“Go Ratata! Use Tackle!” Joe screamed in desperation.

  The mouse pokemon struggled to get back up on its feet. Taking deep breaths, it readied itself into tackling its opponent as hard as it could.

  “Ra-Ta!”

  Running on hope and desperation, it lunged forward. The opposing Geodude did nothing, hovering in the air in calm solemnity that had Joe and Ratata grinding their teeth in frustration.

  Ratata landed its Tackle, but was blown back from its self-made force. It catapulted back a few metres, skidding on the ground for good measure before succumbing to a dead faint. Geodude remained unmoved.

  “Ratata is unable to battle. The winner is Brock and Geodude!”

  The modest crowd, composed mostly of new trainers clapped politely. The few older audience members, local Pewter citizens, were more enthusiastic in their applause.

  Gym leader Brock relaxed his pose, unfolding his arms before walking towards the newbie trainer.

  He attempted to impart a few words of wisdom, but was uncertain of how much of his advice was retained considering the boy in front of him remained tense, valiantly trying not to cry.

  Brock frowned back at the Ratata left on the battlefield. “At least recall your pokemon. Go to the Pokemon Centre and have him seen.”

  Joe startled and scrambled for the pokeball in his pockets. He recalled his downed partner, bowed low to the gym leader before dashing off without another word.

  Maintaining his composure, Brock addressed the crowd.

  “That will be all for today. Prospective gym challengers, I look forward to your future challenge.” Brock folded his arms again, projecting an intimidating aura that sent a ripple of nerves amongst the new trainers.

  He held the pose for a period of time, enjoying the discomfort he caused. To them, Brock appeared like an unassailable wall.

  A month into the league season, a good portion of new trainers had already earned the Boulder Badge from him, leaving behind a few stragglers in Pewter City who had trouble overcoming him for the badge. He made eye contact with some of the trainers he recognised, causing tension to rise further.

  Brock shifted his attention to the Pewter Citizens who have come to support him. After revealing a grateful smile, they nodded back at him.

  Deeming the crowd interaction sufficient, the gym leader left the battlefield, conscious of the eyes following him as he left dust in his wake.

  As soon as he turned a corner, successfully out of the public eye, Brock tumbled down to the floor as young bodies flew at him. Brock hurriedly turned his head to no avail, and he ended up face first on the ground with dirt in his mouth.

  He spluttered and huffed when he felt tiny arms clawing up at him, scrambling for affection.

  “Big brother, you were so awesome!”

  “Yeah, you’re the coolest gym leader ever!”

  On the floor and still trying to dislodge the horrid taste, Brock gave in to his siblings’ demands, humming in agreement at all the right moments. Once he had deemed them appropriately pacified, and his mouth mostly dirt free, he got up from the ground and instructed.

  “Alright, alright enough. Go get your stuff and we’ll go home. What do guys want me to cook for dinner?”

  “Chicken! I want fried chi —”

  “No no! We’re having fish!”

  His younger siblings argued their way towards the small family room in the gym to pack their belongings, leaving Brock with the older ones watching them fondly.

  Without the exuberance of their younger siblings, the atmosphere cooled to become more sombre.

  “We’re selling lesser audience tickets already, big brother. And it’s not even two months into the season,” murmured Forrest, the second oldest sibling of the eight.

  Salvadore, the third, nodded and continued gravely.

  “We’re not getting higher tier challengers that would draw in a crowd. A lot of citizens come and watch, but…” he trailed off.

  Brock grimaced before nodding to acknowledge the unspoken truth. While the boom in traffic from the beginnings of the league was significant, it was much less compared to previous years, especially since Brock took over the gym from his father.

  As a younger gym leader, Brock was not considered a strong enough draw for more powerful trainers hoping to test and better themselves. The reputation of Pewter Gym being the traditional ‘first’ gym in Kanto did not help things.

  Pewter Gym still stood, however, and the impact of the local Pewter community’s support could not be understated. They had stood in solidarity with Brock’s family, trying to help the young leader as he kept afloat after his parents’ abandonment.

  Brock was grateful to them, for he would not have been able to keep running the gym and take care of his younger siblings without their help.

  Screams rang in the air, making the trio freeze before they ran hastily towards the gym's family room.

  They found Tilly holding a broom menacingly up in the air, screeching at her twin Billy and chasing him. Her younger brother shrieked back as he ran away.

  Brock resisted the urge to contribute his own holler for the momentary fear the noise had caused. He marched towards his siblings to help them get ready to leave for home, ready once again to act like a parent he had no choice to be.

  It had been a week since Gray made the conscious decision to tackle the gyms. With a week of training under their belt, he had felt more prepared.

  Furthermore, since his family loved to gossip so much during mealtimes, Gray decided to make his own announcement in the middle of dinner.

  Waiting until Blue was sipping, he cheerfully declared.

  “Grandpa Sammy, I’m going to represent Pallet Town gym when I beat up all the major gym leaders,”

  Blue ended up choking on his drink and spraying out a mist of water that had, fortunately, not touched Gray. Professor Oak was less lucky, ending up a victim. He grumbled as he patted himself dry to the chorus of Gary’s and Ash’s giggles.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Dude, you’re disgusting,” Gray flatly informed his brother with a deadpan stare before turning his attention back to Grandpa Sammy with an even brighter smile.

  “Why, Gray? You’ve no intention of being the gym leader. Why bring attention to an old, decrepit minor gym?”

  “Who said? I could be the next Pallet Town gym leader. I’m perfectly capable,”

  Grandpa Sammy rolled his eyes at his grandson, clearly not buying it.

  “So you’re willing to raise pokemon and limit their strength to meet the league’s tier requirements? You’re ready to be shackled to Pallet Town in perpetuity, acting as the town’s leader and dealing with all the troubles that come with it?”

  The answer to all those questions was a big fat no. But Gray opted to be stubborn and double downed.

  “I could have the gym renovated. Can you imagine, Indigo’s very first Fairy type gym? I’d be the face for all fairy types in the East, the undisputed expert,”

  “And you’re not already?” Grandpa Sammy retorted before looking pointedly at his older brother. Professor Oak took that as his cue.

  “Yes, he already is. We’ll just need some of your inputs for our joint research paper. With your help, we’ll be able to spread more information regarding fairy types!”

  At that, Grandpa Sammy turned a bland smile at his grandson, daring him to continue.

  Gray grimaced. That was undeniably true. In all honesty, Gray was one research paper away from becoming the forefront expert for fairy types not just in Kanto, but in the entire East. There were simply no other candidates.

  Like it or not, Professor Oak was the leading Pokemon Professor in this side of the world. It was not an exaggeration, merely a statement of fact. And Gray was more knowledgeable of fairy types than his grandfather

  Combined with his experiences in the Western regions where Fairy type pokemon were more accepted and well-researched, Gray only lacked tangible proof of his capability.

  He could see his future over the horizon — beating Lance’s ass and with research papers under his name, Gray would be respected.

  Still, the facts failed to chip at his resolve.

  “Okay, fine. I won’t be a gym leader. I still want to represent Pallet Town gym though, represent you,”

  Grandpa Sammy paused, his eyes widening in realisation. He softened his tone and reminded Gray.

  “I’m already retired, son. It would change nothing,”

  “So? You raised me, and the world will know,”

  At this point of time, Professor Oak’s lab releasing research on Fairy types was a foregone conclusion. There was no stopping the old man’s excitement towards the foreign species of pokemon. Gray would not begrudge his grandfather that much, and his own contributions to the future researchers was inevitable. That would put Gray’s name in the same field as Professor Oak.

  His quest for battle fame would also put him on the same threshold as Blue.

  But where would that leave Grandpa Sammy? He’d remain a footnote to the family’s successes, and the layman would never know about his impact on Gray Oak.

  It felt supremely unfair to Gray, a grave injustice to the amount of love, time and energy Grandpa Sammy had invested in him. It was true that he grew up on Professor Oak’s dime, but it was Grandpa Sammy who raised him.

  “Besides, think about it. I’d be kicking major gym butt under a minor gym’s name,”

  Gray knew where to angle his punches for maximum impact. Grandpa Sammy folded, content to let Gray do whatever he wanted. The boy was too stubborn for his own good, and stopping him from doing something he’d decided to do was a waste of breath.

  Said grandson smiled brightly, before elaborating.

  Gray would compete under Pallet Town gym’s name, drawing attention to Grandpa Sammy, the man who raised him. He would also openly acknowledge his biological relationships with Professor Samuel Oak and ex-Champion Blue Oak to draw clout. Both men had no complaint against this, taking it as a given.

  Blue questioned him on his need to draw attention to Pallet Town gym, keen senses telling him there was more to the story than filial piety. Gray went quiet before he explained haltingly.

  “I don’t know yet… I’ve no concrete plans, but… Don’t you get a feeling we can be something more? When Pallet Town kids grow up, even if they did want to stay here, what would they do?”

  The table stilled at that. Even Gary and Ash, in their youth, furrowed their brows at the thought.

  Pallet Town consisted mostly of retired Kantonian war veterans, who had raised their kids in solidarity. The next generation, Blue and Gray’s parents, grew up in the community, but had mostly chosen to develop their roots outside of Pallet Town.

  The tiny seaside town simply had too little to offer to the world. Despite its good geography, being the town closest to Johto by sea, it remained mostly forgotten. The biggest draw to Pallet was Professor Oak’s lab, but its array of academics were hardly enough to spur more than a fleeting interest.

  At present, only Grandpa Sammy’s generation had planted their roots deep into the community. They were tight-knit, obvious from how gossipy individuals like Aunt Mallory could gather everyone together to watch Gray’s homecoming battle with his brother within an hour.

  The succeeding generations, however, despite their love for the town were forced to work and live in bigger developed cities like Viridian and Vermillion. There was simply not enough economic activity within Pallet Town to justify staying.

  Bitterly, it had been a prime excuse for Gray and Blue’s parents to stay away from the town. As a kid who had spent quite a bit of time entertaining the elderly when he was abandoned by his siblings, Gray was intimately aware of the unhappiness Pallet Town veterans felt as empty nesters.

  Gray had nothing specific in mind thus far, but he felt that there was more that could be done for Pallet Town. Perhaps when Red was back, he could be an active contributor to developing something? Arceus knows he would need the distraction.

  At the very least, at present, Gray was willing to be a catalyst for change. If he could help Grandpa Sammy and all the old veterans on his way to embarrassing Lance Blackthorn, why not?

  Eager to shift the conversation, Gray continued.

  “Besides, when Ash and Gary go off on their journey, at the very least people won’t think they come from some unknown town. It’d pressure them to work harder, being the nephews of a cool uncle,”

  Ash and Gary protested, expressing their adamance of being super awesome trainers that would be way cooler than their uncle in the future.

  Gray laughed at their optimism. He turned to Blue. “Speaking of journeys, I’m thinking of taking Ash along when I get my badges. How do I go about asking Delia for permission?”

  “Just take him, it’s fine,”

  Admittedly, Gray was concerned at Blue being able to make parental decisions on behalf of Ash. A questioning look at Professor Oak and Grandpa Sammy confirmed that there were no issues. Gray figured that if Delia complained about it he would direct her anger at Blue like a good younger brother would.

  “... Can I go too?” Gary uncharacteristically whispered, barely loud enough to be audible.

  Before Gray could express an opinion, the boy’s father immediately vetoed. “No, Gary. You stay here.”

  The ginger-haired boy flushed at the immediate denial. Visibly deflating, he went back to poking around on his dinner plate, acting as if he never asked the question in the first place.

  Gray contemplated the value of speaking up for his nephew, but he figured that it wouldn’t be appropriate to question Blue’s parenting so blatantly. He instead turned a teasing look at Ash, who was squirming in excitement. The boy was surreptitiously eyeing his best friend, taking care to not express too much happiness but failing.

  “Not to worry, we’ll frequently be back in Pallet Town anyway. I’ve no intention of camping outdoors. As much as possible, I want to be sleeping on my own bed!” Gray explained in a bid to cheer up his nephew.

  The next day, Gray found himself patiently waiting for Ash in front of the laboratory entrance. He squinted at the mid-morning sun, internally cheering at the cloudy sky and excellent weather. It was a remarkable omen to start a journey on.

  Before he could reflect further, hurried steps sounded from inside the lab. The door flung open to reveal Ash, who was panting from his quick pace.

  “Are you sure you’re ready to go?” Gray laughed and pointed beneath the barefoot boy.

  Flushing, Ash ran back into the lab. He emerged a few moments later, this time around wearing the appropriate shoes.

  Gray snickered at the boy before turning his attention towards his other family members who had just appeared to send them off.

  “Keep the boy safe, Gray. And come back soon. We look forward to seeing you win,”

  Grandpa Sammy instructed gruffly. Rolling his eyes at the old veteran, Gray darted forward to give him a quick, cheeky hug. He danced away before the old man could pinch his sides, laughing at the affection he had managed to successfully steal.

  He waved at Blue and Professor Oak, who seemed pleased enough at being acknowledged. He looked around for Gary but was unable to find him. Gray quirked a brow at Blue, but his older brother just waved him off.

  Gray turned back at Ash, ruffling and messing up his already unkempt hair. In a testament of his enthusiasm, the boy barely protested.

  Taking out Altaria’s ball with a flourish, he released the dragon and mega evolved him immediately. Ash whooped in excitement, approaching the pokemon before he’d even finished evolving.

  Gray mounted Altaria, ensuring a firm hold on Ash who was waving nonstop goodbyes at their grounded relatives. Once he felt confident in their safety, Gray instructed Altaria to gently take them up into the air.

  Uncle and nephew soared into the air, leaving with nary a glance back.