"We should talk rewards instead. A Gym Leader contributed a lot this time—I don't want a meritorious ally to be left out in the cold."
Lorelei's reminder brought the room to heel.
Even the councilor who had been haranguing Bruno and Lance finally shut up and turned to her, waiting to hear what she meant.
"Elite Four Lorelei, if I remember right, that Gym Leader just received an expansion permit, didn't he? Giving him more would be… against regulations."
A second councilor beside him adjusted his glasses, the reflection hiding his eyes. "After all, each city can only have one official Gym. The Fighting Dojo, strictly speaking, is still a failing dojo."
"And?" Lorelei's gaze slid over to the councilor, a chill nearly bursting from her eyes—an "Icy Glare," so to speak. "Does Grey count as a League Trainer, or not?"
"He does—but the League has already rewarded him. Isn't an expansion permit enough?"
The councilor frowned, feeling Lorelei was meddling. "We even paid out the bounty. What else do you think he needs?"
"Just the bounty? No reimbursement for travel? And what about the subsidies for taking on Team Rocket—are we really treating him like a run-of-the-mill civil servant?"
Lorelei slapped the table and stared him down.
"All right, all right—let's cool it."
Damalanchi tapped the table; the dull thuds made both of them look over and fall silent.
"I say we split the difference. I've heard about Gym Leader Grey. He's the kind of 'role-model' Trainer the Kanto League ought to be promoting."
"Let Kanto—and the whole world—know there's a diligent, justice-minded Gym Leader working here."
Stroking his beard, Damalanchi's easy tone left the room mulling it over.
"Lance, I recall you've watched his streams. Tell us: in your eyes, what kind of Trainer is Gym Leader Grey?"
Damalanchi handed the floor to Lance to hear another perspective.
"I think Gym Leader Grey is a Trainer who likes to coach others," Lance said, recalling what he'd seen on stream. "I didn't catch many, but in one of them—Grey versus Gym Leader Daisy—he kept giving Daisy pointers mid-battle, and she clearly improved."
"What the League lacks right now is exactly Trainers like Grey. If we're going to champion him, we should match that with the right kind of reward."
"Oh?"
Damalanchi arched an eyebrow, smiling. "Then what reward do you propose? Would, say, ten million in prize money do?"
"No. That's tacky—an insult to Grey's character."
Lance rejected it on Grey's behalf without hesitation.
"I think we should give Grey the chance to raise a new Pokémon. For example: Dratini. It would suit him."
"Hold on—Grey's a Fighting-type Trainer, right?" Bruno paused his snacking to remind him. "That's a Fighting Dojo, not your Dragon's Den back home."
"I know. But who said a Fighting-type Trainer can't raise other types? As far as I know, when you first joined the Elite Four, you had an Onix, didn't you?"
Lance fired back with Bruno's own roster history.
"…"
Bruno shut up on the spot and went back to taking big bites of watermelon.
"Then I don't see any problem with Grey raising a Lapras," Lorelei added at once, thinking of her own ace. "Besides, Grey already has a Poliwhirl. Letting him catch a Lapras isn't a stretch, right?"
"Heh-heh-heh… then I suppose letting Gym Leader Grey raise a Gastly wouldn't be bad either."
Agatha spoke up from closest to Damalanchi, a Poké Ball appearing in her hand. "This little one was just born. I've been looking for a Trainer to bring it up."
Seeing the other three weigh in, Bruno set the melon aside and produced a Poké Ball of his own. "So you all want Grey to raise your aces' offspring? In that case, I think—"
"Grey already has a Machop, Bruno. No need to make his life harder," Lorelei cut him off.
"…Right, then forget it."
Bruno resumed eating.
Damalanchi: "?"
"You… actually mean this?" he asked, looking at the four Elites who seemed ready to hand Grey their future mainstays' kids. He couldn't tell if they were joking or dead serious.
"I don't really mind," Lorelei said, pushing up her glasses. "If Grey wants to, he can. If he doesn't, we won't force it."
"Same here," Bruno mumbled around a mouthful of watermelon.
"Likewise," Agatha nodded.
"I still think Grey should take on a different kind of Pokémon. Start with Dratini. Once it evolves into Dragonite, it can even learn Fighting-type moves," Lance said, holding his ground.
Grey was a bit younger than him and this driven—passing on a late-bloomer like Dratini would be a crime.
"I recall that when Petrel was arrested, Officer Jenny seized a Dratini," Lorelei added, touching on details she'd verified with Grey. "According to Grey, Petrel tried to use a Dratini to recruit him. Grey, of course, turned him down."
"Excellent. Unmoved by an enemy's temptation—that's what a League Trainer should be," Lance said, satisfied. He looked around the room. "I suggest we entrust that Dratini to Grey's care. If anyone objects, speak up. I promise not to use my hands."
"I—"
The two councilors from before tried to jump in.
Then they noticed the orange Pokémon looming behind Lance.
"Draaa~" (Hello~)
Dragonite waved at them, energy gathering in its mouth as if it might surge out at any second.
"…"
Both councilors shut their mouths on the spot. No objections to Lance whatsoever.
"Good. If there are no further issues, we'll adjourn here," Damalanchi declared.
League higher-ups filed out in order.
Only the Elite Four and Damalanchi remained.
"Chairman, is there something else?" Lorelei asked, unsure why he'd kept them back.
"There's a mole in the League," Damalanchi said. "We still need to confirm the specifics."
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