Chapter 5- Making a Difference

"Cooooooool!"

"I know, right? With Simba around, I don't have to worry about trying to find my misplaced keys or the sorts. He can simply take a look and spot it immediately."

"Really? Can we try it out?"

"Yeah, sure."

Mary Whiteheart let a small smile form on her face from where she is sitting under the shade of a large tree. She watches the interactions between Volkner and the kids she is in charge of taking care for in the orphanage in contentment and let her mind wander back to many years ago when Volkner was under her care. This place used to be Volkner's home until he was old enough to go on his pokemon journey.

How time flies.

The orphanage was understaffed back then, and Mary did not have the time to take care of each child individually. She knows that some of the bigger kids tend to bully the younger ones, but they were always smart enough to do it behind her back. She never had proof that the bigger kids bullied the younger ones into submission and she never had the time to investigate. It was one of her biggest regrets and shortcomings as the matron of the orphanage.

It is different now.

Volkner is now a very busy man with his status as Sunyshore's Gym Leader. Despite that, he always made sure to come and drop by for a visit whenever he is free. He helps out wherever he could and he never fails to amaze the kids with the pokemon he had collected on his team and his vast knowledge on pokemon. As the time goes by, the bigger kids who preferred to show their dominance through bullying had all stopped their undesirable behaviour when Volkner had frowned upon it. Volkner is an idol to these kids and they all listen to him. To them, he is the cool older brother figure that they want but never had. He is someone that they can all look up to and strive to be.

Volkner had helped filled the gaping hole in their hearts to make their lives as orphans a little more bearable.

As orphans, most of the kids here are broken in one way or another, some more than the others. Volkner's presence had helped fixed their broken selves and instil some confidence in them. He knows what these kids truly need at this stage of their lives and he is trying to give it to them to the best of his ability.

Because he was once like them too.

Most of Sunyshore would not know of Volkner's regular visits to the orphanage but this is no secret to those around him. Over time, his gym trainers who got wind of his regular visits here had also all started to visit the orphanage with him out of curiosity. Soon, it became a weekly occurrence for the entire staff of Sunyshore Gym to help out in the orphanage whenever they can.

The kids were ecstatic that there are now more people to play with.

This is also not public knowledge, but Volkner himself also made regular donations in huge amounts to the orphanage or any charity whose cause is to help children in one way or another. It is obvious that he has a soft spot for kids. Volkner is a member of Sinnoh's Thirteen Pillars and Mary knows that he earns a lot due to how prestigious the position he holds. You need a lot of skill and talent to be considered as a member of the Thirteen Pillars, something that Volkner has in spades. After all, only the brightest and strongest thirteen trainers in Sinnoh are eligible for the position. It is understandable that they will be heavily remunerated by the League for their services to the region.

The income Volkner earns from his position as Gym Leader alone is mind-blowing. Volkner also receives regular royalty income from the design of the solar panel that he had invented with his porygon-z, making him even richer. She had also heard rumours that Volkner had made several investments here and there in real estates to multiply his already sizable wealth over the years. Out of curiosity, Mary herself had did a rough estimate of Volkner's current wealth based on what she knows and from her findings, Volkner can probably retire right now and still be able to live very comfortably for the rest of his life.

To sum it up, Volkner is loaded with money. The once penniless and nameless boy with nothing to his name is now one of the richest citizens of Sunyshore. He had climbed his way up purely with his own ability and hard work.

Even so, Volkner had never once flaunted his wealth or his achievements. In fact, the clothes he usually wears are simple and plain clothes. If there is a little tear or if it got damaged, he will usually opt to try and repair it instead of condemning it. She had visited his house once, a small unassuming cottage that she will never associate as Volkner's residence. Volkner hardly spends on anything frivolous. The only exception seems to be food as one of Volkner's hobby is to try out delicious cuisines, but he never spends exorbitant amount of money on it either. He usually spends just enough to satisfy his cravings.

The gym trainers who had tagged along with Volkner are also entertaining the children in their own ways. Some are trying to help them out with their homework. Some are teaching them more about pokemon in general. Some are playing simple games with them, trying to let the kids have as much fun as possible in this short period of time that they are able to visit.

This day of the week is the day the kids are always looking forward to. It allows them to have something to look forward to every week. They are all now more motivated and are channelling their energy to do something more productive with their free time with what they had learnt from Volkner and his gym trainers. Flint drops by sometimes, but he is a lot busier as a member of Sinnoh's Elite Four. His appearance is a rare occurrence.

"Alright! We had hidden it!"

"What did you guys hide?" Volkner asked with a laugh as he ruffled their hair with a hand.

"A book! 'The basic guide to electric types' written by Wattson himself!" Jimmy, one of the older boys who was once a bully but changed for the better after interacting with Volkner, said with enthusiasm as he bounced on his feet excitedly.

"Ah, that is a good book. I relied on that to learn the basic knowledge of electric types when I was your age." Volkner gave a nod as he heard the boy's reply.

"It is the same book that you used! We saw your scribbles on it!" Kim, a girl who is younger than most of her companions, added as she raised her hand up in the air.

"Those were the notes that I made myself. Were they useful?"

"They sure are!" Martin, one of the boys that Mary is sure will choose to be a trainer in the future, replied to his idol's question. Even a short interaction with Volkner is able to make him giddy with joy for an entire day.

Volkner is just that loved by the kids here.

"Hey, hey! Can you show us what you said Simba can do? Please?" Laura, another girl who also aspires to be a trainer in the future, cut into the conversation politely yet excitedly.

"Alright. Simba, show them what you can do."

Volkner patted the huge luxray lounging about beside him on the ground. The large feline took a sweeping gaze around his area and used one of his front paws to point at a rock not too far away from the group.

"Whoa! Simba really has X-ray vision!"

"Simba can see through walls! It's real!"

"So COOOOOLL!"

"I want a luxray too when I finally become a trainer! Imagine all the things I can do with a luxray!"

Simba gave an amused huff as he returned to napping beside his trainer, who is leaning his body on the large feline from where he is sitting on the ground. Some of the kids are playing with his other pokemon. Some of the pokemon that Volkner has belongs to species that are known to be ferocious and destructive if encountered in the wild, but they don't display any of these characteristics when interacting with the kids here. There are a few energetic boys hanging from Franky's strong arms. A few of the girls are cooing over Jo's fur as they helped to brush Jo's coat, making her purr in contentment. ISpy is giving some of the smaller kids a free ride in the air by letting them sit on him. Even Whirr, Volkner's eelektross, whose species is one of the most vicious hunters in its natural habitat, is playing hide-and-seek with some of the younger kids here.

Mary remembered that Volkner had always told her that pokemon can be man's best friend if you give them the proper love and care no matter the species. She had never understood it because she isn't a trainer, but she can now see why Volkner had made that statement. His words held truth.

"You kiddos are still too young to tame a pokemon. Wait till you guys turn eleven. I will help you to pick out your starter personally when that day comes."

"But you got Franky even before eleven!"

"Franky was friendly. Not all wild pokemon are like that. You can say I was extremely lucky that I got Franky as my best friend."

Franky gave his usual big smile at the words from his trainer.

"Can you show us something cool?"

"Like?"

"Uh… battle! Battle someone!"

"And who will want to battle me? I'm too strong for most people." Volkner gives a teasing smile at the kids crowded around him as Simba opens a lazy eye at the mention of a battle.

"Battle Cynthia! There aren't any records of you battling Cynthia before! We checked!"

"Nah, I will probably lose." Volkner gave a lazy wave of his hand. "Her garchomp's ground typing is enough to wall most of my team. Only Puddle or Tec have a fair chance to go up against it. Maybe Myst too, depending on the circumstances. The rest of her team is fair game though."

"So, so." Martin began to jump excitedly as he asked his next question. "If Cynthia doesn't have a garchomp on her team, you can beat her?"

"Probably. I'm not too sure." Volkner answered with a shrug. "We hardly meet each other so I don't really have a chance to see for myself what our Champion is really made of. But if she can beat Flint with no problems, she can probably beat me too."

"Awwww maaaan." Jimmy whined upon hearing those words. "Imagine if you are the Champion!"

"Nah, too troublesome."

"But big bro Volkner! Champion! The strongest in Sinnoh!"

"If you are truly strong and capable, people will still acknowledge you with or without a fancy title. If you don't deserve the title, then no matter how many you got for yourself, no one will care about you. To deserve a title, you need to earn it, kid. Learn how to grow strong before thinking about what you can do if you are strong."

The children all gave a perplexed tilt of their heads. Most of them are still too young to understand what Volkner is talking about.

"Well, since we still have some time before me and my gym trainers have to go back to the gym, how about experiencing for yourselves how it feels like to fly in the air? Anyone up for it?"

"YAY!"

The kids in the vicinity all cheered at the suggestion while the faces of the gym trainers all paled.

"V-Volkner! Our pokemon hasn't completely mastered Magnet Rise yet!"

"All the more incentive to not screw it up, yeah? Don't worry, Myst will make sure none of the kids get injured if your pokemon is still unable to use Magnet Rise properly."

"Electric types can fly?!" Some of the kids asked aloud as they looked at the pokemon around them in amazement.

"If they are capable of learning Magnet Rise, then yes. They can fly properly if you give them enough training of the right kind. In fact, any pokemon that is able to learn Magnet Rise can possibly achieve this, not just electric types, although most electric types are capable of learning this move naturally." Volkner said as he gestured for Simba to give a demonstration. "Anyone wants to see a flying luxray?"

"ME!"

The collective cheers from the kids is enough motivation for the huge luxray to get on his feet. A powerful leap later, the luxray is now hovering in the air and began to freely glide in the air above the group, prompting cries of excitement from the children.

"Many of you want to be Specialists in the future, right? Then remember this. This applies for anyone who wants to be a Specialist, not just Electric Specialist." Volkner began to impart some of his knowledge about pokemon and Mary noted that even his gym trainers are listening intently on what he is going to say next.

"To me, what it means to be a Specialist is not just being able to train pokemon of your specialised typing extremely well. To be a true Specialist, you must also be equally capable of training pokemons of other typings in the moves that coincides with the typing that you specialised in."

"Huh, what?" Kim asked in confusion. Her question is also mimicked by many others around her.

"North, show them a Thunderbolt. Whirr, you too."

Both Volkner's probopass and eelektross released a large amount of electricity into the air that got everyone near them to cover their eyes from the surge of bright light.

"See that? What is the difference between the Thunderbolts? In case you guys don't know, North isn't an electric type, by the way."

"Can't tell the difference." Kim provided an honest answer straightaway.

"Exactly. I am an Electric Specialist. I not only specialise in training electric types, but I also specialise in teaching any pokemon that is capable of learning electric type moves to use these moves with the same proficiency as electric types. To me, this is what it means to be a true Specialist. Any of my non-electric types here are capable of using their electric type moves as though they are electric type themselves. They can use their electric type moves as well, or even better than other electric types because they were taught to do so by me, an Electric Specialist."

The kids all gave a look of awe at their city's idol as they also glanced at Volkner's pokemon who are not electric types. They are now seeing them in a new light.

"So, learn something new today?" Volkner asked with a yawn. "Who wants to be a Specialist that is not an Electric Specialist anyway?"

"I am going to be a Fire Specialist like Flint! And I am going to beat the both of you one day!"

"I am going to be a Steel Specialist! I am going to make steel type moves and pokemon awesome!"

"I-I will definitely be a Rock Specialist! Rock types are cool too!"

"I will see if I can get my hands on any books or notes from my friends so that you guys can get a headstart." Volkner gave a stretch as he mentally noted down the materials the kids will need to be future pokemon trainers. "You guys have your work cut out for you."

"We will beat you one day!"

"I can't wait for that day to come already." Volkner replied with a grin. "I will be extremely happy if there is someone not from the Thirteen Pillars that is able to defeat me at my best."

"What is there to be happy about in losing?" One of the girls who has been sitting silently in a corner by herself and cuddling Squeaky close to her suddenly spoke out. This girl is Anne, who is a very reserved girl due to the physical abuse she experienced from her parents when she was younger. Her circumstances were soon found out by the police and her parents were subsequently taken to jail. However, she doesn't have any other relatives to take her in and hence found her way here to the orphanage.

In Mary's opinion, Anne hasn't fully recovered from her trauma yet, but Mary thinks that Anne is on the road to make a full recovery. The presence of Volkner and his gym trainers had helped to speed up the process significantly.

Volkner ruffled the top of her head in a brotherly manner before giving his answer.

"How else will life be exciting if you always win? Sometimes you need to lose in order to grow. It is how we become stronger in both mind and body."

"But losing hurts."

"But that also means that you care. If losing doesn't hurt at all, then you got to seriously consider if what you are pursuing is truly worth your time." Volkner gave a small laugh at the innocent reply from Anne. "Don't worry too much about this for now, just enjoy your time as a kid while you can."

"Can I have a pichu when I am older?" Anne asked Volkner one last question as she hugged Squeaky close to her. Squeaky seemed to enjoy the hug with how she is nestling close to Anne. "They make nice hug buddies when they evolve into a raichu."

"I will make sure to reserve one for you if I find one, Anne. That is a promise."

"That was fun." Joe commented to his fellow gym trainers and his Gym Leader as they all made their way back to the gym. They had opted to take the scenic route by walking instead of Teleporting with Myst's help.

"It feels like we are able to do something meaningful. I am glad that we can help the kids with what we are good at. The fact that most of them aims to be pokemon trainers helps, I guess. I don't know what else to teach them if they aren't interested in becoming a trainer." Vicky said her thoughts out loud as she fell in step with her friends.

"Realistically, that is the only route most of them can take." Volkner suddenly broke his silence as he walked at the front of the group and spoke without looking back at them. "How else can they survive in this world after they leave the protection of the orphanage? For orphans, being a pokemon trainer is the fastest way to earn financial independence since the League gives huge monetary benefits to all trainers when they first start out on their journey. The League always have a demand for new trainers to join their ranks. This is why no matter your background, you will receive financial aid the moment you signed up to be a trainer. It is the best choice for us orphans to get out of poverty."

The gym trainers were all taken aback by Volkner's words. Was this why he became a trainer?

Volkner didn't see their shocked looks since he never turned around, but he carried on speaking.

"For orphans, there are other ways to survive in society other than becoming a trainer, but it won't be easy. I don't know how else to help those kids who aren't interested in becoming trainers either. What I can do, is to help kids who wants to be trainers with what I am good at. If by spending time with them and teaching them more about pokemon can help them to go further in life later on, then it is what I will do. It sucks being alone in this big world with no one to fall back on. I can't give them monetary support or stay by their side forever, but I can help teach them how to earn their own money in the future by giving them the necessary knowledge."

"Is this… because of your…"

"Background? History? Upbringing?" Volkner completed Kayla's unfinished sentence as he turned his head a little to look at them by the edge of his vision with the same sleepy look on his face. "It is a huge reason, but I personally feel that this world can be a lot more beautiful if everyone learns how to give a little. Not everyone is as fortunate as us. If you so much as take a closer look when you walk around the city, you can see that many people around us actually needs some form of help one way or another. Sometimes, all they need is some form of support and it may not always be about the money."

"How much do you donate to the orphanage and the charities every year?" Marco suddenly blurt out. "We all know you donate a lot, but we never know how much."

Volkner rubbed his chin in thought with a single hand as his pokemon walks beside him.

"Probably about 30% to 40% of what I earn? I don't really keep track of how much exactly. I have no need for so much money anyway, might as well use it for a good cause. There's only so much that I can spend by myself."

"That is probably already more than my annual wage." Chris muttered under his breath. The wage he earns as a gym trainer isn't a small amount and Volkner simply donates an even larger sum without much thought.

Just how rich is he?

"I am not saying that you guys have to donate your money." Volkner said with a laugh as he continues to stroll at a leisurely pace. "In my opinion, the fact that you guys used your free time to spend it with the kids is something more valuable than what money can buy. These kids need more love and attention than money. Trust me, I had seen it for myself when I was still at the orphanage as a kid. Sometimes, all they need is a little bit of care from someone else."

"So, we made a difference, huh?" Vicky whispered as she frowned in thought.

"Yes, you did, Vicky. You all did. You have no idea how happy you made them today simply by spending a few hours with them." Volkner confirmed Vicky's thoughts as he lets the gentle sea breeze caress his face like what the rest of them are doing as well. Volkner gave them another gentle smile before saying his next sentence.

"Sometimes, a simple action can make a whole lot of difference to someone else. Never forget that."

AN: I found myself stuck at writing my other main stories for about a week or two now, so here I am. I only got around to finally find the inspiration and motivation to complete WOTI last night and I wanted to start on TAOFT today, but I really don't know how to continue writing that won't make the next chapter boring.

This chapter is to give a little more realism to the pokemon world and also maybe an insight to Volkner's background. I myself am involved in volunteer work since about two years back and my experience there is what motivates me to write this chapter in the way I did. You can say that some of my own thoughts and opinions on giving back to society are written in it through Volkner's pov. Volkner isn't me, per say, since this isn't an SI story. Volkner and my personality are very different although I have to use some of my own personal experience to write out how he thinks and behaves or I wouldn't be able to describe him properly. The same goes for my other ocs in my other stories.

As a Gym Leader, I like to think that Volkner has more responsibilities other than to protect the city and help aspiring trainers. This is one way that I had thought about and I think it is realistic enough to write. Not sure how you guys feel about it, but I personally like this chapter a lot.

In any case, I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter.

Pokemon and trainer list:

Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist

Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash

Main team:

1) Electivire (Franky), male

2) Luxray (Simba), male

3) Jolteon (Jo), female

4) Magnezone (ISpy), genderless

5) Gallade (Myst), male

6) Rhyperior (Tec), male

7) Probopass (North), female

8) Gyarados (Puddle), male

Pokemon used for Gym challenges

9) Raichu (Squeaky), female

10) Pachirisu (Scrat), male

11) Heliolisk (Bask), male

12) Ampharos (Fluffy), female

13) Vikavolt (Vik), female

14) Eelektross (Whirr), male

15) Lanturn (Glowy), female

Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security

16) Rotom (Prime), genderless

17) Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless

Flint Cinders: Sinnoh Elite Four, Fire Specialist

Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Tie for First Place with Volkner in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Fire Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, Sinnoh's Raging Inferno

Pokemon team:

1) Magmortar (Burner), male

2) Infernape (Might), male

3) Houndoom (Bel), female

4) Flareon (Flare), male

5) Rapidash (Flamel), male

6) Talonflame (Soar), female

7) Volcarona (Buzz), male

8) Chandelure (Wick), female

9) Turtonator (Fuse), female