"I'm sorry, I am truly, deeply sorry."
Inside the police station, a young man bowed repeatedly in apology. Beside him stood a young brat, head hanging low as he stared intently at his own shoes.
"This isn't the first time your brother has done something like this, is it? Honestly, you can't just go around causing trouble for people!"
Officer Jenny spoke with an exasperated huff.
"It's my fault, but he was only trying to draw more challengers to my Gym. He didn't mean any harm," the young man said with a conciliatory smile.
"Whether he meant harm or not isn't for you to decide. Alright, instead of me, you should be seeking forgiveness from that gentleman over there."
Officer Jenny pointed toward the side, where Kashiwagi was sitting comfortably in a chair, sipping tea and reading a newspaper, looking incredibly relaxed.
The young man approached Kashiwagi and apologized sincerely. "I am so sorry. My failure to discipline my younger brother has caused you trouble. I am willing to take full responsibility and compensate you for any losses."
"S-Sorry..."
The young brat, hung his head in defeat. You can't walk by the river forever without getting your feet wet; his "baiting tactics" had worked so smoothly in the past that he'd grown arrogant, leading to this unfortunate reality check from Kashiwagi.
Of course, the main reason he was being so well-behaved was the fear that if they couldn't settle with Kashiwagi, the North Petalburg Gym might be shut down.
As a minor, his mistakes fell on the shoulders of the adults in his family. His older brother was already prepared for the Gym to close, but Hideki couldn't bear to see that happen.
"Do you really know what you did wrong?"
Kashiwagi looked at the two brothers. The elder was named Toshiki, the current Leader of the North Petalburg Gym. The younger was Hideki, an eight-year-old who was a textbook "problem child." Even if his intentions were good, the nature of his "bad deed" remained unchanged.
"I really know now," Hideki replied, looking like a wilted radish.
Seeing that the boy showed a hint of genuine remorse, Kashiwagi—who had mostly come to the station just for the experience—decided to forgive him. If he was willing to give someone like Otsuka a chance, he could certainly forgive a kid.
As long as he truly learned his lesson.
-----
Hideki was about as much of a brat as Max from the anime once was.
The only difference was their focus: one had a head full of wild schemes to trick challengers into his brother's Gym, while the other liked to play "armchair expert" and mock Ash for his Silver Conference loss when he was essentially in the same boat.
Most young male characters in the anime seemed to be like this—speaking and acting without thinking, and always having a sharp tongue. In contrast, the older characters tended to be much steadier and more reliable.
Take Toshiki, for example.
The young man, who looked to be about twenty, had apologized to Kashiwagi for the tenth time and still wasn't satisfied. After his offer of financial compensation was declined, he invited Kashiwagi to the North Petalburg Gym for dinner.
Since Kashiwagi had nothing better to do, he agreed.
Mainly, he was disappointed that the police station didn't provide "victim meals." He had wanted to see what kind of cuisine a Pokémon world police administration served. What a letdown.
Since Toshiki was offering to treat him, Kashiwagi wasn't one to refuse. It was also a good chance to ask about the inner workings of establishing a Gym. He'd been curious about that for a while.
North Petalburg was a sister city and very close to Petalburg City. With Toshiki driving, they arrived at the entrance of a Japanese-style dojo in no time.
From the outside, the North Petalburg Gym bore a seventy percent resemblance to the old Petalburg Gym. Clearly, Toshiki was a die-hard fan of Norman. Or rather, the people of North Petalburg were largely composed of Norman fanboys from all over the world.
At one point, it had been so extreme that they would block Trainers heading for the Petalburg Gym, forcing them into gauntlet matches to "test" them. It took the intervention of Officer Jenny and a personal appearance by Norman himself to bring these "hardcore fans" back to their senses.
Inside.
The interior decor was surprisingly modern. Toshiki brewed a cup of tea for Kashiwagi and said, "Please, feel free to look around anywhere except the Habitat Park. I'll go prepare dinner."
Many Gym Leaders maintained a massive Habitat Park for their Pokémon to live in. If a stranger wandered in uninvited, they might be attacked by the Pokémon inside.
"Sure thing," Kashiwagi nodded and began to tour the Gym, with Hideki—who had escaped from his solitary confinement—trailing behind him.
Unsurprisingly, Hideki wasn't exactly thrilled with the guy who had landed him in hot water, especially since he'd been grounded the moment they got home. Having managed to sneak out, he didn't dare make a scene and quietly approached Kashiwagi.
"D-Do you want to challenge our Gym?" the brat asked tentatively.
"Still at it, huh?"
Kashiwagi was nearly at his wit's end with this kid. "You took such a big loss today and you still haven't learned? Other people might not be as easygoing as I am."
"I really know I messed up, but... my brother built this Gym in North Petalburg, and everyone gets sucked away by the Petalburg Gym. Hardly anyone ever comes here to challenge us."
Hideki said gloomily, "I only used that method because I felt I had no choice."
"It's normal. After all, you're standing in the shadow of a giant," Kashiwagi said, taking a sip of tea. "Mr. Norman is considered a strong contender for the next Elite Four. Your brother doesn't have his fame; it's just the law of the market that people aren't coming."
"But if this keeps up, the Gym will have to close."
Hideki fidgeted with his fingers anxiously. "My brother worked so hard to become a Gym Leader. I don't want to see it get shut down."
Hearing this, Kashiwagi felt like a side quest notification had just popped up in his head. Unfortunately, Orre was still waiting for him to revitalize it; he didn't have the time to help them save North Petalburg.
"This is a hurdle your brother has to face. When he set up his Gym here, he should have expected this day. Instead of meddling with these useless 'favors,' you should be doing what you're supposed to do."
"What I'm supposed to do?"
"Yes. Like going to school," Kashiwagi interrupted whatever Hideki was about to say. "Like I said, reading broadens the mind. When you possess more knowledge, you'll have more solutions, and you won't resort to these ridiculous, stupid stunts."
Hideki's expression became complicated. "So... I should go to school?"
-----
"No, the Gym doesn't need your help."
At the dinner table, Toshiki gave a firm rejection to Hideki's proposal of going to school to help "revitalize the Gym."
"The reason you go to school is to acquire knowledge for yourself, to enrich your own life."
"But..."
"No 'buts'."
Toshiki's resolute attitude made Hideki lower his head. He lost his appetite, forced down a few bites, and turned to head back to his room.
"Sorry you had to see that," Toshiki said to Kashiwagi, looking embarrassed.
"It's fine. By the way, you seem very resistant to Hideki helping you?" Kashiwagi asked curiously.
Toshiki replied, "Because Hideki has his own life. I don't want him wasting his time on me. The burden of the Gym is too heavy for him."
"That's well and good, but do you really think it's possible for him to just stand by and watch? Just like today, he'll just end up doing strange things behind your back."
Kashiwagi blinked subtly.
"..."
Toshiki clearly understood the logic, and he fell into a thoughtful silence.