Gray made it a point to not make his intentions too obvious, first chatting with his other pokemon naturally without making it clear he was gearing up for a tougher conversation with Ninetales.

  “Grim-Grim-Grimmsnarl!” said the pokemon while he shadow boxed the air, brows furrowed in concentration as he tried to manipulate energy in an outward burst with each jab.

  “Mmm, you’re right. We’ll work more on how powerful each of your punches should be. Perhaps working with Azumarill more in getting the timing of your energy manipulation? We wouldn’t need to be as precise as him, just enough to make sure each jab would ache.”

  .

  “Whim-Whim!”

  “Yeah, we do need to figure out a way for you to fight when you can’t rely on status conditions. That Luxray had Guts, so it was more powerful with a status condition. Your Pew Pews need more punch behind them.”

  Whimsicott preened at the idea of him getting to work on his Pew Pews more.

  .

  “Hatt-Hatterene!”

  “That Mirror Coat was definitely unexpected. We should have done more prep to find out what moves our opponent could potentially learn. But you know… You can technically do something similar too? If you use Endure just before you’re dealt a fainting blow, you’ll end up being able to tank it, but just barely.”

  “Hatt?”

  “... Yeah you won’t be able to retaliate immediately, not like Mirror Coat. But you can technically heal yourself up again with Life Dew. Or use Pain Split afterwards so you share vitality with your opponent. Theirs going down, yours going up.”

  Gray wisely doesn’t comment on the ugly grin on Hatterene’s face as she imagined those scenarios.

  .

  Gray turned to Ninetales next, by now the rest of the room had started to realise how off the ice type had been acting since the healing. Thanking Arceus for his fairy’s ability to read the room, the group herded Ash and Gary away to another corner of the space, keeping the boys occupied and leaving Ninetales alone with her trainer.

  “Want to start?”

  “Nine…”

  “It wasn’t your fault, you know. That was on me, I didn’t realise Luxray had X-Ray eyes of all things.”

  Ninetales grimaced at the reminder of the opponent that bested her.

  For most of her battles before, she would be able to combine both her Snow Cloak and Snow Warning abilities, making her difficult to discern in the snow scape. Together with her naturally white fur camouflaging her, Ninetales was used to being difficult to hit.

  It had been a combination of both bad luck and lack of knowledge that allowed Luxray to get the jump on her.

  “Nine-Ninetales!”

  “Yeah, we’ll have to work on being able to fight without relying on your abilities. Opponents like Luxray who have a biological advantage against you are few and far between, but I’m sure you don’t want to take that risk again.”

  “Ninetales!” She agreed without hesitation.

  “But you have to understand. You’re not the only one at fault for it, that was on me too. I’m the trainer, it was my job to be better prepared for our opponents.”

  “Nine-nine!”

  “No, I wasn’t aware Lt. Surge even had a Luxray. The old man hasn’t revealed him recently, so I was caught off guard too.”

  Before Ninetales could even protest, Gray interrupted. “But you’re right, it shouldn’t matter. We should be prepared regardless of what advantages our opponents would have, biological or not.”

  “Nine! Ninetales-nine!”

  Gray’s lips twitched, having expected this from his pokemon. “Everyone else did pretty okay in their matches, A few hiccups here and there, but all good.”

  He opted to keep quiet after he voiced that out, not wanting to get into the heart of why Ninetales was so upset. Ninetales, however, was having none of it. “Nine-tales!”

  “... Yeah you looked the worst out of everyone that fought today.”

  Objectively, this was true. Out of everyone that fought with Lt. Surge, she had been the only one unable to faint an opponent. Plus, and perhaps most importantly to Ninetales and the rest of his pokemon, she got to show off the least as well.

  Ninetales shrieked in denial, her sapphire eyes focusing on the rest of her team that had begun to pay attention to their trainer’s side of the room now that the ‘serious’ conversation was over.

  “Whim-si-Whim-si-cott-cott!”

  Indignant, Ninetales twisted her head back to look at Gray, only trusting his version of the story. At the very least, their trainer could be counted on as a neutral party to settle all their petty pokemon problems.

  “... Whimsicott did manage to set up a Trick Room and smack a Moonblast on Luxray before fainting with him.” Ninetales bristled. “But he still fainted in the end! That’s minus points according to you guys too, right?”

  Unimpressed, Ninetales turned her fury at her pseudo-sister Hatterene, compelling her to speak on how her match had gone in comparison.

  “Hat-Hatterene,” The Psychic-Fairy’s frank recollection of being taken out embarrassingly by Magnezone’s Mirror Coat soothed a small part in Ninetales. She was just about to calm down, when Hatterene continued on with a predatory smirk.

  “Hatt-Hatt-Hatt!” she continued, smacking her appendage against the ground as she mimed bowing at people around her.

  Shocked, it took everything in Ninetales to turn her attention back to her trainer, dreading to confirm the validity of the claim.

  “She didn’t get that many fans, I’m sure — but I guess people both admired her beauty and feared her strength. Hatterene was very convincing.”

  Ninetales whined at that before plopping on the ground helplessly. She didn’t care anymore, she’ll start upping her training so she doesn’t end up the most embarrassed after their next match!

  She sauntered over to Sylveon, demanding his attention and promise.

  The team’s starter and Gray’s longest companion among all of them, sighed before turning to their shared trainer.

  Gray nodded his head. “We can work with Sylveon to increase not just the amount of energy you can handle, but also fine tune your control with it. You’ll be fine, Ninetales. With Sylveon’s help, you’ll definitely get stronger and reach your goals.”

  With that, Ninetales marched off, mind already racing with what she needed to do, ignoring the snickers from some of her pokemon family. She had a point to prove to Kanto, to Indigo and to this side of the world. She’ll work doubly hard just to prove her own strength, therefore flushing the fluke loss of today from their minds.

  Since Gray’s match with Lt. Surge happened so early, they had more than ample time to burn for the rest of the day.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  The fairy trainer corralled Ash and Gary out of the pokemon center, eager to let them explore Vermilion further.

  As they made their way out, eyes followed their every move, though no one dared approach Gray as he strode with a straight back, obviously communicating that he had places to be.

  Gray brought the boys for a stroll through the harbor, letting them have their fill of foreign pokemon and goods congregated around the area. Finding a bench that overlooked the port, Gray plopped himself down and let the boys people-watch to their heart’s content.

  “Woah! What pokemon is that?” asked Ash as a Hoenn sailor passed by, arms bulging with the effort it took to lift the cargo as a bird pokemon sat atop his head.

  “Bzzt. Taillow, the Tiny Swallow pokemon. Taillow stands its ground against every opponent, regardless of their strength. This gutsy pokemon will remain defiant even after defeat."

  “That’s so cool!” he exclaimed before pausing to think about their earlier conversation in the pokemon center.

  “I’m going to be a Pokemon Master just like Taillow! Never giving up no matter how strong the opponent is!” said Ash as he turned to his Uncle Gray for approval.

  While Gray was content to let the boys live and learn, he felt the need to address Ash’s thought process.

  “So you think a Pokemon Master never gives up? Hmm, Ash, do you know why children are only allowed to become trainers at 10 after passing school and getting their license?”

  “Huh? No, Uncle.”

  “It’s because if we didn’t impose such rules, we’d have too many kids getting themselves killed during their journey.”

  The morbidness caught the boys off guard, Gary turning to listen in to the conversation between his uncle and best friend.

  Goosebumps formed on both boys’ skin as they felt a chill in the air not present there before.

  “It’s OK to believe in yourself, to keep fighting even when the odds are against you. But Ash, imagine if you were alone in the middle of the woods, and you came across a wild Scyther you have no hope of beating. Would you keep fighting against it, knowing that all of your pokemon would get hurt no matter how much they tried?”

  Gray could see a flicker of worry flash through the boy, eventually settling on a determined expression, lips taut. But before he could express his adamance, his uncle interrupted him.

  “And what if you send your pokemon to fight and the wild Scyther kills them. What will you do then?”

  Ash and Gary gasped, the thought of any future companion, hypothetical or not, being killed thanks to their actions deeply unsettling them.

  “I don’t mean to paint a grim picture, boys, but this is reality and the world we live in. Your school teaches and trains you to be able to survive in the wild all on your own after you become trainers. That’s why it’s important to make sure you know what you’re doing, because mistakes could hurt not just you, but your pokemon too.”

  Gray met both boys’ eyes, doing everything he could to let them see the seriousness of his words.

  “I’m proud that you guys want to be strong trainers who don’t give up in the face of adversity. But more than that, more than anything, I just want you both boys safe.”

  “Great-Grandpa says that pokemon grow when they struggle,” Gary interjects then. “If us as trainers don’t struggle, how can we grow? What if we don’t become as strong as our dads? If we don’t grow as strong as you? You’d be disappointed in us then.”

  “No matter how strong you both become, I’d never be disappointed in you.”

  Gary remained silent after his uncle’s declaration, brown eyes searching his uncle for confirmation.

  “Love isn’t conditional. I don’t love you both only when you’re being good or are strong trainers. Even when you’re causing me headaches or losing your first-badge gym match, my feelings won’t change.”

  The ginger boy tried to internalise his uncle’s words best he can, but the lingering doubts don’t disperse. He can’t help but think of the what ifs.

  For most of his life, he had had to fight to prove his worth as the great-grandson of Professor Samuel Oak and the son of Champion Blue Oak. He had resigned himself to a life chasing after their backs, doing everything in his power before finally getting out of the looming shadow they cast.

  But here his uncle was, after years of being away, and telling him otherwise. He wanted to believe in him, but it was too difficult to do so.

  As if his uncle was a Psychic type who could read his mind, Gray Oak simply smiled at his nephew.

  “You don’t have to believe me now, this is the kind of thing only time will tell. You’ll see,” he said softly, but the pure confidence and certainty settles a part in Gary.

  A grumble interruptted them then, and both Oaks turned to their side in alarm.

  Ash blushed, his hands clasped around his stomach. He cursed his stomach for interrupting the moment between uncle and nephew.

  His Uncle Gray laughs freely. “Oops. Sorry about that, let’s go get food, hmm?”

  Letting both boys decide on what to eat for dinner, Gray contented himself with following them from behind.

  Eventually both boys settled on a burger joint. The exterior of the place was rather dated, with peeling paint and faded posters on the outside. Even the neon light sign had one broken letter, a glaring dark hole in the middle of brightness.

  Yet despite the questionable interior, no one could deny the tantalising smell of meat and grease wafting out. Peeking through the translucent windows, they could make out a decent crowd enjoying the food inside.

  Ash and Gary turned to their uncle, ready to plead to be allowed to eat something so unhealthy for dinner. But Uncle Gray simply waved his arm to allow it, so both boys raced inside before the man could change his mind.

  Two boys entering the establishment wasn’t noteworthy, but Sylveon and Azumarill at their heels was a different matter altogether. Some patrons turned to observe the two, others craning their heads in order to do so. The cook, standing behind the grill, observed the boys expressionless.

  The atmosphere in the burger joint became colder, glances turning wary at the foreign pokemon. Before anyone could say anything, Gray Oak strode in.

  One patron choked when he recognised the man, his companion needing to pat his back heavily to get him back together. The cook’s eyes brightened before he walked forward. He leaned against the counter, focused fully on Gray.

  “You’re Gray Oak, right? Just had the personal gym challenge today?”

  Gray nodded his head before standing closer to his nephews. The observers connected two and two together, and the air in the room went back to normal.

  “That’s right. Any tables for us?”

  “Sure do, son. Want a table a bit further away? Give ya a bit of distance from the gawkers,” the cook replied with a mock glare at the patrons who were still gaping at the fairy trainer.

  “We’d appreciate that.”

  “These two boys related to you?”

  “They are. Do we pass off as a father and his sons?”

  Snorting, the cook replied with a warm tone. “We ain’t falling for that. We know quite a bit about you at this point, know you don’t have no kids.”

  “Oh? How?”

  “The TV people ran a special on you, talked about your family and everything.”

  Gray fought to keep his expression neutral, though he wasn’t aware of how successful he was. He told himself repeatedly that he had expected this, but the idea that he was about to be a well-known figure in Kanto was exasperating.

  Not that he was a stranger to fame, far from it, but he had been enjoying his anonymity back home, so the fact that such days were ending wasn’t particularly exciting for the fairy trainer.

  The cook grinned at Gray before pointing at a table at the back of the joint, hidden behind some fake foliage so they had trouble making it out despite it being pointed out directly to them.

  “You guys mind sitting there? It’s a bit hidden so you won’t be too disturbed by some of the other diners.” he said, voice rising towards the end before looking pointedly at those still gawking at the group.

  “We appreciate it, thanks.”

  Gray led the boys towards the table, settling themselves before placing their orders. Before long, steaming burgers were brought towards the table and the boys wasted no time gorging themselves.

  They were in the middle of enjoying their dinner when a loud slam interrupted their feasting. Gray looked sharply to Sylveon and Azumarill, unsurprised to find them already tense and ready to defend if needed.

  “Old man! We’re starving!”

  The cook laughed out loud before replying heartily. “Yeah, yeah I got ya guys. Get seated, I’ll bring food over soon.”

  The familiarity in the cook’s voice went a long way in reassuring Gray and his pokemon. By the time the new patrons shuffled to a table near their own, Sylveon and Azumarill had gone back to being calm.

  “Looks like the Blossom Bar is really back on its feet again, huh?” said one of the new voices.

  “How’d they even end up fixing everything so quickly? We didn’t get to destroy much, but didn’t we do enough damage?” said another voice, this one high pitched and female.

  Gray couldn’t wrap his fingers around it, but he could’ve sworn this voice was somewhat familiar.

  “We didn’t really have time to break more before we got interrupted…”

  “At least he only stopped us and didn’t beat us up over it. Watching him on TV today, he could have put us through the wringer if he really wanted to…”

  “Yeah, thank Arceus. But he’s Kantonian, so he probably wouldn’t have been overly angry. He’d understand.”

  “Not everyone does, we’ll have to be more careful in the future.”

  The subject of their conversation and the familiar voice confused Gray. He’d met these people before, hadn’t he?

  “I don’t know what we’re going to do now. At the rate things are going, my family’s shop will close down in the next few months.”

  “We can try again, no one will stop us this time.”

  “Then what? They’ll beef up their security? Or catch us in the act?”

  “…”

  “… Maybe we can ask around? Surely someone would have solutions.”

  Ash and Gary looked at each other, mouths midchew but eyes alight with interest. They both swallowed in unison and scrambled off the table and towards the voices before Gray could react.

  The only saving grace was Ash’s arm wrapped around one of Sylveon’s ribbons and Gary’s insistent pulling on Azumarill’s arm, thereby following their rule to never go off alone.

  “You guys need help? We can help!”

  “Yeah! Our uncle has super strong pokemon, we can do anything!”

  Their uncle sighed before getting up to follow. As he walked closer to the table, he was better able to make out the faces of its occupants.

  Dread began to build in him, and Gray had to blink quickly to clear the nonexistent dust in his eyes to ensure they weren’t playing tricks on him.

  The other group was in a similar state, eyes wide in horror at the two boys who had casually approached them and offering assistance like a Rain Dance in the middle of a drought.

  They looked up when Gray approached, their faces paling further when they recognised the older man.

  In his heart, Gray cursed out Arceus and every pokemon deity watching over this universe, because the Team Rocket members he had helped to arrest the night before were seated in front of him.