Hard Enough

“So you’re going to fight Steven Stone?” I said over the holopad.

On the screen, the Guardians' various faces were shown, with the newest additions to the ‘faces’ of the group also being present. Lucy looked a little out of her depth, while Janine held a cool stoicism.

Sabrina was in her own room with her Ralts sitting on her lap, receiving pats and rubs. Karen had instantly zeroed in on Sabrina and begun by shooting off a snarky comment, only for Sabrina to ignore her while I greeted the others.

Karen flicked her eyes from Sabrina to me and huffed. “Yeah, it will be good for me.”

I tilted my head. “Doesn’t it seem a bit… presumptuous?”

Karen snorted and raised a brow as though asking if I meant her. I sighed and directed my attention elsewhere.

Agatha cackled. “It’s a win-win situation for Karen, honestly. News of Will’s challenge has been leaked to various news organisations, but we’re going to steal a march on him and have a bigger display with Karen’s match against Steven. It will play into our desires to test Steven, along with raising people’s awareness of Karen as a highly skilled trainer.”

“Even if she loses?” I pointed out reasonably.

“You think I’m going to lose?” Karen said with narrowed eyes.

“Yes,” Sabrina said immediately.

I pinched the bridge of my nose as Karen’s nostrils flared.

Sabrina continued before Karen could reply. “Steven has allowed himself to face a greater number of challenges than Lance and remain unscathed. He has a diverse team. His strongest pokemon is his Metagross, who he has used to defeat challengers alone. His other pokemon are known Rock, Ground, and Steel typed with powerful options available to him thanks to the funding he has put into securing strong pokemon. His Aggron is considered top tier.”

“Houndoom can match those two thanks to their steel typing.”

“He will have other options,” Sabrina said.

I tapped on my personal computer and drew up his public profile while comparing it to the Guardians listed teams. They were identical. “He doesn’t hide any of his acquisitions, does he?” I said thoughtfully.

Koga shook his head lightly. “No, he believes he does not need to hide anything. Also most of them are publicly acquired or bred for him.”

“We’re certain there’s not something he is keeping back?” I said, thinking of something crazy like a Latios or Latias or maybe even a Legendary.

“With his money and connections, it is not hard for him to change out his pokemon team. Not that he should need to with what he has.” Koga replied.

I nodded. Reading through Steven’s list of pokemon, I was interested to see that he had a Swampert, Blaziken, and Sceptile all listed on his team but their appearances were rather low. I clicked on a comment that was linked between all three pokemon on the Guardians file.

“He gets negative press for owning all three starter pokemon?” I read aloud.

Koga inclined his head while Karen snorted. “It looks bad that he threw his money around so obviously and got himself something that is practically unheard of for most average trainers.”

I hummed, that really made Ash’s initial team of Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Charizard and co far more ridiculous in hindsight. I made a small note to do a check-in after Damian. He still hadn’t signed back up for a rematch.

“So if he comes against you seriously, he’s going to have some powerful pokemon still, no?” I rubbed my chin. “So what if you lose?”

“I’m not going to!” Karen said with some bite. Agatha raised an eyebrow, while Janine flicked her eyes to her father as Koga shook his head minutely. Lucy licked her lips and shifted back and forth.

Karen sighed. “But If I do, somehow—” she said testily, “—lose, it’s not a bad thing. It gets me more recognition for defending Indigo's interests and not being afraid to step up to the plate. Also, I might be able to get Blaine on my side and interested in training me to ‘avenge him’ as he’s been outright ordered to not cause a stir with Steven from Lance. I can get around that and still offer him a salve to his ego by representing him.”

“Ah,” I said. “What about the other Gym Leaders and the Elite Four that you still have to face in Indigo? Won’t they be watching and taking notes?”

Karen sniffed. “Let them, I have more tricks up my sleeve than just what I’ll use against Steven Stone.” She rolled her eyes. “I don’t need a babysitter for this; I know what’s at stake. I’m surprised you’re not thanking me, Brock. This steals the spotlight from Will and makes his announcement have way less splash than he hoped for.”

“Hmmm, I’d thank you, but this is more for you than it is for me.” I pointed out reasonably.

Karen smirked. “Damn straight it is. If there was more time and you weren’t locked down with your Gym, I’d spar against you as training against Steven. I notice there’s a lot of cross-over pokemon there after all.”

I scrolled through the list again. “I note that he doesn’t have a Tyranitar or a Dragonite listed on here despite the other powerful pokemon he owns.” I continued to look. “Or any of the major three ancestral starters from another region.”

Koga huffed. “Outwardly, he claims that is because he has no interest in them, but in reality, some of his business rivals have put out paid bounties to ban him from gaining them. I doubt it has stopped him, in truth. It’s merely a cost his rivals have to bear while he doesn’t field those pokemon.” I had to nod at that. It made a bit more sense.

Koga rubbed his chin. “He has collected a sizeable host of pokemon and for all that he spends more time running his family’s business than he does as Champion, he is still a powerful trainer with a tactical mind.”

I flicked to the top of the list and whistled “Two hundred and eight pokemon?” I paused when I noted that ‘Crystal Onix’ was listed there. “Heh, I knew that buyer was him when I sold that pokemon,” I said with a smirk.

Agatha cackled. “Raised quite a bit of interest when that pokemon appeared, and we learned that it wasn’t from one of his mines.” She shot me a grin. “I was glad to see you were getting your pokemon’s worth!”

I shrugged noncommittally, not willing to point out that I’d probably be able to sell another egg soon. Jackson had checked in on the cave when he’d been in the Orange islands and an egg had been present. I’d leave it to eat the crystals and gain a different body composition before making any sales or having it appear at the Gym.

I decided to move the topic along. “So any news regarding the Viridian facility?”

Koga and Agatha shared a look while Lucy, Janine, and Karen all leaned in, interested in this topic.

“We’re still waiting for their security features to be reduced. While no further Rocket facilities have been raided they will slowly relax. We know their movements. Don’t worry Brock.”

I shifted. “I can’t help but worry about Team Rocket. There’s been a lot of pushing from us but no pushback from them.”

“We have reason to believe that Team Rocket and Giovanni have a good deal of their attention diverted to the other region that they have made contact with. This has been confirmed through a number of the Rocket members and data that we have been able to gather from raids.”

“Huh. So they’re going to have access to other regions. That means other pokemon, no?” I asked.

Agatha and Koga nodded. “Indeed. The stability of the route is still extremely tenuous, as we have determined they are losing a number of their teams.”

I drummed my fingers on the desk in front of me and decided to bite the bullet. “What should we do if Team Rocket gets their hands onto a Legendary pokemon?”

Agatha sniffed dismissively. “Legendary pokemon are some of the hardest to use, let alone befriend or capture. Impossible! You have a limited time frame with most Legendaries as they can grow stronger as they age!”

Lucy squirmed. “I… don’t think it is so impossible, having interacted with Brandon and Noland. Both of them are strong personalities that were able to impress their pokemon or…” she trailed off as Agatha shot her an annoyed look.

“I think Lucy is right. We’re also not considering that they might be rearing infant Legendaries with how they have access to Blaine’s resurrection facility. What is stopping them from creating one of their own?” I said leadingly.

Agatha looked like she’d sucked on something sour, but Koga had a stern expression. “If they have such a pokemon then they will be a much greater threat. Facilities that hold particular danger will need either Agatha or I to oversee the raids on.” He nodded to Agatha. “We are, after all, the only people present to have survived against a Legendary pokemon.”

I hummed. “... You fought a Moltres once, yes?”

“...” Koga’s eyes turned distant as he looked away from me. Janine stepped forward and nodded for him before indicating I shouldn’t ask any more questions. I decided to drop the issue.

Instead, I glanced at Agatha. She sniffed. “During a raid on a region that had attacked us, I fought a pokemon known as Cobalion…” Agatha rubbed at her chest. “That fight opened my eyes in many ways and left me changed.”

I frowned and ran that name through my head. “Cobalion… that’s a pokemon from… Unova, as it was called?”

Agatha blinked at me. “You’ve read the histories?”

I nodded slowly. At the same time, that wasn’t where I had learnt the name, I had in fact been reading through some of the historical texts the Guardians had regarding the war and more. Agatha tilted her head like I was a particularly interesting child that had just shown a new talent that surprised her.

I glanced between Koga and Agatha. “Sure I can’t come along for this raid?”

Both of them shook their heads. “We will need to train you in certain threats. You dipped your toe into the problems that come from raiding a base with Surge but this will be a different kettle of Magikarp. Best to keep you disconnected from this. One of the benefits that we have as Guardians is that our organisation structure and membership are not known.” Agatha grinned. “The same is not the same for Giovanni and Blaine!”

I swallowed my protests and accepted it with a nod. “Very well. Was there anything else that needed to be discussed regarding this?” I asked before bowing my head. “I was doing something important last night, sorry I couldn’t answer.”

Sabrina perked up, and she and her Ralts gained an air of smug superiority, which Janine certainly didn’t miss as she shot my girlfriend a searching look. Lucy shook her head while Karen leered towards Sabrina. “Care to spar with me?”

Sabrina tilted her head and hummed. “I’m sure I can help train you,” she said before disconnecting.

Karen sniffed and copied her. “Later!”

Lucy chewed her lip and glanced around. “She meant train pokemon right?”

Janine spluttered, only for Koga to reach over and disconnect Janine’s screen before nodding in farewell. “Brock can explain that.”

Agatha pointedly didn’t disconnect and made a show of getting a cup of tea that she loudly drank from. I sighed and shook my head.

“Those two have a history,” I said to start off the explanation. Somehow I just knew that this would be a recurring role for any other new faces the Guardians took on. Me explaining awkward situations while Agatha watched on like this was her daytime television show.

Lucy had a number of other questions that I was able to answer before I had to disconnect. I exhaled and shook my head before stepping out to deal with the day that was to come.

“BROOOOOOCK DAD BURNT THE PANCAKES!” wailed Tilly when I walked into the kitchen for breakfast.

I glanced at said pancakes and noted there were a few black patches on them. Flint rubbed the back of his head. “They’re not that bad?” I offered him.

My youngest siblings all looked at him doubtfully before turning towards me to see how I would correct this situation.

I hummed. “You know crepes can be a bit burnt due to needing a stronger flavour to go with the cream and fruit, yeah?” I said. The younger kids all tilted their heads.

Flint frowned. “Crepes? But that’s just a des—” Flint stopped when I made a chopping action at my throat. I was already fixing his mess. He nodded slowly and whipped around. “Of course! These are crepes, not pancakes! Cream and fruit for all!”

“Ice cream!” cheered Billy, causing the others to start up a chant. Forrest laughed while Salvadore looked amused as Flint suddenly had to go along with what was being extorted out of him. I smirked and claimed a seat and a bowl of cereal.

Yolanda nodded in greeting but kept her eyes on Flint while looking a bit sheepish. She bowed towards me with Terra in her lap while Eevee circled her legs, eyeing her lap. Apparently, being displaced by the new arrival was not sitting well with the little pokemon. Yolanda scootched over to me to whisper, “Sorry! I was distracted looking after Terra and wasn’t able to help out dad!”

I shook my head at her. “It’s not up to you to do that if Flint said he was going to cook.”

“But I helped out more with you…”

I nodded. “And I was thankful for that. But that was also something we rostered. Flint doesn’t want that roster and is trying to do this himself. Anyway, don’t worry about that; right now you have someone that needs your care more.” I flicked my eyes down to Terra who was smiling up at us guilelessly. “And someone who wants your attention.” I flicked my eyes further down.

Yolanda looked down to see Eevee shooting her hopeful looks. Larvitar budged over a little, and eevee leapt up to claim the other half of Yolanda’s lap making me chuckle. I finished up breakfast and helped get a few of my more distracted siblings fed properly.

Forrest tapped me on the shoulder as I set Tilly up with her mini crepe. “I still got today off, yeah?” he asked.

I nodded and he pumped his fist. “Hey, Dad! I have today off of Gym duties! Want to help me train Onix some more?”

Flint looked up and started to smile, only for Billy to take his momentary distraction and upend his bowl over himself. Flint sighed and shot Forrest an apologetic look. Forrest grumbled and stalked outside to hop on his bicycle. “It’s cool I’ll be out back when you’re free,” he said.

Flint merely nodded, too distracted with cleaning Billy to notice what had been said. I hummed, glancing to Yolanda, expecting to find her pouting at me to ‘do something’ only for her to be too distracted with the pokemon in her lap. I considered Flint for a moment before shrugging my shoulders. Eh, he’s an adult. I stood and waved goodbye to everyone before moving off.

Still… I felt a bit guilty for Forrest… he’d be the person that would miss out if Flint… Urgh!

Why was this so hard? I just wanted to enjoy some well-earned schadenfreude that Flint was due! I leaned back in. “Hey Flint, Forrest is waiting for you out back, maybe show him how to ride an Onix over rough terrain?” I said.

Flint shot me a confused look as he nodded. I huffed and moved off, but not before catching Yolanda beaming at me in approval. I stuck my tongue out at her and got a giggle from her. Munchalx saw me do this and thought it was meant for him, causing him to stick his tongue out in response. And then suddenly every child at the table was copying him. I chuckled and left Flint to deal with the much more innocent problem of his children being cheeky.

I sat in my chair in the Gym office and I had loaded up some emails and paperwork just as Alexa entered.

Time to be a Gym Leader!

“—Sudowoodo, use Hammer Arm!” I said to finish the match. Across from me, the challenger that had tried to run a Gauntlet with the Gym at the Fourth badge level clicked their tongue as their last pokemon was knocked unconscious.

The crowd roared their approval at the match. It had been a good match, and I was decently considering still giving the trainer her badge. The trainer whipped out their pokeball and returned their pokemon only to storm off.

I hummed after their retreating back. Well, that was one way of solving my quandary on if they deserved a badge or not…

I gave the crowd a few waves and retreated to claim a seat up in the trainer area. I tried to settle down only to shift about a few times. When Rachel announced the next match, I perked up, ready for another challenge only to huff when it was announced as another gauntlet challenge.

Jackson shot me a curious look as he marched out to meet the challenger for their first match. I settled back and bounced my knee before standing and trying my pressure-release clap. It didn’t help. I sighed and rubbed my face.

Missy hovered a little and hopped from foot to foot. I gave her a questioning look and she got flustered. “Do, do you need someone to talk to?”

“Hmmm?” I said, curious at what she intended.

She nodded towards me. “You’ve been a bit out of it for the last two matches after lunch, and you usually settle down after doing your little routine…” she made the clapping pose that I did to deal with momentary anxiety and stress. “You’re not settling though. I know you’d usually talk with Rocko or Dennis, but they’re both handling other duties right now.”

I considered that before nodding slowly. “Yeah, you’re right I usually would talk with them about what’s bugging me.”

“Soooo, there is something bugging you?” Missy said carefully.

I nodded. “Yeah,” I said, scratching at my chin. “Not sure I should really get into it with you though. No offence,” I said hastily.

Missy raised both hands. “Oh no, I understand Rocko and Dennis have been around long enough to have your trust, but I thought I might offer my ears?” she said delicately.

“Hmmm, well I guess I’ve just got a lot of little things right now with some looming larger issues that I need to address. I’m currently dealing with the day-to-day stuff, but I think it’s just getting to me that we’ve faced a lot of trainers over the last month or so.”

Missy nodded in commiseration. “My pokemon have gotten so many matches in it’s crazy! They’re getting way stronger from all of this, but yeah! I think I know what you mean. It might also make it worse that there’s sort of a break coming up with the pause in gym matches to adjust the Gym’s roster of pokemon for the next few months.”

I snorted. “Another thing that got dragged way earlier this year. But yeah, it feels like a holiday with us stopping matches but in reality, we’re going to be just doing other tasks.”

Missy nodded. “How is it going to work exactly? This will be my first time doing this after all.”

I settled back against the railing, keeping half an eye on the match playing out below as Jackson had Izumi perform a Defence Curl into a Rollout one-two move that helped him take out the first challengers pokemon. “Well first we’re going to hold an auction for a number of pokemon or gift them out to people we think have earned them. I have earmarked a few trainers that we will be contacting first and foremost. I noted that you had a particular Onix and a Graveler listed out though?”

Missy nodded her head. “I think I understand how to use her really well now. I also asked if she wanted it, and she said yes. I think in a month or two I will have enough saved up to afford even a crazy expensive metal coat for her.”

“Hmm nice, I will also be pitching out interest for any of the rare pokemon that we have such as the Alo—” I coughed. “I mean the variant Geodude, Lileep and one or two Aron. Then alongside the other pokemon that we sell, we will take stock of what we need for the coming month or two before seeking out these pokemon. Usually, this means low levelled Geodude, Onix, Bonsly, or otherwise. Thankfully the Lileep we get might fill a bit of this niche though so it might be an easier time for us with a few stable weak pokemon trickling in.”

“Alright! So there will be a bit of a break then?” she said with a bounce.

I pinched my fingers together. “Small one. I will also need to catch up with some of our sponsored trainers for their check-ins. Mia has been sending in twice-a-week notifications but others have been a lot more sparse.”

“Oh! How are they doing?” she asked with some interest as Jackson’s pokemon finally fell.

“Good, they’re staying ahead of the surge I think, as most of them already have their second badge from Cerulean and I read a glowing report from Surge about Silly Mouse being a Raichu in spirit with how they used Thunder. He also liked Humphrey’s diverse pokemon.”

“Mia still got only Silly Mouse?”

“Nope!” I said happily as one of the other Gym trainers I’d hired marched down to face the challenger. “She has caught an Ekans and Zubat so she’s got a fairly good team right now.” At Missy’s tilted head I continued. “She found herself an Oddish and a Growlithe around Celadon apparently. Named them Wiggles and Wags apparently.” I chuckled.

Missy bit her lips. “That’s adorable.”

“Wags knows Fire Spin,” I said conversationally.

Mia stared. “... oh wow, she’s a little savant isn’t she? I looked up the training process for that and it doesn’t seem all that straightforward.”

“Right conditions and the right pokemon will make a difference. Humphrey still has the most diverse pokemon roster and I made sure to message him to be a bit more selective from now on as he already has twelve of his spots filled up with only six left now.”

“Oh wow that’s good news!” she said happily.

I nodded and eyed her for a moment. “You know I might have some time to do some training with you during the ‘Gym Pause’ we have coming up if you want.”

Missy perked up instantly before chewing her lip.”Are you sure? I know that you have a lot on your plate…”

I waved her off. “Please, if anything, I think things are calming down. You’re overdue for some more training advice. I barely gave you what you’re due since I showed you how to do your gravity training. I think I saw a note from Rocko about that going really well for you, no?”

Missy nodded her head, and I hummed. “I might advance you a Firestone if you’re interested for your Growlithe, then we can start working on her and building up for your other pokemon.”

Missy grinned at that before another buzz sounded out, reminding me that I had other things to focus on. I ran the fight I’d half been paying attention to through my mind. Hmmm, they had a Staryu and a Goldeen, while their Ekans had been beaten out by Jackson earlier thanks to Izumi despite its use of Iron Tail.

I gave Missy a thankful look. “Good chat, thanks for that it got me out of my funk.” I rolled my shoulders and shook them out. “Now, it’s showtime!” I said as I marched down the stairs and glowered like a pro-heel.

Across from me, the kid stiffened up before adopting a ‘ready pose’ that had me smiling wider.

“Go Geodude!” I said sending out my first pokemon. The Alolan Geodude sparked a little and made the trainer gasp in surprise before selecting a Bellsprout they hadn’t had earlier. I nodded pleased at the decision.

When the flags dropped, I pushed aside all my concerns and focused on what I needed to do here and now, which was testing this trainer.

“Use Sand Attack!” I said, causing my chances of being hit to drop as Bellsprout copped a face full of dirt.

“Tch! Use Leech Seed!” replied the trainer. A number of sprouts shot out of their pokemon with one or two landing on my pokemon much to my Geodude’s annoyance.

“Sand Attack again!” I said more than happy to be an annoyance to the other trainer.

“Growth!” ordered the kid

“Rollout! I said making the first move to attack.

“Now use Vine Whip while you’re empowered!” cried the kid. I clicked my tongue and made a note of that as my pokemon barely dodged a Vine Whip that should have connected. My Geodude slammed into the other pokemon and sent it sailing back only for it to stand and shake itself off before my Geodude glowed green and small energy bubbles wafted to Bellsprout.

“Geodude, use Thunder Shock!” Instantly, my pokemon shot off some sparks of electricity at the Bellsprout.

“Dig your roots into the ground!” cried out my challenger. I smiled, pleased that they knew that trick.

With their pokemon unwilling to move much and mine seeded, the match was a slow wear down that saw me recalling my geodude before the inevitable occurred. Crystal, acting as today’s referee, raised a flag towards the challenger.

“The Challenger takes the first match as Brock withdraws his pokemon!”

I hovered my hand over one choice before smiling and tossing out another. “Go Lileep!” I said.

The challenger stared at the pokemon before sighing in annoyance. I chuckled. Apparently, he wasn’t expecting a Rock-Grass type, or at least he was hoping not to face it?

I wore down his Bellsprout this time and then took out his Staryu before eventually succumbing to his Goldeen with its use of Horn Attack. They slumped their way over to me and happily accepted their badge while glowering at me.

“You’re not supposed to find a new Rock-type like that!” he said with a pout.

I chuckled. “Well, I did, and you have to deal with it. I think, for what it's worth, you handled the surprise well.” I gestured to his pokemon. “One thing that might need to be worked on is having some more moves ready for your pokemon. Also, Growth improves your pokemon’s energy attacks more than physical attacks like Vine Whip. You’d be better off with things like Razor Leaf or Energy Ball as such. Razor Leaf starts as a physical skill but can have Special energy applying to it as well.”

They blinked at that and accepted the information before I took a photo with them to commemorate their victory. Then they were off, and I was once more in between fights. I trooped back up and sat at the railing, turning to Jackson, Missy, and the other trainer present with a smile. “So, what are your thoughts on my holding a contest that is tough-themed?” I said to start up a conversation. It seemed the best way to deal with my mood as Missy had demonstrated, also it let me still work on some issues even if only through planning.

“Oh you’re still going to go ahead with that?” asked Jackson as he scratched at his head.

I nodded. “Yeah, I am. I think it’ll be something fun. I’m in talks with some locals to help host it. Which reminds me.” I fired off a message to Alexa to arrange a time to meet with them after the Gym was finished sometime this week. Then I straightened up. “I’m thinking biker jackets for our Geodude and some dark colouring on our Gravelers and Onix to set the theme for entrants.”

“That’d be cute!” said Missy.

Jackson huffed. “They’re supposed to be tough Missy, not look cute.” He tilted his head. “Maybe give them some fake scars?”

Missy snorted. “I think that will still be seen as cute by some people.”

Jackson put a hand over her mouth. “Don’t listen to her Brock she doesn’t understand manly aesthetics is all!” Missy shot him an amused look and I was about to say something when Rachel announced the next challenger. This one a direct challenge for me to face.

I raised a finger. “I’m gonna come back to this,” I said as I marched out only to stop and stare when I realised who it was.

“I have returned!” announced the fop that had already failed twice in the last few weeks. I stared at him. I’d forgotten about this kid. It had been a good time.

“How many bookings did you make in advance?!” I said from where I stood. Some titters from the crowd let me know some of my more dedicated fans were aware of the situation.

The boy grinned without shame, and I sighed before clambering over the railing, my energy for this match suddenly vanishing. “Alright then let’s do this,” I said as I hopped over to the podium.

Crystal raised both flags before pausing and shifting as she stared at the prompter. She chewed her lip before pushing a button that had Jackson jogging down to her stand. I tilted my head. What could cause her to act like that?

Jackson stared at the prompter before nodding and gesturing for Crystal to step aside. He took the flags and took over the referee position. The crowd, alerted to the odd behaviour by the lack of matches starting as normal, stirred at this odd occurrence.

Jackson cleared his throat. “Apologies everyone! We’re in for a treat today! Challenger Harold has locked in a doubles battle!”

I stiffened, remembering that yes, Alexa had informed me of this only for me to forget. I reached around to the two pokemon I had selected for this match. Suddenly, I was much more interested in this match, despite the person I faced across from me. This would be a proper test of my skills regardless of Harold’s previous showings.

“Go Onix and Aron!”

Both pokemon appeared and I smiled as they appeared, took in their surroundings and nodded at each other only to glare across the field at Harold as he released his pokemon.

“Go Pidgeotto and Weepinbell!” I felt my brow twitch. Damn this kid. He was just tempting me with giving me half-hope at this point.

Jackson nodded and went through the normal routine, only when he dropped his flags I had two pokemon to command instead of one.

“Pidgeotto, use Sunny Day! Weepinbell, use Solar Beam!” commanded Harold.

I stiffened at that one-two punch. That… that was a good opening move.

“Get on Onix’s back Aron! Onix use Protect!” Both pokemon complied and Onix took the Solar Beam head on to his protective shell. I swept my hand forward. “Aron, use Rock Polish! Onix, use Rock Throw on Pidgeotto!”

“Weepinbell, use Vine Whip on the Rocks! Pidgeotto, use Twister!”

The rocks my pokemon hurled were intercepted handily, and then a small hurricane was unleashed towards my pokemon. “Both use Dig!” I ordered causing my pokemon to dodge the oncoming Twister as they dove into the ground. When they emerged, they did so right next to each other once again.

“Weepinbell, use Razor Leaf!”

“Wide Guard, Onix! Aron, use Rock Polish!” I said causing a barrier to form up around Onix once more and defend against the wide area of effect attack.

Harold cursed as his move was blocked only to curse again as he looked to Pidgeotto. “Pidgeotto, reposition with Aerial Ace! Split them up!”

“Aron! Go on the offensive! Use Iron Head on Weepinbell!” I then pointed at Pidgeotto. “Onix use Rock Throw on that bird!”

Onix whirled around and once more hurled his load of rocks. Only for Harold to show some skill once again. “Aerial Ace and intercept Aron! Weepinbell, use Solar Beam again on Onix!”

“Dig!” I ordered, causing the Solar Beam to just miss as I made my Onix evade the attack he’d have not been able to block so soon after the last use of Protect. Aron was dragging along a Pidgeotto that had his claws locked onto his back. The Pidgeotto tried to stop my Aron but the little guy had too much steam built up and he slammed himself and Pidgeotto into Weepinbell causing them all to go tumbling into the ground. I had half a moment to grin to myself before Harold threw his arm up.

“Pidgeotto, get out with Aerial Ace to behind Weepinbell! Weepinbell use Stun Spore!” With My Aron basically on top of him I couldn’t even order my pokemon back before he was sprayed with the spores.

“Pidgeotto spread the spores with gust!” Harold said. My Onix had just enough time to come up from his Dig only to fall victim to the spores.

Harold punched the air with glee. “Twister on Aron and Solar—”

I withdrew both pokemon and stared at the kid as he floundered at the sudden abort I had pulled. “Hey! I was about to win!” he said.

I shook my head. “You just did win; I concede. I wasn’t about to make my Onix face a Solar Beam head on. Also, you got me fighting way more seriously than I should have, which is impressive kid,” I said, raising my hand and gesturing to Jackson, who swept his flag up.

“Brock withdraws his pokemon, meaning Challenger Harold is victorious!”

The crowd, who’d been silent for the match, suddenly rose to their feet and roared their approval. I joined them in their applause, and Harold who’d just started to come to terms with the announcement of his victory, flinched at the sudden wall of noise he was hit with. He stared up at the cheering crowd and seemed stunned to see them so animated. I lowered the podiums and marched across to him with Jackon holding the case with the Boulder badge in it.

I loomed over the kid, and he looked up at me with a hesitant smile. “I.. did it?” he said as though surprised.

I snorted. “Where the hell was that sort of tactical thinking and on-the-fly planning weeks ago?”

He shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know. I just had too much to think about.”

“And you didn’t have that here?” I said incredulously.

He shrugged again. “I just felt like I had to move and make orders, I didn’t have time to stop and think about what I was supposed to do. I read all of my brother’s notes and so much of it I had to forget.”

I held up a hand. “Well, you need to do more of that. Cause what you showed today? That was promising. You used some great setups and pokemon that should have been weak here in great ways while working them in conjunction with your other pokemon. If you’re like this for doubles battles, I’d work on making this the norm for you because you’re a natural at this.”

He nodded and took the badge with a thoughtful expression. I clapped him on the shoulder. “The Pidgeotto’s actually yours isn’t it? Not just a pokemon lent to you yeah?”

He nodded, and I smiled. “Yeah, it shows. Keep finding more pokemon of your own cause you’re better with them. Stop trying to be your brother.” I said. He smiled up at me at that and then accepted a picture before marching out with his head held high.

I watched him go with some hope that he’d actually turn out alright after all. I sighed. “Well that was fun," I said before turning to Jackson and clapping him on the shoulder. “Good work with taking over for Crystal.”

He grunted and rolled his shoulder. “Nice way to end the day at least.”

I blinked and checked my schedule to find he was right. I wanted to grumble a little, that last match had actually amped me up a bit and gotten me excited. I shrugged and made towards the back hoping to use this energy to train with my pokemon.

On the way, Greta ran up to me. “Brock! I wanted to talk to you!” she said hurriedly. I nodded and indicated I was free to talk. She marched up and wavered for a moment. “I want to sign on to be a Gym trainer for Pewter Gym! I think there is a lot that I can learn here! I can’t offer a lot of skills and work history but I am serious about worki—”

“I accept on certain conditions.”

“—ing here and I can learn quick! I was able to place well in…” She trailed off as she caught on to what I’d said. “Huh? Oh… really?”

“I’ve seen you poking around. You’re an insightful young lady and you’re dedicated. I think you’re making a good call.” I then grimaced. “Now… due to reasons, my Gym’s security features have increased since the start of the year. I… probably shouldn’t waive the need to have a Psychic review you but I don’t want to set a precedent.”

“I have no problems with that!” she said quickly before tilting her head. “Any… other conditions?”

I winked at her. “Maybe also call your parents, yeah?”

“Ah!” she said before bowing. “I’ll talk to her!”

I nodded and held up a hand. “Also to make sure you’re not going to be stagnating, especially with regards to your starter pokemon, I think you should do an exchange with Erika… and maybe Janine as well. Give your Grass-Poison a workover so that Bulbasaur can be the best he can be. I don’t want to hamper your growth by restricting you. Its why I send all my sponsored trainers out onto the circuit instead of sitting on them. You can learn a lot at the gym but not all of it can be good. Falling into bad habits is something I want you to avoid.”

She nodded slowly at that. “I hadn’t thought about that.”

“You’re not expected to,” I said easily. I considered talking up Surge or Sabrina, but both of them wouldn’t be good fits for further training. Maybe for a chat? I don’t think Greta would do well with Surge for a long duration. I gestured with a lazy wave. “Go talk with your mother about this and if you’re still interested, then talk with Alexa, send the forms through to your mother and I’ll talk with Erika and Janine. Both are trainers I know you’d do well working with for a stint of time. I’m just the first Gym Leader you’ve encountered.” I shot her a smile. “You might click with them even better you know? Don’t settle for the first option.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “I see what you're saying.” She shot me a polite bow and then walked off her head tilted in thought.

I watched her go with a hum. I had suspected she’d consider sticking around with me. She’d do well here, or at least I believed she would, but I didn’t want her to just settle down, that wasn’t what the journey was about.

Jackson approached and nodded to Greta as she walked past. He raised some forms for me and I rolled my eyes at him. I considered telling him to dump it on my desk and to come out back to spar with me. Sadly it was then that my transceiver started to buzz, making me eye the message with a dubious expression, only to relax when I saw it was Officer Jenny.

“Hey Officer Jenny, how’s your day going?”

She gave me a pained smile and told me precisely how her day was going.

I inhaled sharply as Jackson swore. Then I told her I would be there momentarily before hanging up.

“Want me to take over the jobs you were gonna do this afternoon? I’ll get Salvadore or Yolanda to feed the Elite?”

I nodded tightly and sent a message to Rachel and Alexa informing them of the situation before calling for a Granny to come around. Then I paused, considered what I’d been told, and shot off another message to Lawrence.

Then I marched into my home to find Flint.

The entire time, I kept thinking about how Forrest really, really didn’t understand the level of trouble he’d just found himself in.

He better be alright.

And he better have a damn good reason to be arrested!