Daisy was exhausted. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd seen her bed. And whose fault was it?
Her little brother.
Not only had he unleashed a horde of strange, never-before-seen Pokémon onto Route 1—he'd also dumped a mountain of work on her shoulders, and she had no idea when (or if) she'd ever finish it.
Build a Gym?
Sure, that was at least somewhat straightforward.
Build a school in Pallet Town specializing in Fairy-types?
Where was she supposed to find teachers for that? She had only learned about the type a few weeks ago herself!
Build a giant stadium?
For what, exactly? Pallet Town was tiny. Why on Earth did it need a stadium big enough to host the Indigo League?
On top of it all, she still had her own research—her actual job—to take care of. A whole new type to study! Normally, that would've consumed her entire schedule. But no, not when Blue Oak was involved.
Normally, she would've refused all of it. But this time... his bribe had been way too good.
"Typical Blue!" Daisy shouted, throwing her hands in the air. "Always bribing his way into getting what he wants!"
Her current situation?
Also insane.
Because, apparently, she'd been kidnapped.
By who?
Obviously, the source of every mess in her life:
Her little brother—Blue Oak.
"BLUUUEEEE!" Daisy screamed. "YOU CAN'T JUST TELEPORT ME TO ANOTHER REGION!"
"I'm sorry, Daisy," Blue said, looking only slightly guilty. "But I really need your help with this one."
They were standing in front of a gym. She recognized it immediately—it was in Olivine City. Olivine, of all places! How had Blue managed to drag her across an entire region with a single Teleport? Why was he so annoyingly mysterious about everything? Couldn't he just be like Red? That guy was diligent, dependable—and best of all?
He never talked.
What she wouldn't give to have a little brother like Red.
She thought about the next scheme of her devious little brother, and it didn't take long for her to figure it out.
"Damn you, Blue. You're trying to recruit Jasmine, aren't you?"
"That's right, sis!" Blue grinned like a kid who just stole a badge and got away with it. "She's finally—finally—the last Gym Leader I need for Kanto! After that, I can move on to the next big thing. Well… there's still the Giovanni issue, but I'm not exactly sure how to deal with that yet."
Blue could always make Red the Ground-type Gym Leader, right? Red was basically his answer to everything. Trouble? Send Red. Crisis? Send Red. Bureaucracy? Somehow… still Red. Blaine might be a little unpredictable, but at least he wasn't Giovanni. Even if the Fire Gym ended up lower in the rankings later on, it wasn't a national security risk.
"Giovanni?" Daisy blinked. "Sure, he looks a little grumpy, but what's wrong with him? Isn't he still the strongest Gym Leader in Kanto?"
"Just use your Clefable if he ever approaches you, alright?"
Daisy narrowed her eyes. "Now that we're talking about Clefable…" She took a deep breath, the kind of breath you take before confronting a sibling who just burned down your flowerbed.
"Blue… WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH MY CLEFABLE?!"
"What?" Blue tilted his head, genuinely confused. "Isn't she a gentle, cute little girl?"
"She is!" Daisy said through gritted teeth. "But why. Is. She. So. Damn. STRONG?!"
"Oh." Blue blinked. "You noticed."
Clefable's current level? 100.
Her stats? Perfect.
EVs and IVs? Flawless. Like, mathematically obscene.
Her ability? Top-tier.
Her moveset? Absolutely disgusting.
She wasn't just strong. She was the strongest Clefable to ever exist. Daisy had figured it out. Of course she had. It was hard not to notice when your pink fairy tanked a Garchomp's Earthquake like it was a tap on the shoulder.
In fact, Daisy was the only person in existence with a Pokémon maxed out to that degree—because Blue never gave out level 100 Pokémon. His trainers had to earn that the hard way.
Except Daisy.
Daisy was different. She wasn't just his sister—she was practically the one who raised him. Not that he needed a second mother, not after reincarnating. But still, after their parents died when they were just kids, it had been just three of them: Grandpa, Daisy, and him.
That was the whole world.
And Blue Oak protected his world.
That's why—Clefable. Level 100. EV-trained. IV-perfected. Move-polished. Fairy-type armageddon.
Ultimate protection for Big Sister Daisy.
And a very unfair surprise for anyone stupid enough to mess with her.
"Ah, don't be so surprised, Daisy," Blue said, waving her concern away. "Clefable's just a little stronger than average. Nothing crazy."
Daisy shot him a glare that could've melted a Steelix.
"Anyway!" he pressed on, undeterred. "Let's get back to what matters—Jasmine. She's one of your closest friends, right? That's why we're here. Think you can charm her into joining us in Kanto?"
He handed her six Poké Balls with a flourish, like a magician revealing the final trick. "Here. Bribe her with these. Top-of-the-line Steel-types."
Daisy groaned. "Blue! You can't just bribe people into doing your bidding!"
Blue raised a brow. "Alright then," he said, completely unbothered. "Tell me what you want."
Daisy's entire expression shifted in an instant. Her face lit up with a grin so scheming it would've made a Gengar blush.
So much for 'you can't bribe your way through life,' Blue thought dryly.
"I want a competent second-in-command!" Daisy huffed, yanking at her hair like a stressed-out Togepi mom. "Yes, yes, I'll stay Gym Leader. But I need someone who can handle all the nonsense I don't want to deal with. Do you know how many unqualified trainers walk into a Gym every day? I need a real Fairy-type specialist—someone who can handle the tedium so I can focus on the important stuff."
Blue sighed. Of course. Daisy wanted her own Rosa.
"Alright, alright," he muttered. "I'll see what I can do. Someone with strong Fairy-type affinity, right? Just give me a little time. I've been circling the globe assembling this Gym roster, so I'm running a bit low on miracle workers. But I promise, I'll find someone capable."
Daisy's grin widened, confident and terrifying. "Perfect. Give me, like, three seconds—and we'll have Jasmine packed and ready for export to Kanto."
This was a win-win for Daisy. Not only was she bringing one of her best friends back to her home turf—she was also stealing a capable trainer out from under Blue. And if there was one thing Blue excelled at, it was dumping his responsibilities on capable people. Time to return the favor.
She strutted into the Olivine Gym like she owned the place.
How exactly she convinced Jasmine?
Blue had no idea.
But he was 99% sure it was as shameless as every single one of his recruitment speeches.
Not that it mattered.
Gym Leader Recruitment: Complete.
———
Blue Oak sat in his office—not the makeshift one in Daisy's house, but the real one at the League Headquarters on Indigo Plateau. And when people said "League office," they probably didn't picture something like this. His office was massive. Movie-level massive. A desk so big it could've hosted a full doubles match. Enough floor space to justify its own zip code. The kind of room that screamed Champion.
And storming out of it, with an expression like she'd just been told her Gloom evolved into a Trubbish, was Erika.
She was not happy.
And who could blame her? Her family had held Celadon Gym for generations. Now, after Blue's little chat, it was being relocated to Vermilion City. Despite all his solid, logical arguments, Erika looked one hairpin away from committing a very elegant act of arson.
But the move made sense.
Blue stared down at the large map laid across his desk. East of Vermilion sprawled the region's largest forest—beginning just below Route 9, sweeping down past the newly redrawn Route 8, and curling east to Route 13 near the coast. A wild, untamed stretch of land.
Perfect for Grass-types.
If Erika did her job right, that forest would flourish into something alive—dense, dangerous, and verdant. A living monument to her specialty.
She wasn't the only one who got relocated, though.
Giovanni's meeting had been... interesting, to say the least. Surprisingly polite. The man had been the picture of civility. His new Gym would be in Cerulean City—if Blue even decided to let the Team Rocket boss wear the League's badge again. The jury was still out on that one.
Then there was Koga.
The poison ninja had not taken the news well. Fuchsia City was too critical to Blue's plans to be left in his hands—especially with Blue planning a total overhaul of the Safari Zone. It wasn't going to remain a glorified tourist trap. No, it would be rebuilt into something better.
He could already hear the environmentalists preparing their pitchforks.
Koga wasn't the right man for that mission. End of story.
Lt. Surge had surprised him the most. The electric-type veteran didn't even flinch when Blue took his Gym Leader title. Turns out, Blue had another job in mind—one that fit Surge perfectly. A follow-up meeting was already scheduled. That role was critical. He'd get to it soon.
And right on cue, the door opened. A camera crew stepped in with quiet efficiency.
"Ah," Blue sighed, straightening his collar. "Already been a month since the last broadcast."
The last time he'd spoken to the region, it had been a polite introduction—'hello, I'm your new Champion.'
This time?
This time, he was flipping the entire region on its head.
Kanto had better brace itself.
Because the Champion wasn't out wandering anymore.
He was back at the helm.
And it was time to roll up his sleeves—and revolutionize a region.