It was another bright and sunny morning, and trainee Grayson sat up in bed, eyes half-closed, urged awake by his alarm clock.
After listening for a bit to the chirping of Pidgey outside, he suddenly realized a new day... no, a new round of torment was about to begin.
After giving himself a serious pep talk while still in bed, Grayson was just about to get up and wash his face when the door to his room was suddenly flung open.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
Grayson screamed, instinctively pulling the blanket over his chest… only to realize he was wearing pajamas.
"Tch, like I'd be interested in your scrawny little body."
The intruder was Ocean Vale, Grayson's dormmate from the next room over. Seeing Grayson's startled look like some frightened bride, Ocean curled his lip in disdain, but couldn't resist leaning in.
"Got some good news for you~ The Gym Leader's heading out of town today!"
"WHAT?! The Gym Leader's going out of town?!" Grayson immediately leapt out of bed, grabbing Ocean by the shoulders and shouting.
"Ow ow ow, easy!" Ocean pushed him away in pain, rubbing his shoulder as he added, "If you don't believe me, go check the entrance. Mark-senpai and the others are there seeing him off. I heard the Gym Leader was invited to attend some kind of opening ceremony. I don't really know the details!"
"For real?! No no no, I have to go! I need to personally send off the Gym Leader and express my sorrow at his departure!"
Grayson changed clothes at lightning speed, not caring whether Ocean was still there. After throwing on his outfit, he didn't even bother to wash his face and dashed out the door.
"Hey hey, wipe that grin off your face, it's way too fake!"
Grayson stumbled mid-sprint, almost falling.
He turned and stuck his tongue out at Ocean, then kept running toward the Gym entrance; though he did try to restrain the huge smile on his face.
At that moment, Grayson had only one thought in his heart:
'FREEDOM!!'
---
At the Gym entrance, Sato was giving Akira instructions for how to continue guiding the trainees. Mark stood off to the side, face full of dread.
"Boss, you're leaving and still won't let them off the hook? I think they've worked hard enough lately… they deserve a break."
Mark was thinking that since the boss was heading to Kanto anyway, and he also noticed some trainees secretly eavesdropping nearby, this was his chance to play the "hero" and win their favor.
"That's all. While I'm away in Kanto, the training will be in your hands."
"Don't worry, Leader! I'll supervise everything properly!" Akira said seriously.
Sato nodded to Akira before turning to Mark, an amused look on his face.
"B-Boss, don't look at me like that… I'm getting nervous," Mark instantly folded, trembling as he backed into a corner.
Sato stared at him for a while, then finally shook his head with a sigh.
"Arbok's been with you for so long, and you still haven't helped it reach Ace. If it's still at Elite level when I get back, I'm putting you in class with the trainees every day. You'll train right alongside them."
Mark: pikachu_stunned.jpg
Joseph chuckled from the side and patted Mark on the shoulder in silent sympathy, then turned to Sato.
"Safe travels!"
"Yeah, I'm off."
Sato turned and left, leaving behind a group of people with richly varied expressions.
The spectrum of human emotions was especially vivid in that moment…
---
Three days later, Sato arrived in the bustling and most conveniently connected city in the Kanto Region -Saffron City- via a flight from Goldenrod City.
The moment he stepped out of the arrival gate, he spotted White and Clair waving both arms at him.
"How did you know which flight I was on?" Sato walked up with a smile.
"Because our great Gym Leader Sato made it on the News! Since we had nothing to do, we came to pick, you, up~"
White grinned as he spoke, putting extra emphasis on the word "you" with exaggerated politeness, still as casual as ever.
"The News?"
"Well yeah, you just got off the plane so you wouldn't know. Someone took a photo of you at the terminal and posted it."
Sato was even more confused. He wasn't a celebrity, just an ordinary Gym Leader. What was there to post?
Seeing Sato's puzzled look, White immediately understood and exclaimed excitedly, "The League just released the results of the full-scale Team Rocket city raid, and you were described as the one who turned the tide: [A powerhouse who saved Olivine City from crisis!].
Right now, in both Kanto and Johto, there are probably tons of girls who see you as an idol and want to marry you!
So of course your whereabouts are being followed and reported. Look… your eleven o'clock. See those two sneaky people?"
"…Reporters?" Sato frowned, unsure.
"What else would they be? Hurry, let's go. If we wait any longer, you won't be able to leave even if you wanted to~"
Sato tugged at the corner of his mouth and followed White helplessly. Only then did he have a chance to glance at Clair and nod in greeting.
Seeing Sato look over, Clair quickly nodded back with a smile. That once-spoiled little girl's demeanor had softened quite a bit.
The three quickly got in the car and successfully shake off the two reporters.
Inside the car, Sato kept noticing Clair stealing glances at him without saying a word. Finally, he couldn't help but ask, "Where's your cousin?"
"Pfffft~ Hahahahahahahaha!"
White burst out laughing, completely unrestrained. His eyes sparkled with mischief as he looked at Clair.
Furious, Clair didn't hesitate: she pounded on White with a flurry of punches, the loud "bang bang bang" making Sato instinctively shrink back a bit.
'Yep… some things hadn't changed at all.'
"Huff..." After finishing her assault, Clair took a deep breath. Knowing her ladylike image was a lost cause, she shot Sato a resentful look.
"Who starts a conversation by asking about someone's relative? ANOTHER CLUELESS PIG!"
Sato thought, 'Didn't I greet you just a moment ago with a nod?'
"So… how has your cousin been lately?"
"AHHH… guhguhguhguhguh!"
White laughed like a goose. No matter how hard Clair hit him this time, he couldn't stop. His expression screamed: go ahead and hit me! If I stop laughing, I lose.
After a few more minutes, White finally calmed down. Sato was just about to speak again-
But this time, Clair beat him to it, blurting out, "Lance's fine. Will's fine. Rose is fine. Everyone's fine. STOP ASKING!"
Sato opened his mouth, but in the end, only managed an "Oh."
Next to him, White was still panting from laughter, his face stuck in a twisted grin.
By then, the car had arrived at a large iron gate.
As it opened, a vast garden came into view, filled with all sorts of adorably cute small Pokémon.
Further in, a massive castle-like building stood proudly, so unreal it looked like it came straight out of a fairy tale.
The car came to a halt, and a black-suited butler with white gloves stepped forward and personally opened the door for them.
"Welcome home, gentlemen. White-sama¹[1], your welcome reception has been prepared. Please proceed this way with your guests."
"Come along, our great… great Gym Leader Sato~" White said playfully, not acting like a noble heir in the slightest.
Sato glanced at the line of more than a dozen maids stretching from the car all the way to the castle entrance and thought: So when White said the mansion in Silver Town was too small… he really wasn't exaggerating.
.
.
.
¹.Since this is a fanfic from a Japanese anime, I'm leaning into how the culture of regions like Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, and Hoenn is already based on Japan or modeled after real places there.
[1] Since this is a fanfic from a Japanese anime, I'm leaning into how the culture of regions like Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, and Hoenn is already based on Japan or modeled after real places there.