Disclaimer

I do not, and will not ever, own Pokemon

Title

Grunt in a Million

Special thanks to

My friends Iffah, Eve and Olivia.
Who have been encouraging me to continue writing and always supporting!
As well as Venusaurite and Green Rune for the lovely reviews!

Chapter Two;

Lyra. So that was her name. It dripped off his tongue so easily- A pretty cute name. Fit the face, for sure. But Lyra. How could he have lost to a little girl with a name like Lyra? Honestly, he was just glad that he hadn't been the only person to have lost to a girl with zero sense of fashion. His partners at that time, Lissa and whatever that feminine man's name had been, were just as bothered but not as devastated by the loss. No, in fact, it seemed to fuel their desire to win the next time they would be faced against her.

"I can't believe I lost to her!" He would hear her whine occasionally (Or at least she would assume it was her. All the girls here tended to have the same sort of "look" which made it hard to tell who was who) "But I was totally going easy on her- The next time we meet, my Ekans is going to tear her puny Pokemon to emshreds." Arceus, he wished that he could have thought the same but that Quilava of hers- He had finally taken the time to look up whatever "Quilly" had been- was tough. Now he was expected to train his team of two Pokemon harder if he wanted to win their next battle.

"Beginner's luck-" The other grunt would say- His name was soon revealed to be.. Leslie. Which in all honesty wasn't as surprising as he would have thought it to be- Arrogance dripping from each syllable as he discussed it with his other team members "I almost had her- Well, sort of.. No, I really did! Her Quilava was so close to fainting I could feel it in my bo- What? No, no, my Zubat took care of that! See? This is exactly why I'm one of the stronger trainers her- Battle? Oh no, no, no, no thanks! I'm uh- Tired!" He spoke way too quickly, switching from topic to topic it was a miracle that anybody would actually take the time to listen to him. Because he certainly didn't.

Unlike his team-mates, he tended to avoid all sort of conversation about the girl who had beaten not only three grunts but their boss as well. It was embarrassing to say the least and even thinking about it was humiliating. Instead, he thought about ways he could get his Pokemon stronger and, this time, ready for the rematch he could already feel coming his way. She'd been the hot subject the following week and he was more than surprised to hear that the grunts weren't the only ones talking about her.

"I heard Proton had a full-blown rant when he lost." Gossip had spread quicker than a Charizard's flamethrower around the headquarters and everywhere he went, someone would be talking about the Executive's defeat. It ranged from male grunts who found it rather funny that he had lost to a rookie trainer to female grunts who would stick their noses in conversations, pushing to defend the blue-haired man with a fiery passion that anyone would have thought that they were eternally bound to him "It won't happen again!" They would argue back, hoping to Arceus that their glorious Proton wouldn't dare loose the next time. Honestly, it was rather amusing to watch.

The only time that he had been apart of any conversation relating to the incident, was when he and a few grunts had been down in the break room, playing poker and just all-in-all gambling. Now, they weren't usually allowed to do this. The Executives had specifically said that slacking off would lead to punishment and the only time they had to rest was lunch. But when there was nothing to do and other's were doing missions instead of them, they'd manage to sneak away, unnoticed for awhile until time ticked by and they would have to pack up and leave.

The purple haired man decided not to play. It wasn't like he couldn't- He understood the basic mechanics of the game- It was just that the first few times he had decided to take the chance and bet his money, he lost it all. in a heartbeat. Gambling could become a serious addiction and he would rather keep his money than loose it all because of some dumb card-game (Where he was absolutely positive the other's were finding ways to cheat). Watching was a lot more entertaining, especially since the other uniformed-men surrounding the table always had something interesting to say: Whether it was a stupid story, starting an interesting conversation or starting a fight. The latter wasn't that uncommon.

"So- I heard you were at the Slowpoke Well when it all happened." Obviously that was directed to him, seeing as the eldest of the group was looking him straight in the eyes, cigarette hanging limply from his lips which curved into an amused smirk "And got beaten by some twelve year old."

He absolutely hated how small some of the other grunts- Especially the seniors- made him feel. Just because he was new and relatively young did not mean that he couldn't hold his own in a battle! But obviously, they hadn't thought the same. His mouth twisted into a deep frown, eyebrows furrowed as a huff left his lips "It was beginner's luck! Besides! I wasn't the only one to have lost to her- Need I remind you all that everyone there had lost too?" Alright, he did tend to get rather defensive about his loss, so what? He just hid it better than most people, only letting it surface when needed.

A deep chuckle left the older man's lips followed by the snickers of everyone around him. Removing the cigarette from his lips, he tapped the ash onto a little tray before throwing two chips, coloured to look like Ultra Balls, onto the playing field "Relax, kid, everyone has their days. Some people loose their socks or are late to work. Other's lost against little girls. No shame in that." Again, his words were followed by a collective sound of amusement from the circle- Aside from him, who sat there, not knowing what to say or what to do other than feeling helpless to the situation.

And of course, the taunting continued: "If I were there, I would've made sure she wouldn't have left the cave with her Pokemon. I heard that she had a Quilava with her. Do you have any idea what an addition that would make to my stupid team of Zubat? It would make a big difference. And if it didn't listen to me? Well- High prices were always offered to people with pretty rare Pokemon. Either that- Or scare the living daylights out of her with a hard beat down. Teach that little princess that you shouldn't be meddling with Team Rocket's plans!"

Agreements were muttered as chips were thrown and cards were flipped. Overtime someone would call out, they'd give their own opinion on the situation, as if it was sharing time.

"I wouldn't only take her Pokemon! I'd take everything! A trainer like that's gotta have some useful crap in her sack, right?" "No doubt. Potions and berries and poke balls, would save me a fortune and would make it less likely for me to get caught stealing." "I heard she was pretty cute- Maybe she would've fallen for my impeccable charm- Seduction is a tricky game, boys!" "You've got a face not even a mother would love."

Booms of laughter enveloped the room from everyone besides him. Eyebrows remained furrowed and the frown that had twitched onto his lips had never left his features. He was the youngest one in the group, being only seventeen whilst the other's had been more than twenty. Least to say that he found it a little bizarre that they would about a fourteen or thirteen year old like that. And that's all it was. He thought nothing more about it and about her because she wasn't important. But the words had left his lips before he could stop them:

"I don't think any of you guys should be underestimating her-" He started, already regretting it when their gazes were turned over to him. He swallowed hard "I mean- She did beat Proton! That's gotta mean something, right? And her Pokemon were pretty strong.. Stronger than all these damn Rattata." He remembered how his violet rodent had gone down with just one hit. If that didn't mean something, the grunt would've expected that his Pokemon was just incredibly weak. Which obviously was not the case "And Quil- Her Quilava-" Arceus all mighty he had almost addressed it by its ridiculous. "-Seemed pretty attached to her! I doubt that it would go without a fight.."

He had expected the looks of irritation and the questioning eyebrow raises that said nothing other than 'seriously?'. What he hadn't been expecting, was the large smirk to form on the cigarette holding man. Did he say something.. Funny? He shrunk in his seat as the man leaned over, pointing a beefy finger over at him "What's got you so defensive about this rookie? Don't tell me- You've got a crush on her?" This felt like elementary school again, what with the collective 'oohs' around the room. And just like elementary school, a huge blush had grown over his cheeks as he stood up rather quickly, knocking his knees into the table and resisting the hiss of pain.

"No! She's just some loser trainer! I'm just saying you shouldn't underestimate her too much! Unless you want to be on the receiving end of the stupid stick!" His tone defensive as he stared at him, wide-eyed like a Stantler caught in the headlights. Like he would have a crush on her! She was just some random kid. "I don't even know her name!" That was an obvious lie. The girl who had foiled one of Team Rocket's plans did not go unnamed around the grunts. But he had to back himself up before being pushed against the wall.

Puffing the smoke out of his lips, which was immediately blown into his face, the senior grunt merely snorted out in a mocking tone "Whatever you say, lover boy." Did they always have to laugh at everything he said? The young man had come here to have a good time, watching his "friends" gamble and now he was being teased like a kid in the playground. And just like a kid in the playground, he walked out of the room as quickly as he could, not moving to look over his shoulder.

His interest in her was anything but romantic- How could they even insinuated that? Disgusting. Sure, she peaked at his curiosities. But only because he had never seen a trainer manage to knock out that many people so quickly. Well, at least not right in front of him (Did watching it on TV count as well?). It was a spectacle. And not only had she done that, she had bowled through Team Rocket Grunts. That certainly took guts. His thoughts couldn't help but go back to how nervous she had sounded at first- And then the little victory dance which replayed itself in his mind's eye over and over again.

"What a baby.." He grumbled, purple hues rolling in their sockets as he made his way down the hallway, unsure of where he wanted to go as of that point (He had been hoping to spend the majority of his time downstairs in the break room but obviously that wasn't going to happen). Her attacks weren't even that advanced. Mediocre at the most and obviously, she had zero strategy in the way she battled. Rookie. But wasn't he a rookie too, having only started battling around a year ago and gaining zero experience?

Whatever. Worrying about his hypocrisy wasn't going to get him anywhere and the grunt wasn't in the mood to train his Pokemon either. Maybe later on after a nap. But if he was going to beat her one day, he would have to have a strong team of Pokemon, at least something more than a Zubat and a Rattata. Maybe he could ask to join a mission later on today as well. Rounding a corner with his goal set in mind, the childish teases he had received had only left his mind for a brief moment before returning once more "I do not like some silly little girl." He huffed to himself once more, before disappearing into another room.

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