A day passed and then it was the early morning again, and Ash was ready to start yet another journey through an unknown land. He had done it many times before, and if he somehow found out that he'd end up doing it many times more, he'd only be delighted. Starting the journey was one of his favorite parts, if not his absolute favorite. He could taste the shared sense of yearning for adventure in the air; the sun, shining brightly above him and his friends, unaccompanied by any sort of condensations, showcased their eagerness with warmth and light. It was him, Serena and Elyan staring up at the sky, with the latter's parents standing by the front door of Elyan's house.

Elyan still had doubts about quitting his internship to become a trainer, and his parents did ask him to reconsider his seemingly reckless choice. But the more he thought about what his staying would signify—tending to crazy old men with a penchant for the performing arts, as well as scrolling through walls of text written by children, which more often than not turned out to be complete nonsense—the more he realized he had to get out of there. With his then unmovable willpower he managed to convince his parents to let him go on a long journey. In the end it turned out to be less difficult than he thought it'd be, and he had their full support. His mom even volunteered to take them all the way to the city in the small truck that they had, which regularly served to transport plants and berries. This time said truck would likewise serve to transport life, although a different kind of life, which instead of taking a spot on the ground to remain ingrained, would be allowed to roam free, to wherever it chose to go and whenever it chose to do so.

Elyan's dad prepared the truck, then hugged his son and wished him well on his journey. It would be Elyan's mom at the wheel and Serena by her side, and Ash, Pikachu and Elyan on the back. They hopped in and got ready move, their backpacks full of both important and useless gadgets occupied as much space as their bodies, but it didn't matter because, not only would the trip to be a short one, but they—or at least Ash and Serena—were used to a little bit of discomfort when traveling. What's more, even the versatile Ash welcomed the lift wholeheartedly, as he knew perfectly well he would have more than one chance to walk until exhaustion during the journey.

Elyan was the last one to get in the truck. He was a late person anyway, but this time in particular he wanted to be completely sure he wasn't forgetting anything important, and even though he wouldn't admit it, he still had some doubts about leaving so suddenly.

He found Pryce on his way out of his room, wearing slippers and a bathrobe and looking really pleased with himself.

"Hey Pryce. I'm sorry I won't be here when you return to Johto," Elyan said.

"What are you talking about?" Pryce replied. "I'm staying here."

"Who's going to take care of the gym though?"

"Don't care, not my responsibility."

"…Um, it is actually."

"What did you say boy?" Pryce asked with a stern inflection, which signaled how he didn't actually want Elyan to answer but instead to be quiet. "I couldn't hear you," he continued, with a stoic fury that awaited to be detonated.

"It is your main responsibility, actually," Elyan said.

"Ugh! Get out of my room!" losing his cool, Pryce exclaimed in a very childish manner.

"What are you talking about? This is my room."

"Not anymore."

"What?"

"That's right, you're leaving. This is my territory now."

"This is my room Pryce. I think it's time for you to leave, besides, my parents would never just give you my room."

"What if I rent it?"

Elyan's eyes widened, he was very stressed all of the sudden.

"That's right Elyan, you've been letting me live here for free, without knowing that I'm ready to pay your parents a very robust amount of money to let me stay in this cold paradise. I'll even stop rapping if they let me stay, that's how far I'll go to continue living here. And of course I'll give them as much money as they ask for and even more than that. I have lots of money. They will probably send you some of it. You'll use to buy all sorts of things you think you need for your little trip, and while you do that you won't be able to think of anything other than me, releasing countless evacuations triggered by copious amounts of granola right in your precious toilet."

"My parents won't allow it!"

"Leave your parents out of this. Now it's only between you and me."

"It's you and I, not you and me."

"Ah! Shut up you little punk. Of course you're one of those. You are weak and ineffectual so you use words to try and feel powerful. But I am your elder so it won't work on me. Besides I know what you are. Tell me, what do you have to defend yourself Elyan? I have all of my pokemon with me. What do you have?"

Elyan felt a righteous rage that he wanted to release at Pryce, his hands were made into fists, his teeth were showing. But he didn't know what to do about it. Perhaps there was nothing for him to do, at least right then.

"…I …I'll get many pokemon," Elyan exclaimed, "and I'll come back just to teach you a lesson."

"Ha, you can't threaten me. You have no pokemon, and on top of that there's your frail and insignificant presence. That girl whom you seem to fancy, Agnes? She won't even notice you're gone. That's right, I know about your little crush; I might be old but I'm not blind, and even if I were blind I still would've noticed because you're not subtle at all. Doesn't matter, because your absence won't be felt around the house."

"…Do you really think I'm frail and insignificant?" Elyan asked, genuinely curious.

"Yes," Pryce replied quickly. "Listen, that last thing I said sounded really mean, and I just want you to know that that's exactly how I meant it to come out. I am well aware I'm a complete jerk, and I enjoy disappointing children. Why do you think I became a gym leader? Because I enjoy being around kids? Ha, no way. I'm as good at defeating children as I am at spitting out bars, I'm so good I've been doing it for almost fifty years with no sign of stopping any time soon, except for this vacation, which I'm very keen on extending indefinitely. So get this through that fragile head of yours, this is my room now. And if you have something to say about it, then I'll be waiting right here, in my room."

"So that's how it is huh …you'll see. When I come back here… you'll all see. I'll defeat you," Elyan pointed at the old man's smiling face, "and then I'll kick you out of my room."

"Very well then. I'll be waiting for you right here with my nigh invulnerable pokemon, my almost fifty years of experience and my marginally healthy intestinal transit."

"Can you stop talking about your intestines for once?"

"No. Never. Off you go."

Pryce shooed Elyan away with his hand, then dastardly closed the door of his room right on his face. Elyan was smiling subtly with a resolute look on his eyes. He was ready to take Pryce up on his challenge, like never before in his life he felt eager to prove someone wrong. Elyan grabbed his backpack, it was very heavy and he had trouble lifting it, so he dragged it downstairs before putting it on his back, just to put on a good face for the people outside; or rather, to mask his frail physical condition.

Once he was outside Elyan was surprised to find Agnes waiting for him. She had her hands behind her back and a very serious expression on her face. Out of all the people Elyan was going to leave behind, at least temporarily, she was the one he would miss the most. This he had no problem admitting.

"Are you actually leaving?" Agnes asked with an overtly skeptic tone.

"Yes, it's not a joke."

"Why?"

"Because, I want to prove to… myself, that I can do it. I know it's difficult." Elyan grabbed Agnes's shoulder. "I know you're really going to miss me, and I'm going to miss you too, but don't worry, I'll come back soon enough, and I hope you'll be ready to witness what I will have become."

"Right, well okay then, if you say so. Frankly I think you'll be back here tomorrow, and the first thing you'll do is go to the lab and beg to get your job back."

"It was just an internship. More importantly, this sort of motivation is not what I would've liked to hear right now, but at least you're honest. The soft bigotry of your lack of faith in me is endearing, it actually inspires me to do my best in a rather resentful way. But I'll make use of it either way, you'll see."

"That's, not what I meant. But, if you want to take it that way then whatever. Listen…" Agnes revealed a blue cap that she was holding behind her. "I think you should have this, your skin can't take even Gudrut's timid and benevolent sun."

She then gave the cap to Elyan and immediately he put it on, then nodded firmly. Then he opened his arms.

"I guess we should hug now," he said.

"Okay."

He closed his eyes and went for a hug, which was returned quasi-reluctantly by Agnes a few seconds later. It lasted an uncomfortable amount of time, at least for anyone watching. They had done it many times before, and although it was mechanical and stoic at least it wasn't awkward for the two of them. Then it ended and they had nothing else to say to each other, so Elyan just turned back and got in the back of the truck with Ash and Pikachu. They smiled and gave him a thumbs up, which Elyan, still filled with doubt, really needed. Elyan's mom turned the engine on and they left the house behind as Agnes raised her open hand and watched them leave. It had begun.

"I'll destroy you old man," Elyan whispered to himself.

"What was that?" Ash asked.

"Nothing."

There was a cool breeze blowing, which reminded everyone that the warm weather they were experiencing was more or less an anomaly. Fall had just begun and it was about to get colder. However it didn't matter that much, because the difference from the rest of the year was only barely tangible, and it was understood that the local climate was, if nothing else, part of the challenge. The road became increasingly steep as they went along, and the weather turned colder accordingly. Soon after departing the group found themselves traveling across many hills filled with tall trees, which along with the big mountains that seemed to pose themselves all around them, prevented them from taking a good look at the city hiding past them; although the beautiful scenery full of green more than made up for the hamper.

Neither Ash nor Serena had thought about how the region could be so beautiful a sight, and so quiet, and so peaceful. They found themselves crossing through a narrow and very picturesque road with uniform lines of tall trees at either side, right through the mountains. Some of the branches from the trees passed well above them and momentarily hid them from the morning sun. The scenery felt full of life, and yet it was completely silent, albeit in a very soothing way. Perhaps the dwelling pokemon were still asleep, or maybe even they were aware of the embellishing effect that the soothing silence had on the land, and were therefore keen on maintaining it. Then some white noise became evident, the trees shook and swayed and the ground likewise felt busy from all the tiny steps surely being taken within the leaves by tender creatures, and that along with the tiny white fence that separated the green from the road made the scenery all the more charming. Ash was the first to notice a flock of swanna beating their white wings gracefully as they crossed through the blue sky. And he was the only one who saw a small deerling crossing through the land at the side of him, like a bolt of contrasting pink light dashing through the deep green.

"How beautiful," Serena said, with a tone that showcased how enchanted she was by the land.

"Indeed," Elyan's mom replied. "There are eight roads just like this one, all of which lead into the city, which is surrounded by woods. Maisoram is basically hidden within the forest.

"I want to cross through all eight of them!" Ash said.

"You can. In here you can do whatever you want."

"Right," Elyan said, sort of sarcastically.

"I mean it son. It is said, that when you cross through the woods that lead into Maisoram City, you leave behind all of the restraints that were holding you back. The trees take a hold of all your worries and fears and release you from them. So when you come out and reach the city, you arrive as a completely free being, ready to accomplish whatever you desired more than anything."

"That sounds lovely," Serena said.

"It does sound lovely, quite poetic, but the people of Maisoram do take that to heart. I personally came here during my youth to discover what I'd really want to do if I could do anything."

"Really?" Elyan asked playfully, with a subtly mischievous tone. "And what did you decide to do mom?"

"What do you think? I chose to marry your father and have you."

"Oh." Elyan felt immediately owned. "Well, that sounds kind of ironic, doesn't it?" he said with a more humble tone.

"It doesn't matter, it's good that you want to come here Elyan. And you too Ash and Serena. You have your whole life ahead of you, and you can choose to do whatever you wish."

Elyan's mom dramatically stopped the car on the side of the road. The tires squealed for half a second. She pointed right at her son's face. Elyan was more or less petrified, internally ridden with crippling anxiety from the sudden surprise.

"Now you have the freedom to accomplish whatever it is that you've set out to do. Will you do it?"

Elyan's forehead was suddenly covered in sweat. "Oh man… can you ask me later?"

"Yes," she left him off the hook with ease. "Just know that many opportunities are waiting for you up ahead."

Then she turned the engine back on and kept driving. The road started heading downwards and the mountains were soon left behind, and then, just as the sun placed itself right at the center of the sky, the skyline of the big city became visible over the trees.

"So this is Maisoram City," Elyan's mom said, "the busiest, most popular place in all of the region. As you can probably guess it's completely filled with trainers, as well as tourists, and hobos— yes, hobos, because, as I've told you before, people get a good deal of freedom here, and there are many open spaces acclimated for trainers to stay in. Because of that a lot of hobos also stay here, but don't worry, the vast majority of them are very friendly and some of them are though opponents—you'll see."

Finally they reached the city and started cruising through a big avenue, and right at the end of the street, quite far away from them, Ash managed to sight the Pokemon Gym he meant to challenge, which got bigger and bigger as he got closer to it. It looked like a giant cube seemingly made entirely out of glass, parrying the rays from the sun and shooting them indiscriminately at every direction. It must have constituted a driving hazard; or a hazard in general, perhaps. However, it did look very cool.

Ash couldn't wait to have his first official match in the region. He could practically see himself lifting the badge with a victorious smile on his face, and this made him so excited that he simply had to get off the truck in order to ask for a gym battle right then and there.

"What? But we just got here," Elyan said, after hearing Ash's wishes to hurry with the training. "Don't you want to check out the town and maybe get something to eat? The journey just started so maybe we could relax and hang out for the first day."

"Elyan, no," Ash quickly replied. "If you don't start right at the beginning you're already too late. You don't even have a pokemon yet."

Elyan looked extremely offended, to an exaggerated extent. "I'm going to get one. I just mean to say that we just got here and we can take it easy for a bit." He laughed once, but it was obvious no one was on his side. "Okay fine, I'll just go to my cousin's place, where' we'll be staying, unpack, and then I'll join you."

"Great, we'll be at the gym," Ash said.

Ash and Serena thanked Elyan's mom for everything and got off the truck near the gym. The sidewalks surrounding it were completely full of eager trainers.

Elyan turned to his mom.

"Can you believe them, they have no chill whatsoever," he said.

"They are absolutely right Elyan," his mom replied. "If you want to achieve your goals it's a terrible idea to start by relaxing and hanging out."

"I guess you're right," Elyan said with his head lowered. "I do want to defeat Pryce as soon as possible."

"What's that?"

"Nothing. Let's just go to Carlton's house and leave the luggage."

Elyan and his mom left Ash and Serena at the gym.

There the scenery was unusual, downtown in the afternoon. People scattered all over the place, a completely different show on every corner. A couple of hobos and some pignite heating themselves around a trash can on fire. A shirtless kid in shorts and sandals training with his jellicent, right in the middle of a street that wasn't even closed. Nobody batted an eye about any of it, both Serena and Ash thought it was awesome.

There was a big crowd gathered right in front of the giant cube made out of glass, and it was impossible for them to crawl their way in. Some kids were already trying that and it wasn't working for them, there were simply too many trainers around. So much for getting the lay of the land, thought Serena. They'd have to wait for a better opportunity to get in. But Ash thought differently, he had already deduced how things went on there, it was always full; it would stay like that.

He grabbed Serena's hand and went around the glass cube with her. There were even more trainers gathered at the back, but they all had to wait on the sidewalk, and the multitude produced a great way for the two to sneak inside unannounced. There was a garage door on what was clearly the back of the cube, it was half-hidden behind some carefully placed bushes. They crouched down and slowly headed towards it but were soon discouraged when they saw two guys wearing black shades and earpieces, both of them with big, swollen arms, standing at either side of the garage door. Ash and Serena retreated, disappointed but intending to keep searching for a way in.

Ash stared at his reflection on the wall of the gym, right when a part of the glass opened like a door, revealing a secret passage being used right in that moment. A combination of the sun reflecting on the glass and some more bushes hid it well, to the point that neither of them would have noticed it if it hadn't been opened. But as it happened, a young dude with an unusual bob haircut, with bangs, came out carrying a bike by his side as well as a sneaky smile on his face, which changed into a frown as soon as he saw the jolly pair Ash and Serena.

"Hey! How are you? My name is Ash Ketchum and I'm looking for the Gym Leader," Ash said with cheer.

"Are you looking to set up a match?" the guy replied, with a nasal voice filled with palpable condescension.

"Yes I am, I just got here from…"

"Excuse me," the guy cut Ash off. "We're very busy right now, but thank you for visiting us. Please come back next week and wait at the front for a scheduling. Have a rad day."

The guy didn't wait for a response, he simply got on the bike and stormed out of the place.

"Next week?" Ash cried out. Then the small door closed and was audibly locked from the inside.

Meanwhile, Elyan got distracted on his way to the gym, when among the maddening crowd he noticed a familiar face with puffy red hair around it walking into a convenience store. This mild peculiarity amused him enough to investigate further, and to his surprise he ended up encountering Ritchie from Kanto, who seemed this time like a seasoned trainer with a confident smile on his face.

"Hey Elyan! What are you doing here in Gudrut?" Ritchie gleefully asked.

"Are you serious?" Elyan replied. "I'm from here, don't you remember? It was a whole deal back at Ash's house."

"I know, he's around here somewhere, that's why I came. I'm ready to get back on the road, which happens to be the same road my old rival is going through at this very moment. You know Ash and I both participated in the Indigo League at the same time, and we had a memorable match on the leg of sixteen. Man, those were the days… but life keeps going, and going, and it seems like it never stops, am I right?"

"Yeah sure, did you really not remember I was from here?"

"No."

"Oh. Hey, do you think I have like, presence? Like, when I walked in here you noticed me, right?"

"Yeah," Ritchie replied, "well, to be fair you were the one who started talking to me. I hadn't noticed you beforehand, and when I did it still took me a couple of seconds to place you, but hey, at least I remembered your name."

"Yeah, I guess that's cool." Elyan then noticed three people walking into the store. His jaw dropped. Many gasps of disbelief were heard, meanwhile Ritchie remained oblivious. The whole place was silenced, even the incidental music, which was really corny, stopped all of the sudden. The three adults walked at what could be considered a regular pace, but because of their presence it looked like they were doing so in slow motion.

"No way," Elyan said softly.

Two men and a woman. It was clear they weren't regular people, and their attires were mildly unusual.

"Who are they?" Ritchie innocently asked, earning Elyan's incredulous stare.

"The members of the Elite 4, aka the most powerful trainers around. The one on the right-" Elyan nodded softly at the man who was wearing a leather lab coat, which was seemingly very asphyxiating on his body, seeing as he had it buttoned up all the way to the neck, ending in sort of a turtleneck. He was bald and had a white goatee, and looked like a very smart, cold and strict old scientist. Accordingly, he was also wearing round glasses that seemed to be reflecting light all the time, leaving his eyes—if he had any—completely hidden, augmenting his intimidating factor. "That's Meinke, Psychic specialist," Elyan continued. "The other man, the one on the left, who is rather short compared to the other two, and is wearing black pants of some soft material, probably pure wool, which is an unusual choice to go with the big military boots that he has on, as well as the robe-like loose hoodie and the also loose beanie on his head, beneath which a stroke of red hair manages to seep through, and which has its tip falling to the side as if he were a medieval robber. But anyway, that's Errol, he specializes in Dragon types."

"Thanks for the elaborate description," Ritchie said.

"No problem. Wait, were you being sarcastic?"

"No. I'm not good with sarcasm."

"Okay, it's fine if you were being sarcastic anyway."

"But I'm not, I'm not lying." As he said this, Ritchie looked at Errol, who had a slight, sort of benevolent smile on his face. His chin protruded well in front of his face, and his lips were sort of out of it too. He seemed to have a face with which he could convey a myriad of different expressions.

"Sure, whatever you say Ritchie. Now, the woman in the middle…" Both redheads stared at the very striking woman, the tallest one of the trio, with the pale white skin and the pitch-black hair. She was elegant and imposing, her body was fully covered by a robust crimson coat, very fluffy—perhaps too much—and yet, a somber air emanated from her. Her skin was white as snow, and her voluminous hair, which she had parted in the middle and tied into a refined bun at the back, was colored of the darkest black, just like her eyes, and the lipstick that she was wearing. She was a very striking woman, very tall; her skin was very white. And she was smiling, just a little, with her thin lips tightly closed. And her hair was very black.

"The woman… um… she's… uh, Leonore."

"Leonore…" Ritchie echoed, and then his mouth remained open.

"Yeah, and she, she, specializes in Dark types."

"Yeah, I bet. Hold on a second, either I can't count right or there is a member missing."

"Yeah, he's called Ghost, nobody knows where he is or what he looks like except for the champion. And because of that nobody cares about him."

"And who's the champion?"

"Right now? I'm not entirely sure, until like yesterday I wasn't really into training and stuff. Anyway, come on Ritchie, let's go meet them."

Ritchie and Elyan approached very cautiously, appropriately for the celebrities they were about to talk to.

"Hey guys, sorry to bother you, we're big fans," Elyan said.

The imposing trio nodded lightly, and uttered one word replies with forced smiles on their faces. Some other trainers inside the store approached them too, although the trio seemed not to mind too much. They were obviously used to it, and it must have been considered part of their job.

"What brings you to Maisoram?" asked a random trainer.

"We have a meeting with the champion," Errol, the one wearing the loose beanie, answered for the group. "She just defended her title, after all."

"Right on," someone else said. "Do you get along with her?"

"Oh, you know, we get by," Errol replied. Everybody had a light laugh, which required only one exhalation per person.

"That's great, hey, remember when members of the Elite 4 used to have their own morning cartoon? Do you remember Steel Master Ricky?" Elyan asked, killing the vibe. And he continued, unconsciously digging himself deeper. "Those were the days. Why don't you guys have a cartoon about the current iteration of the Elite 4?" By the time Elyan was done, everyone was done with him, including Ritchie.

"Are you serious kid?" annoyed, Errol said to Elyan.

"I'm eighteen," he replied.

"Whatever. Ricky's long gone, now's our time. And we don't want to have a silly morning cartoon for children—those times have passed."

"They sure have, can I get your autograph?" Elyan innocently asked, with a smile on his face.

After some silence, Errol replied. "Maybe later. Hey, I have an idea, why don't you ask your friend Steel Mister Ricky about it? I bet he'd love to give you his autograph. Now, if you don't mind, we have some business to attend to."

One by one, the members of the trio walked away and then out of the store, leaving everyone inside right where they were, angrily staring at Elyan.

Meanwhile, Ash had tried to chase the condescending dude on the bike. However, he failed and lost complete sight of him at a park, which just so happened to be close to the store where Elyan had just made an ass of himself. Ash was sweating, he turned his head violently to all directions. A convenience store to his right, a thinking hobo to his left, behind him a nice looking park and next to it a pokeball store—that could be useful later—but no sight of the man with the bob haircut. His heart was pounding fast and hard, and the palpitations could be sensed in his eyes, which were also veering off all over the place. It was over, and his arduous sprint had been for nothing. Suddenly an equally agitated Serena grabbed his arm, and promptly told him to calm down. Then she wiped the sweat off of her forehead and, without lowering her hand, she pointed at a bench in the park nearby. The guy with the bob haircut was sitting there, angrily trying to clean a stain off of his plaid shirt, while he held a melting ice cream cone on his hand. Ash wasted no time to approach the guy again.

"Hey! Please don't freak out!" Ash said, showing his open palms. He was covered in sweat, and because he was still reeling from the sprint he had the eyes of a freak. "We met at the back of the gym, do you happen to know the gym leader?"

"Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Today I'm not quite sure," the guy answered without making eye contact.

"It's you, isn't it?" Serena asked.

"Yeah, the name's Norris, I specialize in Normal types, like the two of you."

"Can we have a match?" Ash asked.

"A match? I told you just minutes ago—seventeen to be specific—to come by next week to schedule a match. And yet, here you are now, while my ice cream melts away. But sure, I'll have a match with you. How do you feel about three months from now?"

Ash had been harboring a smile as Norris kept talking. It disappeared when he finished his speech. Both he and Serena suddenly hated the guy.

"How do you feel about having a battle, right here, right now?" Ash asked.

"I feel peppery with a hint of mint. And resoundingly negative for dessert. In terms that you may understand better: nothankyou." Norris replied.

"I just want a chance to get the badge, just a match."

"Just a match, everybody wants just a match! Everybody wants me to hang out with them and have adventures before I give them just one match. Everybody wants to be friends with me so I can be there when they become the champion after a long and arduous journey that started with them defeating me, just so that I can say: Hey man, you've come a long way, congrats kid. But guess what, that's not the way it works, no one is the center of the universe, only one out of hundreds of thousands of trainers will become the champion. It could be literally anyone, doesn't actually have to be good, just have a ton of luck. Other people's journey will be for something else, but not to win the league in a blaze of glory. Now would you be so kind to leave me on my own so I can finish this sugary secretion running down my hand in peace?"

"It's just one match," Serena added.

Norris did a perfect eye-roll. And it must be added that in order for this to be achieved it had to last quite a bit—eight seconds to be specific. Then he sighed rather violently.

"It's just one match. You know what? You're right, it's just one match, so why have it at all? How do you feel about zero matches?"

"That'd be unacceptable," Ash replied. "I deserve one."

"…Wow. Hey everybody, listen to this guy, he deserves a match! Doesn't matter, you'll have to accept that there will be no match for you now, because there's no way in hell I'll battle you after what you've done to me, now that my hand is… wait!" Norris licked his hand twice and then giggled mischievously, with a creepy smile on his face. "I have a better idea—better than just watching you be consumed with impotence—which would be entertaining on its own—I'll let her." Norris pointed at Serena. "What is she, your girlfriend? You know what don't reply I don't actually care. But I'll let her challenge me." He then pointed at Ash. "For your badge. If she beats me, then you'll get the blank badge for free. But if she loses, you will never get the badge, and you'll never challenge me. And you'll have to stop bothering me, forever."

"Is that even allowed?" Serena asked.

"Yes, yes it is. You know why?"

"Why?"

"Because, um, let me see." Norris put his melting ice cream cone on his other hand, and led his drenched finger to his mouth, put it over his lips, as if to think sarcastically, and proceeded to lick it a bit before he continued. "Why, is that allowed? Well, I guess you could allow it if you were the Gym Leader. Are you the Gym Leader?" He asked Serena directly. His merciless condescension was all too noticeable, in a terrible way; there were white drops on his chin and lips.

"Um, well, no," Serena replied.

"I see. Then who's the Gym Leader?"

"You are."

"I am? But if I am the Gym Leader, I decide what is allowed and what is not. And if that's the case, then, yes. You will never challenge me, but I'll let her challenge me for your badge."

"You can't just do whatever you want," Ash said angrily.

"Seeing as I'm the Gym Leader when I wake up in the morning as well as when I go to sleep at night, I can do whatever I want at any given time. What is it? Don't you trust her to win? You think it's all about you, don't you?"

Ash stood like a statute with his sight lost, for a few seconds. Then he regained his composure and stared right at Norris, who still had ice cream on his mouth and chin.

"It's a deal!" Ash exclaimed, instantly worrying Serena.

"Great." Norris looked up at Serena. "Tonight I'll be waiting for you. Now, I gotta go before someone else sees me and I end up in a similar situation again. You're lucky you were the first one to approach me today. I'll be even more condescending to the next person that asks me for a challenge. And I'll make their mom battle me for their badge. For real, I've done it before. It's quite amusing."

Norris stood up and walked away, leaving both Ash and Serena quite angry.