The day of Pryce's Gym evaluation had finally arrived.
Early that morning, Matsuba brought Morty, Tetsuya, Fantina, Raine, and Ryuto to wait at the front gates of the Gym for Pryce's arrival.
Tetsuya was quite eager to see Pryce. In his previous life, he had never witnessed Pryce's power firsthand, so in his mind, Pryce remained a legendary figure.
Around nine o'clock, a black stretch limousine with the official League insignia appeared at the Gym entrance.
Pryce arrived with two assistants and a driver, four people in total.
Matsuba quickly led the five to greet him. "Elite Four Pryce, I, Matsuba, Leader of Ecruteak Gym, have been awaiting your arrival."
"Mhm. Let's go inside."
Pryce wore his usual aloof expression.
'Uff…'
Matsuba led Pryce into the main hall of Ecruteak Gym, where Ryuto had already prepared Tea¹[1].
"Hand over this year's Challenge records and Badge issuance documents to my assistant," Pryce said.
"They're ready."
As Matsuba spoke, Morty brought out a stack of documents from the study.
While the assistant reviewed them…
"Matsuba, I heard you've been running an unrestricted Gym Challenge format for the past two months…?" Pryce asked, his tone tinged with suspicion.
'W-What??'
Matsuba's heart began to race, and beads of sweat rolled down his face. It had seemed like a small matter, but with someone like Pryce -who was known for strict adherence to rules- this could become serious.
"E-Elite Four Pryce, please, allow me to explain-"
Matsuba had just begun to speak when Pryce raised a hand to cut him off, making him even more uneasy.
"Hmph… You did well.
What is the duty of a Gym Leader? It's to assess a Trainer's abilities and provide constructive feedback. That's the only way more Challengers can benefit, and more talent can be nurtured for the League.
Those 'high-ranking' League officials insisting on restrictions… Aren't they just pushing talent toward other regions? I believe what you're doing is right, and it should be promoted!"
Pryce's tone became increasingly impassioned.
Tetsuya let out a cold laugh in his mind. 'Tehaha… No wonder you're always ostracized. You really have no political sense. What "high-ranking" official wants to be lectured daily by an old man? The League might as well just hand itself over to you.'
Hearing Pryce say this, Matsuba finally began to feel relieved…
---◓---
The assistant finished reviewing the documents and reported to Pryce that everything was in order.
Pryce nodded. "Ecruteak Gym is certainly a reliable Gym. Let's move on to the battle evaluation.
Head to the battlefield!"
One hurdle passed, Matsuba let out a slight breath of relief.
They arrived at the battlefield. Pryce took his position on one side, ready for battle.
Matsuba took a deep breath. Even if he lost, he couldn't disgrace Ecruteak Gym. He steadied himself and stepped forward.
He reached for his Poké Ball, ready to battle!
But Pryce interrupted his action. "Who said I was going to evaluate you?"
Matsuba looked at him in confusion. "Elite Four Pryce… you're not evaluating me? Then who?"
"Those five kids behind you. Are they all your students?" Pryce asked.
"Except for the girl. She's the daughter of the Hearthome Gym Leader in Sinnoh. The other four are," Matsuba answered.
"Good. Then all four of them will battle. I want to evaluate your Gym Pupils."
Pryce's words stunned everyone present, including Matsuba. No one had been prepared for this. Although Gym evaluations did sometimes include pupil and apprentice assessments, those were usually done by an Elite Four member's apprentice, or were based on written exams.
Today, Pryce was actually going to personally evaluate the Gym's pupils!
This completely caught Matsuba off guard. He had just given them a three-day break, and they weren't in battle-ready condition at all.
This was a disaster in the making. Matsuba was anxious and sighed quietly. Given Pryce's personality, he should have realized that the man didn't have any pupils of his own.
Back when he served as Gym Leader at Mahogany Gym, he didn't even have an apprentice to serve as referee. Rumor had it that his neighbor, an older lady, handled that for him.
"Elite Four Pryce, some of these kids have only been with their Pokémon for a few years at most. How could they possibly spar with you?" Matsuba asked hesitantly.
"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."
Knowing there was no way to change Pryce's decision, Matsuba could only brace himself and turn to Tetsuya, Morty, Raine, and Ryuto. "Just do your best."
What worried him most was Ryuto. If he'd known Pryce was going to assess his pupils directly, he never should have claimed Ryuto as one of them. The boy was still completely inexperienced in battle.
Ryuto's whole body was trembling. He didn't even know where to place his hands.
Tetsuya stepped forward first. "Come out, Gastly."
Pryce glanced at the icy-faced boy who had stepped up first and nodded slightly. If this kid put on a good performance, maybe it could solve the problem he was facing.
To Tetsuya, even though Pryce was a legendary figure in his mind, he had no intention of trying to defeat him. There was no need to be nervous. On the contrary, letting Gastly witness an even greater level of power would be a good experience.
Seeing Tetsuya release his Pokémon, Morty and Raine gritted their teeth and stepped up as well.
"Come out, Spiritomb!"
"Come out, Dusclops!"
Only Ryuto was left frozen in place, unable to bring out his Pokémon. His whole body trembled violently, and sweat poured from his forehead. He didn't even dare lift his head.
"Ryuto, get up there and battle!" Matsuba shouted.
To everyone's surprise, Ryuto dropped to the ground with a thump and burst into loud sobs.
"Pfft-!"
Pryce's assistant and driver covered their mouths, trying to stifle their laughter. Matsuba's face turned beet red, he wanted nothing more than to find a Dugtrio hole to crawl into!
He could only blame himself for not disciplining Ryuto properly. Now he couldn't even show his face in front of others, and today he had completely disgraced Ecruteak Gym.
"…If this 'pupil' of yours is unwilling to battle, then take him off the field," Pryce said.
There was no point evaluating someone like Ryuto. Pryce had seen enough to know his personality wasn't fit for it. He clearly wouldn't be any help.
Hearing Pryce's words, Matsuba had no choice but to escort Ryuto away from the battlefield. His heart sank even further. One candidate had already fallen before the evaluation even began.
This Gym assessment was off to a terrible start…
After dealing with Ryuto, Matsuba didn't dare linger. He would deal with the boy later, after Pryce had left.
When Matsuba rushed back to the battlefield, he saw that Pryce still hadn't released a Pokémon. It seemed he was waiting for Matsuba.
"Matsuba, as of now, I, the Elite Four, formally begin the evaluation of your pupils. If you have any objections, feel free to state them now," Pryce said.
At this point, Matsuba wouldn't dare object. He'd be grateful just to avoid severe punishment.
"…No, no objections at all," he said with a forced smile.
Pryce gave a slight nod and took out a Poké Ball.
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¹. Saffron City Tea™ ️
[1] Saffron City Tea™ ️