Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Pokémon or any of its parent companies. I am merely a humble storyteller. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy this journey with me.

Note: I am English, so some of the wordings, spellings, and expressions will be those commonly used in England.

Chapter Forty-Three: Red and the Nature-Loving Princess!

Red stared down his opponent confidently, whose Pokémon was on its last legs. And why wouldn't it be? A Grass-type was always going to struggle against Charmeleon, and that was how it was going for Gloom, a cobalt-coloured creature with purple lips that constantly oozed drool (although Red's Pokédex informed him that it was in fact sweet honey that stunk to high heavens), stubby, digit-less arms and legs, eyes that stayed nearly completely closed, and a flower on its head that consisted of spotted petals surrounded by four reddish-brown leaves.

"Get some energy back!" Gloom's Trainer yelled desperately. "Use Mega Drain!"

The flower upon Gloom's head opened and a dozen glowing, green tendrils snaked from within it and coiled around Charmeleon, trying to steal the fire lizard's energy for itself.

Alas! It was not a very effective move and the tendrils disappeared back into Gloom's body, the damage it did to Charmeleon and the energy is sapped negligible at best. Gloom wobbled.

"Fire Spin," Red said.

Gloom squealed as it was constricted by the whirling flames, fainting instantly.

The fire dispersed just as quickly as it came, and the battle was over.

"Awesome, Charmeleon!" Red cheered. "You're on a roll!"

Charmeleon thumped his chest and roared, his tail wagging excitedly.

"Well, here's your money," Gloom's Trainer said, walking over. "You beat me fair and square. Looks like you and your Charmeleon will give the Celadon Gym Leader a run for her money."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Gloom's Trainer turned in the opposite direction of where Celadon laid waiting. "She uses Grass-type Pokémon, so Charmeleon will be useful. But don't go thinking the Badge is guaranteed; she's not a Gym Leader for no reason."

"Don't worry," Red said. "When I battle her, I won't take anything for granted."

o~o~o~o~o

Ah, Celadon City! The second largest city in Kanto, but perhaps the loveliest aside from Cerulean. There were skyscrapers and tall buildings as far as the eye could see, but they were not clustered together like in Viridian and from what Red saw of Saffron in the distance. Red scowled as he thought of Saffron, all blocked off for some reason or the other, forcing him to endure yet another Underground Path. At least Mr Fuji had the courtesy to update him on Saffron's roadblock, so he did not have to deal with nonsense at the gates or be chewed out by security guards who would not let anyone pass because they were thirsty.

But we were talking about Celadon, weren't we? Yes, the towering buildings had been erected sparsely, allowing beautiful parks and elegant fountains to spring up between them for people and Pokémon to enjoy and admire, to take time and relax, for their respective worlds to slow down and give them time to breathe, even if only for a moment.

Red walked down street after street, wishing he had eyes all around his head to take in everything around him, even Pikachu entranced by the new city. Pidgey and Spearow roosted on the powerlines and edges of buildings, giving the Celadon inhabitants a white surprise every now and again; a man performed a street show with his Abra and Voltorb; parents were walking with their children and Pokémon such as Growlithe, Meowth, and Jigglypuff; couples were making out on benches; and there were a few battles going on.

There were so many places to go, so many things to see! But where should Red go first? He had heard of the Celadon Department Store, so maybe that was a fun way to spend a couple of hours? Or maybe he could go and battle the random Trainers about the city? Or could he even head to the Celadon Gym this very moment? He already knew what type the Gym specialised in and had a decent amount of healing items on him, so maybe he stood a chance as he was?

No, none of them. Not yet, anyway. The first thing was to find the Pokémon Centre and enquire about getting a room. He had still not forgotten how lost he was in Viridian before that shopkeeper guided him to that city's Centre.

"Let's go, Pikachu," he said. "Maybe someone can tell us where the Pokémon Centre is."

Pikachu scratched himself and yawned.

"Great. I love your enthusiasm."

But as he started to run off, his name being shouted caused him to skid to a halt. "Red!"

Red looked around, bewildered. No one knew him in Celadon, right?

The source of the shout ran towards Red, and the boy's face lit up as he recognised her: Daisy Oak.

"Daisy!" he called, running to meet her.

"You're a sight for sore eyes," she said, bringing Red into a hug that caused his face to match his name. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, it has." Red detached himself from her and flashed her a grin. "It's honestly so great to see you. Oh." He furrowed his brow. "Didn't you say you'd be going in out and of Celadon for your tea and Contest stuff?"

"You've always had a sharp memory, haven't you, Red?" She gave him a quick wink. "Yes, I've been travelling to and from, and it has been taxing, but I assume not as much as your journey."

"I suppose not. Actually, this whole adventure has been a lot more than I thought it would be. Still fun, mind you, but just… more."

"Do you mean the incidents with Team Rocket?" Daisy asked shrewdly.

"Did Professor Oak tell you about that?"

"He did."

"Okay. Yeah, it's been hard with them popping up everywhere. I had to battle this tough guy at Pokémon Tower, but luckily Blue was there to help with the other Rockets."

Daisy's hands flew to her mouth. "Blue?"

"Yeah."

She lowered her hands. "He never said anything about encountering Team Rocket, and I just spoke to him this morning." She screwed up her face. "Oh, I've got words for him."

"I guess he didn't tell Professor Oak either, then?" Red said.

"No. All he talks about are his battles and the fact he's going to win the Pokémon League." Daisy shook her head before her eyes lit up, banishing her brother from her mind until later. "Speaking of grandpa, he's here in Celadon, at the university."

Red's eyes widened. "He's in Celadon? I thought he said he'd be in Cerulean!"

"You would mishear, wouldn't you?" Daisy pinched Red's cheek. "You should go see him, but maybe tomorrow would be better. He's got a lot of lectures to give today, but I think he should be less busy tomorrow. I mean, he would have to be for one of his Pokédex assistants, wouldn't he?"

"I guess you're right, Daisy," Red said. "Anyway, Pikachu and I were searching for the Pokémon Centre." He jerked his head at Pikachu, who was nibbling the loose wires from a lamppost that had probably taken a hit during a Pokémon battle and had not yet been fixed. "Hey you, Pikachu. Leave those wires alone!"

Pikachu continued munching on his snack.

"Pikachu, seriously? You haven't done this since Viridian! Er… have you?"

Pikachu continued munching on his snack.

"Oh. So, this is the famous Pikachu grandpa and your mother were telling me about," Daisy said through giggles. "You two make quite a pair. Hello, Pikachu."

Pikachu continued munching on his snack, but he did receive Daisy's greeting with a nod.

"Don't be like that, Pikachu," Daisy said, plucking him from his spot. "That's not how you say hello."

She held him with one arm and used her other hand to pet his head. Red could have sworn, that for the split of a split of a split second, Pikachu's cheeks crackled, and he flinched. But maybe it was his imagination for Pikachu squeaked contentedly at Daisy's touch.

"Is that nice?" she asked sweetly. To Red, she said: "I'm quite good at grooming Pokémon thanks to my Contest experience. Hey, if you're ever back in Pallet, you can let me groom and pamper your Pokémon properly if you want."

"That… that actually sounds really nice," Red said. "We'll have to take you up on that, right, Pikachu?"

The electric rodent gave Red a look that seemed to say 'Can I go with her instead?'.

"Anyway," Daisy said, her slender fingers dancing between Pikachu's ears, "did you say you were heading to the Pokémon Centre?"

"Yeah. Do you know where it is?"

"It's right by the road that heads into Celadon from the east," Daisy said. "I assume you arrived from that direction if you mentioned you were at Pokémon Tower. Did you not see it?"

Red's cheeks turned crimson for another reason this time. "Er… no."

Daisy shook her head and gave Red a playful slap to the shoulder. "Silly, Red."

Pikachu shook his head and gave Red a not so playful slap to the face. 'Stupid moron' he seemed to say.

"Thanks for that, Pikachu," Red muttered.

Pikachu cackled, as much as a rodent-like creature could cackle. Hard to imagine, isn't it?

"Er…" Daisy said. "Does Pikachu obey you?"

"He listens to me when we battle and train, and I guess that's enough for us," Red said.

"I see." Daisy looked behind herself. "Um… hey, Red. Would you like to come with me?"

"Huh? Yeah, okay."

"Great. I would like you to meet some of my friends. Although, I believe you may already know one of them."

"Really?" Red's interest was piqued. Of course, he should really head off to the Pokémon Centre, but he knew where it was now. Besides, it was Daisy aka the Oak grandchild who he actually got along with. "Great, let's go."

o~o~o~o~o

"Red!" someone hollered in surprise, and Red was almost bowled over by green eyes and red hair as they ran in for a hug, barely catching sight of two other people.

"Huh?" he said, eyes widening until they were the size of a Venonat's. "Misty?"

"The one and only." He jumped back and there indeed was the Cerulean City Gym Leader.

"Whoa!" Red exclaimed. "Man, it feels like it's been forever, but it hasn't at all. But how come you're here? Why aren't you at your Gym?"

"Gym Leaders can take time off, you know," Misty said. "Besides, I can get back home as quickly as possible if I need to since I own a bike. Don't you own one?"

"No way," Red said. "Have you seen how expensive those things are?"

"You can get one for free if you have a voucher."

"I wouldn't even know where to get one."

"You've got to search, Red."

"I need to know where to search, Misty."

The duo broke out laughing but were interrupted by another familiar voice. "Can I get a turn to reacquaint myself with my little friend?"

Red's eyes lit up. "Evan!"

"Hello there, Red," the Move Tutor said, his hair tied back into a ponytail. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"I think I only had one Badge when I last saw you," Red said. He beamed. "I've got three now."

"I heard about your Vermilion Gym Battle," Misty said. "Lt. Surge was full of praise for you. He seems certain you or Blue will win the Pokémon League, or at least get very far."

"I believe you and Blue will collect all the Badges and do Pallet proud in the League," Daisy said solemnly.

"Well, that's the dream," Red said. "My Pokémon and I just need to get stronger."

"And you will," Evan said. "Especially as I have got new moves for your Pikachu and Leaf's Eevee."

"What, you've worked out the kinks?" Red said.

"Er…" Evan pressed his index fingers together in a sheepish fashion. "Well, not all of them. But they're not far off, I assure you! Pikachu will have another technique to go along with Zippy Zap!"

"Hold on," Misty said. "Did you just say 'Zippy Zap', Evan?" Misty scowled. "Red, isn't that the move Pikachu used in our Gym Battle."

"Yeah. Cool, wasn't it?"

Misty tilted her head back and groaned to the heavens. "You mean, if that move didn't exist, I would've won our battle? Aw man, I didn't realise you were the one who helped Pikachu learn it, Evan. I guess it makes sense since you were in Cerulean around that time, weren't you?"

However, Evan was not listening. He was in his own little world, mumbling to himself, "The technique I created won someone a Gym Badge. Oh, frabjous day!"

"Hello! Earth to Evan!"

Red and Daisy chuckled at the sight before the latter pirouetted past everyone to a mahogany bench where someone else was sat. "I didn't think you'd know Evan, Red," she said. "But please allow me to introduce you to Lady Erika, the Celadon Gym Leader."

The young lady, who was dressed in a kimono, no older than sixteen, with her chin-length, black hair tidied with a headband, rose from the bench, and bowed to Red. "So, you are the famous Red? A pleasure, I am sure."

"Er… likewise," Red said, bowing back awkwardly.

"It is safe to assume you will be entertaining me with a battle soon," she said, her face serene, but almost sleepy too. "I do look forward to it. As Misty said, Lt. Surge sung your praises, and I can only hope he was not exaggerating your victory."

"Erika!" Daisy, Misty, and Evan said simultaneously.

"Oh! My apologies. That may have sounded too harsh." Erika hid her mouth behind her sleeve and giggled unenthusiastically. "What I meant to say was I hope you are not a disappointment and that your previous victories were not mere luck."

"Erika!"

"Yeah, er, maybe some of my victories did have some luck in them," Red said defensively. "Maybe Pikachu's Static did paralyse Brock's Geodude and maybe Clefairy did barely survive Raichu's Volt Tackle, but my battle skills and my Pokemons' strength have still come through every time. Besides, isn't battling about luck as well as skill? Haven't you won and lost battles because of luck?"

Erika gazed at him, her eyes half-closed, her smile sleepy. "You make a good point. I do apologise if I upset you and made you want to cry."

"I… I don't want to cry!"

"There, there, it's all right," she said, reaching out and patting him on the back.

"Hey, Daisy," Red growled. "Is this what they call patronising?"

Daisy sighed. "I believe it is. Oh, Erika, and I actually went to the trouble of calling you Lady Erika."

"And I truly appreciate it."

"Hey, Erika," Misty piped up. "Why don't you battle Red, then? Get a taste of him before the real Gym Battle and see for yourself how good he is."

"That does sound like a nice idea," Erika said. "But it is my Pokemons' day off today, and I wouldn't want a sample of a main course anyway. I will wait for our battle at the Gym. However, I wouldn't mind seeing him in battle against someone else." She looked around herself. "Where can we find a Trainer?"

"Why can't I battle Misty?" Red asked.

"Hmm," Misty said. "I suppose we could. Yeah, we can have a no holds battle and –"

But Erika had already called someone over, a man walking with a Pokémon that looked like a Poliwhirl, except it was taller, more muscly, and had meaner eyes. Red contained his squeal quite well.

Poliwrath, a dual Water and Fighting-type Pokémon and the evolved form of Poliwhirl. An adept swimmer at both the front crawl and the breaststroke. Easily overtakes the best human swimmers.

"Howdy!" the man said. "What may I do for you, miss? Wait a minute… you're the Celadon Gym Leader, aren't you? Er… what can I do for you, Lady Erika?"

"Would you care for a battle?" Erika asked, straight to the point.

"Er… with you?" the man said uneasily. "Er… I was sort of waiting to battle against you at your Gym. You know, an official Gym Battle. It wouldn't be prudent of me to –"

"No, no, no," Erika said. She waved her hand in Red's direction. "Would you please battle this young man here? I wish to witness his skills in battle." She pursed her lips. "Hmm, this could be beneficial for the both of you, couldn't it. You seem to both be taking on the Gyms, so this may be a precursor to the Pokémon League itself for you two. Oh, I must say, I am rather excited now."

"Huh?" the man said as he and his Poliwrath turned to Red and Pikachu; the Electric-type gave the Water-type a curt nod, as though saying 'What's up?'. "You're doing the Gyms?"

"Yeah!" Red said excitedly. "I've got three Badges!"

The man gave a low whistle. "Pretty decent. Yeah, you know what? I will battle you." He thumped his chest, and Poliwrath copied him. "I just evolved Poliwrath here – bought a Water Stone at the Department Store – so he'll be rearing to go."

"Oh man, your Poliwrath is so cool," Red gushed. "Kind of wish I captured a Poliwag back when I was 'babysitting'. Anyway, my name's Red, and I'm from Pallet."

"Oh, we're neighbours," the man said. "I'm originally from Viridian. The name's Pauly Raff."

At that moment, around the globe, time seemed to stop for a second as that horrible pun inflicted itself upon every living being.

"Oh, I remember him from his Gym Battle with me," said a cringing Misty. "Well, looks like I'm not battling here. Thanks for that, Erika."

"You're very welcome," Erika replied, either oblivious or plain ignoring Misty's sarcasm. "Now, would you please be a dear and act as referee."

Misty muttered a few impolite words under her breath but took to the role of referee anyway. "You guys ready to begin? Let's just get this over with."

"Yep, I'm ready," Pauly said, his Poliwrath flexing his muscles.

"I'm ready too," Red said, Pikachu taking to the field. Charmeleon's Poké Ball wiggled desperately, but Red stuck to his guns for this battle. Although, when he ruminated some more, he did consider the fact that Clefairy might have been a good option too. Oh well, next time.

"Battle… begin!"

"Poliwrath, use Bubble Beam!" Pauly called.

Poliwrath's hands were surrounded by a watery aura, and from that aura, bubbles formed. They shot like missiles towards Pikachu.

"Double Team!" came the response.

The bubbles obliterated the illusionary clones, exploding with gunshot-like bangs on the stone Celadon pavement, yet Pikachu was untouched, leaving him free to strike Poliwrath with a super effective Shock Wave.

However, it was not enough to finish him in one hit; his evolution had given himself a lot more bulk to endure even super effective attacks. But there was no way he would be able to stand after the guaranteed critical hit from a Zippy Zap.

The battle was as good as won already.

"Protect!"

Or maybe not.

Pikachu cannoned off Poliwrath's blue transparent shield, his attack halted. Vulnerable, Pikachu found himself in the grasp of the second stage Pokémon, who leapt skywards at his Trainer's command of 'Submission!'.

He and Pikachu came back down to earth with a resounding crash, levelling the pavement. Red spluttered as he was force-fed a meal of dust and stones.

Submission. Submission! Oh, that was not a good attack to take on, especially as Poliwrath would get STAB thanks to its secondary typing. Was it enough to render Pikachu unable to battle?

Thankfully, it was not.

Pikachu shook himself free of debris, rising gingerly to his hind paws, glaring at Poliwrath who seemed to have taken some damage of his own from that notoriously risky technique.

"Yikes!" Pauly said, grimacing in bewilderment. "Your Pikachu took that?"

"It's going to take more than that to defeat Pikachu," Red said.

Daisy, Misty, and Evan watched on, transfixed; Erika's head was fighting a battle of its own to stop lolling onto her chest.

The battle raged on, Pikachu's Double Team saving him from more Bubble Beams and Submissions, while Protect matched Zippy Zap each time.

Except when it didn't.

Successive Protects failed, and Pikachu rammed into Poliwrath's swirly stomach, shocking him to high heavens and giving Red the victory.

"Thanks for one heck of a battle, Red," Pauly said after Poliwrath was tucked away. "And I know Poliwrath sure is glad to have this as his first bout after evolving." He turned to Erika. "Hey, thanks, Lady Erika for…"

Pauly trailed off. He grimaced.

Red turned to Erika. He grimaced.

Daisy and Evan did so too. They grimaced.

Misty, however, flicked Erika on the forehead. "Wakey, wakey, Lady Erika."

Erika awoke with a start. "Oh, I'm sorry, where were we. Oh yes, the battle. Are you ready to begin?"

"Ready to…" Red murmured before shouting, "We've just completed the battle!"

"Oh, really?" Erika blinked in the light of the setting sun and yawned, covering her mouth as she did so like any respectable person. "It is getting late, isn't it? I believe it is a fine time to head home, wouldn't you all agree?"

"But what about the battle?" Red asked. "You wanted to see me battle?"

"Did I?" Erika said. "I must have said that in the past. You can't hold me to anything I said so long ago."

"It was only a few minutes ago!"

"But it is still the past, is it not?"

"Er… um… I don't have time for your trick questions!"

"Anyway," Erika said, bowing to everyone. "I must head home. Goodnight, everyone."

She made her way to leave before pausing. She swivelled around. "You know, it is getting late, and I would like some company to make me feel safe on the way back home. Red, would you mind escorting to my Gym."

"What? Me?" Red said, eyeing her suspiciously. "How come?"

"It is not safe for a lady to walk the Celadon streets so late."

"But you're a Gym Leader. You shouldn't have anything to worry about. When I think about it, you should be protecting me." Red rubbed the back of his head. "Besides, I need to find the Pokémon Centre."

"It won't take too long," Erika assured him. "Besides, the Centre is ever so easy to find, so there should be no problem. However, perhaps you can stay at my Gym for the night? That sounds most agreeable to me." She gazed at Misty. "However, I must say, this would not have to happen if you would have relented and had a sleepover at my Gym. I don't like you using your hay fever as an excuse."

"It's a reasonable excuse," Misty said. "Last time I stayed over at your Gym, I couldn't stop sneezing, and then I couldn't swim with or train my Pokémon for a week after that."

The time for the goodbyes arrived as Misty and Daisy went their own way, the latter reminding Red to pay her grandfather a visit at the university. Misty looked as though she wanted to say something else, but whatever it might have been was left unsaid, and Evan asked for Red to find him the day after so they could get their training started.

"So," Erika said as they made their way down the wide Celadon streets, "I hear that you and two others are assistants for Professor Oak?"

"Yeah, I guess," Red said. "We have to go around catching and recording all the Pokémon in Kanto. But one of the others is taking on the Gyms like me."

"Ah, yes," Erika said, without looking at him. "Daisy's brother. He's already claimed the Rainbow Badge I'll have you know."

"Yeah, he told me in Lavender."

"Oh, he went to Lavender after our battle? I would have thought he'd have taken Route Seventeen to reach Fuchsia. Did you have a nice meetup?"

"We battled. But then some weird stuff at Pokémon Tower happened?"

"Pardon?" Erika said, turning to stare at him, suddenly sounding intrigued in what Red had to say. "Please elaborate on what you mean by 'weird stuff'?"

"Oh, uh, Team Rocket were stealing Cubone skulls and an evil spirit or something possessed all the Channelers and the Rockets, so I had to battle them. And then I had to battle a… er… Team Rocket Executive called Petr or Petrol or Zachariah or something – sorry, I'm not good with the names of people who want to kill me."

"That sounds frightful," Erika said. "However, hopefully that will be your only run-in with Team Rocket."

Red's expression must have changed for Erika asked, "What is the matter?"

"Yeah, uh, that's the fourth time I've had to deal with Team Rocket."

Pikachu growled, as if confirming that fact.

Erika raised her eyebrows in a show of mild surprise. "Four times? You have encountered Team Rocket four times and lived to tell the tale? Forgive me, but would you mind detailing each of those, what I'm sure are, horrid events? It does sound rather unbelievable that a ten-year-old could scrape by them so many times."

"I'm eleven!"

"Tick-tock, dear."

Grumbling, Red explained all his encounters with Team Rocket: fleeing through the mazy Mt. Moon; the TM thief in Cerulean; being saved by Lorelei on Route Ten, near Rock Tunnel, but being unable to save Lo's kin; and he fully delved into the creepy events at Pokémon Tower and how Blue arrived in the nick of time to help him. He spoke and spoke for what might have been eons, reliving it all again in graphic detail.

"You have been through quite an ordeal on your journey thus far," Erika said after he had completed his story. "And it appears they know who you are, which is quite disturbing. Nevertheless, on the bright side, you have experience against them and could easily be a thorn in their future plans."

"I… I guess you can think of it like that," Red said uncertainly. "Except I don't want to fight against them unless I have to. Going after the Cerulean thief was a one-off, although I still want to rescue Lo's friends. But that's it."

"Oh, really?" Erika sounded almost disappointed. "I suppose you –"

"Hold it right there!"

Red started, as did Pikachu; Erika merely turned to the direction of the shout, her mien impassive. "Oh my, this is a coincidence, isn't it?"

"No," Red muttered. "No…"

Two people swaggered towards them, the dreaded red 'R' of Team Rocket on the front of their black kits.

"We want to be quick and efficient here," one of the Grunts said. "Just hand over your Pokémon and all will be fine and dandy." He snapped his fingers. "Make it snappy." He grinned. "Get it? Snappy? And I snapped my fingers? Get it?" His grin faded. "No?"

"Doesn't look like they have your sense of humour," the other Grunt said. "Let's just take their Pokémon and we can head back to base so everyone else can, uh, enjoy your comedy."

Grunt One's eyes lit up. "Yeah. Then you can all come see my comedy act at the club tomorrow night!"

"Oh, uh, I'm washing my hair tomorrow night," Grunt Two said, shifting her eyes. "Yeah, washing my hair…"

As the two Rocket Grunts continued their inane conversation, Erika whispered to Red, "Would you care to help me battle these two wrongdoers?"

"Battle?" Red repeated. He analysed the situation. Him and a Gym Leader against two Grunts meant losing had to be almost impossible. However, he would just be digging himself further into trouble with the Rockets. Then again, how much more of the mire could he sink into? "Okay, let's do it."

"Marvellous," Erika said, and from a Poké Ball that rolled out from her sleeve came a Vileplume that took to the street with Red's Clefairy.

Vileplume, the dual Grass and Poison-type Pokémon and the evolved form of Gloom. The larger its petals, the more toxic pollen it contains. Its big head is heavy and hard to hold up.

"Oh," Grunt One said upon noticing the walking flower and pink fairy. "They want to have a bit of scuffle. Okay, if you want us to play, then we will."

A Graveler and a Mankey faced up against Clefairy and Vileplume, the former two growling and glaring at the Pokémon and their Trainers.

The battle began.

The battle ended.

Like Red suspected, the Rockets did not stand a chance. What could they do against the mighty Petal Dance of Vileplume, what could they do to withstand the flurry of pink petals and the Grass-type's physical bulk knocking them aside, only to be picked off by another technique of the garden variety courtesy of Clefairy? Nothing, that's what!

The Rocket Grunts stared open mouthed, unable to have called out even a single attack.

"Er… what do we do now?" Grunt One asked.

"Running away sounds good," Grunt Two said.

"It won't make us look bad, will it?"

"I don't think we can look any worse."

They returned their defeated Pokémon and bared their teeth at the victorious duo. Then, without declaring that 'they would be back' or 'count the days until you're done' or even giving them a raspberry, the Grunts ran down the darkening street, under the orange glow of the streetlights.

"Well," Erika said, giving Vileplume a kiss. "That was mildly entertaining."

"I'm glad they only had one Pokémon each," Red said, tickling the top of Clefairy's head. "It seems to be a trend with the Grunts." He gestured towards Erika's Pokémon. "Vileplume's super strong. Clefairy didn't have to do that much. You probably could've used it to take them down all by yourself."

"That is true," Erika said as Vileplume dove back into its Poké Ball. "She is my most powerful team member after all. Although Blue's Pidgeotto begged to differ."

"I just can't believe we ran into Team Rocket," Red said. "It's weird, we were just talking about them and all of a sudden…" Red trailed off, the gears in his brain turning wildly as they tried to grasp the new thoughts being thrown into it. "Did… did you know we would run into Team Rocket here?"

"Well, that disgusting Team Rocket is known to frequent my beautiful Celadon quite a lot," Erika said. "It's not surprising we ran into them, especially in this sort of area."

"'This sort of area'?" Red repeated, looking around himself and fully taking it all in. There was no one about and the street had an aura that made him shiver, as though malevolent creatures that resided in the shadows could jump out and claim him as their next meal. He shivered even more, but whether that was tingle of danger or the chill of the city zephyr, he was not certain. "Why did we come here?"

"Oh, I must have taken a wrong turn after being so engrossed by your story," Erika said lightly.

"So, you didn't want us to run into Team Rocket?" Red asked astutely, the pieces in his head clicking and clacking together. "You didn't want to see how I'd do against them, maybe trying to prove my story was true or something like that?"

"You have got such a vivid imagination, haven't you, Red?" Erika said, giggling, her laughter not reaching her eyes. "Now come along, we must go home. My Gym Trainers will be wondering where I am, and I am getting ever so tired. But we will have a luscious meal once we get there. Doesn't that sound exquisite?"

And off they trot.

And they did not speak for the rest of the way.

Not.

One.

Word.

Oh, whatever did Mint see in this enigma of a human being?

Yet, as they traversed to the Gym, a foreboding notion niggled in the pit of Red's stomach, brought on by Erika's words and the battle they just had: Team Rocket were in Celadon too?