Seeing how shy Ralts was, Ash and the others quickly looked away.
With Eevee's and Ralts's Psychic powers, the battlefield was repaired in no time. Flannery then invited everyone to enjoy some afternoon tea while they rested before the Gym battle.
"Miss Flannery, could we see the Lavaridge Gym Badge?" Max asked, sipping his juice.
"The badge—!" Flannery froze.
"What's wrong?" Max blinked, confused. It wasn't an unreasonable request.
"I was so confident I wouldn't lose... I didn't even bring the badges out with me," Flannery admitted.
Everyone sweat-dropped at her overconfidence—except Brock, who was already familiar with Flannery's personality.
How can she be so sure? he thought. It's not like Mr. Moore left her his Pokémon.
"But... you do have badges, right?" Max asked again, unsure.
"Of course! I'll go find them."
The group exchanged glances. She'd been acting Gym Leader for three days and still hadn't located the badge case.
Disguised as a workman, Mr. Moore felt mortified. Thank goodness he hadn't actually gone traveling—the Gym would be in total chaos.
Flannery searched the Gym but couldn't find the badges. Finally, Moore excused himself to the "washroom," quietly retrieved the badge box, and handed it to his granddaughter.
"Great! We've got the badges. Let's rest a bit, then start the match," Flannery announced cheerfully.
"By the way, where's the Gym referee?" Moore asked casually.
"There isn't one," Flannery answered without thinking.
Moore nearly choked. No referee? How had she been running official battles?
"Miss Flannery, Gym battles need an official referee," May reminded gently.
"If there's no referee, even a victory won't be recognized by the League," Max added seriously.
In the Hoenn League, for a badge to be valid, the match must be witnessed by a certified referee to prevent cheating. Acting Gym Leaders are held to the same standard.
Without a referee, any Gym battle Flannery conducted would be unofficial—even if a challenger won, it wouldn't count.
"In the past, Grandpa's students acted as referees," Flannery explained weakly.
"And where are they now?" May asked, concerned.
"Grandpa's traveling... and his student's on break," Flannery said sheepishly.
Everyone fell silent. Flannery really was scatterbrained.
"If there's no referee, Ash's victory won't be recognized by the League," Max reiterated.
Ash sighed. He'd shown up ready to battle, helped repair the arena for free, and now he might not even get an official match.
"What should we do?" he asked helplessly.
At that moment, Moore finally stood up. "I'll be the referee. I have a certified League referee license and can officiate Gym matches at any time."
The others stared at him; they weren't sure if that was true, but it sounded believable enough.
"Would that be all right?" Flannery asked hesitantly.
"Of course. Everyone inside—let's get started," Moore said firmly.
But Gary spoke up. "Mr. Moore, you may as well drop the disguise."
All eyes turned toward the middle-aged man. The source of thɪs content is 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹•𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖•𝗇𝗲𝘁
"Grandpa?" Flannery said uncertainly. The stranger had known exactly where the badges were... she'd been suspicious from the start.
Realizing he'd been found out, Moore sighed and removed his disguise.
"Grandpa! It really is you!"
"I thought you were traveling. Why are you back?" she asked, surprised.
Gary raised an eyebrow. Flannery almost sounded disappointed to see her grandfather.
After all, if Moore was in the Gym, he was the true Gym Leader—Flannery would be no more than his assistant. But if Moore wasn't around, she could be the "queen of the hill," so to speak.
Moore sighed. "I was worried about you. Just look at the state of this place after three days."
"Heh-heh... Grandpa..." Flannery scratched her head, embarrassed.
"I'll stay and coach you for a while before heading off again," Moore decided.
Flannery nodded gratefully. Running the Gym alone had been more chaotic than she'd expected.
"Then, Ash, you can battle first. I'll come back tomorrow," Gary said. He'd mainly stayed to keep an eye on Team Rocket, and since they hadn't shown up, there was no urgent need for him to remain.
"You're not going to challenge the Gym?" Ash asked.
"Flannery's Pokémon won't be fit to battle again after your match. If I wait, there'll be no opponent left," Gary explained.
"That's fine—you can battle me instead," Moore offered with a smile.
Gary was taken aback. He hadn't expected Moore to volunteer. A former Elite Four member was far stronger than a typical Gym Leader.
📜 [Ding! New Mission Released]
Earn the Lavaridge Gym Badge
Reward: 5 × Mid-Grade Rare Candy, permanent TM Rock Tomb, 1 × Premium Charcoal Earn the badge using only Hoenn-caught Pokémon
Reward: 5 × Mid-Grade Rare Candy, permanent Fire-type TM of choice, 1 × Random Battle Item
"Deal," Gary said at once. Opportunities to battle someone of Moore's caliber were rare.
"Mr. Moore, I'd like to battle you too!" Ash added eagerly. He had come today hoping to face the former Elite Four member—and now that the chance was real, he wasn't about to pass it up.