“This… This is horrible…” Kerry gasped, shoulders trembling in distress.

  It was a scene of devastation; charred surfaces, ruined buildings, splinters of wood and concrete fragments littered the flooded streets. One that reminded Nina strongly of news footage she once saw of the Tohoku Earthquake back in her past life.

  In fact, Miles had once visited the region during his university years. Mainly out of curiosity than anything else. But even years after the disaster, there were plenty of areas left abandoned — the original residents having moved away from those despondent memories.

  “These people… They all look so sad.” Justin chimed.

  The faces of Mahogany’s residents were grim, a perpetual shadow over their eyes. But even amidst all of this grief, Nina could still pick out some spirited individuals, a smoldering fire in their gaze as they braved the rain and set about digging through rubble to salvage what remained.

  “Come, we should go pay our respects before doing anything else.” Lily, looking more awake than ever, beckoned for her entourage to follow.

  Their destination was the Mahogany Gym, one of the few buildings in town that remained intact. The inside was a glacial palace, walls of ice and stone. No doubt it would have been quite a sight under better circumstances.

  However, in the aftermath of the tragedy, the reception was empty and the lights were dim. Combined with the freezing air, it further accentuated the solemn atmosphere.

  Lily kept walking, assuming that there was no one available to receive them. The woman seemed familiar with the place. Presumably, this wasn’t her first time visiting.

  She led them up a set of hidden stairs onto the third floor where the fixtures were of a more homely variety, though still beset by gloomy darkness.

  “Is this supposed to be a living space? Maybe a dormitory of sorts…”

  “This is quite a small Gym building, all things considered. I wonder where they go to train their Pokemon.” Nina asked. She kept her voice as quiet as possible but it still travelled amidst the oppressive silence.

  “To the east of here, there is a frozen cavern known as the Ice Path.” Lily answered. “It connects Route 44 with Blackthorn City — quite a miserable place, dense with Ice Type Energy. The Blackthorns use it as a testing ground for their Dragons while the Mahogany people use it as a training ground. You’ve been complaining about how your Dragonite’s struggling with his Ice Moves right? Might wanna consider spending some time there then.”

  “What about our Gym’s power spot? Is that place not good for Ice Type training?”

  “It’s alright, lots of Water elements and pure Type Energy. But Ice is anathema to Dragon, so a bit of shock training might be better in Nitey’s case.”

  Nina nodded in affirmation and the group continued on their silent march, eventually reaching a living room space — one with a balcony attached. And situated outside of the balcony was a man on a wheelchair, his back turned towards them.

  “Lily of the Mizuhana clan greets Master Pryce. On behalf of the Cerulean Gym, we would like to extend our sincerest condolences for your loss and render aid to the good people of Mahogany Town in their time of need.”

  Lily’s tone and demeanour was cordial, and formal to a tee. It was so out of character that Nina was nearly taken aback. But through sheer instinct, she, Kerry and the rest of her sisters from the Cerulean Gym all straightened and bowed in unison, almost as if they had rehearsed it in advance.

  Only Justin was left floundering on his feet and stuttering like a fool. But it wasn’t his fault. Despite the boy’s prestigious backing, he came from a humble background and had rarely, if ever, been exposed to this side of the world.

  A head of thin white hair, matching cashmere scarf and faded blue trenchcoat. Pryce looked much the same as his in-game sprite. Except, the man in person was visibly withered, ancient, skin spotted and wrinkled like a decrepit husk.

  The elder’s gaze was unfocused, murky, gazing out wistfully at the setting sun beyond the gloomy stormclouds and distant mountain range. However, despite the elegant display of the beautiful women behind him, Pryce barely stirred, remaining stiff as a statue.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Even when met with the blatant indifference, Lily continued to smile with her head lowered. Which meant that Nina and the rest had to persist with their posturing as well. Until finally, after much time had passed, the former Gym Leader acknowledged their existence with a subtle nod.

  “Thank you, Master Pryce. Rest assured that the Gyarados menace will be succinctly dealt with.” Lily warmly declared before turning around and beckoned for her people to leave.

  The walk back was more oppressively silent than their entry. No one knew what to say about that last encounter. By all means, Pryce was a legendary figure. He was Agatha’s rival and Koga’s bane. And as such, his exploits were equally as exalted. To see him in such a state was quite a sobering experience.

  “Lily, Master Pryce. He…”

  “Is an old man. Over a hundred years old at this point. The moon waxes and wanes just as the sea ebbs and flows. Pryce’s glory days are long gone, his tide receding. All that remains is what you saw.” The woman shrugged. “It is what it is. No point getting hung up on it. Our visit was just a show of respect, nothing more.”

  “What about his successor then? I haven’t heard much about them.” In fact, aside from the old battle recordings she dredged up from the League’s database, Nina didn’t have much awareness of the Mahogany Gym’s current state — the Gym and the Great Clan behind it were secretive even during the best of time.

  “That’s because there isn’t one. Not yet.” Lily replied. “Pryce has quite a number of descendants. His children and grandchildren, they’re currently taking turns leading the Gym until they come to a consensus on who’s the best candidate. You know how it is, lots of ego, lots of squabbling — it’s taken them years at this point with no end in sight.”

  “Ho…” Nina gleamed. “I might be able to cheese a Star badge from them then?”

  Lily laughed. “Oh, you definitely can. Ain’t no doubt about it. But maybe give them a bit of time to recover first?” She gestured towards the disaster zone around them and elicited a childish pout from Nina.

  “Oh come on, give me a bit of credit! I’m not that insensitive!”

  ***

  A great wall of Ice surrounded the Lake of Rage. It was quite a sight. No doubt, a stopgap measure put in place by the Mahogany Gym to contain the Gyarados within. The forest surrounding the lake was, naturally, a complete mess. So they had to Fly close to access it.

  Interestingly enough, some wooden remnants of what appeared to be a gift shop, pay-to-view binoculars and cartoony cardboard stand-ins for photos could be seen in the vicinity as well.

  “I mean, setting up a tourist attraction right next to a lake filled with angry Gyarados, what could go wrong right?”

  “So what’s the plan?” Justin asked. To which Nina looked towards Lily for an answer, who just shrugged in response.

  “Eh, same old. You’ve seen us at work before, just do the usual. Just don’t expect us to babysit your boyfriend — he’s your problem.” That last part elicited playful snickers from the other mermaids.

  Nina groaned and leveled a resentful glare at her colleagues. “Urgh. You guys are the worst.” On the bright side, Kerry had decided to stay behind to do some volunteer work in town, just like she said she would. So Justin was the only one she had to be responsible for.

  “I’m not her boyfriend!” Justin exclaimed with a blush. “And I don’t need a babysitter!”

  “Sure, kid. Just make sure not to get in Nina’s way, alright?” With a dismissive wave, Lily turned towards the pair of trainers from the Mahogany Gym who were keeping guard over the lake — they would have to melt the Ice first in order to access the Gyarados.

  Justin continued fuming, but Nina just dragged the boy over to the side with an exasperated sigh.

  “Alright, Joda, remember how we captured all those Tentacruel back in Route 32?”

  “What kinda stupid name is that?! And of course I remember!”

  Nina shrugged. “I dunno, I just made it up on the spot. It’s been a very hectic week you know.” First there was the race against Whitney, then going all Bruce Willis in the Radio Tower, and now this. Nina could comfortably say that this past week has probably been the most exciting week in all of her two lives. And not necessarily in a good way.

  “Anyways,” Nina walked over to a suitcase that Lily brought over with her, casually kicking it open to unveil stacks upon stacks of Red Balls. “Recognize these? Same thing, beat ‘em up and capture. Except this time, we’re dealing with Gyarados — way more dangerous than Tentacruel. And over a hundred of them to boot.”

  And that was just a conservative estimate from the Blackthorns. Who knew how many wild Magikarps had evolved during their battle with the red Gyarados.

  “So I’m going to need you to work with me here — help funnel them into a figurative killbox where we can take them on a few at a time. Feel free to grab a bunch of these Red Balls for now. And if you see a Gyarados that looks even the slightest bit weakened, throw it at them without reserve. Doesn’t matter if you miss or they get away.”

  Nina chuckled. “For that matter, no need to worry about environmental damage either. I have a feeling that this lake is done for after today. League’s probably going to do a complete environmental overhaul and restoration once they get their mushrooms together.”

  “Mushrooms?”

  “Shiitake.”

  “Huh?”

  Nina waved away her friend’s confusion. “Regardless, we haven’t exactly done a team battle together before. So let’s divide our roles. I want you to only use Blastoise, Sharpedo and Noivern. The rest of your team aren’t exactly right for the job.”

  Similarly, Nina would only be using Nitey, Espy and Sir Clodington. She would have liked to include Brinny as well since battling against a horde of Gyarados made for good experience. But she didn’t want to risk any accidental sabotage. “I really need to let Brinny take part in more battles. But no matter, there’s always the local battle parks and the Sprout Tower.”

  “So like I said, we’ll need to funnel them. Which means setting up a blockade — Blastoise and Clody would be the best Pokemon for this. Nitey will be our main ganker while Sharpedo will be battling underwater and acting as bait. I want Noivern to act as Nitey’s secondary and on debuffs — discombobulate the heck out of those Gyarados. And for that matter, I suppose I should involve Brucey as well in the harassment. And lastly, Espy will be our general support, filling in any gaps that pop up. Don’t worry about our personal safety, Azzy has that covered. Understood?”

  Justin frowned, more confused than ever. “That… sounds very complicated.”

  Nina smiled. “Don’t worry. Espy’ll connect everyone in her Psychic network and I’ll direct you and your Pokemon as needed. So be confident and just do your best for now. And remember, safety first. Don’t do anything that would put you or any of your Pokemon’s lives in danger, okay?”

  The boy nodded and sucked in a deep breath to psych himself up.