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-Five: A Shorts, Friendly Battle!

"Try it again, Pikachu! You've got to go higher!"

Pikachu shook himself, ridding his head of the rust and dust it had gathered after its repeated bad falls.

He would do it this time.

Red called out the attack's name. Pikachu responded and bounded high into the air, his body surrounded by a yellow balloon-like sphere. The sphere then disappeared, almost popping like an actual balloon would, and Pikachu dived back to earth, levelling the ground.

"Yeah, that was a great one, Pikachu!" Red whooped. "Let's try another one because I think I know a way to make it even better."

Pikachu's ears twitched, intrigued by Red's prospects of improving his new technique.

"Okay," Red said. "When you're in the air, I don't want you to do a full body charge, okay? I want you to swing your tail instead, like how you do with Rock Smash. Can you do that?"

Pikachu rolled his eyes, as if to say 'obviously'.

"Great. Okay, Pikachu, use –"

"How's it going, Red?"

Pikachu stopped charging his attack as another Pikachu hopped over to him, the end of her tail heart-shaped.

"Oh, hey, Evan," Red said. "Things are going pretty well. Pikachu's got it down, but I just thought of a way to make it even more powerful."

Curiosity lined Evan's face. "Really? Do you mind demonstrating it for me?"

"Not at all. Okay, Pikachu, do it like I said. Use Floaty Fall!"

Once more Pikachu leaped into the sky, surrounded by the elastic-looking sphere, where, at his jump's apex, he swung his tail and crashed into the ground even faster than before, doing more damage than he had prior.

"It worked!" Red shouted, punching into the air. "It worked! How are you feeling about that, Pikachu?"

Pikachu ambled away from the wreckage his new technique gave birth too, with a cavalier air that said 'It was nothing'.

"Impressive," Evan said. "Combining the speed of the fall with the swing of a Pikachu's most powerful part of its body. I must admit, I'm rather embarrassed I didn't think of it. It's so clear in retrospect."

"I wouldn't have been able to do that if Pikachu wasn't a great learner," Red said. "You hear that, Pikachu? I'm praising you."

Pikachu forced a yawn.

"Anyway," Red said after a quick pout, "what was Floaty Fall's secondary effect again? Was it a chance of paralysis?"

"No. Floaty Fall has a chance of flinching the foe." Evan's eyes twinkled. "But I have got another Pikachu technique in my back pocket that might have a chance of paralysing the opponent. Still needs some finetuning though."

"Will it be a Water-type move?" Red asked. "Because Floaty Fall is Flying, and you said something about some Pikachu knowing Surf and Fly. Aren't those what these moves are based on?"

"Ah, quite the memory you've got there," Evan said. "Yes, the next technique to come after Floaty Fall will be of the Water-type. Look forward to it."

"You hear that, Pikachu?" Red said, dropping down to Pikachu's level and shoving his face close to the Electric-type's. "A Water-type move. We've got Grass-types beat now once we truly perfect Floaty Fall, and the next move will help us beat Ground-types." He was so close their noses were touching. "We'll be able to take on anybody."

Red spasmed and jerked as a slight electric current travelled through his body. Pikachu stomped away from him, muttering dark things under his breath in his Pokémon tongue.

"Are… are you okay, Red?" Evan asked, helping him up to his feet. "That's the third time this week."

"I'm good," Red said, laughing as though he witnessed something hilarious, like someone tripping over their own feet and sprawling to the ground. "I just annoyed him, but I'm good."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. He's probably going to practice Floaty Fall a bit more now. How about we go and check on Leaf and everyone else?"

Leaving Pikachu to work on his new technique, Red and Evan made their way across Celadon University's field, a plot of land that stretched as far as the eye could see. Red could not thank Professor Oak enough for allowing them not only to stay at the university but to provide them with an area to train while the researchers analysed Lo, Aerodactyl, and Omanyte.

It had been a fun ten days, and it had not only consisted of training. Red and Leaf had explored parts of Celadon too, but it was such a large metropolis that they had still not seen everything.

They even visited the Department Store, one of the tallest buildings in the city, and spent many hours there, purchasing items, food, and clothes with the money they had accrued over their journey.

But those were the necessities. The Department Store had a lot more to offer!

There were Pokémon dolls, life-sized recreations of the real creatures. And by life-sized, one means life-sized! There was a Lapras doll that might have been the real thing, and a stuffed Snorlax that laid on its back, the top of its belly miles above the children's heads. Red and Leaf could only hope they would not run into the latter any time soon; it would probably give them a heck of a time battling it let alone capturing one.

Leaf bought herself a couple of dolls and paid to have sent back to Pallet, and Red did the same, picking a toy Cubone. He would have taken the fluffy Pidgey had it not already belonged to someone and not been a living thing.

There were also different types of items called Mail, but neither Red nor Leaf saw any need for them; they could easily call the people they would want to talk to any time they wanted.

One of the floors also sold various medicines with prices that made the children's heads spin. Sure, a Protein would permanently boost Beedrill's attack, and a HP Up would give Clefairy a bit more bulk, but it was pointless if the training they were doing was raising their stats anyway. It was slower, yes, but at least they would not be out ten grand by merely buying a single one of them. At least the X items were cheaper, but still pointless; why use a Dire Hit on Beedrill when she had Focus Energy, and why use an X Speed on Pikachu when he was fast enough as is and his Zippy Zap was second to none in regards to priority? Yes, the X items could come in clutch in certain battles, but Red had not yet had a battle that would have required him to use one. The same with Leaf considering battles were not her precedence.

There was even a floor that sold TMs! Although, with them spending a lot of time with a Move Tutor who would be able to help their Pokémon learn techniques aside from the Pikachu and Eevee ones, it did not seem pivotal to purchase any.

However, the next floor up had the children giddy with what it was selling. Evolution stones. All sorts! There were Thunder Stones, Fire Stones, Leaf Stones, Water Stones, and Ice Stones aplenty! There were even a few of the Dusk, Dawn, and Shiny variety, all miraculous little rocks that would enable certain Pokémon to break through their barriers and force their way to the next frontier of evolution. Pikachu and Eevee stayed well away from them, glaring at the stones like they were Team Rocket, or people who think reality shows are worth watching. Unfortunately for Red, there was not a single Moon Stone. It appeared that Clefairy would have to stay as she was a while longer. Nevertheless, he insisted on adding to Leaf's evolutionary stone fund, helping her purchase a Leaf (I know, confusing) and a Water Stone. "There are a lot of Pokémon that evolve with these specific ones in Kanto, and I've got a few of each of them," she had said. "Might as well start with these ones and return later."

The Celadon Department Store had a heck of a lot of things, didn't it? Such an enticing place to go visit, which Red and Leaf did a few more times, going there twice with Daisy too, where at the end of the day the girls would be having conversations Red had no interest in, topics that sounded more grown-up than he would have liked. Still, sitting on the roof of the Department Store sipping on Fresh Water and Lemonade while they talked with a magnificent view of the city spread out before him made it worthwhile. Although, it was a pity Misty had already returned to Cerulean; he enjoyed their conversation at the café and would have liked a proper repeat of that. Maybe next time.

Red and Evan found Leaf deep in training with her Eevee, facing off against a dozen targets, provided courtesy of the university.

"Use Glitzy Glow, Eevee!" Leaf shouted. "Let's get it right one more time!"

Eevee barked, her body suddenly engulfed by a purple light, which then twisted and morphed into a wave that obliterated one of the targets. A transparent yellow forcefield covered Eevee's body from head to toe.

"That was perfect!" Leaf said, clapping her hands. "Okay, let's try Baddy Bad now!"

Eevee growled, her hackles raised, the target before her a flesh and blood enemy that she had to defeat. She reared up on her hind paws and slammed her front ones on the ground. A cloak of darkness stretched over the target and a pillar of white light erupted beneath it. When it faded, the target ceased to exist. What materialised, however, was another forcefield, purple this time, which merged with the yellow one to form a rainbow-coloured aura.

"Yes!" Leaf cheered. "Those two weren't so bad after Sizzly Slide, were they?"

The now rainbow Pokémon hopped up to her Trainer, accepting strokes and loving words as a reward for a job well done before her new colourful hue dissipated. That was until she sniffed the air and let out a happy little bark at the sight of Red and Evan.

"Oh, hey, guys!" Leaf said. "How's Floaty Fall coming along?"

"Pikachu will soon be a master of it," Evan said proudly. "Red even thought of a way to make it more effective."

"Did you, Red?"

"Yeah! Well, it's something small, but it could come in useful in the future." Red jogged over to Leaf and Eevee and gave the latter a tickle behind the ears. "I saw you do your new Psychic and Dark-type moves – Glowy Glow and Buddy Bud? – and you did them amazingly!"

Eevee whined and gave Red's hand a lick.

"It's 'Glitzy Glow' and 'Baddy Bad'," Leaf corrected him. "But that doesn't matter. Did you see what happens when she uses them?"

"Yeah!" Red said, balling his hands into fists and shaking them up and down excitedly. "They set up Light Screen and Reflect! Think how much your entire team's defences go up if you can pull them off in battle. Er… which one sets up which again?"

"Glitzy Glow sets up Light Screen," Leaf explained. "It makes sense because the Psychic-type is mostly associated with special attack and special defence, isn't it? So why wouldn't Glitzy Glow set up something that boosts our special defence?"

"That's true," Red said. "And then the Dark one sets up Reflect." He glanced over at Evan, who squatted down next to them. "Seriously, Evan, you're awesome. You know everything about moves and came up with these super cool ones that have all these awesome effects. I have no clue how anyone can do that."

"Yes," Leaf said, giving the Move Tutor a wide smile. "I've learned so much from you and feel more comfortable helping my own Pokémon when they learn new techniques naturally. You've been a major help."

Evan rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed and pleased. "That means a lot to hear. Honestly, thanks so much for saying that. Anyway, Leaf, what's Eevee's moveset now?"

"Oh, um, Glitzy Glow, Baddy Bad, Sizzly Slide, and Quick Attack," Leaf replied, counting them off her fingers. "She's still got Quick Attack because its priority could be useful, and I want her to have a damaging STAB move."

"Understandable," Evan said. "And remember what I said about Bouncy Bubble and Buzzy Buzz: unlike other techniques, your Eevee will still be able to relearn ever so easily, so if you feel you want to change her moveset with any of my techniques, well, go ahead." He grinned. "The advantages of having the genes of so many types, I suppose."

"I won't forget," Leaf assured him. "This will help a lot when it comes to catching Pokémon."

"Your Eevee's a powerhouse," Red said wistfully. "Imagine using her in a Gym or League battle. Your opponent won't know what's up. Well," he stood up and brushed grass off his trousers, "I should be checking on the others."

"I'll come with you," Leaf said, dusting her shorts. "I need to see how my party is doing."

Needed somewhere else, Evan hurried off, telling the children he would return to wish them a goodbye before he began his journey to Fuchsia later than evening, and Red and Leaf travelled to another section of the expansive field where the rest of their Pokémon were training.

Leaf's Fearow soared through the air, squawking sternly at Aerodactyl, who followed him, flapping his wings timidly but not plummeting like a stone as he had done repeatedly over the last ten days.

"Look at him go," Leaf said, like a proud mother watching their child riding a bicycle without tumbling. "He's gotten the hang of it." She cupped her hands around her mouth. "You're doing great, Aerodactyl! Great work teaching him, Fearow!"

The Fossil Pokémon roared exultantly while the non-Rock-type did a somersault in mid-air. Inspired, Aerodactyl tried emulating him – and succeeded in crashing into the ground.

Red winced. "Oof."

"He's fine," Leaf said, as Aerodactyl confirmed it by shaking himself and taking to the sky again, where his teacher scolded him in their Poké-language. "Come on, Red, I think Ivysaur, Growlithe, and Jigglypuff is with your guys."

"I still don't get that," Red said. "Omanyte and Ditto are in the university and you've got six Pokémon out here. How are you getting away with having eight Pokémon out?"

"That's because Ditto and Omanyte aren't part of my current party," Leaf said as they made their way past university students and their Pokémon doing their own training and studying. "I technically sent them to Professor Oak, who's here, so I'm free to have a full team with me. You know, we can either send them to the Pokémon Box or the professor, it makes no difference."

"Ah, I get you."

"And here are the little ragamuffins now."

"Ragamuffins?"

"My grandma calls my cousin and I that all the time. It's a funny word."

The little ragamuffins paid no heed to their Trainers' appearance, being stuck in their drills. Charmeleon fired off a steady stream of purplish-blue air at Clefairy, who simply stood there, taking it as easily as if it was a summer's breeze; Beedrill used Focus Energy and quickly followed it up with Fury Attack before reverting back to Focus Energy, performing the technique even quicker the second time; Growlithe rammed Jigglypuff, throwing her about like an inflatable football, damage mitigated by repeated Defence Curls; Ivysaur, however, slept in the shade of a tree, the shouts and growls powerless to penetrate his dreamworld.

Leaf grimaced at her Starter but left him slumbering. She whistled. "Growlithe! Jigglypuff! I'm back. Training's over for today."

Growlithe was over like a shot, jumping into Leaf's chest and taking her down, licking her face with gusto.

"Okay, okay," Leaf said, pushing Growlithe off. "You're pleased to see me, I get it. Gosh, it's been an age, hasn't it? Who'd have thought that thirty minutes would ever feel like thirty years?"

Growlithe yapped, wagging his tail excitedly, before spying Eevee and proceeding to chase her around.

"Aww," Red said. "He's so playful!"

"Yeah," Leaf said, pulling up her shirt and wiping her face with the end of it. "But at least he takes training relatively seriously, so I can't complain. And your Defence Curl looks great, Jigglypuff," she added as the dual Normal and Fairy-type bounced up to her.

"How are things going, Beedrill?" Red asked, turning to his own Pokémon. "You can do Focus Energy even quicker now! Acid Armour and Harden won't do anything against us!"

Beedrill fluttered around her Trainer, buzzing her thankfulness for the praise he gave her.

"And how's Dragon Breath coming along, Charmeleon?" Red called to the Fire-type.

As an answer, Charmeleon demonstrated the same purplish-blue technique on Clefairy, who twirled and danced, allowing it to wash harmlessly over her.

"That looks super powerful!" Red gushed, eyes alight. "Good thing Clefairy's immune to Dragon-type moves as well, right?"

Charmeleon and Clefairy high-fived each other, although considering the digits on their hands, calling it a 'high-five' would not be entirely accurate.

"You're not going to regret letting Charmeleon forget Dig, are you?" Leaf asked, Jigglypuff sitting on her head, singing softly to herself.

"Probably," Red said, watching as Charmeleon exhibited another Dragon Breath. "It helped so much against Lt. Surge, but it's really… um… what's the word…"

"Situational?"

"Yeah, it's really situational. We couldn't use it at Pokémon Tower, and there are going to lots of other places we'll go where it won't be useful. Besides, it gives Charmeleon another long-range move." Red walked over and picked up Clefairy. "And Clefairy's finally got a damaging STAB attack. I didn't know Draining Kiss even existed."

"You would've if you ever paid attention in school," Leaf said under her breath.

"Anyway, let's get out of here," Red said, tickling his little pink fairy. "Everyone here deserves a nice rest." He beamed. "Especially since we're going to battle Erika tomorrow! You excited to watch me battle, Leaf? You're going to see how we worked together to win our previous Badges."

"It will be entertaining," Leaf said, "considering I've never watched a Gym Battle before. Do you have your team planned out?"

"I have an idea of which three I want to use."

"What if it's a full six-on-six?"

"Then, we'll probably be in trouble."

"At least Charmeleon and Beedrill should be useful."

"Hey, maybe Lo too! Professor Oak and Willow are leaving tomorrow morning, and they're letting Lo continue on my journey with me. Grass doesn't do much to Steel, does it?"

"That's right. Immune to Poison-types and the poison status too."

"And Pikachu's got Floaty Fall as well!"

"And your Clefairy has Magic Guard as her ability. Should help a bit with the damage from Leech Seed and Poison Powder."

Red shook with excitement. "Man, I can't wait until tomorr –"

"Hey! HEY!"

Someone jogged up to the duo and their Pokémon, a someone wearing shorts, a baggy t-shirt, and a cap, backwards.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" he cried again. He reached them and doubled over, his hands on his knees, breathing heavily.

"Do we know you?" Red asked.

The boy fanned himself with his cap and turned to Leaf, ignoring Red. "Hey! Do you remember me?"

"No," Leaf said. "Should I?"

"It's me!" the boy said. "Ben!"

"Ben?"

"The guy you battled. The one with the Ekans. The one you swept with your Eevee."

Leaf's eyes widened in surprise. "Did we battle on Route Three?"

"Yeah, we did," Ben exclaimed, grinning like a Perrserker. "You whooped me good. I came to visit the university and saw you. And boy, am I glad I did. I didn't realise you were one of us! You weren't wearing them last time! I thought you were just another boring person!"

"Huh?" Leaf said, exchanging a quizzical glance with Red. "What are you talking about?"

"You're a shorts wearer!" Ben said, his face flushed his exhilaration. "You know the true beauty of shorts! They're comfy and easy to wear! They're the best things ever!"

"Shorts…" Leaf mumbled. "You're a shorts fanatic?"

"They are so amazing," Ben said. "The wind on your legs, that freedom you feel when you travel through the wilderness. It makes me want to break out in song! Do you want me too?"

"Please don't."

"Are you sure? It's choreographed and everything."

"Definitely don't." Leaf rubbed her temples as Red sniggered in the background with his Pokémon. "Anyway, what are you doing all the way here?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm doing the Gyms so I can take part in the Pokémon League."

"You are? How old are you?"

"I'm eleven."

"You're eleven!" Leaf uttered in disbelief. "But you look… you seem…" She glanced down at his legs and then up at this head. "Ah. Your clothes make you look younger than you are. Doesn't help that you're a bit shorter than me."

"Yeah," Ben said, doing a little wiggle, allowing his shorts to dance above his knees. "Shorts are awesome that way. We get to show off our legs."

"Oh… er… I guess that's true." She looked imploringly to Red, wordlessly telling him to jump in. He got the cue.

"Hey there, Ben," he said, holding out his hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Red."

"Good for you," Ben said, giving him the barest of glances. His smile returned when he engaged Leaf once more. "Do you have more shorts? I have about ten on me and another fifty back at home. I don't own trousers at all. Actually, I cut the legs of all my trous –"

"Er… I was saying hi," Red said weakly.

"I guess you were," Ben said, going right back to conversing with a reluctant Leaf.

"Did I do something wrong?" Red asked.

"No," Ben replied. "You're just a vulgar trousers wearer. Nothing more than that."

"'Vulgar trousers wearer'? Red glanced down at his legs. "What's wrong with wearing trousers?"

"If you have to ask that, then you're a lost cause," Ben said. He shook his head sombrely. "But maybe someday you'll see the light. Maybe."

Red scowled, as did his Pokémon. "Dude, don't knock me down like that just because you don't like the clothes I'm wearing. Listen, you're a Trainer getting Badges, and so am I. How about we battle instead?"

Ben jumped up and down. "That's a great idea!"

"Okay. So, should it be one-on-one or –"

"Come on, Leaf!" Ben said, taking her hand and pulling her forward, shoving Red out of the way. "A battle between two shorts lovers! A quick two-on-two, how about it?"

"What? Er… I… what?" Leaf spluttered, stumbling forwards.

Eevee and Jigglypuff sighed. Growlithe scurried around after his tail. Ivysaur slept.

"Guys," Red said, his eyebrows raised so high they almost joined his cap. "What the heck was that?"

Ben released Leaf and hopped away until there was a considerable distance between them, telling a few 'shortless' people to 'get out of the way of the battle of the century'. He received a few funny stares, which was shared with Leaf too. Poor Leaf wished the ground would open and up and devour her.

"Okay, Leaf," Ben called. "Two-on-two. Pick your first Pokémon."

What could Leaf do? Well, she could swivel around on her heels and march away, allowing Red to take her place. Or she could simply tell Ben that she did not want to battle. But none of that occurred to her, all common sense temporarily dulled by Ben's zaniness. She called for Growlithe to enter the battle, who bounded forth, tail wagging, tongue lolling.

"Come on out, Ekans!" Ben shouted, releasing the purple serpent Eevee had defeated so long ago. It hissed at the puppy Pokémon.

"Do you want me to ref –" Red began to ask, only to be cut off by Ben:

"Acid!"

Ekans' spat out an orange liquid which Growlithe evaded with ease. The grass, however, sizzled at the Acid rained on it, and Ben followed up the attack with a Poison Sting.

"Ember!" Leaf said, and the specks of flame Growlithe fired off melted the poisonous dart. "Now, Take Down!"

Growlithe rammed his furry head into Ekans' slender body, or at least he tried to; the serpent twisted out of the way and coiled itself around the Fire-type, squeezing it tightly. Growlithe whined, struggling within Ekans' coils.

"Don't panic," Leaf said, trying to keep a soothing voice. "It's just using Wrap. Pay it back in kind with Bite."

Buoyed by his Trainer's reassurance, Growlithe sank his fangs into Ekans' scaly body, who hissed but did not attack back, even when Ben asked for another Acid. They got the flinch.

Another bite loosened Ekans' hold enough that Growlithe was able to escape the crushing grip of the Wrap attack, avoiding a Poison Sting that Ekans hit itself with.

"Acid, one more time!" Ben shouted.

It hit, dousing Growlithe with that orange, smelly liquid. Growlithe winced but shook itself dry and barked back at the Poison-type. Ekans' slit-like eyes enlarged.

"Okay, Growlithe," Leaf said. "Flame Wheel."

Growlithe bounced about, as happy as a Clamperl at high tide, and curled into a ball that ignited itself and rolled into Ekans, slamming into the serpent's head. Ekans wobbled and swayed before collapsing prostrate on the field.

"Aw man," Ben groaned. "Oh well, you did a good job Ekans. Return."

"Fantastic, Growlithe," Leaf said, bending down to stroke her furry friend, oblivious to the fact a curious crowd had gathered around them. "And you took those attacks quite well. But I want you to return for now. Let's give someone else a chance."

And who would that someone else be? Why, it was…

"Ivysaur," Leaf called to the sleeping Seed Pokémon. "Wakey, wakey, you haven't battled in ages. Come on, you need to do this."

Ivysaur opened one eye, yawned, and dragged itself over to Leaf, his impassive visage receiving a copious number of rapid licks from Growlithe.

"Okay, I can counter that," Ben said, tossing out a Poké Ball. "Marcel, you're up."

Oh, what a strange Pokémon Ben brought out, a far cry from the Raticate Leaf presumed he had! For a split second, it appeared as if he produced another human from the Poké Ball. Its torso was a white sphere with a pink circle in the middle and attached to its torso were smaller pink spheres from which its skinny arms and legs were attached. Its hands had five digits like a human's with a pink pad on the tips of each of them, and its feet were dark blue, curling at the toes, almost like it was wearing elvish shoes. On its cheeks were two pink circles and either side of its head was dark blue hair that stuck out (was it really hair?).

Mr. Mime, the dual Psychic and Fairy-type Pokémon and the evolved form of Mime Jr. If interrupted while miming, it will slap around the offender with its broad hands.

"Neat, huh?" Ben said. "I got him in a trade with some dude outside Diglett's Cave. I didn't want to trade at first because he wasn't wearing shorts, but in the end, I didn't mind getting Marcel for my Abra. Can't change his nickname, though."

A Psychic AND Fairy-type, eh? Ivysaur's secondary Poison-typing left him in a precarious position in regard to the former element, although if Leaf played her cards right, she and Ivysaur could take advantage of the latter, which is why a Sludge Bomb was fired at the Barrier Pokémon, a gunky missile destined to annihilate it.

Although the yellow shield Marcel threw around himself in an instant did absorb some of the damage.

"Urgh," Leaf groaned. "Fine, we'll go with physical moves, then. Ivysaur, Razor Leaf!"

From the blooming bulb on his back, Ivysaur summoned a flurry of sharp leaves that sought to bypass the Light Screen, which they did. However, what they failed to do was fully penetrate the pink orb Marcel surrounded himself with, only making the Mr. Mime wince. The pink orb then shrunk as Marcel absorbed it, and his skin glowed in the same hue, a shine that did not fade.

And what was that technique, one may ask? Well, someone who did not know that either was Red, whose handy-dandy Pokédex came to the rescue:

Barrier, a Psychic-type status move. The user throws up a shield that sharply boosts its physical defence.

"Like Acid Armour," Red whispered. "Come on, Leaf and Ivysaur, you can do it."

Could they? Because it was already such a mighty task to break down Marcel's defences, both physical and special helping it take the attacks Ivysaur threw at him.

"Double Slap!" Ben called as Ivysaur whipped out a couple of vines.

Marcel, with surprising speed which had not been suggested prior, darted forth, using his large hands to knock away the vines and giving Ivysaur a thorough slapping, each one sounding like the firing of a pistol.

But that was not all, oh no! In front of Ivysaur's very face, Marcel held out his palms and released a stream of lavender rings that washed over the Grass-type. Ivysaur scrunched his eyes in discomfort and shook his head, as though emptying it of water. Another Psywave followed, more powerful this time. Ivysaur was flung backwards and landed on his bulb.

"Ivysaur!" Leaf shouted. "Ivysaur, can you get back up?"

Ivysaur stared back at his Trainer, upside down, looking beaten but not unconscious. Yet, one may have thought he was unable to battle for all the will he seemed to have to do it.

"Come on, Ivysaur," Leaf said. "You can do this. You're strong. Please, get up."

Rocking from side to side on his bulb, Ivysaur righted himself. Yet, as he did so, he gave Leaf such a curious stare, one that, at that moment, she could not make heads nor tails of.

"I knew you could do it," Leaf said, uncertainly. "Okay, let's win this battle."

And that is exactly what proceeded to happen. Although, not in the way one would expect: Ivysaur fell to Marcel, the Mr. Mime's defences too difficult to penetrate, those precious critical hits non-existent, the plant creature more sluggish than ever. No, Ivysaur did not claim the victory, Growlithe instead returning to the field of battle and managing to finish Marcel off with a Bite-flinch-Flame Wheel-burn combo.

"Whoa!" Ben said upon losing. "You're still as powerful as ever, Leaf! There's no doubt that you're a shorts afficionado like me! Man, we should battle again! Or team up and battle the shortsless! You, me, and I'll recruit others! What do you say? Oh, I know! I'll come up with a proper theme song too! Won't that be cool!"

"Er… it would be… something," Leaf said, her smile strained. "You just keep working on it." Inwardly, Leaf resolved to never wear shorts again.

o~o~o~o~o

The day was at last done! But Leaf had more on her mind than new moves and a crazy kid obsessed with shorts. How about an Ivysaur that was still not in the right state of mind? In their room, Leaf said as much to Red.

"He's probably just in a slump," Red said, fiddling with his Pokémon Box, which, to Leaf's embarrassment, he had not already owned and received one in the mail from Bill during their stay in Celadon. "It happens to everyone."

"It does," Leaf said slowly. "But I think it's something else. Heck, I know it's something else."

"If that's the case, you know where to start to solve it," Red said, fiddling with buttons.

"I don't think it'll be that easy."

"Why not?"

Leaf took a deep breath. "Fine, I'll tell you. Just don't think I'm crazy, okay?"

"No promises."

Words poured out from Leaf's mouth, the terrifying tale of her encounter with the mysterious entity known as MissingNo., how close Ivysaur was to becoming its lunch, the fact she believed it resided in her Pokédex, the Mythical Mew who appeared to save the lives of her and her Pokémon, and meeting the Cinnabar Gym Leader, Blaine.

Eevee whimpered as she too relived that hellish ordeal.

Red dropped his Pokémon Box and crossed the room over to Leaf. He sat beside her on her bed and wrapped an arm around her. "I can't believe you went through that. But I'm glad you and everyone are safe."

"Yeah," Leaf said. "Honestly, I would not wish it on anyone else in the world. But, when you look for silver linings, we got to meet Mew. I even got to touch it."

"You touched it!"

"It was soft."

"Wow," Red breathed. "I wish I got to touch a Mythical."

Leaf bumped her head against Red's. "You've got Lo, dummy."

"Oh, yeah." Red glanced at the Meltan's Poké Ball on his nightstand, fully back with the party once more, confirmed beyond any reasonable doubt as being a pure Steel-type. "I wonder what its potential will be."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure you'll bring it out," Leaf said. "You've got that knack."

"The same with you, Leaf," Red said. "You'll get Ivysaur better again, and he'll help you capture all the Pokémon in Kanto."

The Pallet duo smiled and decided to watch some television before bed. Red got most of the questions wrong during Blaine's Fiery Hot Quizzes before they settled on another gameshow, Odd One Out.

A nice, peaceful night before the Gym Battle with Erika.

And what was to follow after that…