Chương 90: Chapter 87

The vague "U"-shape of the Pokémon Center's main floor provided plenty of privacy for Sam and Redi to make their calls. The few other trainers here waited for their Pokémon in the sitting areas toward the front. If any of them needed to head upstairs, they used the staircase on the opposite side, away from Sam and Redi. This late in the day, no one needed to enter the cafeteria, walking past the line of video phone booths attached to the side of this back wing.

Plastic dividers protected neighboring callers from seeing and hearing their next-door booths. Flaps on hinges could close to provide even more privacy from the back. Yet, while both Sam and Redi wanted their phone calls to be private, neither closed the flaps behind them. In a way, doing so would let the other person keep an ear out. Exact words wouldn't be heard, but noise from each other would help ensure they both knew they weren't doing this alone.

"Ready?" Sam asked. He leaned on the divider's side at the entrance to the small booth. Redi squirmed on her stool, not looking away from the phone's darkened screen.

"Psh. I was born ready," she said.

"Well, I was technically born Meredi— a different name —but I've been Redi for years at this point." She made eye contact with Sam through the reflection of the waiting video phone. After a shared, concerned look, she closed her eyes, letting out a short breath through her nose.

"I'm fine, Sam. After so long, I think I've finally hyped myself enough to make this call."

"Alright," he said, stepping back to give Redi space.

"Then... good luck, I guess."

"Good luck," Redi repeated, her attention returning to the phone. Quilava was already waiting for him in the neighboring booth, and he picked her up to sit as Redi began to make her call. Holding Quilava in his lap, Sam heard Redi go through the motions—she sighed, shuffled around in her seat, and then pressed the buttons to enter the number for her family's phone. Unfortunately, Sam's mother didn't own a landline to let him call her directly.

Thankfully, he could call the Dewford Pokémon Center, and they'd pass along a message to tell his mom she had a call waiting for her within. She already knew he was intending to call today. He made sure to send her that message before he passed out last night. He really thought that their first day in Blackthorn would have been way less eventful, but between finding that book full of notes on Hisui, everything that happened with Redi and Dragonair, and now this much-needed phone call home?

It might have only been mid-afternoon, but Sam felt like he'd been here for at least a few weeks.

"... Hello?" Redi's voice was quiet, but the area around her was silent enough to let Sam hear.

"Hi, Mom," she said after a long, drawn-out pause. And to that, Sam heard a reaction from the phone itself. Not only did a loud and excited "MEREDITH!" echo out from the booth, but a bonafide roar exploded out of the phone's speakers. Two squeaks came in reply to the outpouring of noise—one squeak from Redi herself, and another from her stool as she pushed herself back. Loud voices began to talk indistinguishably, and Sam heard Redi laugh.

The noise from the other booth quieted down as she adjusted her call's volume.

"Hi, Mama Bear," Redi continued.

"I didn't expect you to be here. Ursaring's doing well. Do you think you can get Da—" Another roar, one much quieter, came out in response to her saying Ursaring's evolved name. From there, Redi's voice wasn't as distinct, but Sam could hear the eagerness to her tone. Her words came out quick and light. After spending so much time building up this call in her head, she'd been visibly nervous. But now that she had begun to talk to her family, he could tell she was already feeling a lot better.

Sam smiled and adjusted how he held Quilava in his arms. He knew his friend would be all right. On his end, it took a few minutes for the call to go through. Eventually, the video phone's screen flashed to display a pair of prominent, gemstone eyes and a grin so filled with teeth that even a Carvanha would have been scared.

"Hello, Sableye," Sam said, holding back a laugh. Sableye pulled away from the camera and grumbled. The gremlin Pokémon clicked his tongue, disappointed, then hopped to the side of the phone booth's table to sit with his legs dangling off the edge. Sam's mother became visible as Sableye moved away. Her smile was infectious, and she held a hand to her side, resting it on Delcatty's head.

"Samuel!" his mother said.

"Mom," Sam greeted, already finding himself relaxed. Quilava mewed out a greeting, and Delcatty briefly put her paws on the counter to greet them in return. Sam's Ghost Types were in his shadow—or at least they were supposed to be. He saw his mom chuckle as her eyes flicked to a spot behind him on the screen. He wasn't sure who was out or what they were doing, but he purposefully pretended they weren't there to let them keep up their game.

"How are you? Last time you called me, you'd just won the Violet City tournament!" she said.

"It's been a while. I hope everything has still been going well for you, hm?"

"Ah, uh, well...." He scratched his cheek awkwardly. His mother narrowed her eyes. Just to get through it, Sam rushed through a description of his time in Violet City and everything that happened after. He wasn't sure how much he was allowed to reveal, so he focused on his Gym Battle and his training with "a" Dusclops. He also made sure to thank his mom for all the advice she gave him for traveling off-route. But for Petrel...

"Just some lame criminal," Sam said hurriedly.

"Wasn't a big deal. We fought him off. Something about Porygon, I guess?" His mother crossed her arms.

"How awful," she said flatly. She stayed silent to try to urge him to continue. Recognizing that, he spoke up quickly, not comfortable with the silence.

"But that's not what I wanted to call you about!" he said as soon as he could.

"The League stepped in to take care of that guy, so he's in jail, but... I kind of need your help? About something else, I mean!" She blinked at him, and Sam cleared his throat.

"I got offered a sponsorship."

"Oh, congratulations! Who is it? And what's it about?" Sam didn't have specific details; they were yet to receive the explicit offer from Mr. Pokémon given they hadn't contacted him. They'd been in Blackthorn for less than twenty-four hours at this point. He didn't know they were available to receive the proposed contract.

"It's from Mr. Pokémon," Sam said.

"He's offering us weekly funds. And then he'd give us held items based on requests as long as those items are needed to evolve our Pokémon. There was also the implication that he might use his connections to help us, too. The offer involved all of that in exchange for... making-unknown-evolutions-public." He breathed out after rushing through those final words.

"It's good, yeah?" Sam asked nervously. He turned away from the screen, and Quilava squeaked something to admonish him. He waited a moment before peeking back, seeing his mother's only reaction of looking thoughtful and rubbing her chin.

"Hm. Depending on how many items you can get out of this deal, this might be more valuable than you think," she said.

"If he's lenient with your requests, you can skip past the trouble that comes from both finding and actually obtaining evolutionary items. As for getting money, even a small amount of weekly funds can be extraordinarily valuable. Getting your 'bills' paid for free means everything else you earn turns into pure income." Sam cautiously nodded along. His mother closed her eyes.

"But... You have to make unknown evolutions public?" she asked.

"Yeah." Sam scratched Quilava's head.

"Mr. Pokémon wants to spread information about new Pokémon to motivate people, and he knows Redi and I are trying to achieve unknown evolutions—which is why we approached him for help in the first place. I wouldn't have to give up everything in the New Pokédex, just the stuff I have related to my team. But while I want all the stuff he'd give in return, it's..." He took a deep breath.

"It's still information from the New Pokédex," Sam said.

"I don't know. Redi's stuff is an exception, but I just don't like the idea of giving up something that came from... yeah." His mother was quiet, and she watched from her side of the screen as Sam fidgeted in his seat. She didn't look disapproving, but that was mostly because of how deep in thought she was. Sam couldn't tell what she was thinking. She had a great, neutral, "business" face.

She might not have spent the money to install a phone in her shop, but that had given her the excuse to make almost all of her deals in person. And he knew she excelled at making tough deals.

"If you're wary about giving away information from the New Pokédex, I can give you good news—I don't think this offer is worth taking in the first place." Sam blinked at her.

"Wait, why?" She smiled.

"This offer was only about a thousand every two weeks?" Sam nodded.

"And he didn't offer to stable your extra Pokémon?"

"Just free rare items," Sam added.

"Yup," she said, closing her eyes again.

"But you have to share your team's evolution methods, and those free rare items are required to be for evolution. But that's not needed for your team. Yes, Misdreavus needs a single, easily acquirable evolution stone, but other than that, he wouldn't be required to give you anything else. You simply don't get enough out of this— and this offer isn't one based on your potential. You'd be selling yourself for too little, Sam." He watched her adjust how she was sitting on her seat.

His mom straightened her back and held her head up high. The look on her face told him everything. She had gone straight from "business mode" right into "lecture mode."

"When considering a deal, you can't just consider what you stand to gain," she said, holding up a finger.

"An important part of these decisions is to consider what you stand to lose, as in, what's the opportunity cost of accepting this deal? I'll quickly note that I do think you should share your teams' evolution methods eventually, but you should do so in a way that's comfortable to you rather than anything forced through a deal."

"Okay," Sam said as he cautiously followed along.

"But what I'm trying to say about this sponsorship..." His mother hummed.

"Well, it's simply not worth it. You'd lose out on too much if you decided to take it.

"Many sponsors seek to be the sole sponsor of a trainer," she continued.

"It's a simple cost-benefit ratio. Unless the trainer is exceedingly famous, why bother sponsoring someone when their limited time would need to be shared with someone else?

"While there are those that salivate over the idea of influencing a Professor-sponsored trainer or the like, you don't have that immediate quality, and you haven't had the chance to show off a fully trained team, either. The best offers are given to the best trainers, and you don't count for that—yet. Yes, Mr. Pokémon's offer might be beneficial right now, but you'll want to attract better deals if you want to make a profession out of this.

He's giving you pocket change when you could be taking his whole wallet from him once you show off what your team is really capable of." A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. She chuckled, and Delcatty hopped up once she reached that pause in her speech. The big cat didn't exactly fit in her lap, but his mother helped her into a comfortable position.

And, as she ran her hand down Delcatty's back, she made sure to reach out to pat Sableye on his head, too. The smaller Pokémon pulled back, but it felt to Sam that it was less that Sableye was recoiling from the touch and more like the Pokémon was embarrassed at the show of affection.

"What I'm trying to say is..." His mother shook her head.

"Sam. You're amazing, and I'm not just saying that because I'm your mother. You've placed first in a mid-level tournament, but there are dozens of mid-level tournament winners within a region every season. You haven't had to prove your team within a Conference, and accepting Mr. Pokémon's sponsorship will only benefit you in the short term. For the long term, it's better to put off accepting anything until later."

"What about Redi?" Sam interrupted.

"How hard will it be for her to evolve the members of her team?" Sam winced as he thought of both Ursaring and Porygon.

"Then she would get a much larger benefit out of this deal than you would," his mother said.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she accepts, but I still don't think you should." Sam looked away, feeling better, yet it still felt awful to pass up so much "free" cash on the table.

"But getting some of that money—""You don't need it. How often have you been unable to afford what you need?"

"Almost never," Sam grumbled. For income, his team was strong enough that he could easily fight other trainers and earn money through bets. Otherwise, taking on jobs posted in Pokémon Center was easy enough. It helped that the only big eater on his team was Primeape, and even then, Primeape was a somewhat small Pokémon in the grand scheme of things.

"Exactly," his mother said.

"You're a competent trainer, so don't sell yourself too soon for too little. And when it comes to Dad's book, well, it's yours. Trust me when I say he'd want you to have it. Whatever you decide to do with it is your decision. Even if you choose to sell it to the highest bidder, I know he'd be proud of what you've accomplished so far." Sam felt a bittersweet smile cross his face.

He chuckled, wiping his eyes, and his mother looked around at her immediate surroundings before leaning closer to her computer with a hand cupped around her mouth.

"Besides, if you do sell it, just don't mention I made a copy." He burst into laughter. She leaned back, satisfied.

"Thanks, Mom," he said.

"Anything for you," she said, chuckling.

"I love you, Sam."

"I love you too." He could still hear the sound of Redi's voice in the booth next to him, and with how animatedly she spoke, he could tell she was weaving tales about their journey so far. The booth's plastic doors behind her were open, but she had released Ursaring while Sam had been distracted, and the bear's massive body served as a blocker to prevent much more sound from getting out.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" his mother asked. He considered the question. Redi was likely going to talk for a while longer, and they did have another, immediate problem they needed to handle.

"Actually, yeah," Sam said slowly, turning back to the screen.

"We challenged Clair to a double battle, and now there's this Pokémon Redi's trying to get..." At the end of their calls, Sam and Redi stood up and faced each other just outside of their booths. They took a moment to size one another up before taking a deep breath and blurting out their decisions.

"I'm not taking the deal."

"I'm taking the deal." Sam and Redi both blinked.

"You go first," Sam said.

"I talked to my family. They weren't angry. They were happy I called. Relieved, actually. I guess I shouldn't have waited for so long? Mama Bear—Ursaring's mom—was annoyed I hadn't been sending more details through my aunt. She wanted me to give her more stories so she could brag to all the other Pokémon about her son." Sam laughed.

"Yeah!" Redi said, grinning.

"I don't know why I was so worried. They're my family. They love me. They were just happy that I was okay. But for the sponsorship..." She tilted her head to the side.

"You aren't taking it?"

"The money and items are nice, but I can get more if I wait," Sam said.

"But I need the items he can provide, so I'm probably going to take it," Redi replied, nodding her head.

"But I also talked about it with my parents, and no matter what he sends to us, I won't be signing it as is. It doesn't matter how much money he offers; I'm going to ask for more—negotiation, y'know? With everything I want to do with my team, even a thousand every two weeks won't be enough, especially when you consider the Pokémon I'm going to catch." There was a shine behind her eyes. Redi was already planning ahead, eager for the future.

Sam glanced around the room to make sure no one was listening in before walking with Redi deeper back, just in case.

"Like I said, I don't have that same need, so it doesn't make sense for me to take that offer," Sam said slowly.

"But I talked to my mom about something else—Dragonair. How to tackle getting you Dragonair, I mean." Redi froze.

"And she... and she gave me some advice," he sighed.

"She said we need to talk to Clair. Dragonair is her Pokémon. We can't just steal her away. But Clair is also a Gym Leader, and she has a responsibility to new trainers. My mom made it pretty clear that if we want to get you Dragonair, opening a line of communication is our number one priority." Redi opened her mouth then closed it. She visibly struggled to find her words.

"But... you were the one to talk about how I need to be clever about things," she said.

"I've been trying to work on strategy. Isn't this something we need to be smart about?"

"I... Ugh. Yeah." He rubbed his head.

"I wanted to go around town and eavesdrop on conversations, and I do think we could find something in the library. But, my mom made a good point. Dragonair might like you, but we can't exactly take her from the Dragon Type Gym Leader without talking, first." Redi stared at Sam for several seconds before crossing her arms in a huff.

"My parents said the same thing," she grumbled.

"I wanted to pretend I didn't hear it, but I guess we really have to do this. I just was hoping we wouldn't need to talk to her." Clair and Redi might not have started off on the right foot, but judging Clair on her first impression wasn't the right thing to do. In a way, he'd already made that mistake with how he treated Misdreavus in Ilex forest. Sam never wanted to do the same thing again. He couldn't ignore how Clair approached them to take responsibility for what happened with Dragonite.

And then she had not only been open about the fates of those Dratini—something few others would share so easily—but she had also willingly agreed to that double-battle challenge when she didn't need to. Clair might have been a proud Dragon Type trainer, but she was also a Gym Leader. It was part of her job to search for the best future for her Gym's Pokémon. If Dragonair had formed an emotional bond with Redi, outright denying a hand-over would be genuinely unreasonable for Clair to do.

It was just that talking to her felt so... risky. Indigo's Dragon Types were extremely rare and extremely powerful. The idea that a member of the Blackthorn Clan would willingly hand one over to someone outside the clan didn't sound like something that would ever come true. But both Mom and Redi's family came to the same conclusion. We have to talk to Clair. Dragonair is her Pokémon. Sam and Redi quickly discussed how, exactly, they'd pursue this idea, and they decided to sleep on it through the night.

The next morning, once everyone had eaten and once Haunter finished merrily dissecting an Oran Berry, Redi made it clear she didn't want to wait. They left the Pokémon Center to head to the Gym. It didn't take long to reach the building. Blackthorn's Gym was located just north of the city. A path out of town led to it, with its building being situated at the edge of a large, crater lake. An enormous, rocky bowl had been blasted into the surrounding mountains to create an idyllic valley.

Sam wasn't sure if this place had been created by something like a meteor or an insanely powerful Dragon Type, but it definitely wasn't something naturally formed over time. Mount Silver isn't too far to the northwest. The wild Pokémon there are some of the toughest in the region. The Gym building itself was pretty generic, but it carried many of those same, dragon-inspired carvings that Sam had seen around town. Opening up a carved, wooden door, they entered a rather undecorated lobby.

A single banner hung on the wall that displayed a symbol representing the Dragon Type. A door behind a front counter connected to the building's interior. There were a few foldable chairs set up for people to wait, but there were no other living beings within this small, front room other than Sam, Redi, and all the Ghost Types in Sam's shadow.

"Hello?" Redi yelled. A few seconds passed.

"... Is this place even open?" she mumbled.

"One moment!" a voice soon echoed out from the back. Shortly after, a trainer stepped out of the sole other door here. He didn't exactly fit the image of a Dragon Type tamer, wearing a flannel shirt half-covered by overalls with a thin layer of dust on his head and shoulders.

"Sorry about that. This place is undergoing a few renovations," he said, taking up a spot behind the front counter.

"Here to challenge the Gym?" Redi cleared her throat.

"We're here for Clair."

"We need to talk to her," Sam clarified. The man looked them up and down, mouth twitching into a frown. Keeping his eyes on them, he leaned to the side to open a drawer and pull out a clipboard containing a written schedule. He skimmed through.

"Clair isn't expecting anyone today, but if you want to meet her in battle—""Again, we just want to talk," Sam said.

"Can't you tell her that we're the ones with the double battle? Sam and Redi?" The frown deepened, and the Gym Trainer glanced at the schedule in his hands. He put it back in the drawer before returning to that same door.

"Excuse me for a second," he said. Redi crossed her arms as he left the room.

"Didn't look that dragon-y to me," she sniffed.

"You sure we have the right place?" Sam shrugged. Maybe they put their pride in their Pokémon's strength rather than anything material? They waited in the Gym's lobby, but that Gym Trainer never came back out, not even after a full ten minutes. Sam found his way into one of the seats, but Redi paced, frequently letting out annoyed huffs as if the sound would make a difference. With how long the man's "second" was taking, Sam was thankful Primeape was still in his Pokéball.

Given how long they were being forced to wait, the monkey Pokémon would have lost his mind by now. So ten minutes passed by without interruption. Redi called out to ask for the guy to return, but she received no response. Those ten minutes stretched into fifteen. Redi shouted again to try to get him to come back. And then fifteen turned into twenty. Eventually, Redi's knuckles turned white at her side. Sam could practically see steam coming off her head.

If it wasn't for the melodic cry that suddenly came from outside, Sam was sure she would have burst through the back door into the Gym itself. Instead, she practically raced out the front door to see what made that noise. Sam had to jump out of his seat to keep up, and he stumbled to a stop next to Redi as a blue shadow passed over them in the sky. Before either of them could react, Redi disappeared from Sam's side, yanked away with nothing more than a yelp. Except, she didn't cry out in panic or rage.

Redi started to laugh, instead.

"You didn't think you'd see me so soon, did you?" she said, rubbing the face of the Pokémon pressed into her.

"It's only been a day! But I'm happy to see you too, Dragonair." The blue Dragon Type coiled around her, happily rubbing its face into hers. She hugged it back, smiling, but Sam was unable to pay attention to her for long. As another shadow grew above them, he craned his neck up to take in the second Dragonair that was now floating above their heads. Clair's expression was confused yet imperious; it was an unreadable mix of hope, pride, and utter bewilderment. Her starter Pokémon, however, looked unimpressed.

They both hung in the air as Redi and her Dragonair spent a full minute greeting each other before either realized the Gym Leader was there. Dragonair looked up, blinked, and then pulled away just as fast as it had first slammed into Redi. It hung its head low as it realized its horrible, horrible mistake.

"I see," Clair said. Redi scrambled to her feet. The larger, older Dragonair brought itself close to the ground, giving Clair a safe height to jump off its back and land in front of the both of them. The Gym Leader crossed her arms as she looked them over.

"I suppose you aren't here to challenge me to that double-battle, hm?" Why does she sound so genuinely disappointed? Hurrying, Redi moved over to return to Sam's side, forcing herself to stand up straight and meet Clair's gaze.

"I.. I have a request. A... A demand!" Redi shouted. Clair's eyes flicked her way.

"D-Dragonair!" she continued.

"I'm going to train her!" The Dragonair in the sky sniffed dismissively and tilted its chin up at Redi. Redi seemed to make a point of ignoring that, choosing to deal with Clair and only Clair right now. But that smaller Dragonair on the ground? It snapped its head up to look at Redi in shock, and its downcast expression quickly melted to give way to wide eyes and an open mouth.

"I see," Clair said for the second time. Again, Sam forced himself to not react to the audible sound of disappointment in the Gym Leader's voice.

"If you want to convince a Dragon Type to do something, it's good you understand you need to look them in the eye, and I respect your attempts to show no sign of weakness," Clair said, crossing her arms.

"However, if you plan to deal with a Dragon Type, you need to understand that you must be at least an equal to make a demand." The Gym Leader took a step forward. She towered over Sam and Redi.

"So, I have to ask, are you claiming to be an equal to me?" Redi stiffened, but she refused to flinch. Defiantly, she never once looked away from Clair's gaze, which seemed to award her some sort of approval.

"When Pokémon are rescued, they're rarely given to their rescuers," Clair began to explain after several tense seconds.

"It's an issue of attachment. After being mistreated for so long, it's easy for them to latch onto the kindness of the first trainer they meet regardless of whether they're a good match. It's rare for that kind of partnership to lead to a healthy Pokémon-trainer relationship."

"But Dragonair—""Dragonair was rescued by you," Clair interrupted.

"You were the one to show up before she was released, so of course she'd idolize you. She's thrown herself into training, dedicating herself so that such a thing will never be repeated, but yet..." Clair eyed Redi, bringing up a hand to rest her head on a closed fist.

"But yet you're here for her. And you aren't exactly a trainer to take her trust for granted. Even after all this time, all of her work, she still went out of her way to hunt you down, and then you respond to that by showing up here, responding by claiming her for yourself," Clair said.

"I suppose this explains where she disappeared to yesterday, but what makes you think you're worthy of training my Dragon Type?" And to that, Redi let out an audible snarl." Worthy of training her? Your Dragon Type? Dragonair can do what she wants!" she growled.

"Pokémon are Pokémon. Just because they're one Type or another doesn't mean they're automatically more 'special' than everyone else. No, Dragonair is special because of who she is, not what she is, and she deserves someone who cares about her, not just the rarity of her species. She needs someone that'll train her because they want to, not someone who's training her because of some dumb clan's orders!" Clair frowned.

"You might be the Dragon Type Gym Leader, but as far as I'm concerned, Dragonair is already my friend. I just haven't had the chance to tell her that yet," Redi said. Finally, she turned away from Clair, an act utterly dismissive of the rank of the League official standing before her. She looked Dragonair in the eyes, sending forth an absolute promise. Redi would train Dragonair. Tears welling up. Dragonair looked like she was about to cry.

Her body tensed for a lunge toward Redi, but a flick of the tail from Clair's Dragon Type saw a gale of wind that sent her flopping back.

"I... see," Clair said yet again.

"And you expect me to ignore that insult you've just given me, too." Redi suddenly stiffened. Sam resisted running a hand down his face.

"Yes," Redi said. Sam didn't hold back his smack. After several long, infinitely-stretching seconds, Clair let out a snort and walked toward the Gym's entrance. She said only two words.

"Follow me." Redi blinked.

"Why?" Clair rested her hand on the front door's handle and stopped, staring ahead at the finely carved wood.

"When we first met, you talked about wanting to prove yourselves, but that was just for your Gym Badge. I can respect that level of determination, even if you two don't..." Her hand gripped the handle.

"But," Clair continued, "this isn't the same. You're talking about raising a Dragon Type, and as Blackthorn's chosen Gym Leader, partnering Pokémon with the right trainer is part of my duty. You're right that Dragonair is a Pokémon. She's not inherently special due to her Type. Valuing that and that alone is not how trainers should act." She turned around.

"But Type still informs a trainer how Pokémon behave. Specialists exist for a reason. Learning how to train a specific Type makes it easier to understand the quirks of a species as a whole rather than the traits of a specific individual.

"In the case of Dragonair, she respects you, but only right now. All Dragon Types and Dragon-like species instinctually respect strength. What do you plan to do if you aren't able to keep up with her expectations? What do you do when you fail to meet her goals? Do you really think she'd carry the same respect for you then?"

"That's the thing," Redi replied.

"I'm all about strength. Letting her down isn't possible." Clair made eye contact with Redi, taking in her determined expression before turning back around, hiding whatever look she was making on her face.

"Not every trainer is capable of training such a difficult Pokémon, and not every member of the Blackthorn Clan is suitable no matter how much the Clan tries to push that message," Clair said quietly.

"I can't give you my approval, but I can't outright deny you, either. As the Blackthorn City Gym Leader, instead, I can offer you a chance." Sam and Redi raced after Clair as she stepped inside the Gym, and she rubbed the bands on her wrists to bring out a pair of Pokéballs. Both Dragonair were returned. Clair spoke up as they disappeared.

"The Blackthorn Gym might not operate Gym Trials for challengers, but the Blackthorn Clan itself organizes regular, 'public' Dragon Type Trials set at the Dragon's Den," Clair said.

"If you want Dragonair to join your team, you have only a single way forward. Take part in those trials and prove yourself worthy of adding her to your team. Do you think you can do that?"

"We can," Redi said. Clair nodded once.

"Good." And the door to the Blackthorn Gym closed behind them.