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Laurel takes a deep breath, steadying herself. She knows she’s going to need all of the poise and elegance she can muster today - because today is the day that her husband is returning to a modified role within the Pokemon League.
He won’t be Chairman again, and he certainly won’t have access to nearly unfettered power the way he did before, Laurel reminds herself. And above all else, he won’t have access to that monster, that poison in his mind - Eternatus.
No, Rose has worked hard over the past couple years to prove himself and pay back whatever he can of his debt to society. In all honesty, he’s done a rather good job of it, too. Leon is flourishing in his new role as League Chairman, and the Battle Tower is a phenomenal hit - and that, she knows, is due in no small part to her husband’s gentle guidance of the young man.
In fact, it’s this gentle guidance that Leon has asked for, but this time on behalf of the Region. Rose had always been exceptionally talented at recognizing - and developing - new Trainers, and Leon had felt that he’d earned the right to put those talents, at least, to use once more.
“Have you eaten anything yet, love?” Rose hums, sliding up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. Laurel sighs, melting against his body. He’s soft in all the right ways, yet just strong enough - and his familiar, pleasant musk is exceptionally soothing to her in this moment.
“No,” she admits. Across the room, Bart, her shiny Eevee, perks up his head, his eyes affixing her with a concerned glance. She’s certain that a similar expression is mirrored on Rose’s green eyes behind her.
“A little something might be a good idea,” Rose murmurs, his big hands finding their way to her hips. Very gently, her turns her around in his arms, so that she’s no longer staring out the window somewhat aimlessly, facing him instead.
“I - yes, I suppose you’re right,” Laurel admits, taking another deep - admittedly shaky - breath.
Rose is silent for a long moment, his eyes searching her face. Laurel, for her part, can stand his scrutiny only a moment before she glances away.
“Laurel leaf,” he murmurs, his voice low and quiet. “If you don’t trust me, I -”
“No,” Laurel says immediately, her eyes snapping back to his. “No, it’s not that, Rose petal. I trust you. We’ve worked hard to make that trust come back, but…” she reaches up, stroking his cheek gently. “It’s there, strong as ever.”
“Then are you just nervous about the public?” Rose asks, perceptive as always, his eyes keen even as he leans into her touch.
Laurel swallows hard, trying her best not to imagine the headlines, the TV talk show chatter, the reporters likely to soon be hounding her for an interview….
Or, for that matter, her parents, calling her from Hoenn with barbed statements about what they thought regarding the whole affair.
“Very,” Laurel admits.
“Well,” Rose murmurs, pulling her close and tucking her beneath his chin. Laurel holds to his shoulders, nestling into his chest and breathing in his familiar scent. “The most appropriate thing to do, in this case, is really to make sure that everything goes off flawlessly - today, tomorrow, for the entire year, really. We need to do an immaculate job nurturing these young Trainers and making sure they get the best opportunity they can possibly have to succeed in the Gym Challenge.”
Laurel considers his words, turning them around in her head. In a sense, he’s right. Neither of them will be able to control the public’s initial reaction to his return to League involvement; all they can do now is to rely on the work they’ve done over the past couple years to help provide them enough benefit of the doubt.
What they do have power over, though, is how everything works out going forward.
“You’re right,” Laurel realizes, pulling away from Rose and squaring her shoulders and chin. “That is the best thing to do. What can I do to help, my Rose petal?”
Rose chuckles, smoothing down her hair affectionately.
“Well,” he says. “You could eat a little something, for starts. We’re going to be making appearances probably until the mid-afternoon.”
“Fair enough,” Laurel laughs. “Food it is for me. Anything else?”
“Actually,” Rose considers, tapping one finger to his lips in that way of his. “I do have one particularly talented young Trainer who has an affinity for Electric types. The thing is, all of the Electric types they’ve used have been rentals.”
“And you’d like to give them their own?” Laurel says, quirking an eyebrow and smiling knowingly.
“I would,” Rose admits. “But - I’ll admit - my contact for reliable Electric-types for young Trainers is no longer in the breeding business. If you know anyone…”
Laurel racks her mind, thinking hard. She goes through her immediate circle of friends mentally, then extends that to anyone who her friends might know.
“Actually,” she realizes, “I think I know someone who knows someone. If I can get in touch with my friend, they might be able to put me in touch with Kana.”
Rose cocks his head, trying to place the name.
“The new Electric Gym Leader? In the Minor Leagues?”
“She’s been at it a little while, by now,” Laurel laughs. “But new-ish, I guess.”
“Well,” Rose beams. “If these were the old days, I’d just pull the League Chairman card and call her in. But I suppose having lost that connection, I should be extremely grateful that you have yours.”
“I’m just glad to be able to help,” Laurel chuckles, though she can barely finish her sentence before Rose is sweeping her up into a passionate kiss.
“What would I do without you, Laurel?” He mumbles against her lips, then continues to kiss her for everything he’s worth.
Within a few hours, Laurel feels exhausted on her feet. She hadn’t realized it, but she’s apparently grown accustomed to not having to spend hours with her toes jamming into the fronts of her high-heeled shoes while she smiles and greets every person conceivably connected to the League by name. The time that she and Rose have spent away from the League has been stressful in some ways - especially in terms of their relationship - but it’s been extremely restful in others.
Still, Laurel is a Mossdeep, and as such, she’s essentially been bred and raised to handle public appearances elegantly. As a result, she suffers through appearance after appearance - and greeting after greeting - without complaint, keeping her head held high and her brilliant smile on her face.
Whenever she gets a spare moment, though, she sneaks away to send out quick texts - first to her old friend, Casssandra, a red-headed young woman with spunk and spirit who is a multi-Regional Champion in her own right. Unfortunately, Cassandra (Cas, Laurel’s fairly sure she prefers to be called) has been spending a bit of time on her ranch in Johto by her own hometown. If she were in Galar, she might be able to rely on her for a connection to reliable Electric-type Pokemon herself. As it is, though, Laurel knows that the fastest way will be to ask for Cas to put her in touch with Kana, who Cas has mentioned knowing since their shared childhood in Johto.
So when Laurel gets a text back, she finds a moment to sneak off again - in the back of her mind, she can hear her mother chastising her for being rude to her company - and read the message. It’s from Cas, as expected, and her heart flutters as she opens it.
Hey, Laurel, it’s good to hear from you! It’s been some years since we were both in Hoenn, hasn’t it? I hear May and Brendan are still doing very well over there, and I hope you’re doing all right in Galar, too, given everything that’s going on. Anyway - yeah, I can put you in touch with Kana, and I’m sure she’d be eager to help you out. Let me get a group text going between the three of us.
Laurel doesn’t even have to wait for the group chat to start; a message from Cas comes in moments after, explaining the situation to Kana and turning things over to Laurel from here.
Laurel lets out a breath she hadn’t been aware she’d been holding; she can’t help but be relieved by how quickly things are moving right now. With the Gym Challenge opening ceremony looming on the horizon - only a couple weeks away - she needs to get this young protege of Rose’s a reliable Pokemon with excellent potential, fast. In fact, she can’t help but hope that she can arrange things with Kana as soon as tomorrow; Rose’s Trainer will need as much time to bond and battle with their new partner as possible, after all.
Hopefully, Kana will make sure things move along quickly.
Within moments, in fact, the notification appears that indicates that the Gym Leader is writing back. Laurel waits with bated breath, aware that she really should get back to her Rose petal - but surely, just a moment won’t hurt? It’s for the greater good in the long run, after all.
Finally, Kana’s reply message comes in.
It’s a pleasure to meet you, Laurel! Cas, thank you for introducing us and helping out with this situation. Laurel - I think I can help this Trainer out. Would you be free to meet at the Bridge Field Daycare in the Wild Area sometime soon? A few of our Gym Trainers - plus our last Gym Leader - are breeding a few of their best Pokemon there and have some eggs ready to hatch.
Laurel’s heart soars as she begins to text back, asking how soon Kana can meet her.
The next day, Laurel’s feet ache terribly even in her comfy walking boots. She frowns as she realizes just how unaccustomed to standing in high heels she’s become. As always, though, she isn’t one to complain as she trudges across the Wild Area, out to the Bridge Field Nursery. Rose had been rather worried about her going alone and had offered to join her, but she’d insisted she could handle it alone - and that it’d be good for him to keep up with his steadily increasing workload, especially now that he’s back in the League.
She’d rather be able to enjoy one on one time with him tonight than have to watch him stay up late, trying to get paperwork done.
Laurel keeps a hand on her Pokeballs as she walks just in case - but, as if sensing the confidence she carries in herself, most Pokemon keep away from her, with the exception of a couple baby Pokemon who approach her, sniffing curiously. Those, she smiles at, but knows better than to pet - their mothers could be nearby, after all.
As she approaches the Bridge Field Daycare, she can make out two blond-haired women - one with shorter hair grazing her shoulders, another with her hair tied back in a ponytail. Both are chatting happily with a woman in the Daycare uniform sporting dark hair which lightens to a soft brown ombre towards the tips.
“Mari’s got a point, though,” the woman with the blond ponytail - Laurel recognizes her as Kana - is saying. “Yampers are loyal and easy to train, if a bit…exciteable, at times.”
“That’s a good point. And with only a couple weeks to go until the Gym Challenge opens, the odds are good that a Toxel won’t be able to get strong enough for battle by then,” the woman in the Daycare outfit says. Then, catching sight of Laurel approaching, she turns her focus to her and waves. “Hello, there, Ms. Mossdeep!”
“Just Laurel will do fine, thank you,” Laurel laughs, brushing her hair out of her face and smiling at the group of younger - yet talented - women before her. Up close, she realizes that the woman in the Daycare uniform is actually Taylor Langdon, another multi-Regional champ - admittedly, one who’d been embroiled in a bit of controversy, owing to her short stint as a Team Plasma member. The thought admittedly makes Laurel’s chest clench in anxiety a moment, but then she reminds herself what Taylor and Leon had done for Hoenn recently - for her very own home region.
Surely, she should be thanking her for her actions, not feeling apprehensive of her.
“Laurel it is, then,” Taylor smiles, although there’s a certain intensity in her eyes that never quite disappears even as her expression softens. “My name’s -”
“Taylor. Taylor Langdon,” Laurel says, extending her hand graciously. Taylor takes it, a cautious light in her eyes. “I know you - you saved my home region, recently.” She makes sure to mention only this; she doesn’t want Taylor to feel ill at ease with her, after all, and the whole Team Plasma thing will not engender comfort between them. Then, letting go of Taylor’s hand, she turns to the two blond women. “I know all of you, in fact,” Laurel laughs. “Kana - it’s a pleasure to finally meet you after our correspondences by text.” She extends her hand to the woman with the ponytail next.
“The pleasure is all mine,” Kana replies evenly, taking her hand in return and smiling politely.
“And, of course,” Laurel smiles, affixing her gaze on the woman with the shorter blond hair and extending her hand once again. “I think everyone in Galar knows our previous Electric-type Gym Leader, Mari. I only regret that I wasn’t able to meet you before this.”
“I’m glad we’re meeting now, at least,” Mari smiles, taking her hand. Laurel is grateful for the fact that she is gracious enough to avoid bringing up the Darkest Day; the disaster Rose had caused - and the long clean-up after - is, after all, most likely the reason they hadn’t been able to connect before this.
But talking about it isn’t as easy for Laurel as she’d like everyone to believe it is.
“Me, too,” Laurel smiles, releasing Mari’s hand.. “Now - I heard you all talking about a Yamper and the Gym Challenge Opening Ceremony, so I’m assuming you’re all up-to-date on the situation at hand.”
“We are,” Mari nods.
“We’ve got a few options for you to consider, if you’d like to step inside and see for yourself?” Taylor offers.
“That would be excellent - but before we do, I’d like to say quickly that I understand that most of the Eggs and baby Pokemon inside come from your Pokemon or your Gym Trainers’ Pokemon?” Laurel addresses Kana.
“That’s right - we’ve got a couple Electrike from a breeder who’s loaning them to us, but otherwise, they’re all our own Pokemon,” Kana agrees.
“Then I’d just like it to be clear that I only want to take an Egg - or a Baby Pokemon - from you if it’s clear that you or your Gym Trainers are really all right with it. I know that having the offspring of your own Pokemon can be emotional, and I would never want it to seem as if I’m using whatever power or influence I have to cheat others out of something that matters dearly to them,” Laurel explains.
“Don’t worry about it,” Kana smiles, waving one hand. “All of my Gym Trainers are in the loop about what’s happening - and everyone’s Pokemon have been…very productive this breeding season. Realistically, we have more Pokemon than we can raise easily, which is what we were hoping for. Being able to give some Trainers interested in the Type a reliable partner is all part of the Gym Leader duties, you know?”
“And besides,” Mari adds, beginning to head into the Daycare Center itself. Everyone follows suit behind her. “I know all these Gym Trainers well, and I can assure you they’d all be grateful to have one of their little Pokemon go to a Trainer hand-selected by Chairman Rose himself.”
“It is quite the honor, isn’t it?” Taylor agrees before Laurel can say anything.
“Absolutely,” Kana grins, holding the door open for Laurel. “If they were here, I can assure you, they’d all be fighting for your attention and hoping you would notice their Pokemon - not the other way around.”
“Well,” Laurel laughs. “That makes me feel a bit better. It sounds like you all have some ideas on what Pokemon may be best for this Trainer, too?”
“We have some thoughts,” Kana agrees, closing the door behind herself.
“Though it may help if you tell us a little about this Trainer,” Mari prompts.
“Well,” Laurel admits, following Taylor now as she leads them through the back door and towards the Daycare’s expansive yard, where pens of Pokemon - and babies - roam and play. “I haven’t met them in person, so all I really have to go off of is what I’ve heard from Rose.”
“Oh?” Taylor asks, unlocking a paddock containing many Yampers and Boltunds - including a flock of baby Yampers. “What’s their name, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Her name is Julia,” Laurel responds, slipping in to the paddock. Mari and Kana follow shortly behind, and Taylor locks it once more.
As soon as they’re all inside, though, several dogs’ attention all turn to them. Within moments, a small pack of puppies are running over on comically chubby legs, swarming about their feet and barking - and sending occasional excited shocks into Laurel’s skin.
The puppies are young, to be sure, but not too young. They look like they’re right on the cusp of being old enough to train. In fact, as she glances around at the other paddocks, she sees that there are Electric Pokemon nearby of nearly every species found in Galar. Toxel and Toxtricity, Manectric and Electrike, Pikachu, of course, and even Vikavolt. The Electric-type Gym has certainly been working hard.
“I think this little guy wants you to pick him up,” Kana laughs, pointing to one particular Yamper who jumps at her legs, struggling to make himself tall.
“I guess he does,” Laurel laughs, bending down and lifting the puppy in her arms. He barks in excitement, then nuzzles into her cheek.
“This other Trainer aside, it seems that this little guy wants to go home with you,” Taylor laughs as the Yamper continues to nuzzle her.
“Oh, no,” Laurel laughs, shaking her head. “No, no, no, I’m not really looking for another Pokemon -”
The Yamper in her hands whines and licks her cheek, and Laurel feels her heart absolutely melt.
“Well,” she concedes. “It’s…possible that Bart could use a small, fluffy friend.”
Besides, she figures, having a puppy from the same litter as Rose’s new prodigy, Julia - the first young Trainer she’s able to help out on official League business - might be kind of nice. Having related Pokemon could be a great way to start connecting to them, so to speak.
Hopefully Rose won’t mind - but as she looks into Yamper’s eyes, she has a feeling he won’t.
Who could resist that charm, after all?
Certainly not her, Laurel thinks, and hugs the Yamper tight once again.