Pokemon Freelancer

[Doctor]

Mine brother in crispy hydrapple sauce, I don't think there is a such thing as to much, but yeah if it feels right to go for a 3k to 5k chapter multiple times a week do so, if it feels better to do one massive chapter a week then do so, we readers survive by you writers health, if a burnout or loss of interest happens we starve, do what feels best mine friend, I assure you we wait with interest.

 

[Orderneri]

29: Earth Badge​

Bright green burst from Sandshrew's hands as he initiated Fury Cutter. Cubone used Bone Rush. The Pokemon leapt at each other and clashed. They dropped while trading blows, Sandshrew's claws growing with each hit. Bone Rush got through his defences and struck him a couple of times.

They landed with a thud, and at the same time the extra power from Sandshrew's attack helped push Bone Rush aside. Sandshrew swiped down Cubone's face with one hand, forcing it to stumble back. Sandshrew dashed and swiped up Cubone's body. Cubone sailed through the air and landed on its back.

Sandshrew mimicked what he'd seen Pancham do, flicking his wrists and disengaging his attack. He watched Cubone rise. His foe was tough. He could tell that Cubone was already injured from a previous Pokemon Joe had used, yet it could still stand. Gym Pokemon were challenging foes. That meant Sandshrew had to try extra hard.

While he was originally just playing around and had no intention of using the move in combat, the Sandshrew species had an instinctual drive to burrow. In order words, dig.

Rotom buzzed, showing that Sandshrew learned Dig. Joe put the move into play immediately, deciding he'd likely cut Scratch for this fifth move. He watched Sandshrew jump and plummet head first into the ground. It looked like dirt just magically moved aside the instant Sandshrew touched it. Energy channelled through the ground and forced it aside.

Cubone looked around, fearing when and where Sandshrew would attack from. All it could hear was the rumbling of Sandshrew digging underground. The sound echoed through the arena and made it hard to pinpoint where the mouse was.

After enough teasing, Sandshrew burst out right under Cubone and landed a nasty uppercut to his foe's chin. They both flew into the air, with Sandshrew going higher. As he descended into Cubone, he swiped with Fury Cutter and landed on his feet as Cubone fell behind him. Sandshrew rose slowly and disengaged Fury Cutter. Nailed it. He'd always watched the cool Pokemon battle in arenas. Now he was the cool Pokemon in the arena.

Considering he hadn't been attacked, Sandshrew figured Cubone was done, but he turned around just to double-check. Sure enough, Cubone was done.

Gary returned his Pokemon and pocketed the ball. Tossed his second Pokemon out. It was bright orange with a white belly. It had a massive head and jaw, and black beady eyes. It matched Sandshrew's size as it stood on all fours. Trapinch. This was Gary's Ace Pokemon. A rule for a Gym Leader was to use a Pokemon that could be considered an Ace, so Gary had to keep the capabilities of all his Gym Pokemon in mind when creating a team for a challenger.

Just from the size of Trapinch's maw, Joe expected biting moves. He was gaining Trainer intuition, although some might just call it common sense.

Sandshrew ignited his Fury Cutter claws, ready for a fight. Trapinch's mouth opened and its eyes shone. It hopped around from side to side. Gary gave a wry smile, knowing why Trapinch was excited. Gary ordered the use of Bug Bite. Trapinch stopped dancing. Green energy wrapped around its jaw. It had met a fellow Ground-type that knew a Bug-type move. A somewhat uncommon combination.

Trapinch leaped forward with force, moving faster than Joe expected. Sandshrew used its arm as defence to catch Trapinch, the giant maw clamping down on him. He spun and slammed Trapinch into the ground. Sandshrew raised his other hand and slashed down with Fury Cutter. The hit had enough force to make Trapinch bounce off the ground. Sandshrew swiped again. Trapinch fell away and Sandshrew didn't let up. He ran after his foe, getting another good hit on Trapinch's head.

Trapinch moved with the force of the attack, doing a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn. Between the Pokemon, a giant ball of dirt rose and liquefied, dripping a little. Trapinch kicked out with its back legs and the mud ball burst into a dozen projectiles, most of which struck Sandshrew. Trapinch had used Mud Shot.

Sandshrew fell onto his back, quickly spinning onto his belly and digging into the ground. He'd disappeared by the time Trapinch could look for him, so Gary told his Pokemon where Sandshrew was. Trapinch used Rock Tomb, creating large boulders from nothing. They cracked and crumbled as they formed and grew to the size of a human child. Six of them. They slowly spun around Trapinch as they waited for their creator to launch them.

Sandshrew appeared at Trapinch's side. He burst out of the ground in a way that made him travel further, not higher. He darted past Trapinch without lashing out, instead dipping into the ground on the other side of his foe and disappearing again. Trapinch had already launched Rock Tomb at Sandshrew's back, only knowing it'd missed because Joe had told Sandshrew to use Dig again. Before Trapinch could respond, Sandshrew appeared underneath Trapinch. The uppercut sent both of them into the air, and then a tremor occurred, missing both Pokemon.

The tremor machine was on a random timer, so sometimes it went ten seconds without firing off, and other times it went thirty seconds. They didn't want an easily exploitable pattern.

Sandshrew swiped with Fury Cutter and Trapinch used Mud Shot again, this time summoning a ball of mud out of nowhere. If a Pokemon used more energy, they could create rather than manipulate. Trapinch didn't just need the ground to use a move like this.

Mud Shot and Fury Cutter clashed and caused an explosion from energies disliking each other. Both Pokemon fell out of the smoke, with Sandshrew falling back towards his Trainer. He clawed at balls of mud shooting his way, ensuring he got hit as little as possible. The giant mud ball was like a turret, pumping out bullets of mud and shrinking as it did so. Sandshrew landed on strong and steady feet, still deflecting mud until a tremor shook him and caused him to stumble. He took the last few rounds of Mud Shot to the face.

He wiped mud from his face and saw Trapinch closing the gap between them with Bug Bite. Sandshrew spun and dug his tail through the ground. Use Mud Slap, shooting dirt straight into Trapinch's mouth. It coughed and sputtered as Sandshrew jumped back a short distance. Trapinch sailed through the air where its foe was just standing. Sandshrew used Fury Cutter and struck Trapinch's side, hitting it into the ground.

Trapinch dug its front feet in, skidded and turned. It roared and summoned Rock Tomb, shooting them at Sandshrew. Sandshrew immediately dove into the ground, using Dig to escape the attack as giant boulders sealed the hole.

The ground shook from the tremor machines. At first it rattled Sandshrew. But he hunkered down and stopped moving, letting it pass. Sandshrew darted under Trapinch and kept going until he was behind his foe. He burst out of the ground and aimed at Trapinch's back.

Trapinch turned as it heard something at its back, but it wasn't fast enough. Sandshrew landed on Trapinch's back and smacked its head into the ground, then rolled forward and off the Pokemon.

Sandshrew scrambled to stand as Rock Tomb came his way. He slashed at the first boulder with Fury Cutter. He dodged another and then ran up it, using his claws to bounce off another. He angled himself at Trapinch. Trapinch jumped up with Bug Bite to meet him. Fury Cutter had more reach so struck first, hitting Trapinch on the side of the face. Sandshrew kept up the assault as they fell to the ground, getting in another two swipes and practically punching Trapinch into the ground at the end.

Two Ground-types of decent weight striking the ground at the same time and place kicked up dust. When it cleared, Sandshrew was standing but its shoulders heaved from deep breathing. Trapinch lay on its side.

It was closer than Sandshrew let on. If he was lucky he would've been able to take another couple hits, but that was it. He was close to collapsing.

Seeing the screens change to 'CHALLENGER VICTORY', Sandshrew raised a clenched fist. The people cheered. Despite their favourite Gym Leader losing, it was good sportsmanship to show respect to the winner. And Joe had put on a good enough show considering this was his first Gym battle.

Joe realised he'd held his breath at the end. He let it out. Looked at a screen. Smiled. Some might claim it to be beginner's luck, but Joe thought otherwise. Joe and his Pokemon had earned their first official sport victory. They'd fought hard and well. Joe was proud of this victory.

Sandshrew approached Joe. He had seen Joe and Nidoran hi-five at the beach, so he jumped high, reaching Joe's chest. He stretched out his hand. Joe grinned and gave his Pokemon a hi-five.

"I couldn't be prouder of you and Fomantis." Joe said, crouching to the mouse. He hoped Fomantis heard him. He didn't want her to feel bad for falling before taking an opponent out. A fight wasn't always going to be an equal trade. Fomantis had done all she could, which was enough. Joe's face hardened. "But this is just the start. We have a long way to go until we're the best of the best."

A natural goal for a man like Joe. He needed strength to combat criminals. The stronger he was, the better he would be at helping those in need.

Sandshrew's eyes sparkled, liking the idea of becoming the strongest Sandshrew in the whole world. That sounded like a difficult but worthy dream for a boy like Sandshrew.

Gary clapped a couple of times after returning Trapinch. He began walking along the side of the arena. Joe followed suit. They met in the middle and shook hands.

"This belongs to you now." Gary said, pulling a green Badge out of his pocket. It was long, like a trimmed bush, with some extra parts at the top sticking out like leaves. "The Earth Badge."

"Thanks." Joe marvelled at the Badge for a moment. Receiving a Badge, a trophy, felt like acknowledgment of his efforts. The thrill of the fight, paired with the trophy for his achievement, caused a surge of dopamine in Joe's mind. If he liked the idea of continuing the sport in Amethyst, then now he loved it.

Joe pocketed the Badge after realising he was staring too much. He looked up at Gary.

"By the way, do you have the Macro Cosmos app?" Seeing Joe shake his head, Gary continued. "Speak to the receptionist on your way out. He'll set it up for you."

Joe thought he hadn't heard of it before, but after some thinking, he could recall exactly one instance where Jasmine had mentioned it. The Macro Cosmos app had various functions. A tally of wins and losses both inside and outside of the Gym Challenge. It had a digital collection of Badges, with video evidence of a match attached. There was a forum for people to talk, so it was also a social media app. There was a map where Trainers could look for nearby arenas or they could put an alert on the map saying they wanted to battle, which enticed other Trainers to go hunting.

"More importantly, I hope that offer of a friendly match is still on the table."

"Of course." Joe looked down at Absol. "You up for it?" She barked and Joe ruffled the fur atop her head, much to Absol's annoyance.

Both sides split up and went back to their end of the battlefield. The audience had grown a little, some people appearing in the middle of the Gym battle. But the audience had also tuned out. Joe won. The battle was over. They were going to hang around and wait for another challenger, but until then they focused on other tasks or hobbies. But when one saw movement in the corner of her vision, she looked to see Joe setting up against Gary again. She was confused but acted automatically, nudging a friend. This started a chain reaction of people turning to the arena once more.

"Rotom, start up the livestream again. And don't use the gimmick. I want a clean fight." Gary didn't have to speak loud for the Gym's device expert to hear him. As he'd ordered, the livestream booted up.

Gary grinned and grabbed a Pokeball from his back holster. He kept his personal team on him at all times because he never knew when he'd get to engage in a personal battle. He threw a ball and unleashed a bipedal beetle. The bug had a large horn atop its head and yellow eyes searching for a foe.

The crowd went wild at the reveal of Heracross, one of Gary's personal Pokemon. It wasn't every day that his fans were treated to an all-out battle. They roared and cheered. They were one step away from chanting 'Blue,' which was Gary's nickname. He'd earned it for his apparent penchant for blue-coloured Pokemon. Blastoise, Gyarados, Heracross. That paired with the fact he used to often be seen wearing a blue shirt.

The livestream lit up almost immediately too, since it was uncommon for two streams to be back-to-back. The notifications went out which confused and interested people, only for them to see Heracross. Word spread fast. Before the battle even began, there were tens of thousands of people watching. By the end, it would be hundreds of thousands. A video after the fact would garner millions of views. That was just how popular the Gym Challenge, the League, and Gym Leaders themselves, were.

Joe looked down at Absol and nodded, causing Absol to jump into the arena. She took a stance and growled at her opponent. The friendly battle began.

Heracross led with Pin Missile, the shell on its back opening and its wings moving out of the way to unleash ten glowing green bolts of energy. They curved around Heracross and flew at Absol.

Absol took a few chunks out of the ground with Rock Slide and launched them, causing an explosion in the center of the arena. That was a superpowered Pin Missile. It was typically a low tier move for weaker bugs, but for a Heracross that had entered the League, its power enhanced the move. It was a much bigger threat. Audience members used arms to cover their faces from the force of the blast.

Heracross hovered above the ground. It charged through the smoke covered in bright green energy, dirt beneath it cracking and tearing. Trailblaze. It met Absol's Quick Attack, their heads clashing. They backed away and stood their ground.

Absol roared and used Rock Slide again. Instead of just creating them close by, chunks of dirt rose all around the battlefield. She tossed a few at Heracross from different directions, forcing Heracross to defend. She'd drawn out another move. A strong purple aura spawned from Heracross as it spun and struck down each rock that came its way. Outrage. A powerful Dragon-type move, but the cost of the move was to muddle the brain for a time.

Heracross turned its attention to Absol and charged at her before she could send the rest of the rocks its way. Absol retreated with Quick Attack, pouncing along her rocks before they fell. Heracross caught up and the Pokemon clashed headfirst, Outrage against Night Slash and Shadow Ball. They darted through the air, Heracross flying and Absol jumping on the rocks she'd created. They clashed half a dozen times in a matter of seconds before skidding to a halt near their Trainers. Finally, the rocks had enough time to hit the ground.

Despite using Outrage, Heracross remained focused and calm. It looked at Absol with narrowed eyes, awaiting orders. Gary had gone out of his way to train his Heracross with the Own Tempo Ability, which gave it perfect control over its own mind, remaining stable under pressure.

With a brief respite, Absol took a moment to try something. Small embers left the corners of her mouth as she built up fire at the back of her throat, but that was it. There was no follow up. She failed to use a move. She was experimenting. Testing her limits. This little failure was good information.

Absol understood how Fire-type energy worked and wanted to use it, but she was trying to use it like Ice Beam. She was trying to teach herself Flamethrower. But her wavelength wasn't strong enough to support it.

The battle resumed as Rotom took note of Absol's attempted use of Fire-type energy. Her horn turned pink and she unleashed Psycho Cut as Heracross rushed in with Trailblaze. The effective energy cut through the bug's attack and made it stumble.

Seizing the opportunity, Absol dashed forward with Quick Attack. That was it. Joe had a reliance on movement, which caused him to favour Quick Attack. Absol had used it a lot since teaming up with Joe. Absol took advantage of the move. Embers began spawning around her. Quick Attack's white energy burst into a brilliant fire as she struck Heracross full force with her own body. Absol learned Flame Charge.

Absol, more than anything, wanted utility. She wanted to be capable of fighting any and all threats. A good way to do so was to learn a move of every type.

Being around a team that was growing quickly had made her realise she'd stagnated for a long time. Teaching herself Stone Edge by the time she arrived at Mt. Silver was the first move she'd learned in years. It was time to do more and do better. She didn't want to let others down, nor did she want to fall behind. To her own surprise, Absol wanted to lead by example, which meant keeping her position as Joe's strongest Pokemon.

Heracross fell back and barely countered another Psycho Cut with Pin Missile before it corrected itself and hovered above the ground. It flexed and put its hands forward, shooting two rushing winds, Vacuum Wave, at Absol. They were like tornados, kicking up a strong gust. It was perfect manipulation of the surrounding air using martial arts.

Absol jumped as Vacuum Wave struck the ground where she'd been standing. She felt it was easier to do so. Flame Charge had done something to her. Made energy circulation better, which resulted in her feeling lighter and faster. She used Stone Edge under Heracross' foot to destabilise it, then used Flame Charge. The fire attack was like having thrusters. She bolted forward despite having nothing to jump off.

Heracross darted to the side using its wings. Absol struck the arena with force, creating a small crater and kicking up dust. Heracross was preparing Vacuum Wave when a pink arc struck one of its arms, knocking it back. Its focus shifted to its own arm briefly. Out of the corner of its eye it saw a great fire approaching. Before Heracross could react, Absol struck the bug down.

They landed some feet apart and turned to face each other, glaring. The battle continued like this for a time, trading small blows, until both were panting heavily. The arena was torn up from the regular use of Rock Slide and the force of attacks hitting dirt.

Heracross used Outrage again, rushing at Absol with the aim of handing a powerful hit. Absol used Rock Slide to try and crush the bug. Her attack forced Heracross to stop, but it swiped at the rocks, successfully defending itself. Absol tossed more rocks, giving them momentum, then swapped to a different move. Through the gaps of Heracross fending off rocks, Absol launched Psycho Cut. Her attack chipped a rock and Heracross didn't see it coming. Psycho Cut hit the bug, causing it to not be able to defend as a rock landed on it.

Heracross used the remainder of its Outrage power to create a blast, the rocks atop it scattering. It stood up, only to receive a Flame Charge to the torso. It hit the ground near its Trainer and skidded to a halt. It tried to sit up, but it fell back, its eyes spinning.

Gary wore a playful smile. "...Are you serious?"

The crowd roared and the livestream chat went wild.

Absol had one foot in the grave, so to speak. She was squinting, her vision blurry. Her legs shook from the strain of standing. She had won, barely. The smallest graze from an attack would've taken her out. They had traded a lot of small blows over the course of the fight. There had been no massive strike from a powerful move. But it all added up. Death by a thousand cuts. She didn't hear Joe walk to her side, but she felt him pat her back.

"Congratulations, Absol. You won. You can rest now."

Hearing those words, she collapsed from exhaustion. Joe tapped her with a Pokeball and put her away for a bit. He rose and met Gary at the side of the arena.

"Not bad. Not bad at all. You keep raising Pokemon like that and we're going to have some real fun. Feel free to come back when you're stronger." It'd been a while since Gary had engaged in a tough personal battle. That was worth it. Gary had placed Top 4 in the League, but Heracross in its current state wasn't fit for such a position. The main reason was that Gary had tried something different. Clearly he was wrong. Trying a variety of weaker moves wasn't for him. A prolonged fight had too many chances for the opponent to strike back. If… No, when Gary and Joe battled again, Gary's Heracross would have an entirely new moveset.

"I might just take you up on that offer." Joe said. Another fight meant more learning. Couldn't go wrong with that. If he found himself in the area, he'd definitely come back.

Joe shook Gary's hand again and left the arena. He did as recommended. He stopped by the receptionist's desk in the lobby. Got the Macro Cosmos app set up. His idea of the Macro Cosmos app, labelled Trainer's Emporium, was roughly what he remembered. But there was one feature he didn't know. He could link his PokeDex account. He thought about the implications. Probably related to the League. He connected the two apps because it was as simple as tapping a button, but he didn't think he'd get much use out the feature. Sure, he was enjoying the sport, but he didn't know if he'd enter the League.

A Regional League happened once per year, and it lasted a couple of weeks. It was too specific a time. Gyms were open almost every day of the year so Joe could get to them whenever, but if Joe found trouble around the time the League started, then he was locked out of the League for an entire year because helping people came first.

Besides, he had to earn eight Badges first. Just because Joe wanted to be a strong Trainer, didn't mean he could actually become one.

Joe looked at a map of open Gyms in Kanto, courtesy of Trainer's Emporium. He could head East to Celadon. But Joe chose not to. There was a massive forest between Viridian and Celadon. He'd be off grid for weeks. Weeks he could instead use to help people and train his team. Heading North until Pewter, then heading East along the base of the Sterling range, allowed Joe to travel through more towns. More chances to find people that need him.

Since it was afternoon already, Joe took it easy, heading to a fitness center with Absol once she was healed. She saw Joe work out. Saw the effort required for humans to be strong. She figured there was more to it than running like in New Bark, but still, she didn't expect it to be this extreme. The equipment was insane.

Afterwards, Joe considered how his phone was getting used more than usual. "Hey Rotom, is the weak phone a problem?"

Joe bought the cheapest phone he could. Spending less money meant much weaker technology. It was fine for calls and texts, but he knew enough to know it was a bottleneck for Rotom.

"Yes, I cannot function at full capacity due to weak hardware."

Time for an upgrade. Joe spent the rest of the afternoon having his ear talked off about things he didn't care about. All he wanted was a damn phone upgrade.

One last stop at the nearest PokeMart. He bought a Badge case. A small tin with a glass window and plush red velvet. It had eight slots. Joe put the Earth Badge in the first slot. Smiled to himself, satisfied.

- - - - -
Author's Note

I swear I saw Gary with a Heracross somewhere, but I can't find it now. But I think it's a fitting Pokemon for him so I left it in.

Also, I am writing a second story! I think I'll post a couple chapters on Friday. It's an original action story, and I hope you like monster girls because they're the focus for the harem. First girl is an 8 foot tall silk moth woman.

 

[Orderneri]

30: Gigantism​

The next morning, before disappearing into the wilderness, Joe checked the news. As he'd drifted off to sleep last night, he thought that he was another day closer to Raikou's reappearance. He wanted to make sure he hadn't missed the Beast. Thankfully, there was no news about Raikou.

With that confirmed, Joe set off North. He entered Viridian Forest after a few hours of walking through the rest of the city. The first day was uneventful, but at some point during the second day his gut feeling kicked in. He tried to figure out what was bugging him as he walked. Absol sensed something and growled. A second later, an explosion rang out through the forest. It came from Joe's left. West.

Flocks of birds burst out of tree canopies as they fled the area. That's what had activated Joe's instincts. He'd heard nothing until just now. The animals that usually lived here had either fled or were cowering in little nooks under trees, waiting for the problem to end.

Absol had sensed the conflict right as it started, distress reaching her and telling her there was trouble. She ran towards the problem, her Trainer keeping up as he hopped over logs. They went over a small hill, Joe's hands scrapping grass as he climbed. On the way down he almost tripped over a thick root, barely saving himself by grabbing a tree.

Joe and Absol reached a large clearing, with Joe immediately surveying the area and being in awe at the size of this lad. Rotom scanned a giant bird that stood over thirty feet tall, its head peeking above trees. Its lower half was a dull grey while its upper half, including its wings, was a bright orange. The tips of its wings were black, as were its tail feathers. Talonflame.

"A Talonflame with gigantism." Rotom claimed in its robotic voice, slightly altered now that it had a better speaker.

More importantly than the giant bird, there was a fight. Talonflame's flock of various bird species fought a group of Pokemon under the command of Trainers. The people looked rough. Leather jackets, like a biker gang. Some had long hair, others were bald. Joe's arrival caused heads to turn. He took one look at the Trainers and deemed them enemies. Thugs. Probably Hunters. The wild Pokemon were just defending themselves.

"Absol, you deal with that one." Joe pointed to a Pokemon that looked particularly tough. It had a blue body, white hands like gloves, and a white belly with a black spiral on it. Poliwrath.

Joe would take on a threat more fitting of his current power level. He reached back for a ball and tossed out Cyndaquil to face off against a pink gremlin with a two-handed metal mace. Tinkatuff. A species that was female only.

Cyndaquil sent a barrage of Ember at his opponent. Some fireballs were batted away, but a couple landed, causing Tinkatuff to wince and step back. Cyndaquil charged in, aiming to shoulder-barge Tinkatuff, but his body met the mace instead. He backed off but Tinkatuff followed, swinging her weapon at Cyndaquil. It was lit up a brilliant black, showing it was using Dark-type energy. Cyndaquil ducked and dived out of the way, but one swipe came from below and caught his chin, snapping his head back.

As Cyndaquil fought, a little bird flew around the sky, looking for a way to join one of the half a dozen battles currently taking place. It had been taken in by Talonflame recently and was the youngest and weakest of the flock. The rest of the group consisted of Pokemon like Altaria, Xatu, and Unfezant. Despite the power difference making it feel like it couldn't do much, the small bird still wanted to do something. It wanted to help anyone.

Cyndaquil stumbled back and Tinkatuff jumped at the fire hedgehog with the intention of bringing her hammer down on him. The little bird took this chance to dive in feet first, its talons engulfed in brown energy. It kicked into Tinkatuff with enough force to make her drop to her knees, but she recovered fast and took a wild swing at the bird. When she realised it was the child of her mortal enemy Corviknight, she smiled. She found it instinctively satisfying to swat down a Rookidee. A small, rotund bird with a blue back, black face, and yellow belly.

Tinkatuff never got the chance to hit Rookidee. Cyndaquil's fireballs lit her up and blasted her back before her mace could connect. Rookidee flew around Cyndaquil and charged. Joe decided to match the bird, making Cyndaquil rush forward with Tackle.

Tinkatuff swung her mace, which Cyndaquil met head on. This allowed Rookidee to use Peck, jamming its beak into Tinkatuff's face. Tinkatuff was knocked off balance. The bird darted back as Cyndaquil adjusted with a spin. He landed Tackle on Tinkatuff herself, causing her to fall. She rolled until she stood up straight.

Her spare hand glowed the colour of dirt and she clenched her fist like she was gripping something. She raised her hand like she was uppercutting an opponent. A rock from the ground rushed into the sky. Rock Throw. It would've hit Rookidee if Cyndaquil hadn't used Ember as quickly as he did. The impact of the two moves negated each other, the rock falling now that it wasn't controlled by energy. This left Cyndaquil wide open. Tinkatuff rushed in with Brutal Swing, but Rookidee flew in. The bird rammed into the mace with Peck with enough force to nearly knock the weapon out of Tinkatuff's hands. All Tinkatuff could do was watch as Cyndaquil opened his mouth and unleashed fire. She was thrown back and didn't get back up.

Cyndaquil let out a little roar as Rookidee came to hover next to the hedgehog, cawing to mimic its newfound friend.

Joe looked around and saw how all fights were basically over, seeing Poliwrath get thrown into a tree and the flock staring down the thugs as they returned their fallen Pokemon. The surrounding area was demolished, trees cut down and the ground carved up. Joe was surprised he'd been able to stay focused on his own fight with so much happening around him.

The gang looked angrily at Joe. If they wanted to personally fight then Joe would humour them, but Absol growling and Talonflame letting out a deep rumble of a caw dissuaded further conflict.

"Damn it!" One cursed as the group fled North into the forest. With their Pokemon defeated, they were useless. Humans stood no chance against hardened wild Pokemon. Retreat was the only option.

These thugs had the backing of Rocket Syndicate, yet they still failed. A massive Alpha Talonflame was worth a hefty sum, and its children might be worth something. Maybe one of the eggs housed an Alpha. If not then the sheer volume of the species would get them some money. Squad one failed, so they needed to call in squad two. Time for another round. They would take what they could get.

With the gang gone, Joe let out a sigh. Joe knelt by his Pokemon and looked at Rookidee. "Thanks for the help."

The bird flapped its wings harder, happily darting up and down, almost like it was hopping in the air. It flew close to Joe. The man automatically put his arm out like a perch for the bird to sit upon. It landed. Joe stroked its belly with the side of his finger.

The ground shook, which startled Rookidee and caused it to fly off. Joe wasn't bothered because he saw it coming. The giant Talonflame headed his way.

Joe knew of Alpha Pokemon. Formerly Gigantism Pokemon. It was changed because most Alphas were typically two or three times larger than the average of their species. Hardly gigantic. But this Talonflame lived up to the old name. Joe had caught it on his phone's screen earlier, but the Talonflame species was four feet tall. This Alpha had to be at least thirty feet tall, making it nine or ten times larger than normal.

They got their new name of Alpha because they tended to be extra aggressive and wielded stronger power, leading to them being the leaders of their packs.

Absol growled and barked as Talonflame stood before her Trainer. It looked down at Absol in a way that inspired fear. It was a casual look, like Absol was nothing to worry about. That was probably true, but Absol remained on edge and ready to attack just in case. Her power to sense problems didn't give her specifics. She didn't know the source of the distress. Talonflame could end up being a big bully.

Talonflame leaned down. It jerked its head around like birds do, eye darting all over to get a clear image of the man before it. On this scale, looking at an eye as big as his head, Joe could hear and feel the wind created by the heavy movements. Talonflame couldn't move as fast as a regular bird's twitchy actions, making it look like it was moving in slow motion.

"I come in peace. I heard the fight and wanted to help. Since you're okay now, I'm not needed, so I'll leave. Okay?"

Talonflame, having gotten a good look at Joe, stood up straight and gestured deeper into the forest with a wing. Talonflame hadn't just been standing there as an intimidating presence. It was guarding something. Something Joe should see. It walked the way it'd pointed, looking over its shoulder to make sure Joe followed.

As they walked, Rookidee landed atop Joe's head. It seemed to have taken a liking to the human. Talonflame knew why. Ever since it took Rookidee in, it saw how the little bird wanted to be a hero. Live up to its future title of knight. Joe running in and fighting evil like a knight in shining armour was exactly what Rookidee wanted to be. Maybe it was for the best. Rookidee had little to do here in the forest. If it went with a true knight and learned from him then Rookidee could become the hero it wanted to be.

Besides, it looked like Rookidee had found a friend it worked well with. An instant connection with Cyndaquil allowed them to cover each other easily. Such a friendship should be nurtured. If Rookidee wanted to go with Joe, then Talonflame would encourage it.

They entered a narrow clearing that dipped into a crater. In the middle of the crater, surrounded by logs instead of sticks, was a nest. Massive white eggs with red specks as tall as Joe were bundled together. They were clearly Talonflame's children. A lass, not a lad.

Joe was in awe and automatically approached. He raised his hand to touch an egg. Talonflame cawed, which made Joe freeze. He looked up at the giant bird. After a moment, the mother nodded. She just wanted Joe to know she was putting a lot of faith in him and that she was there if he tried anything.

Joe placed a palm on one of the three giant eggs and felt a lot of heat. The egg seemed to respond, as Joe felt like something lightly tapped on the other side. This was what it was going to be like when he started a family. He could imagine it. Placing a hand atop his partner's belly and feeling a kick in response.

Rotom scanned the egg and saw many healthy life signatures. It created a reconstruction of what it could see. Rotom showed Joe an image in which the egg was outlined but otherwise transparent. Inside were one hundred life forms. A bundle of little baby Fletchling. They wriggled around as their minds were coming into existence, but a membrane separated the siblings. Stopped them from bumping into each other and causing damage when they were so weak.

Joe smiled warmly. He looked up at Talonflame. "Thanks for trusting me and showing me this. I'll be sure to keep it a secret."

Talonflame's feathers ruffled as she shook lightly, then leaned down and grabbed the back of Joe's jacket with her beak. She lifted him up, ignoring Absol's incessant barking. Her head rose above the trees and she looked West, to the mountains, showing Joe what she wanted.

She put Joe down and saw a dumb grin on his face. She realised the human was enjoying himself. Perhaps a bit too much. Did he feel no fear? But she supposed it wasn't every day a human had an encounter like this. Some humans were just weird and saw it as a thrill, not a threat.

Joe looked up. He thought he had an idea of what Talonflame wanted, but just to make sure he watched as the mother tapped her eggs with her beak and then pointed West. "You want to move them, right?" Joe asked.

Talonflame nodded. Her flock had scouted a ravine within the mountains. It was deep. Annoying to get in and out of. It was also far from human civilisation. Hatching her eggs there was the best option. And fleeing West had the added benefit of being too much nature for thugs to scour. It'd look like she fled into the mountain range, at which point she could be anywhere.

Joe put a hand on his chin. "Why haven't you moved them already? You can't do it?"

Talonflame shook her head. Her eggs were too large for her flock to carry, and their shape as eggs was annoying for a bird to hold. Very few species of bird Pokemon moved their eggs after laying them. Bipedal Pokemon like Kangaskhan or Chansey could walk around just fine with their eggs. Birds really got the short end of the stick.

Joe had shown a willingness to help, so Talonflame was asking him to complete another task. Joe had already considered how to handle it. A little bit of human ingenuity. He brought out Metapod and crouched by her. "Do you think your threads are strong enough to carry the weight of those eggs?"

Metapod looked the eggs up and down, rocking as she did so. She hopped to turn to Joe, a stern expression coming through from her eyes as they narrowed. She nodded, a deeper rocking than normal.

"Great. Okay, Talonflame bring your flock here. We'll use String Shot to carry them." Joe said. He saw the giant bird tilt its head in confusion, so he got Metapod to use herself as an example. She dangled from the branch of a tree using her thread. "See, just like that."

Talonflame lit up and cawed a couple of times to bring her flock into the crater clearing. She communicated the plan and Metapod got to work connecting eggs to birds. They couldn't tie them all to Talonflame. Not enough stable surface area. Tying all three eggs to her talons would cause the eggs to smash into each other.

As Metapod connected everything, Joe had a question for Rotom. Absol was bigger than average, but he'd kind of forgotten about Alpha Pokemon until now. "Hey Rotom, is Absol an Alpha?"

Rotom already had Absol's data, but it scanned her again to confirm its numbers. "No. Absol is an inch too short to be considered an Alpha of her species."

Joe held back a laugh and looked at Absol. "Aw, that's a shame. You're small."

Absol had stood up for Joe against Talonflame, and this was how he responded. She growled and jabbed him with her claws. He laughed in response, which annoyed her. That was until he ruffled the fur on her head.

"You're fine just the way you are."

She huffed, her annoyance dissipating.

Metapod was done. She'd connected one egg to Talonflame. One to the Pidgeotto quadruplets and Altaria. The last went to the remainder of the bigger birds, like Xatu and Unfezant.

"Good job." Joe said, returning Metapod. "Well then, I suppose you need an escort." He spoke up to Talonflame.

Talonflame bent down and bit Joe's jacket with her beak again. She tossed him onto her back and stretched her wings. As he expected. Joe leaned over and used a Pokeball to return Absol. His duty wasn't over yet. Now he had the role of bodyguard.

The flock set off, flying through the skies, headed West. They went slow and steady so the threads weren't stressed. They were at a decent height so the natural wind whipped Joe's jacket around. Joe stood on Talonflame's back and looked around, keeping an eye out for trouble behind them. He didn't expect anything, but he had to do his part. And he was glad he did. He squinted at something coming in from the North-East. A group of three birds. When they got close enough, Joe could see people on their backs.

Joe reached up and scratched Rookidee. "You ready to fight?" He shouted over the rushing wind. Rookidee flew into the air, hovering by Joe's side.

Joe's thought was to shoot his foes down, which immediately made him think of Fomantis. One of her moves literally had 'bullet' in the name. So he brought her out. She hadn't expected this environment so she was unsteady at first, but she soon found her footing. She stood in line with one of Joe's thick legs, using it to cover her from the wind.

Under orders from her Trainer, Fomantis fired Bullet Seed at the lead enemy, but she missed. She fired again in frustration, and missed again. Joe expected it, there was enough space between himself and his enemies, and they were all in the air. They had perfect mobility, able to go in any direction. But Fomantis went from annoyed to upset, her depression flaring. She hated being so useless.

Joe immediately thought of a solution and brought Ralts out. "If it looks like Fomantis will miss, use Confusion to redirect her attacks."

Ralts nodded and floated by Joe's side. Fomantis fought her poor mental state to attack, not expecting or caring about the outcome. She just automatically followed orders. Her target moved. As expected, her attack was going to miss.

Ralts did as she was told and used her psychic powers on the four seed bullets, redirecting them into the belly of a bird, a big black and red Braviary, as it flew up. Smoke came from the foe as its defence energy negated Fomantis' attack.

Fomantis perked up, pointing at the enemy her attack had hit while looking back at Joe and Ralts.

Joe smiled and knelt. He noticed something was wrong with Fomantis since taking her in, but he didn't know what. He was starting to suspect low self-esteem or something of the kind. Because of that, he wanted to encourage her. He pat Fomantis' head. Maybe he'd ask Ralts about it later since she could sense and understand emotion. He wanted specifics so he could figure out exactly how to help Fomantis. "That's right. Good job. Let's keep it up."

Fomantis nodded and faced her opponents as they got a bit closer. She used Bullet Seed again and landed another hit thanks to Ralts. In response, Braviary prepared its own attack. The thugs didn't want to fight back just in case the eggs dropped. They had no way of catching them. That would be a lot of wasted money. But they couldn't just take hits constantly. Braviary briefly stopped, its wings glowing grey from Air Slash, and swiped its limbs in the direction of Talonflame's back. Arcs of energy sailed through the air. Fomantis shot one down but couldn't strike the other in time. Flying-type moves had a tendency to be fast.

Rookidee wanted something to do, and it had the perfect opportunity. Knowing its power wasn't enough but still wanting to be of use, it flew in from the side and took the attack head on. Rookidee used itself to protect another, like a true hero. As it sailed through the air, it saw that Fomantis was fine. It smiled and began to fall, then it fainted. Like the big cat taking Nidoran out in one hit, the difference in power between Braviary and Rookidee was too big. Rookidee's defence had been drained entirely and it was knocked out as a result.

As per usual, Joe acted before he thought. He worried that if Rookidee couldn't recover then it would get hurt as it hit the ground, or perhaps worse. So he jumped and cupped Rookidee in his hand. He was in the air. Falling. Again. He understood that Pokemon evolved to better match their environment, so when was he going to become Flying-type and grow some wings?

A second later he had a plan. "Metapod!" He shouted.

She came out between Joe and Talonflame, taking in the situation. She could use String Shot to tie herself and her stupid Trainer to Talonflame. But instead she fell with Joe. Joe was understandably confused, unsure why Metapod wasn't performing the obvious action.

Metapod expelled so much energy that Joe felt goosebumps. He looked up from his head-first descent and saw Metapod glowing white. Her cocoon cracked and broke as wings burst out. The rest of the shell broke away and crumbled into nothing as the white light calmed, revealing Metapod had evolved into a Butterfree.

#0012 Butterfree



Gender: Female

Height: 3' 07" (Average)

Weight: 32.7kg (Above Average)



Moves: Tackle / String Shot / Bug Bomb / Harden / Gust /

Ability: Shield Dust

Releases a pale green dust when struck by certain moves.​

"Time and place, Rotom!"

With an instinctual knowledge of how to use her wings, Butterfree rushed to Joe's back and grabbed his jacket. She pulled while putting as much force into her wings as possible. Energy rushed through her wings as they glowed grey. Their descent slowed. The wind under Butterfree ramped up in strength as she used Gust. She squeaked loudly, the strain of lifting Joe pushing her to her limit and beyond. Joe's feet were close to brushing leaves but they stopped.

One of the flock acted. Talonflame called to Altaria, who cut itself from the egg, leaving it to the Pidgeotto quadruplets. They struggled and strained, causing Talonflame to adjust. The mother dipped down and grabbed the flailing thread that was once attached to Altaria with her beak.

Altaria flew under Joe. Butterfree, unable to hold the weight any longer, dropped her Trainer. Joe twisted and landed on his feet. Altaria darted forward. Butterfree flew in close to Joe as her Trainer nestled Rookidee into Altaria's fluffy fur.

Because Joe had been right under Butterfree, who had rashly manipulated the air, his jacket was in tatters. He grabbed what remained of a sleeve and pulled, tearing his jacket off entirely. Too easy. Clearly it had been holding on by a thread.

He tossed the jacket. Pat Butterfree's head. "I owe you."

He most certainly did. Butterfree heaved a sigh. This was the second time she'd saved Joe from a fall. Hopefully there wasn't a third. But she had a strange feeling it would happen again. Joe was hopeless. He needed all the help he could get. Now that she had fully evolved, Butterfree intended to enjoy her life to the fullest, but she also couldn't bring herself to leave Joe. If they had more days like the beach in Amethyst, resting and having fun, then sticking with Joe wasn't so bad.

Altaria increased its altitude, rising higher than the enemy group. One of the thugs noticed a shadow and looked up. The next thing he knew he was struck by a heavy weight.

Joe had jumped off Altaria. He tackled the enemy from above, causing the Togekiss his foe rode upon to flounder and fall a little. The big white Pokemon flailed and regained its balance. It looked over its shoulder to see that Joe had knocked its Trainer out with a punch to the face.

"Butterfree, secure this one." Joe said as he stood up. Togekiss was quite big. He just about had enough room.

The bug did so, using String Shot to tie the Trainer to Togekiss' back. She stuck by Joe's side as he hopped onto Altaria.

The thug on the Braviary called out to his allies, which Joe couldn't hear because of the distance and wind. He just saw a jaw moving. Even so, the man seemed to think he should be heard. Annoyed, he looked to his side as Joe hopped onto Altaria.

Braviary swung around and opened its beak, unleashing a Hyper Beam at Joe. Altaria needed to pick up speed. It wasn't going to dodge in time. Butterfree moved at the beam as her stubby fist shone green. She punched Hyper Beam with Bug Bomb, causing an explosion that engulfed herself. Her attack split the beam in two around Altaria.

Joe had expected Bug Bomb to be something like Absol's Flame Charge. Almost like a Bug-type version of a move called Brave Bird that Jasmine's Skarmory used on occasion. Joe had not expected it to be a punch.

"We have our next opponent." Joe pat his mount's neck.

Altaria cawed, a gentle, calming voice. Joe had issued orders to a Pokemon that wasn't his, but it listened. He appreciated that. Altaria circled around one half of the beam as it faded. Altaria charged at Braviary. Braviary was winding up Air Slash again, its wings glowing as they reached back. Altaria buzzed with electricity and clouds formed above Braviary. Altaria spun dodged arcs of energy as Thunder rained down and struck the foe, Joe holding on tight.

Of course a Pokemon that looked to have the body of a cloud could summon electricity.

The leader plummeted towards the trees. The third and final enemy, sitting atop a near Alpha-sized Bombirdier, watched his boss go down. He glanced at Joe and decided the fight was over, gesturing for Togekiss to follow as they dove after their boss.

Joe watched the thugs grab Braviary as they hit the trees. The trees probably would've broken the fall enough to not cause serious injury, but the underlings had helped further. Joe figured the boss might strike a thick branch or two. Maybe get bruised or cut. But beyond that, the thugs should be okay.

Joe's assumption was roughly correct. The thugs fell into vines, causing minor annoyance but ultimately saving them. As they broke free, they were reasonable and realised they weren't going to win this fight. They were in a weaker state while their foe was fine. It would simply result in another loss for the thugs. So, very reluctantly, they retreated, leaving a great payday behind.

Altaria took Joe to Talonflame and the young man hopped onto her back, Rookidee cradled in an arm. "Thanks a bunch." He saluted.

Altaria cawed in acknowledgment and twisted, letting the wind take it to its original position. Altaria grabbed the thread from Talonflame, releasing the mother from the extra burden. Rookidee woke up and saw Joe's salute. Is that something heroes did? It'd keep that in mind.

Joe sighed, glad to be back on relatively safe ground. Ralts sat on his shoulder and hugged his head. Fomantis looked upset, feeling she'd failed once again. Joe would sort that out later. For now he returned Fomantis to her ball and watched the forest. Joe had to stay vigilant.

 

[Orderneri]

36: No Pokemon? No Problem (Chapter number is an estimate)​

About a year ago, Joe returned to Olivine after visiting his mother. He stepped off the train and walked up the station's stairs, surrounded by a horde of people the entire time. He was funnelled into a large, open structure, glass ceiling letting the sun rain down on him. An abundance of tapping sounds as shoes met tile rang through the building.

He walked through permanently open glass panel doors, holding the strap of his bag over his shoulder. Joe knew where he was going and what he was doing, but he still looked around. An action he did automatically. He always had an eye out for trouble. Always looked for someone to help.

A woman caught his eye. She had striking short, red hair. She was tall for her gender, slightly over six feet, and she was thin like a stick. In her arms was a Pokemon Joe recognised, but he didn't know why it was a different colour. It was brown, had beady eyes, and purple gills on the side of its head. It lacked arms and its thick tail happily swung about as it wore a smile. Wooper.

The woman stood near the road, waiting for a car to pick her up. Joe started to turn away, but a fast, unusual movement out of the corner of his eye got him to stay focused on the red head. Joe saw a man with spiky blonde hair rushing up behind the woman.

Joe didn't think. He let go of his bag and burst into a sprint. Joe was a few dozen meters away, while the assailant was mere meters away.

The thug bumped into the woman and pulled Wooper from her arms, her scream sounding in his ear as she fell back. Like taking candy from a baby. The woman was skinny, to her own detriment. Absolutely no muscle or strength. No way of resisting.

He was going to gloat, but then he saw Joe running his way. A giant of a man with a glare aimed right at the thug. His smug grin was erased as a shiver ran down his back. He spun on his heels and ran into the road.

A white van came speeding up the road, screeching to a halt as someone inside threw open the side panel door. The thug was just moments away from getting in the vehicle. Joe pumped his legs faster, feet hitting asphalt.

The blonde put one foot in the van as his friend grabbed his jacket to drag him in. "Go, go, go!" He shouted. The look on his friend's face was fear, hinting that the giant was closer than the gang would like.

Right as the driver slammed his foot down with all his might, the van lurching forward, Joe reached them. He stepped inside while ducking, ramming shoulder first into the vehicle and colliding with the friend. They hit the other side of the van together, rocking the vehicle as it sped down the road.

Joe took a step back, into the center, bald friend in front and blonde to his side. Now what? Once again, Joe had acted before he thought, resulting in him being in enemy territory. There was only one course of action available to him. Fight.

The blonde thug, with Wooper in one arm, was already ahead of Joe. He'd yanked open a toolbox on the van's floor and grabbed the handle of a heavy-duty pipe wrench. He swung it at Joe as the big man faced him.

Joe struck the inside of the blonde's arm using the outside of his own arm. This stopped the blonde's swing. He sent a quick jab into the thug's face. With the blonde stunned, Joe figured he could just grab Wooper and jump out of the van, but arms wrapped around his neck as the friend jumped on his back. Joe arched forward, put large hands on his attacker's biceps and pulled him down onto the metal floor.

Before Joe could bring a fist down on the friend, something struck his inner knee, forcing him to drop. There was another thug in the back that Joe hadn't seen. A man that'd been quiet in the corner.

Wooper was tossed into the front and cowered in the passenger footwell. This freed up the blonde's hands. He swung the pipe wrench at Joe's head. In such a confined space, kneeling, Joe didn't have many options. He chose to take the hit. He brought his shoulder up as high as he could. The metal wrench struck with force, sending an intense jolt of pain through Joe's arm.

A moment later the van turned hard, shifting them all off balance. If only that had come a little sooner, Joe wouldn't have an arm that felt like it was on fire.

The friend recovered first, aiming the tip of his foot at Joe's chin. Joe grabbed the incoming kick, pulled the thug, and used an open palm to uppercut him. His head snapped back and he fell.

Joe was struck in the side by a heavy object. The wrench again. He recoiled, more pain shooting through his body. He prepared a fist to fight back, but the hidden thug struck again, climbing and entwining himself around Joe's arm, using his body to drag the giant down. Joe saw the guy had a ponytail. He named them. Blondey, the initial thug. Baldy, the friend. Ponytail, apparently a martial artist. And he couldn't forget Driver.

Being grappled was annoying, but there was a big strength difference. Joe had the capability to swing his arm still, so he was going to swing the grappler into the side of the van head first.

He never got the chance. Ponytail kicked Joe in the face, which caused him to falter for just a moment. Driver, annoyed with the action in the back of his van throwing the weight of the vehicle off balance, grabbed a bulky taser and rested his arm atop the seats.

Two thick pins from a Pincurchin shot out and struck Joe in the chest, sending Arceus knew how many volts through his body. He spasmed, his muscles moving on their own, but managed to stay kneeling. If he fell then it was over. They could mob him and put him out of action.

Light flooded in as the twin backdoors opened by Baldy. Ponytail let go of Joe, twisting in midair to land on his hands and knees. Agile like a cat. Blondey grabbed a rail near the van's ceiling, swung like a monkey and kicked Joe in the chest, above where the taser had struck him. The giant fell back as the vehicle took another sharp turn. Joe fell out of the van and rolled on asphalt.

The gang watched as Joe sat up and rested on his knees. The giant stared at them, pulling the pins out of his body before slamming a fist into the road and standing up. With some effort, Baldy and Ponytail managed to grab the backdoors as they waved about. They slammed the doors shut.

The three members of the gang let out heavy sighs and collapsed on their rears, looking at each other.

"Who was that guy?" Baldy asked, rubbing his chin from when he'd been uppercut.

Having felt the zap of electricity from the taser, Ponytail flexed his toes. Most of the volts went to the giant because the point of a taser with two pins was to send electricity between the pins. But even so, some volts escaped containment and ventured into other parts of Joe's body, which was why Ponytail felt it a little.

"This job better be worth it." The blonde said, looking over his shoulder at the driver.

"Don't worry, this is our ticket to the big leagues." The driver replied.

No one believed him. This wasn't the gang's first job. The driver, their boss, always talked big, but the rest of the group had enough sense to know that taking a Wooper didn't amount to much.

The gang fell into silence. Blondey had done his part. Now he got to rest. His role was that of the initial runner due to his time in sports when he was a student. Ponytail was there for his martial arts prowess, and Baldy was there as a lookout.

Baldy stood up, having had enough of a break, and looked out the back windows to make sure they weren't being followed by police. "...You've got to be kidding me."

Blondey perked up and rose, looking out the window. His brow furrowed, not liking what he saw.

A couple of minutes ago, after Joe pulled the pins out of his numb body and considered how lucky he was that he left the van when it had to slow down for a turn, a car stopped beside him. A man leaned over and opened the passenger door.

"Come on, get in." He shouted to be heard over honking horns and shouting pedestrians, chewing gum between words.

Joe had no clue who this normal looking guy was, but he welcomed the help. He rose and did his best not to appear weak. The taser was still affecting him, making him unsteady on his feet. He clambered into the dark green family car. Tires spun and smoke rose as the man put pedal to metal. Joe was surprised by the speed of the simple car as it darted forward.

"You're something else." The man said, hitting buttons on the dashboard until a radio station broadcasting rock music came on, guitar and drums filling the vehicle. He grinned as he watched the van ahead take a right onto a highway. "I saw you at the train station. Who just runs into a van like that?" He laughed. "You should've seen the look on people's faces."

They reached the highway as Joe looked in the rear-view mirror. He saw a baby's car seat. He turned around.

"Ah, don't worry about that. My kid's with his grandparents. He was with them for the weekend. I was just picking him up when you decided to be a hero." He chuckled to himself. "Mother slapped my arm and told me I better come help, so here I am."

"Well I appreciate it. Tell your mum I said thanks." Joe said as the family car got closer to the van. He suspected his helper was both nervous, hence the talking, but also a bit of an adrenaline junkie. He was just casually chewing gum and enjoying music, thumbs hitting the steering wheel in time with the lyrics. Not everyone had nerves of steel like Joe. Some people had to act despite their worries. The man was doing his best.

Joe eyed the bars on the van's roof. Two metal rods across the width of the vehicle. Typically for a storage box of some kind.

"Two things." The man spoke up. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were headed to the airport."

Joe thought about it as he eyed signs that passed by overhead. The man was probably right. The van was sticking to one side, like it wanted to get off at the nearest exit. This highway connected to an airport in a few minutes. That likely meant the thugs had a quick getaway prepared. No way they used a public aeroplane, it would be too time consuming. It had to be private. This job was bigger than Joe expected. Not just anyone had a plane as a getaway vehicle. "The second?"

"I think you're about to jump onto the van."

"I don't have any other ideas."

The man thought and thought, his frown growing with every second. "...I've got nothing either. Sorry. But if someone can do it, it's you." He looked at the giant from the corner of his eye. "Good luck."

Joe nodded and opened the door as the family car sped up, putting it alongside the van. No time like the present. Joe jumped as wind rushed around him. He aimed for the center, grabbing both metal bars, but his hand slipped off the front bar as his chest hit the side of the van. He flailed briefly before gripping the back bar with both hands.

Now steady, Joe held on with one hand while reaching down to the handle on the sliding door. With some effort, he opened it. The door jumped out of his hand immediately, gravity forcing it along the rail. Joe grabbed the corner of the roof and threw himself inside. He panted, catching his breath because it'd been stolen by the wind.

Joe stood up straight and eyed the thugs that couldn't believe how far he was willing to go for this Wooper. They must be thinking Joe knew the woman. Maybe he was her boyfriend or something and he was trying to show off. Not just anyone did what Joe was willing to do.

"So then, round two?" Joe commented.

Once he said that, Ponytail struck first. The fight went roughly the same as before because Joe wasn't used to overwhelming odds. He was just one man. He punched Blondey, who blocked with an arm. Then Ponytail came in with a grapple while Joe had to fend off Baldy. It was a mess. And what made it worse was that the panel door was still open. Blondey almost flew outside at one point, forcing Joe to grab his arm and toss him to the floor. Joe didn't like these people, but the van was moving fast. A fall at this speed would severely injure, or maybe worse.

"Are you guys sure we can't talk about this?" Joe asked, seeing how helping one of them had stunned the other two into inaction. But alas, the fight continued.

The van curved, indicating they were leaving the highway. The airport theory was correct. Driver didn't slow down, racing towards a massive building. He swerved to the side of the airport and drove through multiple layers of wire fencing, tearing them down. He had no choice. This was his time to shine. He had to complete this job. Just get Wooper to the jet. Then he'd finally be on track to be rich. He'd finally be someone.

Driver saw the jet just ahead, but his face switched from joy to horror quickly as the fence he'd rushed through fell and got caught under a tire. The van twisted and toppled, rolling onto its back and skidding to a halt.

Coughing and moaning ensued. Ponytail and Blondey woke up first. They looked around through dazed, unfocused eyes, until they saw Baldy. They moved to him, shaking him awake. The trio looked at Joe, unconscious and bleeding from the head. Blondey, having been saved by the giant not too long ago, leaned down and checked for a pulse. Joe was fine. Good. Blondey didn't want someone's death weighing him down. It was why they hadn't used their Pokemon. Back on the highway, they saw Joe coming. They could've had their Pokemon use various attacks to stop the family car, but the risk of hitting and severely hurting a person meant they refused to act.

The trio stumbled outside and around the van, Blondey to the passenger side and the other two to the driver's side. Blondey ripped open the door and grabbed Wooper. Ground-type Pokemon were known for their sturdiness, so Wooper seemed the most okay out of everyone in the wreck. Ponytail and Baldy gently brought Driver down. Driver had been saved thanks to his seatbelt, but he was shaken up.

They moved to the private jet that awaited them, but they didn't rush. They were battered and bruised and out of energy. That was their mistake.

Joe awoke in the van, vaguely recalling his head hitting metal before waking up on the floor. He touched his head. He saw red on his fingers. He grunted, sitting up as shards of glass fell off him. Add a nasty headache to his growing list of pain.

Joe stumbled outside, cutting his hand on twisted metal as he grabbed a surface. His vision was uneven and shifting, but he saw the gang approaching a sleek silver jet. That woke him up. Whoever was behind kidnapping such an ordinary Pokemon had serious money.

The gang heard metal creaking and turned to see Joe. They started moving faster, but the door that doubled as a set of stairs moved slowly. Glass crunched under Joe's foot as he grabbed one of the interior metal bars. Blondey had used one to kick Joe out of the van earlier.

Joe grit his teeth and planted a firm foot on the van. With some effort, he pulled the bar so hard it broke. He stumbled back, stood up straight, and turned to the jet, metal pipe by his side. Now it wasn't just Blondey that felt fear. The rest of the gang began panicking as they clambered up the staircase that was only fit for one person at a time.

Joe ran, but he wasn't going to make it in time. The door was rising. Closing. If that happened, Joe would've failed. No way was he going to let that woman and her Wooper down. Joe planted a foot and skid forward as he held the metal rod like a javelin. He threw the bar. It sailed through the air and jammed the door right before it closed. The door began to fall again.

A quirk of modern safety measures. If the hydraulic door sensed an obstruction, then not only did it stop, but it also opened. There was some machinery with similar systems. If a hand came into contact with a saw, the tool shut off so quickly it couldn't even cut skin. It was like magic to someone like Joe who didn't understand how something could react and stop so quickly.

Joe once again seemed to have absurd luck. This jet in particular had a safety protocol that, if the door was blocked, it would open fully and give people time to remove the object. This protocol couldn't be overwritten. Joe saw, as he sprinted at the door, Ponytail mashing buttons on a panel. He had kicked the metal bar out of the way and was desperately trying to bring the door back up.

Joe scooped up the metal bar as it clattered to the ground. Keeping his momentum, he leapt up the steps multiple at a time, barging into the jet and knocking Baldy into the opposite wall, his head bouncing off the jet.

The cabin was open, as expected. Private jets had few occupants, and those rich people wanted the luxury of being able to move around freely. There were about ten seats in total, mostly close to the cockpit.

Joe stood surrounded, breathing heavily and looking at them all. They still looked ready to fight. "Really, guys? Round three?"

With the door closing again, the jet started moving. As Joe parried the wrench that Blondey brought with him and ducked a punch from Ponytail, he marvelled at how his first time aboard a fancy vehicle was to fight some thugs. Joe spun, struck out, and dodged his way through four attackers. He saw the sad Wooper standing near the cockpit, shivering.

His objective. If Joe could just grab the Pokemon and bail, he'd win. Easier said than done, though.

Driver joined in now that he couldn't pilot a plane. He pointed his taser at Joe and fired. Joe stepped aside and the pins embedded themselves in Ponytail. Another stroke of luck, the martial artist was the biggest threat. Having him sizzling, taken out of the fight, was helpful. Joe swung low, clipping Driver in the leg with his makeshift weapon. Metal to shin didn't go over so well. Driver collapsed, shouting. Joe felt the pain. He'd taken a few hits to the shins before. Always unpleasant. Oh well. No one cared for the complaints of criminals. They were just getting what was coming to them. Joe had no sympathy for bad people.

Joe approached Wooper, but he was too late. Hearing trouble in the cabin, the pilot opted for a steep ascent. The jet's nose aimed at the sky, causing the occupants to fall. Everyone grabbed seats, Joe making a mistake by holding the metal base of a seat with his injured hand. He could feel the blood moving down his wrist. He used his good hand to reach Wooper before the animal fell to the other side of the jet. Joe placed the Pokemon on a seat and soon the plane levelled out. Joe rose, as did his foes.

Joe looked at the seat Wooper was sitting in. A plush armchair he would love to sink into right about now. "Don't worry, I'll get you back to her soon." Joe said, patting Wooper's head.

Joe turned to face the gang again when a mighty roar sounded from outside. Jets were, at least on the inside, designed to be quiet so their rich owner could rest between work, or perhaps work with few annoyances. Joe looked through a small window and saw a blur of bright blue and red. If he didn't know any better, he'd think that was Jasmine's Salamence.

He was going to grab Wooper, charge through the gang and jump out the door, but Driver stood in his way, Pokeball in hand. Joe's face hardened.

"I'm not losing this!" He shouted, throwing the ball and letting out a big grey Pokemon with bulging red arms. It wore what looked like black underwear and had something like rows of hair. Machoke.

Joe was tired and injured, but sure. He strength remaining. He had already dropped the metal bar when the plane left the ground so it was an unarmed fight. Wasn't the first time Joe personally fought a Pokemon either. Sometimes they need to be put in their place, for one reason or another. It was no different from using a Pokemon to beat a troublemaker animal into submission.

People, compared to Pokemon, were weak. Joe was at a disadvantage for simply being what he was. If anything, a person fighting a Pokemon wasn't as bad. Machoke seemed hesitant at first, but when Joe looked ready to fight, his face stern, Machoke accepted the challenge.

They met in the middle, their hands clasping in a pushing contest. Joe didn't care for it. He lashed out, kicking Machoke's leg out from under it. The Pokemon began to fall. Joe grabbed one of Machoke's arms with both hands and, with all his might, letting out a heavy grunt, swung Machoke into the side of the jet.

Machoke fell to the floor, just missing some nice chairs. It sprung up and tackled Joe into the opposite side of the jet. With clenched fists, Joe brought the side of his hands down on his foe, pounding Machoke to the floor. Machoke swiped, tripping Joe. Joe fell onto his back and Machoke attempted to get on top with the goal of punching Joe in the face.

Joe rushed to sit up and headbutt Machoke, causing the Pokemon to recoil. He tucked his legs in and wrapped his arms around Machoke's waist. He sprung up while arching backwards, slamming Machoke's head into the floor. Now Joe could say he'd performed a suplex on a Pokemon.

Machoke fell sideways as Joe rose. The Pokemon didn't get back up. That fight went a bit too well. While its Trainer wanted to stop Joe, Machoke was a species of immense strength. It had enough strength to break bones upon punching. It had held back the entire time, and also faked being knocked out. Machoke could easily go for more rounds, but it really didn't want to harm a person.

"Now then, do you want me to loose a Gym Leader on you, or can I walk away with Wooper?"

At this point the gang believed this was more trouble than it was worth, even if they were surprised to see a genuine private jet awaiting them. Everyone but Driver, the leader, stepped back. The job was over, they failed.

Joe tucked Wooper under his arm and went to the door, brushing past Driver. He raised his other hand to mess with the panel and lower the stairs when he felt something hit his side. He looked to see Driver with a twisted bit of metal. Joe's metal bar he'd dropped earlier. The end was sharp enough to pierce him.

Driver looked up and grinned. Joe grabbed Driver's face, turned and slammed his head into the door panel repeatedly. Driver was soon knocked out, going limp. Joe tossed the man aside, suddenly feeling very weak. His injuries were catching up with him. Joe, his mind in a jumbled state, reached for the piece of metal sticking out of him, but Blondey shouted.

"Don't!"

Joe blinked at his enemy, not quite seeing him. But that word... Right. Joe shouldn't pull the metal out. He left it alone and nodded to Blondey. Joe gained some respect for the man, thinking perhaps he could change if he tried.

The entire plane shook as another roar rang through the air, Joe having to lean against the wall to stay standing. The dragon outside, or more like the Trainer, was done with waiting. Salamence had grabbed onto the side of the plane. Scrapping could be heard as shining silver claws broke through a corner of the door.

Joe pointed at the unconscious Driver. "Grab him." He said as the wind picked up in the cabin due to a breach. Blondey and Baldy grabbed Driver and buckled him into a seat. Ponytail woke up and acted on half asleep instincts, following suit.

With a crunch, the door flew off, revealing the white armoured belly of a dragon. Salamence poked its head in, stretching its long neck. It turned to see Joe, its angry eyes calming, blue fins on the side of its head wiggling from happiness. Joe smiled and patted the dragon. The recently retired dragon of Jasmine's personal roster. Salamence had fought enough, now choosing to rest unless it was absolutely needed, like now.

Salamence moved away from the door and spun around so its back was ready for Joe to jump onto, revealing Jasmine in a long white dress, light brown hair flying all over due to the winds at this speed.

Jasmine, being a Gym Leader, was contractually obligated to be a peacekeeper. She had fought a few gangs in Olivine whenever she was called upon. She didn't think much of today's peacekeeping duties, until, as she prepared to take off, she heard the problem started at a train station. She got a bad feeling since Joe was due back around this time, so she demanded more information. Sure enough, a big man was seen in pursuit of the criminals. That had spurred her to action faster than normal, and she'd been able to get Salamence out of retirement just for this because the dragon liked Joe.

Joe jumped aboard between curved red wings, ignoring Jasmine's panic from seeing her good friend so heavily injured. Her hands hovered around him, her eyes darting from one wound to another. Whatever she said, Joe didn't hear. His injuries were getting to him, and he was also thinking about how, after a weekend away, this wasn't how he expected to be reunited with Jasmine.

As Jasmine flew them away, Joe turned to see the jet slow, its altitude decreasing. Of course, with a missing door, they needed to land.

The dragon flew close to the ground, moving fast. Joe needed medical attention. As they approached the airport and saw various vehicles, Joe spoke up.

"Take us down here." He pointed.

"What? But you need a hospital..." Jasmine complained, not agreeing with Joe.

"Take a closer look."

Jasmine did so, seeing flashing lights. During a situation like this, all three members of emergency services were summoned. There were multiple of every vehicle, including ambulances. Medics were on standby.

Someone on the ground pointed at the approaching dragon. When it was close enough, there was a collective sigh of relief as the people saw Jasmine. Tense shoulders relaxed as Salamence landed, creating a wind that forced people to raise their arms.

Joe hopped off and stumbled, going down to a knee. Jasmine let out a cry and freaked out. She tried to help him up with her feeble strength, grabbing his thick arm.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I just need a moment."

Before anyone had the time to approach and help, Joe stood up and began walking. And that's when he saw her. The woman. Wooper's owner. He'd been a little out of it when he rode on Salamence, not noticing there were normal vehicles around too. He'd simply been drawn to the flashing lights. The woman had arrived with her driver after hearing the situation had reached the airport.

Joe stood up straight as she ran to him. Or more like ran to Wooper. Joe shifted, holding Wooper out for the woman. "Here you go, ma'am."

She took Wooper from Joe's hands and hugged the Pokemon tightly, then turned to Joe. Unlike many women, she didn't have to arch her head back to look at him. "Thank you!"

Joe simply started walking as Jasmine stood there, flustered. She nodded at the woman a couple times and ran off to Joe's side. Joe had eyed medical staff. Saw them rushing to grab boxes of supplies. He figured he'd make their jobs easier and go to them.

"Thank you!" The woman called out again.

Joe raised his good hand without turning, accepting her appreciation silently.

A couple of days later, Joe left the hospital all stitched up. He'd have to be careful for a while because he has had multiple light fractures and his body needed to make a fresh batch of blood. As he slowly walked outside, the woman with the Wooper approached, now with long green hair reaching her ankles. Sharp red eyes softened as she looked at him.

She thanked him again. Introduced herself as Rika, a model. She was in Olivine for work. A themed photo shoot tour, starting in the modern Olivine and Goldenrod, and going back through time to the old Ecruteak.

Rika's photographer had also come to give thanks to Joe for helping her friend. They shook hands and, at her insistence, Joe, Rika and Wooper took a picture together outside the hospital.

Once he got home, Joe looked into Rika. Saw a beautiful woman in various situations, in different styles. Short white hair, bunched up red hair, long green hair. Joe wondered what the real Rika looked like, outside of model work that changed her constantly. He didn't know he'd seen the true Rika upon exiting the hospital. Long green hair was what she liked. The way she wanted to be.

An important detail stuck out to Joe. Rika was a model worth millions. That explained this whole ordeal. Blackmail or extortion. Although did it explain that someone with a private jet was involved? That seemed like an odd detail to Joe. There was more to this, but now it was in the hands of the police.



* * * * *



Many miles away, a man in a suit sipped expensive whisky. He had to stop himself from throwing the glass at a wall when he received news of failure. It should've been a simple job. Take Rika's Pokemon. That's all they had to do.

The reason? Petty revenge. This man had started her modelling career, and yet she had abandoned him and gone to a different talent agency. All that money should've been his. In return for Rika's abandonment and a loss of wealth, the businessman wanted to inflict emotional distress on the woman. Maybe take what was rightfully his through extortion, if he could get away with it.

He put his short tumbler glass down and moved to stand in front of ceiling high windows overlooking nature. For now he'd lay low. There shouldn't be any connections to him. The idiots that failed to complete a simple job had no idea who hired them. Praise be to handlers. The middlemen that kept themselves secret but did an excellent job connecting those with underhanded desires to people willing to execute such plans.

As for the private jet, it wasn't his. It was hidden behind a number of fake companies. Shell companies. On top of that, it was decommissioned some years ago. It'd secretly be put back in a junk yard. He would be surprised if the police could find a defunct jet in some random pile of junk, hidden behind a handful of pointless companies.

The man considered the future. It might take a month. It might take a couple of years. But when the businessman's need for revenge spiked, he'd come up with some new plot to get back at Rika. He was certain of that.

- - - - -
Author's Note

A couple things. Yes, Rika from Paldea. I like the idea of characters working to their position from the games. This was a year ago so Rika is currently, but very slowly, working through the Gym Challenge. Eventually she'll earn her Elite title. Think Karen being in the League, not an Elite yet. Or Katy exploring the world looking to train under the best bakers so she's not a Gym Leader yet.

This chapter will make more sense when we get there. There's a set up right before it, but this was actually alluded to in the Amethyst tournament. Erika mentioned it as one of the few things Jasmine spoke about to her. And there is further pay off, the chapter after will recall some of the aftermath.

After a few weeks off writing, I just wanted to write something fun. This chapter is what I want to do with Joe in the long run. Make him a menace to villains because he's relentless. I'm still setting things up so conflicts are slow at the moment, but when things get going, Joe will constantly be like this chapter. As soon as his team is done and he can easily go after gangs, he's going to be a nightmare for villains. Not to get ahead of myself, but there are certain key books, like 3 and 7, that I can't wait to write.

With this action chapter off my chest, it's back to proper story telling and a ramping up of stakes. Finishing Talonflame and getting to Pewter.

 

[Orderneri]

31: Remnant​

Rookidee finally recovered enough energy. It hopped out of Joe's arms, but its flight path was wobbly. The bird was far from fully healed. It plopped itself onto Joe's head. Joe reached up and scratched Rookidee. It was content and relaxed, looking like a melting scoop of ice cream.

Joe remained vigilant, watching over the forest just in case. He was ready to continue the fight if necessary. But his mind kept wandering to Fomantis, so he decided to bring it up now. He wanted to know more about her. Wanted to know how to help her.

"Hey, Ralts." He said, the little white Pokemon on his shoulder still hugging his head. "Do you know what's wrong with Fomantis?"

Ralts went quiet for a moment as she contemplated how to phrase it. While she understood emotion, translating it to human language had its problems. She looked into Joe's mind to learn concepts and linked them to her own understanding.

"Fomantis is depressed. She has low self-esteem." Ralts finally replied.

Joe knew the type. And because of that, he had ways to help Fomantis. It was easier for her to fall than it was to pick herself back up. She needed a goal. Inspiration. A reason to keep trying her best. It didn't matter what it was, Joe would accommodate.

Talonflame adjusted, moving higher without tilting too far and throwing Joe off. Joe looked over his shoulder and saw the mountain range. The lush green sea below turned into dull brown rock and the ravine soon came into view. Joe peered over the edge as Talonflame hovered. Bad idea. The crack in the earth was too deep, becoming pitch black after a point. It made Joe shiver.

The birds lowered the eggs into the abyss, disappearing for a time. Talonflame landed and stood on the edge of the ravine. She ducked down, allowing Joe to hop off. He watched until all three eggs were tucked away safely, as did the giant bird. Once the task was complete, Talonflame turned to Joe.

"Well, I'd say my duty is complete. You stay safe, Talonflame."

Talonflame nodded, an action that could be heard, still to Joe's amusement. Rookidee jumped down and hovered in front of Joe. He instinctively put an arm out for the rotund bird to rest on. It gripped his arm tightly and didn't seem to want to let go.

Joe liked Rookidee, it seemed to want to be a hero just like himself. They'd get along well. "Come with me and I'll train you to be a true hero."

Rookidee chirped happily, flapping its wings without lifting off. It then seemed a little shocked, rushing to cover its excitement with a calm expression and a salute, its wing touching its forehead. Joe smiled as he grabbed a Pokeball and held it to Rookidee. The bird tapped the button and went inside after being engulfed by blue energy.

#0821 Rookidee



Gender: Male

Height: 0' 08" (Average)

Weight: 1.8kg (Average)



Moves: Peck / Focus Energy / Rock Smash /

Ability: Keen Eye

Automatically counters disruption moves using a variety of methods.​

Rookidee came back out and sat atop Joe's head.

Talonflame gained Joe's attention when she began shaking, a shiver from head to tail feathers. When she stopped, she reached under a wing and poked around a bit. Her beak came into view holding one of her own feathers. It was massive, as expected. Nearly the size of Joe. It came from one of the many red spots across her body, so was a magnificent crimson.

The giant bird had been searching for a loose feather and felt one detach on the underside of her wing. She leaned forward and opened her beak above Joe, letting the feather drop. Joe caught it. It felt warm and, since it was a feather on the scale of a bird the size of a house, it was sturdy.

Rotom flew out of Joe's pocket to enlighten him. "A Talonflame feather. They can generate heat for a few years. Centuries ago, people collected them and put them under the sheets of their beds to stay warm during cold seasons. Considering it's from an Alpha, the heat from this particular feather may last decades."

Payment for a job well done. Joe's first Remnant. It was a good idea to sow it into his sleeping bag. Joe nodded up at the bird. "Thanks." He turned, ready to leave. "Good luck with parenthood."

Rookidee flew up to Talonflame and nuzzled her face. They exchanged a few words and Rookidee went back to Joe. Talonflame told him to live his best life, but to be careful. It was good to want to do the right thing, but Rookidee also had to look after himself. Rookidee replied saying Joe would need all the help he could get, which Talonflame felt wasn't wrong. Joe seemed reckless, to put it mildly.

With a Xatu in the flock, Talonflame could vaguely listen to what Joe was up to. Xatu received cryptic prophecies about the future, after all. With that power, Talonflame would listen for trouble. If Joe ever found himself in serious trouble, Talonflame would try to help if she didn't have her hands full raising her children. She felt like she owed him for what he'd done.

Talonflame let out a mighty caw, turning to the ravine. A moment later, Altaria burst out of the hole and landed by Joe. One final parting gift, an escort to wherever Joe was headed.

Thanks to the feather being strong but also flexible, Joe was able to fold it in half and put it in his bag. This proved it'd be fine all curled up in his sleeping bag. Joe yanked another jacket out and put it on, then scratched Altaria's chin and climbed aboard.

"I'll see you around, maybe." He spoke over his shoulder to the giant. If Joe ever found himself in the area, he doubted he could resist checking up on the birds. Despite the insane injury given to him by a mother Aggron, if Joe ever found himself in that area of Johto again, he'd certainly stop by and say hi. He'd no doubt figure out some stupid comment to lead with.

One last caw from Talonflame signalled a goodbye. Altaria took to the air. Joe pointed the way, deciding to take advantage of his temporary mount. They flew over open fields and a couple of small towns. It wasn't long before, on the horizon, Joe could see Pewter. A large city with a tall skyline.

It was still early afternoon. After a slightly late lunch, Joe had time to go to the Gym. But he also wanted to stretch his legs again, so Joe tapped Altaria's side and pointed at the ground here. Altaria was confused since the city was visible, but if this was what Joe wanted then so be it. Altaria dropped to the ground, in the middle of a random field, and Joe dismounted.

He pet Altaria one last time, which it chirped at in pleasure, and watched it fly back towards the forest. Joe brought Absol out and gave her a thumbs up. "Job's done."

Absol nodded and followed her Trainer. They walked for a bit before Joe stopped near a dirt path. He brought all his Pokemon out, his roster continuing to grow in power now that he had a Butterfree and Rookidee. Absol liked Rookidee because he had great potential. She felt a strong energy from him.

With everyone out and eating, Joe approached Fomantis. No time like the present. He knelt in front of her and smiled. She looked up and seemed concerned, her eyes dipped and she slumped forward.

"Hey, don't worry. You're fine. I just wanted to talk to you for a minute, if you'll listen."

Fomantis looked up with saddened eyes, expecting Joe to let her go. Fomantis' opinion of herself was quite negative, feeling useless and like she'd never exit this rut. What Trainer would want a Pokemon like her?

Joe sat with crossed legs and picked Fomantis up. Held her close and stroked her head. "Listen up and listen well, Fomantis. First things first, you need to relax. I'm going to help you, but you also need to be receptive to it. I can only do so much. If you don't seriously try then ultimately you'll never get anywhere. Do you want to change?"

He heard a little squeak. It wasn't a strong reply, but at least she replied.

"Changing isn't something you do overnight. This is going to take time. Maybe months. During that time, you will fail. But that's okay. It's not about always succeeding, it's about making sure you keep getting back up. And I'll be there to encourage you every step. We all will. That's what friends are for. They support each other. So if you ever doubt you can keep going, rely on us."

Fomantis listened but didn't reply.

"What we need to do is find you an activity you enjoy. One way to get better is to start doing what you like, and then slowly branch out from there. An activity you like could give you energy to handle tasks you don't like. So, what do you like, Fomantis?"

She had no reply. She understood what Joe was saying, but she couldn't think of a hobby other than sleeping, resting the day away.

The lack of an answer gave Joe all he needed. "That's fine. It's something you need to find. It can be anything, okay? All that matters is that you have a reason to keep pushing forward." Joe considered his own likes and reasons for acting. "I don't want to push my style onto you. This is just an idea. How about helping people? Me and Absol started this journey because people need us. Rookidee helped Cyndaquil and you when you needed it. Even the stubborn Hoothoot over there has someone he cares about and would act for."

Hoothoot perked up hearing his name, sending a glare Joe's way for the underhanded insult. Although the man was right, Hoothoot didn't care for much, but he would act in Nidoran's best interest without being asked to.

"My point is, we all have reasons for doing what we do. You need to find your reason. Give it some thought. Think long and hard about it. Once you have something, we can go from there. Regardless of what you pick, I'll be here to help."

Joe put Fomantis down next to some food and watched as she stared but didn't eat. She was thinking about her future, working through the difficult emotions of knowing she had to force herself to change if she was going to get anywhere in life.

Absol thought, not for the first time, that if Joe was always like this then he'd be easier to get along with. Although she was getting used to his annoying prankster side, much to her dissatisfaction. She took the good with the bad, the boundary between Joe's two sides merging into one for her. She was beginning to accept him as a whole.

Ralts sat beside Fomantis with a smile on her face. The girls spoke, Ralts further assisting with Fomantis' complex thoughts. Joe couldn't help but think that Ralts had the ability to become the older sister of the group, looking after everyone.

Joe ate a sandwich and watched Cyndaquil and Rookidee eat together, talking and laughing, with Sandshrew by them. Butterfree, after finishing her portion, tested her new wings by flying around. She landed by Fomantis and Sprigatito had ventured away from Joe to be part of a group without her Trainer realising. They grew up so fast. Unfortunately, Joe had already made that joke back in New Bark.

As he watched his Pokemon, he remembered the two groups of enemies. He took out his phone. He had signal. He texted Looker.



"Encountered two groups of Hunters in Viridian Forest. They were trying to poach eggs, probably Pokemon too. They fled North."

"Noted."

A minute later, he received another text.

"Stations in nearby towns are on standby. Will update."



Joe finished his meal and watched his Pokemon play together for a while. He eventually spoke up. "Nidoran."

The horned rabbit turned to Joe after hearing his name, the stump of his missing ear twitching as it did automatically whenever a sound caught Nidoran's attention. He bounded over to Joe, Hoothoot hopping along next to him.

"Sorry it took so long, but I think it's about time we had a battle. I want to see what you can do."

Nidoran's face lit up with a smile. He turned to Hoothoot and began making noises. After a moment, he turned to Joe and nodded, using a paw to point at himself and Hoothoot.

"You two want to work together? All right, a double battle it is." Joe said as he stood up. He thought about who to use. This was the perfect chance to send Rookidee into battle, so he called out. "Cyndaquil, Rookidee, are you two up for a fight?"

They both perked up, looked at each other, and nodded. They really were fast friends.

"After this, we'll be heading to Pewter for our second Gym battle, so you all best be prepared."

Cyndaquil heard what Joe was saying, but it didn't compute. Second? What about the first? Cyndaquil ran up to Joe and started nudging his leg.

"What's up?" Joe asked, leaning over a little.

Cyndaquil began talking, but obviously Joe couldn't understand. Luckily, Ralts came over to translate. "He is asking what happened to the first Gym?"

"I know you want to fight, but it was a Ground-type Gym. You would've been at a disadvantage. Pewter's Gym is Rock-type so I'd rather not send you into that fight either…"

Cyndaquil grumbled, the area around his eyes scrunched in annoyance.

Joe knelt. "If you want to fight, I won't stop you. You can be part of the next Gym battle. Just know that it'll be a difficult fight." Joe said as Cyndaquil looked him in the eyes. "But I want to set expectations. You're fighting a weakness. That can be good, learning to better handle what you're bad at. But it could also go wrong. You asked for this, so if you lose, I don't want to hear any crying, okay? Instead of complaining, you'll just need to try twice as hard in the next fight. Is that fair?"

Cyndaquil's face hardened, seriously accepting Joe's words with a nod. It was good to attempt to combat a weakness. And if Cyndaquil lost then instead of complaining, he had to learn from the experience. Losing would sting, but he should turn that feeling into fuel for getting stronger.

"I guess we need a name for that mystery move of yours though, just so we're on the same page." He thought about it. "How about Explosion?"

"That's taken." Rotom chimed in.

Right, now that he thought about it, Joe felt like he'd heard of the move. "Fire… Flame… Flare? Flare Burst?"

"That's available."

"All right. For now, that special move of yours is Flare Burst." Joe wasn't exactly known for his naming sense. He didn't know how moves got their names, but he hoped someone would come along and give it a better name eventually. He turned to Nidoran. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's get this fight started."

Nidoran nodded and, with Hoothoot, ran a short distance away. Rookidee flew in front of Joe while Cyndaquil's back ignited, happy to have a Trainer that listened. Cyndaquil desperately wanted to prove he was strong, and being a Partner Pokemon, he was taught about the Gym Challenge. It was the perfect place to show he was capable. To show that the people who picked Totodile or Chikorita were fools.

Rotom hovered in Joe's sight, splitting the screen in two to show the moves of Cyndaquil and Rookidee at the same time. Right before Joe was going to declare the start of the battle, his phone dinged. He saw Looker's name in the notification. And then he received another notification, this time from Nomads.

He ignored it. This battle would just be a minute.

Cyndaquil unleashed multiple fireballs, at this point his signature attack. Nidoran led with Take Down, a move that was so strong it requisitioned some defence energy for the attack. Nidoran was engulfed in a bright white of Normal-type energy and darted forward at a good speed, the Pokemon himself hidden by raw energy. Nidoran ran through Ember, fireballs bouncing off him. Joe understood. That was smart. Take Down used defence energy for the attack, meaning it doubled as a shield. If it was going to take defence energy anyway, might as take advantage of it.

Rookidee flew around, taking in the fight in a second. He used Rock Smash, his right talon glowing brown. He dive bombed foot first into Hoothoot, who was rushing to use Peck on Cyndaquil. Hoothoot was struck into the path of Ember, being blasted and lit up by a number of fireballs.

Hoothoot fell to the ground and… stayed there. Hoothoot was already out of the fight. Rookidee tilted his head as he hovered. Because he was basically an orb, the tilting moved a lot of his body.

Joe hoped Take Down had been weakened. He risked it and had Cyndaquil use Tackle. Cyndaquil only took two steps before meeting Nidoran's Take Down because the bunny had made it so far. The two headbutted, and Cyndaquil lost, to Joe's surprise. Take Down was just that strong of a move. He was still at a point where every action in a battle gave him information.

Cyndaquil bounced on the ground and skidded as he found his footing. He was starting to think it might be a good idea to use this to his advantage. He was always being blasted back and tumbling from the force of an attack. Ideas ran through Cyndaquil's mind. He was fairly round, so roll with the attack? He was Fire-type, so propel himself with flame?

"Rookidee, sorry but you're out."

The fight became a one versus one, Joe not wanting to gang up on Nidoran. He wanted to see what else the bunny could do. Sure, he knew what moves Nidoran had, Take Down and Poison Sting, but he wanted to see them in action. He hadn't expected Take Down to be used as a shield. Because of this, Rookidee, despite being disappointed, came to sit on Joe's shoulder.

From his front legs and the horn atop his head, Nidoran unleashed purple spikes of energy. Cyndaquil rolled aside and balled up, continuing to roll by expelling fire with enough force to spin him. His entire body became wrapped in fire and he picked up speed, curving and avoiding multiple volleys of poisonous pins.

Cyndaquil kept spinning until the ball of fire around his body was twice his size. He was unstable, moving faster than he was used to. Faster than an athletic person peddling a bike. It wasn't easy to control. He was just spewing as much fire as possible right now, directed at the bottom of his back. His influence on the move came from tilting his body, but that wasn't good enough. For this move to reach its full potential, Cyndaquil would need finer control of his fire. Send small bursts in one direction to turn. Control the speed by not just spewing fire at full power permanently.

Nidoran lit up with a powerful white aura and slammed himself into Cyndaquil's new Flame Wheel move. Take Down was still stronger, but Cyndaquil bounced back with the momentum, circled around and aimed himself at Nidoran once more. Flame Wheel and Take Down clashed again, and this time Cyndaquil won the contest of strength, Nidoran being thrown back. His eyes spun, unable to continue.

Taking his own defence energy, paired with clashing with a stronger move, had done enough to the young Pokemon. Nidoran hadn't trained much because his parents were strong. He had a long way to go.

Cyndaquil slowed down and eventually flew out of his ball of fire, landing on his feet. Joe was happy with this development. Cyndaquil had needed another move. Flame Wheel gave the fire hedgehog mobility, which he desperately needed. Joe could already imagine a few ways to use the new move. It didn't even need to be an attack. Cyndaquil could dart around the arena, popping out and attacking some other way because rolling away to avoid retaliation.

Joe moved to Nidoran, pulling up the capabilities of his two moves on his phone. "Okay, not bad. You're ready to fight, Nidoran. But… I'm a little concerned about your moves. Take Down takes your defence away and Poison Sting doesn't seem strong. We'll have to teach you a more versatile move soon."

Nidoran righted himself and hopped with a smile. He liked the sound of that. As long as he was getting stronger so he could get his parents back, he was happy. He bounded to Hoothoot, who still lay around like he'd just been knocked out. Nidoran nudged his friend and the owl righted himself immediately, like nothing was wrong. Was he faking it? Joe didn't think so. Hoothoot showed constantly that he had his best friend's interests at heart. To suddenly fake injury to get out of a fight didn't fit. Hoothoot had never been in a Trainer battle, so he just didn't know when the coast was clear. Didn't know when to get up.

Cyndaquil approached Joe and the man rubbed his Partner's head. "That's a great new move, buddy. It's going to be useful in the Gym battle."

Cyndaquil sounded off, letting out a squeak of happiness. He went over to Sandshrew and Rookidee followed.

Joe grabbed his phone out of the air and looked at his messages.



"4 suspects in custody, some on the run. They are currently confessing. Good job."



Joe saw a file attachment. He opened it. It was organised neatly with a face top left, details like name and age and height in text boxes to the right. Joe figured this was something like a dossier. He was surprised Looker could send him this, but maybe it was the modern 'Wanted' poster. Either way, Joe recognised the man in the image. One of the thugs he'd encountered earlier. At the bottom of the page was a large 'Notes' box, in which was a familiar name. The group he'd fought in the forest was part of Rocket Syndicate. Joe was happy to have encountered them again. He was itching to put Rocket Syndicate in their place. Hopefully they now saw him as a nuisance and would think twice if he were around.

He checked the other notification, opening Nomads. A new job listing, currently not complete. He'd stopped the crime of poaching and would be rewarded, but it could take weeks. It took time to confirm even after a confession.

Being back on the Nomads app and dealing with serious trouble, Joe thought about the live map. He recalled information from the 'About' page of the app. The creator of the app admitted to having a problem when he first released Nomads. Criminals used the app's live map to track nearby do-gooders. This was fixed quickly. Because Nomads had money changing hands, either people giving or receiving, they locked the live map behind bank account credentials. So criminals had to give themselves away in order to see the map.

On top of that, many good people didn't use Nomads. Police, Peacekeepers, and Subjugators. So as criminals tried to look at the map, they got blind-sided by people that were alerted to their location.

That was to say, criminals couldn't use the live map on Nomads to avoid vigilantes.

Joe put his phone away to see Fomantis approaching, Ralts behind her, silently supportive. Fomantis looked over her shoulder to Cyndaquil, then up to Joe.

"She wants to help in the Gym battle." Ralts claimed, then explained further as Fomantis spoke.

Fomantis was taking the first step. After hearing how Cyndaquil wanted to fight against his weakness, she felt a need to assist. Maybe she had it in her, the ability to help others. She wanted to at least try Joe's suggestion. Her idea was to make the Fire-type's fight easier because she was strong against rock and ground. She wanted to be useful.

As Ralts explained, Fomantis' head dipped further and further, becoming unsure of herself or feeling like she was overstepping. Even she wasn't entirely sure of her thoughts. All she could decipher from her own mind was that she was losing confidence in her own suggestion.

Joe rubbed Fomantis' head. It took courage and he was proud of her. "I told you, didn't I? Find something you want to do. If you want to help, I won't say no. Your idea is perfect. Thank you for telling me."

One step at a time. Maybe helping others would help Fomantis help herself. She'd start small, supporting the team. If she could do that, then she could do more in the future. Helping others, being a hero, had a certain ring to it. All anyone could ask of Fomantis was that she tried. And if being a hero didn't go well, there were so many other activities out there for her to find and enjoy.

Joe packed up and put his Pokemon away except Absol. His jeans pocket was getting full with each new catch. He'd have to deal with it soon. Find a place for his roster. But for now he marched towards Pewter and his next Gym battle.

 

[Orderneri]

32: Boulder Badge​

Joe reached the city center of Pewter, aiming himself at the Rock-type Gym using street signs. Along the way, he'd put some thought into his roster. Thanks to Jasmine, he knew how the number of Pokemon each side used in a Gym battle depended on how many Badges the challenger had. Since this was Joe's second Gym battle, each side would use three Pokemon.

As a brief aside, Joe considered how the battle would turn into a full six versus six for his final, eighth, Gym battle. He assumed he'd have a fully evolved team by that point, so it would be quite the fight. Maybe it'd even be worth using Absol at that point.

But more immediately relevant was that he needed a third member for his second Gym. This made Joe realise that a lot of his Pokemon were weak to rock. He had three Flying-type Pokemon, plus Cyndaquil. Four out of his ten Pokemon were at a disadvantage.

Perhaps Butterfree could counter the weakness through sheer power? Sure, she was a bug, and bugs were notoriously weak compared to other types, but she had the benefit of being fully evolved already. With evolution came a boost in energy.

No. No Butterfree. Joe was already at a disadvantage with Cyndaquil, and he suspected Fomantis could also be in trouble. As evidenced by Gary's Trapinch using Bug Bite, Gym Pokemon had moves to counter their weaknesses. Trapinch was weak to grass, but grass was weak to bug. Joe expected a counter for Fomantis.

After some more thinking, Joe settled on Sandshrew. The shrew was a fighter and, while it took Joe some time to remember the difference between rock and ground, he did eventually realise that Sandshrew was resistant to this Gym's primary type.

These were just some of the thoughts Joe would have to run through whenever he entered a fight. There were countless variables to think of.

Thinking about Butterfree again, Joe remembered how he'd called her out as he jumped off Talonflame. He knew nothing about Pokeballs. He didn't know his Pokemon could hear him while tucked away inside their Pokeballs. It was just an assumption he made, like talking to a ball back in the Amethyst tournament. But this was good information to have. Shouting one of his Pokemon's names was faster than throwing a ball. He had no doubt that, in a pinch, this would come in handy.

Joe spotted a PokeCenter on his walk so he got his team fully healed for the fight. When he exited, he eyed a sign. The Gym was just around the corner. He followed the sign and saw a giant boulder at the end of a path. The boulder was bigger than some hills. It had to be if an arena was going to fit inside.

"Some years ago, while training, a previous Gym Leader discovered this giant rock and demanded to have it moved to Pewter. He wanted his arena carved into it." Rotom explained as Joe looked at letters carved into the massive rock, above the open entrance.

This was more like it. During their stay, Gym Leaders had a say in what their Gym looked like and how it functioned. Gary, being a pragmatic man, just wanted a plain sports arena. No frills. Gary didn't want the success of his Gym to be based on how unique it looked. He instead believed his Gym would succeed due to having a strong Trainer as its leader. Gary wasn't wrong.

Joe walked up some stairs and entered the arena. The doorway had no doors. When it could be avoided, Pewter's Gym avoided more advanced materials like glass. The desk in the reception area was rough looking, like someone's first attempt at carving wood.

The man behind it called to Joe. "Are you here to challenge Brock?"

"Yeah."

Joe had heard the name before, but it had slipped his mind. He had to suppress a laugh. He had to assume that Macro Cosmos had a sense of humour. Candice ran an Ice-type Gym. Brock ran a Rock-type Gym. Surge ran an Electric-type Gym. Someone had to be doing it on purpose.

"Then please go ahead." The receptionist gestured at a hallway. "There are currently no other challengers."

Joe nodded and did as was suggested, soon entering a big arena with bright lights beating down on him from the four corners. A surprisingly short man rose from a bench. Despite being smaller than a lot of women Joe had met, this man radiated strength. Joe could see it through his arms. Well kept muscles, like Joe.

The man put a hand out. "I'm Brock."

His grip was strong. His eyes reminded Joe of the Olivine PokeMart manager. Appearing closed, yet somehow seeing everything. Brock's spiky hair looked sharp enough to pierce.

"Joe."

"How many Badges do you have?"

"One."

Like Gary, Brock eyed Absol with a furrowed brow of confusion. He moved on quickly. "Very well. At least you know how this works. As for my gimmick, you'll be carrying extra weight in battle."

With no further instructions or explanations, Brock walked to the other side of the arena and Joe took his spot opposite, Absol sitting by her Trainer and watching. Joe appreciated that, so far, Gym Leaders were all business. No messing around. Straight to the fight.

A bright orange crab with a twirling rock shell covering the back half of its body waddled up to Joe, looking up with black eyes on stalks. Dwebble.

Another Dwebble skittered to Brock as the Gym Leader finished grabbing some balls from a shelf. Brock pocketed two and tossed one, releasing a green Pokemon onto the field. It had one long horn atop its head and a red belly. Black marks like scars around its eyes. Larvitar.

Challengers had the benefit of going second in Gym battles, allowing them to choose an advantage. This changed in the League where it became a coin flip to decide who went first.

Joe decided to lead with an advantage, sending out Fomantis. She wanted to make Cyndaquil's fight easier so he felt a need to use her immediately.

With both sides having sent out their Pokemon, the Dwebble's role became clear. They were key to the gimmick. Joe watched as the Dwebble by his feet created a floating rock in front of itself. Spewing String Shot from its mouth, Dwebble attached the rock to Fomantis' back. The extra weight was to test balance and how fast a Pokemon could get used to change. The rock was custom made on a per Pokemon basis and was designed to be half the Pokemon's weight. So in Fomantis' case, it was half a kilogram.

To Joe that weight was nothing, but to Fomantis it was a lot. She fell onto her rear the moment the rock was attached to her, letting her backpack rest on the ground. She took some deep breaths and used all her efforts to stand. She was a little shaky but forced herself to deal with it.

With both challenger and Gym Leader ready, the stadium's Rotom whirred to life and booted up a livestream. The battle commenced.

Seeing his Pokemon was still unsteady on her feet, Joe opted for range first. Fomantis pointed her leaf arms forward and between them green orbs were created. They shot towards Larvitar. Brock's Pokemon raised its stubby arms with a shout, rocks coming from the ground and spinning around it. Rock Throw. It tossed the rocks into Bullet Seed's path, kicking up dust as the moves collided.

Through the cloud, Joe could see Larvitar burst into a sprint. He was still unsure about Fomantis moving with the extra weight, so the little Grass-type used Grass Knot roughly in the direction Joe indicated. Roots sprang out of the arena floor and tripped Larvitar. With it laying on its belly, unable to defend itself, Fomantis used Bullet Seed. Joe saw four green orbs strike true as his opponent tried to stand. Larvitar winced at being struck, growling.

The dust cloud cleared and Larvitar glared at Fomantis. It jumped forward, brown energy around its hands as it used Brick Break. Joe now feared he'd played it too safe. Keeping distance meant Fomantis hadn't moved. She hadn't been given a chance to get used to the extra weight.

Fomantis' arms glowed white with Normal-type energy, defending against a side swipe with Slash. She fell back, rolling over her backpack while flailing her tiny limbs. At the same time the top of her head touched the floor, Larvitar's other swipe tore through Fomantis' rock and shattered it. Fomantis fell onto her side and rushed to stand now that she was freed of the added weight.

Once she stood up, the rock began to reform thanks to Dwebble on the sidelines. It attached itself to her back once more.

"Fomantis, Slash! Move with the rock, don't fight it." Joe called out.

Fomantis obeyed, herself and Larvitar entering a contest of strength. Larvitar swung down with Brick Break and she brushed it aside to the left as the rock on her back reformed on her left, weighing that side of her down. Joe was right. Don't fight it. Her backpack was her new core. Move with it.

Larvitar attempted a jab, still with Brick Break. Fomantis repelled it with Slash and moved forward as fast as she could. It was a strange sensation. Like her body was lagging, the rock core taking a moment to move the way she wanted, but when it did so it practically propelled her. She landed a Slash as Larvitar brought its head down, its forehead bright with energy. It used Headbutt to slam Fomantis into the ground. An even trade.

Larvitar went to use Brick Break again, but as it adjusted its stance to lunge down, it tripped from Grass Knot and fell backwards. With the enemy down, Fomantis backed off, rolling and jumping with the weight of her rock. She used Bullet Seed as she sailed through the air, Larvitar countering a couple but not all of them.

When she landed, Fomantis bounced to try and keep the core moving, then rushed at her foe who was running at her. Slash collided with Brick Break again. Due to the size and strength difference, Fomantis was on the retreat. She kept parrying until she saw an opening, only to be struck in the side by Rock Throw. When the move was first used, it spun around the creator, so technically Fomantis had been struck by the summoning of the move.

As Fomantis fell, disoriented, she spat Bullet Seed. It wasn't aimed. Not a single orb struck her opponent. But the wild spray was enough to keep Larvitar in check, forcing it to use Rock Throw as a shield for the few seeds that got close.

Once she stood tall, she used Bullet Seed as Rock Throw came her way. Larvitar was on the run, circling around to attack her side. When she finally finished countering Rock Throw, she turned to see Larvitar was too close. She couldn't do anything but accept the Headbutt as her foe ducked its horn low and swung up. The horn hit her chin like an uppercut.

Fomantis was in the air for a moment but soon came down thanks to the added weight from her backpack. She felt rough. Her defence was getting low. But she wanted to do something with her life. She wanted to be someone. Wanted to be proud of herself. So she fought the embrace of the void and stood up. It took some effort, but she could still fight.

She fired Bullet Seed. Larvitar jumped out of the way, scrambling to its feet and running at her. Fomantis kept up the Bullet Seed assault, taking a page out of Cyndaquil's book and attempting to overwhelm.

It worked. Larvitar was surrounded by orbs of energy and couldn't dodge when another volley came right for it. With gritted teeth, Larvitar jumped back as an afterimage spawned in its place and took the hit. Substitute. The shade looked just like Larvitar, but with a slight transparency to it.

Larvitar's substitute and Bullet Seed colliding caused a big explosion. Substitute was a defensive move with good utility, the large burst of smoke afterwards working as a smokescreen for the user. Unfortunately for Larvitar, Joe had eyes on his opponent. Fomantis managed to land Grass Knot, tripping Larvitar. More Bullet Seed burst through the smoke and struck Larvitar.

Larvitar tried to hold on, taking a few steps forward and causing Fomantis to prepare to attack again. But when it collapsed from exhaustion, Fomantis cancelled Bullet Seed.

She won. She felt tired and didn't know how much further she'd be able to go, but Fomantis had achieved the goal she'd set for herself. To support the team as best she could. This gave her brain a burst of chemicals and cheered her up. It was just step one, and it was a small step at that, but she felt she could keep moving forward from here.

Brock returned Larvitar and tossed out another ball. A large and heavy quadruped thudded to the ground and scraped its front right foot against dirt. It was bulky and had what looked like armour plating across its body. At the tip of its long head, its nose, was a horn with sharp eyes on either side. Rhyhorn.

Three dense but not particularly large rocks were placed on it by Dwebble. One on each side and another on its back, between its ridges.

Fomantis didn't last much longer, but she landed some good hits before going down. Rhyhorn used Horn Attack and was surprisingly fast, albeit only moved in a straight line. Fomantis could jump out of the way easily enough. She landed Bullet Seed on Rhyhorn's side a couple of times. Despite being effective, these attacks didn't seem to bother Rhyhorn. Its defence energy was absurdly high. It could take attacks from effective types without issue.

Rhyhorn used Horn Attack again. This time it was stopped by Grass Knot tripping it. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. All that weight came crashing down, causing the Pokemon's body to protect it from itself. Defence energy sacrificed for no true harm caused.

In its weakened state, Rhyhorn roared and a bright orange energy burst from the ground and circled its feet. The energy channelled to its horn and it charged forward faster than before. Rhyhorn struck Fomantis before she could react. She went flying out of bounds, landing near the empty benches. She wasn't getting back up.

Losing defence energy was exactly what Rhyhorn wanted. It had used Reversal, which briefly filled the space of lost defence energy with extra attack energy, meaning it dealt more damage if the user was weakened. Reversal was a troublesome move. Now Rhyhorn had a strong move to use.

Joe returned Fomantis. He owed her a thanks and some big praise. She had done well. After a moment of consideration, there really were no other options so he threw Sandshrew into the fight. The shrew burst out of his ball and landed, immediately excited to be facing down such a big foe. Small hops like some sportsmen do when preparing for the main event.

Sandshrew was surprised when it sensed something at his back moments before String Shot attached a rock to him. He turned and tilted his head at Dwebble before realising he had seen extra rocks attached to Rhyhorn too. He managed to connect the dots, comparing this to the quakes in the previous Gym. Some kind of handicap to deal with. He welcomed the challenge.

Rhyhorn wasted no time and started with Reversal. Sandshrew had just enough distance to jump and dig into the ground, Rhyhorn passing over the hole right as Sandshrew's tail disappeared. Moments later, Sandshrew rushed into the sky and fell onto Rhyhorn's head. There was so much force behind the attack that Rhyhorn's chin struck the ground hard.

Sandshrew bounced back and landed right as Rhyhorn charged with Reversal, tossing Sandshrew across the arena. He stood and had barely enough time to react. Rhyhorn was right by him, mouth open and fangs coated with ice. Sandshrew felt a wave of cold breath from his opponent. Ice Fang.

Right before he was bitten, Sandshrew used Fury Cutter against the fangs to redirect Rhyhorn's mouth as well as himself. He spun around Rhyhorn's side and started slashing, almost looking like he was dancing as he moved the way his extra weight dictated, spinning and twisting. When he got to the end, he crossed his arms across his body as Rhyhorn lashed out with a back foot covered in energy. Stomp.

Rhyhorn turned and used Reversal, charging at Sandshrew. The attack was stronger and faster now that Rhyhorn's defences were lowered further. Sandshrew was struck by a large amount of energy and rocketed into the wall behind Joe.

Joe turned, seeing Sandshrew land on his feet and stay standing. They nodded at each other, Sandshrew jogging back into the arena.

Brock was impressed by Sandshrew's hardiness. He selected Rhyhorn's fourth and final move intelligently. Curse. A purple haze burst from Rhyhorn's body, from under its armour plates. The haze rushed to Sandshrew, who clawed at the mist. Useless. Curse couldn't miss, it couldn't be combated. The haze surrounded and rushed into Sandshrew, vanishing as the shrew was forced to absorb the hostile energy.

Sandshrew's black eyes widened and he dropped to a knee, suddenly feeling weak. Then he heard a thud and looked to see Rhyhorn had collapsed from exhaustion.

Alongside being unable to miss, Curse used defence energy instead of attack energy. Rhyhorn had exhausted itself, taken itself out of the fight, to secure the win. Sandshrew would now have his defence energy drained until he, too, couldn't stand anymore. Cyndaquil wasn't the only one with a sort of finishing move.

A ball absorbed Rhyhorn, and out came perhaps the biggest Rock-type. Onix. It was a giant snake made of massive boulders. It let out a roar that shook the arena. A quick 'Ace' popped up on the numerous screens around the room. Onix was Brock's strongest, as expected. The Ace typically came out last.

Onix led by opening its mouth and spewing bright purple flame at Sandshrew. Dragon Breath. Sandshrew used Fury Cutter to slash through. He ran at the snake, jumping as hard as he could and aiming to reach Onix's face.

To meet the challenge, the horn atop Onix's head turned a shiny silver as it used Iron Head. It swung its horn down as Sandshrew used Fury Cutter.

The clash never happened. Sandshrew landed on Onix's large head right in front of the horn. He scrambled up and jumped along Onix's segmented body, slashing and dragging his claws all the way.

As if karma caught up with him for an underhanded tactic, Sandshrew was struck by an immense pain in the middle of his assault. A chunk of his defence energy was drained so rapidly that it distracted him. This allowed Onix to shift its body and fling Sandshrew into the air. Onix's tail, made of much smaller rocks, wrapped around the airborne shrew. Onix squeezed, using Bind. It slammed Sandshrew into the ground once. Twice.

After the first slam, Sandshrew managed to focus. One arm was pinned, but the other was free. When he struck the ground the second time, he scraped a claw into the arena floor, creating mud and flinging it up into Onix's face. Mud Slap had its uses.

Mud hit Onix in the eyes. The snake recoiled and let go of Sandshrew. It had a special film coating over its eyes, but it was still blinded and wanted to rub the mud away with its tail. Sandshrew dug into the ground. When Onix was done wiping its eyes clean, Sandshrew burst out and uppercut Onix's chin. A second later he received a purple Dragon Tail for his efforts, pounding him into the ground.

Curse didn't get another chance to activate. Sandshrew was out of the fight.

Joe didn't want to be negative, but the thought crossed his mind that he was going to lose. But he was going to fight until the end. Unlike pitting Cyndaquil against Rydell's Ursaring, this was winnable. He sent Cyndaquil into the fight. The hedgehog looked up at its giant foe and grinned. Fire burst from his back, inspired to try his hardest and thankful he was listened to. Joe respected his Pokemon and, in return, he was a Trainer worthy of respect.

Like Sandshrew, he was confused and looked back right before extra weight was added to him. Two rocks under his arms in an attempt to not get in the way of his back. Cyndaquil accepted the rocks and faced his foe.

Cyndaquil led with Ember, lighting up Onix's body. It was a giant, slow target. It wasn't hard to land a dozen attacks. Onix twisted and lay flat on the ground, then slid like a snake, its head shining silver from Iron Head.

Cyndaquil rushed to jump and wrap himself in fire, spinning like a wheel and moving out of the way. He was unsteady due to the added weight. Looked like a wobbly, runaway tire. But the important bit was that he succeeded in evading. Onix twisted and rose, pointing its mouth at Cyndaquil and firing off a stream of purple dragon fire that struck the hedgehog. Cyndaquil kept rolling, Flame Wheel being useful for both movement speed and defending against an attack.

Cyndaquil turned to Onix with the intent to ram the snake using Flame Wheel. He jumped over a swing of Dragon Tail and barrelled into a section a bit below Onix's head. What could be classed as the torso on a person. As he fell away, he burst out of his wheel and used Ember again, aimed at Onix's head. He was falling, unable to react to the tail coming for him. Cyndaquil was grabbed, wrapped up in Bind.

Cyndaquil quickly realised squirming was useless, so he spat fire at Onix's face. It worked. Again. It was the only thing to do when wrapped up in Bind. Onix recoiled from its eyes being attacked, loosening its grip on Cyndaquil. The hedgehog took the opportunity and wriggled free, jumping to the ground.

When he landed, it turned out Onix had recovered faster than expected. Cyndaquil was consumed by Dragon Breath, pushed into the ground by the force, unable to escape. Eventually the purple stream of fire ended and Cyndaquil rose, static buzzing around him. He'd been paralysed. Dragon Breath had an electrical charge to it, and it had stuck.

Cyndaquil winced as he tried to use Flame Wheel, the electricity attached to his body getting in the way and causing his energy to not work the way he wanted. He was wide open, taking a Dragon Tail to the chest and flying across the arena.

The fire on Cyndaquil's back grew stronger, Joe able to feel it from ten feet away. Blaze had activated. Cyndaquil was heavily weakened and throwing all his energy into his fire. Joe had to consider if it was too early or not. Would Flare Burst defeat Onix right now? Because if not, Cyndaquil would be wide open for an attack. Flare Burst took all of Cyndaquil's remaining energy. There was a chance he could land some more hits before using Flare Burst.

Cyndaquil looked over his shoulder briefly, then turned back to Onix and roared. Whether Joe wanted to use it now or not, it seemed like Cyndaquil was ready. And then Joe felt it. Goosebumps. Whether his Pokemon realised it or not, Cyndaquil had enough energy to evolve.

Joe sent Cyndaquil forth, the hedgehog barely dodging Dragon Breath with Flame Wheel in time, purple flames trailing him. Cyndaquil bounced and got close to Onix's face. Just a few feet between them. Flame Wheel dissipated. Cyndaquil turned, back towards his opponent. He used Flare Burst. A massive amount of energy coursed through Cyndaquil and out into the surrounding area, catching Onix in a massive explosion that filled a third of the wide room. Joe's jacket flapped about from the wind pressure, Absol turning her head to avoid dust getting in her eyes as her white fur danced.

Cyndaquil left the lingering smoke, landing on the ground, unsteady but still standing. Onix wasn't toppling. Cyndaquil grit his teeth in annoyance and tried to summon more energy, but he had none. His mouth opened and he tried to use Ember, but no fire came. The fire on his back was petering out.

Onix, still capable of fighting, lunged through the smoke with Iron Head. Cyndaquil barely jumped out of the way in time, Onix striking the ground and tearing it up, blowing rocks out in all directions. Some struck Cyndaquil.

Cyndaquil landed and couldn't stay standing. He fell onto his belly. Through vision that was turning black, he saw Onix rise. Cyndaquil ground his teeth together. He was going to fight until he won. He was out of defence energy, causing intense strain through his body, but still he stood. He took a couple of shaky steps towards Onix, determined to be the last one standing, trying to figure out a way to still attack despite his lack of energy.

Joe's face hardened, bringing a ball out and returning the hedgehog via a blue stream. Cyndaquil was too stubborn for his own good. Joe could tell Cyndaquil was out of defence energy. He wasn't going to allow his Pokemon to fight beyond this point. He wasn't going to be responsible for scarring a team member.

The ball shook in his hand, so he held it tightly, his fingers and palm coming together to stop the ball from opening. It took a minute but Cyndaquil eventually figured out Joe wasn't letting him out. When Cyndaquil begrudgingly settled, Joe shrunk the ball and holstered it.

It was Joe's loss, fair and square.

 

[Orderneri]

33: What Are You Looking At?

Joe shook Brock's hand at the side of the arena, considering his victory against Gary to be beginner's luck.

"Better luck next time." Brock said.

There would indeed be a next time. Joe was enjoying the sport. He at least wanted to collect the trophies. He wanted to prove he was strong enough to claim eight Badges. It would be a nice achievement to pin to his life. Not every Trainer completed the Gym Challenge.

Joe left the Gym. The sun was still strong, still enough time to engage with another activity. He settled on heading to a nearby park and letting his Pokemon out for a bit. Play time right after the Gym. He kept in mind that he might need to have a word with Cyndaquil.

As Joe walked, the forum talked. Accounts on Trainer's Emporium had a fan counter. Joe first gained fans in Amethyst, then after Gary they increased to the double digits. They were overall positive, encouraging him to try again.

Joe had no idea. He had more important thoughts to visit. Joe wanted to review his loss. So he'd won a few battles. Didn't mean he was good. There was much to improve on. In hindsight, Sandshrew should've fought first because Fomantis' Grass Knot would have been more useful against Onix. That might have allowed Cyndaquil to pull through and win. Joe had his team, but not his order. He should've thought harder about the utility of Grass Knot and how it could sway the fight.

Joe, perhaps with the benefit of being an adult, was a good student and learner. His mind was flexible and understanding, but even so he believed his Pokemon had an easier time adapting than he did. Carrying the extra weight against Brock was no doubt difficult, Joe just had to imagine himself strapped with a backpack half his weight. But his Pokemon did a good job adapting and fighting despite the handicap. Maybe the gimmick wasn't even a downside. The problem was his strategy. If he really had to blame something, then the movesets of his Pokemon needed some work. But that would happen naturally over time so he wasn't really bothered about it right now.

Joe arrived at a large field with trees, a pond, and some paths around the place. He saw colours in the distance, on the other side of the park. No doubt a playground using bold colours to entice children.

He set up near the pond, near a bench in case he felt like sitting. A couple of Trainers across the water waved at him and he waved back. Joe let all his Pokemon out, Rookidee immediately dipping his head into the pond and shaking, pecking under his wing.

Joe didn't know why, but he liked watching birds clean themselves. His grandmother had a bird bath in the garden and now, as an adult, whenever he visited her and sat in the garden with her, he liked watching the little birds come by. Wait, was he actually an old man?

Having a bird on his roster made Joe remember the Pokemon that kept leaving small trinkets on his apartment balcony. He wondered if it's doing it now that he's away. If so then he's going to return to a massive pile of goods. He wondered what the wild bird thought of his departure.

Cyndaquil sat there, all grumpy, face scrunched up. He briefly looked up at Joe. His snout somehow scrunched up even more and he twisted away.

Joe sighed. He crouched by Cyndaquil, looking at his Pokemon's red back. "Hey, buddy, what did I say? No sulking. And if this is about me stopping the fight, then I'm not going to apologise. I'd do it every time. I don't want to see you get seriously hurt. If you don't watch yourself, you're going to end up scarred like Nidoran. I'm not going to be responsible for pushing my team so hard they end up physically hurt."

Cyndaquil huffed and turned his head a little to hear.

"Trust me, you don't want to follow my example." Joe said, lifting his shirt to reveal a circular scar half an inch in diameter, jagged and spiked in numerous directions. A parting gift from a Hunter in Olivine. A piece of metal had gone into his side at an angle, coming out the front. "Pushing yourself past your limit is one thing. You want to do that to get stronger. For us humans, our muscles won't grow stronger unless we constantly push them, and it does hurt. The difference is, any pain from working out is temporary. Cyndaquil, scars are forever. I support you wanting to be stronger, okay? Just not in a way that permanently hurts you."

When he heard the rustling of clothes, Cyndaquil looked out of curiosity and saw the jagged scar. He turned away, only to see Nidoran playing with Hoothoot. His eyes were drawn to the bunny's missing ear. It wasn't just about scars. Cyndaquil could lose a limb if he weren't careful. Then he'd really be in trouble. What if he wanted both hands for a certain attack, and he ended up with only one for the rest of his life? Even now, battle was on his mind. He knew Joe was right, but it was still annoying him.

Joe figured he'd preached enough. Time healed all wounds. Cyndaquil would eventually get over it. Until then, Joe just had to wait. Perhaps this mental block was stopping the evolution, as Joe felt a wave of energy coming from Cyndaquil. Just like Caterpie when he met her. Cyndaquil needed to find the key to progression, and only he knew what that was. Joe had no doubt it would end up being combat related though. Maybe cornered, Cyndaquil would find new strength. Or maybe happiness from winning a difficult battle would allow him to change. Only time would tell.

"Other than that, you did good." Joe quickly petted Cyndaquil's head. "All three of you were great."

After his Pokemon had enjoyed themselves, Fomantis was one of the last to be put away. Joe wanted to ensure she understood he was proud of her. She seemed tepid, unsure if her staying out was good or bad. She glanced around, at a nearby tree and at the ground, then resolved herself. She looked up at Joe, her leaf arms together across her chest to reassure herself. A comfort technique.

Joe rubbed her head. "So how was it? Did you like the battle, or do you want to try something else?" He watched her nod, realising he'd messed up so he asked the first part again. When she nodded, he smiled. "Great. That's good. Remember, the important part is that you applied yourself. You decided to join in and you did. It's easy to say you'll do something, but then to actually act, that's the hard part. Keep it up."

Fomantis was really starting to like Joe. At first he just seemed like the best option for a Trainer, but he was becoming more than that. He seemed to know what to say at all times. He was helping Fomantis get better, for which she was eternally grateful. Before Joe could put her away, she rushed to his leg and hugged him, her arms not even making it halfway around his tree log of a limb.

Joe considered the hug his thanks, almost slipping and saying, 'you're welcome.' After Fomantis pulled away and saw Joe's warm, almost parental smile, she smiled back which showed in her eyes as her mouth was so tiny it was nearly imperceptible.

After the park visit, Joe headed to a clothes store. Butterfree had destroyed one of his jackets to keep him afloat, so he wanted to fill the gap.

He typically cycled through a couple. He'd lost his blue one, so all he had was the black jacket he currently wore. And he liked his jackets.

Joe was on auto pilot, not truly seeing or paying attention. He went to a row of clothes and reached out to grab whatever, but something caught his eye. He snapped out of his auto pilot. He looked at a red shirt and, two rows away but still within view, a white jacket. "Oh. My. God."

Absol tilted her head, following her Trainer's eyesight to a red shirt. She couldn't see over the rack but could tell Joe was looking at a different item. Joe walked and took a white jacket from a line of clothes. She watched, the gears in her head turning. Her eyes widened and she turned to look at the red shirt. No. Nope. Not happening.

She moved to stand in front of the red shirt, leaned forward as if preparing for a fight. That's just how determined she was to stop Joe from getting his hands on that red shirt. He absolutely could not go through with this. She knew exactly what was going to happen. He was going to tease her about it endlessly, no doubt. She did not want to put up with that right now.

"Jokes on you, Absol. I already have a red shirt. So don't you worry, we're going to match. Best friends forever." Joe grinned. "And don't do that here. We don't need you causing problems, toppling displays and scaring people."

Absol kept growling, but in reality she'd already lost. She didn't want to cause problems for people. Now she was simply making a noise out of anger. Why did Joe have to keep being annoying like this? She grimaced as Joe bought the white jacket. The last thing she wanted to do was match her Trainer.



* * * * *



As Joe messed with Absol in the clothes store, a new and unusual challenger reached Brock. With the entrance having no doors and the panda being small, Pancham was able to waddle by the reception desk and into the arena. Brock perked up when a Pokemon entered the arena alone. And then a Gengar came out of Pancham's shadow. The round ghost stood beside Pancham and, through some animated gestures of shadow boxing, got the point across that this arena was where battles took place. Once it understood, Pancham's face lit up as it turned to Brock. Well, there was a first time for everything. If these two Pokemon wanted a fight, Brock wasn't against it. So he entertained them for a while, Pancham learning and growing the entire time.

At the same time in a nearby town, Looker arrived at a police station. He had a personal taxi in the form of an oversized Pidgeot, allowing him to cross a country in mere hours. Like Joe's Absol, Looker's Pidgeot was just outside the requirements for being an Alpha.

Just before Looker headed inside, a shadow briefly fell over him. Two men approached riding a Togekiss. When they landed, one was rubbing his chin. It still ached from being punched by Joe. The other locked eyes with Looker. Looker saw it immediately. Fear of consequences. The young man didn't know what was about to happen to himself but realised he could go to prison for a while.

Looker had read the report on his way here. The two that had successfully avoided police were now in front of him. A background check, paired with a talkative gang member in custody, had shown Looker that these two, the Togekiss Trainer and the Tinkatuff Trainer, were new to the gang. The poaching job was their first time out in the field, and since they failed, they technically hadn't committed any crimes.

On top of that, they had Fairy-type Pokemon. Animals were great judges of character, and fairies were like the natural good of the world. These two may be fools, but they weren't evil. Their Pokemon were no doubt being patient out of love and waiting for them to fix their mistakes.

"S- Sir…" One said, looking down in shame. "…We're sorry! And, er, we have a plan."

Looker considered it, eyeing the station to his side. "Let's hear it."

"So, um, Rocket Syndicate doesn't have many airborne Trainers. They kind of need us. So…"

Looker understood He had no idea how they had arrived at this decision, but he jumped at the opportunity. Raising a bird to its final, large evolution wasn't easy. For a criminal organisation, flight was rare and useful as another vector of attack. They needed every flying Trainer they could get their hands on. Which meant Rocket would be more lenient with the poaching failure and welcome these two back. Rocket was known for abandoning gangs that failed or got caught. Understandably. Criminals have no use for people that can't get the job done or cave to police and give the gang away. But there were some people Rocket absolutely needed. Looker had seen it numerous times across the world. Leniency towards Trainers because of their Pokemon.

"You're willing to become informants?"

They nodded.

"All right, I accept."

They worked a few more details out and soon they left the area with Looker's number memorised. Couldn't afford to have it written down anywhere.

Looker couldn't believe his luck. Joe's random encounter with poachers had led to the detective having access to insiders at Rocket Syndicate. Finally. This might become the undoing of Rocket Syndicate. For so long, Looker had struggled with information about the group, but now he finally made a breakthrough.

He was all about second chances too. The two gang members that approached were young and stupid. If they helped fix the situation then Looker would consider their debt to society repaid.

Looker was reinvigorated with the idea of gaining new and instrumental information from his informants. It could be slow to happen, but this would no doubt be Rocket Syndicate's downfall.



* * * * *



The next morning, after Absol had jabbed him one hundred times, Joe walked the streets of Pewter. Up ahead, on the corner of the street, was a cafe with a bright pink sign.

Joe was unsure about what to do. A rematch against Brock now seemed too soon. His team hadn't really grown since the last fight. They needed a chance to apply the knowledge of their loss.

"What?! Are you serious?"

Joe was taken out of his thoughts when he heard a woman shouting. He looked to see he was at the corner cafe. Sitting outside was a beautiful, flashy woman. Her bushy stark blonde hair had pink tips and reached her shoulders. She wore a black, slightly transparent crop top shirt. Underneath Joe could see a bright purple and yellow Liepard print bra. The bright colours created a clear outline that didn't leave much to the imagination.

The woman cursed and went to throw her smartphone before slamming it on the table instead. "Useless!"

At this point Joe had stopped and was just looking at her, an eyebrow raised. When she noticed, she sent a scowl his way. "What are you looking at?"

"Is everything okay?" Joe replied, ignoring her bad mood.

She looked him up and down, then looked at Absol. The matching colours resulted in her next comment. "I didn't know there was a circus in town." She heaved a massive sigh. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. The people around here are just wimps. I want an escort to another town and that was my third rejection."

Joe understood both sides. This woman wanting an escort was fair because he knew from personal experience that the wild could be dangerous. Better safe than sorry. And people on Nomads didn't want to get in over their heads if they were beginner Trainers with something like a Bidoof. People had their comfort zone and weren't brave enough to venture out of it. While thousands of new Trainers were created every year in just one country, they weren't all strong.

Joe gestured at the chair opposite the woman. "Maybe I can help?"

The woman eyed Absol again, considering. This duo looked strong. Maybe the stranger could actually help. She crossed her arms and nodded, watching the big man sit down.

"So, where are you going?" Joe asked.

"Icterine. It's a town at the base of Mt. Moon, to the east. It'll take a few days to get there. My dad's there, in hospital, but he's fine. Still, got to check up on family, right? Figured I'd take the scenic route, but I don't have a Pokemon of my own. Hence, the escort job that no one wants."

Dad. Was this woman also from Galar? Surely not. The chances of that happening were slim to none. Three times in the span of a couple of weeks was like it was fate. Like the universe was trying to give Joe a hint. Sure, Trainers, people in general, travelled a lot. But this felt oddly specific.

He put the thought aside, now knowing what he was doing. Escorting this woman. He could come back to Pewter some other time for a rematch against Brock.

"If you're all right with me, I'll help."

Now it was her turn to raise an eyebrow. "Seriously? Just like that? Don't you have anything else to do? That was everyone else's excuse."

"Just like that."

The woman looked Joe over, squinting as she did so. She suddenly had a feeling he was familiar, but she couldn't place him. She was good with remembering people, so she didn't know him personally. She'd seen him somewhere before. Probably on the news. Maybe he was famous. He had a shiny Absol and the man himself was a giant. A unique combination that made him memorable.

"All right, thanks." She paused. "…And sorry for the attitude."

Joe shrugged. "You've got a parent in hospital. You're stressed. Nothing to apologise for."

She reached a hand over the table. They shook. "Peonia."

"Joe."

"Well, Joe, do you want a drink since we're here?" She lifted her mug, swishing about the liquid inside. "I'm not rushing my own."

Joe accepted the offer and ordered tea. Peonia decided to order another. Joe saw movement in the corner of his eyes as Peonia, wearing long white jeans, crossed one leg over the other.

"Why are you here while your dad's in Icterine?" Joe asked, simply curious.

"He's an archaeologist. I am, too. Runs in the family. Well, except Penny. She likes technology more than dig sites. Oh, Penny's my little sister. But anyway, dad was working in a cave and apparently it wasn't as secure as they thought. I spoke to him on a video call. He's fine. Still his usual, loud self. No, actually he's worse now that he's stuck in bed with a broken leg."

She noticed Joe smiling warmly at her, but there was a hint of amusement in his eyes. "What?"

"No, nothing. It's just nice how much you care." Joe said. Peonia was very forthcoming with information about her family, which painted a picture. She cared for her family in her own way. Reminded him of his own mother.

"Obviously? What kind of moron doesn't care about their family? Wipe that look off your face, it's annoying me. You're just like mom."

"Sorry, sorry." Joe restrained a laugh. "Do you have plans for a route? A specific trail to wanted to walk?"

Peonia looked up, considering his words with serious thought. She just wanted to walk through the wilderness. She hadn't picked out a special sightseeing route or anything. "No, nothing specific."

Before Joe could speak again, she let out something akin to a growl. "Agh, it's really annoying me. Can I take a picture of you to do a web search? I feel like I've seen you before but I don't know where."

"Sure."

Peonia grabbed her phone, its case made of fifty small, sparkling gems that made it annoying to look at under the sun. There was also a cute little charm dangling from the phone. A little plush toy of Pikachu, a yellow rodent with a tail like a bolt of electricity. She took a picture and began tapping, her nails just long enough to hit the screen alongside her fingertips and make a distinct noise, but not too long to get in the way of day-to-day activities.

Joe was starting to think Peonia was the other type of gyaru. While Sonia was a gorgeous woman, she had ultimately been subdued in her appearance. But here was Peonia, every bit of her flashy and eye catching. From the phone case to her clothes to her two-tone hair. A key component for a gyaru was visuals. Another was modern slang and speech. Sonia acted like a gyaru while Peonia looked like one.

It didn't take long for Peonia's face to light up, the first smile Joe had seen from her. She was boastful after learning she was right. "I knew it." She turned the screen around. "You're that guy from Olivine."

Joe grinned at the picture of himself standing next to a tall model, brown Wooper in her arms. The scar he'd shown Cyndaquil earlier tingled from the memory. Since Amethyst, he'd had a number of reminders of that day. He recalled that, when the picture was taken, he was wrapped in bandages and had a dozen stitches keeping his wounds closed.

- - - - -
Author's Note

THE NEXT CHAPTER IS THE ODD ONE OUT, '36: NO POKEMON? NO PROBLEM'.
So obviously I was wrong about the estimate. It will be changed tomorrow, once people have read this chapter. Do not be confused when the next chapter is 35.
Also, Peonia has art on the website!​