Hard Enough - Chapter 113 - The Pewter Auction (Patreon)

I tapped on the favourites button on my transceiver and gave a giant smile when Celia answered on the first ringtone. “Celia! Good to see you!”

“Brock! I’m in Verdanturf town!” Celia said, grinning back at me.

“Good to know! How has your journey been so far?”

“Great! I was abe to capture a Tropius that likes to be called Tropo! And I also made friends with a feisty little Trapinch that I call Nipper! I have also sent the stable part of the Gym a Skitty that I haven’t got a name for, and a Nosepass that I call Sneezer! ”

“Oh wow! I’m going to have to look into those pokemon. I hadn’t seen them come through!” I said in surprise, turning to my computer to see that they’d only just been caught the day before. I blinked and tilted my head. “You only caught them last night?”

Celia coughed and I narrowed my eyes at her. “Celia, what have you been doing for the last three weeks?”

“Oh, seeing the sights! Wandering the routes! I got three of my badges for this circuit so far!”

I hummed and clicked onto her trainer profile. “It says here that you only got your third badge yesterday as well…” I laced my fingers and watched her pointedly, not saying a word. She fidgeted and twitched before slumping.

“I went to the Hoenn desert to find some fossils for you!” she confessed.

I sighed. “Celia, that was something I gave you that wasn’t meant to be rushed towards. It otherwise ruins the journey. Take your time going places.” I gave her a look. “You didn’t rush to Fallabor Town as well did you? I remember mentioning that to you.”

“I was… thinking of working my way around to there via Rustboro… But I was also sorta toying with the idea of learning to fly with Tropo. He’s big enough to carry me after all.”

I hummed. “Well, that sounds alright. Take your time with these things. The Hoenn desert is otherwise a gruelling place. I assume you took the necessary precautions.”

“I took lots of water and mostly only moved around in the evenings. I set Lizzie and Stomper to guard duty during the day.” She perked up as she remembered something. “Oh! I was able to get Stomper to evolve! He did it when he was wrestling a pair of graveler and they took a tumble down a large hill near the Hoenn Desert! He emerged the winner and then he evolved.”

“Huh,” I said, impressed. “Did you set him up for that, cause rememebr that’s how I—”

“Yeah! You told me that’s how they evolve in the wild! Well it worked and… not really actually. I hadn’t been trying for it and it’s one of the reasons I stopped searching around the desert. I realised I needed to give him some time. Brock I was thinking of sending back Trumpet and Nipper for a little bit. I want my Skitty and Hime to compete in the local contest that will be happening in the next few days.”

That got a more heartfelt smile from me. “Sounds good!”

She grinned. “I’ll have them holding some things, oh! And check what my Skitty has as well! You’ll be amazed!” she wiggled on screen as I brought up her pokemon on screen before having it transported from storage to my office through an internal porting system. It appeared with a flash in the small pokeball receptacle and I held up the pokeball with a cute picture of a kitty cat with whiskers on the front.

Celia coughed “I don’t have any stickers for a skitty!” she said defensively.

I moved to a small button on the side of the main pokemon that integrated an item for certain pokemon to ‘hold’ through an energy mechanism I barely understood but that worked much like the games. By pressing on it I signalled I wanted to retrieve the held item. A ping appeared on Celia’s transceiver, and the video feed shifted as she pressed some buttons to allow the item to be released.

“Oops! Sorry, need to register you as a party that can take and give things to my pokemon!” She did so and a second later a large stone appeared on the desk. I picked it up and was about to ask the obvious question only to pause when I spotted the claw that was embedded into it.

“This is a fossil? You found one?” I asked in surprise.

“Yup! Praise me! I found that fossil and a few others!”

“Really? How many did you find?” I said looking up from her fossil to Celia who was puffing her chest out and rubbing her nose.

She wilted a little. “Only four of them…”

“Four is very impressive! I didn’t find any in the Hoenn desert! I’ve only ever found three. Also, the only fossils I’ve found have been in Mt Moon, and that’s with the help of the local pokemon.”

“Urgh! The Hoenn desert pokemon were mostly Trapinich and only Nipper was nice! The rest were soooooooo annoying!”

I chuckled, “What fossils did you find?”

She reached into her bag and drew out the other three she had on her. “I have one that looks like… an orb?”

“That’s a skull,” I said, causing her to shriek and push the skull fossil to the side. She wiped her hands and shuddered before grabbing another up.

“I also have this one that looks like a plant,” she said, showing me another root fossil. I nodded and out of sight, I crossed my fingers. There was a very specific pokemon fossil that I would love to have but that shouldn’t be found until Kalos but surely with ancient fossils that wouldn’t hold true. Come on, jaw fossil!

“And this one that looks like a shell!” said Celia.

I carefully kept my expression happy, and didn’t showcase any of my disappointment. Honestly, Celia’s discovery was huge. “Great work Ceila! That’s a Cover fossil,” I said. On second thought, with my current team, I was best set up for a Tirtouga, as the water type would slot in well. That along with Anorith and Cranidos would be amazing pokemon to have.

Then I pinched myself. “Did you want the pokemon that will be resurrected from the fossils?” I said. It was only right that she, having been the one to find the fossils, should get the first call on them.

“Oh… don’t you want them?” she said.

I chuckled. “No, I want them quite a lot. With these pokemon I will have a fairly diverse menagerie of pokemon that are Ancient. Perhaps even the most around…” I said to myself before smirking. “Speaking of which how would you like to train one of the newest ancient pokemon we have? Crowley, my fossil guy, has been very successful with the root fossil and one fossil like you have there can typically create twenty pokemon at least. Want a Lileep on your team?”

“Sure, I guess?” she said. “What are they like?”

“Surprisingly strong, they have a really diverse set of moves, but try your hand at it and we’ll see how you go. I’m thinking of training one up for my Elite team.” That had her eyes widening and her head nodding a second later.

“Oh, then yeah! If you think they have that much—”

“Any pokemon has the potential if they have the drive, remember?” I said, making her nod contritely.  I offered my hand up on the video call. “So, did you want any of the fossils for your team?”

Celia chewed her lip before shaking her head. “No, that was something I did as a Trainer of the Pewter City Gym!” I could hear the capitalisation of the words which just said how proud she was of being a trainer representing the gym, didn’t it?

“Heh, you’re easily my favourite trainer that I’ve taken on,” I said, which made her practically gain wings as she lifted off the ground in pride.

“Hehe! I’m so telling Jackson you said that!”

“Go right ahead, but if you mention it to this year’s crop of trainers they might take it as a taunt. Mia is very passionate.”

“And the other full sponsorship trainer?”

“Humphrey? He’s a very insightful trainer, and I think he’s made a lot of connections on how to raise and put together a strong team. He has a Nuzleaf on his team now along with his Aron and he’s sought out a Magikarp as well,” I said, pointing out the stand out pokemon on his team. “I think I’ll need to mention some other options for pokemon that have utility such as a flying type, for later but then again, most people make do.”

There was a lull for a moment before I turned to the other topic I should check in on. It wasn’t just her growth as a trainer that I needed to check in on. “How are things going in Hoenn, making friends?”

“Feh! There are mostly only little kids or older trainers running around. A lot of the kids my age are apparently over in Kanto! … There have been a few girls but they got a bit snooty with me when I mentioned I’ve never taken part in a pokemon contest before.”

“Well they sound like…” I rethought what I wanted to say and sighed. “Well, you’re probably better off without those girls. Don’t let their words sour you to something new, or that Hoenn people are all like that. Some can be the friendliest around.”

“I spoke with a nice Ranger team during my stay in the desert. They were super surprised that I wanted to stay in the desert and that I had my campsite so well put together!” she said with a huge smile.

I chuckled and settled in to listen to everything that she’d experienced. Due to most of her time being spent in the desert it was a fairly short retelling.

When it was my turn to share what I’d been up to I sighed and gestured for her to sit down. “Well, a lot has happened since you’ve been gone,” I said to start things off. I relayed everything that had been going on, and she was quick to snarl when she learnt that Daniel had been a plant.

When she calmed down, I hummed. “Celia, I can’t say a lot, but it turns out that he wasn’t just a plant for me. He was from an organisation in your neck of the woods, so you need to be careful if a criminal element approaches you. There are two groups in Hoenn, Team Magma, and Team Aqua. From the research I’ve been able to do, they are people that were part of the old war for various divisions that formed their own splinter groups rather than disbanding.”

“Oh, alright.” She nodded easily. “I’ll make sure to be extra careful with anyone that seems shifty.”

“Alright, I wish I could say you can just relax, but I thought I better mention it to you while I have you on the line. I’m glad to hear from you. What’re you up to for the rest of the day?”

She rattled off her itinerary, and I nodded. When she asked the same question of me I smiled.

“I’ve got an auction to run,” I replied. And I was expecting a lot of people to show up with what was on offer.

______________________________

“Welcome!” boomed Rachel through the speaker system.

“Today, we’ve added a number of pokemon to the Pewter Gym auction beyond the usual fare! In these last two months a number of these pokemon have seen a lot more combat than typical so expect stronger pokemon than usual up for grabs!” Rachel expertly twirled a cane around like a true showman while waving to the crowd sitting in the stands.

I’d had the arena itself closed off to make it level with the seating and placed a small platform up so that we could stand in front of the crowd to perform the auction.

Rachel was acting as the frontwoman, hyping up the crowd while teasing some of the pokemon that we would be releasing to the public. “Today we have a wonderful line up of pokemon such as the typical Geodude line with Graveler, and a single Golem! We also have a single variant of the electric typing up for sale today! Look forward to that!”

In truth, a few had already been allocated towards the Rangers with three Alolan Geodude being sent off at a set rate. The police also had a trio of Aron that were more suited to other duties than battling right now.

Jackson had made a quick trip down to the Orange islands and returned empty-handed sadly with the Onix in the crystal caves not laying any eggs. Bianca had gone with him and made a lot of recommendations, along with lots of photos. She had gained a lot of insight into the crystal Onix’s habitat from staying for a few days in the caverns. She was going to go back soon with some other adjustments and supplements to improve the odds of more Crystal Onix being bred.

I was disappointed that I didn’t have another Crystal Onix for sale, but wasn’t too bothered by it. I had other options.

I glanced over the crowd from the trainer area at the back. The entire crowd, albeit a much larger group than usual, was watching Rachel praise various pokemon and upsell how they'd make great pokemon for any team.

Greta, Missy, and Dennis were all on stage in Gym uniforms, with a number of pokeballs laid out and clearly marked. Alexa was off to the side, handling payments for those that won the bidding on a pokemon.

“—next pokemon is an Onix with an interesting pool of moves! This Onix was used to showcase a number of Pewter’s newest Gym trainers how to teach moves, marking it as highly intelligent.” A pokeball was popped and Onix appeared with a roar before it settled down at Missy’s smile.

Rachel beamed at the crowd. “This Onix knows the moves Dragon Breath, Rock Throw, Iron Tail, and Rock Polish as its most powerful moves. It of course knows Dig and Bide having trained at the Pewter Gym as well!”

“One point four thousand!” said one man, raising his paddle to show his number. A few officials we’d hired for this auction dutifully noted down the number, and from there, Onix’s bidding began.

One of the staff members that we’d hired stepped up to a podium and pointed. When he spoke he did so with rapidfire mashing of words that made every rush into the crowd's ears and had them leaning forward in anticipation “Onepointfour, I hear onepointfour going once!”

“One seven!” cried another voice and a true battle was on as two trainers locked eyes with paddles in hand.

Eventually, Onix sold for six thousand, two hundred pokedollars, with the winning bidder happily claiming his prize.

“Hahaha! Prepare to suck it Lt. Surge!” he shouted as he transferred the money and claimed his pokeball. He then lifted the pokeball with a wild look in his eyes, as though to release Onix right then and there. I got the mental image that he was going to ride Onix to Vermillion to smash in Surge’s doors and demand a fight.

Alexa coughed politely and gestured to a sign that the auction staff had set up earlier. The first point read;

Please keep your auction prize in its pokeball inside the facility. You may release it outside! Thank you for your understanding!

The man laughed sheepishly before darting outside to continue his plan of riding Onix into the sunset.

Another pokemon was raised up, and Rachel described it before the auctioneer took over.

When we reached the alolan geodude, the only one that would be on sale at today’s auction, a new voice announced itself.

“Ten thousand,” said a familiar voice.

I looked down and sure enough, Steven Stone had entered and claimed a seat. There was a sizable gap around him while some people moved. Had he had an entourage claim the seats for him in advance, or had he paid off the people sitting around him? I’d probably have to watch the security playback to work out what he’d done. No one seemed put out, so there wasn’t any need to talk with him.

The auctioneer expertly handled Steven Stone’s appearance and restarted the bidding.

“Tenthousand, do I hear an eleven—”

“Eleven thousand! Gary Oak is in the building!” shouted Gary as he kicked open my doors. I shot him a less than amused look and he ducked his head and moved into a section of seating with Mia of all people. She waved and ran up to me.

“Hi Brock! I made a friend and thought I’d double back around for a little bit! I bumped into Gary in Celadon after I got my third Gym badge and he and his… girlfriends,” she said with a roll of her eyes, “offered to drive me and Silly Mouse back.

“How is Silly Mouse?” I asked looking around for her Raticate. I’d been surprised to learn about her friendship/rivalry with Gary of all people, but it made a lot of sense that they’d bond. Gary, if you could see through his first impressions, had good intentions, and was actually a good friend to have.

“Rati!” said Silly Mouse from behind me with a smug wiggle of his whiskers.

“Nice work sneaking up here,” I said, amused at their antics. Ever since they’d gone to Janine for their third badge, they’d been trying to sneak up on things. It would make for an interesting show to have Sabrina, Erika, and the others as their fourth or greater badges, but I didn’t doubt that Mia would be able to handle the pressure they’d send her way.

The bidding continued, with Gary and Steven Stone trading back and forth for a while before Steven Stone huffed. “Eighty thousand pokedollars!” he said with an air of finality.

I whistled. The previous bid had only been thirty-six thousand so for him to double it was a pretty big flex.

The auctioneer looked to Gary who was grimacing and checking his transceiver. “I’d like to remind bidders that this is a rare opportunity for anyone looking to claim a rare variant geodude! This Geodude comes from a line of pokemon who’s sire was able to knock out champion level pokemon and lay the groundwork for Brock’s victory! This is what you’re bidding for!”

Gary’s expression hardened. “Eighty five—”

“One hundred!” barked Steven before Gary could get the words out fully. The auctioneer did a quick one two from Gary to Steven before raising the bid.

I hummed. “Bad luck Gary,” I said.

Mia rolled her eyes. “Nah, Steven Stone just challenged him. I think he’s going to try and show off now.”

“One hundred and sixty!” Gary shouted, standing to raise his paddle.

“He’s such a dumb rich kid,” said Mia with a giggle.

“There is a difference between a rich child and one of the richest men in the world, however,” said Sabrina as she teleported to my side with her Ralts sitting in her lap. It nuzzled into her and glanced over at me before huddling further into Sabrina. A single eye smugly stared out at me. I wanted to chuckle at the childish display Ralts was putting on.

“I’m surprised he’s even here, bidding honestly,” I said. “I would have thought he would have had someone else do it for him, or he would have tried to cut a deal.”

Mia tilted her head. “He can do that?” she said as she scratched Silly Mouse under the chin.

“Nothing against it, he could have just nominated a representative.”

Sabrina considered the man, and for a moment Steven Stone faltered as he raised the bid, he glanced up at us and nodded once in our direction before returning to bidding.

“He has an impressive mind. He has a not inconsiderable degree of psychic power, but I believe that is due to his starter being Metagross… and potentially more,” she said, alluding to Steven’s documented mega-evolution.

Mia tilted her head, unsure of what we were referencing. I shook my head. “Not something you need to worry about at this stage. I’ll address it in a few months' time.”

Steven looked like he was about to wrap things up when the doors banged open once more and a trio of trainers barged in.

“I raise!” shouted one girl who I instantly recognised. How could I not recognise Roxanne when I’d marked her profile as one to watch. Especially when she arrived with Flannery, and Brawly.

“The bid is now four hundred thousand and one!” announced the Auctioneer.

Flannery shot straight upright. “SAY WHAT?! ROXANNE?! WHAT DID YOU DO?”

Roxanne herself looked a bit startled, and I chuckled as she realised how late into the bidding war she’d entered. She coughed and set her stance however. “What’s done is done!”

“We’ve got your back Roxy!” said Brawly, putting a hand on her shoulder and nodding.

Flannery whipped her head around. “The Slugma shit we do!?”

Roxanne’s smile got a little waxy, and her face paled as the auctioneer reached the second call and it was apparent she was sweating bullets.

Gary chuckled, “I can see the Lady needs a hand, and I think I can do just that!” Four-fifty!” he said with a fake smile.

Roxanne exhaled in relief, and Brawly gave Gary a quick nod before they claimed a section of seating. Gary turned and laced his fingers. I could just make out that he was bouncing his knee and that he was sweating. Hmmm, so he’d saved her to show off, but really, really shouldn’t have?

Oh Gary, you’re so young. His cheer squad raised their pom poms and made a cheer for him, which only made him lean into his pose more. I could just see him thinking. ‘This is fine! This is fine… oh biscuits, Gramps is going to be mad at me!’

Steven must have gotten annoyed with the cheer girls loudly proclaiming Gary the most heroic, or he hated losing a bid like this. “Five hundred thousand!!” he announced, and there was a stir from the crowd.

The auctioneer happily ran through the three calls before glancing pointedly at the doorways. The crowd turned in their seats apparently expecting another late save. Steven huffed in annoyance before the auctioneer shrugged and slammed the gavel down.

“AND SOLD TO THE GENTLEMAN HERE! Please come claim your pokemon!”

Instead of going himself, a man in a black suit, tie, and glasses arose from the mass that surrounded Steven to acquire the pokeball in question. The man handed the Geodude’s pokeball to Steven who turned it over in his hands before pocketing it, a pleased look on his face.

He then offered Gary and Roxanne stiff nods.

The return to the more normal pokemon was almost lacklustre in comparison with much lower numbers being bid. Interestingly Gary made sure to keep his pokedex out and assess each pokemon that was put on display. He ended up bidding on a Rhyhorn, only for Mia to enter the bidding with a cheeky smile. Gary shot her a look only to up the bid and for her to wave off, finding the bid too rich for her. And with that, Gary was the proud owner of a Rhyhorn.

Then it came to the final part of the event, and the auctioneer grinned, only for Rachel to claim the microphone. She must have been getting jealous of the time that he was getting, as she quickly announced the final draw.

“And to wrap things up today, ladies and gentlemen, we have an exciting, first-off auction! If you’ve been paying any attention to the Pewter Gym matches on the pokenet you will know! A new Ancient pokemon is now being featured! Today I have the pleasure, nah! The PRIVILEGE! Of announcing that we have not one, not two, but three newly resurrected Lileep up for grabs!”

The auctioneer wrestled the microphone back. “WE will now begin bidding at—”

“Five hundred thousand,” Steven Stone said before the man could finish. The crowd gasped and the auctioneer used Rachel’s shock to bump her to the side and claim the entire podium for himself.

“An outstanding first bid from our—”

“Seven hundred,” said a soft voice that had me blinking in surprise.

“Erika’s here?” I said. “Why didn’t she come and say hello?”

Sabrina raised a hand and waved with just her fingers to the now-revealed Erika who was standing from a group of ladies that had been happily enjoying themselves. They all looked highly interested in the outcome of this auction.

Erika turned and bowed politely to Steven, but she made sure to maintain eye contact.

I chuckled. “Is she…?” I said in shock.

“Yes,” Sabrina said simply. “She is going to fight Steven for the Lileep.”

“But I already gave her eight to establish a breeding group with?” I said quietly.

Sabrina nodded, and her eyes glowed. I was about to ask what she thought she was doing before Erika jolted and glanced around, only to look up towards us and give Sabrina a bemused expression. Sabrina repeated her finger wiggle, and Erika mirrored it, but then she raised her kimono sleeve to her mouth.

Sabrina tilted her head. “She’s buying for herself and for the girls… they are all putting in money and it will be something they earn.”

“They’re pooling their money? Oh, that’s—”

“A substantial sum. They are all the daughters and nieces or granddaughters of various CEO’s, CFO’s or wealthy capitalists themselves through inheritance. It is also not the only option they have for themselves.”

I blinked. “Oh.” I so often forgot that Erika was the best connected of any of us, possibly even beyond Giovanni.

Steven sat back. “One million,” he said easily.

“One point two,” Erika said without missing a beat, the crowd had just barely gotten a chance to gasp in shock before, were now shouting in surprise.

Steven sat up and turned, acknowledging Erika properly. He rubbed his chin in thought before raising his paddle again. “One point five.”

“One point seven.” Erika held his gaze, suddenly she was like the oak, immovable and ancient.

Steven considered her again and nodded, content to sit this out. The auctioneer checked the others in the crowd, and while Roxanne looked conflicted, she didn’t raise her paddle.

When one of the Celadon lasses skipped up to claim the lileep’s pokeball there was some applause with Erika bowing to everyone. Then she locked eyes with Steven again and he narrowed his.

“She’s going after all of them?” I asked incredulously.

Sabrina nodded and patted Ralts’ head causing her to trill happily. “She is, yes.”

I watched in shock as Erika led the next auction with a one million bid out of the gates. This time Steven forced her to two million. When she didn’t bat an eye at this he settled with a defiant look in his eyes for the last bid.

Rachel body-checked the auctioneer to get the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen! This is our last pokemon up for auction today! I’d like to thank you all for your patience! This Lileep was given a little extra training with the investment of some TM’s to let it learn Sunny Day, Solar Beam, Sandstorm! It also knows Ancient Power! This is the last pokemon up for auction! Good luck!” She then hopped to the side as the auctioneer made a move to claim his spot back only for her movement to make him overcommit and almost stumble.

He ducked into a bow and gathered himself well. “Thank you for this experience!” he said with a charming smile while a few people that had obviously been paying attention to his and Rachel’s antics tittered and clapped as though it were a comedy.

“Let’s start the bidding!”

“One point seven!” shouted Roxanne out of nowhere.

Both Erika and Steven gave her a short, unimpressed look, which she wilted away from. Flannery grabbed her friend by the collar and dragged her down before furiously whispering into her ear, which had Roxanne curling up.

Erika and Steven returned to eyeing each other.

One of the girls in Erika’s group stood up and sauntered over to Steven’s group. Two men in suits rose and raised their hands to her but she merely started talking with them in a friendly way.

I quickly lost interest in her as Steven set the bidding at two million out of the gates. Erika made a show of thinking it over. The crowd leaned in, and I found myself watching her for any tells.

I never would have thought to see Erika, the usually most flappable of my friends, so in control of herself. She gave Steven an amused smile. “Two point five,” she said before sitting down and turning to another girl to talk with her.

I frowned. I could almost feel the palpable confusion rippling through the crowd at Erika sitting down and not staring Steven down. It almost went against the plot that had been developing.

My eyes swiveled to Steven only to find him sitting with a neutral expression as the girl from earlier cuddled up into his arm.

“Wait! How did she get through his guard detail?!” Mia said in shock, giving voice to what everyone was thinking.

Sabrina hummed. “She gave the guards her father’s business card and then told Steven who she was. She said she’d talk with her daddy if Steven didn’t be a gentleman and treat her properly.”

I blinked and Mia turned to gape at Sabrina. “What?”

“That is what the girl said,” Sabrina explained. I nodded slowly, still weirded out by Sabrina so candidly talk about someone’s daddy in her flat neutral tone. Mia still looked confused.

“Who’s her father?” I asked.

“He owns the mining rights to the eastern mountains above Cerulean cape that has since been discovered to lead into Fiore.”

“Where?” Mia said, confused by all this information.

Sabrina turned her head. “Forget I said that.”

Silly Mouse and Mia stiffened in fear but I coughed. I reached over and put a hand on top of Sabrina’s. “She’s joking,” I said happily. But then gave a serious expression, saying, “It’s going to be announced soon, so keep it to yourself though.”

Silly Mouse and Mia nodded quickly, and I hummed in amusement as Ralts leaned down and tried to bite me. It was like a baby’s attack, with her soft gums merely nuzzling my flesh. I pulled in my dark energy so she didn’t hurt herself and booped her on the nose.

“Going, going! GONE!” shouted the auctioneer as he pointed his gavel at Erika who received a huge round of applause. Steven joined in and bowed to her magnanimously before raising the girl next to him to stand. He kissed her hand and gestured for her to head back to her group which she did after taking a selfie with Steven.

“Well, Erika sure played for keeps,” I said as her group cheered and raised the three Lileep pokeballs up before they paraded off. Erika offered me a wave. She made a gesture that I couldn’t decipher.

“She needs to make sure they don’t get into trouble and make their way home now. She won’t be able to stay and talk,” Sabrina said, supplying the answer. She then nodded her head. “And yes, Erika will, when she feels the need she plays to win.”

Rachel, on the main stage, reclaimed the microphone. “Thank you one and all for attending today’s event! This marks the end of the auction and I’d like to thank everyone that took part. Today’s event will go towards the stabling and care of a great number of pokemon that the Pewter Gym cares for. However! More importantly, fifty percent of today’s earnings will be deposited in an even split towards the hospital and orphans of Pewter city!”

Another round of applause rang out as a very large number appeared on the screens around the gym. I whistled. “That’s going to go a long way!”

Mia nodded her head happily, a huge smile stretching her face. She turned and hugged me. “I never knew,” she said into my chest.

I pat her on the head. “It was a lot more this year than previous years, but I do try,” I said, feeling a warm glow that I usually only got from hugging my own family surge up.

Mia broke the hug and wiped her eyes furiously. She then trotted down to nudge Gary and congratulate him on his bid. He eyed her, and his eyes flicked from the number on the screen to me before he nodded his head and said something before shoving her with a cocky smile. She punched his shoulder and laughed.

The applause died away, only for a solo man to keep clapping. People turned to look, and a few looked like they might pick the applause back up only for Steven Stone to stop clapping and raise his hands.

“Thank you all for a wonderful event! I must confess I find auctions such as this a pleasure to attend! I must beg your forgiveness, for I am an audacious fellow and only arrived late to the show. I didn’t know about the charity portion of this auction.” He turned and smiled at me and it looked heartfelt.

“Truly, I am glad to attend. I would like to match that number,” he said staring straight into my eyes and the crowd broke into thunderous applause.

I chuckled and nodded to Steven Stone. I tapped Sabrina, “Can you ask Brawly and his friends to stick around along with Gary and Mia? I’d like to talk with them.”

Sabrina tilted her head. Then she turned her attention back to Steven before considering me, she nodded. “I will approach them, how long will you be?”

I eyed Steven Stone. “Oh, probably a while.” It wasn’t like I couldn’t talk with a man that just casually dropped close to four million pokedollars on my designated charities.

As methods of getting my attention went, this was certainly one of them.