Hard Enough - Chapter 277 - Record rates for recordings?

“Man, Brock, you’re an idiot,” Karen said without a lick of hesitation. “If I had the chance to catch a Legendary pokemon you’d all be bowing down to your new Empress,” Karen stated with false haughtiness. 

Sabrina stared at her for a long moment. “Revolution would be swift and fatal,” came her reply. 

Karen glared. “Oh, you’re real funny,” she bit through clenched teeth.

Sabrina merely shrugged and turned away from Karen to the others. Lucy shifted but didn’t look as troubled as she usually might have about the tension between Sabrina and Karen. 

Janine looked a little lost. “I… think Brock made the right call in not capturing the Zapdos. It would have caused him too much hassle. He could capture it, but keeping it also might not have been tenable, especially with Fiore exerting pressure on the League.”

Agatha and Karen both snorted in identical fashions at that. Rather than notice the familial quirk, they kept their focus on Janine. Agatha spoke first. “Naive. The League would never allow such a powerful pokemon to be released. Brock is one of their golden children, and while they would lament Foire for getting snippy, they would never release such a strong ace in the hole for themselves.” 

Janine swallowed. “O-oh,” she curled into herself slightly, only for Koga to shift his position and draw everyone’s attention to him.

“It was still the right call; Zapdos are not pokemon you can simply take on, not with the commitments you already have. You’d have been forced to go on a long trip to control it. You’d have been away from your family for a long time to get it to follow your orders. It would also always run the risk of injuring those around you with its mere nature.”

Koga stared at me. “Capturing a Zapdos is not like another pokemon. It is a Legendary for a reason. You’re not capturing a pokemon. You’re capturing a living storm,” Koga stated. 

Koga shifted, looking into Agatha’s eyes. “Brock made the right call not catching it.” 

Agatha held his gaze for a long moment before inclining her head fractionally. “He did,” she conceded with the air of one who, in another situation, would disagree. 

She turned to me. “You didn’t have eyes bigger than your stomach; well done.” Her eyes shifted to the side. “You messaged us that it gifted you prizes for defeating it. That is certainly an odd reaction for a Legendary pokemon,” Agatha mused thoughtfully.

“Few are the trainers who ever have the chance to face a Legendary, and fewer still can claim to have bested one,” Koga shifted as he spoke, his eyes tracking the bag that I pulled from my pouch and laid out in the middle of the table.

Koga blinked. “Tyranitar skin for a bag? That is a rather interesting statement. If it was antagonistic to the bearer, then it smacks of pride, but to use it for an everyday item is unusual. Tribals typically were known to create articles of clothing from slain foes or items stolen from nests… a bag… that implies that the bearer of this bag was on good terms and wanted to keep the pokemon whose skin this belonged to close to remember them.”

Everyone stared at Koga. 

“Uhmmm, what?” I asked. “How do you know that?” 

Koga glanced at me for a moment. “I read,” he stated tersely. 

Next to him, Janine squirmed slightly, and Koga shot her a look that spoke volumes. Did Koga have a hobby? Was he ashamed to admit that? Or was this just his ninja training kicking in, and he didn’t want to expose a ‘weakness’ of his? 

The idea that Koga liked to sit down after a day of running on rooftops to read about history and ancient cultures was homey, which seemed inappropriate for Koga.

Then again, the man had to have something of a life beyond being a Gym Leader and a ninja. I was tempted to ask if he had any favoured historical periods to converse about, but a glimpse of his stern visage dissuaded me from asking. 

Best I let him keep his distance. If he wanted to talk he probably had fellow historical enthusiasts to talk with. I wonder if Janine had set him up with a profile online for anonymous talks?

I pushed those thoughts to the side and opened the bag to reveal the box with the earth sample within it, the crown, and finally, the blade, which once again had fallen to the bottom of the bag. I reached for it, pointedly channelling both my energies through my body as I grasped the blade.

For a moment I thought I felt the blade shiver before going perfectly still. I represented the blade. “This is the main thing we wanted to show you, Agatha. We think it is a dark or ghost-attuned blade. It feels—”

“There is a presence to this blade,” Agatha announced. “I would suggest not keeping it Brock. It won’t be in the next year or two, but this blade… something will come from it, and whatever it is that emerges? You don’t want it in your home. Let me take it to exorcise it.” Her tone brooked no arguments, and there wasn’t a hint of a lie that I could detect. 

Huh, first Koga and now Agatha were both acting in ways that were opposite to my expectations.

“Oh,” I replied intelligently. “I would have thought you’d have wanted it for yourself.” 

“I could, but… it may not be me that has to deal with it. I have no idea if it will be a year or ten before whatever is within emerges Brock.” She met my gaze. “That is not something I wish to dump upon any that inherit my stores. I do not hand down curses to the people close to me.”

“Ah,” I said. That.. was a rather leading statement. “You’ve cursed someone before?” I asked. 

“Many times during the war. Sometimes, killing someone is an option too easy. Cursing them, on the other hand? Well, that could lead to them making poor decisions that lead to greater failures. Or causing them to require intensive care? Those can cause much greater drains upon a nation.” 

I nodded slowly. I was suddenly curious to look into Hoenn’s side of the war and see if there were any notable military figures or leaders who went mad. I’d have to make a note to look into the other nations as we discovered them.

“You say some terrifying things Agatha,” I said, knowing she’d take it as a compliment. 

Agatha cackled and her shadow squirmed about the ground. I handed her the blade, feeling how it almost seemed to clutch at me as I did so, trying to stay with me. I frowned but let go of the blade, not liking that at all. 

“The other two items… Well I think they have rather interesting implications,” I said, presenting the box which I opened. “I spoke with Flint last night before going to bed and he was able to identify this for me. This is a dried out cube of peat from a swamp,” I announced. 

Janine stepped forward and pinched the cube, watching it crumble between her fingers. “Is it dry?”

It’s been put in the box which had some leakage, so I think it was originally damp when left inside, then it slowly rotted the insides over the years…” I splayed my hands and shrugged. 

“So what does this mean?”

I had considered this last night. “From my readings of historical texts,” and now that I knew to look for it, I caught Koga as he shifted minutely to listen to my words, “The Crusher tribe has long had an established relationship with three pokemon.” 

I held up three fingers. “Mightyena, Ursaring, and Tyranitar. These pokemon constantly appear on reliefs depicting them and there are multiple instances of various body parts being used for everyday items. I believe this is similar to how Onix evolves into Steelix, only in this case it is meant for Ursaring. It was something I was going to keep closer to the chest and test out with my own Teddiursa when it came time for him to evolve.” 

Everyone considered that for a long moment. “You’re becoming quite the expert on environmental evolutions,” Agatha commented. 

I smirked and nodded. After yesterday’s showing I’d also set up some time today to have a chat with Missy. Her Magneton should be strong enough. Hopefully, with Sanchez helping out, I’d be able to get her another powerful evolution by the end of the day. If not, well I’d just have to increase the voltage. 

Either that worked or I’d call Visquez. 

She’d probably be very interested in seeing a Magneton evolution even if she knew all about them from Surge’s notes. 

“Hmmmm interesting, so if we were to encounter the Crusher tribe it would be something to watch for,” Karen mused. “What typing do you expect it to become?” asked Karen.

“Ground and normal,” I replied. 

“Tch, is that going to be worth it for you then?” Karen asked. 

I shrugged. “It’s not always about perfect optimization. Teddiursa is mine, and I will make him the strongest I can.” 

Karen rolled her eyes but didn’t argue. Lucy stepped forward and lifted the last item we’d gotten in the bag from Zapdos. “The crown?”

“Possible indicator that the Crusher Tribe has known about Mega Stones for decades if not centuries,” As I said this I demonstrated the earlier test method I’d done with Jorm’s Keystone.

Everyone, bar myself and Sabrina hissed in shock at this revelation. “Tribals knew? I’m frankly shocked they had the restraint not to use it in attempts to conquer Indigo as a whole!” Agatha growled.

“Is that common for nomadic tribes?” I asked, turning to Koga. 

Koga took a long moment to stare at the crown. “In other tribes? Yes. They typically have a very primitive might makes right mentality, but the Crusher Tribe is considered an anomaly. They have clashed with Kanto and even Johto residents in the past but have not fought extensive battles or tried to raid towns. The fights have been isolated incidents with elements more prone to violence than diplomacy themselves,” Koga lectured. 

“Huh, so they’re not aggressive?” I prompted, “Unless pushed to fight?”

“They can be; they are thought to have different values than those we adhere to. What could be a casual gesture to us could be highly offensive,” Koga answered. 

Koga raised a hand into the air as if to underscore a point. “It is said that certain acts such as sneezing or shouting can see them enraged, but this is from a singular report from a woman who supposedly got lost in the wilderness only to encounter them. She made many mistakes in her reports, so the document is of dubious quality.”

I nodded. “Any way to find them? It seems like they have a Tyranitarite, I imagine it must be something of a treasure for them but perhaps we could trade their knowledge of where they found their stone for something we have.”

“A terrible idea that will most likely offend them,” Agatha said. “Like my earlier suggestion with Zapdos, the Crusher tribe would have little to no reason to empower you over one of their own. In fact Empowering you would dilute their own strength, so it is in their own best interests to hinder you.” 

Janine tilted her head. “I’d like to point out, Brock, that you already have two Tyranitar. With Yolanda having Terra along with the other Larvitar, your family is well positioned to gain a ‘signature’ starter for itself.” 

She raised another finger, almost mimicking her father’s earlier actions. “Also, you said you’re going to try and get your Teddiursa to the third stage of evolution, which means two of the powerful Pokemon the Crusher tribe identifies with will belong to you.”

Karen smirked. “Having seen some of the pictures you took of the cave paintings, I think you’d have done well in getting yourself a Zapdos. Really would have fucked with them,” she said with a vicious grin. 

I hummed, conceding their points. I hadn’t considered how it might look to one of the Crusher tribe, that I possessed such pokemon. All I needed was a Mightyena, and I’d have all three of the ‘commonly attributed pokemon of the Crusher tribe’. Not that I had any plans for such an acquisition.

It sounded like I’d have to keep my eyes out for any tribesmen though… Hadn’t there been a guy dressed like one of them during the Pewter Contest? Shiiiiiiiiiit!

“I think I need to bolster my security again,” I muttered. “Maybe get myself a moat with some specially trained Sharpedo? With lasers on their head,” a childish part of my mind added before I could stop myself.

Koga shook his head with an exasperated sigh while Agatha cackled. “Ah, the foolishness of youth,” she crowed. “Just get yourself a nice tower with ghost pokemon, then no one but fools will bother you, and they’re easy enough to distract.”

I tilted my head. Hadn’t there been that one episode of the cartoon featuring a well-kept tower with ghost pokemon that played tricks on all of team Ash and friends, before Haunter had agreed to join in? Or was I misremembering that?

I grunted and shook my head. “Does anyone else have anything to add?” I prompted. 

Koga shifted in a manner that let everyone know he wished to speak. When everyone’s attention turned to him he said, “Your battle against Zapdos, it should be stated that I approve of the tactics you used. Although next time, get camouflage up if you’re going to watch it from afar.” His tone turned chiding at the end.

I let out a sheepish chuckle while rubbing the back of my head. “Zapdos had way better vision than we’d planned for.”

“Hmmm be sure to review your fight and improve anything that can be improved, I already expect that this will not be the last Legendary you face in your time.”

I nodded once. “Will do. I’m also going to review the footage with Oak. Jules, the trainer who discovered all this, will also be selling his recordings of Zapdos emerging from its cave and its initial assault.”

“Hmmm, we’ll need to empower the local Rangers; no doubt there are already thrill seekers and fools aplenty stalking through the Coastal mountains in hopes of catching themselves a Legend.” 

“We can discuss that later, Agatha. For now, I suggest that we proceed to the actual training for the day.” Koga flicked his fingers towards the horizon. “The sun is rising,” he stated. 

Karen straightened. “Yo Sabrina, let’s throw down!” she commanded, thrusting a finger straight at Sabrina. 

Sabrina merely sighed. “I suppose a warm up would work for my team before we faced a real challenge.”

Janine, Lucy and I shared a smile. There was a lot of business to discuss today, but now it was time to get in some pleasure with watching the two diametrically opposed trainers throw down. 

Sadly I couldn’t get anyone to take me up to bet against Sabrina, not unless Sabrina specifically used a new pokemon. When she sent out Wyrdeer for a fight I got some interest which I gladly accepted, knowing that while he hadn’t made the cut against Will, Wyrdeer was still one of Sabrina’s Elite.

It wasn’t much, but it was a fun way to earn a few pokedollars for little work. 

Sadly I didn’t get to watch Sabrina wipe the floor with Wyrdeer, as instead I had to face off against Lucy who was a solid fighter. Still, I tripped her up when I chose not to send out one of my better known Elites and instead sent out Gible. 

“Eh? Isn’t that the pokemon you got in that Rocket Academy raid?” she asked. 

“The very same, now, look sharp; this little guy’s not all smiles and rainbows; he’s got fangs,” I stated right as Gible bared his fangs. 

The others might not know it yet, but I didn’t just have two pseudo-legendaries on my team. I would have three. 

In response to Gible, Lucy sent out her Snorlax. 

Ah, well it would take a while, but exposure to solid foes would only help. I settled in for a tough fight of my own creation. While the odds weren’t in our favour I was going to give it a solid try to win. 

I started shifting my plans for the day. First, I’d give Gible a good workout, and then I’d push Teddiursa. All this talk about Ursaring made me want to see him grow. 

                                                                  ______________

I wiped the sweat off my brow as I trotted out of the reserve and into the gym's administration wing. When I got to the shared office space, I found Oak sitting and talking with Greta. 

“—enjoying your time here?” he asked politely, watching as Greta completed a standard bit of paperwork.

“It’s been good for me. There’s lots to experience and that means I’ve been able to grow in lots of different ways. I’ve gotten stronger but also a lot more knowledgeable.” She looked up and met his gaze. “I know it might be hubris, but I’ve decided, Professor Oak, next year I plan to win the Indigo conference.” 

Oak whistled. “Impressive. I look forward to seeing you succeed!” he said without a hint of doubt. 

“I too look forward to it, knowing that you’re probably going to run up against Yolanda, Crystal and A.J., at least on your run to the top,” I stated. 

Greta smirked. “I’ll be ready for them, and out of those three, I think my biggest threat is A.J. at this point.”

I just shrugged. “Well you’ve got fourteen months till then and a lot can change in that time.”

Greta met my gaze. “Yes, it can,” she replied seriously. 

She finished her form with a deft flick of her wrist and stacked them up before depositing on Georgina’s desk. “If you’ll excuse me, Ivysaur and I are going to lay out some challenges at the Battle Club.”

Oak and I watched her go with smiles on both our faces. “She’s grown leaps and bounds since signing on to your Gym, Brock. I think I must congratulate you once more on your educational efforts. It’s not just the lecture halls where you demonstrate skill beyond your years.”

“I prefer this method,” I replied easily. “I’ve got a lot of the structures set up to help young trainers grow. Greta has seized those opportunities like few others have.” I glanced over to where another of the Gym’s trainers was sitting, completing paperwork.

His bleach-blond hair bobbed up and down as he listened to music as he worked. “Others have grown in different ways again,” I said, nodding towards Jackson. 

Oak glanced over. “He seems like a happy, productive young man, and I’d consider that another win.” 

Oak straightened. “Now, I’m sorry to cut things short but I really do need to get back to Pallet Town, today I have something of a pokemon linguist employed and I don’t want to miss a minute with them!” he said eagerly. 

I was about to ask about that when I tilted my head. “It’s a Meowth, isn’t it?”

Oak stiffened in surprise. “How did you… Oh, you’ve met Meowth I take it?” 

I nodded. “Ask him to give your security system a once over while he’s there. Trust me, if he wants to bill you extra for that, it’s worth it.” 

I considered what I’d discussed earlier with the Guardians and chewed my lips. He might not be a bad person to consult, him and James and Jessie. “Ask them to come up my way when you’re done with them. I want their take on something.”

“I’ll suggest it to him,” Oak said easily. “Now, what did you want to discuss?” 

I waved to the side and led Oak to the employee lounge overlooking the stadium. Within the room, Bugsy, Ritchie, and Jules were all sitting. 

“I’d like you to meet the recent explorers who discovered the nesting site of Zapdos. Jules also has some video footage he’d like to sell to you and other colleagues,” I said, letting Oak know what was going on. 

He perked up. “Oh dear, now I’m very torn. I want to talk with my expert but a chance to see Zapdos in action? I wish there were two of me…” he lamented with a shake of his head. 

I tilted my head. Didn’t he have a twin… or a brother or something over in Alola? One day, I’d have to ask him about that. I leaned in regardless. “Hey, I also have some footage of Sabrina and my team fighting the Zapdos and conversing with it afterwards.”

Oak turned very, very slowly to look me dead in the eyes. I felt a shiver run down my spine. 

I now found myself looking into the eyes of someone who’d fought off all comers during the war. 

“Conversed with it? That would mean you fought it until it tired or outright defeated it. I’m listening,” he said, slowly relaxing into his usual laid-back self. 

I licked my lips and tilted my head towards Jules. “Jules is a good kid who is struggling financially. I’d consider it a favour if you were generous with what he has to sell,” I said. 

Oak nodded. “I understand what you’re saying and can do that easily enough. Young men and their pride, eh?” he chuckled with his eyes turning slightly unfocused. I didn’t even have to be a mind reader to know he was thinking of Gary.

Oak made a beeline straight for Jules. “Hello there! I’m Professor Oak. I've heard good things about you, but first, are you a boy or a girl?” he said, tilting his head with a clueless air. 

Before Jules could get offended Oak swept his gaze over all of the boys in front of him.

I coughed, amused at his use of his iconic phrase as a joke. 

Oak smiled. “Apologies! I know you’re all young men! I just thought it wise to break the ice so to speak! Now!” He continued rapidly.

He sat down on the edge of the couch and looked right at Jules. “I hear young Jules that you made a very interesting discovery. I’d be willing to pay for access to it,” he stated.

Jules drew himself up and wet his lips. “Y-yeah! We have a recording of our group entering into the cave system with ancient wall carvings along with the discovery of a Zapdos nest!” he proclaimed. 

“We have a recording?” questioned Oak, glancing from Jules to the other two boys, who looked stunned to be included. 

Jules coughed. “As this was a team effort, I will be sharing it with my teammates!” he declared. 

Bugsy and Ritchie both shook their heads from side to side. “Jules, you don’t have to do that!” “Hey man I appreciate it but you need to look after yourself!” 

“You were there with me and you helped, therefore, you deserve some credit!” Jules stated, crossing his arms stubbornly. 

I held back a chuckle from where I stood to the side. I hadn’t told Jules to say that. It was a nice touch but the other boys had the right of it. It was his recording device. 

I wasn’t going to gainsay him however. In a way, it was the right call to make, but also the wrong one. I grinned proudly while Oak smiled on. 

“In that case, I would like to offer you three million pokedollars for the viewing rights,” Oak said calmly. 

Everyone blinked in shock at that. 

If I’d been drinking something, I had no doubts I would have just sprayed it across the room.

Three million pokedollars? 

What the hell kind of ‘opening bid’ was that? That was almost a third of what I’d earned from my fight with Lance! For a recording? Insane!

Also! Was he saying he’d accept them asking for more by saying that?

“What the hell, Oak?” I muttered quietly, but apparently, I wasn’t quiet enough as I caught a twitch of Oak’s lips and a flash of something in his eyes.

I shook my head and felt like I should throw up my hands in disgust. 

There was flexing, and there was this. I should introduce Trixie to Oak, he could teach her a thing or two. 

“T-three mi-mill-million?” stuttered Jules who suddenly found himself in a position others could only dream about. “T-three mi-mill-million?” he repeated a moment later.

Ah, it seems like Oak broke him. 

Oak put his hands on his knees and inhaled through his nose to expand his chest. “Very well! You drive a hard bargain! Four! Not a pokedime more!” he argued. 

Jules eyes shuttered and became glassy. The lights were on but no one was home.

Next to him, Ritchie began to twitch while Sparky the Pikachu rolled off his shoulder in shock and thumped onto the floor where he lay. 

Bugsy nodded but did nothing else. Just nodded along with a perfectly blank expression. 

I facepalmed. “I think it would have been kinder to throw a stack of money at them,” I joked exasperatedly. 

Oak began reaching into his coat, and I chopped my hand in his direction. “That’s not funny!”

Oak paused, a stack of cash in his grip. I threw my hands up in disgust. “What the hell Oak? Who carries that sort of money around?”

Oak gave me an innocent look. “Me?”

I put my head in my hands and groaned. I probably should have expected this.

If Oak had formed Indigo after all, he would have been in a prime position to invest in many lucrative ventures. Multiply that by the decades since then, and he had to be in the top point, oh-oh-oh percent of wealth. 

And here was a man who spent his afternoons getting trash talked by a guy who liked getting high from his Gloom and wrestling with pokemon. 

If there was ever a guy who’d beaten the main quest and was just ticking off the side quests of life, it was Oak. 

I released Shrek and pointed at the boys. “Gentle wake-up spray,” I commanded. Shrek obliged by spraying them all with a soft Water Gun. 

“Bluh!” “Argh!” “Pika!” “...” came the response from the four of them. Bugsy didn’t react beyond blinking his eyes rapidly, whereas Jules and Ritchie twitched and spluttered. 

Sparky jumped onto the coffee table and started growling at Shrek who raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “Pert, Swamp, pert,” said Shrek and I bit my lips. Thanks to the bond, I knew he’d just said, I fought an Electric Legendary, you don’t impress me’. 

That, if anything, seemed to make Sparky growl harder. Huh, little mouse had a lot of fight in him. 

I coughed and glanced to Oak. “Alright boys, Oak has given you an offer. You alright with that?” 

Jules nodded and Oak handed over a stack of bills without a lick of common sense. 

I pinched the bridge of my nose as the boys and Sparky effectively whited out. 

“Arceus damn it, you’re doing this on purpose now,” I said. 

Oak smiled. “I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

I shook my head and brought out my pokedex to load up the recording of my fight with Zapdos which Oak promptly loaded up on the nearby television, leaving the boys in a state their delirium. 

I made sure they weren’t going to hurt themselves before moving to join Oak in front of the television. 

“Impressive work setting up for the fight and good strategy sending your friends off,” Oak commented idly as we watched the scenes play out from my point of view. 

I took the time to admire Sabrina with her hair whipping around before flicking my gaze over to how our pokemon were doing. 

When we disengaged, Oak blinked. “You Teleported away? That… not many would have done that, but I have to say I approve…” 

When Zapdos caught sight of us Oak pulled out a pad and pen. “Hmmm judging by the angle and if we assume for Zapdos being so high then it would have spotted you from nigh on five kilometres away.

“I thought it was closer than that,” I replied. 

“In a straight line, yes but you have to consider that the actual distance is at an angle, thus creating a triangle so Zapdos was effectively further away. Pidgeot and Fearow typically need to hover directly above their prey. It is very interesting to know that Zapdos don’t need to,” he jotted down his findings and nodded before going silent as the rest of the fight played. 

Oak’s eyes widened when the dust of the final clash cleared. I whistled, I hadn’t been expecting to see it again, but seeing Bertha holding down Zapdos with a fist raised was pretty incredible. 

I’d have to get her a picture or artwork made of this moment, or maybe just a photo expanded for her cavern. She’d love that. 

Oak’s breath hitched as I approached and the viewpoint showed an Ultra Ball being considered.  

Then my focus shifted to Sabrina. 

“Do you want to capture it?” I asked Sabrina on the recording. I tilted my head. It was always a little weird hearing your own voice repeated back, but there was an odd tremor in my voice. Disbelief, was it? 

Huh, I hadn’t believed we’d taken down Zapdos.

Sabrina shook her head straight away. “No. I have no desire to catch such a pokemon. I do not think it desires it, either. It would be strong but it would not be a true teammate for my pokemon and I.”

Oak relaxed as I put away the Ultra Ball. “You made the right call there Brock, it might not have been immediately apparent but catching Legendaries does create natural imbalances in regions. Especially Kanto’s Legendaries,” he stated firmly. 

“Hmmmm,” I replied as the rest of the video played out. When the Zapdos on-screen gifted us loot for beating it, Oak laughed delightedly. 

“Oh, that is an amusing bird, isn’t it? What did it give you?” he asked as the recording cut off there. I gestured to the side to show him the bag, the peat block, and the skull crown. 

Oak nodded along at my explanations but grew pensive when I mentioned my hypothesis regarding the Tyranitarite. 

“I believe you may be correct there, Brock. My advice would be to not seek them out but to keep Titan close, nevertheless. Also, it might not be such a bad thing to evolve your Teddiursa, but be sure to record it for me!” he stated quickly. 

“Shouldn’t be a problem. You think it won’t annoy them?” I asked.

Oak wobbled a hand in a so-so gesture. “They might also feel kinship with you as are you not also a trainer that has gone through the same difficulties of raising up or training pokemon they identify with? Two Tyranitars will give them pause at the very least,” he said. 

Then he dusted his hands off before shooting me a smile. “You know Lance will be interested in all of this as well don’t you? He’ll be looking for both yours and the boys’ recordings as Zapdos’ methods of fighting will be something he wants archived.” He tapped the side of his nose. “I’ll let him negotiate that, though, when he gets back from his meeting with Steven Stone.” 

I shook my head. “I’m not sure if the boys are going to sell it cheaper or expect the same price now that you’ve set the price in their minds at three million at least!” I called towards Oak’s retreating back.

He giggled like a loon and clicked his heels on the way out the door, leaving me to shake my head and get on with the day. 

I had to consider myself lucky that Lance was away. Otherwise, I had little doubt he’d have kicked in my door to talk about the encounter once he’d read the Ranger’s report. 

Ah well, his loss for being Champion. 

In the meantime, I’d just do my job as a Gym Leader and prepare to fight Norman although now that it had been raised so often… I kinda wanted to include Teddiursa. It was time to get him up to snuff after all.

I marched out to give my pokemon their meals with plans for advancing Teddiursa only to stop in my tracks when I entered the medical wing. 

“Brock,” intoned the only Legendary pokemon that to date I’d had multiple encounters with.

“Mewtwo,” I replied while trying to get my heartbeat to settle down. My eyes flicked around for Chansey only to not spot her. She must be out in the reserve. “What are you doing here?” I said with as much calmness as I could. 

Mewtwo floated towards a shelf that housed the various pokeballs I had for Gym pokemon. The pokemon that were specifically mine were housed on a separate shelf with more security around them.

Mewtwo didn’t do anything but cast his eyes over them and I felt dread pooling in my stomach.

“I observed your fight against Zapdos,” he stated, causing me to blink.

“You did?” I asked. Neither Sabrina or I had spotted him. Damn now I was going to give the recording a much deeper inspection.

Mewtwo swung around to face me. “I am glad that you didn’t catch that Zapdos,” Mewtwo stated, his tail lazily sweeping back and forth. 

“Oh, alright? Good to know?” I replied, completely off balance with what was going on.

Mewtwo stared at me for a moment which dragged on. Riiight, this is very similar to what Sabrina used to be like, I thought to myself.

"Empress is happier with the baby Larvitar by the way, so thanks for that," I said, as I grasped for something to fill the silence.

" That is good," Mewtwo stated with a nod. He rose slightly. "I will depart now,” he said, only to vanish in a Teleport.

I stared at where he’d vanished only to scowl as a thought occurred to me. I marched over to one of the sections of wall that disguised a small machine. I pulled out the dark emitter only to stare at the read out.

Everything was green. With it in my hands I could feel the chill of dark energy radiating from it.

So, that could only mean Mewtwo had grown more powerful, or more precise, both of which were concerning. I’d need to talk to a sales rep. I could only hope they had invented a stronger model to stop him from doing that again.

“Arceus damned Legendaries,” I muttered to myself before chuckling. “Heh, Arceus damned Legendaries,” I said to myself. 

I shook off the feeling while making out another report to Sabrina that her side project had dropped in on me. He was getting a bit too familiar with that and it was starting to be concerning. 

What would be next? He’d drop in for afternoon tea?

Urgh. 

I was suddenly looking forward to the very normal, and totally simple fight I had coming up against Norman. 

That at least would make sense with it being a nice easy bit of straightforward violence in a controlled setting. 

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A.N. Thanks go to my patreons for your continued support!

Thanks also go to Twmmy for proofreading this chapter!