Day 2, 5:45
The next morning, Vero woke up, noticing that the man who had come the previous day was now gone. He gently removed his newly caught Joltik from his shoulder and then he stretched slightly, feeling refreshed after the good sleep he had.
He then recalled both his Pokémon in order to avoid attracting unneeded attention and went further north to continue to explore the Ward, but this time he made the vow to avoid getting in trouble like the day before. Eventually, he found a Pokémart, where he was at least able to buy some Pokésnax (enough for a few days) and a cheap bag to store them. At least, he would be able to provide food to his Pokémon.
Right after his purchases were done, he asked for the cashier where would be the nearest park. When he followed his directions, he was… kind of disappointed. In truth, it was less of a park and more of an alley with a swing and a few flowers in it, but Vero guessed that this was as good as some people got.
There, he released his two partners, Buddy and Sparky. He had his Charmender doing some jogging around while he tried to get his Joltik to show him the moves it knew. Now that he thought about it, he didn't know if it was a male or female, with his Pokédex stolen and no easy way to tell the gender of a little bug. When he ordered it to attack a rock he had found lying around, Sparky glued it up with String Shot. When he told it to use something else, the little Pokémon simply looked at him, unmoving.
Vero sighed. Normally, a well-trained Pokémon, like a starter of his brother's, was able to easily understand a human. Even wild ones, for the most part, were able to somewhat get what their trainer were saying. Either this Joltik was on the lower end of his species' IQ, or it was young. In the latter case – Vero hoped it was – only time was needed to remedy to the problem. He then tried to remember what kind of moves a young Joltik typically knew, and he told Sparky to try to use them.
Since he already knew for String Shot and Thunder Wave, at least, he only had two moves to find out. First, he told Sparky to attack the rock directly, which seemed simple enough for it to understand. It then proceeded to jump at the target and to strike it with its front legs, from which pale green energy erupted in the form of a pair of pointy blades. Then, it stroke again, and again, until a visible fissure appeared on the rock. At this point, Vero deduced that this attack was probably Fury Cutter, since it had been increasing in power at each hit.
After this, Vero told Sparky to attack from afar, and it then simply glowed green, with no effect on the target. Puzzled, Vero decided that he would test it out in battle later. After this, Vero passed a good hour strengthening and sharpening Sparky's power, speed and reflexes, and he was pleased to see that the little guy was already kind of good at jumping in zigzag.
At this point, Vero called Buddy and then took the two Pokémon on a little walk. Well, to be more precise, the Charmender walked while the Joltik comfortably settled on its trainer's shoulder. He was beginning to feel a bit stuck between the alley's walls, and he wanted to make some kind of exercise himself.
On his walk, he went a bit at west, following the polluted lake's edge, until he stumbled across a gigantic building. It looked like it was industrial, but it seemed to be in a pretty pitiful shape, and there was no activity near it whatsoever, except for an old lady who was contemplating the view – what a view, he thought sarcastically – and some other person, dressed and haired in all green, who was examining the main entrance. Vero simply thought that they were trying to explore its empty indoors in search of anything valuable, until he approached them.
"Damnit, she said that it was supposed to be the factory, didn't she..?" They seemed to think for a second until their face lit up with an expression of annoyance. "Oh, of course, she meant the other one, could have told me… or did she?"
At this point, he noticed Vero, who was observing him back, with his Charmender and Joltik in plain view. The green-dressed fellow then sent him what was probably meant as a cold stare, but only came off as trying too hard to look tough.
"What are you looking at, like that? You want something?" At his voice, Vero determined that it was a guy, although his attire didn't give this away instantly, especially when seen from behind.
"No, I just wondered what you were doing, mumbling to yourself." He replied, shrugging his shoulders. Since the other man seemed to be a trainer like himself, Vero figured it wasn't as risky to talk back with him as with the gang leader the previous day.
"Evidently, you've no idea of who you're dealing with, here." The green guy then stroke a pose, separating his legs a little, putting his right hand on his chest, the other on his hip, while placing his head sideways. "I'm Fern, and I am the top dog, the cool cat, the coolest monkey in the jungle, you get what I'm saying?" Vero simply sighed before Fern continued. "By the way, have you seen the two gym leaders, Florinia and Julia?"
"I know Julia, but I haven't seen them around since the train incident. Why? You want to challenge them?" Fern snorted.
"No, I have business to do with them." He looked back at the industry behind him. "They say they have intelligence on where the perpetrator of the train attack operated, and they told me it was at 'the big factory in Peridot Ward'." As Fern spoke, Vero's eyes lit up a little.
"They know where this asshole was?"
"Why do you ask?" Came the green man's derisive response.
Strangely, when Vero heard of the terrorist, he got an urge to go and bash their skull in himself. Unlike with the gang, who were merely unlucky people with a less-than-good way of dealing with it and who responded to him provoking them first, this guy had straight-up murdered a good chunk of innocent passengers, almost including him, this Ari girl, and the League manager.
"Well, let's just say I have to get even with him. You need help for that?" Fern then adopted a look of confusion and amusement before bringing his hand to his chin and smirking.
"Heh, why not? But on one condition: you have to prove to me that you are worthy. After all, I can't let some loser getting himself killed for nothing, especially if I can help it…" On paper, these words sounded almost compassionate, but with the grin he had, Vero guessed that the guy was already thinking he would win easily. "Alright, let's do a battle, then if you prove yourself good, we'll go to the other factory together, okay?"
"Good. Count on me."
The two then agreed to use the parking lot of the factory as a battlefield, since there weren't any car anymore in the city and the building was abandoned anyway. Once again, the terrain was rather neutral, though the ground was way harder, being made of concrete and all.
"Alright, so which one of your two Pokémon you'll send? Unless you have another one?" Fern asked, looking rather relaxed.
"I'm calling them both back, and we'll send our chosen fighter both at the same time, what about that?" After all, he wasn't going to let his opponent chose his Pokémon in light of his own.
"Fair enough."
Once he was ready to throw his Pokémon out in battle, he nodded at Fern, who nodded himself. Then, both trainers sent out their chosen fighter. From Vero's side came Buddy, stomping his foot aggressively on the ground, while Fern had sent out a Budew. A weird choice, Vero thought, since his foe had seen that he had two Pokémon who could handle themselves well against it.
"Buddy, use Smoke Screen!"
"Budew, Water Sport."
Oh, so that was his plan.
Although Buddy's move had the effects intended, his Ember attack would still be less effective, negating the type advantage Vero benefited from. However, Vero know that Budew couldn't do much against him, especially if he was on the lookout for the spore attacks that grass-types are known for. Sure enough…
"Now, use Stun Spore!"
Fern smirked as his Pokémon began to shake, before Vero did something he didn't expect.
"Jump backwards, Buddy, and use Ember!"
From the Budew's perspective, the shadows around it were suddenly lighted up by a burning orange glow as the attacks went straight to it. Since it wasn't exactly a fast Pokémon, it couldn't dodge in time and was sent pretty far away. It got up with difficulty, before Vero ordered another Ember, which knocked it out.
"Well, I guess it happens. Didn't think you would keep using a weakened move, but whatever…" Said Fern, returning his downed Pokémon with an expression of disappointment on his face. He then waited a little for Smoke Screen to completely wither away, before he sent out his next Pokémon.
"Alright, Sandile, you got this."
After he spoke those words, the little Desert Croc Pokémon came out of his Pokéball and, bearing its fangs, it was ready to battle with the Charmender opposing it. Vero tensed himself up a little. Unlike the slow, type-disadvantaged Budew, this one was probably more vicious. On top of it, its ground had the upper hand against Buddy's fire.
Vero decided to act first.
"Buddy, Smoke Screen again!"
Charmender then immediately began to spit out as many smoke as it could, while Fern stayed still except for a slight shaking of his head.
"Sand Tomb."
"Buddy, dodge it!"
However, it was too late. The opposite Sandile's attack had quickly settled itself around Buddy, blinding him with sand and dispersing the Smoke Screen with the whirlwind it created as a side-effect. He then let out a light chuckle before Vero tried to counterattack.
"Okay, don't worry… Use Scratch! Run after it!"
"Bite!"
The Sandile and Charmender then rushed at each other, one with its fangs in the open and the other with his claws. When they met in the middle of the battlefield, Sandile easily caught Buddy's attack in its jaw, before it tried to jerk him away. However, although Sandile had the advantage, the Charmender was a bit stronger than expected, and he managed to stand his ground until came Vero's next order, taking a page from Cain's book.
"Now, Growl!"
Buddy's Growl attack, accompanied by a 'shit' from Fern, allowed Buddy to gain the upper hand in close quarters. Once he could get the little crocodile off his claws, he stroke it with his Scratch move. He then threw an Ember to the projected Sandile, who barely avoided the attack. Fern frowned, not liking the turn this battle was taking.
He ordered his Pokémon to use torment, and then Sand Tomb, before it could go after Buddy. Already weakened by the two Sand Tombs and the first Bite he had to endure, the second Bite was a bit too much for him to keep going. As he laid defeated, Vero took him back in his Pokéball before he prepared Sparky's. Once the Joltik had been released, the match was on once again.
Fern made his Sandile use Sand Tomb once again, but Vero decided to make good use of the Pokémon's diminutive size and made it side jump the move.
"Now, use String Shot!"
The Sandile, still focused on its Sand Tomb, couldn't react fast enough to avoid all of the sticky fluid that went all over it and found itself stuck in place as it tried to free itself. However, with its reduced strength due to Growl, it couldn't do the deed before Sparky's Fury Cutter knocked it down.
Vero breathed deeply with pride at seeing his first captured Pokémon win its very first match. Granted, it was an already damaged and weakened opponent, but it was a victory nonetheless.
"Alright, now will y-"
"Nope. I'm not done yet, loser…"
Vero took a second to process what his foe had just said, before the latter sent out a Rowlet – presumably his own starter. After he realised the implications, Vero protested.
"Hey, that's not fair! I have only two Pokémon! It's over!"
"We never said it was two-on-two. It's a full-blown battle, and we're using everything we have. Thus, face my last one or forfeit, beginner."
Resisting his urge to punch Fern in the face, he begrudgingly nodded and took a deep breath. Even though he was going to continue the match, even if only to conserve what little dignity he had left, he wasn't sure if it was good for Sparky. After all, it had never battled before, and his opponent could fly.
Still, the match continued once both trainers were ready. Now, though, Vero realised that all relaxation had left Fern's body, a livid seriousness taking its place.
"Go up and use Razor Leaf."
The Rowlet then went flying up in the air and obeyed its master. Vero cursed under his breath, as he told Sparky to counter the leaves with Fury Cutter. Fortunately, the attack was more effective each time it hit. Unfortunately, with its opponent in the air, Vero doubted it would be relevant.
When Fern had his Rowlet come back closer to the ground to use Peck, seeing as Razor Leaf wasn't going to suffice, Vero had an idea.
"Sparky, jump on it!"
Both Fern and Rowlet were surprised as the little Joltik sprung right into the bird's face, hanging tightly on it as the panicked grass-type tried to slam itself to the ground in order to get rid of it. Although it did manage to hurt Sparky once, the little bug held on and, once given some room to breathe, took a decision of its own and used Thunder Wave at point-blank range before letting go of the Rowlet's face.
Indeed, while Vero was worried that Sparky didn't have the needed experience to face Fern's presumed strongest fighter, he failed to take into account that it was still a wild Pokémon prior to its capture. It had to fend off by itself to survive. As a result, unlike a groomed starter, the newly caught Joltik already knew its fair share about fighting even before its training, and thus could trade blows with a Pokémon that was being trained since weeks evenly.
The bird then crashed into the concrete face-first, while the Joltik, too small to get much falling velocity, landed safely. Vero then snapped out of his awe and shouted.
"Now, use String Shot!"
As Fern let out a groan of frustration, his Pokémon was glued to the ground while being paralysed, and thus it was at the complete mercy of Sparky. One of the cutest, most non menacing-looking Pokémon, who would have thought?
"Now, finish it off with Fury Cutter!"
"Razor Leaf!"
"Oh, crap!" Vero thought, as his little Pokémon was hit directly by the attack because of his carelessness. However, considering Sparky's part bug-type, the move didn't damage it that much, and it could still go to the downed Rowlet and deal the finishing blow, ending the match swiftly.
As both of them recalled their Pokémon, Vero sighed in relief. After Buddy had been defeated, he really thought it was game over. He came over to Fern in order to offer a handshake in good spirit.
"Wow, I really thought you had me there, you are pretty good…" However, Fern didn't react as Vero expected and turned away in contempt.
"Of course I am, what did you think?" He then looked back to Vero and looked at him with disgust. "You only won because of type advantage and dumb luck."
Mentally, Vero called bullshit on his excuses. Both of them had had the type advantage at some point in the battle, and Fern even used one more Pokémon than he did. What Sparky had pulled hadn't been his decision, but it wasn't dumb luck either; it was just the little bug proving its worth.
"Yeah, whatever." Vero said, abandoning his shake pose. "Now, let's get to the factory, yes?"
"I guess we will. First, though, let's go heal our Pokémon, we'll need them."
Vero agreed and left the scene with his new acquaintance.
After the two of them had made a detour by the Pokémon Center of Peridot, they went directly to the other abandoned factory that Fern had talked about and, sure enough, Julia was there, waiting with another woman, who was also dressed in green. Upon seeing her, Vero had to blink twice to make sure he wasn't hallucinating; the resemblance with Fern was pretty uncanny.
As Vero expected, Julia greeted them with excitement, jumping on place and waving both of her hands in a cheerleader-like fashion. Her companion, on the other, merely adjusted her glasses and looked passively at Vero. He couldn't help but slightly shiver at the coldness of her stare.
"Hey! Fern! Finally, you're here and – *gasp* – Vero is here too! No complaint here, after all, beating bad guys is WAY funnier when-"
"Who is this individual, brother?" Julia could only stand in place, frozen in her interrupted dance of joy, when Florinia cut her in order to question Fern.
"Just some random tag-along who wanted to kick some ass, so I brought him over."
"After practically cheating so you wouldn't have to." Vero thought. "Yeah, I figured I could provide some help."
"…" The green-dressed woman considered the option for a little while, before stating. "If you take full responsibility for the risks you run while assisting us on this assignment, then we shall accept your assistance."
"Yeah, that's Florinia." Fern said, with a smirk as he addressed Vero. "But everyone calls her 'The Flobot' because, you know, she speaks like a robot." His addressee couldn't help but smiling at the nickname.
"Well, I don't, 'cause Fifi is not a robot, am I right?" The over-energetic woman looked at her friend, who nodded in her direction.
"That is correct. Now, we have a cleaning operation to do. Julia, you may use your pyrotechnics to open a path."
Just as Vero began to wonder what Florinia was talking about, Julia sent out an Electrode, which sent itself hurling towards the metal door of the smaller factory.
BOOOM!
Without any kind of warning, except for Florinia's order, Vero didn't brace himself and was sent to the ground by the shockwave created by the Electrode's Explosion attack. As he got up, slightly embarrassed, he noticed Fern's amused expression – though he couldn't really blame him for it.
Before the four trainers entered the building, the green boy spoke to the dark jacket-wearing one.
"Hey, dude… what was your name, again?"
"Vero."
"Yeah, Vero, whatever… I know we've not really started on the best of terms, but since we're gonna fight together, I think it would be good to restart anew, what do you think?"
Vero looked at his interlocutor for a second. Apart from his disinterested expression, he seemed quite genuine.
"Okay, I guess that's good."
He then offered his hand to Fern, who shook it, this time, but with a small look of contempt on his face.
"Now, let's kick some bad guy butt."
"On it!" Vero exclaimed, calling both his Pokémon to his side as the green boy did the same.