The next morning, Olivia found herself as part of the crowd gathered in front of the new Battle Casino, waiting for its opening ceremony. It was a typical day in Hoenn, and she could see a few people, most likely from the frosty Sinnoh region, who were already sweating from the tropical climate.
She felt a light tap on her shoulder and turned her around, only to find herself staring at the Brain she managed to send crashing to the floor the night before.
She gulped.
"Uh… hey," she mumbled, and, realizing how awkward that sounded, stared down at her feet.
The Brain didn't anything. She slowly angled her head up.
He murmured something inaudible.
"Er… what did you say?" she asked.
Now it was his turn to glance down at his feet.
"I don't like coffee," he murmured as he stared at the ground. Olivia had to strain her ears to hear it. "That's what I said last night, too."
She flushed. She recalled the previous night at The Steamer, where, after slipping on her spilled coffee and tumbling to the floor, he simply picked himself up, muttered something that seemed to be directed at her, and shuffled out of the restaurant, not even bothering to remove his greatcoat, which was now stained with splotches of coffee.
"Well, er… I'm glad you got your coat clean," she observed, trying to be cheery.
It didn't work. Rather, it seemed to make him stare even harder at the ground.
Olivia felt more and more awkward by the second.
"So, uh… what's your name? Where are you from?" she asked, hoping to break the ice. She berated herself for not getting his name sooner, like when he crashed to the ground.
He slowly angled his head back up. His eyes drifted over to Olivia's face, but then they quickly set themselves on the expanse of the crowd behind her.
"I… I used to work at Mount Pyre… I was the groundskeeper. My name… is Blake Barrow," he mumbled, albeit a slightly louder mumble than before. "Kind of a stupid name," he added sheepishly.
"Nonsense!" a voice boomed, cutting off Olivia's chance to share her name. She and Blake turned to find that the zoot-suited Brain from yesterday had appeared next to them. He still had a goofy grin plastered on his face.
"I think that Blake Barrow is a fine name, good sir!" he said as he unceremoniously grabbed Blake's hand and shook it vigorously. "Why, it suits you perfectly! I mean, Barrow sounds like bury! And that's what you tend to do, right! Bury things to into the ground! It's like a pun!" he said merrily, still shaking Blake's hand.
He then seemed to notice Olivia for the first time.
"Why, I think I recognize you…" he said, peering intently at her. "Ah, yes! You were the one gulping down coffee at the meeting yesterday!" he said as he also grabbed her hand and shook it. "You must tell me where you got such a beverage! I have a great need for coffee myself! Why, if it hadn't been for the cup of coffee I stole off some poor sap on the way over here, I would most assuredly be asleep right now!"
He released her hand, but then looked mortified.
"Oh dear! How rude of me! I forgot to introduce myself! I broke the first rule of social interaction!" he cried. "Allow me to rectify this mistake," he said as he gave a comical bow to Blake and Olivia. "My name is Jack Jakobs, and I must say, it is a far sillier name than yours, Mr. Barrow. I mean, who spells Jakobs with a 'k'? My ancestors must have been quite a bit daft in the head!"
Olivia opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off once again by Jack.
"I must apologize, but the crowd here is growing restless. It is time for me to take the stage and open up the Battle Casino to the merry masses!" he cried as he began to push his way through the crowd, leaving a stunned Olivia and Blake behind.
"Um… is he always like that?" she asked, still befuddled by his cheery manner.
"I… I sure hope so," said Blake thoughtfully. "His personality sure is… a welcome change of pace."
In the distance, they saw Jack leap playfully up onto the stage.
"Wait… what did you do at Mount Pyre?" Olivia asked, her face turned to Blake's, eyes questioning.
Blake avoided her gaze. "Ah, nothing much. Nothing much. Just… maintenance. And… pest control. And… the occasional… uh… burial," he replied awkwardly.
She was perplexed. "Why did Simon choose you to be a new Brain?"
"I… I have no idea," he said, still avoiding her eyes. "But… probably just because of my… uh… experience… with battling dangerous pokemon. Especially ghost-types."
Olivia was still confused, but before she could continue her questioning, Jack's speech began.
"Friends, foes, and anyone who was curious about why I'm standing up here, let it be known that today marks the opening of a new battle facility: the Battle Casino! Of course, today also marks the opening of the Battle Resort and Battle Vault, but the Vault doesn't open until nightfall, and the fact that you are at the Casino's opening ceremony instead of the Resort's warms my heart deeply. Truly, feeling important does make a person feel incredible."
"Remember when you were kids and your mommy and daddy told you all the bad things you shouldn't do? Gambling was probably one of those things. Well, here at the Battle Casino, you can take that lesson and shove it from your mind, because at this facility, gambling is everything. Why, even the battles involve gambling! Gamble to play! Gamble to win!" he cried as he leapt down from the stage and kicked open one of the many doors into the facility.
"Now enter, enter!" he yelled as he waved his arms. "All who wish to challenge me, simply talk to one of my staff! You can't miss them; they're the only ones wearing suits besides myself! All who simply wish to ogle the building, well, can do that on their own! Enter, enter!"
Olivia was separated from Blake and forced towards the building by the flow of the crowd around. Only then did she realize that she still had not given Blake her name.