The road to Celadon City was short. Hala made sure to let his thoughts be known on the way, to Guzma's disdain. Guzma's family matters were none of the old man's business. Guzma felt very upset with the whole ordeal, but hey, apparently his Dad still loved him or whatever.
The guy had said to call back again, but who did he want to talk to? Hala hadn't said so. Guzma wondered if it would be better to just focus on the task at hand.
They'd arrived at Celadon City already. Guzma kind of liked it, there were lots of alleyways. Too many high buildings, though and it stank like the other cities. He wondered why the air was perpetually less clean and pure than in Alola.
"Hmm." Grunted Hala. "I know you probably want to get straight onto the next gym, but while we're here I want to see the sights."
"Like what? What could be more interesting than a gym?"
"A game corner, for example?"
Guzma raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "What? Like video games? That ain't my sort of thing."
"Slot machines."
Guzma frowned. "I don't like machines."
"Well, you might like these ones." Hala led Guzma to a central area of the city. This time, the area was decently busy. There were some people in business suits walking brusquely, a few women out walking, one with a baby in a pram. Yeesh. Guzma could never imagine himself as a parent.
They came in front of a long building. It was flashy, decked in neon colours in stark contrast to the faded greens and greys of the city buildings. Hala walked right on inside, through the sliding doors and Guzma followed.
The place shone. Guzma's eyes widened a little bit as he took in his surroundings. There were at least a dozen people at the various slot machines, which were a sort of bronze colour, complimenting the golden floor. As for the people, some were young, some were old, there was a mix of men and women. Some seemed quite fixated on their machines.
"Guzma, come here." Hala had moved over to an empty machine. Guzma saw there were icons on the screen. A number seven, a Pikachu and a Shellder. It looked a bit childish to Guzma, to be honest. "Let's go get some coins."
They walked over to a counter at the back room, attended by a man and a woman. Hala took off his backpack, grunting as he bent over. He rummaged around and pulled out what looked like a pencil case. Hala walked up to the man and asked for something, handing him a handful of 100 PokeDollar coins. Hala handed the man the small purple case and he filled it with a type of coin Guzma had never seen before.
"So!" said Hala, "the process is as follows: insert one to three coins in a slot machine, then attempt to stop the icons so they line up."
"Uh… I don't get it."
"Just watch." Hala demonstrated, sitting at an empty slot machine. He inserted three coins into a slit on the machine, then pressed a red button on it. Suddenly, the pictures on the machine began spinning. Hala focused, then pressed the button once, landing it on a Pikachu icon. He pressed it again, landing a 7 in the middle. "Drat." He pressed the button one last time, landing it also on a 7. Hala grunted. The other two rows on the screen, above and below the centre one, had also not lined up. "You need to line three of the same icons up on any one of the rows. That's when you put three coins in, at least." Hala glared at the machine.
"Uh, okay. So what's the point of that?"
"You get a payout of Game Corner Coins if you win."
"Huh. How much do you win?"
"Varies. Actually, I don't know. But it's probably a lot!"
Guzma tried to get this straight. "So you get coins and then you play a game so you can… get more coins?"
"Exactly! But there are trainer prizes as well, like technical machines-"
"This looks stupid."
Hala frowned. "Have you tried it, though? Here." Hala unzipped the case, dropping about ten of the coins in Guzma's hands. "Have a go, see what you think. The only way you'll find out whether you like something or not is if you try it." Normally Guzma would think that a fair statement, but he'd already watched Hala do this slot crap. It didn't look fun, but Guzma supposed he should give it a go if only to get him out of here faster.
Hala moved to the adjacent slot machine, putting in three coins. Guzma followed suit, putting three in his machine and pressing the button. The pictures began to move very fast. Guzma couldn't possibly make sense of them. Deciding to get this over with, Guzma pressed the button three times in rapid succession.
A Pikachu, another Pikachu… and a seven. The screen buzzed a few times and nothing else happened. He could already tell there'd be no point to this.
"Haha!" Hala pumped his fists and smiled in rejoice. Several coins dispensed out of the machine. "I'm a winner, Guzma. Looks like I haven't lost my touch. How are you doing there?"
"Yeah… I think I'm just gonna go to the gym."
"Oh. Well, suit yourself. You'll probably still find me here. If you're not going to use those coins, put them back in my coin case." Guzma obliged, scooping the game corner coins and sealing them back in the case. Guzma made for the door, content that he'd rather be battling someone.
Guzma looked around outside the game corner? Maybe it was time to go to the gym.
Guzma turned left left out of the building, walking straight into someone. "Gah!"
"Aw, geez." Guzma had walked straight into them, hitting his head against theirs. Guzma tried to see the person who'd walked into him. The cogs of recognition started to turn in Guzma's brain.
"Hey! You're Sylveon shirt guy!"
Sylveon shirt guy had falled onto the ground. He got up, rubbing his head. He was still wearing the same shirt, coloured black with a decal of the Pokemon called Sylveon. "Yeah… that's me. Man, your head is hard." He chuckled. "So, S-Necklace Guy. You're in Celadon City now. What are you up to?"
"Beating the gym. You know where it is?"
"Sure do." He smiled, "Aren't you the guy who swam into the Vermilion Gym to get around the tree?"
Guzma didn't like where this was going. "Uh, yeah, but how the hell do you know that?"
Sylveon-shirt smirked. "You've become a bit of a running joke with the gym staff there. The way you walked in all dripping and confident made quite an impression. Top top it all off, Surge said you were a brilliant battler."
"What?! I'm a joke?"
"Kind of. If we had a larger population you'd probably be an internet meme. I still don't even know your name. I wonder what you'd be." He thought, tapping his chin, "The Gym Water Guy? The Big Dripper? The Gymmer Swimmer? I still don't know your name, after all."
Guzma grumbled. "Guzma."
"Aha. I had you figured for a foreigner. Where are you from? I'm Randall, by the way."
So that was his name. Guzma had one more burning question. "Why the heck are you wearing a Sylveon shirt? I thought that Pokemon was for girls."
Randall rolled his eyes. "It's like… my signature Pokemon? I don't get people's stigma against fairy types." He pointed a finger at Guzma. "They're among the strongest types, both offensively and defensively, many can cover for their weaknesses. In fact, I examined things, and a Ground type move will cover both weaknesses, rendering a fairy essentially invulnerable."
"Whatever."
"I use other types as well, of course. What about you?"
"Can't I go to the gym?"
"Nah, take a walk with me first. Trust me, I'm smart."
That was exactly the sort of thing someone who had no idea what they were talking about would say. "I'll find it myself."
"There's a Wudo Tree in front of it."
Guzma's eye twitched. "That's a joke, right?"
"And there's no water for you swim in this time. Unless you're willing to cut down the other thick trees around it, for which the police would arrest you for desecrating public property, you're out of luck without Cut."
Guzma huffed, speaking through gritted teeth. "I'll just find another way around it like I did last time. Why are you here anyway?"
"And make a fool of yourself again? And I'm here to visit my grandma. This time you're in luck, my grandma's Scyther knows Cut."
"…Why does your grandma have a Scyther? I thought old ladies had Meowth or something."
"She was quite the battler back in her day. Liked her bug types. Do you specialise in a type, by chance?"
Guzma sure was surprised. "I use bug-types."
Randall clapped his hands together. "Oh, I simply must introduce you to my grandma. Follow me. Her house is a bit out of sight, though." He smiled.
"Eh, fine. But lend me the Scyther."
"Sure. Right this way."
They began to walk, Randall leading the way. Celadon City was pretty big, Guzma was glad to have someone who knew their way around. "So, uh, Randall, your granny uses bugs?"
"Sure does. Scyther, Pinsir, Beedrill, Butterfree, Parasect and Volcarona. Five of those she caught herself, the Volcarona was a present from my father. He's a world traveller and he hit Unova five or six years back. Ever been to Unova?"
"No, just Alola and here."
"You're Alolan?"
"Yeah."
"Cool. Kanto may look much more developed and urban to you compared to Alola, but man. You should see Unova. I went there when I was sixteen. So many big, flashy cities. Big lights, big city, big on Pokemon… big people, too" he added as an afterthought. "Castelia City's got to be the biggest city I've ever seen. Not my type of place, but impressive."
Guzma was interested in a different topic. "Your family… they're big on Pokemon battling?"
"Oho, now you've got me started. My grandparents, all four are alive, they've all been trainers in their time. My granny, the eldest one, she used to use ground types. Her husband used rock types, so naturally they were a pretty good couple. Their daughter, who is my mother, uses water types. I don't think she ever lost to her parents, they always get so mad when they lose!" Guzma found himself wishing he had a family like that. "My nan uses bugs, as you know, her husband uses ghost types. Funny old man, he is. My dad's a fire-type user. He's off in Kalos with my mom now. I'm sure they're having a great time, haha!"
Guzma hadn't asked for a life story. This was getting old. Randall continued, "And my brother… uses…" Randall trailed off. He was focusing on something just ahead of them.
Something was going on in the alleyway. There were two men dressed in black. There were two Pokemon out, a Sandslash and a Raticate.
A little girl stood backed against the wall, a fearful gaze aimed at the two men. They didn't appear to notice as Guzma and Randall approached them.
"C'mon, just give us your Pokemon!" said one of the men, "Give 'em over, or it's going to be real painful for you." The Raticate flashed its fangs at the girl.
"Stop it… just go away!" the girl had some Poke Balls, but wasn't using them for some reason. Randall's facial expression contorted into a frown, with his mouth agape in surprise. Then it became a glare.
"Been a long time since I've seen one of those outfits." Said Randall. "How about you just step away from her and we can figure this out?"
Guzma examined one of the men, who glared at Randall. They were dressed in identical outfits. They were both clad in black, with grey boots, grey gloves and a black cap. It was among the shadier things Guzma had seen. The defining feature of the uniform was a big orange "R" in the centre of the chest. It was menacing, but Team Skull's uniform was simply better. Guzma wondered who these guys were.
"Buzz off, stupid kid. We're Team Rocket and we'll do what we want! In fact, you hand over your Pokemon too." The team rocket man pointed at Randall, and the Raticate bared his teeth at him and Guzma.
Randall was unfazed. He raised an eyebrow. "Stupid kid? Now there's a funny one. To be frank it amuses me that you want to battle me. But I'll indulge you."
"Ha!" said the other grunt, "You don't stand a chance! Get 'em, Sandslash!" Sandslash looked at Guzma menacingly. Guzma countered with an even more menacing look and an aggressive growl. To his amusement, the Sandslash cowered back.
"Hm." Grunted Randall. "Two against one. Spineless, just like my family used to tell me." He glared at the grunts. "Yo, Guzma? Care to help me out here? Lieutenant Surge said you were an excellent trainer. Not to gloat, but I happen to be as well. What say we crush these numbskulls?"
Guzma understood where these Rocket guys were coming from. Normally they'd be the kind of people he'd be in charge of, actually. Under different circumstances, maybe he'd have helped them out, if they were working for him. But they weren't and frankly, their style sucked and they were just a lot less cool than Team Skull.
"Yeah, I'll help you out. These guys look kinda weak." Guzma palmed a Poke Ball.
One of the Rocket guys looked shocked. "You bastard! No-one insults Team Rocket's style. Raticate is gonna get you, so hard!"
"I'd like to see that little mouse try!" taunted Guzma.
"Let's show these morons, Guzma. Get ready!"
"Go, Golisopod!" Guzma threw with gusto, eager to show these guys who was boss.
"Let's go, Tauros!" Randall threw a type of Poke Ball Guzma did not recognize, and a Tauros burst-forth. The bull-like Pokemon scraped its hoof against the ground to intimidate its opponents.
Guzma chuckled a bit. Between Golisopod and a Tauros, the two enemy Pokemon were really cringing.
"Raticate, hit that Tauros with a Super Fang!"
"You too, Sandslash, Slash Golisopod!"
"Golisopod, hit Raticate with First Impression" ordered Guzma, pointing at his target.
"Tauros, use Giga Impact!"
Naturally, First Impression went first. It was a smart move on Guzma's part, as it would block Raticate, who was probably naturally the fastest of the bunch, from attacking Tauros.
Golisopod rushed Raticate and struck it hard with its claw. That was easily a one-hit KO, the Raticate lay sprawled out already. If Randall's Tauros was strong, this would be over quickly.
Tauros charged into Sandslash at very high speed, sending it flying. The rodent Pokemon landed a a fair few feet away from everyone else.
Well then. Both Pokemon down and not a hit taken. The expressions of the two Team Rocket members were shocked and scared, respectively. One looked to the other and said "Man, screw this! These guys are tough! Let's scram!" And scram they did, the two sprinting away, arms flailing.
Randall continued to glare at them as they fled, before kneeling down to talk to the girl. "They didn't hurt you at all, did they?"
"N-no."
"You have Poke Balls… why didn't you try and fight them?"
"I did… but I only have two Pokemon… and they beat me" she snivelled.
"Hm. Run on home, okay? I'll tell the police about this."
"Okay… thank you."
As she left, Randall turned to Guzma. "I'm sorry you had to see that. Thanks for your help, though. I could've taken them on alone, but… heh, sorry, I realise that sounds bad." He shook his head. "Those two were members of an organisation I thought was long-gone, called Team Rocket."
"Yeah, I heard of 'em. They're like a, uh, a gang, right?"
"They're a criminal organization. Or were. They haven't been seen in years. The original Team Rocket got beat when I was just a little kid, by a little kid. They were quite the laughing stock, I remember."
"So they're back?"
"That's what I'm wondering. I've never seen any in person before." He rubbed his head. "Look, I'll take you to my nan's, then I'm going straight to the police to report that. Pokemon theft, or attempting it, is a crime and we caught them in the act" Randall said, frowning.
They kept walking to their destination. Guzma wondered: what were Team Rocket really like? Were they cool cat gangstas like Team Skull? He didn't know. Maybe they were just a couple of wannabes, the way they handled the situation earlier didn't look so great. Only two guys, with one Pokemon each? If they wanted to steal Pokemon, they should've had a good team and lots of backup.
Guzma would be sure to find out what they were really like. But now?
Guzma needed to pay the gym a visit.
