The wood door creaked open as Katy walked into her home, followed by her boss at the Pokémon League.

Geeta looked around the house and smiled. "My, what a pleasant house. It has all the makings of a quaint summer cottage."

"Thank you for saying as such," said Katy. "Would you like some tea?"

"Tea sounds lovely. Thank you."

"Hot or iced?"

"Hot tea is fine."

Katy bowed gracefully and walked into her kitchen as Geeta took a seat on her couch.

About five minutes later, she emerged with steaming cups of rose tea. Gently setting the tray down on her coffee table, she took one cup and handed it to her guest. Geeta smiled as she accepted the cup. Blowing on it gently, she took a sip followed by a gentle hum from her lips.

"Good tea?"

"Just right, yes. Thank you very much," Geeta nodded. She set the cup down on the tray, as Katy hesitantly took a seat on the recliner. "I hope you'll forgive me for having dropped in on you so suddenly. But what I have to talk to you about can't wait. I'm afraid that—"

"I AM SO SORRY!"

Much to Geeta's surprise, Katy bowed her entire head and torso and shouted in a loud outburst as she cupped her hands together in a pleading motion.

Geeta shook her head in bemusement. "Katy…?"

"I already know why you're here." Katy lifted her head back up as she continued, "I want to apologize so, so badly for my conduct last week. It was extremely catty and unprofessional of me to talk to you that way, to disrupt your workday and make demands from you. I should've had much more respect than to boss you around the way I did."

She closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm ready to face the consequences of my actions however you see fit. If you came here to fire me, which I don't blame you for in the slightest… then I'm ready to accept that with grace."

Her eyes remained closed, which prevented the pâtissier from seeing just how befuddled Geeta looked.

"Katy… you can relax," she said, holding her hands out to try to diffuse. "I didn't come here to fire you. In fact, I didn't come here with any intentions of disciplining you."

Katy's eyes darted open. "You… you didn't?"

Geeta nodded. "I am very graced to hear your apology, and I do accept it wholeheartedly. That is, as long as…" She paused after that, piquing Katy's curiosity. Then, surprisingly, Geeta bowed her own head. "…as long as you are also willing to accept my apologies."

Katy sharply grabbed both armrests of her seat in shock. "Your apologies!? Why— what are you apologizing for?"

"For many things, my dear," Geeta answered, looking down remorsefully. "First and foremost, I feel I must apologize because of what happened the other day. I never should've let tensions from you harbor for long enough that you were compelled to act out in the way you did."

"That's— what do you mean?" Katy said aghast, standing up. "None of that was your fault at all. That's all on me! I lost control of my emotions and basically threw a huge tantrum at you because you were just making logical business decisions! I butted in on something I shouldn't have and… I treated you like dirt."

Katy looked down in shame. Geeta gave her a sympathetic look before sighing.

"You and I both have things we feel the need to atone for. But as the who's supposed to be leading all of you Gym Leaders, then the most important thing for me to do is to recognize areas in which I failed.

What you did… you're right, it was very unorthodox and not the way things should be handled between a subordinate and a boss in a professional setting. But, the truth of the matter is, doing it in that way, in that moment, probably was the only way that you made me listen. The only thing that made me… see."

"See what?"

Geeta took another sip of tea and stood up. She walked over to Katy's window and stared out at the open plains for a minute. Katy sat quietly, drinking her cup.

Keeping her gaze on the window, Geeta started talking. "I don't know how much Larry has told you about… the internal state of the League right now."

Katy gave a solemn nod. "I remember he said something about the numbers not being so hot." She thought to herself, When I was up there and you were ranting about everything you've worked hard for falling apart, that… might've clued me in as well. But she wasn't going to say that.

Geeta gently rested her arm on the windowsill, and looked back at Katy.

"Well… here's the truth of it. The number of Challengers at the Paldean League has been down considerably the last several quarters compared to our previous attendance data. In fact, the last quarter was an all-time low for us. You might have noticed a gradual drought of Trainers challenging us than usual these past spring months."

Katy demurred. You mean that wasn't just because of me…?

"Part of the reason I've been sending select delegates like Larry and Hassel out on scouting trips in the other regions was to test my worries about whether the rest of the Leagues are being affected to or… whether the problem is entirely insular."

"What did you find?"

"My worst fears confirmed. In all the other regions, the respective Leagues are doing as well than ever. The League on Indigo Plateau is prospering greatly. Galar's minor circuit is practically thriving in the off-season. Even Alola's League, despite them being newly established." Her head lowered in shame. "Meanwhile, Paldea has failed to improve and adapt with the times, and the data is showing for it. Did you know Blueberry Academy's students have formed their own unofficial League, and that it's actually taking more spotlight in the Pokémon world news than ours?"

Is that why Larry said he was doing a lot of paperwork related to Blueberry Academy?

Geeta now laid both hands on the windowsill as she hunched over with tired eyes. Katy found it… an interestingly familiar sight.

"Needless to say, it has been causing me a tremendous deal of stress these past two years. The worst thing has been not being able to figure out why our attendance is so down, nor how to bring it back up."

"So… all the higher expectations, then…"

Geeta turned back to her, with a look that was some mix of both resigned and maybe a little shameful.

"I figured the problem must be that everyone in the League needed to show more commitment to their battling, and engaging more with their challengers to make the battles more memorable and exciting, so that people would talk about us more. Some of the changes I suggested saw immediate positive effects, like permitting Iono and Ryme to merge their media interests into the Gym Challenges.

Their energy brought so many more young Challengers like I had hoped, so much so that Director Clavell and I decided to revive the Treasure Hunt study so that students at Uva could challenge the Gyms at their own desire, and I didn't want to lose that energy so I became a bit… hyper-sensitive to anything that seemed to be deterring students from seeing the Challenge all the way through."

Katy, realizing what she was implicating, nodded in understanding. Geeta took a seat down on the couch again. She was having trouble keeping her head from looking down.

"I want you to understand, those suggestions never came from a bad place. I just… I was so afraid of failure, and I just wanted us to keep succeeding. I knew how much trouble we were in. And I thought as leader, it should be my responsibility to bear these burdens on my own. But if I had just been more honest and open from the beginning, maybe…"

Geeta gave a heavy sigh. Katy leaned in and titled her head with a concerned face.

"…maybe I wouldn't have let you all down so hard."

Katy's lit up in surprise. "What?"

Geeta didn't respond. She just kept her head down, her luscious dark locks drooping over her face and keeping her expression hidden.

"What are you talking about? If anyone's to blame, it—it should be me. It should be all of us," Katy reasoned. "You're our leader. Even if you were hiding things like that, we shouldn't need a reason to fall in line with you." Katy put a hand close to her heart. "I—I really regret everything I said in your office. About how you were dragging us all down and we couldn't trust you. Once again, I was acting completely on bitter emotions. Everything I said, it was, it was so unfair and out of line."

Geeta grunted softly, and bent down to take another sip of tea.

"True as that may be… I am still your leader. And as your leader, it's also my responsibility to recognize that I failed to foster an environment where my underlings felt relaxed and able to open up any reservations they've had with me. It is partially my fault that so many do."

Katy tried to smile politely. Geeta knew what she was trying not to say and motioned with her hand to say it was fine.

"It's okay. I'm not so naïve. I know how they talk about me behind my back. The ice queen up in her castle. Tulip once called me that, didn't she?" Katy broke a sweat, which actually made her snicker. "Don't answer that. Even without saying as much with words, I know this is how I'm thought of by many. Especially Larry, I'm sure. That man has never looked happy to see me."

Katy couldn't hold back a soft giggle from that. She immediately looked embarrassed to do so, but Geeta smirked softly and looked down at the half-drunken cup.

"Larry… That was my idea too. Well, not him specifically, but the idea of hiring someone from within the division to take up the mantle of Elite Four. But it was more than that. The more I came to meet with him and work alongside him… the more I saw the great wealth of potential that lay within him. I saw that he could reach even greater heights and inspire a lot of people. I just wanted to push him to reach that potential… Maybe I pushed a little too hard, in hindsight."

Katy laughed quietly. "Trust me, I know what you mean. This whole time I've gotten to know him, I saw that potential within him too. But you're right in that… he struggles a lot with being able to see that in himself. He thinks he's nobody special with nothing to aspire to. Well… he really is the walking definition of a self-fulfilling prophecy."

The two of them broke out in a small laugh over this. It was a weird feeling. Katy didn't know if she was ever in the company to hear Geeta laugh like that before.

"It's a direly relatable feeling. I know I too shouldn't let people's opinions of me shape my self-confidence," Geeta lamented, shaking her head. "But that's the other crux of the problem. When you're the one in charge of something great, and that greatness starts to ebb and trickle, you get this feeling as if… as if everyone's eyes on you."

She set her teacup down again. "Do you know what they say about me, Katy? Not the Paldea League itself, but me as its Champion?" Katy put down her own teacup and listened vigorously. "Some tabloids out there have deemed me to be the easiest Champion to face in all the regions."

"No!" Katy gasped in disbelief. "You? One of the most powerful Trainers in Paldea? Impossible! How could some pundits even glean that from you when they've probably never battled you firsthand?"

"It's not just the Elite Four and Gym Leaders of each region that suffer comparisons, Katy. In fact, in some ways it's the Champions who face the most scrutiny. I get to hear ad nauseum about how my teams stack against some powerhouse Trainers like Alder. Leon or, whoever that new Champion in Galar is. And then there's that Cynthia woman…" she snarled.

Katy leered back a bit, not used to hearing such a level of scorn from her otherwise stoic boss.

"This is why I felt I had to come down to see you personally. I knew that you'd… understand where I'm coming from. I know they talk that way about you too." Katy sadly nodded. "You and I have been kindred spirits this whole time without knowing it. That anxiety, that fear of not being good enough… It digs deep into you. Affects how well you perform. How well you connect with others, and project things…"

Geeta began to clench her hands tightly, which surprised Katy because she realized it must be what her own hands looked like to Larry. Realizing the shared emotions, Katy put her hand over Geeta's to help her calm down.

"It's a nasty feeling," Katy assured her. "I know all about it."

Geeta drew a deep breath. She took Katy's hand in her own and smiled sincerely. Her face perked up as she decided to ask a pertinent question.

"Tell me, how did our battle make you feel?"

"Hmm?"

"The battle we had on the roof. How did you feel, when you were up there battling against me?"

Katy drew her hands back and took a bit to think. "I haven't really thought about our battle all that much. I just felt so ashamed that I pushed you to it—"

"Then cast your emotions aside," Geeta cut her off. "Put yourself into that moment, and try to recall how it felt when it was just you and me. In the heat of it."

Katy took a sip of her tea as she recounted her memory of that day. She thought back on all the commands that she gave her team, the high emotions that she felt the whole time she was up there. All the strategizing she had to do on the fly as the Pokémon and the circumstances kept changing.

But most of all, she realized a feeling that was so familiar, and yet so distant…

How fun it was.

"It was… it was amazing. It was more than amazing—it was a blast! It felt like the battles I used to have years before! It was fun to have to think of things in the moment and come up with new strategies on the fly, I felt completely in control the whole time. I—I felt alive."

This time, it was Geeta who placed a hand over Katy's.

"And it's been a gravely long time since you felt that way during a battle, hasn't it?"

Katy turned away. It was a small grin. A melancholic one.

"So you felt it too," Geeta realized. "That battle… I've only had battles like that with challengers who prevailed and become Champions. And they're so few and far between… For you to give me all of that, not as someone challenging the League but just as a fellow member… That night, I don't think I slept a single wink because every bone in my bottle felt like it was still rattling."

"I kept you from—" Katy put a hand to her mouth. "I am doubly sorry for that!"

"Don't apologize at all, Katy!" Geeta laughed heartedly. "It was the strongest Gym inspection I've ever conducted!"

Katy chuckled back in relief.

"Talking of Gym inspections… I think every time I've come to inspect one of you and your fellow Leaders' Gyms, I've been subconsciously expecting battles like that one. For you to treat me as someone standing in your way. But everyone else seems to just want to impress me, I think a few of them even throw on purpose out of fear I'll get angry. Only Grusha puts up something close to a real fight." She chuckled sardonically. "But I know for him, it's just a fear impulse. He's so afraid of failure after everything he's been through, that poor man. But you…"

Katy was surprised when Geeta looked straight at her. Not because she did, but because of her face. Her eyes gleamed, she was giving a smile that wasn't a happy one… she looked more emotive now than her otherwise still face had ever projected.

"On that rooftop, everything you gave at me felt like… raw emotion. It's—it's everything I used to remember Pokémon battling was like. Before it all became professional and a status symbol. No red tape or ulterior reasons for it, no feelings of testing someone. You brought out the purest spirit of what this sport is supposed to be. And… and… I must've filled you with so much self-doubt. So much pain, for all you had to let out. I should be the one apologizing, Katy. And I truly mean it."

"I—I don't know what to say."

"I have a lot to make up for, Katy. Because I realized something even more important that day. It's not just you I've been holding down. And it's not even just me doing it. The pressure to not fail has stifled everyone here to a stand-still. In fact… I think right there, I might've finally cracked the reason for us falling below expectations. This toxic environment of… expectations and fear of failing."

She cupped her hands together, and began to grin something confident.

"I see it now. And I see it even more when I think back about everything Larry was talking about. You both have done a far greater service to me than I could ever express in words."

Katy went up and hugged her. "That… that means so much to hear that from you, Geeta. Thank you."

Geeta smiled warmly as she returned the embrace. When she opened her eyes however, her smile faltered. Katy felt Geeta break off as she walked calmly to Katy's foyer.

She reached her hand in Katy's wall shelf full of mail to pull up a familiar form and the red envelope nesting it.

"Ohhh. That," Katy cringed. "Ummm… The thing about that is—"

"I was informed two weeks ago that our department had received a request for this form. It came as quite a surprise." She looked back at Katy. "I feel even more ashamed that I let it get to this point."

"It's not sent," Katy clarified. "I… still haven't come to a full decision yet."

"Of course."

Geeta fingered the form around in her hands. She looked back at the shelf and noticed Katy had also been penning a letter addressed to her. She decided to put the form back with it instead of reading it.

"You are of course free to make whatever decision you please," she clarified. "I want nothing but the best for you. But I'd like to say this… that is, so long as we're both clear that what I'm about to say is only advice and not a direct order." She pointed a finger at Katy with a knowing smirk. Katy nodded.

"But I would… very encourage you to stay on with us." Katy's eyes flew up a bit. "And not only that, but if you were to stay, then… my new advice would be, to ignore all my other advice. I would want you to take your Gym into your own hands, and run it however you feel is best for yourself and everyone else."

Katy's mouth hung open and quivered. She was completely speechless.

"I'm going to put all my focus now into restoring the Paldean League into a place where everyone can feel confident and proud to be a part of it and experience the kinds of battles they want to see in the world. To bring back that spirit of what Pokémon battling really is, for all the region. I'm going to let everyone have their word in and make this a much bigger collaborative effort. And… if you were to stay, and be a part of that effort, your voice would be an immense help."

"You, you really think so?"

"Katy, you're one of the most passionate people I've come to know in all my years of running this League. With the confidence and the drive that you inspire, I think now, more than ever, that you're born to be a leader too."

Katy put her teacup down, fanning her face with her hand as she tried to take all of this in.

"It's funny," said Geeta. "Every time that someone manages to beat me, on top of that roof, and claim the title of Champion… I always say to them, that may they be the light that guides Paldea." She turned around to Katy again, with the proudest smile she'd had all day. "But now I see. It's not just the Gym Challengers who light the way. It's all of you. So maybe it's time, that I gave you all that chance to shine brightly too."

Geeta's eyes closed thoughtfully.

"…So take some time to consider it," she said upon opening them again. She turned to get ready to leave, before she remembered something else she wanted to say.

"That being said, Katy… I should expect, if you do decide to stay, that from now on, if you ever find yourself having issues with me again, that this time we will be able to talk it through cordially, like adults."

Katy laughed sheepishly. "Yeah, of course. I—I promise that would never happen again."

Geeta smiled and turned around again to leave.

"Wait!" Katy suddenly called out.

Geeta whipped her head back around, her hair splashing in several directions.

"I know this might not be appropriate to ask at this point, but… what about Larry?" Katy opined with a wince.

Geeta chuckled loudly. "I'm surprised you waited this long to ask about him!" She closed her eyes. "I am a woman in honor in the end. If I were to lose everything tomorrow, I would still have that with me."

"You don't mean…?"

"I've decided that I will agree to the terms you set. You won the battle fairly. I'll give Larry the option to set another meeting with me. And this time… I will make an effort to listen more closely. And I will allow him to make whatever decision he feels best. … As long as it's reasonable." She shook her head. "But don't take that as a slight. In fact, and you can tell him I said this personally but… I find myself strangely looking forward to it."

She turned to leave, but as she grabbed the doorknob, she stopped.

"Oh!" She stepped back up and faced Katy again. "There is… one other thing, Katy."

"What's that?" asked Katy.

"That Scizor of yours."

"Oh…"

Katy looked worryingly in the direction of her satchel, hung up on a wall hook, where she knew Lizzy's Poké Ball was.

Undoubtedly, Lizzy, the powerful combater that she was, was a huge part in Geeta's initial worries that Katy was going too hard on the Uva Academy students.

So… fair to assume she's about to tell me that it would still be too much to start using her again…

"Director Clavell and I have been in talks with the director of Blueberry Academy for a special joint school trip with the students at Uva," Geeta explained. "One of the things we've been discussing is the possibility of a special instructors' program that would involve all the Gym Leaders. If you were to remain with us, then… I would also strongly encourage you to apply for that. If it goes through."

Katy's eyes widened, surprised at this offer. "Okay… I mean, that sounds interesting, but why me exactly?"

"Because." Geeta's voice became low. "I'm planning to volunteer as well. Which means we might end up meeting each other on the battlefield again for exhibition tournaments. And if we do…"

A fierce look came about in her midnight blue eyes.

"I'm going to beat that Scizor."


Larry sauntered down the hallway, his hands in his pockets, and a still look on his face. He had decided what he was doing, but was still figuring out how to actually start a conversation.

As he walked, he started to hear tiny pitter-patters echoing through the floor and looked up to see Poppy gingerly running down the hall. She stopped when she saw Larry.

"Has he calmed down now?" he asked her.

"Yup!" Poppy cheerfully affirmed. "I drew Grandpa Hassel a lot of pictures of cute Pokémon, but they just made him cry more! So then I made a picture of a dragon, cause I know he loves dragons a lot, and I made it look really cool and drew it burning down a whole village!"

"…And that cheered him up?"

"Uh-huh! As soon as I showed it to him, he stopped crying and he gave me a really silly look! I think I helped him a lot! See you later, Mr. Larry!"

She ran off, leaving Larry behind to process. He shrugged it off as he walked up to the tall marked door.

There was a unique plaque next to the door addressing it as Hassel's Office, with a room number below and a dragon-like symbol at the top.

Was Geeta going to give me a plaque like that for my office?

He knocked gently on the door.

"Come in!"

He opened it, and was led into a surprisingly colorful room. The walls were painted an interesting shade of blue. A light indigo with a gray undertone to it. Not too bright, but also not too dull.

The walls were adorned with interesting memorabilia, including a large red paper-mâché dragon head mounted to the wall. There was a tall mahogany display case. On one shelf, he had amassed four different plastic masks, all of a vibrant design, especially the jewel-encrusted teal mask with a mischievous face on it. The shelf below had several embroidered plates that appeared to all be from different lands.

There were a couple of red banners strewn on the upper ends of the wall, with gold text of a language that was foreign to Larry. There were also a select few drawings made of crayon and/or acrylic paint, likely made by some of his students, dotting the walls.

As for Hassel himself, he was standing over his desk with his back to Larry. He was staring at a picture he'd pinned to the wall. It was a whole town scene on fire, with a large green snake-like dragon looming over the sky, breathing fire upon stick figures with an angry face.

Is that Poppy's drawing? She didn't mention that she drew people…

Hassel had a hand up to his chin. He spoke without looking back.

"One of the… things I often tell my students is that art speaks a lot more than one realizes. A single portrait can tell you plenty of interesting things about the artist that made it."

"What does this piece tell you?"

Hassel crossed his arms. "Honestly? It tells me that Rika and that preschool might be getting a little bit too lax about what sorts of things they let that girl watch on TV and read in her books."

"Only the brightest minds of Paldea's future," Larry mused as he decided to take a seat in the red chair.

Hassel turned back around with a grin and sat down in his own chair, red like Larry's but with a set of golden horns at the top of its back.

Sitting down at Hassel's desk, Larry immediately noticed that there was a whole set of small clay miniatures lined on both sides of the man's desk. Most of them were of either Dragon Pokémon or symbols associated with the Type, such as the Dragon Tera Jewel.

They were painted colors that each seemed to spell out a theme. Blue was used to represent the Tera Jewel and Dragon-types that were native to Paldea. Red seemed to signify Hassel's experiences in Galar, as Larry noticed one of them was a Gigantamaxed Appletun (or was it a Flapple?).

There was a purple set that included a Kommo-o, a long-tailed wyvern that didn't seem to resemble any specific Pokémon, and right behind it was one of a person doing an… interesting pose with their hands.

Most intriguing were two turquoise-colored ones whose paint looked fresher than the others. One of them was a tall square Pokémon that reminded Larry of a tall building-like Pokémon he had seen in Galar. The other was something that looked visually reminiscent of an Applin.

"These are nice clay sculptures," he noted. "Did Brassius make them?"

"Brassius?" Hassel gave him a funny look. "Oh no, this is my own little hobby! I make them here when I'm experiencing some downtime. And every so often, I like to give them as little awards to my students." He let out a laugh. "I suppose Brassius's vibes must be very obvious though since he is the one who taught me this as a meditative art."

That's one way to put it…

"But enough talk about me. What's on your mind, sir?"

Hassel put his hands together, eager to listen. Larry took a few seconds to breathe, and decided to get right to the meat of it.

"I'm at a crossroads. I guess… I have been for a while now. I don't want to bore you too much with the details, you probably know a lot of this already."

Hassel scoffed. "You'll find I'm a tough man to bore, my friend. I love listening to people. Go ahead."

"As you're no doubt aware by now, Katy and I have been dating for the past several months now. Or… rather, we had been," he morosely corrected himself. "Things were going great between us for a little while. But there came a point where… work got between me and my happiness. And so, I—I…"

"So that's why you broke it off," Hassel quietly realized. Larry tilted his head at him. "I'm sorry. It's just—the changes in your demeanor I had noticed over the past several months. I know I'm a nosy sort, and I apologize for that."

"I've been learning a lot just how many people have been looking out for me. I'm—I'm still trying to wrestle with how to feel about that, honestly."

Hassel laughed. Larry laughed too, to his own surprise. He started talking again, feeling strangely more at ease.

"I thought it was the right thing to do at the time. But then I lost my drive to work and I still missed Katy on top of it. That's when I realized that what I really wanted was to change something else in my life, and… and I—" He hesitated to speak further, but then he mumbled out while refusing to look at Hassel, "I guess it's fair that you know. My plan was to quit from the Elite Four."

Hassel grunted, and he nodded with a face that looked saddened but not surprised.

"When I talked with Geeta about it, she pivoted me in another direction, which would have me working even harder, and I accepted it because I didn't want to make a fuss. But Katy took it very poorly and well… apparently, you saw the results of that first-hand." Hassel chuckled softly. "Then she and I got into a huge fight, and I said some really terrible things to her…" Larry looked down in shame. "Now I've tarnished that relationship, maybe irreparably, and I don't know how to proceed next with my work arrangements. I'm… I'm completely stuck, up a creek with no paddle." His eyes looked increasingly morose. "And I don't know what to do next. The only thing I want right now is to lay down on my bed forever until the world swallows me up."

He looked at up at Hassel… and noticed a tear fall down his cheek.

"Oh no… You're not crying again? I'm not ready for more hysterics."

"I'm sorry, that was just a very moving tale," Hassel calmly replied, wiping the tear. "So after all that, you've come here to my realm looking for guidance?"

"I'm just… trying to get a feel for some opinions, I guess. Like a sign pointing me down the road where I need to start looking. I guess to start, there are some things I need answers for."

"Well then, ask away."

"Why did you pick me?"

"Hmm?"

"To be in the Elite Four… Rika said you threw my name in. Why?"

Hassel murmured to himself with an embarrassed smile.

"She told you that, did she? I guess we really are being more open now…" he muttered to himself. "Do you… remember when we met at the Treasure Eatery several years back?"

Larry crossed his arms as he searched his memory banks. "I remember… we had an exhibition match one time. Wasn't that after I was in the Elite Four?"

Hassel shook his head. "No! It was about three or four years ago now, I think. I was in town for… something, I don't remember what. You happened to be just fresh from a Gym Battle inside, and I had always been curious to meet you, so I stopped by to chat. We had a battle. And then you treated me to a lovely lunch inside the Eatery."

"I'm sorry that I don't remember all this as strongly as you do," Larry guiltily commented. "What did we talk about?"

"Oh, nothing too interesting, from what I recall. We shared a lot of job stories, I think I told you a bit about some of the exotic lands I've been to. But I just remember that you were very affable and polite to me the whole time, and I was impressed with your strong battling style. I think that's what resonated with me when Geeta suggested promoting a Gym Leader to fill a spot and yours was the first name I thought of."

Larry's gaze drifted downwards. Hassel slowly began to feel guilty himself.

"Of course… I've never worked in your specific field, so I had no imaginings at the time how stressful your workload already was before the extra rank was given. Had I known more at the time… I promise I would've tried to make a better deal with Geeta on your behalf. Even so, I've still always tried to stick my neck out for you when she's giving you a hard time."

"I know. And I appreciate that," Larry responded. He grinned for a second at his coworker, and continued to look down to the floor after that. He didn't seem like he was in any deep thought, just… disassociating.

Hassel glanced over at something on his desk and smiled to himself.

"Tell me… part of your dilemma is that you feel strung out by the weight of demand, right?" Larry looked up as Hassel cupped one of his sculptures. "You feel like everyone's been telling you what to do most of your life? And you want to strike out on your own? But that's the hardest part, is taking that first step, because you're not used to that feeling of making independent decisions for your own happiness?"

Larry was perplexed. "That's… almost exactly it. Down to the wire. How—how did you gather all that?"

"Have I ever told you much about my own background before making it in Paldea?"

Larry shook his head.

"I thought not. You see… I come from a long line of Trainers who specialize in training Dragon Pokémon, from a land quite a bit aways from here. In fact, my father is the head of the clan. From a child, I was groomed with the fullest expectations of taking over from him one day, and leading our family to greatness."

"I didn't know that," said an impressed Larry.

"But, well… I was quite the rebellious youth, if you can believe it. I loved being with Dragon Pokémon of course, and I loved my family dearly. But as I grew older, I kept being drawn to something that filled me with even greater passion. … Music."

"Music?"

Hassel laughed to himself. "I told my family I would make a great living off of music and I ran away from home, never looking back. I traveled several regions trying to make that dream a reality but… I didn't have the talent for it in the end, I suppose. Realizing that my grand quest was for naught, I felt lost. And directionless."

"What happened?"

"Somehow, I… found my way to Paldea. Hardly any money to my name, and only my dear Arctibax for company. But then, I—I met someone." Larry noticed what Hassel was fidgeting with as he regaled: a clay miniature of a Sudowoodo, painted green. "He showed me the beauty of art, the transcendent platform that illustrates one's emotions, one's whole life journey, so vividly. I began to make drawings of my feelings and what I envisioned for myself… and I took that with me as I made up my mind to apply my family's teachings and become a Dragon expert leading the bright minds of the Paldea region, and eventually, an art teacher for the impressionable students at Uva!"

"That's… incredible." Larry's eyes were wide open, absolutely riveted. "I never would've taken you for having had such a long journey to discovering yourself like that."

Hassel smiled at him. But as he kept playing with the Sudowoodo sculpture some more, a frown crossed his lips.

"Actually it's… it's quite funny. Just a few months ago… one of my relatives actually found me. Tracked down where I'd made my den… and she tried to entice me back to my family, away from Paldea, with some story about my father having grown ill." His voice began to trail off. "And to think, I—I almost fell for it too. I almost gave up, everything… everyone I held dear, for the past that I thought I'd run away from. I almost let myself belong to others once again."

Larry saw Hassel's eyes begin to get watery again. "What made you stay?"

He sniffled. "Believe it or not, it was… it was the pleas of a student at the Academy. I had gotten quite friendly with her, chatting with her between the classes she took with me. She ended up witnessing the whole entanglement. I was doubting my teaching abilities in that moment. But… she told me that I was a great teacher, and didn't want to see me go."

He looked off into the distance. Larry swiveled his head and realized he was looking at a student's drawing. It depicted three youths, surrounded by a feisty Pawmot, a Fairy Terastallized Sylveon, and a Mabostiff with a Poké Ball in its mouth, along with a large serpent-like creature of some sort. It bore a stylized "J" for a signature.

"In that moment, I realized how much I meant to all my students, and to my colleagues… and it was like a sparkling moment of clarity. A glimmering Dragonair blessing my pool of despair. I think… I think that's all I needed at that point. Was someone's voice, to pierce through to my heart."

Larry ruminated over this as he closed his eyes, gripping his knees now truly in thought.

When he came to again, there was some new expression on his face. Not worn, nor tired, nor lost… A sparkling moment of clarity.

"I think I know what I need."

"And what's that?"

"I need what you had. A trusted voice I can talk to, who will give me an answer both honest and out of care. That's how I start to find my way forward."

He had an inspired smile on his face, which unfortunately tapered off as he thought harder.

"That is of course… as long as I haven't burned that bridge completely. I've got a lot of apologizing to do first."

"Her heart beats strong as a dragon, my friend." Hassel smiled. "And the bond between dragons can never burn completely."

"Thanks," said Larry, standing up. He gave a huge grin and appreciative bow to his friend. "This helped a lot. More than I thought possible. I… I really owe you one, Hassel."

"I'm always glad to help," said Hassel, smiling back. "I'm glad we had this chance to talk as colleagues and friends. I hope… when you're up to it, that we can have more conversations like this in the future."

Larry beamed. "I hope so too."


Katy tossed the teacups into the sink and ran water as she scrubbed all of her dishes. As she started though, she was alerted by the sound of her door creaking open again.

"Excuse me. Katy?"

Katy reared up in surprise. "Geeta? I thought you said you were leaving?"

"I still am. I just…" Geeta glanced back behind her. "I thought you should know that there… seems to be quite a congregation outside. And it seems they're here for you."

"For me…?"

Katy cautiously opened her front door, and was stunned to see a small crowd having gathered outside her house. Several of the town elders and merchants, a few children, and some of her own employees.

"What are… all of you doing here?"

"Oh! Well uh…" a woman uttered.

"A few people saw you meetin' with the big boss Geeta at your home," a man clarified. "And then well… I guess we all came down here to uhh… to find out if the rumors were true that you're going to close down your Gym."

Katy gasped. "What!? How d—Why…?" She looked around uneasily at her townmates. "Well, gee Robin, I umm…" She twiddled her fingers a bit, not prepared for this amount of attention. "How did this kind of word get around, anyway?"

"Uhh…"

She looked over, to her surprise, at her two Gym Trainers, both looking very sheepish.

"The other week, when you and Larry were… well, talking things out…" Esmeralda recounted. "I was tending to our Team Smoliv at the fields nearby and I… kind of overheard you showing Larry something and telling him you were going to resign from the Gym."

Antonio scratched his head in embarrassment. "She told me, and then I went out drinking with my buddies a few days ago, and I think I let slip to them about how I might have to start looking for a new job. Mighty sorry, boss."

Another man chimed in. "If you were going to hang up the hat, then… well, me and the fellas in town were talking, and I guess we all wanted to see you personally to tell you how much having you as our Gym Leader has meant to all of us here in Cortondo."

"Oh, Mr. Whipple. You, you really didn't have to. I already know how much this Gym has brought to Cortondo."

"Be that as it may, we've also been talking a lot about how rough things have been for you lately, and how we wanted to show our appreciation as a town for all you do."

"Especially me," said one of the town elders. "I know I rattled yer ear off about how the town was dyin' because less people were going to the Olive Harvest. I… I feel like I put a lot of pressure on ya as our dear Gym Leader by sayin' that."

"Not just that, but how much your face was popping up all over the Internet and we had all those obsessed kids stampeding through the town," Florence lamented. "Some people just don't respect others' privacy anymore."

"Who ratted Miss Katy out to that streamer girl anyway?"

"Eh-heh-heh! Y-yeah!" Damien stammered. "It… sure is a mystery!"

Krista punched him in the shoulder. "Ugh, stop trying to play cool, you simp! Did you forget I'm the one who shared my Twika account with you? I still get email notifications from it, so I totally caught that little 'anonymous' 50 Poké Dollar tip to Iono!"

"Uhhh…" Damien looked like he wanted the ground to eat him up. He bowed ashamedly to Katy. "I'm sorry, Chef. I shouldn't have told the Iono Zone about your perfume. If you have to fire me, I totally understand."

Katy, rather than feeling upset, found herself giggling.

"You all really have become like a family to me, haven't you?" she laughed. "I feel like I'm back at home, where I can't keep secrets from anybody!"

A small girl and a boy ran up to Katy, who lowered her hands to her knees to hear what they had to say.

"Miss Katy! Miss Katy! Is it true? Are you really gonna shut down your Gym?" the girl asked.

"Cause umm… it's just that it's always really cool whenever there are kids from the school who come to town to battle you, cause sometimes they stay for a little while and play with us, and it's really fun!" said a boy in overalls.

"Yeah!" the other boy with a backwards red hat agreed. "I even became friends with one of them, and we still talk to each other online!"

"Yeah, but it might also be really scary if you DO keep being Gym Leader!" the girl piped up.

"Why?" asked Katy, confused.

"You might have to battle Zeke!"

"Ugh, Zeke?" the backwards hat boy winced. "Why'd you have to bring up that big bully?"

"CUZ! He's been bragging on social media that he's stomping all the Gym Leaders flat! And he says he's gonna save Miss Katy for last because her team is all chumps!"

The boys gasped.

"Hmmph," was Katy's only response.

She stood up again. She looked at all the other townspeople. Then, she glanced up at the Battle Court. The sun seemed to be hitting the large structure in a special way. Beams of light gleamed through the wooden beams.

Finally, she heard a noise within her bag. She lifted the flap.

Inside was Lizzy's Premier Ball. The Ball shook around, and from inside Katy could hear soft noises of excitement and affirmation.

After a few seconds of contemplating… a smirk slowly formed.

She squatted down to the downtrodden young girl, and lifted her chin up with her finger.

"Hey, sunshine."

"Huh?"

The girl looked up at her. Katy reached into her bag to pull out Lizzy's Ball, and gave a wicked smile.

"Why don't you tell that Zeke to march his butt right on down here and say that to our faces?"

The girl jumped up and went "Hurray!" followed by the rest of the kids clapping excitedly and the townspeople all cheering.