This is the last chapter I will be doing for this story. Sorry that it was shorter then the others. I'll be making an update chapter to explain what will be happening next with me and my work. Thank you all for reading this far and I hope you enjoy this last chapter.
A week passed and by the end Ralph was well enough to leave the hospital. He was still bandaged up and he wasn't yet strong enough to carry anyone, but his cuts had healed and his wings were strong enough to support him in low flight for now. Tom offered to drop them off in Pallet Town. They'd have to walk otherwise, and it was a long way from Indigo Plateau to there. They left late in the morning, giving their thanks to the nurses that had cared for them as they left.
Joe was glad to be heading home again. All his adventures seemed to end there. But this had been one hell of a strange adventure, and a surprisingly life threatening one. Joe had wondered about what happened to Landon. Had he escaped? Probably, the door had been broken upon. Only he could have done that, there was no one else in the house. He wondered where he'd gone after that. Would he run into him again? Joe hoped not. The last thing he needed was a crazy scientist and maniac causing trouble for him.
The league had sent out police and a few special class trainers to check out the area Joe had discovered. They found the Red Path and the mansion. Apparently it was still standing after the explosion, although it was mostly a ruin. According to the returning report the library had been burned up, smoke filling the room like fake oxygen, and the entrance to the laboratory had been completely blocked off. There had been the idea of digging the rock up to see if anything survived, but at the moment it seemed such an idea wouldn't happen. Joe was glad about that. Whatever survived down there didn't need to be found again. Landon's work didn't need to be found. Let it run under a pile of rocks, let Team Rocket's experiments be forgotten along with Team Rocket themselves.
Joe had explained everything to Tom about what had happened there. He hadn't left any details out. Needless to say Tom was rather shocked by it.
"And he was just… cloning them?" He asked as the three of them flew across the region of Kanto on the back of Tom's Fearow.
"Yeah." Joe said, shielding his mouth from the rushing air. "He was trying to create pokémon stronger than any other. In some ways he succeeded."
"But you beat him?" Tom asked.
Joe looked at his friend. "You think Ralph would be so badly hurt if I'd won?" He said. "His last pokémon was too strong. All six were tough, but that last one was something else."
"So you blew the place up?" Tom said. Joe chuckled a little.
"That was an accident." He said humbly. "I didn't intend for it to blow up."
"What did you think would happen when you threw a six foot tall bat into a control panel?"
"Honestly I don't know." Joe said, still chuckling.
"But, dude, I'm glad you're okay." Tom said, smiling back at his friend. "You and Ralph. You could've both been crushed."
"Like we don't know that." Joe told him wittily. Ralph gave a small cackled from behind them.
"And did any of these experiment pokémon escape?" Tom asked.
Joe thought back to the screeching of the crobat, Grim. He thought back to the five other unconscious pokémon lying defeated on the floor as the rocks began to fall. He thought of Landon fleeing like a coward from the scene as fast as he could, not looking back for a second and not even trying to save his pokémon.
"No." Joe said certainly. "None of them survived."
Tom solemnly shook his head. "A pity." He muttered. "Maybe they could have been rehabilitated."
Joe looked at his friend. "They were wild, malicious beasts!" He said loudly over the wind. "They would have killed me and Ralph if given the chance! They nearly did! They weren't normal pokémon!"
"Alright." Tom said, a little surprised by Joe's sudden anger. "Whatever you say."
Joe took a few deep breaths. He didn't know why he was suddenly so angry. It had just come out of nowhere. He was probably tired. A lot had happened. Landon had told him a lot of stuff. He'd been through quite a bit for one week. But now it was over and he was heading back to his Uncle's farm. He could relax there.
When they arrived at Suroway farm they found Walker Glende waiting for them. Tom had called him up to let him know that Joe was on his way back. Joe was happy to see his uncle again. He didn't feel great about running off without telling him where he was going. He knew that was a bad idea now. But the look of anger on his uncle's face made those bad feelings worse.
Fearow landed and let Joe, Ralph and Tom jump down to the ground. Joe could see the look on his uncle's face. Walker had never been a strict or stern man, but the few times he'd gotten mad he'd been like a rampaging billowing hurricane. Joe dreaded those talks. Thankfully he'd had few of them, and this was one of them. Walker Glende walked up to the two boys and gave them a cheerful that was clearly fake.
"Hello, Tom. How have you been?" He asked.
"I'm okay, Mr Glende." Tom said kindly. He then took a few steps back, spotting the storm brewing before him.
Walker nodded. "Good." He then turned to Joe. "Now, where the hell have you been?!" His voice was like a thunder strike. It was so sharp that it could slice air. It was so booming that god himself would have trouble talking over him. Joe instinctively held his head.
"Sorry, Uncle." He said weakly. "I was going to call, but I didn't expect to be out so long."
"I'll say you were gone long! Just going to train at Victory Road for the day? A whole weak, and you didn't even call me. Instead I get a message from your friend saying you got caught up in a fight, Ralph had been injured and you were on your way back today!"
"I was in the hospital most of that time." Joe explained. "I was taking care of Ralph."
"Cro." Ralph said quietly. He knew this wasn't the best time to make himself know, but his name had been mentioned so he had to. Walker looked at the bandaged and bruised crobat. Then he turned back to his nephew.
"What happened?" He demanded.
Joe knew from experience that he couldn't keep lying to his uncle. It was best if he came out and told him now.
"I was out exploring." He told him half-truthfully. "Ralph and I went out training in Victory Road and we came across an unexplored area in the caverns, so we had a look around."
"And that's how he got injured?" Walker asked.
"We ran into some really strong wild pokémon." Joe lied. "A lot of them. Ralph managed to fight them all of though."
"Joe, I'm not stupid. Don't lie to me!" Walker demanded.
Tom was standing with a guilty expression a few feet back. Joe glanced back at him looking for help, but after he realised he wouldn't get any he decided to fess up.
"Oh alright." He said, giving in. "I got a letter from someone telling me to meet them in a hidden area of Victory Road."
"And you just went without even consulting me?" Walker interrupted. "Have you learned nothing?"
"They told me they were a friend." Joe explained. "They said they could explain a few things about my past… and Ralph's." Ralph waved a wing slowly, reminding everyone that he was still there.
"Can I see this letter?" Walker asked.
Joe didn't argue with his uncle. He pulled the piece of paper out of his back pocket and passed it to the man. Walker read it quickly, and then looked back at his nephew.
"Did this not look suspicious to you?" Walker asked. "Because it looks incredibly suspicious to me. Why did you not tell me about this immediately?"
"I didn't want to concern you." Joe told him. "I didn't want to get your hopes up incase it turned out to be nothing."
"You didn't think that I might worry about you?"
"I wasn't expecting to be so long."
Walker rubbed his forehead with a dry hand.
"So who was it that sent the letter?" He asked. "Did you find them? Were they the ones that hurt Ralph?"
"Yes." Joe said, answering both questions. He took a deep breath, knowing that what he said next probably wouldn't go down well with his uncle. "It was Landon who sent the letter." Joe said. "Landon Labelle. He's been alive all this time."
Walker looked at his nephew.
"Landon?" He said.
Joe nodded. "He was working with Team Rocket all the time." He explained.
Walker nodded sadly, though he didn't seem surprised by this news.
"What did he tell you?" He asked.
"He told me about you and your group, back when Team Rocket first showed up." Joe explained. "He was working as a spy for Team Rocket. He turned your group in and tried to kill you, but failed. Since then he's been working as a scientist for them." Joe paused for breath.
"Did he tell you anything else?" Walker asked, not really taken aback by what he'd just been told.
"He told me about what he'd been doing." Joe explained. "And about Ralph."
"And is that it?" Walker asked.
Joe remembered the experiments Landon had been doing on pokémon. He remembered his subjects, the violent and vicious enhanced pokémon. He remembered the streak of cruelty the man had had in his eyes. He felt that telling his uncle about this wasn't for the best. He could only imagine what would happen if that kind of information was given to the wrong people. He shouldn't have even told Tom. What if other Team Rocket scientists or people just as bad found out that Landon's experiments had worked? What if they went looking and found it buried under the rubble. He didn't want that to happen twice. He couldn't even trust his uncle with that information. He could hardly trust himself with it. So he lied straight to his face.
"Yes." He said. "That's all."
Walker seemed suspicious of the boy.
"Are you sure?" He asked. "So how did Ralph get hurt?" He asked.
Joe paused to think. "Landon challenged me to a battle. I only had Ralph with me and I didn't expect his pokémon to be any good. But I was wrong. We were lucky that we won in the end, but one of his pokémon had been rather aggressive." He told him. It wasn't exactly untrue. He'd just left a few details out, like how Landon's pokémon were unnaturally strong.
Walker narrowed his eyes, suspicious. "Really?" He asked.
"Yes!" Joe asked, snapping suddenly at his uncle. "Why don't you believe me?"
"I didn't say that." Walker told him calmly. "I was just uncertain about what you've been telling me."
"Well don't be!" Joe said, his voice suddenly aggressive and unkind. "I wouldn't lie about my friend getting hurt like this, so don't say I would."
Ralph put a wing on his companion's shoulder but Joe shook him off. Walker was looking rather surprised by this sudden change in emotion.
"Joe…" He said.
"Don't assume that I didn't think about the danger I could've been in." Joe continued, shouting at his uncle in a juvenile rage bout. "I didn't tell you where I was going because I didn't want you to worry, but seeing as how you did that anyway clearly I was wrong."
"You don't need to get so…" Walker tried to say.
"Joe, just calm down." Tom spoke up.
Joe didn't really understand where this anger had come from, but it was the primary thing on his mind. He felt furious that his uncle would be so upset by what he'd done. He'd been away for longer times. Why was this any different?
"I know that I'm the only family member you have left." Joe said coldly. "I know you've taken care of me since I was a baby, but don't try and control me like I'm some kind of pet and not a human being. I can take care of myself and my pokémon. You don't need to worry about me so much. So just give me some bloody space!"
Walker was speechless, as was Tom. Even Ralph looked shocked. Joe's face was red with anger, and it had come completely out of nowhere.
Joe suddenly seemed to realise what he'd said, and he tried to calm down a little.
"Sorry." He muttered quietly. "I'm just… I'm very tired."
Walker nodded solemnly.
"I'll… I'll let you go and rest." He said embarrassedly. "I'm glad you're okay."
Joe watched as his uncle walked back inside, a hurt expression on his face.
When he was gone Tom turned to his friend and said "What was that about?"
Joe gave his friend a grumpy glare. "Go home, Tom." He said sharply.
Tom looked a little surprised. "Are you okay, Joe?" He asked.
"I'm fine!" Joe shouted at him.
There was quiet.
Tom took a few steps back. "Okay." He said quietly. "I'll speak to you later… when you're feeling better."
Tom walked back over to Fearow, looking a little worried, and they took off into the sky once more.
"Cro?" Ralph asked, tapping Joe on the shoulder with a concerned expression.
"I just need a rest." Joe told him with a trying smile. He looked at the farmhouse and yawned slightly. "Let's get inside." He said, glancing up at the darkening sky full of clouds. "It looks like rain is on the way."
A few hours passed by and the weather didn't clear up. Dark clouds rolled in from the north, bringing a chilling breeze with them. At this time Joe and Ralph were currently recuperating in the living room, relaxing after their recent ordeal. Though to their surprise their rest was interrupted by a knock at the door.
Joe got up and opened sluggishly. In the doorway stood Winter, wearing her thick green coat, her bright ginger hear running long down her shoulders. She smiled as Joe saw her with an expression of personal concern.
"Hey." She said quietly.
"Hey Winter." Joe said. "What are you doing here?"
"I heard that you and Ralph were hurt." She said honestly, looking through the doorway to spot Ralph still laid out on the sofa and wrapped in bandages.
Joe sighed. "Did Tom tell you?" He asked. Winter nodded. Joe cursed himself. He shouldn't have told Tom the whole story. He was hoping to keep Winter out of this. She didn't have to worry about the stupid things he did. Which is exactly what she was doing.
"How are you?" She asked.
Joe stifled a yawn. "Very tired." He told her.
"I can imagine." Winter agreed. "So what happened?" Winter looked inside the house. "Can I come in?" She asked.
Joe glanced back inside. His uncle was still home. Winter was more than just his best friend, he wanted to be honest with her. But he didn't want his uncle to know certain things.
"Do you wanna talk outside?" Joe asked.
Winter looked a little surprised, but she said "Sure."
Joe closed the door behind him, leaving the confused but relaxed Ralph to watch them through the window. Joe turned back around and gave his girlfriend a bright smile.
"So, how'd the test go?" He asked her.
Winter smiled back. "Very well." She told him, clamping her hands together subconsciously. "They really liked my performance."
"I knew you'd do great." He told her kindly. Winter gave him a thankful smile.
The two teenagers stood in the cold afternoon, their hands in their pockets and their feet unable to stay still.
"Your uncle was really worried about you." Winter said, breaking the icy silence. "He called me asking where you were. I told him the same thing you told him apparently."
Joe's smile fell a little. "Sorry about that." He said. "I tried to explain what happened to him, but it didn't go over to well." He chose to keep out the part where he got angry. He felt bad about that.
"How did your little adventure go?" Winter asked.
Joe looked back the house with a grim expression. "It was an experience." He said finally. That pretty much described his feelings about it all.
"Mind telling me about it?" Winter asked.
"Not here." Joe said, looking around cautiously. "Do you want to go for a walk?"
The young couple took a small walk across the vast fields of Suroway farm. The air was only growing colder, even though it was nearing the end of May. On the horizon the black clouds loomed ever closer like invading ships on the coast on an island. And as they walked Joe explained everything that had happened over the last week.
"God." Winter muttered as he finished his story.
"I as lucky." Joe told her. "It could have gone so wrong. It nearly did. Landon was ready to kill me, but I managed to stop his pokémon, and he fled."
"Where do you think he is now?" Winter wondered.
"I don't know." Joe told her. "But I don't want to know. Whatever he does next is not my problem anymore. I'm done with Team Rocket."
"You said that last time too." Winter reminded him. "But no matter how hard you try to avoid them they always seem to run into you again." She nudged him on the elbow. "It's like you're cursed."
Joe chuckled a little. "Yeah… maybe." He said. Even though she was joking what she said made some sense to him. Off all the people in the world he was the one who kept ending up in the firing line of that mad group of maniacs.
"But at least you weren't too badly hurt." Winter added with a smile.
"No." Joe agreed. "Only slightly bruised. Ralph suffered though."
"He'll be fine." Winter reassured him. "He didn't seem too bad. He's been through worse. Not much could kill that crobat."
Joe didn't respond to that comment. His mind had gone to a dark, depressing place again. Winter's smile began to fade slightly.
"Um… Joe… there was something needed to tell you, but I'm not sure if it's the right time to do so." She said. "Considering what just happened to you."
Joe looked back to his friend and gave her a warming smile. "What is it?" He asked her.
Winter took a deep breath. She seemed about to tell him something very serious. Whatever it was she seemed very uncertain about it.
"You know that I was trying out for a place as a gym leader?" She said slowly.
"Yes?" Joe said.
"Well… I passed." Winter told him. Joe's smile grew.
"Congratulations." He told her. "Why didn't you tell me? That's amazing, Winter."
"Yes." Winter said quietly, holding her hands hesitantly. "And, as you know, this is a really important thing for me. I've been training for so long, and I finally passed the qualifications." She paused. "But…"
Joe's smile immediately began to fell. "But?" He asked.
"But… there's currently no openings available for Gym Leaders in Kanto." Winter explained. "So I'm going to be gym leading in another region."
Joe seemed slightly confused. "What about Johto? Do they not have any open places there?" He asked.
"No." Winter said.
"I thought Brice quit his position in Mahogany Town."
"Someone else has already taken his place." Winter explained. "The only position available was in Hoenn. I had to take it." She sighed. "So I'm going to be moving away soon." She explained. "That's why I came to see you… to say goodbye."
Joe looked stunned. A washing look of sadness came across his face.
"But… Winter…" He said, stunned. "You can't leave. I won't be able to see you if you're working far away."
"I won't just be working in Hoenn." Winter explained to him. "I'll be living there to. I'm moving there this week. I start packing tomorrow."
"But what about us?" Joe asked her.
Winter closed her eyes, looking sorrowful.
"I'm sorry, Joe." She said slowly. "If I could have it any other way I would. I'm not leaving because of you. But this is my best shot to achieve something I've dreamt of doing all my life. I have to take it."
Joe's arms fell limply at his side.
"So you mean…?" He said hopelessly.
Winter nodded. "This won't work out." She said sadly. "I'm sorry."
Joe felt his heart crack and fall apart like a flower in liquid nitrogen. A part of his life had just up and left without warning, leaving an opened scar behind it.
"Winter…" He said quietly. "Please… you don't have to leave…"
Winter held her head low. Evidently she wasn't happy with this choice either, but she was trying to keep herself strong. Slowly she leaned forwards and kissed Joe on the cheek.
"I need to go." She said quietly. She unclipped a pokeball and threw it to the ground, releasing her Pidgeot, Zephyr. She walked over to the large bird and climbed onto his back, preparing to fly off. "This doesn't mean I won't see you again… or miss you." Winter said.
"I know." Joe muttered quietly. At this moment he couldn't even lift his eyes to look at her one final time.
Winter closed her eyes and sighed heavily.
"I love you." She said.
Joe didn't reply. He held his face low still, not wanting to look at the girl.
Winter shook her head, and without another word she took off, flying away on Zephyr's back across the darkening sky.
Joe stood there for a while, his head held low. Tears were forming in his eyes. The only girl he'd even been brave enough to get close to had just left him for a career. His closest friend and more was gone now, and he was alone again. He felt just as alone as he did before his first adventure. With a heavy sigh he raised his head and headed home.
Joe spent the night at his uncle's house with Ralph, waiting for the bad weather to pass. Ralph was still tired, but a good night's sleep should give him enough strength to fly again. Joe didn't speak to his uncle at all that night. He simply went straight up to his room and cried himself to sleep.
The next day he and Ralph got ready to leave. Joe said goodbye to his uncle, but he didn't say sorry. It took a few minutes for Ralph to adjust to carrying weight again, but eventually they were ready to take off. Ralph flew up high into the air and flew away, Joe on his back. The two of them headed home, to Cherrygrove city.
After a few hours of flying they had crossed the border between Kanto and Johto and had touched down in Cherrygrove City. The seaside town wasn't terribly busy so early in the day, but the bright sunlight made it seem cheerful nonetheless. Joe's house was nearer the beach, though not too close to be in the sand. It was about a few metres away from the edge. There were certainly houses closer to the water then his. It was his mother's house. She'd let him move in after they're reunited. It was comfortable enough. Their relationship was slightly uncomfortable. Joe and his mother were two very different people. As a result they tended to argue quite a bit, though it was never anything serious.
However, as it turned out, today wasn't going to be a calm one.
As soon has Joe opened the door he knew something was wrong. There was a strong smell of fruity alcohol coming from the living room. Several empty and half-empty bottles were standing upright on the coffee table, and a few wine glasses sat beside them. There were also several opened packs of crisps and other packaged quick foods. And from the kitchen there was the sound of sobbing.
Joe stepped inside with a concerned face. He wandered what had happened while he was away. Had something happened to his mother? He walked into the kitchen, Ralph following at a cautious distance.
Joe found his mother siting against the cupboard door, her eyes stained red. There were wine stains on her shirt, her hear was a mess and she smelt of alcohol. As her son entered the room, Mrs Catherine Green looked up, tears still in her drunken eyes. Joe smiled back at her with obvious distress in his look. She was in a bad state, probably because he'd been gone so long with no word. He'd seen his mum in some pretty bad states before, quite often over nothing. As he'd gotten to know her he'd realised that part of his job as a son would be to help her through those states as best he could. He thought that's what was needed here. But the reaction his mother had to seeing him was very startling.
Joe's mother stared at him, her eyes still read. Then she began to shout. "Where the bloody fuck have you been?!" She screamed.
Joe knew that being calm with her would help the situation.
"I was out having a small adventure." He admitted.
"Oh were you?!" His mom yelled, not letting him continue. "And how was it? I hope you had a good time, because I've been here for the last seven days worrying myself sick!"
"I got a little distracted." Joe apologised. "I'm sorry. I should have called to tell you."
"Seven days!" His mother continued. "A whole week, and no word to anyone. You didn't even tell your uncle where you were going!" She rolled here bloodshot eyes. "No surprise. He's always been useless." She snapped. "What good does he ever do anyone?"
Joe was a little surprised by her words. He knew his mum could get angry and say some rather harsh tough rashly, but this sounded like anger that was held deep down inside of her. She sounded spiteful, and Joe didn't know why.
"Uncle Walker's help me out loads." Joe told her. "You're just drunk. You don't mean any of that."
"Get off me!" Catherine yelled as Joe tried to help her up. She shoved her son away with a surprisingly strong hand. Joe tripped backwards, only to be caught by Ralph's waiting wings. He looked really concerned now, as well as surprised.
"Mum…" He tried to say, but his mother's batting hands kept him back. "Mum, please… calm down!"
"Don't you raise that tone at me!" She yelled at the top of her voice. "I am your mother. You will do as I say."
Joe stayed quiet, trying to do his best to let his mother calm down. Sometimes not responding was better than responding. But she didn't calm down. In fact she got angrier.
"You tried to leave me again!" She shouted, sobbing more through her drunkenness. "You tried to run away like everyone else. Your father ran off with that fucking group. Your Uncle won't speak to me. Norman and I fell out." Her voice became caught up in coughing.
"Mum, I would never leave you." Joe said, looking down upon her with sorrowful eyes.
"Go to your room!" Catherine yelled suddenly, lashing and kicking at her son. "Get out! You want to leave, so leave!" She threw a bottle at him. "Go! Just fuck off, you little shit!"
Joe knew just how badly his mum was taking his absence, and he knew that he had to be calm in order to help her. But out of nowhere a sudden fit of anger bulged its way up through his throat and out of his mouth.
"Fine!" He snapped back, his expression now enraged. "I'm sorry I'm not a good enough son, but you aren't exactly the best mother either." His mother looked up from her sorrowful state on the floor. Joe glared at her with sudden spite. "Now I understand why Uncle Walker waited fourteen years to tell me about you." He turned and walked out of the room. "I'm going to my room." He snapped back as he left. "Don't disturb me!"
Catherine Green sat up and began shouting back. "Good!" She yelled "Go upstairs. See if I care." She fell quiet as she watched her son leave the room, then she yelled "I don't need a good for nothing son ruining my day!"
Joe was fighting back multiple emotions at once. He wanted to immediately turn back and apologise for his aggressiveness, yet his stubborn mind told him 'No. She shouted at you first. She deserves it.' Joe stomped his way towards the staircase, Ralph following behind concernedly. As they passed through the living room Joe's eyes fell upon a half full bottle of wine. He knew he was underage, and his mother had told him to never drink such stuff until he was the right age. But what did she know? She was the one sitting crying in the kitchen while he was the kid who defeated Team Rocket. He took a sip from the bottle.
A few days passed by. His mother had calmed down by then. Joe was still in his room, regretting the previous events of the week. He lay on his bed, his room more of a mess then it usually was. He was pretty fed up. A mixture of anger and sadness was flooding through his head and he didn't know which emotion to focus on right now. Both felt real and purposeful, yet somehow pointless all together.
He groaned in contemplation as Ralph sat wrapped up on the chair beside him. They both had nothing to do. They'd been grounded by Joe's mother who had now sobered up for being gone so long without any word.
Frankly this whole experience had been a waste to Joe. Sure he'd learned a lot about his past, his uncle's past, Ralph's past and Team Rocket's past, but was that worth this. This feeling of solitude and emptiness. Winter was in another region. Tom was working with the league, as was Rocky. Who knew where Silver and Crystal were, and he felt guilty about the way he'd treated his uncle yet he couldn't convince himself to go back and apologise. He was stuck in a rut, and there was no way out.
Joe sighed. "What the hell am I going to do, Ralph?" He asked.
Ralph looked at him and shrugged.
"Cro." He said uselessly.
Joe closed his eyes, his head resting on several piled pillows.
"How did all this happen to us?" He wondered "Where did it all go? All our friends have gone away." He fell quiet. Then he said "It makes me miss the old days, when we were just starting out." He rolled over and looked at his winged friend. "Do you remember those days?" He asked.
Ralph nodded. It had been merely a year ago. But it did feel longer than that. It was like there'd been a time jump, and Joe was now centuries in the future where everything he'd done before was long forgotten. That or it had never even happened.
"I still remember the day I caught my first pokémon." Joe muttered in contemplation, rolling back over onto his spine. "I remember the first fight with Team Rocket, the same day I met Winter. The first gym I beat. The first time I caught sight of Indigo Plateau." He sighed. "It's weird. At the time that didn't mean much… but now." He fell quiet again.
Suddenly Joe sat up, remembering something he had long forgotten.
"I know!" He exclaimed. Ralph looked at him with a waiting expression. Joe gave him a glistening smile. "I just remembered something we can do after all."
Without another word to Ralph he jumped off the bed, threw his hoodie on and rushed downstairs and out the front door. Ralph, still looking pretty surprised, followed after him as fast as he could. He found Joe standing outside, waiting for him with an excited and refreshingly adventurous smile.
"Ralph." Joe said as he approached. "I need you to fly me to Fuchsia City." He explained. "Can you do that?"
Ralph seemed pretty confused, but he agreed to the boys requests. Joe quickly gathered together a few important items he needed, and then the two of them took off towards the red city near the Kantosian Sea. And along the way Joe explained his exact reason for going there.
A lot of things had happened to the two of them over the past few days. Most of those things had been relatively negative, some of which they couldn't have stopped from happening. Winter would have still left, no matter whether Joe had gone to meet Landon or not. But only in doing this, this one tiny thing, did Joe feel that he suddenly had some hope again. He'd seen his uncle depressed and his mother drunk. He'd seen his best friend rat him out and his girlfriend leave him. He'd even seen his own pokémon nearly die. But if he could get this to work, then maybe there was still a purpose for him.
"No, no no!" Janine yelled as a young trainer in her service sent his koffing in to fight a losing battle. "You need to time your attacks properly!" She yelled at him.
As she spoke the boy's koffing was felled by a large and aggressive looking Arbok that the opponent trainer had just sent on the attack. This trainer was clearly more experienced than the Janine's student.
Janine shook her head. "What did you expect to happen? A towering serpent comes swinging at you and you tell your koffing to tackle it?"
"I-I'm sorry, Miss Janine." He stuttered nervously. "I panicked."
Janine sighed. "If you want koffing to survive past the first attack you need to be strategic." She explained calmly. "Tell it to pull off a smokescreen so that it can hide from its attacker. That way you can avoid incoming attacks while continuing to make them. Maybe even teach it a few extra moves like Sludge or Smog or even Explode if necessary. Maybe get a few TMs and teach it Protect or Toxic or Sludge Bomb. You're thinking to inside the box. You don't have to take the opponent down in one hit."
The young trainer nodded with a mixture of understanding and nervousness.
"O-okay." He muttered.
"Good." Janine smiled at him. "You can go now. Get your koffing healed up."
"Yes, Miss Janine." The boy grabbed his unconscious Koffing and ran out of the building, looking rather humiliated.
Janine's smile disappeared once more. She turned on the other trainer. "You couldn't have gone a bit easier on the boy, Hugh?" She asked angrily.
The trainer with the Arbok shrugged. "You told me to test him." Hugh argued. "So I did."
"That wasn't testing, that was destroying!" Janine argued with him. "You couldn't have given him a single chance?"
"I thought my job as a gym trainer was to test the strength of trainers who wanted to fight you?" High argued back. "I'm just doing what I'm supposed to."
Janine turned away, rubbing her forehead with stress. Two months this had been going on now. There were barely any trainers coming to challenge the gym now, most of who were either local children or inexperienced travellers, and almost all of them failed the challenge. And to add on to the suffering, the only gym trainer she had left was Hugh. All the others had quit, because of him. There was no denying that Hugh was a good trainer, but his arrogance and selfishness was the prime reason no one liked putting up with him. And Janine had been putting up with him for two whole months. She pleaded that just one good trainer would show up to challenge her. Even if they lost they could at least knock some sense into Hugh for a bit. She might even manage to recruit them to help out the gym. If just one trainer like that would show up. But she wasn't an idiot. She knew that hoping for that to happen wouldn't make it happen.
However on this day, out of all chances in the universe, she happened to get what she wanted. The doors opened again. Janine turned. She expecting to see another young trainer unfit to battle her yet to be standing there, but instead she was pleasantly surprised. A smile crossed her face.
Joe walked inside, Ralph flying beside him. The trainer nodded to her as he entered. He'd been there before, on his first adventure. He'd battle with Janine and won, taking on her little challenge and passing with flying colours. Now he was back, but for a different reason.
"You've finally come back." Janine said, sounding both surprised and overjoyed. "I was starting to think you'd forgotten the offer I'd made you."
Joe smiled at her. "No, I didn't forget." He said. "I just got busy."
"And you brought your crobat friend." Janine said. "That's great. But why is he bandaged up?"
Joe glanced at Ralph. His crobat companion gave him a small nod.
"We got caught up in a bad fight." Joe explained. "Nothing I couldn't handle."
"I can believe that." Janine grinned.
Hugh looked between them, thoroughly confused.
"Who's this guy, Jans?" He asked.
Janine turned her suddenly grumpy stare upon the Arbok Trainer.
"This boy took my challenge a year ago." She told him. "And he passed it. He's one of the best trainers I've ever battled."
"Better than me?" Hugh laughed. "I doubt it."
Joe rolled his eyes. So this guy was one of those trainers, was he? One of those trainers who thought they were better than every other trainer just because he had a lot of money and a big pokémon. Arbok was nothing to him, in fact it was less than nothing. Ralph could cut that thing in half in seconds. Hugh was so far up his ass he'd passed through his colon, travelled up his throat and exited back out through his mouth.
Joe chuckled quietly.
"So…" Janine said loudly, interrupting her student sharply. "Have you come to take up my offer?" She asked.
"I have." Joe told her. "I haven't got much else to do, so I thought training in a pokémon gym might give me some good work experience."
High's expression suddenly dropped. "You want to be a gym trainer." He suddenly laughed at him. "You? You and that bat? There can only be one Gym Trainer here, and that's me."
"Alright then." Joe said. "I'll fight you for the position."
"Sorry?" Hugh asked, his smile vanishing like a misplaced pen.
"You heard me." Joe said. "Let's battle. Let's see who the better trainer is really."
"You're on." Hugh said confidently. He threw a hand forward. "Arbok, bite!" He yelled. Arbok slithered quickly forwards, strong jaws stretching out.
"Steel Wing!" Joe called simply.
Ralph flew forwards, one wing out sharp. And that was it. Arbok fell backwards, the wing striking it in the long and unprotected neck. It made no attempt to get back up.
Hugh's mouth dropped open wider than the snakes ever could.
"What?" He gasped. "But… But… How?"
Ralph returned to Joe's side, wearing his own proud grin.
"And that's the end of today's lesson in overconfidence." Joe said smoothly.
Janine was grinning from ear to ear.
"You've only gotten better since we last met." She said proudly. "I suppose you'd have to. You did defeat both Kanto and Johto's league."
"I met your Uncle, Koga." Joe told her.
"I know." She said. They chuckled. "So, I suppose that seals the deal." Janine said suddenly. "You've got the place. When can you start?"
"As soon as possible." Joe told her. "Can I keep Ralph with me for this job?" He asked.
"You can bring any pokémon you own." Janine explained. "Though they'll have to be of the type specific to the gym, but Ralph already falls into that category. You might want to keep him out of most battles though." She added. "Most trainers won't be good enough to defeat him."
"Alright." Joe agreed, smiling as he watched Hugh leave the room, carrying his massive purple cobra in both hands as he left.
Janine smiled at the boy. "Welcome to the gym, Joseph Glende." She said with open arms. "You're gonna go far!"
THE END
