He slept for the rest of the morning, finally crashing out after so many hours awake and stressed. When he woke up around noon, he felt out of breath and sweating. Thankfully, he didn’t remember the nightmare he had, but from the way his chest ached he could suspect what it was about.

After a quick shower, he changed into comfortable clothes: White shorts, a pink T-shirt, and sandals. Then, he replaced the locks, installed new routers, and cameras, and installed the dark emitter. The latter would passively disrupt any attempt of psychic intrusion upon his property. His only worry is that he didn’t have any of his dark types with him, so charging it would be quite a hassle.

He spent his afternoon sitting on the sofa planning a shopping trip. His 3D printer was good, but he needed a bigger one for his projects. Daniel still had to install solar panels, create VR headsets for his team, and build automata and their quark engines. The list went on and on. Even if, for some reason, he didn’t want to, he was bound to run out of materials to feed his own.

At some point, Mothra plopped down on top of him. Daniel ignored her at first, but after the third poke in the face from her wings, he sighed.

“Sometimes I forget you’re almost as old as me.” He said in a faux annoyed tone.

The moth clicked her mandibles at him and wiggled, trying to annoy him even more.

“Alright, you big baby.”

With a smile, he started petting her mane. It felt relaxing to feel her soft “fur” and the clicking noises she made were adorable. The rest of his team also took time to rest and recover, either with a nap, listening to music, or trying to cause mischief.

“I can see you, Jack. It’s not worth it.”

Daniel gave a side eye to the partially invisible young Dreepy getting dangerously near the coffee table. The Pokemon blew a raspberry at him and went back to his mother. He knew it was their draconian nature rearing its head, the need to assert dominance, so he didn’t bother getting angry. “He should be close to evolving… I need to get Casper a new mate.”

Part of Dragapult’s strength was their offspring. The aid the young ones gave in battle was invaluable and required for some of her attacks. Having a flock of Drakloaks and Deepries Followed by a strong Dragapult was a requirement to compete with one. However, the problem of space and money to care for them held back most people.

“All comes back to money.”

He rubbed his face on his Volcarona, making her let out a happy “vol!”. He had some ideas on how to solve the problem, but he was unsure if they would bear fruit. Most of them involved the same dragon trainer he ‘arrested’ when he arrived.

A knock on the door snapped him out. A glance at the clock said it was around 5 pm. “Let’s go.” He whispered to the giant moth, and she climbed down onto the sofa and followed him.

The door on his side lit up with blue energy before displaying the outside, thanks to his new locks. Behind the entrance, he saw Sarah and Celia waiting. The Audino looked giddy, by the way she was tapping her feet on the ground.

“Yes?” Daniel opened the door, briefly startling the woman.

“Hello, Mr. Daniel.” She bowed down with a smile. “The matriarch, my grandmother, would like to speak with you. When are you free?”

Daniel expected that kind of visit sooner or later, so it didn’t surprise him that much.

“Is right now, ok?” He shrugged.

“It would be perfect!” She nodded.

“Oh, give me five minutes, I need to change. Can you please wait inside?”

With a soft ‘sorry for intruding,’ she followed him inside. Mothra bowed to her when they saw each other and the girl returned the gesture with an amused smile. Her Audino, clearly expecting her friend, panicked before doing the same as her trainer. Daniel grinned and silently called Lily with his aura.

“Please wait here on the sofa, Lily will be here in a bit.”

“Thank you for the hospitality.” The nurse nodded and sat on the sofa with her Pokemon. Mothra followed them with a curious expression.

He quickly changed into his “backup” Uniform. It was less sophisticated, and only meant for shows and being in public. There was less padding, less temperature control, the size didn’t adjust perfectly… But it would do.

When he returned, he could see Mothra being petted by his guest. While the woman ruffled her fur, she made clicking noises. Lily was chatting away with Celia, gossiping like a pair of grandmas about their neighbors.

“Alright, I’m ready. Hope she didn’t bother you too much?”

The moth let out an annoyed huff and looked away in disdain. He sighed, channeled his aura, and lifted the unruly Pokemon with his bare hands.

“Sorry for her, she’s very… needy.”

Mothra expressed her dissatisfaction by biting him.

“And needing time out?”

That quickly calmed her down, looking perfectly still and the picture of a well-behaved moth.

“It’s no problem,” Sarah said, shaking her head. “I deal with Pokemon daily. She was a… joy to be around.”

“That was a good one.” He chuckled. “If she bugs you, just tell me, ok?”

She rolled her eyes good-naturedly and stood up from the sofa. “Ready?”

“Yes, let’s not delay any further.” He left the Volcarona on the ground and held his hand up. “We’re moving out.”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

With a wave of his aura, his team received the signal to return. All of them, except for Lily, transformed into red streaks of light before disappearing inside his bracer. He would have preferred to leave a couple behind to safeguard, but he felt secure enough for the moment.

“Let’s go, then” Daniel nodded at her.

“Y-yes!” She answered with a small voice crack, still surprised at his display.

***

The walk towards the matriarch’s mansion was filled with bad jokes and childhood stories. She would tell him about his troublesome cousins and Daniel would counter with his. After a back and forth it devolved into a semi-competition to see who had to suffer his family the most.

“I don’t believe yours can top the time my cousin Kiran used his Smeargle to paint all my uniforms. Neon. Pink. I had to get them professionally clean!” Daniel said with exaggerated exasperation.

“At least yours didn’t replace your perfume with a Trubbish scent.” She shook her head and shuddered. “I smelled like that for days.”

“Oof. That’s a tough one.”

“Tell me about it…” She sighed. “At least they outgrew that, now they just want to battle Celia. Oh! We arrived!”

The mansion was more like an administrative building. He could see people working at desks, carrying papers, or watching TV in the communal space. It displayed a battle between a boy called Nate and Drayden.

“Aura sphere!”

“Draco Meteor!”

A Lucario swiftly evaded the onslaught unleashed by an Altaria. The lupine Pokemon held a sphere of energy that quickly grew as the attack barely phased it. Just as the fluffy dragon began to falter, the Lucario unleashed it, followed by an explosion.

Tension grew as the dust obscured the battlefield. Seconds ticked as both trainers looked at each other with narrow eyes, preparing for their next move. However, Altaria’s unconscious form became visible.

“That’s 5 to 6 in favor of the challenger! Challenger Nate has won!”

“Woooo!”

The boy jumped in joy as his Lucario basked in victory in the arena.

“Mr. Daniel.” Sarah’s voice drew his attention again.

“Oh, sorry.” He quietly chuckled and adjusted his beret. “It’s just that the boy seemed familiar.”

“Not a problem! Please follow me.”

The inside looked like a vintage office space. It lacked the verticality of modern construction but had a certain charm. Wooden floors thumped as he walked, some lights flickered as he passed them, portraits and paintings hung on the walls, most displaying Audinos or members of the Joy family. He could even recognize some of them from his great-grandmother’s house. A smile blossomed as he reminisced about his childhood, playing in similar corridors, being reprimanded for knocking some portrait down…

“We’ve arrived.”

“I’m getting awfully distracted lately.” He grimaced at himself as he looked beyond the door Sarah opened for him.

A woman sat behind a desk. Her eyes had the same edge his great-grandmother and grandmother had. Her clothes were like a nurse, but there was less frill, less pompousness. “She’s examining me.” He was quite familiar with that gaze. Several opponents, officials, rivals, and even some family members directed it to him. Yet, there was less gravitas in hers. It felt like the difference between a regional gym leader and a world champion.

He would never voice that opinion or let it show in his face. He knew better than to antagonize the people that were housing him. He took off his beret and bowed at the matriarch.

“Thank you for the hospitality, matriarch.”

“It’s not a problem, honey.” Her lips quirked into a smile, but her eyes narrowed even more. “Is the house to your liking?”

“I’m not too accustomed to being living in a house, to be honest.” He reclined in the chair. “Our architecture is… vertical.”

“A fascinating conversation topic, that one.” She tilted her head. “But we can save that for another time.” The woman looked at the door and nodded. A clicking sound rang as the door closed. “I hope Sarah didn’t bother you?”

“On the contrary, I’m worried that I was the bother.”

“Don’t worry about that. Sarah told me you’ve been very lovely.” She nodded at him, crossing her hands on top of the table. “How have you been adapting so far?”

“Pretty well, I’d say.” He shrugged. “I’m still in the process but everything’s looking great so far. I just need to get a job soon. I don’t want to impose on your generosity for too long.”

“Don’t worry, dear.” She waved him off. “That’s no problem for us. Still, I think I can help you a little more.”

“…yes?” He answered, a bit unsure.

“We would like to hire you as a trainer for the Joy clan. An actual trainer, I’m aware of your need for secrecy.”

“I’m… listening.” He tilted his head with curiosity.

“It’s nothing too hard. Just looking after young trainers, sparring, sharing some tips.” She twirled her index as she listed the examples. “We’ll remunerate for your services.”

“I thought I would need to do that job to maintain the house I’m using.”

“That’s our hospitality, Daniel.” She smiled once more. “Don’t worry too much about a gift.”

Daniel considered the offer. It wasn’t anything that he didn’t do at least a couple of times in the past on his journey to champion. Still, it would be quite a career change for him, but some quiet would do wonders for his anonymity and prevent the Cutiefly’s wings from creating a hurricane. ‘And I need money and space for my team. Lapras is going to feel cooped up. Casper needs a flock, and I need a lot of gems to make automata.’

“How… much would you pay me for my services?”

The older woman smirked and held two fingers up. “2 million a month, stable rights for 24 Pokemon, and unlimited access to our private training arenas.”

He whistled at that amount. He was still a bit green on the amounts, but after some calculations from R2, it would be almost the same as his old salary. His already generous old salary for being an ex-champion and The Champion’s younger brother. After some moments of considering the pros and cons and asking for advice from his team members via aura, Daniel nodded.

“Pleasure doing business with you, Daniel.” Her smile seemed more genuine now, and a tad more dangerous. “I’ll be sending you a list of the aspirants. I’ll leave accepting them or not at your discretion. But do try to have a decent number, please.”

His memories went back to the day he accepted his sponsorship with his grandmother. Both women wore similar expressions, and it appeared they both had hidden agendas. He could guess what it would be, but he hoped it wouldn’t be anything nefarious. Fighting family got really messy, really quickly.

“With that out of the way. Can you tell me a bit about the future that awaits us? I’m quite curious about our family.”

“The Joy clan is still predominant and politically strong.” The sudden shift in the conversation didn’t faze him. “Our ‘grip’ on healing Pokemon rearing loosened because of the wars, but our position as premier healers didn’t fade.”

“I imagine it was because of necessity?” Her voice gained an edge.

“The Great Incursions were… too much.” He nodded. “Chansey, Wigglytuff, Comfey, Indeedee... We needed a lot of traditional healing Pokemon in the war effort. Not all of them as medics.”

“That’s understandable… We’ll be more prepared this time.”

“I sincerely hope so.”

***

The rest of their conversation was much more mundane. They exchanged childhood stories, videos about his past battles, and family photos. He could see her laughs were artificial, but some were more genuine. The unnerving similarity to the elderly woman he referred to as ‘nana’ was beginning to unsettle him, but he dismissed those emotions swiftly.

The way home was quiet, the good kind of quiet. He rejected Sarah’s offer to accompany him back. Instead, Lily walked beside him. She would wave at people and Pokemon they passed, sometimes directing her eyes to the stars in the sky. Now that he didn’t have the artificial ceiling of New Opelucid on top of him, he could appreciate the great beyond extending without end.

“They look beautiful, right?”

“Au! Audino!” She nodded with a smile.

“Yeah.” He chuckled. “Maybe we need a barbecue like we used to have with the old man in Alola one of these days.”

Being a teacher was not completely new, but the switch still felt weird. Forced. Still, his team was with him, safe and sound. No matter what the world threw at them, they could power ahead. He could feel his team inside his bracer vibrating in agreement while Audino nodded with a serious expression.