After having suffered through six Gyms, I was about ready to quit my adventure. But two things kept me from doing that: the life of a quitter was not the life for me, and I was newly inspired by the whole "meeting Amphy" thing that had occurred in Olivine. So that was what had led me to Mahogany Town, where I was standing in front of the Gym, shivering.

The building I had just escaped from was freezing cold, and there was a lady in there who was laughing at something. It had been her laughter that had inspired me to go in, and it was still an intriguing matter to me. But it was so cold in there, I wasn't sure if I would survive long enough inside to find out what in Ho-Oh's name was so funny.

But that lady was in there, wasn't she? And she was surviving, right? Unless she was dying and I had just left her to die, then she definitely wasn't surviving. I grimaced at the thought of having to go back in there and save her, but I knew that my assistance was most likely needed, so I decided to put my temperature behind me and save the woman.

This was an experience very similar to the one I had in Ecruteak's Gym. I was stumbling through the place, not being possessed by a ghost but by a chill I had never felt before. It was very, very cold in there, and the floor was covered in ice, but I knew that the woman's life was at stake if I didn't get in there and rescue her.

Then again, when I want to do something nice for someone, it always comes around and bites me, as I kindly reminded myself with memories of Cianwood and all those children I had to watch in order to get my battle. But there were also times where my kindness rewarded me with something, like all the experience with Pryce in Olivine. I had done a good deed for the man by going to the Lighthouse with him, and in return, he gave me the strength to finish my journey.

That was that. I had to rescue the woman, get the spoils, and find the Leader so I could get my battle on. Boy, was I surprised when the room where the woman was had heat, and no ice floor, and nothing that would make it seem as if it was part of this desolate Gym. "What are you doing in my bedroom?" she hissed when she saw me. It was then and only then that I realized that she was perfectly fine, just lounging around in her bed and taking in some hilarious television. "This is not the place you want to be if you're looking for a challenge!"

My face fell. "Sorry, lady. I'll just go."

"No, man! Stay here! No one really comes around to visit me in here, so I'd enjoy your company!" She sat up, and revealed herself to be dressed in a skimpy little nightgown, before patting the bed next to her. "Sit here, and we can watch some shows while you warm up. Then we can go battle. How does that sound?"

"It sounds good, but I'm an eleven-year-old boy. I don't think a woman who's obviously much older than me needs to be acting all seductive towards me. Put some pants on." She glared at me, but did what I said. Happily, I joined her on the bed after that, because I did need to warm up, and what better way to warm up than to sit next to a beautiful woman?"

She wrapped her arm around my shoulder not long after I sat. "My name's Clair. Welcome to my lair of fun and games! I'm sorry you felt that I was trying to act 'seductive,' because I was really trying to be friendly! All the other Gym Leaders, except for Pryce, see me as a 'older sister' figure."

"Even Chuck?" She nodded. "Wow. He's got to be older than you."

"He is, believe me. But he's such a girl at heart."

I smiled at Clair, whose attention was on me. "I should tell you my name, shouldn't I? Well, I'm Shaun. And I'm a Trainer. I've got six Badges so far, and I'm looking forward to getting the last two that I need to go challenge the Elite Four."

"You've got two of us left? Wow." She cuddled closer to me, before jumping to her feet. "I'm pretty easy, actually, so you'll have no problems getting your seventh Badge, unless you use all Flying-type Pokémon like Falkner, or you don't have an adequate team for taking down Ice."

"I have a little something up my sleeve." It was the truth. My parents had surprised me years before by getting me an Arcanine from some man in Kanto, who didn't want it anymore. "I used it to defeat Pryce when I fought him."

She giggled. "Oh, let me guess. An Arcanine."

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Pryce told me. Him and I are really close. Like," she crossed her fingers, "this close."

That was interesting for me to hear. "So, do you associate with the other Leaders a lot, or is it just Pryce that you talk to?"

"I talk to them all the time. I just don't leave the Gym very often. Believe me, if I wanted to, I would march myself out to Cianwood to beat up on Morty a bit, before coming back here and never leaving again." I laughed and asked why she specifically called him out. "Oh, we're also really close. Not quite as close as we used to be, back before he got wrapped up in his Gym and I got wrapped up in mine, but we're still really close."

"Did you know that he makes all his challengers take care of his kids?"

I got a nod and another giggle from that. "I wouldn't be surprised if he does. He's quite the lazy guy, even though he's a Leader and all that. He should have gotten over his laziness by now, though. What, did he make you take care of the brats?" I told her that he had indeed done that, and she gasped. "That man needs to learn that kids do not take care of kids! I will have to call him later!"

"Uhm, Clair?" I asked, just for her to stare at me. "Are we going to have a battle or something today, or are we just going to sit here and talk about other people? I mean, I'm a big fan of gossip and all, and you're really cool, but I want to get really warmed up with a battle."

"We will have a battle later, kiddo! Just wait until my shows are over, and then we can do that!" I "zipped" my lips and sat there, just watching the television with her for hours upon hours. I think it was nearly dinnertime when she finally got up and actually got dressed (in a different room, because even though I was young, I was "too old and too smart" to watch her change).

Finally, when she was all ready to begin, she told me that I needed to go out into the Gym. "Why?" I asked. "I thought we were in the Gym already?"

"This is my bedroom, Shaun, and I am okay with battling anywhere in the world except for somewhere where my belongings can be destroyed." She shut the TV off and slowly walked through the door that I had come in through. It was while I watched her walk that I noticed something was wrong with her.

"Clair?" I ran to catch up with her and got in front of her, looking into her eyes. "Is there a reason why you don't leave your Gym?"

She nodded, and looked down. "Yeah, but it's not any of your business." As soon as she said that, she collapsed to the ground, with one of her legs just caving out from beneath her.

"D-do you need help? Are you hurt?" She told me that she would be fine, as long as I would go get her some sort of cane, which I did. Once she had the cane to lean up against, she was fine, and, for the first time on the entire journey, I felt like I didn't want to fight the Leader not because they had angered me, but because they were hurt.

"I'm waiting for you to challenge me, Shaun," she teased.

Even though I had those gentlemanly feelings at that moment, I knew that I had gotten her hopes up for a fun fight, and mine were up there too. I had to go through with the battle, even if my heart wouldn't be in it.