(-o-)

POKEMON FIRERED AND LEAFGREEN
QUEST

Chapter 29

"You think you can stand up to me?" he asked, his deep, throaty voice practically causing a tremor in the area. His eyes narrowed.

I swallowed my fear and put one foot in front of the other, falling into a combat position. A laugh echoed from the man's broad chest.

"So you choose death," he said. "How valiant."

I closed my eyes, Persian yowled, and everything went black.

(-o-)

It started when I got Fly. The lady was nice enough, but then her Spearow decided to peck at Electabuzz's Poke Ball, so I left. I went outside of the house, found myself a Doduo, and hopped on. The dodo bird's dual heads started whirling around and I had to duck, but we made it to Cerulean City easily enough.

I returned the Pokemon and made my way down to the Pokemon Center to pick up a certain cat, then left with my newly re-obtained Meowth. With the mewling Pokemon in its rightful place on my belt, I left with a considerably lighter wallet.

One short flight back to Saffron later, I stuffed Doduo back in its Poke Ball and onto the PC, then made my way over to the Gym, only to discover tons of Rocket Grunts milling about along with a total of two Gyms. I went in the one not blocked by a stubborn and burly grunt to find myself in a legitimate gym.

"Hoh!" shouted a man nearer the door than the rest upon my arrival. He bustled over to me, Poke Balls jangling along on his black belt. "Hello, young man! Ki-yai!" He punctuated this exclamation with a roundhouse kick.

A bit taken aback, I stared at the man. When his initiated move ended, he looked at me expectantly. I cleared my throat.

"Er… hello," I replied. "My name is Red. Where am I?"

"Oh-hoh! A newcomer!" cried the black belt. "You are in the Fighting Gym! Ki-yai!" he performed a perfect groin kick (thankfully not aimed at me), but I was confused.

"I… I wasn't aware there was a Fighting Gym," I admitted. The black belt glanced at me, then rolled his eyes as if he were used to this.

He promptly whirled about in a grand gesture, sweeping his arms about the entire view of the building. "This, my dear friend, is the unofficial Fighting Gym!"

It dawned on me pretty quickly. "So this is a mock-up?"

I swear, if this were an anime the guy would've slammed on the ground with a sweatdrop adorning his face, but all he could do was glare at me.

"Ex-cuse me! This is no mock-up! It is much more a real Gym than your pansy Gym Leader establishments! Hmph!" He then abruptly spun on his heel and stomped away. Words failed me.

However, I took this opportunity to drink in the sights. It was a large building, with large pillars supporting the ceiling, which featured a large skylight. Around the walls were suspiciously fake-looking scrolls with Japanese script adorning them, with large, arched windows. Through one of them, I spotted a Rocket Grunt tromping about and winced. What in the world was (apparently) the entire Rocket squad doing here?

I'd deal with that, though, after I'd conquered this place. I saw two of the black belts in the building doing choreographed self-defense techniques with two Pokemon I'd never seen before—one with elastic legs and no mouth, and another with a more humanoid look and boxing gloves on its hands. Perhaps these guys would give my Pokemon some experience.

I grinned as I moved in.

(-o-)

I walked out of the establishment with some mopped-the-floor-with karate masters and other, less mopped-the-floor-with karate masters. But, most importantly, a new Pokemon. I flipped the Poke Ball high in the air then caught it, looking in on the tough Hitmonlee I'd just obtained. The leggy Pokemon simply glared at me, and I could see the fighting spirit within. For some reason, it made me smile broadly.

(-o-)

"Stay out, brat!" the rough voice pronounced clearly, shoving me to the ground. With a brief cry of pain, I was dumped on my behind. I stood up, glaring lividly at the grunt that had shoved me while rubbing my rear bone.

I turned to find another way into the suspiciously and conspicuously guarded Silph Co. when I heard a loud scream and the sound of a growling Pokemon. I whirled around to find Blue and a small, canine-like Pokemon. It was red, with dark stripes and small fangs. It glared at me as I pulled out my Pokedex to evaluate it.

"Don't bother," my rival said in his cool, calm voice. "It's a Growlithe." I put away the device with a calm expression, but inside I was seething. Who was he to tell me not to bother? I could bother all I wanted!

It was then I realized that Blue was behind the collapsed body of the grunt who'd just been blocking my path. A bloody tooth mark lay on the man's neck. All the air whooshed out of my lungs.

"Did you kill him?" I said urgently, falling to my knees next to the grunt and pressing my hand to the wound. The man gyrated suddenly, catching my neck in a death grip and flashing a devilish smile.

I choked out "Blue!" a second before the guy slammed his foot into the Grunt's face. The man gurgled once, then fainted. I stumbled to my feet, blood dripping off my hand grotesquely.

"Urgh," I said, before wiping my hand on the grunt's uniform.
"Let's get inside," Blue commanded, just as a pair of Rocket underlings rounded the corner of a building. They would've seen us if I hadn't ducked in with Blue. We got behind a potted plant near the entrance as shouts of shock rang out and we saw the pair dash up to the fallen guard.

At that moment, we sprang. Beedrill was out of its Poke Ball before I even thought about it and delivered a quick Twineedle to one grunt's gut. I winced in sympathy. Blue's Fire dog launched itself onto the other minion's face, and the man screamed.

Though I felt guilty about it for a while, we needed the grunts for our plan. And, though it sounded cliché, I had to admit it was better than fighting our way through.

(-o-)

"It's itchy," I whined.

"Shut up," Blue hissed, his blue eyes scanning the corridors. The Rocket cap barely fit on his spiky hair, which kept threatening to throw the hat overboard.

I huffed myself into silence, crossing my arms with what I'm sure was a disgruntled expression. More likely I looked like an upset toddler, especially since the sleeves of the gang uniform had too-long sleeves.

"There it is!" whispered Blue after a while, pointing at the elevator ahead. We moved briskly there and pressed the button for the top floor, then stood there waiting impatiently. I swear it was there that I developed my habit for foot tapping.

I had wanted to ask Blue how he'd gotten into the building in the first place to eliminate the threat of the guard, but there was a Grunt in the elevator when it finally slid down to our level. He looked at us quizzically, and I nervously adjusted the Rocket jacket's sleeves. The grunt shrugged as we entered and then stood in uncomfortable silence as the elevator whooshed up to top floor.

(-o-)

Blue bit back another curse as he almost stepped on another glowing blue panel. The things were everywhere, and we'd already learned the hard way that they transported users elsewhere in the building. Why a manufacturer and seller of common goods needed teleportation panels was a question beyond me, and I didn't care to ask anyone.

We'd already been warped to floors three, seven, and four, in that order. Blue was getting pretty ticked off, and the itching of my uniform wasn't helping. I just hoped we could find the leader of this Saffron City occupation so I could get out of the stupid thing.

(-o-)

"W-we're… here," said Blue. He was flushed, and his hair looked trampled. We'd lost the decoy outfits a few floors ago and had had to fight our way through the company anyway. I actually felt better doing that, especially with my good old cap back on my head. It had been hours, and I was pretty sure it was night. My Pokemon seemed stronger, and had apparently figured out a few new techniques along the way. I felt ready to fight this big boss, whoever he was.

Blue held up the slim rectangle of plastic adorned with the simple 'SILPH.' I sighed with relief when it worked, and the doors slid open seamlessly. Blue had just let out the words "Go in carefully" when a huge blast of air slammed its way into us. Blue went flying and I went rolling; Blue crashed into the smooth wall behind us and I tumbled into a potted plant, breaking the clay. I wiped blood off a new cut on my arm and stumbled to my feet; the wind had ceased.

"Blue…" I coughed and fell; the tumble had hurt me more than I thought. The blonde boy didn't respond. I winced as another shard of clay fell from the pot and cracked against the marble floor.

I reached out a hand to touch my rival's temple to feel a pulse—to feel any sign of life—when the explosion came.

I screamed as a burst of rock slammed into the wall behind me, tearing out a part. The next rock caught me in the arm with enough force to send me spinning out of the wall and falling down to the ground below.

(-o-)

Beedrills are strong. Don't let anyone tell you different.

When I let mine out of its Poke Ball to catch me, it managed it easily. Unfortunately, even its surprising strength couldn't keep us flying in the cool setting-sun sky. So it gently lowered the pair of us to the ground and I rolled to a stop.

"So…" said a voice behind me. "The golden boy."

I whirled around, facing a broad man with a crew cut and a scar running down his left cheek. His brownish-red eyes looked familiar, and glinted with an inner cruelty.

"Who the hell are you?" I spat, unlatching a Poke Ball in one swift motion. I knew who this man was, and I hated him. With a passion. Somehow I knew it from his gaze, his posture, and most of all the small 'R' emblazoned on his uniform, but I wanted to hear him say it.

"Why, golden boy, I'm the leader of Team Rocket," he said simply, a broad and evil grin landing on his face. "Giovanni."

I gritted my teeth, sending out Persian. The Pokemon had evolved in one of the many battles with the grunts. It let out a fierce yowl.

"You want to fight me? You think you can stand up to me?" he asked, his deep, throaty voice practically causing a tremor in the area. His eyes narrowed.

I swallowed my fear and put one foot in front of the other, falling into a combat position. A laugh echoed from the man's broad chest.

"So you choose death," he said. "How valiant."

I closed my eyes, Persian yowled, and everything went black.

"Go!" I screamed, my eyes snapping open and rolling out of the way of the Golem's Rock Tomb. My back hurt (I had rolled right over a sharp rock) and my left arm dripped blood everywhere, but otherwise I felt alive. Persian leapt at the rock Pokemon, skidding right around its back and slamming into it with a Faint Attack. Giovanni grinned, shifting his weight more to his left.

I dashed around to Giovanni, unclipping another Poke Ball from my belt. Persian and Golem were locked in a vicious battle, but the cat Pokemon was winning. Golem was too cumbersome to keep up with Persian's speed. Giovanni took a practically imperceptible step backward, and so did Golem.

All this I saw, all this I understood. "Persian!" I screeched. "Dive under the Rock Tomb and slash its underside with Faint Attack!" Persian complied, sliding under the rock Pokemon and bringing its claws up.

Giovanni, however, seemed almost as attuned to his Pokemon as I was. "Explosion!" he cried, and Golem nodded. Persian tried to dance out of the way of the blast, but still went flying. At this point I was practically to Giovanni (what? It was a long distance between us) and Electabuzz was raring to go. I tossed Persian's Poke Ball out, which returned the Pokemon. In the same movement, I sent out Electabuzz and caught Persian's returning ball.

Giovanni, apparently caught a little by surprise due to the fluidity of my movement, was a bit slow releasing his next fighter—a Nidoking. So he was a Ground-type Trainer, huh?

I reached the burly Rocket boss, sending out Gloom. "Acid!" I cried. It seemed cruel later, but at the time all I could think about was how much evil this guy's underlings had caused. Gloom spat out its newest technique at the man, but he had more dexterity than I initially assumed. He leapt out of the way and sent out a Nidoqueen to combat my Grass-and Poison- Type.

Two battles were now occurring, and I perceived both. Electabuzz traded punches with the much larger Pokemon but was still keeping its own. Gloom was spitting Sleep Powders and Acids at Nidoqueen constantly, which was actually somewhat working in that it kept the Poison Pokemon at bay.

Giovanni ground his teeth. Somehow, I was winning—this wasn't going to plan. He was obviously distracted by having two battles raging around him. He seemed to be used to one at a time, yet I was able to see it all perfectly. I rushed him, moving around the battles deftly.

When the Rocket boss saw me coming, his eyes widened. I unlatched one last Poke Ball.

"Mankey!" I cried, sending out my second-caught Pokemon. The pig-monkey burst out of its Poke Ball already attacking, initiating a flying Mega Kick. Giovanni brought his arms up to defend against the oncoming onslaught while I dashed to reach for his Poke Balls.

The boss easily pushed the attack off, noticed my plan, and quickly sent me reeling with a powerful backhand slap.

"Don't touch me, boy!" he cried, as the sun set and an abrupt thunderstorm began. Raindrops splatted on the ground around us as a soon sopping-wet Mankey met me on the ground. I was hurting, and badly. I was cupping my cheek the best I could, and Giovanni stood before me as if a huge statue, a monument to the evil of Team Rocket.

Thunder crashed, lightning lit up the sky. I didn't know why the storm had started so suddenly, but I knew some godly sky Pokemon was messing with me, making this worse.

Because I knew what was coming next.

"Don't touch your father!" roared Giovanni, his hands balled into fists. I heard the sound of a wailing Gloom behind me, and the thud of Electabuzz directly to my left. Tears streaked down my face, mingling with the storm.

"I'm not your son," I growled. Giovanni laughed.

"Oh, really?" said Giovanni. "Then who the hell are you?"

"I'm Red!" I screamed at him. "I'm no Rocket! And I…" I pulled out two things: a stone, and a Poke Ball. They would change my future forever.

"WILL DEFEAT YOU!" I bellowed. Gloom leapt to its feet, its flower blooming. Mankey launched itself at Giovanni, convulsing—growing larger, wilder, and stronger. The dark shadow of a boy on a dragon was illuminated by the flash of lightning. Two spheres fell from the sky, cracking apart in bright bursts.

"Persian! Electabuzz! Vileplume! Beedrill! Primeape! Charizard! NOW!"

The sound of a yowl, the flash of a Thunderpunch, the screaming of an acid-covered Nidoqueen, the loud buzz of insect wings, the heavy thud of a powerful punch, and the roar of my first Pokemon were my only answers, along with one other voice.

"Red!" it shouted, over the boom of thunder. Four Poke Balls fell from the back of Pidgeot, and Blue grinned at me. "Let's beat this fool!"

Never before or since had or have I ever seen Blue look so alive.

(-o-)

So. That was chapter 29. Um.., yeah. So, this has pretty much been planned in my head since the beginning of this story, and the only problem was filling in the gaps. So this may seem a bit out-of-place in this story, but I'm satisfied for the moment. If you see anything wrong with it, feel free to point it out in a review.

Even though this isn't chapter 30, the chapter where I 'reveal' the real-life levels of Red's Pokemon and it just feels better to do something as big on this on a 10… I just wanted to do this. Because Silph Co. is technically a part of Saffron. And I'm finishing this next time anyway, so that could count as the Silph Co. chapter. Eye-dee-kay.

Anyway, thank you to everyone who has read this far! I appreciate it, truly, even if I don't update nearly enough.

On a side note, if you didn't know or didn't read the A/N at the end of last chapter, I started a Zelda fanfiction! It's based on Ocarina of Time and it's alright so far, so check it out if you have the time! Thanks.

-Shinigami out.