CHAPTER 12

My thoughts wandered as I flew back to the house on Peri. All things considered, the interview had gone very well. I'd answered enough questions to keep the reporters busy for a while and stayed composed throughout the entire session. I even felt great about how I'd ended it. My chest felt lighter than it had in ages, but just one little thing nagged at the back of my mind.

The Blackthorns.

That disruptive reporter had clearly been trying to create some drama between me and Gym Leader Clair, and by extension, the Blackthorn Clan. In hindsight, I should have expected comparisons to be drawn between us due to our contrasting type specialties. Going forward, I knew they would continue to do so.

What I was doing — starting a Fairy type Gym — was never before heard of in Kanto-Johto or the entire Kinjoh Area. I was the only notable Fairy Specialist on this side of the world. All eyes were going to be on me and my ambitions for the future.

Thanks to that reporter, I was pretty sure now that the Blackthorns would most likely pay attention to me as well. They were the most well-known family of Dragon users in the entire continent and the clan with the most power within Johto. Would they feel threatened by me and try to push me down with their influence somehow? Or would they just ignore me and watch silently from the side?

I had no way of knowing. All I could do was come up with hypotheticals. Honestly, I almost didn't care at all. I just wanted to run a Fairy Gym and be the best Gym Leader I could be, but it wasn't going to be that simple.

Regardless, I was determined to achieve my dreams, and I wouldn't let anything stand in my way.

Even if my biggest obstacle turned out to be the most powerful clan in Johto.

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"I'm back," I called out as the door shut behind me. Klefki welcomed me back with a musical cry as he spun through the air. Muted sounds were drifting from the living room, so I headed there first. What I found was dad sitting on the couch watching the TV.

"—not the youngest Gym Leader to be appointed, but he is certainly the youngest to apply for the promotion exam. Should Arin Watanuki succeed, the Cherrygrove Gym will be the first minor gym in Johto's history to enter the ranks of the major gyms," a reporter on screen explained. "The Indigo League has released a statement—"

Dad finally noticed me and switched the TV off, turning to me with a small smile.

"Welcome back, Arin. I watched your whole interview live on the screen," he revealed. "You did good, son, especially when that reporter asked about Gym Leader Clair."

I smiled a bit in embarrassment. "Thanks. In a way, I'm kind of glad that journalist mentioned the Blackthorns," I said as my tone turned serious. "It made me realize I need to stay aware of them. I don't know if they'll try anything, but it's better than getting blindsided."

"The Blackthorns…" Dad murmured. He drummed a finger against his knee. "They're an old family, Arin, the oldest in Johto. You're right that you should probably keep them in mind. Out of everyone, they're the ones most likely to oppose your new position and Gym."

"I know," I sighed, sinking onto the couch next to him. "I came to that conclusion after the interview as well. But I'll worry about that later if and when they make a move. Right now, I need to focus on the promotion test."

I was about to say something else, but a large growling sound filled the air. I stopped and looked at dad instead. He laughed nervously, rubbing his stomach.

"Time for lunch?" he suggested. I snorted with laughter as I got up, feeling less tense than I had been earlier.

"Yeah. Let's eat."

Lunch was tasty. I helped dad make miso soup and fried salmon with rice, and I was so hungry after the day's events that I ended up devouring two whole bowls. As we were cleaning up, a loud chime echoed through the house. Someone had rung the doorbell.

I looked at dad. "Are you expecting anyone?" I asked.

He shook his head.

My brows furrowed. I obviously wasn't expecting anyone either. It couldn't have been a reporter because none of my or dad's Pokemon outside would have let them approach, which meant it had to be someone who they were okay with.

There was only one way to find out.

"I'll get it," I told dad, and he grunted in approval as he furiously scrubbed at the dish he was holding. I left him to it and headed to the front door. My gaze drifted to the intercom system dad had installed sometime during my ten-year absence. When I saw who was waiting outside, my eyes widened.

I threw open the door and came face to face with Neil Ishimoto, dad's old Head Gym Trainer.

His hair had thinned, and he now sported a small beard, but he looked almost exactly as he had in my childhood. He was even wearing a silly T-shirt with dancing Bellsprout on it that I hadn't seen in years. It was an odd contrast to his almost six foot one stature. For some reason, Neil was slightly out of breath. I wondered if he'd jogged all the way to our house.

"ARIN! So good to see you in person again!" Neil greeted boisterously, and he brought me in for a bear hug. I wheezed a bit from the force. Arceus, he was as strong as ever despite getting older.

"Nice to see you too, Neil," I managed to get out with some difficulty. I breathed in relief when the man finally let go. He wore a huge grin as he stepped back to look at me.

"Look at you, kiddo, you're all grown up now," he said with a proud expression. It quickly turned into one of mock indignation as he pounded his chest with a fist, firing off questions in rapid succession. "Why didn't you or Adriel let me know you were back in town by the way?! How long have you been back for? Do you know how shocked I was when your name popped up all over the news this afternoon? I literally ran here from town as soon as I finished lunch."

I smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of my neck. "I've technically been back since a few days ago. Sorry, a lot's been going on," I apologized. "I promise I was going to reach out to you soon though! I actually had something I wanted to talk to you about." This was some perfect timing on Neil's part.

Neil raised a brow in interest. "Oh?"

Before he could ask further, dad appeared behind me. He'd finished washing the dishes. "Arin, who's the visitor— oh! Neil, what brings you here?"

Neil rolled his eyes as he patted dad on the shoulder. "Came to see our new Gym Leader of course!" he replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "You should have told me your son came home! I'm guessing you guys made up? You seem friendly."

It seemed Neil was the only one who knew about what had really happened between me and dad all those years ago. I offered the man a small smile. "We did."

Neil beamed at that. "Wonderful, wonderful! I'm glad to hear it."

I didn't want to keep standing in the doorway, so I invited Neil inside to chat further. Dad, Neil, and I got situated in the living room with drinks, and we chatted for a bit. Mostly it was Neil asking me questions about where I'd been and if I had been doing well over the last decade. He even asked me if I had eaten and slept enough. Honestly, he was acting like an overprotective uncle or something.

At the first lull in the conversation, I jumped right into what I really wanted to say.

"Neil, how would you feel about becoming a gym trainer for the new Cherrygrove Gym?" I asked.

Neil almost choked on the cup of water he was drinking from. "Uh… what?" he said, baffled. He pointed at himself. "You want to hire me?"

"Yep," I said cheerfully. "I trust you, and I already know you'd be good at the job."

Neil stared at me like I'd grown a second head. "I've always been around Grass Pokemon. I don't know anything about Fairy types, kiddo."

"That's fine. If you're willing to learn, I'll teach you," I easily replied. "Don't feel obligated to say yes out of guilt or anything either, please. I just thought—"

"Stop." Neil held up a hand, cutting me off. I froze mid-sentence as he stared at me. He held up a finger. "Do you have any other gym trainers right now?"

"Er… no," I said slowly, and Neil nodded.

"That's what I thought." He held up a second finger. "Do you have a lot of gym Pokemon?"

"Uh, yes, quite a few of them."

A third finger was raised. "You'll teach me about Fairy types?"

"Yes, like I said—" I tried to talk further, but Neil shut me up by swinging his head back in full-blown laughter.

"ALRIGHT, say no more! Neil Ishimoto is back on the job," he guffawed loudly. It took me a few moments of staring at him to process his words, and then I jumped to my feet excitedly.

"Really? You'll come work at the Gym?" I gaped. I hadn't expected him to agree so easily.

Neil looked just as excited as he rose to his own feet, towering over me. "Kiddo, I worked at the Cherrygrove Gym for 30 years before Adriel shooed me away. That's over half my life that I've dedicated to the Gym. It'd be weird if I didn't have some strong attachment to the place by this point. Of course I'm going to stick around to help it grow. And, well…"

Neil trailed off, suddenly looking a bit embarrassed. "That's actually part of why I swung by… I was going to ask if you'd let me help out somehow. Feels weird working as a night security guard at the local library nowadays. The job just doesn't suit me. The Gym is where I feel most comfortable. Imagine my surprise when you asked me first."

I stared at him. "So you mean… you were going to ask me for your old job back? Why'd you ask all those questions then?"

He scratched the back of his neck. "…To make my return more dramatic?"

"…"

"Well, I also had to gauge what the current situation was like!" Neil hurriedly said, but it didn't matter. Dad and I were both already shaking our heads in fond exasperation. Classic Neil.

I stuck a hand out to him with a big smile, and we shook hands heartily. "Well, welcome back, Neil. I'm glad to have you on board."

"Do I get to be Head Gym Trainer again?" he asked with a sly smile. I snorted.

"It's all yours."

I had finally obtained my first gym trainer.

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"Whoa…" Neil's jaw dropped as he stared at all the Pokemon in the backyard. "There are so many of them. I don't even recognize more than twenty percent of these Pokemon either."

I stood proudly in front of dad and Neil. "Yep, and they're all Fairy types. Most of them are native to regions outside of the Kinjoh Area. I'm waiting on another batch of new gym Pokemon to be sent to me tomorrow, so expect this group to get a little bigger."

Minutes ago, I had finally negotiated a new contract with Neil. Basically, he thought I was paying him way too much, but I told him that he deserved it for his position and loyalty to the Gym for so many years. He only accepted after a long argument where I reiterated multiple times that I was wealthy enough to be generous with employee wages and that this was a contract befitting the experience he brought to the table with him.

Now, I had brought dad and Neil with me to introduce them to the gym Pokemon since they would be helping from now on. It wasn't time yet to start their afternoon training, so we slowly went around.

"Arin! What are these adorable Pokemon?" Neil demanded with an excited expression. I followed his gaze to where he was looking at the pack of Fidough playing with their Dachsbun leader.

Dad sniffed the air appreciatively. "Huh, is it just me, or does something smell nice?"

I pointed at the Fidough family, smiling. "It's from them. These are Pokemon from a region known as Paldea. Those small dogs are Fidough, and the big one is a Dachsbun. In the region I got them from, they're commonly used to help with baking bread."

Both dad and Neil's eyes widened.

"Bread?" they asked in unison.

I nodded. "Yeah. You see, their breath contains yeast…"

Dad and Neil listened to my explanation of the Fidough family with great interest. I introduced them to the dogs after, and we ended up spending around ten minutes with the pack since both of them loved playing with the dogs so much. My own Dachsbun, Choux, ran to where we were and bowled me over when he realized we were all playing without him.

The rest of the tour went a little faster. The Tinkatink roughhoused with Neil who humored their measly attempts to whack him with their tiny hammers. Dad was surprisingly good with the Ralts and Kirlia, which I attributed to his gentle nature. He also loved meeting my Florges, Filore, and the Flabebe family because of their flowers and was surprised to hear they weren't Grass types.

Everywhere we went, I was pleased to see how delighted dad and Neil were with the Fairy type Pokemon. I couldn't help but think how amazing it would be if the rest of the city, and eventually all of Kanto-Johto and the Kinjoh Area, grew to appreciate Fairy types as much as I did. They deserved more love and attention on this side of the world.

After I finished introducing the various species to them, the afternoon training began. Dad and Neil followed me around as I checked up on each group of Pokemon. While we went along, I explained everything from basic characteristics of each species to their strengths and weaknesses and even the training plans I had them on.

"…and Marill's tail is very flexible, which is very useful for mobility and certain moves like Splash or Bounce. A lot of people don't realize how useful a Marill's tail can be and focus only on long range water attacks instead," I explained to dad and Neil at one point. I pointed at the Marill working out under Zuzu's careful guidance.

"Right now most of the Marill are just working on building up their overall stamina, but two of them — yes, those two in the corner, and the one with the darker fur is going to evolve soon — are working on strengthening their tail by doing this exercise. It helps them extend and retract their tail faster. Then they— huh?"

I paused in the middle of my explanation when I realized dad and Neil were staring at me with awed expressions.

"Yes?" I asked with a raised brow.

"It's just… amazing seeing you work, son. You know so much about so many different species. Even for a Pokemon as common to Johto as Marill, you have an incredible depth of information," Dad confessed, and Neil nodded with a serious expression.

"I feel like I've learned more about Fairy types from you in the last hour than I could have with a regional Professor in a day, Arin," Neil said sagely. "You're definitely a Fairy Specialist alright."

My ears reddened a bit. I'd gotten compliments before about my teaching ability, but those had mostly been from young students at Naranja-Uva Academy. It was an entirely different thing hearing my own dad and a close family friend pay me such sincere compliments.

I cleared my throat, trying to ignore how hot my ears felt. "Thanks," I mumbled. In a louder voice, I gestured over to where the Flabebe family was practicing. "Alright, let's move on to some basic Fairy type moves you should know about. There's Fairy Wind, which kind of speaks for itself. It summons wind powered by Fairy type energy…"

I didn't see since they were behind me, but Neil and dad shared a glance.

"I think we should have brought notebooks…" Neil muttered.

Dad quietly agreed.

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Dad and Neil stuck around for another hour after afternoon training ended to continue familiarizing themselves with the gym Pokemon.

Eventually, Neil needed to return home for dinner.

Before he left, he asked to speak privately with me about something. We moved to a corner of the front yard while dad went inside to get started on cooking.

When I saw the grim expression on Neil's face, I knew whatever he wanted to talk about was something serious. I found myself growing a bit nervous as I watched Neil open and close his mouth a few times, clearly struggling to broach the subject.

"Arin," he finally said. "Do you remember my son, Souta?"

I needed a few moments to mull over memories. Souta… Images of a shy young boy with dark blue hair and hazel eyes appeared in my head after a bit of thinking.

"Yes. Kind of," I said honestly. "He's four years younger than me, right? I remember he came to the Gym with you a few times. I think I might have said hi to him once or twice, but we didn't really talk too much." I paused, dread overtaking me as my mind went to the worst possible scenarios. "Why? Is something wrong? Did… Did he…?" I trailed off, unable to finish.

Neil caught my implications and quickly shook his head. "No. No, he's alive. He's fine," Neil reassured me. I was about to smile in relief when Neil's next words made me pause. "Well… physically fine at least. He's been… heartbroken for a couple months now."

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"What happened?" I asked immediately, concerned.

Neil sighed heavily, needing a moment to massage his cheek with a hand. "Souta's always been a smart kid. He's been wanting to attend the Blackthorn Trainer Academy since forever," he started, but I stopped him with a quick raise of my hand.

"That's the one in Blackthorn City, right? Not founded by but heavily sponsored by the Blackthorn Clan?" I asked.

Johto may not have had any academies as nearly as impressive as Naranja-Uva Academy over in Paldea, but the Blackthorn Trainer Academy came closest. It was a private academy with some of the best teachers and curriculums in the country. Occasionally, the Blackthorn Clan even offered the best student of the year a chance to join their ranks as a trainee. Needless to say, the academy was exceedingly popular and difficult to get into with thousands of entrants competing each year for the right.

The man in front of me nodded glumly. "That's the one. He studied really hard for it. He even left a few years ago as soon as he was old enough to take a journey around the Johto region. Did it for experience that the Academy wanted to see on applications," Neil continued.

Back when I first left Johto, the minimum age to sign up for the Circuit was a mere ten years old, but that age limit had gradually increased over the years as new laws were passed. People had rioted because of increasingly higher numbers of kids getting injured or even dying in the wilds because they were too young and not prepared enough to survive on their own. Now, the minimum age to sign up for the Circuit had been brought up to 15.

I was less focused on that detail and more on everything else Neil said. I was starting to get a bad feeling the more he explained. This wasn't going where I thought it was leading, right?

"He did pretty good for a first-year and got three badges, but that's beside the point. After he came back, Souta started studying again for the exam. He passed both the written and practical portions with flying colors in the top percentile."

I stared at Neil, not understanding. "Doesn't that mean he got accepted into the school?"

Neil grimaced. "There was also a final interview portion he was waiting to hear the results of. It's basically a little chat with a panel of professors to better understand the personalities of hopeful students and make sure they're not troublemakers, you know? It's more like a formality than anything. The academy approves or fails most students based on their exam results since that's what's most important to them. From what Souta told me, he said the interview went well."

I remained silent, waiting for the inevitable drop I knew was coming.

"He got a letter back a couple months ago, rejecting his entry into the school. They praised him for his work in the exam, but they cited his interview as the reason for his rejection and said he wasn't a good fit for the school," Neil spat. "I called it — and still do — Tauros shit. Do you know what news came out after the interview happened?"

"Fairy type," I realized out loud in a whisper.

"Yes. By then the rumors had pretty much become fact with all the verification from regional Professors, and the Indigo League released a statement confirming the new type. The Blackthorns kept up a calm appearance in the wake of it all, but if you looked closely, it was really obvious they weren't happy about something that went against their beliefs," Neil continued. "Souta and I have our own opinion about why he actually got rejected."

"He has a Fairy type Pokemon on his team?" I guessed.

Unfortunately, Neil did not prove me wrong. "He does. A little Snubbull he hatched from an Egg that he's very fond of," he said. "He used her in the exam. We're almost confident that the Blackthorn Clan put pressure on the school after the Fairy type became official and told them to decline applicants with Fairy types. There's just no way they would have rejected someone who scored in the top percentile like Souta otherwise, but it's just a guess and we can't exactly prove anything."

"Since then, Souta's been moping around the house. He doesn't eat or talk nearly as much as he used to and just stays in his room all day outside of meals. My wife and I have tried talking to him multiple times, but he just won't open up to us no matter what we do," Neil sighed. "We're getting really worried about him, Arin. He's even been distancing himself from Snubbull a bit."

He paused to look at me with an expression torn between guilt and hope. "I'm sorry for dumping all this information on you, but I finally made up my mind earlier. Would you try and talk to Souta for us please? I noticed he reacted a bit during the TV special on you today during lunch. Maybe you can get more of a reaction out of him than we can. I just… want him to cheer up and start dreaming again."

I sympathized with him. I really did. Souta's situation basically reminded me of how dad had unfairly stripped me of my inheritance to the Gym because I favored Pokemon that weren't Grass types. I knew the feeling of what it was like to have something denied to you after all the hard work you'd put in over all the years.

I didn't want Neil's son to stay in that pit of despair I'd once been in myself.

"I don't know how much use I'll be," I said honestly, "but I'm more than willing to try, Neil. Of course I'll help."

Neil's shoulders sagged with relief. "Thank you so much, Arin," he said with a bow of his head. "I'm not expecting Souta to magically get happier after talking to you, so please don't feel pressured. I appreciate the help regardless of what happens."

Neil and I agreed to visit his house after breakfast and morning training the following day. I watched him head down the trail from our house with mixed emotions. Thoughts of Souta were still swirling around in my head, but I was also thinking of something else.

Blackthorn, Blackthorn…

Why was it that that name kept popping up around me?

First the reporter trying to stir up drama, and now Neil's son. It felt like the Blackthorn name was going to follow me wherever I went. Were we meant to be ill-fated enemies or something?

Like Neil had said, they couldn't prove anything regarding Souta's denied entry into the Blackthorn Trainer Academy. I more than agreed with him regarding how suspicious it was, though, and I couldn't help but think Neil's theory was right.

Even as I headed back inside and ate dinner with dad, I kept brooding. Dad could tell something was wrong, but he could also tell it wasn't something I wanted him to pry about and left me alone. I kept brooding long after I crawled into bed to sleep.

Eventually, what I felt was outrage.

What was so wrong with Fairy types? So what if they were just recently discovered on this side of the world? They were still a legitimate type just like all the others. All the esteemed regional Professors had proven that.

And what was the Blackthorn Clan's deal with them? Did they think themselves to be superior with their dragons to all others? What made them have the right to look down on a Pokemon type just because it opposed their specialty? It was just so narrow-minded that it boggled my mind.

The more I thought about everything, the more frustrated I became.

I ended up falling asleep with a huge scowl on my face as I thought about the Blackthorns.

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Neil joined me and dad in the backyard the next morning like he would every day from now on. I tried to keep dark thoughts out of my head as I led the morning training. Not even the Blackthorns would stop me from focusing on my preparations for the upcoming test.

The one nice thing that helped ease tensions that morning were text messages from my Fairy Specialist friends who lived abroad. I left dad and Neil to oversee the training as I dashed into the house.

My friends finally had the Pokemon ready for me.

I connected my phone to my laptop and pulled out small trays from its sides. This one had a nifty transfer feature. After setting up a connection between my location and those of my friends, I waited with an eager expression.

Flashes of light filled the room as one Pokeball after another appeared on the trays. I quickly collected each one in a bag. My excitement only grew when I examined the Pokeballs more closely and discovered certain species among the bunch.

After all the Pokemon had been transferred, I shot a quick message of thanks to everyone and then darted right back outside to the backyard.

"Dad! Neil! Come over here!" I yelled, waving the bag I was holding a couple times. They jogged over with confused expressions.

"Arin, what's—" Dad started to ask, but I cut him off.

"Look at these Pokemon my friends got! They're Grass and Fairy types!" I said excitedly, releasing said Pokemon before I even finished.

A small group of Morelull and Cottonee appeared in front of them, and I laughed as I watched dad's face instantly morph into one of adoration.

"Grass and Fairy types you said?!" Dad exclaimed excitedly. He immediately ducked into a crouch, greeting the little Pokemon who stared back at him curiously. One of the Morelull gave him permission to run his hands carefully over her mushrooms. "Wow, look at the size of these! They smell nice, too. Lavender? No, cindersap? Or wait, maybe both— Arin, what are these Pokemon called?"

I laughed again. It was so obvious dad had fallen in love with the new Pokemon just like I thought he would. Neil seemed equally as enamored, fussing over the Cottonee and letting one hop onto his head like a fluffy hat. "The ones with mushrooms are Morelull. The ones that look like fluffy clouds are Cottonee. Both of them are capable of evolving once."

Both Dad and Neil's heads snapped up at that. For almost fifteen minutes, the Grass type enthusiasts grilled me about their evolutions, abilities, and basically every other piece of information I had on them. I had to cut them off at one point so I could introduce the other new Pokemon my friends had given me.

They'd gifted me with a wide variety. The new group included everything from a few Carbink to Milcery to Dedenne to more uncommon ones like Galarian Ponyta or Alolan Vulpix. Heck, Opal had even given me a Galarian Weezing she must have recently evolved! Looking at the backyard sprawling with Pokemon, I basically had almost every known Fairy type Pokemon across the regions living there. It was like a Fairy sanctuary.

I whipped out my phone to send another text of thanks to my friends, snapping a picture of the backyard in the process. I even sent them a follow-up message asking if they wanted me to catch any Johto Fairy types for them that they didn't already have. They unanimously agreed, and I added that to a mental checklist of things to do later.

We spent some time helping the new Pokemon get acclimated to the change in environment. With such a large population and diverse array of species, I was more worried than ever about little fights breaking out, but I trusted myself and my Pokemon to help keep things in line as everyone settled in.

As soon as I passed my promotion test, though, I seriously needed to hire more gym trainers to help manage all the Pokemon.

The rest of the morning passed quickly. We finished up training, and Neil joined me and dad for breakfast.

Then it was time to go visit Neil's family. I said goodbye to Hassel's Dragonite, Dan, who had rested enough that he was now ready to return to his trainer. Neil and I got on Zuri's back for the flight into the city.

"So you're the mysterious trainer with a Dragonite…" Neil muttered from behind me, and I twisted around to raise a brow at him.

"The what now?"

In response, Neil pulled out his phone and showed me pictures of what looked like me and Zuri on Chatter.

"Must have been from when I went souvenir shopping…" I muttered as I stared at them. I hadn't checked social media at all recently, nor had I realized it would be such a big deal. I guess I'd gotten too used to how slightly more common the Dratini line was in other parts of the world.

Neil gave me an 'aha' look. "So it is you! How come you have a Dragon type Pokemon anyway?"

"Just because I'm a Fairy Specialist doesn't mean I can't make friends with other Pokemon," I said with a gentle smile. I rubbed Zuri's neck as I spoke, and she cried out in agreement. "Alright, let's get going."

Neil barely had time to put his phone away before Zuri shot off, and I was vaguely reminded of a similar, recent incident as Neil screamed.

"AHHHHH—"

One minute later, Zuri neatly landed in Neil's backyard. I hopped off casually while Neil clambered down more slowly with a half-dazed expression.

"I'm going to need… a little warning next time, kiddo…" he groaned, and I barely refrained from laughing. I looked up when I heard a gasp. Neil's neighbor had stuck her head out of the window to see what the fuss was about, and she was now gaping at us. Next to her was a young girl, presumably her daughter, pulling out her phone to take a picture.

I offered a short wave of hello before following Neil inside his house. A woman with auburn hair tucked into a side ponytail and warm amber eyes greeted us near the backdoor. I had met her only once or twice when I was younger.

"Hi, Arin! So good to see you. My husband already told me he's working at the Gym again. Thank you for taking him back. He acted like a kicked puppy every time he came back home from his night job. It was getting a bit bothersome, really," she tutted in good humor at the end, causing Neil to stare at his wife with mock indignation.

"Mari!" he complained. The woman just laughed as she slapped his arm, and I smiled at the display of affection between the couple.

"Anyway, thanks for coming here today, Arin. Souta's room is upstairs, third door on the left," Mari said with a sad smile. I nodded, leaving Neil and Mari to talk quietly in the kitchen as I headed to the second floor.

The instant I placed a foot on the second floor, a few different Pokemon popped up from behind the corner of the hallway and stared at me curiously. There was a Weepinbell, Girafarig, Growlithe, and a smaller than average Snubbull. I knew right away that these had to be Souta's Pokemon. I offered them a polite hello before continuing on my way. Most of them stayed where they were, but the Snubbull followed right behind me.

When I made it to Souta's room, I paused outside. To be honest, I hadn't really come prepared with anything in particular to say. I would just have to wing it.

I cleared my throat, knocking lightly on the door. "Hi, Souta. I'm not sure if your dad mentioned anything to you in advance, but this is Arin Watanuki. I was wondering if you'd like to talk?" I asked awkwardly. Souta's Snubbull perked up at the mention of her trainer's name. She shuffled closer to me, almost hiding behind my leg.

Only silence answered me. I was about to try saying something again when the door opened just a sliver. Hazel eyes peered cautiously out the crack at me.

"Hi," I said. "Can I come in?"

Souta studied me for a moment. Finally, he gave the smallest of nods. "Sure," he muttered, and he opened the door wider. I moved inside. When I looked back, I saw Souta and Snubbull staring at each other. Snubbull wore a hopeful expression as she took a cautious step forward, but Souta tore his gaze away.

"Play with the other Pokemon, Snubbull," was all he said quietly. The last thing I saw was Snubbull's dejected expression before Souta closed his bedroom door. There was clearly some distance being put between them like Neil had mentioned, but I didn't say anything.

Souta wordlessly pointed at his chair while he plopped himself on the bed. I took that as my cue to sit down.

"So…" I began cautiously, studying the teenager. He had hunched forward slightly and was staring at his lap. From his body language and lifeless expression alone, I could tell just how upset he was. Neil hadn't been exaggerating when he said his son wasn't in the highest of spirits.

"Your dad told me you didn't make it into the school you wanted," I finally said, deciding to start the conversation from there. "Do you know what you want to do from here on out?"

"No," he said in a small voice. He still didn't look up.

"You could go on a journey again and collect gym badges," I suggested. I rattled off a few more hoping one of them would pique his interest. "Or you could apply for the school again, or try for another…"

I trailed off when Souta didn't react. It was like he'd… given up on wanting to do anything. I felt sad just looking at Souta, and Neil and his wife had had to see their son like this for months. I wanted to help somehow, but how?

All I could do was talk.

"Although it was a different situation, I also went through a period of time in my life where I felt completely lost," I said quietly. I leaned back in the chair, smiling wryly to myself as I recalled the beginning of my journey. "It was my first time away from home. I'd left because of a terrible experience that made me want to run away and never look back, so I went to a different region where I didn't know anyone and only had one Pokemon with me, my starter."

Souta didn't move, so I just kept going. "I spent a whole month feeling miserable. I couldn't feel happy about anything, and I just kept replaying bad memories over and over again. I didn't know what I wanted to do for the future. The dream I'd been working toward wasn't an option anymore. I—"

"You don't know what it's like," Souta muttered loudly, interrupting me. I closed my mouth. He'd reacted.

The teenager finally raised his head to look at me with red-rimmed eyes. "You don't know what it's like," he repeated. "You don't know what it's like to spend years working towards something and to have it in reach only for everything to get messed up because of something completely stupid!" He yelled out the last few words, panting.

I just stared back at him with an even expression.

"I don't," I agreed. "I don't know what you're feeling exactly, or what it's like to apply for a school I really want to go to only to get declined at the last second. But I can relate because I've been in a similar situation."

"My dad refused to give me the Cherrygrove Gym when I was younger. This was after I'd spent years training to take over, and then he just cut me off from the right of inheritance. Why? Because I didn't use Grass types. Instead, I used Pokemon he didn't like," I said.

I saw Souta stiffen, but I didn't wait for him to talk. I went on. "What I felt after that was a terrible, all-consuming feeling that ate away at me. I was angry. Really angry, but it also left me wondering if I could have somehow done better. Worst of all, it made me doubt myself as a person and the choices I had made. Do you feel something similar to that right now, too?"

Souta clenched his jaw. His entire body trembled as he croaked out an almost inaudible response.

"Yeah."

I smiled sadly. I'd been there before.

"It sucks, right?"

"…Yeah."

We were both quiet for a long time. Only the chirping of Pidgey outside could be heard in the silence of the room.

Souta was the one who spoke first. "I just can't stop thinking about it. I was so close, literally one of the highest scorers on the exam, and then they told me I wasn't a 'good fit' for the academy…" he broke off, clenching his fist tightly. "I'm not an idiot. I know the academy is funded by the Blackthorns. The Fairy type hit the news right after I had my interview. I just know they rejected me because of Snubbull."

"Do you regret choosing Snubbull for the exam then?" I asked quietly.

Souta's expression became pained, and he looked away. "I…"

"Then… would you get rid of Snubbull if it meant you could attend the academy?"

"No!" Souta looked at me with wide eyes. "No… I would never do that. I-I just… I wanted to go there so bad," he whispered. "I don't understand why they would reject me over having a Snubbull. She's not weak. She's as strong as any other Pokemon, and I proved it in the exam."

He took a deep, shuddering breath, furiously blinking back tears. "It's so unfair, and I can't do anything about it. Going to the academy was my dream this whole time, and now it's over. I don't… I don't know what I should do now. I'm just so mad and confused."

As I watched him try his hardest not to cry, it felt like I was looking at ten-year-old me. I'd been in his shoes before. I'd felt the pain of being forced to give up on something and felt the doubt creeping in as I struggled to figure out a new goal.

I decided to give him the advice that I had given myself a long time ago.

"Then get up," I said firmly. "Get up and fight."

He looked at me with glistening eyes, startled.

I pointed at him. "You're right that you can't do anything to change what's already happened. But you can change what happens from here on out," I said. "Get up. Keep moving forward. Find a new dream you want to chase. Don't let one stupid institution tell you that you can't achieve great things, and make them regret not choosing you."

"I… I don't think I can," Souta murmured.

"Are you just going to give up and never try to reach for your goals ever again then?" I asked patiently.

"But what if I fail again?"

"You might. You might not," I said. "But you won't ever know until you try. I think you'll regret it more if you stay put and let opportunities slip away."

A conflicted look crossed his face. As he struggled to form words, I nodded softly at the door behind us.

"You know, Snubbull is waiting for you," I told him. Souta flinched, looking away with a guilty expression. "Even though you've been distancing yourself from her, she's still there, waiting for you to pick yourself back up. It's not just her either," I continued. "Your mom, dad, and the rest of your Pokemon are waiting for you. They care for you, and they believe that you're going to get back up from this. I believe you can, too."

Souta didn't respond verbally, but he squeezed his eyes shut. I had said enough. Now he just needed time to think and process his own feelings. I got up quietly from my seat and headed towards the door, but a quiet, hesitant voice made me pause.

"I'm not wrong, right?"

I turned. Souta had opened his eyes, but he didn't meet my gaze. He fiddled with his hands instead.

"About Snubbull," he clarified. "About having a Fairy type Pokemon. There's nothing wrong with them… right?"

I shook my head. "Of course not. They're the same as any other Pokemon type. Those idiots at the academy are just too narrow-minded. You're not wrong, Souta."

The teenager blinked rapidly a few times. I almost thought he would actually cry this time, but he bit his lip and asked one last question.

"Um, Arin… What you said in your speech on TV… do you really think you can pass the gym test? And… achieve your dream?"

"Yeah." My reply came instantly. "I do. I'm going to pass, and I'm going to create the greatest Fairy Gym." Souta didn't look away from me.

"I'll prove to you and all of Kanto-Johto the strength of Fairy types. Just wait and see."

Souta didn't respond, and I finally left his room. Outside, Snubbull was still standing there with a glum expression. I reached down to pat her gently on the head.

"Your trainer is going to be fine," I told her firmly. She was confused, but she looked at me with a hopeful expression. "He's going to come around, he just needs a little more time. Stay with him, okay?"

Snubbull barked energetically in affirmation. I patted her one more time before getting up and descending down the stairs. Neil and Mari got up from their seats in the living room when they saw me.

"Is everything okay, Arin? We heard Souta yelling upstairs…" Mari trailed off nervously. Both she and Neil wore worried expressions.

I nodded, smiling softly at them for reassurance. "Yeah. It's okay, he just needed to let out some steam. He's still feeling upset, but I gave him stuff to think about. I won't say he'll be okay right now, but I think he will be eventually."

Neil and Mari both sagged with relief when they heard my words.

"Thank you, Arin. We really appreciate this," Neil muttered hoarsely.

I just smiled, patting him on the shoulder once. "I didn't do much. Souta's going to need some more time to sort out his feelings, so just be there for him in the meantime."

Neil and his wife thanked me a few more times, but I just waved them off since I didn't actually do that much and took my leave.

As I flew back to the house on Zuri, my gaze was fixed on the northeast to a city I knew lay beyond the horizon.

Blackthorn City, and the Clan that ruled it.

The oldest, most powerful, and supposedly the wisest family in Johto, known and feared for their mighty dragons. They would be allowed to keep their precious reputation of being the strongest for only a little longer. Why?

Because I was going to tear it to pieces.

My conversations with Neil and Souta had only served to ignite a fire. The Blackthorns apparently hated Fairy types enough that they were even willing to stamp out the promising future of an innocent kid. Souta might not have been the only one. Who knew how many other kids they had rejected because they didn't align with the Clan's beliefs? Who knew what other little and major ways they were oppressing people in Johto?

How incredibly narrow-minded they were, and it infuriated me. If they were petty enough to do that with the kind of power they wielded, what else would they do? How far would they go?

I never wanted to find out. I would make things harder for them.

To do that, I needed power first. I needed the influence and ability to stand at a more even level with the Blackthorn Clan before I came out swinging.

Only then would it have the kind of impact I wanted.

Everything came back to the promotion test and entering the ranks of the major gyms. I was going to double down on training after today.

Two weeks remained until I shook up Johto even further.