Chapter 4
At the Pokémon center, an alert sounded; the agent monitoring the vitals of all trainers scrambled to pull up the alert. In Merifos, trainers registered the pokeballs of their starters. The devices were capable of monitoring the vitals and sending the feedback to offices across the region. It was a system implemented to provide closure for relatives when trainers would vanish without a trace.
Most often it was a byproduct of the environment or a wild Pokémon that trainers met their end but that was only a small percentage, maybe one every seven to ten years or so. Registered trainers were public domain and media coverage would announce their death and offer a kind word about the trainer.
The agent pulled up the trainer identification card and sighed, this was a young one and was only out in the world for small period of time. She had just begun; this was going to be hard to break the news especially with a family like this one. First call was to emergency services in Briar Pointe to find they were already on call in the area responding to the same location. With a sigh, he pulled up the emergency contact for the trainer. This was the worst call to make and afterwards, he contacted the media with a list of info he had gleaned from the family. They readied the report and it would be on as an emergency announcement.
The emergency announcement alert came on notifying Otter and Fox of the need to tune in to the news. Though in separate parts of the country, they watched it together. A chill had crossed Fox's heart and he grew concerned. Zeke had returned declaring job done and no witnesses were left, yet the cold sense of dread had its clutches on him.
Otter had been getting ready for her match this afternoon when the alert had her scrambling in a panic for the recreation room of the trainer lodge. Growlithe, eevee and Precious were running behind her and she turned on the television; there weren't many other trainers in the room but they were all looking at the notice on their phones.
"Breaking news today and with heavy hearts we announce that a trainer has fallen. In what appears to be an act of professional sabotage, Rabbit Lagom was caught in the unintentional crossfire. The laboratory where she was meant to start working with her mentor was burnt to the ground by an unknown assailant.
Due to the nature of the fire appearing to be ignited by Pokémon, there was not much to recover from the wreckage. It hurts all of us to know that Miss Lagom had only started on her journey into adulthood. This is truly upsetting coming on the tail end of a stupendous victory.
Miss Lagom was going to be going into the field of Biological Studies and Trans Dimensional Energies and the loss of her potential contributions is staggering. Her family has asked for privacy, please do not visit; Miss Lagom's family wishes to have a service with immediate family only.
Let us take a moment of silence in honor of the fallen." The reporter bowed his head, his eyes damp from thinking of his own daughter and after a moment he raised his head, "As one last message to all trainers out there, please be safe and remember that your family expects you to come home."
Otter stared blankly at the screen trying to process what just happened, sensing an upset in their trainer her Pokémon clambered into her lap in a giant furry blanket. Putting her face into the fur of her persian's neck, Otter wept. Rabbit was gone, their plan for Borealis was also; the uncertainty of her future weighed on her and she couldn't handle it.
Any matches held today would have been postponed in honor of the dead. It was a wise decision as she couldn't guarantee that her attention would be fully on the matches and it could cause her Pokémon to get hurt. The gym leaders only wanted those who would be able to give all their attention to the fight.
Fox was struggling with the news; the Briar Pointe fiasco was his fault. His fault that Rabbit was gone and his fault because he should have monitored Zeke better though he had given the order to leave no witnesses behind. Fox wanted to break something, point his gyarados at something and have him burn everything to the ground.
Hank had left his boss' side letting him be. If the Prophets had left this world be as it was, his hand would never have been forced like this and he wouldn't be standing here with his heart tearing in half.
Are you okay? Fox sent in the group chat knowing only one person would respond.
…
…
No, do you know something about this? Otter sent back cutting straight for the truth.
Zeke was one of my men, I told him to leave no witnesses. We had been monitoring the professor, just didn't expect him to be in this morning; didn't know Rabbit would show up. Zeke came back and reported there were no witnesses left…
This is your fault…
I know; I'm still hoping for a miracle.
The only miracle we had was Rabbit and she's gone. Well done Fox.
Fox closed his phone, knowing Otter wasn't wrong. Thinking differently, he unlocked his phone. Finding the picture of Rabbit and her team he set it onto his background. Turning towards the map on his wall he considered a few things. Returning to his desk he pressed a button on the phone.
"Hank, come in here."
"Yes sir."
Hank took only a few moments but that was enough for Fox to have turned back towards the map on his wall. He stood alongside his boss quietly waiting for the young man to speak.
"Have we found their base of operations yet or do we even know what their end game is?" Fox breathed in deep to compose himself.
"We haven't actually found either yet, sir though we have people working their way into their circles. There are seven gyms that haven't been cleared as having no affiliation with the Prophets. The House has already dealt with the ones who were, the gym near Briar Pointe is one of those and Borealis City Gym is another. Do you want to dispatch any of the House to work on those gyms?" Hank wondered what Fox's reaction would be.
"No, I want as many of our team out trying to find these people. I will take care of the gyms myself. I need something to take my mind off of this." Fox ran a hand through his hair in exasperation.
"I am sorry for your loss, those young women from Matpa were pretty awesome."
"You don't even know the half of it. We need to deal with these Prophets of Renewal before someone else loses a child."
"Yes sir, I'll get the House on it right away." Hank left the room, leaving Fox to prepare for his next round of travels.
Fox grabbed the pack he always had ready and slipped it on. Heading outside to the Pokémon recreation area his team ran over to greet him. Dismissing the other members of the House, Fox stood stoically with a grim look on his face. Once everyone had gone he buried his face in ninetales fur and wept for his friend.
His Pokémon closed around him with gyarados slithering up and encircling the group as a whole. They sat huddled together until his tears had dried and his chest ached from the effort.
"Are you all ready to head out again?" Fox whispered pulling out the five pokeballs for his team. Sandshrew was the first to tap his pokeball and return to it until one by one, only venusaur and ninetales were left. "We'll make sure the Prophets take no one else away ever again."
Otter was eating dinner in a Pokémon friendly café with a small park and pond. She didn't feel much like eating but her Pokémon were already concerned for her and she needed to put on a brave face to keep them from worrying more. Lapras was in the nearby pond and rather than sit at one of the tables nearby, Otter sat on the shore of the pond itself. Growlithe was staring expectantly at her sandwich as he sat directly in front of her. Eevee and Precious were sitting on her left and right, indolent as they reclined using her as a pillow.
Again, I'm sorry for what happened. Where are you? Fox's message interrupted Otter's quiet thoughts.
"I don't care about your apologies; they won't bring Rabbit back. Why do you want to know? Otter shot back viciously.
I have a proposition that I wanted to ask you face to face. Fox's message suggested a lot more than Otter was expecting.
Pond Café and Park. When will you get in to Brill Harbor?
Is that your lapras?
My Lapras is in the pond, yes
A dragonite landed in a graceful spiraling loop leaving Fox momentarily disoriented as he nearly fell over after hopping off the Pokémon's back. Checking his pack and everything else, Fox left dragonite out. Venusaur and the rest of his team were let loose though he paused when he pulled out gyarados' pokeball.
"Do you mind if I bring out gyarados? I promise he won't eat your Pokémon." Fox always tried to be polite regarding his Pokémon. Many people did not always meet or see gyarados in a good light. Treated well and raised right through their maturation phase or caught wild and well cared for, gyarados was intensely loyal while also being extremely protective.
"As long as he doesn't give my Lapras any trouble, that's fine." Otter spoke in a cold clipped tone that Fox more than deserved.
He nodded and let gyarados loose, the Pokémon made a splash in the pond but did his best not to crowd the other Pokémon in the pond. Several other trainers had looked his way when the gyarados had come out as many of them had one or two Pokémon lounging by or in the large pond.
"I require your assistance with a project, would you be amenable to helping me with it?" Fox continued to be polite.
"That depends on what the project is and in what aspect I will be assisting." Otter snapped back.
"I need you to help me find out some information regarding members of seven gyms. We need to find out if the gyms are a front for the Prophets of Renewal and if they are, we need to signal my team to handle it." Fox explained, keeping his answer somewhat ambiguous.
"Your team, you want me to join them? A band of murderers and arsons?" Otter raised an eyebrow incredulously.
"The House of Valor is composed primarily of information gatherers. Those that do the less desirable jobs make up a small portion of our group, deeds that I myself have been forced to commit."
"Why do you even care about taking down these, Prophets, how did you even come across them and what happened to you?" Otter was taken aback learning that Fox engaged in some of the wet work.
"Last year, after my first defeat from a gym, I was approached by these men who referred to one another as Brother. They said I was part of the continued enslavement of Pokémon and I could convert or die with my Pokémon being released back into the wild.
That being said, I used to have a magnezone in my party, something that was shocking to see magneton undergo that transformation. It isn't something we see frequently here but in the match prior, magneton had been switched in to numerous electric attacks so it could absorb them without the others getting hurt.
That much power allowed its body to undergo the maturation phase that melded the magneton into one being instead of just being three magnemite stuck together.
I conceded the match as my other Pokémon were worn down and I couldn't risk them getting hurt. Magnezone alone wouldn't have been enough to get me through the next two matches. I sent it out to defend me as I disagreed quickly to the ideals they were spouting, they sent out a weezing and a golem. Weezing spewed out a smokescreen that obscured our battle from the public eye and I began to get worried.
Magnezone used some of its newfound strength and shoved me further away as it rushed the other two. As soon as it got close enough, it exploded triggering the other two and between the three Pokémons' explosion an entire city block went up in a flash of light which muted the sunset.
Magnezone had thrown me far enough clear that I wasn't badly injured. I quickly began networking after that and found others that had come across these, Prophets of Renewal or had lost family to this organization. Once we were large enough, they named the team after me, or partially.
They used part of my last name and we took on the moniker of The House of Valor and have been a thorn in the Prophets side for the last year.
They have begun their end game, something my people found out; we are still unclear as to what their end game is but we know it had something to do with Professor Shadbush's research. Zeke is one of our wet work specialists and he had mentioned seeing Rabbit when he first teleported in.
However, after he set the fire, Zeke said there weren't any witnesses left. We had not planned on either of them being there. That will always be on me, and I still have to face Rabbit's family which is what I intend to do when this is settled. Will you help me with this? I promise all you will ever need to do is act as an informant." Fox hoped she would say yes, some of the gyms on the list he had taken down before and wouldn't be able to challenge them again.
"For Rabbit, I will, she deserves that much. What do you want me to do?" Acting as an informant as Fox would say, seemed a bit overwhelming.
"At the end of your matches when the opponent usually chats with you, just slip into the conversation 'As dawn begins' and they should respond 'The sun will shine on a new world'. Even if they don't respond there will be a visible flinch or tell. Most will just nod that they heard you, now, your match tomorrow there is another trainer there in the morning slots and the lunch time slots I believe."
"As dawn begins, the sun will shine on a new world? What kind of slogan is that? Yes, by the way, there are two other trainers before me."
"Their slogan is a clue; it tells us that the Prophets of Renewal are looking to change the ways of the world. If they succeed here, they may move on to other regions. That is inexcusable and I cannot allow their poison to spread." Fox sneered at the thought of the Prophets even succeeding in one region.
"Does the House of Valor have a slogan and do these Prophets know of your interference?" Otter was curious despite her anger towards Fox.
"We do and they don't know of me, to them I'm just another cog in a broken system; someone else mentioned it, the others took hold of it and now whenever I try issuing orders to a fully gathered group there is a ton of shouting and stamping declaring 'In the Darkest Night, we are the Flame!' The way they look at me, I feel like we might wind up in a full-scale war between us. I doubt this country could handle a war between two rivals of our size."
"Well, Fox, I trust you will find a way to keep that from escalating as long as possible." Otter despite everything gave him a weak smile that seemed to lighten his heart.
"So, should I meet you at the gym tomorrow?"
"No, please, stick around; we can talk about Rabbit and drink to her memory."
They spent the day reminiscing of their shared childhood experiences and the last year that Fox had been away. Tears had been shed by them both but that was only natural and to be expected. After the café closed for the evening they wandered back to the trainer's lodge for light sparring matches in their gym.
Fox was relegated to only a few of his Pokémon as the gym at this lodge did not quite have the room to handle dragonite or gyarados. During a cooldown jog around the track with their Pokémon after the play matches, Otter had a thought.
"If your people take down a gym leader and their students for being affiliated with these Prophets, how do they not immediately single out who told their secret?"
"We try to aim for high volume days, like tomorrow when there are two other before you. The nice things about gyms is that multiple challengers can be scheduled in one day. As a gym leader and a student of the gym leader, you have license to capture up to eighteen Pokémon.
A gym at any given point has seventy-two Pokémon in total combined between the trainers, each student can technically handle six trainers by themselves." Fox explained.
"I never actually knew that about gyms, then again I never wanted to open one myself. Maybe I can do that when I head back to Matpa Town and along with my responsibilities as a breeder." Otter mused, thinking about having eighteen Pokémon to care for along with the family business.
"There is a lot of work that goes into it, licenses and insurance forms longer than a lickitung's tongue. Then you need to get sponsorship from the location you're choosing because someone is going to need to front the cost of building the gym, plus there's also registering it with the Merifos government.
I thought about it until this whole Prophets mess started then I realized I had greater things to handle first before I could settle down."
"Would you open a gym; I mean after all this is done with?" Otter inquired breathing heavily as they jogged.
"I see it as a far-off dream that I may someday get back around to. It would be nice to build back up to it though. I hadn't even considered what my gym badge would be. I would run a true medley gym though; we only have two of those." Fox mused breathing easier than Otter.
They went off to their separate rooms to get cleaned off and ready for the next day. The thought of running a gym weighing heavily on Fox's mind. Otter had unearthed something he had thought long buried and would never get around to considering again. Otter on the other hand was thinking back on the fact she was, as the oldest, set to inherit the family business. She didn't enjoy the thought as much as she used to, Fox had tainted her view of the world and showed her the dark cracks in the system that bred ill contented people.
Despite these thoughts, both found it easy to get to sleep. The morning alarm came quickly and Otter made sure her outfit was presentable; no good would come of looking slovenly. Since challengers were allowed to wait in the gym for their match to start, they would head early and scope out the competition.
It was a water type gym and would prove a decent first gym for Otter as she had no effective typing against it. As they were leaving, a courier approached them as they walked down the steps.
"Sir, I have that package you requested." The courier greeted Fox like an employee and he nodded at him, taking the package. Taking the box from the courier they watched as he released a massive fearow and hopped onto her back before taking off into the sky.
"What is that Fox?"
"Please don't assume me to be presumptuous; I took the liberty of combing through the pokéshelters all over Merifos for these two since the last time I saw you. I remembered you had mentioned them and we own two safe havens for abandoned or Pokémon that have outlived their trainers. I remember you told me once what your ideal team was and I have the last two for you."
"I would have preferred to have caught them wild, earning their respect that way but, if they need a good home then I will give them such a place. Let's run them out while we're waiting for our match. Do you know what moves either of them know?" Otter had conflicting emotions regarding this gift but if he had found them both in the shelter then she couldn't fault him that.
"Fantastic, I have books on both species, we can see what moves both know when we get to the gym." Fox looked excited.
They set off into town for the gym, lapsing into silence as they walked. Fox hoped this would be enough to give her an advantage. Both of these Pokémon had the potential to know or learn an array of moves. After an easy twenty-minute walk they came upon the Brill Harbor Gym, an outdoor arena there would be no choosing for terrain advantages; it was two thirds open water and one third dry land, the reception hall and other parts of the operation were indoors but most challengers going for type advantage would be forced to battle from the sandy shore.
"You beat this team with ivysaur and magnemite alone didn't you?" Otter watched Fox trace his fingers over the plaque that held his name, a sad smile tugging at his face.
"It was my first match with magnemite and bublbasaur's first after budding into an ivysaur. I had sandshrew but of course, I couldn't actually bring him out though he should be going through his maturation phase soon. Such a lengthy maturation cycle with their species but worth it in the long run. Within the next few months his claws should lengthen, the plates on his back will grow into points and stand on end, and he will lose some of his chubbiness from his youth. Sandshrew has been on edge lately which tells me this will be a process that happens sooner than later." Fox distracted himself from the nostalgia with facts that would lead to happier ends.
"I had noticed that in our sparring last night, some of sandshrew's scales were rising up to a point. You're probably right with your guess, I think he will be quite amazing given how strong your little sandshrew already is. Come on, lets head in and we can get started with my new Pokémon." Otter pulled him on in to reception to find out where they needed to go.
Spending the next six hours working and bonding with her new Pokémon, they watched the prior two matches get swept under by the tidal onslaught of the gym leader's students. The students were relentless in their attack and Otter would have to match their fury with her own.
Fox was concerned as this gym had been a hard-fought match for his two Pokémon with an advantage. Otter though constantly continued to impress Fox, he had known she was good with Pokémon having known her most of his life but the speed by which she earned the trust of her new Pokémon was astounding. This was bound to be a good round for the spectators at home regardless of who she chose to start with.
The trainer's boxes were set quite a distance apart, the students' was set over the water with a series of flat, circular stones leading up to it. There was a microphone set next to the screen and tray where the trainers stood. The first of the students, Jasper, was already waiting having not left from the round before. He was tapping his foot impatiently waiting for Otter to approach. Fox sat in the spectator's seat in the trainer's box and watched as she carefully chose which Pokémon to set out.
"My name, as I am certain you already know, is Jasper. Are you ready to begin this match?" He introduced himself brusquely.
"My name is Otter, I woke as dawn began today and thought heavily about this. I wanted to dedicate this to my dear friend Rabbit who passed away recently." She introduced with the open phrase.
"I am sorry for your loss; the sun will shine on her new world." Jasper's words came off a little too quick for her though still sounding sincere.
Fox coughed from behind, he was always luckiest when he was with his friends, that was a little too close to the phrase for comfort. He sent Hank a message letting him know they had a hit in Brill Harbor.
We've got an operative in the area, go through with the matches as normal and we'll continue from there boss.
Keep this as clean as possible, we seem to be going into the end game on this and the House of Valor cannot afford to be found out yet. Fox reminded.
Yes sir. Heard and understood. Hank kept his texts polite, knowing the strain his boss was under.
Otter looked back at Fox annoyed that he was on his phone but she suspected what he was doing. The referee announced the rules as per the norm and the news anchor on site gave his spiel. The man was definitely not as good as the news anchor that covered Rabbit's match but, it was something for the viewers at home.
Jasper, after the referee dropped his flag, released his Pokémon straight into the water and Otter didn't quite catch what the Pokémon was. Picking up lapras' pokeball, she whispered to her before releasing lapras into the water. She floated gently on the water looking back at Otter, receiving the nod from her trainer she dove underwater after taking a deep breath to find her opponent.
The water was an open book to her and with an echoing voice she hunted for the location of her hiding opponent. A swift moving shadow in the water sped past her, evading lapras' voice. Even avoiding the echoing call told her what she needed. Lapras banked towards the movement searching, releasing another echo she caught the image of a webbed leg moving quickly.
Anticipating where her opponent would dart next, Lapras cut through the water and slammed into her opponent with the full weight of her body. An explosion of bubbles burst from his mouth as the air was driven from his lungs.
Otter watched as a golduck broke the surface of the water and sped for the beach under the trainer's box. Catching his breath, the golduck stared at the cove angrily, he didn't like being driven out of his environment. Taking a deep breath, he calmed his mind, the gem on his forehead flashing red. The water rippled as waves of psychic energy pawed at it. The energy manifested in little red shards above the water before shooting down into it, seeking his opponent.
Protecting herself with psychic energy of her own, lapras poked her head out of the water for a breath. Reflexively Otter put her hands over her ears given the number of sounds that Lapras could produce that were harmful.
The song she sang lulled her enemy to sleep and Lapras used more of her psychic energy stealing the dreams of golduck until he collapsed on the beach. Jasper recalled his Pokémon and sent out another Pokémon quickly.
Otter, switched Lapras out; keeping all her Pokémon healthy would ensure the match stayed in her favor.
Red lights danced and flashed under the surface, bobbing underneath Jasper's trainer box. Guessing what the red lights meant, Otter sent out her kangaskhan which stood nearly as tall as the trainer box. She was caught shortly after her child had left her pouch leaving her a perfect target for a trainer but someone probably didn't think through what care she would need.
Kangaskhan growled menacingly moving lightly despite her large size cautiously towards the water. A ball of sludge shot from the water, hampered by the resistance of breaking the surface, kangaskhan was able to dodge it easily despite it exploding like a bomb.
Tentacles shot free of the water and wrapped around kangaskhan's limbs and body; pulled the immense Pokémon towards the water, she dug in her heels resisting but still leaving furrows as she was inexorably tugged closer.
Turning the tide, kangaskhan began pulling back. Slowly she began dragging the Pokémon from the water and with a solid yank, tentacruel came flying out of the water. With a punch that left her opponent dizzy, the tentacles loosened and kangaskhan rumbled in delight as the tentacruel splashed back into the water. After a few moments to recover, a storm of poisonous stingers flew out from the water, the few that struck home only went as deep as the thick armor like hide of Otter's Pokémon would permit.
The strong afternoon sunlight was rapidly absorbed into kangaskhan, with an angry bellow she unleashed a solar charged beam of light that set the water in the cove arena boiling profusely. The glowing red lights of tentacruel made it an easy target and the attack did not miss. Steam rose from the surface creating a dense fog before the wind carried it off.
Jasper withdrew his Pokémon; Otter looked up at the scoreboard and smirked seeing the three to one score still in her favor.
"Hey, don't get cocky Otter, most trainers will leave their strongest Pokémon to go last as a cleanup crew. I do it sometimes, Hank despite what you saw of him, does it all the time and most of the gym leaders I have fought have done it.
You still have three Pokémon available but it doesn't mean you have the advantage yet. Kangaskhan is going to need a moment after that attack, not long but enough." Fox whispered to her bringing a little bit of tarnish to her victory so far.
"Thanks Fox, how about a well done next time?" Otter snipped back quietly but she took his advice and brought back kangaskhan.
She watched as Jasper released a truly impressive looking red gyarados that took up most of the arena. Taken aback by the ferocious roar of the beast, Otter steeled herself and sent in Precious. The gyarados was intimidating but the Persian gazed upon his opponent with a haughty look of disdain.
The red gem on his forehead flashed with power and struck gyarados but the large Pokémon shrugged off the attack. Gyarados surged forward and in a massive wave of water, swept his tail across the beach. With claws out, Otter's Persian latched on and scrambled up the coils of gyarados that were exposed. Nimble and graceful, Precious bristled and electricity filled the air. A bolt of lightning struck gyarados on the crest, summoned by the persian down upon his opponent's head.
Swinging its head, gyarados tried to dislodge Otter's Pokémon but he could not be dissuaded. Outraged, Jasper's Pokémon dove beneath the surface of the water and with an impressive leap, Precious lackadaisically landed on the beach; he groomed his paws without a care in the world just trying to get the damp off of them.
The sand was stuck in his fur as well and he was unamused. Glancing back at Otter, the smile from her bolstered his spirits; with a huff, he began heating the air rapidly with the static that was pouring off of him. Clouds began to form overhead, thunder rolling like a cacophonous symphony. Otter opened an umbrella as the first drops of rain began to fall. Fox merely put his electronics in a waterproof case and ensured his pack was sealed tight.
Gyarados still had yet to resurface and the great red beast was contemplating his next move. He was facing a dangerous opponent and Jasper's Pokémon could see activity from where he hid below the surface. Precious was still causing the air to churn and rallying for his next attack.
Gyarados gathered energy in his maw and barely breaking the surface turned the destructive beam of hyperactive energy upon the shore. Dodging the sweep of the attack, Precious unleashed a torrential cascade of lightning that struck gyarados; each one collided with stunning accuracy from the storm he had summoned.
Roaring in agony, gyarados couldn't act quick enough after the discharge of his last attack. Jasper watched his Pokémon carefully but all things appeared to show that he was still capable of fighting.
With an icy breath, the gyarados made the storm worse and the persian's fur went from damp to soaked. The battle between these two had turned into an elemental mess and the waves crashed into the shore ripping away at it. Gyarados caused a twister and rather than aiming it at Precious, shot the attack right for the trainer's box.
The referee could be heard shouting at Jasper, disqualifying him as no attacks should ever be aimed at the trainer. Precious ran for it, charging up as he ran; letting fly with a hyperactive beam of energy himself, he shot it straight through the twister.
The heat and energy of the attack dispersed the twister, striking through it and pummeling gyarados into the surf. Such was the vitriolic fury of the attack, gyarados was pushed back and slammed into his trainer's box. The energies displaced the storm above and the sun began to peak out again.
Jasper dove into the water as his Pokémon crashed into the box. He caught the pokeballs as they fell into the water, Jasper withdrew his gyarados and began swimming back for the ladder out of the harbor.
Precious dodged the return beam to his pokeball and instead jumped into the trainer box with Otter. He purred when Otter took a towel from her bag and began drying him off. Precious was happy to see his trainer unharmed and didn't even give Fox a dirty look when the other trainer helped look him over for any possible injury.
"The home trainer had lost control of his Pokémon! The match was forfeited in Otter's favor the moment an attack was sent at the trainer's box." The referee declared.
"Well done, Otter, I apologize for my Pokémon's behavior. Given the damage to the home field trainer box, we will have to utilize the secondary arena. Please see the receptionist and she can point you where to go." Jasper nodded.
Fox congratulated Otter on the win and they left with Precious walking serenely alongside them. The receptionist walked them to a stadium sized, artificial grotto where it was clearly the home of the gym's Pokémon in residence when not in their pokeballs. Many, with the exception of Jasper's three from the last match were lounging with the other two students. The gym leader was there as well; she and the referee were having a heated discussion about the last match.
Nora hadn't seen the match but had been given a recounting, not enough to know her opponent's strategy but enough to learn her strength. The gym leader wasn't arguing with the ruling, more about the fact that the referee let the match go on as long as it did there at the end.
Given the skill with which Otter's Pokémon had fought, she could have won on points alone. Seeing Fox and Otter walk in, Nora gave them a wave and departed leaving them to the matches to come. The next two matches were hard fought for Otter but she persevered through it all; her Pokémon were easily patched up at the Pokémon center. Tomorrow, the true battle would begin.