Chapter Text
Grusha sighed as he defeated yet another hopeful student from Naranja Academy with his Beartic. This was already the third student of the day, and it wasn't even noon yet! He couldn't wait until he could retreat to his office/bedroom at the top of the gym and finally relax with a cup of hot cocoa. He had been rudely awoken this morning by his staff when a girl had challenged the gym. The staff usually awoke him the second someone issued a challenge, instead of when a challenger completed a gym challenge like the other gym leaders tended to have their staff do. They knew that with his injury, he couldn't get ready without the extra time. So instead of getting ready when a challenger actually passes the gym test, he had to wake up ten minutes earlier while his staff prepared the course just so he could get ready. While Grusha normally didn't mind rising with the sun, he had a restless night of sleep, just because some inconsiderate Naranja students decide to challenge the Glaseado Gym consecutively. If it was daytime, he would be considerably less pissed, but not when it was two. In. The. Fucking. Morning. No. Just no. He was awake for over an hour battling them and he was not happy, visibly taking it out on the challengers. It was made worse when the kids asked for a photo with him after he thoroughly thrashed them. He wanted to refuse, but the last time he'd done so, Geeta had gotten on his case within an hour. She then spent half and hour lecturing him on 'the importance of the League's appearance' and that he needed to be 'more welcoming to flourishing trainers on their Treasure Hunt'. So he just gritted his teeth and bore through the obnoxious flashes of the trainers' Rotom phones as they took 'commemoration selfies' with him. But back to the main topic, he couldn't wait to make that steaming cup of hot cocoa and curl up on his nice, comfy couch with his Pokémon, maybe with a book in hand.
His daydream was interrupted his Rotom phone buzzing. A quick check showed that it was his alarm reminding him that he needed to attend a League meeting later in the afternoon. He mentally cursed its timing. Goodbye, hot cocoa and relaxation. If it were an option, he would have just skipped, but they were mandatory and he would get fired on the spot if he didn’t show up. He had just enough time to switch out his team for his backup one. While his usual Pokémon would be fine after a stop to the Pokémon Centre, they deserved a good rest after the exhausting morning they had. So he packed up his second team (consisting of an Alolan Ninetales he evolved from a Vulpix, a Winter Form Sawsbuck, a Cryogonal, a Glaceon and a Froslass). They weren't the most experienced and he was still training them up to his standards, but they would do while his main team rested up. As he took a Flying Taxi down Glaseado Mountain, he saw the jagged edges of Area Zero. But that wasn't what caught his attention. It was the hint of red and blue among the peaks that drew his gaze.
'No, it couldn't be......' he shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts. He tucked his scarf up as he turned his gaze away from the menacing peaks and instead towards the Pokémon League Headquarters in the distance. He sighed. 'No time for depressing thoughts now,' he mumbled to himself. He mentally prepared himself for the no doubt taxing day ahead of him. He always hated the meetings for various reasons. One is how perfunctory Geeta could be. She had this way of talking that just made you feel uneasy all the time. Her every move seemed artificial to Grusha. Her face was a constant mask of politeness, not unlike the ones his staff wore when a particularly rude challenger was testing their patience. They would be all passive aggressive about things, deliberately taking over an hour to get the slope ready for the Gym Challenge. The second reason was how boring the entire thing was. They were only there because Geeta forced them to attend. If it were up to Grusha, he would be holed up in his cozy office by now, possibly cuddling with his Pokémon.
As the Flying Taxi touched down in front of the Headquarters, Grusha slowly made his way up the hill and inside, following the hallway lights towards a familiar set of doors. As he entered the meeting room, the hushed sounds of quiet chatter reached his ears. He subconsciously pulled up his scarf a bit more and pushed open the doors. All of the other gym leaders and the Elite Four were already there. Grusha quickly claimed his seat and joined the others in waiting for Geeta to arrive. 'Hey Grush,' Tulip, who sat besides him greeted. 'how's the gym? Get any challengers lately?' He gave Tulip a tiny smile. Unlike the rest of the Gym Leaders and the Elite Four, he was actually friendly with Tulip. He enjoyed her blunt attitude and the way she never beat around the bush when talking, unlike some other girls he had the misfortune of meeting. They liked to 'play hard to get' and generally gave Grusha a headache. 'Yeah, just got seven last night and three this morning. Tul, you know you're the second hardest Gym Leader to beat after me. If so many challengers get to the Glaseado Gym, you're failing your job as second hardest to beat among the Gym Leaders. Do you need to switch ranks with Ryme?' He teased. Tulip playfully punched his arm. 'Ha! You wish! I'm not going anywhere Grush. You're stuck with me.' They both snickered. Geeta chose that moment to enter the meeting room, her presence instantly quieting the previously noisy room.
'Glad to see we're all on time,' Geeta said, conveniently forgetting that she was the one who was late. 'Since everyone's here, let's start the meeting. Now, a lot of you may notice a sudden increase in gym challengers lately. Because of the Area Zero incident, much more attention has been drawn to Naranja Academy and subsequently resulted in higher enrolment rates. Of course, many trainers choose to attempt the Gym Challenge during the annual Treasure Hunt, so we have even more trainers than normal challenging the eight gyms.' While the Gym Leaders nodded, the Elite Four just looked confused. 'I haven't noticed anything out of the norm,' Rika scrunched her brow in confusion. 'There were no challengers at all this past month, just like usual.' 'Well there must be a point where the challengers are all defeated,' Geeta pulled up a slide on the screen. ' I've been collecting data from all of the gyms and as you can see,' she gestured at the gradually declining line. 'The number of challengers are slowly becoming less the harder the gyms are, nothing out of the usual, until they challenge the Glaseado Gym. At that point, the number of challengers drop from fifty-something to none. And so I ask; what happened?' All eyes swung to look at Grusha as La Primera straightened up. 'I have been performing my job-that I get paid for-as Gym Leader and battling every trainer that passes the gym test.' He answered. 'Grusha, if you don't let anyone win, the trainers will eventually give up and their passion will fade. No one will attempt the Gym Challenge and the League's popularity will fade. This cannot continue.' Geeta said sternly. Grusha felt his anger flare as Geeta looked at him. She was the one that approached him with the offer to become a Gym Leader, knowing full well that while his main focus at the time was on his snowboarding career, he was a formidable trainer in his own right and his team was no slouch. Grusha contemplated his options. He could either back down and lower his standards, or could refuse to listen to Geeta and potentially get fired. He chose to let it go because unlike the other gym leaders who had secondary jobs along with their positions as gym leaders, he had no such safety net. If he ever got fired, he would become homeless and jobless. He mentally sighed. Although he wasn't a fan of his job, he had no other choice but to do it either. He gave a curt nod to Geeta and she carried on with the meeting. 'Now, although the recent profits brought to us was more than sufficient, we would like for all Elite Four and gym leaders to do some promotional work to further develop the Pokémon League here in Paldea. Whatever you want to do is up to you, but it is mandatory to participate in at least one promotional activity within the coming two months.' A buzz immediately enveloped the room. Grusha could already see Iono making plans on her Rotom phone and Rika excitedly chattering to Poppy about what they could do. 'Now, I'll leave you to discuss what you prefer to do. As an option, you could work with each other on one large project, or do your own individually.' With that, Geeta strolled out of the meeting room.
Almost immediately, Iono took the front of the table and yelled, 'Alright gang, this may be a once-in-a-lifetime chance for us to work on a project together! I wanna hear all your ideas!' Poppy immediately raised her hand and suggested, 'Why don't we have a game night? We could play Ducklett, Ducklett and Swanna!' Ryme chipped in with her opinion, 'We could have a huge concert with all of you singing! We should do it, I'll get the stage gleaming.' The conversations continued in such a manner, with everyone suggesting their own ideas. Grusha stayed silent, picking out viable prospects and running them over in his head. He didn't want to be embarrassed playing Poppy's childish games and singing during Ryme's concerts would draw too much attention to him, given the popularity of her songs among teenagers. He listened for a few more minutes, hearing more outlandish ideas by the second. Finally, he spoke up. 'Why not combine all of your ideas into one? This year's Treasure Hunt is set to begin in a week. We could start from Mesagoza and follow the official League guide, challenging each gym alongside the students.' 'That's a great suggestion Grush!' Tulip beamed. Iono pumped her fist in the air enthusiastically. 'Yes! And I could broadcast our progress on the Iono Zone!' The others agreed and plans were quickly made. 'Then it's decided,' Katy smiled, 'We set off for Mesagoza tomorrow morning!' Grusha whipped his head around so fast his neck made a cracking sound. 'What? Tomorrow?' Tulip grabbed his arm as the Gym Leaders and Elite Four slowly filed out. 'Come on, Grush, it'll be fun!' At that, she skipped out of the room. Grusha was left standing alone as he felt his days of relaxation slip away from him. He sighed aloud as he went on his way to prepare for the no doubt exhausting months ahead.
'Goodbye hot cocoa.'