Acceptance Page 107

As my comment spam might indicate I'm finally catching up on some notifications, and boy oh boy what a note to leave off on!
First things first, they're in a gym. A Gym. Why here, of all places, would pokemon have to be in their pokeballs. The whole gym system is really about the trainer and their achievements, huh, never mind the critters doing all the grunt work. ',:V
And now for this part: Brad. Brad, Brad, Brad. I half expected Zoe to reply with something like "you're not a disappointment" but the fact she immediately understands, without question, speaks volumes about their relationship - feelings of inadequacy? in MY friend?? Yeah, there they are, that explains a lot. Lovely little body language shift with the crossed arms + open pose in the last panel!
I'm gonna fight whoever made Brad feel like he's a weak disappointment, though. Close as he and Zoe may be, he doesn't seem to have anticipated such a nice answer, and I'm willing to bet that indicates less about Zoe than his own expectations for "how people respond to me failing them." 8(
Good on them for actually talking things out, though, even if Zoe could've approached it a bit more calmly (which is understandable but still pal you're in public). Looking forward to where this is going as always! >:Yc