Leaf stood stock still as she gaped at Gray, unbelieving that he would be so dismissive of her as the mother of Blue’s children.

  Content to let her stew, Gray slowly took in the changes of his childhood friend.

  Leaf was one of Blue and Red’s agemates, and she was one of the people his brother chose to spend time with over Gray. She lorded Blue’s preference for her over Gray before, but Gray never took it to heart, dismissing it as childhood antics.

  Before starting their journey, Leaf was considered a trio together with Red and Blue, their talents as trainers evident from young. She even had a phase where she considered changing her name to Green just to match with the duo, something that mildly entertained Gray because of his past memories.

  Unfortunately, it soon became clear that while Red and Blue were prodigious, Leaf herself was painfully average — a decent enough trainer, but nothing overtly mind boggling. She barely scraped an eighth badge, and was promptly knocked out of the Indigo conference her first go.

  Last Gray heard of her before he left Kanto, was that she was in the midst of career transitions after realising that her prowess as a trainer was not profitable enough for a living.

  The fact that she was apparently the mother of Blue’s children was fascinating as she had expressed a preference for Red over his brother growing up, claiming that his reticent nature made him far more mysterious and thus cooler.

  Speaking of, child’ren’?

  Gray gave a small smile at the little girl stealing looks at the uncle she never met from behind her mother.

  That smile was enough for Leaf to snap back into attention, and she immediately hissed at Gray.

  “You say that now, but Blue has been bending over backwards just to have me on his side again! We had an agreement, he was supposed to be raising Gary to prove his dedication to fatherhood and our relationship. So why is Gary with you now? He couldn’t keep to his promises, could he? I should have expected this!”

  Leaf glared at Gray as if he was a particularly nasty Muk.

  “Definitely shouldn’t be surprised. He named our son after his brother, so of course he would willingly throw him to you!”

  Gray had to earnestly blink quite a few times to process that. Named Gary after him? He quickly realised Leaf’s claim probably had merit. Gray and Gary were far too similar to have been a coincidence.

  He never questioned it before, but he found his chest warming at the idea that even with their misgivings, Blue had chosen to name his son after his younger brother.

  Gray’s mind went back to his last interaction with his brother, about how reluctant he was to send his son with Gray on his journey. He sniffed at Leaf’s absurd claims over Blue’s dedication as a father.

  He remembered how Blue made an effort to turn up every night for dinner, inconsequential to the layman but far more meaningful considering his busy schedule.

  He remembered the man running around like a Torchic as he packed his son’s luggage, his frazzled repacking of everything to ensure Gary would have everything he needed during his time away.

  He remembered how it had taken Gary pleading just to get Blue to cave, the man eventually giving in because he knew his son would be happy to travel with his uncle, because he knew his son would be safe with Gray.

  Gray shifted forward once more, keeping his nephews firmly behind his person to shelter them from Leaf’s vitriol, from the dirty glares of the Celadon trainers as they took Gary and his uncle in.

  “You may have been their mother, but you hold no claim to the Oak name. You’re not married at all, are you?”

  “Not for your brother’s lack of trying! I’ve rejected him multiple times, no matter how much he insisted after Daisy.”

  At the mention of Blue’s older child, Gray couldn’t help but notice the little girl again. She looked a bit like Leaf, but Blue’s features clearly dominated. Her hair was a burnt orange, just like her father and younger brother. Her brown eyes, synonymous with being an Oak at this point Gray would swear, was wide and innocent as she observe her uncle.

  “That’s great then!” said Gray, smiling warmly at Daisy before he shifted his gaze to Leaf with a cooler look. “It will never happen. You won’t need to reject him again, because I’ll never allow it.”

  “So you’re content to let your niece and nephew be bastards?” she spat.

  How dare she?! Gray had been paying attention so he quickly noticed how both Gary and Daisy flinched at their mother’s ugly words. Behind his rage was a smidgeon of helplessness, because there was nothing Gray could say or do to mask the truth.

  Leaf reveled in her power, because the truth was out in the open. Amused, she took a second to spare even Ash a glance, her poisonous eyes meeting the boy directly as she smirked at him too.

  At that, Gray knew that Leaf was aware of Ash’s origins, and she relished in her ability to hurt three minors that Gray was responsible for. Three children that were meant to be protected; but instead their dirty laundry was aired out in public, Leaf’s words flaying them and wounding them simply because she could.

  Just like that, the fuse within Gray blew. He thought he was fuming before, but the rage inside him now was an incomparably volatile Eruption. His lava exploded at Leaf.

  “No matter what, I am their uncle. They’re all great grandchildren to Professor Samuel Oak, great-nephews and niece to Pallet Town gym leader Sammy Oak and they’re children of Champion Blue Oak. At the end of the day, our legacy flushes out the mediocrity of yours. Thank Arceus our talent is enough to eclipse the likes of you, that my niece and nephews are destined for greater things despite you.”

  Leaf flinched, Gray’s venom a super effective hit against insecurities that have been plaguing her since she started on her journey at age 10. She thought herself a Pidgeot, but Gray’s casual, raging statements reminded her of the Caterpie in her heart that she masked.

  Vindicated at the hurt in Leaf’s expression, Gray turned his attention to the Celadon gym leader, dismissing Leaf fully.

  “I, Gray Oak, representing the minor Pallet Town gym, am challenging you, Erika of a major gym, for the Rainbow Badge. I wish to fight you and your best pokemon, but your staff refused me. Do you fear exposing your inadequacy as a gym leader on a global stage?”

  From her peripheral, Erika could see how everyone in the gym had turned their gazes to her. Her staff, ever loyal, looked to her with fervency and confidence. But it was the other trainers, the strangers who had come to the gym for a challenge, who looked at her with contempt.

  She knew that they all thought around the same boat, that she was afraid of the Fairy trainer who was on a pilgrimage around Indigo, causing chaos with every badge he obtained. Erika knew that her words today would be spread within the region in a matter of hours.

  “You do not belong here. The storied history of past Celadon gym leaders are expansive branches you, an upstart, could not begin to compare. Your blood and arrogance are not fit for noble company.”

  Gray, who was still fuming from Leaf’s insult to him and his own, took no measure to try and calm down. He looked to his starter, his long term friend with a smile and Sylveon, like his trainer, simply reacted.

  Sylveon pulsed her Fairy energy, directing all of its heat and power towards Erika.

  Celadon’s gym leader stumbled and fell to the floor, her elite pokemon not having enough time to release themselves and defend their trainer.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The silence around the room was deafening.

  Gray, remorseless, simply smiled down at Erika from his position above her, face serene but eyes mocking. The gym leader was physically unhurt, but oftentimes the biggest wounds were those beyond the physical.

  The fairy trainer’s actions were reminiscent of darker ages of war, where pokemon battled not for recreation but for survival. In conflict, pokemon worked with their trainers to overwhelm their opponents, hitting each other with moves not to faint but to cause significant harm.

  And in those times, what better way to cripple the opposition than with harm to the most vulnerable — the trainers themselves.

  Pokemon developed bonds with trainers that allowed them to ascend the petty squabbling with their own kind, without whom many would be unable to even touch the pinnacles of their potential. It was precisely their trainers who coordinated everything to ensure victory. So what happened when their leader was struck?

  Whilst many veterans were still around to this day, their progeny who had never seen the bloodiness of war knew what it meant to strike at a trainer.

  It was provocation, it was insult, and it was an effective reminder that despite the peace they enjoyed today, they lived in a world where might had right.

  The fact that Gray and his pokemon were even able to cause Erika to stumble was concrete proof that the gym leader, for all her history and pride, was unable to defend herself when it mattered the most.

  “Did you really think you could get away with insulting Professor Samuel Oak’s family?” Gray whispered into the silence, his quiet question heard by all.

  Gray’s actions were excessive, yes, but his words reminded them exactly who they had to thank for the peace they had today. It was precisely Gray’s grandfather, Professor Samuel Oak, who was the first champion who reunited Kanto and Johto. His prowess demanded respect, both fear and awe.

  Professor Samuel Oak fought for peace, and now his grandson took an action reminiscent of war in defense of his and his family’s honor.

  Privately, Gray wondered why Erika’s pokemon did not release themselves to defend their trainer. Did she not give them agency to release themselves? Or perhaps her bond with her pokemon was so weak that they were unwilling to come out and face Sylveon, whose pressure was admittedly that of an elite pokemon. For that matter, why did she even approach Gray without a pokemon already at her side when Sylveon and Azumarill were released?

  Whatever the case, Gray found his response adequate for their slights.

  “Is this your final decision? You deride me for not having your clan’s long history, but you, the leader of Celadon gym, a major gym of Kanto, is afraid to battle. You shame your ancestors — has Celadon gym fallen so far?”

  “Arrogant fool! You’re exactly like your brother!” Leaf interjected then as she scrambled to assist her boss and friend in getting up. When she had run away from Pallet and to Celadon where her parents resided before, it was thanks to Erika’s understanding of her situation that she was able to pick herself up.

  As terrifying and formidable Gray and the Oaks are, she owed it to her employer to stand up next to her.

  Annoyed that this fly was still buzzing around him, Gray gave Sylveon permission to make her stumble too.

  So now, it was Leaf’s turn to collapse to the ground, causing Erika to flounder again. It made for a comical sight, Leaf and the Celadon gym leader reduced to a newly born Stantler in front of the Fairy type trainer.

  “You wish to challenge me too, Leaf? Keep running your mouth and I’ll gladly obliterate you. If you thought your lacklustre past as a trainer was enough of an embarrassment, you wouldn’t be able to find your face in the next ten years after I’m done with you.”

  From the floor, Leaf became aware of her daughter still standing on both feet without trouble. A flash of fear went through her, as this was visible proof of Sylveon being powerful enough to direct his attention solely on her, sparing his trainer’s niece fully from discomfort.

  With an unobstructed view of Daisy with Leaf on the ground, Gray addressed his little niece verbally for the first time. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you. I’m your Uncle Gray.”

  Gray’s smile was so filled with warmth, that the fury he had directed at the older women seemed a thing of the past, as if the chance to greet a family member for the first time was enough for him to turn his heart completely.

  ‘Hello Uncle. My name’s Daisy," she whispered politely with a shy smile.

  Leaf was suddenly brought back to the times where she stayed in Pallet Town with Blue, where she wasn’t given the respect she was due as Blue’s partner. At those times where she felt sidelined, her children were treated with more kindness by the older Oaks than herself. Even giving birth to Gary, a male heir, had not been enough to elevate her station.

  Incensed, Leaf shot back up and grabbed her daughter’s wrist. She pulled her closer, causing Daisy to nearly fall. She felt a jolt of satisfaction. Gray’s pokemon may have been powerful enough to direct an attack exclusively at her, but she herself as the mother of Blue’s children had every right to keep them grounded and humble.

  If she as the mother had to be insulted in public, her children should suffer right with her.

  “Let’s go, Daisy!” she commanded and strode away with her dignity intact. Daisy, with shorter legs, was forced to stumble after her mother. The gathered crowd parted to make way for the raging mother, leaving Erika the gym leader alone without sparing back a glance.

  For a moment, Gray was concerned for his niece. Quickly running over her form, he found no visible wounds or distress beyond the situation she found herself in. He inwardly promised to bring this up to Blue when he could.

  Niece gone, Gray finally directed his attention back to Erika who was glaring at the younger Oak with bloody murder.

  “What choice have you made?” said Gray, mocking.

  “Five days later. You will soon regret the insult you’ve rendered on my person today. I will prove that the forest me and my ancestors have carefully grown is enough to weather your feeble storm.”

  It was only when they were quite a distance away, far from the eyes of Celadon gym and its rude trainers that Gray allowed himself to breathe deeply in a bid to calm down.

  As capable Sylveon was in manipulating Fairy Wind, the smell was so ingrained into the building that hints of the cloying sweetness had seeped through anyway. Without the rancid air of the gym, it no longer felt like Gray was inhaling Toxic with every breath he took, making it far easier to calm down and keep a lid on his long-frayed temper.

  ‘Right, keep yourself composed Gray. Even if Toxic was super effective against you too.’

  “Ash, Gary, our next destination is a Training Centre here in Celadon. Can you lead the way?”

  Eager to please, Ash and Gary navigated around Rotom-Dex to determine the way. The duo threw themselves into the task with great effort and was rewarded with a Training Centre visible at the end of the street they were on.

  “I’m sorry, Uncle Gray. I should have told you about my mom earlier.”

  “No, it’s fine that you didn’t. As… aggravating Leaf was, she’s still your mother.”

  Despite being taken off guard, Gray knew he couldn’t fault his nephew. His birth mother put him in an awkward spot. How exactly would he have informed his uncle about her? ‘Hi Uncle Gray, my mother is an asshole please beware in case we bump into her?’

  Absolutely not, it was one thing for Gray, the adult, to badmouth the woman, but to ask it of a child like Gary was unthinkable. Gray wouldn’t begrudge Gary of not wanting to be completely opposed to his mother, no matter how much the woman hurt him.

  This was an adult issue. Should Leaf have grievance, it was better to have the adults to be blamed than to blame a kid. It wouldn’t do for Leaf to use Gary and Daisy as scapegoats. Any problems in the future she should blame the adults in the situation because the kids would have had no choice but to follow along.

  “I could have warne —”

  “No need, Gary. It’s alright. I’ll discuss it with your dad soon. For now, let’s get everything settled. You’ll both be assisting me in training for Celadon gym. You should worry about that instead.”

  Both boys’ lit up, the pale pallor that they faintly had due anxiety and stress from Celadon gym disappearing. Gray would not have been surprised if the smell had washed them out too. Sure enough, the idea of interacting with Pokemon and the chance of doing ‘trainer’ things was enough to distract the boys.

  Ash and Gary practically dragged their uncle along, excited to get things along. Gray felt the stone in his stomach settle at their enthusiasm. He had worried over the boys from yesterday, so to see them return back to their usual exuberance lightened the weight over his shoulders.

  The Training Centre they entered was a massive building, made up of multiple floors all dedicated to pokemon training. In big cities like Celadon, space and land were valuable commodities. To accommodate the needs of trainers to have wide open areas to conduct pokemon training, Training Centres were created.

  They functioned as convenient and safe spaces for trainers and their pokemon to train. In other smaller locations, it was far more common to walk out of city limits into ‘wild’ spaces for training. But due to the scale of Celadon, Training Centres reduced the need to commute and thus gained popularity.

  Training Centres operated in Tiers, most trainers opting for shared spaces where they could conduct training surrounded by other trainers. It provided them with invaluable experiences, as it wasn’t uncommon for a newer trainer to glean training tips by observing more experienced trainers go about their business. On the other end of the spectrum, powerful trainers enjoyed the pride that came with the acknowledgement from other trainers. Even in Training Centres, a trainer could build their fanbase.

  When asked for what kind of training field tier they were looking to book, Gray had no scruples in requesting for a private field with the most extensive fortifications. He had no desire to be surrounded by strangers, and he would feel more comfortable letting the boys run around in a private space.

  “We’ll rent it for the next five days.”

  “Of course, Mr Oak!” The receptionist responded giddily. “You’ll be challenging Erika’s personal team then?”

  “That’s right.”

  “I’ll make sure to book tickets in advance to watch! Best of luck sir!”

  Once they were in the field they had booked, Gray immediately released his entire team. The space, which was only slightly larger than a typical battlefield, became more lively with all of Gray’s pokemon family present.

  “Warm up, everyone!” he commanded before turning towards a corner of the space that would give him the most privacy.

  Experienced as they were, Gray’s team divided themselves on their own. Ash and Gary were ushered to the side, keeping them safe yet giving them a wide view of the training field so they could watch to their heart’s content.

  Finally left relatively alone, Gray took out his phone to make a call.