3
I Remember Why I Hate You Now
My steps felt heavier as I trudged back to my office in the back of the training center.
The station was practically calling my name.
You're going to miss your best friend's wedding.
There's no way Bede's going to let you leave in time.
I clenched my jaw and shook my head.
No.
Bede would get five minutes of my time and nothing more.
With the knowledge that I'd run out in the middle of one of Bede's famous lengthy pontifications if I had to, manners be damned, I felt marginally better as I opened the door to my office and stepped into the bright, airy space that I'd called my second home for the last four years.
"Gym Leader Bede!" I called out lightly and gave him such a wide smile that it almost hurt. "What an absolute pleasure to see you!"
He sat in front of my desk, an ankle propped on the opposite knee.
It was an improvement, for sure. The last time he was here, I found him behind my desk, thumbing through my private correspondences and checking the messages on my desktop Rotom.
The nerve.
He gave me that trademark Bede smirk that I've grown so accustomed to since meeting him a decade ago when we both fought for the title of Champion.
"Well, well, kept me waiting long enough, haven't you?"
My smile started cracking at the edges. "I was actually on my way to Postwick. I've got a wedding to attend."
The threat was unspoken, but quite explicit.
And if you make me miss it, I'll make you regret you, you overgrown piece of fluff.
Which…was me being incredibly uncharitable.
Bede was a good-looking kid, just on that edge of androgynous beauty that made it difficult for people to guess if he was a boy or a girl.
Ten years later, he still possessed the delicate features that made him such a popular promotional figure in the Galar region.
The cameras and magazines absolutely loved him, as did most of the women (and some men, if I'm being honest), I thought.
As long as he kept his damn mouth shut, I had to admit, it was hard not to be enthralled by his almost unearthly beauty.
A slim, angular face, rosebud lips, with pale skin the color of driven snow.
With his white hair now flowing about his shoulders, instead of a mass of curls that used to look like a helmet protecting his head, Bede was undeniably the most eye-catching and charismatic of all of Galar's gym leaders.
He got way more airtime than I did, something that absolutely exasperated my trainers, but was absolutely fine with me.
Bede enjoyed the limelight, practically preened whenever a camera was pointed in his direction, while I tended to slump my shoulders and dive behind the nearest person for cover.
It's something that really annoyed Sara, but what can I say?
I didn't get into this business for the glamour and glitz.
To be fair, Bede probably didn't either, but I was sure he didn't refuse any newspaper or magazine outlet that wanted to feature him in their latest edition.
"You're staring at me." He gave me what he probably thought was a bashful half-grin.
But I knew there was nothing bashful or even half about him.
Bede, for all his faults, was all or nothing.
And in some small way, I suppose I respected him for that.
"I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable," I replied. "But you're, as always, stunning."
I can't lie, so I don't even bother.
Besides, I knew Bede would love any bit of praise I threw in his direction, no matter how much he tried to hide it.
He put a slender finger to his chin and turned it one side, showing me his sculpted profile. "Are you falling in love with me?"
I'd sooner fall in love with a Seviper than Bede, but again, I couldn't say that out loud.
Instead of taking a seat, I chose to stand to further illustrate my lack of time.
"So, what brings the Balloonlea Gym Leader to Hammerlocke?"
He snorted. "You mean, aside from the utter lack of anything to do there? Balloonlea's nightlife is nigh inexistent. Unless you're into getting high with Impidimps." He grimaced. "Which is only fun the first couple of times."
"Then go to Spikemuth if you're looking to club," I replied. "I'm told Hammerlocke's nightlife pales in comparison."
"Perhaps." He waved a hand in the air. "I suppose Spikemuth isn't the worst place to spend an evening. Although, it is kind of a shithole."
My face was carefully blank as I wondered what Marnie and her band of fans would say if they heard him say such disparaging things about their hometown.
Bede definitely wouldn't be able to walk out of this room under his own power, that was for sure.
He cleared his throat. "Actually, I've come to share some news you might find interesting."
"Oh?"
Bede, for all of his gossipy, slightly malicious ways was notorious close-mouthed when it came to things that actually mattered.
At least, I hope this mattered.
He inspected his perfectly manicured fingernails in a show of casual nonchalance, but there was something about the set of his shoulders that made me think otherwise.
He was putting up a front.
More than usual, I mean.
"Bede?"
His jawline tightened. "It's just a rumor of course. I've sent a few of my trainers over there to confirm the details."
"What details? Over where?" Even though I was painfully aware that every second I spent with someone as annoying as Bede was one second I wasn't spending with people whose company I genuinely enjoyed, I couldn't help but lean forward in my seat, hanging on to his every word.
"Have you ever heard of a town called Viridian City?" he asked.
I closed my eyes for a moment and massaged the bridge of my nose as though I could elicit memories of something that likely never existed in the first place.
I've never really been very good at anything but Pokemon training, unfortunately.
"I…want to say yes, but I'm going to be cautious and say no," I admitted. "Where is that? It doesn't sound like any place in Galar."
"Contrary to its rather ambitious name, it's a small town in the region of Kanto," he continued. "A little hamlet of a village, rather provincial from what I'm told. I personally wouldn't be caught dead in such a place, but…"
He paused, looking down. "I suspect I may not have much of a choice."
"Wh—what do you mean?"
"A few days ago, we had a trainer come into our gym. Quite an interesting fellow by the name of Stone. Apparently, he's traveling the world in search of rare gems." Bede let out a short, almost derisive laugh. "Name's just a little on the nose, don't you think?"
"I'm assuming he has something to do with this place called Viridian Town?"
"City," he replied. "But yes. As a guest, I had the privilege of battling him. An interesting roster of Pokemon, I might add. He had with him a fascinating specimen he called Metagross that I found to be quite—"
I held up my hand. "I hate to be rude, but could you get to the point?"
As much as I would have enjoyed hearing about other region's Pokemon, I knew there was no way he had come to my office all the way from Ballonlea just to wax philosophical about Pokemon.
Bede just wasn't that kind of guy.
He coughed, a faint wash of pink creeping up his pallid cheeks. "Hang on, I was getting to it, you know."
"And it is?"
"I'll get straight to the point then."
Thank goodness.
"Have you heard of something called the Pokerus?"
I blinked. "The what?"
"I think it's also known as the Pokemon Virus. It seems to have originated from Mr. Stone's home region, Johto."
"Johto?" My head was whirling from the influx of names I'd never heard of. "Weren't we talking about Kanto? Where's Johto?"
"Will you just shut up and listen?"
I resisted the urge to reach across the table, wrap my hands around Bede's slender white neck, and start squeezing.
"And I told you that I'd give you five minutes. For God's sake, Bede, can't you think about anyone but yourself for more than a few seconds? I should be at the station right now going to Hop's wedding, but instead I'm here, listening to you blather on about some guy named Stone from Viridian Town or whatever. Get to the goddamned point already!"
Bede was quiet for a moment, observing me carefully.
I hated the look in his eyes.
There was a calm sort of…finality in the set of his brows, his posture.
I didn't trust it.
Bede was a ball of energy, always doing or saying something.
That he was quietly watching me was incredibly disconcerting.
He tilted his head to one side, hands folding in his lap.
"Fine, you want me to cut to the chase? There are Pokemon infected with a dangerously mutated virus that just might mean the end of life as we know it."
A thin smile played along his lips.
"How about that for a goddamned point?"