The New Normal – 12-4 – Interlude – Will & Janine
(Will POV)
Making sure that his appearance was as immaculate as ever, he confidently strode into the Goldenrod Gym – the first time that he had done so in many years. The last time he was here, he had fought the Gym Leader as a fresh-faced and naïve challenger. Since then, he had won the Indigo Conference, became an Elite Four, and now he was the Gym Leader.
He had come very far since those old days.
Putting away such nostalgic thoughts for now, he made sure to give the right first impression to the Gym Trainers that had been patiently awaiting for his arrival. He noted that many were giving him measuring looks, even as they bowed to him, as if they were trying to judge his competence.
He smirked inwardly. By the end of the day, he would make sure that they would have nothing to complain about.
"Thank you all for welcoming me here, and for your service to the Gym thus far. It is an honour to be serving as your Gym Leader." He greeted them, and then made a show of shaking everyone's hand, one by one. It was only after the proper formalities were seen to that he continued.
"I understand that things have been quite tumultuous for everyone here, with the constant changing of the Gym Leaders. However, I promise that there shouldn't be any more drastic changes with my appointment, at least not for the worst." He grinned cheekily, "And I deeply look forward to working with you all, especially since I was told that you all were basically running the Gym in the place of your previous Gym Leaders – a splendid effort, if I must say."
He added a touch of flattery at the end, which seemed to work as a small but proud smile spread across a few of the Gym Trainers' faces.
"We understand, Gym Leader Will." The person he recognised was the Head Gym Trainer told him, and he was inwardly very pleased to hear 'Gym Leader' put in front of his name, "Goldenrod has managed to weather the storm of bad leadership, with Lewis too apathetic to care and Jackson caring for little else other than the title."
The Head Gym Trainer's eyes met his, "But we're now hoping that we can truly flourish under yours."
Don't disappoint us like they did, was what was implied but not said aloud. He didn't miss it, and he nodded his head towards the Head Gym Trainer, acknowledging the message.
"I will do my utmost to ensure that this is the case." He stated firmly, "I already have several plans in mind about how we can remove ourselves from this pit of stagnancy that we've found ourselves in. However, before we begin, I'll need a rundown of the current situation."
His Gym Trainers all nodded, and they met up again in his new office (which he really needed to redecorate, this was way too plain and old for someone of his station) where he was given a summary of the Goldenrod Gym's current status.
The good news was that he could instantly tell that his Gym Trainers were all very competent, and they had done a remarkable job of holding the fort down despite the incompetence of their past two Gym Leaders. Most importantly, they had managed to preserve a healthy stock of Gym Pokémon on hand, ensuring that they wouldn't have any problems for the start of the next circuit.
Their competence and diligence was probably helped by the fact that many of his Gym Trainers were long-time locals of Goldenrod, and were determined to ensure that the Gym remained a place of pride for the city itself.
He thanked Arceus that both Lewis and Jackson had not randomly decided to fire such hard-working and effective employees. Which meant that, at the very least, he didn't need to hire a whole new set of Gym Trainers. The current ones could be trusted.
Unfortunately, that was where the good news ended. While the Gym was still balancing the books budget-wise, its reputation had slowly gone down the toilet. And that was further worsened when the dirty laundry of Lewis' shameful eviction and the subsequent and unpopular political appointment of Jackson was aired to the public.
For a Gym that was located in such a prime location, being in one of the most prosperous cities of Johto, it was embarrassing how much of a disappointment it was in comparison.
He frowned; it seemed like he was going to have to put in a lot of work to turn this situation around for the Goldenrod Gym – he couldn't just rely on his existing reputation and appointment to salvage the Gym's reputation. Fortunately for the Gym, he wasn't going to be intimidated by the task ahead of him. His friends in the Elite Four might not like dealing with the minutiae of politics, but he was all too happy to dive into it.
He took out a pen and paper to jot down his thoughts. First things first, he had to meet with the mayor of Goldenrod and establish himself as a trustworthy ally in the joint management of the city. Lewis had stupidly isolated the Gym from the workings of the local council, which Will needed to reverse. That would at least earn some of the confidence back for the Gym and reaffirm some of their political power in local politics and make it easier for any future proposals they made.
Then, he needed to reach out to his usual business contacts to see if there was anyone interested in funding the renovation of the Gym. The Gym didn't actually need renovations, but he knew how important it was to send the right kind of message to the public – that they were dispersing with the old and ushering in the new.
A new and fresh look for the Gym would go a long way to repair their reputation.
He also wrote down a note to host some kind of small tournament in the city, where anyone would be allowed to challenge him to a battle. That was to both remind the world that the Goldenrod Gym was now under new and proactive leadership, and also to prove that he had the strength necessary to be an effective Gym Leader.
The rest of the afternoon disappeared as he coordinated, discussed, and executed these plans with his Gym Trainers. By the time the sun had set, his Gym Trainers were now looking at him with significantly more respect, which reassured Will that he had given off the first impression that he wanted.
However, there was one more thing he wanted to do before he got off work for the day.
"Do you have the number for the Waterflower sisters?" He asked one of his aides, who promptly passed over a number. He quickly dialled them up.
A voice answered, "Hello, this is the Cerulean Gym. You are speaking with Petrel, how may I help you?"
"Nice to meet you Petrel. I'm Gym Leader Will, and I hope I can speak to the Waterflower sisters? I'd like to ask them a few questions about contests." He said.
"Oh? It's an honour Elite — I mean, Gym Leader Will." Petrel corrected himself, "And yes, the girls would love to speak with you. Can I ask what you'd like to talk to them about regarding these contests?"
"Well, you see, I've always had aspirations of being a contest performer." He explained, "And I've been a big fan of theirs for quite some time. Their performances are always very creative and absolutely worth watching. Therefore, I'd like to pick their minds a bit about being a performer and setting up a contest hall, amongst other things."
"Ah, I'm sure they'll be happy to hear that." Petrel chuckled, "Let me just forward your call."
A short moment later, and Will was greeted with the excited voices of all the Waterflower sisters, "Gym Leader Will, it's so nice of you to call! We heard you wanted to talk about contests, so what would you like to know? We'd be happy to talk to you about anything! You know we were actually planning on…"
As he listened to the ecstatic ramblings of the sisters, another smile formed on his face. Yes, being a Gym Leader was a new thing for him, but he was happy to do it.
And he would drag both the Gym and himself to glory. The future ahead of them was bright.
(Janine POV)
"You need to give your father our congratulations!" Whitney said cheerfully to her. "That was such a good battle from him!"
The others nodded in agreement, while she herself beamed with daughterly pride about her father's victory. She had obviously always known that her father was strong, but she had practically screamed her throat hoarse when she watched him fight against Will.
He had put everything that he had taught her to use – finding every advantage that he could to bring down Will. She was especially excited when he went for a risky, but ultimately successful, assassination of Will's Gardevoir with his own Crobat. That was an excellent use of momentum.
She wished she could do what he did some day.
Aside from Whitney, Sabrina and her parents were also here to congratulate her for her father's victory and her resulting ascension to Gym Leader. But more importantly, they were here to make sure said transition to become the new Gym Leader of Fuschia (there would still be a regent, but it was still a 'promotion' for her anyways) was going smoothly.
"I'm sure a celebratory meal can be arranged for that very purpose." Sabrina's mom smiled, "Koga can find the time for it in the future – even if he's busy now. And after that performance, he very much deserves one."
She nodded. Right now her father wasn't here – he was in a meeting with Gym Leader Erika about something. But he had promised her a proper celebration for her 'ascension' sometime soon.
That was just like him to prioritise celebrating her 'achievement' over his own.
"Anyways, that's enough about your father. We can discuss this more when he's here." Samson interrupted, "How are you feeling Janine? I know that this responsibility of being Gym Leader was suddenly placed on you. Koga did say you were prepared, but being prepared and feeling prepared are two different things. Trust me, I'm very familiar with this."
"Father has given me the support necessary to ensure the continued successful management of the Gym." She reassured them, "Although I do not feel like I deserve to be Gym Leader yet, I trust that father's previous assistants will be able to support me."
Next to her, their Head Gym Leader, who had been standing silently until now, performed a short nod in response to her words. Inwardly, she was relieved that he was here to help – he had been at the Gym for as long as father had, and she felt reassured that she had him to lean on if she needed the help.
Not only that, but several of the veteran Gym Trainers here had practically raised her as family alongside her father. She knew that she could trust them.
"Just don't forget that you can always ask for help when you need it." Samson smiled at her, "I'm sure that your father's Gym Trainers will help you through it, but you can always ask us if you need our support as well."
"Thank you for the offer, but I trust that I should be fine." She replied. They proceeded to converse for a bit longer, but eventually a polite cough from the Head Gym Trainer told her that she had to cut the conversation short to attend to her other duties.
She reconvened with all of the Gym Trainers back in 'her' office. Admittedly, it felt weird calling it her office – she still felt it belonged to her father.
However, as she sat down, she could feel the weight of the combined stares and expectations of every Gym Trainer coming her way. Even though she was only technically in charge of the Gym, they still wanted to take her measure – to see if she had the spine and willpower necessary to steer their Gym to further successes.
But even as she felt their expectations weigh down on her, she would not hide away meekly from her responsibilities. She might have taken over the Gym earlier than she had expected, but she had always anticipated and prepared for such a day coming.
So she met those stares with a firm one of her own, her back straightening as she sat confidently in her father's chair.
"Are you ready, Janine?" Her Head Gym Trainer asked her, and she nodded dutifully.
It was time to live up to her father's legacy. It was time to begin her service to Fuschia City.
A.N. I wanted to wrap up most of the new Gym Leaders that were taking up their new places in the world and highlight just how well they're both settling into their new positions. Will is, frankly, rather overqualified for his role, and I hope that showed with how fast he started making plans for the Gym. Likewise, Janine has an excellent support group around her, and she is very much her father's daughter. She won't disappoint. Hope you enjoyed!
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