Chapter 63: Meeting P.2

"These guys are Brocks Pokemon. He tends to use Onix and Geodude most of the time, but these guys are fully trained and ready to battle at a moments notice"

Ark nodded his head with a pleased expression. He always found it strange that in the anime, Brock only ever used Onix and Geodude when he battled Ash at the gym. After all, it was common practice that Gym leaders used 3 Pokemon, if not more. Due to this,. Ark came to the conclusion that Brock had a few others stowed away.

"They look amazing, as strong as the Rock typing entails"

Hearing Arks praise, the two Pokemon puffed out their bodies with pride"

"Let me introduce you to these two, first is Graveler. originally, Brock used Graveler a lot. However, it seemed that most rookie trainers found it's strength to be too high of a hurdle, thus Brock decided to switch him out for Geodude. As for this guy, this is Rhyhorn. He has been raised since it was an egg by the family and appeared in the gym only a few times."

Ark nodded his head, his hopes being raised every time he heard a new piece of information.

"I see, you have some amazing Pokemon here. These are Brocks yes?"

Lola nodded with her bright smile as she watched the two rock types stare at Ark with interest.

"May I ask, why they are not with him? I seem to recall him only ever carrying around Onix and Geodude"

Lola nodded her head deeper than before, a warm smile replacing the original bright one. This smile full of love.

"You see, these guys here look after Brocks siblings. They themselves chose to step away from the front lines so that they can watch over the children in my absence. Ever since, these two have been more mine and the childrens Pokemon than they have Brocks"

Out of the corner of his eye, Ark noticed the Pokemon nodding their heads, the water types as well seemingly coming over to join their friends.

"That's an admirable choice. Truly Graveler and Rhyhorn are superb Pokemon. This makes my plan a lot more viable now"

Lola was surprised by the word 'plan', she wondered what ark could have already thought up and was even more curious as to how he was so knowledgeable about the situation.

"A plan? Would you like to explain? Of course, you can refrain if you want, but I would rather know any sort of plans that involved my family"

Hearing Lolas stern voice, Ark smiled gently as to relieve her tension.

"Of course, I will. I intend to get Brock to travel, but to do this, you need to take over the gym"

His explanation was brief, yet it was enough to stump Lola. Although she had a hunch that Ark wanted to replace Brock, she never imagined the replacement would be her.

"Me... replace Brock?"

Seeing Ark nod, Lola looked at him with clear confusion once again.

"How? I only have water type Pokemon, there's no way I can run a rock gym with them."

"You already have two perfect combatants right next to you. Even you, yourself said that they are more like your Pokemon than Brocks now"

Lola sunk into a deeper contemplation after hearing her own words come back to her.

"Lola, may I ask whether or not you would dislike taking over the gym?"

Listening to Arks question, Lola looked over towards Graveler and Rhyhorn playing with the children. A small smile grew upon her face as she looked back to Ark.

"I am not against it. But I can't."

"How come?"

A wry smile sat upon her lips as she thought about the naivety of Arks idea.

"The whole reason Brock is the leader is due to me working late at night for money. There is no way I can support our family by myself on Gym Leader wages. Although it is a lot, it is not enough to feed the family and sustain our current lifestyle."

Gym leaders got a fixed wage depending on the popularity of the gym and the location of the gym. As Pewter City was not exactly a hot spot, it made the income of the gym on the short side.

"What if I told you that was sorted?"

Ark spoke in neutral tone, his face displaying nothing but belief in his own statement.

Lola started to laugh when she heard Arks statement, assuming it was spoken in jest. However no matter how long she laughed for, Arks expression remained the same. He stayed silent as he let her laugh to herself.

"Listen Ark, you shouldn't carelessly say things like that. Especially when money is involved. You may end up involved with unsavoury characters if you do."

Ark remained neutral as he replied.

"I am not joking, nor would I bring it up without any substance to my statement. That would go against my morals to do so. As for those unsavoury characters you speak of, they're not a problem."

Confidence radiated from Arks very being, causing Lola to become curious about where this confidence originated from.

"Then by all means, tell me how our money issues could be solved. Let me warn you, should this be some shady sales pitch or a joke, our meeting will not end nicely"

Spoken in a cold tone, Lolas warning was received effortlessly by Ark.

"No need to worry about that. Anyways, how would £500,000 help you?"

Lola was momentarily shocked by the random large sum being spoken about, however watching Arks serious expression urged her to seriously consider his question.

After a minute of thinking, Lola answered.

"If we minus Brock who's on a journey, we could probably live for at least 7-8 years with our current lifestyle, of course if we add in the Gym money, it may be even more."

This time it was Ark who was taken aback by the time frame. It was much longer than he expected. It seemed that Brocks family's lifestyle was not an expensive one.

"If that's the case, it makes me even more sure about my decision."

Lola started to grow impatient with Ark, especially since she was eager to find out why such a large sum was brought up.

"And?"

"No, now, there's no need to be hasty. That money is yours, all I need is to send it over to you. We can go to the bank together if you wish, or we can do it online here."

Lola was stumped. She rubbed her ears and for some reason her eyes in hopes of clearing them out. Her disbelief at the idea of Ark handing over such a large sum to a stranger made her refuse to believe what was said.

"Like I said, do not joke about this."

Her tone was severe. Had it been a normal person, they may have taken a step back or even perhaps left. However, Ark was determined to get this money to Lola and her family. It was no longer just for Brock. This meeting had cemented Arks idea of supporting Lola and her family in the future. This was just a necessary step to ensure his path to becoming stronger was a tad bit easier. Although he was not too caught up on staying on the same path as the anime storyline, he knew the major advantages of knowing what happened next and where certain people were at certain times.

"Once again, I am telling you, this is not a joke. I intend to give you this money. Today."

Arks tone remained neutral, he was used to people not believing him by now.

"Even if you have it... why? I refuse to believe it is so that Brock can travel. Although you seem very nice, quite frankly, anyone would keep that money to themselves especially someone young like yourself."

He nodded and softened his voice while keeping a serious expression.

"I have many reasons for this. One of them being Brock, however this meeting has introduced many more. They are easily enough for me to let go of this money and give it to you. Don't misunderstand. I am not giving you my life savings, this is just a portion of a large amount of money I have received recently. Therefore, I would rather invest this now than it sit there not being used for years."

Lola sunk into a deep contemplation over Arks reasoning. While she was curious about Arks motives, she had a hunch and decided to ask about it at a later date. Right now, what was important was how it could affect her family.

"This money... is it legitimate?"

Her question was blunt but it showed the resolve Lola had. She would absolutely never agree to receiving illegitimate money.

"It is wholly legitimate. I cannot disclose how I received it as thats confidential, however it is safe to sue and has had no illegal involvement. After all, do you really think Jenny would set up a meeting with me if I was such a shady character?"

Lola nodded her head in agreement. Although Ark and Jenny had only met a short while back, she was very proficient in finding out the true nature of people. Thus, if she entrusted Ark with not only herself, but her friends, then it means she deemed him to be very trustworthy in character.

"As long as it is safe to use, the origin in not really too important. Wow- this is a lot to take in, I may need a night to think this over."

Ark picked up on her hints and smiled.

"Of course, I never intended to make you decide now. When do you feel you will have an answer?"

Lola immediately answered with an expression of gratitude.

"Tomorrow, same time?"

Ark stood up and smiled, before slowly walking away.

"That is fine with me, for today, just rest. You deserve it"

With those parting remarks, Ark left for the forest, his plan... to train again.