South of the border, over calm azure water, Salamence spread its blood-red wings and carried the two of them slowly across the sea.
"Where exactly are your hands," Clair asked, blushing.
"Making sure you don't fall," Lance said, entirely serious. "I am the Dragon-type Gym Leader after all."
The red-haired man in the cloak let out an "oh," released his grip from her waist, and drifted into thought. "You were six the first time you rode a Salamence. You clung to me the whole flight and cried the entire way."
"Enough." Clair flushed, gritting her teeth. "That was childhood embarrassment. Drop it."
Lance fell quiet for a moment, watching a Tentacool surface and vanish beneath the waves, lost in thought.
Clair hesitated, then asked, "What did you make of today's match?"
Lance sighed. "Fell just short. Cynthia's Garchomp lived up to every bit of its reputation."
"And the other match?"
Renting a Dragon-type and still walking away with only a draw stung nearly as much as an outright loss for someone with Lance's pride. Two losses in a single day explained his mood well enough.
"Luke... is he around Red's age?" Lance murmured. "His commanding was genuinely superb. Almost—"
"Dirty?" Clair offered.
"No. That's just skilled tactics."
Lance shook his head, thinking back to the emotional read he'd picked up through Viridian Power, a smile forming despite himself. "And you can tell from his Pokémon alone that he's a Trainer worth trusting. Not every Pokémon carries that kind of emotional depth. Some Gym Leaders' own Pokémon don't come close to what Haunter and Eevee showed. That drive to keep getting stronger, no matter what."
Lance scratched at his hair and sighed. "Honestly no idea how he trained them. No wonder Red speaks so highly of him."
"Then why," Clair asked, "hasn't Luke competed in the Eastern League conference yet?"
"Probably because the Orient region wasn't his first stop." Lance shrugged. "His Pokémon are freshly caught too. He's clearly still early into whatever journey brought him here."
Clair nodded, murmuring to herself. "I hope I get a shot at him if he ever comes through Johto."
Buzz—
Lance lifted his cloak, pulled out his phone, and answered. "This is Lance."
Out on Mt. Silver, mid-training, Red wiped sweat from his brow and settled back against Venusaur, laughing. "Mr. Lance, how'd the match go?"
"We lost," Lance sighed. "Twice, actually."
Technically the first match had ended in a draw, but as the League's current runner-up a draw functioned close enough to a loss in Lance's own accounting.
Red blinked, then caught on fast. "Wait — you ran into Teacher Luke?"
"I did," Lance said, voice even. "A genuinely exceptional Trainer. Real combat sense, real tactical depth."
"Just as I expected," Red said, smiling, pulling his hat brim down as fresh competitive fire lit up behind his eyes.
Somewhat unexpected, sure, but reasonable enough given how easily people underestimated Teacher Luke going in.
"Appreciate the hard work today, Mr. Lance."
"It was nothing." Lance paused. "Do you have his contact info, by chance? I'm genuinely interested in him. Maybe down the line we could have a proper full battle."
Red laughed. "Sure thing. I'll add you to the group."
"What group?" Lance asked, caught off guard.
"Teacher Luke's fan chat."
______________________________
The Master League group chat was buzzing with commentary on the morning's matches.
Gardenia: Ahh, Miss Cynthia won!!
Gold: That Garchomp is unbelievably cool
Brock: Judging by their overall condition today Cynthia clearly had the edge. That Pokéblock quality was next level.
Green:(covering mouth, laughing) Oh no, Blue lost the bet! Pay up!
Blue: ...I never placed a bet.
Green: Doesn't matter, I already opened one on your behalf. Deal with it.
Blue rubbed his temples. Even he'd been genuinely surprised by the outcome. His own training regimen ran precise to the second, but on emotional read alone he'd never matched Red's instincts. Especially in critical moments, the bonds built through everyday routine ended up mattering more than raw preparation. That likely explained exactly why Garchomp's final strike had landed when it mattered most.
Gold, gossip instincts fully activated, cut in. "Wait, what about the other match? Did Lance actually beat Teacher Luke?"
Red: Unfortunately Teacher Luke came out ahead, from what I heard.
"WHAT?!" Gold's eyes went wide. "If I ever beat Teacher Luke, does that basically mean I beat Lance too?!"
[Member "Lance" has joined the chat]
The moment Lance loaded in, Gold's post was the first thing he saw. He stared at it, genuinely stunned.
"This kid—" Lance scratched his red hair, gritting his teeth. "Silver really needs to have a word with him."
Clair joined the chat too, laughing. "To be fair, Gold's actual skill level isn't bad."
Lance scoffed. "Skill or not, that unorthodox style falls apart against a proper, disciplined fight."
Yellow chimed in, delighted. "Mr. Lance!!"
"Yellow, it's been a while," Lance said, smiling. "Still living with Red these days?"
"Ah — no! No, that's not — no!"
Lorelei cut in with cold amusement. "A man your age still hanging around chat groups like this. Cute."
Lance raised an eyebrow. "Still around too, old woman?"
"Who are you calling old? Come say that in person at the Seven Islands if you've got the nerve."
"...Huh? Sorry, phone's dying. Talk later!"
Red, exhausted, muted both Elites for five minutes each and let out a long sigh. Mr. Lance really turns into a different person online. All that rebellious teenage energy just comes right back out.
Being an admin in this chat is genuinely a full-time job.
"I really want to retire from this," Red muttered to the ceiling.
______________________________
[Members "Lance" and "Dragon Tamer of Smoke and Ink" have joined the chat]
Luke looked up at the ceiling. Great. Another character unlocked.Normal people catch Pokémon to fill out a Pokédex. For me it's apparently turning into collecting people instead.
He rubbed his temples. "We're not seriously going to end up adding Giovanni to this chat eventually, are we?"
"No — absolutely not. That's a liability nobody needs."
Even amid the chaos Gold's earlier comment still pulled a cold smile out of Teacher Luke. If I can go toe-to-toe with Lance myself, that puts my actual combat level at what, five times Gold's?
Worst case I can always just borrow from Cynthia's roster again.
Luke shook the thought off and turned to Cynthia, who'd followed him back to the apartment, genuinely surprised. "You're still not heading out?"
Cynthia held up a finger, entirely serious. "I've decided to stay another night."
"...What?!"
"It's a rare break. Heading back too early would be a waste."
Cynthia scratched at her hair, eyes wide, looking directly at Luke. "You're not going to kick me out, are you?"
"No," Luke said, expression strained. "Just settle the room rate."
"No problem." Cynthia nodded, cheerful.
A flash of red light lit up the living room. Garchomp materialized, expression twisted with pure hostility, glaring straight at Luke.
What are you looking at. I could cut you clean in half. Try me.
Cynthia patted its back and held out the beautifully patterned Dragon Scale. "Here."
Garchomp's eyes widened. Dragon Scales carried dense Dragon-type energy, better consumed directly than carried around as an accessory. Its jaws opened eagerly, already drooling — then froze mid-motion.
"This one's from Teacher Luke," Cynthia added.
Garchomp paused, mouth still open, and glanced sideways at Luke.
Luke immediately straightened up, adopting his most solemn expression, and nodded firmly. "That's right. A personal gift, from me to you."
Teacher Luke, you absolute opportunist, taking credit for someone else's present.
Cynthia just smiled faintly and said nothing.
Garchomp held the pause a moment longer, then silently accepted the scale and started crunching through it. Its red eyes gradually softened, the hostility fading. It gave Luke a single, rare nod.
Not bad, kid. You might actually be alright.
The Red in this chat, worth noting, wasn't some silent legendary warrior. This was Red from Pokémon Adventures — plenty of genuine passion underneath the composed exterior.