Hard Enough Chapter 69: Big names in Kanto

Looks like I should have been paying more attention to whats going on around as well. My words echoed a little as I glared at the pamphlet.

Brawly tilted his head. Uhm? What do you an?

I gestured at the pamphlet. I had no idea the mayor was going to be running sothing like this. I ran a hand across my face before scratching at my still-wet hair. Damn that man. I asked him to help get trainers out of Pewter and to other locations, instead of lingering around.

Why would you want them gone? Brawly said cluelessly.

Because trainers that havent got sothing to do, or feel like they are being denied sothing get well, they start to have ideas which are usually bad. Like knocking on my door at ten o'clock at night. Or challenging in the middle of the supermarket. Or breaking into the free-range reserve area that I let my and other stabled pokemon have as their space. They see the signs and choose to ignore them. I stared, but at nothing in particular, my mind rembering the incident from last year that caught a trainer literally staring at the signs before shrugging and climbing across the two fences that separated public land and the gyms land.

That ah happens a lot?

I sighed, At least once every circuit so far. I honestly think with this surge of trainers in Kanto it will be worse. I frowned when I realised Brawly had a notepad out and was jotting sothing down. Are you writing down what Im saying?

He nodded. Oh yeah! I want to be a gym leader one day, right? But I still want my own privacy and a chance to enjoy life. So Im totally going to have my house separate from the gym! Keep it as basic as I can. Self-sufficient. He looked up from the notepad. Any other hints of things to avoid?

I felt my eye twitch as an urge to smack the notepad out of his hands grew. I huffed at him instead, and shook my head, causing droplets of water to splash out. If you want so serious insight, then by all ans stick around for the closing of the gym and Ill show you around.

Really?! That would be gnarly! he said with an incredulous look.

Yeah, no skin off my back to have another trainer looking into how things work. Plus, I wouldnt mind making a connection with a man that had an extrely good chance at becoming the Dewford Gym Leader. Id be watching his career very closely to learn how that might work out.

Sweet! Man, Id love that! Expect to be there! For now, I gotta go make a booking for the next shot I have to take at you!

I was about to wave him off when sothing he had said early drove to speak. What did you an earlier? He gave a clueless look, so I elaborated. You ca in without your starter? Did sothing happen?

Brawlys expression flashed and at that mont I knew how the fun-loving off the wall surf loving trainer looked when angry.

Or more specifically, soone.

We got into a fight. I think I understand what you an when you talk about Trainers getting up to no good when they're idle.

He clenched his hands into fists. I encountered this guy, really fancy clothes and he was talking trash to a lot of trainers. Lots of people were backing away from him though. He then started talking trash about , and so I accepted his challenge. He proposed a one-on-one match and I sent out Hariyama

Brawly glared at the ground as if it had offended him. Turns out this guy was a psychic specialist, but he had a an streak. It wasnt enough to just beat , he had to taunt and flatten .

Brawly slumped. Hariyama got injured. Too much psychic energy throwing him around. Hes tough and would have bench-pressed that Onix of yours, but he couldnt handle that guy's pokemon.

I frowned, annoyed that there was soone that was going around doing such acts in my city. What was his na?

Will, Brawly said with a scowl.

I nodded slowly, not letting the inner turmoil play out. Will was the na of a prominent Psychic trainer that had the potential to beco one of the Elite Four mbers for the Indigo region. I chewed my lip, Id need to make so calls, was this soone that was part of the Guardians? As soone that I knew had the potential to be an Elite Four mber I had no doubt there would be a file on him. And if they didnt? Well, that would be another matter entirely.

His actions against Brawly raised so serious concerns. Id need to find out more about him, and it sounded like I needed to do it soon. I had a suspicion about why he might be here, though I really hoped I was wrong.

Im going to make so calls. I shivered and sneezed to the side, rembering that I was currently shirtless, standing before Brawly. I glanced to the side and saw a small crowd still in the stands taking pictures of .

Damn it. There were certain parts of fan clubs that you didnt want to entertain or feed. being shirtless was just asking for trouble. Damn it past ! Why did you take your shirt off? I glanced back to the podium.

... Where are my shirt and jumper? I pointedly looked around before looking at the amused-looking Daniel. Daniel? Did you see where my clothes went?

"So chick leapt the stands, sprinted over, and stole them while you were having your mont with Brawly."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. Why Why did you not stop her?

Didnt want to get in the way of your mont. It's just so clothes anyway," he shrugged. Little harmless theft is all.

I gave him an unamused expression. As your boss, theft is bad, mmkay? Dont just watch it happen, especially with my stuff. I should make you sit through so retraining with Alexa.

Daniel got a sly smile. and Alexa in a room for an afternoon? Yes please!

I shot him an annoyed expression. Should I tell your wife you think that? He blanched at that and didnt et my gaze.

I scoffed at him, unwilling to tie Alexa down like that for too long. I instead turned back to Brawly. I shook my head. Lesson one, good help is hard to find.

Brawly laughed but still wrote it down.

I still had to deal with another twelve trainers that day.

The first of whom ended up being a young lass with a Jigglypuff as her starter. With this being her first badge challenge for her first badge I had to rein in my eagerness.

Sothing I didn't quite manage, as when I leapt from the railing in the stands to the podium in the arena, I sent out a much larger shockwave than usual. The poor girl clenched her jigglypuff to her chest in fright, and the pokemon squeaked. They both looked terrified before the match had even started.

I felt a little bad, so I made sure to play up my bad guy vibe that had her stiffening up. I thought I'd gone too far when she looked like she was about to forfeit, only for her Jigglypuff to leap forward and puff up in a threat display.

It was adorable. I heard a number of squeals of delight and saw a few flashes of light that indicated so people were taking pictures. I grinned happily letting the tension drop as I flicked up a pokeball.

Alright then, lets do this! I said exuberantly, helping the girl relax.

I sent out a Lileep to test her and she adopted a fighting pose. Lets go Miss Strong!

I grinned. A fan of Celia and Mr Powers I take it? I said as Daniel raised the flags. The girl nodded quickly, and I humd as the flags dropped.

Double Slap Miss Strong! said the lass, making her pokemon charge.

I could practically see Mr Powers overlapped atop Miss Strong. This girl had done her howork. She made good use of Jigglypuffs natural mobility and the move Minimize to avoid my pokemons Wrap.

Then she followed up with the tiny puffball slamming into my pokemon with multiple Double Slap to lay out Lileep.

To test her further, I plucked another pokeball and tossed out an Onix. She showed much better composure than what she started the match with, as she raised a pokeball and returned her pokemon before tossing out a Poliwag.

And with a few narrow dodges and so Bubble attacks, she claid her first badge.

When the girl got her badge at the end, I made sure to get a picture with her and collect her transceiver number to forward to Celia. I imagine Celia would love getting a chance to talk with a fellow Jigglypuff lover.

From there, I was much more settled, and I was able to get into the rhythm once more.

I even managed to score a break right at the end when the last trainer I was to face decided to not show-up. It was sothing I was used to as a healthcare worker in my previous life.

Dennis, on the other hand, treated it like a personal affront with how worked up he got. Then again, even Rocko got put out if people no showed on us. From my past lifes experience, I considered their reactions amusing. They failed to understand that sotis, life got in peoples way, or that they could have flat-out forgotten.

Bad luck kid. I wasn't filling that slot, but rather using it to catch up on paperwork and see if there were any other known nas kicking around besides Brawly. I loaded up the list of approved licenses for Kanto, and my eyes drifted over the mass of nas of the hotowns they ca from before stopping on a few that very much stood out to .

Bugsy from Azalea. In the near future, he would be known as Azalea's Gym Leader. I knew hed get it as his grandfather currently ran the Azalea Gym.

Flannery from Lavaridge, and right next to her was Roxanne from Rustboro. Both of them would one day be gym leaders. I considered them very interesting, due to how far afield they were from ho. Had they co because of my actions, or was that vanity talking?

I passed over the rest of the nas without finding anyone of importance before I stopped on a report that had been sent in from the port. It was included as an idle note. No more than a comnt from a harbourmaster that ntioned the Devon Corporation.

I tapped my finger on the screen. Why did that stick out to ?

I tapped the screen and typed the na into the computer to learn that the Devon Corporation was a company from Hoenn. It was also, more notably, embroiled in legal battles with the Cinnabar Island research facility for corporate espionage claims by said facility. According to the news article, the Corporation's C.E.O. and Champion of the Hoenn region, Steven Stone, would be eting with League officials and the Cinnabar Head of Research Blaine to settle things down.

I sat back. That was huge news. Steven Stone was in Kanto? That was news in and of itself, but the fact that he was fighting legal battles with Blaine of all people was even more shocking.

Wow. Just wow. I sat there for a mont processing what that ant.

Suddenly, all of Blaines suspicious looks when I first announced my ancient pokemon made a lot more sense.

I was still stunned, but then I felt relief that he was here for Blaine and not . I chuckled and shook my head. Steven Stone had more reasons to co to Kanto than just little old .

Damn, I must be getting a big head if I instantly assud he felt he needed to co and fight . Then I paused. Shit. not only did I have Mt Moon nearby, I had also been a big deal in the news while having ancient pokemon.

Alright then, maybe it was paranoia, but I had a lot of reasons for him to co to , didnt I? I eyed the report and shot off a quick email to the security company to order another guard for the Pewter Museum for the foreseeable future.

I also decided to pen a note to Alexa that I wanted to be inford of any developnts regarding Steven Stone for the foreseeable future. Id be able to keep one eye open that way. Just in case. Then I considered the other avenue for information that was available to .

I reached into the locked drawer in my desk and drew out the holopad. It booted up and I tapped out a search regarding any and all information regarding one Steven Stone.

I started flicking through pages of information. Apparently, he was considered old money in Hoenn as his family had made it rich many generations ago during a mining rush. His family had then transitioned from mining into sales and more. His familys rise to riches was considered a point of pride for them, and they docunted most of that journey on their corporate website. I noted that so of the historians we had tapped for review of these notes had a comntary regarding how certain richer mining sites had seen lots of battle and that the family had also needed to be strong battlers.

Further queries into The Devon Corporation revealed it to be a publicly traded company in which the Stone family owned a controlling stake. In the years since its inception, it has grown to be the primary mining operator for tals, oils, and processing in Hoenn and the surrounding regions. They had also branched out in recent years, selling running shoes, dicine, PokeNavs and variations of pokeballs that they claid patents for.

I placed a watch order on any news regarding Steven Stone in the Guardians only to find that he already had three from Koga, Agatha, and Karen. I added my na to the list and shut the holopad off, having learned a little but not as much as Id hoped for.

I then clicked onto my own computer and penned a note to be inford if Bugsy, Flannery, and Roxanne challenged the gym. I strongly suspected that was a when rather than an if, though.

Then I started looking into another trainer, one that I was feeling a little worried about.

Will was soone who, at least according to the gas, would beco an Elite Four mber. I dont recall him ever being ntioned in the cartoon, however. I quickly ran into an issue with how little there appeared to be of him at tournants.

He didnt have anything linked to his trainer profile, but for older trainers, that wasnt a surprise, as the system was still new.

So I had to turn to other thods of gathering information. I pulled out my transceiver and called a number. It rang three tis before being connected. Oh? Miss hearing my voice that much Brock? Karen said upon answering.

Haha, no, sadly this is a more serious call. You know, from our little group get-togethers and such.

The line went quiet for a mont before Karen spoke up again. Give a second to get away and sowhere private.

Sure sure. How are the gyms going for you? I missed your fight with Falkner, whos next? Hannah from Goldenrod right? Ready for her?

Urgh keep up Brock! I already challenged and flattened her! She constantly used delay-heal-attacks that slowly built up. I beat her, but it was frustrating. It's gotten a lot of attention, though, and lots of people have been talking about it. It's good to see youve been watching , Brock. Do I look good on tv?

Fishing for complints is not a good look, I said as I signed off on so forms for more food for the stables.

I then picked up another sheet to find that it was a roster of duties as proposed by Rocko. I glanced it over before adding so chores to Forrests list while checking to make sure Yolanda wasnt overcommitting.

Unlike Forrest, who was in an easier stream of schooling and technically valid to go to work or on his journey now, Yolanda still had a full course load. I also added in a round of refereeing for Salvadore. He'd requested more work around the gym, so he'd get his chance next week.

Id start him off with two hours shadowing Rocko for the referee role, and then helping patrol the outside courts. Crystal would probably tag along with him.

Shed beco sothing of a guard of the court. Then again, I think that might have had sothing to do with getting to have Selene as her pokemon for the duration of her shift.

and I made sure to tease him quite well before crushing him beneath ! Karen gloated.

Uhuh, thats nice, I replied, putting the completed form in the out tray for Alexa to collect before reading over another form to approve Rockos selection for a trainer that had made the shortlist. I gave it a look before signing off on it.

Brock are you even listening to right now?

... I coughed. I am now?

Brock, you should treat won that show you any attention with more respect!

Oh well, sorry, just got lots to handle here.

Urgh! Fine, I understand you are busy. Spoil my fun, why dont you? Also Im sowhere private now. Go ahead. What did you want to talk about regarding the Guardians?

I grimaced at her instantly assuming the phone line was secure. I was most likely being paranoid, but Id read tons of spy fics and it was best to always assu soone was listening rather than not. I fought a trainer today, but hes not the interesting one well he is to a degree, but hes not the important person. He told about a trainer that Ive had so trouble looking into. He is apparently a psychic trainer by the na of Will. Heard of him?

...Hmmm that na does ring a bell. I think hes on the Ace circuit but Ive never faced him. Prissy guy, yeah? she asked.

Yeah, I said carefully, having never actually laid eyes on him.

A clatter of keys let know Karen was also in front of a computer. Hang on, I have Agathas login and can use her clearance level to see if theres anything else.

A few more monts of clattering occurred before Karen returned. Fucking Darkrai! What is this guy's deal? Theres sothing here Hes from Hoenn but moved around. Theres not actually a listed place of origin, but he has been moving in a lot of circles but doing it quietly.

So more clicking and Karen humd. Kay, says here that he mostly rubs elbows with the big rich types. The Pokemon League has made so comntary about him on their private files, she said with a snort. It says that they really, really like him as it helps them push their multinational approach and that having him so high up in the Ace rankings is a good thing. Feh!

I considered that, and for a mont I wondered when that was a bad thing. Was it to people like Karen and the rest of the Guardians? I wondered jokingly for a mont if I wasnt a bad guy.

"We have here confird reports that he acts as a gofer for so rich types. It took us a long ti to figure out it was him, and many promising trainers having their teams wrecked. Hes vicious when given the chance."

Okay then. I thought to myself. Never mind, I'm only on a slippery slope, not an outright baddie.

Urgh! Get this? Hes already defeated a number of other elite trainers and has so crap about Rangers liking him in his official record. I can't see this ponce going into the wilds and slumming it. Urgh! People will eat this trash up!

The clatter of keys picked up, and I was forced to wait as I continued to work through my paperwork. Oh? Oh! I think I have sothing here! Theres a little comnt about him being seen at the League Headquarters only to storm out later.

"Hmmm, thats interesting, Karen said. I already know they have Koga lined up for one spot with Shafners resignation. So that leaves two spots free.

Lances gone through with pushing Lorelei out? I said with surprise.

"Well, hes certainly toying with the idea and people know it! said Karen with glee. Hmm you realise this will make Sabrina look bad if they go with him for an Elite Four position, yeah?

I frowned at the transceiver. Sabrina probably wouldnt even want that position.

Who cares? Its about peoples perceptions! Elite Four is better than Gym Leader.

Hmmm, I said noncommittally. I agreed with her but knew it wouldnt matter as much to Sabrina. I got a long minute of silence. Hello?

Cant believe people think you should be in the running for Bachelor of the Year! Urgh! She huffed before sighing. But seriously, Will looks like he is going to be putting his na in the running. The League seems to have broken ties so the question is, whos backing him now? They get their guy into the seat and Will gets to claim one of the most prestigious positions around. As a psychic pokemon specialist, hed be dangerous in a position of power like the Elite Four.

Karen continued. Hes going to be challenging you and her, you do realise that right, Brock? If I was him? I have no doubt that Sabrina is going to be saved for last. It adds a certain suspense that makes people sit up and pay attention while making it clear who the best psychic trainer in the Indigo region is.

I nodded along, agreeing with Karen. He could craft a mythos around himself with the right timing and public exposure. The right words in any reporters ears could spark interest. A chance of there being a dramatic narrative around it? So reporters would even consider trading their starter pokemon for such a scoop.

Karen brought back. Brock, youre going to be the first domino. His opening act. Sabrina could be his coup de grace to get him the Elite Four position. You? You get to be the hot item that gets his na out there.

I sat back at that. I didnt like the sound of that. To know I would be little more than a springboard for him to launch off. In my mind, I could imagine him lining up the various Gym Leaders like steps that hed stomp his way up.

Similar to the Pokemon gas actually. Hed fight his way through us and not look back until he was able to look down on us.

I drumd my fingers. I could understand the reason for Will approaching it this way. Hell, I could also almost respect it from the angle of promoting international cohesion, with soone that wasnt from Kanto or Johto into the Elite Four. But with the way things were falling into place and with what Id heard from Brawly, I dont think I could agree with their selection.

Cohesion was a good thing. But if the ssenger was soone that punched down, wouldnt it be an issue in the long run? It would even weaken the ssage by being a terrible, and highly visible example of it not working. This was especially true considering the relative youth of the Pokemon League in general.

I think Im going to go learn more about this Will. I clicked off his profile, lacking as it was and began flicking through my schedule. Huh, Hes not listed on my schedule?

Really? Karen said, her incredulous tone carrying. I would have thought hed be pushing for it quickly. Hmmm, keep an eye out yeah?

Will do.

Also keep an eye on ! Karen said cheerily, Cause Im going to be going into a tough match with Chuck in a week or so. Im going to use him to boost awareness further. You can be sure that will be a shot over any other contenders for the Elite Four position to get their acts in order if they havent already. So expect a proper challenge from Will and people like him soon.

I considered that and thought on who she had left to face. Cianwood, which is Chuck, Mahogany who is Pryce; and Blackthorn who is Clair?

Yup! But you missed one, which is Ferros of Olivine who uses Rock-type pokemon. Theyre all going to be tough, but Chuck has the best advantage against so hes going to be the one I use to lock in peoples support and show them that Im serious about making this run for Elite.

I nodded along at that. Unlike myself, none of the Johto Gym Leaders had made any waves lately that others could ride along. If I hadnt been here fighting Lance, Will might have had to rely on fighting soone else big to make a splash.

That sparked an idea. Hey, any interest in fighting Im not fighting Will for you, Karen said.

I scoffed, Heh, no, Ill fight him myself; dont worry. Instead, I happened to co across an interesting piece of information about Hoenns Champion being in Cinnabar. That got any potential for you?

Steven Stone is in Kanto? How is that not in the news? Hes uber-rich and strong!

I pulled up an article and considered how small it was compared to other articles on the pokenet page it struck as odd. Dare I say it was almost, hidden? I think the Devon Corporation is keeping the news off the front page. Hes here to handle a lawsuit with the Cinnabar Research facility.

Huh. Thanks for the heads up. I hadnt planned on trying my hand against other Elites like Lance, Bruno, or Koga, cause that might ss things up for my formal challenge. But Steven People would like to see him fight. There was a mont of quiet before a dark chuckle erged from the transceiver: Agatha would be positively gushing over if I beat him! Might even agree to finally teach so more Aura tricks.

She doesnt teach you much? I asked, curious about the oldest current Elite Four mber.

She did, but shes been much more sparing in her training in the last year. She keeps so of the good stuff for herself and keeps telling to develop my own tricks, the old crone. The words were harsh but said with a slight affectionate tone that really made wonder how close Agatha and Karen actually were.

Well, I havent made any breakthroughs, and the way things are going, I doubt Ill get any actual ti to make any progress, let alone keep up my training.

Heh! This is why you should just make a formal challenge for the Elite Four position. Knock Bruno off his perch and have an all-new, all-star team for the Indigo Elite Four!

Yeeeeah, well see, I said evasively. I still had to make up my mind on what to do with Forrest and Flint, let alone Ash turning up. I got a lot on my plate right now, Im going to go et up with a trainer and make nice. Ill be watching for your next Gym challenge, so good luck!

"Alright, but I wont need it! Expect to be amazed! The line clicked off, and I sat for a mont, looking over the work that still had to be done. I considered it before shaking my head. Itd still be there tomorrow and the day after.

Id go and talk with Brawly instead, sothing I was actually looking forward to. It's strange how you can almost beco friends from a single match, but that's Pokemon for you.