Gold Digger
Hanna was one of the Nugget Bridge trainers, until she met Greg. But she didn't know that he was the son of the infamous Gary Oak… (Set about twenty years after Ash become champion)
Chapter one: Nugget Bridge
A high-pitched beeping filled the bedroom as the alarm went off. Hanna turned over and switched it off.
Three seconds later she fell asleep again. This time a high pitched squeaking filled the room. She mumbled and sat up, her eyes still closed.
"Eevee, shutup." She said.
A brown mouse like pokémon licked her face.
Hanna reluctantly opened her eyes and rolled out of bed.
She stood up and glanced around her cramped room. The single "bed" – which was really just a mattress on a large crate – took up half the room, a desk crammed with pokémon magazines and books took up half the remaining amount of space, and her clothes were thrown messily around the floor. She didn't have enough space for a wardrobe.
"I really need to get a bigger room." She remarked.
She looked at the white singlet she had worn to bed, it would do for today. She rolled on a pair of tight jeans and slipped on her sandals. Flicking back her shiny blue streaked hair, she picked up the two poke balls lying on her desk and returned eevee to his.
Outside it was raining, looking back at her tiny one roomed house, Hanna headed to Cerulean. She stopped in the pokecentre and had breakfast there before moving onto Nugget Bridge. James was looking angry when she arrived.
"You're half and hour late! What would we have done if some trainers had come by?" He shouted.
"No trainers did come by," Replied Hanna, "Where am I in the line up today?"
"Last, now go!" Said James, still simmering.
Hanna waited on the bridge in the rain until noon before any trainers came. When at last one did come, she noticed that he looked different from the other trainers. She watched him with interest as he successfully fought the four trainers previous to her in the line up.
He fought well, he didn't push his pokémon too far, or over and underestimate them.
He looked at her contemptuously when he discovered she was the last trainer.
"A female is your best trainer?" He said scornfully when he saw her, "No wonder my dad says Nugget Bridge is going to the dogs."
"I may be female, but my pokémon are just as strong as yours." Said Hanna proudly.
"Sure, punk. Can I beat you now?" He said, and Hanna felt her blood rise.
"You can try," She said, "Geodude, go,"
"Jolteon, I choose you." Shouted the trainer.
A yellow mouse like pokémon with spiky fur appeared.
"Jolteon, double kick." Said the trainer.
"Geodude, dig," Said Hanna.
Her rocky pokémon dug a hole and then rose up underneath Jolteon. The yellow pokémon was sent flying and fell down to the ground with a yelp.
The trainer grimaced, "Jolteon, back, you did well. Bulbasaur, go."
"Geodude, harden," Cried Hanna.
"Bulbasaur, vine whip, it's weak to grass." Said the trainer.
Hanna watched as Geodude fainted.
"Eevee, Go!" She shouted.
Her eevee appeared from his pokeball and whimpered at the sight of the Bulbasaur.
"Eevee, quick attack." Said Hanna.
"Bulbasaur, leach life!" Cried the trainer.
Eevee hit the bulbasaur in a more so fast it could barely be seen, but then the bulbasaur seemed to be sucking the energy out of Eevee. Eevee fell to the ground.
"Return, Eevee." Said Hanna wearily; it wasn't often that a trainer could make her pokémon faint.
James hurried up to the trainer, "Welcome to Nugget Bridge, you have just beaten our final trainer. You deserve a nugget. However I'm not going to give it to you unless you join team rocket…"
The trainer looked at James.
"I think I see Giovanni behind you," He said quietly.
James twisted around to look behind him and the trainer punched him in the face, he fell like a stone to the ground.
The trainer bent down to search through James' pockets for the nugget.
"Oi!" Yelled Hanna, "You can't do that, you know the rules. Once a trainer beats the five trainers he has to beat the member of team rocket to get the nugget."
The trainer looked up at her, his hood obscured his face, but he seemed familiar.
"I need the money, you don't understand." He said.
"It's the rules."
"You stupid team rockets don't understand anything, do you? I need this nugget!"
"I'm not team rocket." Said Hanna, unaware that all the other trainers on the bridge were watching her.
"You're just as bad as them for helping." Answered the trainer, still searching through the unconscious James' pockets.
Hanna thrust her hand into James' secret pocket and grabbed the nugget.
"Here, I'll give it to you, but only if you help me beat the gym." She said.
The trainer squinted at her through the rain, "What?"
"You help me beat the gym and I'll give you the nugget." She repeated.
He hesitated a minute.
"Alright, but after that you never talk to me again." He said.
She nodded and handed him the nugget.
He took her to the pokecenter and gave her lunch, but still kept his hood jammed firmly over his face so that she couldn't see him.
They were silent through the whole meal, but at the end she asked him, "I need to call you by something. What's your name?"
He looked at her, she was pale, and with black hair streaked with blue and luminous grey eyes. Her frame was slender, even skinny, and her clothes looked cheap and old. She didn't look like she could be trusted, but she did need a name.
"Greg," He answered shortly.
"Hanna," She said, smiling at him, but he ignored her.
She stood up and picked up her pokeballs, she noticed that although he had six pokeballs clipped onto his belt, only three of them were being used.
I wonder what his third pokémon is, she wondered.
"Well, shall we go?" She said.
"Now? You haven't had any training to beat the gym." Said Greg in surprise.
"I have been working on the bridge for the past eight years." She said.
"Eight years? How old are you?"
"Sixteen, legally I was too young to work when I started, but I had to help my mum out somehow… then when I was eleven she died and I was left to look after myself. I suppose I have it better off than some families."
Greg looked at her bitterly, you have no idea, he thought.
The gym was the first Hanna had ever been in, and she looked around it in awe, Greg appeared to be very laid back about the whole progress, but inside he was a ball of nerves. The gym was a series of small bridges over a large pool, a few trainers were standing on the bridges at certain points, and at the end of the bridges was a larger platform on which a tall lady with purple hair stood.
"That's Violet, she's the gym leader while Misty's away." Whispered Greg.
Hanna nodded, for a gym leader Violet didn't look too scary.
She took the quickest path along the bridges to Violet, but a pretty girl wearing a black bathing suit and with black hair stopped her.
"I'm more than a match for you. You'll never get to Violet." She boasted.
"Go, Eevee," Said Hanna, not bothering about the preliminary introductions that usually preceded a pokémon match.
"Seaking, water gun," Said the girl.
"Eevee, tackle."
Eevee tackled the seaking a little too hard and it was knocked backwards into the girl. The girl stumbled backwards and fell into the water with a splash; a small blue stone fell out of her hand as she did so. Eevee bounded forward and happily ate it. Hanna tried to stop her eevee but it was too late. A blue light emanated from eevee and when it dimmed again the eevee was a sleek blue pokémon.
The girl gasped from the water, "Your eevee ate my water stone!" She shouted.
Hanna stood still in shock, she couldn't speak, element stones were expensive and she would have to pay the girl back more than she could afford. This day gets worse and worse, she thought unhappily.
Greg took pity on her and stepped forward, "She couldn't help it, and you should be less careless with your gear." He said, "Now, are you going to finish this battle or not?"
The girl gasped angrily, "No, I refuse to fight against a thief! I'm going for a swim." She said, and returned her Seaking to the pokeball.
Hanna swallowed and returned eevee to the pokeball. She crossed the last small bridge to the platform.
Violet smiled.
"Welcome to Cerulean gym. I am Violet, temporary leader while my sister is away with Ash trying to find that meddlesome Gary Oak. I always knew he would get into trouble with team rocket."
Hanna felt Greg stiffen at the mention of Gary Oak, what's his problem? She thought irritably, she was angry because of her vaporeon, she would have liked a flareon.
"I am Hanna, I am going to battle you and hopefully beat you," She said.
"I doubt you will beat me," Said Violet, "Still, as a gym leader I have to battle all trainers who wish."
Hanna turned to Greg, "Can I borrow Bulbasaur?" She asked.
"What?"
"You said you'd help me beat the gym." Said Hanna, "And after what I did for you…"
Greg thought of James lying unconscious on the bridge.
"Fine! Here!" He said, shoving the pokeball in her hand.
"Good, Bulbasaur, I choose you."
Violet looked uncertain for a moment before choosing Horsea.
"Horsea, bubble." She said.
"Bulbasaur, vine whip," Said Hanna lazily, the horsea fainted immediately.
Violet screamed, "My horsea! Here, take the badge, I won't let my pokémon stand this injustice any longer."
Hanna took the offered badge and pinned it to her singlet.
"I want to battle you too, you know?" Said Greg.
Violet looked up from Horsea, "Fine, Seel, go!"
"Jolteon, thundershock." Said Greg.
The seel fainted almost as quickly as the horsea had.
"You two! Coming in, destroying my pokémon! Here, take your badges and leave!" Screamed Violet.
Greg shrugged and took the badge, "What about a TM? Aren't you meant to give us one too?" He asked.
Violet fumbled inside her pocket, "Fine!"
Greg took the TM and gave it to Hanna, "For Vaporeon, it won't know any water moves yet."
"Thanks," She said, he just shrugged and exited the gym.
Hanna followed Greg to the mart, where he sold the nugget. Then she watched him as he bought a collapsible bike from the bike store.
"Huh? What's he doing?" She thought.
He ignored her staring through the window as he bought his bike, but he did wonder what she was doing spying on him.
She followed him as he walked south towards Saffron, holding his collapsible bike in his hands.
At the gates of Cerulean she stopped, she didn't want to go out into the wild without a few supplies.
Half an hour later she emerged from her room with her backpack packed and a new supply of pokeballs.
She paused at the gates of Cerulean and looked behind her, "I might not ever see this town again." She said sadly, then she noticed five people coming down the street, at the head of them was a very angry looking James.
"Shit!" She said, and then she started running.