Hope had never given much thought to competitive battling, mostly because she was dismissed before she had even taken her first steps as a trainer.

  A few months ago, when she and her age mates slowly began to turn ten years old, her enthusiasm had been high. As each birthday passed, everyone began turning up in school with their starters tagging along, creating constant excitement leading up to their graduation.

  When it had reached her turn, Hope walked proudly to school with Azurill hugged tightly across her chest, anticipating the same levels of enthusiasm for her starter from her classmates. Instead, she was met with mocking laughter and pitying looks.

  Hurt, it didn’t take long to find out that everyone thought Hope’s career was over before it even began because Azurill’s species was deemed too weak for battling.

  Hurt shifted to anger as she marched home, ready to beg her mom for another pokemon, one that wasn’t too weak to battle and one that earned her respect from her peers.

  Her feelings were rapidly extinguished, however, when Hope came home to her mom bent over papers, a pinched look on her face as she tried to budget and crunch numbers.

  “Hope! Welcome home, love. How was your first day with Azurill?” her mom had said, getting up to block Hope’s view of the many papers on the table.

  It was then that Hope finally registered the deep, dark bags under her mom’s eyes. Too focused on her upcoming birthday, she had now only realised how little she had seen her mother around in the weeks leading up to it, and had just begun realised that it was because her mom had been taking up more shifts at work.

  “Hope? Is everything alright?” her mom’s follow-up question had jolted Hope back into herself. “Are you… getting along? Are you happy with your starter, Hope?”

  Hope had plastered on a smile, before confidently announcing “Yes! Azurill and I are gonna be great friends!”

  She then ran into her room, eager to get away before her falsehoods exposed themselves. Finally, she looked down at Azurill who remained still in her arms. Feeling guilty when she realised her own prejudice had hurt her starter, she apologised profusely, vowing to be better moving forward.

  Months had passed after that, and Hope found herself navigating Kanto by her lonesome, no one but her pokemon at her side. She had lucked out with another addition to her team —Swablu, who had been part of a migratory group and had been willing to join them. Hope had held hope for Swablu’s future evolution, knowing that a future dragon-type would surely hold more respect.

  All in all, it had been an unassuming day when her entire world view changed.

  Hope had just finished having Azurill and Swablu spar with one another. Azurill had tried her best to aim at Swablu with Bubblebeams, but the flying type was too quick to get fully hit. But even when they did land, it was obvious that Azurill’s lacklustre Bubblebeams barely did any damage.

  It had been a frustrating session, and Hope found herself trudging into the Pokemon Center and sinking into the lounge sofas with a sigh, both pokemon by her side.

  The center’s gigantic TV had flared to life, catching the attention of everyone in the room. It had a referee announcing the personal gym challenge of one Gray Oak against the Pewter City gym leader, the novelty of a personal team challenge catching the interest of all the trainers.

  Hope had been prepared to dismiss the battle, too disappointed with how her day went to pay any attention, before the disbelieving whispering tore her plans asunder.

  “An Azumarill?!”

  She looked up then, and just like the rest of the room, was shocked to see that the challenger’s first pokemon was an Azumarill of all things.

  She braced herself, but the comments around the room still stung.

  “This guy’s a weakling for sure. Why would you even train a pokemon like that?”

  “Does he think this is a normal gym battle? This is a personal team challenge!”

  She hugged Azurill a little tighter when she had begun to tense, doing her best to shield her against the comments that bit at her own heart.

  The room laughed when the gym leader on screen asked the challenger if he was certain of his pokemon choice, their laughter rising in volume when it became clear the challenger was agitated by the gym leader’s concern.

  But then, the Azumarill moved. It rushed towards the gym leader’s Golem, unflinching at the rocks thrown at his face.

  The ensuing boom began to silence the room’s laughter, a decrescendo that ended with quiet, stunned disbelief.

  When the gym leader’s pokemon fainted from the one hit, no one was laughing anymore.

  Hope leaned forward, gaping together with her pokemon, trying to catch the next sequence of events.

  As Hope watched the Azumarill take out another gym leader’s pokemon, the fading ember that was her heart began to beat faster, a staccato rhythm that eventually ignited a spark that caught the fading fuel of her motivation.

  Even when the Azumarill was eventually fainted by a Mega Steelix, she watched on. When the challenger, Gray Oak, was declared the winner of the battle, the room released a collected breath.

  He beat a gym leader’s personal team, just like that.

  Hope snapped back to reality with the final announcement, but the itchiness that accompanied her racing heart remained.

  She looked down at Azurill, who was in a similar trance. The small pokemon met her trainer’s eyes, and in that moment, Hope just knew what her starter was thinking.

  Hope got up from her seat and rushed out of the centre and into a training field, eager to start training anew.

  The next few days went by so differently that Hope couldn’t believe how much of a difference watching Gray Oak’s battle made for her and her starter. Rather than rely on Special moves like Bubblebeam, Azurill had begun to find a vicious satisfaction in physical moves like Slam and Bounce. There was a heedy feeling to it, getting up close to an opponent and seeing the fear in their eyes as you smacked them with an overpowered hit to the face.

  Even with the little time since the battle, just knowing and seeing future possibilities ignited an unstoppable inferno within their team. Seeing Azumarill had been concrete proof of what could be, as long as she and Azurill worked towards it.

  Her training was interrupted by a ping from her phone. Hope glanced at the screen before shouting out to Azurill and Swablu.

  “Gray Oak’s battling soon! This time against Vermillion City’s Lt. Surge!”

  Hope and her team rushed back to the Pokemon Centre immediately, and the crowd that was beginning to gather took them by surprise. Sure enough, it was a good call to get back as soon as possible for the interest and determination of other trainers to catch the upcoming match was rather substantial.

  It was fortunate that Hope managed to secure a good seat so she had an unobstructed view of the battle happening on screen because the Pokemon Centre was packed despite the hurried announcement.

  Once again, watching Gray Oak compete at the highest echelons of battling, taking on a gym leader’s personal team and winning soothed so much of the uncertainties Hope had coming into being a trainer.

  She had to restrain herself from shouting in shock when Altaria mega evolved on screen, its beauty and strength a thing of wonder as it fought and beat Lt. Surge’s starter. Hope had taken a brief moment to glance at Swablu, and seeing the same wonder in her pokemon’s eyes, she just knew how much of an impact watching this battle would leave on him.

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  Hope watched as Gray Oak beat Lt. Surge to earn a starred Thunder Badge. The fairy trainer was slowly proving to the world that small was not helpless, that beauty was not shallow, and, perhaps most importantly, that fairy type pokemon were not weak.

  A young woman with waist-length blonde hair sat primly in the ice cream parlour with her Togekiss, a tranquil speck amidst the busyness of Sinnoh’s capital, Jubilife City.

  Though the weather was not particularly warm, the ice cream parlour was nearly filled to the brim, customers stealing glances at the young woman from behind sundaes and cones.

  The blonde, however, paid them no mind. She and Togekiss were staring intently down at her phone, concentration so unwavering that the sundae in her hand was already melting.

  A server approached her, long used to the woman’s regular presence to still be starstruck, and asked concernedly, “Is everything alright?”

  “Huh?”

  “Is your ice cream not good today?”

  “Oh. No, everything’s fine David. Just got caught up with something,” the blonde reassured, smiling politely before taking a bite of her treat for good measure.

  “To-ge!”

  David knew better than to ask further, for the potential ‘somethings’ that had this woman’s attention went far beyond his pay grade. He nodded before stepping away, hyperaware of how this significant interaction was watched by the entire parlour.

  The woman turned back to her device, once again immersing herself in the live match.

  She hummed in approval when the Mega Altaria on screen rained down a deadly combination of Draco Meteor and Moonblast, then sped up its descent with Tailwind.

  When Gray Oak was announced the winner, she paused the screen to get a better look at the up and coming trainer.

  In complete honesty, someone of her calibre had little reason to even pay attention to such a match happening an ocean away despite it technically being a personal team gym challenge. She had no regrets, however, as the chance to see a Fairy type master in action was rather enlightening.

  This brown-eyed man with silvery-gray hair was likely the only Fairy master around. And while she didn’t truly dismiss the type despite its lack of presence in higher tier battling, she admittedly hadn’t truly known how powerful they could get.

  She turned her device off and continued eating her ice cream, thoughts lost and meandering at the different ways she could incorporate what she saw in Togekiss’ training.

  “Looks like we have our work cut for us, don’t we, Togekiss?”

  “To-ge-to,”

  She wiped her hands primly after finishing her food, careful to ensure all evidence of residue was vanquished from her fingers. She dusted off imaginary dust from her long, black sleeves and stood up.

  Her sequence of actions weren’t missed by the other patrons of the store, and a wave of murmurs began to rise as she made her way out of the ice cream parlour.

  Togekiss zoomed around her for a bit, much to the delight of everyone watching, before settling back on its trainer side, an enthusiastic but ever careful guard.

  Cynthia, Champion of Sinnoh, confidently strode out of the ice cream parlour, back straight and blonde hair flowing with her movements.

  Ash and Gary were chattering up a storm with one another as they sat in a Pokemon Centre private room.

  Gray initially had no intention of waiting in a private room, but the crowd had begun to thicken when they waited in the public lounge. Nurse Joy had no qualms chasing the boys into a private room, unhappy with the obstruction that resulted from Gray’s rising stardom.

  “Uncle Gray is gonna get sooo famous. You think he’ll be more popular than my dad?”

  “… Uncle Blue doesn’t really care about his popularity, that’s why he’s so mean sometimes.”

  “… Yeah, you’re right. It’s only a matter of time then. Everyone will realise how strong uncle is, then he’d get super popular.”

  Gray couldn’t help but interject into the boys’ conversation then.

  “You know I’m not doing this for popularity, right? We’re doing this so we can go get Red down from his stupid mountain.”

  Both boys gave him an unimpressed frown, causing Gray to laugh.

  “Do you both want to be strong trainers so you can be popular?”

  “Of course!” came Gary’s quick reply.

  “That way, everyone will know me and my name! So I won’t be known as Professor Samuel Oak’s great grandson or Blue Oak’s son,” he looked to his uncle before frowning deeper. “Will people know me as Gray Oak’s nephew now?”

  Gray leaned forward, brown eyes flashing intensely as he spoke seriously.

  “I know how it feels like to grow up under someone else’s shadow. I was Professor Oak’s grandson and Blue’s younger brother too. But I want you to know, none of that matters to me. No matter what you do in the future, no matter how strong you get, I’ll always love you for who you are.”

  Gary kept quiet after his uncle’s words, eyes misty.

  Knowing what was likely going through his nephew’s mind, Gray struggled to come up with better words to accurately convey his opinions on the matter. But as a potential source of the reason why people won’t acknowledge the boy for his individuality, he knew deep down there wasn’t much he could say or do to alleviate the situation.

  Seeming to snap out of it, Gary quickly needled his uncle.

  “You say you love me, so will you do what I ask?”

  Gray sighed, knowing the moment was over. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Ash got to meet Zapdos. I want to meet a legendary bird too!”

  “No, we’re not meeting any more legendary birds!”

  Gray bickered with his nephew for a bit, before Ash’s fidgeting caught his attention. He addressed the boy then, a bit apologetic for unintentionally ignoring him till now.

  “How about you, Ash? You want to be a strong trainer to become popular?”

  “Not really. I just want to be a Pokemon Master!”

  Gray hummed before asking the boy further. “And what does it mean to be a Pokemon Master?”

  “Huh? Whadya mean, Uncle?”

  “What does a Pokemon Master do? How do you know you’ve become a Pokemon Master?”

  Ash froze at the questions, no adult before had questioned the dreams of a young child. He couldn‘t help but feel giddy though, because Uncle Gray was taking his words and feelings seriously and not just dismissing it outright.

  “A Pokemon Master makes friends with all the pokemon in the world!”

  “Mmm? All the pokemon in the world? So you intend to meet every single pokemon out there? Like all the Sylveons alive?”

  “Syl-veon,”

  Ash looked to Sylveon before frowning in realisation. “But I don’t need to meet another Sylveon because I’ve already met the best Sylveon there is…”

  Pleased at the boy’s compliment, Sylveon wrapped a ribbon around one of Ash’s arms before sending out positive feelings towards the boy. Ash smiled at the pokemon gratefully before he continued to ponder his future dreams.

  “Maybe a Pokemon Master needs to meet at least one pokemon of every species in the world?”

  “No! A Pokemon Master catches one of every pokemon in the world. The only way you’d truly befriend a pokemon is if you catch it!” said Gary adamantly.

  Uncle seemed to ponder his nephew’s reply before freezing. Memories of anime Gary out-catching Ash flooded the fairy trainer's mind before he shook his head. Better to address this now.

  “And you’ll train every species of pokemon in the world?”

  “That’s right!”

  “How will you manage to train a strong team then, if you’re splitting your attention between so many different pokemon?”

  This time, it was Gary’s turn to furrow his brows at the implications in his uncle’s words.

  “Maybe you can just catch pokemon you like and think you can be friends with?” said Ash.

  “You’re on to something. It’s perfectly fine to catch pokemon you like and think you can be friends with. But let’s consider the logistics behind it all for a moment. As a new trainer, your carry limit will be six.”

  “Carry limit?”

  “Our teacher taught this to us, Ash! That means we can only bring six pokemon with us when we travel for the first time!”

  Gray nodded to confirm his nephew’s words. “As rookie trainers, you’ll only have six pokemon with you at any given time. Let’s say you caught a total of 20 pokemon. That would mean you have 14 pokemon leftover. You’re both lucky that your extra pokemon can stay in the corral free of charge, thanks to Professor Oak. But even if your other 14 pokemon are well-cared for, how would you feel if you were left to stay home while your trainer and friends are traveling around, seeing the world?”

  Remembering how he had felt when Ash and Uncle Gray left Pallet Town for Pewter City, Gary couldn’t help but feel like he’d be a terrible trainer to subject his pokemon to that. Even Ash, who sometimes had no choice but to stay behind when his best friend left Pallet Town for trips with his dad, couldn’t help but feel horrible at the thought of subjecting his pokemon to such torment.

  Feeling relief at his words sinking in, Gray continued. “Do you think that a Pokemon Master would make their pokemon feel that way? Abandoned in a home while the rest of their team grows stronger and closer?”

  “No…”

  “No way! A Pokemon Master should be better than that!”

  “You know, there isn’t exactly a job title that says ‘Pokemon Master’,” said Gray, amused. “You both need to think about what being a Pokemon Master entails. How does a Pokemon Master treat his pokemon and his team? How many badges should a Pokemon Master have? How many pokemon should they train?”

  Gray paused to give the boys time to reflect, before going in for the kill. “But at the end of the day, no matter how you both think a Pokemon Master should act, you should always consider how you’re making your pokemon feel.”

  Hopefully, with this conversation, the potential future of Gary catching so many pokemon just to fill up a pokedex and Ash abandoning his pokemon in the lab with every region he visited would no longer come to fruition.

  The sound of a door opening interrupted their conversation, and Nurse Joy strode in with Gray’s healed up pokemon following behind her. The fairy trainer smiled at his pokemon, before he noticed Ninetales trailing behind everyone else.

  All nine of her tails were drooped downwards, her ears doing the same. Her walk was unsteady as she stared mindlessly at the ground, relying on the rest of her team to gauge the proper walking direction.

  Gray looked to Nurse Joy, who was pleased at how quick the man was in identifying a potential issue with his pokemon. To Gray’s relief however, Nurse Joy simply gave a wan smile back, indicating that there was nothing medically wrong with the ice type.

  “Thank you for waiting. Your pokemon are fully healed,” Nurse Joy bows for a bit. “Please take your time, this private room is reserved for you the entire day.”

  Gray properly greeted his pokemon once the healer had left. “Perhaps we can all have one-on-one talks? Just to see how we can individually improve moving forward.”

  Ninetales lets out a small sigh at her trainer’s words before shuffling away, dreading her turn with her trainer.