Titan rolled his shoulders, ignoring the ache, and I tried to mitigate it as much as I could through the bond. I had to give it to Brawly, he’d prepared a plethora of plans and back-ups that fed into each other. While I’d mitigated more than a few, it wasn’t like he didn’t still have options.

Medicham was proving to be a greater annoyance than I’d anticipated.

Recover was making it drag out the fight, and there was also the issue of it having Detect. Couple that with Aura Sphere and Brawly had created a very strong if niche fighter.

Brawly had already had his pokemon use Detect once, so objectively it shouldn’t be as effective the next time

Thankfully, while it had Aura Sphere to do some serious damage, it didn’t appear that Medicahm had a way of dealing with Titan underground.

I tossed up my options. With the field once more returned to a dry state thanks to the earlier Sunny Day, I could use Sandstorm once again to bait him.

I fed the plan to Titan, and he shook his head, rocking side to side and creating a small eddy of wind around himself.

Alright, if I could land another Aerial Ace, I should be able to close this match out.

“Keep them honest!” shouted Brawly as he noticed the sands beginning to twirl and dance around Titan.

Medicham loosened yet another Aura Sphere at us, and I had Titan in the ground before you could say super effective.

Brawly, instead of continuing to try and drag things out, Medicham swept his left arm up with Medicham’s ball to return his pokemon even as he tossed another up into the air in a slow arc.

“Medicham return! Go Machamp!” he barked.

Ah, he was going to make it so that I couldn’t simply go underground, was he? Machamp twisted in the air.

Instead of extending its feet to land, it turned so that it was facing straight down with its arms pulled back in what would obviously translate into a four-point punch. If it weren’t for pokemon powers making physics go cry in a corner, I knew Machamp would hurt itself with that sort of fall.

It didn’t have to care about the Sandstorm if it unleashed an Earthquake.

I had to give it to Brawly, once more, against any other trainer, there would be some difficulty with the submerged pokemon unable to register where to attack, or that they were about to be under threat.

With the bond I shared with Titan, I could have him up and out of the ground before Machamp even became an issue for us.

As Machamp fell, a barrage of small pointy rocks shot up as Stealth Rock activated, hammering the already weakened pokemon.

“Ma! Champ!” Roared Machamp as it blocked what it could while enduring the other spikes of rock hammering into it.

Despite what should have put it on its last legs, Machamp roared in defiance and came down with a glint of vengeance in its eyes.

The resulting Earthquake was a direct result of four super-powerful punches into the earth causing the ground to buck.

The field shattered into several segments, and where Machamp punched a small crater formed, while other areas jutted up to the roof as a mini-tectonic force shifted them about.

In response, Titan was out of the ground and forming a Protect.

The shield flickered for a moment, and my breath hitched only for Titan to bring forth his will on the technique and demand it to work.

It formed up properly and held as the Earthquake radiated out and into where Titan stood.

The entire arena shook from the Earthquake, only to calm as Machamp rose and dusted off its hands with loud claps. “Ma! Ma! Ma! Champ!” it announced over the top of the Sandstorm.

Titan dropped his Protect. I had to rely on his instincts to pick up the shift in the field around us, along with where Machamp was.

Hmm, once again, I could see Brawly had stacked his objectives with that attack. He’d pressured Titan while also limiting future Earthquakes from our side.

Which played well for Medicham and, if my guess was right, Hitmonchan.

Sadly for Brawly, this sort of field still played into Titan’s strengths. Mountainous and rocky environments were his bread and butter, especially while a Sandstorm raged.

As Machamp righted himself, Titan began twisting, his tail, legs and arms going to work with the loosened rock to unleash a barrage of small boulders.

The arena began to tremble and shake as rocks were ripped from the ground, only to be cast into and around the field with a frantic energy.

I leaned forward and gripped the railing, a grin forming as Titan began to counterattack.

Machamp was caught by surprise and hammered when the barrage of boulders caught it by surprise. “Machamp!” it screeched.

My grin gained teeth at the pained cry, and this time I wasn’t sure if it was Titan’s feelings or mine that were feeding into the bond.

Machamp staggered back a few steps and fell to one knee, only for it to punch the ground with its bottom hands to get back up.

“Machamp! Dance throws into Sunny Day! Now!” Brawly bellowed with a voice so loud I heard him without relying on Titan’s senses.

So he had another tactic up his sleeve eh? He was betting big on his pokemon lasting despite all the damage it had built up over the course of this match; that was for sure.

“Let’s finish this Titan!” I bellowed back. I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to respond, but I knew that simply letting Brawly’s challenge go unanswered wouldn’t help.

It was then that I felt something shift.

By vocalising my support, was there a greater efficacy to the energy flowing through the bond? Or was it that Titan and I were synchronising better? It wasn’t much, but enough to be noticeable.

Huh, this would bear review later.

For now, I could feel as both of our spirits rose in synchronisation with more energy shooting from me, only to rebound from Titan to me with a repeating loop.

The next flick of his claws into the ground with Stone Edge saw a larger boulder hurtling towards Machamp’s position.

I felt a rush course through me, reminding me of a second wind taking over when you were pushing your limits. The urge to suddenly commit to a big, powerful attack swept through me but I restrained the urge. There were still two more pokemon to face, and Brawly wasn’t someone I could merely overpower.

As shown by how his pokemon had begun twirling and dancing through the Sandstorm, evading the hurled boulders by hopping and skipping from side to side while its arms rose to the sky, like it was waiting to catch a ball.

Or, as it turned out, create a ball.

A wave of heat shot through the arena and took the power out of the Sandstorm.

Titan shifted as the heat washed over him, and I found my body suddenly dry in the face of the bright orb of fire. The sand that had been harassing Machamp fell to the ground and scattered about into cracks and gouges.

The last Stone Edge Titan unleashed tore through the air straight towards Machamp, and it shifted to face the attack head-on.

Its arms shattered the boulder, but there was a twitch of pain as Machamp faltered.

“MACHAMP HOLD! I NEED YOU!” called Brawly. Machamp staggered back to its feet in response and raised its fists up before boxing at the air.

Machamp patted its chest in the most well-known ‘come at me bro’ gesture I think I had ever seen in both lives. It then levelled its hands, palm facing out straight at Titan.

Hmmmm. Decisions, decisions. I checked in with Titan and knew that while for now he was feeling good, I still had two more pokemon to face after this.

I needed to end this now if I could, which meant Aerial Ace to guarantee it.

Interestingly enough Brawly also wanted me to go for Aerial Ace, I could see the way Machamp’s eyes darted back and forth.

As for Brawly? I could feel his gaze boring into me, watching for even the smallest of tells for where Titan would go.

I knew what Titan would do even without checking through the bond, I was confident in his choice.

Titan charged, and the entire arena suddenly held its breath as they waited for the response.

With Brawly staring at me, it was sort of like having a game of ‘don’t think of the Shiny Ponyta sitting in the corner drinking tea’.

Or as had been a popular trend in my old world, thinking about ‘the Game’ which constituted a loss from thinking about it.

The trick was always not to think.

Do, don’t think, just do.

What Brawly was banking on was that I wouldn’t be able to help myself.

I looked to the left just as Titan vanished suddenly and Brawly reacted.

“Sweep right!” he ordered, accounting for how the field was reversed from his angle.

Machamp chopped out with a bottom right hand in what would be a signature horizontal judo chop in a different arena.

The air whooshed powerfully, and I had no doubt that if Titan had taken that attack, he would have landed no less than a critical super effective blow, such was the power behind the strike.

When Titan didn’t appear in the arc of the attack, Brawly bared his teeth and began to shout an order, only for Machamp to preempt him and lash out with its bottom left arm, expecting Titan to appear to the left.

It was a good guess, and a plan that accounted for two of the angles of attack.

Brawly surprised me then, not with an order but with his level of preparation as his Machamp bent forward and used its upper hands to punch into the ground while kicking directly backwards with its feet in a signature mule kick.

I had no doubt that if Machamp connected, it would have landed a devastating blow.

Sadly, despite covering three vectors of attack, they’d all been wrong.

Titan reappeared directly above Machamp, where he committed all of his momentum into a spin.

I could feel the glee radiating out of him as he roared in triumph at the look of shock from Machamp.

No one ever expects a pokemon weighing in at over two hundred and twenty kilograms to be able to jump like that.

Titan spun through the air, once more grinning and roaring all the while as he lashed out with his tail to hammer Machamp into the broken field with his tail.

Machamp hit the ground and then bounced up only to fall back down as its body failed the fighting type.

Titan landed with his feet straddling Machamp.

With careful steps, Titan made sure not to disturb the downed pokemon even as he struggled to catch his breath.

This fight was starting to tax him. I fed him more of my energy reserves, trying to bolster him as much as I could.

While we were now four pokemon down, we both knew that against fighting types, it would only take a few solid hits to end our run.

Brawly exhaled slowly and worked his jaw as he raised up Machamp’s pokeball. “Damn, you got me there Brock,” he said.

I shrugged. “I’m used to reading and adjusting. You were making it a bit too obvious that you were looking for a tell,” I replied.

Brawly tapped the side of his head. “Urgh damn, I’ve got all these plans and you’re just…,” he splayed his hands out in front of him to demonstrate the state of the field.

“Eh, I think you’ve had a bigger say in the state of the field than I have,” I said, still vying for time.

Brawly grunted, rolled his shoulders and worked his arms back and forth. “Alright, we’re not out of this yet,” he said. He then ripped out another fastball with a pokeball that I had to work to track.

Instead of Medicham taking to the field, his sixth and final pokemon appeared.

Hitmonchan bobbed and weaved like a champion boxer. It skipped left and right, firing off one-two combinations with lightning-fast jabs.

I had been expecting this, and so the instant the pokemon formed up out of red energy I was alert. I flooded Titan with as much energy as I could to bring him out of his fatigue and instead get him ready to move.

Brawly wouldn’t have brought out this pokemon unless he had another plan in play.

If the field hadn’t been so destroyed from previous battles with Brawly’s pokemon I might have met Hitmonchan with an Earthquake to mess up its footing.

Sadly, I also wasn’t within range to get off a quick Aerial Ace, Brawly had made sure of that with where he’d released his pokemon.

Right, I thought, the first point of order was to close the distance between our pokemon. I ordered Titan to submerge himself with a Dig.

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Stealth Rock activated and bought us a moment of time, but instead of curling up and defending itself Hitmonchan continued to unleash punches into the air, eyes locked on Titan.

A cloud of dust formed around Hitmonchan only for it to be rapidly blown away with the speed of the follow-up jabs and punches Hitmonchan unleashed. Its title as the punching pokemon was certainly well-earned.

The quicker order, along with the Stealth Rock, was perhaps the only thing that saved us from what happened next.

Between one jab and the next, something shifted with Hitmonchan’s air swings.

It went from swatting the air to launching attacks that caused the very air to buckle around the blows.

They came on faster than I could track and it was all I could do to scream a warning and to have Titan bring his hands up in front of his face even as he fell into the ground.

Titan’s falling body allowed him to dodge no less than three attacks.

He was still clipped by a pair of hits and I felt the move punch into his strength and our bond flexed making me tense up with the sudden wave of pain that overtook me.

I clenched my abs as the pain swept through the bond and into me despite Titan’s attempts to block it from me. I held back a groan and mentally tried to offer Titan a shoulder to lean on. It didn’t really help the pain, but Titan appreciated it nevertheless.

Titan submerged himself, and we relaxed knowing that Titan was safe there.

That made four hits now, two of them being on target.

“Vacuum Wave eh?” I said as the attacks from Hitmonchan stopped the instant it lost sight of Titan.

Another potent move. Now I couldn’t allow Titan to be targetable until we knocked Hitmonchan flying.

“Ha!” Brawly barked out a laugh. “You recognised that as well? Argh! Really? That’s nuts!”

“I make sure to be aware of the biggest threats to my pokemon,” I said while mentally tracking where Titan was moving through the earth to get into position to strike.

Only to pause as I realised how Hitmonchan was shifting its stance.

It was doing it in small, random increments, and I realised that while it was staying in position it was rotating, making it harder to predict which way it would be facing as it performed rapid one-eighty spins or even smaller turns.

Titan might not be able to come out of the ground to get off another Aerial Ace.

I ran through my options. I couldn’t simply brute force it with another Giga Impact. Brawly would hammer Titan into oblivion with such an attack. I needed…

I needed to not come out behind Hitmonchan, but directly underneath it. As a boxer-style fighter, Hitmonchan more than any other pokemon needed good footing to be able to transmit its attacks.

If I could launch Hitmonchan into the air, then I’d have a chance.

“Detect,” Brawly said, making sure to project his command loudly.

I hadn’t looked away from him, but something had shifted. I knew I hadn’t given anything away. Was he just getting lucky with the timing?

“Annoying,” I said even as I adjusted the order I was giving to Titan.

Instead of lunging out of the ground, I had Titan grasp the very earth above him and buck.

Hitmonchan jumped as the ground underneath it shot upwards, only to settle back down.

When Brawly didn’t attempt anything to punish Titan, I had him remain underground. Then I had Titan repeat his earlier action of tossing the ground up. If I could get Hitmonchan to stagger or trip, I could get Titan out to properly land a hit.

“Hitmonchan move to that point!” Brawly shouted, adjusting his orders as he realised what I was aiming for.

Brawly pointed towards a section of the field where a large gouge was full of sand.

Hitmonchan darted over to the indicated point only to twist so that he was standing on the edge of the sand. I locked onto the sand. That could work very well for us, I thought.

Titan burrowed under it and prepared to flick sand up into Hitmonchan’s eyes only for Brawly to shout his next order.

“Aura Sphere into the sand now!” he shouted, and Hitmonchan didn’t hesitate to blast the sand with a powerful Aura Sphere.

The sand blocked most of the attack, but Titan was held down as the weight increased for a moment, only to then vanish as the sand was blown away.

Titan and I had a moment of dread as Titan was locked in place with Hitmonchan directly above him.

The Aura Sphere hadn’t been to hit Titan directly; it had been to expose him…

Shit.

Just like that, we’d gotten into a terrible position.

Hitmonchan’s fists were already pulling back to deliver the next blow, and I found myself lacking any good options.

So I went with my gut and Titan launched himself at Hitmonchan.

Hitmonchan got two good Vacuum Waves off, and Titan roared in pain, only to slam into Hitmonchan with Aerial Ace and body him into the ground.

Hitmonchan hit the ground hard and coughed in pain.

Brawly gaped in shock, and a hush fell over the crowd, only for Hitmonchan to attempt to sit up.

Brawly twitched. “Reversal!” he shouted desperately, and a dread swept through m,e only for it to crystallise in a denial that rang clear through my bond with Titan.

Titan and I were having none of that.

Titan stepped forward and stomped down hard on the rising Hitmonchan. His foot came down with all of his weight to slam Hitmonchan back into the ground causing it to buckle and a small indent to form where Hitmonchan was pressed into it.

Titan growled and stared bloody murder at his foe as it tried to muster the strength to get one more hit off.

Hitmonchan’s left mitt like hand rose, quivered… and then fell to the ground with a defeated thump.

Hitmonchan went limp, and I exhaled in relief.

If Brawly had been able to land that hit after the earlier blows…

Titan stepped back and inspected his downed foe for a long moment before turning his head and spitting. I stiffened as I could spot the dark red, near black blood stain the ground.

Damn it, Titan was on his last legs.

Titan began to heave in air, and with each breath, huge gouts of dust shifted about the arena while shudders ran through his frame.

At his feet a broken pokemon lay. This is perhaps the most brutal I’ve ever had to go with Titan before.

Brawly stares worriedly at his pokemon with how still it is.

It is only through Titan’s senses of smell that I know Hitmonchan is still alive. It won’t be fighting any pokemon battles with this injury.

“That,” I announced slowly, “was a little bit scary.” If this was a match against perhaps anyone else, I might not have said such a thing. But against Brawly, I felt like I could be honest.

“Heh! Good to see all my hard work is at least shaking you up a bit! I gotta say, I’m amazed you’ve been able to fight on like this,” he said as he returned his pokemon to its pokeball.

This time, I note he takes the time to really inspect the ball and murmur praise to his Hitmonchan instead of whipping out his next pokemon with a fastball special.

“You’re strong Brawly,” I said, more than happy to keep him talking. Titan was exhausted and hurting on a level I had never seen.

Once again, we were in a tight spot, and my heart was thundering.

Despite that there was hope and there was a will to will burning within our hearts.

One more pokemon.

Holding on wasn’t an option; we had to go for broke.

One final pokemon for us to defeat, and we had done it, defeated Brawly when he’d come at us with our literal hardest match-ups.

Brawly, instead of continuing to talk, smiled at me. “I’m not getting caught monologuing while your pokemon is on its last legs. This has been a tough fight, but I’m still winning it!” he announced as he whipped out his final chance.

I already had Titan moving, lumbering towards where his foe would land only for Titan’s movement to be slower than usual.

Still, he pushed on, through the broken, sloping field to get within range of his foe as the pokeball broke open and released Medicham onto the field.

With Medicham’s appearance, Stealth Rock activated for the final time of this match and I threw Titan forward.

This was our best chance at defeating Brawly here and now. We needed to land a hit that would take it out in one blow.

Titan tore across the field, shattering anything that would impede him as he lunged forward, committing to the attack to launch what would hopefully be our last Aerial Ace of the match.

Titan flickered but this time didn’t vanish with the normal speed of Aerial Ace.

“Medicham Endure it!” shouted Brawly and I hissed.

Titan and I were committed now and any chance at pulling up my exhausted pokemon would take more effort than committing.

Brawly was going to push this match to the very edge and we had to dance there with him.

Titan didn’t do anything fancy with his Aerial Ace this time as he tried to preserve as much energy as he could. He hit Medicham head-on.

Medicham, annoyingly, was sent flying from Titan only for it to flip through the air and land in a three-point landing.

It rose on shaking legs and wobbled into a standing position.

More importantly, it did not stay down.

Now we’d see what Brawly did. Did he go for a safe option? Or did he push for the win?

My mind catalogued all of this in an instant, only to grimace. By using Endure, he’d bought himself a bit of room, just enough to make it tough to reach.

I only had one option to close the gap safely in the face of a possible Aura Sphere to the face.

Dig, I ordered right as Brawly started to punch forward. “Vacuum Wave!” he called and the faster move was once more unleashed.

Damn, I thought. He’d held back from using that with Medicham earlier. A final ace up the sleeve as it were.

This time, Titan took a solid hit, and instead of submerging himself, he fell onto his side with a groan that resonated throughout the stadium.

The field rumbled as, for the first time, Titan hit the ground and lay still.

“Tar! Larvitar!” shouted Terra from the sidelines, throwing off the blanket of silence that had claimed the rest of the stands.

I felt the flicker of consciousness grow within Titan’s aching spirit.

I swallowed, holding back one saying anything as Titan attempted to rise once more.

He did it with a mighty heave, pushing up with his arms, he placed one foot and the ground around him trembled and broke.

He slipped slightly, only to dig his claws into the ground and hold firm.

He growled, determined to stand.

He rose to his full height once more and glared across at Medicham, who was trembling and shaking.

Medicham looked terrified.

I merely watched on stoically. I couldn’t push any more energy forth than I already was. Sadly, Titan had reached some form of overful.

It wasn’t his spirit or his aura reserves that were the issue here and now. It was his body.

His body was failing him.

And despite that, I knew if I asked it of him, he’d throw himself forward for yet another attack.

Despite the abuse, despite all the super-effective moves that had clipped him or outright hammered into him.

His form was littered with small broken scales, and in some places, blood was leaking out of him, such was the effort he’d put forth to stay in this fight and win it.

Despite all of this, he’d keep fighting if I asked him.

He’d make it so that we’d win this match if I asked.

Brawly and I locked gazes, and a small eternity played out.

We both understood each other more in that moment.

I don’t want to step back, and neither does Brawly.

We’ve taken each other to the edge of our abilities in this match.

It is one of the hardest things to do, but we’ve managed it, pushing and shoving each other closer and closer to our limits. The trick has been to not fall over the edge of our limits. To break each other or cause harm in some irreparable manner.

We understand that from this fight, both of us will emerge stronger.

And at the end of the day, once you tear away all the pride and the pomp around the undefeated title I’d claimed, that’s what this challenge was about.

The Elite Challenge is beyond just being a Gym Leader whose duty is to empower trainers and show them a better way.

It’s about growing personally.

It is not easy what comes next, but that doesn’t mean it is wrong.

It reminds me of an old saying I’d heard once before.

Drawing a blade is easy.

To sheathe it?

That takes true effort.

I nod to Brawly and break our stare first. “Titan!” I yell causing the single word to reverberate throughout the arena. “That’s enough! Stand down!” I ordered.

Titan relaxed. He didn’t fall unconscious straight away but rather flicked his eyes towards where Terra stood.

Was that a flicker of fear that he hadn’t met her expectations I felt from him?

Before I could reassure him, Terra shot her hands up and cheered all the harder for him for the effort he’d put forth.

Titan grinned, relaxing into a pose that saw his stance widen and his arms to cross over the front of his chest. He shot me a wink right before his head tilted down and he shut his eyes.

I chuckled as a moment later, the sound of his snoring rang through the stadium.

I shook my head as I toggled the podiums to lower.

Around the arena, people surged to their feet as Brawly’s face flashed onto the big screen so that it claimed half the overhead screen alongside his pokemon team.

Brawly blinked in shock as he suddenly found himself the centre of everyone’s attention and adulation.

I took a moment to slow down in my approach, allowing him to soak it in.

He’s done something momentous here, and he deserved his moment.

I let the applause continue to wash over him as he staggered towards his Medicham. Hmmmm, interesting, perhaps on some level he has started to feed his own aura into his pokemon to empower them if he’s this tired after our match?

He wrapped an arm around his weary pokemon and grinned as Medicham joined him in throwing up their arms in celebration.

I chuckled and stepped up to take the time to check over Titan.

As people cheer for the fight, I set about spraying a Hyper potion over my starter’s injured frame. When I got through a whole bottle I didn't bat an eye and instead reached for a second to coat more of his body.

His snores shift in tone as he stops growling as much and instead began to breathe deeply, which is still a ridiculously loud rumble compared to most people.

When I’m done, I step back and throw a signal to Rocko. He strode up to Yolanda and handed her a small wooden chest.

She accepted it only to blink in shock. She snaps her head up and shouts something to Rocko that is lost in the crowd’s cheering. I catch Rocko waving at her dismissively right before he toggles the descent of the referee’s podium.

He hopped off the podium and left her to her assigned duty.

Before the podium even becomes flush with the field Terra leaps off and sprints towards Titan’s slumbering form. She slows when she gets close and tentatively approaches.

Terra steps up and puts her scaly hand on Titan’s body as if to reassure herself he’s there. Titan continues to snore, and Terra relaxed, stepping forward to give him as big a hug as she can manage.

I snapped a picture of the adorable scene before turning my attention towards Brawly.

“Brawly!” I called out and he stopped waving and partying with his Medicham to look towards me.

I nod and project my voice so everyone can hear me in the stadium. “Congratulations on your win! For defeating one of my Elite pokemon in combat with your team of six, you have earned the right to claim the very first Bejeweled Boulder Badge!” I announced as I turned towards Yolanda.

Yolanda opened the small wooden chest, more a jewellery case in truth, to reveal a badge that was no larger than any of the others we give out normally.

It is different in what it is made of.

Pink diamonds glint out from a gold filigree.

Brawly accepts it carefully, taking a moment to stare. “Woah, you really have made a cooler badge to get from fighting you at the highest level,” he said.

“It’s one of the draw cards,” I smirked. “Congratulations, that was a very well-fought match.”

Brawly looked up from the badge and flicked his eyes from me to Titan. “I got this badge but I can’t help but feel this was merely a bauble compared to what else I got today,” he said.

Hmmm, was he hinting at some level of aura understanding perhaps?

Brawly locked on me. “You and your starter Brock… you’re a hell of a team. And you’ve given me a peek into how far I am from the top.”

I incline my head seriously. “You’ve taken a step.”.

That drew a grin from him and he looked down at the visible proof in his hand. “Yeah, I have, haven’t I?” he said.

He chuckled. “Ha! This isn’t the mood I want when I win a great match! I should be celebrating!” He roared as he threw his hand up and let the light catch on the very first Bejewelled Badge I’ve given out. “We won!” he bellowed.

I stepped back and allowed him another chance to celebrate and the crowd to join him happily.

Yolanda nudged me. “Are you alright?” she asks.

I shot her a smile. “I’m doing good, a bit sad I lost, but at the end of the day I remembered that this isn’t about winning or losing,” I said with a slow exhale.

“Hmmm?” Yolanda hummed, prompting me to continue.

I smiled and turned back to where Terra was hugging Titan.

“It’s about becoming better,” I said, wrapping my arm around Yolanda’s shoulder, enjoying the closeness of my sister as she stepped in to offer her support.

I smiled to myself, knowing that it wasn’t just me, Titan, Brawly and his pokemon who’d grown today.

I had no doubt that everyone watching today would take some small moment away with them and that small spark might grow for them.

I smiled. That sounded like a good result, win or lose.

I then sighed and chuckled. “Well, time to kick these people out and resume being a Gym Leader,” I said aloud, indicating the crowd of still cheering people and pokemon.

“That’ll be a miracle,” Yolanda replied drolly as she eyed a group of people waving a ‘Go Brawly!’ banner. Huh, I hadn’t realised he’d gotten that popular.

“Nah,” I replied. “It’s easy, just offer them a free meal,” I said with a smirk. The trick was making it so they left in an orderly manner, but I didn’t tell Yolanda that.

Titan and I were both suckers in that regard for wanting to look cool in front of our family.

“Also,” Yolanda asked with a gleam in her eyes as she glanced up at me. “When were you going to tell me about the trio of new Larvitar you found?” she said.

Damn, I couldn’t help but think, so much for that being ‘future Brock’s problem.

I sighed, knowing she’d be the easy one to handle. The rest of my siblings?

Urgh, that was going to be fun.