Remembering the past

"No need to look at me like that, it's not stolen. I found it in a chest buried under the sands of a beach near Littleroot. I assume that the ship it was on originally went down near there some time ago." I said honestly. He looked suspicious for a moment before nodding "I'll check to see if such a ship existed as well as all the other pieces of the ore we have to verify that story but I believe you are telling the truth." he said seriously. -

I shrugged "If you feel the need to by all means. Honestly speaking the stuff is entirely useless for the league since even the few aura masters you have aren't given access to the material. It's little more than normal iron as far as construction is concerned and only a pokemon with an innate ability to wield their own aura like Riolu and Lucario might get some above average usage out of it." I said honestly. Roark sighed "I know but it's less about the usefulness of the material and more it's rarity and value." "History begs to differ but I won't argue on this matter with you." I said shaking my head in disagreement.-

He frowned "There shouldn't be anything to argue, that is just the way things are." he said confused. "I told you I'm not arguing with you on this, take it as if I hadn't said anything if you'd like." I said shaking my head. He WAS wrong though as the value of a thing was based off of what we thought it was worth at first. It was only after we began to see something as innately valuable that the reason for it's value stops counting for anything.-

In the case of Life iron it was little different than normal iron materialistically speaking. Other than it's rarity the value of the stuff was given to it by how coveted it was for aura masters. This lasted long enough that even after aura masters became a rarity people still thought that the stuff held value which was untrue. It was a simple matter of supply being scarce while demand was high and once demand all but vanished the price tag stuck around. Roark couldn't be blamed for misunderstanding this and thinking that it had any actual value in and of itself since he likely wasn't aware of the history involved like I was.-

It was much like how people believed that diamonds and other "precious" gems had any innate value when in fact they were just pretty rocks, not even that rare either. "Anyways would you be interested in helping me create the gloves if I could get a master smith onboard?" I asked the tailor. "Aye, it'd be a new experience fer me and worth the effort." he said with a grin. "What of you, any plans beyond checking the background of my ore?" I asked Roark and he shook his head.

"I was going to handle some paperwork in the gym like I do every day when I'm not digging in the mine, training my pokemon or handling challengers. At this point in the season I get few challengers so I tend to have quite a lot of free time on my hands." he said honestly. "I can see that since traditionally yours is the first gym challenged in the circuit much like Brock's and Roxanne's in their regions. The fact that many seem to that that makes you three the weakest gym leaders is an unfortunate consequence. There are no weak gym leaders but as the first gym the level of power you all can use is heavily limited." I said understandingly.-

"We don't mind all that much since we know the truth and in my case I even take pride in being the first challenge that many will face on their journeys. I get the unique experience of watching my challengers go from weak to powerful as they go through the circuit and I have even seen a few reach heights above even me!" Roark said with a passionate smile.-

"Cynthia right? If I recall she became champion two years after you took the leader position. Took the circuit by storm too with a run not unlike my own though perhaps a bit more orthodox in her approach." I said and he nodded. "I remember that challenge like it was yesterday and not five years ago. The league season had just started and it was my second year as a gym leader so I was still learning the ropes. Till that day my challengers were all beginners and I gave advice and encouragement win or lose as was my duty as a leader. I started that day thinking it would be no different when one of my assistants told me that the challenger I was facing asked for as four star challenge."-

"It was my first time encountering such a thing and so I was quite nervous when she stepped onto the field. She had this sort of energy about her where you couldn't help but take her seriously. The referee read off the rules as usual for this level of battle and when the signal was given we sent out our first of three pokemon. I sent out an Onix and she sent out a Roselia. It wasn't even a battle but a one sides beatdown as her Roselia was simply too fast for my Onix to hit and her orders were masterfully executed."-

"I used a Graveler to barely knockout her Roselia after that and she sent out her second and final pokemon that swept my second and third pokemon, her Garchomp that was a Gabite at the time. A massive intimidating beast of a pokemon even then as a royal/attack variant of it's species. It single handedly rolled over my last two pokemon without so much as a scratch like a masterful dance of dominance. Till date I've not had any other challenger come even close to being so at ease against me." he said with a fond nostalgic look.-

I wasn't surprised by his retelling as I had seen the recording of that battle on the pokemon and knew what he was talking about. Cynthia was VERY different outside of battle and in it, almost like a totally different person in fact. There was none of that curiosity or playfulness I had seen in person but someone with a sharp fully focused mind driven by a single goal, victory.