The morning of the match started much like any other. I nuzzled into Sabrina and enjoyed her warmth before shooting the alarm clock a glare. A sigh escaped Sabrina, and she prodded me into heading out into the reserve to run through my day’s chores.

I grumbled, gave her a kiss, and got out of bed.

When I was finished with my usual morning routine and dressed, I exited only to find Yolanda yawning and marching down the hallway. I shot her a nod. She hadn’t committed to every morning, but more often than not she was up at the same hour as I was and spending time with the various pokemon around the reserve. Usually with Terra. Although these days she spent most of her time with Terra and Empress.

I’d sat in on a few of their sessions. Having Empress relax on the reserve was a good thing. I made sure to ask if she wanted to leave every now and then, but she merely shook her head and continued to play around with Terra.

Today I made a beeline straight for my Elite team. I woke them up and checked them over before signalling for Titan to begin the warm-up for my non-injured pokemon. As we ran I noticed that Terra had led Empress and Yolanda around to watch. Tirtouga and Cranidos were also present.

Cranidos went from sleepy to instantly awake when it felt my pokemon rumbling along to the distant rock. It straightened and began to kick up some dirt as it glanced around.

I was forced to watch, too far away to stop it as Terra made the mistake of approaching Cranidos.

So Cranidos did as he always did and headbutted her.

She fell on her backside, only for Empress to turn her gaze upon the tiny suicidal pokemon.

I turned, fully prepared to intervene, only for Terra to snort, stand up and wrap her arms around Cranidos while he was still braying triumphantly. Then Terra threw him in an almost textbook judo throw.

I blinked in surprise as Cranidos slammed into the ground. He stood up a moment later, still slightly stunned.

“Lar!” cheered Terra happily, like it was a fantastic game.

“Cran!” cheered the Cranidos right back at her. He then lowered his head and charged, only for Terra to happily start grappling and play fighting with him. Empress and Yolanda watched on. Yolanda cheered her little pokemon on.

“That’s it girl! Just like I showed you! Trip him up and keep him off balance! Don’t be afraid to use your horn either!” she cheered.

I relaxed, once again, Yolanda had it under control. Empress merely huffed, content to let the baby pokemon play with each other, as much as pokemon weighing in at over thirty kilograms in Cranidos and seventy in Larvitar can play with each other.

I darted off to catch up with the team, snatching up the lagging Teddiursa that was doggedly trying to keep up, but not yet having the ability. He whined but relaxed when I propped him on my back. “Hang on,” I ordered as I picked up speed.

“Urrrrrrrrrsa!” he shouted before laughing as we started to overtake my team.

I completed the lap and then ran through some stretches with everyone. Don whined and grumbled throughout the entire session. I frowned when I noticed how Bertha was strangely stoic.

My injured pokemon stepped out of the training group after the stretches were done. I took the time to inspect their bandages and wounds before declaring them still in good order… apart from Betha who’d already gotten hers caked in mud.

I shot her an unimpressed look and reminded myself to fix her up later.

I deposited Teddiursa in front of her and she snatched him up to cuddle. “Teddiursa, you need to escape her grasp; that's your work out for today,” I said, turning and leaving him to his fate.

I then turned back to the rest of my pokemon that had been only lightly trading blows. “Switch it up, a bit of special attack training for ten minutes and then we’ll call it in!” I shouted, making my pokemon shift how they’d been training. Tide blasted out some Hydro Pumps while Knight channeled Dark energy, I observed both for a little while before moving along to other pokemon. Shrek was working steadily and I was impressed with how he was firing off some tightly controlled shots that weren’t costing him speed.

After ten minutes of walking through my pokemon I finished the training session. “Alright, bring it in!” I said with a clap of my hands. Yolanda locked her eyes on my hands when the clap slammed out an echoing bang. I shot her a smirk, knowing that she’d noticed the noise being far too loud.

Teddiursa took that moment to leap out of Bertha’s grasp and put Clefairy between himself and Bertha. The small fairy pokemon patted him on the head, consoling him. Bertha huffed petulantly.

My team settled in around me and I nodded. “Alright gang, we’ve had some setbacks with recent events as we all know.” Bertha, Don, and Hypnotoad all slumped.

Sanchez stood and clenched his fist. “Go go go lem! Le go!” he said enthusiastically. He then made an imploring gesture to me while his eyes watered slightly. I knew he was asking me to overlook his injury and let him fight.

I grabbed up a rock from the ground and tossed it at his bandage. He flinched and leapt back. I shot him an unimpressed look. “If a pebble from me can cause that response you’re not going to be able to deal with it when rocks are flying.” I indicated the rest of the team. “Have some faith in the others today. As much as I’d love to have you out there, Sanchez, I’m not going to risk it, you’re injured and sometimes that’s life. You got to fight Lance and made an incredible showing. Now the spotlight is going to land on some other people.”

I spent some time looking into each pokemon in my team, including Clefairy.

“The team for today will be Gawain, Jormungandr, Shrek, Knight, Tide, and, of course, Titan.”

Gawain and Jormungandr perked up at hearing their names and beamed. Gawain vibrated in place. “Klea?” he said hopefully.

I nodded. “This is your big debut as a Kleavor buddy. You’ll go out there and knock 'em out, I have no doubt.”

I looked up at Jormungandr. There was a lot of potential there… that I just couldn’t tap into. I’d spent a lot of time working with him and creating the bond. Sabrina and Alakazam had been surprised with how much progress we’d made… but it still wasn’t enough. The potential was there though… could I just force it? I swallowed and decided against it.

“Jorm. I know we haven’t gotten you as strong as you can go, not while the option of mega-evolution is still on the table.” Yolanda shot me a confused look at this, but I didn’t expand on my comment. Jormungandr gave a morose nod.

“Hey, we’re working on it, and it's getting closer every day. It just isn’t going to be our ace card yet. That being said, there are other options that will see you show your stuff today.” I nodded at Tide and Shrek both of whom nodded back. They’d gone through tough matches with me before. Titan was likewise a rock I could lean on.

Knight clenched his fists and nodded when I looked at him. I nodded back, pleased. With both him and Titan knowing Dark Pulse I planned to make things tough for Will.

“Alright team, with the focus on the Gym during the match, I still need a few of you to watch for any intruders!” I said to the rest of my team, making them perk up.

Don, in particular, had a glint in his eye that promised extreme violence to anyone that intruded. “Anyone that can’t patrol, remember that there is a projector for you to watch the match on the back of the gym.” I pointed over my shoulder to where a pair of trainers were setting up said projector for the Gym’s pokemon to watch and enjoy the match. A few trainers would sit with them and offer the various pokemon some healthy snacks to enjoy the experience more.

With my decisions made, I departed, walking into the house to find Flint whipping up a batch of scrambled eggs and bacon on toast for me.

“Morning Brock! I made your favourite!” he said, smiling widely.

I took in the frying pan and the man behind it. On the kitchen island, there was a lot of clutter, but I could just make out a note written in Yolanda’s handwriting, detailing how I liked my eggs and even which bakery I liked to get my bread from.

Flint put it down in front of me, and a half dozen responses tried to fight their way out first. I wanted to point out that this wouldn’t be a good meal for the rest of the family. That I really should just have a normal meal. That I was on a diet. That he’d cooked it wrong…

Instead, I sat and nodded. “Thanks Flint, it smells… great.” I glanced around for—

“Here’s the pepper!” he said enthusiastically, handing it to me. I nodded again and cracked some of it before cutting up some bites to eat. When I took the first bite, I was both happy and annoyed that he’d gotten the flavour exactly right.

He’d even gotten the right tuscan cheese, that I like grated and melted throughout the eggs. “Mmmm this is perfect!” I said, causing him to beam with joy. I pretended not to notice the thumbs up Yolanda and Flint shared.

When the other kids trundled in, they had a different meal made up by Nanny Grav. I still fed a few of them some of my breakfast so they could enjoy it as well. Munchlax wiggled with joy at the flavours. Then he turned on Flint with Baby Doll Eyes, and Flint tried to look away.

“I ran out of eggs! I swear!” Flint said.

This caused Timmy to look up. “So get some more then?” Then he tilted his head. “Where do eggs come from?” he asked cluelessly.

I clapped my hands. “And on that note, I’m going to head over to the Gym! Flint can tell you where eggs come from!” I said tossing Flint under the herd of tauros without a hint of shame.

“Bye Brock! We’re going to make a special sign for you!” said Suzie. Then Cindy leaned in and whispered furiously in her ear. Suzie nodded and then glared at me. “We are not making anything special for you!”

Billy waved his hands about. “I drew Sanchez! Zap Zap!” he said happily. The other siblings groaned, and I chuckled, giving them each a rub on the head before I set out. I made sure to give Yolanda a kiss on the head for her effort this morning. When she wiggled with joy, she caused Terra to giggle in her lap.

From there, it was business as usual, with Alexa slotting in at my side and reporting anything of interest for the day. When we were done listing off the pokemon trainers that were scheduled in I checked something. “You made sure to block out the space before the battle with Will for me?”

“Yes! That time is all yours! I’m surprised you’re taking it, though. You usually book in all the slots. Are you feeling alright?” she asked, eyes flicking about my face.

“I usually just treat it as business as usual for those matches, as that’s what it is for me. I’m not too bothered by the whole thing, usually.” I paused. “Or I used to not care…” I said before shaking my head and continuing to walk.

“I normally do minimal prep work and just select a team off the cuff. With Will… It’s been dragged out and hyped up enough that I know I’m going to need some time to get my mental state right. I’d like to treat it as just another match, but it really isn’t.”

Alexa nodded, agreeing with me. “What are you going to do about the match wager?” she asked.

I was half tempted to suggest that I would up the ante. Unlike Lance, I would have the right to set the pot. But that would see him possibly getting more prestige. I shook my head. “We’ll set it as the usual amount. We’re making money off the television rights, the ticket sales, and the snack carts set up.”

“Georgina is upset that you’re not going with the exhibition format. With breaks, more people would buy food and drink that the gym could have supplied.”

I shrugged. “It’s a proper Ace challenge. We’ve already got people set up outside for a good clip of money; there's no need to set something else up in the Gym. Let the locals make some money.” I almost shivered. I was close to sounding like Mayor Jonathan just now.

“Alright, well, your first match is ten minutes away and is waiting for you so—”

The rest of the day passed like a normal Saturday for me during the circuit… of late at least. A normal Gym circuit would see me being able to post the Saturdays as later starts with the chance to sleep in two days a week.

As much as my siblings would let me anyway.

When it came time for the break, Missy, Dennis, Jackson, and A.J. all came and sat with me in the area for Gym trainers. Missy fidgeted, her eyes glancing around, while A.J. settled in and watched quietly from his chair.

Dennis coughed into his fist. “That last match was pretty straightforward, wasn’t it?” he said to Jackson.

Jackson shot him an amused look. “Yeah?”

Dennis pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s not what... urgh!”

I chuckled. “I know what you’re trying to do Dennis, and I appreciate it, but it’s not how I prepare.”

Dennis slumped like he’d failed me. “Sorry Brock, I know Rocko usually comes and hangs out with you before some matches like this.” He fidgeted. “I'm just trying to fill in,” he said.

I shrugged. “We’ve never had matches like this though. Don’t beat yourself up.” I shot him a smirk. “Also, I fought the Champion with just Celia to chat with last time," I said, tilting my head. “Actually, the day before I spent some time with my friends Erika, Surge, and Sabrina.”

“Oh! Your girlfriend!” said Missy, nodding along. I considered pointing out that Sabrina wasn’t my girlfriend back then before deciding it wasn’t important.

“Most of the time, it doesn’t really matter who I’m with. If you need to, you can assemble a group of friends or an entourage that helps you relax before matches. I just try to go with the flow. I used to listen to music or even work out.” I shook my head. “Those didn’t work for me, though.”

“So just hanging out with friends is what you do before a big match?” said A.J.

I glanced in his direction and found he had a notepad out. I shook my head.

“It’s not just about what you do during the immediate lead up. It’s about knowing that you’ve come into the match with the best possible prep. You’re not always going to have amazing preparation, so don’t begrudge yourself that. I find that my mental state can start the night before. I make sure to go to bed early, drink lots of water, and then start the day with a normal, if light, work out.”

“By who’s standard?” said Jackson. “Yours or Trixie’s?” he said with a smirk. I snorted at him and glanced at A.J.’s clueless expression. Missy, Dennis, Jackson, and I shared a chuckle.

I then outlined how I would usually play around with a pokeball spinning it over my hand and just focusing on the moment. When the crowd cheered and shouted, I made sure to focus on a few key things.

“This can get harder or easier during the big matches when crowds get excited. Just focus on keeping your eyes moving for signs of moves or even telltale signs from the other pokemon. This is something that comes with familiarity with certain pokemon.”

“How can you get that level of familiarity?” asked A.J.

“The Gym matches?” Missy suggested. I nodded, pointing at her like a prize pupil. Her eyes widened. “So when I face trainers, I should be looking at how their pokemon move?” she said thoughtfully.

“How they shift their weight, where their eyes track, sometimes even where certain pokemon moves will erupt. Knowing that Starmie’s water attacks will come from the top limb is important when other pokemon moves will come from their center, where their mouth is.”

Alexa walked in and coughed. “I’m sorry, Brock but I have a trio of trainers from Hoenn that you know?”

“Oh, Brawly, Roxanne, and Flannery? Sure, bring them in!” I said with a grin. Alexa fetched them and I stood to check the clock. Another thirty minutes. I rolled my limbs and loosened up.

Missy and A.J. watched my movements like Pidgeotto watching a caterpie moving about. I continued my impromptu teaching moment. “It’s not a bad idea to stand and move around, not just in the lead up to a major match but also when doing office work. Your body can become sedentary, and blood will start to pool. Do some little stretches and let yourself feel the physical stimulus of pressure and release.”

“Brock! My man!” said Brawly as he swaggered in with Roxanne and Flannery. Flannery grinned and shot me a wave, while Roxanne bowed with a blush.

“My thanks for allowing us entry! We’re sorry to bother you like this; it’s just that we didn’t procure any tickets!” she said while I waved off her apologies.

“It’s fine. You’ll be able to get some of the best seats with my trainers anyway. Also, I imagine every season ticket holder the gym has will have cashed in their right to have a seat for this weekend, so there will have been limited spots regardless.”

The future Hoenn Gym leaders gave me clueless looks. I waved for them to take some seats and introduced them to my Gym trainers, and vice versa. When I mentioned that they were future Gym Leaders of Hoenn, they blushed happily while A.J. shot them hungry looks. I suspected he’d be challenging them soon to test himself.

“So what’s this about season ticket holders?” Brawly said.

“So I sell a preset amount of tickets to locals that allows them to claim seats ahead of a set number of matches each year. There’s been a lot of people cashing in with the trainer surge and getting to watch some of the Ace Trainer matches. It’s a way to make some passive revenue for your gym, but you need to have a stand and a fairly dedicated fan base.”

“Which Pewter has!” Jackson crowed happily.

I chuckled and nodded. “We certainly do, although we became a lot more popular this year, I have to say.”

Brawly laughed. “I’ll say! Beating the Champ will do that!”

I sighed. “Yeah, that, and a lot more,” I said cryptically. When it got close to the starting time, Sabrina teleported in with Erika. Erika bowed and then blinked in surprise at the much fuller room.

“Wow, everyone’s getting in on the action for the choice seats!” said Brawly.

Erika flicked her eyes at me before bowing in greeting. “Greetings, I am Erika from Celadon City.”

Flannery hooted a laugh. “Like, we’re not supposed to know you? Flannery from Lavaridge!” She leaned forward with a grin. “I’m disappointed you’ve forgotten me already!”

Erika leaned back, flustered at how close Flannery was. “Ah! My apologies I was merely being polite by re-introducing myself outside of the Gym.”

Roxanne nudged her friend. “Apologies for my friend, she is fiery in more ways than her pokemon type. I am Roxanne of Rustboro.”

Brawly put a hand behind his head, accidentally causing his shirt to ride up and show off an expanse of tanned, muscular skin. “Brawly from Dewford! I’m actually coming to challenge you next week!”

Before anything else could be said, Sabrina turned her head. “Rachel is about to come check on you. The crowd has mostly taken their seats. How did you want to introduce Will?”

“The normal way,” I said standing and rolling my shoulders. Gawain’s pokeball came out, and I rolled it over in my hand. “Alright, gang,” I said with a wink. “Time to take our places.”

Sabrina leaned in and pecked me on the lips. I shot her a grateful smile.

When we exited into the arena proper, I could see that it was a full house. Everywhere that I looked, people were seated. My own family had front-row seats, and I could see a banner held haphazardly between them saying ‘Go Brock!’ with different pokemon above each letter. It was homemade and adorable.

I nodded to Dennis, and he walked down to the central referee’s podium.

He tapped away at a few buttons and performed a system check. The shimmer of the barriers caught everyone’s attention, and a hush fell over the crowd as anticipation built. Dennis methodically ran through his task before setting his microphone on his collar. He tapped it once and nodded when the speaker captured the noise.

Then he nodded to me before directing his attention to Rachel.

Rachel nodded and stood.

The lights in the Gym dimmed, and I stepped forward to my spot atop the stairs that would lead from the trainer section to the podium. It was a path I’d taken maybe a thousand times by now.

“Ladies, Gentlemen, Children, and pokemon of all ages! Welcome to the Pewter City Gym! I’m your host for this afternoon’s match, Rachel Raul! Can I get a Pewter welcome from our regulars!”

The regular people that attended stomped their feet twice and clapped.

“THANK YOU!” Rachel shouted, beaming around at the crowd at large. “That's the way we say hello in this stadium, and I’ll be asking all of you to follow along as I introduce today’s trainers!”

She swept her hand to the side to indicate the eastern tunnel, which had taken on a pinkish tone.

“He’s been hyped far and wide! He’s the masked showman without a place to call home! Can you give a warm, Pewter welcome! To Will!”

The crowd began to stomp-stomp clap, almost to a man they adopted huge grins as the air shook at the percussion it was forced to endure. Will entered and paused theatrically at the tunnel entrance as the light that was cast from behind him projected his shadow to make him seem larger.

The short cape that he typically wore swept around him while he smiled and waved at the crowd. The people closest to his tunnel seemed to all be fans of his with how they broke off to cheer, but they were drowned out by the ‘We will rock you’ entrance.

He sauntered forward to the edge of the stairs that would lead him to the podium that overlooked the battlefield. His people had petitioned for him to be allowed to teleport onto the podium, but I wasn’t allowing him any leeway by lowering the dark emitters.

Instead of teleporting or walking across the space like I thought he might, he lifted off, his cape flowing around him as he levitated himself over and onto the podium.

He stood and waved about as the crowd faltered, impressed by the display of telekinesis.

I held in a snort of contempt. I’d seen better.

I noticed he directed a few nods to the side opposite my family, where Mayor Jonathan, Jonathan’s wife, and a few other people were sitting. It looked like he had his entourage well situated. It also seemed like he had more peons than I’d assumed. That, or he had gained more with Jonathan’s support.

Rachel let the crowd make some noise before raising the microphone once more. “And now! Ladies and Gentlemen! Your homegrown hero! The Pillar of Pewter and Leader of your Gym! LET ME HEAR YOU MAKE SOME REAL NOISE FOR BROCK!” she shouted while punching the air.

The lights boomed when they turned on, and I was lit up like a boxing champion walking up to the ring. The crowd threw themselves into making the stadium shake this time when they stomped twice, then slammed their hands together, following Rachel with her timing.

The people along the stairway slapped me on the back as I passed them, screaming their encouragement. When I reached the edge, as I’d done hundreds of times before, I crouched slightly. I felt a pressure on my form that wasn’t usual, and I narrowed my eyes at Will before drawing up my darkness to cloak my body.

I saw his eyes widen as I leapt, unimpeded by him, to land on the podium. A wave of darkness radiated out from me, and I stood from my landing crouch to lock eyes with him.

I flicked Gawain’s pokeball over the back of my hand and clasped it in readiness.

The crowd roared their approval, no longer holding to a pattern. They unleashed a torrent of noise that I felt, but didn’t acknowledge.

I only had eyes for Will.

I saw Dennis raise flags in my periphery. “Trainers! Are you ready?” he said, his voice booming over the crowd.

I nodded and enlarged Gawain’s pokeball. Will did the same for his first pokemon.

“Release!” Dennis shouted.

Will threw out his pokeball to reveal a Medicham that emerged in the air. Instead of falling gracefully, it floated, its face serene as it held its hands in a meditative position. It hovered for a moment before it lowered its legs. It then shifted back and forth rapidly in a ready position.

It was extremely light on its feet, from what I could tell. I also couldn’t see a megastone on its body in any way, which allowed me to relax. That would have been an unpleasant surprise.

I grinned as my own pokeball landed and released Gawain.

People were just starting to applaud Medicham’s entrance when Gawain emerged in all his rock armoured brilliance. He landed on his toes and bounced lightly back and forth. Then he swept his axes through the air and relaxed into a combat stance that we’d worked into him.

“Kleavor!” he bellowed.

There was a moment of stunned silence, and I was pleased to see Will’s lips shift into a frown.

Then the crowd recovered, and a roar of disbelief escaped a number of throats. I could hear a lot of people shouting. “Who is that?” “Is that another ancient pokemon?” “Since when did he have that pokemon?”

Gawain sliced the air once more and shouted his name loud and proud. “KLEAVOR!”

I grinned, if they didn’t already like me, I was pretty sure the local bugcatcher’s club would be idolising me with this reveal.

Dennis inspected both pokemon and dropped his flags. “BEGIN!”

“Close in!” I shouted, just as Will’s eyes glowed. He flicked his hand, signalling Medicham forward and Medicham responded without a word being said.

Both pokemon exploded into close range and stabbed, chopped, punched, and kicked at each other. Both of them were able to dance through the blows, weaving a deadly dance of powerful blows against scything blades. Neither pokemon seemed to gain the advantage, however, with how tightly controlled their forms were.

“Lean left!” I said, before a kick could slam home into Kleavor’s skull, quickly followed by a command to sweep him back.

“Don’t forget your elbows and shoulders! Don’t be afraid to body him if he tries getting too close!” I called. Gawain tightened up his form, and I felt a cool satisfaction settle over me. This was what I’d trained Gawain to do, to be a close-range fighter and trade strikes with an opponent.

I barked a few more orders as I saw some avenues that Medicham could deliver some hits, drawing Kleavor out and avoiding the baits.

Throughout the exchange, Will didn’t say a word. So instead, I had to read and react to the intentions of his Medicham. Low Kicks and Jump Kicks had to be dodged before ordering Kleavoer in to punish any overextensions.

“Hop back!” I barked as Medicham’s arm rose up.

Gawain skipped backwards and avoided the Brick Break Will had ordered his pokemon to pull off. I nodded, as Gawain didn’t wait for my order to close in.

He’d fought with Shin, Hypnotoad, and all the other pokemon in my Gym and learned how to apply himself. Then he’d gotten to fight other contenders before he’d evolved, and I’d only let him fight Sabrina’s pokemon outside our team.

His earlier showing had been a tease of his potential. Today was his proper debut. A day that would show everything he could do.

He used the extended range of his axe-like limbs to force Medicham to stay further out than it would like, while facing a wall of sharp rock.

Whenever Medicham got through, he dropped his body and shifted, making it so that Medicham either had to abort the hit or lash out into one of the sharp edges that were all over his body.

I was impressed that, so far, Medicham had been able to match Gawain. No hits had landed cleanly, forcing both of them to dance around each other.

The crowd leaned forward, enthralled by this high-paced start to the match. It must seem strange to them to hear me barking orders while Will remained silent.

If I hadn’t fought Sabrina as much as I had, I might have found it unnerving. Instead, I’d known to expect it.

“Commit!” I said, leaning forward in readiness. I’d need to be careful here.

Gawain did as ordered, committing himself to harder chops and swings of his axes.

Each time he did so, he forced Medicham to dance back as rocks exploded out of the impact points like shrapnel.

“Drag them and flick the blades up!” I said making Gawain commit a weak variant of Rock Throw that had Medicham ducking to the side before it charged in to lock Gawain up.

I pointedly didn't look at the slivers of rock that were being left at the impact points from Gawain’s Stone Axe. It didn’t matter that we weren’t hitting and injuring Medicham. Gawain was setting the stage.

My set up of tiny Stealth Rocks all over the field might be smaller and take longer, but it was well worth it. You had to know that it was a possibility to be on guard for it, after all.

Medicham and Gawain could trade blows for another few moments , but I planned to up the ante soon.

It might not be a one-and-done like Sanchez against Lance’s Gyarados, but I was pleased.

It was all going according to plan. I pulled on my rock energy and linked it with Gawain. And just like that, Gawain began to move faster, his attacks containing more power while his defenses rose incrementally.

It was time to make a push.