Gary had barely finished looking at the photograph when a hand suddenly grabbed him by the ear.
"Owwww!"
Daisy Oak stood behind Gary with an expression that made it immediately obvious that she had reached the absolute limit of her patience after hearing from Gladion how her brother was troubling him.
She had apparently decided that the only way to remove her brother from the Gym was to physically drag him out, and judging by the way Gary was currently hopping on one foot while desperately trying to pry her fingers away from his ear, she had no intention of letting him escape.
"Come on, Gary," Daisy said through clenched teeth as she pulled him toward the entrance. "You've taken your picture, met his Pokémon, met his Legendary Pokémon, won your badge, and probably talked enough for the entire Gym to remember you for the next ten years. We're leaving."
"But Daisy!" Gary protested, stumbling after her. "I haven't asked him about his Mega Stones yet!"
Daisy pulled harder. "You're asking him nothing else."
"But I wanted to know how he got his Tyranitar!"
"No."
"And how he trained his Metagross!"
"No."
"And whether Latios and Latias actually sleep!"
"No!"
"And whether I can—"
"Gary!"
"Okay! Okay! I'm leaving!"
Gladion watched the spectacle with a strange mixture of amusement and relief. Gary continued protesting as Daisy dragged him toward the doors, but his resistance had become increasingly half-hearted. The cheerleaders followed behind them, trying not to laugh.
One of them whispered, "Gary, you're losing."
Another immediately replied, "He's been losing since Daisy grabbed his ear."
The third cheerleader nodded solemnly. "The Oak family hierarchy has been established."
Gary glanced over his shoulder. "I can still hear you!"
"Good!" Daisy finally released his ear when they reached the entrance. Gary immediately rubbed it while glaring at his sister. "You didn't have to pull that hard."
Daisy looked at him. "You were about to ask Gladion if you could have Latias's autograph."
Gary paused. "Well..."
Daisy shook her head before turning toward Gladion. Her expression became much more apologetic."I'm sorry about my brother."
Gladion waved a hand. "It's fine."
"No, really," Daisy continued. "He's just a big fan."
Gladion glanced at Gary. "That much was obvious."
Daisy smiled awkwardly. "He doesn't only follow you, either. He follows all your Pokémon on social media."
Gladion slowly looked toward Gary. "All of them?"
Gary nodded proudly. "Every single one."
Daisy continued before Gary could begin another explanation. "He follows Hydros, Mystique, Nyx, Collosus, Zeus, Arsenal, Guy, Lee, Rocky, Ultron, and all the others. He's constantly checking their posts. He watches all your matches too. Every Gym battle you upload, every major battle you participate in, every public appearance, every interview..."
Gladion stared at Gary whose expression remained completely innocent.
Daisy then looked at Gladion with an expression that suggested she had just remembered something unpleasant.
"Although..." She hesitated.
Gladion immediately noticed. "What?"
Daisy's expression became even more uncomfortable. "There's something you should probably know."
Gary's face changed. "Daisy."
"What?"
"Don't."
"I think he should know."
"Please don't."
Daisy ignored him. "Ash is even more of a fan."
Gladion froze. Hydros slowly turned his head toward Gladion. [Uh-oh.]
Gladion looked at Daisy.
"More?"
Daisy nodded slowly.
"Much more."
Gladion swallowed.
Daisy rubbed the back of her neck. "Ash is... well..."
She glanced toward Gary.
"He's Ash."
Gary folded his arms. "Hey!"
Daisy continued anyway.
"He can be a lot more enthusiastic than Gary."
Gary frowned.
"That's not an insult."
"No," Daisy agreed. "It's a warning."
Gladion's expression became increasingly concerned.
Daisy sighed. "Ash can also be more talkative."
Gladion's eyes widened. "More talkative?"
Gary raised a hand. "I don't think that's possible."
Daisy gave him a flat look. "Trust me."
Gary slowly lowered his hand.
Daisy continued, "When Ash gets excited about something, he asks questions. Lots of questions. He wants to know everything. How your Pokémon train, what they eat, how they learned their moves, how you caught them, how you met them, what their personalities are like, how strong they are, what battles they've been in..."
Gladion's stomach tightened. "And then?"
Daisy smiled awkwardly. "He usually forgets that the other person has already answered."
Gladion stared at her. Daisy nodded.
"Then he asks another question."
Gladion gulped. His thoughts began racing. 'More talkative than Gary.'
He looked toward the Gym entrance where Gary had just been dragged out. 'More enthusiastic than Gary.'
He remembered Gary sprinting into the Gym, screaming his name, demanding photograph, asking to meet his Pokémon, and then immediately asking to meet his Legendary Pokémon.
Gladion felt another wave of dread. 'So Ash is somehow worse?'
He looked toward Ultron. The Metagross was hovering nearby.
"Ultron."
[Yes?]
"How many questions do you think I could reasonably answer from one person before I am legally allowed to throw them out?"
Ultron paused. [There is no legal limit that I am aware of.]
Gladion frowned. "That's unfortunate."
Ultron's eyes glowed faintly. [However, I can calculate a reasonable conversational endurance threshold based on your current migraine.]
Gladion nodded.
"Do it."
["Approximately twelve minutes."]
Gladion stared at him. "Only twelve?"
["Your current condition suggests nine minutes would be safer."]
Gladion sighed. "Wonderful."
Daisy was still talking. "And Ash doesn't just watch battles. He gets emotionally invested in them. If he sees one of your Pokémon do something impressive, he'll probably want to know everything about it."
Gladion's expression slowly became horrified. He looked toward the ceiling. 'Why did I ever want to meet the protagonist?'
He remembered how excited he had been when he first learned that Ash Ketchum existed in this world.
The protagonist. The legendary trainer whose adventures he had originally been fascinated by. The boy who had traveled through multiple regions. The trainer who had battled countless powerful opponents.
Gladion had once thought meeting him would be interesting, maybe even exciting.
He had imagined discussing Pokémon battles with him. Perhaps learning something from his experiences. Maybe seeing how different his personality was compared with the stories and memories Gladion knew.
Instead, his first interaction with Ash's rival had involved being called a celebrity, having a fanboy sprint toward him, taking a selfie, listening to Gary brag about beating him, and watching Daisy drag Gary away by the ear.
And apparently Ash was worse. Gladion slowly rubbed his forehead.
'Who would have thought that my enthusiasm to meet the protagonist would die so soon?'
He looked at Daisy again. "How soon is Ash planning to come here?"
Daisy smiled awkwardly. "He'll probably be here soon."
Gladion's face went pale. "Soon?"
"Very soon."
Gladion's mind immediately started working through the possibilities. 'Could I just give him a badge?'
He imagined Ash walking into the Gym.
"Hi, Gladion! I'm Ash! Are you the Gym Leader? What Pokémon do you use? What's that Pokémon? Can I battle it? Can I see your Legendary Pokémon? How did you get them? Can I touch them? Can we take a picture? Can we battle again? How strong are they? What's your favorite move? How did you become a Gym Leader? Why do you have so many Pokémon? Where did you get—'
Gladion shuddered. 'No.'
He looked toward the battlefield. 'Maybe I should just give him the badge without a battle.'
The thought actually sounded reasonable.
He could simply hand Ash the badge. Then send him on his way.
Gladion nodded slowly. 'Yes. That's perfect.'
He could even put a sign outside the Gym.
ASH KETCHUM: BADGE AVAILABLE AT FRONT DESK. PLEASE DO NOT ENTER.
Gladion almost smiled at the thought. Then reality caught up with him. 'No.'
He sighed. 'The League would come after me if they found out.'
Gym Leaders were expected to test challengers. Giving someone a badge without a proper battle would completely undermine the League system. If word got out that Gladion had simply handed a badge to Ash because he didn't want to deal with his personality, there would be questions.
Gladion sighed again as Daisy escorted her brother out of the gym.
-----Author Notes------
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