"I need to see the Gym Leader immediately."
"Well, I'm sorry, sir, but the Gym Leader is very busy right now and isn't seeing anybody without an appointment."
"Busy doing what? Because whatever it is, I can sit here all day and wait."
"I… can't allow that, sir! Now I tell you that she's not available at this time. So if you don't stop being difficult, I'm going to be forced t—"
While he was talking, another Gym staffer walked out to see the ruckus was, looked at the man his colleague was talking to with great alarm, and hastily ran over to whisper in the staffer's ear.
The staffer's eyes grew wide.
"I-I-I am so sorry, Mr. Larry, sir! Please forgive me!" he stammered. "Y-you have to understand, we have so many strange men who come in wanting to get close to Miss Iono that we, we have to have this whole policy in place, and…"
"It's okay, I understand," Larry stopped him. "Just… I need to speak with her. Right now."
He couldn't stop his eyes from twitching. Coming right out of a meeting with Geeta to deal with this nonsense will do that to you.
"Of course, sir!" the staffer answered, bowing in panic. "Umm… actually, she told us to… expect you and another Gym Leader might come."
"Oh, really," Larry said very dryly.
Of course she is. And she didn't bother to tell any of you what I look like?
"Yes, umm… just walk through there, and it's the first door on your right."
Larry followed his directions and found his way into a room that was, for whatever reason, dimly lit, and seemingly empty except for a table, and a single chair… which swiveled around once Larry closed the door.
"Well, well, well… look how the tables have turned," Iono said very smugly. "Now you're the one seeking me out."
Larry's briefcase dropped to the floor. His hands were shaking with fury. And his face seethed in pure rage.
"What. Did you. DO."
When Larry woke up that morning, it seemed like any other day… at first. He was woken violently by his alarm at 7:30 in the morning, having only gotten a few hours of sleep since getting Katy home and then crunching as much as he could on his tasks.
He threw off the covers and rubbed his eyes. His eyes felt sore from all the blue light his computer screen bombarded into them last night, which was unfortunately becoming a normal feeling.
Before long, I'll probably start needing glasses…
And, very miserably, his first instinct after that was always to check his flip phone for new messages from the boss.
As was typical, there was a single text message from Geeta, which had been sent just shortly before.
(7:21) GEETA: Please see me in my office as soon as you get in.
Great, Larry thought. I'm either in trouble again, or she has yet another thick assignment to pile on for me.
But strangely, he received another text message just then. … And it was from Katy.
(7:34) KATY: have you seen the video?
(7:35) LARRY: What video?
He got no answer from her, which was puzzling but didn't raise any particular alarm bells in his head.
The rest of Larry's morning routine proceeded as normal. Then he walked the streets of Medali, and that was when odd things started happening.
He noticed a lot of young people spotting him and pointing for some reason. He figured that was just an effect of how much he'd been seeing his popularity as Gym Leader grow… again, for some reason.
But then Larry would meet up with the townsfolk he knew by name and some of them were… congratulating him? Patting him on the back? Again, confusing. He asked one of them, the local breadmaker Villiers, what the congrats were for and Villiers just snickered like it was some joke everyone but Larry was in on.
He continued to notice people staring his way as he entered the Treasure Eatery for his daily breakfast.
"Good morning, Valencia."
"Buenos dias to you, my friend!" Valencia shot back energetically. "So, you and the girl Katy are finally getting serious, huh?"
Larry shot her a look. "Me and Katy? What makes you say that?"
Valencia leered at him in a weird way, and then a look of realization… and then she started giggling.
"Oh, no… Don't tell me… you haven't even seen it…"
"Seen what?" Larry snapped. "What has been going on with everyone this morning?"
That's when he heard some giggling behind him. Two teens were sitting in a booth, both looking at their phones. One of them looked up at Larry and giggled even harder. He looked back at Valencia, who just gestured towards them.
Larry marched over to them. "Alright, what is it? Let me see."
"Oh, sorry Mr. Larry, but… I don't think you're gonna want to see this," one of them chuckled.
Larry looked at him sternly, and made a "Give it here" gesture with his hand. The boy put his phone in Larry's palm.
His face was still even as he saw it.
Him and Katy.
Sharing a kiss last night at the high table in Artazon. Filmed from an angle high above.
With yellow text inserted on the screen that read in big letters "GYM LEADERS HOT IN LOVE?!"
Wordlessly, he handed the phone back to the youth and took out his own phone to begin dialing. His lip twitched a bit as it rang.
"Hello, you've reached Patisserie Soapberry's online pickup line, how may I-"
"Put her on. Now."
He heard the phone drop on the other end.
"What kind of phone is that?" the girl teen whispered to her friend.
Inside the Soapberry, Krista dashed into the kitchen.
"Katyyyyy!"
Katy sighed as she hunched over her cutting board.
"Who is it now? If the Paldean Enquirer's trying to ring us a third time, I'm about ready to tell them to stick it up their—"
"It—it's a Code… Gray," Krista stammered.
Katy dropped everything and ran to the phone.
"Larry, is that you? Look, I-I'm in the middle of service right now a—"
"Just… please, please tell me you didn't have something to do with this."
"You uh… you've seen it now, haven't you?"
Larry was about to say something… when he heard a voice coming from the teens' phones. A very familiar voice.
"Wowee wowzers! What do you think of that, viewers?" Iono's peppy voice sounded from the phone speakers. "This rich bounty has paid off handsomely! I got something way spicier than some silly interview with silly Larry would have ever given me! And just look at those numbers! We're gonna be number one on Twika today and maybe all over the webz!"
"Oh, dear," said Valencia, overhearing. "I had a feeling it was that little troublemaker. She's been coming in here every other day trying to hound us to tell her where you were, driving all the customers up the wall…"
Larry's fist squeezed so hard he was close to crushing his own poor phone.
"…Larry? You still ther—"
Larry snapped his phone shut, cutting Katy off, and walked out of the Eatery without another word or glance towards anyone.
"This has been such a fun game of cat and Tandemaus, big guy," Iono boasted, using her foot to swivel the chair around. "Really! I've had a blast! But all good things must come to an end," she said in a mockingly sad tone.
"What gives you the right to do something so messed up!?" Larry snarled.
"Hey now, don't be sore!" Iono dipped her head on top of the table and gazed upon Larry from upside down. "You played the game really, really well. You dodged my advanced ninja skills for over… how many months? But I outplayed you in the end and won this dance. No need to feel like a sap for it."
Larry's face was getting redder by the minute, and his voice continued to rise.
"Is that all this is to you!? Some… childish game!?" He sharply pointed a finger at her. "You have no right, absolutely no right at all, to infringe upon my private life!"
Iono's head swiveled back up. "Oh yeah!? Well you had no right to keep blowing me off! Or siccing your pipsqueak friend's Tinkaton and your medieval forest goons on me! You of all people should know how dangerous I can be when I'm pushed to my limit!"
Larry was getting so uncharacteristically angry with this girl's indignant attitude that he was beginning to growl between his teeth.
Much to Iono's shock, he proceeded to slam his fists on the table.
"Who taught a girl like you manners anyway!?" he barked.
"How dare you! I'm very well-mannered," Iono defended. "I think you're the one who needs to learn how to—"
"If you're well-mannered, I'm an Articuno!" Larry sharply interrupted her.
"Well, what manners am I even lacking, Mr. Arctic—whatever you just said?"
"Manners like consent, for starters! How about talking to people like an adult instead of just yelling and demanding things like a child? Respecting people's personal space and their privacy? … How many people watch your thing anyway?"
"Oh, well," Iono chuckled. "I lost count a long, long time ago, but if you really wanna see the stati—"
"Let me ask you this, how many of them are kids? The young and impressionable sort?" Iono sucked in her lips instead of answering. "Shouldn't you be acting like a role model to them? Showing them how not to treat your peers?"
"Ehhhhh!" Iono cried, flailing her arms. "You're starting to sound like my dad now!"
Larry calmly stood up and took a deep breath. He readjusted his tie. And, after a few seconds, he talked to Iono in a quieter, but still irritated, demeanor.
"First things first, I want an apology from you. And then… I want you to take that footage down. Right now."
"Pffft! Ummm, that's not how livestreams work, y'know! Are you that much of a dinosaur?"
"Elaborate."
"The whole point of broadcasting the Iono Zone live is that thousands—millions of people around the world saw it happen at the same time you did! It's not a teeny, little video file like on a super-old computer. Like… yeah! I could take the VOD down sure beans and never show it again. But my fans are all wired in, gramps! You'll never be able to stop them from reposting and sharing that video all over the web!"
"I would smash every single phone and computer out there in the world if that's what it took to make all this go away," Larry sneered. "And don't ever call me 'gramps' again."
Iono blinked in surprise. "Wow… you're uh, you're really mad about this, huh?"
"What was your first hint!?" he snapped again. "It's more than just about privacy! Why do you think Katy and I were being so secret about it? Did you even stop to think about the ramifications of two Gym Leaders being caught in something so scandalous!? Geeta was up there having my neck right before I got here! My whole job could be in jeopardy because of you, and I was barely able to convince her not to discipline poor Katy over this!"
"Okay, okay, geez! I… I'm sorry," Iono finally apologized. "I… I didn't know it was that serious. So… there. I said it. I am sorry."
Larry wanted to shout more, but, realizing at least one person here should be an adult about this, sighed out his anger and nodded.
"Okay. I accept your apology. Is there… really nothing else you can do about this?"
Iono pressed her fingers together between her sleeves as she sat and thought.
"I mean… I could take down the VOD, like I said, and I could probably send out a message to all my fans and ask them really, really nicely to leave you guys alone. They're a loyal bunch, I think they'd listen to me."
Larry went from having his arms crossed to putting them in his pockets.
"Just that would… really help," he admitted. "All this attention is the worst part right now. I just want to go back to living my life." He didn't want to say this next part, but a part of him also felt like he should give something back as an incentive.
"How about this? If you tell all those fans of yours to back off, then… maybe sometime whenever I have the free time, I'll… give you a proper interview." Iono gasped in delight. Larry quickly added, "That's a maybe. No promises."
"A maybe baby is all I need! I know how to make those grow up into big yesses!" Iono gushed, animating excitedly. "Alrighty! You got a deal, Silly Larry! Promise we 'might' go one-on-one, and I'll call off the Iono squad! Let's shake on it."
She held out her hand… still inside her sleeve. Larry just stared at it for a few moments before, hesitantly, reaching his hand out, to which her hand finally showed itself and grabbed his for a handshake.
"Great. Now I really gotta go."
He turned around to leave.
"Umm… wait."
Larry turned back around to see Iono with a pleading look.
"Can you… do one more thing for me? That angry chef lady from your restaurant—I mean, the Treasure Eatery. Could you ask her to… unban me, please? I hate to say this, but after stalking—err, tracking you so many times, I actually got really addicted to those sweet onigiri balls." Her stomach growled. "…I think I'm starting to feel withdrawal."
Crazy enough, I know the feeling.
"Is that Valencia you're talking about? Because if so, I can put in a word for you but… again. No promises."
That afternoon, Valencia herself reached under her bar and grabbed a broom.
"Ugh. You two kids keep on eating. I'll take care of those rabblerousers."
She marched from her station and sprinted towards the Treasure Eatery entrance, stepping out as she brandished her broom threateningly to the youngsters trying to peek inside through the door and windows.
Larry and Katy could both hear her arguing very loud and very angry things to those hooligans.
"You don't want to get on Valencia's bad side," Larry commented. "I think we should be safe from prying eyes from now on, at least in this town."
"Thank heavens for that. I love how much quieter it is in here," said Katy. "Seems like everyone's a lot more respectful of us here."
"The regulars here are all good people. They treat everyone in Medali like family."
One man just wordlessly gave a thumbs up in Larry's direction, Larry raising a cup in response, before returning to his meal.
"What did you say to Iono anyway?" Katy leaned in curiously. "Because when I got up there to have words with her, the minute she saw me, she started groveling and saying sorry over and over!"
"Oh, I put on my best 'disappointed father' voice and told her to go to her room and think about what she did," Larry joked. "I'm kidding. Though I might have lost my temper a little bit, we reached a deal in the end. She promised to take down the… video thing, and tell all her fans to leave us alone next time she broadcasts."
"Well, that's one thing off my plate. Too bad there's still Geeta waiting for me…" Katy said with dread in her voice.
"Oh, don't worry about Geeta," Larry assured her. "I had to meet with her already, and I explained everything to her. She understands that neither of us had any say in what happened."
Katy playfully huffed. "You just won't let me stand up for myself at all, will you?"
"I've seen you when you have enemies. Maybe I was being merciful."
"Well… against Geeta, it'd probably be a stalemate…" Katy mumbled.
"It's Iono you should be worried about. I'm sure Geeta's got plenty to say to her," Larry replied, almost feeling sorry for the poor kid. "Anyway, she said just to not let any more 'stunts' like this happen with us or any of the other Gym Leaders, so I think we're fine."
"So Geeta was worried about the League's image, huh?"
"I've been put under strict orders not to field any calls from the Mesagoza Gazette or Poké Club Weekly, if that answers your question."
Katy laughed. She heard someone from a table nearby stifling a chuckle too, which made her smile.
"You know… as annoying as some of this extra attention has been, in a way… isn't it kind of nice?"
"Is what nice?"
"Not having to hide anymore? We can just… be ourselves from now on. No skirting around. Lying to our friends. We can finally be honest about our feelings for each other."
Larry pondered this. "You're right, I suppose that is a bit refreshing."
"Besides… I know you're of the opposite opinion, but… it was kind of nice to walk into the Soapberry today and feel like a celebrity," said Katy, smiling. "I haven't had a rush like that since a few months ago, the last time I was on her stream. …Voluntarily, of course."
"That's right, she said something about that the day we caught her snooping here," Larry recalled. "So you really collaborated with that girl on her streaming thing?"
"Yeah! She wanted me to give a baking demonstration for all her viewers, so I decided to be polite and acquiesced. It was… an interesting experience," Katy said, trying to find the best way to sum it up.
"She actually gave me a copy of the VOD if you ever want to see it." Larry gave her a quizzical look. "It's… a video, basically. A way to archive it after it happened. I guess you can think of it like recording a live event with a camera."
"All of this is like a foreign world to me," said Larry, shaking his head. "You know all these tech-y terms so well, meanwhile Rika had to teach me how to set up Wi-Fi because my last computer was still running on dial-up." Katy snorted out loud. "You think I'm kidding."
"No, I know you're not kidding, that's why I want to laugh!" Katy dug out her Rotom Phone in its spider-web themed case. "I picked all this up from my nephew. He's the one who's super-big into all these streamers and influencers and what-not. He even helped me make my own Facedex account."
"Does he watch Iono?"
"Lord, I hope not," Katy muttered in response.
She tapped and scrolled through her phone and then held it out to show Larry.
"See… here's what the Iono Zone looks like. She hosts it on a platform called Twika. And well, if she was streaming right now, you'd see her giant face on screen there, and a live chat of all the people watching her and leaving comments. … Ooh!"
"What's up?"
"The VOD of us is still up. She hasn't taken it down yet." Katy clicked on it, and there they were again on-screen.
"I guess we do look kind of sweet from that angle," he muttered.
"Oh! Look at that, you can even see the comments people made from when it was live!"
"Ugh, no thanks," said Larry as he took a sip of coffee. "If I needed my self-esteem clouded that badly, I'd head back to Geeta's office."
"They're… not all that mean. In fact… these fans of her all seem to really love you," said Katy with a look of surprise.
"…Alright, now I know you're kidding."
"No, really! You don't know how popular you are on the web, do you?" asked Katy with a raised eyebrow.
"Why would people on the Internet care about me? I'm nothing special at all."
"Just take a look for yourself."
Katy showed him her phone so he could see the chat she was talking about. A lot of them were screaming for Iono. There were some… very indecent comments towards Katy that he assumed she was ignoring. And several comments saying "daddy" for some reason.
But… otherwise. A lot of viewers were saying "I LUV LARRY". Or talking about how cool he is. Or just posting his name with heart emojis.
Something's wrong with these kids.
He squinted his eyes at one of them.
"What's a 'thirst trap'?"
Katy almost choked on her spit, and erupted in raucous laughter, causing everyone to stare.