Although Blue adored wild, loud places, he also liked something more low-key every now and then. There was a small diner a few blocks from the Gym called Viridian Place that was the epitome of "small and quaint," with its warm-colored wooden floors and soft-hued green walls. It was his favorite place to unwind after a stressful day at the Gym.

   While Blue and Silver soaked in the calm atmosphere and made idle chit-chat, Bede looked over the menu with a scrutinizing gaze. "This place actually has curry... I didn't expect that," he noted, then scoffed. "I'm sure it's not nearly as good."

   "Then don't order it," Silver said, absentmindedly stirring the coffee he'd ordered with a spoon. Silver was one of those crazy people who could drink straight black coffee while Blue had to have foufou cream and sugar. He couldn't take much bitterness. Unlike Blue and Silver, Bede had gone with hot chocolate. The mug sat beside him, piled high with whipped cream that in some ways resembled his hair.

   After finalizing his order in his head, Blue decided he should start trying to patch things up with Bede. "So where're you from, Bede?" Blue asked.

   Bede's gaze flickered to Blue to a second before returning to the menu. "Galar," he replied.

   Blue rolled his eyes. "Well, yeah, but what city?" Bede was silent, still staring at the menu. Was he ignoring him? "I'm just curious," Blue gently pressed, only to receive more silence. And of course Silver wasn't saying anything; he was preoccupied with something or other on his Pokégear.

   Oh, hell no, Blue thought. He wasn't about to have a repeat of his trip to Alola. Besides commenting about his new love of malasadas and how he couldn't stand the heat, Red had hardly said a word to Blue, like he always did. "What, ya don't know where you're from?" Blue joked.

   Bede finally reacted then. He sighed, lowering the menu. "Circhester," he said. "I lived there until I was twelve, and then I finished off the last year of my Trainer schooling in Hammerlocke."

   Finally, a response! Blue was happy to continue the conversation. "Hammerlocke? That's the city that looks like a giant castle, right? I definitely wanna go there when I eventually go to Galar, but it also seems like everybody would be pretty snobbish there, with the wealth and all. I dunno how Raihan deals with it."

   "Not snobbish, sophisticated," Bede said. "And you know Mr. Raihan?"

   "I always see him whenever the League Board has a Gym Leader conference, so about twice a year, and he always insists on takin' a selfie with me," Blue said. "If I'm in his photos, then I guess that means I know him."

   "He visited my class a couple of times when I was in Hammerlocke's Trainer School," Bede said, sipping his hot chocolate. "He's a bit... loud."

   "You don't need to tell me that," Blue said with a slight snicker. "But he's pretty good for motivation. Who needs a Psych Up when he's around?" So far, so good! "What made ya wanna become a Gym Leader?"

   Again Bede was quiet, though he didn't need any coaxing to get him to talk this time. "I originally didn't want to. I thought Ms. Opal was going to merely train me, but then she dragged me into her world of pink and fairies, so much pink." He took another sip from his mug. "I wanted nothing more than to get away from her at first."

   Blue winced. "Yikes, really? She's not exactly the friendliest person, so I guess that makes sense."

   Bede shrugged, his gaze moving elsewhere. "It's still horrid sometimes, but... I eventually realized it was a good way to forge my own path. If I can't become the Champion, then this is the next best thing." He gave Blue a disinterested look. "Do you want to know anything else, or is that enough?"

  "If you don't wanna say anythin' else, that's fine," Blue said. "Though, it'd be interestin' to hear what it's like being trained by the legendary Opal Poplar. I had to be trained by the League Board itself since the previous Viridian Gym Leader just up and left one day. No reason why he left."

   "He's gone now, so it doesn't matter," Silver said quickly.

   Bede huffed. "'Legendary' certainly is a descriptor for Ms. Opal," he said. "I honestly have no idea how she balances her fame with her Leader obligations, or any Leader for that matter."

   This was the perfect opportunity to try and teach something, even if it was coincidental. "Being a Leader's all about balance. Ya gotta balance your media presence with your work, and as long as you do that well, you'll go decently far. But you need to make that extra push if ya wanna go even further," Blue said.

   "Unless you want to be one of those mysterious types. They're sometimes even more popular than the loud-mouths," Silver added. Blue could imagine him adding "like me" in his head as he was talking.

   "Learning from Ms. Opal is like going to Trainer's School all over again..." Bede muttered under his breath, though Blue could still hear what he was saying.

   "Trainer School, that takes me back. Such a pain," Blue reminisced with little fondness. "Homework, tests..." He feigned a gagging sound. "And even before we became Trainers, Red and I were always competing with each other. Grades, battles, all of it." He knew he didn't need to ask if Bede knew who Red was, he was basically a legend. And meanwhile I'm only known as 'Kanto's eighth Leader,' even if I'd been Champion first...

   "I know all about your rivalry with Red. It's somehow even more well-known than Leon and Raihan's," Bede said. "Was Red beating you, even back then?" A bolt of annoyance shot through Blue as a stifled snort came from Silver. Blue saw him trying to hide his smile behind his cup, and he looked at him.

   "What's with that?" Blue questioned. "Don't act like Gold hasn't beaten you into the ground over a dozen times." That shut Silver up. "Being a rival is both the best and worst thing though."

   "Especially if you're the one who always ends up losing..." Silver sighed.

   Blue nodded. "I think we can all agree with that." He folded his arms behind his head. "Red, Gold, Victor, always one step ahead of us." Always. He couldn't help but frown at that.

   "I defeated Victor once, and then he went on to Bulldoze me every time afterwards, even if most of those victories were flukes," Bede said. It was hard to tell whether the look of disappointment he wore resulted from his words or that he'd already drank all of his hot chocolate. "He seemed to know that, but of course he went with it."

   Bede had taken the words right out of Blue's mouth with that. The first couple of Red's victories had been coincidences. Until they weren't.

    "But you don't seem to be a pushover if you were able to hold your own against Victor. I mean, the former chairman endorsed you," Blue said. "Sounded like a pretty big deal. If they did that over here, I'm sure my gramps would've endorsed me." He then realized all-too-late that he hadn't said the best thing there. The chairman had also disqualified Bede from the Gym Challenge.

   Bede's fingers tightened around the edges of the menu as his brow furrowed. "Yes, it was a significant deal. However, I've since tried to move on from that." He was silent briefly. "Now can I decide what I want without any distractions?" he stated with clipped words.

   Blue frowned. "Alright." He noisily took a drink from his cup, for once basking in the bitterness. So much for that good start.

   Things stayed nice and awkward throughout the rest of the meal with no conversation. Any attempts from Blue to initiate any went ignored from Bede. Blue did feel some genuine guilt for having brought up what was clearly a touchy situation for Bede, though that didn't stop him from being mildly upset with how kid had acted then. Had he intentionally tried to push Blue's buttons?

   You're talkin' to a mirror, he thought, and he was right. He'd jabbed Red to no end when they were younger. Blue aimed a glance at Silver, who looked just as neutral about all this as he did before. At the same time, Silver wasn't on the receiving end of all of Bede's stares, one of which Blue was currently being struck with as Bede indulged in his third cup of hot chocolate.

   Give 'im a chance, Blue's annoying voice of reason told him. He's literally a child. Blue sighed internally. Yeah, he was right. It literally had been less than three hours since Bede showed up. If he couldn't at least bear with him now, there was no way he could spend two more days with him.

   Following some thinking, Blue devised a plan. He'd have Bede watch him battle challengers with some chatter in-between, and in that time he could actually come up with something to teach the kid. After all, he was supposed to learn something, and he wasn't about to let the other Leaders pass him up.

—~*~—

Blue's ideas always sounded better in his head before he executed them. He thought he'd actually be able to battle some challengers, but none of them seemed to make it past Silver. Because of that, Blue and Bede were confined to the bleachers.

   The Leader didn't feel the need to try and educate Bede on what was happening on the field. It didn't seem like Bede would've listened anyways. Besides the dismissive nature he already displayed, he actually seemed invested in watching the battles. He was sitting with his elbows propped on his knees, chin resting in his folded hands. Even from where he was, Blue could see Bede's eyes darting about as he watched the Pokémon. The look on his face was one valued for a Leader: intense, calculating, and unwavering.

   "Ice Fang, and really sink it in!"

   Following Silver's shout, his Feraligatr sank her teeth into the unexpecting Venasaur, coating its skin in ice. Blue winced at that. Silver could be savage with his battling when he wanted to. With a groan, the Grass-type collapsed, fainted.

   "Dammit!" the challenger exclaimed, recalling his Pokémon.

   "Train up a bit more, and then come back for a rematch," Silver said cooly. "And I'll be waiting right here for you again." Obviously that didn't lift the challenger's spirits, and he left the Gym in a huff. Silver left the arena as well, though he went to the Gym's office where the League-issued healing machine was. His Pokémon had still taken a beating.

   "You okay?" Blue asked Bede, who had since snapped out of his focus and straightened up. "Since I haven't been able to get a word to ya, how 'bout you tell me what you've noticed about these battles?"

   "They are surprisingly disorderly," Bede noted.

   How can a battle be disorganized? "Care to explain why?" Blue asked. Bede frowned at him, and Blue raised an eyebrow. "What?"

   Bede shook his head. "It's nothing. I've been used to the other Leaders telling me what to do and expecting me to merely listen."

   "Then that's good, right? A different change of pace."

   "It feels lazy," Bede said. "The battles here have felt chaotic, unlike any other Trainer's I've seen."

   "Silver never had the best relationship with his Pokémon," Blue explained. "They've only come around in the past few years, and they're still working out a good battle style."

   Bede didn't seem happy with that at all. "Then why would you hire him?"

   "Because he's a good Trainer. And as long as he's getting the job done and there's no real harm comin' to the Pokémon besides standard battle wounds, then there's no problem with how he battles." That actually silenced Bede momentarily. "Anythin' else you noticed?" Blue followed up.

   "Yes, the Gym itself. I still can't believe how small the arenas are here," Bede said. "In Galar, we have stadiums large enough to fit three Gigantamaxed Charizard with room to spare."

   "That's because Galar's rich as hell," Blue said. "They have money to burn, battling's so important there. But sometimes simple's the best way to go."

   "And that's because battling has been deeply ingrained in Galar's history," Bede replied. "I might not have the most respect for history, but I can at least acknowledge that."

   "History's important," Blue agreed. "What else?"

  "I'm confused why this Gym doesn't have a Gym Challenge. I thought it was a regulation by the League Board," Bede said.

   Blue nodded. "It is, but it's different now. We used to have a puzzle based around spin tiles," he replied. "You'd have to navigate a maze while getting spun around as you tried to reach the end of the room. We had too many people gettin' disoriented or sick doing the puzzle, so we shut it down."

   Bede scoffed, crossing his arms. "That sounds irresponsible, and using something as archaic as spin tiles. At least in Galar our Gym Challenges are properly tested and adjusted so there's little to no injury on the fault of the staff."

   "That's hilarious considerin' that it's normal in Galar for Pokémon to grow to monstrous sizes and then attack no-holds-barred," Blue said with a chuckle. "Galar's too stiff with their rules, Trainers need to have fun once in a while. Besides, I think it's more fitting to battle a Trainer or two before the Leader, like a test, like a good rival battle." Bede's eyes narrowed after Blue said that, puzzling him. Did he say something wrong? "Raihan does the same thing, I think," he added.

   "So you stole the idea from him," Bede said,

   Blue frowned. "Raihan's Trainers do Double Battles while mine focus on Single Battles. Also, we became Gym Leaders at almost the same time. I was actually the one who got the position before him, so if anythin' he stole the idea from me. "

   "Whatever you say," Bede said with a shrug. "Opal quizzed her challengers long before Blaine did. I suppose I understand since there's seemingly so few ideas for puzzles, but I know I could think of something better."

   That was when Blue felt genuine irritation towards Bede. What was with this kid? Still, he kept a calm exterior. "Oh yeah? And what is it?"

   "Since you're clearly low on funds, have a challenger be faced with a Pokémon that they would have to list information about," Bede said. "What are its strengths, weaknesses, moves, and other traits? And of course you don't have to bring the actual Pokémon in, merely a picture would be enough."

   The irritation was stunted by surprise. That wasn't a bad idea, considering that challengers by this point in their journeys were knowledgeable about Pokémon. The slight give in Blue's hardened expression was enough for Bede, and a grin spread across his face, smugness tugging at its corners. Blue had seen that look dozens of times before in his own reflection, and for once seeing it rubbed him the wrong way.

   "Did I just give you an idea?" Bede said, satisfaction in his voice. "I told you I could think of something better."

   "It's definitely interestin' for sure," Blue said, playing it off. He checked his Pokégear. Four in the afternoon...

   "You two having fun over here?" Silver asked, taking a seat a few rows below Blue and Bede. He held a water bottle, which he took a large swig from.

   Blue plastered a grin on his face. "Oh yeah, so much!" he replied.

   Silver's lips pursed as he didn't seem convinced at all. "I think my team will only be able to take a couple more battles, so we might have to close early or call Jade in." She was another Trainer Blue had hired, matching Silver in skill if not just slightly below. However, she only worked when Silver's Pokémon needed to rest and there were still challengers.

   "Alright. I think we could close early today, so lemme know when your team has hit their limit," Blue said. "I think we could grab dinner and just relax since we all woke up early today. You can come over if you want, Silver."

   "Wait, what do you mean?" Bede questioned. "There isn't a hotel in this city? Where am I staying?"

   "At my place. I can't afford to put you up anywhere for three nights straight, and I have a spare room at my apartment," Blue said. "We won't be doin' anything besides sleeping and maybe having a meal or two, so it's not like we'll be spending that much time there."

   Bede seemed at a loss for words. His mouth twisted into a frown as his brow furrowed. He'd almost look intimidating if it weren't for his soft features. "That's... ridiculous! What kind of Leader doesn't have the funds to pay for a mere hotel room?" It was difficult for Blue to not frown himself. He figured it was a fair trade-off since the League Board funded nearly everything in the Gym system. Bede then exhaled sharply, standing up. "I'll simply go stay at the Pokémon Center," he said.

   Blue held up a finger, wagging it back and forth. "Nope! The other children can run around unsupervised, but you can't. Believe it or not, I'm eight years older than you, which makes me an adult and responsible for you right now. You're welcome, from the League Board."

   Bede's hands clenched into fists before he shoved them in his coat pockets. "If you insist, fine. But I'll be sitting somewhere else for the rest of our time here." He stormed past Blue to the far side of the stands. Blue could hear him muttering as he passed by. "I can't believe... Why did I even choose..."

   Yeah, you're tellin' me, Blue thought. Despite his continued optimism, it started to seem like this was going to be more difficult than he first thought.