"—monitoring the Aqua submarine, but when we take into account their previous tactics there should be another two or three subs," said Agent Wilkins, the man on the ground that we had in the Orange Islands.
I rubbed my eyes to work out some of the irritation. It'd been a long day and I was backing up story time with my family with another meeting. I sadly needed to be part of this to find out what the latest intel on Team Aqua was."What would you say they're doing?" Karen said, speaking up first.Wilkins hummed. "They came around Ascorbia before diverting hard north to evade being detected by the local firefighting team."I frowned. "Firefighting team?" I said slowly, my mind pinging with the memory of something."Captain Aidan," Koga said. "He is a man who fought well during the war, retired there and has taken over training a dedicated group of pokemon. We butted heads a number of times, but his dedication to Fuchsia was never in doubt. He has since followed the flight path of a certain Legendary fire type and set himself up so that he will be one of the first responders."Agatha nodded her head. "He is also the source of many of the young starter Squirtles that trainers who excel in Kanto receive," she said.I blinked slowly. "We stopped there for a few days, didn't we, Sabrina?"Sabrina nodded. "Tide, Hypnotoad, Shin, Chou and my own Starmie received training there while the Captain ran us around." She sniffed pointedly. "I did not appreciate volunteering for it and the Captain did not like the way I 'lifted weights' or got through his obstacle course," she said."It got very… heated," I said as I nodded. It was slowly coming back to me. A memory of a much younger, much less patient Sabrina outright disassembling the obstacle course and walking through it to prove a point. I lifted up my Xtransciever hoping against hope that I still had the video. I found it quickly and tapped it.Sabrina inhaled and vanished on her screen in a teleport to appear at my side. "You took a video of that?" she said.I chuckled and shut it down. "Yeah? It was pretty amusing to watch the Captain get all angry only for you to shut him down like that. I'd forgotten I had it.""Ahem," said Koga. "As glad as I am for you two to have personal experience with the residents of Ascorbia, we need to continue our discussion of the threat of Team Aqua," Koga said. "Did Captain Aidan not discover anything?" he said, dragging the meeting back.Wilkins nodded. "He did detect something and we tried to assist him, but the submarine was too fast for Captain Aidan to get close despite using a Blastoise. He eventually had to return to his island, but he certainly gave them a fair chase.""Good, that will make Team Aqua more cautious in future," Koga said.Agatha sniffed. "They may react the other way, though, and see Captain Aidan and his pokemon as a threat, especially with the number of utility pokemon he will have transporting him and his team around. We will need more local agents with eyes on the island and funds allocated to support any… accidents that might befall the good Captain."Agatha narrowed her eyes. "We need people that are willing to move to tropical islands," she said.Everyone on the call bar Sabrina snorted in amusement. Karen went as far as to drape a hand over her head. "Oh dearie me, I'm being required to move to a tropical island for work! Whatever shall I do?"Agatha shook her head despite her lips twitching. "Alright, we shouldn't have any issues with people wanting to move to the islands. I am already aware of some channellers that want to move out as they feel like they have seen too much of the dreary cemetery-ridden landscape of Lavender Town," she said with a haughty sniff.Karen tilted her head. "Uhm, they aren't kidding, you crazy old woman, they hate it there beneath you since you've started moving back," she said shamelessly.Agatha shot Karen a look. "You've grown cheeky since you left my tutelage, perhaps some remedial lessons are in order?"Sabrina tapped me on the shoulder and I glanced back to find her offering me a small plate of cut up berries which she munched on while watching Agatha and Karen have a catfight. I bit my lip, amused despite myself."Bring it you old—"I decided to cough and smile pleasantly. "Janine, as the host it might be best for you to mute Agatha and Karen while giving them a private chat channel for them to talk it out," I said.Janine typed quickly on her side and nodded. "Done," she said.Sabrina let out a little 'heh' of victory as Karen's mouth moved but no sound came out. Agatha mirrored her. Lucy must have muted her own feed as she fell silent while her hand shot to her lips as she burst into giggles.Koga flicked his daughter a look that shifted from amused to begrudging respect. "Continue, Wilkins," he said, and the man detailed how it had taken him another two days to find the Aqua sub once again."The far eastern side of Butwhal seemed to have been assessed, but was passed over. The submarine then assessed Hamlin and Kumquat islands. I believe they have established a temporary base in Kumquat, as they have gone low into sea caves that I can't access without giving away that I am observing them."I drew up a map. "Kumquat is a major city for the Orange islands, why would they settle there?""Proximity to Kanto seems to be the deciding factor," Wilkins stated. "I believe that they will eventually ditch Kumquat, however, and go for the much easier option of Tarroco Island, which is a no-capture zone for trainers. It will be an easy site for them to set up in, with access to local water pokemon."Lucy cleared her throat. "Why wouldn't they set up further south in islands such as Cleopatra, or even going as far as Mandarin Island? It offers the most room for them to disguise their activities," she said.Janine looked to her father, but he merely looked ahead. Wilkins made a noise of thought. "It's probably operational ranges on their submarines, they need to come up for air every now and then, and the further they have to go through populated centres, the more risk they take of being spotted, especially if they're operating as a standard submarine pod."I shared a glance with Sabrina. She nodded before speaking up, "It may also have something to do with the Shamouti current that runs through the centre of the archipelago." She clicked on my computer and drew up the map which she shared with the others.She started drawing different coloured loops."The current of Shamouti is considered treacherous due to how it shifts through the various islands. It always centres around Shamouti, but it never remains on the same course." She demonstrated the various routes that the current could take, drawing murmurs from Janine and Koga.Koga put a hand to his chin in thought. "Wherever did you learn of this?""Shamouti," I said, "It is a known phenomenon there and well documented. They have watchers out each season to track the current, as it will dictate the flow of currents for the entire archipelago for the rest of the year.""What causes it?" asked Wilkins.I drew up Wilkins' file which I had access to in the Guardians' information. I flicked Sabrina another look as I replied. "It's thought to be influenced by all the water pokemon in the Orange Islands," I said. In a more private chat, I wrote out a message 'Classified above Wilkins' clearance level. Upgrade?'Koga, Janine and Agatha didn't bat an eye while Karen and Lucy twitched in surprise.Koga slowly nodded. "I think it might be wise to keep Wilkins in the loop. Wilkins, I am going to advocate that your clearance level be raised to the highest level, this will grant you access to much more sensitive information. Brock, Sabrina, it seems we have much to learn about Shamouti. I can only assume that the current is caused by energies given off from the nesting sites of the Legendary birds located around Shamouti?""Legendaries? Multiple? Sweet creator!" Wilkins hissed out a startled oath.I wavered a hand back and forth. "That is one local theory, but it is poorly understood. The locals of Shamouti have a ceremony where they will 'calm' the local Legendary birds," I said.I frowned and brought up my Xtransciever. "There is a local tale they recite each year and it is retold as the Shamouti Prophecy," I said, paging through the files I had. "I'll have to upload the recordings I took from the ceremony years ago.""Disturb not the harmony of Fire, Ice or Lightning, lest these Titans wreak destruction upon the world in which they clash. Though the Water's Great Guardian shall arise to quell the fighting, alone its song will fail, thus the earth shall turn to ash. O Chosen One, into thine hands, bring together all three. Their treasures combined tame the Beast of the Sea," said Sabrina reciting the Shamouti Prophecy perfectly, or at least the part that was relevant to what we were talking about..Koga and the others blinked.Lucy chewed her lips. "Fire, Ice, and Lightning are easy enough to draw conclusions on, unless it's deliberately misleading. Urgh, I've read so many books with prophecies being brought up as a plot point and they're never as good or straightforward as they seem!"Agatha's finger rose and poked at the video. I chuckled. "I think Agatha wants to speak again," I said.Janine unmuted Agatha and the woman shot her a cross look. "Well, thank you for allowing me to speak once more, child," she said heatedly.Karen mimed laughing as her video showed it had 'raised its hand'. Janine did not unmute Karen but merely nodded equanimously. "It helped to keep us moving along," she said.Agatha's scowl deepened before she huffed and dropped the matter. "The matter of course turns towards that of 'Water's Great Guardian,' and that its song alone will fail. This clearly marks out another pokemon that we have not noted. Kyogre has never been noted to pass through this region. Kyogre… failing is also a concerning prospect," Agatha said."It's not Kyogre that we think is there," I said.I brought up some of the temple wall pictures and began to share them with the group. "Rather, we think it is a pokemon known as Lugia, an extremely rare Legendary that is known for calming other pokemon according to the legends surrounding it," I said. The stone carving showed a very crude drawing of Lugia."It has a powerful psychic presence," said Sabrina. "I could feel it at times when we were travelling through the Orange islands. It had a beautiful song," she said, causing me to blink in surprise.She'd never mentioned that, but there had been a few times when she'd wander off to stand with her feet in the water, staring out into the sea with a calm expression. That certainly explained those moments."Lugia, a psychic-water pokemon?" asked Agatha.I shrugged. "It has large wing-like fins that might make it flying as well," I suggested, just for the sake of accuracy.The others dismissed this due to the words 'Guardian of Water', with only Sabrina giving me a momentary glance over. When I shot her a smile she merely nodded. Sometimes I had to wonder if she knew that I knew more than I should.She never pushed for me to reveal anything, though, not since her initial freak-out over my arrival at her Gym when we were young.I think that was one of the reasons that she was easy to love, she didn't push me about things I was uncomfortable with.Koga thanked Wilkins before dismissing him with a reminder to look over Shamouti when he had the chance and to establish potential sites where Team Aqua would set up bases in or around Tarroco Island."This marks another site we may need to keep an eye on," Koga said thoughtfully, his face cast in a stern expression. "The Orange islands are becoming contentious sites."I paused to consider that. He certainly hit the nail on the head with that comment. "Perhaps there might be other organisations looking to move there as well? Remnants of Team Rocket?" I suggested."Very likely," said Koga.Agatha grunted at this. "We will need to shift some resources away and cultivate others, we will also need people that have a good understanding of the islands."I hummed in consideration. "We could increase our recruitment, I had considered three possible candidates already," I said, deciding now was a good enough time to broach the topic of Team Rocket."Ho? You'd allow us to poach Jackson?" Agatha said with a pleased smile.I blinked, having not considered him. He did rather fit the slot of a trainer who had experience in the Orange and Sevii islands… I frowned. "I'm not sure if he's the right fit for induction into—""He is not," said Koga firmly.When I blinked at him slowly Koga waved a hand. "While Janine was there she performed some assessments for the older trainers with an eye towards potential recruitment… We sadly did not focus our attention on the new hires." Koga bowed his head. "I apologise for this oversight on our part, Daniel… was not within our expectations."Janine also bowed with him and I sighed, understanding that this had probably been something weighing on him for a while now."I don't blame you for that," I said easily.Koga rose and returned my nod. "If you want we can perform more reviews with your staff?" he said.I considered that. Would it be useful to have people like Rachel, Alexa, Rocko, or Dennis as part of the Guardians?I shook my head. "No, let them be, they have their own duties, but you're not wrong in that Jackson could be useful for his familiarity with the islands. I'd be very interested in a few of them, along with some of the deeper ocean areas for their potential access to as yet unfound Rock pokemon," I said. "I'll mention it to him as an option to expand the Gym, now that things are calming down," I said.I then raised a hand. "He wasn't who I wanted to raise up though. I know a trio of… well, misfits and delinquents. They all don't really fit in any typical-sized hole if you catch my drift. They also… haven't always been on the side of good," I said, my eyes darting around to see if anyone reacted to this.Agatha raised an eyebrow, as though telling me to get on with it. "They used to work for Team Rocket," I said, "but they've also been involved in a number of incidents where they were critical in assisting the situation by making it less severe than it could have been." I linked Jessie and James's trainer profiles."Who's the third?" Lucy asked as she squinted at the feed, showing that she must have been reading their trainer information."Meowth," I said."You want to induct a pokemon?" Agatha said.I nodded. "He's an extremely clever cat, and can come up with a lot of cons. He reads and uses security magazines. He'd be a great… cat burglar if nothing else," I said. Next to me Sabrina twitched and shot me a look, demanding I stop making puns.I resisted the urge and shot her a wink to show I'd behave. She narrowed her eyes but relaxed against me, her hands shifting to pet Zubat who'd been asleep on my shoulder like some quasi-epulaet."A pokemon as a Guardian," Agatha said with a shake of her head. "Well, it's not like pokemon aren't part of our teams already, so why not?" she waved her hand. "You have my support. They won't be the first people that we've flipped for our purposes." She smirked in an off-hand manner and I had a premonition of what was to come."During the war, I had a bit of a reputation for 'flipping' people, you could say," she said with a glint in her eyes. "I had this move in the bedroom where I'd—" her voice fell silent as Janine muted her once again.Karen, who'd yet to be unmuted, began laughing hysterically."You… are rather proficient at that, daughter," said Koga, his words holding a certain level of caution to them. Janine merely smiled and I mentally attributed her with a wagging tail for earning praise from her father."So, you're good with them? I'll inform them they're in," I said.Koga nodded. "I shall send a courier Fearow with a package only you can open Brock, take it and hand it to them.""That's fine," I said before scratching the back of my head. "I told them that I want them to keep doing what they're doing right now, which is going around Kanto challenging Gyms and contests to get stronger. Make them a roving band of troubleshooters," I said.Koga blinked. "Unorthodox, but not unheard of." His eyes flicked to Agatha. "What are your thoughts, Agatha?"Janine unmuted Agatha just in time for her answer. "Feh! Let them be if they're that small, but make sure they come around to Lavender, I want them to meet my latest protege," she said. "I shall also test them myself! No doubt you were easy on them, Brock!"I rolled my eyes and waved her off.Finally, the topic turned towards the final item on our agenda. "New Island…" Koga began."It's where Mewtwo was created and it seems to be where he has returned to," I said, bringing up the information that had been compiled since we'd last had a chat about this with Koga. I turned my attention to Sabrina."You have the best understanding of Mewtwo," I said carefully. "Do you have any idea why he's gone here?" I asked.Sabrina frowned slightly. "Mewtwo, was not a blank slate, he is like…" She considered her words for a moment before speaking. "Imagine that your memories form up a set of buildings and are organised into streets. Mewtwo is like a town that has been partially demolished, only for the ruins of the former town to be paved over with shoddy building material. It looks like everything is normal at a glance, but as soon as you start trying to dig up a basement or lay any true foundations, the previous memories are uncovered."Sabrina gestured in a vague motion. "When we were fighting with them, I made sure to implant a number of what would be deemed 'core memories' of mine. These core memories are fundamental and powerful. By exposing him to experiences like this, I caused a flood of emotion that washed away the mental constructs that Team Rocket had built.""Huh, so you just gave him a shock to the noggin? Doesn't sound that hard," Karen said with a sniff.I raised an eyebrow as Sabrina shook her head. "I was using a metaphor that is barely adequate to give you some idea. What I did was infinitely harder than that, but I had to dumb it down for you to understand," Sabrina said.Karen narrowed her eyes, only for Janine to clear her throat and move her hand towards a button once more. Karen kept her mouth shut.Sabrina nodded in thanks and continued. "I believe that Mewtwo has returned to New Island due to it being his birthplace and the place that he has the strongest resonance with. He is establishing a home for himself. I believe that we should give him some more time before attempting to visit him ourselves in a peaceful manner. Mewtwo is a young pokemon despite his power and will lash out if we come in too aggressively. I think that I need to be there to make… third contact," she said.The others all nodded at this and Agatha eventually sighed and bobbed her head in acceptance. "You are the expert in psychic matters, we shall default to your judgement."She then straightened. "Was there anything else that needed to be raised for this meeting?""I'm organising a group of geologists and scientists to look into potential sites for Mega stones," I said."Hoh, that is something that we will need to con—" Agatha began only for me to shake my head."I've already mentioned it to Oak, and he's too big a name. I'll also be having Flint lead things up so best to let this be a more… public project," I said."Tch, very well then," Agatha said."This is something that we require," Koga said. "With Steven Stone stealing a march we will need to facilitate discovering as much as we can about Mega stones.""I've already bounced some theories to Flint and I think we have some solid leads," I said."Hmmm, well dibs on any of the dark-type stones you can find," Karen said."Might be a bit tough as we're looking into nesting grounds or swarm sites. With Sharpedo that's going to be a tough ask. Houndoom might be easier?" I said carefully.Karen snorted. "Easier to find? Yeah? To set something up that is dedicated? Yeeeeeeaaaaah this is going to be hard," she said.I shrugged. "We'll be looking for investors," I said.Agatha nodded. "I shall talk to some people," she said. "Good work taking the initiative on this," she said. "Anything else to raise for discussion?"When none of us had anything more to raise, Agatha bid us a good evening and we signed off.Sabrina yawned and wrapped her arms around me. "Carry me to bed?" she said playfully."I think I can handle that," I said, taking her in my arms and standing.Sabrina smiled winningly at me, only for her expression to falter. "Brock, there is a Meowth that is… oh, he's just testing himself against your security doors," she said with a tilt of her head. "Ah, he's the one you nominated?" she asked.I nodded and Sabrina continued to stare at the wall where she could no doubt see him. "Hmmm, he can have his fun, let's go have our own," she said with a smile.I returned Zubat to a pokeball and carried Sabrina to bed. When I took too long Sabrina teleported us to the room.The next morning saw me scaling the plateau while Selene watched on. Gible clung to me while Zubat fluttered around me, getting in the way far more than she was assisting me. Her little wings flapped into my face more than a few times as she flitted in and out."You gotta work on pulling up sharper Zubat," I said, as she smacked me for the fifth time in ten metres. "In and out darts, keep working on it for agility," I said.When she tried to go faster she ploughed into the side of my head, causing me to grunt in pain. I could probably reinforce myself with rock energy, but then Zubat would be like a bug hitting a windshield.So instead I took the hits as part of the training and continued to climb the plateau, my muscles aching at the new morning workout that Trixie had dropped off for me before sprinting off.It had been a while since I'd done some proper mountain climbing.Beneath me, Yolanda led a cadre of trainers in her own workout, with Spot and Terra at her side.At the moment the group were working through as many push-ups as they could.Dennis and Rocko were leading the pack easily, while A.J. was doggedly working to catch them. Yolanda otherwise came in a solid fourth place with Greta in fifth. Crystal, who'd joined in, looked gutted when she failed on the twenty-eighth push-up, only to learn she wasn't even in the same ballpark as Greta or Yolanda."I'm the weakest of us?" she whimpered with a twitch.I glanced around, wondering for a moment if I hadn't heard the noise of glass shattering.I shook it off, must have just been Crystal's understanding of the world breaking.When Yolanda led the gang through a jog while carrying Terra with Spot at her side to keep her moving, Crystal was forced to scamper after her, her own pokemon jogging along with hints of exhaustion showing.When I was done I scrambled down, the climb down working similar yet different muscles than the ascent.I quickly jogged on to catch up with Greta. "Hey, good work during the Contest. How's Ivysaur going with his evolution?" I asked.Greta grinned through her fatigue and shot the faithful starter a proud look. He was shuffling along doggedly, but his new weight was making it rough for him. "He's adjusting! I think he's really gotten stronger, though! We tested out some of his moves late last night and he's gotten faster and more powerful in a whole range of ways!" She then shot Ivysaur a small grimace. "He is a bit slower and larger, though, so we have to take that into account.""Nice, let's you and I do some work together this week. I think it's due time for you to challenge another Gym. You and A.J. can talk to each other and we can set something up later in the week, yeah?" I said.Greta licked her lips and nodded. "Y-yeah! I mean yes! That would be good!" she said.I clapped her on the shoulder only to accelerate and catch Cranidos before he could launch a sneak attack on Greta. I grabbed him by the neck and drove him into the ground."It was cute when you were a baby, but I think you need to learn to stop attacking out of nowhere like that," I said.I then lifted him up and flicked him on the snout. "If you want to fight, challenge them, but accept that they can say yes or no." I tapped him on the nose when he started to look a little defiant. "Do you want to fight today in the Gym? We have a few first-badge challengers," I asked.That got him perking up and I wagged a finger in front of him. "Time to listen well then, 'cause you need to be on your best game," I said, leading him off to do some obedience training that started with Simon Says.I quickly had Cranidos following along until he was visibly growing frustrated.Just before he threw a tantrum I let him off the chain. "Simon says Headbutt that rock!" I called and he leapt to obey, earning a firm pet and a reward treat from me."Nicely done buddy, you lured them in and then crushed them with a single well placed headbutt. That's real strength," I said, stroking along his spine and cleaning his dome. He crooned happily and I ran him through another round.When Rocko approached I gave him some instructions, "Can you grab those trainers in the guest rooms from last night? Give me another twenty or thirty and bring them to me?""Roger boss!" he said as he continued to jog on.I then turned my attention back to Cranidos. "Alright! Simon says stand on one foot!" I said to continue.Zubat and Gible joined in, and I didn't have the heart to tell them this was meant to just be for Cranidos.I got a whole three minutes of him following orders before he started to twitch in agitation. "Alright, your turn," I said, allowing Cranidos to lead the game for once."Cran?" he said before he grinned and chirped about lowering your head.I did not need to be psychic to predict what he was going to do next. Thankfully he charged and I merely stepped out of the way with a grin. "Ha! You forgot to say Simon says!" I said as he slammed into a rock wall."Gibl—" I started to say before aborting that and pointing to Zubat. "Zubat's turn!" I said, and for the next minute, we flapped around happily before hugging each other. When Gible hugged Cranidos, the hard-headed pokemon tried to headbutt the ground shark, only to get a nibble in response.I snorted and Cranidos grumbled while Gible chattered happily.I called that game to an end then before going through some basic moves with Cranidos. "Alright, show me your Rock Smash!" I said, letting Cranidos off the leash.Cranidos sprinted at a rock before pummeling it. "Good! Now I want a Fake Out with a kick! Use your legs! They're strong too!" I called, and this time Cranidos did as I ordered, spinning and smashing with his legs."Excellent!" I said, making sure to give out praise. "Show me your Leer!"Cranidos straightened up and shot me a look that had me shivering. "Perfect!" I said. "Let's get you cleaned up for today's matches! Report to Chansey!" I concluded, calling the training to an end as I moved on to work with Tirtouga and Anorith, who I was also hoping to give some time to.As I made my way to the pond Rocko intercepted me. "Morning Brock! Got those trainers you wanted to talk to," he said, waving a hand to Jessie, James and Meowth. I thanked him and he trotted off to perform another task, leaving me with plenty of room to talk privately with the trio.Meowth, I noted, looked very tired but pleased with himself. "So it took you a while, but you worked out a hack, eh?" I asked.Meowth blinked at me before rearranging his features into a smug look. "What else were you expecting when you called in the best but success?" he said."Hmmmm, how long does your method take without knowing about it?"Meowth coughed. "It took me half the night to stumble on it, and then another couple hours to verify it works… It only works on some of the doors, though, cause I saw you've gone for extra security with a two-factor authentication and transceiver tech." He shot me a finger. "I wasn't aware of that!""I'm not going to hand out my security specs to just any Meowth," I said smugly, pleased that he hadn't been able to get past that extra feature I'd asked for on my own office, the medical bay and pokeball storage room, and the 'duck pond'. There was also the fact that the Porygon monitored the doors nowadays.I'd woken up to a lot of low-priority warnings that featured camera snapshots of Meowth. It was good to see he was being honest with me on how long it had taken him to 'break in'."So I spoke with the group I mentioned last night, and they're for it, if you are," I said, cutting to the chase.Jessie, James and Meowth all shared a look. "We… talked," Jessie said. "We've agreed that… a safety net would be nice and that our current… circumstances are good for us." She made a face as though this was a difficult admission for her.I smiled and James coughed. "They've been pretty incredible actually, we're still waiting for the other shoe to drop," he said.I shot him a look. "Yeah, I get feeling that way," I said.Meowth coughed. "Not to ruin a good thing, but… what if our old… pals decide to reach out to us?"I smiled, I had an answer for this already thought up. "You accept and go along while telling us. Keep your eyes and ears open. The group you're going to be a part of from now on? We're very interested in what Team Rocket is up to," I said."Fearow!" shrieked a bird as it began to plummet towards me.No less than eight rocks shot up from the ground in front of the Fearow, forcing it to pull up from its dive sharply. "Row!?" it shrieked as it darted its head around in fear.I whistled. "All good! It's expected! Fearow, come in more carefully!" I called, cupping my hands so it could hear me. It came down much more slowly with its head darting about.Jessie, James and Meowth looked around and spotted three of the pokemon that had launched the preemptive air defense attacks. I knew from training that the first round was always just warning shots.If Fearow had kept on coming, then they and others would have gotten serious.There was a no-fly zone around most Gyms in Indigo due to their potential nature as military assets, after all. The only exclusions that I knew of were Celadon and Cerulean. Surge had been very twitchy about allowing people to watch his match against Will via pokenet due to old instincts, but had allowed it with so many eyes watching for trouble.Fearow delivered a packet that had a code lock on it, and with a swift input of my Guardian code the case unlocked to reveal three matching holopads."Welcome to the Guardians," I said, handing over the flashy pieces of technology.The trio accepted them and blinked when three identical identification sequences began. Meowth dropped his, only for it to not interrupt the process."Jeez lewiz! Warn a guy first!" he said to me as the scan locked in his biometrics."Sorry, forgot about that," I said, which mollified Meowth a little.When the sequence was done and he unlocked the pad he whistled. "Wow! There's some interesting little tidbits on display here!" I smirked. He'd gone straight for the morning news that was compiled for easy reading.Jessie looked to be doing a deeper dive on what features it had, while James was personalising his to have a different colour scheme.Meowth glanced up at me. "This is pretty nice!" He said, like a cat that had just discovered how to invest in Cream Co. He then tilted his head. "What comes next?"I smiled, "Well, how about—" a rumble interrupted me and I took a moment to realise it had come from all of our stomachs. I shared a look of disbelief with the others before laughing as one.When we were done I waved a hand for them to follow. "Let's start with breakfast, from there? The world!" I said.The trio cheered at this and I felt like everything was falling into place.Over breakfast I prodded them into revealing the various adventures they'd had so far this year. Learning about the various holes they'd dug leading to Ash, Forrest, and Misty falling into them was a little amusing but also worrying. "Probably best to change it up. While they'll probably walk it off, let's not actually hurt them going forward, yeah?"The trio considered this. James tilted his head. "You want harmless fun pranks that jerk them around?"Jessie squinted while tapping her spoon on her empty bowl. "I feel like there's a word for that?""Shenanigans?" suggested Meowth as he finished licking the cream off his bowl."Munchlax!" chimed Munchlax, indicating the dishwasher."Huh? Oh right, yeah I can do that," said Meowth as he moved to collect the plates from the trio and myself before depositing them in the sink.I hummed, glancing at Munchlax who was ignoring me as he bustled into the lounge room where he started putting away the younger twins' toys. I considered Meowth.Hmmm, why not? "Can you ask him if he's happy here? Or if he needs anything?" I asked.Meowth repeated the question to Munchlax when he wandered back and the little pokemon shot him a thumbs up before chattering away. "Munch! Lax Mun Munch! Munchlax Munch Munch Munch Lax!" he chirped.Meowth nodded along. "He says that he likes his life here. He especially loves it when he gets to listen to story time, but that you haven't been telling as many stories of late. He misses that."I coughed in surprise, feeling touched that all he wanted was more stories.Jessie cooed at that and James shot the little pokemon a radiant smile.I nodded at Munchlax. "Sure, I'll try and read more to you and my siblings," I said.Munchlax darted in to hug me before running off with a happy "Munch!"The trio shared a smile with each other."So? What next?" I prompted.Jessie frowned. "I need to complete my pokemon team and get stronger.""Don't forget I've given you access to a stable, not mine, but one that handles other pokemon to a high level," I said, causing Jessie to blink in surprise."Oh? Really? I hadn't realised our deal would encompass that," said Jessie.I smirked. "You're going to find a lot of prior issues gone now, Jessie," I said. "Maybe take your trainer I.D. to the bank sometime to get yourself some more supplies to start off, hey?" I said.The trio quickly checked Jessie's card and whistled at the amount on there. "That's enough to get parts for me to build at least three Rocket blimps!" Meowth said.I chuckled and was about to suggest they spend it on less flashy items, before clamping my mouth shut. If they wanted to do this their way, then I just had to trust in them to reach the milestone by shutting up.A task that was much more difficult than it should be with how each suggestion grew more and more outlandish, leaving me to hold my placid smile while Guardian Team Three— formerly Team Rocket— grew more and more excited about the future.When they departed, they did so with a much more upbeat spirit, while I could only rub my chin and wonder if I hadn't just made a terrible mistake.For an infinitely small moment of time, I empathised with Giovanni. Then I crushed that emotion ruthlessly.I entered the Gym and swept through the morning's paperwork, seeking a distraction.When it came time for the first gym match, I had to fight the grin off my face as the lights went out.The trainer entered and one light burst to full power, lighting them up and causing them to flinch.Out of the darkness, I spoke lines that I'd said a hundred, if not a thousand times now to first-time trainers.My voice, like the stone carving out its grove in the mountain, rumbled out, filling all corners of the room. "You dare challenge the Pewter City Gym?"The boy, a young trainer by the name of Trent, flinched and turned in my direction, eyes wide with fear. He hadn't been expecting this and it was clear to anyone watching he was crumbling."Well?" I said, prompting them to speak. "Have you come here to challenge me?" I asked, lowering my tone just a fraction.Trent swallowed and straightened. "I-I have! I have come to-b-b-beat you!" he bleated out, turning cherry red."Ho? Is that so?" Another light burst to life above me. "I am Brock and this is my Gym, let's see if you have what it takes!" I said, striding down before leaping across to the podium.I locked eyes with the trainer and got to watch as a fire entered his eyes and he began to stand taller. The fear vanished.I felt myself relax a little more and enjoy the moment as Cranidos' pokeball enlarged in my hand. This was one of the things I'd been missing and getting to return to it felt like I'd come back to a favourite hobby more than a part of my job."Trainers! Are you ready?" called Jackson from the referee's podium.We both nodded and sent out our pokemon."Go Nuzleaf!" Trent called."Go Cranidos!" I said, interested that he had a second stage pokemon like this for his first badge. It was a good match up."Nuzleaf! Razor Leaf!" called Trent. A good move to start, and against Cranidos it would surely knock him out if I allowed it to land. Sadly for Trent, I didn't want to let it be too easy for him."Cranidos! Charge to the right fast! Break up that boulder and get some dust coverage!" I called, surprising everyone with how hard I was going out.Trent didn't know any better, merely grunting and leaning in as his pokemon's attack missed. "Nuzleaf! They're afraid of that move! Let's do some Growth!""Cranidos, lead with a Mudslap before closing in!" I called. Out of the dust a slap sounded out as Cranidos slapped some mud with his tail and launched it straight into Nuzleaf's eyes, startling the pokemon as it was blinded.Cranidos poured on the speed seeing his chance. He lowered his head and brayed in excitement."Fire on the nose! Slightly to your left! Hold firm!" Trent called out. His Nuzleaf listened and followed the order and Cranidos suddenly found himself having to charge through a wave of Razor Leaf that cut him down.He brayed once and fell, sliding to a stop just before Nuzleaf."Nuz?" asked the still blinded pokemon as he listened carefully."Cranidos is unable to battle!" called Jackson. His voice startled Nuzleaf before he did a happy jig. Trent grinned but gave his pokemon a quick look over. "Best not to test our luck! Let's trade out for Mankey!" he called, sending out said pokemon.Mankey appeared and looked around with a deceivingly happy expression. I sent out my Onix and sure enough the happy-go-lucky Mankey's smile dropped as it unleashed a pair of Karate Chop onto my pokemon as I only got off one Tackle in return.Trent gaped when Jackson raised his flag. "Onix is unable to battle! Trent is therefore the victor!" he called."I did it?" Trent said hesitantly.I grinned and nodded, returning my Onix. "That you did, young man!"Trent blinked. "You're not kidding with me? You didn't go easy?"I coughed, suddenly sheepish. "I went to the limits of and a bit beyond the first badge level," I said. I eyed him. "You probably could have challenged at the second tier with the pokemon you have and comfortably won, third tier would have been a tougher match, but for your first badge? You had a very strong showing," I complimented him."Oh! Anita must not have known about that! She always said I was too weak to fight you and I needed to keep training… with how things were with all those scary-looking trainers that came through for months at the start of the circuit, it made sense," he said."Ah, yeah, this year is tougher with trainer battles, but the Gym itself is still the same. It's different when you accept a fight out in the wilds or at the end of year circuit," I said. I gave him a smile. "You'll have to hustle if you want to make this year's circuit," I said."You think I could make it?" he said, with the air of someone who had spent so long being told he couldn't, he didn't have the confidence in himself.Jackson and I shot each other a worried glance. "Yeah? With some work?" I said."Huh, I'll have to talk to Anita about it," he said with a nervous twitch."Anita?" I asked."TRENT! TRENT! YOU BETTER NOT BE GETTING A BIG HEAD DUE TO BROCK GOING EASY ON YOU!" screamed a voice from the stands.I blinked and looked up to find a girl who looked to be of age with Trent. Trent flinched. "Ah! I won't!""Good! Now come up here and cheer for me!" she shouted.Trent scurried off and I stared. He'd forgotten to take his badge. I shot what I knew to be my next challenger a frown. "Right, this is going to be… different," I said, as an idea of what was going on started to form.I stepped over to the podium wondering what I'd find with my next challenger.For better or worse it was time to throw a barrier or two at this young Anita and find out what made her tick as a trainer.
197
Anita didn't want to reset the Gym for her entrance, so instead the podium shifted so she could step out onto it, and I stepped off to collect my own pokemon.Jackson took my place. "Alright, little girl? You ready to throw down?" he asked."I-I'm ready!" she said nervously, her hand darting towards her pokebelt, pulling out a pokeball.I frowned at the hesitance in her voice, she'd been much more assertive before. Where had that gone?Salvadore, who'd stepped in for this match as referee, raised the flags. "Trainers, are you ready?" he asked.When they both nodded he dropped the flags. "Release and begin!" he called.Anita threw her pokeball only for it to soar way, way too far. "Argh! No!" wailed the girl as her Budew appeared right in front of Jackson's Rhyhorn.Everyone blinked in surprise at the faux pas. I tilted my head, measuring the distance she'd just thrown and adjusting it for her age. I whistled. "Damn! That girl has an arm on her!" I said with a chuckle.Salvadore coughed. "Uhm that's a… violation of starting area!" he said quickly before shifting and swallowing. "Uhm… shoot, what else am I supposed to say?" He said into the microphone as he chewed his lip in thought.He perked up as he recalled the relevant rules. "Oh! Pokemon must begin within their half of the field when deployed! You may leave your pokemon on the opponent's side of the field when you defeat them or force a trade of pokemon but not before then! For violating this… you will receive… a pen—"I cut off Salvadore, realising he was quoting the official League standard rules for a pokemon match. I coughed. "Sorry about that, Salvadore, that's the official League rules, but we as a Gym can show discretion if we choose," I said.I coughed and shifted my attention. "Anita, you will receive a warning for this and no more, this time," I said calmly.When Salvadore blushed and shot me a worried look, I made a patting-the-air motion to show I just needed him to calm down. I changed channels to his exclusive radio. "Easy tiger, that was the correct call officially, but this is a beginner's Gym match, let her know she did the wrong thing but don't burn her too bad."I shot Anita a look and sighed. "She's already doing that enough for herself."Indeed, the girl looked like she had withdrawn entirely into herself and was lost in a cycle of castigating herself.Her hair had fallen over her face and she was curling in on herself, arms tucked in tight. I grimaced. Damn, it looked like she was having a panic attack.I was getting an odd sense of whiplash. The girl had been loud and demanding when she'd been in the stands, but now that she was under pressure it seemed like her confidence was a thin facade.This… this wasn't a good showing, but it didn't have to mean the end of her match before it even began. She just needed something to—Before I could do anything a voice ripped through the silence. "ANITA! COME ON! FIGHT! DON'T LET THIS HURDLE STOP YOU!" roared Trent, her friend, from the stands. "COME ON! I KNOW YOU'RE BRAVER THAN THIS! YOU'RE THE BRAVEST GIRL IN LITTLEROOT TOWN!"I hummed, looking towards the boy who was doing his best to raise Anita's confidence. Littleroot Town, eh?I shot Rachel a look and made a pump-up gesture.Rachel grinned. "YOU HEARD HIM FOLKS! LET'S GIVE THIS GIRL SOME SUPPORT!""Yeeeeeeeah, go little one!" called one woman instantly, and I made a mental note to send her some free tickets for food or drink for her help."It's alright, you're not out of it! You've got a good pokemon out on the field to start things off!" shouted another."You can do it! Go for the headshot!" shouted another person, their passionate shot garnering a small chuckle from the crowd.My idea to give a single woman a voucher shifted, becoming an idea that came from a famous memory that had become a meme in my past life.Specifically, the Oprah meme.She'd get vouchers, and he'd get vouchers, and everyone would get food vouchers!I held back from doing that right now through force of will, but still vowed I'd do it later, after Anita's match with me.Anita lifted her head and gave a tremulous smile. "B-budew, step back until you're at the midpoint! S-sorry girl! I messed up!" she called. Her Budew turned and darted back on its stumpy little legs.When she reached the halfway point it turned and skipped backwards rather than run past and then turn around. Hmmm, not bad. Not the best, but not bad in terms of awareness.Jackson made a gesture to Anita. "Ladies first," he said with a slight bow.Anita stiffly nodded and then shot her hand forward. "Bubeb!" she said, biting her tongue as she tried to give the command in a strong manner, only to mess up again.I put a hand to my face and sighed. Oh dear, this girl… this was just not her day.She shot her hand to her mouth and released an aborted squeal of pain before shaking it off. "Budew!" she said carefully. "Use Leech Seed!" she said.Jackson leaned forward. "Rhyhorn! Use Tail Whip!" he called, going for the seemingly easy option.Budew leaned forward only to twitch and release nothing. I blinked in surprise at the failed move, only to facepalm as I realised the issue.Anita twitched, realising her mistake. "I meant Stun Spore!" she hurriedly said. Budew didn't know Leech Seed.Jackson coughed as he understood she'd messed up again.I ran a hand across my face. "This girl is just too in her head now," I said, watching as she struggled and fought against herself. She eventually settled into using Absorb and ending the match easily enough.I was disappointed when she made no move to use a potion after the match.When Greta stepped forward to be the next trainer in the gauntlet I tapped her on the shoulder. "Use Defence Curl and Roll Out as much as you can to force her hand a little more, alright? Pressure her," I said.Greta nodded and did just that, sending out a Geodude who expertly dodged into rocks and then rolled rings around Budew, causing the little pokemon to grow confused as it spun around and around on the spot.I frowned. "Come on, you have some of the pieces to fix this situation, what are you going to do?" I asked myself as I watched Anita struggle.Jackson who'd made his way up to me shot me an amused look at my commentary of the match, but I ignored him.From what it looked like, Anita grew too anxious to think clearly as she failed to correct her course of action, growing more and more flustered until Greta became bored of dragging the fight out."Finish it! Roll Out!" she called, making Geodude turn and hurtle straight into Budew, smashing into it and sending it flying across the field.For a moment I recalled an event a few months ago, where another nervous girl had stepped into the Gym and failed to correctly order a Geodude.With a little time, things had changed. Greta was now the confident one, with a new challenger appearing that was struggling.Budew struggled to stand and Greta stiffened. "B-budew! Please keep fighting! I need you!" she called desperately.Budew stood up on shaky limbs and glared at Geodude who merely scoffed."Come on girl! You got this!" called someone from the crowd."Dig deep!" "Shock us with something!" "Fight through!" called others, and I reaffirmed my desire to give the entire crowd free vouchers. This sort of positive support was something I needed to reward. They were good people.Anita twitched and glanced at the crowd, an idea sparking in her eyes as she paused, only to snap her head back to her pokemon.She swept her hand wide. "Budew! Cast a wide cloud with Stun Spore!" she called, and I sighed in relief as she finally switched up her tactics.Geodude tore through the cloud of spores, only to spasm like it had been shocked, it lost its ball shape and opened itself out. With its momentum lost, it faceplanted into the ground and dug itself a furrow in the earth before it rightened itself. It glared hatefully at the Budew as Anita brightened up."Absorb! Get back in the fight!" Anita called, and with that, her Budew was able to return to strength while knocking out Geodude.Greta glanced up at me, a fire in her eyes, and I nodded, silently agreeing that she could use her second pokemon.Greta turned back, her second pokeball in hand even as Geodude was returned. I chuckled, imagining a wagging tail of glee thanks to how I wasn't holding her back.When had Greta gained such a love for fighting?Or was this more that she was learning about the joys of pushing an opponent and seeing them grow before you?If that was the case, she might be well suited to become a Gym Trainer… or maybe even more in future.In the games Gary had become a Gym Leader, after all… why couldn't another person from that generation take hold of the mantle of Viridian Gym Leader?It was an amusing idea, at the very least.Greta released her Aron. The little metal dog growled fiercely as it locked eyes on the beaten and bruised Budew."Ron!" it growled.Greta swept her hand out. "Rock Tomb! Trap it first and then charge in!"Rocks shot up out of the ground and pinched in on Budew, causing the little pokemon to cry out in pain and Anita to gasp. "Budew! Use Stun Spore, stop it getting close!""Leap high and commit!" Greta called, making her Aron jump up and through the expanding cloud of spores.It burst out the other side, a sizable window of spores punched through. It locked up and twitched, only to continue soaring.This move wouldn't have worked if Budew could move even a little, but thanks to Greta's earlier Rock Tomb, she'd secured herself a sure thing. Aron slammed into Budew and finally knocked the little pokemon out of the match.I hummed. "A touch harder than it needed to be, but a good sequence of moves," I commented."Might need to make Greta fight higher level matches, third tier and such," commented Jackson.I grunted my agreement, my eyes locked on Anita as she stared at her downed pokemon. I could practically see her world collapsing around her. I clicked my tongue. Alright, outside support wasn't working, what about another form of motivation?I straightened up and stepped to the side and into the lights at the top of the stairs, arms crossed in my signature pose with my eyes cast in shadow as I stared down upon Anita.I toggled the speakers. "So…. this is all you have to show me?" I said with a lazy drawl. "Hmph! Did you think that Budew would work here?"Internally I wanted to cringe, but externally I continued to stare down at Anita.Anita, a young girl who was obviously breaking before everyone's eyes, and here I was punching down.The thing was, in a pokemon world, words like that?"Budew is strong!" Anita said, her eyes regaining some of the fire that she'd had when she was in the stands. When she'd stepped onto the podium that fire had vanished after a series of blunders.Now she met my gaze as she clutched at Budew's pokeball.I sniffed dismissively and turned my gaze to Aron who was trying to shake off the Stun Spore. It wouldn't work sadly, but he might have a better chance at getting a move off.Greta adopted an oddly familiar look of derision for Anita and the other girl bristled as she clutched at another pokeball. "Come out Zigzagoon!"A small racoon-like pokemon took to the field and barked happily. Anita shot her hand forward. "Budew set us up! Take out Aron while it is weak! Tackle!" she called.Ziagzagoon charged straight in and I could see Greta calculating what was about to happen. Her pokemon couldn't move well and her opponent was charging her.She didn't need to move to come off better in this exchange."Harden!" she called and a glint swept over Aron's body as his defence increased right as Zigzagoon tried to tackle it.A hard thump sounded out and both pokemon staggered back, slightly pained from the exchange, but considering how it was meant to go, Greta had done well.I could see Anita growing flustered once more, but she had a touch more steel in her now and she was assisted by the crowd continuing to cheer on, buoying her confidence. "Circle it with Tail Whip!"Her pokemon darted in close and ran circles in tight, its tail whipping into Aron and lowering its defence with each circuit."Bite it!" growled Greta, and Aron tried but failed as he was too slow.With Aron weakened, Anita had her pokemon dart to the side and slam home another Tackle from a much better position than head-on.I nodded. "Good, she learned from her first mistake," I said aloud, watching as she had her pokemon dart in and out to harass Aron until it toppled to the side.Greta sighed as she returned her pokemon. "I guess I shouldn't have been so eager to charge in on the first pokemon. I won the first fight, but lost the match, as they say!" she bowed and marched away.Jackson chuckled. "If this had been a two-tier or three-tier match, she'd have been able to use Dig to evade the attack.""True," I said, "but then I'd expect more from Anita if that was the case."I waited for Greta to step back before I began my advance down the stairs. As I passed her I whispered to her. "Excellent showing out there, talk to Jackson about higher-tier matches," I said quickly.With that done I continued on, my eyes locked on Anita who still hadn't used a potion. As I did my signature jump across the railing to the podium, I took note of small details.She didn't have many pokemon. She had four pokeballs on her belt, one of which I knew was knocked out. Zigzagoon was tired from earlier.I also noticed other things, like the wear of her shoes, the slight tiredness in her eyes, and the slightly pinched facial features. She wasn't starved by any metric, but she had been roughing it for a while, I suspected.Damn, I felt like an asshole beating down on her like I had.But,] it was one of the things she needed at this moment. I was to be her barrier to overcome.I locked eyes with her and felt the flickering flame of her resolve with but a look. I didn't say anything, I merely gestured towards the exit.Zigzagoon growled at this and Anita straightened up. Hmmm, I suspected if I'd targeted her, she would have crumbled earlier, but by targeting her pokemon?Well, that drew a response. Now her pokemon were making her act. It was… a solution, but not one that she should continue to rely on, lest her pokemon not respect her as their trainer.That would need correction, but the help could come later."Let's rock! Anorith!" I called, sending out my Bug-rock type for the first time publicly.Anorith appeared and wiggled her legs happily. "Anor-rith!" she called."Game face on, Anorith! This is a Gym Match!" I said, stopping her from leaping across at her new friend and instead crouching down in readiness.Salvadore raised his flags before dropping them. "Begin!" he called.Anita swallowed and stabbed a hand forward. "Sand Attack! Target those Bug eyes!""Water Gun!" I replied, blowing away the Sand Attack before it could do any damage.Anita stiffened as the Water Gun continued on to slam into her pokemon, sending it sprawling. "Zigzagoon! No, keep fighting! Use your special move!"I frowned at this, wondering what she meant.I didn't have to wait long as Zigzagoon righted itself, only to throw itself into a head-long sprint straight at Anorith with Extreme Speed."Har—" I barely got to shout before Anorith was launched backward where she slammed into the back wall.She slid down with a painful cry before shaking herself off and limping forward.I shot Anita another look. Why had she not used that move earlier? It was a great move that might have spared her pokemon some of its energy."Yes! It hit!" Anita cried out with what sounded like pure relief.I stared. Her pokemon knew Extreme Speed but had… accuracy issues? That didn't make sense to me. What was up with that?I gave Zigzagoon another look and frowned at what I saw. "It's young, isn't it?"When she gave me a blank look I clarified my statement. "Your Zigzagoon, it's quite young, isn't it? Only just out of being a baby pokemon if I'm correct? It always knew Extreme Speed as well?"Anita blinked. "Uhhhh, yeah?"I nodded and continued to observe Zigzagoon carefully. It had signs of some discolouration and patches where the coat hadn't grown in properly. It was obviously well cared for, with it being brushed, but it had some potential issues as well.I shook my head and shut my mouth for the moment. With the information I had access to, I knew what I needed to do. "Anorith! Use Water Gun to leap on top of a boulder!"Anorith, having just returned to the field of battle, did exactly that.Anita tilted her head only to scowl. "I see what you're trying to do! And it won't work! Let's end this match!""Crouch down," I said simply as Zigzagoon began darting from side to side with Extreme Speed, my eyes barely able to track it as Anorith gained a confused look as she attempted the same action.When Zigzagoon made to leap Anita realised what was about to happen and blanched. "No! Stop!" she called, only for it to be too late.Zigzagoon leapt, only to soar right over Anorith who'd crouched earlier, representing a smaller profile to be hit.Zigzagoon sailed up and up, looking excited for a moment, only for horror to dawn on its small racooony features as it realised it had misjudged its jump terribly.I sighed. Young pokemon with strong moves weren't always a great combination.It reminded me of Ash teaching his Gible Draco Meteor. Heh, when it was my turn to try it out, that was going to be fun.With Zigzagoon unable to move as it fell through the air I only had to snap my fingers. "Water Gun!"Anorith popped up, spinning and firing on a pokedime. The glob of water slammed into the falling Zigzagoon and sent it tumbling out of the battlefield where it failed to rise."Urgh!" Anita said with a quiver.I hummed. It had been a good showing, but she needed more control of her pokemon and its moves before coming here, otherwise people could and would exploit her weakness.She returned her pokemon and gritted her teeth. "Alright girl! Come on out!" From her next pokeball a Jigglypuff appeared with a twirl.I tilted my head. Now here was a rarish pokemon to see on the battling scene. I gestured for her to go first and Anita chopped her hands across her body. "Use Sweet Kiss!" she said, and Jigglypuff made a kissing gesture at Anorith.The pink heart wafted forward quickly and caught Anorith by surprise. I coughed as I tried to hold in a small laugh.If this went how I thought it would, I might have another lesson to be taught right here.Anorith gained a pinkish energy in her eyes and straightened up. "Rith?" she asked as she locked eyes on Jigglypuff. She was clearly confused about what was going on here.I just chuckled. "Hug her," I said.Jigglypuff puffed herself up, only to squeak in terror as Anorith did what she naturally did and leapt, legs spread wide as she sought to hug Jigglypuff.Jigglypuff, now with Anorith attached to her face, panicked and rolled back and forth, slamming herself into the ground, only for Anorith to grab on harder, her eyes still glowing."Ah! Jigglypuff! Use Disarming Voice! Jigglypuff? Come on! Listen!" she called, only for her pokemon to continue freaking out and ignoring her.A few people laughed in the crowd and Anita flinched, only to blush furiously as she looked at me. I shot her a smirk and she growled."JIGGLYPUFF! STOP MESSING AROUND AND USE DISARMING VOICE!" she shouted, using some of her earlier loudness to get her command through to her panicked pokemon.Jigglypuff stood and a moment later a screech shot from the little fluffball, launching Anorith away and knocking her out.Anita stared, shocked at how that had gone for her, only for Jigglypuff to buckle, having apparently worn herself out in her panic.I returned Anorith, rather happy with her first showing.She'd been deadly accurate with her Water Gun and I was overall happy with her matching two pokemon for her first appearance. She had some rough spots, but she worked out well for me.I enlarged my last pokemon and released it. Onix took to the field with a loud roar and Jigglypuff gained a new look of tiredness as she realised she was going to have to face off against this towering giant."Bide," I said, deciding to toss an easy ball at Anita.Anita twitched and a small smile appeared on her face, which let me know she had done her research and knew about this move. "Stockpile!" she called out and her pokemon opened its mouth and pretended that it was Kirby with a huge sucking action before swallowing some air.When Onix didn't move she grinned. "Use Spit up!" she shouted, and her pokemon spat a wave of pink bubbles that shot out into Onix.I sighed and shook my head as Onix took a huge hit by the look of things. The bubbles exploded into pink light, battering him with each hit, and when the light show vanished Onix looked to be on his last legs."Oh no," said Anita as she realised her mistake, right in time for Bide to be unleashed from Onix.Onix swept his tail around with a mighty swing. Jigglypuff was blown backwards and cratered into the floor when she landed.She didn't get up and Anita had to return her.I scratched my head in bemusement. She'd done enough research, but had been unlucky enough to face off against a Sturdy Onix instead of a Hard Head Onix. Not that I expected her to know about that.It was still bad luck for her.Onix heaved in breath after breath, clearly on his last legs as Anita returned her pokemon. She swallowed and plucked out her last pokemon. "C-come on out Slaking!" she called.I straightened up instantly, all humour in the situation lost as my hands went to Onix's pokeball even as I clutched at Don's pokeball. He was my fastest pokemon, and if she was going to sucker punch me like that other prick then I had an answer ready for—Slaking appeared, lazing on his side.He opened a single eye and snorted in disinterest before rolling onto his back and farting.I raised an eyebrow as the sound echoed throughout the gym as the crowd fell silent.I stared at Slaking before slowly turning to Anita who was blushing furiously.I felt myself relax. She was just a kid.Sure, she was a kid with access to a surprisingly powerful pokemon, but it wasn't a situation like it had been with Guybro.I swallowed. "You can't order that pokemon around, can you?" I asked.Anita licked her lips only to deflate. "No, no sir, I cannot… I didn't want to rely on him, but…"I nodded and signalled to Salvadore.Salvadore nodded. "Anita is unable to control her pokemon! Therefore this match is called in Brock's favour! The Gym Leader wins!"Anita returned her sleeping pokemon and let her hair fall down over her eyes.This reminded me a lot of when Ash lost because Charizard wouldn't follow his commands. It had sucked watching as a kid, but it had been a learning moment for Ash.I caught a shudder run through Anita's form and knew without being told that the second the podiums were low enough, she was going to run.This girl really was like Greta.I jumped, withdrawing Onix as I did so and calling on some rock energy to propel myself across the battlefield quickly. When Anita leapt off the podium to run away, I was there to catch her."Ah?" she said, shocked out of her tears for a moment.I smiled. "Hey, let's you and I talk before you run off, yeah?"She nodded hesitantly and I carted her to the medical bay where I deposited my pokemon into waiting receptacles. Chansey bustled out and paused when she noticed Anita. Her eyes lingered on Anita's red eyes and wet cheeks."Chansey!" she said as she reached into her apron and brought out a handful of candy which she deposited in Anita's hand. She then patted Anita on the cheek and gestured at another receptacle bay."She wants you to put your pokemon there so she can look after them," I said, acting as a translator."Oh, sure thing," Anita said quietly, doing just that. She then shot me a look before hanging her head. "I messed up bad… didn't I?"I hummed, considering how I should approach this. Before I got a chance to, the door rattled as something hit it. I heard a soft 'ow' from the other side."T-trent?" said Anita, some life coming back into her."Anita! Are you alright? Brock's not bullying you, is he?"Anita spluttered. "No! I'm not being bullied! Shut up! Just go wait for me! You're making a scene and embarrassing me!" she said.Trent coughed. "O-oh… alright, if you say so… You're sure he's not doing anything to you?" he asked, and I felt a vein twitch in my forehead. What the hell was this kid saying? I had half a mind to march over and say as much, but Anita just growled wordlessly.The sound of scampering feet met my ears and I chuckled.Anita smirked, only to blink and remember where she was. "S-sorry about that, he's just an idiot childhood friend of mine.""Hmmmm," I said, deciding to not comment on the 'childhood friend' line she'd used. That raised flags in my mind, but I didn't want to touch on that. Instead, I wanted to talk about something else. "That fire you have with him? Where is it when you fight? You… you're very fragile, I get that it wasn't a great start with the overthrow, but things sort of spiralled for you there. Does that happen often?""It… happens a lot, actually, I just get so tense when I fight."I nodded. "You feel like you need to consider every scenario? Do you feel like your mind is moving at a million miles an hour? Your heart thunders in your ears? Your breath feels hot?""Y-yeah!" she shot me a hopeful look. "Are you like that as well… who am I kidding? You're Brock!" she said with a slump.I chuckled. "I wasn't always 'Gym Leader Brock', you know? Long before I fought Lance and won some fame, I had my own Journey where I had to learn things, you know? I went around feeling like I was doing great until I faced off against Blaine's challenge. I went in with my rock-typed pokemon thinking I had it."I shook my head as I recalled how cocky I'd been. "Things started slipping through my grip very quickly. Blaine led me around by the nose. He's a wily one, and was… well, he was a nightmare to fight despite my type advantage. I ended up taking a month and three battles of Blaine taunting me before I won. After the second match, I remember becoming exceptionally tense and having issues with everything. Which in a volcano arena is a huge problem.""Gym Leader Blaine really does that?" Anita asked.I nodded. "Yup, by the time you … well I suppose you won't get the chance, with how things have developed, but when you would have gotten to him you would have had to face him with your best foot forward, which is not just about having your pokemon healthy, but also yourself."I tapped the side of my head. "You have some things that are getting in your way, they're presenting a lot earlier than they did for me.""Urgh, I'm so pathetic," she said.I shook my finger back and forth. "Ah, that's the sort of thing you need to do away with. Let yourself be confident, without relying on pushing others down, eh?"Anita frowned. I shot her a look. "For all that Trent was worried I was bullying you, some of the things you were saying could be seen as you pushing him around. Regardless of you winning or losing, you still acted that way. It might be a method of bolstering your self-confidence, but It's not a stable platform. What would happen if he left you, for example?""He wouldn't!" said Anita with a hint of desperation.I shot her a sad smile. "I'm just raising a potential situation. You need some confidence in yourself and methods to manage when your mood is getting too much. Have you ever seen some of my matches?""Yeah, I've tried your clap breath… it didn't work for me, I just felt silly," she admitted.I laughed. "Yeah! I can look pretty silly, can't I?" I said with a smile.Anita giggled. "I don't mind feeling silly, if it would just work!" she said.I hummed as I considered her words, before rubbing my chin. "Hmmm, the symptoms I described earlier, do you get a few, or all of them?"Anita blinked. "Oh? The shortness of breath and the head spinning? Yeah, I get all of those when things get bad."I hummed as I recalled another option. "You wouldn't mind feeling silly if you relaxed?" I said. When Anita nodded I smiled. "How do you feel about dancing?" I asked.When she gave me a clueless look I elaborated. "Sometimes when I have baseballers that get too tense, I tell them to do a little dance routine to make them relax."I demonstrated a funny little hop, skip shuffle where I pumped my arms while nodding my head with a goofy grin on my face as I did so. "You can do it with music if you want. Remember that the referee asks if you're ready, and it's not a bad idea to take the time to adjust if you need it. Getting yourself in the right mindset can make all the difference for a pokemon match.""Can you show me that again?" asked Anita.I gestured and she stood up and copied me through the sequence of silly dance moves. I hadn't needed to use this trick for any of my baseball kids in a while. I'd co-opted it from a rather famous hurdler from my past life and found it worked rather well.Anita did the dance and laughed, relaxing as the movements helped her become looser and more open. I smiled, pleased that we had a potential fix for what was her major issue."Alright, with that out of the way, how do you think you did?" I asked.Anita coughed, her foot kicking at the floor with her eyes watching it with great interest. "Not good. I flubbed things and the crowd needed to get me out of my head.""You had the right pokemon for a sweep if you had a better plan coming in," I said. "That said, why did you go for the Gauntlet while Trent went for the straight challenge?""...." muttered Anita.I leaned forward. "I didn't catch that I'm sorry?""I… was trying to play off my anxiety! We've been losing a lot of money lately, cause every trainer we fight is really strong! I wanted Trent to shut up 'cause he was being super pushy with me and I got mad and then… I signed up for the tougher fight against your Gym.""Hmmm I see, well, you were close to beating me," I said neutrally. It also explained why she wouldn't have money for food and potions. "What's up with Slaking?" I asked."My big sister's Slaking is to protect us if we get in over our heads, but he won't fight for me!""Ah, you've tried to use him before this, no?" When Anita nodded I sighed. "You need to bring him out and establish a bond. Don't try to use him for fighting before you have that bond. Call him out for meal times and sit with him, talk with him. Do team activities if you want to have any hope of using him. Slaking are… well, they're very tough pokemon to use normally," I said."Oh, those are good ideas, thanks." Anita stood and collected her pokeballs."So, do you want my badge?" I asked, posing what seemed like an innocent question to her.Anita blinked. "But I lost?"I nodded. "You did, but you also demonstrated some skills with adjusting for some fights. You brought a grass type and while you were very reliant on him, you did demonstrate you know how to use typings to your advantage. You made some good adjustments when the fight couldn't just rely on this. You then had to fight through with pokemon without advantages. Honestly? If you'd had any other pokemon apart from that Slaking, you might have won. Onix was barely hanging in there from that Spit Up, " I said."O-oh… so I can earn your badge?" she asked with a frown.I considered her. "I'm going to be cruel right now. I think you have demonstrated enough to eke out earning my badge at the first tier, but! And this is the catch, it's your call. It's up to you to accept if this is how you earn your first badge. It's yours, but if you want it to mean more than something you just scraped over the line for..." I trailed off leadingly.Anita gained a conflicted look before shaking her head. "You're right. I don't want to earn it that way…" she said.I nodded. "Right, well, with that said, I think we need to talk about you getting some work, 'cause if you and your pokemon are struggling from losses, then you need to settle down for a bit and let yourself recover. This Season is especially brutal. So, any guesses as to what you should do next?"Anita nodded. "I should get a job?!" she said, looking adorably determined.I grinned. "Nope! You should come have lunch with my trainers and I!" I said, putting a hand behind her back and marching her back out to the battlefield. There I collected Trent and led her up to the Gym trainer section where I let them loose on the fridge.Within a few minutes they each had a trio of sandwiches and were talking animatedly with Greta and Salvadore while Jackson grabbed some pokechow to give to their pokemon.At this point I had stood by, simply idling for a bit, waiting to get noticed as they settled in.When Anita shot me a confused look, I glanced pointedly at her Slaking's pokeball and she understood my meaning that now was the best time to start building her bond with Slaking.Just to make sure he behaved, I popped out Don and Hypnotoad.Then I recalled my promise to myself. I marched over and tapped on my microphone, catching the crowd before it could depart for the lunch rush."Congratulations to the following people! You get free food vouchers!" I said, pointing at one kid only to then point at his mother."You get free food vouchers! You get free food vouchers!" I repeated this a few times before sweeping my hand over the entire crowd. "YOU ALL GET FOOD VOUCHERS! LUNCH IS ON THE HOUSE!" I called and the crowd cheered.I grinned, knowing it would be an expensive bill, but sometimes it was fun to pay for extravagant gestures like this while knowing that I could absorb it.It felt damn good being able to do something like this on a whim. I turned and marched back to sit and enjoy my own lunch, a happy little spark dancing in my chest.