Ash and Gary dashed out of the hotel doors and stepped into the afternoon light, eager and excited for today’s adventure.

  As promised, Azumarill and Sylveon were by the boys' side, comfortably keeping up with their excited pace.

  Confident that his two nephews would be out of trouble in the day time, Gray sauntered behind them, relaxed and at ease.

  Strolling through the streets of Vermilion under daylight was a different experience. The streets were crowded, for one, with a vast array of people.

  They passed by a family of five eagerly taking photos of everything around them. Two girls in traditional Johtonian Kimonos carefully strutted by, indifferent to the attention their garb attracted. A young trainer seated on a bench was seriously discussing something with her Gastrodon, whose blue slug-like body would secrete more slime as it nodded at its trainer’s words.

  The unusual pokemon had caught the boys’ attention. Not wanting to disturb the trainer, they turned to their Rotoms who were more than eager to share what their database said about the foreign pokemon.

  Gray left them to their own entertainment, content to only answer any questions directed at him.

  Some of the buildings they passed by pierced through the clear skies, taller and more imposing than anything in Pallet and Pewter. And unlike the comfortable uniformity in both towns, Vermilion structures were made with a blend of influence from various cultures.

  In one moment, the group would pass by a building whose exterior was so shiny Ash and Gary could make faces at their own reflections. In another, the building constructed in a pagoda style would consist of towering pillars made with natural materials, its broad roofs far extending beyond the building walls. As you looked up, each outer wall would become smaller and smaller, eventually tapering up to a pointed steeple at the top.

  It was so different from what the boys were used to that they couldn’t get enough of looking around, admiring everything around them.

  Ash and Gary had a question for every novel thing they passed by. While the Rotom-dexes were capable of answering pokemon related enquiries, some of the boys’ curiosities went beyond pokemon, stupefying them.

  In these moments, Gray would answer, happy to impart knowledge to the young ones.

  .

  “Why do some buildings look funny, Uncle?”

  “They’re of Johtonian-make, called pagodas. When you journey through Johto, you’d find that most of the buildings would look like that.”

  .

  “Woah, so many people are going into that building! What’s going on?”

  “I think it’s a mall specialising on foreign goods, basically items you can only get from overseas. Vermilion is a port city, that’s why it’s easier to buy foreign goods from here.”

  “Port city? What’s that mean? There are many pots here?”

  “No, dumb dumb. It means there’s a lot of boats here! Our teacher went through this in class before, did you already forget?”

  .

  “Uncle, why are there suddenly so many buses passing by?”

  “I think they’re a cruise group headed to Cerulean. Vermilion’s a transport hub, you can get to many places in Kanto from here.”

  “Cerulean? That’s the culture capital of Kanto! They have a Cerulean gym Water Show!”

  “You’re right, Gary. Well done.”

  “Heh.”

  .

  Gray and the boys enjoyed their time strolling through town, taking their time as they made their way to Vermilion Gym.

  By the time they reached the vicinity of the gym, the boys had expended most of their energy and were back to being relatively calm.

  Of course they perked back up once they saw the gym, but they were more manageable.

  Vermilion Gym was built to resemble a gigantic warehouse with large gaping shutter doors big enough to fit four trucks driving side by side. Its roof was metallic and slanted, taller on the right before it stylishly sloped downwards. The gym’s wall and roof edges were lined tastefully with yellow, likely a nod to its chosen typing.

  Entering the gym, they were greeted by an open space with metallic pillars equally dispersed from one another to hold up the roof. Various seats were scattered around, gym visitors and trainers utilising the spaces. Interestingly, metal barrels in solid blue and red shades were used both as tabletops and decoration, keeping to the theme of the gym.

  It was starkly different from Pewter gym, better maintained with seemingly enough of a budget to keep a warehouse aesthetic throughout.

  Gray couldn’t help but spare a thought for them, genuinely hoping that Brock, with Flint’s help, could elevate Pewter gym to a similar standard in the future.

  Before they could even approach the gym counter, the man behind it met Gray’s eyes and hurriedly typed something into his terminal. He then whipped out his phone and whispered a hurried conversation before the group could reach him.

  “Welcome to Vermilion Gym. We’ve been anticipating your arrival. Just give us a few moments, he’ll be out soon.”

  “Huh?” Both Gary and Ash blinked in confusion at the strange reception.

  Immediately, dread began to rise in Gray. Surely he wouldn’t, right?

  In that moment, Gray seriously considers scaling Mt Coronet to have a conversation with Arceus, because the number of times he had managed to jinx himself (even in his own head!) was alarming.

  A large bang echoed around the room before an impressively muscular man made his way to the counter.

  The combat boots he wore made distinct, heavy thuds against the cement with every step. He was in camo-printed pants, a green tank top tucked into it, emphasising both the slimness of his waist and the bulk of his shoulders. His arms, hale, thick and proudly on display were littered with scars, giving the man an aura of danger.

  A strong square jaw and blonde, shaggy hair complimented the dark shades he wore, and he made a move to push them up as soon as he was within hearing range.

  “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Itty Bitty Oaky. You sure took your time coming here, huh?”

  Gray sighed and stared down the gym leader, unimpressed. “Lt. Surge.”

  The gym leader gave a devilish grin at the address, tilting his sunglasses just enough for aquamarine eyes to meet chocolate.

  “Oh-hoh. So formal? Not to worry, I’ll crack you down again soon.”

  Slightly intimidated by the man’s sheer presence, Gary had been shocked to be addressed as ‘Itty Bitty Oaky’ by a stranger. Even when he quickly realised the man was talking to his uncle, his bewilderment remained because why was the gym leader calling his uncle that?

  “… Do you know each other, Uncle?”

  “No.”

  “Of course!”

  Both his uncle and the Lt. Surge answered at the same time, the blonde smiling wider when Gray denied knowing him.

  “What would your Grandpa Sammy say to that?”

  “He’ll scold me, of course. But it’d be better than being associated with you.”

  Lt. Surge laughed out loud, a deep booming laughter that had observers leaning in closer, desperate to eavesdrop on their conversation.

  “You can deny it as much as you want, the truth will come out either way. But enough chitchat! Let’s battle!”

  The gym leader was just about to run into the stadium, willing to drag Gray along, when he was interrupted by the gym receptionist.

  “Sir, we’ll have to delay the start of the match to an hour later. We need to get the message out to the public and inform Kanto TV.”

  “Wait, uncle you’re gonna fight in an hour?”

  Equally confused, Gray gave a questioning look to Lt. Surge whose neatly trimmed brows were furrowing.

  “An hour? Too long. We’ll start in 30 minutes.”

  Unfazed, his employee replied calmly. “If we don’t allocate enough time for people to gather, you’d be fighting in an empty stadium.”

  The gym leader grumbled before turning to Gray in disappointment. “You heard the man, son. We’ll fight in an hour.”

  “You expect me to get ready to fight a personal gym battle in an hour, old man?”

  Surge laughs loudly again, delighted at the sparks Gray let out. Gray, realizing his mistake, frowns and looks away.

  “That’s right. One hour. Better show me all you’ve got, or else you’ll embarrass yourself in front of Indigo.”

  With his piece said, the gym leader sauntered away, observers who had gathered around parting like the sea to give way to him.

  Now that the man was gone, both Ash and Gary began hounding their uncle for answers.

  “How do you know him, Uncle Gray!”

  “Will you really fight him so soon? How can the gym get ready so quickly?”

  Clearing his throat, the receptionist answers Ash.

  “We have been anticipating your uncle’s arrival for quite some time. We’ve been ready for him, knowing he would be here soon. The broadcast network is eager to stream the match, considering it’s rather exciting for something so grand to happen early in the season. As for how he knows Mr Oak…”

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  Gray groans and interjects plainly. “I know him through Grandpa Sammy.”

  Speaking of, his grandpa had definitely been pulling strings! The meddling old man had only asked him about his plans yesterday, but somehow Vermilion Gym had already been expecting Gray for days.

  The fairy trainer didn’t mind, the order he was getting badges never set in stone, but Grandpa Sammy had banked on Gray being obedient!

  He made a note to annoy him extra for this. Actually, why not annoy him now?

  He pulled out his phone and dialed the old man who picked up in a few seconds.

  “Hello Gray,” he greets, face serene on the phone’s screen.

  “Grandpa Sammy, you’ve been setting me up all this time!”

  “I’ve been well, thank you. It’s nice to see the manners I’ve instilled with you are still intact, boy.”

  Gray laughs.

  Wanting to be part of the conversation, Gary butts in, standing on tippy toes until his ginger hair appears on the lower corner of the camera.

  Chuckling in amusement, his uncle bent down so his face was fully in, an arm over tiny shoulders to draw his nephew closer.

  Gary flushes, before turning back to the phone, his smile wider than before.

  “Grandpa Sammy, Uncle is fighting in an hour! Ya better get everyone to watch!”

  “In an hour, you say? I’ll make sure to let everyone know. Thank you, Gary.”

  The old man directs his gaze back at the boy he raised and instructs. “I can’t wait to watch you, my boy. I’m sure I won’t be disappointed.”

  Gray stuck his tongue out, resolved to annoy the old man more for his words that evoked a flicker of warmth through his chest.

  Almost an hour later, Gray found himself waiting in the wings of the battlefield. He rolled his shoulders back and cracked his neck left and right, content to feel himself remain loose.

  Unlike Brock who was relatively unknown compared to his peers, Gray would bet his left pinky that Lt. Surge would be giving him a more even fight.

  The man had managed Vermilion Gym all these years, eventually nurturing a reputation for flashy battles synonymous with his chosen typing. And perhaps more importantly for those in the know, his association with Grandpa Sammy could never be understated. Gray knew how gossipy old men actually were, so he was sure their battle styles would contain similar elements.

  “Introducing our challenger. Representing Pallet Gym, we have Gray Oak from Pallet Town!”

  As soon as Gray stepped out of the corner, the spotlights shone on him, perfectly keeping him in the centre.

  The cheering was an overwhelming cacophony of noise that Gray had to walk through, and for a brief moment there was nothing but sound all around him.

  Feeling surprised at his reception, he plastered on a smile before waving around at the crowd who would cheer even louder whenever Gray turned his attention to their direction.

  Gray wondered at the difference in treatment. In Pewter City, the applause of the crowd was subdued and reserved for their gym leader, but here, with only one badge in hand, the screams were so deafening that he had to rub at his ears a bit to regain his hearing.

  Was winning once in their eyes enough to put Gray up on a pedestal, where even his entrance was enough to warrant overexcitement? Gray severely doubted it.

  “Here to defend his gym, we have the incredibly handsome, dashing and powerful Gym leader Lt. Surge!”

  When Lt. Surge made his way down to his side of the field, the noise for his reception was as loud as Gray’s own, only these cheers had a mixture of boos and jeers that were clearly audible.

  Upon hearing the mixed reception, Lt. Surge’s grin only became more sinister, his shoulders, if it was possible, straightening further, nose rising higher in the air.

  He glowered at some of the jeerers closer to the stand, laughter booming when they flinched under the gym leader’s attention.

  Sighing, Gray felt like he should have expected this. With his rough and exacting personality, it wasn’t a surprise that Lt. Surge was polarising even within his own city. Sharp, abrasive and unapologetic, the ex-commanding officer was an acquired taste.

  When he reached his assigned position, he stood in practiced ease, feet square and ready to move when needed, arms behind his rigid back.

  He met Gray’s eyes and smiled savagely, eager to fight with no holds barred

  Before the announcer could say anything, Lt. Surge addressed Gray, words amplified to the whole stadium thanks to the mic hanging above his head.

  “Look at you, all grown up. Itty Bitty Oaky left Kanto and came back with filed claws and sharper teeth. It looks good on you, boy! Can’t hide behind Sammy’s legs now, huh?”

  Gray didn’t even have a chance to reply when Surge… surged ahead.

  “You think you’re some sort of big shot now? Coming into your uncle’s base and challenging his personal team? Sammy really didn’t raise a weak pup! I expect you to not lose too terribly, boy! Show your old uncle what you’re made of.”

  The crowd, hanging on to the gym leader’s words, chittered at that. They began turning to one another, some looking up information to confirm the relationship between challenger and gym leader.

  Annoyed, Gray knew the jig was up before it could properly manifest. “Uncle Surge, must you always be so dramatic? Grandpa Sammy mellowed over time, surely you should have done the same?”

  “Hah, Major Sammy Oak mellowing down? I’d eat my medals before I believed that! The old coot’s just biding his time, an Arbok ready to strike when you least expect it,” he claims, absolutely positive that the man who had been his superior in the force would never be truly domesticated.

  The more tech savvy audience members exclaimed happily, managing to uncover the answer from their search, the words of Lt. Surge only confirming what they found.

  Turns out, the Pallet gym leader that Gray Oak was representing was Ex-Major Sammy Oak. He was Lt. Surge’s superior back in the war, a Kantonian war hero in his own right.

  However, while the loftier Lt. Surge continued on to become a major gym leader of Vermilion City, Sammy Oak had chosen to stay around his family, quietly starting a minor gym in the middle of nowhere. As a result, though Surge answered to Sammy Oak in wartime, their peacetime roles were the complete opposite.

  To accommodate their shift in dynamic and Surge’s insistence on honoring their previous standing, Sammy had insisted that the most he was willing to budge on was Surge addressing him by his first name, and so the beginning buds of their friendship were planted.

  Naturally, as his grandpa’s tail, Gray had happily tagged along whenever Grandpa Sammy met up with the Vermilion gym leader, resulting in vivid memories of him being teased and goaded by the man whenever they met. The blonde gym leader had claimed the title ‘grand-uncle’ for himself, and since Grandpa Sammy had no objections, Gray was forced to call Lt. Surge ‘uncle’ for short. Despite his straightforward personality, Gray had never felt true malice from the ex-military man, and he was instead allowed, and encouraged, to dish it back.

  “You don’t think my itty bitty pokemon could beat yours into the ground, Uncle Surge?”

  “I’ll believe it when I see it, boy.”

  “Sure you don’t want me to go easy on you? Grandpa Sammy raised me to treat the elderly well.”

  Lt. Surge laughed in approval, happy to have an opponent that wouldn’t cower against his presence. More than anything, it made him impatient to get started.

  “What are you waiting for? Start us off!” he commanded the announcer.

  Used to Lt. Surge’s changing moods, the announcer merely began.

  “Trainers, ready your pokemon.” Both leader and challenger held up a ball each. “Begin!”

  Neither threw their balls out, instead holding an outstretched hand to release their partners.

  Ninetales leaped out of the ball, creating a beautiful arc in the air before landing softly on the ground, all nine tails fanning out prettily behind her. She surveyed her surroundings briefly before focusing on her adversary.

  In contrast, her opponent’s entrance was quicker but no less impressive. For one second, Lt. Surge’s side of the field was devoid of life, and in the next, a yellow bolt zapped out of the ball and into the field, poised and ready to attack.

  Jolteon’s lower body was lowered to the ground, ready to leap forward at a moment's notice. Once her eyes met Ninetales’, she streaked ahead to ram into her with a Quick Attack.

  In response, Ninetales let go of the energy she contained, her Snow Warning ability causing a Snowstorm to immediately envelop the field. Though the change in weather condition was near instantaneous, there was no stopping a raring Jolteon, and she still managed to ram into the ice pokemon, effectively disrupting her rhythm.

  Before she could get her bearings, Ninetales was hit by Jolteon’s point blank Thunderbolt, causing her to shriek in pain and indignation. Knowing that simply screaming wouldn’t get her out of this, she blasted Jolteon back with a hasty Blizzard, the move powerful enough to disrupt the electric type.

  Ninetales glared hatefully before disappearing right in front of her opponent’s eyes, her Snow Cloak ability coming into play.

  Jolteon’s eyes scanned the field, ready to attack at the slightest sign of life. Her sensitive ears caught the crunching of snow to her left. She whips her head to the side, barely managing to catch the flash of white a few metres forward, but enough to get a sense of Ninetales’ presence, so she immediately let loose another Thunderbolt, the move colliding with something and causing an explosion of snow.

  With her opponent’s focus elsewhere, Ninetales blasts Jolteon with an Icy Wind, causing icicles to form all around the electric type's body.

  Jolteon leaps away, struggling to maintain her previous speed with the added weight. She attempts to Quick Attack again, but the difference in mobility allows Ninetales to comfortably disappear into a flurry of snow before she could get close.

  “Draw them out with Discharge!” commands Lt. Surge sharply after watching his pokemon try and fail to reach Ninetales.

  Jolteon stops all movement before drawing energy into her body, creating yellow crackles of energy that dance around her.

  “Jol-teon!”

  She releases a widespread electrical burst that leaves no room to dodge, front body leaned over to follow up as soon as possible. However, Jolteon’s Discharge passes by the field uninterrupted before fizzling out uselessly. Confused, Jolteon wasn’t quick enough to dodge an Ice Beam fired from behind.

  From her peripheral right, she catches a glimpse of movement and immediately fires at it, only to again be caught out by another attack from a blind spot.

  Lt. Surge tsks in frustration before instructing his pokemon decisively. “Get out of here.”

  Jolteon smiles a sinister grin, eerily similar to her trainer’s, before her whole body is engulfed in a yellow glob that pounces at another flicker of Ninetales. She hits nothing, and the blob immediately shoots back to the pokeball on her trainer’s left hand.

  Lt. Surge held another pokeball on his right, which quickly unlatched to release Luxray into the field, Jolteon having returned with a Volt Switch.

  Gray paused in surprise at that choice, not expecting Lt. Surge to resort to using Volt Switch. While his pokemon could off course learn it, it was not in line with the gym leader's usual style. In the brief times he had prepared for this battle, Lt. Surge never revealed that move, and Gray had chalked it up to the gym leader's preferences.

  Evidently, in a no holds barred type of fight, Lt. Surge was more open to taking whatever advantage he could get.

  Luxray huffs before his eyes take on an ominous golden glow, head darting around to take in everything around him.

  Worry creeps at Gray because while he was confident in his ability to identify pokemon types and their possible moves, there was nothing off the top of his head that could explain why Luxray's eyes were glowing like that.

  “Discharge all around,”

  Luxray quickly releases the move. To his right he sees Ninetales constructing a Light Screen to shield against the move before carefully layering an illusion on top of it to make it seem undisturbed, the Snowstorm whirling a little louder in that moment to contain the sound.

  While Lt. Surge couldn’t see like Luxray's biological x-ray vision, he was intimately familiar with his pokemon’s body language, and was thus immediately able to tell when Luxray spotted something.

  Wasting no time, he calls for a Fire Fang.

  Fire energy gathers around Luxray’s mouth before the temperature around his vicinity rises, creating a sweltering heat in the middle of Ninetales’ Snowstorm. He leaps towards the fairy, unimpended by the flurry of snow, and bites harshly on her flank.

  Ninetales, shocked and unprepared for how her opponent was able to find her so easily in her own element, took critical damage from the super effective attack.

  Luxray had zero intentions of going easy on his prey, his bite unrelenting as he shakes her around like a ragdoll. He carelessly tosses her to the ground, leaving her winded and in pain.

  Ninetales scrambles up, trying to create distance by distracting Luxray with conjured doppelgangers. Luxray’s eyes flare golden again before zeroing in on one of the copies, leaping at it with Fire Fang once more.

  Ninetales shrieks in pain, her illusions disappearing now that the original was hurt. When Luxray tosses her away this time, he follows up by slamming his entire weight into her, the Body Slam causing Ninetales to fly out and fall a good distance away.

  Stunned by Luxray's ability to identify her original body so quickly, Ninetales attempts to create breathing room for herself by intensifying the Snowstorm as soon as she manages to get back on her feet.

  All around the battlefield, the winds picks up, thicker and heavier snow drifting all around. Audience members closer to the field involuntarily shuddered, weary at the Snowstorm happening right in front of their eyes yet marveling at the scale it appeared in.

  Luxray keptcalm, eyes taking on a golden glow again as his head swerved all around. He leapt to one side, running straight for a few moments before sidestepping quickly again to continue running with purpose.

  Ninetales was flabbergasted by the Luxray's direction, because somehow the electric type was slowly closing the distance between them, which should have been impossible considering Ninetales was well-hidden in this weather.

  Furthermore, Luxray was careful to avoid any of the real swirls of snow, unflinchingly diving towards only the illusory bits of snow that Ninetales had layered on the weather to make it seem more devastating than it actually was.

  She begins to panic before trying to blast Luxray away with a Blizzard. Unfortunately, she barely had the energy to do so, much of her energy already expended from the hits she took earlier and the considerable effort it took to layer a widespread illusion on top of her Snowstorm.

  Luxray also proved his worth as an elite pokemon, readying a Fire Fang that increased the temperature around his vicinity, melting just enough of the Blizzard storm to allow him to inch closer and closer.

  "Stay calm, Ninetales. Use Dazzling Gleam, quickly!"

  In the moment Ninetales was forced to take a breath to switch from Blizzard to Dazzling Gleam, Luxray used his powerful hind legs to propel himself forward. His Fire Fang bit harshly at Ninetales, causing her to shriek in pain.

  "Thunderbolt to finish up!"

  Almost instantaneously, Luxray released a powerful burst of electricity that coursed painfully through his opponent.

  Too exhausted from the damage she had taken from being caught off guard and the immense amount of energy she had been expending to attack plus maintain the Snowstorm, Ninetales gives in to her body's desire and collapsed.

  This time, Ninetales does not get up and remains sprawling on the ground, fainted.