Hard Enough

Chapter 197: Anxiety Anita

Anita didn’t want to reset the Gym for her entrance, so instead the podium shifted so she could step out onto it, and I stepped off to collect my own pokemon.

Jackson took my place. “Alright, little girl? You ready to throw down?” he asked.

“I-I’m ready!” she said nervously, her hand darting towards her pokebelt, pulling out a pokeball.

I frowned at the hesitance in her voice, she’d been much more assertive before. Where had that gone?

Salvadore, who’d stepped in for this match as referee, raised the flags. “Trainers, are you ready?” he asked.

When they both nodded he dropped the flags. “Release and begin!” he called.

Anita threw her pokeball only for it to soar way, way too far. “Argh! No!” wailed the girl as her Budew appeared right in front of Jackson’s Rhyhorn.

Everyone blinked in surprise at the faux pas. I tilted my head, measuring the distance she’d just thrown and adjusting it for her age. I whistled. “Damn! That girl has an arm on her!” I said with a chuckle.

Salvadore coughed. “Uhm that’s a… violation of starting area!” he said quickly before shifting and swallowing. “Uhm… shoot, what else am I supposed to say?” He said into the microphone as he chewed his lip in thought.

He perked up as he recalled the relevant rules. “Oh! Pokemon must begin within their half of the field when deployed! You may leave your pokemon on the opponent’s side of the field when you defeat them or force a trade of pokemon but not before then! For violating this… you will receive… a pen—”

I cut off Salvadore, realising he was quoting the official League standard rules for a pokemon match. I coughed. “Sorry about that, Salvadore, that’s the official League rules, but we as a Gym can show discretion if we choose,” I said.

I coughed and shifted my attention. “Anita, you will receive a warning for this and no more, this time,” I said calmly.

When Salvadore blushed and shot me a worried look, I made a patting-the-air motion to show I just needed him to calm down. I changed channels to his exclusive radio. “Easy tiger, that was the correct call officially, but this is a beginner's Gym match, let her know she did the wrong thing but don’t burn her too bad.”

I shot Anita a look and sighed. “She’s already doing that enough for herself.”

Indeed, the girl looked like she had withdrawn entirely into herself and was lost in a cycle of castigating herself.

Her hair had fallen over her face and she was curling in on herself, arms tucked in tight. I grimaced. Damn, it looked like she was having a panic attack.

I was getting an odd sense of whiplash. The girl had been loud and demanding when she’d been in the stands, but now that she was under pressure it seemed like her confidence was a thin facade.

This… this wasn’t a good showing, but it didn’t have to mean the end of her match before it even began. She just needed something to—

Before I could do anything a voice ripped through the silence. “ANITA! COME ON! FIGHT! DON’T LET THIS HURDLE STOP YOU!” roared Trent, her friend, from the stands. “COME ON! I KNOW YOU’RE BRAVER THAN THIS! YOU’RE THE BRAVEST GIRL IN LITTLEROOT TOWN!”

I hummed, looking towards the boy who was doing his best to raise Anita’s confidence. Littleroot Town, eh?

I shot Rachel a look and made a pump-up gesture.

Rachel grinned. “YOU HEARD HIM FOLKS! LET’S GIVE THIS GIRL SOME SUPPORT!”

“Yeeeeeeeah, go little one!” called one woman instantly, and I made a mental note to send her some free tickets for food or drink for her help.

“It’s alright, you’re not out of it! You’ve got a good pokemon out on the field to start things off!” shouted another.

“You can do it! Go for the headshot!” shouted another person, their passionate shot garnering a small chuckle from the crowd.

My idea to give a single woman a voucher shifted, becoming an idea that came from a famous memory that had become a meme in my past life.

Specifically, the Oprah meme.

She’d get vouchers, and he’d get vouchers, and everyone would get food vouchers!

I held back from doing that right now through force of will, but still vowed I’d do it later, after Anita’s match with me.

Anita lifted her head and gave a tremulous smile. “B-budew, step back until you’re at the midpoint! S-sorry girl! I messed up!” she called. Her Budew turned and darted back on its stumpy little legs.

When she reached the halfway point it turned and skipped backwards rather than run past and then turn around. Hmmm, not bad. Not the best, but not bad in terms of awareness.

Jackson made a gesture to Anita. “Ladies first,” he said with a slight bow.

Anita stiffly nodded and then shot her hand forward. “Bubeb!” she said, biting her tongue as she tried to give the command in a strong manner, only to mess up again.

I put a hand to my face and sighed. Oh dear, this girl… this was just not her day.

She shot her hand to her mouth and released an aborted squeal of pain before shaking it off. “Budew!” she said carefully. “Use Leech Seed!” she said.

Jackson leaned forward. “Rhyhorn! Use Tail Whip!” he called, going for the seemingly easy option.

Budew leaned forward only to twitch and release nothing. I blinked in surprise at the failed move, only to facepalm as I realised the issue.

Anita twitched, realising her mistake. “I meant Stun Spore!” she hurriedly said. Budew didn’t know Leech Seed.

Jackson coughed as he understood she’d messed up again.

I ran a hand across my face. “This girl is just too in her head now,” I said, watching as she struggled and fought against herself. She eventually settled into using Absorb and ending the match easily enough.

I was disappointed when she made no move to use a potion after the match.

When Greta stepped forward to be the next trainer in the gauntlet I tapped her on the shoulder. “Use Defence Curl and Roll Out as much as you can to force her hand a little more, alright? Pressure her,” I said.

Greta nodded and did just that, sending out a Geodude who expertly dodged into rocks and then rolled rings around Budew, causing the little pokemon to grow confused as it spun around and around on the spot.

I frowned. “Come on, you have some of the pieces to fix this situation, what are you going to do?” I asked myself as I watched Anita struggle.

Jackson who’d made his way up to me shot me an amused look at my commentary of the match, but I ignored him.

From what it looked like, Anita grew too anxious to think clearly as she failed to correct her course of action, growing more and more flustered until Greta became bored of dragging the fight out.

“Finish it! Roll Out!” she called, making Geodude turn and hurtle straight into Budew, smashing into it and sending it flying across the field.

For a moment I recalled an event a few months ago, where another nervous girl had stepped into the Gym and failed to correctly order a Geodude.

With a little time, things had changed. Greta was now the confident one, with a new challenger appearing that was struggling.

Budew struggled to stand and Greta stiffened. “B-budew! Please keep fighting! I need you!” she called desperately.

Budew stood up on shaky limbs and glared at Geodude who merely scoffed.

“Come on girl! You got this!” called someone from the crowd.

“Dig deep!” “Shock us with something!” “Fight through!” called others, and I reaffirmed my desire to give the entire crowd free vouchers. This sort of positive support was something I needed to reward. They were good people.

Anita twitched and glanced at the crowd, an idea sparking in her eyes as she paused, only to snap her head back to her pokemon.

She swept her hand wide. “Budew! Cast a wide cloud with Stun Spore!” she called, and I sighed in relief as she finally switched up her tactics.

Geodude tore through the cloud of spores, only to spasm like it had been shocked, it lost its ball shape and opened itself out. With its momentum lost, it faceplanted into the ground and dug itself a furrow in the earth before it rightened itself. It glared hatefully at the Budew as Anita brightened up.

“Absorb! Get back in the fight!” Anita called, and with that, her Budew was able to return to strength while knocking out Geodude.

Greta glanced up at me, a fire in her eyes, and I nodded, silently agreeing that she could use her second pokemon.

Greta turned back, her second pokeball in hand even as Geodude was returned. I chuckled, imagining a wagging tail of glee thanks to how I wasn’t holding her back.

When had Greta gained such a love for fighting?

Or was this more that she was learning about the joys of pushing an opponent and seeing them grow before you?

If that was the case, she might be well suited to become a Gym Trainer… or maybe even more in future.

In the games Gary had become a Gym Leader, after all… why couldn’t another person from that generation take hold of the mantle of Viridian Gym Leader?

It was an amusing idea, at the very least.

Greta released her Aron. The little metal dog growled fiercely as it locked eyes on the beaten and bruised Budew.

“Ron!” it growled.

Greta swept her hand out. “Rock Tomb! Trap it first and then charge in!”

Rocks shot up out of the ground and pinched in on Budew, causing the little pokemon to cry out in pain and Anita to gasp. “Budew! Use Stun Spore, stop it getting close!”

“Leap high and commit!” Greta called, making her Aron jump up and through the expanding cloud of spores.

It burst out the other side, a sizable window of spores punched through. It locked up and twitched, only to continue soaring.

This move wouldn’t have worked if Budew could move even a little, but thanks to Greta’s earlier Rock Tomb, she’d secured herself a sure thing. Aron slammed into Budew and finally knocked the little pokemon out of the match.

I hummed. “A touch harder than it needed to be, but a good sequence of moves,” I commented.

“Might need to make Greta fight higher level matches, third tier and such,” commented Jackson.

I grunted my agreement, my eyes locked on Anita as she stared at her downed pokemon. I could practically see her world collapsing around her. I clicked my tongue. Alright, outside support wasn’t working, what about another form of motivation?

I straightened up and stepped to the side and into the lights at the top of the stairs, arms crossed in my signature pose with my eyes cast in shadow as I stared down upon Anita.

I toggled the speakers. “So…. this is all you have to show me?” I said with a lazy drawl. “Hmph! Did you think that Budew would work here?”

Internally I wanted to cringe, but externally I continued to stare down at Anita.

Anita, a young girl who was obviously breaking before everyone’s eyes, and here I was punching down.

The thing was, in a pokemon world, words like that?

“Budew is strong!” Anita said, her eyes regaining some of the fire that she’d had when she was in the stands. When she’d stepped onto the podium that fire had vanished after a series of blunders.

Now she met my gaze as she clutched at Budew’s pokeball.

I sniffed dismissively and turned my gaze to Aron who was trying to shake off the Stun Spore. It wouldn’t work sadly, but he might have a better chance at getting a move off.

Greta adopted an oddly familiar look of derision for Anita and the other girl bristled as she clutched at another pokeball. “Come out Zigzagoon!”

A small racoon-like pokemon took to the field and barked happily. Anita shot her hand forward. “Budew set us up! Take out Aron while it is weak! Tackle!” she called.

Ziagzagoon charged straight in and I could see Greta calculating what was about to happen. Her pokemon couldn’t move well and her opponent was charging her.

She didn’t need to move to come off better in this exchange.

“Harden!” she called and a glint swept over Aron’s body as his defence increased right as Zigzagoon tried to tackle it.

A hard thump sounded out and both pokemon staggered back, slightly pained from the exchange, but considering how it was meant to go, Greta had done well.

I could see Anita growing flustered once more, but she had a touch more steel in her now and she was assisted by the crowd continuing to cheer on, buoying her confidence. “Circle it with Tail Whip!”

Her pokemon darted in close and ran circles in tight, its tail whipping into Aron and lowering its defence with each circuit.

“Bite it!” growled Greta, and Aron tried but failed as he was too slow.

With Aron weakened, Anita had her pokemon dart to the side and slam home another Tackle from a much better position than head-on.

I nodded. “Good, she learned from her first mistake,” I said aloud, watching as she had her pokemon dart in and out to harass Aron until it toppled to the side.

Greta sighed as she returned her pokemon. “I guess I shouldn’t have been so eager to charge in on the first pokemon. I won the first fight, but lost the match, as they say!” she bowed and marched away.

Jackson chuckled. “If this had been a two-tier or three-tier match, she’d have been able to use Dig to evade the attack.”

“True,” I said, “but then I’d expect more from Anita if that was the case.”

I waited for Greta to step back before I began my advance down the stairs. As I passed her I whispered to her. “Excellent showing out there, talk to Jackson about higher-tier matches,” I said quickly.

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With that done I continued on, my eyes locked on Anita who still hadn’t used a potion. As I did my signature jump across the railing to the podium, I took note of small details.

She didn’t have many pokemon. She had four pokeballs on her belt, one of which I knew was knocked out. Zigzagoon was tired from earlier.

I also noticed other things, like the wear of her shoes, the slight tiredness in her eyes, and the slightly pinched facial features. She wasn’t starved by any metric, but she had been roughing it for a while, I suspected.

Damn, I felt like an asshole beating down on her like I had.

But,] it was one of the things she needed at this moment. I was to be her barrier to overcome.

I locked eyes with her and felt the flickering flame of her resolve with but a look. I didn’t say anything, I merely gestured towards the exit.

Zigzagoon growled at this and Anita straightened up. Hmmm, I suspected if I’d targeted her, she would have crumbled earlier, but by targeting her pokemon?

Well, that drew a response. Now her pokemon were making her act. It was… a solution, but not one that she should continue to rely on, lest her pokemon not respect her as their trainer.

That would need correction, but the help could come later.

“Let’s rock! Anorith!” I called, sending out my Bug-rock type for the first time publicly.

Anorith appeared and wiggled her legs happily. “Anor-rith!” she called.

“Game face on, Anorith! This is a Gym Match!” I said, stopping her from leaping across at her new friend and instead crouching down in readiness.

Salvadore raised his flags before dropping them. “Begin!” he called.

Anita swallowed and stabbed a hand forward. “Sand Attack! Target those Bug eyes!”

“Water Gun!” I replied, blowing away the Sand Attack before it could do any damage.

Anita stiffened as the Water Gun continued on to slam into her pokemon, sending it sprawling. “Zigzagoon! No, keep fighting! Use your special move!”

I frowned at this, wondering what she meant.

I didn’t have to wait long as Zigzagoon righted itself, only to throw itself into a head-long sprint straight at Anorith with Extreme Speed.

“Har—” I barely got to shout before Anorith was launched backward where she slammed into the back wall.

She slid down with a painful cry before shaking herself off and limping forward.

I shot Anita another look. Why had she not used that move earlier? It was a great move that might have spared her pokemon some of its energy.

“Yes! It hit!” Anita cried out with what sounded like pure relief.

I stared. Her pokemon knew Extreme Speed but had… accuracy issues? That didn’t make sense to me. What was up with that?

I gave Zigzagoon another look and frowned at what I saw. “It’s young, isn’t it?”

When she gave me a blank look I clarified my statement. “Your Zigzagoon, it’s quite young, isn’t it? Only just out of being a baby pokemon if I’m correct? It always knew Extreme Speed as well?”

Anita blinked. “Uhhhh, yeah?”

I nodded and continued to observe Zigzagoon carefully. It had signs of some discolouration and patches where the coat hadn’t grown in properly. It was obviously well cared for, with it being brushed, but it had some potential issues as well.

I shook my head and shut my mouth for the moment. With the information I had access to, I knew what I needed to do. “Anorith! Use Water Gun to leap on top of a boulder!”

Anorith, having just returned to the field of battle, did exactly that.

Anita tilted her head only to scowl. “I see what you’re trying to do! And it won’t work! Let’s end this match!”

“Crouch down,” I said simply as Zigzagoon began darting from side to side with Extreme Speed, my eyes barely able to track it as Anorith gained a confused look as she attempted the same action.

When Zigzagoon made to leap Anita realised what was about to happen and blanched. “No! Stop!” she called, only for it to be too late.

Zigzagoon leapt, only to soar right over Anorith who’d crouched earlier, representing a smaller profile to be hit.

Zigzagoon sailed up and up, looking excited for a moment, only for horror to dawn on its small racooony features as it realised it had misjudged its jump terribly.

I sighed. Young pokemon with strong moves weren’t always a great combination.

It reminded me of Ash teaching his Gible Draco Meteor. Heh, when it was my turn to try it out, that was going to be fun.

With Zigzagoon unable to move as it fell through the air I only had to snap my fingers. “Water Gun!”

Anorith popped up, spinning and firing on a pokedime. The glob of water slammed into the falling Zigzagoon and sent it tumbling out of the battlefield where it failed to rise.

“Urgh!” Anita said with a quiver.

I hummed. It had been a good showing, but she needed more control of her pokemon and its moves before coming here, otherwise people could and would exploit her weakness.

She returned her pokemon and gritted her teeth. “Alright girl! Come on out!” From her next pokeball a Jigglypuff appeared with a twirl.

I tilted my head. Now here was a rarish pokemon to see on the battling scene. I gestured for her to go first and Anita chopped her hands across her body. “Use Sweet Kiss!” she said, and Jigglypuff made a kissing gesture at Anorith.

The pink heart wafted forward quickly and caught Anorith by surprise. I coughed as I tried to hold in a small laugh.

If this went how I thought it would, I might have another lesson to be taught right here.

Anorith gained a pinkish energy in her eyes and straightened up. “Rith?” she asked as she locked eyes on Jigglypuff. She was clearly confused about what was going on here.

I just chuckled. “Hug her,” I said.

Jigglypuff puffed herself up, only to squeak in terror as Anorith did what she naturally did and leapt, legs spread wide as she sought to hug Jigglypuff.

Jigglypuff, now with Anorith attached to her face, panicked and rolled back and forth, slamming herself into the ground, only for Anorith to grab on harder, her eyes still glowing.

“Ah! Jigglypuff! Use Disarming Voice! Jigglypuff? Come on! Listen!” she called, only for her pokemon to continue freaking out and ignoring her.

A few people laughed in the crowd and Anita flinched, only to blush furiously as she looked at me. I shot her a smirk and she growled.

“JIGGLYPUFF! STOP MESSING AROUND AND USE DISARMING VOICE!” she shouted, using some of her earlier loudness to get her command through to her panicked pokemon.

Jigglypuff stood and a moment later a screech shot from the little fluffball, launching Anorith away and knocking her out.

Anita stared, shocked at how that had gone for her, only for Jigglypuff to buckle, having apparently worn herself out in her panic.

I returned Anorith, rather happy with her first showing.

She’d been deadly accurate with her Water Gun and I was overall happy with her matching two pokemon for her first appearance. She had some rough spots, but she worked out well for me.

I enlarged my last pokemon and released it. Onix took to the field with a loud roar and Jigglypuff gained a new look of tiredness as she realised she was going to have to face off against this towering giant.

“Bide,” I said, deciding to toss an easy ball at Anita.

Anita twitched and a small smile appeared on her face, which let me know she had done her research and knew about this move. “Stockpile!” she called out and her pokemon opened its mouth and pretended that it was Kirby with a huge sucking action before swallowing some air.

When Onix didn’t move she grinned. “Use Spit up!” she shouted, and her pokemon spat a wave of pink bubbles that shot out into Onix.

I sighed and shook my head as Onix took a huge hit by the look of things. The bubbles exploded into pink light, battering him with each hit, and when the light show vanished Onix looked to be on his last legs.

“Oh no,” said Anita as she realised her mistake, right in time for Bide to be unleashed from Onix.

Onix swept his tail around with a mighty swing. Jigglypuff was blown backwards and cratered into the floor when she landed.

She didn’t get up and Anita had to return her.

I scratched my head in bemusement. She’d done enough research, but had been unlucky enough to face off against a Sturdy Onix instead of a Hard Head Onix. Not that I expected her to know about that.

It was still bad luck for her.

Onix heaved in breath after breath, clearly on his last legs as Anita returned her pokemon. She swallowed and plucked out her last pokemon. “C-come on out Slaking!” she called.

I straightened up instantly, all humour in the situation lost as my hands went to Onix’s pokeball even as I clutched at Don’s pokeball. He was my fastest pokemon, and if she was going to sucker punch me like that other prick then I had an answer ready for—

Slaking appeared, lazing on his side.

He opened a single eye and snorted in disinterest before rolling onto his back and farting.

I raised an eyebrow as the sound echoed throughout the gym as the crowd fell silent.

I stared at Slaking before slowly turning to Anita who was blushing furiously.

I felt myself relax. She was just a kid.

Sure, she was a kid with access to a surprisingly powerful pokemon, but it wasn’t a situation like it had been with Guybro.

I swallowed. “You can’t order that pokemon around, can you?” I asked.

Anita licked her lips only to deflate. “No, no sir, I cannot… I didn’t want to rely on him, but…”

I nodded and signalled to Salvadore.

Salvadore nodded. “Anita is unable to control her pokemon! Therefore this match is called in Brock’s favour! The Gym Leader wins!”

Anita returned her sleeping pokemon and let her hair fall down over her eyes.

This reminded me a lot of when Ash lost because Charizard wouldn’t follow his commands. It had sucked watching as a kid, but it had been a learning moment for Ash.

I caught a shudder run through Anita’s form and knew without being told that the second the podiums were low enough, she was going to run.

This girl really was like Greta.

I jumped, withdrawing Onix as I did so and calling on some rock energy to propel myself across the battlefield quickly. When Anita leapt off the podium to run away, I was there to catch her.

“Ah?” she said, shocked out of her tears for a moment.

I smiled. “Hey, let’s you and I talk before you run off, yeah?”

She nodded hesitantly and I carted her to the medical bay where I deposited my pokemon into waiting receptacles. Chansey bustled out and paused when she noticed Anita. Her eyes lingered on Anita’s red eyes and wet cheeks.

“Chansey!” she said as she reached into her apron and brought out a handful of candy which she deposited in Anita’s hand. She then patted Anita on the cheek and gestured at another receptacle bay.

“She wants you to put your pokemon there so she can look after them,” I said, acting as a translator.

“Oh, sure thing,” Anita said quietly, doing just that. She then shot me a look before hanging her head. “I messed up bad… didn’t I?”

I hummed, considering how I should approach this. Before I got a chance to, the door rattled as something hit it. I heard a soft ‘ow’ from the other side.

“T-trent?” said Anita, some life coming back into her.

“Anita! Are you alright? Brock’s not bullying you, is he?”

Anita spluttered. “No! I’m not being bullied! Shut up! Just go wait for me! You’re making a scene and embarrassing me!” she said.

Trent coughed. “O-oh… alright, if you say so… You’re sure he’s not doing anything to you?” he asked, and I felt a vein twitch in my forehead. What the hell was this kid saying? I had half a mind to march over and say as much, but Anita just growled wordlessly.

The sound of scampering feet met my ears and I chuckled.

Anita smirked, only to blink and remember where she was. “S-sorry about that, he’s just an idiot childhood friend of mine.”

“Hmmmm,” I said, deciding to not comment on the ‘childhood friend’ line she’d used. That raised flags in my mind, but I didn’t want to touch on that. Instead, I wanted to talk about something else. “That fire you have with him? Where is it when you fight? You… you’re very fragile, I get that it wasn’t a great start with the overthrow, but things sort of spiralled for you there. Does that happen often?”

“It… happens a lot, actually, I just get so tense when I fight.”

I nodded. “You feel like you need to consider every scenario? Do you feel like your mind is moving at a million miles an hour? Your heart thunders in your ears? Your breath feels hot?”

“Y-yeah!” she shot me a hopeful look. “Are you like that as well… who am I kidding? You’re Brock!” she said with a slump.

I chuckled. “I wasn’t always ‘Gym Leader Brock’, you know? Long before I fought Lance and won some fame, I had my own Journey where I had to learn things, you know? I went around feeling like I was doing great until I faced off against Blaine’s challenge. I went in with my rock-typed pokemon thinking I had it.”

I shook my head as I recalled how cocky I’d been. “Things started slipping through my grip very quickly. Blaine led me around by the nose. He’s a wily one, and was… well, he was a nightmare to fight despite my type advantage. I ended up taking a month and three battles of Blaine taunting me before I won. After the second match, I remember becoming exceptionally tense and having issues with everything. Which in a volcano arena is a huge problem.”

“Gym Leader Blaine really does that?” Anita asked.

I nodded. “Yup, by the time you … well I suppose you won’t get the chance, with how things have developed, but when you would have gotten to him you would have had to face him with your best foot forward, which is not just about having your pokemon healthy, but also yourself.”

I tapped the side of my head. “You have some things that are getting in your way, they’re presenting a lot earlier than they did for me.”

“Urgh, I’m so pathetic,” she said.

I shook my finger back and forth. “Ah, that’s the sort of thing you need to do away with. Let yourself be confident, without relying on pushing others down, eh?”

Anita frowned. I shot her a look. “For all that Trent was worried I was bullying you, some of the things you were saying could be seen as you pushing him around. Regardless of you winning or losing, you still acted that way. It might be a method of bolstering your self-confidence, but It’s not a stable platform. What would happen if he left you, for example?”

“He wouldn’t!” said Anita with a hint of desperation.

I shot her a sad smile. “I’m just raising a potential situation. You need some confidence in yourself and methods to manage when your mood is getting too much. Have you ever seen some of my matches?”

“Yeah, I’ve tried your clap breath… it didn’t work for me, I just felt silly,” she admitted.

I laughed. “Yeah! I can look pretty silly, can’t I?” I said with a smile.

Anita giggled. “I don’t mind feeling silly, if it would just work!” she said.

I hummed as I considered her words, before rubbing my chin. “Hmmm, the symptoms I described earlier, do you get a few, or all of them?”

Anita blinked. “Oh? The shortness of breath and the head spinning? Yeah, I get all of those when things get bad.”

I hummed as I recalled another option. “You wouldn’t mind feeling silly if you relaxed?” I said. When Anita nodded I smiled. “How do you feel about dancing?” I asked.

When she gave me a clueless look I elaborated. “Sometimes when I have baseballers that get too tense, I tell them to do a little dance routine to make them relax.”

I demonstrated a funny little hop, skip shuffle where I pumped my arms while nodding my head with a goofy grin on my face as I did so. “You can do it with music if you want. Remember that the referee asks if you’re ready, and it’s not a bad idea to take the time to adjust if you need it. Getting yourself in the right mindset can make all the difference for a pokemon match.”

“Can you show me that again?” asked Anita.

I gestured and she stood up and copied me through the sequence of silly dance moves. I hadn’t needed to use this trick for any of my baseball kids in a while. I’d co-opted it from a rather famous hurdler from my past life and found it worked rather well.

Anita did the dance and laughed, relaxing as the movements helped her become looser and more open. I smiled, pleased that we had a potential fix for what was her major issue.

“Alright, with that out of the way, how do you think you did?” I asked.

Anita coughed, her foot kicking at the floor with her eyes watching it with great interest. “Not good. I flubbed things and the crowd needed to get me out of my head.”

“You had the right pokemon for a sweep if you had a better plan coming in,” I said. “That said, why did you go for the Gauntlet while Trent went for the straight challenge?”

“....” muttered Anita.

I leaned forward. “I didn’t catch that I’m sorry?”

“I… was trying to play off my anxiety! We’ve been losing a lot of money lately, cause every trainer we fight is really strong! I wanted Trent to shut up ‘cause he was being super pushy with me and I got mad and then… I signed up for the tougher fight against your Gym.”

“Hmmm I see, well, you were close to beating me,” I said neutrally. It also explained why she wouldn’t have money for food and potions. “What’s up with Slaking?” I asked.

“My big sister’s Slaking is to protect us if we get in over our heads, but he won’t fight for me!”

“Ah, you’ve tried to use him before this, no?” When Anita nodded I sighed. “You need to bring him out and establish a bond. Don’t try to use him for fighting before you have that bond. Call him out for meal times and sit with him, talk with him. Do team activities if you want to have any hope of using him. Slaking are… well, they're very tough pokemon to use normally,” I said.

“Oh, those are good ideas, thanks.” Anita stood and collected her pokeballs.

“So, do you want my badge?” I asked, posing what seemed like an innocent question to her.

Anita blinked. “But I lost?”

I nodded. “You did, but you also demonstrated some skills with adjusting for some fights. You brought a grass type and while you were very reliant on him, you did demonstrate you know how to use typings to your advantage. You made some good adjustments when the fight couldn’t just rely on this. You then had to fight through with pokemon without advantages. Honestly? If you’d had any other pokemon apart from that Slaking, you might have won. Onix was barely hanging in there from that Spit Up, “ I said.

“O-oh… so I can earn your badge?” she asked with a frown.

I considered her. “I’m going to be cruel right now. I think you have demonstrated enough to eke out earning my badge at the first tier, but! And this is the catch, it’s your call. It’s up to you to accept if this is how you earn your first badge. It’s yours, but if you want it to mean more than something you just scraped over the line for...” I trailed off leadingly.

Anita gained a conflicted look before shaking her head. “You’re right. I don’t want to earn it that way…” she said.

I nodded. “Right, well, with that said, I think we need to talk about you getting some work, 'cause if you and your pokemon are struggling from losses, then you need to settle down for a bit and let yourself recover. This Season is especially brutal. So, any guesses as to what you should do next?”

Anita nodded. “I should get a job?!” she said, looking adorably determined.

I grinned. “Nope! You should come have lunch with my trainers and I!” I said, putting a hand behind her back and marching her back out to the battlefield. There I collected Trent and led her up to the Gym trainer section where I let them loose on the fridge.

Within a few minutes they each had a trio of sandwiches and were talking animatedly with Greta and Salvadore while Jackson grabbed some pokechow to give to their pokemon.

At this point I had stood by, simply idling for a bit, waiting to get noticed as they settled in.

When Anita shot me a confused look, I glanced pointedly at her Slaking’s pokeball and she understood my meaning that now was the best time to start building her bond with Slaking.

Just to make sure he behaved, I popped out Don and Hypnotoad.

Then I recalled my promise to myself. I marched over and tapped on my microphone, catching the crowd before it could depart for the lunch rush.

“Congratulations to the following people! You get free food vouchers!” I said, pointing at one kid only to then point at his mother.

“You get free food vouchers! You get free food vouchers!” I repeated this a few times before sweeping my hand over the entire crowd. “YOU ALL GET FOOD VOUCHERS! LUNCH IS ON THE HOUSE!” I called and the crowd cheered.

I grinned, knowing it would be an expensive bill, but sometimes it was fun to pay for extravagant gestures like this while knowing that I could absorb it.

It felt damn good being able to do something like this on a whim. I turned and marched back to sit and enjoy my own lunch, a happy little spark dancing in my chest.

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