Chapter 93: Dealing with (Ab)normality

Turo was typing away on a laptop while sitting alone in the Zero Lab, he typed fervently. Each time his fingers touched the laptop's keyboard, the sound echoed across the entire lab room, which was too dark for any machinery to be seen. As soon as the sound of an automatic door opened, the lights went on. Turo didn't turn around as Sada approached him from behind.

"It must be difficult, making notes of what is going on as it's happening," Sada said, crossing her arms.

"Two days have passed," Turo said, not once looking away from his laptop. "A whole two days- and Kai has managed to obtain Seven Gym badges. We must take notes in the event that everything goes wrong. The rate of which he is achieving his goals has raised his chances of winning in the final battle by a whole 5 percent. Despite this, I am still worried. Recall that on the 4000th attempt, Kai had gained a whole extra 10 percent chance of winning against Aeon, yet he still lost. Which is all the more reason to take notes when- erm...if...Kai loses."

"It is very easy to say when," Sada said. "So long as Aeon still exists, the children's chances of survival are astronomically low. It is a fair assumption to say when he'll lose, not if."

"This level of anxiety that I feel…it may be because the future is uncertain," Turo said. "It is like something within me is telling me that we may never find a timeline as successful as this one ever again."

"What?"

"Think of it. This is the fastest Kai has ever grown in any timeline. We may be able to recreate what happens in this timeline, but there are too many hidden variables we do not know about. We may never be able to replicate this timeline as perfectly as it is arranged now."

Sada crossed her arms. Turo had a point. Arranging these timelines was troublesome. It was like attempting to create a replica of a house of cards. If one didn't know how to set up the bottom half of the cards, then the entire house of cards could never finish. There were things that they didn't understand the cause of, like how Penny could have unknowingly awakened to Flow- there were many things at work that Turo and Sada could never understand.

Sada lowered her head and clenched her fists. She was finally beginning to feel the anxiety that had gripped Turo from before. She wondered why she hadn't seen this sooner- perhaps it was because her creator was so transfixed with the past that she too, had put her faith in the past.

….The past. Sada thought. So long as they could return to the past, they still had time to figure everything out. She nodded to herself in affirmation.

"Perhaps you're right," Sada said. "But, the best we can do now is create as many notes as we can, and then learn as much as we can. We have all the time in the world to theorize what had happened to cause this timeline to occur as it is now."

"You are right." Turo said. "That... is correct."

Sada turned away as Turo continued to type. She felt anxiety tugging at the back of her mind. That last comment she made was to calm Turo down, but it hadn't calmed Sada herself. Turo may have been correct- and if he was...this timeline may be their best chance to set things right.

"Turo," Sada said, "Perhaps we should think of ways to turn that 'when' into an 'if'... regarding on this Kai's chances of winning."

"Hm?" Turo stopped talking. "Haven't you said that as long as we learn as much as we can-"

"I did say that," Sada interrupted, But relying on the past is proving to be... and pardon me for my hesitation...un...unreliable." Sada paused. "...Because we do not know the cause of the anomaly that created this timeline...it makes this timeline one of a kind. We should be thinking of the timeline's future and how to manipulate it- which is your specialty."

"That is why I am feeling anxious as well. The future is starting to become unpredictable with the way the timeline is. We can ask Geeta to make Kai's battles as difficult as possible. However, Geeta already understands the gravity of the situation, her life as she knows it is on the line, and she already is working on making Kai's journey to becoming a Champion-ranked trainer very difficult. Any other decisions we might make may tug the timeline toward absolute ruin."

Turo and Sada went silent.

"...All we can do is rely on all of them to do this right," Turo and Sada said.

For the first time, neither of them had an answer. For the first time, neither of them could rely on the past or the future. They had to rely on the present.

His name was Larry. The Normal Type Gym Leader.

Everything about him was normal. He had a normal 9-to-5 job. He always went to sleep at the same time and always woke up at the same time. He had on a suit and tie, and had a briefcase in his hand.

And now, it was lunch time. he sat in the same chair in the same restaurant he frequented. The seat he selected was in front of the same chef that he went to every day, and it was crowded like it always was.

"I'll have the usual," Larry said. He had a monotone voice and kept that tone no matter what the context. He could be told that he won a million dollars, and he'd still have the same monotone voice when he'd exclaim, 'yaayy…'

"You always have the usual, Larry," the chef said. "Don't you want something different today?"

"The usual is fine," Larry said with a sigh.

"Okay- I mean, I'm just saying, the new soup that we have is-"

"The usual is fine," Larry said again. The chef sighed.

"All right, suit yourself." The chef said.

This would be the part of his day where he'd lick his lips in anticipation of his meal. And he did, not enough for anyone to notice him doing, but enough for Larry himself to acknowledge that he had done it. He took in a breath through his nose and waited patiently. This would be the part of his day when he'd listen in to the conversations around him.

As he closed his eyes and prepared to listen- the sound of a door slamming open alerted everyone in the crowd. Everyone looked over, and Larry saw a boy with purple curly hair and a confident grin on his face.

"Kai, did you really have to slam open the door?" A girl with glasses spoke.

"Yeah- it's my grand entrance. Of course, I have to slam open the door, it's my thing."

"Since when has that been your thing?" A taller boy with long hair said.

"Since I just came up with it!"

"You've come up with better, if I'm being honest." A boy with white hair and a winter coat said.

"Et tu, Aeon?" Kai said, swinging his head to the boy with white hair. "I thought you were my biggest fan!"

"I am, and always will be," The boy named Aeon said. "But busting open the door like that wasn't a great call in a restaurant of all places- we've got people looking at us, now."

"Hey- the attention is fine! That's what we want! Anyway- bring out the pom-poms I got you guys."

"I told you; I'd rather jump into a pool of lava than use those pom-poms," The glasses-girl said.

"I said I'd rather eat the world's spiciest food without a drop of milk." The long-haired boy said.

Aeon pulled out blue pom-poms from his jacket pockets. "Go…Kai." Aeon did a tiny pose, raising one arm and leg up. "Yeah, no, I can't do this." Aeon tossed the pom-poms onto the ground.

"Hey! I paid good money for those!" The purple haired boy named Kai said.

"You really should have asked us if we wanted to do that before buying the pom-poms." The glasses-girl said. "Besides, you shouldn't yell so loud. There's people eating here."

"Agreed," The long-haired boy said. "Not many of em' are paying us any mind anymore, thankfully…"

"Aeon- pleaaaaaaaaase- can you pleaaaaaaaaase use the pom-poms?" Kai began batting his eyes and giving the best puppy-dog face he could manage. Aeon groaned and picked up the pom-poms again and began doing a little dance.

"...Kai-Kai…he's our man… if he can't do it, no one can… gooooo… Kai." Aeon said with a sigh.

"You need more energy! You gotta put your heart and soul into it!"

Aeon grumbled.

"PLEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASE?" Kai used his puppy-dog face again, and Aeon looked away. Kai moved and followed his face so that Aeon couldn't look away from him, and after a while, Aeon groaned in defeat and begrudgingly picked up the pom-poms he let fall onto the ground.

"Kai- Kai- he's our man! iF he can't do it... no one can! Gooooo Kai!" Aeon shouted.

"Thank you thank you thank you- you're the beeeeeeest!" Kai hugged Aeon, and Aeon rolled his eyes. Then, Kai kissed Aeon's cheek. "MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMWAH-" Kai said before pulling away. Aeon began blushing despite his annoyed look. "I love youuu!" Kai cried.

Aeon sighed one more time. "I love you too," he said.

"They're both each other's kryptonite. It's hilarious." The long-haired boy said.

"Aeon's a Tsundere, isn't he?" The glasses-girl said, bending her pointer finger and putting it over her lower lip. "No, wait, maybe he's a Kuudere."

"A tsunde-what?" The long-haired boy said. "Kuu…what now?"

"It's an anime thing, you wouldn't get it."

"No-no-no-no. Tell me. I wanna know."

"Okay. Well, a Tsundere is a term used for an anime character who seems really mean at first but then eventually shows a softer side to their love interest. I thought Aeon was one, but after thinking on it I thought that maybe he's more of a Kuudere- a term used for anime characters who seem emotionless at first but then when around their loved ones they show a lot of affection-"

"PFFF-" The long-haired boy began laughing. The glasses-girl began blushing with embarrassment.

"What- was it what I said?!" the girl said.

"No- it's just- you have no idea how accurate that Kuudere thing is with Aeon. Ohhh- you should have seen him when we first met him."

"Oh…" The girl sighed with relief.

"Larry, your food's ready."

Larry's eyes widened slightly as he turned to his tray, which was filled with food. Grilled Rice balls with a medium serving. Cooked extra crispy, Fire Blast style and garnished with lemon. His usual order. He always did listen in to conversations to pass the time while waiting for his food, and nothing really changed, minus the whole barging-in-thing with that boy named Kai.

Larry hated it when things weren't normal.

"Thank you very much," Larry said, nodding his head to the chef.

"Enjoy-" The chef said with a smile.

Larry began eating his food.

"Okay- so where IS this gym leader guy?" Kai said. "He's gotta be here somewhere."

"You have his picture, right?" The boy named Aeon asked.

Larry continued eating as usual, not even once attempting to hurry himself despite hearing that his challenger was inching closer to him.

"Where is this guy… there's so many people.." The long haired boy said.

"Let's just keep looking- he's gotta be here somewhere…" The glasses-girl said.

Larry wiped crumbs of rice from his mouth with a napkin.

"Wait- is that him?" The boy named Kai said. Larry didn't flinch, even as the purple haired boy approached him from the side. "Wait- he's eating. Maybe we should come back late-

Larry raised a finger to the boy as he took a drink of water from his cup. After swallowing, Larry put the cup down.

"You're a challenger, aren't you?" Larry said, turning to Kai.

"Uh…yeah."

"I understand. I'm on my lunch break, so I won't battle you just yet. I will tell you the major gimmick of this Gym."

Kai smiled. There was a glimmer of confidence in the boy's eyes.

"Before you say it, I'm just going to say this: It doesn't matter what you throw at me, I'm going to win. It's not a matter of if, only when. I beat soooo many Gym leaders-" Kai said, "I beat the ghost-type specialist Ryme with that whole have-a-rap-battle-while-having-a-battle gimmick. I beat the psychic type specialist Tulip with her fashion-show gimmick where I had to beat her in a Pokémon contest." Kai smirked confidently and crossed his arms. "I could go on."

"Quaquaval had to carry you through that Pokémon contest, though," The glasses-girl said.

Kai spun around and pouted.

"I remember that zinger Ryme said to you," The long haired boy said. He cleared his throat. "Your rap game is lame- this ain't your habitat! When I heard you spit that bar I thought, 'did you google that'?

The short haired girl started snickering. "I loved that line!" She cried.

"Right?! I really thought Kai was done for when I heard that line."

"I remember when Arven started laughing at that line so hard that you went on the floor," Aeon said.

"Yeah, we had to comfort Kai after that, though," The girl with glasses said. "...and help him come up with a strategy-"

"You guys are the WORST. HYPE SQUAD. EVER." Kai roared.

"Okay, okay, fine. You DID do really well on the other gym battles." The smiling tall boy said.

"You beat a lot of gym battles on your first try." The eevee-coat wearing girl said. "And you're honestly the strongest trainer I know."

"Yeah, I have to agree, Kai is really strong," Arven said.

"...Goooooooo Kai!" Aeon cried, pulling out the pom poms and doing a little dance. Kai smiled.

"Better!" He cried, putting his hands on his hips and smiling proudly. "Now do you see? There's absolutely nothing I can't deal with! Go on- tell me what your gimmick is." Kai shrugged and closed his eyes. "I'll just tera-fuse with the Pokémon I choose, and slam dunk you and get my last Gym ba-"

"There will be no Tera fusion in our battle. Our battle will be a normal, traditional Pokémon battle."

Kai opened his eyes wide. Larry was certain that Kai could hear the sound of glass breaking in his mind. Kai remained utterly still, much to everyone's surprise.

"...Kai?" Aeon asked.

Kai didn't respond.

"Uh….Kai?" The boy named Arven said.

"Ka-"

Before the girl with glasses could speak, Kai fell onto the floor.

"Aaaand he's out," Arven said.

"...Well.." The girl with red and platinum hair said. "Not picking him up, 1-2-3 NOT IT!"

"NOT IT!" Arven cried.

Arven and the shorter girl turned to Aeon.

"What?" Aeon said. "I want to pick him up."

"It's no fun if you don't play along," Arven said.

"If I did play, I'd lose my chance of picking Kai up and having him close to me," Aeon said, crouching and picking Kai up like a bride. Aeon rubbed his cheek against Kai's face and giggled.

"Aeon is completely Kai-crazy." Arven said.

"All right- let's get our Ace Trainer to a Pokecenter." The young girl said.

Larry watched the four of them leave.

"...Geeta did say that this gimmick was part of a punchline," Larry muttered.

"What was that?" The chef behind the table said.

"Nothing," Larry said. Then, he continued to eat.

Author's note: I'm happy we've finally gotten to the part with Larry- Larry's my favorite gym leader!