Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Man… what the hell is wrong with me…? This story isn't actually going good, but I guess I'll better move on instead. There are those moments when you just sit there, know what you're gonna write, but it somehow stops you. Enough rant. Though I'll try to shorten down the chapters a bit.

"Shut up, get lost, don't say a word more to me unless you want me to punch you." – Jonathan.

"Rebellious Pokémon"

After leaving the PokéCentre, Bill and Jonathan headed directly for the Cerulean Gym. Bill was still pondering about Jonathan's behaviour yesterday and wondered if he'd be different from now. But for now he seemed happy and excited.

The younger teen slapped Bill's back with a smile. "Today, I'm gonna get my second badge before Pat!" he happily exclaimed.

"Eh, you think you'll make it with just three Pokémon?" asked Bill, scratching his head. "The previous gym required you to use all of your Pokémon, which in the case was five."

Jonathan walked ahead a little to face Bill. "Leon told me that there won't be any small battles before the gym leader battle. Pretty neat, actually."

That was right; Jonathan had spoken to one of his friends who were journeying as well while Bill had taken a shower. Bill didn't get the chance to say hello, and he got a little suspicious when he got to know that Jonathan had been talking to others behind his back.

He shrugged; the Blackout Blast should've been working, so he shouldn't get himself too worked up on small things. Especially now that he had sorted out some issues for now.

"What's the matter?" Jonathan suddenly asked, "whatcha thinking about?" He nudged Bill's arm lightly to get his attention.

Bill quickly thought up a quick lie. "I'm just thinking of the behaviour from you yesterday."

Jonathan's happy attitude quickly faded into the serious one. "You better keep quiet about that if you know what's good for you, Bill," he threatened.

"Oh, it's not that I'm bigger than you, and probably more likely to win a fight if you're going that far," he countered.

Jonathan shook his head slowly, "I got my Pokémon, and Ivysaur especially wouldn't refuse to kick your ass," he said as he picked up a pokéball.

Bill grumbled a little, he didn't want to start an unnecessary fight on the streets with some grass Pokémon. He admitted defeat as they then proceeded to the gym.

They were in front of the entrance of the gym, looking at the seemingly dominant building of the city. The two teens looked at each other briefly.

"I'll make this short and sweet, Bill, just watch," ensured Jonathan as he entered the building with Bill following.

They walked through the cyan coloured corridor they passed one aquarium which contained many red coloured fish Pokémon swimming around. Bill stopped and looked at them for a while. He found them rather cool looking, with the yellow crown looking fin on its back, and the long and thin moustache it had.

Jonathan stopped to see what Bill was looking at. "Why are you looking at the Magikarp?" he asked, his eyebrow rising in confusion.

"Those are some pretty cool carps, man," replied Bill, not taking his stare off the Magikarp. "I wonder how strong they are."

The trainer chuckled shortly and put his hand on Bill's shoulder. "Bill," he started, shaking his head, "they're among the weakest Pokémon."

"Really?" asked Bill, feeling a bit stupid.

Jonathan shrugged, "Yep, but if they evolve, they get pretty dangerous. But it rarely happens in the wild, so don't worry about that." He grinned. "But it's funny to see you finding them cool."

Bill responded with a sarcastic laugh, and then proceeded through the corridor. Jonathan quickly walked by him and grabbed a hold of his shirt in a cue of walking faster.

"Gotta hurry, Bill, I wanna get the badge as soon as possible," he said eagerly, tugging Bill's shirt even more.

Bill grumbled as he obliged. They passed another trainer who seemed happy and was holding a clear blue badge proudly. He was a short ten-year old with red hair where mostly of it was covered under a green beanie. He stopped and looked up at the two teenagers.

"Hey, big guys," he said, "going for the Cascade badge?" he inquired as he straightened out his cyan shirt.

Bill pointed at Jonathan with his thumb, "He is. I'm just watching."

"Cool," the kid replied, "what Pokémon are ya gonna use?" he then asked Jonathan. "You must have real cool Pokémon by judging your age, big guy!"

Jonathan scratched the back of his neck, feeling uncomfortable. "Uhh, not really…"

The kid looked disappointed, but then grinned at Jonathan. "So you're just a late starter, aren't ya?" There was a short silence after that, but the kid continued. "So, what Pokémon you got?" he repeated.

"Curious, aren't you?" muttered Bill.

Jonathan took up his three pokéballs in his hands. "I got Ivysaur, Rattata and Growlithe."

The kid crossed his arms, scoffing, "An Ivysaur, huh? Then you're in for an easy match! I on the other hand, beat the gym leader using a Charmander and a Sandshrew!" he proudly exclaimed, thumping his chest with pride.

"Impressive…" muttered Jonathan as he placed his pokéballs on the belt again.

"When ya beat the gym leader, we can have a match outside, what you say about it?" he offered, putting one of his hands in his pocket. Jonathan answered with a short nod. "Awesome, but only after you beat the leader, kay?" he finished as he started to leave.

The twosome continued to walk through the corridor and soon arrived at the arena. The most noticeable thing in the arena was a big rectangular pool in the centre of it. In that pool there were square formed, floating platforms where Bill presumed the battles would take place. Against the walls there were benches for the spectators to watch in case they didn't want to stand and watch.

By the pool stood a teenage girl with her back facing the two, unaware of their presence. Her dark brown hair tied up in a ponytail and she was wearing a reddish t-shirt with a pair of greenish shorts. She briefly looked over her shoulder and noticed Bill and Jonathan.

"Oh, d-didn't hear you c-coming," she stuttered, turning around as she put on her glasses, which she had been polishing. She had quite a nerdy look, but her lean body still suggested that she'd be a trainer.

Jonathan stepped forward. "I've come to challenge the gym leader for the Cascade badge," he declared. "You know where the gym leader is?"

The girl giggled a little, adjusting her glasses and flicking away some hair that was in front of her eyes. "The g-gym l-leaders, also known as the "S-sensational Sisters" have c-caught up with a n-nasty flu. And b-before that, they had a vicious c-cold. You d-didn't read the p-poster at the entrance?"

Jonathan shook his head and gave a cheeky grin. "Guess not…"

The girl sighed. "Anyhow, they're put in q-quarantine, as the v-virus was pretty vicious. B-but nothing serious, though. I'm their s-substitute gym leader f-for now," she explained through her stammering.

One of Bill's eyebrows rose as she looked at her.

"D-don't give m-me that l-look, m-mister!" she snapped at him, "J-just bec-cause I'm st-stammering doesn't mean I'm b-below a-ave-average!"

Bill stretched out both arms and then crossed them. "No offence, girl," he muttered.

Jonathan slapped Bill's cap off his head. "Hats off when speaking to ladies, eh, Bill!" he burst out with a smile. Bill just scoffed and bent down to pick his cap up, demonstratively putting it on his head again.

The substitute gym leader slowly shook her head and sighed. "Challenger," she addressed Jonathan, "the b-battle will b-be a t-two-on-two. It will t-take p-place on those p-plat-tforms and switching is a-allowed d-during the bat-tle."

"Okay," the trainer replied. 'That other kid beat her with a fire type and a ground type? Psh, this will be easy.'

The substitute gym leader walked to the edge of the pool and jumped onto one of the platforms. She gestured Jonathan to go to the other one. Jonathan nodded and walked to the opposing platform and leapt onto that one, only to slip and fall into the water.

Bill guffawed loudly as Jonathan climbed up the platform, soaking wet, and the substitute gym leader snickered as well.

"You ought t-to be c-careful," she reminded him, adjusting her glasses. "The name's Melissa. And you?" she introduced as well as asked.

Jonathan shook off some of the water off him. "Jonathan," he muttered, "which one of us chooses Pokémon first?"

"T-the challenger d-does," replied Melissa, crossing her arms, "it is p-pretty obvious w-what k-kind of t-type I'm using…"

Jonathan sighed and picked up one of his pokéballs, "Yeah, yeah, Growlithe go!" he shouted, throwing it on a platform ahead of him. The fire canine Pokémon materialized from the bright white light on the platform and immediately checked his surroundings. When he saw the water he yelped a bit, fearing it was time for a bath, and then glared at Jonathan as if it was some sick joke.

Melissa picked up one of her pokéballs, and studied Growlithe before throwing it into the water. "We g-got a f-freebie, G-Goldeen!" she exclaimed as a red and white fish materialized out of the light from her pokéball after she threw it. The size of the fish Pokémon's body was of a football, but its constantly billowing tailfins where just as big as its body. It cried out its name as it swam around Melissa's platform, showing off its sharp horn on its forehead.

Jonathan's Pokémon of choice looked at the goldfish Pokémon and than at his trainer with worry. His ears lowered a little as he returned his gaze towards the water, shifting it to the opposing Pokémon and back.

"What's the matter, Growlithe?" barked Jonathan, "focus!" The canine looked again at his trainer and back at the Goldeen, ears up and snarling.

"T-Tail Whip!" Melissa shouted.

"Ember!" Jonathan retaliated.

As the Goldeen surged forward in the water at a high speed, Growlithe managed to fire off a fireball at the goldfish Pokémon. Goldeen quickly went underwater, resulting the fireball to hit nothing but water. A short hissing sound was heard as the water dissipated the fireball. Right after the Ember had disappeared, the Goldeen shot out from the surface towards the fire canine, landing on the platform. The goldfish Pokémon flipped over, landing on its back, and wagged its graceful tail.

Growlithe stared at his opponent in great confusion, sharing that trait with Bill, who did the same. Goldeen bounced back into the water, leaving the fire canine clueless of what to do.

"Peck n-now!" Melissa ordered, seizing her open shot. Goldeen almost instantly emerged from the surface, aiming at Growlithe's unguarded belly and jabbed it with its horn. That attack caused it to bounce to the platform as the fire canine yelped. After a few bounces, it made it back into the water.

Jonathan looked at Growlithe as he got up and clenched his fist; this wasn't a great start. "Growlithe, snap out of it, damnit!" he yelled. His Pokémon got up and looked around to see if he could spot his opponent. But suddenly, he got an idea.

Melissa pointed at Jonathan with her right arm stretched out. "Alright G-Goldeen, fin-nish it off with Horn At-Attack!"

Goldeen circled the platform before jumping out of the water to strike the Growlithe. Jonathan waited with his command; he knew that Goldeen didn't learn any water based attacks until a high level, and he doubted it would be that high. He knew that Growlithe had one move that could win this round.

"The suspense!" Bill exclaimed out of nowhere, making Jonathan jump in surprise.

Jonathan glared briefly at Bill. "Shut it! I'm trying to concentrate!" he shouted back. Right after, Goldeen shot out from the water, aiming its glowing horn right at Growlithe. "Shit, shit, shit!" he cursed.

But Growlithe acted on his own accord, swiftly stepping aside so the Horn Attack missed him. Right after he clamped down his jaws at the Goldeen's tail, stopping it and pulling it onto the platform.

"Yes, yes! Good, great, Growlithe! Now Roar!" he commanded frantically.

Growlithe looked down at the defenceless water type and let out a mighty roar that even made Bill flinch. Goldeen's blue eyes widened with pure fear as it began shivering. It slowly enveloped itself with a transparent red light, dematerializing itself and heading right into Melissa's pokéball.

Flabbergasted, she looked at her pokéball, and then at the Growlithe, and finally at Jonathan. "C-cheap," she just said, crossing her arms. She glanced away slightly afterwards, drawing a sigh.

"Hey, Jon," said Bill, "I didn't know 'Shit shit shit' was a codeword for 'Dodge and bite'!" He laughed an obnoxious laugh as he slapped his knee. Jonathan just shot him a glare.

Melissa adjusted her glasses and picked up another pokéball, tossing it onto the platform in front of her. "Th-this one will eat your Gr-rowl-lithe!" she barked. Out of the white light it formed into what looked like a blobby, giant blue salamander of sorts that stood on its hind legs. Its dot-like eyes in combination with its smiling mouth seemed rather absent-looking made Bill snicker lightly. It was pretty big; just a head shorter than Melissa. It thumped its tail once as it uttered its name. Quagsire.

"W-water G-gun!" Melissa cried, smirking triumphantly.

"Oh, crap," muttered Jonathan.

The bluish Pokémon reared back its head, and lurched forward spitting out a stream of water at Growlithe. The fire canine couldn't dodge the attack no matter what he did. The water attack struck him hard on the face and he was knocked off the platform into the water with a splash. Growlithe thrashed about in the water as he tried to climb up the slippery platform.

Jonathan looked at his Pokémon, knowing that even if Growlithe managed to get up again, he'd stand no chance. He brought up his pokéball and returned Growlithe without a word. He then smirked slyly as he picked up Ivysaur's pokéball, chucking it at the platform in front of him. The bluish-green grass Pokémon appeared in a white light, and looked at the ground absentmindedly.

Ivysaur looked up to see the Quagsire, the pool, and the platforms. He knew what was going on. He slowly looked back at his trainer and stayed that way.

"Vine Whip! This'll be easy for you!" exclaimed Jonathan excitedly, knowing that the Cascade badge was as good as his. He grinned as he saw Melissa's nervous glare as she gritted her teeth and adjusted her glasses.

But Ivysaur didn't follow Jonathan's command. Instead, he let his gaze float over to where Bill was standing, and the gaze turned into a brief glare of daggers. Bill took a nervous step backwards. The Pokémon then looked back at Jonathan with shocked and depressed eyes, and back at Bill.

"Ivysaur! Don't just stand there! Vine Whip damnit!" he shouted.

The substitute's nervous glare quickly melted into a smirk. "Q-Quag-gsire, Slam!" she ordered, wiping the sweat of her forehead. Her Pokémon hopped into the water, lazily swimming over to Ivysaur's platform. Ivysaur looked at his attacker and drew a long sigh, letting his gaze slide back to Jonathan.

'That little weed-headed bastard,' thought Bill as he looked at the defiant Ivysaur, 'he's doing it to make Jon think that I'm the cause!'

Quagsire popped up from the water and landed on Ivysaur's platform, its weight alone making the platform tilt. Ivysaur lost his balance and sled towards the water fish Pokémon, who turned around and slammed its tail right at his face. Crying in pain, Ivysaur backed to the ledge opposite Quagsire, where the platform was a bit over the water.

'What's the matter with him?' Jonathan thought, 'he's deliberately losing the match.'

"S-Slam again!" Melissa cried, and her Quagsire jumped off the platform, landing on it to launch Ivysaur towards it. As the grass Pokémon sailed through the air towards the water type, he did his best to not care. Quagsire slammed its tail hard at Ivysaurs underside, knocking him into the water. Ivysaur didn't come up.

"Shit!" Jonathan cried as he fumbled his pokéball, aiming to where his Pokémon had submerged. He shot a red beam once, but didn't make contact. He shot again, and felt that he hit Ivysaur this time as he called his Pokémon back successfully.

Melissa took off her glasses and polished them with her shirt. She let of a smug smirk as she did that, and her Pokémon swam up to her platform. "I w-win," she confirmed, putting the glasses back on. "D-defin-itly one f-for the records," she added. Quagsire climbed up on her platform and waddled over to her, giving her a sudden victory hug. "N-no, bad Q-Quagsire!" she yelped, recalling it with her pokéball.

Jonathan looked down, clenching his fist around the pokéball he held it with. He slowly walked to the edge of his platform and jumped onto firm ground. He advanced to Bill as he quickly grabbed his hand, pulling him with him to the exit door of the gym.

"Come on," he grunted, not looking at Bill, "we're leaving for the PokéCentre."

"S-see you next t-time!" teased Melissa as she waved her hand at the two.

Jonathan kept dragging Bill through the corridor, and the older teen tried to keep up. However, Bill didn't like being dragged around by someone younger. "Jon, let go!" he whined. Jonathan ignored him. Bill then stopped in his tracks and pulled his hand from Jonathan's grip. "I can walk on myself, you know."

Jonathan kept ignoring him stubbornly as he headed for the exit. Slamming the doors open, he stomped out of the gym, meeting the kid they both met before.

"Hiya, how'd it go?" he greeted excitedly, picking up one of his pokéballs instantly.

Jonathan shot him a dark look. He stared at the younger trainer for a couple of second and then turned away.

The younger trainer scoffed surprisingly, grimacing slightly. "No way… you lost with an Ivysaur?" he exclaimed.

Jonathan looked back at the trainer and stepped up to him, towering over him. "Shut up, get lost, don't say a word more to me unless you want me to punch you. Hard," he threatened.

The younger trainer looked back at him, not saying anything, and then turned around to leave. Jonathan sighed irately before he resumed his walk to the PokéCentre. Bill followed from a distance.

Bill entered the PokéCentre and saw Jonathan at the desk, speaking with the nurse. He still seemed angry at his loss at the Cerulean Gym. Bill saw that he received two pokéballs from the nurse and saw him look at him. He gestured Bill to follow him into his room. Bill sighed and did so, briefly lifting his cap in a mellow greeting gesture as he passed the nurse behind the counter.

Jonathan slammed the door shut to his room right after Bill had entered and locked it. He picked up a pokéball and threw it to the ground, calling forth Ivysaur. The Grass Pokémon appeared from the white light and looked around. He turned to see his trainer and Bill, and sighed.

"Ivysaur," Jonathan started seriously, "what was up with you back there?"

The Grass Pokémon rolled his eyes and turned his back to Jonathan. "Saur," he muttered.

"Hey! Don't you turn your back to me!" barked Jonathan, grabbing the ear of Ivysaur, forcing him to look at him. Ivysaur snapped at him and snorted, turning his back to Jonathan again. The trainer clenched his fists and grumbled.

"Ivy, ivysa saur," Ivysaur muttered again, pointing his vines at Bill. "Saurivy," he then added and pointed at himself.

Bill raised an eyebrow, knowing what Ivysaur meant. The Grass type sent him a brief glare as he turned to Jonathan. Bill took a deep breath and tried to relax; trying not to react when Ivysaur was telling his trainer that Bill was a Pokémon.

"Now, what, Ivysaur? Are you blaming Bill for your loss?" Jonathan suddenly snarled. He pointed at Ivysaur. "You did nothing!" He pointed at him again. "You lost!" He pointed at Bill finally. "And Bill didn't say a word to you during the fight."

Ivysaur's eyes widened. He became speechless and gasped for breath. His facial structures twitched lightly into a sorrowful one as he slowly backed away from Jonathan. A tear dropped down on the floor from his open eye, and it was followed with another two drops. Jonathan's aggression faded as he instantly regretted what he had said.

"Ivysaur… I, I didn't mean that… I-"

"SAUR!" Ivysaur roared, making both Bill and Jonathan back away from him. The tears then flowed down the cheeks of Ivysaur as it wailed loudly. Jonathan tried to open up another conversation of comfort, but Ivysaur just whipped him. Jonathan sighed and returned the Grass type.

Jonathan looked at the pokéball blankly, attached it to his belt and looked at Bill. "You!" he blurted out, pointing at Bill, who crossed his arms. "It's because of you Ivysaur acted this, wasn't it?" he growled as he approached Bill who stood still.

'Okay, a lie, a good lie, now…' thought Bill quickly. "I… he was really pissed at me in Mt Moon."

Jonathan gave him a confused stare. "Explain, Ivysaur's not lie this, you know."

"Yeah, but I got really mad at him, you see." Bill scratched the hair on the back of his head. "I called him things. Like 'Weed-head', 'Rosie'… I guess he's upset with me…"

Jonathan stared suspiciously at him. "Really?" he asked. Bill nodded. "Isn't that sweet? Now Ivysaur's pissed off at me because you called him things!" He calmed down a bit. "Maybe he just doesn't stand looking at you… and probably doesn't like when I back you up-"

Bill crossed his arms again and looked out of the window. "So… you think you can beat that Gym leader with Rattata and Growlithe?" he asked.

Jonathan shrugged. "I don't think so," he muttered dryly, "her Pokémon seemed pretty strong, and it was with dumb luck I even managed to beat the Goldeen. Ivysaur's my trump card against her, no doubt."

Bill looked at Jonathan, who seemed much calmer than before. "Oh… I see."

"That's why I want you not to watch the next battle. That way, maybe Ivysaur will do what I say if you aren't there to distract him," he concluded.

Bill tilted his head, and briefly looked away. "What should I do while you're battling then?"

"You could hang around in the gym, or just outside," replied Jonathan, "just don't do anything stupid." Bill just scoffed, rolling his eyes.

Standing before the entrance of the gym again this day, Jonathan cast a quick look at Bill.

"So, I guess we'll temporally part ways for now," he said, putting his hand on the door handle.

Bill shrugged. "Good luck then."

Jonathan chuckled. "I'll need it; there's no way Melissa is going to fall for the Roar again." With that, Jonathan entered the gym.

Bill sighed; now he had nothing to do. He didn't feel for going to a library for reading, as it didn't seem to help him at all when he thought back at the Scyther issue. He sat down against the wall next to the doors of the gym and started thinking again about what he had to do in this world. He picked up his stop watch and regarded its smooth silvery surface. This watch would probably play a big role of his objective, as its amazing abilities had saved him a couple of times and would probably do so in the future.

He lightly tossed it up in the air and caught it as it came back. He repeated the action once again, but this time the sunrays were reflected of the shiny surface and blinded him temporally. The watch fell down his lap, and he rubbed his eyes briefly before picking it up again. He detached the chain that was used to hold the watch from his breast pocket and span the watch around a couple of times.

"Meooowth." Bill looked at where the sudden sound had come from. Peeping its head from the corner of the building was a small cat-like Pokémon with a distinctively large head. Bill gave it a curious look as it walked out from the corner, trotting on its four legs towards him. He quickly became insecure; he wasn't a big fan of cats. The cream cat kept advancing with its own curious look, wagging its brown curled up tail it advanced.

Bill noticed the oval coin on its head and wondered who the heck had glued it there. The Meowth's big eyes were peeled on his shiny watch, staring at it with a passion. Bill noticed that and clutched the watch in his hand, hoping that the feline wouldn't snatch it from him.

The Meowth pounced and landed in front of him. Since Bill was sitting down, he couldn't jump away in fear. Instead, he backed right into the wall, hitting his head. The scratch cat Pokémon laughed a yowling laugh. It rose up and stood on its hind legs, smiling widely.

"Ehh," stuttered Bill. He felt a bit insecure in front if the Pokémon. "D-don't hurt me, alright?"

The Meowth titled its head, giving him a confused stare. It got down on its fours and rubbed its head against his knees, smiling. Bill relaxed slightly as he carefully stroke the feline's fur. The Meowth looked up at him and smiled, rubbing its head into his sides.

"Heh, you like that, Kissekatten?" he said. The feline's smile turned into a frown as it swiped at him with its claws.

"Mrreow!" it hissed.

Bill shielded his face from the claws, even though the swipe wasn't intended to hit. "H-hey now, you don't like being called Kissekatten?" It shook its head. "It sounds girly, right?" It nodded. "So you're a guy?" he then asked. The male Meowth nodded as he licked his paws. He then looked at Bill, sitting down and scratching his brown ears with his hind legs.

It was then Bill noticed something very funny. He poked the Meowth between his eyes and laughed. "Haha, I got your nose!" he joked. The Meowth's eyes widened as its tail and whiskers stiffed up. He pounced on Bill and scratched him across the face, and then bit down on the watch. Bill grabbed his face in pain, but the scratch had been a weak one, only intended to stun him. But he did hold onto the thin chain attached to the watch while the Meowth tried to run away with it.

The Meowth was jerked back when Bill pulled the chain, and fell on his back. Bill quickly pulled the watch out of Meowth's mouth, and pointed a scolding finger at him. The feline hissed shortly, but then tried putting on an innocent smile. Bill just stared sternly at the scratch cat Pokémon.

"No," he started, "you're not taking that watch." Meowth pouted slightly, looking away in disappointment. "Hey, that watch is mine, Scratchy." Meowth hissed at him again, not liking the name. Bill scratched his head as he had a confused look. "Uh, sorry then, but what's your name then?"

"Meowth!" the scratch cat happily exclaimed, rising up on his hind legs. The happy face the cat made was enough for Bill to lower his guard yet again. He reached out with his hand and patted the Pokémon carefully again, and Meowth responded by rubbing his head into the hand. Bill was still aware of that he had to hold onto his watch, and quickly attached the tip of the chain to his breast pocket so the Pokémon couldn't run off with it too easy.

However, he still felt a need to tease the feline a bit more. He flashed the watch before the Meowth's eyes, seeing his almost mesmerized stare, and quickly tossed it up in the air. The scratch cat Pokémon quickly pounced to get it, but Bill's hand was faster. "You really like this, Meowth?" he asked. The Meowth nodded, still gawking at the watch. He timidly took one step closer, and climbed up on Bill's knees. The cat then put one of his paws on the watch, feeling its smooth, silvery exterior.

Bill felt a bit uncomfortable when the scratch cat became that intrusive towards him. He pulled the watch closer to him, but the Meowth just followed his hand's movement. Bill realized that it'd be better if he stood up so the Pokémon wouldn't reach him, and he did so, getting to his feet.

Disappointed, the Meowth hopped down as Bill was getting to his feet, sitting down as he looked down on him. Bill wondered why the feline was so fascinated by his watch. "Now off with you!" said Bill, trying to shoo him off. "Shoo, be gone!" he went on. The Meowth just tilted his head curiously and meowed lowly. Bill sighed; this Pokémon was really using his cute looks to get that watch, no doubt about it.

The Meowth stood up with its hind legs again looked him straight into his eyes. He meowed once more, raising both of his front paws. Bill felt nervous again. "Uh, I'm sorry, but I don't have any food for you," he said nervously. The Meowth raised an eyebrow, tilting his head again. He then crossed his small arms and scoffed.

"Mree… Meowth!" he muttered before he got down on his fours and scurried off to the same corner he had come out from.

Bill let out a sigh of relief. 'Finally,' he thought. He pocketed the watch and looked up at the sky. Some clouds had formed during his stay outside, but they were all far from the sun. He sighed again and started thinking about that Meowth. It was kinda odd, but despite him having scratched him, that Meowth had been kinda nice to him. But that was probably because he wanted that watch.

He was beginning to get bored by just waiting right outside the gym, but he couldn't go inside. If Ivysaur saw him, Jonathan would probably lose the battle, and then he'd throw a fit about Bill not listening. Definitely not an option. He decided to take a quick walk around the building to spend some time. Straightening up himself, taking a short hop upwards, he started his walk to the opposite corner the Meowth had taken off to.

However, as soon as he had rounded the corner, it was darker due to the shading. The building was big enough to block the sun if one weren't at the right place. And the back alley didn't seem to be the right place right now. He got an odd feeling that he was watched, but shrugged it off, knowing that if it was that Meowth again, that wouldn't be much of a problem.

When he rounded the second corner he noticed that there were no windows on any of the buildings here, and the space between the buildings was a bit tighter as well. And the fact that it was even dimmer didn't make him feel better.

'Come on! It's just one lap around the building. What could go wrong?' he thought, immediately regretting thinking the forbidden four words. He pretended it never happened and kept walking. He spotted a swift movement up ahead and stopped dead in his tracks. He scanned the area and tried to find whatever had moved, worrying if the Meowth was planning something.

Regretting his idea of taking a walk around the building, he turned around and walked back the way he came from. But then something landed on the back of his shoulders. It was the Meowth. The nimble feline quickly climbed over Bill's head and dug one of his front paws to grab the stop watch. After accomplishing the feat, he jumped off Bill and tried to make is escape.

"Åh nej, kattjävel, du stannar!" shouted Bill as he dove after the Meowth, managing to grab a hold of his tail.

"MREEEEEOOOOWWTH! He yowled shrilly, dropping the watch. Bill yanked the tail once more, pulling the Meowth behind him so he had enough time to get the watch. At the instant he grabbed it, the Meowth pounced on him again from behind, clutch his very claws into his back.

Bill gritted his teeth as the small claws almost dug into his skin. He tried to reach behind his back to get a hold of the scratch cat Pokémon, but the Meowth held on himself, and clutched harder as Bill finally managed to get a hold of him. He made sure his grip was firmed and pulled the cat off his back, causing the Meowth to rip his shirt as well.

"Now, wasn't that a bit unnecessary, Meowth?" he snarled, holding the struggling cat in front of him. The Meowth then crossed his arms, frowning.

"Meow… th," he muttered before freeing himself from Bill's grip and running off. Bill sighed; he wondered what really was up with that cat.

He resumed his little trip around the building by walking the opposite direction the Meowth had run off, and hoped that he wouldn't meet him again. He pocketed the watch in his pocket and was about to round the corner when he was met with another unpleasant surprise.

"I thought I recognized that voice, no?" It was Pat. She had stepped out from the corner and faced Bill with crossed arms. She moved up one arm and flicked her black hair confidently, and then crossed her arms again.

Bill backed off. "Not you again! I've already been almost robbed by some Meowth!" he whined. He kept a close watch on her, in case she was going to call out her Charizard. He did not want to meet him again. He saw her reach for one of her pokéballs.

"Where were we left off last time?" she started, picking a pokéball from her belt, "Oh yes, it was that forest issue, wasn't it? You know what, Bill, it wasn't that fun when Pewter was attacked by that swarm."

Bill bit his lip. 'She's going into that again?' he thought bitterly, his eyes peeled on the pokéball.

"It wasn't a pleasant experience, you see. I actually thought they were after Pikachu again, which reminds me," she explained to him as she threw her pokéball towards the ground, calling forth the yellow electric mouse Pokémon.

Pikachu recognized Bill directly, and scratched his long ear. "Pika, pika?"

Bill felt that he was getting warmer. Beads of sweat were starting to form on his forehead. "W-well, that's one cute hamster, heh," he forced out. Pikachu shot him a glare and charged up some electricity. Bill backed a few steps from the two, trying to make a run for it.

"Stop acting dumb," sighed Pat, rolling her eyes.

"W-what? I'm not dumb enough so I'd play dumb," replied Bill, trying to catch her off guard.

Pat quirked and eyebrow. "Really now, you shouldn't make this harder for you. Pikachu's electric attacks are quite shocking," she warned, smiling at her own pun.

"Okay, okay!" Bill agreed, sweating a bit more. "I've had some rough days too! Those Scyther attacked Jon and me in Mt Moon and-"

"Well that's what I liked to hear," she interrupted, smirking. Bill cursed himself for talking too much. "And what did they want you then, seeing as they went all the way in there to meet you?"

Bill gulped, and backed a few more steps. Pat and Pikachu just stood there, both looking confident. But after one more step, he bumped into something soft and warm. He stiffened as a pair of orange, clawed hands firmly grabbed his shoulders. The grip tightened as he tried to turn around to confirm who had grabbed him.

"It's just Charizard, Bill," Pat confirmed, flicking her hair again. "He's quite grouchy today, so don't try to pull off any stunts now, will you?"

"Why can't you just leave me alone? I helped you back in Viridian, damnit!" protested Bill. He heard Charizard snort at him from behind, sending a hot puff of smoke down the back of his neck. He stiffened up again, shivering.

Pat walked forward, Pikachu following closely. "Okay, this is how it is, Bill," she seriously said, "I ask you a question, and you either answer, and Charizard here will be happy. If you don't answer, there's the chance he might get upset. And judging his mood today, I really don't advice you to do the latter. Are we clear?" she finished.

Bill looked away. This wasn't a good timing, that was for sure. He heard a low growl from behind, feeling Charizard's chest vibrate as he threatened him.

"Are we clear?" Pat repeated impatiently.

"Yes! Yes…" Bill answered. Charizard's growling stopped, and he then snorted again at Bill. The boy sighed; this was no going good…

To be continued…

Translation

Kissekatten – Pussycat

Åh nej, kattjävel, du stannar! – Oh no you don't, bastard cat, you stay!