- Soul of Steel -

Chapter 19: Team Balance

Note: Artwork commissioned via https://www.instagram.com/rcsanart/

Chapter 19: Team Balance

- - - - - The next morning, 7:00 AM, Northern Hulbury - - - - -

- - - - - Haru & Nessa's Home - - - - -

Haru walks outside to check on the garden he had begun to work on with his mother's help while also looking for morning mail. Seeds for Pecha, Chople, Chesto, and Iapapa berries were buried and expecting to start growing soon. He yawns, as the coffee he had was slowly starting to set in but had yet to give its 'super effectiveness'. Nora walks by his side while the Glaceon points to the mailbox, shouting at a Cramorant that was sitting on. As it flies away, Haru takes notice that the mailbox has already been stuffed with contents. Several envelopes of spam, a letter from a neighbor, financial information about his upcoming Gym, financial information of the staff he has for the Gym, and one letter simply labeled 'To the new Steel Gym Leader'.

"Huh...wonder who this could be from." Haru said to himself quietly, before tucking all the envelopes into his breastpocket and walking back inside. As Nessa was still asleep, he made sure not to make much noise after returning inside. The first order of business was to find who had addressed the letter so obtusely as to call his new title on the envelope itself, and upon reading it, his eyes grew from a small squint to a slow widening of both eyes.

He read out loud to the Glaceon sitting next to him on the couch. "To Haru!

I must apologize as I know this letter may come as a surprise to you, but I would like to congratulate you on opening up a new Steel Gym in the Galar Region. At some point I would like to invite you to come see me in the Crown Tundra in Galar on some future expedition work. I've considered calling them 'Adven-tours', but that may be a work-in-progress."

Haru's eyes narrowed and looked at Nora flatly, who looked back at him just as much right back. She sat closer to him while the ice blue fur rubbed up on his side while he continued.

"I have been gon' away from the mainland for so long that I was surprised when word came back to me a new Gym was opening up. Frankly, I'm a bit amiss for words, but between you an' I, I still would like to see how you stack up. Stories are one thing, and I'll give you my blessing for now, but when we meet, I'd like to show you how Gym Leaders like I did things! Then again, if the stories I've heard about you are true, then you may not need much mentoring from me. Still, some of us here in the Tundra may be onto something, so I'd appreciate if you wrote back whenever possible, or even came by! Stay safe and warm up there! Sincerely, Peony."

Haru leaned back on the couch and looked at the letter before setting it down on the table in front of him. He took off his glasses and pressed a few fingers to his forehead and looked at the Glaceon who had its chin resting on his right leg. "Peony, huh. A man who was an ex-Steel Gym Leader. How come I never heard of this guy, and why haven't I even seen any remnants of a Gym that he would have been in charge? Could he have possibly shared it with someone else like Allister and Bea do? Hmmm..." Nora simply blinked at him and wagged her flat ice tail while Haru then began petting her.

/If that's the case, I wonder if my wish to get a Steel Gym was approved so easily because of what he may or may not have done? Eh, it may not matter. Best not to ponder too much on it./ After thumbing through the rest of the mail, Haru went to the nearby kitchen and turned on the TV to a low volume so he could hear the news while he got some breakfast ready for everyone. On the telly some news caught his ears relating to Syra.