The moment Ash entered the Gym, Gladion knew his peaceful morning was officially over.
Ash walked through the entrance with Pikachu sitting on his shoulder, while Misty and Brock followed behind him. Ash looked around the Gym with enormous curiosity, taking in every detail as though he had just entered a museum dedicated entirely to Gladion.
His eyes immediately landed on the battlefield. Then on the trophies displayed along the walls. Then on the photographs.
Then on Gladion. And Gladion saw the exact moment Ash's brain produced its first question. "Gym Leader Gladion, is it true that you defeated Regigigas?"
Gladion blinked. 'At least he is not fanboying like Gary.'
"Yes."
Ash's eyes widened. "And you convinced it to go back to sleep?"
"Yes."
"How did you do that?"
"I talked to it."
Ash stared at him.
"You talked to Regigigas?"
Gladion nodded.
Ash immediately stepped closer. "What did you say? Did you use some kind of Psychic ability? Did your Pokémon communicate with it? Did you know it was going to listen to you? What did it say back? Can Regigigas actually understand human speech? Did it recognize you?"
Gladion stared at him. There it was.
Daisy had warned him. Gary had been talkative. Ash was something else entirely.
Gladion rubbed his forehead. "I don't even know your name. That's too many questions for someone I don't even know."
Ash nodded "Oh my name is Ash Ketchum. I am here to challenge your for my second badge."
Pikachu covered its face with both paws.
"Pika pika..."
Ash pointed to Pikachu. "This is my partner, Pikachu."
Ash immediately continued. "Is it true you have more than 2 Legendary Pokémon? How did you get Latios and Latias? Did you catch them? Did they choose you? Can they understand everything you say? Can they use Psychic? Which one is stronger? Which one is a male and a female? Are they siblings or lovers?"
Gladion stared at him. "I understand now."
Ash tilted his head. "Understand what?"
"Why Daisy warned me about you."
Ash's expression brightened. "Ah, yes. Professor Oak did tell me that she is sponsored by you and works for you. You've talked to Daisy about me?"
"Yes."
"Did she tell you about me?"
"Unfortunately."
Misty snorted. "She probably warned you that he's an idiot."
Ash immediately turned around. "Hey!"
Gladion glanced at Misty. The orange-haired girl was glaring at him.
Unlike Ash, who looked like he had walked into the Gym expecting to meet a celebrity, Misty looked as though she had entered a building owned by someone she had already decided to dislike.
Gladion knew why since he had already experienced her anger long ago.
Misty crossed her arms and muttered, "Don't expect me to cheer for you, Gym Leader Gladion."
Gladion raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't planning to."
Misty glared harder. "You know, I still haven't forgiven you for replacing Cerulean as a major Gym."
Gladion sighed. "And like I told you last time, I didn't personally remove your Gym."
"You still benefited from it."
"The League made the decision."
"And you accepted it."
"What was I supposed to do? Reject a major Gym position because you were unhappy?"
Misty's eye twitched.
"You're such a Rattata-ass."
Ash stared at her.
"Misty!"
"What?"
"That's not a real insult."
Misty pointed at Gladion. "Fine. He's a Persian-brained, Magikarp-faced, Trubbish-eating, Zubat-breathing—"
Brock raised an eyebrow. "You're getting creative."
Misty glared at him. "Don't encourage me."
She turned back toward Gladion. "I'm not finished. You're a Meowth-minded, Slowpoke-headed, Parasect-loving—"
Gladion finally raised a hand. "Are you done?"
Ash looked between them. "Why are you insulting him with Pokémon?"
Misty scoffed."Because Pokémon insults are better."
Pikachu looked at Gladion. "Pika pika pi."
Gladion nodded solemnly. "Yes. I agree. That one was creative."
Misty's eyes narrowed.
"You think this is funny?"
"Considering I've had a migraine since two days, yes."
Ash immediately became concerned. "You have a migraine?"
Gladion closed his eyes. "Yes."
Ash leaned forward. "Why? Did you get hurt during a battle? Was it because of Gary? Did Gary use some kind of attack? Did one of your Pokémon accidentally hit you? Does it happen often? Have you seen a doctor? What medicine do you take?"
Gladion had barely recovered from Gary's challenge, and now Gary's rival had arrived.
"Let's start with your gym battle," Gladion said.
"Before that, can I ask you something?"
Gladion closed his eyes. "Of course."
"Why is your Tyranitar so strong?"
Gladion opened his eyes again. "Hmm"
Ash nodded enthusiastically. "Collosus! I saw videos of him. He's enormous! He's way bigger than a normal Tyranitar. Is he an Alpha? How did he become so strong? Did you train him from when he was a Larvitar? Does his size make him slower? How strong is his Hyper Beam? Is it true he destroyed a mountain? Did he really destroy a mountain because he was drunk?"
Gladion's expression slowly became blank.
He had imagined meeting the protagonist would be an amazing experience.
Now he desperately wanted to meet a mute Magikarp. At least a Magikarp wouldn't ask questions.
Unfortunately, Ash wasn't even the only problem. Misty was still glaring at Gladion.
Every few seconds, she muttered another insult under her breath.
Brock, however, was proving to be an entirely different problem.
Gladion had initially expected Brock to be the sensible member of the group.
After all, Brock was older than Ash and Misty. He seemed calmer, more mature, and far less energetic than the other two.
Gladion had been wrong.
Very wrong.
Brock had noticed Gladion's mother.
Erza was standing near the side of the Gym, watching the proceedings with a calm smile. She had come to see how the newest challenger performed and had been listening to Ash's questions with increasing amusement.
Brock walked toward Erza. "Excuse me, but I don't believe we've been properly introduced."
Erza smiled politely. "I'm Erza."
Brock's eyes widened slightly.
"Erza Vortex"
He repeated the name as if testing how it sounded.
"That's a beautiful name." Erza actually blushed.
Gladion's eyes widened.'No. Not on my watch.'
Brock continued smiling. "And I have to say, you don't look old enough to have a son like Gym Leader Gladion."
Erza laughed softly. "That's very kind of you."
Gladion's jaw dropped. 'She's blushing.'
His mother was actually blushing. Brock leaned slightly closer. "I was wondering if perhaps you'd like to join us for dinner after the battle."
This was officially the worst Gym day of his life.
Brock continued, completely unaware that Gladion was staring at him with growing disbelief.
Brock was interrupted as he continued to flirt with Erza. "Perhaps we could—"
A Poké Ball suddenly burst open. Erza's Charizard appeared in a flash of light.
The large orange Pokémon immediately landed between Brock and Erza. Brock barely had time to react.
Charizard raised one paw.
Smack!
The paw connected directly with Brock's head.
Brock staggered backward. He held the side of his head. "Ow! What was that for?"
Charizard leaned forward and roared directly into his face. "ROOOAAAR!"
Brock's hair blew backward from the force.
Charizard then pointed one claw toward Erza, pointed toward Brock, and finally crossed both arms.
Gladion stared. He had never seen Charizard look so offended.
Erza covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
-----Author Notes------
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