Pokémon: My Parallel World Daughters Revealed

The video continued playing.

After the Gym closed, Miori wasn’t nearly as composed as she appeared during the day.

Every evening, the moment she shut her bedroom door, she collapsed onto the bed and let Emolga lie across her legs like a living hand warmer.

After resting for a while, Miori sat cross-legged, picked up the can of cola from the table, pulled open the tab, and took a long drink. Then she released a deep breath.

"I’m finally alive again."

She flopped back onto the bed and looked toward Luxio, which was lying beside the door.

"Luxio, was I too fierce today?"

Luxio released a breath through its nose and slapped its tail against the floor.

"Emolga, what do you think?"

Emolga rolled onto its back and exposed its belly.

"Of course you don’t care."

Miori poked its stomach with one finger.

"You probably wish every challenger were a little weaker so you could finish work earlier."

"I don’t actually want to keep such a stern expression all day."

Miori picked Emolga up and placed it on her stomach.

"But if I don’t act a little intimidating, some challengers won’t take me seriously at all."

To avoid being underestimated because of her age, Miori deliberately set aside time every day to practice her expressions in front of a mirror, all so she could make herself appear more imposing.

That was why the first thing she did every evening after closing the Gym was massage her face in front of the mirror.

Maintaining a stern expression for an entire day genuinely made her face ache.

Luxio rose from its place by the door, walked over to the bed, and nudged Miori’s dangling hand with its head.

"Are you comforting me?"

Miori scratched Luxio beneath the chin.

Luxio narrowed its eyes as a deep purr rumbled in its throat.

"All right. I won’t think about it anymore."

Miori sat up, moved Emolga from her stomach to the pillow, and picked up the tablet from her bedside table.

"Let’s see what today’s reviews are like."

[Regular-Seat Chat Group]

"So the stone-faced expression was something she practiced!!"

"Miori: I must become a dignified Gym Leader! Also Miori: Was I too fierce today? (Contemplates deeply.)"

[VIP Chat Group]

[Skyla]: Hahahahaha! So Miori’s overwhelming presence during the day was all an act! I knew it! The difference between her two personalities was far too enormous!

[Valerie]: I completely understand how Miori feels! Gym Battles aside, models also need to control their expressions deliberately while walking the runway. Otherwise, it’s easy to lose command of the stage.

[Lenora]: A ten-year-old girl has to manage an entire Gym while dealing with challengers of every age. If she didn’t deliberately act more mature, people really would underestimate her.

The video continued playing.

Miori opened the Unova Trainers’ forum, its blue light reflecting across her face.

A pinned post sat at the top of the forum’s homepage:

[One Month Since Nimbasa Gym’s New Leader Took Office: Badge Acquisition Rate Falls Below Twenty Percent, Setting the Lowest Record in Unova History!]

Miori placed the tablet facedown on the bed and buried her face in her pillow.

"It isn’t that exaggerated..."

Her muffled voice emerged from the pillow.

Emolga poked her ear with its tail.

Luxio rested its head against the edge of the bed and released a deep purr.

Miori rolled over, picked up the tablet again, and continued scrolling.

The forum didn’t actually contain many complaints about her personally. Most Trainers acknowledged that the new Gym Leader was extremely strong, that her battling style was decisive and efficient, and that she never deliberately made things difficult for challengers.

The problem was that her standards were far too strict.

"I’m not deliberately withholding Badges."

Miori stared at the ceiling and muttered to herself.

"But some people catch a Pokémon and immediately bring it here to challenge the Gym. How am I supposed to go easy on someone at that level?"

Emolga yawned.

"The most ridiculous one was the challenger from last week. He brought only a Palpitoad and said that because Ground types were immune to Electric-type moves, the only way I could possibly defeat him was by cheating."

Miori covered her face.

"I genuinely didn’t know what to say."

[VIP Chat Group]

[Skyla]: Challenger: Ground types are immune to Electric-type moves! The advantage is mine! Miori: Luxio, use Crunch. Challenger: What?

[May]: Hahahaha! I can picture it perfectly!

[Roxie]: About the Badge acquisition rate falling below twenty percent... Miori’s standards are certainly strict, but I think that’s actually a good thing. At least a Badge from Nimbasa Gym carries far more weight than it used to!

[Janine]: Agreed! Badges are supposed to have a minimum standard. It would be far more embarrassing if just anyone could collect eight Badges and enter the Pokémon League!

[Lt. Surge]: Exactly. She isn’t maliciously withholding Badges. Any Trainer who believes immunity to Electric-type moves guarantees victory deserves to be taught a lesson.

The video continued playing.

Two months after Miori took office, she discovered a cruel reality:

Nimbasa Gym had issued fewer Badges that year than at any other point in Unova’s history.

Of course, she could have ignored the matter. The challengers simply hadn’t met the required standard, and whether she awarded them Badges was ultimately within her authority as Gym Leader.

However, if too few Badges were issued, the League would send someone to investigate the Gym’s operations.

The Gym Leader would then be required to submit a detailed written report explaining why each challenger had failed.

As a result, Miori eventually introduced two additional unwritten rules.

The first was to consider a challenger’s improvement.

For Trainers who challenged the Gym repeatedly, Miori would hold back appropriately. Of course, if they demonstrated absolutely no improvement between their first and second attempts, they could forget about receiving a Badge.

The second rule was that any challenger who demonstrated an acceptable level of battling skill could receive a Badge even if they didn’t win.

Neither rule was publicly announced.

Miori understood Trainers far too well.

If Nimbasa Gym officially announced that it had "relaxed its standards for awarding Badges," the entrance would be packed the very next morning with challengers hoping to get lucky.

Therefore, these rules could only be followed.

They could never be spoken aloud.

After the two unwritten rules were implemented, Nimbasa Gym’s Badge acquisition rate gradually recovered over the following month.

One evening, Miori was lying on her bed as usual and browsing the forum.

A popular thread was floating on the homepage:

[Nimbasa Gym Survival Guide—How Many of the New Gym Leader’s Rules Creepypasta Do You Know?]

Miori frowned.

A rules creepypasta?

How had her perfectly respectable Gym turned into a horror story?

She opened the thread.

The original poster’s username was Trainer Who Never Wants to Be Electrocuted Again.

The post read:

Rule One: If the Gym Leader gives you a slight nod before the battle, you have a chance of receiving a Badge that day. If she remains expressionless, do not hesitate. Turn around and leave.

Miori thought back.

Before a battle, she really did inspect how many Poké Balls her opponent carried and estimate the Trainer’s level of experience.

Whenever she encountered someone who had prepared thoroughly, she subconsciously relaxed a little and might have nodded without realizing it.

Rule Two: If the Gym Leader says, "Your Pokémon has been trained well," during the battle, it means she has acknowledged your strength. Regardless of whether you win or lose, your chances of receiving a Badge are extremely high.

Miori’s expression became slightly complicated when she read that one.

She merely felt that if her opponent’s performance was too poor, any comforting words she offered would sound like mockery.

Therefore, she simply remained silent.

Rule Three: If this is your second attempt at challenging the Gym, you have a certain chance of receiving a Badge even if you lose again.

Miori nearly spat out her cola when she read that.

She never expected the Trainers to quantify her unwritten policies and transform them into a rules creepypasta.

[VIP Chat Group]

[Gary]: Hahahahahahaha! A rules creepypasta! Nimbasa Gym’s rules creepypasta! My stomach hurts from laughing!

[Brock]: Honestly, how many times did Miori defeat the person who wrote that post before they managed to summarize the Gym Leader’s behavioral patterns as a rules creepypasta?

[Roxanne]: Receiving a Badge is extremely important to challengers. Naturally, they would remember every tiny detail of the Gym Leader’s behavior.

[Valerie]: Miori is still extremely capable when it comes to managing the Gym. The two policies she introduced were quite reasonable.

[Roark]: Oreburgh Gym has similar unwritten rules. If a challenger independently discovers a Rock-type Pokémon’s weaknesses and successfully uses the battlefield’s terrain, I’ll award them a Badge even if they don’t win.

[Brock]: At Pewter Gym, if a challenger notices during battle that the gaps around a Rock-type Pokémon’s joints are vulnerable, it means they have learned to observe their opponent. They can receive a Badge even if they ultimately lose.

[Volkner]: Why does it sound as though every Gym Leader in the world has unwritten rules except me?

[Flint]: Isn’t that because you completely gave up and started handing out Badges without battling?

[Volkner]: ...