be better challenges, but it's also a wonderful way of building your name and allowing a connection to the common trainer. People will share links with those who do it that way, as they can see that they have gone through the same rite. The difference becomes that the Ace circuit is very different compared to the starter circuit."The woman nodded her head. "In that regard, with this being an Ace challenge compared to a Gym challenge, there is no requirement for Will to fight you again. How does that make you feel?"I exhaled like a tauros through my nose. "Well….," I said, dragging the word out."First of all, I need to point out that Gym Challenges don't mean people have to keep challenging me, as by the end of the circuit, trainers only need eight badges from the gyms of Kanto or Johto to qualify for the end-of-year tournament. Most will typically camp out and continue to challenge, as there is an ongoing idea that not challenging a gym again is showing weakness by backing down."I raised a hand to allow that comment to sit for a moment. "That perception is not true, and with the number of trainers this year, there is an increased demand on trainers to be especially strategic in how much time they allow themselves. People who challenged and lost against me when the initial surge of trainers came in had to wait at least a month, which would have seriously delayed their progression if they'd stuck around. I think at the end of the day, you need to figure out how much it will cost you to stay around a gym, to backtrack, or to simply not challenge a gym. You can go for all or just enough badges with how things work; it all depends on what the trainer wants."I made a circling gesture. "That being said, you are correct. Will does not need to face me again."I once again allowed my words to hang in the air. No one spoke; they instead watched me, cameras and microphones poised to capture what I said next. They knew I wasn't going to leave it at that."That being said, I think I and much of Indigo would be missing out if I didn't demand a rematch from Will. He can call it what he wants—a tactical decision—not investing more time and energy into a battle that's already been fought, but I can't let that sit." I thumped a finger into the table to underline my point. "I am not happy with the result as it stands."I huffed. "I can't say that I came into that match as prepared as I would have liked considering the circumstances. I can't be happy with the way that Will advanced through the ranks while camping in the Gym, observing how I fought for weeks before lodging his challenge, only to then use the tactics he used. I can't be happy with a draw. I know I and my team can do better. I think on some level Will knows that as well, so he's going to back down from a fight."I crossed my fingers and smiled. "So I've decided to not leave it up to him. Starting today, I am going to make a concerted effort to rise up the Ace rankings so that I can attend the midseason tournament, where it may come down to another match." I allowed a dark smile to appear."To that end, I am going to throw down the following official Ace challenge to Gavin Glady: I saw what you've been saying, and I have time in my schedule. Now it comes down to whether or not you want to put up or shut up."I stared right into a camera as I said this, and for a long moment, no one spoke.I then chuckled. "Heh, sorry about that, got a bit intense there for a moment didn't it?" I said rubbing the back of my neck sheepishly. I glanced down only to sigh."PTN?" I said with some dread.A man stood up, and damn, that was yet another punchable face. He smirked down at me as if I'd already fallen for his trick question. "Two parter," he said before running a hand back through his greasy hair.I huffed and waved for him to continue. I noted he expected to get away with it rather than asking for permission."Do you think that you'll do better in a rematch? Will has already faced you and now knows some of your tricks, like with your 'Gawain'," he said with air quotes.I stared at him. "Yes, obviously I do," I said, deciding to give that a quick response.The man snorted at my comment, only to make a show of flicking over the page of his notepad."Are you going to be suing?" he said. His eyes drifted to the side. "I can only assume that's why you brought your lawyer along today?"Instantly, cameras swung to the side and locked onto Lawrence, who was standing next to Rachel. Lawrence merely inclined his head towards the crowd while Rachel waved merrily.I coughed. "Lawrence is my lawyer, yes, but he is also a good friend. He gives more than great legal advice; he also gives me advice on certain topics. I will be leaving the official investigation to the League, as Will's match did highlight a number of shortcomings that have previously not garnered public attention. Now they are in the public eye, and they are an eyesore, you could say."I started to look down for another person, only for the man to not sit. Rather, he huffed in annoyance. "That's not what I meant. What about Silph Co? I assume you purchased their pokeball and used them during your match? Their failures led to your pokemon not being able to be withdrawn, effectively costing you the match."I blinked. I hadn't expected that. I glanced down at my transceiver. Was that why Silph Co was trying to call me?I tilted my head in thought. "I think that's something I hadn't considered to any degree. I will have to say no comment for now."The man opened his mouth, only for his neighbour to grab him and drag him down. I nodded at the man, happy and yet slightly disappointed that they'd done so. I would have kicked out the PTN reporter if they'd kept pushing.I rattled through a number of other reporters and made good progress before wrapping things up. I knew I'd tossed a Meowth into the Pidgey as I marched away because of how happily a number of the reporters were buzzing as they helped pack up.As I departed, Silph Co. once again called me.I waved Lawrence over and indicated the transceiver. He hummed in thought, running a hand through his mohawk. "Hmmmm, do you want to talk with them or do anything serious like made some noise over your pokeballs failing you?"I shook my head. "I don't want to make any noise over it… but I would like their insight into it."Lawrence nodded. "Them, or an Apricorn pokeball creator would be your best bet for understanding what was going on with Jynx," he said. "Let's see what they have to say?"I nodded and led him to my office while answering the call. "This is Gym Leader Brock," I said neutrally.On the screen, the clean-shaven face of a middle-aged man appeared. He was wearing a suit and appeared to be sitting in a high-rise office. "Ah! Gym Leader! I've been trying to get hold of you for a while. I understand you needed some time to look at your pokemon after yesterday's… fiasco."I raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't call it that," I said pointedly. Thing is… As Sabrina would tell me, while not ideal, it could have been much worse."Well for you, certainly not… but for us… well…" He trailed off and gestured expansively with his hands.Lawrence coughed pointedly and mouthed 'Who is this?'I coughed, realising I hadn't gotten a name. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." Lawrence nodded at me, and I didn't meet his gaze. This was the Timothy situation all over again."Oh! My apologies! I'm so used to moving in the business world where everyone knows everyone!" He said like that explained anything."Ah, I see," I said, pretending I had any idea what that meant.He coughed into a fist. "I am Howard Bronze, Vice President of Marketing!" he said officiously.I nodded. "Right," I said slowly as Lawrence quickly looked up the man on his own transciever. He found a profile on the Silph Co website that highlighted the man. I nodded, realising that Lawrence was doing this to vet the man as an imposter, something I hadn't considered. I gave him a nod and directed my attention towards Howard. "So, what are you reaching out to me for?"Howard smiled. "Well, we were hoping to trade out your… damaged pokeballs for some rather nicer models. We were thinking of giving you six Luxury balls for the hassle."I blinked. That seemed… Well, it was nice, but at the same time, I felt odd about this. I glanced at Lawrence and he pointed frantically at the mute button. "I'm just going to mute you for a moment, something's come up on my end."I did so and looked at Lawrence.Straight away, he shot his arms into an X. "Do not, and I repeat! Do not accept that deal! That is a pittance they are offering you, and it is frankly insulting."I tilted my head. "I thought something was weird, but walk me through it?"Lawrence chuckled. "They don't want to trade you out of two broken pokeballs for six Luxury balls. That's how they're presenting the deal," he said, making gestures with his hands. "What they want is the ability to say that they handled an issue of publicity with their product breaking down. They will have it handled. For the average trainer, six luxury balls are a status symbol, and while nice to have, they are not what Silph Co should be paying."I rubbed my chin. "They will also be looking into the pokeballs to see how they broke, so this is a research opportunity for them," I said.Lawrence snapped his fingers. "That! Yes! That right there!" he said.I nodded. "So what should I say?"Lawrence rolled his hand about. "Oh make a ridiculous demand and make Howard go back to the drawing board. Let them know you understand that what you have is valuable to them. We can ask for something else." Lawrence scratched his head. "Just need to work out what that will be really."I nodded and pursed my lips. Something Silph Co could provide for me. Something ridiculous… Well, only one thing came to mind.I unmuted Howard, and his blurred-out image returned. "Howard, are you still there?" I said.Howard perked up and nodded. He'd gained a cup of tea in the span of time we'd been talking. He had the air of a man who was about to conclude a bit of business in a satisfactory manner."Yes, so how about it? Six Luxury ball—""I was actually interested in another product you've been working on.""Oh?" Howard said, lowering his teacup.I nodded and gave him my most innocent smile. "Yeah! I think I'd like to trade them for a Masterball," I said.Howard froze, and I watched as sweat broke out over his forehead. If I'd waited long enough, he might have taken a sip of tea, and then I'd have gotten a spittake. Oh well, missed opportunities."You want… the Masterball?" he said, the words rasping as they emerged from his mouth.I nodded. "Yup! I think that's a fair deal, " I said. Lawrence shot me a thumbs up while grinning wolfishly.Howard drew out a handkerchief and dabbed at his head. "Well, that is… I'm not sure that is entirely fair."I smiled. "I disagree, after all, your product failed me in a crucial period." I shook my head. "I'll need to ask around for what that actually means. It certainly makes me less confident in your product, though," I said reasonably. I made sure to add an inflection to certain words.Howard swallowed and finished wiping the sweat off his forehead. "I see, I will need to talk to the CEO. I'll get back to you soon!" he said.I nodded amicably and signed off.Lawrence gave me a thumbs up. "Perfect! I had heard something about a supposed Masterball but I thought those were just rumours."I hummed. "You don't think I was being too mean?"Lawrence snorted. "Oh please he just tried to treat you like an idiot. You just made him stand up and treat you seriously. You'll get a proper offer next time they talk to you."I nodded and rubbed my chin. "Toss me some ideas?" I asked.He nodded before stretching out. "Oh, for sure, we shouldn't hear from them for a few more days, so I'll email you my thoughts. Otherwise, I think that'll about do it for me today! Unless you need something else?"When I shook my head, he clapped me on the shoulder. "Later Brock!" he said.I watched him go while tossing around the idea of Silph Co. in my mind. According to the games, they'd be a target for Team Rocket. If I could steal their prize… Hmmmm Will might have cheated me out of a win, but he was definitely giving me options I wouldn't have considered or had before.A ping on my transceiver had me glancing down to see a message from 'Old Jenny'.Coming in hot! It read. It took a moment for me to realise that meant I needed to move quickly to meet her. I jogged to the front.Today was certainly a lot more eventful than I'd thought it would be when I woke up.
139
I barely made it out the front of the Gym to meet Jenny. I arrived in time to see a blur racing across the landscape towards my gym that quickly closed in on me.Instincts made me reach for a pokeball and release Shin. He lifted his head, saw the oncoming threat, and raised his blades, a shine appearing on him as he performed Rock Polish without prompting.A moment later the speeding blur resolved itself into an Arcanine that eased their pace into a trot, allowing the dust to billow in before losing its impetus. It fell away, and the Arcanine approached. It eyed me and my Kabutops before its tongue lolled out, and they barked happily."Alright, alright, settle down; you had your chance to run," said a voice from slightly behind the Arcanine. It turned and allowed me to spot a woman locked into a saddle. Her hair was tucked under a cap, and her eyes were covered with aviator goggles. She swept both off and shook out blue hair that I was more than familiar with."Offi… Sorry!" I said as instinct made me address her as Officer Jenny. She shot me a sardonic look."It's fine. I'm used to it." She patted her Arcanine. "Dismount."Her Arcanine lay down and craned his neck around to watch Jenny as she unlaced the saddle that kept her legs locked in. When that was done Jenny reached into a saddlepack and drew out a metal frame that she flicked in a practised manner that unfolded until it formed a wheelchair. Arcanine leaned his head around slightly further and Jenny supported herself into the chair. She received a lick without comment and then tapped her pokemon. Only then did she turn her attention to me."Gym Leader Brock! As you know, I'm former Officer Jenny!" She brushed a loose lock of hair and smiled up at me from her wheelchair. "You can call me Jennifer to help make it easier on you, though. Does that sound fair?"I rubbed the back of my head. "Sorry, and yes." I blinked as I realised I hadn't even offered to help her dismount. "I'm sorry, I should have offered to help you down." Erika would not be happy with me. Damn! I keep forgetting to ask her to tutor me on manners.Jenny— No. Jennifer, chuckled. "I actually preferred it." Her eyes flicked to the Gym. "I hadn't heard that your Gym was wheelchair accessible.""I asked it to be one of the features when I had the Gym designed," I said in an offhand manner. I walked to the front, and the door slid open for me. Jennifer nodded in approval."Arcanine, follow boy!" she said as she wheeled forward.I gave the large fire pokemon a look over and hummed to myself. "Impressive pokemon. He was certainly fast.""It's one of Arcanine's best traits, but my boy has got fast feet along with having a serious bite to him." Arcanine barked happily at this. Jennifer wheeled herself forward with a flick of her arms. "So, you want all of the pups? You expecting some serious problems?"I wavered my hand in a so-so gesture. "I want some more security on site, but I also have another idea that would require your assistance as a professional breeder.""I only breed Growlithe," she said with a raised brow."That makes it even better." I kept walking and led her out the back towards my reserve, where my pokemon mostly resided. When I reached the back door, I opened it and the door swung back before locking in place, allowing Jennifer easy access. She nodded happily as she wheeled past me, and then she turned her gaze upon the reserve."Huh, nice set up; got some rocky terrain, lots of tunnels for your Aron, Geodude, Lairon, and Onix. Hmmm waterways? Oh- Corsola and that's the rare ancient type I've heard so much about?" she gestured to the Lileep that were busy sunning themselves near the water.I nodded. "That's some of them," I said. She shot me a sharp look at that before humming."Word on the street is they got priced pretty high?" she said probingly."Oh, yeah. That. They went for a few million when I did the charity auction. Steven Stone and Erika got into a bidding war over them." Jennifer hissed in a breath, but I waved a hand. "Don't worry, your puppies aren't the only security that I have. The other pokemon are all trained on defending this area." I whistled, and a trio of Onix shot up out of specific tunnels. They turned like missile turrets, looking for threats, while other pokemon hustled into other tunnels.Geodudes and Graveler's rolled out. From atop the plateau, a number of my pokemon rose up, with Quirrina starting to glow as he drew in sunlight.I blew another whistle, and they all relaxed. I heard more than a few pokemon clicking their tongues in disappointment as they returned to what they were doing. A few shot Jennifer and Arcanine hopeful looks, like they might suddenly turn rabid and need to be smacked around.Jennifer nodded slowly. "Oh, that's good… You…" She gaped. "You have TWO TYRANITAR!?" she said in shock.I glanced up to find Titan stalking around the other side of the plateau, with Empress following him with a curious tilt of her head. She'd obviously seen the other pokemon reacting to my command, but as a pokemon that wasn't actually one of my pokemon, she wasn't aware what it meant."Ah, she's a rescue," I said, as if that explained it.Jennifer shot me a look. "A rescue is for a pidgey or a spearow that have injured a wing or a growlithe that people mistreat! Not a…" She waved a hand towards Empress.Empress approached and inspected Jennifer. Arcanine growled in warning when Empress got too close for his liking. Empress paused and inspected the fire type only to sniff and turn her head away dismissively as she walked off.I shrugged, more amused at the by play. "She's big, yeah, but she got hurt."The Empress, who'd heard my words, shot me a look before snorting at me. Her hot breath caused a few dust clouds to build up. I waved, not at all bothered by her posturing. She'd been hurting after having her nest destroyed. I knew that, and she knew it. She was just posing.Titan nodded to her and turned to me. "Ty?" he asked."We're beefing up our security," I said in reply. "Also, we're going to look into some new variants.""Variants?" said Jennifer with a tilt of her head. "I've heard that your Geodude line have been able to become divergent to have an electric-rock typing." She rubbed her chin. "You think that Growlithe has the potential to have something similar?"I nodded and waved as Bianca walked out of the cave system beneath the plateau. "Indeed, I'd like to set up a side project with you to work with our resident specialist, Bianca.""Hello?" Bianca said as she jogged up to me. She nodded to Jennifer. "Ah, Jennifer, nice to see you again."I blinked. "You know each other?"Jennifer nodded. "We've attended some conferences on breeding that Elm has set up for certain professionals. I've also read a few of her papers. I'm not sure I'm qualified to work with you on this," she said demurely.Bianca turned her attention to me. "Well, having not heard the proposal yet, I will not cast any judgments."I smiled and opened up my transceiver. "If you'll direct your attention to the following pictures, I would like to present a number of notable temples that all heavily feature a guard dog statue. Notice the body structure, the snout, and the size. There are also markings on all of these statues that are widely universal. Some of the more recent temples have even gone as far as to keep this pokemon as some of the main guard dog statue symbols."Bianca blinked. "Isn't that Raikou? The Legendary cat? The swirly mane and the stripped markings all match.""But the size, foot structure, and use of this pokemon as statues symbolising guards?" I shook my head. "The Temples might not realise it, but they've kept the same symbol over the years. You can see it quite clearly in the foot structure,along with the ears. Also, the size of a Raikou is much larger than a Growlithe. These statues are just the right size to match!"Jennifer eyed the images and compared them with a doubtful look. "It's… not the silliest idea I've ever heard of, but wouldn't hairstyles account for the difference in body shape? It's not unusual for a fluffy pokemon to be born that looks different from its own littermates.""Ah, but the temple pictures are taken from temples not just in the Indigo region, a sizeable landmass I might add, but also some pictures of ancient temples from now-lost continents." I raised a finger. "Continents that don't have Raikou on them." I highlighted the pictures, with the most prominent being the Sinnoh region which we still didn't have a connection with.That got both women to perk up with interest. Bianca gaped. "You got pictures of temples from before the war?! That! I'd never considered the implications of that!" She stared at the pictures avidly."You're right! There would have to be a more widespread pokemon that was ancestral and widespread for there to be so many similar statues popping up!" Bianca did a happy dance.Jennifer shot me an excited look, and for a moment her worry lines and age seemed to fall away, and I was looking at Officer Jenny grinning at me as she discussed Justice."So the puppies will be the starting population for the new variant of growlithe. Or rather, the old variant." She rubbed her chin. "The original Growlithe, if you will."I nodded. "Now, things are not like when I set up the electrical field for my Geodude to get used to. I have a lot more responsibilities, and there is a lot more attention being placed on me. What I propose is that I set up a small volcano for you—""Every girl's dream," sighed Bianca breathily.I stared at her, caught off guard. "I… don't think that's right? I—"Jennifer raised her hand and shook her head to cut me off. "No, she's right, Brock. All little girls want a volcano to call their own."I opened and shut my mouth before deciding to just leave that statement alone for later examination. I made a mental note that I would need to watch Cindy, Suzie, Tilly, and Yolanda to see if this was true."Right… Uhm anyway, I'll have an environment set up for them with the Slugma and Macargo.""I can get hold of some Magmar and a Flareon on loan from Professor Elm," Bianca said before hugging herself. "Oh! He's going to be so happy with me when I write this up!" Bianca turned to Jennifer. "As the supplier and a specialist breeder, I'll need to have you as a consultant and part of the study if you're interested.""Interested?! I'm absolutely on board for this!" Jennifer said, bouncing in her seat.I nodded to myself, very pleased with this turn of events. With one fell swoop, I'd set up the next breeding program for a powerful fire type to join my Gym that I knew would be successful, drawn Jennifer into my circle and gotten a small in with her, built up my Professor credentials, and increased the security for all of my family. I had no doubt that the kids would love to have a Growlithe attached to them —for security purposes.I'd need to talk to the school about that, but the veil of security would hide my true intentions of getting a rock-fire-typed Arcanine.I crossed my arms, very pleased with myself. Jennifer and Bianca traded ideas on what a proper study into creating a variant of the Growlithe line would entail before they eventually drew up a list. The twenty Growlithe puppies were all assigned, but Jennifer also spoke of trading for a few other Growlithe for more genetic diversity and validity in the study."I should be able to fund that for you," I said. Jennifer and Bianca smiled happily before deciding that they'd leave it there for today. Bianca headed back into the cave system to review my electrical setup, while Jennifer decided to wheel back into the Gym proper."Well, that wasn't how I was expecting this day to go," she said as she rolled along the hallway with my to my office.I hummed. "Yeah, you get days like that sometimes, don't you?" I said as I considered how my own day had developed.Jennifer chuckled. "I'm going to have a lot of free time on my hands with having all my puppies accounted for." She rolled a bit further with her arms working away at the wheels. "Oh, but this study is going to be so interesting to be a part of. You'll be seeing a lot of me, I think, even if Bianca doesn't need me too often as a consultant.""I think Bianca wouldn't mind having you accessible," I said offhandedly. "But this will free up a lot more free time, hey?"When she nodded, I chuckled and opened my office door. "How would you like something to fill your time?" I offered as I sat behind my desk after pushing the chair on the other side out of Jennifer's way. She wheeled up to the desk and tilted her head."You have another task for me?" she asked.I drew out the business card with her details that I had been given a while ago. "I wasn't given your information due to your credentials as a Growlithe breeder, but rather your work in the community.""Really?" she said sceptically.I nodded. "Yeah, believe it or not, you being a Growlithe breeder is a wonderful bonus but I wanted to talk to you mostly about what your thoughts are on the current political situation.""It's shit," she said without a moment's hesitation. "Jonathan is ponyta trading, but he's fobbing off lame ponyta or burning everything he's built up, in order to try and make a leap to a higher position. The policies he's set in place have made for a deck of cards, and we need more robustness set up with regard to the current administration staff. Too many of the departments report only to him and don't have their own heads of staff. There needs to be a level of autonomy with generalised tasks and responsibilities set up instead of the current setup."I blinked, unaware of even a fraction of this. "So, you're well aware of what's going on?" I said lamely.Jennifer tapped her wheelchair. "I might not get to the parties, but I'm still able to get around and pick up information. The policymakers all have known haunts as well as their own businesses. I don't have to work unless I want to, so that gives me a lot of time to dedicate to my puppies and to talking to people around the community." She brought her hands together. "Lots of people like to see puppies or will approach me when I'm running the dogs. Thanks to this I have contacts."She smirked. "Way more than people realise, I have a lot of contacts." She pointed a thumb at herself happily. "I've got a finger on the pulse of the city you could say!"I nodded; she had mentioned knowing what 'word on the street' was. I'd taken that to be a reference to her former career as a policewoman."How would you like to put that to use? I could make you my nominated representative for the Pewter City Gym? That be of interest to you?" I said, deciding to lay my cards on the table.She rubbed her chin. "Huh, this trip keeps getting more and more interesting. You got an idea of things you want me to do?""Mostly look after the Gym's interests, set up community support, increase local government integrity, and be champion for all things anti-corruption.""I can do that," she said with a nod. "You know a Gym representative can sit in on a lot of different legislative processes, right? I get the right to have a vote on some of them as well." She was sporting a rather fierce looking smile now. One that I was happy to point at others."That's why I need someone for this. I'm mostly here at the Gym, and in the past I assumed I didn't need it. Now I know better." I put out my hand. "Want to join the team?" I asked, feeling good about my decision after speaking with her.She took my hand with both of hers. "With this and my puppies getting a variant typing from you, I'm excited for what the future is going to bring!" she said happily.From there, I directed her to talk with Lawrence, as the one most aware of the legal practicalities we needed to consider. When I shot him a message he shot me a reply saying he'd have a contract for her with duties and responsibilities in my inbox by tomorrow morning along with a bill for today's work. I chuckled when he wrote a note about charging extra on weekends.He knew I was good for it.The rest of the afternoon passed with me making my way around the Gym and touching base with the various staff members, making sure they were doing alright. A few of them offered condolences to me for my draw, along with their outrage before talking up their favourite parts. I listened to them for a while before moving along.Greta seemed a bit down, but I sent her towards Bianca, promising a surprise with something new coming to the Gym. I almost called it a day. I thought for a second that I had touched base with everyone before remembering that I'd taken on another trainer to teach. I searched around for A.J. and found him in the trainer's common room."Die die! Die! Go Donkey Kong!" he screamed at the screen.I watched as he tried to unleash a charged-up smash against Professor Oak's far too-nimble Starfox. "RAgh!" he screamed as his hit missed only to get blasted back with Oak's follow-up move. "How?!" he howled as he lost his last life."You're trying to rely on all-or-nothing abilities too much. You like unleashing devastating hits but they are highly telegraphed and not defended against. You need to set up your moment if you want to stick with that strategy," Oak said with a lecturing tone. "Now pick another fighter and try again.""Come on Samus! He's strong!" said A.J. cluelessly.I snorted at his mistake, alerting A.J. and Oak to my presence.Oak perked up. "Ah! Brock! Good to see you! I've just been talking with young A.J.!" He nodded his head towards the green-haired youth who grunted in my general direction."You took him on due to Agatha's recommendation?" Oak said with an odd tone to his words that I couldn't quite put my finger on."Yeah, he challenged me at the fourth badge level with a gauntlet run, which was gutsy but didn't have the legs to put his pokemon all the way through. I think he showed a lot of potential despite some hang-ups. I think I can see what Agatha saw in him," I said neutrally.Samuel smiled widely at me. "She always was a good judge of character." He turned back to the screen. "Terrible at communication, though; she'd say one thing and mean another entirely most of the time."I nodded. "I know what you mean," I said easily. Oak flicked his eyes at me and the screen. I shrugged and claimed a spot next to A.J.'s Sandshrew before joining the match. "Think I'll play Starfox this time," I said, eyeballing the Samus on the roster. Oak chuckled, knowing what I was going to do as he selected Luigi.As the match started I grunted at A.J. "So, you watch the match yesterday?""Yeah, it sucked. Will was a coward that couldn't face you head on. He also got lucky; I was watching a lot of the sports analysts before Professor Oak came in." A.J. snorted. "They're all stupid!" Then he smirked. "But I got to watch your press conference, not live of course, but people are replaying Gavin's reaction to your challenge," he said with a grin."How'd that go?" I asked curiously."Got all quiet while the female host did a happy dance," he said. "They started doing other reviews but it started to get pretty trashy.""And that's where I came in and saw a young man that needed to be challenged!" Oak chimed in.I shot Oak a thankful nod. "Probably a good idea. Those people are talking heads that can talk an hour about a single moment. A battle is more than a single moment. There were plenty of moments where the outcome shifts.""You fought well," A.J. said, and he left it at that."I'm going to have to implement a few changes and maybe broaden my team a little if I want to stop fights from playing out like that ever again."Oak dodged a blast from A.J.'s Samus on the screen, and I chuckled as A.J. growled in annoyance."Learning from defeats is essential to acchieve victory. If you are still able to learn and move forward, often you will find your way to victory," Samuel said. "Hmmm that might sound pretty good as a Haiku…" he said thoughtfully as he dispatched A.J., only for me to start grappling with him in close with my character."Implementing that mindset can be tough, especially after close or significant matches," I said idly. "Or just flat-out losses. Those can take you by surprise the worst and make you really work at just standing back up," I said thinking of the times when I'd begun where I lost.Oak nodded along and during a lul in the fighting he raised a hand. "Which can make it all the more important to learn now. Also, remember that the weight of expectations can be the cause of losses as much as victories. You will work harder for each, but the expectations should never be the goal, otherwise, you might lose sight of the end goal."I side-eyed Oak as he knocked me off. I was trying to teach A.J. from my defeat, but there was definitely some doublespeak going on here. He was mentoring me, and A.J. was getting double duty from me and the first Champion of the Indigo region."Losses aren't why we do what we do obviously," Oak continued, fighting off A.J. as he did so. "Pokemon battles are a wonderful method of testing our bonds, having fun, making money," he said this option with a slightly disdainful tone, "thrills, or even for defence, some of these can have greater meaning to them."Oak gestured to me. "Your match against Will… it's good that you can draw some positive from it, otherwise, it would poison much of what should be a marvellous activity.""The match poisoned a few more things than just that. Dennis, the Gym trainer I had as the referee, tried to turn in his resignation for how things went down. I tore it up and told him I thought he did the right thing.""Yes, he was in a hard position," Samuel said."He couldn't have just called Will out on his cheap tactics?" A.J. asked."No, no, he couldn't have," I said with a long sigh. "That was the problem. Will was cheap, but everything he did was perfectly legal. If Dennis had penalised or infringed him, there would have been worse drama.""That's stupid," A.J grunted."Such is life; at least sometimes it's like that," I said."Sometimes you can do everything correctly and still lose," said Oak at the same time."So get stronger," A.J. said, unleashing an attack with his character only for mine to reflect it back onto him."Sometimes it's not a matter of strength, as you saw yesterday," I reminded him. "It can be depth, technical skill… or understanding strategies and exploiting them. But you're not wrong, I am going to get stronger, as well as those other things.""You handled it well," Oak replied. He glanced at me. "Good show shaking his hand at the end as well.""Thanks," I said with a chuckle."Expectations," he said with a nod.I nodded back, he must have noticed that I'd glanced at my family before shaking Will's hand. It was tough sometimes doing the right thing when all you wanted to do was anything else. Then again, I could imagine that he knew more than a thing or two about that, having once been the Champion that ended a war."I must admit that I saw you with your pokemon this morning talking through the loss and what it meant." Oak watched me as he spoke. "You demonstrated the strength of your bond wonderfully. You will have affirmed it to them, and they will grow from this I have no doubt.""Thanks," I said deciding to leave it at that. I wasn't sure where to go with it.Oak wasn't happy to leave it there, though, as he hummed. "It was very moving, I certainly know I wasn't the only one to pay attention to your bonds and be impacted by what you were showing."I glanced at him. What was he hinting at? Had Yolanda seen me talking with my pokemon? I decided to nod as though I had half an idea what he was talking about. He nodded back, pleased, but I felt like the meaning of what we'd spoken of had shot over my head.We turned our attention to the game in front of us and spent a while playing Smash quietly."So, you're going to broaden your pokemon team?" Oak prompted me after a few minutes of us clashing and A.J. processing everything we'd been saying. I shot Oak a look. I knew what he was doing.I nodded. "Yeah, I've got my eye on a few pokemon to be caught, while I have three that could feature in my Elite team I think." While saying this, I smacked his character away from a hammer, causing him to pout as A.J. took hold of it."Anything I should know?" he asked."I'm setting up Bianca to potentially find another variant pokemon for me," I said conversationally.Oak blinked and turned his attention from the match, allowing A.J. to catch him and beat up his character. "Tch! A distraction? Really?" Oak said with a growl."Hey, who said I was lying?" I said with a smirk.That rattled Oak, and for the rest of the Smash match, he played in a distracted manner. I knew he was just waiting to race off and quiz Bianca on what I'd discovered. He was more than willing to throw himself into the technical discussion.A.J. slumped "Aw man, Samus and I only came second! He's my best character!" he said dejectedly.I snorted. "You know Samus is a girl, right?"He shot me a look. "What do you mean Samus is a girl?"Oak, who'd been standing, sat back down. "Well actually, it's very interesting, you see! If you play—" I chuckled and stood, more than happy to leave them to it.I had no doubt that A.J. had gained a lot from our little gaming session beyond just how to play Smash better. A ping on my messages had me glancing down."Are you free?" read a message from Sabrina. I shot back an affirmative along with my location.She appeared and paused. "Are you aware your emitters aren't working?" she said with a frown. That had Oak snapping his head around and stopping the deluge of game trivia.I nodded. "I'm aware, and I'm on top of it. It's one of the things that I discovered yesterday that has raised some serious questions.""Ah," Sabrina said shifting. "Will snuck a lot past me."I hummed. "In a way; he saturated the field and had someone else working during those moments.""Huh? Whoa, so Will did actually cheat?!" said A.J. standing and clenching his fists.Sabrina shot him a glance before ignoring him. "You spoke to the League?""Lawrence says the evidence is far too circumstantial. It raises a lot of questions, however." I patted her on the shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up over it. It was that pokemon we saw during the Moltres encounter, and also, Lance knows. Any future matches Will has will be much more closely monitored by a lot of people now," I said referencing the Guardians as well as the League."Ah," Sabrina said as she registered this new information.I tilted my head. "Where have you been today?" I would have expected her to stick around."You needed some space and I have been helping my father with a project. I'm sorry I haven't been around, while I helped pick your mood up this morning—" I shot Oak a look when he whistled lowly, "— I knew it would only be temporary for you. While I worked with my father I was also working on discovering a Team Rocket base.""So I can let loose on something?" I said.She nodded and I grunted in thought for a moment. "Huh, that… would work."I nodded as a mulled the thought over some more. "I think I would like to raid it, but we'd need backup," I said indicating we should walk and talk. Before we could depart, however another person, or rather a group of people, announced themselves."If you're looking to tangle with those crooks! I know I'm down!" said Brawly as he walked into the room. "I only heard a little, but if you need some backup, I'm there!""Count me in for criminal beatdowns!" said Flannery.At her side, Roxanne bobbed her head. "I too would like to assist."I opened my mouth to wave them down. While they were all Gym Leaders, or rather, they would be in canonical game events, they were still very green as to what sort of fighting this would involve.A polite cough and a flex of energy had us all turning to find Professor Samuel Oak standing politely with a fist raised to his mouth."My goodness the friendship on display is precisely what I love most about pokemon! They bring us all together in ways that defy our understanding. I too would like to come along and bear witness to your wonderful bonds," he said politely.I blinked. Oh, the former champion was going to come along?Yeah, yeah that worked for backup.A.J. stood up and opened his mouth, but I shook my head. He glared defiantly but sat down after a moment.I turned towards Sabrina with a smirk, suddenly feeling a thrill of anticipation work its way through me. "What have you got for us?"She smiled. It looked like it was time to start throwing some punches once again.