Hard Enough - Chapter 162 - Research and distractions (Patreon)

The morning after the Team Rocket Raid on Silph Tower, along with Sabrina’s victory over Will saw her and I laying in her bed. When we were both awake we didn’t say anything we merely lazed in bed, enjoying the other's company as our arms wrapped each other tight.

Eventually, I decided to ask the question that had been on my mind since last night. “How did it feel? That was… much more powerful than I thought it would be.”

Sabrina smiled. “I might have tried to for with how Mewtwo and Will were pressuring me.” She gained a thoughtful look. “It might have also been the occasion itself.”

“Hmmm? What do you mean by that?” I asked, curious, and worried that she’d felt pressured by Will of all people. Mewtwo, I could rationalise due to him being a Legendary.

“I wanted it, more than a lot of things that I’ve wanted before in my life. I had an image, in my mind that I wanted to happen. And then, I made it a reality,” she shot me another smile, “Or close to one, anyway.”

“Close to one?” I asked teasingly.

Sabrina smiled and kissed me.

When we eventually got up, we trudged down to breakfast only to find the television on. Sandra and Saul were entranced with it to the point where they barely registered our arrival. Ralts seemed very pleased by whatever they were watching.

When I got around the counter, I got a glimpse of the television and found Sabrina staring back at me.

“They’re calling her the Misstress of Mega-Evolution! The strongest psychic of our age! She’s Sabrina! And with one match she’s cemented herself as the idol for everyone in Indigo!” said the tv host.

I grabbed a bowl of cereal while Sabrina assembled some toast, despite not physically touching the knife, bread, or toaster once from where she was sitting. It was rather distracting watching the kitchen utensils zip around while she kept her eyes fixed on the television.

This news article was all about the sudden hype that Sabrina had. People had respected her before, now she was adored and lauded with praise.

Sabrina’s victory and the reveal of her ability with her Alakazam to Mega-evolve caused shockwaves throughout the known world.

Instantly, Sabrina became the most popular Gym Leader and her face was being plastered over billboards, news articles, and television shows, with many experts discussing how she’d done it.

We watched this with a stunned sort of disconnect until the doorbell rang and Sabrina frowned. “Ah, that would be Professor Oak,” she said, her eyes glowing.

Saul stiffened. “Sabrina! Don’t just—”

“Hello there!” Samuel said as he marched into the house. “Thank you for letting me and my fellows in Sabrina!” he said, revealing that he’d arrived with what appeared to be all of the notable researchers of Indigo in tow.

Professor Elm was present but he was being restrained by two others. Despite this, he was twitching and acting like a rabid houndour.

“Might we have a word?” Samuel said eagerly.

I chuckled. We’d been listening to the ‘experts’ all morning on television, but the true people in the know were still asking questions. Sabrina rose. “No, that is why I asked for you to come today with your fellows.

Samuel Oak shook his head with an exasperated expression. “Yes, and I thought I was being the clever one there.” he chuckled. “I thought I had stolen a march on everyone else when you read me in on your Farigiraf, and your Wyrdeer, but now I see you were working on something truly special,” he said.

Sabrina gave him a coy smile. “As they say, girls have more secrets than boys can understand.” she waved her hand for them to follow as she rose, linking arms with me.

“Oh? I didn’t get any memo regarding this,” I said.

Sabrina coughed. “It got lost in all of our preparations. I assumed you would want to be involved.”

I shook my head, unable to be annoyed by her presumption.

Sabrina led us all into the room where Alakazam had set up his notes.

I chuckled when I saw that the room had been set up like a classroom, and Alakazam was literally hovering in front of a whiteboard with a stack of notes laid out. I claimed a table, with Sabrina taking the one next to me.

She lifted herself and the table so she could sit next to me, earning herself a dour look from Alakazam, who was acting as the teacher for today’s class.

I shot her a look. “Shouldn’t you be up there translating for him?” I asked.

“He wants to let the researchers look through the papers first,” she said, nodding her head to the papers that were now being levitated to each person.

Professor Elm snatched it out of the air and began reading it frantically.

“Ah! Of course! But how did you… oh, you accounted for that? Hmmm interesting, but what of… I see,” he said as he read.

Oak sighed, pulling out a highlighter, notepad, and pen. Only then did he begin reading himself, albeit much more sedately. He made some considering noises as he read but otherwise ignored the rest of the room as they did the same. More than a few looks were directed our way, and I chuckled. They must be dying to ask Sabrina questions.

Interested, despite knowing how dry the content of the paper would be, I began to read the offered paper myself.

It worked through the historical premise of the Mega-evolution, the discovery of the stone and Alakazam’s initial impressions, and Sabrina’s own initial impressions. I blinked when I noticed that I was listed as a test subject, albeit with my name blanked to that of subject B-one (male seventeen y.o.) and his Steelix.

Oh.

And here I was in a room with highly intelligent people.

They’d know exactly who subject B-one was.

I flipped through and noted how the study had developed. My role as subject B-one was noted and often earned disparaging remarks due to my developing bond with Steelix not being conducted in laboratory conditions compared to Sabrina and Alakazam’s efforts.

I shot Alakazam an incredulous expression. I worked better at home in my reserve! He sniffed at my annoyed look and began copying out the graphs onto the whiteboard behind him without actually looking, the ens held in his telekinetic grip.

I noticed the rest of the researchers begin to fidget as he finished, but instead of Sabrina rising to stand, she remained seated. I glanced around, unsure what we were waiting for, until I noticed that Samuel was still flipping through the paper, making notes.

When he was done, he arranged his notes in a manner that allowed him to observe all of them while still having access to his notepad. Then he lifted his gaze, laced his fingers, and spoke. “If you would be so kind, shall we begin?” he asked.

Sabrina smiled and rose to begin talking for Alakazam as she explained her process of Mega-evolving Alakazam. I was interested to learn that she had achieved the Mega Evolution multiple times in laboratory conditions.

“—and yet the mega-evolution that I experienced with Alakazam against Will was, by my estimates, at least three times more powerful.”

“Do you have any thoughts on why this is the case?” Samuel asked politely.

Sabrina considered the question. “There may have been multiple factors that impacted the power of the evolution.” Alakazam wrote out a numbered list as Sabrina spoke.

“First, Psychic Terrain may have contributed to the Mega-evolution being more powerful than normal; that was not something we had previously tested for, but against Will, it makes sense that he would have it deployed.

“Second, Mega-evolving in a fight may have been more stressful and caused a greater response. In a sense, our bond was stronger due to the implied threat.”

“Third, the fight itself was vitally important for me on a number of levels, further bolstering the evolution.”

Sabrina shifted. “And finally,” She swept her gaze about the room, searching for people’s expressions, and I felt something sweep over me.

Oak’s eyes hardened as his colleagues stirred with surprise. Some of them squawked in outrage, but Sabrina quickly inclined her head. “Apologies, I was merely performing a surface assessment; none of you are here due to greed, so I can safely discuss the final point that may have impacted the Mega Evolution.”

This had everyone sitting upright in their seats. Everyone’s attention was on Sabrina.

“I have limited precognition that I sometimes utilise.”

Samuel hissed a breath in surprise. “That—”

“I am aware of the dangers; I have a number of texts on the matter, and I am extremely careful to never make plans based on what I foresee. Sadly, last night's events were critical, and the impact will be widespread in many different matters. I was not aware that Team Rocket would raid Silph Tower, for example, but I suspected, through other information sources, that they would be active in some manner. This allowed me to have many more people ready to respond rapidly than they otherwise would have.”

Samuel coughed. “Ah, my thanks; my own grandson and a number of other young trainers that I support were caught up. Your foresight perhaps saved them.”

Sabrina nodded. “Well, the point I wished to establish was that Alakazam’s Mega evolution was a momentous occasion that impacted a number of future events due to how it played out. Events occurred around it that linked together in a very abstract way but nevertheless made it more important.”

One older researcher shifted in their seat. “Are you perhaps stating that your Mega-evolution was a Time Nexus?”

Sabrina nodded slowly, and the man hissed. “Well, I suppose we got lucky last night. Time Nexus’ have been known to draw the attention of powerful pokemon. Last night’s events could have become much more chaotic.”

I blinked. “Powerful pokemon linked with Time?” I said.

The researcher shifted as every researcher apart from Oak stared hungrily at this new tidbit. Their eyes gleamed like that of zealots wanting access to knowledge that they hadn’t known they’d been denied until this moment.

The man looked around. “Well… I suppose if Sabrina was willing to share, so shall I. There are a few pokemon that are linked to Time as a concept. These are Celebi, a pokemon known widely as a Guardian of the Forest, Dialga, the pokemon of Time, Arceus, of course… and finally Giratina.”

He raised a hand, and his gaze turned fierce. “If you have not heard of the last, I suggest you not repeat it unless needed to, and never more than five times in a single location within a month.”

One researcher hummed. “You’re referring to the Darkrai conjuring method of bringing about the pokemon’s name through the usage of their name? Conjuring? That has never been established sufficiently!”

The older man turned his gaze upon the much younger man. “I am the oldest researcher of Time phenomenon. Not many study my line of research. And I am the only one older than thirty-five. Make of that what you will, but always remember that we are referencing Legendary pokemon. Do not underestimate them!” he said firmly.

Oak coughed. “I would like to second what Professor Swatch has said today. Do not repeatedly call them by their names. Their legends, especially the last mentioned, have notable stories that dance about ever saying the name. During my tenure as champion, I must admit quite shamefully, had to destroy or restrict certain books and tales from being spread around.” Oak made a face to show how distasteful he found that.

“You may write it down, but speaking it does something that we, as yet, are unable to understand. The best person to understand this is perhaps Agatha of the Elite Four and she will not discuss that pokemon, so do not ask her or even write to her about the subject!”

I blinked. I hadn’t been expecting last night to mean so much, but with what Sabrina had shared with me, it would have caused a lot of ripples throughout the world.

I rubbed my chin. Her reveal of Mega Evolution might just be the smallest of the forces causing ripples. But like she’d said, everything overlapped and built on itself.

A discussion broke out about talking with geologists about points that would overlap with pokemon populations to discover Mega stones and specific pokemon species stones.

Samuel rubbed his chin. “We will also need to discover a list of what pokemon can mega-evolve,” he said.

“Steven Stone might be worth reaching out to,” I said casually. “He was aware of the worth of Mega Stones.”

The researchers shared a look before turning a collective gaze upon me. “And we haven’t heard a word about this, why?”

I blinked. “There really hasn’t been any murmuring in the research communities about what he’s unearthed?” I said with some surprise. “Nothing?” I was more than a little amazed that the research community had been taken so by surprise by Sabrina’s reveal.

“Steven hasn’t announced this or revealed it… at all? What about the Hoenn researchers?” I asked. The group as a whole shook their heads quickly.

“That man wouldn’t share anything like that!” said someone in the back of the room.

“Huh,” I said intelligently. It really made Alakazam’s research much more valuable.

The researchers closest to me shook their heads. “Steven Stone is notorious for keeping his cards close to the chest.”

“Lance knows, he got himself a megastone before Brock,” Sabrina said, more than happy to throw the Champion to the researchers.

They all stirred in irritation at that, and Samuel huffed. “I shall be talking with him about not informing us about this development.” I stifled a chuckle as the hackles of the researchers around us relaxed, knowing that Samuel Oak would be having words with the current Champion.

I spotted Sabrina’s slight smile and knew she’d done that deliberately. Did she not like Lance?

Huh, wonder what he did to annoy her?

Samuel turned a smile in my direction. “You said Steven Stone knew the worth of them? Did he.. Perchance have a list of Mega stones?”

I nodded as I tried to recall. Had he sent me a list, or had he just shown me the list? “He showed me a list,” I said eventually.

“Would you happen to recall what they were called?” Samuel said, inching closer.

I allowed myself a smile as I realised I could probably get away with some additions to the list and all I’d need to do was claim a faulty memory. I rattled off what I could recall of Steven Stone’s list of mega stones.

I started ticking off my fingers as I spoke, “He had Gardevoirite, Ampharosite, Charizadite, Blastoisinite, Blazikenite, Houndoominite, Mawhilite, Metagrossite, Sharpedonite, Steelixite, Slowbronite, Salamnecite, Camperuptite, Pidgeotite, Gyaradosite, and Beedrillite.” I said opening my eyes  and nodding slowly to sell the act.

Then I allowed a frown to appear. “I am… unsure if that was a complete list. I know that Steven didn’t know of Sabrina’s Mega Stone, as I never mentioned it to him, but he seemed to think it would take me a year to develop my bond with Jormungandr, my Steelix, enough to mega evolve him. I am not certain, but I have to wonder if other options might have been available.”

Samuel frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve built up my bond with Jormungandr. I can feel that with the work we’ve put in recently, but if another option had been available, such as a mega stone for Shrek, my Swampert, or Knight my Aggron… or Titan,” I said, not bothering to mention which species Titan was.

The researchers all had thoughtful looks at my suggestion.

One spoke up. “You think he might have been deliberately presenting a false list? It had a stone that was highly valuable to you, but not one from a pokemon you had a well-established link with?”

I nodded even as another researcher murmured about the density of pokemon capable of mega evolving located around Pewter. I had to agree that it was interesting, especially considering if I ever got the chance at Diancie. There’d be a ton of pokemon capable of pulling it off.

Samuel rubbed his chin in thought. “Well, this has been a fascinating morning, and it has raised a lot of potential avenues for research. I think we’re going to have to disseminate this information to the wider community.” Samuel’s lips twitched.

“It might be more impactful if the Mistress of Mega-evolution herself were to present it? I for one know that Celadon University would be tremendously interested in listening to your thoughts on the topic, Alakazam and Sabrina.”

I half expected Sabrina to deny them, but then I noticed the light of excitement sparkling in Alakazam’s eyes. Sabrina nodded. “I think Alakazam would be delighted to,” she said.

This caused a storm of professors shouting for their alma mater’s receiving lectures from the current experts in the subject. I chuckled. If this played out, I wouldn’t be surprised if Alakazam was considered a pokemon professor by the end of the year.

A hand on my shoulder cut through my thoughts, and I looked up to find Samuel smiling at me. “And don’t think I have forgotten about your own contributions to pokemon evolutions, Brock! Celadon would love to have you, Sanchez, Gawain and any other pokemon you were developing! I know the thoughts you had on various pokemon evolution methods would be highly sought after! I have heard some interesting things regarding your thoughts on pokemon moves from my old friend Pryce?”

“Ah, you heard about that?” I said as a few professors that had been close swivelled their attention onto me.

Samuel nodded. “Indeed I did! I was very impressed with your insight! With that and the variant pokemon evolutions that you currently have and that you are working towards, well… I think it would be a wonderful idea for you to do a lecture or two!”

I blinked. Why did I get the feeling he was annoyed with me? Oh, wait, was this like Lance not telling him about the Mega-evolutions? I hadn’t mentioned the move-dependent evolutions. Ah… He was telling me, I was going to do this, wasn’t he?

“Ah, that does sound like a good idea… although I am already engaged in giving lectures with Poketech in Pewter—”

“Some of us will attend as well!” said a researcher quickly.

“... that’s only considered a secondary level of study, though? I’m sure I could come to the universities or colleges?”

Samuel patted me on the shoulder. “I shall be looking forward to that!” he said.

He then handed me a business card. “Have your people reach out to Celadon University. I will inform the Dean that I think it would be a good guest lecture. We’ll make it work,” he said with an entirely too pleased expression.

I nodded, not feeling like I could say no to him. A few other senior researchers dropped their own business cards on my desk, while some juniors asked to exchange emails and transceiver numbers, with their specialities being recorded in case I needed someone to bounce ideas off of.

I accepted them all, but before I could leave, Professor Elm raised a question.

“Is there any chance of using Mega-evolution to create a super Abra or other pokemon?”

I blinked and considered what that would entail. I shuddered in time with Sabrina and Alakazam as we realised what that would entail.

We shot our hands into an x. “Nope!”

Elm looked extremely put out and opened his mouth, only for Oak to give a flat look to the other Pokemon Professor. “If the next words are anything like ‘do it for science’ then just let it go, Elm.”

A few other researchers chuckled while Sabrina and I gained decidedly green looks.

Urgh, having your pokemon do it while linked to you? Urgh! Elm, that man could be entirely too focused on the end goal.

With that decidedly strange and disturbing imagery now in mind, the discussion broke up, with Sabrina and I heading off for a casual date.

A date that saw a lot of people calling out to Sabrina and me as we made our way around Saffron City.

“Seems you’ve gotten more popular,” I said idly as another group waved at us.

Sabrina inclined her head. “People have come to terms with my previous reluctance to appear in public settings and realised that I wasn’t snubbing or looking down on them but doing it for my own health. Now that they know that I’ve been struggling, there seems to be an idea of me struggling in silence. Some of them think it is rather heroic.”

She shook her head. “I rather liked being left alone,” she said before giving me a look to show her next words were meant jokingly. “I blame you.”

Ralts, who’d been happily kicking her legs while sitting on Sabrina’s shoulder, narrowed her gaze upon me.

I rubbed my chin, amused at the game Sabrina was playing. “Yeah, that’s probably fair; I did kick in your door and beat you and your Pokemon up. Then I totally dragged you along with me for a whirlwind journey.” I shot her a smirk as Ralts gasped theatrically.

We both knew that I’d been very polite when I’d made my challenge, only for her to ignore me due to not having foreseen my arrival, which apparently had been a first for her. She’d then seen me as an aberration and tried to crush me with her Kadabra, only for Titan to stomp all over her and Kadabra with Dark Pulse.

We’d shared a few words after the match, and then she’d turned up at my campsite that night, demanding to come with me, having noticed that she could relax around me.

She’d very much followed me around instead of me dragging her anywhere.

Still, she had only made the effort to be more outgoing in the last few months. So her new popularity lined up well with her own ability to engage with her fans. It was a new experience to see Sabrina waving back at people or interacting with her adoring fans.

Within half an hour of us walking around, however, she had found a problem with her new popularity.

“This… is exhausting,” she said flatly, nodding to another man who waved in our direction. The man gleefully ran off, having been acknowledged.

I chuckled. “Yeah, sorry, it can get like that. It’s one of those things you have to get used to. This is also the day after a big match; people are going to be more excitable around you and more aware. It’ll calm down after a week or so unless you do something else to draw their attention. Try to enjoy what you can of the moment, though.”

Sabrina grunted at that and dragged me into a coffee shop, where we claimed a table and settled in to enjoy each other’s company. Ralts happily ordered a cake tray with some lemonade, and we settled back with our own drinks to relax.

Within five minutes, the cafe was full, as people just so happened to need coffee from this shop.

The manager was quick to demand that only people ordering could linger, forcing people to fork over money.

He then swung around our table and offered us free drinks. I had to tip my head, acknowledging the slyness of the move.

“We also do pokemon drinks!” he said when Sabrina appeared unmoved.

I tilted my head as a thought occurred to me. “How big are your mugs?” I asked.

Sabrina caught on to what I was planning and eyed the roof. When she realised it was high enough, she settled in and released Alakazam, Hypno, and a Chimecho.

I released Bertha and Titan, who both towered over us. I tossed them some cushions and they sat down, Titan with a bemused air, while Bertha clapped her hands gleefully. She then proceeded to demand that I read the list of drinks to her.

I shot her an unimpressed look. “You’re just going to want the girliest drink on here, with sparkles, chocolate, and sprinkles.”

Bertha nodded, and I ordered that while Titan got a cappuccino. When the drink came around, I was amused that they had made it in a literal bucket for the larger pokemon. Bertha seemed very pleased with this arrangement and proceeded to extend her smallest finger as she took a dainty sip.

“Rhy, rhyper, Rhyperior,” she said towards Ralts sagely, sipping from her drink, the very picture of elegance.

I shared a look with Sabrina and chuckled.

I could only imagine what Bertha was trying to teach Ralts, but the smaller psychic fairy seemed to be rather receptive. They were soon talking as though they were—what I imagined—ladies at a garden party would do, instead of two pokemon in a now relatively crowded coffee shop.

When the first photographers arrived, Bertha was more than happy to pose. When the photographers zoomed in on either myself or Sabrina, she would lean down so her unimpressed expression was caught in the background of the photo.

I saw more than a few paparazzi-like photographers lean back to inspect a picture only to find Bertha’s glare zeroed in on them in the background. They promptly settled for more wide-angle shots. Bertha promptly snuggled into Titan for those photos.

Sabrina took a cue from that and levitated herself into my lap as a cake I’d never ordered arrived. Apparently, while I’d been distracted, Sabrina had psychically ordered for us. She tossed her hair and smiled winningly.

I lifted a small fork of the cake towards her and then took a bite of it myself. Ralts gasped theatrically, and I smirked, making sure to ignore the pinch Sabrina was giving me as I fed her the next few slices to show I was properly chastised.

I then made the mistake of looking at my Xtransceiver.

“Oh, hey, I must have forgotten to charge it last night after I spoke with my family,” I said. Sabrina glanced away, and I tilted my head. That had almost been a bit too quick… “Sabrina?”

“I just wanted to enjoy a morning without interruptions,” she said innocently.

“Oh,” I said. That was rather cute. It also implied that she knew someone would be looking for me. “Who’s going to be—” I broke off as a shadow fell over the entrance of the shop before disappearing.

The door jingled, and the crowd parted.

Lance stood at the entrance.

His gaze zeroed in on Sabrina and I. I made sure to raise another forkful of cake toward Sabrina.

Ah, she’d been preventing the League from getting in contact with me. Lance strode forward and sat in the chair. Sabrina nodded at him, and before he could speak, she pointed at a sign. “If you’re going to stay, you need to order something,” she said.

Lance blinked.

Then his head swivelled to the sign which he stared at in incomprehension for a moment. The Manager of the shop slid into view with a somewhat hopeful expression and Lance sighed. “You know what? I could do with a coffee.” He reached into his pouch and produced a bag of coffee beans. “Can you grind this into a straight black coffee?”

“Ralts!” said Ralts in a reproachful tone.

Sabrina’s lips twitched. “You are correct Ralts. He should have said please,” said Sabrina playfully.

Lance chuckled. “Ah, of course, my apologies; could you grind this up for me into a black coffee, please,” he said to the manager. The man nodded furiously and then sprinted off to complete the request.

Lance leaned back and allowed a sigh to escape him.

“Long night at the office?” I said.

Lance rolled his eyes at me. “Yes, you could say that. I had a rather lot of paperwork to get through to simply get the Executive Orders signed.”

I raised my mug towards him. “I thought those were rather good ideas,” I commented. I searched his fatigued form. “You haven’t slept?”

He shook his head. “Once I got those formed and announced I have been establishing the G-men properly and, from there, moving on some suspected sites.”

He rubbed his face in annoyance. “Not all of them have borne fruit and there have been some feathers to unruffle, but we have had some success,” he said.

He then waved a hand at the crowd lingering aorund us. “I obviously can’t give any more details than that, but the League, slow as it is sometimes, is moving.”

“Ah,” I said. I could understand what that would mean for me and Sabrina.

I could be called upon to help with raids, especially with my proven track record. On the other hand, Sabrina could be used for intelligence gathering. We could, of course, deny them if we wanted to, but with them moving on Team Rocket, it was in our interest to support their efforts.

I could see why Sabrina might have wanted to put that off in favour of going on a morning date.

“You could have told me,” I said, directing my gaze to Sabrina.

Sabrina swallowed the cake I’d given her. “Then you wouldn’t have relaxed. You’d have felt guilty,” she said, opening her mouth for another slice of cake.

I chuckled. I could see her point. I would have felt the anticipation building as I waited for the League’s request, and that might have ruined the morning.

Sabrina had no such hangups about ignoring the League.

A rather aromatic coffee was set before Lance, and he paused to inhale the scent of it before taking a sip. He handed the manager one hundred pokedollars as a tip for their service in return for his small coffee packet, which he stowed away.

“You take your own coffee around with you?” I asked.

Lance smiled, obviously savouring the taste of his coffee. “Yes, this is a special Fiore blend that I haven’t been able to find an equal to. They might be aggravating to negotiate with, but they certainly know a thing or two about growing coffee beans—something about the synergy of grass types and fire types creating the perfect coffee bean. I’m told it's a trade secret as much as it is a way of life for them.”

“Huh,” I said, surprised to learn that Fiore had such a luxury good. “Are they going to export much?”

“Limited amounts of only six million bags,” he said. “The rest is reserved for domestic use,” he said. I nodded, not having any idea of if that was a lot or not much at all. I got the impression that Lance wanted as much of their coffee as he could get his hands on.

We talked a little more as Lance enjoyed his drink. He complimented Sabrina on her match as he was finishing up his drink. He shot it a sad look, and his eyes drifted towards the grinder, weighing up the idea of ordering another before shaking his head and dismissing the idea. He then levelled a look at Sabrina.

“There have been a number of suggestions that you should take over the final position of the Elite Four,” Lance said conversationally.

I didn’t need to even look to know the entire room had just leaned forward slightly. The instant hush that swept the room gave away that everyone was trying to listen to this sudden turn in the already interesting conversation.

Sabrina gave Lance a look, shrugged, and replied, “I’m comfortable where I am right now,” she said, wiggling in my lap. I snorted, and she smiled.

Lance sighed. “I knew you’d say that, but… well, I thought I should make the offer; I can’t have the Mistress of Mega-Evolution not be offered a seat with the Elite Four of Indigo.”

Sabrina didn’t bother with a response to that beyond tapping me for more cake. I pointed, and Sabrina pretended to only just now notice that Ralts had devoured the rest of the cake. Ralts smiled as crumbles fell off her cheeks.

“Oh, you have gotten sly, haven’t you?” Sabrina said, wiping at Ralts’ mouth.

I blinked, realising that she hadn’t been faking but had actually been not noticing. That meant Ralts had to be doing something to evade Sabrina's attention. Was this a regular occurrence that Ralts was seriously working on?

Lance snorted at our byplay. “Well, if we’re all done here, I would like it if you could come with me. I need some experienced trainers to assist.”

“Ah… actually sir,” said a timid voice. We glanced up and found the manager holding a camera. “Could I get a photo with all of you? It’s for the wall?” he said, indicating the wall where a number of other faces I recognised stood.

Samuel Oak, Rita Roscare, Nurse Joy, three Officer Jennys, Saul, and Kong smiled back.

Bertha grinned and adopted a pose, which settled matters for us.

We took the group photo with the manager standing in our midst with a huge smile. I had to admit that, with the crowd that had swept in with our arrival, he’d have made bank today. That didn’t stop him from thinking ahead.

Getting to serve the Champion and get a photo to prove it would probably secure him a regular customer base for a long while.

_____________________________________________________

Sabrina saved us a flight by teleporting us with Alakazam back to the League. Lance swept forward into the heart of the building, leading us into the depths where the interrogation rooms were.

“We managed to capture an Executive and we want to take this further,” he said as he led us into a room that mirrored Daniel's—my former employee and spy—interrogation room. Agatha and Koga stood in the room with Agent Brown standing by the side.

“About time you answered the call,” said Agatha.

Sabrina flicked her head. “I had better things to do,” she said nonchalantly. She walked into the room, and within five minutes, we had a host of sites to attack.

It was the final site that the man worked tooth and nail to keep Sabrina away from with every mental trick he possessed, however, that made Lance grin like all his Christmas’ had come at once.

We finally had the site for the Team Rocket Academy.

It was north-west of Cerulean City, and it was the point of our next raid. I hummed to myself.

When Oak had invited me to tour schools earlier today, I doubt he intended for me to trash them.

Oh well, it was a childhood dream I’m sure many could empathise with.