The workout with Trixie had everyone gasping and sweating by the time we were done. I collapsed into a chair for a quick discussion with the team and watched as everyone else staggered, dragged themselves, or were carried in.
A.J. glared at everyone from the corner, his body barely functioning as Trixie deposited him. He'd tried to keep up with Trixie and when that didn't work, he'd tried to keep up with me. Then he'd settled for Dennis. Eventually, he'd had to settle on hanging as close as he could to Yolanda. Most people laughed at his surly expression.Rachel glowered right back at A.J., surprising a few people, but I just rolled my eyes. She could be so petty when she thought people were getting too close to her girlfriend.It wasn't… Well, actually, it very much was A.J.'s fault that he was too exhausted to walk and therefore needed to be carried, but I don't even think girls registered to him in that way.A.J. nodded at Rachel in respect, but that only made her glare harder.Yolanda giggled from where she was sitting as I shook my head. Poor kid didn't realise that Rachel thought he was trying to get carried by Trixie like she was, instead of just being a training maniac.A.J. turned away from her, obviously confused as to why the usually bouncy and bright Rachel was almost hissing at him. I swiped my face with my towel and clapped my hands. "Alright team, brief one today. I'm hoping then we can enjoy the rest of our Sunday!"This got a ragged cheer from the group.I glanced down at the meeting minutes. "First off, Bianca has some news?"Bianca stood up and lifted up a tray that held a trio of pokeballs. "Ladies and gentlemen of the Pewter Gym! I give you the first success of the breeding program!" She pushed the button on the front of the first, and a young Kabuto was revealed.Everyone in the room straightened up despite their fatigue, understanding the significance of the trio of pokeballs. Another opened to reveal a new Omanyte that sank back into its helix-like shell.The last pokeball opened and a young Aerodactyl was revealed. It hopped onto the table and raised its wings to roar in greeting. "Aero!" it screeched."The ancient pokemon eggs you gathered are starting to hatch?!" Stephen said, somewhat unnecessarily. Bianca raised two fingers up to form a V."Yes, they are! Elm is going to be so happy when I send in the documentation! Brock! You're soon going to be the owner of another four Kabuto, six Omanyte and two more Aerodactyls, counting these few!"Bianca put her hand on the aerodactyl on the table. It crooned and rubbed its head into her palm. "This little one is a girl and the daughter of Don!" She adjusted her glasses and smiled."But there's more! Crowley has been working with the samples Brock secured a few months ago and will be sending through another two pokemon from each of the samples he was granted by Pryce! So we're getting a new bloodline to use to truly start setting up proper bloodlines and breeding groups!" she said.I beamed at her, feeling suddenly much more energised. "That is fantastic news! I would like two to be allocated to the gym. We'll train them up, and I think they will be great additions. The Aerodactyl, due to their rather draconic tendencies, I can't see them as anything less than a fourth-tier challenge. That will open up a lot of opportunities for Gym trainers fighting at that level to use some truly different pokemon."A.J. perked up at that. "We don't have to use those weak Zubat? nice!"I snapped my fingers to return attention. "I will be reminding anyone that wants to take part in training the new Aerodactyl that you need to have a certain mindset typically with them. They will otherwise try to run right over you. Give them an inch, and they will take a mile from you. There are some texts on raising dragon pokemon in our computers and the bookcase, they will be required reading for anyone looking to ask me about it," I said firmly.Rocko raised a hand. "I've read those books, and I'd like to point out that I'm a good example of a trainer that doesn't mesh well with Dragon pokemon and their training methods. I'm too lax." Rocko waved a hand to Dennis.Dennis blushed in a pleased way before coughing. "My methods can be more palatable for dragon pokemon, but remember they're not true dragons, so you won't have to stick too much to the training methods outlined in the books." Dennis chuckled. "It's not like we're expecting to get a rock-dragon pokemon after all!"A few people chuckled, but I smirked to myself. I couldn't wait to find a Tyrunt, then we'd see some reactions. I chuckled to myself; I could just imagine how green with envy Lance would be if I beat him to find one.I coughed and shook off my thoughts, returning to the moment.Yolanda was squinting at me and I waved a hand at her, worried that my sister was onto me. She might not have mind-reading powers, but she probably had the best read on me of the people in the room."Excellent news. We're starting to get a solid group of ancient pokemon," I said, before circling the point on the form. "I've been toying with the idea and I think it might hold some interest for people… but I'm thinking of offering a challenge for just Ancient pokemon."I smiled and waved my hand expansively. "I'm thinking of calling it the Jurassic challenge?" I glanced around the room. "Thoughts?"A.J. grunted. "Eh, will they be stronger?"I sighed. "They'd be the same level, just with ancient pokemon.""Lame," said A.J., deciding he wasn't interested anymore.Stephen was much more animated, however. "It would be an excellent draw for the Gym and highlight the work that we're doing!"Bianca coughed."That we researchers are doing!" Stephen corrected.Bianca coughed again."That Bianca is doing," Stephen said.Bianca beamed happily.I chuckled at their antics, but otherwise looked around the room and found general support otherwise. When I got to Georgina, she looked like she was bouncing some figures around."It would be a good idea to limit the number of spots… But that could also be a prestigious challenge; we should charge more for it as some people might try to exploit it by knowing precisely which pokemon can be used instead of the wider stable."I raised a finger. "That… is a lot of good points to consider, actually." I checked with the others and found thoughtful faces but no one with anything more to say. "I'll leave it up as a point on our internal systems and have it up on the wall for people to write any comments they come across."Rachel leaned to the side. "Use the pokenet! It's the future! Go digital!" she said, pointedly looking at Dennis as she said this.He sniffed. "Putting it up on the corkboard means everyone will look at it!"Rachel groaned and mumbled something about an old man, which made him huff in mock indignation.I snorted at their banter and waved my hand to indicate that I was moving on. "I have a note here about… the Pokemon Technical Academy. What is this about?" I asked, looking around.A giggle ripped through Georgina and Alexa, with Alexa taking a moment of fake coughing to regather herself. "The Pokemon Technical Academy called back, and they want you to do a lecture. Along with blocking out some of the slots next month for their students to challenge the Gym as part of their assessments like you did in previous years.""Oh," I said, tilting my head. "Don't they usually organise that earlier in the year? Did the surge push them back?"Alexa had a very smug look on her face. "I believe the issue was that I called them at the time to inform them of how busy you had become."I and a number of others blinked slowly, expecting him to say more. When nothing more came, I tilted my head further. Rachel was the first to understand what Alexa was saying."Oh they didn't!" said Rachel.Yolanda and Greta all nodded knowingly. Crystal, who looked lost, hurriedly copied them, only for her mother, Georgina, to lean over and whisper something."Those pricks!" said Crystal, at whatever she'd been told, earning her mother's ire and a pinched cheek.I raised a hand. "And may the rest of the class know what the issue is?" I said like I was the teacher with a group of whispering schoolgirls.Alexa coughed and smiled. "They thought they were being snubbed because I was the person to reach out to them to tell them about the issue."I tilted my head as the girls in the room hissed in solidarity. I frowned. "What was the issue with that exactly?""That I reached out, a mere personal assistant, instead of you," Alexa said, spelling it out for me."Oh, well…" I toyed with the idea of pushing back the applicants, but at this point, it would put the students out more, some of whom would be trying to test out for the circuit at the end of the year. "When are they booked in? I might have a word with the Principal about it.""Don't; I have an idea how to handle it," Alexa said with a smile that promised the man would be embarrassed, and she was looking forward to it. I decided to nod and accept it.Salvadore raised his hand. "How do the Pokemon Technical Academy tests match up to earning a badge? I thought they didn't need to do that?""Ah, that is a common misconception. They have a longer period of studying, but they still challenge at some Gyms. We merely have to test them at higher levels as a sort of validation process for the Academy," I said, waving my hand back and forth slightly."The matches are more for the Academy if anything, despite being a valuable experience for the students by giving them practical experience. The Academy doesn't need to do it every year, but they like to hold themselves above the standards set by the Pokemon League. They won't be able to claim that, however, if they don't set up these challenges. It is something written into their advertising and curriculum, which will get them in hot water if parents have to ask why they didn't organise something this year for their children.""League Standards? What does it determine?" Salvadore asked."It determines how valid the graduation from the Academy is. If a certain percentage of the students aren't able to pass a standardised test, the institute usually has to undergo a review to be recertified, and they need to have their teaching methods overhauled or intensified," I said.I shook my head. "I don't expect it to happen, honestly. Pewter Academy is a very well-established facility that—" I eyed Alexa, "— usually has their heads on right with teaching students how to fight with a myriad of pokemon and situations. They do like to expound the type-advantage match up a bit too much in the early segments of their teaching, however, so expect that."Crystal sat forward. "Hey, Alexa? How are you going to mess with them?"I considered saying that wasn't something we should pursue, but I decided to hold back to hear what she had planned before I decided anything.Alexa smiled, "It might cause the Principal to get a bit nervous if his… less academically inclined students were scheduled first."The youngest people in the room all tilted their heads in confusion but I chuckled as I understood the issue. "It would create the perception among people that his academy was at risk of failure and have him sweating, no?" I said.Alexa nodded, and I rubbed my chin in thought. That… wasn't too evil, was it?I nodded. "I'll allow it," I said before gesturing to the next item on the cards. "Alright, I have secured a match against the twenty-seventh Ace trainer, Gertrude Goody; let's run what we know about how she fights and workshop ideas. I'll be facing her on Thursday at lunchtime," I said.That had everyone perking up and reading through the sheets."She's got a Gengar!" A.J. said straight away. "And a Blastoise!" Then he wilted. "Oh, she was a former trainer that won Oak's sponsorship.""Is there something wrong with that?" Greta asked pointedly.A.J. shrugged. "Just don't like that people get gifted pokemon like that.""I actually had to work really hard. I needed to be in the top three for my year along with attending a number of camps to demonstrate that I had the skills to care for my pokemon!" Greta said waspishlyI hummed, wondering what that meant for Damien.Had he been a good actor who had dropped his mask when he was let out into the wider community of Kanto?Had he fallen in with a bad crowd? Or had he always been bad and hidden it with a sort of low cunning that worked well when people observing the children were too obvious in their actions while having to watch a larger group of children?Somehow, that didn't seem right to me. I didn't like to believe that he'd been that way. I preferred the nurture argument when the nature vs nurture argument reared its head."—think about that?" said Yolanda.I blinked and realised that a number of people were standing and had been playing around with the whiteboard. Gertrude's main pokemon roster was up on the board, with counters listed off along with a number of notable moves that I could expect. The Raticate on the list had a truly extensive list attributed to it, with the only counter listed against it as 'Hypnotoad'.I hummed. "Sorry, I was lost in thought, but this looks good; I'm not sure I will commit to all of these as you can't always anticipate which pokemon will be called up. But we can estimate that fighting, grass, and water types are going to feature heavily when she comes.""How did you get her to accept the challenge?" Crystal asked."I offered a fairly sizeable pot if she won. Thankfully, with all the fights, I'm actually in the top forty these days so it isn't too big a leap; with my being thirty-seventh I'm also guaranteeing television time for her." I glanced at Rachel. "We're advertising for it already, yes?"Rachel shot me a thumbs up, only for her arm to wobble to the side. "Woops! Arm's still tired from that workout!" she said, propping it up with the other. "But yes, I have the television channels running some dedicated marketing for her and reached out to her manager to use good shots of her in the promo."Rachel smiled. "Win or lose, she's going to get some recognition and proper screen time. So it's not a bad deal for her."I nodded at that and turned my eyes to the whiteboard. Blastoise, Gengar, Raticate, Ninetales, Dugtrio, Electrode, Pidgeot, Hitmonchan, Victreebel, Starmie, Vaporeon, and Exploud. Those were her heavy hitters."The Exploud rather stands out," I commented.Rachel waved her hands back and forth. "Oh! I know why that is! Gertrude ran into some issues when she went to Hoenn! She didn't take her starter pokemon and she tried to start with only Hoenn pokemon, only to get robbed by Team Magma! It's all part of her history. She absolutely loathes pokemon poaching because she lost her entire pokemon team while in Hoenn!" Rachel rifled through some sheets and tapped on a page at the back."She lost a Swablu, Vibrava, Crawdaunt, Shuppet, Snorunt, and a Vigoroth."I whistled. "Oh wow, that had the makings of a very powerful team," I said, causing the younger kids in our group to perk up. Greta whipped out her pokedex and started looking up the pokemon mentioned, drawing in the others to inspect her findings."She had a dragon pokemon?" Crystal said in shock.I snorted. "She had two. Swablu evolves into Altaria, a very powerful flying-dragon type pokemon." I picked up the report we'd had printed off about Gertrude and gave it another look before paying the last page special attention. It was a page dedicated to the Hoenn police report regarding the theft of her pokemon.I shook my head. "This girl is the cautionary tale of why you should at least keep two of your starter pokemon from your first roster and travel with people you can trust. Criminals will exploit weaknesses like this," I said, tapping on the point about how she had not done either.I flipped back to the front. "Impressive that she reached seventeenth despite the setback. She only has one sponsor?" I asked."Rough Housing, the camping supplies company," Rachel said. "We're going to let them put up some billboards around the edge of the gym for the match; really give them a good deal in sponsoring her."Yolanda beamed at me. "It's nice that you're setting her up to come off better from fighting you."I huffed and waved at the whiteboard. "I still have to beat her to earn the Ace points that I'm after."Yolanda nodded. "Yeah, but I don't think that will be too much of an issue." She tilted her head. "Maybe don't beat her too badly?"I huffed. "Yeah, let's not count our pokemon before they hatch, yeah?" I waved a hand towards the whiteboard. "Selene is going to be one of the pokemon I use I think, but I will make a call on the others later." I glanced at the rest of the meeting minutes."Was there anything else that needed to be brought up?" I asked. When everyone shook their heads, I clapped my hands. "Alright, the meeting is done. For those of you that still have some tasks, finish those; otherwise, enjoy your weekend."I stayed around to talk with Alexa and Georgina a little as the others limped away or, in Rachel's case, slugged her way out the door."Do you—" I said, offering her a hand."No! I'm good!" Rachel said as the door opened. "My ride's here!" she said as Trixie stepped back in."Sorry! I stuck around to pick up my girlfriend," said Trixie, shifting from foot to foot."Oh," I said, glancing between the nervous Trixie and the smug Rachel. "No problem, if you wanted, you probably could have sat in on the meeting, we weren't talking through anything too important that it needed to be only Gym trainers." I waved a hand, "Also Sabrina cleared you for work in the Gym so don't be a stranger if you want to hang out."Trixie merely smiled. "Oh I just made use of the weights room while I waited, so it was no problem!" Without even a hint of fatigue she scooped up Rachel and carried her away. The rainbow-coloured girl waved a hand before the door shut, and I turned back to finalise my discussion with Alexa and Georgina.I signed off on some decisions before departing myself, and on the way I passed a cluster of gym trainers who were standing around the water cooler."So good to be paid to work out!" said one of the men."My pokemon are looking so good lately!" said another."I'm planning to use it to step into a corporate gig. They'll see that I was a Gym trainer at Pewter and be all over me!" said a young girl.I walked past them and gave them a nod. "Enjoy your weekend," I said, deciding to keep it simple."Thanks! You too, Boss!" said the first man before turning to the girl. "Seriously, you're making a mistake; signing on with a company won't get you anywhere near as many perks as sticking around here will."I chuckled to myself, not really sure what to make of that conversation. I decided to leave them to their chat. They were more than welcome to talk like this. It was after hours, after all. I wandered through the gym, checking in on various doors, before taking a quick walk through the medical bay."Cle!" said Clefairy as Chansey roughly bandaged him up."Oh, hey, Clefairy, what's going on? You got injured?" I said, suddenly worried that something had happened.Clefairy pouted as Chansey pointed to a sign that pointed out that idiots wouldn't be healed more than twice a day."Chan! Chan! Chan!" she said before tying off the bandage."He's been in here three times today?" I said, translating what she'd said. When she nodded I turned towards Clefairy, who sheepishly looked away."You've been supervised, right?" I asked. He nodded before standing and clenching his fists."Clef! Fairy! Fair!" he said, punching a small fist forward.I tilted my head. "You've almost got the Healing Wish combination worked out?" he nodded his head and stood before gathering energy about himself as if to demonstrate here and now. Chansey swatted him across the back of the head and pointed to another sign that read 'no pokemon moves in the medbay.'"She's right Clefairy," I said, as he wilted. I hummed in thought. "How are your other moves looking? Moonblast?"Clefairy ran to a clipboard that had been sitting to the side, he grabbed a pen and scrawled on it for a moment. When he presented it to me, he did so with a proud look.I took it, looked at what was written down, and nodded seriously before handing it back to him."I have no idea what you've written down," I said, waving my hand at the squiggles he'd made."Fairy!" he said before coughing and rubbing the back of his head. Chansey huffed and slapped his pokeball into him, causing him to vanish. She popped him into a receptacle and then tapped away at the computer. It took a minute for the computer to process but it made a soft ding to signal it was finished.A moment later, his profile was displayed along with the moves he knew."Copycat, Gravity, Meteor Mash, Pound, Moonblast, Brick Break, Healing Wish, and Endure." I read off the list. I whistled. "That's a good list of moves to have," I said as Clefairy broke out of his pokeball and shook himself. He shot Chansey an unimpressed look before smiling at me."Think you could trade out Pound for something else?" I asked, knowing that it would be a tough ask for him to learn any more moves. I suspected that Copycat was helping a great deal. It also offered a lot of versatility that I wouldn't mind keeping in his bag of tricks."Cle!" he said dutifully."Can you work with Quirrina and learn Baton Pass?" I asked."Fairy!" he said.I smiled and knelt down. "Good, when you're done with that we'll spend the rest of the week working you over with Gravity and up your nutrient intake for a while…"I rubbed my chin. "You've… well you've beaten out all my expectations with regards to your training and I think, if you want to, we could evolve you." I offered him a hand. "That is, if you're willing?"He clenched his fists as his eyes sparkled. "Cle!" he shouted at me. I grinned. "Alright, I'll lock in a day later this week. For now, work with Quirrinaon Gravity training and Rest, alright?"He nodded furiously and skipped back and forth, much to Chansey's annoyance. She made a show of clicking her tongue and pretending to read a magazine. Sadly for her it was upside down, and I could see her eyes tracking Clefairy as he hopped from side to side." You know you have a lot of potential Clefairy, " I said when he settled down. "Once you've evolved I think I'll add some puzzles and other training methods for you. You have eight moves already and you might be a pokemon capable of more than that. Let's see how far we can take you. So no slacking off once you evolve, alright?""Clefairy!" he said, his eyes practically sparkling.I nodded back at him. "You've put in some hard work these last few weeks, buddy; I think it's time to start using you in Ace matches after next week." I made a mental note to also take him along to the Guardian training sessions I would have in the mornings. More experience would be great for him and he'd be a wonderful x-factor. Sort of like Koga owning a Charizard.I stood and nodded to Chansey. When I left, Clefairy was already trying to run out the door, ecstatic at the news. I mentally started shifting gears, contemplating my other pokemonTeddiursa would work to get a wider list of moves, and then I'd also have Cranidos and Tirtouga to work on, as well as Anorith.I rolled the potential roster of pokemon I'd be able to lay claim to around, and toyed with the potential training timeline for achieving said team. As I did this I ambled towards the trainer lodgings I had in the gym. When I reached the common room I wasn't surprised to find Rocko and Samuel already there, locked in an epic fight with what looked like Mariokart."No! No! You will not beat me with Bowser of all people!" screamed Oak as Rocko leaned back, completely at ease as he lazily thumbed the joystick on his controller.I glanced at the screen and found that it was Samuel as Mario versus Rocko as Bowser."Good versus evil?" I said as I sat next to them."Yuuuuuup," said Rocko as his racer came up on the final straight. "Evil for the win," he said with a grin."Not today!" screamed Samuel with a manic expression, as his racer gained a blue shell. It fired off, and Rocko groaned as it smashed into him, stopping him from claiming the win as instead Samuel streaked across the finish."Ha! Yes! Victory!" shouted Samuel Oak like a maniac.I snorted and picked up a controller, only for Rocko to grimace. "Sorry, bossman, we're on something of a marathon showdown right now," he said, gesturing to a board that showcased the entire racing list of the Mariokart world. It also listed off the positions they achieved and which racer they used."This seems… a little extensive," I said neutrally. I glanced at Sam. "Does Daisy know you're here?"He nodded as he pointed to Rainbow Road. "That one! I'll take Peach for this race!" he said, ignoring the question. I shrugged. He was an adult after all. I put the controller down as Rocko put his hand on his Gloom and rubbed its head, his eyes growing a little more lidded."I should demand that you play sober," Sam grumbled good-naturedly."You know he plays better stoned, right?" I pointed out."I know! And that's the problem!" Sam said, as Rocko selected his racer.I watched them fight for another race, and when Rocko jumped over the edge to land ahead of Oak on the last lap to win, I stepped in to stop Sam from throwing a tantrum."I had a question for you if you don't mind," I said, my tone serious.Rocko glanced at me. "Should I step out for a bit?" he said, glancing from me to Sam. I shook my head and gestured for him to stay seated.Oak set his controller down and made it clear he was listening to what I had to say next.I shifted and rolled my thumbs a little before just biting the bullet and asking. "What was Damien's story?" I asked, unable to repress my curiosity.Samuel sighed and sat back, lacing his own hands together. "Damien, yes. That boy is an interesting case. Did you know that his situation marks one of six failures on my part with handing out traditional starters to a trainer? I'd like to think those are good numbers considering that I've given out over a hundred and fifty such starters."He waved a hand. "Some years I give out more than just three if I think the students are particularly skilled and at risk of missing out. Ash Ketchum was one such boy. He just barely missed out on his grades, but he scored highly in other fields, and I saw potential in him."Rocko and I nodded, both of us having seen it ourselves. Ash was a quick study, able to work out tactics on the fly and adapt. I knew there was potentially even more with that on account of some time travel that may or may not be a factor. I had no idea and wouldn't ever ask.Samuel gestured into the air. "Damien is the son of a young businessman who was constantly away for his work, but there were expectations placed on him. Expectations that he seemed to be achieving. He scored exceptionally well at school thanks to tutors assisting him, and he worked hard during the parts of the camps that we graded. He had a cadre of boys that were his friends, but there wasn't anything untoward."Samuel stared into the distance. "I think the issue came when his father was fired earlier this year. Momentum carried him over the line to achieve one of the starter pokemon… His relationship with his father soured, however… I won't share the details, but the father is in prison and I have tapped the same police to take care of Damien's situation. It doesn't excuse how he treated Charmander, but… it does explain it. I've interceded on his behalf, and he will most likely be sent to a rehabilitation facility to care for pokemon injured by criminal organisations.""Ah," I said. That… was a lot more than I was expecting. I'd been expecting a very different story. It would have been easier in some ways if he was just a bad kid, end of story, but that wouldn't have been the truth. "Sorry if I overstepped.""I'm not," said Sam, surprising me. "I'm glad that you're curious about cases like this rather than being judgemental.""..." I opened my mouth before shutting it. "I don't know what to say about that."Samuel merely smiled. "You don't have to say anything. DO try to remain curious Brock, it's a wonderful thing, curiosity."He picked back up his controller, "And now I shall reclaim the lead against you Rocko!" Samuel said, dropping the serious expression instantly and returning to being a fun-loving nerd in an instant.I snorted and stood to leave them to their gaming marathon.I made my way out to my home, where I found my family lounging around with various activities. I plopped myself down next to Tommy. "What are we doing?" I said, and he grinned as he told me what he wanted from me.For the rest of the day, I slowly spent a bit of time with each of my siblings. When it came time for dinner I had most of them happily bouncing in their seats and looking forward to a fun evening.Flint smiled at us all, and for a moment I almost felt like things were… right, in a way that they hadn't been for so long.Then Flint opened his mouth. "So, I was thinking it might be nice to go camping on Mt Moon soon? I hear that you take your siblings up there all the time? If you can come along, I think we can make it a family trip all at once."I paused. "Ah, I won't be able to…" I paused. With my schedule easing off, I did have time… Heck, it would actually work out really well with Clefairy's evolution that I was planning as well. A nice symbolism.I still frowned. "I'm not sure it's a good idea to take the kids during the week with it being a school night.""Nope!" said Suzie happily. "It's not school time right now! We're on break for the next week!"I blinked. "You are?" I glanced at the calendar and realised that they were right. That was weird. Usually, my break lined up with… Oh right, the surge of trainers had forced me to move it earlier in the year and my week break didn't line up with the school holiday.I'd… forgotten then. "Oh, sorry, I hadn't realised," I said, feeling oddly ashamed.Suzie kicked her feet. "That's okay! You're busy! We understand!"I chewed my lip and looked up to find that Flint was looking a bit dejected, as were some of the others, like Cindy and Billy. I licked my lips. "How about we do it? Head out during the week and stay the night? I couldn't guarantee any Clefairy…" I trailed off.Actually, that was a lie, I could probably get my Clefairy to lure out some of his family to play with my siblings… He might like the chance to reconnect. "Well huh, I could do that as well." I looked to Flint. "How's Thursday or Friday sound?"Flint beamed at me. "Sounds great son!" he said.I gave him a hesitant smile and ignored the weird feeling at hearing him call me son.Instead, I turned my attention to Tilly, who was trying to feed Munchlax her meal. When I spotted Yolanda giving me a megawatt smile, I rolled my eyes at her.Sabrina didn't make an appearance, but I traded messages back and forth with her before going to bed. When the bedroom filled with a flash of light, I adjusted so that she could slip into my arms and fall asleep without a word being said.Before the sun rose I once more was out training with the Guardians before making my way home to train some more with Yolanda and my pokemon.I paid special attention to Teddiursa and the little guy seemed to delight in the attention. I had my elite pokemon rest up and like they'd done for the workout they'd gotten to watch, they'd laid down and watched the others train. It rather reminded me of people laying on divans watching gladiator matches, especially with how Bertha waved her hand about and warbled for Titan to fetch her some water and berries. She only got a flat, unimpressed look before he turned away, ignoring her antics. Sanchez decided to join her game and took up fanning her with a Lilleep until I caught him at it and had him release the grass type.In the meantime, Quirrina worked with Clefairy, who I'd need to think up a name for fairly soon.After breakfast, I strode into my Gym feeling good about the week. I had a plan and was making serious strides in improving myself and my pokemon. Most of the big names had come through the Gym, and things were starting to wrap up while my own personal goals were being reached.I accepted the schedule from Alexa and saw a list of names and challenges listed off, only to stop as I realised I wasn't done with interesting people.There was a big name here that I recognised."Ritchie from Frodomar City, huh?" I said out loud.This would be another of Ash's future rivals making an appearance. I tilted my head. This was the kid that had a Pikachu, a Charmeleon, a Butterfree… what else did the kid have? I felt like there was something else that made this kid interesting, specifically to me.Why was that? What made this kid interesting?"Oh! This trainer has also requested some time with you this afternoon. They've even paid for one of their pokemon!" said Alexa, having noticed my attention on Ritchie's name."Yeah? That's rare for a trainer to pay the fee for time with me. What pokemon?""A Larvitar!" Alexa said.I stopped. Oh damn, that was right. Ritchie had a Pupitar in the series, didn't he?"Tell Yolanda to sit in on this tutoring session; she might have some good pointers to add, and she might enjoy meeting another Larvitar trainer." I tapped Ritchie's name once again.Well, that certainly made today much more interesting.
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The morning, as had become the case with the later starts, was over rather quickly.I had enough gaps in my schedule to go out to the front of the gym and talk with some local young trainers using the courts.I ambled over to observe the kids, more than a little amused that I could do something like this. I was really starting to feel the drop off in the surge.The kids had been having a rather spirited battle which I got to watch. I could practically see a web of friendly rivalries forming from these fights while others improved their skills.I'd used to be able to do this anytime throughout the year but with the surge, I hadn't been game to tempt trainers.After all, the mere number of trainers would have all but guaranteed that they'd be throwing challenges at me left and right.It felt nice to be able to get out and about. I might even go for a walk into Pewter next time this happened!I stayed around the gym today, however, and instead offered some advice to the trainers, pointing out some useful tactics to look up to trial with the Kakuna and Nidorino they had. I set them up with a free training course with some target practice for their pokemon and then ambled back into the gym in rather high spirits.Bethany, our elderly receptionist, adjusted her glasses and smirked as I approached the front desk. "Hello young man, would you like to book a challenge with our Gym Leader? A strapping young fellow like you might even do alright for yourself."I paused, having been about to walk around the side."I can't tell if you're playing with me or you can't tell it's me," I said, uncertain of her visual acuity.Bethany grinned and took her glasses off only to lift up another, even more powerful, set of glasses. "Oh! Look at that! Hello there! I didn't see you!" she said with a large smile before swapping her glasses back out.Next to her, the other receptionist giggled at our by-play. I shot the girl a smile, and then a wink to Bethany. If memory served, this girl had been extremely shy during her interview.I stood around and talked with them to see how things were until my transceiver went off. I'd been able to talk with the newest receptionist rather easily and could only conclude that Bethany had been good for the girl. That, or she'd gotten used to talking up with all the trainers she'd had to face in the last few months and demanding fights with me.I sauntered on through the back and into the training area. "We're all set up?" I said as I accepted a tray with four pokeballs. I checked them over and saw that they were the pokemon I'd asked for and each seemed to be in good health."Yeah, the kid that's coming in seems pretty wimpy. Who challenges at the third tier at this stage of the circuit?" said A.J. "At least he has signed up for the gauntlet so I get a chance to fight him.""Hmmm," said Rocko as he sauntered up and looked over Ritchie's profile that we had access to. "Seems like he's starting late, says here he had a medical issue that delayed his start. He only started a month ago."I bobbed my head from side to side before deciding to weigh in with my own thoughts. "He's another trainer that I think I'll be keeping an eye out for.""Ho? That's what… ten trainers that you're keeping your eye on so far?" Rocko said.I waggled my hand back and forth, "Thereabouts, there are a few that I think will go the distance, so far my bet's on Brawly to win this year," I said.A.J. glowered at the entrance. "Well he better turn up today cause I'm gonna test him!" he said firmly.I snorted. "Just don't go too crazy! Keep it to the third tier only!" I called at his back as he marched down the stairs to the podium on the field.I worked my tongue over my teeth. "Think he's gonna stick to the third-tier level?"Rocko snorted. "Not a chance! This Ritchie kid better be ready for a fight!"I frowned. Hmmmm if A.J. is getting antsy I might need to schedule in some time to take him around to the various other gyms such as Cerulean, Sophia or even… I tapped my fingers on the railing in thought. That would be a good excuse to go poking around in Neon City now, wouldn't it?"Talk to Greta and ask if she'd be interested in fighting Grey, the Neon City Gym Leader for a match, she'd need to have some strategies for a steel-type gym.""Afraid she'll take it as an order if it comes from you?" Rocko said.I nodded. "Yup!" I said, popping the P. I shifted my focus to the entrance as the lights dimmed to draw attention towards it.Rachel sauntered out and waved happily before waving a hand behind her. "And now the young gentleman from Frodomar City! Please give it up for Ritchie!" said Rachel, as she introduced the future rival of Ash.The kid walked out and I had to chuckle at the Pikachu that was riding his shoulder. It had a tuft of hair sticking out. If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought he was merely a budget Ash. If anything, he was a mirror with his colour choices—not that he knew Ash just yet, I assumed."And facing him… oh damn. Sorry kid, fight well! It's our newest, and angriest, trainer! A.J.!" said Rachel, drawing some laughter from the people in the crowd while A.J. shot Rachel a scowl."She still hasn't forgiven him for needing to be carried into the meeting?" I asked Rocko."Yup!" he said, mimicking my pop.Then he sniggered, "Which is hilarious cause I don't think he has any thoughts like that in his head right now. He's so one track it's hilarious."He mimed flexing. "Get strong! Strong good! Work hard to get strong! Tired now, sleep!" he said with a fake-sounding macho tone.I shook my head and hid my smile. Rocko just grinned at me."Go Zippo!" shouted Ritchie, sending out a Charmander that growled fiercely at the Rhyhorn that A.J. had sent out.Both pokemon locked eyes and Zippo growled, but with it being tiny, all it achieved was making itself look cute."Fire types are a poor choice against rock-ground type pokemon, kid!""I'm the same age as you though?" Ritchie pointed out with a tilt of his head. I had a momentary burst of deja vu as I imagined Ash copying that exact same pose."Feh! That's not the point! You're obviously underestimating this challenge!" A.J. said heatedly.Next to me, Rocko rubbed his chin. "That kid is a natural heel for this. The crowd is getting pretty invested with this banter."I chuckled as the referee for today's match raised the flags and called the two boys to order."Zippo, like we practised, Smokescreen around yourself!" he shouted. Zippo answered with a gout of black smoke being disgorged from his mouth to create a dense smoke that hid Zippo."Rock Blast!" A.J. ordered causing his Rhyhorn to fire off a burst of rocks into the smoke only for all of the attacks to whiff, as Zippo didn't cry out. A.J. narrowed his eyes, "Just going to hide in the smoke eh?"Ritchie shrugged but kept his mouth shut."Dig!" ordered A.J.. He got a nod from me, at the third-tier Rhyhorn wouldn't know Earthquake as that was starting to be what a fourth-tier pokemon was expected to bring to the table. Dig, with the inbuilt tremor sense that allowed a pokemon to know where to attack, would work rather well for him."Dragon Dance!" said Ritchie with a flame brightening and beginning to twirl and shift like a will-o-the-wisp in the smoke as Zippo danced back and forth.A few tense moments passed before Ritchie shot his hand out. "Leap up high! Now!" he said. Zippo leapt out of the smokescreen in time for Rhyhorn to leap after it. I whistled. Ritchie had timed that well. Both pokemon glowered at each other as they gained sight of the other outside of the smoke.As they fell Zippo raised both claws and they glinted with silver energy."Ha," I said, as I saw the plan unfold with Zippo landing hard on Rhyhorn's face before he savagely slashed down with Metal Claw.A.J. was forced to withdraw his pokemon as it was soundly knocked out.A.J. shot me a plaintive look.Usually, we didn't push for a second pokemon for the first challenge at the third tier, but he looked so desperate to keep fighting.I sighed and nodded.A.J. whipped his head back around, beaming as if his birthday had come early. "You might have won the first round, but I've got your number now!" said A.J. as he whipped out a Geodude."Geodude Defence Curl!" A.J. said. Geodude curled up tightly as the smoke started to fade, allowing everyone to see what was going on with Zippo."Dragon Dance!" Ritchie said. His pokemon hopped from side to side with a wide grin."Roll Out hard jag!" A.J. said, causing Geodude to shoot to the side and behind a boulder that was on the field."Rock Smash!" A.J. ordered. Geodude whipped its arms around and sent the rock blasting towards Zippo who had to dart behind a boulder of his own."Smoke Screen again!" Ritchie ordered."Rock Throw up into the air!" A.J. barked "Arc them high!" he said, causing a murmur of confusion to go through the crowd.Ritchie twitched, revealing that he really didn't like that order. "Zippo close!""Ha! Got through your tactics!" A.J. said proudly as Zippo rushed forward only to face a barrage of rocks being hurled straight at him now. He darted from side to side, making the most of the earlier Dragon Dances to avoid Geodude's attacks."Metal Claw!" Ritchie ordered as Zippo closed."Dig dip!" A.J. said, copying a command of mine. I was amused when Geodude bobbed into the ground in a small tunnel only to pop back up slightly to the side."Dragonsbreath!" ordered Ritchie, surprising us all as Zippo exhaled a gout of blue flame to knock Geodude back. Geodude must have been surprised with how it was being rather badly hurt by fire, something that it usually disdained.It shook itself, revealing that it must have been a rather young Geodude with how it reacted. Which… probably spoke more of A.J. as a trainer. "Did A.J. personally train that Geodude? It had some quick reactions and the specialised commands aren't something I use at that level." I said thoughtfully.Rocko tilted his head. "Not too sure on that one bossman, but I think you might be right. Kid has done well… both of them that is."We watched as Geodude regathered itself at A.J.'s urging, only to have a Metal Claw knock it out of the fight. The match was called and A.J. returned his pokemon. I noticed he whispered some encouragement before nodding at Ritchie and marching back up the stairs with a glower.I waved him over as Rachel introduced Rocko. "You did good, you worked out his trick with the smokescreen I take it?""Yeah, he has his Charmander lay down so you can't hit it at all if you go for normal straightforward attacks." A.J. perked up and made a swooping gesture with his arm, "But by arcing my fire up and down into the smoke it was guaranteed to hit.""He might have also had his pokemon putting its ear to the ground which is how it knew when to jump. If you play back the video you'll see that a small flame starts to flare up before Ritchie gives the command. It looked like Ritchie gave the order of when to jump, but it was Zippo giving him the information in truth."A.J. rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "He's… not bad, shame I didn't get to fight him at a higher level.""So challenge him with your own pokemon," I said. I waved my hand. "I think he gave himself a very fair assessment of his own skills so far. He has some counters and has used them but I know he wouldn't have handled an Earthquake with that smokescreen trick.""Hmmmm, so you don't mind if I fight him afterwards?""Maybe not directly after his match but throw out the challenge for a friendly match. I think you'd both be good in that you'd sharpen each other, just leave the taunts for the gym matches, yeah?" I said with a chuckle."Sorry! Rachel suggested I do that…" he said, earning another huff of repressed laughter from me."I'll have a word with her," I said, knowing the likely cause of her giving that 'advice'. "Maybe hold back in training with Trixie so that you can walk by the end of it?"A.J. squinted at me and for a moment I had to wonder if he was mocking me, then he turned his attention towards Rachel. "Is this a girl thing?" he said, causing me to facepalm."No it's not… but it has something to do with girls so just... stop needing to be carried by Trixie. Rachel is getting jealous." I said, in what I felt was more an attempt to explain things rather than an actual explanation to A.J."They're dating?" he said, squinting at Rachel. "Rachel must enjoy being carried around."I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Ask Bianca about this. Why don't you go get your pokemon team so you can challenge Ritchie when he's done."That had A.J. perking up. He rushed away and left me alone with a feeling like I'd dodged a very awkward conversation with the kid. He had some serious gaps in knowledge that showed up now and then. Maybe I could force Flint to talk with him, and handle any awkward conversations in future."Pfft!" said Missy from behind me. I turned and gave her a look only to realise that she was easily close enough to have heard everything that we'd just said. "Hahahaha!" she quickly lost control of herself and had to wipe at her eyes. "Oh gosh! I'm so telling the girls about this!" she said, trotting off to no doubt do that as well.I raised a hand before dropping it. Yeah… I wasn't going to be able to stop that from being gossiped around. I toggled the radio. "Rachel, we need to talk about A.J. after Ritchie's match," I said."Oh? Sure thing! You ready for your introduction?" she said.I blinked and looked to the battlefield to find that Ritchie had kept Zippo out and used him aggressively to flatten Rocko's pokemon to win the match. They were shaking hands in reconciliation now."Oh damn, I missed all of their match," I said with a sigh."Rocko used Onix and Ritchie went on the attack," Rachel started to summarise, "He got very aggressive with how he attacked. Rocko used Sandstorm and then went for Dragonsbreath against it, Zippo was able to close and take down Onix. It took a fair bit of damage with Sandstorm and Dragonsbreath. Rocko sent out Lairon then but it got fairly wiped out with Zippo unleashing a pretty strong Flamethrower.""Hmmmm so he knows to go for the win and push his advantage?" I asked. I tapped one of the pokeballs I had, I was much more confident in my choice of pokemon now. "Take a while with the introduction. Ham it up, don't let him use the boosts he's already had with his charmander.""Ice him?" she said."Yup," I replied.Rachel made a show of toying with her radio set.She smiled at the crowd. "Apologies everyone! We're experiencing some technical difficulties! Please use this time to have a small bathroom break or grab a snack if you'd like!" She said causing a number of people to sit up and do just that.Ritchie looked a little surprised and unsure of himself. I toggled the radio for Rocko. "Chat with him Rocko, I want to see how he reacts when his flow is stalled out or interrupted," I said as I eyed the Charmander that Zippo was slowly spraying a potion over.He must have kept it out to make the most of the earlier Dragon Dances he'd gotten off with A.J., that was another tick with Ritchie demonstrating a key knowledge of how moves worked in niche settings."You're icing him boss?" replied Rocko as he paused in his walk out of the arena to glance back at Ritchie."Yeah, it's not the nicest thing but I think he needs it," I said as I moved out of sight.On paper, a straightforward match of Charmander versus Geodude or Onix was a terrible idea, but Ritchie had done his homework. He had a pokemon with a good list of utility, attack, and traditional moves, but I wanted to see some depth from him.I waited out of sight for the next five minutes with an eye on Ritchie. After the first few minutes, he started to get a nervous twitch that saw him looking up in my direction to see if I was going to come down. When he noticed that the flame on Zippo's tail wasn't burning as brightly he slumped slightly.While we waited, I toggled a private line to Rachel's radio and discussed how she needed to stop messing with A.J. for being a dumb kid. A kid that literally had no idea what a sex drive was, let alone being aware of annoying someone's partner.She'd coughed sheepishly at that and rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry boss!" she said."Just, make sure you don't let it happen again; maybe apologise and explain to A.J. why it bugged you as well? Kid's not malicious, he just has weird ideas that make him rough to get along with," I said. "Now, this has been caught before anything came of it… beyond some office gossip, but let's not let this happen again," I said."Thanks, and sorry boss!" Rachel said sheepishly. She sat and squirmed a little before frowning. "What do you mean office gossip?""Oh, Missy overheard me talking with A.J.. She understands how dense he is and how you've been fighting back.""Uhhhhhhhh!" she said into her hands as she curled up. "The girls aren't going to let me live this down."I considered pointing out she'd brought this on herself before deciding I didn't need to say anything more. "Good luck with that."A few minutes later, I toggled the radio again to draw Rachel out of her funk. To her credit, she straightened up right away and adopted a megawatt smile as she turned to the crowd."Ladies and gentlemen, can I please have you make your way back to your seats? The technical issue has been resolved and we will be resuming our schedule soon!" she said, without giving anything away.I straightened up and marched to the edge of the stairs allowing myself to be seen so that It was clear that things were about to resume. The crowd trickled back in, a good number of them had drinks and food from nearby food vendors that had taken up some land outside the gym to sell to trainers. I didn't expect those vendors would have the same profits for long with the trainer surge being over. They would make a tidy profit for people who attended as spectators coming out for food, so perhaps they'd stick around?I wasn't too worried about it, either way.That wasn't what we were here for."Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for bearing with us as we resolved the issue! I hope you had a good break because we're going into the big match of the day now with our Challenger facing the hometown hero and our local Gym Leader! Please! Give a loud and proud welcome to your man mountain! Here he is! BROCK!" she shouted.The Stomp stomp clap rang through the gym, and I had to bite my lip to stifle a snicker as I saw a lot of people in the crowd accidentally knock over their food and drink, causing a very disrupted welcome for me.It still worked to have Ritchie swallow in worry as I launched out over the gap between the edge of the stands and the podium.As I rose from the heroic landing, I enlarged a pokeball. "I apologise for the wait, are you ready?"Ritchie straightened his spine and nodded firmly. "Yes!" he shouted before sweeping his hand forward. "Let's keep up the tempo, Zippo!"I nodded and tossed out my own first choice. "Go Corsola!" I said, causing Ritchie to stumble in surprise."Corsola?" he said, staring at my fish. "You… don't use that very often do you?"I shook my head and made a gesture for him to start us off. Ritchie swallowed before clicking his teeth and leaning forward. It looked like he was committing."Let's go Zippo! Dragon Dance!""Bubblebeam!" I said. Corsola inhaled and then exhaled a huge wave of bubbles that shot forth while also expanding out in a large swathe of the battlefield."Dig!" ordered Ritchie.I hummed and considered my options somewhat lazily. "Aqua Ring," I said, causing a ring of water to wrap around Corsola. "Go into Surf," I said as a follow-up, knowing that Corsola would have more than enough time to pull off before it could be threatened by Dig.I was proven right as Corsola hopped back right as a silvery claw swiped at his underbelly, only to miss.Corsola smirked as he landed in the rising water and Zippo had a moment to poke his head out of the ground only to pale as the wave swept over him.When the Surf ended I wasn't surprised to find that Zippo was knocked out.Ritchie returned him with a sigh before eying my Corsola. "Rock-water hey?" He tapped the Pikachu on his shoulder. "Sparky this is all yours then!""Pika!" said the little Pikachu with the tuft of hair that stuck out. It landed and locked eyes with Corsola.I nodded, this was a much better set-up for him, it also sounded like he wasn't caught up in the common misconception that Rock types were immune to Electric-type moves."Thunderbolt!" Ritchie said to start things off. Sparky lit up with electricity and unleashed a huge bolt of lightning at Corsola."Power Gem!" I replied firing off a counter to the attack only for it to wither in the face of the powerful electric attack.Thunderbolt struck and I leaned forward, hoping against hope that Corsola would have withstood the attack. Sadly, that wasn't the case as Corsola tilted to the side. I hummed. I'd need to work with Corsola for some more options, to avoid that fate going forward.I raised his pokeball and returned him while giving Ritchie a nod. "Good to see you have some insight into these matchups.""Rock-water means that electric-type moves are super effective, right?" Ritchie said with a tug on his cap. I smiled back before whipping out my next pokemon."Let's go Izumi!" I said causing Ritchie to tense up. I tilted my head. "Ho? You recognise her?""I've read a lot of forums about her and making sure you don't underestimate her!" he said.Izumi perked up at that and did a little happy dance which drew a smattering of laughter from the crowd. I smirked. "They'd be right. Izumi! Rock Throw, put some pressure on!""Agility!" Ritchie barked. Sparky leapt into a sprint that saw him avoiding the attacks. With a zig-zag pattern that saw Sparky closing in I knew what to expect and Ritchie didn't disappoint. "Iron Tail!" he shouted as Ritchie closed."Defence out!" I shouted with a laugh. Izumi didn't disappoint as she recalled the niche move, but cartwheeling out of danger instead of rolling backwards."Eh!?" Ritchie said. "Oh damn!" he said as Izumi spun about."Bulldoze," I said sternly. Izumi threw herself straight into Sparky and hurled the Pikachu back. Sparky skipped across the ground and rolled before slamming into a boulder. Sparky shook himself off and stood, earning a nod of respect from Izumi as she pumped her fists back and forth.Ritchie chewed his lip and considered the field. I could practically see him weighing up his options at a furious pace. "Quick Attack! Sprint to the boulders!" he said, causing Sparky to blur away from the boulder."Rock Throw," I said, deciding to keep up some pressure. I suspected that Sparky wouldn't have much left in the tank from that last hit."Agility again!" Ritchie said once his pokemon was out of danger."Bulldoze!" I said. Izumi tucked herself up and surged forward to slam into the boulder, breaking it apart, but before she could nail Sparky he leapt to the side."Iron Tail!" Ritchie cried out with glee as his pokemon came in from the side at pace.Izumi took the hit like a pro, rolling back with a cry of pain. She glanced at me but I kept my focus on Sparky, signalling that I wanted her to keep fighting.She kipped up and pumped her arms. "Rock Polish," I said. She nodded and a sheen ran over her body, resulting in her speed picking up. That forced Ritchie to pause, as he realised he wouldn't get a onesided trade of blows as long as I kept Izumi close enough to handle Sparky."Sparky… return," he said tightly. I smiled, happy to see him making a change."Rock Polish," I said as I made the most of the switch out, to make sure Ritchie didn't fall into poor habits."Go… Cruise!" said Ritchie as he whipped out a pokeball. It disgorged a very familiar shape with a Larvitar taking to the field.Izumi blinked in shock and I whistled. Now this was a match-up I hadn't been expecting. "You're a brave kid to send out a Larvitar against me. I hope you can back up that challenge," I said.Ritchie nodded sternly. "I plan to! Cruise! Use Earthquake!" he said, causing me to blink. Larvitar should have evolved before getting strong enough to learn that naturally."Leap!" I said to Izumi, making her punch the ground to avoid the danger. This left her hanging in the air and in prime position for Ritchie's follow-up."Stone Edge!" he shouted.I could only stare as Larvitar raised up a sizeable chunk of rock before hurling it straight at Izumi, knocking her out of the air. She landed and looked slightly dazed. I shot her a discreet signal and she stayed down but otherwise stared at the anomaly that was Cruise."That Larvitar… it has every indicator of being strong enough to have evolved already, but it hasn't yet?"Ritchie perked up. "Oh wow! You can tell that from just two moves? I knew you were the right person to come talk to about him!"I nodded slowly. I could see what the issue was. He hadn't been able to get his pokemon to evolve, despite all the indicators showing that he should have been able to."Yeah, I think we're going to be talking after this," I said before enlarging my last pokemon. I eyed the Larvitar, knowing that this pokemon was another bad matchup."Go Slugma," I said.Ritchie smiled, and as I expected, went for the easiest move to end the fight. "Earthquake!"I chuckled, this time I wasn't able to make Slugma jump, and the super-effective move ended the match with a rumble. I chuckled as I withdrew Slugma. "Yeah, I think I've seen enough. I wanted depth, I wasn't expecting a secret ace like that from you Ritchie," I said.Ritchie grinned and beamed as I opened a box that was offered to me by the referee. "Ritchie from Frodomar City? I hereby recognise you as having earned the Boulder Badge.""Yes! I got a Boulder badge!" he shouted while holding the badge aloft. He then surprised me by pulling out his badge case and popping it open. I noted that he had the Soul Badge, and the Cascade Badge."You've fought Janine?" I asked."Janine? Oh right, she's fighting the trainers that challenge Fuchsia right now isn't she? No, I fought with Koga first, but did so while I was… sort of ill. He wasn't pleased with me despite winning. He ended up demanding I stay in his Gym."Ritchie rubbed the back of his head and I had a momentary feeling of deja vu. It was like I was looking at Ash apologising for attempting poaching pokemon from me."I met Janine and learnt a lot from spending a while with them but with my late start, I ended up running into a lot of other people as they were coming down from Cerulean into Saffron and Celadon. So I have done things sort of in reverse but… I think it has worked out for me? We've had a tough time of it with the people we've been fighting but we're getting stronger!" he said, punching his fist forward.Both Sparky and Cruise copied him, and I chuckled.I then looked over at Cruise with a serious eye. "So, I'm assuming your issue is that your Larivatar hasn't yet evolved despite having all the indicators that he should have?""Yes!" Ritchie said and I waved him to follow me."Alright, I have some experience with pokemon like this. Let's go talk with the experts however.""Experts? Oh that's right you have some researchers at your gym don't you?" Ritchie said thoughtfully.I chuckled as Yolanda joined us, Terra wiggled out of her grip and approached Cruise with a cheerful hello. Cruise nodded back and I noted the difference. With Terra, a baby pokemon that was almost out of the early growth phase, it was obvious that Cruise really was ready to evolve.His body was thicker, and he was taller."Ritchie, I'd like you to meet my sister and fellow Larvitar appreciator, Yolanda. Yolanda, meet Ritchie.""Hi!" she said. "Nice work with your fight!" she said, causing Ritchie to grin at her.I led Ritchie to the back of the reserve and smiled as he gawked at all the pokemon on display."Oh wow!" he said before whipping out a rather older-looking Pokedex to document the various pokemon.I smirked before whistling loudly. A roar in response let me know I'd been heard.I turned to Ritchie. "You asked about the experts I have? How about a Tyranitar?""Oh wow!" said Ritchie as Titan walked up only to gasp as Empress walked behind him. "TWO TYRANITAR!?"I chuckled. "I did say experts, didn't I?" I said. I waved them over, more than happy to spend my lunch break with them talking about Cruise. I planned to make this a very educational session for Yolanda, which I knew Ritchie would benefit from.With this, I could hit a whole host of flying types with this metaphorical rock.