Chapter 24: The HeartGold Johtonian

Deep within the confines of a Sinnoh cop's offices, clicking clocks ticked, officers fumed in confusion, and a unaccompanied detective pursed his lips; tension building internally. The evidence stacked up and left nary a trace of doubt, but the visiting federal forces from Kanto could do little for the onboarding of one villainous onslaught that felt inevitable. Like the conditions for a tornado, the climate surrounding it and its sister region appeared as a breeding ground of a group of nefarious black hats. The door to his office swung open. A familiar trainer from the birthplace of Johto who had just become its new Champion not long ago stared; a sign of distress forming on his forehead while his brow furrowed.

"Team Rocket?! Are you absolutely, positively sure, Looker?!"

Turning to his companion, the private investigator nodded. "Sorry to have asked you to come all the way here, Sam, but yes, I'm certain. I'm aware that you are merely traveling and trying to see the world, with no 'greater task' on your mind, so it brings me comfort to see you arriving here within the day of my messages."

/That's right...I'm just someone going from place to place.../ Sam thought to himself.

Looker went to shake Sam's hand, then walked past him to lock the door and shutter the blinds in his room. Decorating the whiteboard were photographs taken from stakeouts done a few days prior. Photos of cargo ships being loaded with suspicious looking black vehicles parked on the dockyard from Hoenn's shores. Printed sheets of transcripts of conversations of two anonymous parties between Unova and Kalos. A logo of a seemingly innocuous oil company that had ties to Johto and Kanto.

...and several stacks of folders containing the current state of affairs. Looker made one glance to the man, and nodded slowly. "In the old days, we thought we'd seen the last of Giovanni. Silver was, according to his own testimony, the last person to have seen him when your mentor, Gold, was battling during his prime. All that was known back then was that Team Rocket would be 'disbanded', and yet now that may have been nothing more than a red herring. Take a look at the folders, Sam."

Swiping up the thick pile, Sam went to the desk chair and sat opposite of where the detective would, as a visitor, while Looker continued. "It's really convoluted and to be fair, I'm embarrassed that it's been slipping under the radar for as long as it has, but we believe Giovanni is ready to move onto something big soon."

"Big? What could possibly be bigger than trying to take over Kanto?" Sam asked in confusion.

"Mere childs play, and was singlehandedly resolved thanks to Red." Looker replied, putting his hands behind his back.

"Okay, and of the conflict in Alola?"

"Not the same Giovanni, nor the same leaders. Course...that's 'off the record'."

Sticking his nose into the papers and slapping the top of another folder that had recent photographs taken, Sam exhaled in irritation. "So where is he going with this? I don't get it...you can't just come back like nothing happen with even more funding and research."

"Galar."

"...what?!"

/That's where Oleana...!/

Going back to his desk, Looker would swivel the monitor of his computer, hastily type something onto it before showing Sam the monitor of some footage from Galar where a red haired trainer wearing a graphic sweat jacket was with a purple haired comrade fighting what could only have been described as a large, dragon-like beast on top of a tower. "The region of Galar. We believe strongly in the possibility that Giovanni may be planning something in Galar, where there, power spots are known to grant Pokemon the phenomena known as 'Dynamaxing'. It's when Pokemon grow to be gigantic, monstrous in size, and can be endowed with strength that can only rival the legendaries, should they ever come into contact with them."

Watching quietly to the footage, Sam kept his eyes glued while Looker pointed to the footage as it showed Eternatus changing its shape to a more sinister form. "Whatever it is that's in Galar, Giovanni has his sights set on something: possibly this!"

Sam broke away from the screen to look at Looker. "Something like this could spell disaster...worse off if he goes after Mewtwo again!"

"Exactly. We believe he is at this location right now in Johto. I'm putting you on a plane to get back there as fast as possible, but you have to leave now to make it. Do you have what it takes? To finish what your mentor started?"

Inquiring the trainer put Sam in a tough bind. For a moment, panic set in. He remembered vividly the moment when Team Rocket stormed the Goldenrod Radio Tower. Back then, he was only a kid being brought in to visit with his parents for a 'Take your kid to work' day. Neither he nor his father knew that the whole building would be overrun by black garb wearing thugs, clad from head to toe in pitch black wear that only bore a red 'R' putting them all into a hostage situation. The day would not end in tragedy, though, as he watched two trainers run in battling the Team Rocket goons. A Pokemon Trainer wearing a red jacket, backwards black-and-yellow cap and shorts, while his friend, a girl, wore a similar outfit and had two protruding teal tufts of hair, fought back the gang. They saved Sam and his father.

The desk was slammed in front of Sam.

"Well?! Do you have what it takes, Sam?"

"Sam?"

"S A M ?"

"...hey Sam?"

"Sam, wake up!"

- - - - - Current Day, Galar - - - - -

Sevan put a hand on Sam's shoulder and was trying to make him wake up. "Hey, man. The fuck happened? You just zoned out on me."

Scanning his surroundings, Sam was confused. Was he daydreaming of the past again, of events that led him to meet up with Haru, Nessa, Sevan, and the others? Taking off his glasses and combing his hair with his own hand, the Johtonian sighed. "Right, sorry."

"You say 'sorry' so much I'm 'bout to pop you on the forehead for doing that, you know. You don't have to say it so much around me." Sevan said with a ping of annoyance in his voice, leaning back on his side of the Air Taxi seating. Shinrin was sitting with him soaking up what was left of the sun's rays: her eyes barely open.

"Sorry."

Widening his eyes and having to take a deep breath, Sevan only could let out another sigh. "I didn't think seeing Haru pop the question to Nessa would make you look so uneasy on the ride back. You went from hooting and hollering with our small group to just...nothin'. Did you even want to come out there?"

"What?! Of course I did! I'm really happy he's going to be marrying someone! I gotta show support for him! For her too!" /Though boy if Oleana found out that he proposed to her before I got a chance to, that won't be a fun conversation to have.../ Sam said as if feeling himself be dealt psychic damage from the past coming back up again. He peered to the right side window of the cab and saw the tower where the flats that he stayed with Oleana were seen in the distance. Sighing, he felt some form of relief. "Okay, fine, so there is one thing."

A slow rhythm of Sevan's left foot would begin tapping impatiently. "Is it jealousy?"

He'd get the side-eye from Sam before he straightened his posture. As the back of his neck sank into the headrest, he stared into the inner roof of the cab that bore nothing interesting to look at on the ride. "No. I think part of it just sort of had me blank out for a moment and consider how I got here. Once news breaks to the public, Oleana may not take well to it. Haru's getting his life together piece by piece, and I gotta try to live up to his example."

Sevan's eyes would become rigid. "You're looking at it the wrong way. Besides, what exactly sort of baggage could you be carrying other than taking so damn long to propose to Oleana? What, are you afraid she's going to say 'No'?"

"Well for one thing, I'm trying to stay afloat while here in Galar. I spent a lot of money to come here and help Haru with everything I said I would...but for the rest? Johto seems to follow me even though I don't want it to." He knew that the vagueness of such words would leave Sevan only more irritated. "I have a bad gambling habit."

/Fuck./ Rolling his eyes and then leaning forward, Sevan clasped both hands together. "Dare I ask how bad it is?"

Sam would sink a little onto his seat. "Bad enough that I can't afford to buy Oleana the ring she deserves."

The Johtonian would get a bruised finger shoved right into his face like a teacher hoping a student catches onto a lesson. "You know if she's the right type of woman that won't matter right?"

Firing back, Sam moved Sevan's hand out of the way. "Yeah? How would you know about knowing the right type of woman? Did you ever feel so complete with someone? That you often second guessed why they bothered with you in the first place?!"

He heard Sevan chuckle a little and then saw his smugness soften a little. If only for a brief moment, he thought of Hilda. "Yeah...I did once..." Shinrin's ears popped sideways as she felt a sudden need to try and snuggle up closer to her master. Laying herself across him and wasting up almost all the space of the inner part of the cab, she looked back up at him, then back to Sam before laying her head down: leafy ears folding in contentment.

There was an awkward silence between the two men. Sam did not expect to hear Sevan answer so quickly in earnest, and aside from creating a larger pity party, he was left unable to respond. Twiddling his thumbs, the pair rode to the end of the stop to Wyndon in silence. Before stepping off, Sevan lifted his head and looked to him. "Hey Sam."

"Yeah?" Sam turned to him with one foot off the cab.

"Just talk to her, okay? Whatever pigheaded, fucking dumb reason you may have for doubting yourself isn't worth it. You're not the only one here who's dealing with the stress of day-to-day life. Consider her side and don't push her away. Take it from me."

Sam blinked before getting off and smiling. "Huh. Didn't expect that coming from you. Thanks."

The Corviknight would flap its wings. Once. Twice. Lifting slowly off the ground, the cab would make headway towards Circhester where on Route 09, Sevan's home would be. Looking down to the Eeveelution in his lap, Sevan idly stroked the Grass-type ball of cuteness that had been his best friend for many years and huffed to himself. "Nobody ever does..."

The winds picked up.

- - - - Elsewhere, near Hulbury's Skies - - -

"I can't stop looking at it..." came the melodic, low tone of Nessa's voice as she sat in the Air Taxi. Sitting next to Haru, she was staring at her left hand's ring finger which now bore a new, gorgeous engagement ring. Trials and tribulations, close calls with calamitous conflicts created by covetous convicts, and heckling harriers from the media: Haru surpassed it all.

The redhead nuzzled under Nessa's neck as a hand clasps over hers. "It's as if I'm as light as a feather; seeing you wear that ring. Despite everything, we've made it this far together. But now that we're here, when do we tell the others?"

Wrapping an arm around her now fiancé, she hummed in bemusement. "I'll let the powers that be make whatever guess they want to, but as for an official statement? Later. For now, we have to celebrate!" Taking out her phone and dialing a message.

A curious eyebrow scrunched up in curiosity on Haru. "You texting your mom and dad?"

She nods. "...and your mother. We have to have a dinner to celebrate, as soon as possible!" Holding up her phone in one hand, her left was raised upwards before snapping a photo of the new ring that adorned her finger. "Although a part of me is feeling a little chaotic..." an uncharacteristically evil grin spread across Nessa's face, causing Haru to sweat.

"...what?" He asks, though he may or may not regret doing so.

"I should honestly post a picture of my left hand with the ring and say nothing on it." Nessa gestured by having her left palm face downwards. "One photo, and the entirety of Galar will implode on the internet."

Haru felt he had been dealt psychic damage just hearing Nessa propose such a scheme. "A-are you sure that's wise?"

The dark haired beauty started laughing before wrapping both arms around Haru's neck and leaning into him. "Who knows? Why do I care? I'm going to marry the man I love one day!" Leaning into the intimate embrace, Haru's laid into her neck.

"I'm glad that I that I had several of my best friends with me." Haru felt a through-line of consciousness birth within him, and looked unfocused. His fiancé tilts her head to him.

"What is it?"

"It only occurred to me just now. Part of me wonders if such an announcement I will leave some others feeling as if they are being 'left behind' or going too slowly." He leaned into the cuddling Nessa was cheerfully giving him before looking up at her. "Sam and Oleana. They've been together longer than us, you know?"

Understanding where he came from, Nessa pursed her lips and nodded. The chatter amongst friends would no doubt circle eventually to 'so what's keeping those two from tying the knot?' once word got out. Gossip could become ugly. "My history with Galar's Pokemon League has been a tumultuous, but satisfying journey. I've known Oleana to be a 'business first, pleasure second' kind of lady even when she had Rose as her boss back in the day. But she does love Sam very much."

The slight subject change to another couple amongst their own social circle made Haru chuckle. Nessa looks on in confusion. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Sam is the type who usually takes quite a bit to follow through on something, and then go through with it at a much later point. He told me about how his journey led him to Galar when we were all hanging out together at the Isle of Armor, and the dude's done a doozy."

"Is that so?" The Raging Wave asked him.

Haru's memories flashed back to before the evening took a darker turn with Milo; when he was simply chatting it up with his fellow brothers. "I mean...he's done more than me: traveled, and completed the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Kalos region Pokemon Leagues. He even got to check out what Alola had to offer, since their league is completely different than our own, and by its own measure, different from the other regions all the same. But that he met Oleana and Rose, too, after he became Champion of Johto: that is one that took me by surprise..."

Nessa took the unspoken compliment of being proposed to before a bigwig like Oleana in stride. Straightening her posture while sitting, she scanned the horizon outside of one of the Air Taxi windows. "You don't foresee Sam becoming more clouded now that this amazing man of Steel has made it with a water lady, such as I, do you?"

Following her gaze, Haru's eyes looked to the same beautiful horizon of Galar as Nessa's. "To be honest? I'm uncertain what's on his mind. When he walked off after congratulating us two, it appeared as if something was quietly egging him on. Guy should take it from me: relax, and smell the Pinap Berries. Hope he's okay right now at least..."

- - - - - Wyndon, Oleana's Home - - - - -

The skies were just as bright outside as it was mentally for one man of the region of Johto; Sam had been able to fully get his Pokemon 'house broken' and used to the new flats they would be living in alongside their master. Being a Champion meant not only sponsorships, merchandise deals, promotions and being able to mingle amongst other Pokemon League's top-billed trainers, but being in high class housing. Yet nothing was quite like the home he now had with the now-Chairman of Galar's Region, Oleana. Having plenty of living space for his Meganium, Feraligatr, Typlosion, Gallade, Snorlax, and Dragonite was easily done but there was always an air of restlessness up until now.

'Restlessness' would also rear its ugly head from time to time. Despite committing to his move, there were several things he had yet to get used to whilst living in Galar. His PokeGear from Johto finally croaked, and all he had left of the region, barring his Pokemon he brought with him, were just the memories. Looking across from the open office space Oleana had in her flat to Sam, her eyes squint. He was messing with the new Rotom Phone she helped him get; a solid hour of managing and migrating his data from the PokeGear to it was spent so nothing was lost. Yet even as all of that digitized data was retained, for one reason or another, Sam looked morose. To his left were several envelopes of everyday spam, advertisements, but a few peculiarly marked from Goldenrod City in Johto. He pushed it aside. Another envelope: a Galar bank statement. His face went pale as he began to open it, secretly hiding the low number that was shown on it in black-and-white ink.

"Honey, you've not moved from that spot for the past hour. Are you okay?" She asked while having a usual muted expression.

The black haired trainer looked up to her as if he was caught off guard, all the while his Meganium was trying to get a closer look at the tiny machine. "Huh? Nn-yeah I'm fine. Just was thinking about you telling me awhile ago to try and open up a new kind of account at the bank, and began thinking of how I probably shouldn't bother you so much for minor things like some dumb puppy, but then again you did ask me long ago to rely on you..." /For now, I have to just think about making things better here for myself and Oleana. She can't see this.../

The tone change of her love made her worry, as Oleana hummed. "Sam...?"

"I...nevermind. It's nothing."

He got up, picking up the envelopes of mail and was in the middle of opening one envelope absentmindedly before freezing. Sevan's words came back to him from earlier. Would it really be as easy as just being fully, completely honest? What if it led to more trouble?

The Chairman pursed her lips and huffed with her nostrils flaring. "You stammer pretty succinctly when you're lying, you know. Almost like you're still not used to my straightforward personality after all these years."

The Attack was Super Effective! She had laser focused onto his subtle body language signs he was giving while sitting there and sighed when it felt like he had no way out. "I guess I'm just thinking, if only for a brief moment, of how the heck I got myself here. Considering recent events, things have appeared to move considerably faster in my mind over time." He looked to her. "I know that we've been together for awhile, but it feels like it all happened yesterday."

Oleana hummed to herself. Closing her documentation program that held Pokemon League information, Macro Cosmos logs, and excel sheets which were all means for her to micromanage her job while at home, Oleana sighed then walked over to sit next to him. "Come here. What's bothering you?"

Wasting no time, Sam leaned into her arms as she opened herself up to cuddle him. "I think it's just hitting me how I have to undo all my previous habits; going from place to place. I was so antsy in my wish to try and chronicle so many other leagues that as much as I'd like to go back to them, I don't think I can. But...it was fun."

"...and if it weren't for several factors, you and I would have never been a thing. Just one-time meeting and that would have been it." His lover said while raising her chin up proudly and straightening her back.

He slicked his hair back and sighed. Sam knew she was right. "Well now that I have time, I should tell you about my travels."

Chuckling low and laying his head on her lap, Oleana started to slowly trace a finger through his hair. "You're aware that you've filled me in plenty when you were region hopping, correct?"

"Affirmative. However, there's some details you weren't privy to. I could tell you, if you've the time."

The woman exhaled with a small huff. "Dear, even if I didn't, I'd make time. Need I remind you of what I did when you first came back, showing up at my office out of nowhere?"

Sam's own face went red at the mention. "Y-you pulled me in, locked the door and kissed me hard."

"Exactly. So my time has been freed up. Please, tell me."

"...if you insist."

She squinted her eyes at him. "It's an order from the Chairman." Oleana said coldly.

The couple looked at each other for a silent moment before laughing. "Okay well for starters, I was mentored by Gold. It didn't take long for me to understand the basics of being a Pokemon trainer, but it was thanks to him teaching me advanced techniques and strategies that I then knew how to tackle my first Pokemon League. You know it well: my hometown of Johto."

- - - - - The Past... - - - - -

- - - - - Indigo Plateau - - - - -

Unlike the fights that filled the stadiums in Galar, every Gym Battle and its Elite 4 is far more personal. Isolated. Confined. The battle of the two powers were all that mattered: the challenger and its stationed 'Gym Leader' or member of the 'Elite 4'. If there's an audience, it's usually of smaller numbers. Will, Karen, Bruno, and Koga, having witnessed the chronology of Gold's rise of strength themselves years ago, were enthusiastic during the finale. The group had just been defeated by the trainer before them, but due to circumstances of his rise in skills, they had to see it all to the end.

"Dragonite! Use Thunder Punch!" Sam shouts. He points definitively to the opponent across from him. In a flash, the match had been decided in the heat of a climactic battle that was built up for over a year. Being trained by him on the basics of Pokemon battling, Sam took down his mentor, the opponent he just defeated.

Gold.

The man previously responsible for shutting down Team Rocket's efforts to come back via a rogue's gallery of goons coming to Johto, and up until recently, was one of the few who were able to take on Red in battle and come away a victor. Now, he stood, as his own student and good friend, Sam, surpassed him. The mediator of the battle raised her right arm with a flattened palm. "Gold's Typhlosion can no longer battle, ergo making Sam the victor and therefore: Johto's Newest Pokemon Champion!"

This was something he had trained hard for, and upon victory, went to hug the large Dragonite: being lifted off the ground temporarily when the human ran into him. "Gold..! I was so scared that I wasn't going to be able to actually take your seat, but here I did!"

Taking off his cap and looking at his friend, the red-jacket wearing legend of Johto tapped Sam on the shoulder. "Nah, you're selling yourself short! All I did when you started was teach you the basics. Everything else that you pulled off was entirely you. You know how many trainers, myself included, were traumatized at the Gym in Goldenrod City? Now come with me: we have to record you into the Hall of Fame."

He turned away, with Sam following. "Wait, Goldenrod City? You mean Whitney's Gym?"

Gold snickered whilst nodding. "The very same. If it weren't for me warning you about her Miltank and trading you a Machop, that fight would have been very different."

/Whitney's Gym was a stopping point for a lot of trainers? Really? I guess there's still a lot more to discover about Pokemon than I know even right now...!/ Sam mused to himself. Walking with Gold to a small room where his name and team would be recorded, he felt his heart leap out of his chest. This was the moment he had waited to realize, and it finally happened.

- - - - - Soon after, that same evening - - - - -

- - - - - Olivine City, Olivine Cafe - - - - -

As the evening came, news spread fast that Johto had a brand new Pokemon Champion. The Gym Leaders, Elite 4, and Lance had assembled together in celebration. Falkner, Bugsy, Whitney, Morty, Chuck, Jasmine, Pryce, Clair, Will, Koga, Bruno, Karen, and the previous Champion, Lance, were mingling and merrymaking loudly. Stories and anecdotes of their past year with the Gym Leader Challenge via other Challengers, and Sam battling them, were exchanged openly. The small group of comrades and fellow Pokemon trainers were making things very busy for the kitchen staff at Olivine Cafe, but were thankfully the only customers there: a private party for such a special occasion.

"At first I was going to call you a little greedy by insisting to use all 3 starters for your Hall of Fame team, but you pretty much showed me up, didn't you?" Gold joked whilst nudging Sam with elbows. Almost as if responding to the mention, his Meganium put its hind legs on the table to steal a piece of Gold's meal.

"H-hey..! Meganium, don't be rude-" Initially about to chastise his Pokemon, Sam turned to apologize, but Gold merely held up his hand.

"I'll let it slide this time. They're hungry right? They're now Champion Pokemon: I'll allow it." The mentor of Sam said, merely handwaving it. Everyone's attention was diverted as the sound of glass rang through the room. Gold, the previous Champion, raised his pint upwards in a toast. "Sam, this toast is to you: the new Johto Champion. Long ago I triumphed and beat the former Champion, Lance. Now, the torch has been passed down to you. Let's hope you can represent us well into the future: for other regions to look up to! This is to you, bud. Cheers!"

"Cheers!" everyone said afterwards.

Slicking his hair back, Sam only let out a light chuckle while Jasmine gave him a pat on the back. "Thank you everyone for cheering me on and for proving to be a challenge every step of the way. I don't have a lot to say now that I'm actually in the position I am, but I want to thank everyone for backing me in the ways they did. If it wasn't for all you Gym Leaders here, or even the few encounters with Stephen from Hoenn, things would most likely have turned out much different here. They aren't here currently, but I'd also like to thank Stephen: the Champion from Hoenn."

Taking a sip of his drink, Gold looked back at Sam. "Oh, so he approached you too, hmm?"

Up to that point, the main goal on his mind was 'Become the next Pokemon Champion of Johto', but Sam had yet to consider the longterm; what would come afterwards. "It wasn't for long, but I did manage to meet him a few times. He told me 'Our fun will have to wait for the right time'. Ever since then, I've been thinking about what to do as I move on from simply just being a Pokemon trainer."

Looking across the table as she was downing a bowl of ramen, Clair perked up. "Oh, and what's that, exactly?"

"I'd like to travel to other regions and challenge their trainers as well." He was so quick to reply, but looking back at Clair, Sam hesitated. An unknown sense of wavering washed over his mind, and unease came to his thoughts. "Well...maybe someday."

"Why wait?"

The unfamiliar voice caught the whole room's attention, sans the kitchen staff. Multiple conversations amongst the group had slowly calm to a halt as the outdoors light shone in briefly as their party had a new pair that was crashing it. Near the entrance of the cafe, a gentleman stood with an arm to the side; his gaze studious and inquisitive. The other, a woman who held a small stationary. The man had a side part fade, a grey suit, golden wristwatch and red/black dress shoes, while his female coworker bore a red sleeveless corset over a white button up shirt, tight black pencil skirt, long and wavey blonde hair with red lipstick, and an overall expression that was far more muted than the man.

Will, one of the Elite Four members, tilted his glasses downwards and looked at the pair with confusion as one of his hands slid down to his waistline as if prepared to take a PokeBall out for battle. Johto was victim to Team Rocket in the past, and he was uncertain if they were part of it due to their similar coloration. "...sorry, and you are?" The gentleman chuckled and walked forward with his presumed coworker.

"Pardon the intrusion, but I heard there was a new Champion-in-the-making in Johto. I had planned to arrive sooner, but I am a very busy man of many duties. My name is Rose, and this is my assistant and Vice President of Macro Cosmos, Oleana. I'm the Chairman of the Pokemon League in Galar, and President of Macro Cosmos." he said with a smooth, silver-tongue manner as he handed business cards to Sam first before the others. "I've come with the interest of working with powerful trainers who can be of assistance to my cause, but, since it appears I've come in the midst of a celebration I won't stay for too long."

As his words fell on the ears of the clique, Lance and Gold looked to Sam. "What say you? It's your gathering and celebration: what do you say, Sam?" The Dragon Master said, gesturing with a hand.

Initially pensive, Sam felt no ill will beneath the way Rose address the crowd. /Even if he were here to start trouble, I doubt he would be too much for us to handle. As it is, I've battled in more cramped spaces than this cafe./ He thought. Soon, he handwaved it and looked to the oncomers. "Well...I say: please pull up a chair. There's plenty of food to go around: it's great to have someone from another region here!" Sam insisted, getting out of his chair to shake Rose's hand. "But, forgive me if this sounds naïve but I haven't heard of the Galar region before." Some of the Gym Leaders mumbled amongst themselves. A few, like Clair, had been looking at Oleana with squinted eyes, as others seemed more welcoming to the sudden guests. Lance had appeared to know just where Rose hailed from the second the name of 'Galar' reached his ears: chatting between each other on things they read in the papers.

The former member of Kanto's Elite Four, Lance raised a hand. "If it's the same Galar I'm familiar with, your region is west of here and is a land where something called 'Power Spots' allow Pokemon Trainers to battle with giant Pokemon."

Pleased with himself, and that the reputation of Galar was spreading, Rose sat down onto a chair that was pulled up for him and Oleana. She chose to stand for the time being as her senior waxed poetic about Galar. "That is correct! Power Spots enable trainers to make their Pokemon partners grow big in size, and as such, battles are far more climactic. We take pride in being able to not only test trainers in a way unforseen in other places, but is uniquely attractive to many an attendee."

"Attendee? How do you mean?" Gold squinted in confusion.

Rose laughed and looked to the others as if he was prepared for such questions. "Well, our Gym Leader battles are famous for drawing crowds. We took to making them into bombastic events: right up to the inevitable Pokemon League Tournament where the finalist gets a chance to defeat our reigning Champion. Right now, it's a man named Leon. Very strong individual with a lot of promise..."

The conversation seemed to egg on into further and further of logistics surrounding the League of multiple regions, and the newcomer named Rose would answer any and all question that were shotgunned at him. For Sam, however, he couldn't help but wonder what the story behind the unspoken woman was next to him. He decided to take a chance to try speaking to her and get to know her, meeting her near one of the long buffet lines. She paid no attention to him until he spoke up.

"Hello there! Sorry we didn't get much of a chance to say much earlier but, I'm Sam!" He extended a hand forward. As her muted gaze turned to face him, he was struck by the womanly chord in her voice hitting him.

"I know who you are...you're why I'm here. It's why Chairman Rose brought me along with him and why we're having this dinner." She seemed unamused at any light attempt to try and fraternize. All that mattered currently was the business at hand, and it would be something that would become known soon.

His face flushed red and he bowed slightly. "A-ah...right that is true, I suppose." Yet as if the gears had only begun to turn in his mind, Sam realized the extent of what she said. "Wait, I'm the reason you're here?"

The woman nods slowly. "Yes. You are someone that Chairman Rose wants to speak with when he's done satiating the curiosity of your companions here."

There was an awkward silence between the two, and Oleana shifted her weight to the other side of her hips. /Why do I feel so strangely unnerved speaking to her? It's not like with Clair where I have a much harder time speaking, but there's this energy. What the hell?/ "U-uhm...do...you come to Johto often?"

Oleana stood there and blinked twice at him as Sam heard her audibly exhale through the nose.

"A-ah! Sorry if that's too personal!" He waved his hands from side to side, as Oleana exhaled yet again through the nose only to have a tiny smile spread. She appeared amused by his quirkiness.

"This is my second time here." Her face looked away from him as she eyed the buffet line, almost disinterested. "I'm...going to try this 'Krabby Rangoon'..."

Sam watched as the woman had walked off with the intent to just quietly eat until Rose was done doing his part while there and silently sulked. /She must not think much of me...or I'm just really bad at smalltalk./

The evening drew on closer, and the newly crowned Champion of Johto was then talking to Rose alone. As they were only joined by Oleana, who stayed silent and watched from the sidelines in the conversation, the truth of the matter came to light. "Sam, I want you to join our organization. Macro Cosmos would benefit greatly from having someone who not only plowed through the Johto League in record time, but someone who was able to take on Gold himself."

He may have wanted to travel the world in spite of there being no other current 'goal' for his post-Championship life, but Sam somehow didn't feel right hearing those words. "Your organization, hmm? What's its purpose? What are you after?"

Looking at Sam with a smile, Rose happily indulged him. "Oleana could give you more details, but as it stands now, Macros Cosmos is my company of Galar. Alongside with our evaluation of our Gym Leaders, and funding the Pokemon League of Galar itself, I have several subsidiaries that offer all types of jobs to the Galarian economy. Macro Cosmos Rail, MCR Freight, Macro Cosmos Media, Macro Cosmos Energy, Macro Cosmos Television...you get the shtick. We also have banks, insurance, whatever you name it, my company helps fuel a different part of Galar through jobs in any of these divisions. But I also am looking for strong trainers to help be, shall I say, spokespersons."

"Spokespersons? If you're some bigwig executive, why not hire some other form of PR for that sort of thing? Why come to Johto and travel across the world to ask someone like myself to join forces?" Sam asked while crossing his arms and thought to himself. /I had a weird feeling earlier, but now hearing all this just gives me a dreadful sensation. I can't put my finger on it./

Oleana butted into the conversation, if only briefly, while raising a finger. " is asking you to join his business because words mean very little to the Galarian people if there aren't strong willed trainers that vouch for his vision. As it were, Galar faces an energy crisis further down the line, and we are hoping to pull some weight with a better image in the eyes of our people."

Squinting his eyes, Sam pursed his lips. "So you want people to follow you because of some big energy issue, huh? Why are you having trouble doing that, then?"

Taking easily to the barrage of questioning, Rose walked to his side and put an arm around Sam. "Unfortunately when you become President of something as big as my company, not everyone is willing to work for you. People want to retain some...individuality. People don't always trust you due to things you've done before in the past: easily demonized by media. They don't see the bigger picture, and that, my dear Johtonian friend, is to build a better Galar."

"...why would anyone demonize you, exactly? What, did you kill someone?" Sam asked bluntly. Both Rose and Oleana gave a very curt chortle, while the businessman handwaved those concerns off.

"Nothing of the sort, but as one of the head designers and developers of Wyndon, Galar's capital and home to the Pokemon League, and Macro Cosmos, fears of monopoly and in-company fighting have sprung up. Surely, I don't need to explain further, dear ol' chap?" Rose would say, leaning inward. For some reason, the way he said those words made Sam's skin crawl. The Chairman would retract his arm and then gave Sam a specific business card for personal contact: one that would bypass the need for an appointment via secretary. "If you have anymore questions or would like to consider the offer, you can contact me here."

Looking to Oleana, Rose would nod towards the front entrance. Watching the two, Sam saw as the strange couple from Galar would exit. /Sure, I haven't really figured out completely what I want to do, but.../ "Macro Cosmos, huh..."

- - - That Evening, National Park - - -

Looking up into the cloudless skies, Sam leaned back onto the bench and idly tossed an Ultra Ball upwards. Catching it each time it fell back, his mind was reeling from the events. Cries of Pokemon wandering about, Sam would stare blankly onto nothing. It was great to spend time celebrating with the Gym Leaders, but now a part of him had a growing sense of unease. The vast lands of opportunity were laid before him, and it could be possibly all funded via a corporation from a previously unknown region. /I guess this is the confusing step that Gold warned me may happen if I became Champion./

Footsteps were heard clacking on the ground and a quiet 'hmmf'. "So this is where I find the Champion after the party? Sulking off by himself?"

His attention is brought towards the voice on his left that was owned by a bright blue-haired Dragon trainer. Sam blushed before sitting upright. "Clair?"

"Yep. I was beginning to wonder why you had gone off after saying your farewells to everyone at the party except me. Are you pulling a 'Lance' and undercutting me, asshole?" She sat next to him on the bench before reaching over to pinch onto one of his cheeks and pull lightly.

"H-hey! It wasn't intentional! I just needed some time to think after those guys from Galar talked to me!" he laughed, and Clair let go of his cheek. She settled onto the bench and leaned back; her eyes going to gaze up at the stars alongside him.

Clair waited a moment before asking him straight onwards. "...so what did they say? You seemed tense afterwards."

Sam exhaled audibly and looked to her as he relaxed his posture. "The one we met named Rose wants me to join his organization as a trainer. He was, or rather is, looking for strong trainers. Something about an energy crisis. But the way he carried himself and then went to describe his company's goals..."

Hearing the way he spoke, Clair responded before he could continue. "...you don't think it's right for you, do you? Like it's another 'Team Rocket' situation?"

"I don't know...there's just something I can't shake. It could lead to something great, but it could also be a trap. He could have gotten his information from other sources nobody here is aware of yet, yet then again..." The Champion would then grumble and rake both his hands through his hair in irritation. "Why is today so freaking weird?! The air is completely off...!"

His thought process was eclipsed when Clair began giggling. "This is so like you, Sam. Right up to the point when you were about to challenge me, you're overthinking things and getting caught up on details that may not matter ultimately!"

He sat upright and turned to her, with Clair raising a finger. "Sam. If it's like everything else, you'll figure it out in due time, okay? I believe in you. Besides, what's the rush?"

Rotating the Ultra Ball in his right palm, he tapped on the center button and put it into his backpack where it, and other inventory items would be kept. "You're right. There's something I'd rather focus my time on now that I can relax with the constant Pokemon battling." His eyes looked back to her own and her eyebrows raised.

"Oh? Why not spend your earnings you've gotten to strike it rich at the Game Corner and treat all your Gym Leader buddies to a resort? Maybe a cruise from here to somewhere nice on the S.S. Anne?" Clair teased, prodding him with several pokes from both hands.

Not budging an inch, Sam's face turned serious, catching Clair off-guard. "W-what..?" she blinked at him in confusion.

He raised his right hand with a single finger sticking up. "Hey, how about one date?"

Clair felt her face warm up, initially feeling flustered before giggling. Putting a hand to her cheek, she looked at him with a wry grin. "So you were serious, huh? Way back when we met at my Gym when you said that to my face that you'd ask me out once you're Champion?"

As if having laser focus on the idea, Sam muttered whilst nodding. "Y-yes. I meant it back then when I asked you out, only to be turned down and that I would do it again once becoming Champion."

Looking at him, Clair's cheeks went pink while her smile only increased. That he fought so hard to make good on his promise to ask her out was endearing, but she had to also admit that in the time she got to know him that he was far more mature than before. The Dragon Trainer hummed in thought and bit her lip. "Okay then."

All of that bravado suddenly vanished as Sam was almost not counting on her going along with it. "Seriously?!"

She gave a cute grin and nodded twice while both her hands went to her knees. "Yes. Come by and pick me up tomorrow. 6 o'clock. Don't be late, okay?"

/Yes!/ Sam had yelled out to himself, as his hands balled up into fists. "R-right! You won't regret this!"

"Oho, okay then. You'd better have a good idea for a date and know how to entertain a woman, Champion~" Clair would say with extra inflection in her voice. He was flustered hearing her add some extra pizazz to the phrasing, but he kept it together. The pair would move on from the subject and talk together about menial things, and would lose hours to the company of each other.

- - Present - -

Oleana brought the mug she drank her black espresso from to her lips and smacked them as the bitter taste ran down her throat. "...and then you went to go exploring?"

Shaking his head, Sam further relaxed into the makeshift pillow that was her lap. "That was the starting plan, but no. I held back, actually. For one thing, it was a lot to consider when I wanted to go other regions at the time. Steven and I only had a tertiary companionship at the time, so the goal of travel was only a 'tease of things to come'. 'Maybe I'll do it, maybe I won't.' It was only a few years into my Championship, but as it were, I stayed in Johto to get my footing at being a Champion. The time had nigh yet to come before I would set off to Hoenn, Sinnoh, Kalos, and here: Galar."

There was some confusion as Oleana looked back at him with her head tilting. "You held back? Was there a reason for your hesitation?"

He mumbled and shrugged. "I dunno. It was rough trying to decide things with Clair around." Sam got a pinch on his cheek from her hearing that. "Ow!"

"Ugh. Really, Sam, you have a knack for being indecisive on the worst things, darling. If it's something you're passionate about, you should have been honest from the start." Oleana would huff, before folding her arms together.

"Yeah...it probably would have made things better for me back then." He says, while echoes of the past had shifted to another moment of his life.

- - - 2 Years after he became Champion - - -

- - - Blackthorn City, Johto - - -

A couple of years had already passed by now. Sam had gotten used to being the Champion of Johto. Sans the brief expedition to Kanto, which offered Johto trainers to also challenge all of their Gym Leaders, he had merely moved into a quiet life that requested very little of him daily. Visiting the Battle Tower from Route 40 proved to keep honing his skills every so often, should a new, stronger trainer one day rise to take his place. Should one call it a 'challenge', the remaining individual battle left, was the budding relationship he had with Clair. Being the Gym Leader of Blackthorn City, she was known to be headstrong, stubborn, and steadfast. To Sam, she was a different person. After a throwaway comment about going to a date together, the pair had successfully become romantically involved with one another. It would not be for nearly a year, as Clair had to see if they were truly compatible together, but once the two paired up, they were inseparable.

It wasn't without its trials; this connection of between a Dragon Mistress and student of Gold. She oft spent time pushing her limits to get better as a Dragon trainer in the hopes of one day usurping Lance, her counsin, while Sam would sometimes wander aimlessly in the historically rich region with hopes of encountering legendaries that Gold told him about. Trainers continued to fight Clair as one of the toughest Gym Leaders in the whole region, and Sam would successfully defend his right to hold the title, but there was also the isolated incident from time to time: media loves controversy.

Whereas Nessa openly took the effort to shut down all conversation between her and Haru in present day Galar, Clair would proudly exclaim her happiness during the relationship. 'If it's one thing that can help me become a better trainer than my cousin, then I know it's because he's supporting me!' would be one of many things she declared.

Aside from this, the world simply kept turning, and in time, other beginnings would birth in the land of Heart Gold travelers like Sam.

One evening, while they were at the small lake that leads to the Dragon's Den, the Champion had taken a moment to speak to Clair on a heart-to-heart. Something he said had made her grow quiet. "Latias and Latios, huh? That's what got you to think about leaving Johto. Is that right?"

More confident to answer than even the hardest of interviews, Sam nodded, full of that wanderlust and nil of apprehension. "Yes. Steven was asking me about the two, and after another conversation with him the other day, I've grown only more curious. It's so much that I have already begun to look into travel brochures. I don't know if I'll bite the bullet on a ticket through the S.S. Anne, but there seems to be a higher calling for me than to simply just be here." He looked at her and then leaned in to give a kiss. Their lips met and she gave a strained smile.

"I suppose with someone like you, it would be silly to hold you back from achieving your goals. That's not the kind of woman I want to be for you." she admitted.

Off to the side, her Dragonite cried out with a low "Goonnnn~" before nuzzling the side of Sam's face, while his Typhlosion was sound asleep not far away from the couple. He gave it a light scratch across the scaly cheeks and looked to the winged Pokemon, then back to Clair. "It's in the nature of us who do the Gym Challenges of regions to want to travel, so I suppose I'm not exactly 'unique', but I think what's exciting to me is the unearthed discoveries out there. For now, I've only had a taste of them all cuz of who I've met."

The Dragonite was satisfied with its cheek scratches for now that he went back to lay by Clair, who would rub down its large belly side and looked back to her lover. "...and two plane-like looking Pokemon is what did it, huh?"

Sam hummed to himself in thought before swiveling on the grass to more directly face her; both legs crossed. "Well, it's one thing when Gold told me about the crazy things he did back in his day: 'time traveling' one instance with Celebi, for one, or seeing Lugia as another. There are times when I thought he was messing with me by exclaiming he encountered Suicune, or defeated the legendary 'Red'." Sam's gaze went to the clouds as they had grown thick, numerous, and painted the skies grey; a mirror to his mental state. "...but hearing it straight from the Ponyta's mouth that Gold encountered Arceus in the Ruins of Alph, and Steven, Deoxys, then there's no possible way that's all there is out there."

Pursing her lips in thought, Clair moved to hold one of his hands and gave it a squeeze. He returned it in kind, and looked to her. "Clair, I know being here is important for you. There's nothing I wouldn't give to experience more crazy situations like those, but with you. You shouldn't have to just be stationed here and only hear about these things secondhand. However, you should have agency in your decision if you want to come with me."

"Pft...what's with the way you're speaking, Sam? You're sometimes dramatic, but never like this!" She laughed at him, then sighed. The blue haired Dragon Mistress saw he wasn't in as much a joking mood as she were. "You're asking me to come with you to travel the world...? Leave Johto behind?"

"Yes." Sam brought her other hand up to his own and clasped around both of them as his eyes sparkled.

"I...I don't know. This is a big commitment. What will happen to the league here if I just left...?" Unease crept up her spine, and though they had life within them, her bangs somehow appeared less pointy.

Sam seemed more excited at the possibility that Clair would join him in his new adventure even as doubt slithered in between the two. "Don't worry about that, I can speak to Koga to assist you. He has his daughter filling him for him as the Gym Leader of his former Gym in Kanto: Jasmine. He can give you some direction on who to have fill in!"

Momentarily bewildered by how prepared he was to speak on this, there was little a reason that Clair could think up that she could say "no" to joining him on traveling. Her eyes closed and had a discussion with her inner self. Holding up a hand to silence Sam or anyone else from speaking, Clair put all possibilities to mind. Her eyes opened, and she nodded. "Okay."

"O-...'okay'?" Sam asked, his eyes widened.

"Yes, Sam. Take me with you on this new adventure to other locations! I don't know how long I want to commit, but please, I'd like to come with you!" Clair said, making her decision final. He laughed. Completely overjoyed with her decision to start traveling other regions with him, the two embraced in a kiss, and his day was made. The nearby Typhlosion looked over to see his Master hugging on his girlfriend, yawned while its fire mane flared, then went back to napping. If he was going to have jetlag due to traveling other regions, then he figured the more rest, the better.

Oleana smiled, looking down as Sam had been recalling memories of his past, telling her about everything he did. "It wasn't long afterwards that you then decided one region, but all of them, huh?"

"Oh, not all of them...but, you're right." Sam said, a little confused as to how to progress, since he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable. Talking about one's own ex-lovers is a social faux pas with your current lover, and that he witnessed his new best friend Haru propose to Nessa shortly before coming here, he had to be tactful on delivery. Perhaps another time would be best. He sat up and walked to where he saw his own Meganium napping under a framed collection of his Johto, Kanto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Kalos badges: the sun was hitting where it laid down and was soaking up all the rays it could. The Grass-type Pokemon lazily raised his lanky head and looked up to him. Leaf shaking as a hand from his master started petting it. "I know I've spoken plenty on missing Johto a lot, Oleana, but trust me, it's not because of just the location. It's the memori-"

"Memories of Clair that you had." Oleana interrupted him, trying to prick his brain a little. He nearly felt himself physically taken back by having her be so upfront on the mention.

Shaking his head, Sam looked at her. "Not exactly!"

"Please, dear. I've known you long enough to know when you're lying. You think mentioning it too many times will make me feel ill since most of the best past-times are tied to of one aqua hair adorning Gym Leader. Look, if you had good times back then, then it's okay to acknowledge it. I'm not so petty I'll get upset with you if you even talk nice about her." The tall dirty blonde woman walked to where he stood and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Please."

Leaning forward into the embrace of the chairman, Sam let out a low exhale. Her words had made him far more relaxed to talk about the past going forward. "When I met you back in Johto while I took a break from traveling, it was when my mind was the most clear-cut."

- - - 3 years after, The Past, Johto - - -

- - - Goldenrod City, Johto - - -

"...sir? Is there...anything I can do to help?" a cashier had said with a strained voice. She was looking across the counter as a Typhlosion was holding a bag of Pokemon-based snacks while a man was hunched forward, arms stretched out as if to guard his sides. The Fire-type Pokemon wiggled its rear, having a case of the 'zoomies' inside Goldenrod City's biggest shopping center for all Pokemon trainer necessities, and was teasing its trainer.

"Typhlosion. No! I already got you those snacks at home!" Sam said, with the Pokemon replying by hopping from side to side briefly, before stopping again. Its eyes locked onto its trainer as if determined to get by with more food. A small, joyful hop once again to its left, before trying to run past its trainer, and Sam lunges towards it. He's distracted, however, by noticing a tall woman with long, dirty blonde hair walk into the department store. Even as she wore a sunhat and a puffed sleeve poplin dress with heels and glasses with an octagon-like logo on both sides, there was no mistaking the identity. "Miss Oleana...?"

She turned to look at him, and smirked. "You're...Sam, correct? Almost feels like yesterday I first saw you at the dinner that celebrated your title you earned. Here I was unsure if I'd meet any notable candidates for Macro Cosmos in this town, but now I've run into you. How have you been?"

He would have answered right there, if not for hearing the tentative beep from a cashier. The Typhlosion of his had now leaned up on the counter within the store they were at and dropped the bag of snacks onto the belt. Looking back at them both, the mischievous Pokemon seemed all too pleased with himself. Sam rubbed his eyes a little and then looked back to Oleana. "Eh...it's quite a story."

"Is that so?"

As the two exited the building, Sam began to catch her up on everything that was going on. As if a different person with more confidence in himself, Sam was telling her about all his discoveries. The awkwardness in his speech that was present during their first encounter was gone: filled to the brim with the vibrant flavors that life's experiences had granted him since becoming Johto's Champion. Of the things of note, Oleana sat with him and listened to his every word.

/Back when Chairman Rose had approached him, I honestly didn't think much of him back then. The records showed how quickly and expertly he took on the Johto League with little issues, but his aura felt different than it is now. Sam is more...refined somehow./ Oleana pondered while the man yapped on eagerly. How he and Clair were going across the waters in Hoenn in between Gym Leader battles to study up about Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza. How the planet they lived on nearly succumbed to an apocalypse due not just to the entities' infighting, but the mysteries surrounding Deoxys' approach to the planet. The cross-region, worldwide tour of challenging other Pokemon Leagues was a train that could not be stopped.

...or so it had seemed. By the time he had reached the 5th Gym into Sinnoh's challenge, details grew more sparse around Clair, and as such, he held off on divulging too much. It appeared things still had left an open wound on him. Oleana looked down to him with a concerned expression. "Is she okay? It would be regrettable if Johto lost its noteworthy Dragon Mistress."

Sam sighed, crossing his arms and let out a small laugh. His response bore a bittersweet tone. "I hope she is, but I wouldn't know at this point. As of now I've taken on all those Gyms in Sinnoh, and wanted to come back to Johto for a momentary respite before heading further. The ticket to Kalos will have to wait another day, and when I get it, Clair won't be joining me. As of now, Clair and I are...not the same."

Standing up and patting his cheeks with both hands, Sam exhaled as if trying to force negative thoughts straight out of his mind, and then turned back to Oleana. "That's where we stand now."

Hanging her head a little, Oleana cleared her throat. "My apologies."

Holding up a hand, Sam looked off to the side with a half smile, while his Typhlosion sadly whimpered up to him: asking to be pet. He knew his master was secretly hurting, despite holding it back, and Sam paid that want for attention in kind by scratching under its chin. "None needed. We had a small, good run. In retrospect our goals just went to different directions, and it was less compatible with how we had initially thought. My belief was that the affection we felt could help us progress past those challenges, but life isn't that easy. People have different wants and needs, so I have to respect that even though we had feelings for each other, we gave it an honest try. There's nothing to weep over on that, when I think about it. Our split was amicable."

Many an hour was spent working in the offices of Wyndon's HQ, so Oleana rare, if at all, thought about relationships. Henceforth, she felt unenviable on the pain he was experiencing. "That sounds like quite a challenge to deal with, Sam. You tell me not to apologize over it, but even so, it must hurt right? If you need any assistance with your goals in the future, I may be able to assist in some ways."

The response took his attention away from the selfish onset of loathing he did openly, but it got Sam to crack even the tiniest of smiles. "Really?"

The woman from Galar pursed her lips. "I'm not exactly going to be presenting you cheat-sheets on future Gym Leaders, but you can at least move on faster and more efficiently if you had an 'inside' source, wouldn't you?"

"Why do that for me? What do you get out of it?" He asked, just as the Typhlosion looked up at Oleana with curiosity as he moved to guard Sam from any advances she would have planned, if any.

The question caused some pride to well up within her bosom as Oleana stuck her chin upwards. Proudly to remind him of her place. "Do you not remember when we first met, Sam? I'm a woman who enjoys collecting data. I may work for Chairman Rose as his second-in-command but I have my own goals that make it so I don't have to answer to him at his every beckon or call."

"Okay, that's fair..." Sam believed her. Truly. His previously crossed arms went back to his side and slid both hands down to his pockets, and finished his thought from earlier. "That helps put my mind at ease, and at the very least I may learn a bit more of your own region at some point. Clair didn't..." His eyes looked up to Oleana: judging whether he could talk more on her. Her hand waved to him dismissively.

"No, go on. You had a thought? Please. Share it with me." She said, readjusting her glasses and almost had a cold, orderly tone to it like a boss to an underling.

A deep part of Sam's psyche began to loosen, to relax. Sighing, he continued. "Well, I think she wanted to see if it was possible to juggle the responsibilities of her own Gym while tagging along with me. Whether she was unsure, or scared to see just how far I wanted to pursue my own paths isn't exactly known, but I don't hold it against her. We're still friends. There's nothing wrong with stopping once you know what your limits are, and not everybody is built to want to surpass them."

Looking down to the ground, then to Sam, Oleana countered back. "It's not as if Gym Leaders leaving their Gyms is uncommon, or not allowed, but I believe I get where she was coming from. Women have a different viewpoint on careers versus our own 'wants' than men." Taking off her glasses, folding them, and letting it hang on the open neckline of her top, Oleana looked to him once more, but with both eyes squinting. "So what will you be doing now, Champion of Johto?"

"Honestly?" He straightened himself out from kneeling to pet his Typhlosion, walking to her and bringing out some notes he took. "I was going to look into some legends of the areas I've been to, including Johto, and see if I can't uncover something! Like here..." pointing to a sketch of a part on a map of Johto he made with a pencil. "You're familiar with the Ruins of Alpha, right?"

/Oh my, what a turn.../ Oleana pondered to herself, then grew a wry smile. "It's a recorded area where Unown have appeared in the past, correct? The ones representing the letters 'A' to 'D'."

She saw his eyes light up. "Yes! You see, I'm more interested in seeing not only to the truth in the stories behind those records, but of Arceus!"

The woman took a step back and gasped. This caught her off-guard. "Wh...what do you mean? Such things have never been outright confirmed to be in Johto! You'd be walking around looking for NOTHING! What would make you any different than a tabloid journalist?"

This didn't seem to stop the enthusiasm within the bright-eyed trainer as he shook his head. "No no, but see, I'm a former apprentice to Gold, right? HE TOLD ME he's not only met some of our legendaries before, such as Entei, Lugia, and Ho-Oh, but he's run into Celebi: the Time Travel Pokemon! Look..." Sam knelt down, taking his backpack off of himself before digging through his findings that he got from visiting other regions. "Other areas like Hoenn and Sinnoh already have mentions not only of things such as mega-evolution, a thing recorded first in Kalos, but other legendaries that aren't even privy to those areas! At one point Kanto didn't even have more than a handful of Pokemon recorded, and just over a few decades ago Johto ONLY had its own handful more. But now? Johto has more mysteries that make it competitively curious to a cataclysmic scale to ancient textbooks not just from our regions but other, smaller places like Oblivia, or heck, dare I say Orre? I only just BEGUN to read about that place. So then we also know that Arceus was encountered, yes, in the ancient land of Sinnoh, which-"

"...was known as the Hisui region, thousands of years ago before human settlement with Pokemon-" Oleana began to say, only for Sam to complete her thought.

"- became commonplace: lining up with records where they made a pact with humans! To-" The pair was now actively spitballing the facts as easily as they both breathed.

"-help humans any time they come into contact with them, which led to the-

"-chronicling of genders, types, abilities, natures, thus leading to the technology-"

"-of the common PokeBall capture technology, and to the current time we see ourself in where the Pokemon League is the most popular practice of livelihood!"

"-of the common PokeBall capture technology, and to the current time we see ourself in where the Pokemon League is the most popular practice of livelihood!"

The two had said it at the exact same time together, leaving Sam to gasp at the end.

"YES! Exactly! So I'm saying, if someone out there made the claim that there's visions, or encounters of Arceus SOMEWHERE in Johto, or that capturing 'doesn't exist', or that multiple stories about some 'dark energy', all of which therein are or ARE NOT Darkrai, then there may be a slim chance those people were right, RIGHT?" Sam declared, pointing with a pen towards Oleana.

Putting a hand to her hip, Oleana squinted at him judgingly. "You're not just any Champion who wanted to become stronger, but you have an obscene desire with trying to discover about anything and everything you can get your grimy hands on. Do you really think that there's merit to chasing something that may or may not exist? It's not enough to prove yourself in combat in an act of wills and wits to trainers like Flannery, Gardenia, or Korrina, is it? That you will do nothing to stop your quest in figuring out what came before? Pray tell me, Sam, what makes you any different than the numerous, and nigh-infinite-to-be professors of tomorrow? What good is it to keep going after you've caught a legendary or two, if at all?"

"Because I just can!" He said with a full smile and laugh. "Back before I became a trainer, people would say up and down how it was only a 'myth' that someone like Gold combatted, and defeated Red: the man who singlehandedly took down Team Rocket and won the Kanto League. Well now: I'm the one who took on Gold and defeated him. He's the one who's helped put Johto in a much better light, and he trained me himself, so why should I worry?"

Oleana had to turn away, coughing lightly to hide the fact that his unwavering enthusiasm was too naive for her to handle that it was comedic. "That's absolutely preposterous: you sound like a grade school speaker!"

The woman had a point. Sam fired back. "Perhaps you're right. But is the idea so different from Macro Cosmos?"

"Eh?" She turned back to side-eye him with an inquisitive stare, and one much more cold looking than before.

"There's been talk that your agency, sorry, Rose's agency, is studying what it can about a phenomena called 'Dynamax', yes? When you two approached me, telling me about its 'mission', I couldn't stop thinking about it from when the two of you left. So I looked into it. Even if I don't want to join Macro Cosmos, I get it! It's not a coincidence you made it to the number 2 position, right? Oleana, you also believe in something of a higher purpose even if people are telling you it is useless, or that your own pursuit of such knowledge is 'annoying' or 'too naive', right? I think that's pretty great of you!"

For a brief second, Oleana had recalled the countless nights she stayed up past the morning hour where the only company she withheld was the sound of her keyboard clicking away and a Trubbish by her side. Others in the agency had come to rely on her high intellect for her findings involving Eternatus and other issues that Galar would have to resolve in some time in the future. Her brain was almost never truly asleep, but her need to always correct even the most minor and mundane of factual errors or typographical faux pas earned her some ill will from coworkers as just a dressed-up bookworm that somehow 'swooned' her way to the position alongside Chairman Rose as second-in-command. Up to that point, he was the only person to appreciate her outlook on the things that, to her mind, mattered.

...until a moment ago, when Sam said those words to her.

Her cheeks suddenly felt hot and Oleana had to tilt her sunhat downwards, then coughed as she looked away again. She would not get flustered like this so easily. "I suppose so."

"Hmm?" He stepped forward, not noticing that her cheeks went a little pink, and as the Typhlosion had dropped all instances of mischief to listen into the conversation, Sam held his hands behind his back.

She stayed her eyes away from looking at him but kept up the professional 'act'. "If it's satisfactory to you, Sam, then I would enjoy discussing more on your findings. You're a very...interesting person."

His right foot tapped in place while still not noticing that Oleana's guard had slightly lowered for the first time since coming to know her. "Hmm...if you can spare the time, that is: I still have to go and visit Kalos. Their league must be interesting. I've considered Unova, but the jury is still out on that, personally."

Oleana removed the sunhat slowly, putting her glasses back on and looked down to smile upon him with the slightest of noticeable grin. It was a patient, but welcoming change of expression for her, and was the first time she looked at him as such. "Please."

Their eyes met for a moment. Typhlosion was heard making a Pokemon equivalent of someone looking on in awe, and Sam put both hands into his pockets. "S-sure then!"

As she sat on Sam's lap while he recalled the tales of previous years, she looked down at him studiously. "You have an odd penchant for being able to recall so many things in such a specific order."

"I...is that not a good thing? At least it means I never forget our anniversary, eh?" Sam had joked, as the woman looked a little cross with him and flicked his forehead. "OW!"

"You won't forget that, but you did keep me wondering if you did drop off the face of the planet when we began to date." Oleana would say, huffing a little and crossing her arms.

"Sorry."

He got another flick on the forehead. "OW!"

"And don't apologize! You didn't do anything wrong!"

"Sor-" Sam had to hold back in mid-speech. The couple stared at each other before Oleana snorted herself into a laughing fit.

/Still, the main reason I couldn't get back to her when I wanted to was what led me to Galar recently. Giovanni's Return./

- - - Late that evening, post dinner - - -

Trying to move past the constant reminiscing of one's own career, Sam would check on his messages from his newly upgraded phone and sighed. Haru informed him that Nessa and him would be going 'dark' for a few days. The phone would have been put down immediately if not for the triggered reminder of what was in a few days. /...a few days? But isn't the opening ceremony of the next League Challenge coming up? That's pushing it a little close.../

[S: Hey Haru, are you sure about that?]

[H: Why? What's the deal?]

[S: Isn't there something you need to do beforehand?]

[H: :squint: We Gym Leaders already had our meeting, and our new Gym Leader was just brought in. She's been brought up to speed and her space is being reworked to fit the timeline we have going on.]

He took a double take on his phone. /Wait...wasn't Haru the new Gym Leader? Who's this other one he's talking about? I wasn't aware there was going to be anyone else!/

[S: Wait, I thought you were the new Gym Leader?]

[H: Surprise motherfucker.]

[S: Well, who is it?]

[H: Not telling. You'll just have to find out when the opening ceremony occurs in Motostoke. You'll be there, right?]

[S: You jerk, c'mon! Tell me!]

[H: Yeah, nah. I don't think I will.]

[S: Boooooo]

He put down the phone and sighed. Two long arms suddenly came behind him and wrapped him into a reverse embrace while her head laid on his shoulders. "Sam. Please. Be honest. I'm begging you." Before he got a word in, she pulled him onto the side of the bed with her and held tightly. "I'm aware that you're trying your best to get rid of your gambling habits, so I'm not going to yell at you."

"Wh..!" She felt his body shift in direction as he tried to look behind him, since he was now basically the one sitting in her lap while on the bedside.

"Yet." Her eyes would return to the usual, cold, muted expression that she was known for, only to soften soon afterwards. "Why haven't you talked to me about it? You're not going to solve anything doing this 'lone wolf' act anymore."

"I..." He bit his lip. The guilt came crashing down on him, and Sam fought to keep from guilt-stricken tears well up in his eyes but they failed. "I'm sorry. I just know that when Gold tra-"

"SAM. YOU are not GOLD. You are not RED. You are not someone who has to try and prove himself by being this one-man-army. There isn't some big, drastic power trip you have to take or journey to go on to continue being you. When you decided to commit and be here with me did you truly leave Johto behind or no?" Oleana brought both hands to his cheeks and pinched lightly. Forcing them to look at each other.

"I..."

"Did you?"

"Yes! Yes I did! I'm sorry...I'm sorry Oleana. I'm trying to be better. Honest!"

"Good. Then starting tomorrow we're going to budget on some things together okay?" The two had spent so much time bonding over the past throughout the day that Oleana no longer wanted to have him focus on it. "Your past is holding you back, so don't make me feel like I am."

Only the idle sounds of a television set on low volume within the bedroom was heard while the tall blonde woman pressed her chest against his back. "Stop trying to be a hero, and start trying to be 'Sam'."

/It's just that easy, huh..?/ Internally, the conflict would not be resolved in quick succession, but Sam's spirit was overflowing with a zen that brought his heartrate and breathing down to normalcy. His lover could see that her words finally broke through to him. Humming a tune for a moment, Oleana kissed the top of his head, before moving over to the side so she could get up.

"Now, you and I are going to relax and cuddle, and I won't hear any arguing. Just let me bring some of my tea from the front." The Chairman said with a soft smile, being heard walking off to the kitchen.

- - - 3 minutes later . . . - - -

"Hey Oleana, is everything okay? Did you get a...message...from work?" His words trailed off as Sam went to go check up on Oleana, who was still stationed in the kitchen/dining room area. Only the back of her head was seen as her phone was held up in one hand, screen unlocked, and a message that was sent to her from staff. She would not respond to words as Sam walked up from behind and got a closer look to the message received. Was it someone quitting? Was it related to the Pokemon League? Did a big delay happen?

/...oh no./

Looking past where her hand was clinging onto the phone, screen tilted upwards, was a social media post. A photo coming from Nessa's official account. No words. No text. No location. It was a picture of her left hand with a new ring on her ring finger, and another, not-as-dark hand clasping onto it.

"S...Sam..." the voice coming from Oleana was one that sounded like bloodlust. His blood ran cold.

"Yes dear?"

As if her body ran at a lower framerate than normal, she twisted herself to turn towards where her stood and looked at him straight in the eyes. Her pupils had shrank and her phone now had a small crack on the screen from how hard she was squeezing the phone. "Is THIS where you were earlier today? Do you know about this?"

/Jig's up!/ He put up both hands defensively and began to walk backwards as Oleana was emanating a powerful aura unlike one he had seen before, and began to sweat profusely. "Y-ye-e-e-es dear...I did-..I mean I was! I DO know about thi-"

"All these years...are you SURE you feel the same for me if THIS is where Nessa finds herself...!?" Her wording was out of place; like one trying to figure out how to speak. On one hand, it was envy, but the other, was now a profound urge to get Sam to be as brutally honest in his feelings of intimacy for her. The phone was seen being dropped to the floor as her Garbodor was hastily running off to hide in one of the rooms. "Sam...come here honey..." Oleana spoke, almost overwhelmed and drunken with a need.

"B-b-b-abe...I can explain..."

"You have 3 seconds..." She got closer and would soon tower over him; cornering him back to the bedroom. The tea had literally been spilt prior to this discovery.

"The money from-"

"3!"

"...that I was saving has been-"

"2!"

"...hard to come by! You said not to feel guilty!"

"1! So don't!"

Sam was heard screeching almost like he had been tackled as Oleana slammed him onto the bed mattress and pinned his arms down. He was in an air of scared arousal.

The Johtonian man found out the hard way that evening that Galar women have a tendency to not like being kept waiting. Not that either party was complaining, though they now faced a new problem for the oncoming day: going to buy a new bed.

- - - - - END OF CHAPTER 24 - - - - -