Chapter 76 – Settling Gym Affairs

  “Egon! Breakfast’s ready!”

  The nostalgic sound of Grandma calling me out of bed for breakfast confirmed for me on a deeper level that I was back home. The only thing that was missing was the sound of a younger sister watching cartoons on the big tv downstairs. The rest of my team was out and about Halo had really taken to the sun basking training and was currently halfway hanging out of my bedroom window enjoying the morning’s rays with a concerned looking Glove standing nearby ready to grab her should she fall. Orin, the only other Pokémon in the room was kept busy pretending to be a regular candle on my nightstand. The safe learning environment I provided caused his more mischievous ghostly nature to be dragged out. Not that I minded, Orin’s idea of pranking was fairly tame and involved tricking people into thinking that he was just a regular household item.

  “You guys ready to experience my grandma’s cooking once more?”

  “Vess!” “Nitan!”

  “Orin this is the perfect time to go a little overboard that way you’ll be full of energy for today’s training.”

  Having gained my consent Orin’s wick lit up and the little ghost type started draining my vitality. Over the course of these past few months, we had worked out all the kinks in his feeding schedule. Obviously, I was the one responsible for feeding him early in the morning and just before going to bed but that was only enough to satisfy Orin’s basic needs. The third feeding became a sort of collective responsibility, usually one of my bigger Pokémon provided the required energy. Victini did so as well on occasion but her energy left Orin in a hyperactive state which could be bad if that day’s training required a certain clarity of mind. The only one who definitely wasn’t allowed to feed Orin was the baby of the group Halo. Our rookie battler still had some maturing left to do, and we didn’t want to risk stunting her growth.

  “Oof! Now I am even hungrier! Let’s go eat.”

  Walking downstairs with my Pokémon following closely behind me I was greeted by the sight of the rest of my team members crowding around the dining table. Last day’s special meal had gotten them spoiled for more. Being my Pokémon, they knew better than to crowd around Grandma so they waited in an orderly fashion just outside the kitchen.

  ‘This could spell trouble… their expectations of what constitutes fine dining will increase. Grandma can’t waste time cooking for seven Pokémon each time we visit. Restaurants able to prepare food of a similar quality charge an arm and a leg.’

  I squirmed a little bit when I noticed the gazes of my team members being drawn to me. As if imagining them judging me for my simple but practical cooking style. It was at that moment Victini flew into the dining room from the open window.

  “Vi! Vi!” “Simple is best! There’s nothing wrong with eating sliced berries!”

  “Thanks for the save, Tini. It’s quite rare to see you up and about at this time of day. Did you perhaps spend all night with Flannery and Roxanne?”

  “Vi Vi!” “Yep! Only girls and their Pokémon. No human boys allowed!”

  “That’s great, there’s so much you can learn from talking with trainers other than myself.”

  “Roxy and Flanny kept talking about which Pokémon are cutest or the top ten most eligible trainers!”

  “So… which Pokémon is the cutest?”

  “Me of course! Followed by eevee and a Pokémon called phanpy.”

  “Phanpy are pretty cute. I could play an entire day with those floppy ears and trunks.”

  Grandpa and Grandma seemed amused by the direction our conversation was going and added their own top contenders to the proverbial list.

  “Growlithe” “Azurill”

  Not wanting to be outdone I was about to forward my own contender when I felt a distinct chill emanating from just past my shoulders. Halo was looking at me like the only word coming out of my mouth should be Larvesta or else there’d be severe consequences.

  “…Larvesta, nothing can beat that fluffy white mane and those piercing blue eyes.”

  “Coward.”

  Everyone was cheerfully busying themselves with small talk while enjoying their expertly prepared breakfast meal and when it came time to do the dishes I stuck around to help my grandmother. Still, I knew I couldn’t waste anymore time sticking around and both Grandma and Grandpa had to go to work eventually so I decided to rip off that particular band aid.

  “Grandpa Grandma, we have to go now. Just a little bit more and we’ll have grown strong enough to get Zinnia back.”

  “It’s okay Egy we believe in you. This mess was originally the responsibility of us adults to manage. It isn’t your fault that your mother has a penchant to fall in love with no good men.”

  Before we left the house my Pokémon showed off their own appreciation to my grandparents. The smaller ones cuddled up to them while Glove helped with doing the dishes even Numsy contributed by grazing the lawn down to size sparing my Grandpa the hassle of mowing it this month. While all of this was happening, I packed my bag with all the essentials and made one very important phone call.

  ‘I hope Marlon doesn’t mind me calling him for this.’

  The ringer on my Xtransceiver went off and it didn’t take long at all before the call’s recipient on the other end of the line answered.

  “Egon? What’s up dude?”

  “Marlon, I’ve decided to officially challenge the gym, but I am all the way over in Lavaridge. Could you schedule us in for a battle?”

  “Sure thing! Boss Juan won’t mind if we bend the rules just a little bit. This will be your sixth badge, right?”

  “Yep, is the gym still busy at this time of year?”

  “Totally bro! All the traditional trainers save us for last. Let’s see… I could schedule you for the eighteenth last slot of the day. Does that work for you?”

  ‘Eighteenth… that’s fifteen days from now. If we stay in Sootopolis for that entire duration, we’ll lose some major preparation time especially if all the other gyms are fully booked, I’d miss the tournament. We’ll have to train on the go and rely on Victini to teleport us back to Sootopolis City when the time comes.’

  “Yes, let’s hang out again after I win myself that rain badge.”

  “Great! That’s right before the time I have to go back to Unova. We can catch some gnarly waves on the gym’s Mantine.”

  ‘This is why I like Marlon; he doesn’t question my unplaced confidence for beating the gym with a severe disadvantage.’

  “Mantine surfing? Isn’t that an Alolan pastime?”

  “Don’t worry about it. Mantine are very gentle creatures; they'll catch you if you fall. Anyway, I’ve gotta run, these aquariums don’t clean themselves.”

  The call ended abruptly no doubt because Marlon was at an imminent risk of being scolded. With all of my affairs settled I walked into our hallway where the rest of my team was gathered.

  “Okay gang, we’ll make a quick detour by the gym and after that we’ll set a course for Petalburg City.”

  At the Lavaridge gym*

  Entering the gym, I saw the usual foot traffic coming in and out. Mostly consisting of trainers who for some reason or another hadn’t earned their Heat badge yet. At this time of year Mr. Moore opened up the gym for those who had earned more than four badges giving them the chance to battle him personally. I could now figure why he insisted Flannery come back home, the type of experience she could gain by watching him battle veteran trainers in person was invaluable.

  My old mentor Eli was manning the desk, for once not having any spare time to pursue his other profession as our resident expert Charcoal maker. Ignoring the growing appointment like he dropped what he was doing to chat with me.

  “Egon! Good to see you again! So how many badges have you won so far?”

  “Five, but I’ve got my team all sorted out and I’ve already made an appointment for my next gym battle.”

  “Hmm Hmm it’s fine if you can’t make it on your first try. If nothing else pans out, you can always come work with me processing charcoal.”

  ‘it’s true most of the promising trainers have already finished earning their badges and are using this remaining time solely to prepare for the conference.’

  “Eli… just have a little faith, okay? You know I spent over three months in another region. I’ve only been back for four.”

  “Whatever, you say little buddy. If you are looking for Flannery she’s watching her gramps battle trainers in the volcano chamber with that new friend of hers.”

  With that Eli walked back behind his desk to resume his duties as today’s reception guy. Seeing no point in wasting time I skipped ahead of the to front walking past all the other trainers and into the corridor that led me further into the gym’s facilities. Once I had managed to pass the crowd I could even see that the Pokémon and staff were busier than usual. When things get crowded like this Mr. Moore made it a policy to request additional aid from the townsfolk to keep things running smoothly. The additional help mostly consisted of pensioners with nothing else to do except enjoy their twilight years. None of them questioned my presence in the gym since all the townsfolk knew of me already. That’s when I came face to face with the sand baths and inn proprietress Ami.

  “Ami?”

  “Egon Oh thank goodness I’ve been looking for you!”

  “Doesn’t running the inn take priority over helping out at the gym?”

  “I was waiting for you to come over. Little Flannery told me that you still had unfinished business with the gym.”

  “Wait? What…?”

  “You know the larvesta silk I sent to my producers? After stress testing the silk, they’re now raving about its increased durability as compared to standard wurmple silk. They’re willing to shell out thrice as much for the same amount!”

  “Well, that’s nice and all but…”

  The net ball containing Halo popped open on its own and the little bug type materialized between the proprietress and me. The horns adorning her face lighting up from excitement.

  “Vess!”

  “You want to earn some extra income?”

  “Laaar!”

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  “I guess that’s fine, but I don’t want you spinning silk as a career. This will be a one-time deal that you make with the nice lady over there. Something you can choose to continue should we pass by my hometown in the future.”

  Halo nodded in agreement, understanding what I was telling her. Feeling assured enough I refocused my attention back to Ami who was watching all of this play out.

  “I don’t know how long we will be sticking around so try to get Halo back to the gym desk within the next two hours or so. My other Pokémon partner will insist on coming with you to look after her.”

  With that I unclasped Glove’s ball from my belt before activating the release mechanism. Glove’s form materialized in front of us sporting a knowing expression. Having any conversation with Halo as the main topic instantly catches his attention even from all the way inside his ball.

  “Make sure she doesn’t overly exhaust herself using String Shot.”

  “Nitan!”

  “And don’t let her get near the guest platter. I don’t want her filling up on finger foods after we’ve already eaten our fill at home.”

  “Vess!”

  “Say hello to Master Quagsire for me if you see him.”

  With that my two partners left the same way we came in, following Ami’s lead back to her inn. I was quite sure the proprietress wouldn’t attempt to scam Halo. It was an unspoken rule that most townies looked out for each other’s well-being that included the Pokémon belonging to Lavaridge trainers.

  ‘This is actually the very first time Halo has left my side. Now I can’t help but feel like a worried mother blaziken.’

  “There there, everything’s going to be fine. She’s just going out to earn some pocket money.”

  Trying to take my mind off the ceaseless worrying I kept navigating further into the gym until I reached the doors leading to the Volcano battlefield. Following the sounds of intense battle I quickly came upon the volcano chamber. Entering I noticed that the ongoing battle between one of the gym’s Magmar against a hardy looking Altaria. I recognized the Magmar as one of the gym’s eighth badge level Pokémon and Maggie’s father which meant this challenger was no slouch. As quiet as a Pichu I shuffled my way to the spectator’s stand which was crowded by spectators willing to pay the gym’s admission tickets. However, it didn’t take me long to find Roxanne and Flannery who were enjoying themselves speculating on the battle’s outcome as they watched Mr. Moore showing off his skills against the dragon type trainer.

  They were so absorbed into spectating the battle happening in front of them they didn’t notice me taking the seat next to Flannery. Only reacting to their new seat neighbor once I injected myself in the heated conversation.

  “This challenger any good?”

  “Egon?! Don’t scare me like that doofus!”

  It took a while before Flannery actually calmed down enough to answer my question but once she did, I was quite surprised by her insightful commentary.

  “This guy’s Pokémon have all been dragon types so far. Flygon, Altaria and who knows what else he has up his sleeve. He’s relying entirely on the favorable matchup to win. If Grandpa was using his personal team, he’d wipe the floor with this mook.”

  “You might be right Flanny, the guy is wearing a cape. That is the number one identifying factor amongst all dragon type specialists. They’ll wear anything that makes them seem more edgy and aloof.”

  ‘Being a dragon type trainer doesn’t mean that he is a member of the draconid tribe but this being Hoenn… It would be one of the few ways a native trainer might be able to bring a full team with differing species of dragon Pokémon to a battle.’

  “What’s the plan?”

  ‘We’ll wait until the battle’s finished and ask him for a favor.’

  Getting a letter delivered to Zinnia would be ideal but if this guy was a particularly difficult character to deal with, I’d settle for an oral message.

  The battle proceeded in a predictable fashion. Altaria knocked out Magmar Mr. Moore’s third Pokémon before being KO’d in turn by a Rock Slide from Moore’s Camerupt. That was when the black haired stranger brought out his ace in the hole, a fully grown Garchomp who proceeded to wipe the floor with the rest of Mr. Moore’s eighth badge team. Standard eighth badge matches like this one were five versus five battles although the Garchomp did have trouble beating Moore’s last contender an older Blaziken who left the Garchomp wheezing with a nasty burn at the end of their bout.

  “Blaziken is unable to battle, Garchomp wins! Hence the victor Tomatoma from Draconid village!”

  ‘Thought so.’

  Without wasting time, I pushed out of my seat and made my way towards the main exit. Roxanne and Flannery gave me funny looks that I did so without informing them where I was going but kept quiet to respect the small awarding ceremony. There I was, just waiting for Tomatoma to walk out into the main hall after receiving his Heat Badge. It didn’t take long for said individual to do so he made no effort to acknowledge my existence as he passed me. At least until I decided to verbally address him.

  “That was a well fought battle. Tomatoma right? Could I have a moment of your time?”

  His response was what I would expect from an uptight dragon specialist.

  “Make it quick, outsider.”

  “You see… My mother is married to one of the Draconid and had a child with said man. At the beginning of this circuit the happy couple came back to get my little sister to come live with them. Would you terribly mind delivering a letter from me to her?”

  As I elaborated my story, I could see the harshness in his face dissipate. The fact that I was tangentially related to one of the villagers seemed to have awarded me secret bonus points in his mind. When I finished my story, it only took Tomatoma a quick second to present an answer to my question.

  “No electronics, but if it is a handwritten note I’ll fulfill your request. I have left the village to remind the league association of our strength as is customary. So, I cannot guarantee a speedy delivery.”

  “It’s fine! It’s fine! I still need to write my letter. Coincidentally we keep writing implements in the break room. Could I get you anything in the meantime? A hot beverage or maybe some berry juice?”

  Inside the breakroom*

  Tomatoma turned out to be more reasonable than I had expected. The dragon specialist waited patiently for me to finish writing my message to Zinnia. We got to talking and upon hearing mention of Zinnia’s name Tomotoma immediately knew which nine-year-old I was talking about. He even assented to my personal request of having the letter be given straight to her and not make mention of it to her father. Even back in the village the man was known to be difficult to deal with, someone with more ambition than common sense judging by Tomatoma’s words.

  The letter included short descriptors of the events that I involved myself with over the course of my journey, the Pokémon I had managed to capture for my team, the well wishes of Grandpa, Grandma, myself and Rena, as well as the promise of a big mystery birthday present. When I eventually finished writing it turned out to be quite the extensive letter feeling a tad embarrassed, I handed it over to Tomatoma who had long since finished drinking his hot coco and was waiting for me to finish up.

  With that he gave me a small nod, flourished his cloak in a dramatic fashion and left. With that pressing matter finished I felt a certain weight leaving my shoulders at least knowing that Zinnia would come to read my letter eventually. Leaving the breakroom myself I rejoined the audience sitting in for our gym leader’s next battle. The crowd’s excitement was noticeably dimmer this time no doubt due to the fact that the challenger was a small time trainer coming up for his seventh badge. This time I chose to sit next to Roxanne and tapped her on the shoulder to break her away from the heated discussion she was having with Flannery.

  “What is it, Egon?”

  “Me and my team are leaving for Petalburg City. If you want Tini to teleport you back to Sootopolis, now is your chance.”

  “Nooo! Can’t you stay for a few more days Roxy? Grandpa won’t mind, I promise!”

  “Flanny… My sponsor is counting on me to win all eight major gym badges. I can’t let her down after all the effort and resources Mrs. Stone expended on me.”

  Flannery was looking at me like I just kicked a puppy growlithe. Not feeling bad at all I continued my discussion with her new bestie.

  “Petalburg City? What about Sootopolis?”

  “I’ve already scheduled a battle with them. Victini hasn’t been to Rustburo and Petalburg City before. If we make it there, she can teleport freely to and fro.”

  “Wouldn’t it be faster to visit Rustburo first?”

  “How? The Rusturf tunnel’s construction has only just begun, going from Mauville to Fallarbor Town and crossing meteor falls will cost me weeks of time that I don’t have.”

  “Egon… maybe it is better to rent the services of a transport Pokémon. Lavaridge is only half a day’s flight away from Rustburo. It is even faster if you are willing to pay the extra costs of teleporting with another psychic type Pokémon.”

  ‘I can afford it on my own dime considering my recent windfall. I wonder if the money has already been transferred to my own account?’

  “Thank you, that bit of advice will save me days of travel. Are you ready to leave? We’ll stick around for the next hour or so since some of my Pokémon went off to do their own thing.”

  “My backpack is back in Flannery’s bedroom. I’ll go get it!”

  The girl left her seat on the bleachers and made her way to the exit ignoring the ongoing battle. Flannery hurriedly followed along wishing to spend as much time with the girl as possible now that her departure was imminent. As for myself I decided to enjoy watching the remainder of the gym battle. The underdog trainer from Donto Island had managed to win the crowd’s support and the Donphan who was battling for him was no slouch either.

  “Vi?” “Roxy, are you ready?”

  “Yes! This brief respite has only been made possible due to your efforts. Thank you very much Tini!”

  “Vi! Vi!” “That’s right! I am pretty amazing!”

  Flannery had come along to send her friend off. The red head’s mood had noticeably been improved after Roxanne offered her a standing invite to come stay at her place in Rustburo, after the conference has concluded. I was quite sure that Flannery would have tagged along for Roxanne’s remaining circuit journey if the gym weren’t so shorthanded.

  After we all said our goodbyes Victini clamped onto Roxanne’s arm before disappearing in a brief flash of light. Leaving me and Flannery to enjoy the awkward silence that followed.

  “Uhmm… It isn’t such a big deal. You will undoubtedly be there to cheer her on at the conference. Mr. Moore can get you front row tickets for all her matches.”

  “You… are right.”

  “Huh?!”

  “I can’t expect a serious trainer like Roxy to stop training just for my sake. I’ll show both you and her that Grandpa made a mistake not letting me go on my journey, by working extra hard!”

  ‘This is…!? She’s growing as a person! Roxanne must have been a major positive influence on her. To think the secret method of getting through to her was having her form a friendship rivalry with a more successful same sex trainer.’

  “I’ll be cheering you on Flanny. You are sure to make waves in next year’s circuit with that attitude.”

  We retreated back to the gym’s reception hall where a certain guard Pokémon and his charge were left waiting for me. The ongoing foot traffick meant that the both of them were drawing the gazes of many interested trainers unfamiliar with Unovan Pokémon. Halo sparkled with contentedness under the admiring gazes of the visiting trainers while Glove made sure that the interested parties kept a respectful distance.

  “Halo what are you?!”

  “Vess!”

  Another gout of flames erupted from her horns prompting the crowd to pull out their Pokégears to start recording this mysterious Pokémon. The many clicks of pictures being taken echoed throughout the hall and I even heard the rare but unmistakable sound of a Pokédex Pokémon Not Found error message being played. With Victini being absent I couldn’t exactly tell what Halo was chittering on about, but I was fairly sure that the bug type was boasting about her sudden popularity.

  “You’ve had enough fun. It is time for us to hit up the Pokémon center. Nurse Joy will be happy to see you again. Return!”

  Having returned Halo to her ball I was quickly identified as her trainer which sparked a barrage of questions from the trainers crowding the reception hall. These trainers weren’t the usual riff raff you come across while traveling the routes. Having all come here specifically to challenge the Lavaridge gym for higher difficulty badges. It was quite natural that they’d be more informed on foreign species.

  “A Larvesta, those are even rarer than Dragonites! Where’d you catch it?”

  “Would you be interested in trading that Pokémon? I’ve got a top shelf Nincada, a bug type for another bug type seems fair!”

  Only a minority among the crowd were so brazen to proposition me for a trade but those that did held no compunctions towards following me around. Glove’s presence and the fact they found themselves inside a fire type gym held them subdued before I arrived. Now that it was revealed that a young teen was Halo’s trainer, I found myself the victim of trade stalkers. Luckily Eli sitting behind his desk saw all of this go down and was quick to back me up.

  “HEEEEY! The next person to utter so much as a peep about trading will be banned from this gym for the entire year! Good luck getting a Heat Badge then!”

  I knew exiting through the front entrance would result in the more tenacious among the crowd to keep following me. So, I decided to leave from the back. People not affiliated with the gym weren’t allowed to wander deeper inside without supervision. Thus, I left the other way under the disappointed noises from the trainers present. Before leaving the gym, I pulled my hoodie up all the way to mask my face and I returned Glove who had until now been stressed out from having to intimidate an entire crowd into keeping a respectful distance.

  ‘Never again, now I have to watch my back for serial traders.’

  It was somewhat common for rich na?ve rookies to be caught up by predatory trading practices. Most starting trainers didn’t have rare enough Pokémon to make it worth the time and effort to scam them but occasionally you’d meet one or two who did not realize the inherent value of a thorough bred Pokémon over a more common species that one could just find in droves wandering about on the routes. Of course, the scammers and snobbish rich kids completely disregarded the individual wants and needs of the Pokémon involved.

  We eventually made it to the Lavaridge Pokémon center walking through the revolving doors. I could already see the diligent Nurse most of my family shares fond memories with.

  “Nurse Mary!”

  “Egon! How nice to see you again! Do you need me to check up on your Pokémon partners?”

  “Yes, please! Halo’s grown huge in the time you haven’t met her.”

  “I’d be happy to! Your Pokémon are all so well behaved.”

  I handed over all six balls containing the team members I had on me. Now usually such health check ups could last up to a half hour depending on the size and number of one’s team. That would give me enough time to use one of the computer booths to find a local trainer willing to rent out his Pokémon for transporting purposes.

  I sat down, turned on one of the PC’s and got to browsing the Pokénet on proper procedures for this type of thing. I knew the center facilitated teleportation services, but I was hoping to find a cheaper option such as a flying Pokémon.

  ‘There’s a pokégear app for this type of thing!? No Xtransceiver support?!’

  https://discord.gg/9RfHV7r3f4