Fiona's face betrayed nothing at Chairman Hyacinth's words, even as several other Gym Leaders, her friends among them, raged and seethed. What a shitshow this turned out to be, really. She shot sympathetic glances towards Astrid, Mika, Bianca, Nordrin, and Hestia as they all left in turn, but made no move to get up herself. As every other Gym Leader filed out, Fiona casually finished off her bottle of water, staring Hyacinth down until the last Leader left.

"Make what call ya think's best, boss." Fiona finally stood up to leave, seemingly unbothered by all the furor and commotion. "An' I'll do tha same. Let's be honest here, though, I dinnae give two shites about any 'severe punishment'. Go on, fire my fine arse. I'll run off tae Kalos, heard they might have some openings soon. Wouldn't that be a coup fer them an' an embarassment fer you?" She gave a jaunty, mocking wave as she turned to leave.

"Don't worry yer head off too much, though. I got no intention of fuckin' with tha coppers' investigation." What went unsaid, of course, was whether or not she'd be undergoing one of her own. As Fiona sauntered out the door, her smile faded and she pulled her phone out, already pulling up her contacts list and firing off one text after another. She'd made quite a few friends during her post-Challenge career before she took up this Gym Leader gig, and it was time for all that to start paying off.

Iris had fallen quiet for most of the meeting as the words from the Chairman settled within her brain. She understood why Hyacinth didn't want them interfering with the investigation. She could understand why it was necessary that they keep quiet about this mess. But did he truly expect them to just, continue on like nothing had happened? Ryker is their friend... Not to mention, whatever happened to him could happen happen to any of the other Gym leaders. Who's to say Hestia wasn't next? Or Iris herself? These people kidnapped the Champion for Arceus' sake. They'd have no trouble taking whoever they wanted...

She was still in her chair processing all the information as the others were starting to shuffle out. Iris wasn't sure what to think, or what to feel. But she certainly felt an all too familiar sensation; one that she hadn't felt in a long time thanks to her Pokémon. Fear. The anxiety that she could wake up and learn that someone else had suffered the same fate as Ryker. Or that they would find Ryker's body somewhere in Galar...

"Thank you Chairman..." She said steadily as she got up from her chair. "Rest assured I'm much too busy caring for undead children to interfere with a police investigation. All I ask is you keep us updated." With nothing else to say, she left the room and walked away, pausing where Bianca and Isaiah were.

What should she do? Postpone gym battles? Until when? She had people camping outside her gym around this time; so many younger and older trainers looking to get their first Major league gym badge after battling all the Minor leaguers... Ugh... She couldn't just postpone her battles. But what if those trainers make it to Hestia only to find out there's no Champion to challenge? What then?

She pulled out her phone and sent a quick message to Sawyer; the only one to not have been present for the meeting.

'The ceremony is cancelled. Ryker was kidnapped. We're expected to not interfere with the investigation or we face severe punishment.'

Once Iris was finished with her text message, she put her phone away and looked over to the two leaning against the wall.

"I don't suppose the other gym leaders would like a group chat to check in on one another." Her voice remain calm and collected, but given Mimikyu's insistent head bumping to be held, it was apparent her Pokemon was trying to provide her some emotional support. Still, she took Mimikyu into her hands and started petting the body of his messed up Pikachu costume.

"I take it everything isn't well with her." She asked Isaiah, though it sounded more like a statement than a question.

Fiona hadn't been back to her childhood home in...well, quite some time, really. With her parents away on a long cruise and no other family in the area anymore, she hadn't really had any reason to visit the Crown Tundra outside of nostalgia. Still, the main reason she was here today, soaring above it, was because of the person accompanying her.

"How ye doing back there?" Fiona called out towards the figure on her Corviknight from atop her Salamence. "Raptor treatin' ya alright?"

"A-Ah yes, quite alright!" Bianca reassured her with a smile. Fionn flew close by them just in case, but mainly to stretch his wings out. "T-Though I really should consider catching my o-own flying type. Thank you again f-for letting me join you all!" She gently pet Raptor's head as she spoke.

"Don't worry yer head over it none!" Fiona yelled back as Felon flapped his wings beneath her, the highland chill seeming to barely affect him despite his weakness to it. "Least I could do after that shiteshow a couple days ago!"

Their destination came up beneath them, and Fiona rapped her knuckles against the Salamence's back twice, signaling for him to descend. Bianca's mount followed in turn, and both touched down at the base of a massive, frozen tree, with a building surrounding it.

"Welcome tae th' Crown Shrine." Fiona slid off her mount, helping Bianca off Raptor after she did so. "Thought ya could use a break from it all."

"Woah..." Once she slid back down to the ground Bianca took in the exterior of the shrine in awe. Her eyes wandered upwards to the massive tree towering above them. "H-Have you been here before?" She asked Fiona, taking a few curious steps towards the entrance.

"Once or twice." Fiona shrugged in response, wrapped up in her jacket. Despite it being almost summer, this part of the Tundra was as frozen as ever. Did it make sense? Of course not. But that's what her home was like.

"Ain't surprised ye've never been. Lotsa people in Galar don't bother comin' all tha way south. Bit of a frozen shitehole, really." She stepped back, allowing Bianca the opportunity to look around for herself. In the meantime, Fiona turned back to her Pokemon, tossing both Raptor and Felon an Aspear Berry each to help with the cold.

"Either of ya want back in?" She held their Pokeballs up, to which both shook their heads while munching on the warming fruit.

"I-I'll be the judge of that!" Bianca called back out to her with clear optimism.

Meanwhile Fionn lingered in place for a moment. He glanced over to his trainer, who was stepping further into the shrine, then to Fiona and her pokemon. The frosmoth saw she had some berries, and flew over to lightly bump her side.

"Eh?" Fiona blinked as she was nudged, glancing down to Fionn. Upon seeing his trainer accosted, Felon snarled lightly, wisps of dragon flame coming out the sides of his mouth. His trainer looked back over at the sound, shaking her head. The Frosmoth only squinted his eyes in response.

"Oi, none of that shite. He's just bein' friendly, so stop actin' like a cunt." Fiona lectured before turning back to the Frosmoth. "Want one, then?" She casually lobbed another Aspear Berry up underhand into the air, waiting for Bianca's Pokemon to catch it.

Fionn flew up a few inches to catch the berry in his mouth wherever that may be.... He nodded to Fiona in thanks as he chewed, then flew to catch up to Bianca.

"Right, then." Fiona nodded over towards her two flyers, both of whom began lazing around. "Stay out here, shout if anything happens, yeah?" She ordered before following after the Frosmoth to see where Bianca had gone up to.

"Biancaaaa! Enjoyin' yerself?" She called out, trying to get an idea of where her friend was from the direction of her voice.

"Oh! W-We're alright, over here!"

"We"?

Once Fiona and Fionn followed the direction her voice came from, they'd see that Bianca had brought the rest of her pokemon out to play in the snow. Mister and Aurora were busy trying to build a snowman, while Nyx and Weiss were caught up in a snowball fight, technically cheating by using their battle moves. They soon dragged Fionn into it when a stray snowball struck him dead in the face. He wasn't impressed. Bianca could be seen looking around with the only one of her pokemon who wasn't as active as the rest, Orpheus. She waved Fiona over to them. "Hope you don't mind the o-others taking in the sights. A-Anything to stave off the s-summer heat." Bianca chuckled.

"Ain't my shrine." Fiona shrugged and grinned in response, idly watching Bianca's Pokemon play around. "Local legend says some shite about this bein' dedicated tae some ancient king." She stuck her hands into her coat, looking to Bianca with a blank expression on her face.

"All this shite wit' Ryker. How ya feelin' about it now that ye've calmed down some?"

Ancient king? Hm. Better be careful not to accidentally wreck something, regardless. Don't wanna get haunted by any angry ghosts when she gets home. Orpheus kept a close eye on his teammates in that case. Bianca was curious though. She wanted to ask Fiona what all she knew about this king, but Fiona spoke up first.

"I-I'm alright now. It was just...a-alot to take in at once." Bianca answered with a nervous chuckle. She then frowned. "I'm still worried about R-Ryker. But I-I don't think there's anything I c-can do, you know? We're not supposed t-to intervene."

"Chairman said we can't do nae shite, true. But when'd I ever fuckin' listen tae a thing I was told?" Fiona chortled, lightly slapping Bianca on the back. "He ever get on our arses about it, just put all th' blame on me. Ain't like I care if I get fired. Boss man cans me, I go straight back on tae professional circuit."

Fiona squatted down in the snow, idly scooping some up and tossing it around. "Speakin' of, any opinion on th' new ones we got this season? Or new one? I dinnae remember, was it just water boy, or we get someone else movin' up too?"

Bianca shook her head. "J-Just Mr. Tomas. And I'm not sure w-what to think of him yet. He doesn't seem like the s-social type."

"Mister?" Fiona snorted. "He don't look that much older than you. Hell, I think he ain't older than me." She shrugged. "So who do ya feel like gossipin' about, then? Figure we might as well talk shite about someone while we're here."

"Hm. I don't k-know, I'm not exactly one to g-gossip." Bianca crossed her arms in thought. "I've known H-Hestia long enough to see through her brashness, I d-don't really care much for Nordrin's...attitude, to put it lightly," She began to list off, idly stepping around.

"Pffthahahahaha," Fiona broke out into laughter as Nordrin was mentioned. "Och, he ain't that bad deep deep deep deep, deeeeeeep down." Brief memories of some good times a few years past came to the forefront of her mind, but she waved them off to focus on the conversation.

"Nae, but really, he's a softie somewhere in his heart." Fiona paused for a moment, as if trying to remember something. "Ya know we're exes, right?"

Wait what.

Bianca came to a complete stop. She slowly turned her head back to Fiona with widened eyes. "U-Uh. No? No. I don't t-think you've ever told me t-that." She shook her head. Maybe she should reel back on calling Nordrin bitchy when he wasn't paying attention.

"Huh, really?" Fiona tilted her head in thought before chuckling. "What, no questions? 'How'd ya put up with that cunt? What's he like in bed?'" She cackled in a slightly perverse manner.

"W-WH-WHYWOULDIEVERASKATHINGLIKETHAT?!"

Well, if Fiona was trying to fluster Bianca, she hit the mark there. An embarassed blush turned her face even more rosy than the usual.

"Because clearly, ya need tae get laid." Fiona shrugged in response, a shit-eating grin on her face, as if she knew exactly what kind of reaction she'd get. She probably did.

"You are a menace..." Bianca groaned, rolling her eyes. She was still red in the face.

"Too bad fer ya I don't kiss an' tell. Oh, well. Now ya know. It was a good few years back, when we were both studyin' in Kalos. Real fuckin' shocker seein' him when I came into th' league, I'll tell ya. Ever been outside Galar, then? Expand yer horizons a bit?"

Now that's something she knew about. She visibly perked up at the question. "O-Once or twice! Mainly when my m-mother tries t-to bring me along to her expiditions." Bianca explained with a small grin.

"Oh, yeah?" Fiona looked to Bianca in interest. "Where'd ya end up going? Anywhere particularly fun?"

"E-Ever been to Hoenn??" She tilted her head.

Fiona shook her head. "Nae, closest I've been's Sinnoh." She jerked her thumb back in the direction of the shrine's entrance.

"If yer wonderin' about Felon, picked him up in Orre."

"It's p-pretty nice. T-Though I wasn't as willing to go near the volcano as she was, haha..." Bianca sheepishly grinned. "The cities there were q-quite small compared to Galar, but it had stuff like S-Sea Mauville and Soothopolis' situation. I always w-wondered how they made living in a c-crater work." She rambled. "I also got t-to see Alola at one point. Mother p-picked Nyx up from there." She added, motioning to the vulpix in question.

"Oh, I've been tae Alola on vacation." Fiona nodded. "Spent a good bit there seein' th' sights and hittin' their circuit. Their League's still bush-tier, but that Battle Tree ain't bad fer a pro facility."

"H-Here's hoping they get their league off the ground. Did you get t-to see the beach on that island? T-The black sand's pretty cool."

"Aye, right pretty sight. Sun, beach, mai tais, what's not tae love?" Fiona responded simply, still watching Bianca's Pokemon frolic in the snow. "Speakin' of Alola, think I'm startin' to miss th' sun. Ya want we should head back soon enough?"

Bianca, and Orpheus in turn both glanced back at the pokemon as well. "Yeah. Who k-know, we can always revisit!" She smiled at Fiona.

It was clear that some of them were taking Ryker's disappearance harder than the rest. Until they had more information about what had happened Isaiah was going to keep his head down and do his work. Unless something catastrophic happened. There was no reason to piss off the chairman at this point, even if him trying to bar them from looking into it was irritating. He had his own business, literally, that he needed to attend to though, so it wouldn't be hard to keep busy.

He turned his attention to Iris as she stepped out the door of the meeting room. Not everyone had left yet so he had to wonder if the rest of them were jumping down the chairman's throat. Or trying to. He didn't think Hyacinth would budge on this one. He gave the ghost type leader a nod. "We all have each other's numbers in some way. Couldn't hurt to make sure everyone checks in on the occasion."

A faint smile crossed his face quickly at her Mimikyu's insistence. He shrugged at the statement, "I don't think everything is well with any of us at this point." He knew someone would help take Bianca's mind off of things. Probably Fiona.

He pushed himself off the wall, "I should be getting back to the clinic. Good luck with the challengers that are no doubt lined up outside," he told her with an amused tone. With that he made his way back to the hotel to pack and get to the clinic trying to quell the warring thoughts in his head.

Thankfully it was a quick trip back to the clinic. Mericifully everything was still in place and it hadn't burned to the ground in Isaiah's abscence. According to his co-owner, a stern woman named Myra, everything had been running smoothly. Or as smoothly as it could with the news of the ceremony being cancelled. He was immediately hounded with questions from the younger nurses and residents, but a severe look had sent them scurrying back to work.

The tournament season meant that said younger employees, a good number of them, would be leaving to join the campers outside of Iris' gym. That left him, unfortunately, short-staffed and injuries didn't stop just because he didn't have the employees. In fact they usually jumped in number as the universe spited him.

He at least knew of one person who would be more than willing to help, as much as he detested asking for it. Once he hit a break he pulled out his phone to shoot the ice type leader a text, Bit short-staffed with the tournament. Mind coming around and lending a hand?

After about a minute or two, Bianca responded:

On my way!

It'd take a moment longer for her to make her way over to Motostoke, giving Isaiah some time to finish up with whatever he was working on.

The quick response was appreciated. He sent her a thumbs up before tucking his phone away again to finish with an unruly Ninetales that'd gotten its foot broken. The glare that it had given him made him feel like he'd have bad luck for the next seven years.

Soon enough, Bianca appeared at the front door, stepping inside. "Hey!" Once she spotted Isaiah, she greeted him with a warm smile.

He glanced up from the chart he was notating on the counter, "Hey, how're you doing?" He signed off the chart and passed it to the nurse on the other side, "Any word on Ryker?"

She solemly shook her head, walking over next to him. "U-Unfortunately, no. I really hope he's a-alright." She answered. "Guessing you h-had no luck either?" Bianca tilted her head as she asked in return.

"Unfortunately not, but I'm keeping an ear out." There was only so much they could do though without getting on the chairman's radar. Anything more than listening and he had a feeling it would get back to the man somehow. "Anyway, I appreciate the help. Nearly got my fingers burned off earlier and I've got a Stantler in for PT after some idiot rode him too hard."

He leaned across the desk to pick up a number of papers, to hand over to Bianca. "These are the folks that need just a bit of work, swelling reduced, TLC, that sorta thing."

She scanned over the papers, shuffling through them before nodding back to Isaiah. "Alright then!" As Bianca stepped away to start working, she called both Nyx and Fionn out of their pokeballs. The two were the usual ones to join her in her visits. Though sometimes Mister liked to sneak out of his pokeball to play with the other pokemon and cheer them up.

...Like right now.

By some mix of willpower and brute force, the Mr. Rime successfully managed to free himself from the confinements, comically popping out in an unintentional cartwheel. After shaking the dizziness off, Mister glanced around before pushing himself off the ground, and dusting himself off.

"Feel free to come find me when you're done," he called out after her, pausing a moment in his step as he watched Mister tumble free from his ball. He had gotten used to the Mr.Rime's antics and knew he would only cause a small amount of trouble. Still, he fixed the ice type with a stern look, "Behave please," before he contiuned on his way to PT.

Mister simply blinked back in response for a moment. Before giving him a soldier's salute with his cane-toting hand, and marching off. You could see the corners of his mouth (mustache??) quirk up into a smile as he left.

He paused for a moment, considering his own team that he had with him. It didn't take long to decide as he reached down to free Lurch from his own confines. The graying Pangoro blinked sullenly at him before he patted Isaiah on the shoulder.

Waving the dark type with him he finished his short walk to get to work. Lurch, being a frequent resident in the PT room, made himself known. His uneven, lumbering gait catching the eyes of the trainers there with their own injured teammates.

From one side of the room, Nyx had joined one of the excercising pokemon to help keep them motivated. Meanwhile Fionn was doing his job as the designated icepack, laying on his stomach while other resting pokemon leaned back against him. The Frosmoth let out a cold puff of air.

It was a relief to have the extra hands, Lurch included as the Pangoro sauntered about directing trainers and pokemon alike where they needed to go. Meant he could focus his attention on the ornery Stantler that was laid on the ground, refusing to stand and get to work.

"I know your back hurts, but you will be far more comfortable in the pool than lazing about here," he told the antlered pokemon who snorted at him in response. He sighed in barely concealed exasperation before waving Lurch over who provided the motivation (bodily force) required to get the Stantler into the water and walking around, snorting the whole time.

Fionn quietly watched as Lurch forced the sore pokemon into the pool. Hm. Maybe he should standby incase the Stantler overworked itself. The Frosmoth narrowed his eyes, then gently shook off the pokemon laying on him to get back into the air. He flew over by the pool, keeping an eye on the Stantler.

Isaiah gave Fionn a grateful nod, happy to have the extra pair of eyes. The pool was shallow enough that there shouldn't be a problem, but the Frosmoth would have an easier time getting the Stantler out if it needed it. He took the time to mark notes down on the pokemon's chart. This was only day one and it had a lot more to go.

A little nudge here, a little nudge there. When it looked like the Stantler was loosing its balance, Fionn would fly around to carefully help it stay straight up. He gave it a sympathetic glance.

And Mister? Well...

"O-Oh no you don't!"

He got caught. The Mr. Rime could be seen running frantically past the door, arms comically flailing. Bianca chased after him. "Get back here!"

Bianca's voice caught his attention and he looked up from the chart, watching in amusement as Mister flailed his way past the door. He shook his head slightly before waving the Stantler over so he could gently lead it out of the pool for a break. It settled onto the prepared towels with a pleased sigh.

He wandered over to the door and looked down the hall, "Need a hand?"

Bianca's head popped out from behind a corner. "I-It's fine!" Soon as she said that, she revealed the escapee, holding him by the scruff. Blast. Foiled again. The two then glanced unamused looks to each other. "You've been getting c-cocky, haven't you?" She said to Mister with a brow raised. "I hope H-Hecate isn't rubbing o-of on you." She switched to carrying him under her arm, and walked back over to Isaiah.

"I-I'm sorry you had to see that." Bianca scratched her head in embarrassment.

One of these days, Mister WILL get away with this. Mark his words!

Witnessing the antics between the two of them pulled a quiet chuckle from him. He waved his hand dismissively, "Don't worry about it. He brings some much needed amusement." The clinic could get busy and busy usually meant quick words and even quicker tempers, so the levity was nice.

Well, that made Mister feel rather smug. The deed is done. The Mister has won.

After a bit of consideration, Bianca conceded. "Alright, y-you can stay out for a b-bit longer." She set Mister down and let him run over to Nyx. "R-Right. Any of the others visited r-recently?"

He shook his head, "No, I think Iris is going to be getting a group chat set up with the leaders, but I haven't seen them." He suspected he would see Mika in at some point for his own teammate, but other than that he wasn't anticipating anyone. "Yourself?"

"W-Well, Fiona did take me to go see the C-Crown Shrine, at the Tundra." Bianca answered, thinking to herself.

"Oh really?" He had never been to the Tundra himself, he wasn't sure he fancied being in that cold of an environment for very long, but he was sure it had it's perks in one way or another. "Never been myself. Was it interesting or more just a field trip?"

"I-It was, I let my pokemon stretch t-their legs as we talked." Bianca smiled. It then turned a little sheepish. "...W-Were you aware of Fiona's history with Nordrin?? O-Or am I just that slow?"

He nodded along as Bianca spoke, he really needed to let his own team out to run, but paused when she mentioned Fiona and Nordrin. I think I heard about it during one of the many forced nights out to a bar by the chairman," he shrugged, I don't think it's exactly a secret, but I doubt they advertise it either." He didn't know either gym leaders all that well so he couldn't really say.

"Hah. R-Right. ...Well I feel stupid now..." Bianca deadpanned.

Isaiah shrugged, "It's alright. I probably wouldn't know if someone hadn't had a loose tongue thanks to alcohol." He absentmindedly checked his notes, mentally checking off the things that he had already done. "Well I still have a number of things to get done. Appreciate the help."

"It's no pro-" Bianca's eyes widened in realization. "Oh crap, same! I should get back to finishing that list! See you later, Izzy!" With a quick wave, she hurried back to work.

And surprisingly? No stutter.

"Iriiiiiiis!" Fiona sauntered into the Wedgehurst Gym's office at noon, a takeaway bag clutched in her left hand as she pushed the door open with her right. "Getcher arse over here, I brought lunch. Sushi an' desserts!"

Today had been so boring... Trainers came and went, but all of them had A) quit the challenge because they were too afraid or B) failed to beat her. These things become uninteresting if too many people lost... Even her Pokemon were bored to the point that one of them had snatched Iris's headband and made her give chase.

The ghosts within the haunted house gym heard the voice and recognized the gym leader. They knew better not to challenge Iris's friends and colleagues, so they sauntered off back to their original positions, letting Fiona through easily.

"Give it back or you're in so much trouble!" Fiona would hear calling through the hallways.

The ghost had led her straight into Fiona, which made it pause and give Iris the moment she needed to catch the Pokemon into its pokeball then put the headband back on.

"Hello Fiona, it's nice to see you." Iris had heard her friend's call about sushi and desserts. "Next time I'll bring lunch and desserts. We can take that to the porch or the balcony so my Pokemon don't disturb us." She left that decision to Fiona, though the option of "neither" was always present if the other woman wanted to eat somewhere else.

"Balcony sounds good." Fiona replied easily, gesturing for Iris to lead the way. As they walked, she glanced around, taking in the sights of the haunted house. It seemed the layout had changed from the version she'd seen last year. Different spooks, maze wasn't the same.

"So how's th' Challenge been going so far? From what I've seen, ain't no one's made it tae Isaiah yet, so yer keepin' our workload light."

At that, Iris led her friend through the correct doors of the haunted mansion that would eventually lead them to the stairs up the balcony. Iris had made sure to remodel the gym a bit so that she would have a place to stay and no one would be able to accidentally get into her room.

As they walked to the balcony, Fiona would see that since Iris didn't have employees she was able to dress the haunted house up a little more. Old yet polished dining tables, paint purposely messed up to look older than it was, large paintings, dim lighting, cobwebs, statues made to look like their eyes were following you, and the door maze that had been redone; Iris just felt the first one was much too easy. Then there were her Pokemon who haunted various different things. Each one made sounds or messed up something to try and spook Fiona along the way. Iris, of course, saw each spook coming from a mile away.

"Well, everyone today has either left because the maze was too scary, or they couldn't beat me. One trainer even insisted his Fighting type team could win... Well, you can imagine how that went." Iris shrugged. "But it means they'll be faces I have to see over and over again until they win or they stop showing up. I don't know which one is more bittersweet." She smiled.

"How about you? What have you been up to if you're not getting challengers?"

"I mean, he probably coulda if he had half a brain. Pretty sure a good amount of Fighting types learn Foresight. But, well, Fighting type and brain's a fuckin' oxymoron." Fiona guffawed before thinking about Iris question. What had she been doing? Oh, wait, that's right. Jack shit. Most of her contacts regarding the Ryker investigation hadn't gotten back to her yet or were still investigating. So for the moment, she was just spinning her wheels. But there was no point in worrying Iris about any of that yet.

"Eh, same ol', same ol'. Led th' paparazzi on a chase yesterday. Better th' fucking media hounds keep tryin' tae track me down than bother any of ya."

Iris nodded in agreement. Any trainer could win with Pokemon weaker against another if they had plenty of potions and played their cards right, but her gym also worked to weed out who had a brain and who didn't. At least the other gym leaders could rest easy knowing that Iris would make sure only people who knew what they were doing made it through.

As they made it to the balcony, Iris was intrigued by Fiona's activities.

"Oh, I'm not surprised they haven't caught you. Are they trying to get information about Ryker? Or perhaps some sort of gossip to sell their tabloids?" It wouldn't surprise her. Iris still remembered the magazine they published regarding the rumor floating around about her. Anything to sell copies.

"Bit of column A, bit of column B." Fiona replied easily, setting the bag full of lunch down on a table. "Good thing they ain't found out yet that I'm workin' wit' my ex. Probably never hear th' fuckin' end of it, tae say nothing of Nordy's response. Anyways," She started pulling packages out of the bag.

"I got a nigiri set an' a spicy tuna roll. Which one ya want?"

As Fiona spoke, Iris took a seat in one of the open chairs, gesturing to one for her friend to take. Though, the other's information did make Iris perk up a bit. "I still find it incredible that you and Nordrin ended up working for the same league. But yes, I can't imagine how much more annoying they'd be if they found that out... It's good you're such an expert avoiding them."

Hearing the food options, Iris thought about it for a second. "The nigiri set, please. Let me know what you want to eat the next time we have lunch together."

Iris, once Fiona got situated, decided to ask her. "How have you been since finding out about Ryker? Bianca might have taken it worse than all of us."

"What, me?" Fiona tilted her head as she reached for the container with the spicy tuna roll, not bothering to grab chopsticks as she started to pop sushi into her mouth.

"Mnf. Mnf." She chewed and swallowed one piece before speaking again. "Already took it upon meself tae cheer Bianca up, probably dinnae need to worry about her. As fer me, well..." Fiona trailed off, shoveling more sushi into her food hole.

"Ah, don't worry about lil' old me. I'm doing fine. Sucks about Ryker, but we cannae do shite about that until some kinda lead pops up. No point worryin' my head off until we get more info." Fiona paused for a moment, as if considering her next words, before speaking again. "I'm askin' around about it, alright? No one's gotten back tae me yet with anything useful, but I'll share it when I get something."

Iris had broken her chopsticks and opened her packet of soy sauce to dip her nigiri into; enjoying pieces while Fiona talked. She was glad Bianca was a little happier now, and a little more happy that Fiona was asking around. It was the most Iris could do as well, though she wished she traveled out of the region more to be able to ask people outside of it.

"I just find it very strange. Ryker was gone and so was his Pokemon... The only thing that makes sense to me is that they wanted his help with something illegal and Ryker refused, hence the kidnapping. Then again, how can they force Ryker to do anything if Ryker has his team with him?" So many questions that she probably wouldn't get the answers to any time soon. But it was fun to theorize nonetheless.

"Depends," Fiona shrugged, idly chewing on a piece of ginger between pieces of sushi. "If he keeps his Pokemon in balls overnight, it ain't like he can get 'em out if his kidnappers got even half a brain cell between 'em. I've been thinkin' about this too. If it were me, I'd have hit any mons left out wit' Sleep Powder or Spore before gettin' Ryker. Most of th' ones that can do those moves ain't exactly big or loud."

"That is true... It's possible the kidnappers got to his Pokemon first, took them away, then fought with Ryker. But without any evidence, I suppose our theories are just that..." It would make sense if Ryker's Pokemon were being held hostage; she would be as compliant as possible if she were in Ryker's shoes, but there was some other things about this that didn't sit right with her. "I wonder why they needed him specifically, and if they'll be coming for Hestia next."

"Way I figure it, probably not Hestia. Gettin' yer hands on th' Champ's already huge. Plus, if ya start with something as high-profile as this, nae fuckin' shot yer gonna be able tae get anyone else, increased security an' all." Fiona sighed, finishing her sushi.

"Anyways, enough about all that. Think I might stick around after lunch, see what this batch of challengers're like. Ya still got that observer's box in th' stadium?"

Fiona did have a point, which made Iris feel better. She was just worrying too much over something that would be resolved soon enough.

Iris finished her meal soon after Fiona, hearing her question. "Of course." She smiled. "If you want to be part of the experience, I can give you a spooky masquerade mask. It's not necessary, but it makes things more fun for me."

Iris was stressed to say the least. She had stopped by Stow-on-Side as she had heard that ghost Pokemon liked to linger there and made plans to explore around the outskirts at night. She thought things were going well until she looked at her Pokeball belt and noticed one of the balls was empty. The one she marked for Baby.

Her heart fell into the pit of her stomach the moment she saw this as a million questions raced through her head. She knew Baby was fine, but what about the others? What about the other people and the Pokemon that lingered around? Sure she trained Baby to not be a nuisance, but could a Ghost truly lose that nature? No. So, she was forced to search for the roaming Dusclops within the town and hoped she wasn’t causing trouble. Iris could have asked the citizens for help, but something told her the only thing she would be getting was answers at best. Cute little Dusclops were scary, regardless if they have a little bow around their necks.

But at least that bow would help Iris differentiate Baby from any other Dusclops she might encounter…

She rounded the corner of the shopping district’s street, panting softly as she looked around wildly for her lost Pokemon. Iris had asked around and someone mentioned that she thought she saw something within the shadows heading down the road, towards the Minor gym. With a soft curse, Iris thanked the woman and rushed to where she was now.

In the distance, all too familiar ribbons floated ominously behind an even more familiar figure. The small bundle was wandering towards the doors of the gym, peering inside.

“Baby!” Iris called as she ran after the Pokemon. “Baby! Stop or you’re in big trouble!”

The Pokemon looked over at her trainer, snickered, and wandered within the gym.

“Baby!” Iris called again, this time as snappy as an angry mother.

She rushed to the door and entered the gym, recuperating from the running as she looked around the place, especially the shadows. Baby was obviously hiding from her, but where? Was she causing trouble too? Ugh… Baby was lucky Iris loved her…

There were plenty of shadows for Baby to hide in. The inside of the gym was dark and silent, with no league employees to greet her like there would normally be for challengers and the only light coming from the door behind her and a row of narrow windows high up on either side. With the minor league being out of season for the moment, the place was clearly not meant to be open to the public right now, which left lots of dark corners for a mischievous Dusclops to lurk in.

Advancing deeper into the gym in pursuit of her Pokémon, Iris was met with her first obstacle. A series of overhead lights suddenly burst to life, revealing a steep slope barring her path.

Iris could see her Pokemon atop the slope. She tried calling out to Baby again, but the Dusclops left to, if she had to guess, make her do the challenge. Iris sighed. She seriously didn’t have to do these gym challenges, did she?

After taking a moment to see if there was a way to get around it, Iris saw that the only way through this obstacle was to not cheat and do it as it was intended. Sebastien was obviously smart enough to think this through, but he didn’t have some sort of path for employees or maintenance?

The thought of having a word with him about it ran through her mind, but it was technically her fault that Baby managed to escape. This was his gym and he could do whatever he wanted with it. He shouldn’t have to make a clear path if he didn’t want to.

Iris sighed again, this time more aggressively. Seems she would have to do the challenges.

She started heading up, immediately regretting her choice of high heels. Since she was basically climbing a slope with just her toes, Iris’s calves were already starting to burn.

She made it halfway up the slope when suddenly she heard a noise. A mechanism activated, before the slope started whirring to life. Iris suddenly found herself moving backwards at a slow jogging pace, almost suddenly enough to make her fall. Iris tried moving faster to try and keep up. However, thanks to her choice of footwear and not expecting the slope to actually be a treadmill, Iris was dragged back down to where she started.

Though she wasn't going to give up so easily.

Iris removed her shoes and set them inside of her purse. Though she lost a few inches in height, she would at least have more balance and control in her movement.

She started moving up the slope again, this time faster and with more control. Now that her calves didn’t want to kill themselves, Iris was able to get up the slope more smoothly.

The platinum-haired woman paused for a breathing break; she imagined this would be a spot where the trainer would fight one of the gym employees. Iris then looked ahead, catching the slightest glimpse of Baby, which forced her to continue moving forward to the next obstacle. Her Pokémon retreated further into the gloom as she approached, until soon the only thing she could see of Baby was its single eye floating in the shadows for a moment before the Dusclops turned away from her and that too was gone. When the next set of lights activated Iris was confronted with the next challenge; no slope this time, but the way the texture of the ground under her feet changed let her know she was standing on another treadmill. Ahead of her were a series of waist high hurdles arranged at set intervals along the path, that she would need to go either over or under while also keeping up with the speed of the floor moving backwards beneath her.

Iris was so damn glad she wasn’t just a regular trainer trying to get through the gym. If these obstacles were anything to go by, she’d assume it was a fighting gym… Was that Sebastien’s theme? Iris couldn’t remember at the moment; the stress of retrieving her Pokemon was far greater than her questions.

She approached the next obstacle and took a second to look over her surroundings. The texture under her feet was grippy and a little rough, reminding her of the treadmill. Looking ahead there were the waist-high hurdles, which meant Iris was going to have to try and go under all of them.

Iris could try jumping, but there was a good chance of her twisting her ankle if that happened. Plus she wasn’t wearing a sports bra. She didn’t want to go through that feeling if she could help it.

“Baby! I’m gonna count from ten! If you’re not right next to me at one you will be in so much trouble! Ten…Nine…Eight…”

She waited patiently for Baby to return to her, counting down the numbers. A part of her wasn’t expecting her Dusclops to return to her, and when she reached one, she let out a long sigh.

Looks like she’d have to go through these stupid hurdles.

The things she did for ghosts.

The moment she stepped on the treadmill, she heard the mechanisms whirr to life and the hurdles started moving towards her. She took a deep breath and started running.

Iris ducked down when the first hurdle came close enough. She accidentally bumped her head and the treadmill knocked her back a few inches, but she was up again to try and make up for the lost ground.

This was the pattern that Iris would have to go through; run forward, duck down, lose a bit of progress, remake the progress and then some, duck down, rinse and repeat. This was worse than the slope, no doubt about it. Iris’s arms and legs were starting to burn more than usual after the exercises; most likely because she didn’t do any stretches beforehand. But, once she made it through, Iris had to double over and take in a couple of breaths.

Of all the gyms Baby had to go to, she chose the one with the most exercise…

Iris looked up again, hands on her knees and panting. She wanted to see what else was in store or if her Dusclops would have mercy.

She waited until she had managed to catch her breath, but Baby still had yet to appear or even to show another glimpse of itself. There was to be no mercy today it would seem. The next challenge that awaited Iris was the same as the first, but with a rather cruel twist to it; another slope, another treadmill, but rather than the path being clear of obstacles there were a number of hanging pillars, like the punching bags you would see in a regular gym dangling from the ceiling. Iris would need to climb another slope, this time while also pushing aside the bags or at least dodging around them.

No mercy indeed.

Iris let out an exasperated groan at the sight of the next challenge. Just what in the world was Sebastien thinking with this?! She could understand if he wanted to promote physical fitness, but just how many of his challengers would be physically fit enough to actually accomplish this? Iris considered herself fit thanks to all of the crap her Pokemon made her go through (like now for instance), and even then she was still struggling!

Still, she wouldn't get any closer to her beloved Pokemon if she just stood around and complained. So, with a deep breath, Iris pushed forward.

Just one more… right?

This was the last one, right?!

Aside from the fact that the platinum haired woman had been running this course without shoes, this challenge was not only tough but very annoying. The swinging bags came from nowhere (or at least it felt like they did), which made focusing on the slope itself near impossible.

Iris’s face felt hot, her arms, feet, and legs aching as she dashed through the course. She would either dodge or be bumped hard enough by one of the bags that she'd lose her balance and in turn lose a good amount of progress. Or one of the bags would get in her face, make her stop, and force her to lose a few precious inches. The most annoying part about all of this, if she had to choose one, was losing progress. Every time she did, it meant painstakingly making her way back to where she was only to make some distance, or get smacked again and be sent back down.

Sure she could have called for Golurk to try and fly over the course or something, but that ran the risk of it smashing through the building or setting the course on fire. There was also Cutie, her Gengar, but…

She'd rather not risk it. Baby was hard enough to catch on her own, much less risking both Pokemon teaming up against her.

In the end, Iris made it to the top. She felt sluggish, enough so that fell to her knees and nearly fell over to lie down. Iris knew if she did, she wouldn't want to get back up. And well, this was no place for a nap…

Her panting was rough and sweat dripped down her face. She struggled, but she stood back up again. Iris still had to catch her Baby.

“You know, there is a side entrance if you wanted to come visit. You didn’t have to go through the obstacle course.” Before she could continue her search, the man responsible for this torture chamber of a gym made an appearance. Sebastien was standing in a doorway that Iris hadn’t noticed before now, and as he stepped forward and the door closed behind him she saw why; there was no handle on this side and the door itself was flush with the wall so as to give the appearance of not being there at all. Wherever he had come from, Iris had some choice words she wanted to have with him about the design of his gym, but the bottle of chilled water he was holding out to her bought him a short reprieve.

For Sebastien’s part, he wasn’t sure why one of the other gym leaders was here, or why she was sweating all over his floor, but the least he could do was offer her some hospitality. “Although, I’m not sure why the treadmills are even running; I haven’t finished setting everything up yet.”

The sudden call from the side of the gym quickly grabbed her attention. The one responsible for all of this telling her she didn’t have to run the course. A door made to resemble the wall of the gym which was probably where the employees got around the course.

She sighed again. Well, on the bright side she at least got her exercise in for the day.

Iris took the bottle of water with a “thank you” and took a sip, the cold beverage immediately refreshing her mouth after everything she went through.

“I did not plan to run your course.” Iris began. “One of my Pokemon broke free and she decided I needed the exercise.”

She looked around for the single glowing red eye within the shadows, but it seemed Baby decided it was time for hide and seek.

Iris was certain Baby was still in the room, so for now, she decided to ignore her. Perhaps her Pokemon would hate not having attention and try to demand it from her. Or maybe she’d get jealous that Sebastien was taking up mom’s attention. Iris would have to wait and see.

“Speaking of your course. You are a Water gym, yes?” She asked him, waving her hand towards the obstacle course. “What is your plan here?”

Sebastien responded with a shrug. “No one told me the challenge needed to be specifically themed after the type of Pokémon I use and no one objected when I told them my idea. I just went with something that tests trainers for the traits I expect from them in the way I want to test them, more or less.” Not fitness, though you obviously needed a certain level of endurance to make it past all of those obstacles in the way Iris just had, but rather the perseverance to keep pushing forward and to keep trying in the face of constant setbacks.

“Besides, if it means I get fewer challengers than normal it just means I get more time to myself to train.” Crossing his arms over his chest, Sebastien looked towards the forest of punching bags and the still running treadmill. “Hmm, you might have a point though. Maybe I should put in a water slide or something though; for theming. What do you think?”

To be honest, Iris didn’t remember if it was a requirement. She thought all the gym leaders would naturally gravitate to the idea of centering their gyms around their team theme. That’s the way it’s always been, right?

Iris looked at him. “Normally, Pokemon trainers don’t have to train their bodies before going through a gym challenge. They’re usually puzzles, games, or little competitions between trainers and employees. Something any trainer can do so we don’t get an earful from the Chairman. I’m not saying you can’t have an obstacle course, I’m saying your gym is more painful than it should be.”

She hummed softly, doubting that Sebastien would change his mind regarding the layout. “But if you insist on keeping your course the way it is, you could dress it up a little. For instance,” Iris pointed to the punching bags swinging. “You could hang a large Tentacruel replica above that and make the punching bags look like its tentacles. Maybe some waterfalls, or painting everything in beach colors or an underwater theme.”

“Well…” Unfurling one of his arms, Sebastien pointed past the bags and down the treadmill to the flat ground beyond it. Iris had surmised that it was going to be where the gym trainers would wait for the challengers to arrive and she was correct. “If the challengers manage to beat the trainer there then the treadmill will slow down and make things easier, or they can skip the battle but have to deal with the climb. There’s also no rule against using your Pokémon to get past the obstacles, though I’m not going to spell that out for them; if they assume they’re supposed to do it themselves, that's on them.”

A harsh challenge, but not entirely unfair; at least, not as far as Sebastien was concerned. That level of perseverance, or failing that creativity, was the least he expected from people trying the right to take the real gym challenge the following season. “If it’s too difficult then I can always lower the speed and I guess I’ll put some thought into how I’m going to decorate this place. It’s still a work in progress.”

He definitely wouldn’t be going for a beach theme though; maybe an ocean depths theme, since he was pretty sure most of his Pokémon were the kind to prefer deeper waters.

“Which Pokémon did you lose anyway? I’ll help you look for it.”

Ah. So the treadmill would slow down the more trainers the challenger fought. She supposed that made sense, albeit a bit strange. Especially when you were allowed to use Pokemon to skip everything.

"I see you like to break traditions." She commented. "I'll certainly come back when it's finished. Though I wonder just how long it would take before a challenger figures out they can skip the obstacles."

At his question, she gave a sigh.

"My sweet little Baby. A Dusclops." She answered. "She has a pink bow around her… Baby broke out of her Pokeball and had me chase her all over town before this course. And it seems she still wants me to suffer."

Iris was exhausted, but she was not leaving this gym without her Pokemon. She would never dream to abandon her out of spite.

"If you could help me, I'd owe you one."

“Sure, let’s get started.” Whether he would be owed one or not, Sebastien didn’t exactly want to leave a rogue Ghost Pokémon running around his gym and free to mess with things, like activating all of the treadmills for his incomplete challenge. “I’m the only one here today, but this place isn’t too big so it shouldn’t take long.”

Leading the way deeper into the building, Sebastien turned on the rest of the lights and led Iris towards the end of the challenge. There were no more treadmills and no more obstacles, the rule of three seemed to be a thing most gym leaders went for, just another short walk leading to a staircase and an exit leading to the next part of the building.

“Let’s start with the main stadium.” Walking up the stairs, Sebastien opened the door to reveal a short tunnel leading to the main area of the gym where the challengers would battle him. It wasn’t dissimilar to how any of the Major League gyms were laid out, just smaller in scale; a smaller arena, fewer seats in the stands, but the same lack of a roof that would allow for the ones battling to Dynamax their Pokémon if need be. His gym wasn’t directly on the power spot like the city’s main gym was, but it was close enough to still work.

The open roof meant that it was brighter here than it had been in the other parts of the gym, even without turning on the floodlights, but as Sebastien looked around he still couldn’t see any signs of a wayward Pokémon. “I don’t see them. Any idea where they would go?”

Iris followed him to the staircase, which she hated immensely, and continued on to the main stadium. The stadium itself was, as she could see, smaller, but that didn’t make it any less grand. She was always a fan of the stadiums not having roofs; it made it all the easier for weather conditions to come into play, or to just look up and see the stars.
At his question, she hummed in thought. “Baby will usually find her way into secluded locations, so we best start from the outer area and work our way towards the middle.” Iris said. Unless Baby decided to somehow find her way out of the stadium, then they should be able to trap her here.

“I don’t mind what you have to do to catch her, I just ask that you don’t hurt her.”

“Hmm.” That was a problem. Despite what Sebastien had said about this place not being too big, he didn’t really want to spend too much time wandering the back halls of this place and searching every room. Particularly not if this Pokémon was actively trying to evade them; they would end up walking in circles and never find the thing. If they used their other Pokémon to search as well they might be able to corner the thing, but if that was possible then Iris likely would have done so already; besides, most of Sebastien’s Pokémon wouldn’t fit in most areas of this building. “Is there any way we could lure them out?”

Iris had to think about what could be used to lure out Baby. There was only one thing left, but she tried it before and it was maybe a 50/50 shot of it working. Maybe Sebastien would have better luck than her.

She reached into her bag and pulled out a baggy of berries full of an assortment of types and colors. It was what she would bring with her to treat any Pokemon she came across, and sometimes, even her own. Iris handed it over to him. “Try these. I trained my Pokemon using them, so she might be receptive to it. Keyword might.”

Sebastien accepted the bag of berries, shaking it once or twice to check the contents before shrugging. “Worth a shot I guess. Do you want to stay here while I check the back areas, in case they come out?” It seemed like a good idea to have one person stay in place so they weren’t both constantly being dodged; if he could flush this Dusclops out then Iris would be in position to catch them. Besides, Iris didn’t know her way around anyway.

“I’ll see if I can catch them, or at least spook them out for you.” With that he walked away, crossing the width of the arena floor and walking down the other tunnel that would serve as his own entrance when the challengers arrived. Passing through the door at the far end he found himself in the back corridors of the gym, a plain hallway with white painted walls, the door to his locker room in one direction and a series of doors leading to storage or maintenance areas in the other.

With a sigh he reached down to his belt and grabbed a Pokéball. In a flash a Pokémon appeared beside him, a tall, broad and imposing presence that belonged to his Golisopod; the Bug-like Pokémon looked around curiously, even eagerly, but once he realised there was battle to be had he deflated. “There’s a Dusclops loose in the gym, I need your help to find it.” The Pokémon perked up again at that and Sebastien raised a hand to signal it to keep itself in check. “Search the building, but don’t attack it if you find it. See if you can scare it towards the arena; its trainer is out there.”

The Golisopod nodded in confirmation and turned to walk away. Sebastien watched it go; he wasn’t at all concerned that it would do anything other than what he asked, but he still thought it was probably a good idea to find someone to battle soon so that he could give his Pokémon something to do. They were getting antsy and would be insufferable by the time the next season started.

Turning around himself he started the other direction, shaking the bag of berries in one hand and wondering how long this would take, if it worked at all.

Baby, meanwhile, seemed to be having a lot of fun messing with Iris and Sebastien. At least, Iris hoped she did, because she was in so much damn trouble. She might just have to leave her Baby in the box for a week for escaping…

Iris didn’t want to, but she had to punish Baby somehow for this.

As she searched, Baby seemed to have noticed the sounds of berries shaking in a bag as well as Iris’s calls. It was easy for her to get around them and the sounds they were making, however, she didn’t anticipate running into a giant Golisopod. Given the sheer size of it compared to her, and the fact being caught by it meant being caught by Iris, it started trying to run away.

Hearing the noise, Iris looked over to see her stubby little Dusclops trying to run from the much larger Pokemon. This would have been amusing if Baby hadn’t been testing her patience this whole time.

“Sebastien!” Iris called. “She’s heading your way!”

Hearing Iris call his name, Sebastien turned around in time to see the Ghost type running down the corridor towards him with his own, larger Pokémon slowly trailing after it. Between the Golisopod behind it, Iris in the arena and Sebastien in front, there was nowhere for the Dusclops to escape to other than past him. He swapped the bag of berries over to his bad hand and prepared to intercept, the Pokémon doing its best to try and juke past by swerving left and right as it approached; however, being fairly large itself and with the corridor being fairly narrow, it wasn’t too hard for Sebastien to reach out and snatch the Ghost out of the air by the grey growth trailing from the top of its head.

The Pokémon immediately began to struggle, waggling its arms and stubby legs as it tried to pull away from Sebastien. The Water gym leader responded by shoving the bag of berries into its hands as a distraction and hopefully a bribe. At the very least it bought him enough time to turn around and yell down the corridor towards the arena entrance. “I’ve got him!”

With a sigh, he began to drag the Dusclops with him, the Ghost-type letting itself be led as it tried to upend the entire contents of the bag into its own mouth. “Come on. Let’s get you back to your trainer.”

Iris could see Sebastien dragging her Pokemon, which caused multiple emotions to surface. With a big smile, she ran over to Sebastien and gave him a brief hug. It seemed the excitement of finally getting her Pokemon back had gotten to her, “Thank you!”

Her attention turned to her Pokemon. “Oh my sweet Baby, are you alright? Are you hurt?”

Seeing her Dusclops’ only danger was an upset stomach from downing so many berries at once, Iris pulled out the empty Pokeball. Her Pokemon fused into the red laser and was sucked right in without issue.

“You’re going in the box.” She told it before strapping it onto her belt again. With a sigh, she smiled and turned her attention this time to the Golisopod. “Thank you, darling. You were a great help~ How about a little reward for being so good?”

Iris pulled out another berry bag from her purse and handed one over to Sebastien’s Pokemon before giving it some petting. “Such a big and strong Pokemon~”

Though before she could get lost in her own little world, Iris snapped out of it. “Oh! That reminds me.” She looked at Sebastien. “I’d like to see your gym once you’re finished. Do you mind if I give you my number?”

Sebastien was caught off guard by the sudden hug and stood with his arms out to the sides awkwardly with the Dusclops still hanging from one hand until Iris let him go. His Golisopod caught up to them in the meantime, slowly lumbering up while Iris returned her Pokémon to its ball and being almost immediately accosted by the grateful trainer once she was done.

It accepted the bag of berries with some bemusement, trying to figure out how to extract the treats inside with his long claws and mostly ignoring the petting, before taking a page out of Baby’s book and just emptying the bag into its upturned mouth.

“Oh, yeah sure.” When Iris asked for his number, Sebastien pulled his phone out of his pocket, unlocked it and handed it over to her so that she could add herself to his contacts. “I probably should have gotten everyone’s number when we went out for drinks. I’ll give you a call when everything’s up and running; you can give it a proper test run.”

Iris took the phone and input her information into it. It took a little longer only because it was a different layout than she was used to, but she handed it back soon enough. Though the mention of running through his course again…

As painful as it was, Iris didn't hate the idea of running through it again but with proper shoes and clothing. It was an excellent workout, no doubt about it. Maybe the trainers would honor her with battles while she passed through.

"I'll be waiting, but next time I won't be in high heels."

A yawn dragged itself free as Isaiah wandered around the gym with Beau wandering behind him. He would've left the Herdier at home like he usually did, but the temptation to have a companion that was not pestering him all throughout his work took over. He had already set up most of the maze, planned out the route that was quickest, and told his trainers where they should be. He had set Lurch to coordinating where his benched team would be wandering the maze. Most of them were just meant to scare the trainers in the right direction unless someone was stupid enough to try and fight a Krookodile.

Not a single challenger had made it past Iris yet, though they were just starting. He'd have to work with her when she was free to see if there were any ghost types she wanted to send his way for this season. If that was the case he could keep some of his team in the wings to swap in later. He knew she was busy with the early challengers and, while he wanted to go watch, he needed to make sure everything was in place.

His team was scattered about the gym either training, or relaxing in the case of Jasper and Apollo. Keeping busy was the easiest way to avoid people pestering him as they had for the past week. He paused in his review of the maze when his phone rang. He didn't even get out a hello before Cane's voice shouted over the phone, making him pull it away from his ear with a wince. He listened to the frantic voice on the other side, but before he could get any questions in the call ended.

"Shit." Someone had broken into the lab for what? Maybe it something to do with Ryker's disappearance? Questions and answers could wait though, if they were calling the gym leaders in it must be bad. He whistled sharply for his team and pulled them into their pokeballs as he walked briskly towards the entrance to the gym, "Lurch!" the Pangoro looked in his direction, "You're in charge while I'm gone. Don't let Leo break anything." The dark type gave him a nod as he left, locking the gym up for good measure.

He huffed out a breath, why did this season have to be such a pain? He didn't feel like waiting on a taxi, this seemed far too urgent, so he freed Zhanna from her confines. The Hydregion stretched out her three heads and butted against his chest. He gave her a quick pat, "We need to fly quick, come on." While he wasn't as confidant at flying as Fiona was he had done his fair share during his own challenger days.

Hitting the ground running once he made it to the lab he pulled Zhanna back into her ball. While he didn't put much stock in the police of Galar they did have the numbers. If they were struggling then it must be bad. He couldn't see any of the other gym leaders, most of them were at Iris' battle if he remembered correctly, but if he could track down Cane that'd be good enough.

"Fer tha last fuckin' time, I dinnae where Ryker is or went. Kid's got his own private life." Fiona groaned at the random PMZ """interviewer""" that had decided to accost her while she was walking through the streets of Ballonlea on her way back to the Gym from grabbing lunch. "Now piss off, would ya? I said ya get one, an' ye used it up." Without any further words, she released Raptor from her ball and mounted up, taking off towards Ballonlea Stadium and leaving the paparazzi in the dust.

Not a minute later, Raptor descended into the Gym's training facilities through a ceiling entrance, touching down and letting her Trainer off. With a pat on the beak, Fiona sent her starter off towards her own exercises as she began to touch base with each of her team, working on individual training with them for a few hours before a phone call disturbed her.

With a groan, Fiona picked it up, expecting it to be work-related. She was correct, but not exactly how she'd assumed.

”Hello, hello! Listen, Hyacinth can’t call you right now. Something’s happened– something terrible! Someone broke into Wyndon Central Laboratory only a few minutes ago, and the cops need help fending them off! They have Pokemon in their arsenal, some of them we haven’t ever seen before! They’re too strong! Hyacinth said to get over there for backup, immediately!”

"Wha-" Was all Fiona managed to get out in response before she was hung up on, presumably so the kid could call in more backup. "Well, shite." She sighed before clapping her hands together, getting her team's attention.

"Right, listen up! We're gettin' called in fer a break-in. Considerin' where everyone else's at, we'll probably be there first, so get yer arses ready fer a fight!" Fiona called out to her team before calling her main roster back into their balls, with the exception of her Corviknight, moving over to get up on her back. "Wyndon Central Lab, girl! Rest of ya, keep on standby in case I need ya, don't break nothing, ye know how it goes."

With a screech, Raptor took off through the same ceiling flap she entered through, making her way from Ballonlea to Wyndon at a breakneck pace.

Mika was no stranger to the Wedgehurst locale; it was his longtime home, after all. Coupled with his ties to the Pokemon Professor, he made it a routine to drop by the small town on a regular basis, whether it was a research call or a spell of homesickness that spurred a visitation. This time, it was all the paranoia of the Champion's abduction which constantly brought him home; his father was no longer the strongman from his childhood, and the busybody in Mika couldn't help but grow paranoid over his safety. Like a satellite parent, the roles had become reversed as he would monitor his father's return from the work day, half-expecting Ryker's assailants to target them next. The peaceful end to the day sequestered in his father's boisterous claims of surefire bravado in the event of an attack would always bring about a breath of relief.

Another native from Wedgehurst, who also happened to be one of Mika's acquaintances, had partially resurfaced from his quiet retirement from the Minor League. Aware of the possible dangers, his former mentor of sorts shared some of the Chairman's philosophy and cautioned him to err on the side of caution, but pledged to volunteer any discovered leads. "If the telepathy still works," the older trainer had told him with a chuckle. Whatever that means...

At the very least, Mika would adhere to the Chairman's mandate. Being the second to last obstacle in the Pokemon League, however, came at a downside in the early stages of the Gym Challenge; it would be quite a bit of time before he received any challengers, which is why he often traveled to spectate the early matches to kill part of the downtime. People like Hestia wanted to gain the competitive edge by looking out for prospective challengers, while he was looking for the next trainer that would set the crowd of his stadium ablaze.

"Don't speak so soon, Hestia. That kid could be the next Kai," Mika waved off the redhead's early dismissal of the challenger, alluding to her predecessor. He always thought that it was funnily cruel for the very first leg of the Gym Challenge to begin with Iris' Ghost-types; fresh sprouts were in for a rude awakening if their only Pokemon consisted of the over-abundant Normal and Bug-types of the local region. "Let's just see what he's brought to the table."

A few days ago.

With: Hestia @Ambra

---

Present day.

The sudden call itself did not come as a surprise. Nordrin had been waiting for further word from the chairman, whether it was good news or bad news. Some kind of update at the very least. After a week of silence from the man, the chance of the eventual call being "good news" was almost completely diminished. He did not, however, expect the call to asking for help.

"What-" he managed to ask, just before the call dropped. Hung up on, probably in order to ring the other gym leaders. The quick, frantic message had barely processed in Nordrin's head, and he felt a vein of frustration become visible on his forehead once it sunk in.

"Do you know how fucking far Wyndon is from Hulbury?!" the leader shouted into the dead receiver, just before chucking it in frustration. Luckily Puck had flitted into the kitchen at the sound of his trainer's agitated voice and he caught the phone before it struck the wall, flying it back over to Nordrin. The fairy leader pointed at the Ribombee, commanding him to, "get some of the others and meet me 'round the front, now!"

Puck gave him a chirp and salute, speeding away to sound the call to the other Pokémon. Nordrin ripped off his apron and made to leave the kitchen. It was another slow day, though as Hestia predicted business had picked up since they spoke - probably due to Iris entertaining the first challengers. That was today, wasn't it? And a robbery now, of all times?

"Trouble again, chef?" One of the cooks asked as the leader walked by.

"Of course," Nordrin scoffed. He stormed through the gym, dialing the city's taxi service as he did and demanding their swiftest Corviknight. If emergency calls and meetings were going to be a thing for the future, he'd have to invest in a flying Pokémon large enough to carry him on short notice. As it was now, at least he'd have a ride waiting.

When he exited, he found the taxi just touching down and a group of his own Pokémon ready to go. They were returned to their Pokéballs and Nordrin hopped into the cab before it landed, barking the destination: Wyndon.

Iris’s gym usually didn’t have as big of an audience as her colleagues for one big reason; location. She was right next to two small towns in the middle of a scary forest. Hestia had suggested to her that she get some guides to give people a tour of the beautiful Slumbering Wealds. Unfortunately, that required someone who loved ghosts as much as Iris, and she has yet to meet a person that met the requirements. So she had her Chandelure guide any spectators down the marked path to the gym. Challengers were required to enter the tower at the front of the gym while spectators would have to come through the back. They would also be given little black and purple masquerade masks as souvenirs.

One of her ghosts had come to inform her that the challenger had made it to the end a few minutes ago, which gave her enough time to head to the center of the arena to greet him.

The Challenger, Timmy, had managed to get through what was probably the toughest gym challenge he’s had to face so far. He thought it’d be like the Minor League gyms, where trainers would be waiting and the puzzles were simple… Ugh. The door maze wasn’t even the worst part; it was the Ghosts that kept popping at him!

You see, Timmy hoped to one day take over as the Psychic type gym leader. So naturally, he wanted to find as many Psychic types as he could to win all of the gym badges with his favorites! He didn’t realize Ghosts were strong against Psychics until he was already inside the gym.

At this rate, Timmy’s potions were going to be gone before he made it to the gym leader. So with a new plan, he searched through his boxes for Pokemon that had any Dark moves. The good news was he found two decently leveled Pokemon. The bad news was he found only two decently leveled Pokemon. Well… at least they would be able to do something against the gym leader.

Using them to fight the rest of the ghosts he encountered, Timmy wasn’t totally hopeless.

With Zigzagoon and Nickit by his side, he could at least put up a fight!

Or he could totally embarrass himself…

Maybe that’s why he was so nervous. It was too late to run back and level up his team more, and he’d been standing outside the gym entrance hoping for another encounter though the Ghosts seemed to be done tormenting him. With no other encounters left, all he could do was get dressed in his Challenger's uniform and enter the gym's tunnel to head to the battle field.

The two trainers appeared from the dark tunnels on opposing sides, walking towards their respective spots at the center of the gym where the Pokeball design was ingrained.

Iris smiled down at the boy with the crooked glasses. The rumored creepy Ghost mother, in the flesh. The child seemed to be nervous, and Iris jotted it down to her Ghost babies having a little too much fun. Still, he made it this far and he deserved a proper introduction.

“My name is Iris. Congratulations on making it past my gym challenge.” She began. “Since this is the first gym, it’s my job to spook away any Challengers not worth their salt. Shall we begin?”

Timmy nodded his head. “Y-Yeah.”

With both trainers ready, the crowd roared as the battle officially began. Iris grabbed the first Pokeball attached to her belt and released her first Pokemon; Polteageist. Timmy swallowed a lump in his throat and threw out a Galarian Zigzagoon.

Iris hummed softly. It seemed the boy had done a little research before the first gym. Perhaps he would get his badge in no time.

“Lovely, use Mega Drain.” Iris instructed her Pokemon.

“Zigzagoon, use Snarl!” Timmy instructed his own.

Iris was no stranger when it came to fighting Zigzagoons. In fact, it was one of the most common Pokemon she saw in her gym. They usually had a good amount of fighting experience and would outspeed her Polteageist; maybe even knock it out in one hit. But to her surprise, Polteageist not only outsped it, but the Zigzagoon looked to be barely standing after one hit.

The Zigzagoon let out a snarl, injuring the Polteageist for only about a quarter of its health.

'Huh...'

'Uh oh...'

It was safe to say who would come out on top if the Zigzagoon stayed in. Timmy knew this, and so, he was forced to switch his Zigzagoon out for his Nickit.

Iris was curious what the kid’s plan was. He seemed terrified, but also nervous. She thought it was just from the ghosts, but maybe it was something else? Was he testing her Pokemon’s strength? Did he have heavy hitters on standby? Or… did he underestimate her, and brought in a bunch of under-experienced Pokemon?

Regardless, Iris was about to find out.

“Lovely, Mega Drain again.” She instructed. Iris wanted to see if this one was as lacking as the first.

“Use Beat Up, Nickit!” Timmy said.

Once again, Polteageist outsped the Nickit and took out a third of the Nickit’s health. Meanwhile, Nickit’s attack seemed to phase completely through the Polteageist, leaving it totally unaffected.

Timmy seemed shocked by that. “Wait, what?! But isn’t Beat Up a Dark-type move?! …Oh, wait…” He smacked himself in the forehead upon realizing just how dumb of a move he had made.

Iris had to hold back a giggle. She smiled at the other trainer. “I think you already know.”

Physical attacks, except certain moves, did not affect ghosts. While yes Beat Up is a Dark move, it couldn't exactly do anything against a ghost, could it?

Now Timmy was in a lot of trouble. He didn't think ahead to catch Dark Pokemon or have his Psychics learn any Dark moves because he'd been so focused on getting them experienced enough for the first major gym in the first place! Now he was down to two that could possibly do anything to Iris's team, and that was assuming her stupid Polteageist didn't just wipe the floor with them!

Needless to say, he needed to figure out a new strategy, and fast.

@Ambra @Solace @Serei2477

Even if not for Hyacinth's warning, the next week made it clear there was precious little the gym leaders could do about the situation. Not that the police were turning up any leads either. With each day that passed, the chances of finding Ryker looked slimmer.

Astrid, however, wasn't one to give up. As part of the minor league, she didn't exactly have gym duties to carry out right now anyway. After returning to Motostoke, she continued to communicate via text with the other gym leaders who'd spoken up. Obviously they weren't going to get in the way of the investigation, as Hyacinth had warned against, but there was a difference between interfering and assisting. If there was any way she could help, she would. Besides, in such uncertain times, they all had to protect each other.

Thankfully, even with the league challenge kicking off, the leaders stuck by each other when they could. Hence the gathering at Iris' gym. Astrid, clad in a black and purple bodysuit to fit the aesthetic, sat close to Mika and Hestia, leaning forward as she watched the spectacle unfold. "This intrepid young adventurer has made it through the haunted woods," she commented like a cheesy video game streamer, "but now the boss battle commences! Does he have what it takes to stand up to spooks and spirits?"

Fraught as the situation had been over the past week, she figured it couldn't hurt to lighten the mood. That and she recalled her own early days as an official Pokemon trainer, how nerve-wracking yet exhilarating it had been to climb the ranks. She'd learned a few tough lessons, but it had all been worth it in the end. Harsh as it was that the first gym had the ghost typing, it would help the boy grow as a trainer.

By the time any of Sawyer, Nordrin, or Isaiah made it to Wyndon, the commotion would have been obvious from at least a few blocks away. Explosions, screams, and rumbling could all be heard on the approach. Once the lab was in sight, the scene before them would be desperate:

Most of the police were already knocked out of the fight, their Pokemon splayed unconscious across the street. Some officers remained to command what few police Pokemon were left standing, but most were either tending to their own Pokemon or recalling them to their balls. A veritable horde of Pokemon were charging out of the lab, commanded by about a dozen thugs in hoods, long coats, and electronic masks and goggles. A majority of the criminal Pokemon seemed to be the usual assortment of various Dark and Poison types, but there was enough type diversity among the lot that just about anything could be thrown at the defenders.

"Too many of these bloody fuckin' bawbags!" A familiar voice could be heard cursing up a storm from the middle of the street. Fiona stood in the thick of it, commanding her entire team as they were the only major point of resistance left preventing the robbers from escaping. "Cannae even Earthquake spam, everyone an' their mum'd have my arse pullin' that in th' middle of Wyndon," She murmured under her breath before barking out commands.

"Lightning, strafe th' left flank, as many Dragon Pulses as ye can give 'em! Raptor, Felon, straight down th' middle! Clear these dobbers out-" Fiona cut off as something caught her gaze, eyes widening. "Berkut, bank right, now!" Fiona's Talonflame did as he was told, narrowly evading a Feint Attack from...something. It wasn't clear, with the Pokemon still engulged in Dark-type energy. Two more of the exact same silhouette burst from the shadows and struck the Talonflame with two more simultaneous Feint Attacks, knocking him out.

"Motherfuckers!" Fiona cursed, hurriedly returning Berkut to his ball as she looked over the newcomers. "Gonna-" She did a double-take, staring. "Th' hell is that?!"

As the Feint Attack energy faded from the three new interlopers, released by what seemed to be the lead thug in charge clad in a gas mask, a confusing sight greeted everyone:

Three Pokemon with what seemed to be the body of what looked like a Scizor, and a Bisharp's head and claws.


Fiona looked nonplussed for a moment before getting her game face back on, and that was exactly when she managed to notice her fellow Gym Leaders just arriving.

"Good, backup's finally here!" Fiona bared her teeth with a grin, raising her Dynamax Band with the back of it facing outwards instead of the front. "Just in time fer me tae start playin' hardball! Let's get these bastards!" The Key Stone on the back of Fiona's Dynamax Band gleamed, and Felon roared to the heavens as he Mega Evolved, the newly formed Mega Salamence hovering in the air for a brief moment before charging back into the fray.

Sebastien Tomas

It wasn’t often that Sebastien found himself watching a fight or a battle purely for the entertainment value. Whether it was during his brief career as a boxer or his newer endeavour as a trainer, the only time he ever really watched someone else fight was when he was doing research on an opponent or was just looking to improve his technique; research, scouting, it was never just for the fun of it. Truthfully, as much as he loved competing in them, he couldn’t really say he was a fan of either of the sports he took part in; maybe he would have been, if he hadn’t tried to make a living out of both, but now he couldn’t watch a battle or a boxing match without trying to critique or analyse everything. It was too much like work at that point.

Even so, with nothing else to do until his gym was renovated and the minor league season started, he’d decided to drop in on Iris’ gym and check out some of the new challengers; this was the first time since he had become a trainer that he wasn’t among them after all. Unfortunately, it seemed like he had picked a bad day to come.

This battle wasn’t going to last long.

The kid challenging Iris was in over his head right now; he was nervous, his Pokémon weren’t performing too well and he didn’t seem to have much of a game plan in mind. At least he’d known enough to show up with a team built with Iris’ Pokémon in mind, but if it meant using weaker or less experienced Pokémon as a result any advantage you gained was offset by the disadvantages you placed on yourself.

Well, maybe he’d have better luck next time. As it was, Sebastien found his interest in the match waning.

Seemed like the police didn't have this handled, even by number standards, judging by the amount of them strewn across the ground. The medical degree he had screamed to check them over, but judging by the screams and explosions he was needed more elsewhere. Normally he liked to have more of an idea of what was going on before throwing his team in, but time was a luxury they didn't have today if the smoke rising from the lab was anything to go by.

He turned to look at Sawyer as the normal type leader arrived, "Nothing good." There would be time for questions later though. He had no idea how many of them were going to show up, most of the gym leaders were probably watching Iris' fight. At least Nordrin was present too. Four of them should be enough, hopefully.

Following the sound of Fiona's shouting it was easy enough to find the source. The middle of the street was a mass of Pokémon and a number of thugs. Confusion crossed his face at the strange Pokémon that stood in front of them. It looked like Jem, his own Bisharp, but also...not. He shook it off and gave the flying type leader a nod of acknowledgement.

At the very least he knew the kinds of weaknesses something like that had, using dark types of his own. He pulled his own teams pokeballs from his belt and released them into the fray. "Apollo sweep a Flamethrower across those things! Roswell, Jem, Shanni get up close and personal!" It had been a while since he'd had to command his whole team at once, but thankfully they hadn't forgot how to work together.

"Zhanna, you get up high, Nasty Plot, and then hit them with a Dark Pulse," he ordered the Hydregion that had stuck close to him for the time being. "And Blythe, you know what to do." The Zoroark snickered and slunk around the side of the battle to no doubt go cause problems with his illusions. He knew to come back if things started getting too hairy. Just who the hell were these guys and what did they want?

Well, Bianca was supposed to be there with Holly.

In truth, the ice-type leader arrived to root for Iris; and the trainers facing her, alone. When asked about her poisonous rival, she only shrugged and assumed something else cropped up. But with no sign of Ryker since the emergency meeting, Bianca couldn't help feeling a faint sense of dread. She chose to ignore it.

Well, for now, her froslass was wanting to cheer on her fellow ghosts. Weiss floated beside Bianca, lightly snickering at the poor kid's spooked expression and Hestia's comment. Bianca rolled her eyes in response, but remained quiet. She felt a slight empathy for Timmy. "C-Come on, come on...you can do it..." It didn't seem like a fair matchup, but then again, having ghost types be the first major challenge never was fair. There had to be another way the kid could turn the tide, even on his last legs. Another strategy besides type advantages. She wanted him to reach her gym so he could get a moment of respite from the scary stuff. Mika and Astrid were still invested too, while Sebastien gave up on Timmy too.

Bianca could be heard mumbling to herself, trying to figure out any way the challenger could make it through.

_{"Did he s-stock up on potions before this...? ...could p-probably tank through but he'd have to take out L-Lovely before it drains his p-pokemon out...does he h-have any moves that could boost their defense against g-ghost types...? Does he even have revives...?"}