Psychic
Really and truly
I had the privilege of participating in the Serebii Yuletide yet again this year, and I wrote a story for Bay! The prompt I chose was "a fic with Koga and his daughter, Janine. It can be Koga teaching her how to run a gym, them spending time with one another, etc." I really liked the idea of Koga passing on the torch to his daughter, and wanted to explore that. I polished it up a bit since submitting it for Yuletide, and am pretty happy with it!
The time had finally come, Janine thought, chest full as her heart swelled with pride and stomach fluttered from nerves. She had been training for this day all her life. She had stayed in Fuchsia for so long, hoping she wasn’t squandering her opportunities by remaining here, trained vigorously under the best of the best, and now her patience was being rewarded.
Her father truly was the best, and it only made sense that he would someday transcend his role as Gym Leader and join the Elite Four. Now the whole region would see the strength of the ninja clan. But the Fuchsia City Gym needed a successor, and she knew that her father would choose only the best candidate. She just had some trouble believing that that candidate was her.
“You know the run-down at this point, I take it,” Koga said matter-of-factly. He stood with his arms crossed, perfectly poised in a manner demonstrating the calm of an ocean, while remaining alert and ready to react and strike at a moment’s notice. He was the true embodiment of a ninja master.
Janine gave a curt nod. “Yes, Gym Leader.” She had learned to mimic the pose as best she could from an early age, her back stiff as a board and muscles tensed. But even in this moment, poised to take on all the responsibility in the world, she still couldn’t help but feel like a novice next to him.
“Good. Then we shall do one final tour before the ceremony.”
Janine’s heart leapt into her throat at his words. She did her best to hide the rush of excitement and fear, but she could feel her face flush nonetheless. “Yes, Gym Leader,” she responded as evenly as she could. Koga nodded, and their last tour of the gym began.
Of course Janine was prepared for the age-old tradition of passing on the leadership from one trainer to the next. She knew the words of the ceremony by heart, and knew she wouldn’t somehow muck it up. Still, she couldn’t help the Venemoth in her stomach. Janine would stand before all the gym trainers she had worked beside for so long, and accept the keys to the gym, freeing the former leader of their responsibility and shouldering it in turn.
The keys to the gym were more ceremonial than functional, in the way so many Kantonian traditions were just there for tradition’s sake, but she coveted them all the same. They hung on her father’s belt at all times, a symbol of his experience and power. She remembered how he had let her play with them once, as a small child. It was before she had really started her ninja training, or even her Pokémon training, it was so long ago. Janine wasn’t sure how long he had let her play with the silver ring and its jangling keys – it felt like only a moment. But when they were plucked from her tiny little hands, for whatever reason she could never quite remember, the memory of her bawling stayed with her. She often found herself dreaming of holding them once again. Knowing that moment would come soon was both exciting and terrifying.
Together, father and daughter walked through every space in the gym. She remained silent as they went from one room to the next, trainers and even staff stopping what they were doing to bow to their gym leader every step along the way. The way they looked at him, pride and admiration shining in their eyes, couldn’t help but make her think about how they would look at her once he was gone. Some part of Janine knew they respected her as well, but she doubted they would ever look at her the same way they did her father.
Koga went over gym responsibilities such as ordering new badges and TMs, maintaining the invisible walls, hiring gym trainers, leading Pokémon training sessions alongside the gym trainers, delegating tasks to the staff, dealing with paperwork, communicating with the Indigo Pokémon League, and performing ceremonial tasks both for the gym and Fuchsia City. He also emphasized recruiting and training ninjitsu to strengthen the clan when possible, and urged her to help Aya ensure their traditions lived on. All the while, the keys to the gym jingled quietly at his side.
For once, Janine struggled to give 100% of her attention to her father’s words. The melodic rustling of the keys was like a constant whisper in her ear, quiet though they were. It was hard to focus on his final instructions, though she knew they were full of the wisdom of an experienced Gym Leader. But she knew it all at this point anyway, and her nerves over the ceremony hadn’t entirely subsided. This was going to be it, after all – all of the responsibilities of Fuchsia Gym Leader would fall to her. She wouldn’t have anyone else to rely on with her father at the Indigo Plateau. And that was pretty far away. How often would she see him anyway, with all of his new responsibilities as one of the Elite Four?
Her father brought her into the one room they had yet to enter – the battle arena. Flanked by now-empty seats on either side, the field stretched on before them. Bright lights illuminated the soil that Nidoking and Nidoqueen had to rearrange back into a flat expanse after each battle. Light glimmered on the surface of a medium-sized pool for water-types to battle from. They stood on the defending platform that would be protected by a force field during gym battles – battles where it would fall to Janine to test the mettle of journeying trainers and defend the honour of Fuchsia City Gym.
Koga stood ahead of her, his eyes on the field and her eyes on him. She had watched him take on battles from this very position when she was still a child, and from the stands as she grew older. He stood tall and proud before the most nervous and most cocky of trainers. He always seemed to know what to do, what to say to calm nerves or humble those who needed it. He created just enough of a challenge to force trainers to think on their feet, especially since so few had encountered trainers relying so heavily on status conditions and other unusual techniques before.
Janine wasn’t sure what more there was to discuss at this point. There was certainly nothing to the arena that she didn’t already know. Perhaps some last advice on judging the skill levels of challenging trainers?
“Janine,” Koga said. She blinked in surprise – he almost never called her by her name. It was usually “daughter,” even in private.
“This is a big responsibility,” he said slowly. Janine bowed her head. She knew that – she had spent her whole life knowing just how big a responsibility it was. And even now, after all this, she wasn’t sure she was ready. Was that why he was saying it, to remind her how unprepared she was? To humble her as he did so many trainers?
Janine swallowed, tried not shift uneasily from foot to foot. She looked down at the platform beneath her feet, the place where the Gym Leader stood and issued commands to their Pokémon during battle. There were a dozen things she wanted to say, and she didn’t know where to begin.
“But you are ready. You have been ready for a long time. And I believe in you.” There was a quiet clink of keys.
Janine looked up to see her father facing her, giving her his full attention. She swallowed hard – that might have been one of the most complimentary things he had ever said to her. She tried to take in a deep breath, and seemed to see her father for the first time. The loose folds of his ninja attire fit him perfectly, hiding his lithe muscles. It didn’t hide all of his scars, though, nor did it hide the wrinkles starting to appear on his face and the strands of grey in his spiky blue-black hair. She could also see the crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes, which softened his expression as he regarded her with a fondness she didn’t often see.
“You hide your fear well, but it is unfounded. You have been nothing but an exemplary student and have proven yourself a strong leader. Surely you have seen how the gym trainers look at you when you enter a room.”
Janine’s heart skipped a beat. Was he serious? Nobody was looking at the daughter of the master ninja and Fuchsia City Gym Leader, right? She was nowhere near as skilled, as experienced, as accomplished as her father. Truth be told, she had resigned herself to spending her life in his shadow long ago.
“I admit that is…hard to believe,” she was able to muster.
“I know.” Koga put a hand on his daughter’s shoulder. Janine blinked back her surprise.
“I am hard on you, and perhaps I have been too hard. You doubt yourself in spite of everything you have accomplished as both trainer and ninja. But I am and will forever be proud of you.”
“I…thank you,” Janine murmured, unsure of what more to say.
“It will be easier once I am gone. You will no longer have to live in your senior’s shadow, and then you will show this gym and this league what you are made of,” he said.
“Well…maybe I’ll miss your shadow.” Janine couldn’t hold back a wry smile.
To her surprise, her father smiled back, and even gave a small chuckle. The keys tinkled quietly. “And the gym will likely appreciate having a leader with a sense of humour,” he added.
“Falkner does make me feel like I missed out on getting horrible Dad jokes growing up,” Janine teased gently.
Koga smirked. “Perhaps if you come to visit the Indigo Plateau sometimes, I shall have a few prepared, just for my daughter.”
Janine laughed in a way she hadn’t since she was a small child. “How could I refuse such an offer? Of course I will, Dad.”
The gentle, flickering lantern light filled the ceremonial tatami room, its many sliding doors adorned with artwork of poison Pokémon mid-attack, their human partners depicted behind them. The room was full of gym trainers, staff, and Pokémon alike. Humans sat seiza on decorated cushions on the mats, and those who needed it sat on chairs. Small and medium-sized Pokémon sat by their trainers, while larger creatures lined the back of the room. All waited in respectful silence for the ceremony to begin.
At the front of the room, Koga’s Pokémon stood (and floated and flapped) beside him, and Janine was similarly flanked by her team. She resisted the urge to lay a hand on Ariados for comfort.
“I, Koga, stand before you as the current Leader of the Fuchsia City Pokémon Gym,” he said, addressing the crowd. “Today, I pass the torch and appoint a new Gym Leader to take my place. Come forward, Janine.”
Janine stood before the gym team, humans and Pokémon alike. Dozens of eyes were on them – or perhaps on her. They were all people and Pokémon she knew well, and had trained and worked beside for years. She knew their strengths and their weaknesses, and they in turn knew hers.
“Do you accept the responsibility of accepting challenges to defend the honour of Fuchsia City Gym, instructing trainers in the art of Pokémon battling, and upholding the ninja clan?”
Janine’s chest swelled. “I accept this responsibility with all of the challenge and hardship it entails. I will battle with my heart and soul, and I will never falter in my duties to this gym, this city, and this clan.” She knew the words by heart and could recite them in her sleep by now, especially the ones that had been added specifically for the Fuchsia City Gym.
“Then I, Koga, pass my legacy on to Janine, and declare her the new Fuchsia City Gym Leader.” Koga bowed, presenting the keys in his flat, open palms. Heart swelling with pride, she bowed in return, and accepted them in both her hands. She hung them on her belt, felt the weight of them on her hip, and smiled. She bowed to the crowd.
The room erupted in cheers and Pokémon cries as father and daughter shook hands, exchanging broad, proud smiles.
“You’re going to be great,” her feather said over the din, for her ears only. And basking in the glow of love and support from her gym, she couldn’t help but believe him.
A Gym Legacy
The time had finally come, Janine thought, chest full as her heart swelled with pride and stomach fluttered from nerves. She had been training for this day all her life. She had stayed in Fuchsia for so long, hoping she wasn’t squandering her opportunities by remaining here, trained vigorously under the best of the best, and now her patience was being rewarded.
Her father truly was the best, and it only made sense that he would someday transcend his role as Gym Leader and join the Elite Four. Now the whole region would see the strength of the ninja clan. But the Fuchsia City Gym needed a successor, and she knew that her father would choose only the best candidate. She just had some trouble believing that that candidate was her.
“You know the run-down at this point, I take it,” Koga said matter-of-factly. He stood with his arms crossed, perfectly poised in a manner demonstrating the calm of an ocean, while remaining alert and ready to react and strike at a moment’s notice. He was the true embodiment of a ninja master.
Janine gave a curt nod. “Yes, Gym Leader.” She had learned to mimic the pose as best she could from an early age, her back stiff as a board and muscles tensed. But even in this moment, poised to take on all the responsibility in the world, she still couldn’t help but feel like a novice next to him.
“Good. Then we shall do one final tour before the ceremony.”
Janine’s heart leapt into her throat at his words. She did her best to hide the rush of excitement and fear, but she could feel her face flush nonetheless. “Yes, Gym Leader,” she responded as evenly as she could. Koga nodded, and their last tour of the gym began.
Of course Janine was prepared for the age-old tradition of passing on the leadership from one trainer to the next. She knew the words of the ceremony by heart, and knew she wouldn’t somehow muck it up. Still, she couldn’t help the Venemoth in her stomach. Janine would stand before all the gym trainers she had worked beside for so long, and accept the keys to the gym, freeing the former leader of their responsibility and shouldering it in turn.
The keys to the gym were more ceremonial than functional, in the way so many Kantonian traditions were just there for tradition’s sake, but she coveted them all the same. They hung on her father’s belt at all times, a symbol of his experience and power. She remembered how he had let her play with them once, as a small child. It was before she had really started her ninja training, or even her Pokémon training, it was so long ago. Janine wasn’t sure how long he had let her play with the silver ring and its jangling keys – it felt like only a moment. But when they were plucked from her tiny little hands, for whatever reason she could never quite remember, the memory of her bawling stayed with her. She often found herself dreaming of holding them once again. Knowing that moment would come soon was both exciting and terrifying.
Together, father and daughter walked through every space in the gym. She remained silent as they went from one room to the next, trainers and even staff stopping what they were doing to bow to their gym leader every step along the way. The way they looked at him, pride and admiration shining in their eyes, couldn’t help but make her think about how they would look at her once he was gone. Some part of Janine knew they respected her as well, but she doubted they would ever look at her the same way they did her father.
Koga went over gym responsibilities such as ordering new badges and TMs, maintaining the invisible walls, hiring gym trainers, leading Pokémon training sessions alongside the gym trainers, delegating tasks to the staff, dealing with paperwork, communicating with the Indigo Pokémon League, and performing ceremonial tasks both for the gym and Fuchsia City. He also emphasized recruiting and training ninjitsu to strengthen the clan when possible, and urged her to help Aya ensure their traditions lived on. All the while, the keys to the gym jingled quietly at his side.
For once, Janine struggled to give 100% of her attention to her father’s words. The melodic rustling of the keys was like a constant whisper in her ear, quiet though they were. It was hard to focus on his final instructions, though she knew they were full of the wisdom of an experienced Gym Leader. But she knew it all at this point anyway, and her nerves over the ceremony hadn’t entirely subsided. This was going to be it, after all – all of the responsibilities of Fuchsia Gym Leader would fall to her. She wouldn’t have anyone else to rely on with her father at the Indigo Plateau. And that was pretty far away. How often would she see him anyway, with all of his new responsibilities as one of the Elite Four?
Her father brought her into the one room they had yet to enter – the battle arena. Flanked by now-empty seats on either side, the field stretched on before them. Bright lights illuminated the soil that Nidoking and Nidoqueen had to rearrange back into a flat expanse after each battle. Light glimmered on the surface of a medium-sized pool for water-types to battle from. They stood on the defending platform that would be protected by a force field during gym battles – battles where it would fall to Janine to test the mettle of journeying trainers and defend the honour of Fuchsia City Gym.
Koga stood ahead of her, his eyes on the field and her eyes on him. She had watched him take on battles from this very position when she was still a child, and from the stands as she grew older. He stood tall and proud before the most nervous and most cocky of trainers. He always seemed to know what to do, what to say to calm nerves or humble those who needed it. He created just enough of a challenge to force trainers to think on their feet, especially since so few had encountered trainers relying so heavily on status conditions and other unusual techniques before.
Janine wasn’t sure what more there was to discuss at this point. There was certainly nothing to the arena that she didn’t already know. Perhaps some last advice on judging the skill levels of challenging trainers?
“Janine,” Koga said. She blinked in surprise – he almost never called her by her name. It was usually “daughter,” even in private.
“This is a big responsibility,” he said slowly. Janine bowed her head. She knew that – she had spent her whole life knowing just how big a responsibility it was. And even now, after all this, she wasn’t sure she was ready. Was that why he was saying it, to remind her how unprepared she was? To humble her as he did so many trainers?
Janine swallowed, tried not shift uneasily from foot to foot. She looked down at the platform beneath her feet, the place where the Gym Leader stood and issued commands to their Pokémon during battle. There were a dozen things she wanted to say, and she didn’t know where to begin.
“But you are ready. You have been ready for a long time. And I believe in you.” There was a quiet clink of keys.
Janine looked up to see her father facing her, giving her his full attention. She swallowed hard – that might have been one of the most complimentary things he had ever said to her. She tried to take in a deep breath, and seemed to see her father for the first time. The loose folds of his ninja attire fit him perfectly, hiding his lithe muscles. It didn’t hide all of his scars, though, nor did it hide the wrinkles starting to appear on his face and the strands of grey in his spiky blue-black hair. She could also see the crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes, which softened his expression as he regarded her with a fondness she didn’t often see.
“You hide your fear well, but it is unfounded. You have been nothing but an exemplary student and have proven yourself a strong leader. Surely you have seen how the gym trainers look at you when you enter a room.”
Janine’s heart skipped a beat. Was he serious? Nobody was looking at the daughter of the master ninja and Fuchsia City Gym Leader, right? She was nowhere near as skilled, as experienced, as accomplished as her father. Truth be told, she had resigned herself to spending her life in his shadow long ago.
“I admit that is…hard to believe,” she was able to muster.
“I know.” Koga put a hand on his daughter’s shoulder. Janine blinked back her surprise.
“I am hard on you, and perhaps I have been too hard. You doubt yourself in spite of everything you have accomplished as both trainer and ninja. But I am and will forever be proud of you.”
“I…thank you,” Janine murmured, unsure of what more to say.
“It will be easier once I am gone. You will no longer have to live in your senior’s shadow, and then you will show this gym and this league what you are made of,” he said.
“Well…maybe I’ll miss your shadow.” Janine couldn’t hold back a wry smile.
To her surprise, her father smiled back, and even gave a small chuckle. The keys tinkled quietly. “And the gym will likely appreciate having a leader with a sense of humour,” he added.
“Falkner does make me feel like I missed out on getting horrible Dad jokes growing up,” Janine teased gently.
Koga smirked. “Perhaps if you come to visit the Indigo Plateau sometimes, I shall have a few prepared, just for my daughter.”
Janine laughed in a way she hadn’t since she was a small child. “How could I refuse such an offer? Of course I will, Dad.”
The gentle, flickering lantern light filled the ceremonial tatami room, its many sliding doors adorned with artwork of poison Pokémon mid-attack, their human partners depicted behind them. The room was full of gym trainers, staff, and Pokémon alike. Humans sat seiza on decorated cushions on the mats, and those who needed it sat on chairs. Small and medium-sized Pokémon sat by their trainers, while larger creatures lined the back of the room. All waited in respectful silence for the ceremony to begin.
At the front of the room, Koga’s Pokémon stood (and floated and flapped) beside him, and Janine was similarly flanked by her team. She resisted the urge to lay a hand on Ariados for comfort.
“I, Koga, stand before you as the current Leader of the Fuchsia City Pokémon Gym,” he said, addressing the crowd. “Today, I pass the torch and appoint a new Gym Leader to take my place. Come forward, Janine.”
Janine stood before the gym team, humans and Pokémon alike. Dozens of eyes were on them – or perhaps on her. They were all people and Pokémon she knew well, and had trained and worked beside for years. She knew their strengths and their weaknesses, and they in turn knew hers.
“Do you accept the responsibility of accepting challenges to defend the honour of Fuchsia City Gym, instructing trainers in the art of Pokémon battling, and upholding the ninja clan?”
Janine’s chest swelled. “I accept this responsibility with all of the challenge and hardship it entails. I will battle with my heart and soul, and I will never falter in my duties to this gym, this city, and this clan.” She knew the words by heart and could recite them in her sleep by now, especially the ones that had been added specifically for the Fuchsia City Gym.
“Then I, Koga, pass my legacy on to Janine, and declare her the new Fuchsia City Gym Leader.” Koga bowed, presenting the keys in his flat, open palms. Heart swelling with pride, she bowed in return, and accepted them in both her hands. She hung them on her belt, felt the weight of them on her hip, and smiled. She bowed to the crowd.
The room erupted in cheers and Pokémon cries as father and daughter shook hands, exchanging broad, proud smiles.
“You’re going to be great,” her feather said over the din, for her ears only. And basking in the glow of love and support from her gym, she couldn’t help but believe him.
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![[Imaginative]:[Clockwork]](/data/avatars/m/192/192875.jpg?1525616141){kind=avatar}
