After an almost uncomfortably tight hug and a move to the kitchen, where his father is clearly in the middle of making dinner, Ran ends up sitting at the dinner table with a glass of water, as his father slowly stirs the pasta sauce he's got on the fire.

"Some advance notice would've killed you?" His father starts, annoyance clear in his message but not in his tone, as he looks at Ran fondly, "I would've gotten more food for dinner. Now I won't have a warm lunch tomorrow."

"Sorry." Ran apologizes briefly, not elaborating any further.

"Well, come on, out with it, how've you been, what's happened?" His father urges, even as he offers a teaspoon filled with sauce for Ran to taste.

"Bit bland," Ran offers first, his father nodding agreeably as he starts unscrewing the lids off a few spice jars and starts adding them to the sauce, "So uhm, everything up to beating Falkner I sent was right. Well, except for one minor detail. Zubat didn't beat Falkner."

Ran's hand drifts to Golbat's pokéball, but before he can even unclip it, his father's sharp tongue is already rearing its head, "What, you figured I wouldn't be impressed enough that you needed two to get the job done?"

"Uh, no, actually," Ran denies awkwardly, before finally simply releasing Golbat next to the table, his pokémon hurriedly folding his wings to avoid knocking anything over, "But I don't have a Zubat anymore. He evolved."

"I can see that," His father allows, looking Golbat over taxingly for a moment, before returning his attention to the pots in front of him, which he carries over to the table, "Return him for now, dinner's ready."

Ran obediently recalls Golbat after offering his pokémon a brief thank you, eagerly offering his plate when his father puts serving spoons into both pots. For a few moments, they're both quiet, as plates are filled and they both dig in enthusiastically.

Finally, Ran continues his story, "I didn't tell you, because by the time I texted you, I'd had a fight with Spencer about where to go after Violet City. Then Josie, the girl I mentioned in my texts, offered to let me travel with her back this way and I hadn't figured out if I'd accept that yet. Once I did start traveling this way, I didn't really know how to tell you all of that in a text at first and then after a few days, it just felt like a bigger and bigger deal that I hadn't told you yet and then-"

"You're rambling," His father interrupts sharply, "Stop it."

"Sorry." Ran apologizes once more, awkwardly looking down at his rapidly emptying plate.

"This fight with Spencer..." His father begins leadingly, before trailing off. Ran doesn't respond however, merely reluctantly meeting his father's eyes, not wanting to discuss just how badly he'd misjudged his friendship with Spencer for all these years.

When Ran doesn't respond, his father lets out a heavy sigh, before forging ahead, "Do you want to talk about it? Ever since you first started planning with him, it was always 'Spencer and I this' and 'Spencer and I that'... Well, except for when you had that fight about Ekans' spot on your team."

Ran still refuses to respond, the mention of his first fight with Spencer enough for him to break eye contact with his father entirely. The older man stares at him taxingly for a few moments, before finally letting out an inscrutable hum.

"Hmm, so you beat Falkner two to nothing then?" His father asks, not acknowledging Ran's dodging of the Spencer-issue any further.

"I did." Ran confirms concisely, taking care not to start rambling again lest he risk his father turning the conversation to an awkward topic again.

"Good. What about this Josie, if you're still traveling with her, why isn't she here?" His father inquires next, cleaning off the last bit of sauce from his empty plate.

"She's staying at the Pokécenter," Ran admits hesitantly, "She didn't want to impose."

His father nods, one eyebrow lifting in amusement as Ran cleans out the pots to fill his plate once more, "Well the road's clearly doing you some good, if you're eating like this."

"There's just no competing with home cooking." Ran justifies his speedy eating with a guilty shrug, only to nearly choke on his pasta at his father's next question.

"So is she your girlfriend then or what's the situation?"

"W-What- No!" Ran denies hurriedly between coughs, needing a moment to gather his breath before he elaborates further, "She's just a friend. We met at Sprout Tower and had some double battles together, we celebrated getting our first badges together and when I fell out with Spencer, it just ended up making sense for the two of us to travel together."

His dad nods sagely, "Probably better not to if you're planning to travel together for a longer time anyways. At your age, hormones tend to complicate things."

"Yes, dad." Ran answers morosely, not even bothering to defend himself or dispute his father's words, knowing his father well enough to know when the man's mind is made up.

"You'll bring her by for dinner tomorrow," His father declares next, "And let me know once you've scheduled your match at the Gym, the sooner I can tell my boss when I need half a day off, the better."

"Alright dad, we'll be going by the Gym just before lunch tomorrow, I'll text you right after." Ran agrees easily, his father finally nodding approvingly before gathering the dirty dishes and starting to clean up.

"Good, go have a shower. I'm playing cards with the guys tonight, so you'll have the place to yourself in a bit. I trust the other two to know their bodies well enough and to be careful, but if you bring Golbat out, be sure he doesn't knock anything over." His father instructs once more, before starting on the dishes, the conversation clearly over.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

The remainder of the evening is almost oddly uneventful, the nurse's reminder to give his pokémon a proper rest leaving Ran with very little to do after his shower. Eventually, he ends up in his room with Spinarak and Ekans in the positions they've often occupied over the past few years, only Golbat having to move from the small perch Ran'd made for his previous form to the inside of the bedroom's old wardrobe. It's a funny sight, Golbat's ears just about grazing the bottom of the wardrobe, but it's also a stark reminder of the progress they've made.

Eventually, with a small stack of comics by his side and his pokémon lounging in the room, occasionally exchanging some small sounds amongst themselves, it's almost as if he's properly home again. For a night, at least.

The next day, after enjoying the double rare luxuries of a soft bed and being able to sleep in for a few hours, he heads back to the Pokécenter where Josie is already waiting for him. They exchange a few quick words, with Ran mentioning his father's demand that she attend dinner and confirming that his meeting with his dad went well, whilst Josie for her part happily tells him about Tommy's repeated failed attempts at flirting with her the previous evening.

They enter the Gym shortly afterwards, the place buzzing with activity as the circuit is well and truly underway and inexperienced trainers from all over have started swarming towards the most inexperienced Gym leader on the circuit now that the word on Bugsy taking over is well and truly out. There's actually a short line in front of the reception desk, more than one eager trainer lined up to book their own challenge.

As they join the line, Ran looks around the reception area. There's still clear signs of the previous ownership, the water motif still present in the tiled floor as the standout example, but Bugsy's already had a lot of work done. The old-fashioned wainscot that gave the whole reception area the vibe of an old-timey steamboat has been replaced by a mix of paints. A kind of forest green is the dominant color, with hints of lighter olive green to simulate the effect of sunlight breaking through. Over it all, an asymmetrical array of white lines has been painted in a clear simulation of webs.

It gives the whole place a significantly earthier atmosphere, especially with the furniture also replaced, as stools and benches that looked like they belonged on a cruise ship have been replaced by and large by furniture that wouldn't look out of place on a camping trip. As the line advances and they reach the front desk, Ran concludes that the only thing that's still clearly missing, other than a new floor, is a large overhead window, to let in more sunlight to really nail down the forest clearing vibe the Gym is going for. Though considering how little time Bugsy's had and how busy the Gym is during the circuit, it's no real surprise that those kinds of major changes haven't been managed yet.

The receptionist is an unfamiliar woman Ran estimates to be in her thirties or forties, only remarkable to him in the sense that he'd never met her before which, in Azalea Town, was unlikely to the point of being impossible. Unsurprisingly, the woman doesn't seem to recognize him either, confirming, to Ran's mind, that Bugsy brought in an outside hire.

Scheduling their battles is a pretty easy affair, as they hand over their IDs and then merely have to wait for the receptionist to go towards Bugsy's next available opening. To Ran's pleasant surprise, it's only a seven day wait this time, rather than the nine day wait he'd been met with back in Violet. That isn't the only surprise either, as the receptionist, rather than immediately handing them their IDs back, instead actively inquires whether they're interested in taking on the Gym Trainer challenge as well.

Nearly every Gym offers such a challenge, but after not having it mentioned in Violet and not inquiring about it further himself, Ran wasn't expecting anybody to actively advertise theirs. Before he can properly process his surprise, Josie is already answering the receptionist.

"What's the challenge structure and what are the costs and rewards?" She inquires eagerly, clearly optimistic about what the Gym might be able to offer.

"For the second badge specifically, the challenge is a singles battle using two pokémon against a Gym Trainer. The Gym Trainer is allowed to use held items, the challenger is not. At this time, we are not able to offer a separate reward, as the Gym is still adjusting to new management. Because of this however, Gym Leader Bugsy is waiving the associated costs for now, essentially making our Gym Trainer Challenge a perfect tune-up opportunity for anyone who wants to get some extra experience fighting against Bug-types!" The receptionist tells them enthusiastically, clearly trying to mask just how underwhelming the offer is by giving it with a smile.

Before either of them can reject however, Tommy pops up behind them, lunchtime clearly having arrived as the big lug enthusiastically butts right into their conversation.

"What do you say, Ran? A good match between two locals to show all these traveling types that even if our town's pretty small, we've still got some real promising trainers to be proud of?" Tommy attempts to sway him, aiming to play on Ran's less than stellar hometown pride.

Ran hesitates for a moment, before yielding, figuring that it'll be an opportunity to measure his progress against someone who started out at the same time and under the same circumstances as him, "Alright, on the condition that you use your personal team."

"Of course!" Tommy agrees with an enthusiastic grin, "Wouldn't have it any other way. Hell, let's knock it out right now before we go have lunch. Field's free anyways, Bugsy just went on his own break!"

The receptionist lets out a beleaguered sigh, but Tommy cuts her off before she can even start complaining, "I know Mabel, I know, I'm terrible, I'm a monster. Just book us real quick before you go on your own break, alright? I'll bring cake for the break room tomorrow to make it up to you!"

"Homemade?" She asks, visibly falling for Tommy's bribery.

"I'll get on it the minute I get home this evening." Tommy vows over his shoulder, already eagerly hustling Ran and Josie through the double doors behind the reception area and directly to the Gym's main field.

As they are urged ahead by Tommy, Ran turns apologetically towards Josie, "Sorry about that, you were the one to ask and now I'm stealing the limelight."

"Don't worry about it," Josie waves him off easily, "I was only interested if there was a proper reward. I should've figured that wouldn't be the case for a Gym that's only just changed ownership. Falkner took over his own dad's Gym way longer ago and even he didn't have a decent Gym Trainer Challenge set up for the lower levels yet, so it figures that Bugsy hasn't gotten to it yet either."

"Hey now," Tommy objects loudly from behind them as they walk out onto the field, Josie veering off towards the bleachers as Ran crosses the field towards the far trainer's box, "Bugsy's been doing a real solid job here! After Mister Phillips left on such short notice, none of his Gym Trainers wanted to stick around, so Bugsy had to cover a lot of ground in very little time. He's been working his ass off establishing connections, building out a broad enough roster of Gym pokémon for all levels of challengers, looking for more staff and tons of other stuff!"

"Hey, don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming the guy," Josie clarifies easily, sinking down on her seat as she gestures for Ran and Tommy to get on with it, "It's just inconvenient timing, nobody's at fault. Now get to it already, I'll ref from here. Honestly figured the ref or some of the spectators would still be around though…"

"Last fight must've been a short one," Tommy muses as he considers Josie's words, "Plus, everybody knows that Bugsy takes a break at this hour, so that's probably why everyone cleared out so fast. Now let's do this! Come on out Paras!"

Ran hesitates for a moment as he notices the clear silvery sparkles on Paras' body, visible in brief spurts as the orange pokémon moves around under the light. It's a clear sign of the Bug-boosting Silver Powder and enough reason for him to consider sending out Golbat. It's only a moment however, then he chooses a ball and throws it out.

"Let's do this, Spinarak!" He calls out confidently, his only bug-type arriving on the field.

"Alright, on my signal." Josie announces dryly, before starting to count them down.

"Three… Two… One… Go!"