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Luther felt deeply wronged.
How could anyone accuse him of cheating just because he had a flexible team? He hadn't even battled a single Gym Leader before! His only real experience came from fishing. Sure, he knew his Jumpluff and Mismagius were strong, but just how strong? He honestly had no idea.
Yet now it seemed like every Gym Leader in the region had heard about him and was lining up to take him down a peg.
"I'm just here to apply for the assistant teacher position. I'm not looking to challenge the Gym."
Gardenia hadn't expected Luther to be the applicant. Scratching her head in surprise, she gestured for him to follow her into her private lounge.
Once Luther took a seat, a cheerful Bellossom tiptoed over, carrying a glass of ice water for both him and Mai.
Gardenia kept staring at him, eyes shining with curiosity.
Feeling a little awkward, Luther decided to break the tension and called out Jumpluff.
The moment Jumpluff appeared, Gardenia gasped and rushed forward, wrapping the Pokémon in a tight hug.
Luther could clearly read the look of confusion on Jumpluff's face, something like, "Where am I? What's happening? Who is this lady?"
Watching Luther take a sip of water with a helpless smile, Jumpluff seemed to catch on to the situation and stopped resisting.
Gardenia eagerly examined Jumpluff from head to toe before letting her return to Luther's side, grinning from ear to ear.
The instant Jumpluff landed, she shivered.
"Happy now? You said you were just applying?" Gardenia raised an eyebrow.
"If you've already got someone better lined up, I'll just back off."
"Actually, you're the first one to apply for this part-time role."
That caught Luther off guard. This was an internal Gym matter, something tied to the Pokémon League. Shouldn't a bunch of people be eager to take this job?
"Can I ask what happened to the previous assistant?"
Gardenia played with the ends of her short orange hair and pouted.
"She went on her honeymoon."
"Huh?"
"She married one of the League referees. The honeymoon's four months long, so I've got to find a temp."
"Then why hasn't anyone else applied?"
"Probably because the work's kind of a hassle, and the pay's not great. How much do you know about the position?"
Luther thought for a moment. "You deal with a lot of Rookie Trainers?"
"Most Gyms don't even have this role. Know why?"
Luther shook his head.
"Because it's something we set up to support the Gym, it's not part of the Pokémon League's structure. Meaning, your salary doesn't come from the League. It comes from me."
Luther and Mai exchanged looks. Even Mai, a Sinnoh local, didn't seem to know this.
A Gym's income usually came from two sources: the Gym Leader's side business and the League's subsidies.
The side business part was straightforward. For example, Roark ran mining operations in Oreburgh alongside his gym duties.
Gardenia's side gig was simpler, a Grass-type training class. Luther had seen some buzz about it online. It had a solid reputation, so the earnings were probably decent.
League subsidies, on the other hand, weren't all that generous. From what Luther understood, they covered basic utilities, but most of the facility maintenance came out of the Gym Leader's own pocket.
It wasn't uncommon to see League-certified Gyms operating on a shoestring budget, practically unknown to the public. In those cases, the Gym Leader relied entirely on their League stipend to scrape by.
So hiring an assistant teacher and paying them out of pocket? That was pretty unusual.
"Gym Leaders have two main responsibilities: mentoring Trainers and accepting battle challenges. We also have to care for and raise our own Pokémon. Most Leaders can't juggle all of that perfectly, so they usually lean one way or the other."
Gardenia shrugged. "Some focus on battling and squeeze in education during those matches. Others focus on teaching and don't care much for challengers. A few go all in on their side business and forget both. But I want to do both properly. So I created this position and funded it myself, just to balance things out."
So that was it. Gardenia wasn't willing to compromise. She believed that mentoring rookies and battling challengers both deserved full effort, and if that meant digging into her own wallet, so be it.
Luther couldn't help but respect that kind of dedication. Even if she looked younger than him… Wait, now that he thought about it, did that make him an old man in this world?
"So… still thinking about applying? I'll be honest, the pay isn't great." Gardenia picked up a notepad and flipped through a few pages. "Let's see… revenue reports, League subsidies… since you're part-time, that's 80 Pokédollars a day."
Given the local cost of living, it wasn't a bad wage, but compared to other jobs, it definitely felt a bit underwhelming.
Mai earned at least two hundred Pokédollars a day at the Day Care, even more when grateful trainers left extra tips after seeing how happy their Pokémon were.
Luther didn't mind that his own pay would be less. What he wanted was a temporary position that would let him slow down his journey a bit, give him time to properly train the Pokémon he already had. Earning a little on the side while gaining some breathing room sounded like the perfect deal.
Once Luther agreed, Gardenia began the assessment.
At first, Luther was worried. Would she throw him some obscure, brain-busting questions?
But then she started with type matchups, identifying Pokémon abilities, and naming species based on their shadows…
Was that it?
There weren't any trick questions about Jigglypuff's evolutionary line. No confusing talk about the swirl patterns on Poliwag and Poliwhirl. She didn't even ask for the height or weight of some obscure Pokémon most people never see.
To his surprise, Gardenia seemed genuinely pleased with his answers and immediately printed out a contract for him to sign. Still in a daze, Luther picked up the pen and finally asked:
"That's it? The assessment was really that simple?"
"Why wouldn't it be?"
Luther blinked, caught off guard by her tone.
"You'll be dealing with rookie trainers preparing to challenge me, or those who've already failed. Most of them can't even answer three of the questions I asked you. Honestly, just knowing the basics like you do already puts you ahead of most."
Only three out of ten? That was rough. Weren't type advantages supposed to be the absolute foundation?
Just then, the Gym's battle bell rang. Gardenia glanced at the wall clock and let out a groan. "Oh no, not now!" she muttered, quickly pulling up the challenger's info on her computer. She tapped a few keys, then sent Bellossom out the back to round up Exeggutor, Tangela, and Abomasnow.
Just like Roark in Oreburgh, most of Gardenia's main Pokémon team stayed in the backyard when not battling.
"I told them to come back tomorrow," She said, sighing. "I don't even have the right Pokémon ready for a rookie match right now."
Mai and Luther stared blankly as the trio of Grass-types trotted in through the back entrance. Their attention shifted to Gardenia's computer screen, curiosity getting the better of them.
The challenger had no badges. His profile showed he'd only registered as a Trainer less than a week ago. His team? Marill, Lairon, and Wurmple.
Luther suddenly recalled a meme he'd seen once.
Twins challenge you with Plusle and Minun.
You send out Groudon and Kyogre.
Someone had to teach these kids that the world was tough, and this, apparently, was what Gardenia meant by "focusing on battles."
(End of Chapter)