"To Izumi Taki:
After careful consideration by higher-ups, it has been decided that, effective now, you have been dismissed as Supreme Vice Commander of the Rocket Liberation Army and Commander of the Kantonian Division of the Rocket Liberation Army. We know this will be unfortunate news for you, and we will make every effort to ensure your successor, the current Cerulean Gym Leader, is a worthy one. . ."
It had been a normal day. Her child's sixth birthday was coming up, and it wasn't every day you got to prepare for that. However, this was... much more important. She wouldn't ignore the birthday, of course, but right now, she had to focus on the significance of this letter.
A Taki would no longer be leading Kanto's military operations. The Taki family, known for its impeccable strategy, its ruthlessness, and its ability to keep Cerulean safe and secure even during the worst of wars it had endured throughout the centuries... was no longer in power.
And now a teenage prodigy from the city who only had experience in sport battling was replacing her! How could someone like Misty even be considered as a candidate to command the Kantonian military, much less to replace a seasoned warlord family's natural conclusion?! With Rocket still in the region, even, and Unova stronger than ever, they chose to replace her... it was like they wanted their enemies to win.
Granted, she had lost the gym to Misty, but at the time, that had seemed to be a wonderful opportunity to focus on Liberation duties. And yet because of that, her training under her parents that had made her the stellar military commander she was... was just tossed to the wayside.
There was clearly one solution: Retake the Cerulean Gym and retake the command of Kanto. The problem with that was, they already considered her disqualified, and Misty had been unusually powerful as a gym challenger. So powerful that it was suspicious...
She hadn't wanted to subject Hogoki to the wartime conditioning she had endured, especially not in an era of peace... but if it had to happen for a Taki to be in control of Kanto's defense, she would be forced to do that. Maybe some of that Alolan creativity would make him strong enough to succeed.
Now, it started with retaking the gym... and battle training with a starter early-on would be the best way to begin that.
So it was time to head to the gym after a quick family meeting. Hogoki would love to be with the Pokémon there, anyway.