My fingers itched and my heart thundered in my chest. My eyes remained locked with Sabrina and I knew I was smiling.
For her part, Sabrina was standing with her head tilted in a slightly aloof manner. I knew it to be the method she used when facing trainers, but it was also her 'battle' face. She didn't grin or become overly emotive.Not outwardly.With a Psychic, emotional control when you fought was important.That didn't stop me from picking up the glint in her eyes, the twitch of her lips or the weight of the moment. When Sabrina looked at you, and truly put her focus on you? It was a physically palpable experience, and perhaps the true reason she didn't, or rather couldn't take trainers that didn't have at least four badges.A fresh trainer would be crushed under her gaze and have no idea why their mettle broke.I could tell Sabrina's blood was up just as much as my own was but I called up my rock-type energy and exhaled before nodding towards Bosco who was grinning like a kid who had come down to find that it was Christmas with the presents under the Christmas tree having doubled since last night."BEGIN!" he shouted, and with that Sabrina and I went into action."Titan! Shake up sequence!" I bellowed, feeding an impression to him tinged with anticipation and excitement that was mirrored back to me.Across from me Sabrina levitated in place while her pokemon began forming barriers in front of himself waving his arms like he was working overtime, the actions exaggerated to the extreme.My pokemon merely raised a foot.The crowd held their breath as he paused.He smirked knowing that everyone was watching him. I had to give him credit, he knew when to be a showman.Then, just as he'd been promising, he stomped down hard.The arena erupted as bits of rock detonated around Alakazam and threatened to slam into him only for the powerful Psychic type to levitate out of danger.Shards of rock bucked up and rippled out from where Titan had stomped his foot and with a negligent sweep of his tail he launched the rocks straight at Alakazam, shattering the barrier that had been placed earlier. They broke as though they were but panes of glass.Fragmenting outwards in a scintillating corona of colour made the field flash as each Barrier was destroyed.When Alakazam started catching the attacks and throwing them back? Titan began to duck and weave, a dance of power playing out between our two starters as Sabrina and I stood behind them urging them on and spotting for them.In a way, I knew Sabrina had it easier. Her psychic bond allowed her to convey concepts and plans faster while I settled for feelings and insights.We made it work, advancing as we did, the threat of darkness that began to broil off Titan growing with each step until he became like a dark star, foreboding and inevitable against Alakazam who despite the increasing barrage of rock and stone, was hanging in there.When Titan reached the halfway point I had him stop, bobbing and weaving to evade the last of the returned attacks. The field settled and the crowd took a breath as they looked over the changed battlefield.It had barely been seconds and we'd caused craters and gouges all over the stage. More than a few of the arena barriers were glowing yellow.Titan shook himself out, dust falling off him while the lights flashed with his red glasses, reminding everyone that he wasn't just doing this, but doing it in style.Alakazam brandished his spoons and the chains attached to them rattled in threat. It was as if two bikers had just spent a few minutes circling each other on their bikes only to dismount and select their weapons.Titan flexed his claws and rumbled low, his growls rippled through me and instinctively I knew I was in the presence of an apex predator.Alakazam raised his chains, making them twirl about him without the typical flamboyant actions that one would associate with someone spinning such uncouth weapons. Alakazma made them look fashionable and controlled, even as they menaced with their movements.Sabrina raised her chin, eying me. "So, do you think you can keep up?" she said, as she raised up her hand, the ring of the keystone glinting on her fist.When had she had it refashioned?I discarded that idea for later examination as I instead focussed on her words.I smirked back at her. "Do your worst," I said, making sure to enunciate my words clearly.Sabrina and her starter began to glow as power built around them.Alakazam began to hover higher and higher as the glow around them became nearly blinding. Sabrina reached for the stars and power swept over me as Alakazam Mega-evolved.Like a rolling wave, Sabrina's expanded power swept over me but I stood tall even as people gasped and cried out in shock. People had spoken about what it had been like to experience Sabrina's Mega-evolution against Will.They'd called it captivating, enlightening, and rapturous for the few people with a lick of psychic potential.I stood against it, my shadow cast dark and long as the light they had become threatened to sear me. I huffed in annoyance."Titan," I rumbled, my voice filling the arena despite not raising my volume. My voice cut through Sabrina's moment as people remembered that I was here.That I was her foe."Fill the arena with darkness and sand," I commanded, and Titan swept his tail behind him causing a huge cloud of sand to be cast out where it lifted up and began to twirl about.It didn't shift to encompass the entire battlefield and I didn't have him raise it up as high as normal.I wanted people to watch what was to come. This was just the set-up.Instead, he simply had it held behind him like an ominous mist that he'd just stepped out of. Only Titan was of rock, sand and darkness. With his jacket on and his glasses he looked like he was at the head of a pack of beasts about to appear out of the dust.Which wasn't a wrong impression as a moment later more rocks shot forth at Alakazam.There was a lot less warning this time that the attack was coming and Alakazam had to raise his hands, spoons and chains drifting with him to halt the advance of the multiple huge boulders that were hurling their way.And yet he did. Each and every boulder was caught and held aloft.Sabrina made a gesture and Alakazam's offhand swept across his body in a minor banishing gesture, like one would use to wave off a fly. A familiar cube of energy appeared only to expand rapidly.It swept the field and banished the controlled Sandstorm we'd been using to hide the Stone Edges as they formed up. With this, the battlefield immediately became tinged with a slightly pink tone of psychic energy.I narrowed my eyes at Sabrina. I hadn't realised she'd adapted Will's tactic.Around Alakazam the boulders that had previously been held in a static position began to drift, like mini-floating islands.Sabrina stabbed her hand forward and Alakazam made a show of it as Miracle Eye formed up.I grimaced. It looked like Sabrina had all the cards now, but still, I braced myself to dig deep even as my eyes quested about the field for an advantage only to pause on the floating boulders.Time to dare a dream. "Titan, Go," I said, as my eyes judged the distances between the boulders.Titan didn't question me. Merely beginning to stride forward, the first step in forming an unstoppable avalanche. With each step he took he built up energy around his body and began to pick up speed."Jump step boulder to boulder!" I called, causing people to gasp in surprise as Titan, a pokemon that weighed in excess of two hundred and fifty kilograms bent his knees mid-stride and soared.People didn't typically associate Tyranitar as a pokemon that had good jumping skills due to their weight.I'd seen Empress and other Tyranitar hunt in the wild though and so I knew that when they were motivated, they could cross significant distances quickly.Titan hit the first boulder and caused it to start moving to the side. When he shifted and jumped to another the boulder shot away as physics demanded of it. Titan barely made it to the next, the only thing that carried him forth was the still-building power of Giga Impact.Titan leapt, jumping from rock to rock quickly closing the distance between him and his high-flying foe.Alakazam seemed to realise this and made a grasping action with both hands.Suddenly boulders began to rise in front of him forming a wall and other boulders that had been knocked away shot back.Titan saw this and doubled his speed, closing the gap quickly and forcing Alakazam to hurry.It became a race of who would finish first. Alakazam with his wall? Or Titan as the invader?When Titan reached the very last boulder closest to Alakazam he held on for a single second, letting everyone watch as the rock began to fall even as he bent his knees, his eyes glinting with menace as a corona of energy coursed around him.When he leapt he was like a meteor flying through the sky, powerful and bright.Alakazam clapped his hands together and the wall he'd been forming revealed itself to be a trap. It caught Titan mid-leap and closed around him.The boulders that had previously been drifting around, the same sheer demonstrations of power that a Mega Alakazam had at its beck and call, suddenly rocketed in, encasing Titan.Despite this, he still pressed on, breaking through the boulders and working his way closer and closer.Alakazam redoubled his efforts, lifting rock from the very arena floor to layer it, slowing Titan as he began inching his way towards Alakazam.Until finally with dust and a huge round ball of rock encasing him, he came to a pause in the air.It reminded me of something from another anime I'd watched in another life. Pain, and his Chibaku Tensei writ small.Alakazma held Titan there for a long moment, showing that he had his foe completely in his control. It was impressive.The crowd gasped in shock at how things had turned out and rose to their feet applauding and thinking this the end.I looked down at Sabrina and found her with a small pleased smile.I shot her back a smirk. "DP," I said.Titan grinned savagely right in Alakazam's face as he erupted, becoming like a dark sun that caused the rock holding him to blast off to the side.The dark energy knocked Alakazam out of the air and he fell only to catch himself just shy of the ground.Titan landed like a rock, slamming into the ground and causing another quake.Both pokemon straightened and for the first time in the fight, actual damage was shown on their bodies. Alakazam's mega-evolution faded and he shuddered as he became lessor.I grinned knowing that things were now well and truly turning.Despite that, Titan himself was trembling. He'd pushed himself hard leaping from boulder to boulder like that followed up quickly by a Dark Pulse. Despite the fatigue I could see and feel through our bond, an undercurrent of excitement rose up. He didn't want things to stop. He wanted to push on.I locked eyes with Sabrina, both of us knowing we'd need to end this match in the next exchange of blows.The titles and expectations of how this match might go faded away as we simply became trainers. Not Gym Leaders. Not Ace Trainers. Not boyfriend and girlfriend.Just trainers locking eyes.We'd need—A loud bell ringing out caused Sabrina and I to twitch in surprise, not expecting it."And can we all please thank Gym Leaders Sabrina and Brock for this magnificent demonstration of toughness brought to life with their starter pokemon! My! That was certainly a way to end the show wasn't it?" shouted Monique.It took a moment as the crowd were obviously of a similar mind to Sabrina and myself.They wanted to watch us keep fighting to see who'd emerge the victor.I was half tempted to ignore Monique's suggestion but I knew that would be extremely poor form. I'd already stolen her finale with this little showcase.I forced my body to relax, standing instead and waving.Behind me, Alakazam and Titan huffed in annoyance before they walked up to each other and performed what looked like a quick game of rock paper scissors. Alakazam perking up while Titan slumped down was enough to tell me who'd won.Sabrina drifted over the torn-up battlefield to my side and joined me in waving to the crowd.Monique keyed her microphone once again. "Thank you one and all for coming to this event! Please don't depart however as we will be cleaning up this mess in here and will be enjoying an after-party once we've set the stage right! For now please adjourn to the pavilions where snacks will be served before we enjoy this gathering even more!"People began to trickle out at that and I sighed, now properly starting to calm down.I picked a path through the rubble our fight had caused to Monique. "It was just getting good," I said plaintively.Monique pinched the bridge of her nose. "You two were going to destroy the stage at this rate!" she said. "Do you always get so destructive when you battle each other?" Monique said.Sabrina gave the stage a look over. "This is rather standard for fights between Titan and my Alakazam," she said. I nodded, there had been that one match during the lead-up to Lance's match in which we'd gone into the wilds and wrecked a small hill.From memory, there was a small valley there now.Monique eyed the devastation and the two pokemon that had started furiously working through round after round of Scissor paper rocks. Heh, it seemed Titan hadn't accepted a best of one series and they were now speed-rounding a best of… nine?"Well you certainly put on a show!" chimed Bosco. He nodded to me and Sabrina. "If it's all the same to you, I think I'll join my brothers and sisters to celebrate. I'm looking forward to the after party though!" he said, shooting us a huge, hairy grin before trooping off.Monique sighed. "Well, both of you will need to have a bath before the formalities begin, I suppose we can trust your pokemon to help out?" she said, as Sanchez led a tumble of Graveler onto the field.He saluted us and I nodded back.Sabrina slipped her hand in mine, not waiting for anything else she teleported us to my bedroom. I began to strip and move towards the shower, small bits of dust and debris falling off me."Where do you think you're going?" asked Sabrina. I turned and realised that Sabrina hadn't calmed down quite like I had.She gave me a look and I grinned, moving to help her out of her outfit.We had enough time for this.Misty sighed as the match was called to a close. "Aw, they got in trouble," she said as Nurse Joy and Monique, the judges who had remained on the side while Brock and Sabrina threw down, both slammed their hands on the bells to end the match.Ash and Forrest all slumped. "Nooooo! It was getting to the good part!" said Ash.Misty snorted. "You mean the part where Sabrina anticipated Brock and left a route to her pokemon only to catch Titan in mid-air wasn't the good part?" she said.Forrest coughed. "No way! That had to be planned!" said Forrest.Ash ignored him, eyes still locked on the television. "It's a shame we couldn't go watch it in person," he said wistfully.Forrest slumped a little and Misty clenched her fist, more than ready to give Ash the brain jolt he so needed! Ash, ignorant of the impending attack, shook his head. "Well, there's not anything we could do, not after losing to Sabrina… and then Kong like we did," he said with a slump."Pi, pika," said Pikachu sadly.Misty unclenched her fist a feeling of guilt surging through her. She alone had been able to secure a badge in Saffron with Kong going down against her Starmie and Tentacool after Wartortle got smashed around.She'd felt a little guilty winning like she had with her type advantage carrying her along while Ash and Forrest had both crashed and burned. That and she'd fought against Hitmonlee who didn't have as many good moves to counter her pokemon compared to Ash and Forrest."I can't believe he has such strong counter measures against flying types!" Ash said, rolling around on the floor. "Butterfree and Pidgeotto should have been enough! And Pikachu's speed is usually enough!"Forrest grunted. "I think I need to shore up some weaknesses. He was kind of…" Forrest searched around for the right word only to shake his head. "Well my team wasn't very good against him," he said, settling for an understatement.Then again, Graveler, Beldum, and Onix weren't the best to use, it turned out. Kong's Hitmonchan was extremely proficient with Fire Punch.There was a moment of silence before Forrest spoke up again. "It was a shame your Charizard got beaten up so bad against Sabrina."Ash glowered. "I can't believe there's such a difference between her and Janine!"Forrest chuckled. "Janine's still in her first year as a Gym Leader Ash, whereas Sabrina's been established for years now. And if you're comparing Sophia and Grey to her, then it's not even close."Misty nodded her head. "Forrest is right. Sabrina makes everyone work for her badge. It's a well-established fact! You also have to remember that she predates my sisters, Brock and Erika, as a Gym Leader. She supposedly took over as a child!" Misty said."Really?" Ash said, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes. "I don't believe that," he said.Misty spluttered. "What? Why? It's well established that Sabrina was a powerful trainer for years!""But a child? Who's ever heard of a Gym Leader that's a kid?" said Ash with a shake of his head.Forrest coughed. "Misty's not lying Ash, and I did some looking into Johto—" Misty shot him a smirk. She'd teased him for days after that Morty, Falkner mix up. He blushed but ploughed on with his point. "—there is actually Falkner who was the youngest ever to take over from his father at the Violet City Gym!""Talking about Johto Gym leaders?" said a young voice before a young looking face as it intruded into their group."Bwuh!?" Ash said as he rolled away from the boy's face. He was so surprised he fell off the lounge landing on his back. "Ouch!" he said only to glower up at the kid who was blinking innocently down at Ash. "Who are you?""I'm Bugsy from Azalea Town and I'm going to—" started the purple haired kid only for Ash to cut him off."No I meant! What do you want?""Oh?" the kid said as he leaned back. "Well I heard you talking about Johto Gym Leaders and thought I'd come talk about them! I'm something of an expert you could say?" he clarified with a wide smile.Forrest coughed. "Yeah? Well so am I! I've done a ton of research on them!""Oh? That's wonderful!" said Bugsy.Ash growled. "Listen, we're having a private conversation, can you buzz off?" he said.Bugsy chuckled. "Heh buzz off, good one." He laughed for a moment only to realise that none of their group were laughing. He coughed. "Sorry! Got ahead of myself, just wanted to make conversation." he bowed his head and stepped away from the boys.Misty sighed, standing and moving after the kid. "Hey, sorry about the boys, they've had it rough cause we all lost against Sabrina only for them to then lose against Kong as well.""Ah, yeah kong is much better than I'd heard," said Bugsy. He then waved his hand back and forth. "No problem! If you want to talk or hang out I'm over here with my friends!" he said, gesturing to a pair of boys. One had a green cap on his head while on his shoulder a cute pikachu rested. The other boy had longer hair.Bugsy introduced them as Ritchie and Pete only for Pete to rocket to his feet. "Pete Pebbleman, nice to meet you Misty," he said politely.Misty giggled. "You're certainly old fashioned," she said as he sat back down.Pete rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, yeah my mother made sure I knew my manners and standing to greet a lady is just ingrained into me at this stage." he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly."Misty, are you done with them?" called Forrest."In a second Forrest!" Misty shouted back. She turned back to the polite boy only to see that his attention had slid from her to Forrest."Forrest? As in Brock's brother Forrest?" said Pete.Misty grimaced, knowing that wasn't the best way to refer to someone due to her own situation. Forrest didn't seem to react beyond narrowing his eyes in suspicion. "Yeah? Who wants to know?""Pete Pebbleman! My family are born and raised in Pewter!" he stood and locked eyes with Forrest. "Care for a match? Your brother's match has me rather riled up!"Forrest shot to his feet. "I was looking for a fight! You're on!" he called.Ritchie chuckled and glanced over to find Ash looking back. He opened his mouth only for Bugsy to jump in between them. "Ah! You! I want to make up for my mistake earlier! Let's fight!" he said.Ritchie grumbled a little before turning his gaze upon Misty. Misty instantly hated the dismissive attitude he adopted for her. "You wanna fight?" he said lamely.Misty narrowed her eyes, her gaze taking in his attire and the Pikachu at his side. She smiled primly, the picture of an innocent maiden. "I'd be delighted!" she chirped.She knew more than a thing or two about handling a Pikachu having fought Ash multiple times now over the course of their Journey. If this kid was going to look down on her, she was going to leave him scratching his head with how fast she planned to win.The six trainers all marched out of the lounge room along with many other trainers that had been camped up in the pokecenter for the televising of the Pewter Gym Contest. With the ending more than a few had to find their own ways to calm their fighting spirits.Darren Sukizo turned the television off and nodded amicably to himself. He calmly raised the tea cup and drank down the content only to feel his eyebrow twitch as he realised how cold his untouched cup had grown.He'd spent the last two days observing the… event in Pewter.He'd done so calmly, with all the poise a gentleman should display.And now, the event, or at least the televised part of it, was over.He breathed a sigh of relief.Unfortunately, he could not find his centre. He felt like the world had been tilted slightly and everything was now just slightly off in a way that he could not put his finger on. It was like having an itch that couldn't be scratched, not that he would ever scratch himself. No, no that would be too shameful.He carefully laced his fingers together and contemplated on what he needed to do to restore his calm.After a few minutes of careful reflection, he nodded to himself.He stood with alacrity, his suit, despite having been seated for hours now was still immaculate thanks to his poise remained uncreased. He strode his way to his desk where he sat and began drawing out his tools.First his inkwell, then his Altaria feather quill. Both items, gifts from Wallace no less, from the latest Grand Contest he'd presided over.Then he drew out three sheets of his personal stationery, his monogram affixed to the top right while a gold leaf border threaded its way around the paper.He dipped his pen and brought it out, making sure the nib was clean before bringing it into position to begin writing.He ordered his thoughts for a moment and then began to write.Slowly at first but then with growing speed until his quill was flicking across the page, all but splattering the page with his words as his feelings gushed forth. He could no longer contain himself, he would not be silent.Not after what he'd had to witness!The Letter read;Dear Contest hosts aspirants,The proud traditions and style of Contests everywhere are a pleasure to see. The men, women and pokemon that work to uphold this way of life are a proud lot.So to see your so-called event, even attempting to masquerade itself as a Contest is a stunning slap to the faces of all good and decent folk!Tough! Tough is not a style of Contests and it shall never be! Contests are about style, grace and cuteness! Not the farcical display that you put on that was all brute force which contained the style of a caveman scratching at a wall for the first time!It appears that the organizers abandoned all semblance of taste and sophistication, opting instead for a crass celebration of the popular! The gaudy! The plebian!You have attempted, regrettably, to create an event that is palatable to a crowd of Primeape! Contests are not the stage upon which muck and excrement are hurled about only to be declared art! Contests are the places to demonstrate the sublime artistry of couture.Instead, I witnessed bargain bin, dumpster diving costumes more akin to that of a children's pageant!You would have us reduced to a circus of excess and excrement!You as organisers should be held in the deepest contempt!You have abandoned all that it means to understand Contests in your pursuit to be a 'hot fad' as children say! Contests embody taste and sophistication!The nauseating departure from the established norm has left me wanting to pour bleach into my eyes to scour the visions you have broadcast about the world!Only in Kanto, the most backwards nation in the pokeworld, can you march so slowly forward that you find yourselves being lapped in a race of culture, only to then think yourselves the leader! The sheer cheek of it!One cannot help but lament the demise of an era when fashion was synonymous with grace and finesse. Your event was a tasteless spectacle and a travesty that has set not just Kanto back, but in fact the world!The fact that you somehow shanghai'd Howard into this display, and not even in his rightful role merely underlines your lack of tradition and taste!It speaks poorly of you and him, that such an event was allowed to unfold at all!You have my disgust, disdain and distaste!Never cordially yours,President D.Sukizo, Pokemon Fan Club of HoennDarren finished the letter with a flourish and collapsed bonelessly, his emotions spent having been bleed dry. Darren cast his eye over the letter and was pleased to see that despite his speed, he had not allowed a fleck of ink to not fall where he desired it.Which was to say there were no marks on his letter. He was not some boy fresh from Private school! He was a seasoned gentleman!He considered the letter once more before nodding his head. This would make his stance clear and allow other Hoenn natives to understand that such… events were not to be considered Contests.That such could occur offended him.The thought made him stop and consider an idea. He reached for the telephone and calmly spoke. "Francine? Call the Hoenn President for me, I want to trademark the word Contest.""Sir? I'm not sure that's possible," said the woman."That is not your place to say, I want it trademarked to stop any more besmirching of our ways," he said."But, it'll never hold up sir? What will other already established Contests such as Chrysanthemum City call themselves?""They can call themselves a festival or some such! I want Contests locked down to our region and our region alone!" he said, his voice growing heated as he was forced to think on the Pewter event."Oh and I have a letter for you to mail off, see that it is sent to the Pewter Gym Leader," he said. "Mail it with our red envelopes," he said. He then hung up and laced his fingers together."How Howard could allow that to happen," he said with a shake of his head. Darren glanced around for a moment before nodding to himself and sending out his companion pokemon."Poreon?" said Candy the Vaporeon.Darren felt himself relax a little more as his eyes took in his companion. Yes, Howard obviously had poorer tastes than he'd been led to believe.Who would settle for a Gardevoir when there were more beautiful pokemon to appreciate?The computer laboratory was not filled with the usual soft click-clack of keyboards but instead the pounding of letters into place. Daisy Oak hammered at the keyboard as though it owed her money.She missed out on a lecture to assist with a friend's pokemon and she was drawn and quartered!Usually, people fell over themselves to help her due to her status as Samuel Oak's granddaughter. Typically she always rebuffed them, like she'd been taught to do. She didn't coast along on her grandfather's accomplishments.So, she found it extremely vexing when the opposite occurred and he became a victim of her lecturer's hatred for her grandfather.If she misplaced a comma? A full grade point drop. If she made an error in her referencing? Another! She'd had to request a secondary examination of her assessment no less than three times this term!The Dean had ended up coming down on the man, but the stilted hateful little excuse of excrement that was professor Jade, still found ways to get at her.He'd specifically performed a spot quiz after doing a roll call for his class. It had been telling that the second he'd seen that she wasn't there he'd locked the door and announced it according to her friends.The man was a spiteful sack of Spearow droppings if there ever was one. When she'd come back to the campus she'd found him gloating over her failure to attend the quiz which had outright cost her ten percent of her grade.Which incidentally was the highest he could get away with for a spot quiz.It was still enough to potentially sink her chances at being Dux of her class, and even possibly deny her the honours program at the university she was vying for.Thankfully she had great friends, they'd all approached the Dean on her behalf and asked for exemption only for Professor Jade to kick up a stink.The man couldn't be fired easily due to tenure, which as far as Daisy could tell was a con that old professors came up with to never have to do anything new with their lives and to keep collecting a pay cheque.There needed to be a compromise. She could resit the test, something Jade had denied due to her 'getting the chance to learn about the questions through her friends and cheating', so she couldn't do that.Instead Jade had demanded that she complete another assignment on the impacts of different grass on the ecology of route seven. It was mind numbing work.Worse, it had cost her the chance to attend the Pewter Contest, something she had been looking forward to for months now.She rubbed at her eyes, annoyed with how this had cut into her sleep. She still had to do another test at the end of the term and an assignment that was meant to build onto their honours study program, but she didn't have an idea what to research despite only having four weeks left of term.A buzz on her wrist had her blearily sweeping at it without really checking the caller ID. "Yeah?" she said blearily, as she checked the spelling of her assignment for the third and hopefully final time."Daisy! I hope now's not a bad time, I wanted your take on the Contest that just wrapped up? I only got to watch a little of it myself! Gary and Ash have been rather busy with catching a few pokemon of late and I needed all hands on deck!""I… haven't had the chance to see it," she admitted.Something in her voice must have given away how miserable she was right now. "Daisy? What's wrong? Why haven't you seen it? I thought you loved Contests?" he said, his tone laced with worry and also a hint of fear. Did he think for a moment that he didn't know her as well as he thought? She had a moment like that years ago, when she'd been a young teenager.Now though?"I'm fine. I just… have some assessments I let get away on me," she said, hiding her grimace. Her excuse sounded weak even for her.Grandfather searched her face and a flicker of something dark flashed across it for a moment. "I will be with you in a moment," he said, hanging up.Daisy sighed feeling like she'd just failed in some way to be tough enough, to soldier on.A moment later Grandfather appeared with Cherie in tow. "Daisy," greeted Grandpa, his tone soft and careful.Daisy slumped. "Sorry… I didn't want to bother you," she said.He hugged her and kissed her head like he had done when she was a little girl. "You will never be a bother for me. Can you tell me what's wrong? Please? I'm scared?" he said.The admission that the great Samuel Oak, more than anything else he could have said to Daisy, shattered her resolve to keep her situation a secret. The idea of her growing distant with him had been a fear he'd announced to hear when she'd been a teenager and that it was resurfacing now said lots."Well it's just this silly little man that—" she began to explain her situation and her grandfather and his aide sat and listened.When she was done Grandfather nodded, squeezing her into his side. "You inspire me, but you also make me laugh. It's not a weakness to have others help you when things are tough. It's the very thing I try to research between us and pokemon, but so often the bonds between humans can be overlooked. Can I handle this for you?" he asked carefully.Daisy nodded her head feeling small and hating herself for it.Grandfather stood, "Alright, I'll be just a minute. Cherie can you… keep her company?" he said. When Cherie nodded he turned and marched off, for all intents and purposes on a warpath.Cherie didn't hug her, instead, she remained off to the side shifting back and forth. For a moment Daisy wondered why grandfather had brought the woman. Cherie sighed explosively. "Cunning old man," she muttered before locking eyes with Daisy. "I was in an abusive relationship for a while… The whole thing could have been resolved easily but the girl doing it to me was clever enough to trip me up, make me think it was weak to go to others or tell my story. People that abuse others, they thrive when you don't speak up and tell people.""I did tell the Dean," Daisy said."And he did nothing?""He couldn't do anything because of Professor Jade's tenure, he did suggest getting Grandfather but… it seemed so petty and I don't like having to do that.""You're more than just your grandfather's grandkid," summarised Cherie with a nod.Daisy frowned. Somehow hearing it said that way both supported her argument and didn't.A moment later a huge beam of energy cut through the sky. Cherie and Daisy glanced at it before turning to each other. Then they both broke out into giggles."So much for Professor Jade's Tenure," said Cherie.Daisy smiled, knowing that things would be fine now. She glanced at the assignment and huffed. She felt a bit annoyed she'd wasted her weekend on this now.Still, things were looking up for her now.When her grandfather returned he nodded. "Save that file and forward it to your Dean," he said.Daisy raised an eyebrow, "What if I'm not done with it?"Grandfather raised an eyebrow back. "You're just being overly meticulous with your editing, I know my granddaughter," he said firmly.Daisy could only smile. He wasn't wrong. She could feel her bond firm up with her Grandfather.She did as asked and a moment later Grandpa's Alakazam appeared to Teleport them back home.Grandpa had her sit in the lounge. The television was still on with the anchors of Battlecast talking about the highlights of the Pewter Contest with more than a few people raving about the showpiece of Brock versus Sabrina.Daisy felt a spike of annoyance at Professor Jade before it resolved into satisfaction. She hadn't known he forced her to miss that sort of match. Thankfully he'd gotten his comeuppance.Daisy blinked when Grandfather bustled in with a teapot and cookies only to pause when he realised the coffee table was overflowing with papers like usual. Daisy scooped them up and cast an eye over them, only to pause as a business proposal stood out to her."Mega Corp? The Corporation for Mega Stone investigation. Interest for researchers with environmental factors sought along with investors…" Daisy read aloud."Oh yes! It's an initiative created by Brock." said Grandfather, casually while settling himself down and sipping his tea.Daisy knew him well enough to know that he was hiding a smile behind his cup. Had he swooped in, fixed her problems. Only to then snatch her up for another project?"Mega Corp?" questioned Daisy tasting the name and what that might mean. She felt her mind begin to tick for certain possibilities."Oh yes! Brock is starting up an Indigo company looking specifically into finding locations for Mega Stones. Sabrina is investing in it, as is Lance," Grandfather said casually. "I'm putting together a team though." He lowered his cup to smile innocently at her. "Are you interested?"."Can you tell me more first?" she said.Hmmm, perhaps she did have an interesting line of study for her honours program that she could salvage? Working with Brock, Lance, and Sabrina just as the initial investors sounded like a very promising start.
195
After Sabrina's and my dalliance, I showered and wandered back to the Gym, only to be directed to the front fair-ground area. Apparently we'd been a bit too successful with our Tough showcase and it wasn't advised to hold a party in the Gym any more. Thankfully we had the pavilions set up already.I entered the front pavilion to find a very loud party well and truly underway.Monique must have been waiting for me, as she stood on the side, watching the chaos that was unfolding with a bemused look on her face."This is not how I imagined the afterparty would be," I said to Monique.She could only nod stoically as we both openly stared."Bosco's number one!" screamed a rowdy biker as he shook up a can of lemonade and sprayed it onto Bosco like I'd seen people do in Formula One victories in my past life. Did giant cans of soda exist that could be used instead?I tabled that thought and instead watched as the giant biker shook and sprayed what amounted to lemonade around on his friends."Number oooooooooone!" Bosco shouted as three other people began spraying him with the provided free lemonade.The sight of a biker spraying lemonade alone was disconcerting enough, but it wasn't limited to just one of them. They were all taking turns to slam cans of non-alcoholic drinks together and throw them back with long glugs. They then belched loudly, laughing and cheering as they went.This was supposed to be a calm and collected after-party.Sort of like after Erika's events.One of the bikers had challenged a group of girls to an eating contest with him, out-eating all of them only for Munchlax to be called up by Yolanda. Munchlax took one look at the situation and joined the team of girls, allowing them to turn the tables on the big guy."Hooray Munchlax!" the girls called as they tried and failed to lift the satisfied little pokemon."I was expecting a little more decorum," Monique said, watching another incident of what I could only deem a sugar high, as Vinny was trying and failing to flirt with Officer Jenny.Vinny didn't seem to realise that his bragging of how fast he could fly was resulting in Jenny writing him a speeding ticket and not her number."They're certainly spirited," I said, as Vinny gave a loud shriek as he realised what he'd done.Jenny laughed though and tore the ticket up to show she was joking before walking away."Rambunctious is what I'd call it," Monique said, as a cluster of bikers that had been watching Vinny burst into laughter."You're surprised about this?" said a new voice. "Really? In Pewter?" asked Nurse Joy, her face mask now hanging off one ear so she could enjoy a plate of hors d'oeuvres. "You both need to get out more," she said with the air of one that did in fact get out.I hummed noncommittally, noticing the caterers furiously restocking the tables even as people tried to intercept them. "Guess I find my own mischief enough of the time," I said.Joy shrugged before dainty wiping at the side of her mouth with a napkin. "The Pewter locals are always a bit more boisterous, and while we have the stylings of a fancy party with this garden set up, we don't have the people that would be that classy," she said.She then shot me a smirk. "So? Where's Sabrina?" she said, pointedly looking around."She's… resting, the day has been rather exhausting for her," I said, alluding to Sabrina's lower tolerance for crowds with her psychic ability.Nurse Joy chose not to take it that way. "Heh, tired her out, eh? Well good for both of you," she said, wiggling her eyebrows.I coughed and blushed a little. She wasn't wrong, and I had to repress the smirk. Sabrina might have many wonderful skills, but she lacked the physical endurance I had, which meant only one of us was up and about right now.I decided not to say anything about that though, and instead looked around. It was true that I'd copied the idea from Erika's matches, but the 'rock garden' with the barbecues and chefs being on display gave the entire event a much more relaxed air. It was like being at a friend's barbeque with how everyone was talking and laughing.You had the normal niche groups, but I could see more than a few people crossing over to trade stories and intermingle, making the entire thing a bit of a social melting pot."I suppose we should have expected this," I said, as another spray of lemonade shot into the air."Aren't we serving alcohol as well?" I asked.Monique nodded, gesturing to the fenced-off area where a few people were looking amused that the majority of people were enjoying themselves more with their sugary drinks.Nurse Joy giggled. "The Venom Pack don't drink because they want to be able to ride their crotch rockets home!"Monique coughed as I wheezed a laugh at Nurse Joy's descriptor for their bikes."How responsible of them," I said, before excusing myself.I moved to the side to check on my Crystal Onix while also releasing Link, Gawain, Bertha and Jormungandr. Sanchez, who'd been rolling around enjoying himself, quickly approached, while Titan waved at Bertha who gasped dramatically at Titan's 'tough' look.My Crystal Onix welcomed them with a loud roar. Onix's roar caused the crowd to fall silent and had people turn towards me.Whoops, now people were looking at me like they expected a speech.Time to think quick! Could I have Sanchez give them the old one-two? He'd love that! No? What about having Bertha perform a magical… no, that was a terrible idea!Damn! Speech it was then!"I'd like to thank everyone who took part as Coordinators as well as their pokemon for their help. I would also like to give a special shout out to our announcers Rachel Raul, Archibald, and Gardevoir, who made this event so much more enjoyable!"Archibald seemed pleased at the praise, or perhaps it was just that I made sure to include Gardevoir, who waved to the crowd like a famous celebrity might."I must also thank everyone on the Gym Staff, the catering team, and the clean-up crew that has yet to start, who will no doubt be vital to getting the Gym back to normal operation tomorrow for trainers!"I made sure to give a wide range of thanks to everyone, before lavishing it on my fellow judges for their work. "Lastly, thank you to all the people who came to spectate, cheer and enjoy, making this first Pewter Contest a rousing success!"I then raised a can of lemonade, ignoring how silly I felt for doing it, and took a drink in thanks.I punched the air. "With that said, let's party!" I shouted, causing a round of cheers and hoots as everyone restarted the party."Excellent work," Monique and Joy said as they came up to me. "And thank you for letting us be judges! It was everything I hoped for!" Monique added.Nurse Joy just giggled and nodded along.Monique shot me a look. "So, can we schedule next year's event directly?" she said,I chuckled and nodded. Monique did a little trot that I interpreted as her 'happy dance'. "Oh, next year will be bigger! We will bring in some local talent with bands!""Rock bands!" chimed in Nurse Joy."And have fire spouts! Lots of them!" said Monique, as she bounced ideas off Nurse Joy, only for them to both grow more excited with each idea.I hummed, deciding I needed something to calm them down. I reached into my pocket, drawing out something I'd held in reserve for each of them."This is also the thank you gift for serving as Judges alongside me," I said, handing them an envelope each."Oooooh? What is it?" asked Joy as she expertly flicked open the envelope with a nail.Inside each envelope, a voucher for a visit to a day spa rested. "I did a bit of looking around and the Rocky Springs Day Spa has the best reviews, along with the best word of mouth," I said."I'll say," said Monique, as she stared at the giant golden ticket with the words 'all-inclusive' in large bold text.Nurse Joy fanned her face with the ticket. "Damn, showing a girl a good time isn't a one-off for you, is it?" she said while biting her lip.I blinked in surprise and she giggled. "Sorry, couldn't resist, seriously thanks though! These are, wow, really nice!" she said, eyeing the ticket with a very pleased look.I nodded slowly only for Monique and Joy to continue to gush over the voucher. Huh, if they were that good, maybe I'd have to look into going myself?I made a note to book myself and Sabrina in.If it was good enough for them to be this happy… Well, I think I wanted that.My pokemon had garnered a lot of attention with their entry, but now they were happily mingling with other pokemon. I was surprised when I noticed Bertha and Titan locked in a discussion with Archibald and Gardevoir. He seemed to be looking them both over with an appreciative eye and Bertha looked like an innocent maiden as she batted at the air playfully at something Gardevoir had said.I decided to leave them to it, they were safe enough with the Chairman, he loved pokemon, after all.I paused and reconsidered the phrasing of that statement, and gave the group another look over.Bertha was flexing in front of Gardevoir and getting praise, it seemed. Titan was laughing at something said, and I hummed.Nah, it was fine.I looked around, spotting more and more familiar faces. Sadly the face I wanted to talk with right now wasn't in the crowd. It seemed like Jet, the Crusher cosplayer, hadn't stuck around. Shame. I would have loved to discuss his Onix body paint style and its impact on the fight.With Jet not around and therefore not an option, I turned instead towards the trio that I very much hadn't been expecting to find here.I walked up to the buffet table where Jessie was receiving a good deal of praise for her showing. Next to her Arbok, Tentacruel, and Mawile were wiggling with joy as they stuffed their faces.James and Meowth were themselves shovelling food into their mouths with a certain desperation, but they paused enough times to shoot Jessie amused looks."—said that we were due for some good luck! And I can't think of anything better than having a full stomach right now!" said James.Meowth swallowed. "I can, we gonna sleep in a bed tonight?"James and Jessie wilted and I raised an eyebrow in surprise. What was going on here?I eyed the group and noticed that their little pity party, and probably their table manners, had caused a wide bubble of space around them."Seems like a good place for me to insert myself into the conversation, then," I said, grabbing a chair and plonking it down next to James, invading their bubble. He stiffened, causing food to get caught in his throat. He flailed and started to choke."Calm down, I'm not here to do anything like you're thinking," I said, slapping him on the back and dislodging the food.James gasped and took a quick drink to settle his nerves. Jessie shifted so that she was slightly in front of James while he regathered himself. "What are you here for, Gym Leader?""Mostly to talk with you, I thought with your last appearance and my… well perhaps short-sighted warning, that you might not have ever come around," I made a show of looking around."And yet here you are. Do you like Contests that much?" I asked.Jessie squirmed. "I… I wasn't sure until today, but Mawile wanted to give it a go and I couldn't say no to her," she said, shooting her pokemon an exasperated but still happy smile."Hmmm, rare find that, have you had her long?" I asked, curious, as Mawile happily took a big bite of food only for Jessie to wipe her face with a napkin. Mawile giggled and nuzzled Jessie's hand before Jessie could retract it."Not long," James said before coughing. "Not that you wouldn't know that," he said with a slightly snide tone.I blinked before I realised what he was alluding to. Had he thought I was watching them? I rolled my eyes. "I'm sorry to say that you haven't been a factor for me, I've been rather involved in… a lot," I said simply.James, Jessie, and Meowth blinked and stared at me.I stared back, feeling like I was missing something, but unsure what."You haven't been keeping tabs on us?" Meowth asked carefully, his words tentative as if he were probing murky waters with a stick from as far away as he could.I chuckled. "Meowth, since we last spoke… I've had to deal with Ace Trainer Will probing my Gym with multiple other Ace trainers, the remnants of the trainer surge, establishing multiple training programs for the trainers under my purview, and deal with Team Rocket multiple times before busting them down."I gave them a pointed look that would say more than any words that I knew what I was talking about with such a statement, "All of that? On top of running a gym, juggling my family and dealing with the whole issue of…" I trailed off, I'd been about to say something about Flint, but this wasn't the right crowd of people to talk about that.Or perhaps it was? Jessie, James and Meowth could be surprisingly empathetic when it came down to it.I decided to leave it at that though, and just shrugged. "There's been more in there, like dealing with the Mt. Silver issue, but yeah, I haven't been stalking you," I said.Jessie, James, and Meowth all blinked at this. Then, as one, they slumped and exhaled."Oh, that's a relief!" said James with relief."Urgh! We're such small karp!" said Jessie with a put-upon expression."I want to demand that I get back all the beauty sleep I missed 'cause of the stress I've been dealing with!" Meowth said as he tugged on his whiskers.I chuckled at their different reactions and waved off the heated look Meowth gave me. "Hey, that was entirely your own doing. Don't lay that at my feet," I said."Well I'm gonna!" said Meowth, crossing his arms and pouting.I merely rolled my eyes at him. "What were you talking about with your lack of a roof over your head tonight?" I prompted.The trio shared a look with each other and then all scratched at the back of their heads as one. "Well, you see," they all started to say together, before they each diverged with the story that meandered around only to bump into the others or contradict what one of them had just said.Jessie realised this and quickly shut up Meowth and James before coughing into her fist."Through a series of unfortunate and totally unrelated events!" she said, giving Meowth and James pointed looks to shut up, before continuing. "We find that we've rather used up all our reserves of cash, and our supplies and camping gear have been damaged.""It's rather a shame," said James. "But we'll be back on our feet within the week."Meowth nodded. "Yeah, this used to be a weekly event for us!" he said, like that was something to be proud of.Jessie facepalmed.Meowth shot her a look. "Hey? What? It's a good thing we've been able to go three months without this happening! And it took James falling for that Magikarp salesman, you buying that outfit and losing to those creeps, and well, I did nothing wrong," he said shamelessly.Jessie and James shot him furious looks. "You were the one in charge of our bags when that Raticate swarm came out of the grass!" they snarled together.Meowth shook his head. "I refuse to take responsibility for that! One of you should have left a pokemon with me instead of going off to bathe in the creek like that! Don't you know what sort of diseases you can pick up washing like that?" he said seriously.I nodded along. "You should take a camper shower if you're doing that," I said. I gave Jessie another look-over. "Impressive that you are all so clean for today's showing," I said.The trio all looked away sheepishly and I knew they'd done something wrong.I pinched the bridge of my nose. How had they lasted as criminals with such honest reactions? Was it just because it was me asking, or were they usually this bad?"You broke into someone's house and had a shower, didn't you? What happened, did you get chased out?" I said shooting in the dark for the most likely event for a group of… former criminals?The group coughed and Meowth smirked at James. "The old lady came home while James was in the shower and miiiiiiight have mistaken him for her lover, so we couldn't stay there any longer."I opened my mouth, about to ask which old lady as chances were I knew them, then I rethought that question and let it remain unspoken.I didn't want to know what little old grannies were getting up to when they were behind closed doors.Some of them were far too willing to discuss it without the topic even being brought up.Old women could be entirely too shameless with you once you were old enough. Sure they had methods of speaking around it, but once you were old enough that you understood what innuendo was… well, suddenly those sweet old ladies gained a lot of… colour."Right, putting that way off to the side, where we won't raise that for—" I eyed the group of self-confessed criminals. "—multiple reasons," I said pointedly.The trio then seemed to realise whom they'd just confessed to and swallowed the food they'd been eating a bit too quickly, causing them to splutter.I rolled my eyes and let them regain control of themselves.I raised up my transceiver and drew up 'Jessadia's trainer information. On it, her pokemon roster was displayed along with the various badges she had. I'd need to add that she'd come fourth in the Pewter Gym Contest later tonight, but that was future Brock's job.I flicked my eyes over it, interested but not surprised to find several recommendations from various Gym Leaders, starting with my comment.The trio shifted slightly and James mouthed what he was reading quietly, but not quietly enough."'Diamond in the rough'… from Brock. 'Skilled', Daisy. 'Top-notch adaptability' from Manny. 'Can bring the firepower', Surge. 'A flower that has blossomed later than most but is all the more beautiful for it, Erika," read James.I tilted the projected screen so he could read more easily as I shot him an amused look. They had to know I didn't plan to arrest them to be this easy going with me, right?I watched them gush over the praise that usually didn't get shown to people. This was for Gym Leaders or prospective employers to see. The trainers didn't learn of its existence until they were well and truly done.When James was finished reading Janine's brief report on 'Jessadia's competencies as a trainer', I pulled my hand back and leaned forward.Jessie had a big goofy smile on her face. I felt myself relax a little more, if she could make that sort of embarrassed happy face on command, she had missed her calling as an actress.I considered that thought for a moment. Sabrina was supposed to be interested in that according to the games, but then again Will… I shut that thought down and gave Jessie a moment to bask in the good vibes.I then coughed. "While the praises of various Gym Leaders will take you far, I'm more interested in the accomplishments that you have on your file," I said pointing at another tab. "Not everyone gets those," I said, opening the tab and finding a note about Jessie and her friends taking part in the Porta Vista incident and being lauded as heroes. Then there was the Saffron City situation where the trio helped capture some violent Team Rocket Members."I'm curious about your skills, you've come a long way from the trio that snuck into my Gym only to get tripped up helping people, and then caught in a challenge you never meant to give," I said.The trio looked at me carefully, a small glimmer of interest sparked in Jessie's eyes while Meowth looked wary. James just looked straight at me openly.I smiled. "How would you like a job, no," I shook my head before rubbing it and sighing. "I'm doing a bad job of this," I said, taking a moment to focus my mind.I couldn't approach this like Agatha had, I had to do this in a way that would be tailored to Jessie, James, and Meowth.I smiled. "You're an odd bunch, aren't you?" I said whimsically, as my mind played out all the cartoons that showed how wacky and weird they could be.Rockets, blimps, submarines, pokemon riders, sales clerks, and more. Team Rocket had a can-do attitude and the will to pick themselves up time after time."You don't quite fit with how society or the people that raised you would like you to, do you?" I said. My words drew reactions, with all of them curling in on themselves slightly. They all noticed the others' discomfort and a spark entered their eyes.Before they could speak up to protect each other, I smiled. "And that's what makes you great," I said, stopping them short. They went from defensive to bashful in a second.I waved a hand at them. "You have what is perhaps the most eclectic range of skills around. You have passion and motivation in spades. You haven't had it easy, but that's alright, while things have been rough, you haven't let it hurt you or keep you down. You've struggled and grown into the beings you are today," I said, eying them."I like that, I need individuals like that helping me," I said.James frowned. "You want more assistants for your Gym?" he said.I shook my head and let my gaze drift over the crowd of rowdy people and the others who were a touch more dignified. They were smiling and laughing. Archibald was standing on the other side of the room with his Gardevoir.They both smiled and waved at me and I mirrored them before continuing to speak. "Before you or I were born, there was a war so terrible it engulfed the world," I said, turning serious.The trio blinked and straightened, aware of how serious discussions of the war were."There are lots of people working to keep tensions down, to heal old wounds, to find forgotten friends," I said."This world," I said, letting a touch of my love for this magical life I'd found myself within bleed into my words. "It's a marvellous place, so full of vibrancy, and if we work for it, it's a magical place full enough for everyone."I sighed then and let some of the fatigue of running a Gym, of fending back would be Elite Fours, of raising a family, of the gnawing doubt that it wouldn't ever be enough, out to show.I felt hollow in that moment of allowing it out. "It can be a dark place," I said, thinking of what Giovanni had done to Mewtwo, of how it had felt waking up and finding Flint was gone with barely a note left behind with his family.I shook my body and pushed down the dark feelings that I knew helped fuel so much of my growth, with what was my secondary energy type with Titan. I smiled a well-practised smile that I'd used a lot in the days after Flint had left."The world is not made of just moments of light and dark, though. As much as I wish it were, the world is not some cartoon or child's game," I said. "It would be less if that were the case, but… I digress," I said.Then I blinked and held in a chuckle as I watched Jessie, James and Meowth eye one another then watch my face, documenting the subtle ways my face tightened or how my eyes didn't light up like they should have. They were observing my mask and memorising it.I waved a hand in front of myself and let some proper amusement show. "Sorry! Sorry, hehe! That got a little too deep," I said. I scratched the back of my head. "I can get like that sometimes, go running off on tangents of thought," I said.Jessie opened her mouth for a moment before shutting it and smiling in a practised manner. "Of course," she said."What were you building towards?" asked Meowth leadingly. James merely nodded, continuing to watch my face thoughtfully.I smiled and shook my head. I wasn't going to touch that topic with the Rocket Trio.Instead I said, "You've all experienced a lot of the bad, I imagine, and you've gotten a taste for some of the good. I want to keep allowing you to have those good moments while also helping me… and people like me, that deal with some of the world's… darker moments," I said tactfully."A policeman?" asked Jessie.James shook his head. "No, Champion Lance announced an initiative for something called the G-men.""I don't want to be a copper!" wailed Meowth theatrically. "What about my street rep!? Who'd take me seriously?"He then shot me a look while glancing about. "What's it pay?" he said out of the side of his mouth.Jessie and James sighed and slumped over as though they'd expected this.I smirked. "Please, you think I'm just a Gym Leader that helps out the League and the G-men?" I said.Meowth snorted. "What, are you secretly Agent Pink of the Hero Force?" he said snidely.I held a masterful poker face before chuckling thanks to a quick flex of Rock energy. "Haha! I don't think Pink's outfit would suit me," I said, crossing my arms and subtly showing that I was much too broad in the shoulders.Jessie and Meowth nodded, but James tilted his head and narrowed his eyes."Yes…" he drawled slowly. "Her colour wouldn't work for you," he said, and I realised a second later that emphasising my build was just giving the disguise expert more information to work with. It didn't matter how good my mask was if he had other information to work off of.He must have made the connection to Hero Black as he nodded slowly.Meowth, unaware of what James had picked up, grabbed one of the few bits of food left in his vicinity. "So? You got a job offer?"I nodded. "How'd you like to work for an organisation specifically aiming to preserve peace, and love, and protect the world from devastation?" I said, throwing some of their famous song lyrics back at them.Meowth laughed, but Jessie and James looked at me seriously. It took a moment for Meowth to realise they weren't joining him. "Wait? Are you serious?" he asked before leaning in and whispering. "What would you even have us do?"I laced my hands underneath my chin and smiled. "What you're doing right now," I said.They blinked. Jessie scoffed. "Pull the other one, it has bells on it," she said sardonically.I snorted. "Jessie, the three of you have helped out or been involved with some major incidents, I suspect that this will continue to be the case. I want you to be able to keep moving around and helping out where you can. If things are too much for you to handle or you want some support, however? Me and some friends can step in to help you out," I said, tapping on my Xtransciever to make a point of what they'd done in a few months.That got them stopping and thinking more seriously. "Just, what we're doing right now?" James said, scratching his head thoughtfully. "No going extra or beyond?"I started to nod, before I paused as another idea occurred to me. "Oh wait, you know my brother and his friends?" I asked.The trio nodded slowly. "We… know them yes," James said."Yeah, that punk Pikachu is always trying to blow our cover!" Meowth said with clenched paws."You want us to leave them be?" Jessie said slowly.I snorted. "Nah, keep challenging them," I held up a hand, "But do it in ways that a friendly rival would. Sometimes throwing them a curve ball is what they need to grow, you don't have to sabotage them, but… don't make it easy for them," I said.Jessie, James, and Meowth all shared evil grins. "Keep messing with the twerps?""Keep it to harmless shenanigans, anything malicious like stealing their pokemon of course is out, but…" I waved a hand in an airy fashion.I had to admit to finding it rather amusing how I was throwing barriers into Ash, Forrest, and Misty's way for their own good. Did that make me a bad guy?I then smirked as yet another thought came to me. "My sister will probably be taking part in her Journey in the future, and some friendly rivals trying to catch her out would help sharpen her up some more too." I grimaced. "With her leaving here with a Larvitar, she's going to need it," I said.The trio all nodded seriously at that, dropping their looks of giddy delight at being given approval to mess with my brother."Yeah, that's a hot pokemon right now, on the black market those go for two million," said Meowth. "Not many are willing to take that offer, though, with how close the nesting ground is to the League, along with it being well… a Tyranitar nest you need to raid," he said."Is she travelling with a group of friends?" said Jessie."Two others at this stage," I said. "She'll also be starting with a Growlithe she's training up now.""Growlithe are wonderful pokemon, loyal to a fault and a good pokemon that will offer a lot of utility!" said James with a firm nod.A pokeball on James belt started to open only for James' hands to snap around it and close it. "Not now boy!" said James with a panicked look.The other pair stiffened and started looking around at the more well-to-do men and women.I frowned. What were they… I blinked as I connected the dots. James was from an affluent family. His parents might even have come to something like this! Chances were I had been in the room with them if they were at all involved with the social scenes of Kanto. I'd been to too many events in Celadon for that to not be the case!What were their names… I couldn't recall them, but then again it had been years since I'd watched the cartoon. I'd have to keep an eye out for people with matching features. I shot James' pokebelt a glance. More telling was that James had been talking up Growlithe, and a pokemon had been about to come out. James had Growlie with him.That was a change from the way things went down in the cartoon. But then again, Jessie didn't get a Mawile for her team. Or at least one that stuck around.I hummed in thought, drawing the trio's attention back to me. They adopted innocent expressions that wouldn't fool anyone. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "So, how about you give it some thought?" I said. I handed them a guest pass for the trainers' short stay area.When I reached Meowth I held onto the keycard. "I had the readers and cards updated, are there any technical issues I need to know about with these?" I said.Meowth inspected the keycard and whistled. "Oh wow! You did fork out good! Nice one! These don't have the issues of the old model you had… Hmmm, I'm going to have to tinker with these, give me a day or two and I can find something," he said.I rubbed my forehead. "I don't… No, you know what, if there's something I think I'd like to know, write a report on it. I'll pay, we'll call it… Security consultations," I said. It was scarily enough true.I stood and waved for them to stay seated. "Take the night to think about it. No rush and no pressure if you decide to not accept. I'm happy enough with you doing what you currently are, but I'd like to offer a safety net," I said, before nodding to each of them in farewell.I made my way directly to the more affluent people to rub elbows and shake hands. More than a few people asked about the training camp at the end of the circuit, but I made sure to emphasise it would be for Pewter trainers predominantly and that other Gym Leaders were setting up their own, which garnered some interest.When I had a moment to myself I wandered over to grab a drink, only for Archibald to ambush me. "Brock, wonderful event!" he said amicably, clapping my shoulder with one hand while shaking my hand with his other. He then leaned in. "I'd love to take part next year, as a shot caller or a Judge if you'll have me, I rather enjoyed working with Rachel and so did my dear," he said, indicating his companion.I nodded to Gardevoir. "Glad you enjoyed yourselves," I said easily.Archibald nodded his head up and down before coughing and dropping his voice to a whisper. "Also, as a silent backer for Agatha's little group, I must say I approve of your eye for talent," he said, flicking his eyes towards Jessie, James and Meowth.I stiffened and shot him a look before relaxing. "Oh, Gardevoir listened in with…" I frowned. I'd been throwing around some intense emotions, there was no way dark energy hadn't spilled out.Archibald chuckled. "No, nothing so generic. Gardevoir is skilled at lip reading, it's an old trick we used from… another lifetime ago," he said, and I saw a flicker of something dark in those eyes before they vanished as Gardevoir squeezed his hand and leaned into him. He patted her arm and relaxed. "Another life," he said simply.I nodded slowly, an idea forming in my mind. "Ah, right, I'll have to keep that in mind going forward," I said.Archibald clapped me on the shoulder. "Not to worry! I made sure no one else was doing the same and kept your conversation private!" he said with a wink.He then stretched. "Do say hello to Agatha for me, I think I shall call it here, these old bones can't quite stand up so well these days." Then he winked at me. "Good thing I'll be laying down for what comes next, eh?" he said.I felt my smile turn brittle as Gardevoir giggled and swatted at Archibald.Urgh! Old people!I shook my head and saw out the rest of the evening, knowing that I'd need to mention Team Rocket to the Guardians when we spoke next.For now, though, I wanted to catch my own rest after supervising the Gym's restoration.Tomorrow we were back to facing trainers for their badges after all.I stretched and smiled as a familiar ping went off, reminding me that I had a chat with the Guardians lined up.Truly, no good deed went unpunished.