"AHHHHHHHH! I love him so much!"
"Dududududun!"
"Why didn't you tell me earlier you have one of these!?"
"I uh… never knew this is how you would react to him."
In one of the outermost park areas in Medali, one Gym Leader was on the ground aggressively hugging a big Dudunsparce that rolled continuously around the ground in ecstasy, carrying her with it. The other just stood there, watching in amusement.
"Are you kidding me!?" Katy exclaimed. "I love Dudunsparce! They're just big squishy bugs!"
She gave Dudunsparce some skritches on its spiked chin, which made Dudunsparce coo in delight.
"Duuu-duuuu…"
"When I was a kid, I used to think Dunsparce was a Bug-type! And I thought it evolved into a big dragon!"
"I think a lot of people expect it to be a Bug-type," Larry replied. "I never stopped to wonder about that, but I guess it does look like one."
"What really threw me for a loop was finding out there's an extremely rare chance of Dunsparce evolving into a Dudunsparce with three segments." Katy gasped. "Larry! You need to go and find one for me!"
Larry's eyebrows shot up. "Why should that be my task? You have far more free time than I do!"
Katy picked herself up.
"Yeah, but you have such a kinship with Normal Pokémon. Every time I've been lucky enough to see a Dunsparce in the wild, they burrow back into the ground before I can even get close to it. But I don't want to give up! It's my dream to hug a triple-segmented Dudunsparce! Imagine how much of a cuddlebug it is!"
"Duunnn?" Dudunsparce gave a concerned cry.
"Ohhh, you're still beautiful too," Katy reassured it, patting it on the head.
"I don't need another one anyway. He serves me very well in battle," Larry commented. Dudunsparce nodded to its owner's compliment. "You should stay in town a while, and see if I get a challenger. Then you'll really get to see him in action."
Katy pondered to herself as she continued patting Dudunsparce on the head. Slowly, her face began to change… A look of determination set itself about.
"I have a better idea."
"And what's that?"
Katy took out one of her Poké Balls to gaze at it, and then eagerly put her fists up.
"We should have a battle."
Larry's eyebrows shot up. "…Come again?"
"A little exhibition battle! You and me!" Katy proclaimed. "I want to see how you battle, and surely you want to see how I battle too! So let's go at it! No challengers, no stakes, just a good friendly bout! If your team's ready for it, that is!"
"My team is… always at the ready, but usually just for the challengers." Larry thought for a bit and said, "I guess… if you're willing to wait an hour or so, I can ask Valencia if it'd be okay to use the Treasure Eatery for a battle arena between the lunch and dinner rotations."
"Yay!" Katy clapped. "You're really okay with this?"
"Of course," Larry nodded. "I love seeing you happy."
After some convincing, which involved Larry making a solemn promise to Chef Valencia that both of them would clean up afterwards, the two of them had an entire hour of the Treasure Eatery's Battle Court rented to themselves.
"Why is this place your battle court?" Katy inquired. "Not that I'm complaining or anything, it's just… unique."
"The couple who own this place were letting me rent it out when I first started as a Gym Leader here. I kept telling myself that it was only temporary until I figured out where to have a proper arena built in Medali, but… well… I guess I gave up on that a long time ago."
The battle that proceeded was wild and intense. Katy led with her Spidops, who gave Larry's Oinkolgne a rough enough time to have it down in the red before Oinkologne took it out with a good Bounce.
Next was Lokix, who was clearly ecstatic to have finally used its training for something, as it made quick work of not just Oinkologne, but also Larry's Komala, who only managed to get a Yawn in.
"You almost gave her a huge enough startle to finally wake her up," Larry joked.
Braviary was next, and he proved to be quite a challenge, taking out Lokix in one fell swoop after Lokix finally fell asleep. Even Katy's Forretress had to tank a couple hits before finally grounding the huge bird…
…only to fall to the same Dudunsparce who showed Katy affection before. His wild side was out, and he brutally let Forretress know it.
"Can we just go back to hugging each other?" Katy teased as she recalled her fainted Forretress.
Luckily, Heracross came to the rescue and defeated the mighty not bug-dragon. That sill put it at the mercy of Larry's last and ace Pokémon. In one swift Brave Bird, Heracross was down for the count.
Staraptor screeched pridefully. Ursaring gave a defiant roar in return.
"Well, well, got me down to my last one already."
"I don't know about you Katy, but I'm feeling in quite the mood to Terastallize."
"Mm-hm!"
Two sparks were set alight in the Treasure Eatery as both Pokémon emerged from sparkling crystal cocoons. Staraptor's mighty diamond crown gleamed proudly on its head, while Larry finally got to have a good look at the huge green antennae that inspired Katy's Bug-Berry cupcakes.
Although Staraptor had Close Combat at its dispersal, Katy's gutsy Ursaring proved to be no pushover. Staraptor felt the might of its powerful Fury Cutter, which only became more dangerous as the huge bird pushed on with its reckless moves.
"Stay strong, my friend," Larry urged. "You've got this."
"You too, my friend," Katy said in turn. "Show that big jerk what you're made of."
The two Pokémon both fearsomely growled at each other, before charging forward and making a grand slam like the world's most dangerous game of Chicken.
Things were tense for a moment. As the smoke and rubble from the impact cleared, both Staraptor and Ursaring remained standing. Heavily bruised, but still standing with all their will.
Until finally. A shattering. Ursaring's big Bug Tera Crown burst into pieces as the mighty bear Pokémon finally gave out, and accepted its crushing defeat.
"Great job," Larry complimented his Staraptor.
"You too," Katy assured her tired Ursaring. "That was the best fight I've seen you put up in years, mama."
Once they did their part in cleaning up the whole dining area, Larry and Katy took their seats at the bar area just as Valencia returned to start cooking in the kitchen.
"So much for being the 'easiest' Gym Leader!" Larry commented. "Not many people have ever kept me on my toes that much! I'm starting to think I should've faced you with my Flying team for better odds."
"Heh! If only you'd battled me in my prime," Katy retorted. "If Lizzy was still my star battler, this little scuffle would've gone by a lot quicker."
"I believe it," said Larry as he took a big swig of his juice.
Both of them ordered a small meal from Valencia that was not quite a lunch, but not really dinner either.
"Linner!" Katy coined.
Larry had a personal-size steak with soy sauce and seasoned waffle fries, while Katy ordered a triple platter of the Eatery's specialty Veluza Veggie Tacos with curly sweet potato fries.
"Which one do you think packed the most punch?" Katy asked Larry, between bites. "Between my team?"
"Ursaring, probably. That thing's a real bruiser."
"Hm-hm! I thought so!" Katy replied in delight. "She's been my heavy hitter for a while now, especially since she's evolved! I'm so glad I decided to save up all my Bug Shards for her."
Larry took a second to swallow his food and said, "Y'know… there's actually an old Sinnoh legend that says in ancient times, Ursaring could evolve even further."
"Really!?"
"Mm-hm. Supposedly, under a full moon in the right circumstances, it would become something even bigger and more fearsome."
"Wow! And Ursaring is so ferocious already! I don't think I could bear, I mean—beeaar to see what it would've become!"
"Me neither," Larry replied. Katy hmphed, not knowing if Larry chose not to react to her pun or if he straight up didn't even notice it. "You know, I've been curious to ask… what was it that got you started with this?"
"Hm?"
"Well, by now I've learned pretty much everything about how you got into baking and opening your own store. No mysteries left to dig up there. So what about the other side of the coin? What made you decide to become a Gym Leader?"
Katy straightened up. "You're right. I've never talked about that, have I?" She pondered for a bit. "Hmm. Well, to be honest… I guess the answer to that, goes all the way back to the same thing that made me start as a Trainer in the first place…"
Years ago, a very young preteen girl, her teal hair in a braid and wearing roughed-up adventure clothes, ran through a thicket at breakneck speed.
"When I was little, I used to run off on adventures in weird places all the time. Drove my parents mad, actually. They used to say I was too curious for my own good."
Young Katy continued to run, leaping over every branch or toadstool, as she ran through a whole forest of trees, many of which were painted with strange symbols.
"And one day… out in the Tagtree Thicket, I found out the hard way that they were right."
It became clear from the young girl's panicked expression and hurried breaths that she wasn't running for fun, but for her dear life. And a bunch of skittering noises from behind her illustrated what kind of danger was tailing her.
"One thing I didn't know about Grafaiai at the time is just how aggressive and territorial they are. Not just with each other… but with humans as well. Especially ones that happen to wander into parts of the forest claimed by a whole pack."
A fast and ferocious armada of Grafaiai was tailing Katy through the Tagtree Thicket. Each of them was skittering loudly and angrily, and they kept targeting the poor child with their poisonous saliva-drenched fingers every time they got close to her. She had to look behind her and leap several times to avoid their jabs.
Eventually, she looked away for just long enough to trip on a rock in the ground, stumble down a hollow, and land at the foot of a tree.
"Owww! Owww…"
Katy held her bruised leg and grimaced. She was no longer in any state to run, much less even get up.
Which was bad news for her, as the Grafaiai were quickly alerted to where she fell and closed in fast.
"In that moment, I was doomed. Almost a goner."
"Please, please, please, somebody help me…!"
Katy held her face with her arms and cried as she closed her eyes, awaiting her gruesome fate.
"AIAIAI!"
One of the Toxic Monkey Pokémon lunged out towards her, finger pointed right at the young girl. Just as it was about to strike her however…
"SCHYY!"
"But then, it was like something heard me…"
Something leaped out from the tree and made a quick slicing motion at the Grafaiai, startling it and throwing it off-course.
Katy was still sat there, trembling. However, she fearfully opened her eyes to wonder why she wasn't being attacked… and gaped when she saw the little Grafaiai lying there in a daze.
"Huh?"
But three more Grafaiai swooped over, ready to avenge their fallen brother.
"AIAIAI! "AIAIAI!" "AIAIAIAIAI!"
"AHHHHHH!" Katy screamed.
Then another slash strike happened, and all three Grafaiai were quickly felled.
That's when the leaves rustled, and something large hit the ground with a thud, and Katy finally got a look at her green, scaly savior.
"It was the first time I'd ever seen a Scyther up close. They were larger than I expected, the scythes on its arms were sharper than I'd expected… and this one was faster than I could've imagined."
The Scyther let out a mighty cry, as if challenging the rest of the Grafaiai swarm to bring it on. Sure enough, its calls were answered, as the rest of the pack all closed in on the two of them.
"What happened next was the most shocking thing of all."
Scyther looked to the young Katy's way for a second. Then, with a sharp cry directed at her, Scyther drew out its left pincer, which it held out over Katy's slumped body, the girl now less frightened and more curious.
"That Scyther… actually came out to protect me."
Then, with a confident charge, Scyther rushed forward to meet its enemies.
The resulting fight was brash and brutal. The Grafaiai all tried desperately to overwhelm Scyther with their numbers, but the large Mantis Pokémon just wouldn't let up. One of them even tried to divert from Scyther to attack Katy instead.
But Scyther was quicker. It effortlessly shook off the horde and heroically leaped in front of Katy, taking the Posion Jab meant for her.
"AHH!" Katy cried, surprised to see it take a strong hit like that.
Indeed, Scyther was on the ground, clearly writhing in pain. The Grafaiai's finger jab hadn't just struck it in the abdomen, but also appeared to have inflicted the large bug with Poison.
"Scy…"
Scyther was down to its knees in pain, struggling to stay in a fighting position. Katy had her hands over her mouth, no longer scared for her own life, but now for her rescuer's.
"And just when it seemed like all was lost…"
"Please get up, Scyther!" young Katy cried out. "You can do it! I believe in you!"
A whole pack of Grafaiai jumped in for the kill, and Scyther almost gave in. But, hearing Katy's words of encouragement, its eyes snapped open again and with great effort, Scyther stood back up… and gave all those Grafaiai a mighty slash with its twin scythes, throwing them all back.
Only a handful of the little lemurs were standing now. They all looked up towards Scyther, who menacingly walked towards them and screeched in all their faces.
"SCY-AI-AIIIII!"
Properly spooked, all the Grafaiai turned tail and ran off into parts unknown.
"They're—they're all gone!"
Scyther gave a proud smirk watching them all run. But… as soon as they were gone, it slumped over, unable to resist the pain coursing through its body any longer.
"Oh no! Are you still hurt?" Katy, brushing off her own injury, got up to catch the mighty bug from falling over. "Here… C'mon, hold onto me. And I'll find us a Pokémon Center."
Katy forced herself under Scyther's arm, and pushed it to start walking. They both started hobbling through the forest together.
"By the way…"
Scyther winced as it turned its head to her.
"Thank you. Thank you for saving my life."
"…Scy."
"That Scyther saved my life that day. It was something I'll never, ever forget. All my life, people talked about how weak and pathetic Bug Pokémon are.
But… that day… I got to see firsthand for myself just how strong and resilient Bug-types can be… and how much they value protecting others, despite everyone underestimating them for seeming so weak."
After that harrowing adventure in the Tagtree Thicket, Katy found her way back home, and proceeded to start catching and befriending as many bug Pokémon as she could. She would catch them in jars, write different kinds down in her journal, and both she and her younger sister Jules let nests of Scatterbug grow in their backyard until they bloomed into a whole sky of Vivillon.
"Ever since that day, I made a new promise to myself: I was going to become the world's greatest Bug Pokémon Trainer."
Katy proceeded to raise a whole team of Bug Pokémon and took on local trainers with them, losing at first, until she figured out how to overcome her team's weaknesses. As the years went by and she grew older, she ventured out to battle even more Trainers, and worked her way up to Gym Leaders.
"Despite how hard it was, I never gave up on my dream. And eventually… it paid off."
Next, a teenage Katy was seen with confetti surrounding her, a huge trophy held proudly in her hands, and a large smile over her brace-filled teeth.
"I was the first kid from Cortondo to ever beat the Pokémon League. Everyone was so proud of me. My parents, my sister, all my friends in town…"
As an adult, Katy pulled down a large curtain covering to a crowd of applause, revealing the building that would come to be known as Patisserie Soapberry, with a huge sign on the building saying "GRAND OPENING".
"After I beat the League, I decided to start focusing on my other dream, baking of course, and you know how the story goes from there. But, even after all that time, I always felt that passion for battling and showing people the worth of Bug Pokémon still raging within me."
A determined Katy started training up her Bug-type Pokémon in a large field marked with lines of a battle arena, which would later become the site of the Cortondo Gym's official Battle Court.
"I spent a whole year juggling my duties running a new shop with training in order to pass the trials to be allowed to audition for Gym Leader… and the rest is history."
Larry was stunned. "Wow. That's- that is some story."
"Yup. All of that… made me what I am today. I've been running my own shop and my own Gym since then, and that's… all my dreams fulfilled." Katy took a final bite of her last taco and then said, "So then. What's fair is fair."
"What do you mean?"
"I've just told you my whole story. And now… you have to tell me yours," she declared, playfully pointing at Larry. "How did you become a Gym Leader?"
Larry cleared his throat. "It's… really not an interesting story at all. Especially compared to yours. Well, I grew up in the Sinnoh region."
"I'd gathered that," Katy nodded. Larry titled his head in confusion. "Well… your love for oriental themes and dishes. The fact that you write in a different kanji alphabet from everyone else. You use expressions like 'Arceus' and 'almighty Sinnoh'. And you literally just shared a legend from Sinnoh with me. I sort of pieced it together."
"Ohh. Well… yes. I spent most of my childhood in that region. My father was a businessman in Eterna City. My mother worked in a Pokémon Day Care. Both of them were… very, very busy people and didn't have a lot of time for me growing up. So I had to try to get my social interactions out of school. I was a very ordinary kid, kept to myself. Maybe a little too much. Didn't really have any interest in clubs or sports. But… then I discovered what would get me noticed by people."
"Pokémon battling?" Katy guessed.
Larry nodded. "I wasn't a very good battler at first. But every time I managed to win, the other kids would be nice and chat with me, telling me what did great and giving me advice. So between all my homework and chores, I spent all my time training and getting better. And sure enough, people started coming up to me just wanting to battle. And that… felt really nice."
"I can bet!" Larry stopped after that, making Katy prod. "And… then what?"
"I don't know. Then the story's just kind of the same as everyone else's," Larry shrugged. "I finished school, found a job working for the Pokémon League in Paldea, and moved out and got myself set up here in Medali.
The thing is, I never felt like I made much of an impression in this town. But somehow the people around here thought otherwise, because when this city won the right to nominate a Gym Leader… most of them chose me. Because they all thought I was a great battler. I guess I accepted just out of graciousness. But yeah. Four or five years ago now, I think that was."
"Wowww." Katy looked amazed. "And what about becoming an Elite Four member?"
Larry snarled a bit. "That one was… less my choice, and still makes even less sense, really. Somehow, more than a year ago, my name was submitted as a candidate to fill one of the spots… even though I didn't know who any of them were, and still don't, because those Elite Four members all mysteriously quit after that."
"Oh yeah, that's right," Katy recalled. "I forgot how fast that all happened, and they left without saying goodbye! Geeta had to tell the rest of us by sending a memo!"
"And that's the thing is, I was already a Gym Leader! I literally said as much to Geeta, but she wouldn't hear of it and insisted I take the spot. That whole 'persuasive' tone she's so well-known for. Said some stuff about… pushing me to my true potential, inspiring challengers even further, yadda yadda. Like always, she won out. So now I make do. As a Gym Leader, as part of the Elite Four… and as a salaryman."
"I… really didn't expect that you still had a normal job," Katy admitted. "Especially juggling both of those things already."
"Gotta pay the bills somehow. Plus… since it's a League job, it's all part of my contract. Geeta is my boss all-around. So even if I wanted to quit, I can't really do that without also giving up my positions."
Katy was sat backwards hugging the back of her chair in wonderment.
"But you at least… like being all three of those things, right? An office worker, a Gym Leader, and an Elite Four Member?"
Larry didn't answer immediately. His face was fixed to the floor in thought. Even when he raised his head up, his eyes still didn't meet Katy's.
"It keeps me busy. If nothing else. There's never a dull moment in my life." He stayed staring off for a bit. "Plus…" Now Larry's square gray eyes did rise up to meet Katy's teal ones. "If I wasn't all three of those things, then… I would've never met you."
Katy's eyes began to gleam. "Well… when you put it that way… I guess that makes you four things."
"Four things?"
"You're a Gym Leader, an Elite Four member, a businessman… and my best friend."
"Yo—" Larry was rendered speechless for a bit. He cleared this throat and croaked before saying, "You're… you're my best friend too."
Katy felt immensely moved by this. She didn't realize when her heart had begun to beat so fast. Without really… even thinking of doing so, she found herself leaning in close to Larry's face. Larry too… felt his own face leaning in.
Then Katy moved her hand around… and that's when they both looked down and realized.
Their hands had been touching each other's for… who knows how long. They both quickly drew them back, their faces red like tomatoes.
"Heh. That was… awkward," Katy chuckled, somewhat nervously.
"I'm sorry," said Larry, who was starting to sweat. "I think that's on me."
Just then, Valencia came out with a slip of paper.
"Here's your receipt, lovebirds. Nice to see you with company for a change, Larry," she sassed before retreating to the kitchen.
"Hey. We're not… oh, forget it," said Larry.
Katy couldn't help but giggle.
"It's funny but… I think I'm realizing now just how much I've come to value you as a someone I trust since we started hanging out," She went on to confess. "You know… that whole story about the forest and the Grafaiai and Scyther, you're… actually the first person I think I've ever opened up to about that before."
"Really? You've never told anyone else?"
"No, not really!" she laughed. "I knew if I told my parents that happened to me, they'd never let me go venturing off on my own ever again! And Jules, well… even though she's younger than me, she likes to think that she's my keeper. So I'd get quite a lashing from her too!"
"Not even Kofu? Or.. Tulip?"
Katy shook her head. "Kofu's never really asked me about my battling history." With a giggle, she said, "And Tulip's way too busy in the day for long conversations like that. This is the only time I really get to sit down with someone who isn't always on the move. Well… someone who makes that kind of time for me, anyway."
"Huh. And now that you say that…" Larry realized. "I think I haven't told anyone else my whole life story before, either. We really are best friends now, aren't we?"
"What a special day this has turned out to be. A linner to remember!" Katy laughed.
Larry looked at Valencia's receipt, and after giving it a snide look, crumpled it up.
"You know what? This is a special day, so let's make it really special."
"What do you mean?"
"I get a meal from the Treasure Eatery almost every day." Larry stood up with a renewed sense of confidence. "So let's forget this place for a day! How about I find us a place really special to have an amazing dinner at?"
"You still have room for more!?"
"Uh… yes. Are you full? Should I have asked that first?"
Katy laughed to herself. Man, Kofu was right to be shocked. He really does have a black hole for a stomach!
"Well… I guess I could stand another bite." Blushing, she continued, "…Especially if it's with you."
