The New Normal – 9-16 – Interlude – Whitney
"…And this is the cafeteria where you're free to eat whenever you want, but try to keep it to the lunch break." Samson said to her as he showed her around the Saffron Gym, where she'd be starting as a new Gym Trainer. The fact that they had an all-you-can eat cafeteria that was FREE was an amazing benefit to working for the Gym.
Her eyes scanned around and took a look at the options available, where it was mostly standard cafeteria fare.
…Okay, so they weren't as luxurious as she had expected, but they were good enough, and there were plenty of options so she wouldn't get bored any time soon.
And most importantly, FREE! Not only that, but she was getting paid on top of that too! She initially didn't want to take payment from him, but both of Sabrina's parents insisted that she be paid for her work, just like any other Gym Trainer would be.
"Thank you, it all looks really good." Whitney smiled, "Is there anything else I should know about?"
"Not particularly – and Sabrina can show you the rest if I did miss anything." Samson said, "Anyways, feel free to spend some more time to familiarize yourself with everything. Otherwise, please report to the Head Gym Trainer to receive your duties."
"Yes sir!" Whitney saluted, a little clumsily. Samson just chuckled.
"You should call me Gym Leader when we're working, but there's no need to salute." Samson rubbed her hair, "You can keep calling me Samson in private."
With the conversation over, Whitney followed his instructions and reported to the Head Gym Leader of the Saffron Gym, a young adult Psychic called Albert.
"You must be the newbie." He said blankly as his Pokéballs circled in the air around him. "Well, let me give you a rundown of your new duties."
"I've looked into the strength of your Pokémon. From the team I've seen you use in official battles, I'm unfortunately going to have to say that you won't be allowed to use them over the course of your duties as a Gym Trainer." Albert explained, "Not only are they mostly the wrong Type, but they are also mostly too strong for your opponents. It wouldn't be fair for the typical 6th Badge challenge we offer. However, you may use your Girafarig if you wish."
Whitney nodded; she had expected this. Even Sabrina had to hold back from using the stronger members of her team too. "Instead, please pick up the Pokémon that we use for the Gym. You will be expected to use those to test trainers that are challenging the Gym."
"Be careful though. Your objective is not to obtain victory, unlike the battles I'm sure you're used to." He warned. "Instead, you will be expected to test all potential challengers to see what if they have what it takes to make it to the Gym Leader." A handbook suddenly levitated into Whitney's hands, "This is the handbook that we use. It should provide you with a guide on what you should be looking out for when fighting potential challengers. Study it well."
"You might be personal friends with Sabrina and the Gym Leader, but I will be testing your performance carefully. I will not allow you to get away with damaging the Gym's reputation with your overenthusiasm. Do I make myself clear?" Albert's eyes dug deep into hers, and she wondered if he was reading her mind like Sabrina could.
She supposed that his piercing glare was supposed to look intimidating, but it didn't seem like his Psychic talent could match Sabrina's, as she could not feel the telltale signs of a mental intrusion. So she just shrugged it off.
"I understand." Whitney instead replied, mustering every bit of seriousness she could.
Albert blinked, a little unruffled by her lack of response, "…Good. Then I look forward to working with you in the future."
He recovered from his surprise quickly, "You joined at a good time. We're nearing the end of the circuit and are about to enter the off-circuit, so things are going to be quiet for now. That'll give you some time to learn the ropes."
The Pokéballs around him shuffled around until they formed an arrow that pointed to the right, "Please head over there to pick up the Pokémon you will be using. I expect you to get familiar with them and get used to fighting with the Psychic type. I'll check up on you later."
Whitney thanked him and left, heading to where he pointed to. As she arrived at where the Gym's Pokémon were being stored, she found Sabrina already there, thinking carefully as she inspected the options in front of her.
"You're only taking out the one?" She asked as she saw the single Pokéball that Sabrina had grabbed.
"I am planning to train up my Slowpoke and Girafarig as well. They are both weak enough to be used, and I intend to use this time to train them up further." Sabrina replied.
"Oh cool! I was planning to do the same with my Girafarig – we can train them together like before!" Whitney exclaimed excitedly. They had unfortunately not been training their Girafarig together much in the past as they had other priorities with figuring out how to tackle the next Gym Leader, but now was a good time to get back into it.
She wondered how strong their pair of Girafarig could get after training together. Who knows what they could accomplish by working together?
Shaking herself from her thoughts, she turned back to the rows of Pokéballs that contained all of the Gym's Pokémon. "Um…that means I still have to pick two…uh, I don't know what to pick. Do you have any suggestions, Sabie?"
"No," Sabrina shook her head, "Pick whatever you feel like. I am sure you are familiar enough with the Psychic type to do fine. However, I would recommend picking Pokémon that fight similarly to your own. That way, you can transfer anything you learn while using them to your own Pokémon."
"That's a good idea." Whitney smiled, "Thanks, Sabie. I'll be doing just that."
Her eyes danced across all of the options laid out in front of her. She read the labels – there were Starmie, Slowpoke, Kadabra, Medicham, and many other Psychic types for her to choose from. Each of them had a slightly different fighting style, and Whitney intended to follow Sabrina's advice and pick out the Pokémon most suitable for her.
Eventually, she picked out Medicham and Xatu, as they were most similar to her Miltank and Noctowl respectively.
Having made her choice, she wandered over to the training fields to get acquainted with her Pokémon. Sabrina followed her; and Whitney was inwardly glad for the familiar presence of her close friend.
She admitted that suddenly finding herself working with the responsibilities of a Gym Trainer scared her a bit. She had never been in a position of authority before, and she was afraid of doing a bad job. She didn't want to disappoint Sabrina or her parents, who were so nice to offer this opportunity to her.
As if sensing her negative emotions, Sabrina patted Whitney on the shoulder and shot her a small reassuring smile.
'You aren't alone, Whitney. I will be there with you, and so will Janine, if only in spirit.' She spoke into her mind.
Whitney shot her friend a reassuring grin, giving her a quick hug for her kind words.
They helped remind her WHY she had come here in the first place. She knew that working as a Gym Trainer for a prestigious Gym (and perhaps two, if Koga lets her join as well) would be great for her experience as a trainer, and she intended to make full use of the opportunity to grow her skills a trainer even further.
But more importantly, the whole reason why she had chosen to work as a Gym Trainer was to spend more time around her friends – to not let the strong bonds that they had forged over their journey falter and break.
In the end, that was what was truly important.
A.N. A short snippet to the start of Whitney's time as a Gym Trainer in the Saffron Gym. She still has plenty to learn, both as a trainer and as a leader – and the time that she spends here with help hone her natural talents. This is just another step for Whitney until she becomes the terror of a Gym Leader we all know her as. Hope you enjoyed!
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