The Eon Academy [S.S. Wishmaker Side-Story]

[[Desolate Divine]]

Epilogue Episode 2: December

Spoiler:

As Charlotte stepped into the backyard of what would be her new, though still temporary home, she wondered what sort of phenomenon was occurring, that allowed the weather to be as nice as it was.

It was early December, the start of winter, and despite this, the Resort Area, whilst a little mild, still felt like it was in the midst of autumn. Meanwhile, Snowpoint, which was as far north as Battle Zone, the island which housed the Battle Frontier, was, would likely be having blizzards right now.

“Either of you guys know why the weather is so nice here, when Snowpoint would be a frozen wasteland right about now?” Charlotte called out over her shoulder. Behind her, her two housemates, whom she had only met for the first time a month or so earlier, and only moved in with today, had followed her into the backyard.

“No clue,” answered Barry, as he walked past Charlotte to take in the sight of the yard.

“Stark Mountain is a semi-active volcano, which tends to put out some heat,” Riley answered, as he joined them. “But it’s more that Snowpoint is far colder than it should be if we’re talking just in terms of latitude…”

“Well it’s the northernmost point of Sinnoh,” Barry stated, recalling his own trip to Snowpoint in order to get his eighth badge. “Why wouldn’t it be that cold?”

“I think what Riley is saying is there are other factors adding to the coldness?” Charlotte explained, before looking to Riley for confirmation. Riley nodded.

“The cold air from Mt. Coronet blows down the mountain into the area north,” Riley explained. “But given it’s a relatively narrow stretch of land with sea either side, and despite the cold air from Mt. Coronet blowing down, the sun still heats the air over the land faster than the land over the sea. The air over the land rises, and the cooler air from the sea blows in…”

Charlotte couldn’t help but grin at her two new housemates. Both seemed to be polar opposites of one another, placing her in the middle. Barry seemed to be relaxed, almost a little too much, and at times, a little hyper fixated when something got his attention. He was competitive, and would do anything reasonable to win. He reminded Charlotte a little of Chris. He stood a few inches taller than her, with wild and messy blonde hair and brown eyes. Meanwhile, Riley was a little more reserved, and seemed to be deep in thought all the time. When he did speak, it was normally something worth listening to. Though he spoke more than Dylan did when she first met him, she sensed a bit of Dylan in Riley. He himself was the tallest of the trio, with neat black hair, and was well dressed, having been wearing the same classy blue coat and hat both times Charlotte had met him. Regardless, she had agreed to share a house with the pair of them for one reason in particular. Despite their quirks, both were capable battlers, and neither that Charlotte had come across in her time competing.

Barry had just completed the Sinnoh League at the end of the summer before, having travelled around Sinnoh to get all eight badges, before taking on the Elite Four, and then Cynthia. What made Barry unique compared to most others that had achieved the same thing, is that most others had been former students of the College of the North Wind, which trained its students to be able to handle the Elite Four and Champion. Barry however, had no formal training to that extent, only the Pokemon Trainer School that most children attended. He explained that he was taught by his father, though Charlotte wasn’t sure if he was a trainer who made a name for himself or not. Regardless, Barry achieving what he had without the same level of formal trainer education highlighted a staggering level of natural talent, that Charlotte was looking forward to pitting herself against.

Riley on the other hand, had not completed the Sinnoh League, having not even attempted it. Despite this, he had an accomplishment that even fewer had than Barry. Something none of Charlotte’s Eon Academy classmates, or even Jon had achieved.

Riley, despite not having any history as a Gym Trainer, was offered the position of Gym Leader at Canalave City, the sixth Gym in the sequence, by Byron, the Gym’s current leader. Even Abbee, who had been Nimbasa City’s Gym Leader for nearly two months now, the fourth in the sequence, had worked under Elesa as a trainer for two years before she was given the opportunity.

Riley apparently had made Iron Island, an island mine which doubled as a Pokemon training spot, his usual practice ground. And this practice ground was shared with none other than Byron himself. And in the time they had spent practising together, Riley had earned enough of Byron’s admiration to be offered the position as Byron’s successor, a role which he promptly turned down. When Charlotte had asked why, Riley revealed that Byron’s son Roark was the first Gym Leader in the Sinnoh sequence, and Riley believed Byron should have offered the role to his son first.

Charlotte was thrilled to have two new trainers, both having proven themselves as talented, as housemates. And what thrilled her almost as much was the backyard of the villa they were renting.

Although it was half-scale, the backyard contained a Pokemon Battlefield, where Charlotte knew she would be spending a lot of time against either one of her housemates, and that was only when she wasn’t going to be at the Battle Frontier. A grin crossing her face, Charlotte turned to the two young men who had joined her in the backyard.

“Which of you is going to join me in christening this thing?” Charlotte asked. Riley raised an eyebrow, something which perplexed Charlotte, as if she ever tried doing the same thing, she’d instead just look comically surprised.

“What’s to say that Barry and I weren’t going to do the honours?” Riley asked, no hint of a joke in his voice.

“Then you’d have to fight me for that,” Charlotte retorted with a grin. Riley shrugged, having made the joke he wanted to, before nodding to Barry.

“All yours…”

Barry grinned between his housemates, before making his way to one end of the battlefield, Charlotte making her way to the other.

“You mind reffing for us?” Barry asked Riley, who was already stepping up to the side of the battlefield. Riley nodded.

“Select a Pokemon!” Riley called out. “This will be a three on three match!”

Both trainers selected a Pokemon, and on Riley’s word, tossed their Pokeballs forward. On Barry’s side of the field appeared a Floatzel, and on Charlotte’s, Luxray. Charlotte grinned, knowing that this was going to help immensely.

“Begin!”

“Agility!” Barry ordered. “Then Mud-Slap!”

Floatzel cried out as it lunged forward, one of its paws making contact with the hard ground beneath it, and turning it into thick mud, before throwing a large wave of it at Luxray, who hadn’t had a chance to react. Floatzel was already quicker, and Barry had now increased its speed.

Luxray took the hit directly, being partially blinded by the attack, as Charlotte gave her first order.

“Luxray, Thunder Fang!”

Whilst Wild Charge was technically more accurate and would deal more damage, both moves would be able to take down Floatzel in a single hit. The difference was that unlike Thunder Fang, which dealt no recoil, Wild Charge would deal recoil damage proportional to how hard Luxray would hit Floatzel, which Charlotte knew, would deal far more damage than necessary to end this battle. And after Luxray’s injury during her first summer at the Academy, she was careful not to make a similar mistake.

Luxray leapt forward, lightning crackling at its jaws, before pouncing on Floatzel, who, thanks to its superior speed and Luxray’s semi-obscured vision, slid out of harm’s way with little effort.

“Agility again, then another Mud Slap!” Barry commanded, making most of Floatzel’s speed, which had been near triple Luxray’s after a single Agility. Now it was over four times.

Luxray, unable to dodge the quick hit took another Mud Slap, and though the attack itself was relatively weak, Charlotte knew that Barry was ordering Mud-Slap not for the damage it dealt, but instead, what it did to Luxray’s accuracy.

“Luxray, Agility!” Charlotte ordered, knowing that should she let Floatzel get any quicker, it would be accomplishing far too much between Luxray’s attacks.

“Rock Tomb!” Barry commanded, as Charlotte winced. Floatzel was more suited to physical attacks, and not only would Rock Tomb deal more damage, it would slow Luxray as well.

Floatzel cried out, as rocks erupted from the ground in front of it, before swinging around, and striking them with its tail, launching both at Luxray, each of which struck directly.

“Shock Wave!” Charlotte ordered, knowing the attack, whilst less powerful, given Luxray’s propensity to use physical attacks, would be a guaranteed hit, unless Barry ordered Protect. Or so she thought…

“Dig!”

Floatzel dug underground, as the large orb of electricity that was homing in on the Water-Type attempted to phase through the ground, before earthing and disappearing. A moment later, Floatzel erupted from the ground under Luxray, knocking it back. Charlotte looked in shock as Luxray, who she thought would get her ahead, lay unconscious. She quickly called back the Pokemon, before sending out her next. Roserade.

“I see you remember Pokemon Trainer School!” Barry called out, as Charlotte made a gesture, that she had already learnt Barry would simply laugh off, before Riley called for the start of the next round.

“Grassy Terrain!” Charlotte ordered, expecting that Barry would go on the offensive, however, he surprised her with his next command, though it filled her with dread.

“Baton Pass!”

Roserade filled the arena with lush, glowing grass, however before it had even grown, Floatzel had been withdrawn, and the speed it had amassed, would now be passed on to whatever Barry sent out next.

Barry threw a Pokeball, and Charlotte’s stomach sank as she recognised the Pokemon that followed.

Infernape looked between Charlotte and Roserade with determination, as Barry, knowing Infernape had the time and speed to pull this off, shouted an instruction.

“Power-Up Punch!” Barry shouted. “As many times as you can!”

Infernape, with ungodly speed, rushed forward through the grass, however was slowed for a brief second, by an explosion of green light, as Infernape accidentally tripped one of the hidden Leech Seeds. To Charlotte’s annoyance however, Infernape was that quick, that despite being tripped up, had managed to evade the tangling vines, and still reach Roserade. Granted it only had enough time for one Power-Up Punch.

“Toxic!” Charlotte commanded, remembering how Jon had used this tactic to give himself an edge over Mewtwo.

In such close quarters, the attack couldn’t miss, and Barry, now knowing that Infernape was on a time-limit, shifted his battle plan. The time for building up strength was now over…

“Infernape, Fire Punch!”

Roserade was struck by a heavy hitting, high speed, flaming fist, and thrown back towards Charlotte, who quickly withdrew the Pokemon before sending out her final one.

“Go, Gengar!”

Gengar emerged from the Pokeball with a menacing grin across its face, as Barry began his own onslaught.

“Flare Blitz!”

“Dodge it!” Charlotte ordered. Gengar sunk into the ground, out of sight, as Infernape’s powerful Fire attack eventuated to nothing. Now the playing field had been made even. Despite Infernape’s speed, it couldn’t strike an opponent it couldn’t see.

“Calm Mind!” Barry commanded, and hearing this, Charlotte knew it was time to strike.

“Hex!” Charlotte ordered. “Then Sucker Punch!”

Gengar erupted from the ground, laughing maniacally as a shadow orb launched from its small hand, flying towards Infernape, who was struck for extra damage due to it being poisoned. Before it could retaliate, Gengar had already disappeared again, reappearing an instant later, striking Infernape directly with a Sucker Punch attack. Infernape collapsed to the ground as Gengar returned to Charlotte’s side.

“It’s not over yet!” Charlotte called out, as Barry selected a Pokeball. Charlotte wondered if he’d send out Floatzel again, however figured that wouldn’t be the case. Floatzel had relied on being faster than Luxray earlier, and with the boosts to its speed disappearing with Infernape, it would not be faster than Gengar. Charlotte figured Barry would send in something quicker than Gengar. Or so she thought.

Barry sent out his next Pokemon, and Charlotte was shocked when she realised that he had sent out a Snorlax.

“Wait, what?” Charlotte said without realising, as Barry laughed at the reaction. She quickly shook off the confusion, knowing Barry was no slouch, and if he sent out Snorlax, it was not for the sake of a joke. Already she began to understand why. Gengar was strong in using special attacks, which Snorlax, slow or not, would resist quite well. Meanwhile, Snorlax would hit incredibly hard, given its large frame, and those sorts of attacks were not what Gengar was cut out to take…

“Will-O-Wisp!” Charlotte called out, though for a moment, panicked. She knew that Will-O-Wisp would cause a burn. But she also knew that it was a spectral flame, and most Pokemon that used it were Ghost Types. For a moment, she forgot which it was.

The spectral flame launched at Snorlax, who was far too slow to avoid it. However, to her relief, it struck home, which meant that Snorlax’s attack strength would be halved. Granted, she still didn’t want to let Gengar take a hit from the Pokemon.

“Snorlax!” Barry commanded. “Iron Head!”

Snorlax began to move towards Gengar, and whilst it was slow at first, once it built momentum, that was what seemed to carry it, as it closed the gap between itself and Gengar. Snorlax’s scalp seemed to become metallic for a moment, covered in a silvery aura, as it dived at Gengar, striking the Pokemon head first.

“Gengar, Drain Punch!” Charlotte ordered, however to her horror, Gengar didn’t move. It had been dazed by the attack, as Barry was ready to end this.

“Now, Earthquake!”

Snorlax jumped into the air, before landing on the ground, causing it to rumble. The battlefield floor cracked, as jagged pieces of earth erupted, striking Gengar, and to Charlotte’s disbelief, knocking the Pokemon out.

Both Pokemon were called back, as Riley declared Barry the winner. Charlotte walked to Barry, shocked.

It had been a long time since she had lost a battle, and whilst she could have brought in Deoxys, for this, it would not be worth it. She knew Deoxys was powerful, however knew that she relied heavily on it in the battle against Blackstone. Now, she wanted to focus on her other Pokemon, to help them get as strong. And for the first time in a long time, somebody had managed to beat her, without seeming to struggle at all.

“Okay, so from your perspective, where did I go wrong?” Charlotte asked, as she took out her phone, to Barry’s surprise. She opened a notes app. “Spare no details, and don’t spare my feelings…”

Barry looked to Riley for help, unsure if he was about to risk offending her, however Riley simply shrugged, leaving Barry to figure it out for himself. After a moment, Barry began thinking over the battle.

“You shouldn’t have waited so long to have Luxray use Shock Wave,” Barry explained. “You took too long to realise that your plan, whatever it was, wasn’t going to work anymore, and by that point, it was too late. If you’d used Shock Wave to begin with, it would have put more pressure on me and made it difficult to keep doing what I was going…”

Charlotte nodded, before furiously typing notes, and then looked back up.

“What next?”

“You did the right thing using Toxic, and that Leech Seed trick worked well-”

“Except Infernape was too quick…” Charlotte said finishing the sentence, as she began to piece thoughts together. “I’ve never faced an opponent so quick that they got away before it latched on…”

“How does Roserade distribute the Leech Seeds?” Riley asked, curious about the conversation.

“An even spread, so that there is an equal chance of them triggering,” Charlotte explained, as Barry nodded.

“Okay, but here is the thing; look at the battlefield…”

Prompted by Barry’s words, Charlotte looked, unsure what she was looking for. Finally, she stopped looking at individual sections, and instead looked at it as a whole.

“You can see it, can’t you?” Riley asked, having picked it up himself. “Where the actual battle happened?”

The battlefield itself was damaged, which didn’t phase any of them as any Ground Type Pokemon would be able to fix it. But the pattern of damage, Charlotte now realised, showed where on the battlefield the battle was happening.

“Had the seeds been more concentrated where the battle was actually taking place, and less on the areas that didn’t get touched, more of them would have triggered, and it would have been devastating for Infernape, at least for a second,” Barry explained, as Charlotte nodded. She could picture multiple seeds triggering, causing Infernape to trip over, triggering more, which held it in place, until it would use a fire attack to burn them away.

“What about Gengar?” Charlotte asked.

“It seems like you want Gengar to be more of a mixed attacker, but have it trained as a special attacker,” Barry observed. “Maybe try and refocus its training so it’s a little more comfortable with physical attacks?”

Charlotte nodded, before pocketing her phone, and looking at Riley. She withdrew two Pokeballs that contained Magmortar and Milotic.

“Your turn. Double battle this time…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

“To think, these are the idiots who will be maintaining the law,” Justin muttered to himself. “God help Sinnoh when we all graduate…”

“That bad?”

Justin had returned to his room in a pretty foul mood after an assessment, where Zayne had been studying at one of the desks in the shared accommodation. Upon entering the room, and closing the door a little more forcefully than he intended, he kicked off his shoes, unbuttoned the top button of his uniform shirt, and collapsed onto his bed.

“Honestly, I get why they’re doing this rank thing,” Justin said, and when a grin crossed Zayne’s face, he added, “and I’m not just saying that because I’m rank one!”

Zayne shrugged, as if to say ’I said nothing’ as Justin continued.

“But really, the way it’s getting the others acting…” Justin muttered, as he cursed under his breath. “It’s stupid!”

Zayne had been right during their first conversation. Justin had taken first place in the Pokemon battling assessment, and as such climbed twelve ranks on the ladder, taking the first rank overall. And it had placed a target on his back.

Whilst there had been more fitness tests, written tests and battling exercises, the results of the original three were still informing the ranks, despite it having been nearly three months since training began. Everything they had done since then had become a fourth category, called Assessments. Justin had managed to retain rank one, though that was largely due to his lead on day one. In terms of the assessments since then, he sat on rank fifteen, lower than his overall rank to start with.

“So what happened?”

“My team refused to cooperate on anything that might inadvertently cause my assessment rank to get any higher…” Justin suggested. “And that included even considering any of my ideas…”

The current assessment, in which they were being assessed, was in groups of six, role-playing a different set of circumstances each, with the common thread being that for some reason or another, there is no commanding officer providing instruction, and as a group, they need to decide on the best course of action.

In Justin’s group, the scenario given was that the six of them were off duty, at a crowded billiards hall late on a Saturday evening, during which time, two armed individuals entered the premises, alongside four Pokemon, attempting to rob the venue. The safe in which the week's cash was stored was on a time delay, requiring half an hour to be opened. After both assailants had taken phones, wallets and Pokeballs of all patrons held hostage, one entered the back room to attempt to open the safe, whilst the other remained to watch over the twenty or so hostages. During this time, however, the attempted opening of the safe on a day that is not the designated collection date resulted in the police arriving, and a standoff occurring.

The assessment had been a live-action roleplay, in which the police trainers posing as the gunmen were armed with paintball guns, and as the situation played out, Justin’s Pokeballs were taken. Or so they had thought.

Justin had carried with him seven Pokeballs. Five on his belt were real, containing Pokemon, and one was empty. His sixth Pokemon had been in a Pokeball in its small, shrunken form, hidden in a packet of cigarettes he kept in his jacket pocket. Justin didn’t smoke, and realised as he got there that whilst he had the pack of cigarettes he had forgotten a lighter, which would poke holes in his story. But when ordered to give over his phone, wallet and Pokeballs, he obliged and the gunman was none the wiser.

During the exercise, when Justin had a moment to speak without being noticed by the assailants, he informed them that he managed to retain a Pokemon, Alakazam. He did not intend to act recklessly, knowing that for the sake of the exercise, hostages' lives were in danger. He had informed them so that if anyone had an idea that could use this development to their advantage, they may be able to figure something out, and was not going to take any action unless those with him were aware and agreed to it.

“The moment they found out I had Alakazam, they just started dismissing the idea of using it under any circumstances, and berated me for even considering using it, and taking the measure to hold on to it,” Justin said to Zayne after he explained the background. “Like, I’m all for negotiating, and would have cooperated if they said they wanted to try it first. But come on, we’re training to be police, yet I’m the idiot for having something up my sleeve in case negotiating fails and everything goes to s**t?”

“So what happened?”

“They were that hell bent on running their mouths about shutting down the idea that we got noticed talking, and the gunmen got suspicious, and split us up. So basically, the biggest advantage we had, that there were six of us, and we had a Pokemon, was thrown to the wind, because now there was no way for us to come up with a plan together, and we’d each have to act individually,” Justin explained, furious at how stupid their situation ended up. “A few of them tried negotiating on their own with them, and one of the gunmen got really pissed off, and unloaded a magazine into the ceiling to make a statement. He had his back turned to me, and between the noise of the gunfire and the people screaming, and everyone’s attention being on him, I managed to get Alakazam out of the Pokeball without it being noticed for a second. He disarmed both of them, and my teammates finally did something useful after that and went for them. Alakazam held off the four Pokemon until the others could get the Pokeballs from the gunmen’s belts and call them back.”

“So no hostages were hurt?” Zayne asked, surprised at that, considering how mad Justin seemed.

“None,” Justin answered, though still sounding annoyed. “Hargrow told us that if it had dragged out any longer, they would have started killing hostages in order to get the police outside to cooperate with them and meet their demands. We all got reamed for getting ourselves split up in the first place…”

“Was your review honest?” Zayne asked. Part of the assessment required each participant to review the rest of their team, as assessors may not be privy to the internal dynamics.

“You think I’d let that s**t slide and not review them badly?” Justin answered. “I said that I was willing to follow along with ideas to negotiate, and was saving Alakazam for if the s**t hit the fan, but in response, I got verbally crucified by my team to the point where they gave us away, and nearly caused us to fail catastrophically…”

“Well I think you’ve kept your number one spot…” Zayne remarked. The groups had been based on ranking, so Justin had been grouped with ranks two to six. Zayne, meanwhile, who had managed to climb to rank twenty-five, from rank forty-two where he had been after the battle assessment, would be completing his assessment a few days from now, with ranks twenty-six to thirty. “Considering your team were the ones who messed things up, and you managed to salvage a clean win from it…”

“It’s not about a rank,” Justin began. “And I know, easy to say that when I’m ranked first…”

Zayne grinned, as Justin continued.

“We are training to be cops, and when we are actually out there doing police work, our rank won’t be the most important thing. If that had been a real hostage situation, these idiots would have gotten people killed tonight. Hell, if they end up in anything remotely similar, their only experience would be that one time they turned what was an exercise to train them in this, into a p**sing contest,” Justin remarked. “I’m busting my a** here, and it’s not for a goddamn one next to my name. It’s so that when I finish here and am actually out there in the police force; when people are relying on me, I will be there having made the most of my training here, and can do the best I can out there. But for them, this isn’t about becoming good cops. It’s about taking a f**king number from me. Based on what I saw today, they care more about the glory of being the best in our group than actually learning how to do their job well…”

“Don’t let it get to you too much. The rank system is all bulls**t anyway,” Zayne offered, as he closed his exercise book, where he had been revising. Since their introduction, both Justin and Zayne had worked together, Justin to help Zayne with his written assessments and battling, whilst Zayne attempted to help Justin with his fitness.

“You don’t think that they meant it when they said preferences for stations will be given based on rank?” Justin asked.

“They will, just not the existing rank system,” Zayne explained. “Think about it, the rank system is being used to motivate trainees to perform better-”

“And today proves how well that’s working…”

“But everyone’s current rank is only twenty-five percent informed by how they’re performing in training. The other seventy-five percent is based on pre-training assessments. And do you think that they’re going to base seventy-five percent of the final results on numbers that don’t reflect any of the training we’ve done?” Zayne asked, without waiting for an answer. “I don’t know if they were originally planning on leaving the pre-training assessment results in the mix this long, or if the fact you managed to get so far ahead is why they still are, and they figure you can motivate everyone else, but as it is, everyone trying to increase their rank has to work four times harder to get the result they want, and to keep any improvements.”

“So at some point they’ll stop counting the pre-training stuff?” Justin asked. Zayne nodded.

“Until they tally the results of these assessments, you and I are fifteenth and fourth in that bracket,” Zayne explained. “Granted, if one, two and three in that bracket were in your group and dropped the ball, and you’re the only reason things ended without a bloodbath, you and I will probably wind up in first and second, though no idea which will be which. But all this to say, this is the rank that counts, and will count…”

It hit Justin that despite his rank based on performance in training being fourth, Zayne’s overall rank was twenty-fifth, due to his placing in the written test, and the Pokemon battle. Justin was ashamed to say that when he thought of the top five recruits in their group, he had never considered Zayne amongst them, when really, Zayne had more right to be considered that than he did.

“Does it bother you?” Justin asked. “That despite being in the top five, realistically speaking, this system puts you at twenty-fifth?”

Zayne shrugged.

“Not really. I’m rather glad that I don’t have a target on my back, and that people don’t see me as a threat,” Zayne said plainly. “As much as you hate it, I’d almost like for them to keep this up. Means I can just keep working at this without the spotlight put on me like it is on you…”

Justin went to speak, however heard his phone begin to ring. He grabbed it from his pocket, and saw Candice’s name on the screen. He went to stand to take the call outside, however Zayne stood as well.

“I was going to hit the gym sometime soon anyway, so I’ll head off now,” Zayne noted, as he picked up a gym back that had been sitting at the foot of his bed. “I’ll see you later…”

Justin nodded his thanks, as Zayne walked out, before answering the call.

“Hey, how’re things?”

”Just the usual,” Candice replied, her voice chipper, despite Justin knowing what the usual was. “No challengers today. The joys of being the last gym…”

“For what it’s worth, you’ll be facing Chris at some point soon,” Justin noted. A little over a fortnight earlier, ProjectSTN had shown that Chris had defeated Diantha, the Kalos Champion, marking his second League victory. Justin hadn’t been in touch with Chris much since, with Chris travelling by boat to Unova, and Justin being kept busy with his police training, but was looking forward to seeing his friend again, ideally in Snowpoint City, where Justin would be working with the police there by that point.

“Oh I’m well aware…” Candice answered. “And I’m looking forward to it. There is only one instance when a Gym Leader can go all out in a formal match…”

“And that is?”

”When they’re going against an opponent who they know they cannot win against, and wants nothing but their best…”

Justin laughed, however realised how hollow it sounded. And he already knew Candice had heard.

”What’s wrong?”

“I’ve just had a pretty miserable day, is all,” Justin said quickly, hoping to move the subject away.

”What happened?” Candice asked, surprising Justin at how she managed to find the perfect balance of showing she cared, without sounding too concerned that Justin regretted her finding out.

“Stupid politics. Because of this rank system, some of my classmates refuse to cooperate with me, hoping that if they can make themselves look better than I do, they’ll take top spot,” Justin answered. “Which if they want to screw around doing that in their own time, that’s fine, but when we have a group assessment that they’re going to tank for all of us with this s**t, then it becomes a problem…”

“Did they drag you down?” Candice asked, now sounding concerned.

“No, only just. I managed to rescue the situation on my own, and because of what they did, that was the only way for it to be rescued. So honestly, I’ll probably be pulling further ahead where it matters,” Justin answered. “Zayne seems like the only other person here who is actually here to learn to be a cop, not just try and get the top spot…”

Candice was quiet for a moment, seeming to think, before she spoke again.

”I love the fact that this bothers you so much,” Candice said. ”Not that you’re getting frustrated by it, but you're the sort of person who can actually see what’s important here, and chooses to be above all this, instead of getting caught up in all this competitive nonsense.”

“Honestly, it’s not that impressive,” Justin answered. “The way people are acting sets the bar pretty low. Besides, the ranks are flawed anyway to try and get everyone to work harder. Realistically, I’m sitting at about fifteenth place.”

”No, it is impressive. It would be easy to let yourself stoop to their level, especially when you’re in first place, or it would be easy to intentionally let yourself drop back a few ranks to take some of the attention off you. Easy, but wrong,” Candice answered. ”Despite the fact you’re having more of a difficult time than you should be because of this, you’re still doing what you know is right, and not budging at all on your standards. So even if you say your at fifteenth, I’m still more proud of you now than I was when you were first…”

Justin couldn’t help but grin at Candice’s encouragement.

”And besides, I know that chances are, you’ll be able to work your way to the top, whether you plan on it or not…” Candice added. ”You’ve been a hard worker the four years I’ve known you, and it’s always been visible and recognised. This is no different. This is the start of what is going to be an inspiring story one day…”

“I love you,” Justin said simply, unable to find other words to express how much he appreciated Candice’s faith in him at that moment.

”Love you too…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *****
As the sun set over central Unova, the temperature began to drop, as the sound of nocturnal Pokemon starting to become active penetrated the cold air. The frame of the large house being built on the property which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, cast long shadows to the east. From where Dylan sat in the equally large building nearby, the shadows fell through the open window, leaving the inside as a mixture of light and dark.

Dylan sat in one of the two completed buildings on the property. This one was a large, steel and aluminium shed, which he had prioritised completing first. When the house was completed, he would actually turn the space into a workshop. He would keep his car, which had only arrived on a transport ship a week earlier, in the shed, and potentially even purchase a dirt bike which would suit navigating the property, which would live in here. Long term, he planned on amassing a stockpile of supplies, both materials and tools. He could already see a section of the shorter wall playing home to a collection of hanging tools, and various lengths of timber and steel being kept at all times, that he could fabricate into whatever structure or tool he needed.

For now though it was a concrete floor, with a desk by the window, on which sat a laptop, a double bed, a metre from the foot of which sat a television unit with a large television placed on top of it. In one corner was a small room, walled off, but containing a bathroom and toilet. A large, electric heater was pulled in, and running at full capacity to keep the space from becoming too cold, though Dylan still needed to rug up.

Dylan had moved to Unova four weeks prior when the shed had finally been completed. He wasn’t completely sure it was legal to live in the shed, however was generally quiet and kept out of the tradespeople’s way when they arrived each morning to work on the house. His car was kept parked behind the shed, and he figured if worse came to worst, he’d rent a share house in Nimbasa City if he had to. But until then, he figured that he was already paying a mortgage, and that he may as well get his money’s worth out of it. And it made sense. Dylan was already starting up his business, albeit slowly, and if the business was operating from this property, he would rather wake up there each morning, and be able to commute to work, by literally stepping outside the shed door, then have to drive in from the city each day.

Kaen, Dylan’s pet Vulpix, sat on the bed, snoozing, as Dylan sat by the desk working on his laptop. The Vulpix, despite being a source of heat himself, enjoyed the fact that Dylan had the electric blanket running, in order to make sure the bed was well warm enough when he decided to go to sleep. Sitting on the bedside table, was a small white speaker with a radio antenna. It sat silently, though Dylan was expecting noise at any minute.

The speaker was connected to a baby monitor, the transmitting half of which was outside the shed, in the other building on the property. It was another shed, albeit far smaller, which Dylan was planning on using for storage of items that wouldn’t get used enough to justify them taking up space in the workshop. For now though, like the larger shed, it suited a different purpose.

When Dylan had first arrived, he had brought with him Jon’s Zoroark, and Alyssa’s Ditto, knowing that, given the fact that Zoroark was male, this was the only way for Dylan to breed the Zoroark. It was an old breeder’s trick, using a Ditto when a mating pair could not be achieved, and whilst Dylan was not particularly fond of it, he figured that for a while, he would be relying on Ditto, at least to get a dozen offspring. After that though, he still couldn’t risk them interbreeding, and creating a shallow gene-pool, so planned to attempt to use the present-day Zoroark as breeding partners, in order to try and introduce some variety to the gene pool.

The document that Dylan was working on currently, was part of this plan. Whilst Jon had loaned Zoroark to Dylan, with the intention of giving Dylan a unique product to sell, and fund his business, Dylan didn’t quite agree with the plan, finding it to be a little too shortsighted. He knew that simply breeding Zorua and selling them off would not do anything for the species overall, and would be a waste of the opportunity it had, being obtained by someone who literally travelled back in time. For the species to actually have a chance at becoming self-sufficient, there needed to be more care put into the effort to restore them, and part of that meant more control held by Dylan.

For this reason, Dylan had no intention of selling Zoroark’s offspring, at least not yet. However, he did need to fund his project, and did need to create exposure. As such, he had come up with another idea. Dylan would lease the Pokemon out to prospective trainers.

It would make little difference to trainers who wanted to compete using these Pokemon, and their unique type combination made them valuable to competitive battlers, however, it would allow Dylan to retain a measure of control over the use of the Pokemon, and the restoration of the species. For example, trainers who leased the Pokemon from Dylan would be contractually forbidden from breeding them, or allowing someone else to take custody. And whilst one could argue that this would be giving Dylan a market monopoly, and this was something he wasn’t going to complain about, the real intention was making sure that Dylan could influence the depth of the gene-pool until it was safe for these Pokemon to reproduce without his involvement in the process. Otherwise, he risked them dying out again within a few generations, or genetic disorders becoming prevalent, and all this work being for nothing.

The contract itself would have a few other requirements, some being in the interest of making sure that the Zorua and Zoroark were well cared for, and others being in the interest of research, effectively stating that Dylan reserved the right to take custody for short periods in order to provide care for, or assess the growth of the Pokemon, and any developments in their growth needed to be reported to Dylan as soon as possible. It had been many years since a new, non-Legendary Pokemon had been discovered, and as such, Dylan, like most trainers, took for granted the sheer amount of time and energy that had been invested into figuring out what causes each Pokemon to evolve, and under what circumstances they learn particular moves. He could search online for almost any detail about any other non-Legendary Pokemon, and in the case of some more common Legendary Pokemon, such as Shaymin, that was still a possibility. But for the species of Pokemon Dylan was attempting to revive, almost none of this existed. Whilst Jon’s Zoroark had learned a new move or two, given the fact that Jon captured it wild, they had little to know idea of what traits were unique to the individual, and what traits would be common of the species. In terms of battle experience, they had no idea whether Zoroark’s strength was natural of its species, or due to experience before Jon captured it. Effectively, the contract made it abundantly clear that the trainers who would lease the Pokemon, were leasing the Pokemon in order to help assist in raising it and researching it, at a scale that Dylan on his own did not have the capacity to do. And once enough time had passed that Dylan didn’t need to be this involved, the trainers would keep the Pokemon.

Dylan had drafted the contract, and was giving it a look over, before he would send it to Justin, who, over his Christmas and New Year break from police training, would make any adjustments that were necessary for it to hold up. This gave Dylan another week to get it as close to final as he could, before it was given the once-over by Justin, who had very quickly become the source of legal advice for all at the Eon Academy, Jon at times included.

Dylan’s phone buzzed on the desk, prompting Dylan to pick it up from the charging mat, and unlock it.

”Any news?”

The text was from Jon, who had received Zoroark and Carbon, Alyssa’s Ditto, back two weeks earlier, and had been just as desperate to see what sort of offspring the pair would produce as Dylan.

”Nothing yet, but I imagine it will be soon. I’ll let you know as soon as I know. Say hi to ‘Liss and Lili for me.”

Dylan had done research prior into the modern variant of Zorua, and discovered they had an incubation period of three weeks, presuming the conditions were correct. Effectively, the earliest of the eggs were due to hatch any day now. He had done plenty of research, not into Zoroark itself, but instead, depictions of other Pokemon from the time period that Cassandra and Jon believed they had travelled to. It had taken a long time, but he discovered references to wild Pokemon that live in caves on snowy mountains, which would use some sort of illusory witchcraft to lure unsuspecting travellers into their dens, where they would freeze to death.

As such, Dylan kept the eggs that the breeding pair had produced in the smaller shed, which, with no heating whatsoever, were chilled by the winter breezes as they got to the back end of the year. This was part of the reason for Dylan relocating to Unova so early. Should he have waited, he may have needed to wait until this time next year, or invest on some costly cooling that may not even work for his purpose.

Dylan shifted his focus back to the laptop, however before he even pressed a key on the keyboard, he heard a click. His breath caught in his throat, as he slowly looked back towards his bed, where Kaen, having been stirred by the sound, looked from where he lay, at the white baby monitor on the bedside table.

“This had better not be a false alarm…” Dylan said quietly, as he got out of his seat, and grabbed another pair of warm socks from his bedside drawer, knowing that he may be outside for a while. After putting them on, and grabbing his warmest jacket and beanie, he walked to the door, and before opening it, looked at Kaen. “You coming?”

Kaen looked at Dylan plainly, before giving his answer, in the form of settling down, and going back to sleep.

“I’ll take that as a no…”

Dylan stepped out into the cold night, the sun having disappeared behind the horizon, though it being far earlier in the evening than the winter darkness would indicate. He wondered, as he walked, whether it would snow tonight or not. Whilst it would make his temporary home freezing, he knew the Zorua still to hatch would love it.

Withdrawing his keys out of his pocket, and fumbling with them as the cold wind chilled his fingers, he unlocked the door to the smaller shed, and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He looked to the small table by the door, where he knew a soft, dim lamp sat, with a battery charged, and ready to go. The shed lit up immediately, with the soft light revealing over a dozen snow-white eggs, all roughly the size of a soccer ball, give or take.

It took Dylan a minute of inspecting the eggs before he found the culprit. One near the back, which he figured made sense, as that would have been laid first. Each of the eggs sat in a base made up of a bundle of face-washers, each bundle sitting in a disposable foil tray, filled with water. Whilst warm-blooded Pokemon would need heat to incubate the eggs, Pokemon such as this breed of Zorua would prefer a colder environment. Or so Dylan hoped.

The egg was wiggling, and slowly, more cracks were forming. Dylan, wanting to document what was a momentous occasion, sat his phone on the table, resting it against the lamp, filming the egg as it hatched.

Finally, the last crack on the egg appeared, as the structural integrity that held it in shape vanished, and shards of egg shell fell on all sides. Sitting amidst the chilled water, soaked face-washers, and chunks of eggshell, was a small, grey Pokemon with a white and red tail, mane and tuft of fur, which sat on the top of its head. The small Pokemon looked around, noticing Dylan, before letting out a cautious quiet cry.

Dylan watched in shock, as he realised that this was a Pokemon that he was the first person in living memory, as well as the first person in centuries, to bear witness to. Right now, nobody else could say that they had seen this Pokemon. He was the only person in the world who could. Feeling like he needed to say something, he spoke, addressing the audience who would one day see this video.

“December 15th, 2022. On this day, this extinct breed of Zorua was brought back from extinction. You have just seen the first one born in centuries…” Dylan said, shocked at the history that had been made in this humble shed. “Now, this species will have another chance at life…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

It had been a few days since Dylan had forwarded Jon the video of the egg hatching. It had been a special moment for Jon as well witnessing this. Not only being able to be part of history being made, but knowing that this was the same kid who he had shown up silently to his first summer at the Academy over four years ago, and had impressed Jon with his ability to understand the needs, and care for Pokemon. He remembered Steven asking Jon if he had meant what he said, when he told Steven of Dylan’s skills, and Steven shocking Jon by giving Dylan a shiny-variant Beldum. Now, Dylan, despite his business still being in the very early stages, had made history.

It was near midday, as Jon sat outside at the outdoor table by the student lodges, his laptop open, and various job listing drafts opened. Whilst the registrations for next summer were coming in a little slower, with Jon’s five star pupils not being present, they were still coming in, and Jon theorised that by summer, they’d have the same amount attending as last time. And now that this was more certain, Jon knew he now had a little over six months to hire enough staff to help fill the gaps they left.

Dylan had left the largest gap, as his role had quickly evolved into being Jon’s second in command, with a few other responsibilities involved. Effectively, Dylan had become an operations manager, with skills in property maintenance, both in terms of the physical property and the digital. At the same time, he also looked after the Academy’s Pokemon, and it wasn’t until Jon realised that it had taken three people to fill most of the gaps, that he understood just how hard replacing him was going to be.

Cassandra had taken on the operations manager side of the role, in addition to her own study and training, whilst Jarena was now responsible for looking after the Academy’s Pokemon. Violet was currently looking after most of the technical side of Dylan’s role, though Dylan’s technical skills eclipsed her own, and she found herself more often trying to isolate the general area of whatever task needed doing, and instead of doing it herself, like Dylan would have, arranging experts to come in. Jon knew that realistically speaking, this was how it should have been, and knew that the Diamond Ladies would not stick around forever. He knew that in addition to the five teacher roles that had been left, he’d likely need three people to fill what Dylan did outside of his teaching, and also knew that when the Diamond Ladies left, he’d need to replace them too. And this was presuming the Academy didn’t grow any larger.

Jon looked around at the student cabins, before looking at the staff lodge. It had eleven bedrooms in it, though only four were in use. However, as he did the maths in his head, he figured that for next summer, he’d need a total of a dozen employees living on site. He’d just be able to get by if he put one of the current employees in the spare room of he and Alyssa’s house, which sat empty since the end of the Spiritwater Crisis, when Dylan moved out of it and into the lodge with Willow and the Diamond Ladies. If the program kept growing in popularity, he’d need another lodge for the staff it would require, lest he force them to share rooms. However, as Jon looked at the student lodges, he knew that they could not fit any more students without building more, and the property didn’t have space for more. Even the stadium would be getting cramped if they continued growing at this rate…

“Daddy,” called out Amelia, getting Jon’s attention. He looked over to where his daughter was playing with Jon’s Absol, scratching it behind the ears, though keeping her hand well clear of the blade that protruded from the side of its head.

Alyssa was working that day from Lilycove, and for the first time, had left Amelia at home with Jon, without making a point of checking that one of the others would be around. When his condition had been worsening, and seizures were shifting from being a worst-case-scenario to a fact of life, they had agreed that Jon would not look after Amelia alone, lest he have a seizure and there not be another adult around. However, since the dosage of his medication had been figured out, Jon had not had an attack since, with the exception of the one he had the night of Blackstone’s attack, when he had forgotten to take his meds that morning. Since then, he had been vigilant, and in the two and a half months since the attack, had not had another. It would be months before he would be allowed to drive again, and even longer before Alyssa would let him ride the motorcycle he got as payment for his contribution to ending the Spiritwater Crisis, but none of that mattered. For the first time in many months, he was considered safe enough to spend time alone with his daughter.

“What’s up?”

“When can I get a Pokemon?”

The question took Jon by surprise. He hadn’t received a Pokemon himself until he was eleven, receiving the Eevee that would evolve into his Jolteon as a gift from his grandfather. However there hadn’t been a Pokemon in the house before that, as Pokemon were not a part of his family life there. He had no intention of waiting that long to let Amelia have her own, given how she had grown up around them, and even at her young age, had a love and respect for them. She was naturally curious, and wanted to learn more about them. Every one of Jon, Alyssa and Dylan’s Pokemon she had seen, she had learnt the species of by the time she was four, and the only one that she was initially too scared to approach was Dylan’s Darkrai. She was still yet to see Giratina, given that Jon had only used it for emergencies at the Academy, and she had thankfully not been a witness to them, and even Rayquaza, after originally shocking her with its size, had earned her admiration after watching it battle. Jon was confident that she knew each one was a living being, worthy of respect, and that if not treated with that respect, could hurt her. This was not enough to scare her away, but instead fuelled her curiosity even more.

As Jon considered what age would be a good time to start, he tried to remember how old his former students had mentioned being when they got their first Pokemon. Dylan had been nine, though on paper, Jon knew that had been a bad idea. He received a Treecko as his first Pokemon, having partaken in Pokemon Trainer School which ran after his normal school day, and receiving the Pokemon through that program. Dylan however, like Jon, had never had a Pokemon in the house, and Jon knew that not long before that, Dylan’s mum had left, leaving him alone with his stepdad, and when things became hostile, Dylan looked for any reason to get out of the house, even if it meant learning to battle when he really didn’t care for it, and taking responsibility for a Pokemon to do so.

Abbee had mentioned getting her Cyndaquil when she was twelve, and at first Jon thought it was unusual that it had been so late, given the fact that her father and brother were both trainers, however he remembered that the only reason he knew that, was Abbee telling the story of letting Cyndaquil sleep in her bed, and it accidentally set it on fire. Now he realised that maybe Richard, Abbee’s father, had intentionally given his daughter a little longer, especially if he knew she would pick the Fire-Type starter. He made a mental note himself to not let Amelia pick anything Fire, Electric or Poison Type as her first.

Jon didn’t know how old Justin would have been, nor Chris, but remembered Charlotte sharing about her childhood. She had three older brothers, ranging from eight to fourteen years older than her, and based on the conversation about Charlotte’s experience having her Junior League matches missed by her parents because her brother’s soccer team made it to state championships, Jon figured she must have started battling quite young. It made sense given her incredible skill. Maybe eight years old?

Depending on the Pokemon, Jon was almost considering allowing Amelia to have one herself when she was six, though knew he would need to convince Alyssa. And as he thought about it, an idea began to form.

It would be months before Dylan would consider leasing out the Zorua who were hatching in his shed with each passing day. Pokemon that were going to be pets exclusively usually could be sold at two months old, though for battling Pokemon, it was usually six. This allowed for breeders to identify any potential physical problems that would only become obvious once the Pokemon grew, to be identified before they could be made worse or result in other injuries in battle. For any Zorua that Dylan intended on leasing to battlers, it would be June at least before the first one went, and at that point, Amelia would have just turned five.

The more he thought about it though, the more he realised just how good of a fit Zorua would be as Amelia’s first Pokemon. It was the sort that would grow her into an exceptional battler. Given the main tactic employed by trainers using Zorua and Zoroark was to have it impersonate another Pokemon, it would effectively force Amelia to have to be incredibly observant of other Pokemon, so that she could make the most of Zorua’s illusions. Things like knowing which moves both Pokemon can perform, and even knowing whether the difference in speed between Zorua and the Pokemon it is impersonating will give it away. Skills that other trainers take for granted, Amelia would need to know to battle well with this Pokemon, and by extension, any further Pokemon she caught, she would be able to battle even better with.

“I’ll talk to mummy about it,” Jon answered. “You’ll have to wait a while, but maybe not too long…”

Amelia beamed at Jon, however he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Wondering if it was Dylan, notifying him of the third Zorua to hatch, he withdrew it, before seeing the notification wasn’t a text message. It was from the video doorbell at the property gate. Standing at the gate, waiting for a response, was a man in his early thirties, possibly a year or two younger than Jon himself, in a smart business suit, and looking a little nervous. Jon pressed the button on his phone, allowing it to act as an intercom with the doorbell.

“I’ll be there in a minute…”

The man seemed to jump when Jon’s voice rang out of the doorbell, and Jon, prompting Amelia and Absol to follow him, walked towards the gate, where his guest was waiting for him.

“Mister Drake! It’s great to meet you,” the man said, as Jon approached. “Isaac Stanton. Land Titles Office…”

Jon looked at the man in confusion, as he opened the gate, and accepted his enthusiastic offer of a handshake.

“Jon, and this is my daughter Lili,” Jon said, his tone betraying his confusion, before he asked the question on his mind. “This isn’t something to do with all that acquisition business a few years back, is it?”

Stanton’s eyes widened, as he realised his error, and quickly raised his hands in a placating gesture. Jon could tell this man was nervous, and eager to make a good first impression, and figured Jon’s every growing legendary status was likely not helping.

“No, I’m sorry, I should have been clearer!” Stanton apologised. “Land Titles Office, Unova…”

Jon found himself more confused. For a second he wondered if this had something to do with Dylan, though realised quickly it couldn’t. Whilst Jon and Alyssa had offered to be a guarantor to Dylan’s land, he had refused, not wanting to place that level of risk on them, and having already made enough good steps to be able to get the land without such a drastic measure. Even if it were to do with Dylan’s employment at the Academy, that was a concern of the bank, seeing as the developer who sold Dylan the land would have already been paid for it in full. And even the bank was aware that Dylan was no longer an employee of the Eon Academy. He wondered whether Dylan needed a reference for some permit to do with his business, though wondered why that would result in an in-person visit from someone in the Land Titles Office.

“Mr. Drake, I see you’re a little confused, so suggest we find somewhere to sit down, so I can explain myself,” Stanton said, forcing himself to sound a little more confident. Jon realised how poor of a host he was being, before nodding his apology, and inviting Stanton to follow him.

The pair walked towards Jon and Alyssa’s cottage, all the while Stanton seemed to be taking in the sights of the Academy facilities. To the untrained observer, it simply looked like almost any summer camp, though it seemed to lack any sort of outdoor activity facilities like rock climbing walls and ropes courses. Finally, once the pair were inside, sitting at the small table in the kitchen, and Jon had prepared both of them a coffee, Stanton explained himself.

“I’ve come to see you because the Unovan Government has been impressed by the Eon Academy…”

“By Abbee?” Jon asked, knowing that Abbee had already made a name for herself in the short time she had been Nimbasa City’s Gym Leader.

“Partially. Mister Kingswood just arrived at Virbank City yesterday, and I believe has just beaten his first gym in Unova as well. And Miss Jones has got everyone waiting in great anticipation for the next High Seas Tournament,” Stanton explained. “All of these things are impressive, however the reason for my visit is due to the effect the Eon Academy has had on tourism and public perception of Eastern Hoenn, and Mossdeep City…”

Jon’s eyes widened, as Stanton continued.

“Did you know that tourism to Eastern Hoenn has doubled since you opened the Eon Academy? Not just during summers but all year round?” Stanton asked, without waiting for an answer. “People used to write off Eastern Hoenn for travel, with complaints about there being too much water…”

“Well, you did catch the ferry here, didn’t you?” Jon asked, nodding in the direction of Lilycove. “The two hour trip isn’t for everyone.”

“Agreed, but your Academy has caused more people to give it a chance in the last four years than any tourism campaign from the Hoenn Government,” Stanton said, growing excited. Jon however was a little worried.

“Look, it has helped, but that’s a small part,” Jon explained. “Between the meteor crashing in 2019, the Deoxys incident that summer, the acquisition order, and even the two attacks here last summer, we’ve spent more time on the news than I would have liked. That, and the Hoenn government gave us a lot of grants that allowed us to fund more here, hoping that it would bring more people to Hoenn. If not for that-”

“Exactly!” Stanton interjected, growing even more excited. “That’s why I’m here!”

Jon gave Stanton a puzzled look, as Stanton continued.

“Have you ever heard of Castelia Ridge Academy?”

Jon shook his head as Stanton continued.

“It was a private school, considered one of the best in Unova, however the last principal made a few poor decisions with regards to funding. He had proposed a state of the art overhaul of facilities, including renovating student and staff accommodation, as well as building a Pokemon stadium larger than that of the S.S. Wishmaker…”

“That is quite a big endeavour…” Jon noted, having already been floored by the costs of the site projects at the Eon Academy. Stanton noted.

“Exactly! The school overspent, relying on fundraising drives, government grants and that sort of thing to make up a significant portion of the bill. But when the income they expected didn’t come in, they increased school fees and cut costs elsewhere. Parents ended up paying more for their students to go to this elite private school, where there were more crowded classrooms, less reliable internet, lower quality food, all that sort of stuff, and what do you think the parents did?”

“Pulled their kids out?” Jon asked, as Stanton nodded.

“First they complained, and demanded an explanation, and when it was made clear the school had made financial decisions it couldn’t afford, and this was the result, students were pulled out in masses. Within six months of the works being completed, the school had declared bankruptcy and liquidated. And that’s where we swooped in…”

“The government couldn’t help them?” Jon asked, slightly surprised that the government had let this school crumble in order to purchase the property. He found himself remembering the Hoenn Department of Defence doing the same thing to him. The acquisition order that arrived before Jon could repair the damage from the Deoxys attack, and barred him from making any changes to the property. As such, Jon would have been forced to sell it based on its value in the damaged state.

“It would have been a poor financial decision for the government to bail them out, and would set a bad precedent for us and other private schools. The public schools would be furious at the amount it would have cost us that could have gone to them, and it would give other private schools ideas that they could overspend and we’d swoop in to save the day and keep them from going under,” Stanton explained. “It may sound low, but it was in everyone’s best interest that we didn’t get them out of this. But also, we realised this could be a good investment, with the right coat of paint…”

Jon gave Stanton a quizzical look, prompting the man to continue.

“Effectively, we have a facility that can house up to five hundred students, with the largest stadium in Unova, sitting unused in the middle of the largest city in the region,” Stanton explained. “And we would like for it to become an additional campus for the Eon Academy…”

Jon’s eyes widened at the offer. At first, it seemed like his golden ticket. He had been thinking not even half an hour earlier how he was going to struggle with the rate of expansion that the Academy was likely to grow at, largely in terms of sheer space. And the idea of being able to teach even more people to battle, using the same methods and tactics his grandpa had taught him made it very appealing. However then reality set in.

“You would be offered an interest free mortgage for the property by the government, and would be given priority for grants in education, recreation and tourism to help get things moving. The initial cost to you would be nothing, and we expect that once it is branded as an Eon Academy, between the summer program and the potential income the facilities can provide throughout the rest of the year, that it would effectively pay for itself…” Stanton explained. “For example, the stadium could be rented for large-scale events in Castelia, and the accommodation during the academic year could be rented to students at Castelia University. The possibilities of how this facility could generate income are endless.”

“And on a twenty-five year loan term, I’d be the owner of a property worth millions upon by the time I’m sixty. By the time I have grandchildren, we would be well off enough that they may never have to work a day in their lives…” Jon said, though his tone didn’t sound as pleased with that as Stanton would have expected. “I’ll be real Mister Stanton, this offer sounds too good to be true. Surely your government would rather lease me the property?”

“We see value in what an Eon Academy in Unova could bring, and want to make sure we are making this offer worth your while, especially given how poorly discussions of property sales between yourself and other governments have been in the past,” Stanton explained, his tone becoming a little more serious. “That property is worth millions and will only become worth more. But consider this; ticket sales for next year’s High Seas Tournament are triple what they were this time last year, and projectSTN.com is receiving that much web-traffic that I am certain Mister Kingswood is fighting off sponsorship offers with a stick in order to keep his website that ad-free. I am aware that Mister Squier is in the process of starting a business, and popularity surrounding the Nimbasa City Gym has only increased since Elesa left, something which none of us thought possible. Should Mister Collins choose to dream higher than the Sinnoh P.D. I’m sure that people would flock to him…”

Stanton took a sip of his coffee, considering his words carefully before continuing.

“You have shown a skill in producing legends, Mister Drake. Even now, three of the most historically hated trainers in the world, are growing in popularity under your employment-”

“They did stop Agatha…” Jon interjected.

“But whose Twitter account was used in their live stream revealing themselves?” Stanton asked. “And since last summer, their popularity online has grown at the fastest rate it has since the truth came out five years ago…”

Jon nodded in understanding, as Stanton kept explaining.

“Yes, we'd be selling and breaking even on a source of passive income, but longer term, investing in you, and the institution you have created would make that investment back in record time. But we can’t do that without you, and the Eon Academy, and we know that,” Stanton concluded. “Sure, we could lease you the building, and make money off it. But we’d rather make it really worth your while…”

Jon went silent as he considered this. He believed Stanton, granted he’d be getting Justin to look over any contract that he was expected to sign, to make sure Stanton was telling the truth. And it was an incredible offer. But…

“I need to be real with you Mister Stanton, I’d need to discuss this with my wife, but-”

“Isaac. And I completely get that! My wife would murder me if I made this sort of decision without consulting her!” Stanton interjected, though Jon shook his head.

“But I think it is most likely going to be a no,” Jon explained, and when he saw Stanton begin to speak, quickly interjected. “Not because this offer hasn’t been made worth my while…”

Stanton gave Jon a puzzled look, as Jon continued.

“I couldn’t do both. I couldn’t run a program here, and one in Castelia City at the same time. And in theory, whilst I could try and train someone to run one of the two programs, I’d be running the one here, which long term would be the smaller one, and there are very few people I’d trust to bear the Eon Academy’s name, in a position where more can go wrong than here…” Jon explained. “Alyssa and I wanted to move to Mossdeep before the idea of the Eon Academy even crossed my mind, because it was where we wanted to raise a family, and that hasn’t changed. Neither of us can be convinced to leave, and it’s not fair on my family that I’d leave for three months at a time to run the Castelia Eon Academy…”

“Surely you could train someone to run it for you?” Stanton asked. “What about Miss Silvers? Rumour has it that she has become quite a formidable battler, and it almost seems like a waste, given the fact can’t compete…”

Jon overlooked the somewhat tactless reference to Cassandra’s ban, knowing that it was the biggest part of her life that she wanted to see changed.

“I’d trust Cass to run it, although I’d want to have a little more time to train her in terms of battling, but honestly, the Eon Academy is my dream, not hers. She has other things she wants to do with life. Same as Violet and Jarena. I’d trust either of them, though I would want to do further training. But they’ve got goals that will take them away from here. I don’t want them giving those up for my dream, when really, I’m already living it here…” Jon explained. “I wouldn’t have asked that of the other five before they left, and I won’t ask it of them. And if I’m training somebody to run an Academy twice as large as the one I’m running here, I would not let just anyone do that…”

Finally, Stanton seemed to understand why Jon’s answer was what it was. It wasn’t that Jon disliked the idea, and the fact Jon was going to this length to explain himself only made Stanton understand even more than Jon would like to say yes. However, this was something he couldn’t get past.

Stanton took a second to regain his composure, before withdrawing a business card from his shirt pocket.

“I understand Mister Drake, and wish we could have come up with something to allow this to work,” Stanton explained, handing Jon the business card. “Should anything change, or you have an idea on how we can make this work, please reach out…”

Jon nodded, accepting the card.

“Thanks for your visit. And call me Jon.”

The afternoon hours seemed to pass in a blur, as Jon kept thinking about Stanton’s offer. Alyssa returned home in the late hours of the afternoon, and though Jon had told Amelia he’d speak to Alyssa about when she could have her first Pokemon, it was now the last thing on his mind. Alyssa had caught on quickly that Jon was deep in thought, and when she probed him about it, he told her about Stanton’s visit, and the offer. Upon explaining his reasons for turning it down, Alyssa nodded in understanding, before leaving it there. Whilst she didn’t want to feel like she was getting in the way of Jon’s dreams, she appreciated the fact that despite him wanting to accept the offer, that Jon, through no sense of guilt or duty, but genuinely wanting to, prioritised herself and Amelia over this.

The conversation about Stanton’s visit didn’t continue after Alyssa’s initial query, though Jon struggled to shake the thought. After dinner, Jon made his way down to the staff lodge, where Cassandra, Violet, Jarena and Willow all lived. During the academic year, Jon made a point of knocking on the door of the lodge before entering. Whilst during summer, the bottom floor was a glorified thoroughfare and common room for staff, during the rest of year, this was the home of the four women he was coming to visit, and as such wanted to respect their boundaries and privacy.

“Come in,” called Violet’s voice. Jon opened the unlocked door, before stepping in, and noting how dark it was. As he entered, he was struck by the smell of alcohol, and the light from the TV in the lounge, paused on an odd frame of a large cauldron. He followed the sound of jovial laughter to the lounge, where he found the four of them across two couches, each with a can of some sort of alcoholic drink in front of them. He spotted beer, cider and premixed whiskey, and all, whilst being far from inebriated, seemed cheerful, and a little out of it. Jon couldn’t help but grin at the sight.

“What’s going on?” Jon asked, taking in the scene.

“It’s our last night before some of us leave to visit family for Christmas,” Jarena said with a grin. “Violet found this really corny witch movie, and we decided to take a swig whenever they did something stupid…”

“Like turn themselves into an Eevee?” Jon asked with a grin, before dodging a pillow that had been thrown from where Cassandra sat.

“Watch it!” Cassandra warned. “Alyssa and I have both seen you as Snowball the Swearing Altaria, and I may feel like showing these ladies just how amusing of a sight that is…”

Jon picked up one of the empty cans, before giving it a sniff, and making a show at wincing at the smell of the alcohol.

“Any more of these, and I’d wonder whether you could pull that off…”

Jon went to step forward, however his feet refused to leave the ground. He looked at Cassandra, the only one of the four currently capable of using nonverbal Shadowcraft, who smirked at him.

“Come on, I’m old, and need to sit down…”

Cassandra released the spell, before shuffling aside as Jon sat on the end of the couch.

“So what brings you down here?” Violet asked, as Jon shrugged.

“I figured Cass and Jarena would be going tomorrow, and had this thought before,” Jon explained. “I figure you’ve all been here close to a year and a half at this point, and I know we spoke back then about what you were all hoping to achieve long term. But really, I’ve just assumed that nothing has changed, and only realised that today…”

Jon winced as the festive mood that seemed to be present when he entered started to dissolve.

“What brought this on?” Cassandra asked, sounding a little sceptical.

“I spent today working on job listings to fill the gaps left by the others, and had the thought that you all probably don’t want to be here forever…” Jon said, half-truthfully. “I know you’re all onboard for next summer, but it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea for me to be a little more mindful of your plans after that…”

The four witches glanced at one-another, before Cassandra, probably feeling the pressure having been the leader of the Diamond Ladies, spoke first.

“Well I guess for me,” Cassandra began, before thinking about it. “At some point I should look into appealing my ban. It’s something I have to do to move forward, but honestly, I’ve just been putting off because I’ve felt like if I jump the gun, and haven’t proven myself enough, that it might hurt my chances…”

Jon nodded, as Cassandra continued.

“Once I get it appealed and revoked, then my plan will be to travel and compete, like Chris and Charlotte did when they finished school,” Cassandra continued. “If you’re okay with it, I’d want to keep using the Academy as a home base between seasons, but honestly, if all went to plan, I’d hardly be here…”

“You’d be welcome,” Jon assured. “It’d be pretty quiet if the entire time outside of summers it was just ‘Liss, Lili and I…”

Cassandra nodded, before looking over to Jarena, who took the hint that it was her turn.

“I still want to start a Pokemon shelter, and am thinking that once Dylan is a bit more settled, I’d ask if I could rent some space on his property and set up there,” Jarena explained, before addressing Jon directly. “Though don’t say anything yet. I don’t want any pressure on him to say yes…”

Jon grinned at Jarena, before giving his word he wouldn’t bring it up and letting her continue.

“Honestly, it just seems like a good fit. Dylan is wanting to breed Pokemon, but have the property set up as some sort of reserve, whilst I’m wanting to take in abandoned or injured Pokemon and rehabilitate them,” Jarena explained. “For me, it’s a matter of waiting until a good time to approach Dylan about it, but also saving money to be able to start myself…”

Growing uncomfortable with the silence, and the attention on her, Jarena nudged Violet, who sat next to her.

“What about you?”

“If I’m being honest, I think I might look into working with the League,” Violet answered. “Not just in response to something like Agatha, but actually being an operative. Granted, I may be too high profile, but you were able to do some good in Alola, despite everyone knowing who you are…”

Violet nodded at Jon as she said this.

“Granted it may be more as a consultant, or looking after a squad. But honestly, the idea of just competing, or running a shelter, as cool as they sound, bores me,” Violet said. “Heck, the idea of doing any sort of normal job bores me. We’re as far from normal as people can be, so why would I look past that and go become an accountant or something?”

Jon nodded in understanding, before looking at Willow.

“What about you?” Jon asked. “Part of the reason you came here initially was to not have to separate Latias from her brother, and to help keep us safe from Shadowcraft attacks…”

Willow considered what Jon said. It had not been the first time she wondered this. She felt a little guilty that Jon kept her on paid staff, considering her role was that narrow, and didn’t warrant the amount of hours she was paid for. She had raised it with him earlier in the year, offering to reduce her hours, but he had shrugged it off.

“Honestly, after the mess in Alola, I just want to be able to live in peace, and study Shadowcraft,” Willow explained. “Uncover more of its secrets, without turning into a raging lunatic like a certain geriatric hag…”

“Here here,” Jarena called out, raising her can of cider, to the amusement of all present.

“That being said, I know that I can’t stay here forever,” Willow began, though when Jon went to speak. “That I shouldn’t stay here forever. And honestly, Shadowcraft on its own doesn’t pay the bills…”

“We needed to add a good measure of cheating to do that,” Violet added, earning a laugh from Cassandra and Jarena.

“Point being, I shouldn’t live here forever and get paid to make sure the spells that I know will work until we remove them, keep working,” Willow explained. “I don’t know what life will look like though. But as long as it is relatively stress free, and I can focus on my Shadowcraft, I’m not particularly fussed…”

Jon nodded, considering the words he just heard. Whilst Willow didn’t have concrete plans like the others, she had said she wanted something that wouldn’t stress her out too much, and would allow her to focus on Shadowcraft.

“Jon, what’s really going on?” Cassandra asked, her tone indicating she would only be accepting one variety of answers. “You’ve had weeks to ask this, and I know you’ve been working on those job listings for months. Something stinks…”

Jon looked over at her, and knew she meant business.

“I had a visitor today come by from the Unovan Government…” Jon explained. “To make a long story short, they’ve got a state-of-the-art facility, that could run a program twice as big as here, that if I agree, they are willing to hand over to me to turn into a second Eon Academy. And I really like the idea. Not even for the business side, but the idea that my grandpa’s teaching would get this massive opportunity to be spread, and more incredible trainers are created…”

Jon considered whether to be honest with them or not, before remembering that Willow did know how to perform a spell that would force him to tell the truth, and Cassandra would be able to prevent him from escaping it.

“I turned down the offer, because the only way for this to work without Alyssa and I moving there, would be to train someone else to run it,” Jon explained. “There are a handful of people I would trust with my grandpa’s legacy, but honestly, I know all of them have their own dreams, and I don’t want them putting them on hold to do this for me…”

There was a silence throughout the room, and Jon, feeling uncomfortable, spoke to fill it.

“I came because before I turn this down, I wanted to make sure that none of you wanted this…” Jon explained. “I didn’t want to make a decision for you, and not offer it, without knowing it’s the decision you’d make…”

“I get that…” Cassandra said quietly, as she imagined how difficult of a decision this must have been. “God, I don’t envy you…”

“Yeah, it almost feels like a shame to turn it down…” Jarena offered.

“No almost about it,” Violet interjected. “It is a shame. But if it’s not going to work-”

“What about me?”

Jon and the Diamond Ladies looked over at Willow, who had uttered the words, to all their shock.

“I know I’m not much of a battler, but I am willing to learn,” Willow added, feeling self conscious as the attention sat on her. “The fact I would have been decimated if not for Cass when Blackstone attacked is as good a reason as any. But this…”

“Don’t forget, we knew we couldn’t win,” Cassandra offered. “That’s why we negotiated…”

“Still,” Willow said, looking back to Jon. “Is there any reason you wouldn’t want me to do it?”

Jon looked at Willow, shocked at what he was hearing.

“I thought you wanted something stress free?” Jon asked. “I don’t know about you, but this job hasn’t exactly been the most relaxing at times…”

“Relatively stress free,” Willow corrected. “Remember, my last boss paraded around Akala killing people, and was trying to bring about the end of the world. That’s when she wasn’t asking me to let her kill Latias to speed up her plans. Compared to that, running the Academy, when there aren’t attacks like last summer, honestly sounds like a nice change of pace…”

Jon was quiet as he considered this, before Willow realised she had been a little too presumptuous.

“I mean, it’s your decision!” Willow added. “If you wouldn’t want it to be me, I get that!”

“No, honestly, I think it would be great,” Jon suggested. “It’s almost perfect. You're the only other person who can bring the Eon Academy’s namesake to the new campus…”

Willow nodded, having not even considered that. Jon continued.

“But honestly, because your role here hasn’t had much of a focus on handling Pokemon, I’ve looked past your inexperience,” Jon explained. “Between now and this new Academy opening, which would be summer after next at the earliest, you and I will need to be prioritising getting you to championship level above all else. We can’t have your students catching up to you too quickly. Trust me, it gets to their heads…”

Cassandra barked out a laugh at the implication, knowing that at this point, none of Jon’s former five students were the sort to let that knowledge swell their ego too much.

“Every day will be training, and it will be harder than I’ve ever pushed anyone,” Jon explained. “Even Cass, because we had more time to spread this out over, has had an easier time than what I have planned for you. Are you okay with that?”

Willow nodded, as Jon grinned.

“I’ll still need to check with Alyssa, and make sure she doesn’t have some huge reason against this idea. But we will both need new Pokemon, to spread the training out over, and not push them too hard…” Jon explained, before looking at the time. “I’ll text you to confirm that Alyssa is on board. And if she is, eight tomorrow morning in the stadium…”

Jon stood up with a grin, and left the room, waving farewell to the four witches, as Willow, realising what she had just signed up for, put the can she had been drinking from down on the coffee table, not wanting it to make tomorrow morning more difficult than it already would be…

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

“You’ve got to be s**tting me…” Abbee muttered as she looked at the screen on her laptop. She sat in her office in the Nimbasa City Gym, on the last day before the Gym was due to close for the Christmas break. It was late afternoon on Christmas Eve, and the Gym was practically empty. The Gym trainers were largely tidying up the building, so that it would be in a good state when the Gym officially reopened on January second. However, Abbee had a hunch she may need to be present there at one point during the break. This however, had nothing to do with the email she was reading, which had completely soured her mood, having been in good spirits at the thought of taking a week off, and spending Christmas and New Years Eve with Dylan, as well as some other plans she had for that week. Now she wondered whether she’d be in work mode regardless.

”I’ve managed to put a choke order on this for twelve hours, however I won’t be able to hold it any longer. You need to make a statement.

Alyssa.”

Underneath the email was a draft of an article at BattleNET.

’Participant injured at Nimbasa City Gym.’

‘On Monday December 19th, Bianca Curtis of Virbank City, aged seventeen, thought that this day would be unlike any other. On this day, she would be attending Nimbasa City Gym, hoping to face off against new Gym Leader, Abbee Strauss, in order to earn a Bolt Badge. Little did she know that this visit would be unlike any of the three other Gyms she had challenged at this point.

Despite the Gym being quiet in the lead-up to Christmas, Bianca was required to battle one of Nimbasa City’s Gym Trainers, which until recently, Abbee Strauss had made up part of the ranks of, a victory over which would qualify her to face the rising star Gym Leader. During this battle, however, a stray Thunder Bolt attack from the Emolga that Bianca’s Whirlipede managed to deflect, struck her arm, burning straight through her sweater and blouse, and leaving a significant burn on Bianca’s upper arm.

“Whilst the burn will heal completely, I have been warned against travelling due to the risk of infection, which has left me stranded in Nimbasa City, when my original plan was to return home and see my family for Christmas. The only thing that stings more about missing this holiday with them, is the wound on my arm caused by this whole ordeal…”

Abbee stopped reading from then on, knowing there was little more she needed to know right now. Minimising the email, she opened up the GMS, Gym Management System, and opened up a search query. Every trainer that entered the Gym for a challenge needed to scan their Trainer Card to compete, even if they only faced a Gym Trainer and not Abbee, the Gym Leader. She had hoped that this article was simply untrue, however knew that likely wasn’t the case. She typed Bianca’s name into the search field before pressing enter. Within a second, a single record appeared, and within moments of Abbee clicking on it, she swore under her breath.

’Trainer battled: Tessa Wulff. Result: Forfeit…’

“S**t, s**t, s**t…” Abbee muttered, as she closed the program and then opened the software that contained the security camera footage. She punched in the time that Bianca’s card was scanned, and clicked the playhead across, until she saw Tessa battling a young woman, who barely even looked like an adult. She skipped ahead until Tessa’s Emolga was battling, and watched.

Sure enough, it didn’t take long for Whirlipede to curl up into a ball, and Emolga’s attack bounced off its hide. Deflected, it struck Bianca’s arm, as the trainer recoiled, and Tessa stopped the match, approaching the challenger in a panic. The pair spoke for a few minutes, before both Pokemon were called back and Bianca left the building.

Abbee hung her head over the back of her chair, looking up at the ceiling of her office, and taking a deep breath. She knew what she had to do, and was not looking forward to it. And she knew that there would be backlash from a few of the Gym Trainers. However, she knew that this was going to be a defining moment that would impact her future as Gym Leader, and to take the easy option would likely cement her status among her employees.

Abbee stood up, before walking to the front door. She stepped out of her office onto the balcony that overlooked the large, industrial looking warehouse that made up the Gym. Looking around, she saw various trainers with brooms and mops, cleaning up, before realising she couldn’t see Tessa or Blake there. Rolling her eyes to herself, Abbee made her way to the break room downstairs. As she made her way around the corner, she heard casual chatter, recognising both voices before walking in.

Upon realising who was walking in, both trainers went quiet, as Abbee looked at the pair of them, before Tessa spoke.

“We were in the middle of something when we were supposed to have our afternoon break,” Tessa informed Abbee, her tone indicating that she was doing Abbee a favour by explaining herself. “We’ll be out in ten.”

Abbee shook her head.

“Tessa, I need to speak to you in my office, and Blake, you’ll need to get back out there and help now if everything is going to be done before closing time,” Abbee explained, knowing Tessa was lying about this being in lieu of their standard break.

“But I’m entitled to an hour's worth of breaks-” Blake began.

“You’re also expected to be here on time this morning, and you weren’t,” Abbee said to Blake. He opened his mouth to argue, but Abbee, surprising herself at how assertive she was being, quickly shut it down. “You are late every second day because of the traffic. Most people by now would have considered getting up and leaving earlier. You’re paid to work eight hours here, and I don’t want to wait another ten minutes after closing to get the work I’m paying you for. So from now on, if you’re late, it comes out of your break time…”

Blake’s eyes widened, having not had something so blunt said to him by Abbee in her time as Gym Leader. Until now, Abbee had been hoping that with enough time to adjust, the pair would grow to respect her, or at least pretend to, like they did Elesa.

“Tessa, you’re with me,” Abbee said, before walking out, not leaving any more room for discussion. Both trainers left the break room, Tessa following Abbee to the stairway, and Blake making his way to join the other trainers.

Both trainers walked silently up the stairs, and entered Abbee’s office. Abbee was glad Victini was in his Pokeball for this, knowing that he would enjoy seeing what he was about to see a little too much. Abbee closed the door behind her, before looking at Tessa, who was three years older than Abbee, and looked at the Gym Leader with annoyance.

“Tessa, what happened on Monday?” Abbee asked, her tone cold and to the point.

“I don’t know?” Tessa said, feigning ignorance. “It was a normal day wasn’t it? I battled challengers, like I do every other-”

“Watch your tone.” Abbee interjected, having grown beyond tired of how Tessa spoke down to Abbee, as if she were an idiot. “This doesn’t ring a bell? ’Participant injured in Nimbasa Gym…’”

Tessa went silent for a second, realising she couldn’t argue her way out of this, and instead became defensive.

“It was an accident!” Tessa retorted angrily. “It’s a Pokemon Gym! Attacks go off course, and sometimes people are hit! That’s why we have the [i’]Enter at own risk’[/i] sign!”

“I’ve been here for two years, and worked at the Academy for four years prior! I know accidents happen,” Abbee answered, noticing the briefest of eye rolls at Abbee’s reference to working at the Eon Academy. “But why the hell did it take a colleague sending me this, after she managed to get it delayed from being published, for me to find out?!”

“Because I handled it!” Tessa argued. Abbee wanted to make a sarcastic comment about how well she had obviously handled it, however bit her tongue, knowing that it would only make the fallout of this even worse.

“Firstly, you didn’t handle it! There are procedures for this sort of thing happening that you’ve been around long enough to know of! Before she even left the building there should have been an incident report filled, and signed by her,” Abbee remarked. “And secondly, it’s not your job to handle it, it’s mine! Because when things like this happen-”

Abbee gestured at the article.

”It’s me they go after, not you!” Abbee scolded. “I’ve been referenced by name multiple times, despite not even knowing this happened, whilst you’re an unnamed Gym Trainer who the public won’t give a second thought reading this!”

“Well what do you want from me?” Tessa asked angrily. “An apology?!”

“It would have been nice,” Abbee answered back in exasperation. “But honestly, I’ve been wanting to work with you since I got this job, and you’ve made it clear that that’s the last thing you want…”

Tessa gave Abbee a cold stare, as Abbee spoke into the light what had been brewing for months at this point.

“I’ve given you chance after chance to get your act together, and do your job properly. I figured you’d stop sulking at some point or another, but it’s been months and nothing has changed,” Abbee continued, letting her tone relax to her business voice. “Now you have risked not only my reputation, but that of the entire Gym, by trying to hide things from me, and do my job without me knowing. And if I don’t make an example of you for this, it will only happen again…”

Tessa’s eyes widened, as Abbee said what she knew she had to say.

“I’m letting you go. Empty your locker tonight. As of right now, you are no longer an employee of Nimbasa City Gym…”

“It’s Christmas Eve!” Tessa pleaded. “You’re going to fire me on Christmas Eve?!”

“You’re right, it is Christmas Eve!” Abbee said, her tone rising. “In an hour, my boyfriend was supposed to be picking me up for dinner. But I now have to cancel, because I need to make a statement about this before it gets published, and try and smooth things over with the challenger. Hell, while everyone else gets to have the next week off, I will probably be working to deal with this so it doesn’t end up as a PR disaster, when had I not been kept in the dark, it could have been sorted in an afternoon!”

Abbee moved to the door, done with the conversation. She moved to the balcony and was followed by Tessa, who slowed to a stop, and didn’t move. Having had enough of this, Abbee called out to the nearest employee.

“Scott, take Tessa to her locker and help her empty it, then escort her out of the building,” Abbee called out, not caring to spare Tessa’s pride anymore. “If she doesn’t cooperate, call the police and send them to my office when they get here. I’ll be trying to get this mess cleaned up…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

“I have to say, I knew she’d be able to handle it, but even knowing that, I’m still impressed…”

Chris sat at a table, with a bottle of cola sitting in front of him, half empty. The room itself was odd to say the least. Lit by only a bunch of site-lamps, the floor was a concrete slab, and the walls surrounding him were simply timber frames, not having drywall attached to them. Not even the wiring had been run in the walls, the external ones having had brickwork done not even two days before. Even the steel roof seemed to groan, as it settled into its new permanent home. Chris looked around, and figured he was in the dining room.

Dylan’s house was now at lockup, and given he had a guest for New Years, he had brought in a foldable table, a few camp chairs, whatever lights he could find, as well as all the heaters he owned, allowing him to play host in his new home, even if it was still under construction. Dylan had just taken the lid off a bottle of beer, and sat down. He had offered one to Chris, who politely refused. Chris was not planning on abstaining from alcohol forever, having promised Justin a beer when the pair visited Mossdeep. However, considering it was only relatively recently that he and Dylan had gotten back on good terms, and the last time before last summer they had met, Chris had gotten drunk and picked a fight with Dylan, he chose to politely decline.

“Honestly, it’s been a nightmare for her,” Dylan answered. “If Alyssa hadn’t have tipped her off when she did, this would have been an absolute s**tshow…”

It was December thirtieth, nearly a week since Abbee had received the tip off about the injury that Tessa had kept secret. Immediately, Abbee had made a statement, acknowledging that a challenger had been harmed, and that she had only just been made aware of it, and that the Gym Trainer had not followed protocol for reporting this type of incident and as such, disciplinary action had been taken.

Where Abbee had shone was her attempt to get ahead in the eyes of the media. With Bianca Curtis having been required to stay in Castelia City and miss Christmas and New Years Eve with her family, Abbee had offered to use funds from the Gym to pay for Bianca to stay in a hotel for the week, as opposed to a communal room in a Pokemon Centre, stays in which were limited per year, and had also offered for Bianca to join her in her own Christmas and New Years celebrations. Whilst inviting a complete stranger to join them for these holidays was the last thing Abbee wanted, this had caused her popularity to skyrocket, in a situation where things could have gone incredibly poorly. Even now, Abbee was at home, writing emails to the Unova League, clarifying questions on the situation, and also responding to their queries, having received a complaint from Tessa, who claimed to have been unfairly dismissed.

“Yeah, I can imagine…” Chris muttered, as something came to mind. “What happened to the Gym Trainer? The one who injured the girl?”

“Abbee fired her. First time she had to fire someone,” Dylan explained, as Chris’ eyes widened. Realising why, Dylan made sure to clarify. “This trainer was a pain in the a**. She thought that Elesa would give her the job when she quit, and when Abbee was named the next Gym Leader, got really sour and b***hy about it. On paper, Abbee sacked her for not reporting the injury, but really, she had been disrespecting and undermining Abbee from the beginning and the only reason Abbee held out this long was because she wanted to try and make things work. Elesa had even given permission before she left for Abbee to do it.”

“I don’t think I would have lasted this long,” Chris commented, as Dylan nodded, taking a sip of his beer. “At least, before kicking her out myself.

“Honestly, once this mess is cleared, I think she’ll be happier for it,” Dylan added. “And this has made something clear to the other Gym Trainers. Abbee’s priority is the Gym and she will not hesitate to do what she needs to to keep things running smoothly. I’m hoping they will respect her a little more after this, be it out of admiration, fear, or a little bit of both…”

Chris nodded, before having a thought.

“So if this Bianca chick is gonna be spending New Years Eve with us…”

Dylan nodded.

“You’ll have a spectator for your match with Abbee,” Dylan explained.

“Do you think she’ll give me an all out battle?” Chris asked. “I’ll be real, STN has been a bit less exciting than I thought it would be…”

Dylan gave Chris a puzzled look.

“The Galar League ended in a giant tournament where Pokemon were healed between matches, and Leon was tough, sure, but I still didn’t end up using Hydreigon or Lugia,” Chris explained. “The Kalos League actually had an Elite Four, so I had to battle all four and then the Champion without a healing machine, which once you’ve done it, isn’t as hard as it sounds…”

“So what, you had to battle twenty five or so Pokemon with your team of six?” Dylan asked, shocked that Chris was implying this was anything less than difficult. Chris nodded, taking a sip of his drink.

“This is why I was at the College of the North Wind before last summer. To train in this,” Chris explained. “Camilla’s best bit of advice, and honestly, it sounds too simple, but it works, is to assign one of your six Pokemon to each Elite Four member and Champion. And your sixth is to clean up the mess if things go south…”

“But you’re talking about one of your Pokemon being able to take on five of theirs and win…” Dylan asked. “Even Jon struggled to take out three of Camilla’s with just Blaziken.”

“He did, but he wasn’t allowed held items, was facing a Legendary Pokemon, and a trainer who didn’t specialise in a single type” Chris answered. “In Elite Four challenges, held items are legal provided they can be activated by the Pokemon, and aren’t changed midway. Additionally, each of the Elite Four specialises in a single type, and none have Legendary Pokemon…”

“So the Kalos League?” Dylan asked. “Run me through it…”

“Even easier. Four Pokemon with each Elite Four, and I could choose the order,” Chris explained. “Garchomp took on the Fire Specialist, holding a Smooth Rock. Used Sandstorm, which lasted longer because of the item, and between that, and its Sand Veil ability, barely took a hit before wiping out the Pokemon one by one. Dragonite had a Choice Band and took on the Water Type Specialist. Locked in Thunder Punch, and Dragonite wiped the floor with them. Charizard Mega Evolved and took down the Steel Type Specialist, and then Ninetales dealt with the Dragon Type trainer. It held Light Clay, which extends Aurora Veil. I had all four still standing, and they took on Diantha. When they fell, Hydreigon finished the job…”

“So you’ve managed to do what many people only dream of, yet you’re looking more forward to battling Gym Leader number four more than that?” Dylan asked in shock. Chris shrugged.

“I mean, it’s been a few years since we battled? If Abbee can’t go all out, maybe we can go toe to toe?”

Dylan rolled his eyes. Despite not being [i]against[i] battling, he knew that he didn’t find it as fun as Chris did.

“We’ll see how you feel after tomorrow’s match…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

“I’ll be real, I wasn’t expecting a crowd…” Chris said quietly to Abbee, as the pair spoke in the middle of the Nimbasa Gym battlefield. Despite the Gym being technically closed, Abbee had reopened it for the day for this one challenge. Technically, Chris was required to beat a Gym Trainer first however all knew that it would be a waste of effort, and Abbee didn’t want to bring someone in on their week off for that. Deep down, Abbee knew that she would not have what it took to stop Chris. He had a goal in mind, and at this moment Abbee was what stood between himself and a Bolt Badge. Chris had been her superior in terms of battling since day zero, and Abbee had grown especially stronger when she and Chris had been an item, considering the amount of time they spent together, and what Abbee managed to learn from him. Despite this, Abbee was beyond excited. Gym Leaders generally had to hold back their skill to provide a challenge appropriate to their place in the sequence, which meant that Abbee hardly battled at her best in terms of work. The exception to that rule was against a trainer who they knew they could not win against, and would want nothing but the Gym Leader’s best. And Abbee knew that Chris would be disappointed if he beat Nimbasa City Gym Leader Abbee. Instead, he wanted to beat Former Eon Academy Classmate Abbee.

Filling the stands were crowds of onlookers, cheering on both trainers. Abbee’s original plan was for this to be a private match, especially knowing that she would likely lose. However, Bianca Curtis sat in the front row, and had been the reason for this. In order to keep in the media’s good graces, Abbee had offered for Bianca to join her for her Christmas and New Year’s Eve plans, the latter had been planned for weeks to be this. The moment Bianca found out what would be happening, she asked Abbee if she could bring some friends along to watch. Knowing that it wouldn’t stop there, Abbee reluctantly agreed, and as word got out, she realised that she had little choice but to open the Gym to spectators, and, when approached by a local broadcasting company, to allow the battle to be broadcasted.

“Don’t worry, this wasn’t my plan…” Abbee said before groaning. “Even when she’s been sacked, Tessa is still a pain in the a**...”

Chris grinned, before offering Abbee a question.

“How about we make this interesting?”

“It’s not going to be interesting enough?” Abbee asked jokingly.

“I mean, we can play this by the books if you want…” Chris said with a shrug. Abbee’s eyes widened.

“No, if I have to treat this like any other gym battle, I’d lose it,” Abbee laughed. “Dylan doesn’t really care for battling, so I haven’t had a good battle since Blackstone.”

Chris nodded in understanding.

“Academy rules,” Chris offered. “Three Pokemon each, and they don’t have to be Electric Type…”

Despite having less Pokemon to beat in order to win, three on three battles were higher stakes and required more strategizing. Mistakes were less forgiving, and once a Pokemon was used, it was locked in as one of the three, a technicality Chris had used to beat Dylan years earlier. Additionally, it meant that even when Abbee was down to her last Pokemon, it could still be one of four, and as such, Chris could only make guesses to which, with one notable exception.

“I’m technically an Electric Gym Leader, so I need to make sure to work with that to some extent, but sure, three on three sounds good…”

Both trainers made their way to their end of the battlefield, selecting a Pokemon each. When both were ready, a countdown appeared on the screen. Abbee had a hunch she knew where Chris would be going with this. And whilst she was playing into his hands, she knew as much as she wanted this to be a fun match between friends, she was there as Nimbasa City’s Gym Leader, and to some degree, needed to make sure she didn’t forget that.
As the countdown reached zero, both trainers threw their Pokeballs forward, though Abbee had given a command before the light had even dissipated.

“Cotton Guard!”

Ampharos, still enveloped in the light of the Pokeball cried out, as its defence was increased to over double its natural capability. Abbee had to use at least one Electric Type Pokemon, and while Ampharos was the strongest of her Electric Types that she used in the Gym, it was also slow, especially when compared to almost all of Chris’ Pokemon. And whilst an attacking move was not viable this early, when Ampharos didn’t know who or where its opponent was, and its vision was obscured, a move that affected only itself was more than possible.

The light dissipated, as Chris’ Garchomp was revealed, who, following a command from Chris, was bearing down on Ampharos, ready to use a Bulldoze attack. Whilst Abbee knew that Earthquake was stronger than Bulldoze, and didn’t have the risk of triggering Ampharos’ Static ability, she also knew why Chris would give the command. Ampharos would deal far more damage to Garchomp at a distance, whilst Garchomp was far more suited to physical attacks, and whilst Earthquake was physical, it would allow Ampharos to maintain a safe distance to strike back from, especially now that its defence had increased. Chris was taking a risk, however even if it took a little longer to knock Ampharos out, or Garchomp was paralyzed, Ampharos would be forced to play a little more defensively.

Garchomp struck Ampharos with Bulldoze, Abbee gave her next order.

“Substitute!”

Ampharos vanished, being replaced with a stuffed doll, and Chris couldn’t help but grin. Substitute took a bigger toll on Ampharos’ health than Garchomp’s attack, thanks to Cotton Guard, which meant that Abbee likely would have enough time for Ampharos to get two free actions before Garchomp actually posed a threat. Figuring that if it were going to take two moves to remove the substitute, he may as well plan ahead, he gave his next command.

“Swords Dance!”

Garchomp roared, as its attack power increased, before Abbee shouted “Agility!” followed by “Dragon Pulse!”

From nowhere, a bright purple beam of draconic energy shot through the air, striking Garchomp, who proceeded to destroy the substitute in a single blow, now empowered by Swords Dance, and then set its sights on Ampharos.

“Stomping Tantrum!” Chris ordered.

Garchomp roared in frustration, before charging Ampharos, who upon hearing Abbee’s subsequent command for another Dragon Pulse, launched a follow-up attack.

Garchomp powered through the attack, striking Ampharos in sheer frustration. Ampharos was thrown back by the violent attack, hitting the ground and falling unconscious, as Garchomp, looking unsteady on its feet, remained standing. However, both Abbee and Chris could see what had happened. Static had taken effect, and Garchomp had been paralyzed.

Abbee called back Ampharos, before throwing forward her next Pokeball.

“Go, Victini!”

The Legendary Pokemon hadn’t battled since the battle against Blackstone, and the moment he emerged from his Pokeball, Abbee could see the determined grin on his face. Even outside of his boredom, this wasn’t just a battle for the Mythical Pokemon. This was personal.

“Glaciate!” Abbee commanded, as Victini, having learned five attacks known by the Legendary Pokemon of Unova, cried out, flash freezing the air, by ripping the heat from it. As Abbee gave the command though, Chris returned Garchomp to its Pokeball, a move that was legal on the basis that he immediately sent out another Pokemon.

To the untrained eye, Chris withdrawing Garchomp to send out Lugia to fight Victini seemed basic, and almost boring, though Abbee knew that Chris had no better option. Garchomp was slowed by paralysis and would have fallen to Victini’s next attack, unless Abbee had chosen an attack weak enough to not finish the job. Garchomp knew no high priority attacks, and whilst Chris could have bought time by ordering Protect or Endure, he also knew that Victini knew Power-Swap, which would have allowed it to steal Garchomp’s boosted strength before knocking it out. A Pokemon, weakened as it was, withdrawn was more useful than a Pokemon unconscious.

Lugia took the hit, shaking it off thanks to its high defences, and Multiscale ability, before Chris gave an order.

“Calm Mind!” Chris shouted, as Abbee retaliated with a tactic Chris had taught her three and a half years earlier.

“Power Swap!” Abbee called out.

Lugia’s attack and defence for special moves increased in an instant, before the attack power was taken, and swapped with Victini’s unmodified power, leaving half of the Calm Mind redundant. Chris knew now it was time to go on the offensive.

“Hydro Pump!”

Lugia roared, as the crowd cheered, before a violent and brutal torrent of water erupted from between its jaws, striking Victini hard, and throwing the Mythical Pokemon back. Had Abbee not known better, she would have ordered for Victini to use Protect, however had spent enough time with Chris to know Lugia’s strength wasn’t in its offensive capabilities, but instead its resilience. Whilst even some strong non-Legendary Pokemon would have been able to beat Victini with a single Hydro Pump, Lugia was not strong enough to do that. At the same time, Abbee didn’t want to dawdle long enough for Lugia to let off another one…

“Thunder Wave!”

Victini cried out, discharging a weak, albeit focused blast of electricity, which struck Lugia, causing its muscles to seize, paralysing it. Whilst Abbee knew Victini had time to land another hit, she didn’t want to risk it not being enough to take down Lugia, and Lugia managing to let off another attack.

“Brine!” Chris commanded. Abbee watched, and the moment she saw Lugia manage to move, gave her own instruction.

“Protect!” Abbee commanded, as Victini took the water type attack, now even stronger than Hydro Pump, given Victini having sustained a heavy hit. “Then Bolt Strike!”

“Calm Mind!” Chris shouted, causing Abbee to grin.

Chris had been a part of the discussion towards the end of last summer, where all the Eon Academy staff, minus Jon, Alyssa and Steven, had met to come up with a tactic for Abbee to force Jon to place Scizor against Victini. When coming up with plans, Abbee had referenced that Victini knew five attacks from other Legendary Pokemon. Fusion Bolt, Fusion Flare, Glaciate, Blue Flare and Bolt Strike. Abbee hadn’t gone into detail about them though, for no reason other than it wasn’t necessary and they had other priorities. Now however, this had been to her advantage.

Chris had heard the name of the attack, and assumed it to be a special attack, especially considering Victini had stolen Lugia’s boost to special attacks. However, he watched in horror, as instead of remaining stationary, Victini began to bound across the battlefield, towards Lugia who was busy performing Calm Mind. Or so Chris thought…

Instead, Lugia was actually struggling to move, held back by paralysis, as Victini became encased in lightning far too intense for any other Fire Type. Bolts of electricity struggled to be contained, and leapt away short distances as Victini leapt forward, slamming Lugia and unleashing all the electricity it had generated, causing Lugia to cry out in pain.

“Once more!” Abbee called out. The entire time, Victini had been holding back its speed over Lugia, not wanting to risk being taken out by another heavy attack. Now though, it was making the most of it. Victini cried out in a way that Abbee had heard before, though being able to understand him verbally, now knew it to be a manic laugh.

‘Nothing personal!” Victini shouted to Lugia, before unleashing a second Bolt Strike, this one being enough to knock the Legendary Pokemon out. Chris called Lugia back, as the crowd cheered for Abbee, proud of their local Gym Leader for putting up such a fight. None of them had seen her battle like this before, and were eager to see whether she would be the one to put an end to Chris’ multi-League domination. Chris returned Lugia to it’s Pokeball before selecting his next Pokemon.

“Sorry Victini, but somebody’s gotta knock you down a peg!” Chris shouted, before throwing a Pokeball forward. “Go Hydreigon!”

The Pokeball exploded, and amidst the white light of the Pokemon emerging, a shrill, draconic snarl pierced the air. Abbee remembered when Chris captured this Pokemon as a Deino, and the conversation they had about Hydreigon and their natural tendency for violence. However as the light cleared, Abbee saw that Hydreigon, despite looking menacing, didn’t seem to be acting any differently to any other captured Pokemon. It waited for Chris’ orders, focused on the battle ahead.

“Glaciate!” Abbee shouted, though was not particularly committed to the attack hitting. Whilst she knew it would deal significant damage to Hydreigon, especially due to its type advantage and Victini having had its attack power boosted by Power Swap, the real show was to come. She had commanded the attack, hoping that an Ice-Type move, one that would cause problems for most of Chris’ Pokemon, would be enough to cause him to call for Protect, therefore almost guaranteeing that it could not be relied on to block Victini’s next attack, which Abbee planned to be Focus Blast.

Chris however did not hesitate in giving a command to attack.

“Lash Out!

The move was not one Chris had used much before, and it took Abbee a moment to understand why.

As Victini ripped the heat from the air, flash freezing it and damaging Hydreigon, a side effect of which would be a reduction to the target’s speed, Hydreigon lunged at Victini with a bitter fury, striking at the Mythical Pokemon in retribution. The move itself however had its power doubled, due to Hydreigon having suffered a stat loss immediately prior.

Not expecting such a heavy hit, Victini was thrown back, and knocked unconscious much to Abbee’s shock. The crowd was quiet for a moment, unsure whether or not they should cheer, given their local Gym Leader’s star Pokemon, and closest friend, had been wiped out of the match spectacularly. It wasn’t until Abbee returned him to his Pokeball and addressed Chris that they understood this was okay.

“You know that he’ll want another grudge match for humiliating him, right?” Abbee called out, amused despite herself. “First Scizor, now this… And he’s already bored enough, not battling as often!”

“Well he’ll have to schedule it for after next summer,” Chris called out. “Because I’ll be a little too busy for grudge matches until then!”

Hearing the banter, the crowd began to cheer again, as Abbee sent out her final Pokemon. One she used in the Gym, but had never faced Chris with. And despite the fact it didn’t have any type advantages, she hoped that she may be able to surprise Chris with this enough to steal the win. And if she didn’t, she was okay with that. She really didn’t want to be the one to shatter Chris’ dream. But at the same time, she wanted to push him hard enough, so moving forward, nobody else could get in his way.

“Go, Electivire!” Abbee shouted, before, knowing Victini had slowed Hydreigon, shouting “Magnet Rise!”

Electricity crackled from Electivire, as its own magnetism seemed to shift, causing it to float an inch above the ground, giving it immunity to Ground Type attacks.

At the same time, Chris had commanded Hydreigon to use Earth Power, which Electivire managed to avoid with ease, before Abbee gave her next order.

“Power-Up Punch!”

Electivire rushed forward, striking Hydreigon with a heavy punch that boosted its own attack power, whilst Chris gave an order that surprised Abbee.

“U-Turn!”

Hydreigon roared, before darting forward to collide with Electivire, before returning to its Pokeball, and being replaced by Chris’ Garchomp, who still seemed unable to stand. Despite the tactic being less than pleasant, using a weakened Pokemon to take a hit and buy time, Abbee knew that Chris was making the better decision in terms of tactics. Hydreigon’s speed had been reduced, and a stint in the Pokeball would undo that.

“Power-Up Punch!” Abbee ordered, figuring she may as well make use of this. Garchomp took the hit, as Electivire’s strength increased again, and Chris once again sent out Hydreigon, leaving both trainers on their final Pokemon.

Despite Electivire’s attack power being increased, all knew that this was an even match, given Electivire’s electric attacks would be resisted. Meanwhile, Hydreigon knew powerful Dragon and Dark Type moves, that despite not having any buffs to it’s attack power, would likely be able to lay waste to Electivire. All present knew that whichever Pokemon managed to strike first would win. To the crowd, it seemed like it was anybody’s match. But Chris and Abbee both knew exactly how this would play out.

“Electivire, Cross Chop!”

“Hydreigon, Draco Meteor!”

Electrivire rushed forward towards Hydreigon, who began to shriek, as it charged up its most powerful Dragon Type attack. Abbee had considered conceding, knowing that Chris had already won, but figured that it would be disrespectful to him to not see this through, especially if the crowd watching had no idea that the match was already won. Not due to a lack of skill or trying on Abbee’s behalf, but simply that Chris had made good call after good call, in every respect. In the moments that passed as both Pokemon prepared to attack, Abbee knew the decision that Chris had made, which was what allowed him to take the win. Chris withdrew Garchomp.

By withdrawing Garchomp instead of trying to have it deal some damage to Victini, he not only gave himself a Pokemon to take a hit and buy time, like he had when he withdrew Hydreigon to restore its lowered speed, but he had also used that opportunity to change Hydreigon’s placement on the field, by being intentional about where he threw the Pokeball, and this was what made the difference. Why Abbee knew she could not win this.

Electivire bounded towards Hydreigon with a powerful Fighting Type attack ready to go. One that if it struck, would knock Hydreigon out. However as Electivire traversed the battlefield between itself and its target, Hydreigon released Draco Meteor, which struck Electivire directly, before exploding into a blinding light. As it dissipated, Electivire lay on the ground, unmoving, as Hydreigon let out a victory screech.

The crowd cheered as Chris was declared the winner, before both trainers made their way towards one another. To his surprise, Abbee wrapped Chris in a tight hug. Despite the fact they had made amends months earlier, this still felt strange for Chris.

“I’ve got a question…” Chris said quietly, making sure no cameras were on him, on the slim chance someone may be able to lip read. “Why did you let me win?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

“Abbee, if you had called for Protect, Electivire would have blocked the blast, and Hydreigon would have worn itself out using such a reckless attack,” Chris explained. “Sure, I could have ordered Outrage after, but I’d have given up control of Hydreigon, and if it got too close to Electivire while it was in a witless frenzy, I know Electivire could have hit it and finished this …”

Abbee couldn’t help but grin. It had been a long time since she had given Chris this sort of run for his money, likely their first summer, before he began putting in the hard yards to keep up with Charlotte.

“Because my job as Gym Leader isn’t to beat you. It’s to see if you’ve earned the Bolt Badge. Winning is just a technicality really, but come on. We both know that if it had been anyone else but me here, you would have earned it by just wiping the floor with them,” Abbee said quietly, not wanting anyone to think there was anything unusual being said. “Even if I let you win, I still made you work five times as hard for this badge than I would any other challenger. You’ve earned it, and I don’t want to give you your first loss on this campaign…”

Abbee said this, before withdrawing a Bolt Badge from her pocket, and handing it to Chris, though the grin she had on her face seemed to betray her. Chris looked between the badge, and Abbee.

“Are you sure that’s all there is to it?”

Abbee’s grin widened.

“I also figure you knowing that I let you take this win will hopefully stop all the glory from completing Second To None getting to your head,” Abbee laughed. “That you’ll know that when this is all over, if someone needs to come and smack you around the head a little bit, I’ll be willing and able…”

Chris burst into laughter, before, despite himself, he pulled Abbee into another hug.

“My sweet and naive Abbee…” Chris said quietly, as Abbee laughed at the address. “If you think I’d let myself lose to you after this, you’re sorely mistaken…”