despite the show lights and the drama of a caged ring, the gym is noticeably unremarkable. bleachers line the sides of the arena, while various pieces of fitness equipment fill the space like garnishes on a plate. one is in use. when lars' greeting echoes into the room, the sounds of strikes hitting leather and of rattling metal chains cease.

noah jogs over to his challenger, his gloved hands shaken down as if they were fires.

"hey! head ranger anderson, right?" noah reaches over for a handshake. from his knuckles, the heat of his exercise rises like smoke. "this should be a walk in the park for you, man. all about close quarters combat. if you can show me you know how to deal with that, then you can grab your badge and be on your merry way, yeah?"

noah detaches two pokeballs from his holster. two red bolts arc into the ring to summon an urshifu and machamp.

"any questions?"

Laurence Anderson

"lars, sure!"

as his pokemon begin their stretches, noah does the same. they mirror each other. despite the timing of the sways and extensions being off by miliseconds, they're practiced.

"this guy's from galar. an urshifu. he's freshly evolved though, so he's still sorta clumsy."

noah's bearish counterpart does not seem perturbed by the comment. instead, it huffs, as if hungry for more practice in its new form.

"we're not fighting, no way man." he laughs. "that's a whole legal mess i don't wanna get into."

his pokemon wait patiently under the intense light of the ring.

"you get first move. i don't mind."

Laurence Anderson