The Medal ceremony was originally planned to occur upon Vermilion City's docks.
Then organizers got wind of just how many people were interested and quickly came to understand that it would be a nightmare, even with the use of pokemon to speed run construction. In contrast, others fought back the screams of people demanding that proper OSHA be observed.
The organisers quickly shifted goals, knowing that such wasn't a good idea.
So instead, the medal ceremony was pushed back another day and moved to the stadium upon Goldenrod's pontoon.
While Indigo hadn't sent troops, there was a huge list of volunteers who had gone, and some were said to be staying over there to help with the rebuilding efforts of both physical infrastructure and legislation.
Drake, of Hoenn's Elite Four was supposedly spearheading this.
This of course drew lots of speculation. People weren't sure if this was a ploy on Hoenn's behalf to sink their claws economically into Orre. Others speculated it was a sign of a rift between the new Champion, Wallace, and Drake as a member of the 'old guard'.
I knew it was potentially both, thanks to the Guardian's intel, as did the League, which had prompted them into asking Karen to stay. It wasn't a bad move on the League's behalf. From the snippets of news being shared Karen and her entourage—read Ash, Lucario, and Mewtwo— were a force to be reckoned with. They'd saved refugees, pokemon and even destroyed multiple Dark ball production sites before Fiore got wind of them. They'd even battled an Entei that was thought to be recaptured at one point.
Although that last mission was being kept from the public and I only knew of it thanks to Guardian intel briefings.
In response to the offer to remain in Orre as Indigo's representative, Karen had instantly turned around and told them she'd resign.
They'd retracted the suggestion.
Instead, they'd assigned an entire team to handle Indigo's diplomatic ties with the slowly rebuilding region.
Fiore, having scoured Orre, and being linked with several overly zealous attacks upon civilians, were doing the wisest thing they could and withdrawing their people and pokemon. This was helping ease tensions and allowing others to offer support without problems.
Supposedly, there was going to be a vote on the government, but it would take a while to establish how it would operate and who would get a vote.
It was supposedly something that was causing debates and pokemon battles to break out in many political science and legal studies-focused universities throughout the known world.
The Trinity Alliance was also interested in keeping things 'fair and honest' by offering a neutral observation group to step in, which was just another topic being… passionately discussed within the halls of power and academia.
Still, for the people who had protected towns or civilians, they were no longer required, and these heroes were coming home to a full display of gratitude.
The League made sure to go all out.
There were bands, flying pokemon and their riders in synchronised flight. Day fireworks, psychic displays and of course, huge crowds as the adoring masses piled in to welcome people home.
The vessel that bore the heroes home?
None other than the St Anne II.
Which had both terrified me when I'd heard, as well as raised serious questions. I hadn't heard of the first St Anne sinking. When had that occurred?
That should have been front page news, but then again, with all the incidents in the past year, it might have only been a page three story depending on the timing.
If it had been out and about during the Shamouti incident… well. That was explanation enough.
As a mere Gym Leader, I got a seat upon the raised dais behind the actual stage to welcome our brave heroes home. I wouldn't be taking any part in the actual ceremony.
Merely in the background as a face to add further legitimacy to the presentation.
I was half tempted to wear the helmet that signified me as Crusher Tribe Overlord just to mess with Lance, but I decided against it.
Instead, I went with my tried-and-true Gym Leader outfit.
For once, I was just wall dressing, which was nice. All the other major and minor Gym Leaders of Indigo stood shoulder to shoulder, or in this case, sat together behind the main dais.
The main dais featured Kruger as President, Lance, as Champion, Professor Oak, as… himself, Koga, Bruno, and Lorelei as the Elite Four, as well as a few others of note, such as Queen Ilene of Rota.
Who Lance seemed to keep shooting looks towards while lamenting the seating arrangement that had him next to Kruger. I was positive I saw Lance lean in to ask Kruger if he could swap some things around, only to be shut down instantly.
Queen Yvette looked like she was enjoying herself as she was happily gossiping with Oak and Koga, one of whom seemed highly amused while the other just looked… tense.
Then again, that was Koga's default state.
It did nothing to stop Yvette leaning over and patting him on the hand lightly. Koga stared at the hand then at Yvette. Oak tried to give what looked like it was supposed to be a subtle thumbs up.
It was anything but.
"Is it wrong that I'm glad not to be up there?" I asked Sabrina."Also got any popcorn?"
"No and yes," Sabrina replied without a hint of regret as she handed me a small bag. "I think we did enough for Indigo last week."
"Yup! Now we just need to coast along into the end of the break and the start of the circuit," I announced. Around me, a series of sighs escaped the various Gym Leaders who'd overheard my comment.
"Urgh, I need to restock on Gym Badges," muttered Sophia.
"Won't be able to practise with my pokemon as much," growled Kong.
"Hmmm, I was enjoying my holiday," lamented Manny only to toss a piece of chocolate into his mouth, revealing we weren't the only ones enjoying the show.
Erika stared off into the distance. "I've enjoyed seeing my garden not get trampled… I'm going to miss it with how many trainers try to jump through the hedges to get to me."
"Bahahaha! I've set up traps in my Gym's reception!" declared Visquez. "I'm looking forward to watching the idiots stumble around and ragequit!"
Sabrina tilted her head, and I shot her a look. She knew what her setup with the teleport array would have been in the games, but we'd both agreed that it was impractical.
I shook my head slightly. 'No Sabrina', I thought loudly.
She huffed and levitated a few more pieces of popcorn into her mouth.
Glancing around, I noted that we still didn't have an answer for the missing Cinnabar Gym. "Not sure if this year's going to be easier or harder in some ways," I murmured.
"Easier," chorused the other Gym Leaders of Kanto.
The Gym Leaders of Johto shot our cluster worried looks as we smirked.
"Was it really that bad?" asked Jasmine.
Kong stuck his tongue out. "Haha! Enjoy the brats coming your way for any leftover surge you punks!"
Clair turned in her seat to glower at Kong, but he just grinned, knowing there was nothing she could do right now. She was about to turn around only to catch sight of the bag of popcorn along with the treats Manny was handing out to others.
"Really?"
I tossed another piece back as an answer.
Ignoring the look directed my way I decided to change the topic. "Hey, does anyone want to have a friendly match befor—"
"I'm going to wash my Meowth that day," said Sophia without missing a beat, causing Janine and Visquez to snort.
I blinked at her. "I hadn't even said which day I was thinking though?"
"Yah, well I'm gonna be busy then!" she repeated firmly.
I sighed and looked around only for Kong to lock eyes with me. "You up for a fight Kong? We could do something next Saturday?"
He opened his mouth only to slump. "I… actually do have an engagement I can't escape that day."
"Oh?" I asked, rather surprised that I was being stood up.
Kong shuffled and grumbled something under his breath that I didn't catch, only for Kong to cough. "Got some overdue tax accounts to handle… I might have gotten behind with the surge last year… and then enjoyed my holidays too much."
Our group collectively stared at Kong. "Even after pretty much all of us got audited?" asked Manny. The implied, 'you idiot' rang clearly.
Kong pointedly didn't meet anyone's gaze, and I nodded slowly, suspecting that it must be bad if it accounted for the entirety of his day.
"Well, good luck with that fight, I suppose?" I offered, raising a fist in solidarity for having to deal with the eternal battle against taxes.
"Saturday doesn't work for you as well Brock," Sabrina cut through the small moment of bonding between Kong and I. "That's when you're making up for your skipped session with Salvadore for Fight Knight."
"Oh, right," I replied, realising she was correct.
I pointed at Kong and clicked my fingers at him. "Raincheck?" I suggested, and he nodded. Returning to watching the show being put on before me, I traded some popcorn for Manny's chocolate peanuts.
"Ahem?" growled Clair. "The volunteers are about to walk in! Can we have some decorum?" she demanded.
Visquez opened her mouth to no doubt say something vulgar, only for Janine, Erika, and Sabrina to all muffle her.
Clair eyed the electric specialist and sighed. "Thank you," she said, turning around and facing forward.
The girls took their hands away only to plant them back a moment later when Visquez's lips twitched.
Clair, no doubt sensing something, turned and glowered back at Visquez.
Janine raised a small fist and threatened Visquez with it, causing the larger girl to raise her hands in surrender.
With that comedy routine running its course, I looked elsewhere for my entertainment.
Which wasn't hard, since there was still a lot going on as people were being led into the stadium. They marched in with banners held before them, announcing their organisation.
Construction teams were actually the most represented at the start of the parade, with them holding flags or banners with their emblem proudly. I just knew those companies were going to get a lot of attention soon, thanks to all the free advertising.
Several big name corporate groups had representatives who were crying into phones at not having 'sponsored' more people to help out with the Orre war.
Now it was other groups winning out with the free advertising, which I thought was an interesting touch, up until Silph Co, and Devon Corp got to enter with several trainers that were a touch too… picturesque.
"Those do not look like men and women who just spent a month in a warzone," I muttered to Sabrina.
"Only half of them did," Sabrina psychically, allowing her to evade Clair's furious look that wasn't effective on me at all.
I nodded and replied with my thoughts. "Why are they there then?"
"Those corporations put in a lot of money, equipment, and materials towards Orre's rebuilding," she rubbed her nose as her lips twitched upwards.
"Fun," I stated flatly as other organisations entered to much louder cheers.
The Rangers, of course, had the largest group of people being present while others were also featured in notable numbers, such as the Nurse Joys, Doctors of various major and minor medical practises, Pokemon breeders, and even what appeared to be several meteorologists.
Huh, they looked exhausted. It took me a moment to register why that might have been.
With the level of conflicts occurring, they'd have had to give almost constant updates on various regions of fighting.
Then, as the second last group to enter the stadium, came Knights from Rota and other representatives of the kingdom strode in with Lucario and Mewtwo— still in armour— marched forth, and the crowd roared their approval.
Which left only one more 'group' to present itself.
Karen walked at the head of her group, and behind her, her entourage streamed around her with others who worked for the League following her.
Ash stood in the front row with a wide grin on his face, and he waved his hands back and forth, causing me to exhale in relief.
Huh, looks like he'd made it through Orre's situation with some.
Each group performed a complete circuit of the battlefield, allowing the crowd to get a good look and in more than a few cases, throw flowers, confetti, or even underwear in one instance at the returning heroes.
Each person had an array of seats to keep them off their feet, but I knew that things would see them up and moving soon.
Kruger made a show of applauding before beginning a speech praising everyone on their valour and the goodness of their hearts.
Then he began handing out medals.
It was going to be a long night, but it was also important to honour those who had leapt into Orre to help out.
Names were read off, and Lance and Kruger shook each person's hand before giving them a medal.
In a few cases, Kruger would even highlight reported shows of excellence and announce that the recipient qualified for two medals. One for service, and another for bravery, compassion, or valour.
As we moved further and further back in the list of names, it no longer became just a matter of getting one or two, but four or five.
"Sir Lucario of Rota!" intoned Kruger only to step back as Queen Ilene rose from her seat.
Then, in a fluid, practised motion, she drew a sword and raised it in a perfect salute to the approaching pokemon, causing everyone to fall silent.
Alright, that was kind of awesome.
Kruger twitched as his eyes bulged, revealing that he hadn't known Queen Ilene was wielding a sword underneath her dress.
I felt my respect shoot upwards for the woman as she swept her blade down to stab it into the floor while resting her hands upon the pommel.
"Sir Lucario! You were charged to grant compassion, grace, and safety to the people of Orre! I have heard only tales of goodness and greatness where you were one of the first to show kindness! The first to throw yourself into the fray, assisting those who were overwhelmed and to encompass all that a Knight must! While you have already been knighted in the past, on this day, I wish to confer to you the noble title of Sir Lucario! Baron of Rota!" she declared.
Rather than give him a few medals, he got a full sash in red and gold.
He then knelt, and she touched the blade to his shoulders and head.
"Rise! A Noble of Rota!" she proclaimed.
The stadium erupted at the show.
Other Rota trainers presented themselves for minor medals and knightings for their efforts in Orre, which was very cool.
Suddenly, Kruger and Lance's medals didn't seem as impressive after Ilene was done praising her citizens.
Ilene didn't even bat an eye as she summoned up Mewtwo for her final acknowledgement.
"Sir Twain," she greeted formally. "You came to Rota only a few months ago, but you embody many of the ideals that we seek to cultivate, both as a people and a nation!"
I held back a whistle. She was really going all out to lay it on thick for Mewtwo.
"A ruler cannot be crass, nor can we be impolite. When we offered the rank of nobility to you, you were firm in your rejections. Rather than refute your denial, we will concede your request—" her lips twitched upwards, "—this time," she joked.
A few people tittered at the joke, but Ilene drew herself up.
"While you have asked for secrecy on the tasks you performed, we would still acknowledge your efforts for what you did publicly!"
That got a reaction, as there had been a good deal of information filtering around listing off the various accolades and accomplishments. Mewtwo's position as the last Rota representative spoke volumes, alone indicating that he'd contributed in huge ways.
Karen had some idea of how many incidents he was involved in, but there were several 'storms' and earthquakes that suddenly cut out after he went missing that she attributed to him.
In one report, she listed off her suspicions that Mewtwo outright battled a rampaging Zapdos to a standstill, as when he reappeared, he did so with his armor singed and sparking but refused to speak of the incident.
I blinked, realising that I'd missed everything else that Queen Ilene had said. "—but know that you will forever have a space within our nobility should you desire it!"
Mewtwo inclined his helmeted head, and I heard the crowd murmuring with interest.
Ilene ignored them. "So, we dub thee a Free Knight. Though you may not claim the rank of nobility, it is not through lack of anything but sheer humbleness. You stand a testament to all that is good!" she said as she bowed her head to him.
This caused the other officials to stiffen in surprise. Her mother, Queen Yvete made a show of standing and bowing slightly lower while shooting other officials dark looks.
Lance coughed pointedly as he swept his cape around and bowed to Mewtwo as well.
Following this example, I rose with the other Gym Leaders to bow at the waist.
Afterall, when a queen bows, it is a sign that all should follow her example.
Another silence swept the stadium, and this time it was not replaced by cheers, but instead a profound stillness as people came to grips with what they had just witnessed.
Queen Ilene rose and nodded once to Mewtwo in respect, and he moved on.
I had to give him points for coolness. That was a hell of a boss way to do things. Now, everyone would respect the mysterious knight of Rota all the more.
Then again, with how he was, chances were he had no idea what he'd just done and had just wanted the 'spectacle' over with.
If he wasn't capable of Teleporting away, I suspect he'd be swarmed once this was all over with how much attention there was on him, but… yeah, good luck nailing him down.
With Rota getting their moment, Lance took to the stage and smiled down towards the final five people waiting.
"The final five recipients of medals… have gone so far above and beyond in ways that I can't even begin to believe. I want all to know that while I cannot knight or ennoble you, you five have my undying respect."
Of the five trainers, four of them straightened their spines and raised their chins. One simply held their smirk while sunglasses held firm on her nose. I suspected it was more to hide the bags under her eyes than anything else.
"The public reports of you five… lets me know that heroes still walk among us. So from the bottom of my heart, please accept these medals for bravery, compassion, heroism, honour, and charity. Each of you will be pleasantly surprised to know that you will be the central artwork that is being commissioned, leading into League Headquarters and have a permanent fixture for the Hall of Fame!"
That got a gasp of surprise from the crowd. Previously, only heroes like the firefighters, nurses and doctors who worked tirelessly through the wars were granted special positions alongside the Champions.
For these five to have a statue and permanency in history was quite a big deal.
"First of the five! And the youngest to date! Ash Ketchum!" Lance called, and the stadium erupted in cheers.
Despite this, one voice screamed louder than everyone to be heard.
"THAT'S MY BABY! ASH! I LOVE YOU! THANK YOU FOR COMING HOME!" shouted Delilah.
Ash paused on the stairs to pinpoint where his mother was, and he waved only to blink in shock to find Forrest, Misty, Ritchie, and other friends he'd made waving banners and cheering for him.
Even Gary was there.
He was playing it cool however, with how he clapped with a slow, dignified pace.
Ash turned back with tears gleaming in his eyes even as Pikachu darted from shoulder to shoulder to wave at various sides of the crowd.
Lance pinned the medals himself on Ash's chest.
"You're an amazing young man, and I'm glad you're safe. I eagerly look forward to seeing how you progress as a person and a trainer," he announced.
"Heh! I'll be coming for your position one day!" Ash declared grandly, and rather than be worried Lance beamed at the young boy.
"I look forward to your challenge!" he declared.
The rest of Tiffany's companions earned their own applause, but nothing as grand as Ash's had.
Then it was just Karen.
Who still looked like she just wanted this over and done with.
When the cameras turned solely on her, however, she swept forward with a smirk on her face and a tilt of her head that should have been aggravating.
Instead, I heard people murmuring about how good it made her look.
"Fuck yeah! The baddest bitch!" Visquez cheered.
Sabrina and I shared a look, only to roll our eyes. The glamour would wear off soon enough once Visquez actually got to interact with Karen.
Lance swept his hand out dramatically.
Bravery, compassion, heroism, honour, and charity! These were traits her companions all showed but none of them on the scale of Karen! As one of the Elite Four, she is a pillar of our society and in Orre she demonstrated that fact a hundredfold!"
Lance beamed at Karen, who held her smirk.
"If it were not for tradition and rules stating that I couldn't, I would have you as the First among the Elite and the final challenge that people would face before fighting me!"
He adopted a sad look as he shook his head. "Sadly, that is not to be. Bruno for one, would have none of it!" That drew a small round of laughter from the crowd and a snort from Karen.
"That being said, your role has raised your star higher than anyone expected and today I acknowledge you with the Star of Indigo! A prestigious medal awarded only twice before! This is for leaders who inspire greatness as well as goodness within their men! And you did that Karen! I know that with you as one of my Elite Four the future of Indigo looks bright! I will look forward to working with you…" He chuckled. "After giving you time for a well-earned break!"
Perhaps it was because he hadn't had a chance to talk in the last few minutes.
Or perhaps the ceremony was getting to him.
Over, maybe he'd just been standing there under the bright lights for too long without taking a drink and was delirious.
Regardless, Kruger then made the fatal mistake of speaking up.
"How about some words from our Heroine of the year! Karen? Any words you have for us?"
Karen twitched in surprise, then her smirk grew. She stepped forward, causing Lance to back up quickly. He shot Kruger a small frown that let me know this wasn't going to script.
I felt my lips twitch upwards, knowing that Karen was about to cause an incident.
"I think it's criminal that I can go fight in a warzone but can't drink. How about we lower the drinking age?" she announced.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
There was a stunned silence.
Then Visquez shouted her approval. "Fuck yeah! Lower it to sixteen! Let's party!!!" she roared!
Then Lance stepped forward and tried to nudge her away from the microphone only for her to plant her feet and grip tight to the dais.
Kruger started making slashing motions to a nearby technician.
"Hahahaha! That's a good one Karen! We'll come up with something for you! Maybe a holid—"
The feed to the microphone cut off at that moment, and a piano song began to play along with an image of Samurai Furret dancing with a small straw hat. "That's all, folks!" read the screen.
Kaede snorted from next to Sophia, and Furret copied the dance on the screen perfectly.
People began to howl with laughter, and Lance gave Kruger a look that spoke volumes about how unimpressed he was with this 'solution'.
Kruger for his part, glared at the technician who was slapping at dials and buttons while turning red, knowing that they'd messed up.
Visquez rolled her eyes and nudged Janine. "Hack the system for me girl!"
Janine shot her a look and turned to Sabrina, only to find her leaning against me and trembling as she held in her laughter. "Oh… I thought this was you," she said as she turned away.
I shook my head. "Nope, sometimes it's just things cascading," I replied.
Queen Ilene, with her shoulders shaking in mirth, stepped forward and tapped Lance on the shoulder. He glanced at her as she whispered something to him.
He sighed and turned back only to breathe in.
I felt his energies stir as a moment later, his voice boomed over the field. "Let us celebrate the return of our loved ones and their accomplishments!" he announced, causing everyone to applaud and begin standing.
Some moved to walk onto the field while others who'd just come for the show departed.
Sabrina and I made our way through the various familiar faces, but two held special importance to us.
Ash, when we reached him, was already being smothered by his mother. Which was impressive as we'd come straight to him and she had a much greater distance to cover.
Had she jumped the… no, of course she had.
The rest of Ash's friends trickled in quickly after that to give Ash their congratulations.
When Ash caught sight of Gary, he smirked only to open and then shut his mouth as he seemed to think better of what he had to say.
He offered Gary a nod. "How's the Battle Frontier been?" he asked instead.
Gary hummed. "Intense. The Frontier bosses don't pull their punches, and they've all been trainers for years. One of the women felt like I was facing Sabrina all over again!" he shook his head, only to smirk as he opened his jacket and pulled out a display case that featured no less than six Frontier Symbols.
Gary rubbed his nose. "Still gotta beat Brandon, but I saved him for last. I want to face the best he has!"
Ash gained a glint of fire in his eyes. "Well, if you got those then I should be able to get them in the weeks left before the circui—"
"Oh no, you don't mister! You're staying at home for the rest of the break! No more running off! You're relaxing and spending time with me and your pokemon!" Delilah declared next to her a Mr Mime nodded seriously.
"But Muuuuuum!" whined Ash as everyone else chuckled at his misfortune. Despite it, Ash still smiled and bowed his head to her request without any more protest.
With Ash checked in on, I decided to tug Sabrina to our other target.
Karen, as expected, received a lot of attention, with people fawning over her and asking for interviews, sponsorship deals, and more.
Karen just smirked and referred them to her Public relations manager, who himself was having to deal with a degree of fame from the five medals glinting on his chest.
"So, lowering the drinking age, eh?" I said as a way of greeting.
Karen shot me a smirk in reply. "What? It'd be popular! Maybe I should make that my platform for a proper challenge against Lance hmm?" she joked, only for people to gasp and begin clamouring about it.
I shook my head. "Yeeeeah, you joke, but that's going to cause you some problems Karen," I suggested.
Karen just scoffed. "Eh, I'm not worried about it," she winked and puffed her chest to display the five medals along with the Star of Indigo that rested above the others. "This is my moment, and I'm going to enjoy it. And you can be damned sure I'm finding myself a beer after what I've been through!"
With a shake of my head, I congratulated her once more before stepping back and letting her bask in the moment.
It would be interesting to see how she reacted to the increased attention and expectation that was placed on her, but I suspected it would be like water off a Peliper's back.
Sabrina tugged me over to where Lucario stood behind Queen Ilene, who had gathered a group of admirers herself. More than a few journalists seemed to be asking about how to move to Rota and become its citizen.
I wasn't sure how in jest that request was. I suspected that a good number of people would be curious about the smaller nation after the Queen's demonstration of how she rewarded loyalty.
A glance around showed that I'd been right that Mewtwo wasn't going to stick around.
"Ah Gym Leader Brock! We have been told that you will be taking part in an upcoming battle of knights?" Queen Ilene declared to all and sundry.
Instantly, cameras pivoted like machine guns, and I suddenly found myself in the firing line.
"Ah… yes, after the articles you gifted me on my visit to Rota I was convinced to take part in a rather small event. Nothing too serious, I assure you, your Highness," I replied.
Queen Ilene hummed. "A matter involving knights is never not serious. It is a matter of passion and conviction, we assure you. We think we will stick around to watch," she stated.
"Oh… thank you," I replied.
With a few words, my schedule for the week suddenly went up in smoke.
There was no way I was just going to 'rock up' and wing it with there being so much interest in the event that had meant to be a bit of a laugh.
Shit. I was going to have to actually train for this.
Suddenly riding a Rhyhorn that on average weighed a hundred and ten kilograms compared to a Rapidash that weighed ninety-something kilos sounded like a good advantage to have.
Queen Ilene nodded even as she produced a fan to hide her expression. "Hmmm, we shall have to thank Sir Twain for mentioning this to us."
My smile twitched into a grimace.
"Oh… how kind of him," I said.
Fucking Mewtwo, I thought to myself.
This… this… I had no doubt he knew precisely what he was doing.
I wasn't sure how, or when, but somehow, I was going to find a way to get back at Mewtwo for this.
______________
A.N. Thanks go to my Patreons for your continued support!
It also goes to Twmmy for proofreading this chapter!