Chapter 96 – Gym Hopeful

Chapter 96 – Gym Hopeful

Having seen my little sister and mother fly off into the horizon I felt a strange feeling of emptiness. Not soon after that both my grandparents went off to man their confectionary store leaving me and the gang planning what to do with our spare time. We only had two days left until our deciding battle against leader Nelson and I didn’t plan to waste that time goofing off around the house. There I was in our garden feeding my remaining team members who didn’t get to enjoy supper with the rest of the family.

“The best thing to do would be to visit the Lavaridge gym. There’s a bunch of family techniques Mr. Moore won’t share with us, but I doubt he’d mind having his Pokémon teach Numsy how to safely use Eruption.”

“Came!”

“And I promised you that we’d go visit the gym’s kennels, right Raven?”

“Arf!”

Making sure to lock up the house we left for Flannery’s home. Raven and Numsy were out beside me while the rest of the team was sleeping off their food comas inside their poké balls. While we were moving through the streets of Lavaridge Raven couldn’t contain her enthusiasm. The former leader of her pack received an unwelcome surprise the last time we were here. Where before he had the upper hand over Raven in terms of personal power my Pokémon’s evolution into Houndoom turned the tables. Letting Raven run roughshod over the pack during our stay over much to the chagrin of Flannery’s chosen partner.

“Ready to put your old boss in his place some more I see.”

“Ruff!”

“Don’t humiliate him too much. He’s staying behind to look after the others in their new role as gym Pokémon. Flannery’s Pokémon don’t get to train as often as you do.”

“Ruff…”

Our journey to the gym was largely uneventful with the occasional townie waving at me from a distance. The hijinks me and Numsy pulled off in our youth made us pretty well known among the older town denizens. Looking back on those days I could only hang my head in embarrassment, the mix of child hormones and an underdeveloped brain caused me to behave like a ruffian. 

‘During those days I committed all sorts of unsavory acts to get Numsy the extra nutrients he needed to grow up big and strong.’

“You? A criminal!?”

‘Nothing as exaggerated as that. The two of us sometimes nabbed a berry or two from the bushes and trees growing in people’s backyards. Every time we got caught, me claiming ignorance would usually be enough to have them let us go.’

“Good! People can’t claim berry bushes and trees as their own.”

‘These old retirees put a lot of work into their gardens. There’s not enough rainfall in these parts for most shrubberies to survive on their own. Our dry heat weather is hell for water types, making the residents have to use pumps to meet their water needs.’

Lavaridge was a town packed to the brim with retirement age residents but we did have a large group of school-aged children living alongside their grandparents. Mine and Zinnia’s own home situation was hardly unique in that regard. Since we left our home right before the local sports clubs started, we eventually came across some of my juniors who still knew me from way back when I attended trainer’s school. I was a third year student at the time while the lot of them got paired up with my little sister. I recognized some of them having come and picked up Zinnia multiple times at her classroom door.

“Lavender, Chester it’s good to see you two again. How has school been?”

The two nine-year-olds who had taken up with my sister during her school days walked on over to me. Most likely to bask in the presence of my fire type Pokémon. It is common for unlicensed children to fawn over Pokémon, especially ones who were close to getting a partner of their own.

“Zinny’s big brother! And is that Numsy?” “You caught a Houndoom too!?”

Be it Lavaridge pride or something else entirely almost all of the town’s children were big into fire type Pokémon. Lavender was quick to say hello to Numsy by caressing his snout while Chester the studious but secretly the more childlike of the two, gave Raven the starstruck googly eyes.

Raven, being my most sociable Pokémon, was quick to bunt Chester’s open hand. Giving the boy her express permission to caress her horns. Numsy also seemed quite pleased with the girl’s continued ministrations. The kids seemed to have completely forgotten my presence having become too enamored with my Pokémon. After a full minute’s waiting I discreetly let them know I was

“Ahem!”

“Oops sorry! Camerupt are just too cute!” 

“I was distracted by Houndoom’s dark presence, my apologies.”

‘Chester still hasn’t grown out of his eight-grade syndrome phase. Zinnia really knows how to pick ‘em.’

“Zinnia is coming back, right? We promised to set off for our journey together.”

“She’s… still living at my mother and her father’s home. Yesterday’s visit was just a one-time thing.”

Lavender’s disappointment radiated outwards even Chester slumped a bit after hearing the bad news. Sharing their disappointment I made an effort to reassure the two young hopeful trainers.

“This doesn’t mean that she won’t go on her journey like everybody else. Zinnia will still need to take her license examination here in Lavaridge just the same. At that time, she will surely make the effort to set out with the two of you.”

My assurance that Zinnia would still be coming back next year mellowed the panicking duo out somewhat. Allowing Chester to ask me poignant questions regarding my own circuit run.

“Zinnia’s brother, how come you're all the way here? Shouldn’t you be making it to Ever Grande City by now like the rest of the league participants? Don’t tell me… you dropped out?”

“For the record I didn’t drop out! My final gym battle is two days from now. After that I’ll go straight to the Ever Grande Conference!”

“You’ve only managed to win seven badges so far? Zinny kept bragging about her big brother, so I figured you’d have them all within the first few months…”

‘These brats…!’

“Winning all eight badges and getting to the conference on a first-time circuit run makes one the exception not the rule! Only a very small percentage of participating trainers ever make it to the conference. Having seven badges already pushes a trainer into the top percentile!”

“That’s cool I guess…” 

The two of them only half listened while the remainder of their attention kept returning to my partners. Raven and Numsy’s body language indicated their amusement by way of the kids’ casual dismissal of the facts.

“Ehem! So… school’s off. Are the two of you heading to baseball club?”

Nothing could beat Pokémon affiliated past times, but regular human sports have carved out a niche for themselves. People in Hoenn have especially taken a shine to playing baseball, Lavaridge Town’s local team the Numels never once made it past the qualifiers. Something that had much to do with our tiny population of eligible adults.

“Nah ah! Our dads are picking us up to go explore the Fiery Path and help us find our very first partners! I am hoping to catch a Numel that’s even cuter than Numsy here.”

“Rupt!!”

Numsy didn’t seem as pleased that the girl who was basking him in attention was already talking about finding another of his kind. My bovine friend made a loud proclamation that no ordinary Numel could be cuter than him. Disregarding the mildly upset Camerupt I proceeded to ask Chester which Pokémon he hoped to partner up with.

“And you Chester? What kind of partner are you hoping to catch?”

The boy’s expression seemed to grow conflicted. Unlike his female friend Chester seemed to be concerned about his prospects.

“I don’t know… everyone starts off with a numel or slugma.”

“That’s…”

“Numel are popular, aren’t they?”

‘For a kid with eighth grade syndrome like Chester being the same as everyone else… I sort of understand his plight. Chester’s parents are most likely not rich enough to buy a starter Pokémon from a reputable breeder. This gives me an idea…’

“Chester, you like Raven, right?”

“Un.”

“How about the two of you follow me to the gym? Flannery went wild a little while back and caught herself seven houndour putting a strain on the gym’s personnel. If you ask real nicely she might let you pick one for a starter.”

“Really?! No kidding?!”

“Those Pokémon officially belong to her and not Mr. Moore.  It is not much of a distinction but that does allow Flannery to have the final say on who gets to be their trainer.” 

If it was just Mr. Moore making the decision I’d put Chester’s odds on convincing the old coot to let go of one of the houndour to below double digits. The gym did have a responsibility to give away Pokémon to rookie trainers who had nobody else to turn to but that only applied to unsponsored orphans or the like. 

‘By now I am quite sure Flannery has grown weary of cleaning that newly built dog kennel.’

“Chester! Don’t forget our dads are going camping with us on the Fiery path!”

Lavender put a damper on the boy’s growing enthusiasm by reminding him of his previous commitment. However, despite Lavender’s effort to calm down her classmate the spark of hope had already been lit.

“…! Shouldn’t we go now? I might make a better impression coming along with someone who actually works for the gym.”

“How about I test the waters for you? Me and my crew will stay in town for the following two days. That’s plenty of time to come and give the gym a visit.”

“…Okay, thanks a bunch, Zinnia’s older brother!”

Chester seemed a little disappointed but quickly got over himself. After saying their goodbyes Zinnia’s two friends exited the scene after being spotted and beckoned by two older gentlemen outfitted in camping gear.

‘This is what living is all about Tini. Making the world a more hospitable place one happy school kid at a time.’

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At the gym*

Arriving at the gym I noticed the place was void of visitors. That fact alone made alarm bells go off in my head. During the final week before the conference registration deadline this place should have been packed with challengers hoping to get their last licks in. A big red closed sign was plastered on the main gate’s front wall making it clear that the gym had halted its operations.

“Came…?”

“…Not that hopefully. What’s more likely is that Mr. Moore has taken a leave of absence. I know where the emergency key is hidden. We just need to walk around and get to the backdoor.”

As we walked the long way around, we passed by the pastures reserved for the grazing Pokémon like numel and ponyta. All of the gym Pokémon knew us from before when I was still actively working in the gym and didn’t give us any trouble. As a matter of fact, the numel and camerupt got closer to the fences eager to have Numsy share stories of his adventures on the road. Which my partner seemed eager to provide, starting with an embellished version of our intercontinental boat voyage to Nuvema Town.

‘Life as a gym Pokémon must be pretty boring aside from the occasional battles.’

When Numsy got into a heated debate after claiming to have fended off hordes of bloodthirsty water Pokémon Raven used her teeth to pull on my trousers in an effort to get my attention. 

“Ruff?”

“Yeah, you can go ahead. Me talking with Flannery and her grandfather will take a while.”

The newly built houndour kennels were located outside of the main building. Raven, having been there before, didn’t need any help finding her old pack. After seeing my trusted pooch walk off into the direction of the kennels, I made my way to the backdoor opening said door with the key hidden under the welcome mat. Despite this being a league association facility security was kept lax. The plethora of fire type Pokémon walking around these halls meant most thieves would forego breaking and entering in favor of easier targets.

“Hello!! Anybody home?”

“By! Maaag!”

“Oh! Nice seeing you again Maggie. Do you know why the gym is closed?”

“Magg! By By!”

The girl Magby pantomimed with her claws trying to get her point across. Having grown familiar with this particular Pokémon during my internship I could roughly tell what the cute fire type was trying to convey.

“Mr. Moore has back pain problems and decided to close the gym ahead of schedule? That means… his rheumatism is really starting to catch up to him.”

‘Flannery still has to complete her own circuit run before taking over as the gym leader. That old man will have to hold on for another year. Here’s to hoping Glacia and Phoebe are skilled enough to take over those Elite Four positions at the end of this season.’

“Egoooonnn!!”

The person I was just thinking of managed to find me before I got much further into the gym. She hadn’t changed a bit since we parted ways, still energetic and headstrong.

“Hey Flannery, what’s up with the gym? Is Mr. Moore doing alright?”

“You took this long to visit?! Where’s Victini?”

“She is resting in her poké ball. Tini is all tucked out from staying up with my little sister all night.”

“Zinnia is back!? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“We figured you’d be too busy with gym duties. Having to look after all those houndour is very time consuming. Zinnia only came back because the elders of that backwards village fell for the bait I laid out. Now that they have what they came for Zinnia has gone back to the village.”

“Are you making things up? You’d be way more depressed if that were true!”

“It’s… we came to an understanding. After this conference wraps up, me and the family are going on a vacation trip to Cinnabar Island, Zinnia included.”

“I am so happy for you!! Everything worked out in the end. Cinnabar Island is amazing, you are going to love it! Our caldera battlefield was styled after gym leader Blaine’s personal design. He and my grandpa are good friends.”

“Who are you? And what have you done with Flannery?”

Boink* 

“Ow!”

“I can be happy for other people you goof!”

“Flannery, I actually came here to ask for a favor.”

“Hmmm… spit it out then.”

“Numsy still hasn’t gone through Eruption safety training. I figured since I’d be in town for the next two days that I’d have that taken care of. Could I perhaps borrow one of the gym’s Pokémon to help me in this endeavor?”

“I don’t know… usually I’d ask Grandpa for something like this.”

“Mr. Moore isn’t around?”

“He’s at the physical therapist and won’t be back for at least another hour.”

‘That figures…’

“I can’t be the only trainer coming to the gym looking to have their Pokémon safely master a dangerous fire type move. What is the usual MO?”

“Grandpa sometimes takes novice torkoal and camerupt up to Mt. Chimney, so the falling debris won’t hurt anyone.”

‘That’s too far. I guess we won’t be using Eruption any time soon.’

It was at this moment that the white poké ball strapped to my belt opened up on its own, releasing the flying rabbit who had been napping all this time.

“Vi!” “We’ll toughen up for the conference all on our own!”

The appearance of the arguably cutest member of my team caused Flannery to revert back to the doting tomboy she so obviously was.

“Tini!! I missed you so much! Why don’t you come visit more often?”

“I have a whole bunch of friends who rely on me! You are looking at a founding member of Kecleon Brothers & Co.! …I can slot you in for a business meeting? The company has been looking to expand into other cities and towns.”

“Sure! I’d love to discuss business ideas with you over some tea.”

Flannery most likely thought that Victini’s claims of running a business were a flight of fancy. The redheaded tomboy would be in for a surprise when Victini’s assertions turn out to be true. However, that Kecleon store had not grown big enough to warrant a second location opening somewhere else. Victini’s second business idea consisted of her reptilian associates freeloading at the gym while they kept busy ingratiating themselves with the surrounding wild Pokémon. Of course, my loveable scamp would frame this in a more positive light. The only thing that had me worried is that Flannery might fall for this scheme being too enamored by Victini to say no.

“Egon, when is Victini going to make her big debut?! You’d become really popular in an instant!”

“…We figured that it would be fine to do so in the later stages of the conference. If we manage to get that far at least.”

“Please don’t tell me you haven’t earned all eight badges yet!”

“Okay I won’t.”

“…”

“…”

“Vi Vi!” “Egon is battling Mr. Nelson the day after tomorrow for his final badge!”

“You better win! It’d be an embarrassment to my Grandpa if the first ever boy trainer he sponsors doesn’t even get to the preliminaries.”

‘I knew it! That old geezer is a raging misandrist.’

“We’ll see… How’s it going over here? Taking care of seven rambunctious dog Pokémon must keep you busy all day.”

“They’re very well behaved, thank you very much! But the gym is looking to hire two extra staffers for next year’s circuit. With you gone and me off to compete in the circuit we’ll be severely understaffed.”

“Why don’t you do what Mr. Moore did when he decided to take me on as an intern? There are a bunch of unlicensed children who’d love the opportunity to take care of the gym’s fire type Pokémon.”

“Grandpa says kids aren’t responsible enough.”

“I was.”

“Grandpa figured you’d quit the first day.”

“…?! There’s no way I’d give up on Numsy! Who did he take me for?”

“A seven-year-old. Although even then you were a peculiar goof.”

“Ugh… By the way, one of Zinnia’s classmates in school was enamored with Raven. He’ll come by soon to shoot his shot with one of her packmates. If you’d let him of course.”

“…Does he even qualify for a gym Pokémon?”

“Chester is a good apple and those houndour are yours not the gym’s. He’ll need to undergo another year of trainer school before he even qualifies. That’s plenty of time to vet him. Unless… are none of those houndour interested in traveling across Hoenn?”

“There could be a few but…! I’d hate to break up the pack. They’ve just gotten used to their new home too. This is a fire type gym! There will always be a place for them here.”

“Hmm… You are growing as a person. Perhaps traveling around with the likes of us was good for you.”

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A while later*

Flannery invited us to tea, but I felt like the third wheel the entire time. The girl only had eyes for Victini feeding my Pokémon all sorts of treats to get the psychic type into a compliant mood. I could already tell where this was going but Victini seemed to enjoy the process.

“Please become our gym’s mascot!”

“Vi?” “Mascot?”

“We are the least popular of all the major gyms. The only reason that the league association hasn’t revoked our status yet is because Grandpa is part of the Elite Four. Having Victini become our mascot is sure to boost our popularity.”

“Victini is not a gym Pokémon. Isn’t that false advertising?”

“Victini is too strong for regular matches that’s what makes her perfect! She just needs to look cute in front of the camera and make public appearances now and again.”

“Vi!” “Looking cute is what I am best at!”

“Grandpa is sure to agree! Typhlosion has grown too old for the spotlight and my Torkoal is camera shy.”

“Hold on just one second! Whatever it is you are planning will have to wait until Victini makes her public debut.”

That took the wind out of their sails, but Flannery continued on with this line of thinking.

“After then, but you can’t sign up with any other gyms Tini. Lavaridge needs you!”

“I’ll be your mascot in the future but only if a couple of my friends can open up a storefront inside town. Mr. Moore is rich, right? He can afford to put us up until they can start paying rent.”

“Grandpa does have a lot of money…”

“Those Kecleon are shrewd businessmen. If you offer them finger, they will take your whole hand.”

“Ssshh! I am trying to close a deal!”

‘Flannery is twelve! At her age she shouldn’t be thinking about stuff like this. You can just wait to ambush Mr. Moore when he returns home from physical therapy.’

“Isn’t she set to take over for her grandpa next year? Roxy is even younger than her!”

‘Roxanne is a once in a generation prodigy and it’s not like she won’t have gym staff on hand helping her with the administrative side of things.’

My argument did manage to cow Victini into halting her solicitations. Causing the Pokémon to float into Flannery’s arms giving the girl a full body hug.

“Vi! Vi,” “I am sorry Flanny! Egons always tells me not to mix friendship with business.”

“Aww! I love you too Tini! It’s me who shouldn’t have proposed that you become our mascot.”

At that exact moment, the door to the breakroom opened revealing the missing grumpy old man who had been absent from his gym up until now.

“Flannery, I am back! What’s this about a mascot?”

“Grandpa!” “Leader Moore!”

“Hmm? So, you are back. It’s good seeing you as well, Victini.”

“Vi!” “Yep!”

“Grandpa, I just thought that having Victini become our gym’s mascot would help increase the gym’s popularity.”

“…It’d work but visitors would expect to see her now and again. If you really want a cute Pokémon for a mascot Maggie would suffice.”

“Mag By!”

“Maggie has been holding back her evolution since forever Grandpa! Sooner or later, she will need to evolve.”

“What about you kid? I figured you wouldn’t be sticking around after your year with us is done.”

“No sir. We’ll be trying for the Unovan circuit starting next year. After that… maybe resuming my education. Professor Juniper has shown interest in keeping me on as a research aide.”

“I’ve got no quarrel with the Unovans but make sure to never forget where you came from.”

‘All these old timers are full blown nationalists. We’ll have to be careful with our wording here.’

“I’ll keep that in mind sir. Actually, we came to the gym seeking your assistance.”

“What is it?”

“Numsy still hasn’t undergone his safety training.”

“Are you telling me that starter of yours has never blown a gasket?”

Camerupt are known for erupting uncontrollably during bouts of intense emotion. It is a fact that thus far Numsy has only been blowing smoke. Just like me, my starter was even tempered and usually couldn’t gather up the necessary wherewithal to throw a fit.

“Numsy doesn’t really get angry unless there’s a good reason.”

“Fine, we'll get this out of the way right now. Flannery, you come with us as well and bring Torkoal. This will be one of your duties starting next year.”

Just like that the two of us obediently followed Mr. Moore outside the facility. Numsy was still there getting all chummy with the gym’s numel and camerupt. A quick wave from me beckoned him over. Numsy seemed especially pleased with himself for some reason. I knew he had been crushing on a particular Numel and him evolving must have increased his eligibility with the ladies.

“Came?”

“Mr. Moore is available right now. You ready to let loose partner?”

“Ruupt!”

Numsy let out a quick smoke signal to let the herd know he had outstanding business to take care of after which my bovine friend diligently followed behind the three of us. Mr. Moore seemed to be leading our little group somewhere I’ve never been before during my entire three years as a gym intern. 

“Pay close attention, Egon! Our family knows of a super-secret mountain trail that leads straight up to Mt. Chimney. Using this passage, we’ll get to the top in only a half an hour’s walk.”

“That’s cookie talk. Mt. Chimney is 5000 ft. tall it would take us at least an hour to get up there.”

“The boy is correct, my little firecracker. Without the benefit of the cable car on the other side it will take that long. However, the trip down won’t be as arduous. I’ve had aerial cables installed by the rangers corps. We’ll get down three times as fast ziplining.”

“Mr. Moore, how come you chose the top of Mt. Chimney for these activities?”

“The strongest fire types can be found at the top. Whenever the gym is in need of additional Pokémon, I select them from up there.”

This time Flannery couldn’t contain her excitement.

“Mt Chimney is the most beautiful place in all of Hoenn Egon. It has the best fire type Pokémon around! Grandpa never buys our gym Pokémon from breeders.”

“What’s up there? Also, isn’t it kind of impossible to lure fire type Pokémon out of the magma?”

It was too cold at the top of the summit to find any fire type Pokémon. One would have better luck finding ice types instead. Fire type Pokémon do often make their homes in magma, but only specific subsets of Pokémon could tolerate the intense heat.

‘Slugma and Magcargo, The only other fire type I know of that lives inside active volcanos would be… ’

“Stop trying to figure us out, Egon! We are going there for training purposes only!”