It was nice to be in demand for talks.
I had people demanding I attend talks with universities, trainer academies, and now training camps.The issue was very much that the training camps that I'd locked in for, were supposed to be just Pewter trainers.Then I'd gone and opened my damn mouth.I stared at the list of applicants on the computer and scowled. "How often do you think I could save myself trouble if I just kept my damn mouth shut?" I asked rhetorically."Zu?" said Zubat from where she was hanging on the ceiling. One of her ears unfurled and I had to hurriedly wave a hand."No, no, ignore me, I was just talking to myself," I said. Zubat returned to resting and I hummed, watching her.She'd been flying around a bit helplessly after the game of colour tag. It might have been a case of her biting off more than she could chew, chasing Zephyr like that. Now she was struggling as she was keenly aware of the gulf in strength, speed, and experience that existed.It didn't help that with everything that had been going on with the Rocket raids, she hadn't gotten much time with me. She hadn't been able to be eased into the team, and training. She'd gone hard after Zephyr and come up short.Which led her to start attaching herself to me when I was in the Gym or home. With her size, I found that wasn't really an issue. More than a few people commented that she was rather adorable with how she clung to me. Rachel had even called it 'little sister' energy coming in strong.I was a bit worried that it was a bit more of an abandonment issue presenting itself with how her introduction to my team had been delayed.She was also easily one of the smallest pokemon I had in a team of giants, so she was also probably quite intimidated. I had no issues letting her cling to me. It would help things along more when she was ready for her final evolution into Crobat if we spent time bonding.Something that I was making sure to lock in for all my pokemon more often. This morning's game had been a good start. I'd have to break out the training pads a bit more and let the team be goofy more. Maybe even set up another music night? Bertha always loved dancing along to some pop songs.I'd tried a lot of different training methods during my journey, and while some of them worked well, others failed to achieve tangible results, such as boosting stats permanently with the use of buff moves repeatedly being used. Still, even failed training methods were experiences shared.They still were experiences that more newly caught pokemon such as Link, Zubat, Teddiursa, Gible or the others wouldn't get to experience. The training programs I had these days were sleek, well fashioned. They were tested and proven with results to show.But they needed heart.I toyed with my hands as I looked up towards Zubat. I would also need to account for Gible, Zubat, Link, and Teddiursa being very different from my usual team with Dragon-ground, flying-poison, fairy, and normal-ground to be accounted for.I paused, frowning as I felt like I'd forgotten… Ah, Cradily. I needed to keep working on them as well. With Erika showing me a few tricks, I needed to reach out to others like Janine for Zubat. As for the ground typing, well I certainly wasn't going to be asking Giovanni for any pointers.I drummed my fingers and typed up a message to Lance asking about what would happen with the training manuals that Giovanni would have to have had for some of his trainers. If they existed. I somehow doubted that Giovanni had given out much with regard to unique insights for ground-type pokemon.I started toying with my training schedule, dedicating a bit more 'goof' time into the equation with a host of different activities being added in simply to increase pokemon experience and team-building opportunities.What was that other thing we did that had Sabrina—emotionally stunted Sabrina— rolling on the ground laughing?I snapped my fingers. 'Talent show' I typed in. Then, because I could, I raised up my Xtransciever and shot Sabrina a message.What do you call Banana peel shoes? I sent.I giggled to myself as I was rewarded with a line of question marks from Sabrina.Slippers.I chortled to myself and fired off a few more. Sabrina sent me a number of emojis back and when I was done she snapped a picture of her smiling with a faint blush.I snapped a picture of myself grinning back at her.A flash of light heralded Sabrina popping into place. She started to seat herself in my lap only for Zubat, having gotten startled by the sudden appearance of another human."Argh! Zubat! We're fine! Calm down girl!" I said. Zubat fluttered into a corner sheepishly."I don't recall you having a Zubat," Sabrina said, eying the small green pokemon with some annoyance."Yeah, she joined me on Friday night when my family went up to Mt Moon," I replied. "She's been a bit worried 'cause of how busy I've been. Didn't get to give her a proper welcome. She likes hanging out around me. Sorry, I didn't consider how she'd react to you teleporting in. I'll have to work on that," I said.Then I paused as another joke occurred to me. "Although I have something else to teach her first," I said.Sabrina twitched, aware enough of the tone of voice that I had used, to know that a joke was coming. "What are you going to teach her?""Her alpha-bat," I said, and I was instantly rewarded by Sabrina dropping her stern expression to smile."You know what one bat says to another?" I asked.Sabrina shook her head."Let's hang around together." Sabrina started to giggle and I ran through my entire cluster of bat jokes.Zubat, apparently intrigued by the sound of Sabrina giggling, fluttered down onto my shoulder, her large ears crinkling as she rotated them from me to Sabrina to listen to our back and forth banter.She then inched down my arm towards Sabrina, apparently liking the sound of Sabrina's giggles.When she got close enough for Sabrina to touch, Sabrina reached out and ran a hand over the little Zubat's head. "Well, she's certainly pretty," Sabrina said.Zubat preened at the compliment, and I knew they'd be good friends. Sabrina then closed the gap with me to give me a kiss.Just as we were about to break apart, the door rattled. I frowned. "I didn't have anyone booked in…" I paused and glanced at Sabrina. "Is it important?"She nodded, and with an audible click, the door was unlocked, revealing Rocko and Alexa, who were carrying the end of the day's reports."Oh, Gym Leader Sabrina! I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt anything," Alexa began.Sabrina waved the comment away. "No, there was nothing happening. We were just hanging out," she said seriously.Alexa slowly nodded, her doubt on clear display. Rocko merely walked up and dropped down the reports for me to look over before eying the list I had on my computer. "Heh, still working at that?"I nodded. "Yeah… I think I shouldn't have opened my mouth."Sabrina took one look at the list and made a thoughtful noise. "Perhaps you should ask other Gyms to run training camps at the end of the circuit. Reply to the trainers that they should consider where they might get the best training for their pokemon, and hint at that being a possibility.""But no one else is doing it as far as I know?" I said."Create some interest in it, and they might, though. I will certainly be setting something up, and with my recent showing…" Sabrina trailed off, and I nodded.It was really a stalling tactic, but that wasn't too much of an issue. It would make some of the people who were harassing me reconsider their options. I could also have a serious think about it instead of just tossing out the suggestion. It wasn't a bad idea, but it needed some work.Still, it was an answer. As an old man once said to me during my journey, pursuing perfection every time is the enemy of good enough and getting the job done.I sighed, nodding to show that I agreed. It would do for now. It didn't feel like a perfect answer, but it was good enough."Alright! Let's head home!" I said standing up.Alexa and Rocko shifted guiltily. I paused and frowned as Sabrina made no move towards the door.I sat back down. "What's up?" I said, readying myself for whatever was about to be brought up.Alexa coughed. "The League contacted us…" She chewed her lips nervously for a moment before straightening her spine. "Surge has said that he will comply with most of their demands, but he wants to talk with you."I felt my brow twitch. "That's awfully demanding of a man that's been caught literally aiding and abetting criminals," I said pointedly.Alexa nodded and relaxed, causing me to blink with surprise. Ah, she knew that this was a topic that would be poking at me. It worried me that she thought I'd lash out at her for delivering the message to me.I let out a long breath. "Thanks for telling me this Alexa, at this point, I'm not interested in listening to whatever Surge has to say." Sabrina nodded, and I shot her a look. "I imagine they've said the same to you."She nodded again but gestured at me. "Yes, but I'm not worried about what they wanted. You said you would wait and I still think you should." She smiled a little. "Let Surge and the League wait on you a little. You are, after all, not one of their employees."Rocko barked out a laugh at that. "Ha! She's not wrong! With all the help you've been giving them it isn't like you don't have other things on your plate!""Hmmm, they can call me up if they need me, however," I said, putting my head on my hand."Yes, but if they aren't going to do it officially you don't have to give them any response," Sabrina said. "I don't think they will do anything for the moment lest they lower their reputation.""Face?" I said, thinking of old Xianxia tales that I had rather enjoyed in my past life.When Alexa and Rocko stared blankly at me I coughed and corrected what I'd said. Sabrina might have understood, but they wouldn't, having not heard me talk about such things. "Your argument is that they will want to preserve their reputation?" I explained."Quite so," Sabrina said."Hmmm, well, I'm going to hold off and let things calm down a bit. I will go in eventually, but I think I will do it on my own time," I said.The others nodded at this, and there was an undercurrent of worry in their gaze that I decided to ignore. Sabrina wasn't looking at me with worry which made her easy to focus on. She smiled and squeezed my hand with her telekinesis before glancing at my computer."Are you going to have any more Ace battles before your tournament next week?" she asked. I narrowed my eyes in thought. Was she diverting the conversation? Ah, she must have been asked to assist officially. She didn't want me to get mad at the League on her behalf.Rocko and Alexa both stopped being so worried and showed interest in the new topic. They hadn't noticed.I shot Sabrina a knowing look. That had been a smooth conversation change; she certainly had picked up a lot from spending time with Erika.I grasped the new topic and moved with it. "It's the darndest thing, a lot of the people that had previously been rejecting or ignoring my challenges have suddenly started messaging me.""I imagine having Will drop off the Ace rankings due to being a convicted criminal certainly helped things along," muttered Alexa.I nodded. "It also caused a shift, with everyone that was eighteenth and lower in the rankings moving up one." I opened up a pokenet webpage that Missy had directed me to earlier. "His vanishing from the list along with the lack of response from the League has made people come up with some amusing theories around him."Alexa stepped up and looked at the screen, her eyes squinting as she read. "They think he was a ghost pokemon?" she said incredulously.Rocko snorted. "This one thinks that he was a psychic hired to hype up the Gym leaders with the fights he did but he went rogue and was gunning for the champion position? Wow, the pokenet is a dangerous place," he said.I snorted, knowing that this was one of the tamer pokenet pages out there. Also, this was early in the life of the worldwide pokenet. "The League will eventually need to have someone send out an announcement on this I imagine. A lot of people have noticed the shift and more specifically who it was that dropped off."Alexa shook her head. "Some people think you had a hand in vanishing him," she said, reading more of the thread titles. "They're wrong about the reasons but otherwise are… rather scarily accurate," she said."Yeah, that can happen when you're just throwing things out there," I said. "But anyway, I wanted to show you the responses that I've had from other Ace trainers. They've stopped dragging their feet on a few things and have claimed a host of different reasons but some of them are actually valid.""Such as?" Sabrina said pointedly.I waved a hand about, to signal the Gym at large. "I have a huge home-field advantage here with my set-up, the crowd and more. People coming to fight me are already on the back foot mentally. They're not wrong about that, and a few people have stated that they only want to face me if it is an even playing field, or in some cases, a field that they're familiar with.""So they want the home-field advantage?" Rocko said, noticing the reversal right away.I nodded. "Yeah pretty much. But I think it's an experience I need." I bounced in my seat a little. "I think it would be nice to get out of Pewter a bit, 'cause I'm not always going to have things my way."Alexa and Rocko tilted their heads in a strangely synchronised manner. "Hmmmmm," they both said, only to glance at each other and realise what they'd been doing. They shifted and chuckled before glancing back at me."If you're sure," Alexa said. "Will I need to block out set times?"I reached out and typed out a quick reply to two emails. "Two times this week," I said, pointing out the time slots I wanted. I was leaving things for Thursday and Friday. Two matches, then with rest on Saturday and Sunday leading into the tournament on Monday next week would be for the best."Rocko hummed. "Think that's enough time to scout them?""We'll spend some time going over the two people I'm challenging, the locations, and whatnot tomorrow during the break. I think it would be good to even make it a bit of an excursion for some of the Gym trainers.""Where are they asking you to fight?" asked Alexa as she started typing away at her transceiver, adjusting people's schedules as we talked about it."Make it optional seeing as it is rather short notice," I said, realising I was asking a bit to have a sizeable chunk of people drop their plans for lunch tomorrow.Alexa shot me an amused look but nodded. "The location?" she asked."One is going to be on a meadow, so we'll do a quick ride up to the picnic areas to the south to set up for that, while the other is going to be on a beach… which might be a taller ask, now that I think about it. Let's set that as a scout out for tomorrow afternoon."Rocko scratched his chin. "There will be some differences between sand and a battle arena, that's for sure.""And the meadow as well," I said. I tapped the table a few times and considered what else I needed to do."Hmmm, maybe send out some messages to the sponsored trainers as well." I had checked in with Forrest, Ash, Misty, Humphrey, Gary and Mia during the aftermath of Sabrina's victory and the Silph Co situation—as the media were calling it.I should probably do another follow-up just to be sure. "Anything else I need to do?" I asked Rocko and Alexa while shooting Sabrina a look. As I looked her over, and actually looked at her, I noticed how tired she looked. How her hair was slightly frazzled and she had a slight pallor to her.All of them shook their heads.I clapped my hands. "Alright, you two should head off!" I said. I scooped up the day's reports "Alright I'm going to work through things from most important to least then!" I said before linking arms with Sabrina.I moved quickly to make sure she didn't vanish on me. "Have you eaten? I'll either cook your favourite or order it, I think you need a good bath to relax in.""Ah?" Sabrina said, blinking in surprise.I smiled sheepishly. "I was thinking about asking you out to dinner but then I realised how hard you must have been working the last few days. You don't need me sweeping you off your feet. You need me laying you down and pampering you."Sabrina stared at me for a long moment before grabbing me by the shirt and dragging me in for a passionate kiss.When we broke apart she had a pleased look on her face. "I'm going to get Ralts, my bathrobe and some supplies. I will have that Hoenn dish we had in Mauville City.""The one from that high-end restaurant we tried…" I licked my lips in trepidation. "Or the back alley—" I started to say, only for Sabrina to level a look at me."You know which one," she said before vanishing into a Teleport.Rocko chuckled and clapped his hands together. "She's such a lucky girl! I want to be pampered by you!" he said with a fake swoon.Alexa giggled and swatted him before waving us both goodbye. Rocko trotted off himself, his transceiver echoing a conversation he started to have with his step-siblings as he departed.I darted into my house and found all the ingredients for the meal; potato chips, beef tortillas, and dipping cheese. I grinned to myself as I got out Munchlax's stool and used it to reach to the very back of the top shelf of the pantry, where I had some hidden spices."Munchlax no!" said Tilly, having apparently been drawn by the sound of the stool only to pause as she caught me instead of Munchlax in the kitchen. Her eyes tracked me as I pulled out my secret spices.She stared at me. "Sus!" she declared, levelling her finger at me.Billy, having been drawn by his twin, gave the scene a look before nodding along and pointing at me. "Sus!" he said.I huffed. "There's nothing suspicious about this!" I said indignantly.Munchlax chose that moment to wander into the kitchen. He took one look at me and snapped his hand at me and my position. "Mun!" he said firmly. I just knew he was saying 'sus' in his own way.I huffed and stepped back with my prize. A very well-preserved can of chilli flakes."This is not for kids," I said firmly.This was very obviously the wrong thing to say, as all three of them crossed their arms and grinned at me.I huffed and laid out Sabrina's meal. The trick, as the old granny who'd run the back alley stall had said, was to cut the chips with a thick peeler and really use your wrist to make it a scoop for the later cream and chilli sauce.I got to work quickly, chopping and mixing before realising that with the hour it was, it would make more sense for me to make up dinner for everyone.Tilly, Billy, and Munchlax all claimed seats at the kitchen bench and I had to endure a wave of questions ranging from what I was doing, how I was going to make it extra tasty, and other comments that I endeavoured to try and translate. Sometimes I felt that the babbling of children required a minor degree in linguistics.When I had everything cooked to a degree that I could be happy with, and could step away from the kitchen, I tapped Nanny Grav to give my ensuite bathroom a quick once over before putting some candles up and running a hot bath.I quickly tossed the mess I'd made into green wastebins or garbage. Some of the scraps Munchlax made gimme gestures for, and so the green waste scraps were turned over to him. I fondly watched him gobble them up with gusto."How have you been, Munchlax?" I asked. He nodded vigorously and shot me a thumbs-up as he continued to gobble down the snack.I merely hummed. "You aren't bothered about how things went during the trip up Mt Moon?" I asked carefully.Munchlax paused and gave this question some more thought before sinking into himself.
"Munch…" he said despondently."You're sad you weren't strong enough?" I asked, to which he nodded."Hmmm," " I said. "You know, that's perfectly fine and if you wanted to do something about it that's fine too, but it's not the end of the world to just be yourself you know?"Munchlax tilted his head at this and I smiled. From either side of him, twin gazes watched on, taking in everything that was being said and done in front of them. Billy and Tilly remained quiet otherwise."Well, you don't have to train like the other pokemon, if you don't want to. You… you're already doing something important here you know?" I gestured around with my hand. "Sometimes being a friend and companion can be the thing people need most, you know?"I chuckled. "If I asked Cranidos to play, you know what he'd do?""Munch?" Munchlax said, jutting his head forward."Yes," I said, surprised that Munchlax had an idea what I meant. "He'd just fight people. He's not an easy pokemon to be friends with. Not like you, you're good at playing and being nice." I propped my head on my hand and smiled at him. "I've seen how you share your snacks, you know?"Munchlax stiffened and looked away as though he'd done something that he should be guilty about. "Munch, mun, lax, Munch!" he said quickly."Yeah, I know, but I also know how much food means to you. Making your friends and family happy though? That means more doesn't it?" I said.Munchlax nodded."Good, don't let the fact that you're not a good fighter get you down. You don't need to be. If you want to, we can work something out, but for now, know that you're really good, great even, as a playmate."Munchlax wiggled in his seat and waved a hand in an 'oh you' gesture.Billy leaned in and gave Munchlax a hug, surprising me. "You're my friend!" said Billy. Tilly copied him and I chuckled along, as they all giggled and laughed.By the time dinner was ready, I had everyone in the family hovering for a bite but I turned that responsibility over to Flint. I instead made up a meal for Sabrina and plated it up.Before I could depart Tilly planted herself in the doorway with her hands spread wide. "Want!" She said pointing at the plate."No sorry, Tilly, this is for Sabrina, I made yours over there," I said."No! Sprinkles! I want those!" she said. I blinked, having not expected her to notice the difference.This announcement of something being 'special' about this meal compared to the rest of the kids resulted in their interest swivelling onto me. Yolanda gave me a sheepish look as she shrugged. She knew better than to try and dissuade my family when they were united on something like this.I sighed. "It's chilli flakes from Hoenn," I said to Flint when he raised an eyebrow. "I don't think the little ones should try it," I said.Flint gestured for me to hand him the container and I did so. He inspected it seriously, and I watched as his offhand dipped beneath the counter to grab up another container. He then performed a quick swap while shooting me a wink."I think this will be fine, no?" he said, displaying a basic sweet chilli container. I nodded and held in a chuckle as the kids gobbled up the deception.It was a good thing Tilly and Billy couldn't read, or they'd have spotted the deception. As it was, I think only Yolanda cottoned on to the switch with how Salvadore had been reading a book he had hidden on his lap."Spicy!" they shouted as they devoured it.Tilly turned to Munchlax and grinned. "Flame breath!" she said pretending that she was a fire type as she exhaled on him.Munchlax pretended to pat out flames on his fur while wailing in pain."No fire breath at the dining table!' Flint said sternly. Tilly stiffened only for Flint to grin. "Not unless you want to deal with my… Fire Blast!" he said jokingly.I left my family giggling and roaring like a flight of Charizard as I went to my suite of rooms.When I entered the bathroom, the sight awaiting me gave me pause.On another day, I might have stripped myself off and shimmied in for a romantic encounter.And with how Sabrina lay back, water droplets trickling down creamy white skin, I found myself licking my lips. I was tempted. Oh, how I was tempted.As it was, I knew Sabrina just wanted to relax, so I suppressed the part of my mind that was hooting and hollering for all intents and purposes before laying out the meal where Sabrina could see it.She stirred and peeled a cucumber off her eyes without using her hands. She eyed the meal and licked her lips. "You even have the flakes that she used?" she said, her eyes locked on the flakes that seemed to radiate heat."Yup," I said.Sabrina dragged me towards her and gave me another passionate kiss. She then waved me away. "Leave me with my food," she said, acting more like a wild pokemon than my girlfriend."Ralts!" said Ralts from the side.I shot Ralts a look and found the adorable sight of Ralts, with a small ring allowing her to float on the water with her own facemask just visible under her hair. She waved a hand imperiously towards a bowl of half-eaten candies and opened her mouth.I popped a candy into her mouth and she cooed in delight before waving me away.Sabrina levitated her meal up and began to nibble at it. Another perk of being telekinetic? You never dropped anything.I stepped back and left her to it while I set to eating my own meal in my room.I glanced at the container.Was it… I chewed my lip and decided to try it again. A single flake shouldn't be that bad… right?I took a bite of my meal only to lunge for the milk I had prepared for myself. I chugged it down and found it just barely acted to give my poor tongue relief. I took another long pull of milk, letting the milk sit in my tongue to cool the sore point.I shook my head. Sabrina hadn't been wrong; I would never forget her favourite meal.She'd gobbled it down while I'd sworn that I had exhaled at least a Smokescreen when I'd tried the same meal.I finished up my food, without the spices, and settled in to get the day's work done. When Sabrina was done she walked out of the bathroom, gave me a kiss and tucked herself into bed.I was just in time to finish up my work and cuddle up behind her.The next day saw most of the Pewter Gym trainers riding various pokemon down the road towards the Viridian forest. Our convoy caused a small dust cloud to billow up and a number of people to get out of the way with perplexed expressions.Apparently, none of the trainers wanted to miss out on a training session, so I had most of the trainers, along with Rachel, Bianca, Stephen, and Alexa, who rode behind me on Jormungandr.Greta, Yolanda and Crystal were all riding scooters while everyone else rode pokemon.When we came upon the picnic grounds, there weren't many people there beyond a young family. The mother of the family looked a little unsure of our sudden arrival but soon calmed down when I waved, and set out an area that was approximately the size of a standard field.I clapped my hands and smiled. "Alright, so today—""Sorry! Just give me another few moments!" said Rachel as she raised up a camera. "Alright! We're live in, three, two… oh! Wait! My bad! We're live now for the trainers of Pewter!" she announced.I coughed and restarted. "Alright! Hello gang. Today we're in the field instead of at the gym, as you might have noticed. This was a topic I wanted to cover as I will be fighting an Ace battle tomorrow in such a field."These sorts of meadow fights are typical of most battles, honestly, with trainers at every stage engaging in them. Pewter Gym, with its League standard battle field, is very much an outlier. Now, today's session won't allow for trainers who are watching via video to ask questions, but feel free to post them on the chat board and I will get to them later!" I said.I then reached down and grabbed a handful of soil. "Now, I'm going to dig right in. One of the main differences is that the soil is much looser than a standard Gym, this can mean that your pokemon might get knocked around or find themselves lacking the traction they would have back home."I went through the ways that just the soil changed how a fight could occur, with the greater nutrients being better for grass-type pokemon, along with there being quicker travel for moves such as Dig.When I shifted focus I swept a hand out to the Gym trainers. "Now, what's another difference? I'll ask the people with me today for any suggestions?" I said leadingly."There might be different terrain? Hills, or gullies?" said one man. I nodded approvingly and led the team to show how that would impact visibility or how even a slight rise or fall of the land could allow for an advantage depending on what you were going for. I then showed them the same area from a different angle."Sometimes it will seem like having the high ground is better but it is all about context. Can you force them off it? Or do they have to come to you? If they come to you and they use the high ground to increase the speed or power of their attacks, can you counter them?" I said, positing a few hypothetical situations.I nodded and once again waved for group engagement. "What else can be different?""Vegetation?" said a woman this time."Precisely!" I said. "Sometimes there might be long grass, short grass, scrubs, or even trees that will fall within the borders of a field such as this. Make sure you are clear on if those are out of bounds. Now with the match I have tomorrow, there will actually be a sizeable amount of time where we discuss just where the match will take place within a field of around five or so acres. This can mean that it will vary and you can also have home-field advantages if you know the area very, very well." I said."Anything else different?" I asked."The sky!" shouted a tiny voice from near my waist."That's right Cind—" I broke off, as I realised that the small child near me was not in fact my sister, but a wayward child that had wandered over from the picnic area.I blinked down at her. "Oh, hello," I said as she grinned up at me. I was amused to see that she was missing her front teeth."Hello!" she said, only for her mother to suddenly appear and reach for her daughter."I am so sorry Gym Leader Brock!" said the woman but I waved her apologies off."Oh not a problem! She wasn't doing anything wrong, she actually answered a question perfectly," I said amused by how this had become a community activity now. I hadn't really ever specified for it to not be but I could use this for another point later on."She was right about the sky. In the Gym there is a roof that caps the flight height that pokemon can reach, with a cap up to one hundred metres." I pointed up and people glanced up at the blue sky above. "There are no such restrictions here and that can mean a much greater aerial battle can take place.""And if the trainer you're facing is trying to take advantage of better nutrients it plays to your strength to use Flying-type pokemon," said Crystal thoughtfully."Bingo!" I said, happy she was taking part and thinking about this in the context of what I'd said previously."Now there's one other thing that we should take into consideration when fighting in fields like this. Can anyone think of them?" I asked."Stray pokemon?"I coughed. "That's a good answer and correct, but I'm looking for something else, in a similar vein," I said leadingly.Yolanda stiffened and glanced at the girl and her mother. "Members of the public?" she said."Yes, in such fields there won't be any shields like the gym has, which is why most battles take place in speciality arenas. If you are fighting in a field make sure you are aware of the impact your battle might have if someone wanders in for example."Now in all cases, if someone's life is in danger it is considered a null battle and all trainers and their pokemon are to cease until the danger has passed. If the danger does not pass or the event needs to, it will be called off.""Is that something that happens much for Ace battles?" asked Yolanda."It shouldn't and I expect it won't. The place I'm fighting is not actually a meadow in the wild for example, but rather a specially curated field. It has various camera drones and driveable machines people set up for Ace battles to take place in a remote location where things can be a bit more 'in the elements' so to speak.""No one should be wandering around there, and if they do, there are staff that will escort them off straight away," I said.I'd actually had to look that up this morning when I'd done my research on my battle tomorrow. I had enough paranoia to still be mindful of it, but I wasn't going to let it stop me from trying out the Plains and Meadows Co. battlefields of Route eight.There was still a lot that I didn't know about this specific style of Ace battles."Now one of the most important things I will be doing is taking some people with me to test the field beforehand to get an understanding of how my team might move about in the ground—" I resumed my lecture.By the time I had to wrap things up and return to the Gym, the family had joined us. They thanked me for the memorable picnic and tolerating their daughter's questions which I had no issue with. Honestly, with only one of her, there wasn't much hassle, considering I regularly put up with eight younger siblings now that Forrest had set out on his Journey.The afternoon's challenges were nonexistent, so I let everyone enjoy their lunch as I set to work on some documents in my office.I was just starting when Lance called."Brock, I need a favour," he said to get things underway.I snorted. "Ah, is this about Surge?" I said.Lance nodded.I leaned back and considered how I felt. It had been a few days now, and I'd calmed down. I'd been able to give myself some distance from the event. I no longer wanted to bash his head in, nor did my heart ache with the thought of seeing him. I could wait longer, but now felt right for me.I'd processed my initial reaction, but that didn't mean I wouldn't have a flare-up when I came face to face with him."No promises that I won't deck him when I see him," I said."You'd be right to," Lance said, rubbing at his temples. "He's caused me a lot of headaches. Can you please just come talk to him so we can find out what he knows and doesn't know?""Alright, send me a pick-up and I'll block out the rest of my afternoon," I said standing and readying myself to talk with Surge.
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I didn't Teleport into the front entrance.Instead, I found myself brought directly onto the roof where police were ready with their pokemon already out.No fewer than eight Arcanine were present which was a strong showing by the police but this was only the tip of the visible iceberg. A shadowy section of the building got a mere look over as I otherwise documented all the changes.A quick glance up allowed me to see that even with it being late afternoon there was a wide ring of pokemon flying around the League, shepherding the office workers or staff working in the League to land. From there I could see a bus terminal with various transport pokemon ferrying the grounded workers.I glanced over the side of the roof and looked down to find that there were several security guards on the ground with fences set up to keep out what looked like a horde of reporters and their technicians."Looks like someone kicked over a Trapinich nest," I said with how people were marching back and forth hurriedly. I could see some harried-looking staff being hounded by the media as they exited the fenced-off League entrance. They kept their heads down and still got into and out of the building before being ferried away by pokemon or a car in the rare instance.Sabrina hummed. "I've spoken with my parents about this, they say this is nothing. It was worse for some of the capital cities during the war."I grunted, knowing that she was likely right. If a Pokemon World War was anything comparable to my past life's wars, there would have been even greater restrictions. I eyed the beating heart of the Indigo government. It was a flurry of activity, but at the same time, it could be worse."This place wasn't even here back then." I pointed out.Sabrina nodded as she indicated the reporters being held at bay. "Lance has announced that they have made the biggest raid, capture, and detainment in the League's history. He has not released names, but there is a growing call from the media for it.""He's holding back and trying to wrap things up neatly, sadly," said Agatha, stepping out from a shadow to the side. I merely grunted, having spotted her earlier.Sabrina nodded to Agatha and then vanished into another Teleport, having other jobs to do rather than escort me to Surge. Her time was in high demand."How are you handling all this?" I said, glancing at the ancient woman now playing chaperone for me."Feh! This is nothing! If you wanted to see people hard at work you should have been with me decades ago! I didn't sleep for a week straight because I needed to work with Samuel and Blaine to get the cities of Kanto to accept us! People don't ever want to give up power Brock! But we made them! We were tenacious! And we got things done!" she said with a firm stamp of her cane.I blinked having not considered how much work the literal welding of two nations into one might have required.I considered Agatha with this new information. I rubbed my chin and cocked my head to the side. "How the hell are we not in another war if it was up to you—"Her cane flashed out and aimed for my kidney but I dodged her, well used to her antics.I waved her off. "I'm joking! I'm joking! I know you're great when you set your mind to it," I said, making sure to calm her down with some compliments.She waved her cane at me threateningly. "You and Samuel!" she said before huffing and marching off without so much as a warning. "Keep up! I have other, more important tasks to perform! I'm not retired yet, young one!" she said.I jogged after her, surprised by how energised she was today. "Has anything else happened since I departed? Any more raids?" I said.There hadn't been, at least not any that the Guardians were aware of, and with how Sabrina, Koga, Agatha, and I had been heavily involved in the entire affair it was practically guaranteed that one of us would have heard something to pass on to the others.Koga more so than anyone else.I glanced around out of habit. Chances were— I'd learned thanks to training with the Guardians— that just thinking about him would sometimes see him appearing at your side."No, there hasn't been anything serious. Merely clean up, Johto had just as many raids as Kanto. Thankfully with Olivine City's Gym leader being one of the trainers that Sabrina is still slated to interrogate." Agatha sniffed. "The fools think that she will have a rather easier time of it with how she is dating you!""Ah, they don't consider who my starter is and how that impacts things," I said conversationally.Agatha nodded and continued to march on. Each time we reached a checkpoint or a door, her shadow would extend an arm and tap in a code, display a card with Agatha's name and picture on it, or merely wave cheekily."It's rather unique, isn't it?" I asked as I stared down at her shadow, where I knew a teeming mass of Gengar were usually located.Agatha merely cackled, resulting in the next door we made our way up towards, already being held open with the guard waving us through."Only one person can laugh like that," he said when I'd shot him an unimpressed look.I wanted to protest but I found I couldn't.No one laughed like Agatha. It had a tinge of something beyond the veil of life that tickled up your spine when you heard it.It was like a sinister joke being made by a person that you knew, could, and would hurt you given the chance, despite the person doing nothing at the time. It was like a man holding a bare knife only to juggle it with several others.You could laugh along eventually with exposure, but if it was done slowly enough, you never forgot the moment of trepidation."Have there been any attempts at anyone being broken out?" I asked."No," Agatha said. "I would have expected something from Blaine… or Giovanni's other subordinates, but it is very telling that nothing is amounting from them. We believe that whoever is left has formed a splinter organisation which is why information that we can access to deny them anything is so important. We've shut down many accounts, and pokemon storage facilities and other sites, but still haven't worked out how much of the pie we're missing."At my grimace, Agatha waved a hand and elaborated. "It's much less than half, I believe the auditors even estimate we have as much as eighty percent of Team Rocket's holdings. But… what we do have is extensive."Agatha continued to march, leading me deep into the league. I recognised a lot of the hallways we were moving along now, having come here when Daniel was being interrogated."Are they still in Indigo?" I asked, feeling like that was the next question that needed to be asked."That is one of the questions we are trying to figure out. We're unsure where they would have gone and while we have some goodwill with Hoenn and the island nations, we still don't have any authority to act internationally."She smirked. "Yet."Agatha frowned. "Oh, and there's Fiore I suppose as well," she said in an offhand manner."What's up with Fiore?" I asked."Nothing honestly. They're just crowing to whoever will listen. They don't believe us that during the Silph Co. raid, the masterball was in fact destroyed, despite all the evidence we have provided. They are adamant that we still have one, if not the capabilities to make such a pokeball."Agatha rolled her eyes. "Meanwhile they are touting their own horn to anyone back home that will listen about how they got us to destroy the 'abomination' that was the Masterball." Agatha shook her head. "Politics at its finest; they are presenting the story in a manner that suits the needs of different people.""Huh," I said. "I think I hate it."My comment merely got a cackle of glee from Agatha. "Ohoh? You will learn young one! You will learn!" she spoke with the tone of one who knew my opinion far too well for my liking. Had she been the same before or when she'd become an Elite Four?I wasn't sure I liked what she foresaw in my future. My expression got another laugh out of her and I huffed at her. "So, Surge? I'm surprised you didn't get him to talk," I said changing the topic as we closed in on the interrogation room.Agatha opened the door. "I felt it wasn't my place, plus, while I can scare him, fear is a poor motivator for truth."She turned and looked at me, her expression oddly soft. "I learnt that sometimes, the softest touches can get people to open up. For better or worse, he is still trying to reach out to you."I locked eyes with Agatha and clenched my jaw. "Yeah, we'll see how that goes for him," I said.I walked into the room and was surprised to find Looker in the waiting area with Officer Jenny from Pewter. I could tell thanks to the epaulets on her shoulder marking her as such. There was another man in the corner, with a pair of Haunter floating around the room.The pokemon's gaze swept over us as we entered and they gave Agatha respectful nods before leering at me like I was fresh meat. Not willing to let them play their games, I pulled up some dark energy and flexed it slightly.They stiffened and found something else to do as the people in the room turned to us."Agatha," Looker said before nodding to me. "Brock, thank you for coming." His eyes searched my face, "I know this is a… tough situation with how Surge was a mentor for you.""Yeah," I said noncommittally while swallowing down the feeling of rising emotion. "Guess he was." I stepped up to the glass and stared at Surge.They'd given him a chair to match his frame instead of attempting to push him into the standard chair they used. He lounged in it with his chin on his chest, asleep or at least pretending to be.He looked carefree, like this was just another day for him. If the chair could have been kicked back he'd have been leaning back and snoozing, I had no doubt.He looked far too comfortable for a man behind bars.His hair was still spikey despite lacking any product and he didn't have any signs that he'd been mistreated.Not that I expected Lance's League to suddenly resort to physical means of interrogation.No, they mostly had gentler methods, like Sabrina, to pry secrets from people. Which was so much more genteel. I wasn't going to ask anyone, nor spare any time wondering what would happen to the Grunts or Executives when they had pried what they could from them.You could scour a man's mind psychically, but physically beating on him would be too much. What did that say about the League? I had to wonder.That wasn't something I shouldn't have any say in. But that didn't mean I couldn't speak up if I didn't want to.I just… wasn't sure I wanted to.I stared at Surge and he stirred and opened his eyes to look around, knowing with some sixth sense that he was being observed."Hmmm? It lunch time yet?" he said, looking at me unknowingly."So, what do you want me to get him to say?" I asked to the room at large."We mainly want things tidied up. It is rather open and shut with current rulings and his being caught while supporting Team Rocket as he did. This is just to make sure there is nothing that can see him worm his way out," Agatha said quickly."Ahem!" said the man in the corner, stepping forward.I already didn't like him just from the way he gave off airs of importance. Here was a man who delighted in crossing a t or dotting an i and making people's livelihood's crumble.The man adjusted his glasses in an overly officious manner. "Gym Leader Brock?" he said plaintively.Apparently, he expected me to look at him when he cleared his throat. I kept looking Surge over. He looked kind of ridiculous in his orange jumpsuit.They apparently didn't have one his size, as part of his calf was on display while the suit was crumpled up around his body. He looked extremely frumpy.I didn't laugh."Gym Leader—" said the man once again and I flicked my eyes at him."Yes? What do you want?" I said."I'm Fred Fan—"I held up a hand. "No, I don't care who you are. I meant what do you want?" my patience for this entire endeavour was already short.The man shifted, ruffling himself up like a pokemon trying to make himself look bigger. "The League wants to discover any acts of negligence that Surge has committed. We want confirmation that he knew about Giovanni's role, and that he denied the League such information!""Hmmm right," I said. The League wanted to take their cut and take back Vermilion, I mentally translated.Despite myself, I felt annoyed for Surge.Perhaps it was just that the League was showing their hand to me. Or rather this little pencil pusher was trying to do it. Did Lance know this was being pushed or was he turning a blind eye to it?If they had the chance, would they try to repeal my own family's Gym charter?It felt like yes, and the part that bugged me the most about it was the way the man stood there so gleefully at the idea of snatching such a thing. Like anything about this moment was good.This entire situation was a story spanning years in the making.And it was up to me to find out what the story was. A comedy? A tragedy?Or, I thought, what Surge claims the story is. He didn't need to tell the truth to me. Or he didn't need to tell me anything but his version of the truth.What was my truth?He acted against me.That was a betrayal.Don't see what you want to see, just what is, I reminded myself.I inhaled and clapped my hands together before dispelling the dark energy.In its place, I started to fill myself with rock energy. Before I could become lethargic from filling myself I made sure to move, walking around through the only door into the interrogation room.Surge perked up when I opened the door only to sit up properly and put his hands on the table that rested between the two chairs.I paused in the doorway to give him another once-over before marching in and claiming my seat."So, I'm—" I started to say only for the door to swing shut behind me with a loud boom causing me to frown.Surge chuckled. "Heh, it's a security feature they have. Can't keep the door open for too long. You'll also need one of those folk out there to buzz you out when you think you've heard enough," he said.His eyes swept over me. "You look good.""You look like shit," I spat angrily back at him.Surge smiled. "Ah, it's the orange jumpsuit isn't it? It don't match my complexion, does it? When they send me off I think I'll have to request somewhere with khaki as their jumpsuit colours!" he said.I stared at him. That... was such a typical Surge answer that I found myself almost wanting to laugh.Then the anger came back. I lashed out and slammed my fist into the table. An echoing boom rang out and Surge blinked in surprise at the dent I'd left in the table. "This is not a joke Surge. I'm here but honestly? I'm not sure what for! To listen to you play everything you did off? To let you tell some as you'd no-doubt call it, 'Sally sob story'?"I waved a hand towards the one-way mirror, my own reflection on this side copying me. "For them to get all their t's and i's crossed and dotted?"I waved a hand in disgust. "Give me a reason I shouldn't walk out of here now?" I said. And I knew in that moment, that I could. It hadn't been like I'd feared, that upon entering I'd be stuck here. I could leave, cut myself off from him if I wanted to.Surge nodded. "A reason… yeah… Well, first of all, I'm sorry things played out the way they did.""You're sorry you got caught, not that you did it," I said.He wobbled a hand in a so-so gesture. "Yes and no. You've given me time to sit and think about this for a while and… I'm not a good person Brock." He said with a humourless smile. "I never really styled myself as one. I know I'm too tough on the squirts that come in. I beat em up too easily and am prone to waving away their complaints."Surge looked down at his hands. "I'm also a terrible dad. Something you know a thing or two about."He looked up. "You must have been told about Visquez by now right?"I merely grunted and nodded. "Yeah, I have.""She's mine, full-blooded and everything which… well, I'd been told it would never happen. Injury during the war you see?" He waved a hand at his groin. "Not able to produce anything viable, shooting blanks whatever you call it, Visquez is a miracle and I wasn't there for her until she was twelve and she kicked in the door of my gym."I shifted before frowning. I was being dragged into the story of Visquez, but that wasn't what I was here for. It might be what Surge wanted to talk about, but he could take a long walk off a short pier right now. I should have felt a spike of annoyance but due to filling myself with rock energy I was happy to sit and wait.I shook that off, knowing it wasn't what I needed. I could do that, but I needed to be active and not let myself fall into the lull of patience."I don't care," I said, flipping the metaphorical table of this conversation."Fuck you and Rhyhorn you rode in on and are now trying to peddle to me. I'm not interested. What the fuck were you doing with Giovanni? Have you always been a Team Rocket plant?" I demanded."Fuck no!" Surge said. "Remember that listening post? I was pissed about that when I learnt about it. That wasn't no dummy post Brock. That was a legit post meant to track my movements and dig up dirt. Fucking Giovanni knew about Visquez when every other prick out there didn't!"He cracked his neck. "Course I didn't know it was him digging for anything I said in my Gym until I arrived at the hangar. By then… I wasn't going to fight him on it, I was bound by a debt of blood.""A debt of blood?" I said incredulously.Surge nodded seriously. "Brock, I've said before I didn't start out as a Lieutenant when the war started no? I was a private when things began and I moved up the ranks fast. The brass didn't like me but they didn't have no choice but to do it cause I was the only person coming back or making it out of the scraps they threw my squad into."He leaned back "We were a tough-knit group, formally, we were platoon six of battalion eight of the scouts, but we were known better as the wreckers."I arched an eyebrow and considered if I should once again disrupt him. I decided not to after a moment's consideration, instead deciding to let it play out. It was rare that anyone would talk about the bad times of the war."The wreckers, we were given all the tasks they considered impossible. Once got assigned a mission to blow up the warehouses and lighthouse in Olivine you know? Made it out with four men after going in with fifteen. The brass didn't mind though. We got the job done and they loaded us up with fresh-faced punks within the week." Surge waved a hand about."Got used to all the others dying and having to limp back home, in the end, it was just me and the captain. Course when Visquez made captain she always made sure to be upbeat about our chances, came up with plans to make it so as many people as possible had fallback points and everything." Surge trailed off slightly, his eyes growing distant as memories took hold."Your daughter, you named her after this woman?" I asked rather redundantly, wanting to prod him along."Yup," Surge said, his smile wide as he rubbed at a scar on his wrist. "Now, the brass at the time took this as a sign that we could handle more assignments with less downtime between missions… that or that we were just getting pressed during the war and they had no choice but to call us back up. Zapdos knows I had to beat back that asshole Matt from Hoenn enough times it's a wonder I didn't kill him. That Shelly woman with him was always ready to interrupt our fights or get out," Surge said.I blinked, surprised that I recognised the names of two Team Aqua Admin."Anyway, we got another mission… It ended up being the last mission we'd ever have to run with Sammy Oak stepping up a week later, but well, things were bad. You remember the stories about Legendary pokemon awakening during the end of the war? It weren't no myth, I witnessed them.""Them?" I said.Surge nodded. His hands moved to tap on his shoulder where I knew a sizable scar was located. "I was fighting a battle with some real hard Johto soldiers. There was enough of them that they had us pinned down. Now usually Visquez would have gotten us out of there but she got hit early in the fight by a lucky shot from them, started bleeding rather badly, I could do nothing but hold back the Johto pricks with the rest."Raichu and I alone must have taken out sixteen of them that day and still they came on trying to get into Vermillion so they could charge on up into Saffron where the main HQ was at the time. The fighting got so bad a freaking Zapdos swept the field shooting lightning out like it was nobody's business. It helped me stay in the fight longer but it soon left."Surge mimed a phone with one hand. "We got on the blower and started screaming for support, other trainers, heck anybody but no one could hear us or was able to respond."Surge shook his head. "I'm not sure what it was, but no one was coming for us anyway, so we started to drop. Hank, Dave, Charlie, Betty, Chuckie, Lave—" Surge rattled off eight names and I waited for him to announce Visquez but it never came."I got pushed back to where our medic was patching up whoever she could at the time, but she was running low on supplies, energy and time." Surge shifted. "I could see the writing on the wall and the sickos from Johto, they were calling out what they'd do to us, cause they knew we'd held them up long enough and weakened them enough there was no way they'd be able to make a run for HQ. They weren't the sort to pull back neither!"Surge smiled a dark, humourless smile. "So I realised I needed to go down a blaze of glory. I charged out with Raichu, Electrode, and any pokemon I could but it wasn't enough, got crippled as I tried to make my last heroic charge."Surge's expression hardened. "I remember how they laughed at me, telling me they'd make me watch."Then he smiled and his face became that of a Meowth that watched his greatest rival suffer a deserving fate. "Instead I got a front-row seat to watching them getting taken in the rear. See, we'd fought long enough that a nearby group, against their commanding officer's orders, sallied out and attacked from Celadon, which was where the supplies were being kept."I sighed knowing what was coming. "That small group fought tooth and nail and they paid a huge price for it in blood. Of their platoon, only five made it out. They rescued us and then got their asses chewed out for doing it. The CO even went as far as to hide what they'd done. They never got official medals or recognition for it and I couldn't do nothing about it with how delirious I was."Surge sighed. "Those five men? They visited me in hospital to check on me and I thanked them for what they did and swore If they ever needed anything, I'd come and help them, no questions asked."Surge raised his hand and counted down the fingers. "I spent three years training Blake's daughter when she was ready to go out into the world. I helped John build a house and shed for his family, ramps and specialised wheelchair carrier and everything for him. Samantha? She got a ship that I owned." He chuckled. "I won it through a poker game. Didi? She died before I could ever help her out… So I helped her family out of debt and got her kids a starter pokemon each."Surge waggled his last finger. "Giovanni never wanted anything from me. Said he had everything but that he liked having me in his debt. I knew he was greasy when he said that, but it didn't matter; thanks to him, my platoon… what was left of them, got to see the end of the war and then some.""And he called in your debt," I said leaning back.I sighed, finding myself… annoyed at myself that I could understand why Surge would do what he did. In that sort of situation, it made all too much sense.I stared up at the ceiling for a long while and sighed again before looking down. "That is entirely too believable for my liking," I said. "Although that's the issue, isn't it? How can I trust anything that comes out of your mouth after what you did?"Surge worked his jaw a few times before looking down. "You can't Brock… I know this hits you close to home the most with how your dad—"I raised and swung my hand through the air between us. It caused the air to 'thoom' with pressure. "No," I said firmly. We weren't going there. Actually, seeing as he'd brought it up. "You're just as bad if not worse than flint you realise?" I said.Surge reeled back like I'd struck him and part of me felt good at that. Then he growled and my hair stood on end as if a storm was approaching. "I am nothing like that rookie reservist! I fought in battle after battle! I had people hunting for me! I wasn't putting Visquez into the spotlight before she could handle herself, even still it might be too early for her.""Convienent," I said. "It worked out for you. Did you ever try?"Surge's jaw worked back and forth and I knew I'd nailed another point on him. "I tried to help out with money, not like with your pa and well your ma? Don't get me—He stopped talking as I left some of my dark energy loose. He watched me for a moment as I inhaled and exhaled."You don't get to comment on that. As it is, I'm not sure if your coming to help wasn't some sort of trojan hor…" I shook my head knowing I'd said too much. I cast around for something that was like a trojan horse for this world, but the pokeworld didn't have an example that I could call to mind. "The point is that I can't trust what you say. You talk a good talk but I'm not buying the Ekans oil you're selling.""Brock, I'm not asking for anything myself, I'm asking for my daughter. She could use someone to look out for her.""Tsk," I said. I leaned forward. "How come you signed over your Gym to her when you did? You must have known something was up."Surge met my gaze unflinchingly. "I had a suspicion. Old wounds started to itch again like they haven't since the war, and I started looking around and finding out what was going on. I wasn't certain but… I had fears, fears that turned out to be true."Surge put his hands on the table. "Brock, you know I'm as blunt as they come. A spade is spade and I know spades having spent a lot of time digging in with them, but when I give my word on a debt, which came about thanks to Giovanni helping my men and captain live? I wasn't going to let laws stop me. It was only when I realised I'd be going against you that I backed up and went through the motions."Surge grimaced. "Anyone else? Lance, Lorelei on her own? Professor freaking Oak? I'd have thrown down as hard as I could.""Not you and Sabrina though… You're good kids," Surge said.I huffed and looked away."What happened to your captain?" I asked more for something to say than any actual interest.Surge sighed. "She woke up from a coma, three weeks after the battle and… Well, she didn't remember me or much of the war. I figure that was good cause well, there wasn't a lot that was good about the war. By the end, it didn't feel like it was about winning or losing, just surviving. Visquez lives on Mikan Island these days with her husband and family. Her daughter picked up her skills and apparently runs a sort of Gym down there these days."Surge smiled. "You fought her husband when you made your Journey through there," he said.I blinked, realising that I had met her. She'd come up after our match and delivered tea for us.Sabrina had looked very confused back then about the wife but hadn't been able to explain why the woman confused her. It must have been the chip in her brain that stopped Sabrina from reading her mind casually."Huh, small world," I said."Ain't it?" said Surge with a chuckle.I eyed him. "So, what are you going to do now? Break out, or go to jail?" For a moment I wondered if the shadows in the room shifted slightly when I mentioned 'breaking out'. Surge shifted, letting me know it wasn't just me that had noticed."Jail I reckon," Surge said seriously. "But I have a few depots of old guns and such that I'm licensed to handle for the League." He grinned at the mirror. "Oh, whoops! I was licensed to handle! I guess I need to hand those guns, mortars, and tanks over now don't I?"I glared. "I think it would be good if you complied with them going forward Surge.""Oh I intend to but I also know that these sorts of things? Well, they're fluid. I'll have some forms put in front of me and a map I think. They know what I have to offer and I'll trade fair."Surge smiled. "But I know there ain't no way I don't end up in a cell Brock."He stood and bowed his body, uncaring of the chains that hampered the action. He kept his head down as she spoke. "Can you please help my girl with the things she doesn't know she doesn't know? There's going to be a lot of Fearow circling on her now."I huffed. "I'll think about it," I said deciding that I had done enough. I stood and departed the cell. "See you around Surge," I said over my shoulder."I hope so Brock, I hope so," Surge said with a tinge of something.I looked back and locked eyes with Surge and he offered me another bow that seemed so strange. It was weird to see the proud man with his head bowed to me.I stepped up and the door buzzed open for me before shutting. I glanced at the people who had been watching the drama play out. "That good enough for you?" I asked the room at large.Looker nodded, his eyes darting down to a stack of papers that had black lines all through them in various points. "Yes, yes I think that worked out wonderfully. We have confirmation and a high rate of accuracy. I think we can accept his rationale for his acts now.""Hmmm motive, you mean," said the League official. "The courts will—""Surge can't ever see a public courtroom. Any knowledge of his involvement with the Wreckers might see certain groups seeking to kill him, his family and torture information about other members out of him. International criminals like Team Aqua are one such example. Lance will accept a deal for anything else he knows," Looker said firmly.I huffed. It was playing out precisely how Surge thought it would. Guess you can't trick an old hound like that."I think I'll head off unless there is anything else you want from me," I said moving towards the door.Jenny darted over to stop me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Are you alright?"I gave her a quirk of the lips. "I think I will be," I said.She nodded and let me go after giving me a quick hug.I marched out of the hallway only to encounter Sabrina waiting for me on a couch. "I heard you were here, want to go home?"I nodded. Sabrina and I vanished in a flash of light. I lay on my bed with Sabrina on my chest running through the events of the day. I was emotionally spent and just ready for this day to be done and over with.Eventually, Sabrina stood to have a shower. I stayed where I was, tossing around what I should do.It had been… about what I expected. I wasn't overly surprised by anything, it all just… Fit in a way that I hadn't known it would. It all made too much sense that Surge and Giovanni would have known each other.It was awfully fortuitous of Giovanni to get Surge in his debt like that, but it made sense.I sighed and raised my Xtransciever, staring at the contact details for the Vermillion Gym. I really had enough on my plate. These days even with the trainer surge having moved along.… which likely meant Visquez was in the thick of it right now.I dialled the number and found myself annoyed despite myself. Sabrina must have detected something as a gentle pressure squeezed my arm, causing me to twitch for a moment only to relax as I realised what was going on."Hello? Uhm this is the Vermillion Gym?" said a young woman. I stared at the tanned features and noted how some of them matched Surge's."Hey, " I said for lack of anything better."Oh! Gym Leader Brock! I was hoping you'd call! Dad said you might!" she said with a grin that died away.I felt a pang of sadness. She smiled like him. She rubbed the back of her head in a sheepish manner that was all too familiar to me. "Sorry if he caused a big mess. He wasn't all too clear on what he was doing, just that it might go south… seeing as I haven't heard from him and the League is sniffing around I guess that was about right. He wouldn't tell me what was going on cause of something about plausible deniability."She blushed. "Sorry! I'm babbling," she said only to break off with a yawn that ripped out of her. She yawned so wide that all of her teeth were on display. " Sorry! I get this way when I'm tired.""I see," I said. "I was calling to… check in on you. I spoke with Surge earlier.""Oh? You did?" The girl squirmed. "Did he talk about me at all?""A fair amount actually," I said truthfully. "He asked for me to check in with you," I said neutrally.She tilted her head at that and hummed. "Oh! Right cause you run a really solid Gym and I need to look after things for him while he's away," she said and I had to frown."I don't think he's going to be back," I said. "You…" I considered telling her that she should have the League set up a talk with him but that would send her into the deep end for something highly emotional. It was best she heard from me what happened and then she could make up her mind."So—" I laid out how things had gone down to Visquez and she remained quiet.By the time Sabrina was done in the shower, I had hung up and Sabrina gave me a look. "So? What's she going to do?"I smirked. "She's heading up to the League to beat the hell out of Surge for being a deadbeat," I said with a chuckle.Surge had been right, she and I were going to get along pretty well. Right now we were united in being annoyed at himI sighed and stretched, letting myself relax. "Seems like there's going to be a lot of change happening this year," I said as Sabrina slipped into bed with me."Change is always happening," she murmured."Ain't that the kicker," I said, agreeing with her.I shut my eyes and let sleep claim me as I relaxed.Change might be constant but that wasn't a bad thing. Things were settled as much as they could be.I'd still be here though and I'd make the most of what was to come.For now, that meant advancing up the Ace rankings.