Toxic

Chapter 3

"He said I was afraid." Evan said. The duo had made their way to Route 6 and were currently dodging the combative eyes of local trainers. For the first time in a long time Troy had returned Mr. Punchy to his ball.

"Afraid of what?" Troy replied.

"Grimer."

"What?" Troy looked confused. "What did he mean?"

"I don't know. It was creepy. I didn't want to stay in there for long." Evan pulled out Grimer's pokeball. He studied its luminescent red glow. Had he been afraid of Grimer? He shook his head and shoved the ball back into his pocket. As they approached the pond they could see a group of young trainers surrounding a couple of heated battlers. Troy shot his signature smirk at Evan and took off towards the trainers. Evan sighed and quickly followed. As they grew closer they could make out an older war veteran commanding a Raichu against a much younger slender mohawked trainer and his Muk.

"Raichu, use Thunder!" The veteran said. The Raichu leapt high in the air emitting a piercing bright light followed by a massive explosion. Troy and Evan closed their eyes as the ground shook around them. As the dust settled the crowd cheered. The veteran was standing tall with his Raichu in front as the spiky-haired teen was kneeling on the ground next to his unconscious Muk. Troy looked around and found a short blond bug catcher to squeeze answers from. He rushed next to him, Evan close behind, and poked him hard.

"Hey, what's going on here?" He said. The bug catcher looked irritated but complied with the request.

"Are you new to town or have you been living under a rock?" The snarky remark got the bug catcher a dirty look. He began pointed to the kid. "That's Vance, a member of the Poison Pack biker gang that hangs out on Route 17, and 20th ranked trainer in Kanto. He's taking the Pokemon League challenge but it's not going well." He turned and pointed to the veteran.

"That's Lt. Surge. Arguably the best gym leader in the nation. Next to Blue, of course. Surge's Raichu just handily dismantled Vance's Muk, it wasn't even a contest."

Troy and Evan looked on in awe at the older muscle-bound veteran who stood before them. His Raichu, who was now eating a berry, looked docile but incredibly powerful. Troy had the sudden urge to hug it. Evan looked over to Vance who was tending to his injured Muk. He felt a ping in his stomach. Was the shadowed man right? Was he afraid? He barely let Grimer out of his ball outside of battle. How could he become a powerful trainer like Vance if he couldn't connect with his Pokemon?

"You okay, man?" The bug catcher tapped Evan's arm giving him a slight startle.

"Yeah, no, yeah. I'm fine." Evan looked around, Troy was gone. "Did you see where my friend went?"

The bug catcher snorted and pointed towards Surge. Troy was rolling around on the ground with an irritated Raichu in his arms, and an irritated Surge standing over top of him. Evan sighed. He ran over to pull Raichu free but was too late. Raichu, now beet red, started glowing.

"Everybody down!" Surge screamed as he ducked for cover. Evan dove as a lightning bolt struck the ground sending rocks flying in every direction. Through the screams Evan could hear the faint sound of giggling. He stood up, brushed himself off, and peered through the dust. Troy was still hugging the now confused Pokemon. He looked up to Evan and smiled.

"Rubber soles. My mom had a Pikachu when I was a kid." Troy stood up Raichu held tightly in his arms. He walked over to Surge and set the Pokemon down. "He's super fluffy, sir. I commend you on your choice of shampoo."

"What the hell is wrong with you, boy?" Surge asked.

"I ask that question everyday." Evan replied. Troy shrugged.

"If you're done screwin' around is there somethin' you want? If not, then get outta here." Surge pulled out a pokeball, returned Raichu, and stuffed the ball back into his pocket.

"Sorry, sir. We'll be out of your way." Evan said. He grabbed Troy by the shirt and tried to pull him away. Troy knocked Evan's hand away and took a step towards Surge. Surge looked down at him in amusement.

"I want to challenge you." Troy said. Surge laughed heartily. Evan gawked on unsure of whether his friend was serious or if the lightning actually did screw with his head.

"Yeah? You wanna challenge me then you can do it like everyone else, at my gym in Vermillion. Now beat it, kid." Surge pushed his way through the onlookers and left towards the city, the crowd in tow. As the last few onlookers slowly dispersed the small field next to the pond slowly returned to it's naturally serene ambiance. Evan made his way over to Troy and swatted him on the back of the head.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Evan screamed.

"What?"

"Why would you challenge Surge? Why would you put the attention on us? We had a simple mission! Sneak in, steal stuff, sneak out. Why is that so hard to understand?"

"Yell all you want I know what I'm doing." Troy sat down next to the pond and let Mr. Punchy out of his pokeball. The Poliwag splashed happily into the water. Troy smiled. "Enjoy it, Mr. Punchy. We have our first major battle coming up."

"I'm not trying to be that guy but if you could explain what you're doing, that'd be great." Evan said. Troy sat up and stared out towards the water.

"Did you see the size of the crowd today?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I think the whole town was there."

"So?"

"Everyone loves a good battle. Especially a beat down. I saw some Silph employees behind Surge." Troy looked up at Evan and grinned. "They were following him when he left. I think they work in the gym."

"Wait, so the challenge?"

"A decoy while you search the building. I'm sure Rocco won't mind us hitting the Vermillion lab before we head over to Pewter."

"You brilliant son-of-a-bitch." A smile stretched across Evan's face. He joined Troy at the edge of the pond. The sun felt warm on his skin as he released Grimer from his pokeball. His Pokemon stretched its arms out and gave a great big sigh of relief. They laid together in the grass enjoying the cool spring breeze. "Sometimes I don't know if you're a moron or a genius."

"There's one thing I do know."

"What's that?" Evan shielded the sun from his eyes and looked over.

"I'm gonna need to start training." He said as he stood up and jumped feet first into the pond. Evan watched as he waded through the water and began playing around with his Pokemon. He looked over to Grimer who was still sleeping happily in the sun. Its stench was no longer stinging Evan's nostrils. It was even maybe a little pleasant. He laid his head back down and slowly fell asleep to the sounds of laughter and splashing.

Rocco sat low in his beat-up black leather chair. He swiveled around with his hands gripping the arm rests. His office was the smallest one in the building, hidden on the basement floor, packed wall to wall with file cabinets and paperwork. His gray tuft of chest hair was dripping sweat onto his sleek blue suit. The one thing he didn't understand was how the largest criminal organization in Kanto couldn't afford air conditioning. Separating his office from the rest of the basement was an old wooden door with a busted glass window with Rocco's name on it. Guarding that was Gionni, Rocco's longtime friend and bodyguard. Rocco stared blankly at the pokenav on his cluttered desk. Soon enough it would start ringing and he would get a much-needed update from Saffron City about the two idiots he sent to search the labs. He nearly jumped out of his seat when Gionni knocked on the door.

"Whadayawant?" He yelled. Gionni cracked open the door and peaked in. His short buzz cut did nothing to help shape his potato face.

"We got, uh, someone here to see you, boss." His dopey expression had been replaced with a slightly frightened one. Rocco already irritated with the interruption of his daily schedule waved him off.

"Get outta here. Tell 'em I'm busy." Gionni nodded and closed the door. Rocco sat back and began swiveling again and once again was nearly sent flailing from his chair when the door caved in. Gionni laid unconscious on the pile of splintered wood. Rocco jumped from his chair and frantically searched for the pokeballs he kept in his desk drawer.

"At ease, Rocco." A brute of a man stepped through the doorway and over Gionni's limp body. Following close behind was the largest Machamp Rocco had ever seen. He slowly grew closer to Rocco like a lion stalking his prey. It sent chills down Rocco's spine. He towered over Rocco, who was not blessed with height to begin with. He gazed at him with inhuman eyes as black as his long flowing hair. Rocco's back was pressed up against the cold steel of the filing cabinets. He could feel the handles digging into his back like daggers.

"H-hey, Leon. G-good to see ya." Rocco said. Leon leaned over his and grabbed him by the neck and forced him up to the point where his feet barely touched the ground.

"Were you trying to weasel your way out of a meeting with me?" Leon growled.

"N-n-n-no, not at all. I-I-I was just waitin' on a phone call, boss. I didn't know it was you."

"I'm getting tired of your antics. When I took over for Giovanni he promised me that you would be a competent leader, but yet here you are barricaded away in your little cave like a mouse."

"Who are you calling a mo-" Leon tightened his grip around Rocco's neck. Rocco grabbed harder at Leon's massive arms. "Yep…mouse…that's me…"

"I put you in charge of the Celadon Game Corner and you want to sass me?" Leon tightened his gripped more. "The only reason I'm keeping you alive is because I need those Silph papers. Now have you found them or not?"

"N-No…not yet…" Rocco rasped. Leon lightened his grip a little, Rocco started gasping. "I got…some…huff…guys on it…"

"You should have your entire force on it!" Leon screamed. He punched the cabinets next to Rocco's head leaving a large dent.

"B-boss, I will. I g-got a plan. These guys ain't schmucks, I swear! I'm gonna be getting' an update from 'em real soon." He pointed to the pokenav on his desk. Leon glanced over and then back to Rocco.

"I want an update the minute you hang up your phone." Leon dropped Rocco who fell to the ground in a heap. He stepped back over Gionni's body and through the door. His Machamp followed close behind taking a big step on the lifeless body before leaving. Rocco rubbed his sweaty sore throat and looked at the mess in the center of his office. Gionni was breathing, fortunately, though his crooked nose looked even more bent than usual. As he made his way to his feet the pokenav lit up and started ringing. Rocco rushed over to the desk nearly knocking everything over in his wake. He fumbled with the phone and finally opened it.

"Y-yo, gimme the good news." He said. The voice on the other line was crackly, Rocco cursed the reception in his office.

"Boss…two kids…goofed off. Stupid one…challenged Surge…will continue with update…First team ready…stationed in Saffron…will send updates…" The call cut out.

"What the hell are those two nimrods doin'?" Rocco slapped his forehead. Slowly he brought the phone up at started dialing Leon's number.