Chapter Text
Vermilion City, a bustling port on the southern coast of Kanto. Dozens of ships depart daily, all filled to the brim with trainers. Usually they’re just cruise ships, but every now and then a ferry appears on the horizon, bringing with them a bunch of trainers from other regions ready to try their shot at the Kanto Gym Challenge. There are also tourists. Lots of tourists.
The current champion of the Alola League was visiting his old home, hoping for a nice quiet weekend to show his new friends around, and visit some old friends of his. Unfortunately, nobody likes to keep their mouth shut when they see a champion, and now Elio, Hau, Gladion, and Lillie got themselves surrounded by cameras, microphones, and a lot of flashing lights. While not the first time they’ve had to deal with a reporter frenzy, it never got easier for Lillie seeing Elio get close to shutting down whenever the camera flashes started to get too much for him.
Luckily, multiple incidents regarding these frenzies had prepared everyone to the point that they had a pretty good system down. Gladion would release Silvally to try and spread everyone out easier, while Hau would start looking for a good building to disappear into (usually a malasada shop, oddly enough), while Lillie would stay with Elio, keeping him calm throughout the chaos.
Gladion was about to whip out his Pokémon, when a big booming voice was suddenly heard over the cacophony of reporters.
“Everybody out of here! This is something between me and the champion, alright? MOVE IT!” The bearer of the loud voice was a really tall man who looked like he could destroy a Master Ball with his bare hands. His name was Lieutenant Surge. Nobody knew his first name, but woe to all who forget to identify him as Lieutenant, otherwise their ears might just run out of blood to lose. “You! Champion of Alola! You've got a lot of guts coming back here, after what you pulled last time. What do you want?”
Lillie was worried. Elio was still pretty taut after the reporters scattered at the sight of Lt. Surge, but Elio always surprised her. He had a small grin on his face and said, “Food, mostly. How about you? Got nothing better to do other than harassing random trainers on your lawn? You've fallen on hard times, trooper.”
“As I’ve told you many times before, it’s Lieutenant. LIEUTENANT! JUST HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO PUT IT THROUGH YOUR HEAD?” Surge screeched. Elio simply stood there smiling that cocky little grin of his. Suddenly, Surge did something that nobody had seen him do since before the war. He gave someone a hug. Specifically, he gave a hug to Elio. “God, I’ve missed you, kid. Welcome back to Kanto! Come on into the gym, and bring your friends along with you!”
"Thanks, dad..."