Pokémon Obsidian | An Orre Fanfiction

Chapter 109: Yard Sale

Leroy made a point of not looking at Jamie. He wasn't being cautious like Camden or Raidne. He didn't like Jamie any more than Jamie liked him. Harper had to know what she was doing, but that was the first time Jamie doubted her. Leroy looked like nothing could be less interesting or important than his oath.

'Mr. Moore, you worked for Cipher up until you were arrested, right?'

'Yes.'

'What was your title?'

'Admin.'

'Did the defendant promote you to Admin?'

'Yes.'

'What were your responsibilities?'

'I oversaw the cells where we held our enemies. Like every other Admin, I was one of the stronger Trainers... so I was often sent on missions where I was in charge of teams of Commanders and Peons.'

He paused. 'And I enforced the Grand Master's rule... no under 18s... at the Selenite Resort.'

'Did you have a good relationship with the defendant?'

'Not in the slightest.'

'So why did he promote you?'

'He promoted everyone who was abused, so we were out of harm's way... regardless of whether we got on or not.'

'That seems like an act of kindness. The defendant must also have appreciated you enforcing that rule. So why the bad relationship? Did he tell you off all the time?'

'He was a hard taskmaster and intolerable drunk... and yes, he constantly found fault with all of us... even the people who were supposedly his friends.'

'Was that for any old reason? Or were there actions that always prompted complaints?'

Leroy sighed. Clearly, Harper did know exactly what she was doing. Leroy's display of genuine disdain towards Jamie showed that he wouldn't say anything lightly.

'When people got hurt... like the Clover Shackleton incident.'

'So he didn't like violence?'

'He talked about violence and cruelty and trained us in combat... and we had the Shadow Pokémon... but yeah, whenever something serious actually happened, it upset him and we'd just know when we heard sirens that he drank himself almost to death again.'

That was mostly true. There were times, however, when Jamie actively encouraged hurting others, like the day Rose was coaxed off the balcony to his death. Leroy didn't avoid mentioning those incidents out of kindness. He didn't want to be charged with anything the public didn't know about.

'I didn't even know why he was doing what he did, most of the time. He said he wanted to take over the world, but you can't take over the world without trampling people down. I think he was nuts, to be honest.'

'Did you or your colleagues ever consider ousting him?'

'Oh, yeah, everyone did, but he was too strong as a Trainer. And only he could control the Shadow Pokémon just by staring at them. He also had a sort of authority that everyone respected, despite being a drunken softie.'

He sighed again. 'But look... I'm not here to discuss this guy's addiction problems. Let me make it clear... I'm here to say I don't totally hate his guts because when he promoted me, he saved me from my abusers, Primula and Rose Moore. Primula owned the resort, so I still had to work with her, but she never dared touch me again once I was an Admin and he was in charge. Yes, this guy was a lunatic who wanted to take over the world for whatever weird reason, but he was the only person with enough authority to just stop the abuse with words and a few rules. He used his position to do good and... I guess... if he had taken over the world... he would've kept using it to do good.'