Nova was already half-tempted to pay on the spot and walk out with the Psyduck tucked under his arm. Part of him worried that someone at the Thousand Lakes Gym would come to their senses at any moment and pull the listing before he could close the deal.
The staff member, however, was not about to let that happen so easily — though for very different reasons.
The Psyduck was a handful, no question about it. But it was her handful, and she was not willing to pass that problem along to someone else without proper precautions. If the Psyduck's powers went out of control after the sale, the Thousand Lakes Gym could end up on the wrong end of a complaint. That was the last thing anyone wanted.
A sold Pokémon causing an incident wouldn't spell disaster for a first-class Gym, but public relations headaches were still headaches. The larger the organization, the more carefully it guarded its reputation. It was nothing like the ragtag operation Elder Mort Cotterill ran back at Valen Gym, where the public image had long since been put on display for all the wrong reasons, and nobody thought twice about it.
So rather than release the Psyduck into Nova's care on the spot, the staff member filed a report with the current Gym Leader: Kim Holmwood.
The response that came back was not what either of them expected.
Kim wanted to see Nova in her office.
Nova turned the request over in his head. His reputation, while growing, was hardly the kind that would draw the attention of a first-class Gym Leader. Even with Charlie, it had taken a full year of interning at his Gym — and repeatedly challenging his daughter on the battlefield — before Nova's name had even reached the man's ears. The clout of Elder Mort wouldn't have been enough to clear space in Kim's schedule, either.
Which meant the Psyduck itself was the reason. There was something more to this.
The staff member led Nova through the Gym's outer area and into a track car that ran along an underwater corridor for nearly a kilometer before emerging into the inner area. Nova stepped out and stopped.
The entire inner area had been constructed at the bottom of a Lake. Waterproof lights lined the surrounding walls, flooding the lakebed with a warm, steady glow that made the deep water look almost like daytime. Beyond the glass, schools of Water-type Pokémon drifted past in lazy formations, several of them pressing close to the surface to get a look at the newcomers.
The staff member narrated the Gym's history as they walked, pausing now and then to wave back at the Pokémon that swam up to greet her through the glass. For Nova, the whole experience was something out of a dream — nothing he had ever seen in an aquarium back in his previous life came close to this.
Leader Kim's office sat at the far end of the inner area. The entrance was not a door but a water curtain, opaque and pure white, rippling softly in place. The staff member knocked on it with two fingers. The contact produced a light, musical dripping sound, like rainfall caught in a bell.
"Come in," said a voice from the other side.
The curtain parted in layers, drawing back to reveal a circular passage. The staff member gestured for Nova to go ahead.
Inside, the office was spacious, but carefully arranged personal touches kept it from feeling cold or impersonal. Behind a desk directly opposite the entrance sat a woman in a fitted blazer and rimless glasses, her hair cut short and neat. Kim looked less like a Pokémon Trainer and more like someone who belonged in a boardroom — composed, precise, clearly used to being the most prepared person in any room she entered.
She appeared to be in her late twenties, though Nova knew she was of the same generation as Charlie, which put her somewhere close to forty. He could only shake his head inwardly. Perhaps there was something to be said for spending one's days surrounded by Water-type Pokémon — she looked remarkably well for it.
After brief pleasantries, Nova settled onto the sofa across from her. A Seel padded over from the corner, balancing a teacup on its head with practiced steadiness, and presented it to Nova with a proud little wiggle. Nova smiled and gave the Seel's round head a gentle pat before accepting the tea.
He took a polite sip. River Delta City was well known for its tea — it had a reputation that stretched across the entire region — but Nova had never developed a taste for it. Two lifetimes in, and he still couldn't tell one blend from another. He assumed, at least, that Kim was not the sort to serve a guest something mediocre.
After a moment, she set down her own cup and got to the point.
"Nova," she said, "I want to know why you chose that Psyduck. It was left in this Gym's care by someone very important to me. Before I let it go anywhere, I'd like to hear your reason — especially given that my staff warned you against it."
Nova kept his answer simple and direct. With someone like Kim, anything clever or rehearsed would fall flat immediately.
"It wasn't for any grand reason," he said. "I just noticed that despite all its problems, that Psyduck has real talent. The staff mentioned that when its headaches get bad enough, it can shatter tempered glass with its Psychic power alone. That kind of raw output doesn't come from an ordinary Pokémon."
He paused, then decided to push a little further.
"Which is actually what I wanted to ask you, Leader Kim. If you already know this Psyduck is something special — that Grandma Lize may have been right about it — why hasn't it received proper training? Why just leave it be?"
Kim's expression shifted. The smile that crossed her face was small and careful, and it didn't quite reach her eyes. Nova could tell the question had struck something she didn't often revisit.
She was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "Before you asked that, I had actually already prepared a reason to turn you down. Can you guess what it was?"
Nova thought it over. "You were going to say it's a precious memory left behind by someone important, and you didn't intend to sell it to anyone."
Something flickered in her eyes. She studied him for a beat.
"I've been calling you Nova this whole time," she said. "Calling me 'Leader Kim' seems a little formal, don't you think?"
Nova hesitated. "Then... Kim?"
A faint smile. "So. Can you guess the real reason I haven't wanted anyone to take the Psyduck away?"
This time, Nova shook his head honestly.
Kim reached up and slipped off her blazer, folding it over the back of her chair. Nova blinked, caught off guard for just a moment, and she gave him a calm sideways look that made clear she was entirely aware of what a sixteen-year-old boy's mind tended to do in such situations. She said nothing about it. Instead, she undid the cuffs of her shirt and rolled both sleeves up to her elbows, then turned her forearms toward him.
Several deep, jagged scars crossed the skin — pale against her forearms, old but unmistakable.
Nova went still.
"That," Kim said quietly, "is what the Psyduck's power did when it lost control. That is my reminder of it. And, I suppose... my darkest memory as a Trainer."
Nova looked at the scars for a moment longer. Then he looked away.
He had already made up his mind.