Chapter 6
It took half a month before Fox was able to get out of bed, his team had done an extensive number on him leaving him with a host of serious injuries. Much of that time had been spent in the twilight of pain medication leaving him a poor conversationalist for the man Nora had directed to the hospital. That same man had left a few times but had always come back to check in on Fox. Thankfully the only matches he missed were other challengers and not Otter's next gym battle.
Otter could have taken the train to the next gym but instead chose to take the Bike Line east, camping out on the days she couldn't get to a Trainers' Lodge. She preferred staying in the woods most days as without the breeder's permit, she was not allowed to have more than six Pokémon. It meant she couldn't let Fox's Pokémon out to romp at least not under the prying gaze of the world at large.
The first few days for his Pokémon after they had left Brill Harbor were rough for all of them. Gyarados was surly, dragonite was moping, sandshrew was despondent and ninetales remained aloof; it complicated things but eventually they grew to trust each other though not yet completely liking her.
Otter's growlithe and eevee were growing at a surprising rate along with sandshrew. When they finally got to the next city at the end of May, her growlithe had grown nearly as tall as she was and eevee's fur had gone a bright hay colored blonde. Sandshrew had become even pricklier and was approaching the completion of his maturation phase.
Otter entered the Pokémon center of Norwick City to retrieve her mail. The breeder license was the only thing waiting for her and with a quick message, Otter let Hank know she had received it.
Glad to hear, we had to hospitalize a few more of our people; our insiders apart from Fox are saying the Prophets of Renewal are spooked. We never caught any shipments from Sinnoh but our Johto operatives said there have been a number of tyranitar rampages across the region. None of us know what to make of it though. Hank updated her.
Are their Pokémon being well cared for? That still puts us no closer to understanding why and what their need for Professor Manchineel of Sinnoh is though. Given her specialties, that could be a fair bit of anything. Otter's finger tapped on the side of her phone. Zeke sent that "pokeball box" to the Trainers Lodge right?
Watched him do it myself. Should be there waiting for you. Hank let her know.
Gotta go, catching up to Zeke so we can take the report from one of our operatives. A second message came in following the one before it quickly.
Let me know what they have to say. I'm heading over to the gym next, then to the lodge; keep me posted.
Otter got up from the bench when the nurse called her over to retrieve her Pokémon. Otter took the tray from the nurse and thanked her. As she was exiting the facility, she heard the nurse call out.
"We hope to see you again."
Otter double checked her map and headed northeast for the Norwick City Gym to see what she would be facing for a challenge. Within the last year, the city had opened a gym and the almanacs had yet to be updated. She pedaled quickly, humming to herself as she rode on.
The city was set up in sequential squares making it easy to find her way and when she found the gym, only two plaques had been filled with names none of them being Fox's. It made Otter smile knowing she would take a gym before Fox did, though from what she had heard it would be a while before he would be up to taking a gym.
Otter registered her and the Pokémon she had with her at the front office of the gym. Given the typing of this gym, it would prove to be a rather unique challenge.
Fox turned on the news for the evening looking forward to seeing what trainers were going to be registering with the gyms today. He was getting antsy sitting still for so long, thankfully the hospital was letting Fox out when the man he was spying on for the House of Valor was around. The same man who showed up during the announcements of the challenger registrations for the day.
Fox held up a finger to his lips keeping the man's greeting stifled till after the announcements were done.
"Ro, welcome back to my humble abode."
"Shall we take a stroll Fox? I think your venusaur is anxious to see you again. You're going to be released from the hospital in a few days, any idea of what you plan on doing once you get out?" Ro offered Fox a hand getting out of bed.
Fox grabbed his cane from the bedside rack as he swung his legs out of bed. Once he was done with this task, he was going to give Hank and Zeke an earful. The doctors said he was going to be stuck with a limp for a long time. Fox put on a thick robe, carefully balancing and Ro guided him from the room. Through long, sterile halls they walked in silence and it took a few moments to get to the garden.
When they got there, venusaur extended a few vines and carefully picked Fox up bringing him towards the sun warmed flank of his Pokémon. She rumbled happily when her trainer settled comfortably against the trunk of the flower on her back.
"Do you have an answer to my question yet Fox?" Ro asked.
"I think venusaur and I will join you, at least for you to show us the operation and why you want something different for the world. After that, I think we are going to track down Team Rocket and take back our Pokémon or at the least make them pay for their thievery." Fox only partially feigned the ruthlessness by which he spoke.
"Think of it though, as a Prophet of Renewal, you could have an opportunity to take revenge on a far broader scale; against the system that failed you and the people who took something so dear from you. Above and beyond that, the Prophets can change the world." Ro spoke fervently thinking of his vision.
"Come back in a few days to retrieve me and we can start our work together. I want some time by myself with venusaur tonight." Fox was looking up at the sky above watching the clouds pass by.
"Of course, I will see you at the end of the week." Ro left him in the garden to his own devices and departed the hospital to attend to business.
Otter was getting ready for her next match when Zeke popped up with abra floating behind him and a report for her to look over. It was regarding the units that had been dispatched to check shipping lanes and smugglers' courses. To her dismay nothing had turned up despite the extensive canvasing of the area.
Otter drummed her fingers on the dispatch thinking of the next move the House of Valor should make. She hadn't even wanted a part of Fox's life or decisions when he had mentioned this in the letter; somehow though, Hank and Zeke had roped Otter into it deferring back to her as if she were Fox's replacement.
"I feel as if we should withdraw our foreign agents, we knew how long it would take for them to arrive from Sinnoh. Somehow they've gotten past us, we should split the list of gyms that we have left to ascertain their allegiance on one team and then another will canvas the region for their base of operations." Otter simplified the response.
"Who do you want in charge of the gyms and who do you want engaging in reconnaissance?" Zeke suspected he knew where she would place him.
"I'll send word out to Hank; he and I will tackle the gyms, either they're neutral and they join us or they work for the Prophets and we help them retire from the organization." The words left a bitter taste in her mouth, "As for the area reconnaissance, Zeke, you take lead on that. I want the Prophets found and I want this done before too long. I have a bad feeling that something is coming and I want to minimize collateral damage. Do what you must to find them; hopefully we hear something back from Fox soon."
"Yes ma'am, I'll pass the word along. Is there anything else?"
"No, not as yet, I will keep you posted. May your fires be a beacon in the night." Otter dismissed.
"May your flames leave ashes in your wake." Zeke responded before teleporting away.
Heading into the gym for the student challenges tomorrow, gym leader the day after. How soon can you get to Norwick? Otter kept her message brief.
Not until the day after your match with the gym leader; should I be concerned?
Nah just wanted to talk about old family breeder tips I can only mention face to face since you were looking to get into that field. Otter responded, mentioning the family business was their code to say they needed to talk about House of Valor logistics.
I'll be there as soon as possible. Maybe I should look into breeding alakazam, I'm kind of jealous of Zeke's ease of getting around.
Maybe, the species does not commonly live in this region though; there are only a few small pockets where they live.
Good to know, get back to readying for your match. I'll be in transit so I won't be able to see it. Let me know how it goes?
Of course, travel well.
Tomorrow, based on the type combination of the gym she would be relying heavily on her growlithe who was almost at the point of no longer being considered a growlithe. Same to be said of eevee; her fur had already changed texture and color and the quills were coming in while the tail was shrinking slowly.
The ruff of eevee's neck had yet to take on what a mature jolteon's would look like though. Otter knew of course which one she would lead with, and it would be the stubborn Pokémon's debut match. She checked over all of her Pokémon one last time in the recreation area as well as paying special attention to Fox's before retiring to bed for the evening.
When she awoke the next day, the weight of what her life had become had crushed the thrill of the battle to come. Otter took her breakfast in the rec room before recalling her Pokémon. She had the early matches this morning and Otter was not thrilled at having to be awake that early after having just arrived to the city the night prior.
The bike ride to the gym passed in a blur and Otter was folding up her bike and clipping it to her pack before she knew it. One of the students was waiting outside of the gym doors for her, with wary steps she approached her.
"Welcome to the Norwick City Gym, challenger! Are you prepared to face teams whose weaknesses are prepared for and covered?"
"Try and stop me Kal, my team is more than capable of handling your trifecta of coverage. You will find us as inevitable as the beginning of dawn." Otter shot back waiting for the lock and key response.
"What an odd way to describe your strength, I like you, please come in." Kal didn't even flinch at the mention of dawn.
Otter was still suspicious but she followed with as much expedience as she could without stepping directly on Kal's heels. The first arena they approached was like the one Rabbit had; a large grassy field though this one had longer, unkempt grass than that neatly manicured lawn.
Kal gestured to a hall that led to the visiting trainers' box before she dashed off to the other side for hers. Otter set her pokeballs on the tray facing the hinge towards her and the opening towards the field. Eevee's rocked gently in the pouch for pokeballs and Otter let her out so she could witness the match as well.
The news teams were ready and broadcasting already, both trainers could hear them murmuring excitedly as the referee approached. Once he was situated and dropped the flag the trainers began.
Kal started with a magnemite but when growlithe entered the field, she withdrew it and let out a poliwrath. Forced to withdraw growlithe, Otter sent out Precious and a fierce battle soon ensued. After a hard to follow volley of attacks between the two Pokémon, both had retreated a bit of distance to catch their breath.
With the next attack the battle was decided and Precious had to be withdrawn before further injury. Tauros was sent out next and with a wild charge filled with built up static energy knocked poliwrath out. Magnemite came back out and harried tauros, staying just out of reach.
Tauros was quickly withdrawn and growlithe came back out; fire coursing from his mouth and coated his fur, soon being turned into a fiery blitz. Growlithe's speed let it reach the Pokémon but when he landed it was not on solid footing and he twisted his paw.
Growling terribly, he uttered a fierce roar that left the injured magnemite fleeing for its trainer. The Pokémon was declared unable to battle and that part of the match went to Otter.
Electabuzz was let out next and a dreadful bout went down between the two apex Pokémon but it eventually wound up going to growlithe.
The next two students were also hard fought but Otter prevailed, albeit it barely. Having to face electric and water was troubling for her but kangaskhan was an anchor in the last match against the third of Norwick City Gym's students. Gym Leader Umir was waiting for her on the steps out of the gym.
"That was well fought, if you wish it, you may take tomorrow to rest your Pokémon." He offered in a deep voice that was barely audible.
"Thank you sir, but I shall face you tomorrow; I look forward to our match." Otter bowed with respect.
"It is always advised that one should not push their Pokémon too hard." Umir raised an eyebrow, never having been declined before.
"My Pokémon and I will be ready to face the day tomorrow. I trust you will be as well. What do you think of how the dawn begins?" Otter asked.
"It is like the tides or lightning; you cannot stop it from happening; one can only accept that it will happen." Umir's voice made the words sound mysterious and left Otter mildly confused if he shared an affiliation with the Prophets.
Otter spent the evening musing over Umir's words as she looked over her Pokémon. Precious was exhausted but not injured severely and was resting comfortably at the foot of Otter's bed while the others were out in the recreation area.
Getting her growlithe to sit still while she bandaged his foot was a completely different challenge and a fellow trainer came over to assist. Otter coated the bandages in a pepper solution to keep growlithe from messing with them after thanking the other trainer. After a meal she readied herself for the next day, Otter gave Precious another once over who was still sulking grumpily; he was not fond of being defeated in battle.
Once she finally got into bed Precious took over most of it and flopped across her as a heavy blanket. He budged a little just enough to let Otter get comfortable; growlithe, jealous that the other two had places on the bed, clambered up and stretched out. Eevee settled into the thick fur of growlithe, the sharp quills that had started growing in not bothering the other Pokémon one bit.
Otter found herself wedged between her Persian and her growlithe, pinned beneath the blankets but it was cozy enough she was asleep soon thereafter.
Her alarm went off what seemed a short time later but she was too deep into her dreams and heard none of it. Precious opened an eye in great annoyance and when Otter wasn't stirring he grabbed her by the pajamas, dragging her forcefully from the bed to the accompaniment of loud swearing.
Ignoring her tirade, he dragged her into the shower and with added torment managed to bat the shower handle into the on position. The spray of cold water completely rousted Otter and she wound up having to dry off the Persian before she took a shower of her own.
Precious was ornery and none too thrilled at the prospect of sitting the gym leader's match out. Eevee, lapras and Persian were benched for this match; lapras for obvious reasons and the other two for differing reasons. When Otter approached the gym, Precious and Eevee's luxury balls rocked violently in their case before the two Pokémon ejected themselves, walking in alongside her. The news reporters were waiting with cameras trained on her as if in anticipation of words for her.
"I have come to claim the Adaptation Badge from Umir, today marks another name that beget his downfall on the plaques out front; in Rabbit's name I battle." It sounded ridiculous to her but the press loved theatrical statements from the trainers.
"Bold words from a trainer, but come, prove yourself worthy of claiming your adaptability in the face of adversity." Umir's voice thundered through the halls.
Otter approached the arena which had changed since yesterday. It still had the section of tall grass but a portion of the field had been replaced by a rocky outcropping though that would only give her an evasion bonus.
She could use that to her advantage certainly, but she knew nothing about what Umir possessed for a team just what he could possibly possess. Laying out her Pokémon on the tray, Otter was as ready as she could be.
When the referee dropped his flag, Umir sent out a vileplume and Otter sent out her growlithe.
"Otter, little friend, give it another week or so and you should be calling that fellow there a fully matured arcanine." Umir chuckled in a deep rumble, "I would place a wager that he will come into that extreme speed of all arcanine by Wednesday two weeks from now."
"You must know your arcanine fairly well."
"When part of your gym weakness includes fire types, you need to be well informed of every possible variable. Now then, enough of this, shall we?"
Vileplume inhaled deeply and with a deep ploomph sound, a thick cloud of purple spores erupted from the center of vileplume's crown. It coated the ground around her, growlithe circling warily just outside the contamination zone. Otter confirmed the need for caution with a brief whistle.
Vileplume pollen instigated a highly toxic allergic reaction and regardless of typing, it could seriously hinder growlithe's combat efficiency. Burning it was out of the question, it potentially could create a toxic cloud of smoke that would even affect the trainers as well.
Growlithe inhaled deeply, having come a long way from spitting embers, instead throwing a vicious cone of flames that sailed right over the circle of poison. An upsurge of sludge spewed out from vileplume and met the flames. The two attacks met and exploded, sending the poisonous spore and acrid smoke wafting throughout the arena.
Protective domes covered the trainer boxes and growlithe was left to fend for itself. His body began emitting flames from pores beneath the fur and soon the air in the arena became a scorching heat wave. The poisonous spores and toxic smoke ignited entirely, the flare up caused both trainers to flinch from the boisterous flash. When their eyes cleared, vileplume had collapsed and growlithe was breathing heavily.
Umir withdrew his Pokémon and released a vaporeon to replace vileplume. Growlithe, still breathing heavily, began shaking his fur. The coarse fibers of his coat began building up static and with a wild charge of built up electricity struck out in an attempt to take down the water Pokémon. Vaporeon dodged the tired growlithe easily, striking it dead on with a pulse of water.
The cold jet of water drastically cooled growlithe's body temperature and he passed out. Otter withdrew him before he took any more damage. The environmental shields had since opened and before she could stop him, Precious had leapt down onto the field.
The persian growled at the vaporeon savagely before uttering a challenging voice filled with similar energies to his hyper beam. Umir's Pokémon countered by roaring at Precious with a voice filled with the same hyperactive energy. The two attacks cancelled each other out and Otter's persian moved away, circling the vaporeon; seeking an opening the static charge of his fur bristled.
Precious leapt and bit down on the back of the neck of vaporeon but the other Pokémon collapsed into water, sliding away. He reconstituted a little further out of reach of the persian and with an icy breath, caused a haze to spread across the arena. Precious closed his eyes and listened intently for the movement of the vaporeon.
The icy haze on the field dampened the persian's fur and the electricity he had been building up dissipated. Dark energy coated his front claws as he padded silently in the thick grass. Moving towards the rocky outcroppings, the less moisture the vaporeon could capitalize on the better. Clambering softly onto a larger rock, Precious was attentive to the surroundings, ears flicking and moving.
Vaporeon was as concealed in the haze as Precious was; the next ambush would more than likely decide the match. Umir's Pokémon was almost completely silent but Otter could tell Precious was not fooled in the least. A commotion could be heard from within the haze, the persian was on the attack.
Little could be seen within but after a long period of silence, Umir turned the exhaust fans on to clear the field. Precious was the first to be seen, languidly perched on top of a boulder grooming himself. Vaporeon had fallen and Umir withdrew the Pokémon.
A raichu was dispatched and it started off the match hastily, surrounded by a ball of electricity he dashed at the recumbent persian. Dodging nimbly the two waged a battle of calamitous proportions. The shielding for the trainer boxes went up again, this time in attempts to prevent any stray attack from striking Umir or Otter.
Precious was playing rough, unable to take the luxury of pulling his attacks. Otter noticed that raichu's attacks seemed to be stronger than her persian's but Precious still had the advantage of speed on his side. He was an artful technician when it came to his attacks even though they were weaker, Precious used them effectively.
Raichu had gotten in close to her persian when the tide of battle changed; with a strange coughing noise, Precious shot a toxic smelling ball of gunk that coated the other Pokémon entirely. Raichu began convulsing from the poison forcing Umir to concede the match.
The light from the pokeball put the Pokémon in stasis until they got to the Pokémon center and the poison wouldn't spread further.
"That persian of yours is truly a formidable adversary." Umir stepped down from the trainer's box and walked to midfield where Otter was walking up to check over her Pokémon.
"Thank you, I don't know who is more grateful to have gotten him from the shelter; him or me." Otter stroked the persian's fur carefully, he had some burn marks from stray lightning bolts that would need to be attended to.
"The world works in mysterious ways; you both were where you needed to be at precisely the right moment." Umir smiled.
"If I may, sir, I have a question." Otter beckoned him closer.
"Of course, ask away." He noticed the way she glanced surreptitiously at the news anchors.
"Your answers prior did little to fulfill my questions. I must ask directly; where do you stand in regards to the Prophets of Renewal?" Otter whispered quietly.
"Those people are fanatics; you would do well to steer as far from them as possible." Umir responded in a hushed tone, "If there is more you wish to discuss, come back tonight after my other challengers."
"I will, thank you for your time." Otter shook his hand.
Fox was whooping in delight at the spectacle of Otter's match, Ro had watched it with him and he was quieter in his appreciation of the match. It wasn't that she was an incapable trainer, it was that Ro felt the whole system a cruel abuse.
People and Pokémon had become too thoroughly ensconced with one another, he would free them all. Fox was getting dressed while the reporter was interviewing Otter after the match. He had turned the volume up so he could listen.
"Just as in your last gym battle, your Pokémon took a victory in an astounding display of strength. Congratulations on your second badge, is there anything you would like to attribute your rising success to?"
"My friends are a huge motivation to me; Fox and I met up in Brill Harbor and we sparred together in preparation for that match. We were supposed to take this gym together as this was a gym that hadn't been open last year but he stayed on in Brill Harbor to catch up with Nora and then take the first train here after that." Otter could be heard responding.
"Well, wherever Fox is, I feel certain he would be proud of your continued success. We look forward to seeing you continue on this blazing path you're setting out for yourself. Go well and we look forward to the next stop you make."
"Thank you."
"Fox are you ready to leave?" Ro called out loudly.
"All set, it's not like I had much left to pack up. We just need to stop by the garden first." Fox opened the door and they walked out.
Venusaur was excited to leave and didn't object to being returned to the pokeball at long last. Fox set the pokeball into the pouch clipped to his hip, the empty case apart from venusaur pained him greatly. Ro watched the young man leaning on the cane, Fox was lost in thought and never saw Ro slip up behind him.
A quick prick of a needle and Fox's head began to spin; an orderly caught him before he fell.
"There you are Father Ro, is there anything else I may do for you?"
"Thank you my son, would you be so kind as to wheel him out for me? He will be dosed throughout the train ride to our base of operations."
Otter had returned to the gym shortly after dinner. Umir was waiting patiently in a conference room for her. Vaporeon was sitting on his lap crooning happily and Otter's eevee ran over to the vaporeon who leapt down to wrestle with the eventual jolteon. Umir watched the two for a moment more.
"Is this a secure room?" Otter asked.
"The only ears to hear what you have to say are mine."
"I represent a group of people interested in the self-preservation of normal life in Merifos. A group known as the Prophets of Renewal has arisen, they have an interest in some scholarly assets as well as conversion of trainers and other people." Otter was watching Umir for any flicker of reaction or adversity, "The House of Valor would like to know if, as a gym leader, you would like to prevent the Prophets from carrying through with what they plan."
"Does this House of Valor even have an idea of what these Prophets plan is?"
"We have numerous assets on the ground looking into it. We intend to have an affirmation as to the reasons of their plan and what it entails."
"What do you know of Brill Harbor Gym? Word on the Leader Network says the foundation cracked in such a way the building flooded and collapsed." Umir fixed her with a steady gaze.
"Nora and her students were sympathizers, we took the information we had from them before our actions. My associate should be bringing me the report tomorrow." Otter was watching Umir's face for any adverse reaction.
"When your operative comes into town, I wish to hear this report for myself. I will base my decision upon that. You may leave now." Umir dismissed her with no inflection in his gravelly voice.
Otter gave a slight bow, called her eevee over and left thereafter. Retiring to the lodge for the evening, she ensured the private recreation area was booked for her. When she got down to it, Otter let the ten Pokémon out; Fox's seemed relieved to be out of their pokeballs. Precious and ninetales were growling at each other as each wanted to be brushed out first.
They said a trainer had booked the private recreation area on deck c with the water feature, is that you? Hank's message startled her as she was trying to keep the two Pokémon from fighting with each other.
Yes, please get down here quick, I need to brush out five Pokémon and two of them are vying to be the first brushed out.
Down in a moment, Precious and ninetales?"
You know it.
Lapras and gyarados were watching the fiasco with amusement as Otter was waiting for Hank to come out of the elevator. Growlithe was sprawled out snoozing, ignorant of the drama while tauros was munching the grass placidly in recreation deck c and eevee was patiently waiting her turn.
Kangaskhan was comfortably asleep through all of it and sandshrew was trying to get her attention. Hank showed up in time, taking the extra brush and opting for distracting ninetales from striking out at Precious.
Purring smugly the persian sat with patience through the grooming; once he was satisfied, Otter moved on until the rest of her furry Pokémon were groomed and happy. Hank let out his small team of four, torterra moved sluggishly for the sun lamp, an East Sea gastrodon slipped into the water, luxray stayed by his side along with a houndoom.
"So this is your actual team?" Otter introduced herself to the houndoom and luxray.
"And a gabite but he's next door at the Pokémon center. He wasn't feeling well so he's getting a checkup." Hank added, wanting to ensure she knew all of his team.
"That seems like a very ground type heavy team, aren't you concerned at all?" Otter was worried for him.
"My team can handle anything any challenger can dish out." Hank spoke with confident assurance.
"As long as you don't regularly get defeated by young trainers from Matpa Town, then I suppose it's not all bad." Otter teased.
"Oh hush, do you want to hear the reports from Brill Harbor?" Hank shushed watching her growlithe sniffing around his houndoom; she wasn't in heat yet but they might make an interesting cross breed in the canine Pokémon family.
"Sorry, please, tell me about Brill Harbor."
"Everything is in the report, to paraphrase though; Nora and her students were sympathizers, they intend to raze the world to the ground and rebuild it from the ashes up." Hank whispered.
"That's horrible, do we know how?"
"Not yet, I hear you already have a plan for staff operation?"
"Yes, you and I will take teams to handle the gyms on Fox's list; Zeke is building up teams for reconnaissance. Tomorrow though, we need to speak to Umir; he wants to hear the report regarding this. Most likely something to do with the fact that the House of Valor took out a gym leader and her students. How much collateral damage was there?" Otter was concerned, knowing the enthusiasm of some of the other members.
"I saw to the job myself, a simple earthquake to destabilize the foundation; the building collapsed a little deeper causing a mild flood but there were only four casualties in it all and mild property damage." Hank listed it off.
"Better your methods than Zeke's. Hopefully Umir doesn't look too deep into some of Valor's methods." Otter sighed.
"I'm thankful Zeke isn't here for this report with a gym leader." Hank grumbled.
They spent the evening attending to the Pokémon and in the morning they bought their tickets for the next city. They sent out word to a handful of other operatives to meet up with them. From there they got breakfast, exercised the Pokémon, and went out for lunch as Umir had a morning battle to contend with.
They were discussing the best strategies for teams that didn't have coverage to handle certain gyms and their typing when Umir messaged her that the morning matchup was over. They made their way back to the gym with great haste, not wanting to keep the gym leader waiting.
Umir greeted them and ushered them into his conference room; taking the report from Otter and reading through it more times than they anticipated.
"Tell me this, why do you want me to join you, is it only for the gym's capacity for Pokémon that you want joining you, or the gym leader specifically?" Umir gripped the report tightly.
"Consider that we intend only to have you in the capacity of no action. It is better for us to have you stand out the battle to come than to be fighting for the wrong side."
"You only want my promise to stay out of the fight; so be it, I only wish to live and teach my wisdoms in peace. I hope for your sake this ends the way that provides the most benefit for Merifos."
"Thank you Umir, I hope peace in Norwick remains unsullied by the Prophets."
"Norwick will be neutral ground, if I see either the Prophets or the House of Valor in my city engaged in hostility, I will remove both sides by force."
"We understand completely, Umir; before go though, tell me what you know of the gym leaders on this list." Hank passed him the list that Fox had made. Umir took it in hand and shook his head.
"I wish that I could be of assistance, these gym leaders that are already established are reticent to include any new gym leaders. Valor in the face of adversity trainers." Umir gestured at the door, dismissing them.