Chapter 8

Masters of Masters

'Everybody wants to make a statement. Everybody wants to carve their mark. Stand alone in the victory circle. Stake a claim when the music starts.'

What happened immediately following Ruby asking the Tohjo Champion's Dragonite for an autograph was difficult for Weiss to say, but when she returned to consciousness, the pseudo-legendary was handing over Ruby's freshly signed Pokédex as well as Ledian's Pokéball, who buzzed all around the giant dragon in admiration bordering on infatuation.

"Lance," said the older gentleman in the golf cart, "You're the dragon Master, and you're not doing anything productive at the moment. Do something about all these Gyarados before they kill somebody."

Upon hearing the man's gravelly voice, Weiss returned to her senses and resumed marveling at the Ice-type Master her papa had told her so much about growing up.

She cleared her throat and bowed again. "Master Pryce, sir, my name is Weiss Schnee. I'm a trainer from the Kalos region, and I've come a very long way to challenge your gym and earn the right to be called an Ice-type Master."

Pryce turned and narrowed his eyes. "Schnee," he grumbled. "I take it you're Nicholas' granddaughter?"

"Yes, sir! He told me all kinds of stories about the two of you, how-"

"I'm afraid if you've come looking for a Pokémon battle, you've come too late," he interrupted. "Once this business with Team Rocket and the Gyarados is settled, I'm officially turning over the Mahogany Gym to Diana here. She might not know how to drive, but the gym could be in worse hands."

Weiss turned and for the very first time regarded the young woman in the pink ski suit. "Don't mind him," Diana said, stealing a mischievous grin at the old man. "Master Pryce has been talking about retirement since I was a little girl. Every few months at the end of the day, he comes and tells me that he's not coming back and that I'm in charge from now on. After a week or two though he's back and pretending nothing happened, griping about how nobody knows how to run a gym these days, and everything else for that matter."

"That's because your generation doesn't, and when you're my age you've earned the right to gripe as much as you want." He wasn't quite able to hide a miniscule grin from the young woman, and Weiss watched on with twinkling eyes.

"I suppose since we're making introductions-" Diana stepped out of the golf cart and tossed her hair back. "I'm Diana Whittaker. On-again, off-again leader of the Mahogany Gym. I believe you're already acquainted with Master Pryce, Master Lance, and Dragonite, who of course need no introduction, but who's your friend in the cape? Is she a challenger too?"

Weiss frowned. "She's just somebody who bumped into me on the way here, but she's also come to challenge the Mahogany Town gym leader, Pryce." Her words carried a bite not unlike the old man's, and she quickly turned her attention to the girl currently making a spectacle of herself. "Ruby, perhaps you should introduce yourself."

"I'm Ruby!" she squealed. "Ledian and I are your biggest fans, Mr. Dragonite, sir! We have all of your trading cards and we stood in line for six days to get your autobiography! Ledian and I read it to each other every night before bedtime!"

Dragonite blushed and waved a claw as if to shyly say 'go on'. Meganium approached a moment later, having previously been helping Lance with the cleanup, and extended a vine so as to formally introduce herself. His face reddened as Meganium's Sweet Scent was still lingering, and Dragonite bent down to kiss the vine, causing her to also blush and for Ledian to shoot her a jealous glare.

'Back off, weed breath. He's mine,' she seemed to say.

Weiss shuddered and began distancing herself from the scene, suddenly wishing she hadn't looked or said anything. "Ahem, anyway. We came all this way hoping to assist you, but I'm afraid I'm not entirely sure what exactly is going on. You said something about Team Rocket being involved?"

Pryce grunted in response and pointed. "Ask him. He's the fool who turned off the blasted radio signal that's been forcing all the Magikarp to evolve. Turns out, turning off Team Rocket's little science experiment caused the already temperamental Gyarados to go from mad to full blown insane, but I suppose I shouldn't expect anything less from a Pokémon G-Man..."

"Radio Signal?" Weiss echoed. "Science experiment?"

"G-MAN!?"

"Pryce," Lance called, capturing the final unconscious Gyarados inside an Ultra Ball. "How many times have I told you not to tell people about that? G-Men are supposed to remain anonymous."

"Kinda hard to keep it a secret when you're the Tohjo Champion, ride around on a Dragonite, and wear a gaudy cape everywhere you go. At least the girl has sense enough to use hers as a raincoat. Probably keeps her warm too.

Lance grinned ear to ear. "I promise my cape has kept plenty of young women warm as well."

Diana let out an involuntary squeal, and Ruby immediately came running, stopping just short of running into his chest. "Ruby!" Weiss shouted. "What do you think you're doing!?"

"Mr. Lance, sir," she said, "is it true that you're a G-Man?"

The Champion took a step back, perhaps uncomfortable by the girl's sudden interest in him. "I am, though I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone."

Ruby clapped her hands together and began jumping up and down. "That must mean you know my Uncle Qrow! He's a trainer just like me, well not exactly like me because he never loses, but when he had the chance to join Tohjo's Elite Four, he declined and joined the G-Men instead!"

It took a moment for Lance to decipher all that the motormouth had said, but finally he blinked and shared a surprised look with Dragonite before regarding the girl again. "Qrow? You mean Qrow Branwen?"

"Yep! He's my uncle!"

Lance laughed and shook his head, smiling ear to ear as Dragonite and his newfound entourage joined them. "Well I'll be. I guess that makes Professor Xiao Long your father, and Yang your sister, huh?"

"Uh-huh!"

The Champion removed a glove and held out his hand. "It's an honor to finally meet you, Ruby. Your uncle was something of a mentor to me even before I became a G-Man, and your mother showed us a great deal of kindness after we lost our first championship. Isn't that right, Dragonite?"

The gentle dragon nodded and patted the girl on the head. "You look just like Summer," Lance said quietly, speaking as if to himself.

Ruby's eyes twinkled as she studied the hand offered to her as if unsure what to do with it, but after a bit prodding from her Pokémon, Ruby finally accepted the handshake. "Y-you knew my mom?"

Lance nodded. "I did, but only for a short while I'm afraid. She was an extraordinary woman, as was Raven. And they'd both be proud to see the kinds of trainers their daughters have become."

*sniff*

Ruby wiped her eyes, blaming the rain which had since stopped, prompting Meganium to lick her face clean. "Thank you, sir," she giggled due to being ticklish. "You were saying something about Team Rocket using a radio signal to hurt the Magikarp in the area?"

Lance smiled again and led her back to the others where Pryce was impatiently for them while Diana stared dreamily at Lance. Weiss meanwhile couldn't seem to make up her mind whether she should be glaring at Ruby or Diana, or staring admiringly at Pryce.

"Team Rocket may have gone underground the past several years but they've been anything but dormant," said the dragon Master once they were all together again. "Seven years ago we learned the identity of their leader and very nearly captured him, but as always he was one step ahead of us. He's been on the run ever since, and only just recently announced his return to Team Rocket. In my opinion he never left, and has been running the organization from the shadows since the beginning, possibly even without his executives' knowledge."

"Red's the one who found out a gym leader was actually the leader of Team Rocket the entire time, right?" Ruby stole a glance at Pryce but quickly looked away when Weiss shot her another nasty glare.

"That's right," said Lance. "Giovanni being the leader of Team Rocket was a shock to the entire Pokémon League. He was a Master and former member of the Elite Four decades ago, but hasn't sought any championship or title since, citing that he was content being the gym leader of his hometown. Now we know why he never had greater aspirations. They were too noble for him..."

He sighed and shook his head, and Pryce made a similar gesture. "Seven years ago his goal was to obtain the Master Ball just recently developed by Silph. It's capable of capturing any Pokémon without fail, but the materials required for its creation are exceedingly rare, and to even craft one requires a state of the art lab and a ball maker the caliber of Kurt from Azalea Town."

"Kurt! I know him! He's my boss!" Weiss elbowed the girl before tossing her hair back.

"The SDC cooperated with Silph on the creation of the Master Ball," she said proudly. "We may be competitors but when it comes to Pokémon capture, there's a ridiculous amount of government oversight and regulation, which required every major ball-making company to cooperate this one time. If I recall correctly, Team Rocket's plan was to capture the Legendary Birds of Kanto as well as Mewtwo, but sending Kanto's economy spiraling into ruin was either going to be icing on the cake or a consolation prize if they failed."

Lance grinned and gave a slight nod. "I would expect nothing less from you, Miss Schnee, especially given that your sister's also a G-Man." He stole a glance at Ruby and winked. "You're correct, Team Rocket was able to capture Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres albeit only for a brief time, but fortunately for us all Mewtwo escaped from Cinnabar Island and was able to elude Giovanni for years. We probably wouldn't be here talking if it hadn't."

"Mew-two?" Ruby murmured, carefully sounding the name out. "Wait, there's a Mew-one? I thought Mew was just a legend!"

"Just ignore her," said Weiss. "That's usually what I do."

"Team Rocket's ultimate goal is world domination through force and finances," Lance continued. "With a device like the signal tower, nowhere would be safe. Even if it only affects Magikarp and Gyarados, which I seriously doubt will be the case for long, anywhere near water would be in danger. Team Rocket could even smuggle Magikarp into a city, force them to evolve, and watch them raze it to the ground..."

Everyone was silent as his words weighed heavily on their hearts and minds when Ruby suddenly cleared her throat, stuttering when she realized she was the center of attention. "So what are we gonna do to stop them?"

The two Masters, the substitute gym leader, and Dragonite all beamed at her. "Leave Team Rocket to the G-Men," said Lance. "As for the Gyarados, I'm afraid it's too dangerous. It'd be best if you and Miss Schnee went to Mahogany and waited for us there. Several rivers flow either into or near the city, and there's a garrison of trainers waiting there in case any Gyarados wander too close. Join them. They could use a pair of experienced trainers such as yourselves."

"What about y'all?"

"Don't worry about us, Ruby. Pryce and I are Champions, both regional and of the world, and Diana's well on her way to becoming a Master herself. We're sticking close to one another, and we're not taking any unnecessary risks. Lake of Rage is known for harboring powerful Gyarados, but since the radio transmission started, they've become some of the strongest Pokémon I've ever seen in the wild. Or championship matches for that matter."

Ruby shuddered and hid herself in her cloak. "I've heard really scary stories about Gyarados..."

"And most of them are true I'm afraid. Gyarados can be fiercely loyal to their trainers, but even the most docile can still be ill tempered when it suits them. They may technically not be dragons, but they have the same temperament and it takes just as much skill to earn one's trust. If not more."

Weiss huffed and stepped forward with her chin held high. "I happen to know a thing or two about training dragons myself. I'm also an advanced level trainer and an expert with Ice-types. And Ruby here, well, she's more competent than she looks."

"You really mean that, Weiss? That's the nicest thing you've ever said about me."

"No disrespect, Master Pryce, Master Lance, sirs, but between the two of us, we've won twenty gym badges and our Pokémon are more than capable of handling themselves. Please, we can help you, and we can also help those poor, poor Gyarados finally get some rest."

The two Champions glanced at one another, a silent conversation taking place. Ruby meanwhile tugged on Weiss' sleeve and covered her mouth. "Are you sure about this?" she whispered. "Gyarados are really scary, and I've never actually beaten one in battle before."

"You will NOT mess this up for me, Ruby," she hissed back, careful to keep her voice down. "This could be my one and only chance to impress both Pryce and Lance. If you wish to chicken out that's fine by me. I'll be just fine without you. I already told you that I'd leave you behind at the first sign of you holding me-"

"No," they said in unison.

"W-what!?"

Pryce frowned and looked away, but Lance merely grinned sheepishly at them. "Officially you're not allowed to help us. That's a directive from my superiors and the Pokémon League, but in all honesty we could really use the help. It's a bigger job than anyone could've anticipated. The three of us will continue diving into the heart of Lake of Rage while you two patrol the perimeter. I suspect you'll still run into your fair share of Gyarados, but there shouldn't be any roving bands like the one you walked in on. Most likely they'll just be the ones who slipped past us."

Weiss nodded as his terms sounded acceptable enough, but Ruby continued biting her nails and fidgeting with her pendants.

"However-" Lance said, suddenly donning the commanding presence he portrayed on television- "under no circumstances are you to risk the lives of yourselves or your Pokémon."

"Especially not when you're as difficult to impress as we are," Pryce added, a semblance of a smile tugging on his lip. "If either of you wish to impress me, do it in next week's gym battles. In exchange for your services today, I'll put off retirement another week and see to it that you're both moved to the front of the waiting list of challengers."

"T-that's, but-"

"You really mean it!?" Weiss screamed, shoving a still nervous Ruby out of the way.

Pryce nodded, actually smiling now, but on the other side of the cart, Diana smirked at the star struck teenager. "You'll still have to get past me of course, but that shouldn't be a problem for an Ice-type expert like yourself."

Weiss smirked back, ready to call upon her Pokémon here and now if need be. "Seems that we're both in agreement then."

With temperatures suddenly plummeting due to tensions rising between the two Ice-type experts, Ruby pulled her hood up and regarded the Dragonite towering over them which Ledian had decided to perch upon, possibly without even the armored dragon's notice. "If we run into trouble, you'll come save us, right, Mr. Dragonite, sir?"

Dragonite nodded and patted her on the head again. "Either he or one of his sisters will," Lance promised. "I brought three Dragonair hoping they'd be able to put a stop to these rainstorms, but I'm afraid the Gyarados are too powerful even for masters of the weather like them."

*gulp*

"M-more powerful than dragons? Wait, your little sisters are here!?"

"Who knows," Diana said, still smirking at Weiss, "maybe Suicune will come to your rescue, or at least your Pokémon."

"Suicune!?" Ruby clapped her hands together. "That's the legendary Pokémon Sakura told me about!"

"It was seen around here about a week ago," Lance said. "We haven't seen it ourselves, but with all this rain it would be next to impossible to see anyway. There's no word of where Entei or Raikou may be. If they're too busy to come to the Gyarados' aid, I shudder to think what has them preoccupied."

"This far north is usually Suicune's territory," she remembered. "Entei's usually to the east while Raikou roams the west and south."

"Very good, Miss Rose," said Pryce. "I take it you visited the Kimono Girls while you were in Ecruteak?"

Ruby nodded. "I did. My friend Sakura, she's the next in line to be the Espeon Kimono Girl, she told me all about Johto's legendary Pokémon. I even challenged them and-"

"We both challenged them," Weiss interrupted. "but I'm afraid I'm the only one who had any real success. I was even presented my with very own kimono during a special award ceremony for defeating them."

Weiss beamed with pride, but while Lance gave an approving nod, Pryce just stared with his arms folded across his chest as if expecting her to continue telling the story. "I earned mine when I was sixteen," said Diana, mimicking her Master's mannerisms.

"Yes, well, I'm sure you didn't also defeat Valerie in Kalos, or-"

"Enough chatter," Pryce said, returning Mamoswine to its ball. "I'm not getting any younger and my home's in danger, and you two have work to do."

"Yes, sir!"

(A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. For anybody curious, Lance was originally introduced in the anime as a "G-Man" rather than an Elite 4 member or the Kanto/Johto Champion (Tohjo Champion for simplicity's sake in this story), and "G-Man" is just short for "Government Man". I decided to keep the concept and expand on it, with it being a "secret" organization and its members all being Elite 4 caliber trainers that focus more on making the world a better place rather than focusing exclusively on Pokémon battles, though obviously the two aren't mutually exclusive. I thought this would be a good substitute for the huntsmen/huntresses in RWBY. However I don't think Ruby's personality in this story really fits with her wanting to become a huntress/G-Man, but rather a humble Pokémon trainer on a journey with her best friends trying to be the best they can be. I see her as having small goals but big impacts everywhere she goes, and making the world a better place, sometimes without even realizing it due to being just that kind of person.

Also, it may be a while until I'm finished with the next chapter or two. They're fairly long and as you may have guessed, and with Gyarados being one of my all-time favorite Pokémon, I want to do it justice (for your sakes and mine). Chapters 7 and 8 in all honesty were a bit of a "happy little accident" in that I wrote them both over the course of just a couple of days after inspiration struck when I had plans of working on other stories. Not sure if there will be any more happy little accidents in the near future, but I hope you enjoyed Chapters 7 and 8, and that they'll tide you over while I finish the rest of the arc and get back to some of my other stories. Thank you for all the love and support, friends. "The Road You Choose" has become like comfort food for me this past year, and a great deal of that has to do with the kindness you've all shared with me. Thank you, and God bless.

All credit goes to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has blessed me with this story and wonderful readers such as yourself. God bless)