Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, or any other property in this work that I didn't make myself.

Bea and the autistic gym challenger

Chapter nine: Huddled up in Hulbury due to the gym challenge

I was on my way to meet up with Sashay, Rosie and Marina over at The Captain's Table over in Hulbury after I had to check in with my dad at home. I was making my way from the Hulbury Pokemon Center as I thought back to the phone call I had with dad a few moments ago; he and my little brother had watched all of the televised battles of Milo's that were broadcasted today, which just showed the current top eight favored gym challengers winning their respective first badges.

Dad had also taken time to note to me that my little brother was especially excited about Nina's competing in the gym challenge this year, and her battle against Milo was my little brother's favorite out of the eight that had aired today. Part of why my little brother was so excited about Nina is because dad had explained to him that Nina was just like him in the sense that she and my little brother both have autism; Nina doing so well served as something of inspiration to my little brother, it seemed.

...I reflected upon my little brother some more as I made the trip from the Hulbury Pokemon Center over to The Captain's Table.

...

(Four years ago)

I had just arrived home from another Galar karate class under Master Teriyaki, pride swelling within me as I had been given some manner of award by my sensei for placing first in a mini tournament of sorts between me and the rest of my classmates that sensei had us do to see how far we've come since beginning the class. Granted the award was a six inch tall mini trophy topped with a golden plastic Magikarp figure and the little plaque at the base said 'Best Berry Salesman', but I still thanked Master Teriyaki for it.

When I walked through the door, I was just in time to see my dad lead my little brother down the hallway to his bedroom; I wasn't able to get a clear look at my little brother as he was walking ahead of dad, but dad was talking to him in a kind and gentle tone, saying that he had a big day and that him wanting to take a nap was perfectly understandable. As I watched the guys in my family depart down the hallway, mother got my attention.

"You...will have to excuse your little brother, Bea," mother said, her tone a mix of resignation, bemusement and simmering anger, "The doctor that we took him to in order to see why he's been taking so long to reach certain points in life children his age have already reached had to bring in a specialist due to a hunch that he got."

I was aware that my little brother hadn't started walking or talking as soon as little children in his age group should have reached, and it was also concerning how he refused to eat anything outside of very few certain things, and various other quirks that he had. "Is...is he going to be okay, mother?" I asked, worried about my little brother's well-being.

Mother placed a hand over her face, gave a resigned sigh. "...No, I'm afraid not. As it turned out, the specialist that the doctor we took your brother to called in had confirmed to us that your brother's...not right in the head, to put things lightly."

"Malty, that's not what the specialist said at all," my dad's voice called out, getting mother and I to turn to face him as he came out of the hallway. I saw that there was a slight hint of firm disappointment in dad's expression as he regarded mother. Dad turned to regard me, the look on his face softening. "...Bea, your mom and I need to discuss something very serious with you," dad said, "Come on, we'll talk at the table."

As it turned out, my dad explained to me that my little brother had been diagnosed with autism earlier today by the specialist that the doctor had called in. The long story short is that it makes my little brother grow at his own pace, and that it affects his sensory feelings, like he doesn't like the taste of most foods, or the feel of most clothing, or how things can't be at too high of a volume because he's sensitive to loud noises.

But my dad assured me that my little brother was still a normal boy, and that he wasn't 'broken' or anything else like that. We just needed to show him as much love as we could, and help him grow where and when we can. It was fine by me, as my little brother enjoyed it when I allowed him to play with my Machop, my very first Pokemon, that I had very recently gotten; my little brother was just as enraptured as Machop was when they were sitting on the floor in my room as I told them the story of Urshifu that Master Teriyaki had told me.

...But mother was of a different opinion than dad. "Landors, you heard what that specialist said," mother said as she addressed dad, "Our son isn't normal, he's reta-"

"He's autistic," dad said firmly, turning to face mother and cutting her off before she finished what she was going to say. I had never seen dad look so firm, so serious, so mad as he did at that moment when mother was about to refer to my little brother by that rather severe word. "And hurling insults at him over something that he has no control over is the last thing that he needs right now."

Mother, more out of stunned surprise over dad being firm, backed down and allowed him to take the lead for the rest of the talk. Dad then explained a few more things to me, but the tldr here is that we needed to show consideration to my little brother and afford him more understanding as well as respect certain boundaries.

(That didn't stop mother from being cold and distant from my little brother ever since that day.)

...

(Present day)

I had snapped out of my thoughts, my memories, when I saw that I had arrived at The Captain's Table. The top restaurant in Hulbury, The Captain's Table was known for the finest seafood dining anywhere in Galar outside of what's over in Wyndon. The Captain's Table, with a three star rating, was also the overall fanciest restaurant in Galar outside of Wyndon; all other restaurants in Galar with a rating of three stars and up were over in Wyndon, which made sense as it is the capital of the region, as well as the seat of the Galar Pokemon League.

I made my way inside, and as I was greeted by the receptionist, she was cut off after five words when a female voice that was familiar to me called out, "Yeah, it's you alright, Bea." Turning around, I was met up by Nessa, the gym leader of the Hulbury gym. It rather amazed me that she had recognized me even though I was in my 'incognito' outfit. The water Pokemon specialist walked up to me with the confidence that came with being not just one of Galar's gym leaders but also the region's top fashion model.

A small part of me had always wanted to be like Nessa, and still does to this day. So there was a very slight fan girl voice going squee in my head as I had turned around to greet her. "Oh, Nessa, I wasn't expecting you to be here. Some friends of mine wanted me to meet them here."

Nodding in the affirmative, Nessa replied, "I know. Those Sashay, Rosie and Marina girls, right?" It was clear that Nessa's following smile was a sign she recognized the shock in my face. "Yeah, I'm actually dining with them, as they were in the party that Commissioners Rosalia, Robin and Malty are in," Nessa explained, "They told me that you were coming, and the commissioners asked me to grab you when you came in so I could bring you over."

Ah, so mother's here. And she's expecting me. Well, it's best to not keep mother and the others waiting, so I allowed Nessa to lead me over to where the large party was already dining. Things during the conversation that was bound to happen was bound to be interesting indeed.

I was seated between Nessa and my friend Marina at the table as all eight of the party members were enjoying the meal that was ordered; food had been ordered for me by mother, who clearly had ordered a light meal for me because of how she was always trying to manage what I ate to make sure I stayed 'pretty'. It was mother who kick started the conversation by bringing up how my friends had all gotten their respective first badges on the first go.

"Oh yes, we're all very proud of you three," Sashay's mom Robin remarked to Sashay, Rosie and Marina, "I'm certain that each of you will show all of the gym leaders here in Galar what for!"

"You say that while two of said gym leaders are seated here," Nessa said dryly, a clear bit of knowing humor in her tone.

There was some lighthearted laughter amongst the party. "Ah yes, we can't forget about Malty's daughter and Nessa," Rosalia remarked, then added while addressing me and Nessa, "By the way, are either of you two looking forward to seeing the various gym challengers come to your respective gyms to battle to earn badges from you?"

I took the initiative in this part of the conversation. "I'm glad that there are so many of them this year, meaning that I'll have no shortage of people to battle. I'm particularly looking forward to facing the top eight favored gym challengers if and when they all come challenge me for the Fighting Badge."

"Ah yes, and these three girls here are all part of that group," Nessa commented as she gestured to my friends. With a bit of a smirk, Nessa added, "Granted, they'll have to get over me and then Kabu first before they can challenge the Stow-on-Side gym, as do the others in the top eight, and all other gym challengers this year."

"Speaking of us top eight favored gym challengers..." Marina said as she pulled her phone out to check something. "...Yeah, the ranking list hasn't changed since the last time I checked it this morning before we all had our respective challenges against Milo." Huh, so that meant that Sashay is still the number one favored gym challenger right now, after that Bede fellow dropped a spot because that video of him losing a casual battle to that Marnie girl got out.

Sashay obviously knew that she was still the number one most favored gym challenger right now, and Robin shot her a congratulatory, proud expression for being so popular in Galar at the moment. As Sashay was practically radiating smug pride, mother said to Nessa, "So what do make of the girls here, Nessa? Of the other top eight favored gym challengers right now?"

"Well it's obvious that the girls here will give me a run for my money," Nessa began, "And as a water Pokemon user I'd probably say that Commissioner Rosalia's daughter Rosie, who is an electric Pokemon user, is the biggest threat to me out of the three gym challengers here." Hearing a gym leader admit that she'd be threatened by her clearly boosted Rosie's confidence a bit, which she sort of needs right now due to how she is still being ranked so low in the top eight favored gym challengers.

As it currently stands, in the top eight Rosie outranks only our classmate Darnell. The other six all place higher than her, including Nina; being ranked lower than the special needs girl that she and Sashay used to take delight in bullying way back in the day must serve as a never ending source of irritation to Rosie. On a related note, when Nessa steered the conversation towards talk of the other gym challengers in the top eight, I saw piqued hints of interest in the eyes of my mother and her fellow commissioners that were here.

"But the girls here are just three of the top eight," Nessa remarked, "There's loads of other talent that I know will be seeking me out. Like that Bede boy, for instance."

Rosalia nodded in agreement with the water Pokemon specialist. "Yes, and I did see the footage of his win in the Turffield gym. He had proven to all of Galar that talk of him being a Pokemon battle prodigy is well deserved." Mother and Robin nodded in agreement with Rosalia, and it does make sense that they'd be trying to hype Bede up as much as they can; they did, after all, sign the letters of endorsement that Bede had. I still don't know why they had all decided to up and sponsor Bede, though.

Nessa, her expression casual and calm, remarked, "Yes, and I will say that out of the three boys among the top eight favored gym challengers, Bede is clearly the best." Nessa opened her eyes, looked at the commissioners at the table. "...But I'd say that the girls in the top eight hold a lot more of my attention, at least at the moment."

"Of course," Robin replied, clearly looking happy that Sashay and the other girls were being held up, "Sashay and her friends here are clearly top trainers that will take the gym challenge this year by storm, if I do say so myself." Rosalia and mother both nodded in agreement with Robin.

Nodding once, Nessa went on, "Yeah, I gotta give cred to the girls in the top eight, especially the one among them that I feel will be the biggest threat to me."

"Ah, you must be talking about my daughter Sashay," Robin began, "Or maybe Rosalia's daughter Rosie who you did say would be a threat to you because of her use of elec-"

"Actually, I'm talking about Gym Challenger Nina."

Mother and the other commissioners that were seated at the table all took pause at what Nessa had just said, turned to regard her as if she had sprouted a second head. Either ignoring or being completely ignorant of the looks she was getting from mother and the others, Nessa said, "I saw the whole of all those battles that Gym Challenger Nina had in Spikemuth to prove her competency, as they were all recorded on someone's phone and they posted it. Not only that but I also caught wind of her battle against Milo where she earned the Grass Badge."

Mother and the other commissioners looked as if they didn't quite know what to say. "...Y-Yes," Rosalia began, "She certainly has proven that she possesses some degree of power and skill, but let's not forget-"

As if she wasn't even aware that mother and the others weren't exactly trying to hide all of their displeasure with Nina, Nessa went on, "Frankly, I'm thinking that Nina might be the first gym challenger this year who will make it to the championship tournament at the end. It certainly would be quite the news story, don't you think commissioners? The first special needs citizen that ever entered the Galar gym challenge reaching the championship tournament at the end on her first try."

"Even if she does make it that far," mother began, clearly trying to keep herself calm because Nessa was speaking positively of someone mother thinks shouldn't even be showing her face in public, "She'll be facing others who also got that far. Then there will be the gym leaders taking part in their bracket, and Leon at the end."

Nessa was silent for a bit as she wore a bit of a contemplative look on her face. "...Yeah, that Leon sure is in a league of his own, alright. I doubt that anyone can ever beat him, even someone with talent such as Nina." Not that Nessa either saw or noticed it, but mother and the other commissioners relaxed a bit, clearly taking comfort in the reassurance that, if anything, Leon will always remain an insurmountable monolith.

Cracking her neck a bit, Nessa went on, "But then again, Leon's unblemished record hasn't deterred a lot of people from trying for his title anyway. Or are all of the gym challengers competing in the challenge this year dreaming foolishly? Hell, I've lost track of the number of times gym leaders here in Galar have tried their hand against Leon only to come up short, although a good chunk of those attempts were made by Raihan."

The water Pokemon specialist raised a point; each current gym leader here in Galar, including both myself and Nessa, have battled against Leon at least once. Leon won every battle, as he always does, which served to further cement his reputation as Galar's unbeatable, undefeated champion. I do not begrudge my one loss to Leon (I have only had one battle against Leon so far; Raihan has had at least ten by comparison) as he had, and continues to, prove himself as one of the best Pokemon trainers in Galar. There's no shame losing to a superior opponent.

I can appreciate Nessa standing up for not just the two of us and every other gym leader in Galar, but also for every gym challenger who's taking part in the gym challenge this year. None of them are foolish for dreaming of getting to potentially face Leon in the championship match at the very end of the challenge, as it's something that every trainer in Galar worth their salt has a strong desire to do. But as we finished the rest of our dinner at The Captain's Table, I felt that there were vibes of contention coming from mother.

When mother and I walked through the front door of home when we got there after taking the Corviknight taxi from Hulbury to Stow-on-Side, she dropped the facade and let off how upset she was over one slight implication she decided to pick out from what Nessa had said during the conversation at dinner.

"Nessa seriously thinks that freak girl isn't being foolish?!" mother practically screamed, "Of course that brat is being foolish! She started being foolish the moment that she decided to stop hiding herself away from the normal people living in Galar!" I would object to mother speaking in so negative a manner, but she made it clear that her word, her will, is law. As she was in the middle of throwing her little temper tantrum (and she has the nerve to accuse my little brother of being poorly behaved), mother turned and rounded on me.

Mother pointed an accusing finger right in my face. "...Should that freak girl make it past both Nessa and Kabu, you are by no means to let her beat you. Do I make myself clear?"

"I never let-"

"DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR, GIRL?!"

I was barely able to keep my expression stoic and unwavering. "...Yes, mother." It was clear that dad wasn't home, otherwise he'd have intervened and gave me a chance to say to mother what I was trying to say, to explain. And since I don't hear him crying as mother was being rather loud, my little brother either is asleep or he's not home either. My guess is that he's with dad, because no way would he be left home alone; my little brother is only six.

Sure enough, dad soon came home with my little brother, who ran off to his room. I didn't see him as both mother and I were drawn to dad. "I hear that quite a lot of people are looking forward to seeing the top eight favored gym challengers face off against Nessa, who will be ready to face them starting first thing tomorrow morning," dad began, "Hell, some of the guys at work are making bets on them, mostly who will go first or if one will win or lose his or her first go at Nessa."

Mother, with all the natural calm self assured attitude that she had, casually remarked, "Well I'd say that Bea's friends are all shoo-ins. That Bede boy is also promising."

"Yeah, and some of my friends at work are apologizing to me ahead of time because they think all of the top eight favored gym challengers will all get past Bea's gym," dad remarked, "But then again there's no reason to apologize just because Bea might lose a few battles."

I nodded in agreement with dad, glad he was here to act as a buffer of sorts. "I agree. But just like they might beat me, I might beat them." Dad liked how I was showing confidence in my abilities as a trainer and gym leader. The rest of the evening passed by without incident, and I got to bed early so I'd be up early for the first Corviknight taxi to Hulbury. I wanted to be there to cheer my friends on as they tried their respective hands at Nessa.

By the time I had woken up the next day, did all of my morning getting ready routine, and was catching the first Corviknight taxi to Hulbury, I was already seeing news reports on my phone related to the gym challenge this year while riding the taxi. As it turned out, Nessa's first two gym challengers who had faced her this morning were Nina and Marnie, and Nessa had lost to both of them on their respective first goes, meaning that both of the Spikemuth girls now had their second badges each.

I saw a short video clip on my phone that showed a live news interview with Marnie, who had her Morpeko out with her; an electric Pokemon like Morpeko would give Marnie an edge against Nessa. The interview was taken outside of the Hulbury gym, and Nessa stood next to Marnie. There was also a similar video of a live interview outside of the Hulbury gym but with Nina, who had a Flapple that she named Pixie-Bob out with her, explaining that she had used her named Flapple when she took on Nessa's gym.

Yeah, I can see how a dual grass-dragon Pokemon like Flapple would be hell for Nessa, as it not only is strong against her water Pokemon with its grass attacks, but its dual grass-dragon typing made it highly resistant to water attacks. Mother will undoubtedly be incensed at the news of Nina having made it past Nessa's gym no problem. The last thing I saw on my phone before the taxi landed in Hulbury was how Bede was reported to have just started his battle against Nessa. I got out of the taxi then made my way to the Hulbury gym, thankful that I had remembered to put on my 'incognito' outfit.

...

By the time I actually reached the Hulbury gym, people in the lobby were cheering over how Bede had just won against Nessa. Huh, so I missed getting to see Bede battle this time. Oh well, I'm technically not even here for him, just my friends. I quickly spotted the girls and made my way over to them. "It seems that Bede really is a Pokemon battle prodigy," I said, making the girls all jump a bit as I had surprised them. I couldn't help but smile at me spooking the girls.

"Yeah, but he's nothing compared to me," Sashay said as she settled down from how I had spooked her, "My bugs will make quick work of Bede's Pokemon." Well no doi; Bede is a psychic Pokemon user, so of course bug Pokemon would make quick work of Bede's Pokemon. But more of that for later. The moment that Nessa was ready to take another challenger to her gym, Sashay jumped at the bit to take it.

Over the course of the rest of the day, the rest of the top eight favored gym challengers all had battles with Nessa and won on their first goes, showing partly why they're the top eight favored gym challengers right now. Granted, some of them struggled a bit such as Harry and Sashay (Nessa's Drednaw is part rock type and Harry and Sashay both specialize in types weak to rock), but all of them still pulled through well enough.

As my friends and I all relaxed in the lobby of the Hulbury Pokemon Center while my friends celebrated their respective wins against Nessa, our attention was drawn to the wall mounted telly which was on the main sporting channel while it played a news discussion related to the gym challenge. The news discussion fellows, Ben and Chet, were back to work as they were now covering how the top eight favored gym challengers had done in their respective battles where they all earned the Water Badge.

"All of Galar is getting worked up over this year's gym challenge," Ben said, "But with so much hot talent among the batch of gym challengers this year, especially those in the top eight right now, you can't really blame folks who are glued to their tellies watching every last bit."

"Oh yeah," Chet remarked, "In fact all eight of the top eight favored gym challengers have all just made it past Nessa's gym in Hulbury, although some of them did struggle a bit." The news discussion then showed the current rankings bracket, which had changed slightly since Sashay jumped to the number one spot.

To Sashay's annoyance she had dropped to her original spot of number two, with that Bede fellow going back up to number one. My guess is that it's due to Sashay struggling a bit during her battle against Nessa when Nessa had sent her Drednaw out. Harry and Rosie switched spots on the list as well, again because Nessa's Drednaw must have been rather tricky for a guy like Harry, who uses a type weak to rock Pokemon like Drednaw, to face. Rosie seemed quite happy to have gone up in the rankings.

But all amusement from that fled Rosie, and was replaced with annoyed anger similar to what Sashay had, when they saw that Nina had gone up in the top eight favored gym challengers, having swapped spots with Marina. According to the news discussion, Nina's jump in the rankings stems mainly from how she had used just her named Flapple to defeat Nessa. Many people in Galar were starting to get behind the idea than a special needs girl like Nina could actually compete with the best of them, it seems.

So the current top eight favored gym challengers right now, from first to eighth, were Bede, Sashay, Marnie, Nina, Marina, Rosie, Harry and Darnell. Although Marina was being a good sport about Nina passing her in the rankings, Sashay and Rosie weren't as amused by it and chided Marina for letting Nina pass her. Sashay was in a slightly foul mood due to losing the number one spot to Bede, and even Rosie going up a spot on the rankings list didn't do too much when it came to lightening her mood over seeing Nina go up.

If they let their feelings here mess with them when they face Kabu in Motostoke for his badge, they're going to have a bad time.

END, CHAPTER NINE

Author's notes;

I wanted to shed a bit of light on Bea's past when it covered the part concerning her little brother being diagnosed with autism, given that it ends up impacting Bea's life to an extent. And I hope I got Bea's little brother being excited over Nina doing well accurate enough, given that he would be happy to see someone like him do well in the gym challenge.

Anyway, the next chapter will mention the Bede battle in the mine between Hulbury and Motostoke, although Marnie will fight it just like with the first one. There will also be the battles against Kabu being covered. These battles will also have an impact on the rankings list for the top eight favored gym challengers, but how the rankings list will be impacted by this has to wait to be seen, given how the battles will go.