Since ancient times, negotiations have always been about seizing the initiative. By gaining the upper hand in momentum, a Trainer is more likely to secure greater benefits at the negotiation table.
Based on what Nova remembered from his previous life, whether it was the high level decisions of great nations found in history books, or the gang negotiations shown in fiction, nothing ever strayed from this principle.
Mort had planned this from the very start. A gentleman can be trapped by his own principles, and no matter what Remington truly thought deep down, he still had to keep up a righteous public face. So Mort put on the rogue like attitude of an old senior Trainer, standing on the moral high ground and talking circles around him.
Remington truly had no good way to deal with someone like Mort. But his younger sister, known in the underworld as the Diane of the Purple Dragon Gym, Second Miss Long, had plenty of strength and tricks of her own.
To deal with a rogue, she could simply be more of a rogue than he was.
So Second Miss Long stepped forward with a bold, unrestrained attitude, teasing the old senior Trainer until it actually made Mort uneasy. No matter how fierce or shameless an old rogue might be, he still feared a beautiful woman coming at him with cheap tricks.
Mort said, "There are still so many people watching! I usually save this for when the lights are off!"
Nova stepped in at just the right moment and blocked Second Miss Long, saving at least a little face for his master. If word got out that the head of the Withered Earth Gym had been toyed with like a Rollout ball by Second Miss Long, it would become a massive joke across the League.
Of course, this only made Second Miss Long more curious about Nova.
"He's actually immune to my charm? This pretty boy has some skill," she said.
Remington was not about to let his sister carry on. "Diane, come here right now. What kind of behavior is this? You have completely disgraced our father's name."
Second Miss Long bared her sharp canine teeth and gave her own brother a sharp "tsk." Then, with only a slight pull, she broke her arm free from Nova's grip.
Her purple eyes lingered on Nova for a moment longer before she let out a soft huff. On long legs that looked over a meter long, she walked back to stand behind Remington.
Seeing that his usually wild sister had actually shown him respect in public and returned when called, Remington quietly let out a deep breath of relief.
Of course, the polite formalities still had to be spoken.
"Master Mort, Elite Gilbert, please forgive us. This girl, Diane, has been spoiled by our family and has always lacked discipline..."
Gilbert waved a hand. "Remington, you must be joking. It was we who failed to act with the dignity befitting our age. How could we blame a child for a little mischief?"
The two men shared a laugh afterward, as though both understood some private joke.
Watching from the side, Nova felt sick to his stomach. The whole scene reminded him far too much of the social obligations from his old workplace in his previous life.
This only deepened his worry about the future.
If I did not travel to the world of Pokémon just to keep playing these same false games with people, and then I travel to the world of Pokémon only to become some Elite or Champion who still has to play these same false games with people, then wasn't my journey here for nothing?
Nova's greatest wish in this life was to travel the world with Aresdra by his side, exploring every region and meeting every kind of Pokémon along the way. If he were truly forced into a desk job at League headquarters, he would rather not have come at all.
Second Miss Long was also someone who found this scene distasteful.
If she had known what Nova was thinking at that moment, she likely would have grown even more interested in the pretty boy, because she too despised empty formality and longed for freedom more than almost anything else.
Diane and her older brother did not share the same mother, and there was a full twenty year gap between them. That alone was enough material for a hundred episode family drama.
In short, the now twenty two year old Diane had spent her childhood spoiled by her father. But after he passed away and her eldest brother Remington rose to the title of League Champion, her place within the Purple Dragon Gym had grown increasingly awkward.
Remington was in the prime of his life and the eldest son of the first wife, leaving Diane little say in family matters. The aging elders of the Gym also tended to treat her like an outsider, as though she were some illegitimate daughter rather than true family.
Although Remington still cared for his sister in his own way, the wide age gap left an uneasy distance between them. Neither felt fully comfortable around the other, so he rarely tried to rein her in.
Growing up in such a stifling environment, Second Miss Long had developed quite a wild and unconventional personality.
All sorts of rumors circulated about her among Trainers, that she was a master of some scandalous technique, that she devoured admirers by the dozens each year, that dragon types and their Trainers were simply born reckless with affection. Most of it was exaggerated gossip, but perhaps not entirely without some grain of truth.
Because of this, her reputation among Trainers was considerable, helped along by the fact that she was strikingly beautiful with a figure that turned heads wherever she went. Some Trainers even called her the shadow counterpart to Lennon and gave her the nickname "Diane."
Thanks to this reputation, Second Miss Long had become one of the rare Trainers whose name was already being sung about on Trainer forums before she had even entered the Masters Tournament. Her fame there was so widespread that it was no surprise Nova had recognized her on sight.
After all, few girls grew taller than one point nine meters, and fewer still carried the striking purple eyes passed down through the Purple Dragon Gym bloodline. That was exactly how Nova had known to call out "Second Miss Long" the instant he caught her arm.
Still, thinking back on grabbing her arm left Nova a little embarrassed.
When Second Miss Long had pulled free just now, what he had been holding did not feel like the arm of a young woman at all. It felt more like gripping the leg of some massive prehistoric Pokémon.
No wonder people said that the Long family of the Purple Dragon Gym were built like humanoid monsters with strength far beyond ordinary limits. Remembering the force she had used, Nova broke into a cold sweat.
If he ever seriously offended this beauty and she decided to punish him, she might not even need to send out a Pokémon. She could probably snap him in half with her bare hands and leave him bedridden for weeks.
When other people called Nova a pretty boy, it usually came off as a mild insult. When this Dragon Girl called him one, it was simply an honest statement of fact.
Had someone brought the toughest boxer from Nova's old world before Diane, she might have looked him over and called him "cutely rugged" without a hint of irony.
After Remington managed to calm his rebellious sister, he found himself curious about the young man who had dared to touch Diane in the first place. He turned to Gilbert. "Elite Gilbert, is this young friend a new recruit for your Gym? A Trainer at such a young age?"
Gilbert answered, "Our Layered Peaks Gym does not take on child labor. This boy is my senior brother's very last disciple."
Hearing this unexpected answer, a faint gleam passed through Remington's eyes.
By the long standing tradition of the Layered Peaks Gym, the title of Gym Leader always passed from master to disciple. Since Gilbert currently had no disciple of his own, that meant this boy might well become the future leader of the entire Layered Peaks Gym.
Which would also make him the primary future rival of the Purple Dragon Gym.
The Layered Peaks Gym's belief in "the wise shall rise" stood in direct opposition to the Purple Dragon Gym's hereditary tradition. It was a clash of ideals, and that clash was exactly why the two Gyms had always stood as the most tense rivals within the League.
If the Layered Peaks Gym, which taught without discrimination, valued merit above all, stayed grounded, and sought truth through practice, could be seen as the reform minded faction of the League...
Then the Purple Dragon Gym, which prized hierarchy, pure bloodlines, family succession, and strict order, stood as the truest voice of tradition.