182: Meet The Mayor

The following day, at Pokemon Academy.

"Excuse me, Mr. Hisoka. Do you have a moment?"

After finishing breakfast, Hisoka was on his way back to the dorm to pack his belongings when someone suddenly approached him.

Hisoka stopped and looked up at the tall man in a white suit with shoulder-length dark brown hair.

"Good morning, Mr. Yukimura."

He said politely.

"I'm sorry to bother you at this time."

Yukimura bowed slightly.

"Good morning to you too, Mr. Hisoka. Please allow me to introduce myself again. I'm Yukimura, one of Kanto's Chief Officers and the man in charge of organising this tournament."

"Well met."

After exchanging pleasantries, Hisoka regarded Yukimura with an inquiring look.

"So, what exactly is it that you want to discuss with me?"

He asked.

"Are you free right now? I'd like to take you to meet the mayor of Komoda City. There are some things about the gym that we need to discuss with you."

Hisoka nodded, "Yes, but could you please wait? I'd like to pack my things first."

"No problem, Mr. Hisoka. I'll be outside the school waiting for you."

Yukimura said in a friendly tone as he watched Hisoka head upstairs to his room.

Before yesterday's finals, he may have considered Hisoka to be just another trainer among the thousands in Kanto, but after seeing him compete, he considered Hisoka to be on par with him.

This young man was worth befriending, and Lorelei thought highly of him, too.

Despite the fact that the Pokemon League Conference was held annually in every region, very few trainers had ever advanced past the Elite Four. This fact alone showed how difficult it was to make it into the Elite Four, let alone becoming a Champion.

After a short while, a car was spotted driving along the busy roads in Komoda City. The car rounded a few corners and pulled into what appeared to be the city's central business district.

As the car came to a stop at the red light, Yukimura, who had been behind the wheel glanced over at Hisoka.

"Mr. Hisoka-"

"Just call me, Hisoka."

Hisoka cut off what Yukimura was going to say.

To which Yukimura replied, "Okay, Hisoka. I was wondering what drove you to compete in this gym tournament. I've heard you're still the Dark City gym leader.

Yukimura looked at him with interest.

"I'll be honest, the standard of living in this town is way up there with the best of them, far above what you'd find in Dark City. Besides, I'm a hunter myself. It would make taking on missions a lot less of a hassle for me."

He answered as he stared out the window at Komoda City's bustling streets.

The light changed to green not long after that. Yukimura turned back to the road and stomped on the accelerator. Two blocks later, they found themselves in front of Komoda City Hall.

Komoda City Hall.

Inside the mayor's office, which was decorated with only a few trinkets, two people could be seen sitting at the large table, deep in conversation.

"This is all the information we have on Hisoka at the moment, so what do you think, Simon?"

A spry gentleman in his sixties set down a folder. He was about the average height for a man, but his robust body belied his years. His beard and greying hair were neatly trimmed into a short cut. Overall, he presented an extremely commanding appearance.

This particular man went by the name of Bruce. Over the past five years, he had served as mayor of Komoda City after retiring from the League's Elite Special Forces. Since he took office, he had made a lot of changes to Komoda City.

Bruce, the mayor of Komoda City, was held in high esteem by everyone who lived there. This man ensured that crime in Komoda City was practically nonexistent. Thanks in large part to his efforts, numerous criminal organisations in Komoda City were wiped out, and even the former gym leader was apprehended for his ties to Team Rocket.

This year, he paid close attention to the candidates for the gym leader position. He was worried that the new gym leader would have the same problem as the last one; working with a criminal group.

Simon, the principal of Pokemon Academy, sat across from Bruce. He was roughly Bruce's age, but much more mild-mannered and slighter in stature.

"Let me take a look first."

Simon took a pair of round glasses from his inside pocket of his coat, put them on, and began perusing the document.

"I don't think there's a problem so far. Lorelei went so far as to call me and have me approve this guy as the new gym leader. She said he might become an Elite Four trainer in the future."

Simon peered at Bruce over the top his glasses.

"You know what I'm talking about."

Bruce grumbled.

"Look at this."

He pointed to one of the details about Hisoka on the paper.

"He is a hunter!"

"So? I don't see any problem with that. Even within the League, there are many hunters."

Simon replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"But what if he has criminal ties?"

"Knock! Knock!"

They were mid-argument when someone knocked on the door.

"I'll trust you this time, Simon. But if I find this guy is involved with criminals, I won't let him go."

Bruce let Simon think about that for a while before he sat down at the table and straightened his tie.

"Cough! Come on in!"

The door was opened from the outside, and Hisoka and Yukimura came in.

"This is Mayor Bruce, and that is Principal Simon of Pokemon Academy."

Yukimura introduced them to Hisoka.

"Please have a seat."

Bruce's face was blank and cold as he pointed to the chairs.

As Hisoka noticed the mayor's suspicious gaze, he realised he was in for a hard time. So he did as the man said lest he earned the mayor's ire.

Bruce looked at Hisoka once everyone had settled in.

"You are Hisoka, correct?"

Bruce asked.

"Yes."

He gave Bruce a nod, not sure where this would go.

"Are you from Viridian City? Where have you been for the past two months? Have you join any organisation? Are you taking part in the gym challenge? Why did you sign up for this tournament? Why are…"

He was being asked so many questions that he couldn't keep up and why did he feel like he was being interrogated?

"Calm down, Bruce."

Simon then spoke up, and Bruce stopped. Thank goodness for that, he didn't think Bruce would stop soon if not for Simon.

Simon then turned to Hisoka with a warm smile.

"Since you're the new gym leader, Bruce's a little concerned about you. That is why he asked you so many questions. Now, let's get down to business."