Kindle Road, One Island
The largest island at one end of the Sevii Archipelago, One Island, or Knot Island as the locals more often called it, had long been considered the gateway to the Sevii Islands. While not quite as populous as Three Island, nor as untamed as even Six Island, One Island still managed to garner respect for its unique character. Cultures blend together on the island, no other place in the chain in the Atlantic having adopted so many Kantonian customs, no other place taking in the ideas and attitudes carried to the islands by wave and wind with such gusto. A taste of a slow-paced life on an island paradise? It could be found here. Hustle and bustle, constant chatter about all of the world's biggest celebrities, and more days than not bringing something novel with them? All of that, too, waited on One Island, for better or worse.
As cultures, so too do the wild and the urban mingle and blend on One Island. Those with a yearning for adventure, for the rugged and unforgiving, arrive and turn their gaze to the northerly Mt. Ember. Arrivals who only desire a taste of the wild, a nibble which does not demand they surrender easy access to the creature comforts of a modern, urban life, instead hike trails leading to the Ember Spa or ride the ferry to Treasure Beach.
Yes, the versatile island offers some experience suited to just about any visitor, but today, it offers one visitor - the streamer Iono - one particularly important opportunity.
The chance to begin her quest for badges in the islands' Pokémon League.
With clear blue skies above her, Iono makes her way down the Kindle Road, the rocky, rough path between One Island's main settlement and Mt. Ember, and a route looked upon favorably by hikers. Large slabs of rock jut up all around the road, mountains in miniature, with one of them - the one Iono approaches now, in fact - sheltering the island's famous hot springs, the Ember Spa.
“Bleeeh.” Iono says, leaning on the rocky walls and catching her breath. Just because the trails to the Ember Spa were intentionally designed to be easygoing, both for tourists and for locals who didn’t want the rugged hikes of the further islands, didn’t mean that it was easy when you were a streamer who needed to wear a big goofy coat to cut the proper image and maintain your look. “What a ride, chat.”
“RIDE ‘EM IONO”
“I want Iono to keep walking!”
“I’ll rub your feet for you Iono”
“What a chump LOL”
As Chat, as always, inputs their comments, Iono finishes recovering, and continues hiking. Ember Spa… when she’d told Selphy about her intention of taking the badge challenge, she had replied with a laugh and an incredulous look.
After she’d made it clear that this wasn’t a bit, Selphy had told her to go to One Island and explore. There was no gym in the small town, Iono learning that none of the gym leaders maintained proper gym buildings. Instead, she had to explore One Island, and after striking out at Treasure Beach, here was the next big landmark.
As she nears the spa entrance proper, she spies something more than just the opening in the stone; there's a man, on the older side, but seemingly not too frail, sitting upon a flat-topped stone just outside of the springs.
It's not immediately apparent, the way he glances up at her, keeping his head slightly bowed as if he's simply a man relaxing, not bothering with inspecting her at all. Her jacket, he notes to himself, certainly isn't the outfit of someone who wanted to hide in a crowd. Everything about her would draw any pair of eyes to her, including those Magnemite-shaped hair decorations. And she was speaking, too, wasn't she? Not to herself, but into her phone, to an audience.
She'd be an interesting one.
"Come to visit the spa, have you?" He calls out as she continues her approach, finally looking up properly, acting as if he's only just noticed her. "What brings you to the springs? Here to soothe aches and pains?"
Iono looks at the old man, narrowing her eyes as she looks him over. The man was clearly important, from the place of honor he’s sitting on. He had to know something, right? The two pieces of information that Iono had been able to coax out of Selphy and from chat were the names of the seven badges, and the seven types they represented, and from that she knew this was the Fighting island with the Rubble Badge.
So. He probably had a connection. For that reason, Iono decides to throw down the gauntlet. Spinning dramatically on her heels in order to play it up for the chat, Iono points at the old man. “I’m here to cause aches and pains! Lead me to the gym, old man!”
The man takes no great pains to rise quickly, remaining right in his seat, raising a hand to his chin to rub it in thought the only move he makes. Presumptuous, demanding, but also decisive and confident, the young woman had promise, if only a glimmer of it, but she'd need to learn a little patience and humility. As a matter of fact…
Perhaps to Iono's confusion, he crosses his arms and chuckles, eyes closed as if he's reminiscing. She was familiar, in a way, wasn't she?
His thoughts composed, he finally rises, getting up on his feet slowly, turning to grab a bucket, filled to the brim with water, that had been just barely hidden from view behind his seat. "You're a sharp one, young lady," he begins, gesturing for Iono to follow as he walks off with the bucket, heading into the spa. "I can show you into the gym. You'll do your battling right here among the springs, once the island's gym leader is ready for battle, that is."
"What do you call yourself, young lady?" Immediately upon entering the Ember Spa, Iono gets a blast of warm air, thick steam hanging in a cloud right under the roof of the cave housing the hot springs. The man guiding her walks briskly along what's clearly the main pathway, ignoring the pools of water, bubbling hot, sculpted into proper spa baths, with neither the heat nor the weight of the bucket he carries seeming to bother him at all.
Iono practically seems to melt as she enters the spa, realizing how little her outfit is cut out for this particular environment. Deciding to not let her weakness show, she simply holds her head high as sweat pours down her body, grumbling internally but considering this just a challenge. “The name’s Iono. You’ve probably heard of my world-famous channel the Iono Zone! Whosawhatsit? Ionooooooo!”
“>>>world-famous”
“HI MOM I’M ON TV”
“No Iono Zone subs no respect”
“I mean, I’m from Sevii, and I already knew about the Iono Zone, so it wouldn’t be THAT big a surprise…”
Iono’s fully aware that the old man very likely has no idea about her streaming channel, she’s just trying to snipe back with her channel status. Shaking her sleeves to try and get some of the water out, she tilts her head and asks, “And? What’s your name? Thousands of inquiring viewers want to know!”
The man and the streamer turn off the main pathway as they continue on, proceeding deeper into the spa on a branching route, not as even and with less decorated pools off its sides. All the while, Iono's guide listens to her self-introduction, her over-the-top presentation, admittedly, a little amusing. "Call me Léan," he responds without turning around, set on his course. "I'll take you at your word that there was any clamor over someone like me," he jests.
The stroll through the spa continues on just a little bit longer, Iono and Léan eventually arriving at the end of the side-path, finding the path's terminus brings them to a large indentation in the walls of rock, and what looks to be a sizeable divot in the floor. Léan finally sets the bucket back down, wiping beads of sweat from his brow and stretching. "You've hewed out quite the reputation for yourself, have you, Iono? Surely, that took dedication on your part. We, too, living on Knot Island, dedicate ourselves to hewing, hewing out our way of life, hewing stone to make way for springs. Tell me - and your fans, as well - Iono, if you are to use the Ember Spa as a field for your battle, is it fair that we ask that you assist us in maintaining and expanding these springs?"
“...Wait, what?” Iono blinks twice. “What happened to the gym challenge? Where’s the trailers? What do you mean, assist?”
"Your assisting me in my work, that is your gym challenge, or the first portion of it. In our islands, we expect that trainers challenging our gyms are not only capable in battle, but are capable of overcoming many challenges. Before a gym leader will grant you a battle, you'll be asked to pass a trial," Léan explains as he looks at the indentation in the wall, raising his fist, steadying himself. "Yaaaah!" With a swift strike, he pounds the wall, the sturdy stone yielding to his blow, a small shower of stones raining down and scattering around his feet. "There is work to be done in the spa today," he resumes, as if he hadn't just paused to smash rock. "If you can endure the heat and the demands of today's work, assisting me until I am finished, you will be considered to have passed your trial, and the gym leader will face you in battle."
"Do you accept? Are you ready to begin your trial?"
For a second, Iono’s about to lodge a complaint. What’s all this nonsense? This is nothing like the normal gym challenge…
But fine. Fine. If that’s what it takes for her to become a true champion. Deciding that she’ll just show how cool and good she is, Iono gets ready to buckle down. She crosses her arms, as chat starts yelling, and just stares Lèan down. “Okay, old man. What do you need help with?” she asks, not letting the guy punching rock intimidate her.
With a grin and a nod, Léan pulls out a Great Ball, holding it in his palm and opening it up. A light shoots out, coalescing into the shape of… a Poliwrath! Enjoy that confidence boost, Iono. "We'll begin by removing more of this wall to expand the spa. I don't expect that you will be able to smash mighty boulders yet. Do what you are able to do. When you tire," he gestures to the smaller, shattered stones around his feet, "carry these back down our path. It will take multiple trips, so run quickly with them. Once we have progressed here, you will help us to arrange these on the edge of one of the recently-excavated springs."
Poliwrath, taking a position up right next to Léan, strikes the stone just as his trainer had, though with a much greater force than Léan had been able to muster. "Watch my technique carefully," he instructs Iono. "You'll avoid injury if you use this method."
“Tch!” Iono says, nearly ready to punch the wall at full force to prove him wrong. Before she can go ahead and shatter her hand on the wall, though, her rational mind takes priority over her spiteful, egoistical one, and she calms down. When she does strike the wall, following his technique, she manages to… crack the rock slightly, knocking a couple pebbles free. Which still gets her staring at the results, astounded at how effective it worked considering her physical capacity is, generously, “low”.
“...How, exactly?” she can’t help but ask, even as she keeps it up, very very slowly knocking tiny chips of rock off despite how utterly intimidating it looks at the time.
"Don't underestimate your capabilities. Whether in training or when you face an opponent in combat, it's essential that you can assess your strength. Underestimate yourself, and you will let the challenges which would strengthen you pass you by. Overestimate yourself, and you will weaken your body with injury and weaken your mind with doubt when you fail to measure up to your expectations." Léan wears quite the wide grin as he pounds away at the wall, in his element with sweat dripping down his face, his eyes stinging. Piece by piece, he carves away more of the wall, his progress nothing compared to Poliwrath's, but far from insignificant. "Once you understand your limits and your abilities with equal clarity, dedicate yourself to strengthening your body, mind, and resolve. Even a mountain will yield to one properly trained." All the talk does nothing to slow the pace of his work, Léan somehow balancing the lesson, the smashing, and keeping an eye on Iono all at once.
"Over years," he continues, "even solid rock can be turned into welcoming springs that all can enjoy."
Iono looks back and forth in surprise at the last line, realizing just what he’s implying. Muttering under her breath to chat to tell them to research the Ember Spa for her, she just buckles down and keeps working at it. And she’s far from the most impressive there. Poliwrath is outdoing her, of course. Lèan is outdoing her. And yet, Iono is beginning to make a dent in the wall, working it down, slowly changing its face with nothing but her fists. Every so often, she scoops up the rocks and carries them off, her giant puffy sleeves helping her in this regard.
Iono continues to thank her foresight in making sure she waterproofed the streaming equipment - between the spa’s humidity and her own sweating, she’d have shorted them out at this point otherwise.
The work continues! And continues. And continues. Over some time, what was once an indentation in the wall really begins to expand into an alcove that a couple people could squeeze into. It's not as though a whole additional room gets carved out, but, as Iono works, running rocks back and forth, there are tangible signs of progress! Léan takes more breaks as he goes along, resting for a couple minutes at a time now and again, and Poliwrath makes liberal use of that bucket of water, the thin-skinned Water-type dousing itself now and again, needing the extra water to avoid drying out from exertion even with all the moisture in the air.
The work is hard, and the heat is relentless, but, eventually, with Iono back to chipping away at the wall beside him, Léan backs away from the newly-created alcove. "That's good work for today," he says with approval, admiring the day's progress… and especially admiring Iono's progress, giving the dent she's put in the wall a careful inspection. "You not only endured the steam of the Ember Spa, but you excelled in your work today," he tells her.
"Am I speaking to your audience right now? Can they hear me?" He tilts his body, ducking down as he attempts to put himself on the screen without really knowing the ins-and-outs of how Iono records. "Ahem." Clearing his throat - lo and behold - does not help him figure out how to position himself in full view of the cameras. Eventually, he gives up, rising up straight once more to speak with Iono. That old niniku on her perch, who was she to talk about getting in front of the cameras of tourists, anyways? She avoided most of them, up where she was!
"Ahem. Iono, you have succeeded in passing the Knot Island gym trial. In recognition of your endurance, you have earned a battle with the gym leader right here in the Ember Spa," he begins, suddenly quite serious. He reaches for something tucked away in his outfit, drawing out… what else but a badge, of course? Holding it in his open palm and displaying it for Iono to see, he goes on. "Are you prepared, Iono, for a match fought with a strength that turns even boulders to rubble?"
It actually takes Iono a minute to process the sudden discussion, her punches moving a few more times before she factors in that she’s done. Turning around and realizing what she’s doing, she barely has time to process that she’s being asked about her camera, before her stream is directly addressed.
“HI OLD MAN”
“You’re not Iono”
“new lore???”
“IONO ZONE HIJACKED LOL”
Well, it confirms that she’s got the connection established! As she notices the badge, she perks up. “Ohhhhh, there we go! There we are! Alright!” Iono puts her hands on her tips, immediately ready to go again. She grins, her shark teeth on full display as she pulls out of her three Pokeballs from her waist. “You want to see the Iono Zone on display, old man? Let’s go!”
There's no need to move to a battlefield. The cavern containing the springs is more than suitable as a battlefield, after all! Léan takes his place across from Iono, walking back from her to create room, and with a thrust of his arm outwards, the battle begins!
Unsurprisingly, it's Poliwrath who comes out first, stepping right up to the battlefield with gusto, the giant tadpole-esque Pokémon flexing its muscles and letting loose a warcry as it awaits Iono's first Pokémon.
“...Haaahahahah!” With a grin on her face, Iono decides to take advantage of the type advantage to counter her type disadvantage. She knows that Magneton is likely to go down quickly to fighting, so she sends it out first, aiming to quickly use its electric attacks to floor Poliwrath and avoid losing too much of a number advantage.
For a Pokémon so heavy, Magneton is surprisingly speedy, and Iono's Magneton prove itself speedy enough to get the drop on Poliwrath, firing off a Thunderbolt and scoring a direct hit! It's not enough to KO the sturdy Fighting-type in one shot, but it does stun Poliwrath long enough to make going for Hypnosis unviable, forcing Léan's Pokémon to turn to Mud Shot.
The globs of mud striking Magneton not only do serious damage, exploiting a double weakness to Ground-type moves, but it slows it down significantly. Each shot from Poliwrath becomes more troublesome, the tadpole finding it easier and easier to strike a slowing target, and the pressure on Magneton and Iono ratchets up.
As metaphorical dark clouds swirl on the horizon for the challengers, though, Iono spots an opportunity - an opportunity in the literal clouds now swirling around the Ember Spa as a result of Poliwrath's Rain Dance. The Pokémon had made it easier to hit Magneton from a distance, but getting up close would still be difficult unless Poliwrath made use of Swift Swim…
The rain starts to pour down, and…
…with the rain comes the thunder, or, rather, the Thunder, Magneton calling down a massive bolt of electricity before Poliwrath can even benefit from the speed boost. Thunder, of course, wasn't always the most reliable move, but in the rain, Iono was able to count on it always finding its mark. When the flash from the bolt fades away, it becomes clear that Poliwrath lies on the ground, completely out of energy. Léan withdraws the tadpole, and in its place sends out Hitmontop!
Wanting to get in as much heavy fire as she can before the rain runs out, Iono commands Magneton to shoot off another Thunder! Sparks crackle in the clouds. Magneton charges up. Hitmontop rushes towards the magnet Pokémon, spinning on its head, gliding across all the wet stone, but it's no use - there's no escaping Thunder once it's fired off in the rain, Iono assures herself.
And she's right! There is no escaping Thunder once it's fired off in the rain!
Unfortunately for her and Magneton, Hitmontop never gives Magneton the chance to finish the attack, rushing in with a Sucker Punch to finish off his weakened, slowed opponent. Magneton drops to the ground with a clunk, Iono recalling the Pokémon and sending out Bellibolt as her Chat goes wild.
More wary now, Iono has Bellibolt start off with a Discharge, a ring of electricity spreading out from the frog in all directions, catching Hitmontop while its at a distance, giving the Fighting-type a shock… and paralysis, Bellibolt's lucky break slowing Hitmontop down enough to let Bellibolt avoid the third kick of a Triple Kick when Hitmontop shakes off the attack and draws in close.
It becomes a battle for space as Iono and Bellibolt realize that their best hope lies in keeping Hitmontop at a distance, Bellibolt making liberal use of Discharge and Zap Cannon to deny Hitmontop chances to get in close and do damage with Triple Kick and Close Combat. Both Pokémon exchange attacks, both wearing down, starting to tire.
Bellibolt unleashes another Discharge when Hitmontop stumbles, fully expecting that the spinning Pokémon will be too tired to leap over the electrical ring with any acrobatic stunts.
Indeed, Hitmontop fails to leap over the ring, but that doesn't stop it from going under it, Hitmontop turning on its head and making like a drill, burrowing down into the rock with Dig. Bellibolt scrambles to guard itself, but it has no recourse when Hitmontop bursts out of the ground, ramming into it and toppling it. The hit is a critical one, Hitmontop using the element of surprise to strike right at Bellibolt's stomach.
The rain summoned earlier clears up as Iono switches into Rotom, the plasma Pokémon coming out in its base form, zipping around at lightning-fast speeds. With Hitmontop paralyzed and weakened, it only takes a quick Thunderbolt from Rotom to knock it out, paralysis sparing Rotom from receiving a hard parting Sucker Punch.
Hitmontop returns to its Great Ball, and Léan prepares to send out his last Pokémon.
"You've stood against everything we've thrown at you so far, and your resolve has yet to shake. Now," he calls out, "my partner, Machamp, see if her resolve shatters when struck by our crushing blows!"
In a flash, Machamp emerges on the battlefield, and the four-armed Pokémon wastes no time making its presence known. With a Rock Smash that puts Poliwrath's efforts to shame, it pounds the ground, leaving a crater - no doubt one that will be excavated further and turned into another spring - and throwing up massive boulders. The superpowered Pokémon takes the boulders up, and begins tossing them into the air, lobbing them at Rotom in a Rock Slide attack!
“Aw, come on!” Iono says, her teeth sharply clacking together as she tries to figure out what to do. At least Rock isn’t super effective, Iono glad she hadn’t tried experimenting with all the form changes she’d heard about, as she watches the massive boulders crash down. Rotom tries to dodge, but fails, the electric spark losing nearly half of its HP in one go. Iono clutches her sleeves together, nervous. Let’s see, what would be something unexpected… the ghost and fighting interactions were too obvious to play with…
Aha. Perfect. Iono uses Trick, swapping her Magnet off of Rotom and getting Machamp’s leftovers. Rotom can use it, Machamp can’t - now Rotom’s the one with the endurance boost!
So she used that trick, hm? Getting your opponent's item only rarely hurt, and in one fell swoop, she had given Rotom a longevity boost. Well, if she were going to put the pressure on them to finish this off quickly…
Machamp looks back to Léan, who gives a silent nod, prompting Machamp to… flex? No, wait, it's not just flexing and puffing out its pecs; it's using Bulk Up. Already a mountain of muscle, Machamp becomes even beefier as it raises its attack and defense, growing larger before Iono's eyes.
From here on, it would be all about all-out offense for Machamp and Léan, finishing this in just one or two blows!
That's not the only change in their strategy, though! Iono wanted to play a game with items, so they'd oblige! A Cross Chop directed at the ground kicks up a rain of rubble, giving Machamp some cover to rush in with a Knock Off, a move which would not only bat away Rotom's newly-acquired Leftovers, but would hit for supereffective damage against the ghostly spark!
The Knock Off comes swinging in, and Iono looks very worried. She’s only got one solution left. If she can’t pull this off in time, she’s done for… but this could work.
With a gulp, Iono commands Rotom to use Confuse Ray. Will it hit? Will it confuse? And if so, will it manage to get Machamp to hit itself instead?
The Confuse Ray takes hold! Machamp nearly topples over, suddenly in a daze, only half-remembering what it was doing. With one of its four arms, Machamp manages to slap… just the air, actually, missing Rotom completely! With a second shot, Machamp instead hits one of its own arms, trying to slap from two directions simultaneously in an uncoordinated fashion.
The self-inflicted blow forces Machamp to pause to try and regroup, the confusion clouding its mind not making that task any easier. As Machamp backs off on the offensive, it tries to tighten its focus, seeking some clarity with Focus Energy.
There's an opening for Iono as the Fighting-type prepares for another attempt at striking a decisive blow, but will she be able to make use of it?
Hmmm. Iono takes a look at the Machamp. Maybe she can whittle it down while confused for one more blow… with that, she casts Will-o-Wisp! This should burn Machamp. As long as she can avoid Rotom getting taken out, she has one last trick up her sleeve!
Things keep looking better and better for Iono! The Will-o-Wisp lands without issue, spectral flames flaring up around Léan's ace, inflicting it with a burn! With that, Iono has things in the bag! There's nothing else to worry about!
Or so she thinks for a brief moment. While the flames do seem to cause Machamp some pain, for the most part, the Pokémon seems to shake them off. In fact…
There's an extraordinarily loud series of cracks as Machamp reaches down, digging its fingers into the stony floor, forcing them through rock. With all four of its arms, it lets out a mighty, floor-shaking cry, and hefts up a massive boulder, pulled straight from the ground.
Machamp, unfortunately for Iono, has Guts. The burn does wear it down, but rather than reducing its strength, it increases it! Between the Bulk Up, Guts, the chance of an extra powerful hit courtesy of Focus Energy, there's much for Iono to worry about!
One bright spot that Iono can still cling tightly to? Machamp remains confused. Indeed, as Machamp makes one final charge at Rotom, aiming to simply bring the boulder down on its opponent - a different kind of rock smash, as it were, where the rock would do the smashing - it seems nearly to stumble. Its movements remain sloppy, uncoordinated. With the right little push…
Well. Just one more push, huh? Rotom might not have much HP, but does it need it in this case? After all, it’s right over the edge… so with a grin, Iono makes one final order. A ghost type move, one that was even more powerful with that burn right now.
With that, Rotom launches a Hex, aiming to blast Machamp away once and for all with plenty of extra ghost damage!
It all hinges upon which move hits first, or so it seems! With Machamp slowed by confusion, and Rotom a speedster by nature. Rotom apparently has the advantage, and, sure enough, the Hex hits! Machamp stops in its tracks as the ghost's attack takes hold, and the Pokémon even begins to buckle under the weight of the boulder. Machamp struggles to tank the hit, letting out what sounds like a groan…
There's a crash.
The boulder slams into the floor, slipping from Macham's grip and tumbling out of Machamp's hands.
Machamp itself topples over, falling forward as the boosted Hex attack proves too much to withstand on top of everything else.
From across the space, Iono hears a sigh, Léan letting his head hang for a moment before he transitions to a proper bow. "You withstood every strike and every blow with admirable steadiness. You've shown you're sturdier than stone. In recognition of your endurance and prowess in combat alike-"
He pauses, recalling Machamp and making his way over to Iono, the loser making the effort to approach the victor. Only when he arrives does he bow his head and extend an open palm, presenting a small little badge, depicting a stylized fist smashing through a stylized boulder, to Iono. "-I give you the Rubble Badge."
“HELL YEAH!” With a grin, as she recalls Rotom, Iono grabs the Rubble Badge. She pulls a dramatic pose, holding it up, and then shows it to the stream for good measure. Pinning it on the front of her coat to show off, Iono bows to Lèan in reply, a sharky grin on her face.
“Well. That wasn’t hard at all, was it? If this is what all the Sevii trials are like, I’ll have these badges done in no time!”
"You know the structure of our trials now," Léan affirms before going on to add a word of caution. "At each gym in our islands, the trial you face will differ. Expect to be tested on more than your physical strength and resolve. Each island will ask something different of you in the same way each island asks something different from those who explore them. Remember," he urges, "always strive to realistically assess your abilities. Follow that advice, and you will be challenged, but you should not struggle!" He seems in high spirits as he delivers Iono some words of wisdom, not too worn-down from either the day's work or the battle.
"You are welcome to stay or to go on," Léan says. "If you stay, I recommend getting in the springs. We will be, so we can heal and relax our bodies after today's work. There's no better place for healing than here, if you ask me for my opinion."
“Heeeeh… well. In that case, time to leave it up to chat!” Grinning, Iono puts in a question to chat, and they immediately respond.
“SOAK SOAK SOAK”
“SWIMSUIT SESSION”
“LET’S GET NAKED”
“Congrats champ now take those clothes off”
With a basically unanimous result, it’s not long before Iono is relaxing in the hot springs, her hair flowing out around her as she basks in her victory. “Ahh… this is the life, chat. What a great time.
Six more, huh? Which do you think’ll be easiest?”
A clamour of discussion erupts, the chat spitting their theories on the Sevii Islands. Most of which have no basis in reality. Not that Iono is paying attention, just floating on her back in the hot water.
Not that far off, surrounded by his team and soaking in another spring within the Ember Spa, Léan lets his thoughts wander.
How many tourists had he offered his advice to so that they could complete the league challenge? How many had he sent off, expecting them to put it to good use? There was a discrepancy between the two numbers. So many tourists were content to walk away with a single badge, occasionally two. There was nothing wrong with that, but, maybe…
Well, perhaps Iono would be different.
