Hard Enough

Chapter 211: Kong calamity!

“So? The Pewter Gym has brought its trainers here to my Gym?” said Kong grandly.

He gestured to Greta. “One child fights with a straightforward path, while the other…” Kong let his attention drift to A.J. causing Greta to pout. I could only frown. This was an unusual start to the match.

He should have just focussed on one of them.

I knew that I was guilty of comparing them to each other, but to have another do it? And publicly? That raised some flags for me.

“You, boy? You seek to challenge yourself the most and grow, don’t you?”

A.J. nodded firmly. “I know the shelter that I have now is temporary, even if it is long enough for my needs I can’t become lazy! I want to be the best! Not mediocre!” A.J. said with a thump of his fist to his chest.

Greta twitched. “I’m not mediocre! I’m just being frugal with my strength!” she snapped and I had to nod. Her path forward was hers, and A.J.’s was his.

It was known that tougher paths in the Gyms, such as challenging through the gauntlet matches, earnt more respect, but that didn’t mean you should disparage a person for taking an easier path. I cupped my hands. “You tell em Greta!” I called out.

Kong’s gaze snapped to mine and I locked eyes with him.

Kong tossed his head and sniffed. “I see! You have spirit then! Girl you shal—”

“My name! Is Greta!” snarled Greta stomping forward. “And I’m here to challenge you for your badge Gym Leader!” she said, her words carrying across the arena.

I grinned. Greta really had grown up in the time she’d been with us. Gone was the girl that had been meek and reserved. She’d grown into herself wonderfully.

Kong’s grin looked like it matched my own. “That’s more like it! I don’t like that tepid approach! I like the fighting spirit that’s entered your eyes now Greta from Pallet Town! WE shall fight now!”

A referee scurried out to the midpoint and A.J withdrew to the side.

“Only two pokemon may be used! Otherwise the standard rules apply!” reported the referee and I shot the extremely lax explanation a flat look.

I mean, yes we’d heard it a lot today but to have the Gym Leader skip the rules… Well I suppose it shouldn’t matter that much.

“Go Ivysaur!” shouted Greta as she sent her starter out first.

In reply Kong sent out a Hitmonchan that darted side to side while firing off punches. Each punch sent a soft gust of wind showcasing how strong it was. The small hops from side to side also demonstrated that it had some good agility. I suspected that in a pinch it would be able to drag out a fight if it had to.

Greta’s eyes were locked on it so hopefully she was seeing the same things I was.

“Ivysaur! Poison powder!” she called, opening up the fight with Ivysaur unleashing a cloud of purple gas that flooded the area around it. It hung heavy in the air, occluding areas that Hitmonchan could move.

“Dizzy Punch but do it as a spinner!” barked Kong. I and most of the stands gaped as Hitmonchan began to spin its arms, looking entirely too much like a little child that was whirling their arms about, winding up for a big punch.

I’d seen it happen all too much with my family, when they were ‘standing their ground and fed up with another sibling. It was childish, and ridiculous looking… and it was working in blowing away the poison powder as it slowly approached Ivysaur.

“Vine Whip! Go for the legs!” barked Greta. Ivysaur sent out his vines with a lash that swept across the ground parallel to the ground.

“Skip one two! Skip three four!” chanted Kong and once again I got to witness some impressive, if surprising skill, as Hitmonchan treated Ivysaur’s Vine Whip like a jump rope, hopping over it again and again.

All while spinning its arms as fast as it could go to push back the Poison powder.

“abort!“ Greta called, making her pokemon twitch in surprise as it tried to nail Hitmonchan. Hitmonchan, still caught in the tempo of the jumps, found itself skipping into the air with nothing to dodge. Greta grinned. “Go now!” she called!

This time, with Hitmonchan much closer and in the air the Vines caught it and knocked it to the ground.

“Punch up! Don’t be a chump!” chimed Kong and Hitmonchan punched the ground to get itself back into a standing position fast instead of hopping. Hitmonchan gave another one two jab, but my eyes lingered on the broken ground underneath it. That had been a strong albeit basic pair of punches.

To leave a dent like that though without any leverage or real effort. That had to be a warning sign of its ability coming in.

“Iron Fist,” I muttered to myself.

“What’s that?” asked Yolanda leaning in. “Iron Fist?”

I nodded. “An ability that empowers punches. Hitmonchan is literally going to hit harder than another of its species,” I said. “Which means—” I started to say only for Yolanda to cut me off.

“That Greta needs to play keep away with Ivysaur,” she summarised neatly.

I nodded and focussed to find that Greta had tried for a fast Razor Leaf, only for Hitmonchan’s fists to light up with a Fire Punch.

With a series of rapid strikes the attacks were batted away like this was merely a training exercise. When Hitmonchan was done its fists smoked from the fire and burnt leaves but its eyes were locked on the prize.

“Earthquake!” barked Kong suddenly. Hitmonchan, who must have been waiting for this very order, dropped and threw its fist straight at the ground causing it to buckle and heave.

Greta kept her cool though. She was well used to this tactic having fought against my pokemon quite a lot in the last week. “Leap!” she ordered and Ivysaur braced with his legs and jumped while throwing his vines into the ground to give himself a touch more lift. His two vines pushed him up and acted as pseudo shock absorbers as he sailed to the right where the poison powder cloud was still going strong.

Kong clicked his tongue. “If they’re not going to let us close then let’s snipe!” he said, levelling his own hands and firing off a pair of punches. “Vacuum Wave!” he called.

Hitmonchan began firing punch after punch and this time it wasn’t just gusts of wind being launched but full on shockwaves that caused the air to boom as it passed through it.

“Ivy!” cried the Grass type as it took two solid hits in the air. He still fell into the poison powder so that was good, but he landed awkwardly before jumping and facing Hitmonchan with a growl.

“Don’t let up! If she wants to play it safe she’ll not pass this challenge!” Kong barked.

I twitched at his demeanour but a quick glance told he was focusing intently on what Greta was doing. Hmmmm I suppose that was one way to teach them about loud braggarts that tried to throw you off your groove.

Greta bared her teeth in response however. “You want to see some power? Ivysaur! Power Leaf!” she called.

“Did she change the name?” I said aloud as Greta’s now signature move formed up.

Ivysaur fired a Razor leaf only for him to catch it with one of his Vine Whips and begin twirling it like he was charging up an attack.

“Hnn! Keep punching!” called Kong ignoring the threat.

Ivysaur tanked another two Vacuum waves before unleashing his attack. The leaf practically screeched as it tore through the air towards Hitmonchan who merely raised his fists, ready to blast it away no doubt.

“Hitmonc—” Kong began to order only to be stunned as another vine shot out of the ground. His eyes had just enough time to dart to the vine and track it to Ivysaur who had only used one of his vines. The other had dug into the ground and snuck up on Hitmonchan.

Kong grinned. “Clever,” he said as Hitmonchan took a powered-up Razor Leaf to the head, knocking it back flat.

Hitmonchan didn’t bounce up to its feet and Kong was forced to nod and take the loss. “Return Hitmonchan, this girl has some spirit about her,” he said. He then put a fist to his chin and cracked his neck in one direction before going in the other.

“I see that I will need to be on my toes against you,” he said.

Greta merely grinned at him, her teeth bared. She then shot Ivysaur a much more saccharine smile. “Great job Ivysaur! You’re getting us the W we need!”

“Saur!” barked Ivysaur as he braced himself in readiness for the next pokemon.

“Hoha! Let’s go Hitmontop!” shouted Kong as he sent out another pokemon. This one landed on its feet only to hop onto its head where it began to spin around and around while its legs whirled above it.

At first I thought it was a poor match up/ And then it began to spin properly.

This time the Poison Powder was pushed back much further and Hitmontop was able to accelerate towards Ivysaur.

“Gyro Ball,” ordered Kong and Hitmontop gained a grey energy around it as it surged forward towards Ivysaur.

Greta snapped her hand forward. “Vine jump!” she ordered and her starter once more gained room with a well timed jump that was boosted by its vines.

When it landed it did so with a thump and took a moment to catch its breath. Greta raised her pokeball instantly. “Ivysaur! You’re tired, hang tight and let someone else come in to take it home!” she called as she returned him.

Kong smiled. “Pursuit!” he called and Hitmontop went from calmly spinning to the side to throwing itself across the dividing space just as Ivysaur was being returned, its leg swinging in to slam into him.

Ivysaur was hurled to the side even as he was returned. Greta twitched in surprise and her eyes darted down to the pokeball in her grasp.

When a dull chime sounded out she slumped. “Ivysaur can’t keep fighting,” she reported.

The referee shot his flag up. “The score is now tied! One all!” declared the ref.

Kong nodded. “You should have expected such tactics from me,” he said, his arms crossed. “It is well known that I have to endure Psychics coming after me and my team often. Did you think I wouldn’t have a technique to handle them? Pursuit is one of the best moves for pokemon with Teleportation abilities,” he said firmly.

I propped my chin up, amused to be a spectator to another Gym Leader giving out a lesson. Yolanda, Rachel, and Crystal all thought the same thing judging by how they each glanced my way with a smirk. I rolled my eyes at them and grunted in acknowledgement. “He’s doing good,” I said.

Greta on the stage, drew out her second pokemon. “You chose a Hitmontop? A pokemon well known for its physical balance, but also its reliance on physical attacks,” she said firmly.

Kong narrowed his eyes. “Is that what you think?” he said firmly.

Greta nodded. “I did my research,” she said as she drew out her second pokeball. “Go Pidgey!” she said.

Kong’s fists clenched. “Well… at least it’s not a Psychic type,” he said before smirking. “Now, let me show you what the phrase ‘I did my own research’ means,” he said.

“Hitmontop! Stone Edge!” he barked and Hitmontop kicked the ground once, causing a huge rock to shoot up. Hitmontop then struck with its other leg and caused the rock to rocket up at Pidgey.

Her Pidgey, despite the oncoming rock, looked perfectly at ease. “Aerial Ace,” Greta said calmly.

Pidgey went from beating its wings to hold ground, into a harsh snap that caused it to blur and vanish. Pidgey then appeared to the side of Hitmontop where it slammed into Hitmontop.

Greta grinned. “I’m very used to facing down rock moves,” she said smugly. “I’ve also covered my weakness,” she said, earning herself a laugh from Kong.

“Rock Slide while they’re in close!” he ordered.

From in close it should have been almost guaranteed, but once again Greta held her nerve. “Aerial Ace… now!” she barked and Pidgey followed her orders to a tee vanishing and slamming into Hitmontop once again.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

This time the fighting type pokemon tottered and fell to the side where it didn’t get back up.

“Hitmontop is unable to battle! Greta and Pidgey are the victors!” announced the referee.

As one, the Pewter support team all rose to cheer for Greta as Kong returned his pokemon. He turned to her and nodded. “You have con—” His words were lost as Greta’s Pidgey landed on her arm and she plucked off a band from its ankle.

The band snapping caused Pidgey to give her a look. When she nodded Pidgey opened its wings and began to glow with the light of evolution. Oh, nice, she’d reached her goal with Pidgey.

A few moments later a much larger Pidgeotto rested on her arm and Greta strained to hold it upright. She ended up bracing with her other arm to keep Pidgeotto on its perch.

I chuckled. “She’s not going to be able to do that when Pidgeotto evolves again.”

Kong, who’d paused when Greta made her move coughed. “You also had that up your sleeve I see… impressive to have it so well planned. You are a trainer worthy of the Brawl badge,” he said, extending a small box to her.

Greta took it and bowed. “Thank you very much for helping me grow!” she said and Kong blushed at the formal tone.

“Well, it is my role to challenge you. You were a nice surprise,” he said.

Greta giggled. “Heh, thanks! I’ll let you and A.J. have your match now,” she said as she darted towards us. Kong tracked her for a moment only to pause when he noticed me in the crowd.

I nodded to him and he jerked his head in response.

He then turned his head robotically to A.J. “So? You have taken the hardest route possible and advanced through all the barriers. I take it you wish to face my strongest challenge?”

A.J. locked eyes with Kong. “I’d fight your strongest if I could,” he said, his voice ringing with conviction.

Kong, who’d been reaching towards another pair of pokeballs that a Gym trainer was offering to him paused. “Ho? My strongest?”

I facepalmed again. “Arceus damn it A.J.!” I groaned even as I tried to repress a laugh. Only you A.J..

A.J., unmindful of the mixed emotions he was giving me, pulled out a pokeball and held it towards Kong. “I want to see the heights and how far I have to go!”

Kong laughed. “Excellent! You have a true fighting spirit!” he said.

I tilted my head as I inspected the pokeball that A.J. held. If I was a kid with a need to prove myself… who would I choose?

It had to be Sandshrew, right?

I chewed my lip and considered A.J.. He, much like Greta, had grown from spending time with us. Surely that meant he could make a plan?

Kong nodded his head and waved off the attendant. “Very well. One of my strongest against two of yours,” he said.

For but a small moment, A.J’s lips twitched and I knew right then that he had a plan.

I leaned forward, ignoring the itchy eyes that came from a lack of sleep to study the field. “A.J.’s got a plan,” I announced.

The others didn’t doubt me. They merely nodded and leaned forward.

The instant the referee had cleared the field of debris from the last fight, he merely raised his flags, not bothering with the typical prematch announcements. “Two on one! Begin!” he said while dropping his flag.

“Go Butterfree!” announced A.J..

I nodded, agreeing with the decision. Across from him, one of Kong’s strongest took to the field.

“Go! Machamp!” Kong announced and his Machamp hit the field with a thump. It rose, muscles twitching and flexing before stretching out its arms wide in silent challenge.

Butterfree flapped its wings harder and glared at the arrogance. I had to admit that I didn’t think it wasn’t undeserved.

That Machamp was powerful. It wasn’t a huge hulk of a pokemon but rather a tightly corded fighting pokemon. There were calluses on its hands, feet and elbows that denoted how much effort it must put in. Kong would have had to have it punching industrial material to have that toughening effect on a pokemon that was notoriously strong.

“Machamp, the superpower pokemon. Opponents that have angered Machamp have in the past been thrown across the horizon when the pokemon is suitably motivated. Each arm can with training work independently from the other. This makes the pokemon highly unpredictable to fight in close quarters. Attempting to block or deflect blows require either an equally powerful pokemon, or a master of martial arts. There are only three recorded successful deflections in a record bank in the thousands for humans. Combatants hoping to trade blows cannot rely on sight and must instead preempt or be extremely lucky. This Machamp knows Wide Guard, Low Kick, Focus Energy, Dual Chop, Focus Blast, Rest, Snore and Throat Chop,” said Greta’s pokedex.

I grunted in approval but didn’t turn my gaze away from the match.

“Lockdown protocols!” announced A.J. quickly. His Butterefree started flapping its wings and sending out green spores that clogged the air.

So he was going for a debuff strategy before sending out his Sandshrew.

Kong grunted and waved a hand negligently. “Bulk Up,” he said and his Machamp tensed. Instead of getting bigger like other pokemon might have been, I noted that only veins began to bulge across its body.

At first glance, it would almost look like he wasn’t taking A.J. seriously, but there was a seriousness to Kong and Machamps gazes. They tracked the slowly spreading spores, and Bulk Up was never wasted on a pokemon, especially a powerful specimen like Machamp.

Butterfree, having spread the Stun Spore wide over its part of the field, began to flap its wings sending a powerful gust and thereby the spores straight at Machamp.

“Blow em away,” said Kong as the Spores began to advance like a curtain wall. Machamp raised two hands to its mouth and inhaled. I felt a memory stir of another anime series where they put a single hand with fingers raised to the mouth before exhaling elemental abilities.

“Ah, big boom,” I said right before Machamp exhaled a torrent of fire with Flamethrower.

It slammed into the spores and ignited them causing a cascading expansion of fire to light up the wall. Butterfree and A.J. rather than being taken by surprise reacted marvellously.

“Rise!” shouted A.J. and his pokemon swept its wings while bucking its body. It launched itself up and out of danger.

I whistled and eyed the distance it had just covered. That had been quicker than I’d seen from his Butterfree. Not unless… I played back the sequence of events. Ah, Stun Spore into Tailwind, not Gust to propel the spores. That also bought him a slight safety net with evasion.

Good, good, A.J. wasn’t leaning into the all-or-nothing as much anymore.

Still, the revelation of Machamp knowing Flamethrower certainly stymied a lot of A.J.’s plans. He seemed to know this as he slashed his hand and Butterfree began to dive, appearing like a plane on an attack run. Machamp raised his hands, more than ready to swat this bug out of the air.

“Take him!” barked A.J. and Butterfree opened its wings before lashing out with wing after wing from just out of grapple range. From each wing slash, an Air Slash shot forward.

“Stomp and deny!” barked Kong and his pokemon responded by doing just that. With a stomp the arena broke. Small rocks were kicked up only for Machamp to begin punching them straight into the oncoming Air Slashs.

Machamp then methodically stepped forward.

With each step rocks rose and were punched forward causing Butterfree to have to start back pedalling while launching attack after attack.

“Break off!” A.J. ordered.

“Heh, Blast em,” said Kong and this time Machamp drew back all four arms and tilted its body. Where Butterfree was like a plane escaping after an unsuccessful attack, Machamp looked nothing so much as a turret sighting up on the slower plane.

Each arm fired and the air exploded outwards as an orange energy blast rocketed into Butterfree. Butterfree took the attack without being able to brace and crumpled.

A.J. didn’t even wait for it to hit the ground. He raised Butterfree’s pokeball instantly and returned it. I could only nod.

“One hit?” whispered Yolanda… “But Butterfree is resistant to Fighting types?”

“It might surprise you, but I think there is just that much of a gap between Kong’s Machamp and A.J.’s butterfree,” I said idly. “Also, don’t forget he got off a Bulk Up.”

“I remember, it’s just… not what I was expecting,” Yolanda said. Next to her Greta and Crystal nodded, their eyes locked on the battle.

I merely hummed and watched A.J. take a long breath before exhaling. He murmured something to Butterfree before nodding his head and putting it back on his pokebelt. Then he drew out another pokeball.

“Let’s go Sandshrew!” shouted A.J. surprising Kong.

Kong shot me a look only to frown when I ignored him in favour of Sandshrew. This was A.J.’s hail mary play and I wasn’t going to miss what happened.

And A.J. didn’t wait to go big. “Finish it!” he shouted and Sandshrew tucked into a ball and spun up for a second before bouncing up into the air.

Kong’s gaze snapped back to Sandshrew and he tracked the bouncing Sandshrew.

When Sandshrew got to the zenith of its jump it unfurled and spun so that it had its finger extended straight down.

Kong twitched and his gaze tracked for a moment towards me only to snap back as the threat registered. “Prote—” he started to yell as Sandshrew hit the ground, finger first.

Unlike other times, the build-up of the Fissure didn’t take a moment.

Nowadays A.J. had it to an instantaneous moment as soon as Sandshrew hit the ground.

The arena cracked and exploded with dust flying everywhere. Without fans I knew it would take an inordinate amount of time for the dust to clear.

“Sandstorm!” barked A.J. through the dust, apparently not willing to wait.

A faint, “Tch!” sounded from the other side informed me that A.J. had been right to suspect his gambit hadn't played out.

I could only shake my head. For all that I’d praised him for avoiding overcommitting with his Butterfree, he’d fallen back into bad habits with his Sandshrew. He should have gone for Sandstorm first, and then gone for Fissure.

I could only conclude that Kong had him rattled.

The Sandstorm began to build with seemingly no response from Kong. A.J. barked some orders to get his pokemon tucking up with Defence Curls.

“Move and repeat! Don’t stay put as a sitting target!” he barked.

I could only shake my head. Yup, Kong had him rattled. He wasn’t trying for a Sandstorm Dig combo, but instead bunkering up after missing with his Fissure.

As the dust settled Machamp was revealed in a… meditative pose?

I blinked and looked a little closer. Machamp’s head lolled a little and I barked out a laugh. “He got off a Rest during the Sandstorm,” I said with amusement.

It wasn’t often that an opponent was content to merely weather it while bluffing out another.

A.J. got a vein on his head, ah, he was falling into Kong’s pace.

“Rollout!” barked A.J., no doubt hoping to make use of the earlier Defence Curls he’d been tricked into using.

Right as he committed, Machamp loosened a loud snore that jolted everyone in the stands. I felt my fatigue build a little and I jerked like I’d found myself dozing off.

It took me a moment to register what had just happened Everyone, had in their own ways flinched. I looked down to find Sandshrew who’d gotten very close to Machamp twitching and shaking its head.

Machamp opened its eyes before Sandshrew could roll away. It rose with a smack of its lips and a stretch before locking eyes on the still recovering Sandshrew.

“Take aim!” said Kong. His Machamp raised its hands with the palms facing outward.

Everyone paused, tiredness cut through by the implicit threat of Sandshrew being caught in a terrible position. It was horrible luck that Machamp had woken up right after the flinch had come into play. But at the end of the day that didn’t matter. Kong had rolled the dice and come up with a win.

Machamp had Sandshrew dead to rights at that range.

A.J. slumped. “I withdraw my pokemon,” he said, returning his pokemon.

Kong nodded, his face cast as if from iron. “I should say so,” he said before cracking his neck. “I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you didn’t boost with your Sandshrew before this match,” he said.

People who had been about to applaud the good match paused at the accusation. My gaze narrowed at the implied comment of A.J. cheating.

A.J. stiffened. “I did no such thing! Sandshrew is just that skilled! We’ve been working on this for a long time now!” he said, slashing his hand across his body in denial.

Kong grunted. “Hmmm I suppose it makes sense to seek out a trainer with another powerful One hit K.O. move to learn this under,” he said.

A.J. growled. “I taught Sandshrew that move, and we honed it way before I joined Brock’s Gym!”

Kong tilted his head. Machamp, who’d relaxed after Sandshrew had been withdrawn, cocked its head and whistled. “Champ?” said the powerful pokemon.

Kong shot his pokemon a questioning look and Machamp made a sign.

Kong huffed. “Alright, you have some talent kid, not enough to earn a badge from me today, you need to win for that!” he said rubbing his chin. He shot A.J. a smirk, “But you do have enough talent to make me sit up and pay attention to you.”

He offered a hand to A.J. “You got spunk kid, but you need discipline. I think you’d do well here at my Gym. Join me,” he said.

I straightened up. Alright, now Sabrina's warning made a lot of sense. Still! This guy had some nerve! Poaching my Gym trainers in front of me!

I was halfway to opening my mouth and demanding a challenge when I remembered all of the warnings she’d given. I should let it play out. I stopped myself and laced my fingers together. Right, calm and cool. I called up my rock energy and pulled out some pebbles from my pocket for good measure. I just had to trust that Sabrina knew what she was talking about.

A.J. blinked in surprise at the offer and seemed to give it serious consideration,

I felt my mind begin to race. Would this be seen as a snub to the Gym if he left? The media might make a big deal of it.

I frowned. What if Kong was right and A.J. would do better at his Gym than mine? All these thoughts and more ran through my head as A.J. pondered. He shot me a look and I found myself unsure what to do.

I decided to trust him by opening my hand and gesturing that the choice was his.

A.J. seemed to relax at that and he turned back to Kong before shaking his head. “Maybe in future, but I think there is yet more Brock can teach me,” he said with a nod to Kong.

Kong snorted and shot me a look. “Guess I’ll just have to try again in the future eh?” He snapped his fingers. “Just to guarantee it, how’s this for a consolation prize?” he waved a hand and another Gym trainer in a gi, marched up with a pokeball on a cushion.

Kong grabbed it and presented it to A.J. “Take this pokemon and train it up. You’ll find there’s more to fighting types than meets the eye,” he said.

I huffed. That was a rather clever move to still put some hooks into A.J.

Kong gave A.J. another nod before waving a hand to the side. “And now, sadly you must depart. Good luck with training your pokemon and I look forward to you challenging me again when you have grown.”

Our contingent stood. I considered moving away with them but I felt like I couldn’t let Kong’s attempt to steal A.J. go uncommented on.

I moved up to him. “Can’t say I expected that from you Kong,” I said.

Kong locked eyes with me and for a moment I felt a thrill of excitement run through my fatigue. Damn, but now was a horrible time to throw down. Still, I’d come this far.

“A.J. has talent, I merely wish to see him fulfil that potential,” he said.

“I’m glad that you can see that, but both he and Greta had potential,” I said, making sure to point out that I valued both of them. Kong merely grunted and I hummed. “Try poaching someone in front of me like that again and we’ll have more than words,” I said firmly evoking my rock and darkness aura.

Kong stood strong in front of it and a grin stretched his face. “Ah, those are some fighting words, I think I might have to see if you can back them up,” he said.

I narrowed my eyes and half considered calling out Tita, fatigue be damned.

Then a Gym attendant appeared at Kong’s side. “Sir, your next match is ready?”

Kong grimaced and shot me a look. “Another time,” he said dismissively.

“Yeah,” I said, turning back to my group. Everyone had amused looks on their faces but Greta had a slight blush. I’d obviously pleased her by acknowledging her. A.J. wouldn’t meet my eyes. I waved for us to depart. When we reached the Gym Corridor I gestured for him to register the pokeball and find out what it was.

He did so to reveal a Tyrogue of all things. I whistled. Damn, but Kong had set a good hook there.

I had to give it to him, he wasn’t just a muscle-brained idiot… some of the time at least.

A buzz on my Xtransciever reminded me of the next item on my schedule. Yolanda perked up. “Have fun with dad spelunking!” she said.

I huffed and rolled my eyes. We were going to do so much more than just explore some caves. If I had my way, I was hoping to score at least a Megastone off this trip.

Time would see if I was right.