Garrison by FallacyFallacy for Samuraiter

[pokemod]

Recipient: samuraiter
Title: Garrison
Author: FallacyFallacy/FibonacciSequins
Rating: PG-13 for swearing
Verse: Pokemon Emerald gameverse
Characters/Pairings: Wallace, Steven, and the Hoenn gym leaders and elite 4
Summary: The remnants of teams Magma and Aqua are beginning to stir once more, and nobody wants things to get as bad as they did last time. But how on earth did they ever get that bad the first time around in the first place?
Content Notes: Gen, bucketloads of Pokemon world headcanons, politics (sorry!), extremely charismatic people, swearing aside nothing worse than what was in the game
A/N: I hope this fic is what you wanted – I wasn't sure how to tackle your prompt so I kinda went at it from an unusual angle so as to focus on stuff I'm a bit better at writing;; I hope it's still okay!

Steven leaned against the wall, looking out at the crowd of trainers in front of him. The leaders were mingling, catching up – Tate and Liza were excitedly telling Roxanne about a great battle they had recently, Wattson was laughing and slapping Norman's back (the latter wincing, he noticed), and Sidney appeared to be unsuccessfully attempting to hit on Flannery. It was rare that the leaders and elite four were gathered like this – while one could be substituted without too much trouble, the Pokemon League Gym Challenge had effectively been put on hold for the time being and no matter how short a time they ended up taking that was no small deal – so beneath the happy voices, tensions were high.

Separating from the crowd, Glacia glided towards him, her piercing eyes as usual disrupting the serenity of her expression. “It has been a long time,” she said, her foreign accent quietly apparent. “It is such a shame. You should come around more often.”

“I should. It's been too long since I've seen you all...”

But Glacia became immediately serious. “Do you know what this is about?”

Ah, he thought. She's in the Elite Four – cooped up in these halls, she probably wouldn't have heard.

As he considered this, Wallace finally appeared at the head of the room. Steven gestured - “You're about to find out.”

Wallace glanced over the crowd, stance visibly tense. Steven narrowed his eyes – if even his old friend was worried it must be serious.

“Good afternoon. I have gathered you all here today to discuss some worrying events in Hoenn recently.”

A few of the leaders looked down, or shifted. Flannery crossed her arms irritably, and Norman drove his hands into his pockets with uncharacteristic tension.

Wallace hesitated, then sighed. “I supposed there's no point in any further formalities. Team Aqua and Magma grunts have been spotted congregating around Hoenn in the last couple of weeks.”

Though he already knew, Steven felt a slight shiver hearing the news confirmed.

“What?!” Phoebe took a step forward angrily. “But – they're gone! They were defeated! Unless Archie and Maxie escaped?!”

“No.” Wallace shook his head. “They are still in jail. This doesn't appear to be a wholescale revitalisation of the gangs, but merely a...splintering, into a smaller group or groups, seeking to carry on the work that the original group failed at.”

“Fuck!” Sidney slammed his fist against the wall, hard. “Didn't they do enough damage already? Are they seriously that deluded, or are they genuinely aiming for the apocalypse or something?!”

“That's what we're not sure of. They've been keeping low for the time being, and we haven't been able to get a straight answer yet.”

Wattson stroked his beard and spoke slowly. “I might be able to help out there, actually.”

“Do tell.”

“I can't say for sure, but I've seen a whole bunch of those Magma weirdos hanging around north of Mauville City recently.”

“...what, route 111?” Roxanne cut in, confused. “What would they want there?”

Steven realised it as he spoke. “The desert.”

Wattson nodded at him. “That's what I'm thinking. It's constantly sandstorming there – I have no idea what they could achieve with that, but it seems right up the alley of a group that tried to dry out the earth.” Wattson sighed, looking irritated. “Tried to strike the fear of Arceus in 'em, of course, but, well, electric types aren't the greatest against ground types, so...”

“No, I'm sure you did what you could.”

“Actually, I've seen them 'round Dewford as well.” Brawley crossed his arms, glaring into space. “Can't think of what they'd want there, though. There's more than enough water all over southern Hoenn, so if we're just waiting to see where they all show up we're probably screwed.”

“I've seen a couple, too,” Juan agreed. “But he's right - if the closest equivalent concerning water is a regular storm, there are more than enough places they could be meeting up. And if they have their own plans, well, it could be anything.”

Wallace nodded. “That's true. But for the time being, that's a good place to start. Who else has seen anything?”

“Not much, thank Arceus.” Flannery tossed her head. “Seems like the fuckers might finally be leaving Mount Chimney alone.” She still seemed angry, though, and Steven thought he understood why – if there were a natural phenomena with as close an affinity to his type as Mount Chimney had to fire, he'd feel pretty protective of it as well.

“May says she's seen grunts in all sorts of cities – Lilycove, Verdanturf, Fallarbor. Though of course as you said, we can't know if they're all part of the same group or if there are more than one.”

“Took 'em all down, I'm guessing?” Wattson said with a chuckle.

Norman's mouth twitched in a wry smile. “Of course.” But then his expression clouded again. “But she shouldn't have to. She might be a Champion, but she's only fourteen years old.”

“Which brings up the most important question.” Drake raised his head, looking Wallace squarely in the eye. “What,” he asked with perfect enunciation, “are we going to do about it?”

Instantly, the passionate atmosphere that had built up evaporated away. Roxanne scratched the back of her head; beside her, Winona turned to gaze out of the window, as though tired with this terrestrial talk altogether.

Drake tilted his head, hands deep in the pockets of his long coat. “Because that's the question, isn't it? What's the point of all of this if we're just going to stand back again?”

Wallace's gaze still had not wavered from Drake's. The two men stared one another down, glaring.

Steven pushed forward. “He's right.”

Wallace looked away to glance at Steven. His brow contracted irritably and he looked back at Drake. “There are many reasons for us to discuss this. Our authoritative position in the community may grant us knowledge that normal trainers wouldn't have, and such a meeting like this could bring to light all kinds of connections that wouldn't otherwise be visible, which we can then take to the police. And it allows us all to keep informed, so as to better be aware of what's going on in our cities and to our trainers.”

“But we wouldn't have needed to meet up for all that – we could just speak to the police separately if we noticed anything. And we definitely didn't need to meet up in the Champion's chamber.” Steven stepped forward, eyes demanding – come on, Wallace. You know I'm right.

Wallace's jaw was stiff.

No moment like the present. Steven took in a breath. “We need to do something. We can't keep relying on fourteen-year-olds forever.”

“Steven.”

The room was silent. The leaders looked back and forth between the two men with varying expressions of anticipation and worry. Wallace, as the current champion, was an imposing figure, but his stern stature from earlier had been chipped, and Steven himself was no mere novice trainer. While he might not be the one with the official role of champion, he, too, had grappled with and surpassed the previous champion. He may not have any power to his name, but the title of Champion was not one to be taken lightly.

Right now, though, Wallace looked more irritated than anything else.

Steven took the chance. “We should discuss this privately.”

Wallace sighed. “You aren't going to let me go any further unless I agree, will you?”

Steven shrugged, ease returning. He smiled. “You don't challenge a steel-type trainer in stubbornness.”

“Then I would be a poor water trainer if I attempted to. Which is why water resists steel.” Wallace turned, cape flipping dramatically. “I apologise for the delay, but I hope it shan't be too inconvenient.”

“It's fine,” Norman said, and many other leaders nodded. “This is important, after all.”

“Or interesting, at any rate,” Glacia murmured, sending Steven an odd smile.

The two champions strode into the back room, Steven closing the door behind him. Wallace hesitated just for a moment looking at the hall of fame before turning to face Steven.

“Really, Steven? Two months, and you can't even spare a hello?” Wallace sighed, hand to his forehead.

“Sorry. It really is unlike me to be so rude.” Steven bowed graciously. “It's been too long.”

“Indeed.” Wallace's eyes were still narrowed. “You're really serious about this, aren't you?”

Steven nodded. “Yes.”

“Well, then.” Wallace crosses his arms and tilted his head, expectantly. “Make your case.”

“All right.” The chance to explain his views directly to the champion? Opportunities didn't get better than this. He thought for a moment, but the words were already in his head, articulated over and over in the last couple of months. “The Pokemon League needs to start getting involved in these conflicts. They're becoming way too big now for us to ignore, and if anything proves that our usual method isn't working, it's that last time we ended up with no choice but to place the fate of the earth in the hands of a fourteen-year-old.”

“A fourteen-year-old champion,” Wallace said, but Steven could tell he was giving the stock answer. “And the Pokemon league isn't supposed to be a political organisation. It was founded to oversee battles – that's all.”

“Which made sense when it was first founded. It was a small group, set up to enforce the unofficial rules of pokemon battling that had sprung up. It was nothing more than, say, a baseball league. But look around you, Wallace – pokemon battling isn't some popular hobby anymore. And the Pokemon League is much bigger than any sports league.”

“We still have police-”

“Police which are growing less and less powerful by the day.” Steven stepped forward, eyes blazing. “The Pokemon League was set up to protect pokemon, wasn't it? So that was their job, and the police had theirs. But people use their pokemon, now. The police could be getting involved, but they aren't, because it involves pokemon, but the League won't get involved because nobody's breaking any league rules so criminals end up running wild!”

“Then you should be speaking to the police.”

“My friend isn't the leader of the police,” Steven pointed out. “And I don't have intimate knowledge about how they work, like I do with the Pokemon League. But it's more than that – the Pokemon League is bigger than the police now. I mean, look at it – gyms in half the cities, and getting more and more elaborate by the day. Arceus, just look at Jubilife City alone! It's huge! A whole city, just for the Pokemon league! We have power, Wallace, and we should be using it!”

“We are using it.” Wallace kept his back to the hall of fame. But Steven glanced at it, jaw hardening. “We enforce the rules.”

“Only the league's rules. And that's the absurd part! You saw the fighting, right? Well, I was part of it, and you know what? They followed the rules. To the letter.” Steven let the point stand, the air heavy. “They were trying to destroy the entire earth, and they still never once let their pokemon use more than four damn moves – and you know why? Because if they had, the League would've been on their backs revoking their card and taking their pokemon away in hours! Isn't that ridiculous to you? That rules about movesets are more heavily enforced than rules about not killing everyone?”

“Of course it's ridiculous,” Wallace snapped. “But we do what we can-”

“No. We don't. We sit back and wait for one of the grunts to screw up so we can take them down but they won't, because they know what we're doing and how we work. We're just waiting for technicalities that won't ever appear – why not ditch the pretence and go straight to the source of the issue?”

“The committee won't like it. They'll call it an abuse of power-”

“Fuck the committee. You're the Champion, aren't you?”

Wallace stared at him.

“The police should be doing this, yes. But they don't have the resources precisely because of all this money the league is being given. And it brings in tourism and all yada yada and because everyone loves pokemon battling now nobody complains, but there's gotta be cuts, right? Jubilife city didn't spring from the earth. People in Hoenn might be good in general, but right now the police are stretched so thin just stopping minor crimes they don't have the manpower to take on these big threats.

“You can do this, Wallace.” Steven clenched his fists. “I wish you didn't have to, but you're the only one who can. You know this.”

Wallace swallowed, visibly.

After a few moments, he looked away.

“The world isn't like it used to be,” Steven continued, quietly. “Even if this is just a temporary thing until we can get rid of Aqua and Magma permanently, we need to do something. We can't let it get as bad as it did last time.”

Wallace looked at the wall.

“...they're so young.” He sighed. “Tate and Liza. Even Flannery. It shouldn't be their job. It should just be about the battling, nothing more.”

“A fourteen-year-old, Wallace. One without any official training or support. If she didn't have the skills she had, we'd all be dead right now.”

“...I know.”

His fire gone, Steven regained his surroundings. Wallace looked... tired, mostly. Worried. Angry, maybe, with many possible targets.

Steven stepped forward to put a hand on his shoulder. “You're doing well,” he said. “Even last time, we couldn't have won without your help. Not every champion would have run around Hoenn trying to figure things out like you did. It must have been a difficult decision.”

“When there are people threatening to destroy the entire world, there's really only one decision,” Wallace murmured, then looked to him again. “You made a pretty nice speech. I'm surprised again and again that you never wanted to do this.”

“What, be champion?” Steven thought, then shrugged. “Maybe. Under different circumstances. There's certainly something to knowing that there's someone reasonable running this place. But that's why I prefer it this way. I can trust you, and this way I can travel around and see what's really going on. I mean, I probably never would have come to this conclusion if I hadn't seen first-hand what Aqua and Magma were doing.” He focused on Wallace's face for a few moments and then smiled. “Yeah – you're a better Champion than I'd ever be.”

“Pointless modesty again?” Wallace drawled, but there was a twinkle in his eyes. “Damn, I'm really doing this, aren't I... You're far too charismatic, you know. You'd make an impressive Champion, that's for sure.”

“You say that, but I'm sure you're already composing in your head the speech you'll read to those guys out there,” Steven replied, and Wallace narrowed his eyes for just a moment.

“I'd hardly be as good a Champion as you claim if I weren't.” He paused, biting his lip. “All right. I'll do it. You've convinced me. I'll fundamentally change the way the pokemon league works just because you asked me to.”

“Perfect!” Steven smiled in relief. “I knew I could rely on you.”

“You knew I was a soft touch.” Wallace straightened his clothes unnecessarily and looked at the door. “Shall we?”

“We shall.”

Wallace stepped out of the door. The leaders had begun talking again, gathered in little groups with serious expressions, but the moment the door opened they stopped, turning as one to face their Champion.

Steven stayed back, leaning against the door. This was going to be a turning point in the Pokemon League's – no, Hoenn's – history.

Wallace shook his head slightly, making a wide gesture with his hand that caused his cape to flutter. “Leaders! I have come to a decision.”

The leaders watched with wide eyes, some glancing to Steven and taking in his calm expression.

“The Pokemon league will stop teams Magma and Aqua!”

The room was utterly silent. Roxanne brought one hand to her mouth. Sidney gaped.

“That's right,” Wallace continued, voice expressing none of the doubt he had held just moments earlier. “For too long the pokemon league has huddled in the background, content to hide behind black letters and red tape. Now, we shall strive to uphold the spirit that the pokemon league was built to promote – a happy world where pokemon and trainers can exist together in peace.

“For do we not have a duty to our trainers? To those who live in our cities? And the pokemon that reside alongside these people, and within the vast forests and grasslands of Hoenn? What I am arguing is then no great leap, but merely a verbalisation of a duty that has already been known in all of our hearts since the day we were first granted this most worthy of titles. A duty to protect not only from cheating youngsters who battle unfairly, but also from those who would seek to make a mockery of the art of pokemon battling and use it for evil.

“There are some who would say that this is an overextension of our power.” Wallace paces across the chamber, eyes locked on the crowd before him at all times. “I disagree. Gym leaders – did I choose you because you were the toughest trainers, who won at all costs, regardless of the consequences? No – you were chosen because you knew the vital trait of moderation, because you knew when to strike hard and when to fall back, how to precisely calibrate the strength of your battling to the abilities of your opponents. You knew how to battle not only for its own sake, but to use it as a tool to teach. You cared deeply for your pokemon and for the young trainers who would face you and knew how to praise and rebuke them when necessary.”

The leaders' eyes were shining. Norman smiled.

“Therefore, what I ask of you is something I could not ask of any normal trainer. However, I know that you are capable of it. It will not be easy – you will at times be forced to make very difficult decisions weighing up the interests of trainers versus the safety of the many – but I am confident that at all times you will understand the gravitas of the issue and make the decision that you fully believe is the most right.

“However, for the time being there is no need to overextend ourselves. Right now, we are facing a grave situation brought on by the the remnants of teams Aqua and Magma. Until they have been adequately taken care of – if indeed that can even be possible – we will concentrate our energies there.

“So leaders. Listen to your communities, and watch carefully over your trainers. If there is wrongdoing occurring, hesitate and think over your options. But where vital interests are at stake, act and alert your fellow leaders and your champion of the situation. No longer will trainers be forced to deal with conflicts alone, but will face them with all the power of the pokemon league behind them.”

Wallace stood straight ahead, raising his hand in front of him with a flourish. “Hoenn deserves to know that it will be protected from any threat, no matter how great. While the pokemon league may not be the ideal defender, we are the only one capable of doing for it what needs to be done. The safety and security of the people and pokemon in Hoenn must came before all other considerations. Where Hoenn is in danger, the pokemon league will answer. This I swear to you as the champion. We will protect them!”

“Yes!” cried a number of the leaders.

“You're damn right!” yelled Wallace, while Sidney let out an unintelligible whoop of joy.

“Yeah!” came from Liza and Tate as one, pumping their little fists into the air.

“So this is the way it's going to be, is it,” Norman murmured, but with a smile on his face.

“So it seems,” replied Glacia, eyes focused on Steven.

Wallace let his hand drop, still breathing heavily after his speech.

Steven let him bask in the moment, the leaders celebrating around him, and then stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You did well.”

Wallace looked in his direction. After a second, his imposing expression fractured just a touch. “I should've stayed in that back room with you for longer. Now everybody's going to know I gave up in less than five minutes just because you told me to.”

“Nobody who heard that speech would believe you haven't been thinking about this for some time.”

“That's even worse then,” Wallace whined.

Steven chuckled and pat his shoulder. “Well, what are you waiting for? You have a war to plan.”

“I really hate you, have I ever told you that?” Wallace grit his teeth and sighed but faced the crowd again. “Everyone!” Again, the leaders turned to him. “Some of you will have to deal with extra tasks on top of your gym duties. Winona – is there someone who can take over your gym for a while?”

Winona paused, long and calm. Finally, reluctantly, she nodded. “Yes. A young trainer – still inexperienced, and some badge levels can not be accounted for – but she will do.”

“Good. Then I'd like you to travel to the desert and see what's going on there. Your pokemon should have no difficulty against the ground types there.”

Winona nodded. Steven had no doubt that she would rather keep herself cooped up in her little gym than get involved in all of these tiresome worldly matters, but he also knew that she had enough respect in the league system that she would scrupulously obey any order of Wallace's. A good choice, in the end.

“Brawley?”

Brawley shook his head reluctantly. “Sorry. I've got a bunch, obviously, but none are good enough to stand in as leader yet.”

“That is unfortunate. In that case... “

“I can do it.” Juan raised his hand, then grinned. “Another protege. Though it is rather a chaotic arrangement...”

“Indeed.” He shared a brief smile with his old mentor. “But it is better if we can keep the elite four intact, for now. I will have much work to do and, at the least, it will quell some of the league committee's concerns.”

“So that's it, is it?” Wallace asked, stretching his arms.

“For now. Though as I said, I would prefer to be kept as informed as possible. In fact – let's add to that with fortnightly meetings to discuss what's going on. Agreed?” The leaders nodded.

Wallace clapped. “Then in that case – meeting adjourned!”

Steven couldn't help but smiled as he watched them all. Wallace's words rang in his ears – we will protect them!

You don't fuck with the Pokemon league, he thought, and grinned. A turning point indeed.

Comments

[mirroreuler]

Ahh, forgot to mention in the header (meant to send an email today but it was already up eheh...) but this was Betaed by my friend OnTheTwentiethCentury!

~2 years later

[(Anonymous)]

Way late, but great fic! Didn't see it on your (mirroreuler/FallacyFallacy's) AO3, so I'll have to say it for the record here.

I really liked Wallace's speech. I must confess, Steven and Wallace are my RSE BROTP and occasional OTP. I wish there were more Pokemon gameverse fic about the league just doing their jobs, however broad their responsibilities are made. Your fic reminded me that I should try writing one someday!