The busy streets of Vermilion were beginning to make a bit more sense to Green. An underlying order was becoming apparent to the madness, unspoken rule of conduct keeping everything moving somewhat smoothly. She found that as long as she just kept moving, was aware of how others were moving around her and moved out of people's way, travelling the streets became just as easy as walking around Pallet. While she did her best to keep these newfound rules in the forefront of her mind, her eyes were glued to the skyline above the heads in the crowd. Amongst the sea of blinking ads and dull grey concrete, she was hoping to find the familiar red of the pokémon centre. She was having little luck. No matter how hard she looked or how many corners she rounded that red never caught her eye. With a rising sense of anxiety bubbling up into her chest, Green looked around her for some kind of map or sign pointing her in the right direction. She was disappointed to find nothing of the sort. Just as she thought she might burst from the stress a pamphlet was shoved into her hands by a grinning old man.
"Hey, there sweetheart! By the looks of things you're one mighty Pokémon trainer, you'd fit right in at the Pokémon Fan Club! Head down 85th street and look for the Clefairy!" He shouted vibrantly, his grin never once faltering.
Just as Green was about to ask him for directions he spun around, ignoring her and shoving another pamphlet at a passerby. They didn't stop and tossed the pamphlet aside, letting it get trampled underfoot by the crowd. Still, he called the same spiel after them with his plucky tone. Green took a moment to take in her surroundings, taking long calming deep breaths. The crowd split around her best they could as she stood in the middle of the street but still shoulders and elbows clocked her, bumping her back and forth. Machoke grasped her arm tightly and tugged her to the side, escaping to a small step that rounded the perimeter of a shop. With her back to the glass wall and away from the bustle of the crowd, Green finally managed to collect herself. She patted Machoke's hand thankfully and looked around. She was on a corner of yet another intersection, two wide crosswalks overlapped each other as they allowed thick streams of people to cross the square. Lights above directed the flow of foot traffic, forcing crowds to stand in place while others crossed. While they waited for their lights to change the crowds' attention would be grabbed by various street performers. They stood to the side with instruments, props and pokémon ready to perform once the lights changed. Once the lights ticked red a burst of music, song and dance would erupt into the streets. Performers would flood the crowd, dancing between the densely packed people with trays and hats outstretched. Coins would fly amongst the laughter, filling their trays and hats. Then, just as soon as they appeared the performers would dip back to the sides and count their earnings as the lights changed and their audience moved on. Only the more spectacular performances would continue between the light changes, drawing a small portion of the crowd over to the street corners.
On one corner a man dressed in a fabulous purple suit with a top hat and bright red bow tie danced as a Magmar shot flames around him. The flames spiralled and around his body, lashing out like whips at the surrounding crowd. They gasped and cheered, their eyes locked to him as he dared the flames to touch him. Although he never more than singed his long grey moustache. Across from him a woman with three large cages perched on steel beams flew her hands wildly through the air. A flock of Pidgey, headed by a mighty Pidgeotto circled around above her head. They moved with her hands, swooping down by the heads of her crowd and then tantalisingly close to the power cables above. She teased the wild Pikachu, who angrily shot bolts of lightning at the birds. However, the Pidgeotto somehow always managed to dodge the lightning despite the fact it was clearly moving faster than him. The Pidgey followed his example, ducking and weaving through the shower of lightning. On Green's corner, a figure dressed in long, dark robes wore a formless red mask. They, with the help of their Mr Mime, stepped up onto invisible stairs and walked through the air. Mr Mime would raise his large, gloved hands and press them up against the air in front of him like a wall was in his way. A shimmer of pink energy would radiate out into a square, disappear with a shower of sparks and then miraculously the robed figure would take another step up into the air. A curious member of the crowd reached out to try and touch the invisible barrier, but with the shock and awe of the crowd, his hand passed right through where the robed figure was standing. Machoke scowled at the performance, wincing each time Mr Mime would make his square of pink energy. Finally, the performance across from the robed figure what was caught the full attention of Green. Machoke and Mankey watched too with eager grins. A man with thick, furrowed black eyebrows and a shoot of tall black hair stood a still as stone in the centre of a foam mat. He wore a dark purple and black gi, with a red bandanna tied around his mouth. A collection of younger-looking men both boys and full-grown adults surrounded the mat. Green didn't need to listen to their cries to the crowd to know who she was looking at.
"Come and witness a marvel people of Viridian!" A boy called.
"The Elite Master of Poison has come to demonstrate his power!" A man beside him cried.
"Behold the power of ninjutsu! Challenge the legendary Koga and he will defeat your pokémon with nothing but his bare hands!" A man cried out with a crazed look in his eyes.
From the crowd, a woman scoffed and stepped forwards with a pokéball clutched in her hand. She folded her arms and gave Koga a cocky look.
"You lost your mind old man? No way you can beat my Snorlax in a fight!" She proclaimed confidently.
Before Koga could say anything a student stepped forward absolutely seething with rage. No older than 15, the boy stormed out onto the map and pointed a finger in the woman's face.
"Do not disrespect Master Koga! He is 100 times your strength psychically and as a trainer!" He screamed.
The woman smirked and readied herself for an argument but was interrupted as Koga stepped between them.
"Calm yourself, boy, respect is not something I demand." His voice was low and firm.
He gently but firmly pushed the boy to the side, back into the small crowd of his students. An older student grabbed the boy's arm and whacked him over the back of the head, giving him a quiet whisper scolding. The woman puffed out her chest and took a step towards Koga.
"Don't come cryin if Snorlax breaks your brittle old bones, old man." She warned with a snarky grin.
Koga turned from her, calmly walked to the end of the mat and readied himself in a fighting stance. Immediately a small group of students ran to him and checked him all over, adjusting his gi, tightening its belt and straitening his mask.
"The Pokémon Centre is not far from here, I trust you can find it." He eventually responded, leaving a noticeable gap of silence before his response.
As Koga's students scurried back to their places, the woman threw her pokéball into the air and released Snorlax. He appeared with a blinding flash of light, forcing even Koga to shield his eyes with his hand. The Snorlax towered above everyone, his large round frame standing nearly as tall as the blinking signs above him. He yawned, stretching out his stubby arms. The yawn made the ground tremble, shaking the light above on their thin steel supports. He looked around groggily, slightly confused to find Koga standing before him. Snorlax waddled around to face his trainer, lifting his stubby arm to scratch the top of his head.
"Snorlax?" He asked in a long, deep droning voice.
His trainer pointed past him to Koga.
"You're fighting, don't you hold back neither! This is just like any other fight!" She instructed.
Snorlax blinked at her and shrugged before slowly waddling back around to face Koga. He stomped both feet out into a wide stance, causing the buildings around them to groan as he shook the ground. Koga's furrowed gaze studied the Snorlax silently as the pokemon took his position. Both combatants readied themselves, narrowing their eyes at each other. A student ran forward, standing upon a small pile of boxes next to the mat. He held a flag out above the arena between the two.
"Are both fighters ready?!" He cried out.
An excited murmur rumbled throughout the crowd. Koga nodded silently, still watching Snorlax with his analytical gaze. Snorlax slammed his stubby paws together and let out a mighty roar. His trainer matched his energy and let out her own wild battle cry, pumping her fists into the air.
"Hell yeah, we are!" She shouted.
The student waved the flag before quickly pulling it back in.
"Begin!" He announced.
Koga sprung into action immediately and darted across the mat in the blink of an eye. His hand swiftly reached into the inner lining of his gi and pulled out a small pellet between his finger and thumb. As Snorlax swiped his large, stubby paw at him Koga dropped down and slid under the attack. He tossed the pellet through the air, hitting Snorlax square in the face. It exploded into a burst of purple smoke. Snorlax cried out unhappily, bringing his paws up to his face to fan it away. Koga nimbly slid beneath Snorlax's short, pudgy legs and rolled up onto his feet. He took a running start at Snorlax, leaping up and taking two steps up the giant pokémon's back. At the apex of his jump, right between the Snorlax's shoulder blades he expertly jabbed three times. Each jab caused a small ring of dark energy to pule out across the dark fur of Snorlax's back. As if hit by a huge force, Snorlax suddenly lurched forward and stumbled forward. He lost his balance and fell onto his stomach with a mighty crash. Koga landed on the mat gracefully and bowed respectfully to the dumbfounded trainer before him. Snorlax let out an exhausted gasp and fell still, limp like a ragdoll. The crowd erupted into cheers and shouts, thunderous applause filling the air. Green couldn't help but giggle as the trainer sheepishly fumbled to point her pokéball at Snorlax and return him. She hurried away into the crowd, hiding her face shamefully. Koga returned to his students and stepped up onto the pile of boxes.
"Viridian City! It is that time of year again when the Indigo Plateau invites the finest of Kanto and Johto to challenge our great league! Fuchsia City Gym is open to those who dare to test their skills against the art of our poison masters!" He proclaimed in a booming voice.
The crowd hushed as he spoke, his mighty voice captivating their attention. As he spoke a woman dressed in the same dark purple gi as he slunk out of the crowd of male students and joined Koga by his side. Her hair stuck up tall like Koga's, although hers was tied into that position. Her hair was purple, standing out starkly against Koga's. The same red bandanna covered her mouth, only allowing her intense purple eyes to gaze out into the crowd. The eyes of the students dropped as she rose up beside Koga, they bowed and slammed their fists into their palms. She pulled down her bandanna as Koga finished, stepping forward as he stepped back.
"Do not take our gym's challenge lightly! We do not coddle the weak in Fuchsia! Only the strong may claim the coveted soul badge!" She shouted, leering down at the crowd.
It took Green a moment but quickly she recognised this woman as Janine, Fuchsia City's Gym Leader. All the pictures Green had seen of her had been from when she was just starting out a gym leader. Now that she was seeing her in person Green was taken aback by how intimidating she was. Janine was nothing like the kid she had seen in those old articles. Green shrunk back with an excited smile, pursing her lips as she gazed at Janine's dominant and demanding presence. The students formed up beside Koga and Janine, reaching into their gi in unison. In a flash, they moved together and their forms transformed into fuzzy black masses. Quickly, their forms changed again and they all reappeared. To the shock of the crowd, each and every one of them appeared to look like Koga. The small army of Koga's raised their closed fists into the air and threw a pellet each down at the ground. A huge puff of white smoke erupted into the crowd, causing them to cough and splutter. As the cloud of smoke thinned, the crowd strained their watering eyes to find that everything set up on the corner along with the Koga clones had disappeared. As if they had never been there, to begin with. With a mixture of excitement and confusion, the crowd dispersed, wandering back into the flow of foot traffic or migrating to another performer.
A fifth performer caught Green's attention. He was nestled into a small corner, just below a staircase leading up to a sitting area covered in a canopy of sun umbrellas. Not a single person stopped to pay him any attention. Still, despite no crowd or any money falling into the open guitar case he still strummed away singing a bouncy upbeat song. Green rose from her seat and edged her way around the outskirts of the crowd, sitting before the man curiously as he started his song again.
Three little birds, hanging from a willow tree, singing and dancing happy as can be
Oh Pidgeotto squawks, You be careful little ones, play too hard and you will fall
The little ones played on, free from any doubt, the proof was in the pudding it was plain to see
Two little birds, hanging from a willow tree, singing and dancing happy as can be
Oh Pidgeotto squawks, I tried to warn you little ones, you're not safe around that tree
A thunderin, A shakinin the woods began to cry, the air filled with that old bird call
One little bird, hanging from a willow tree, singing and dancing happy as can be
The woods did call, you be careful little one, play too hard and you will fall
The man's voice had an unusual twang to it that Green had never heard before. It made the vowels of his words pop, which carried the strange upbeat tone of his song. Despite the seemingly grim story of the song Green couldn't help but listen to it again. The singer's eyes noticed her and he flashed her a grin as he sang, the attention making him sing louder, pronouncing the rhymes more boldly. Machoke sat down next to Green with a thud, watching the guitar curiously. His eyes followed the man's fingers. Although he didn't move with the bouncing rhythm of the song Machoke seemed intrigued nonetheless. Mankey's ears twitched and turned with each strum of the guitar, each chord change making him more and more excited. He hopped around in the space between Green and the singer, out of time from the rhythm but enthusiastically all the same. The singer let a laugh slip through as he sang the last line, stopping to watch Mankey curiously. He leaned forward on his guitar and held out a finger to Mankey. Mankey stopped dancing and eyed him suspiciously. He sniffed the finger with his snout, considered the singer before scurrying back over onto Green's shoulder. The man laughed again and turned his attention back to Green.
"Sorry darling, I've only got the one song so don't go expecting a show here." He quipped, holding up his guitar to fiddle with the tuning pegs.
Green blushed a little and clutched the back of her head.
"Oh no, I'm not." She began but was interrupted swiftly.
"Ah I see, you don't think I'm good enough to have more than one song do ya?" He asked accusingly with a toothy grin.
Flustered, Green raised her hands and shook her head.
"No, I do!" She exclaimed with a confused expression.
The man slapped his knee and chortled.
"I'm just teasin, sweetheart!" He hooted, holding down the wide-brimmed hat on his head.
He rolled back, lifting his legs slightly as he laughed. His hand shot out to catch himself, the palm pressing down onto a red jacket by his side. A flood of relief washed over Green and she allowed herself a small chuckle with him.
"You looked lost of there sweetheart, you new to Viridian huh?" He asked jovially, leaning forward on his guitar again.
Green's eyes lit up with hope and she leaned forward towards him.
"Are you from here? Do you know where the pokémon centre is?" She asked excitedly.
The singer laughed again and flashed her a smirk.
"I'll take that as a yes then, and I do it's just down there on your first left." He responded, gesturing down the street behind him with his thumb.
Green shot up to her feet with a wild grin and looked in that direction.
"Thank you!" She cried out before hurrying off, disappearing with Machoke into the crowd.
The man sat dumbfounded for a moment before shrugging and strumming his guitar.
"Young people, always in a rush, never know where they're going." He mumbled to himself with a grin before starting his song again.
Green hurried through the crowd, weaving her way between the many bodies seamlessly. They paid her no mind, in the endless crowd she was just one of many fleeting faces. She say through the crowd the first left turn and squeezed her way over to it, getting the occasional annoyed shout as she bumped into someone. At this point, though she was beyond caring, her stress meter was just about all used up. She needed to get out of this crowd as quickly as possible. A burst of thrilling excitement coursed through her as she spotted the rotating pokéball hanging from a distantly red building. With Machoke's help, they pushed against the flow of the foot traffic and managed to stumble through the sliding doors of the pokémon centre. Cool, refreshing air washed over them and the familiar sterile smell invaded their noses. However, Green's hopes of a relaxing familiar setting were dashed as she was greeted by a new chaotic scene. A long line of impatient trainers trickled up to the sliding door. The line split into three, heading to each of the attending nurses on duty. The two outer lines reached a pair of Chansey's, their high pitch peeping voices cutting through the loud commotion before them. The middle line led to what Green assumed was yet another of the Joy sisters, although all she could see of this sister was a sliver of pink hair and her nurse hat bobbing up and down as she hurried about behind the mass of frustrated trainers. Green reluctantly took her place in the middle line, flinching as the man in front of her huffed angrily and looked at his watch.
"What are you doing?! Keep my pokémon together, if you lose them my chances are ruined!" A voice screamed from the front.
"Yes sir, very sorry!" A small, scared voice replied with a strained yell.
As the line trickled closer and closer more people yelled and threw tantrums, always being met with the same helpless voice. Green found herself getting angry now but not at the wait, she'd never seen people so apathetic to someone else before. The looks the people around her were shooting at the counter, they were like they didn't even see a person back there. For a few moments more than usual the line stopped, unhappy mumbles began to rumble around her. Green glanced up at Machoke, whose head poked up above everyone else. He craned his neck to see what was going on and immediately he grimaced. Suddenly, a small scared-looking woman stepped up onto the counter and her head poked up where everyone could see it.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, the healing machines are now full! We ask for your patience during the waiting period! We can book your pokémon in for a time when the machines are available but we ask you to keep them inside their balls until then!" She announced, straining her voice to be heard of the uproar that followed.
Furious yells and complaints were screamed out from all directions.
"Unbelievable! I need to be training now!" One shrill voice called.
"You've ruined my entire schedule now!" Another complained.
"I WILL be contacting your superiors about this! Completely unacceptable!" A particularly nasty voice cried.
One by one the crowd of trainers filed out of the pokémon centre, disappearing into the crowd outside. Green was left on her own inside the pokémon centre, with only the trainers whose pokémon were already healing left behind. However, now she could see Nurse Joy properly. Even before she had stepped down off the counter, Green could tell how tiny she was. Especially in comparison to her giant of a sister. Her face was still the same as her sisters, round and pretty with bright pink eyes and a bob of curly pink hair on her head. She straightened her nurse hat and winced as Green approached the counter.
"I'm sorry Ma'am there aren't any spots available in the healing machines right now, please come back later or leave your pokémon here to be healed during the next round." She explained with an exhausted sigh before Green had even said anything.
Awkwardly Green bit her bottom lip and raised her finger slightly.
"Oh um, actually I'm here to book a room if you have any?" She corrected gently.
Nurse Joy's eyes widened and she bowed her head quickly.
"Oh, sorry Ma'am! Yes, we have rooms! Very sorry about that Ma'am!" She cried out frantically.
Green stood there unsure of how to proceed after that. She gave Nurse Joy a sympathetic smile and tried to appear as casual as possible.
"It's okay, no problem really," Green assured her softly.
The words did nothing to soothe Nurse Joy's panicked rush as she scrambled to bring a check-in book to the counter from a draw. She placed it down and plucked a pen from a cup nearby. With a frazzled look, she flashed Green a pleasant smile.
"Your name please?" She asked.
"Green Isamu," Green replied.
Nurse Joy nodded and scratched down the name. She quickly grabbed a key from a set of pigeon holes to her right and handed Green a key. Her eyes caught on something as she did and Green followed them to find that had noticed the pink pokéball pinned to her belt. Green took another look at Nurse Joy's outfit and found that she also had a pink pokéball pinned to her white nurse dress just above her breast. Nurse Joy smiled shyly and looked in both directions before leaning in.
"Don't worry, the rooms are soundproof." She whispered, glancing past Green at Machoke.
Green blushed a little and giggled.
"Thanks, your sister in Cerulean was very nice by the way," Green responded back, making sure to whisper too.
The frazzled look on Nurse Joy's face softened as she giggled back.
"Are you new to it then?" She asked, making sure to glance around for people listening.
Green nodded and clutched the back of her head.
"Yeah, your sister helped me get started," Green admitted.
Nurse Joy brought her hand up to her mouth as she giggled. Green felt as if she was going to melt as she saw that. Desperately she found herself wanting to flirt but as she opened her mouth she just couldn't find the right words. A vague notion of what she was meant to do floated around in her mind but no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't put the pieces together. Not that she was really given the chance. Machoke appeared at her side and leaned over the counter on his elbow, looking Nurse Joy up and down with a grin.
"Ma – Choke," He said in a smooth voice.
Nurse Joy's eyes widened and she stumbled backwards, her cheeks flushing a bright red. Green gasped, utterly mortified. She grasped Machoke's arm with both hands and did her best to tug him away.
"I'm sorry!" She exclaimed, her own face flushing red now.
Machoke relented and went with Green over to the doors leading into the housing area. His eyes still fixated on Nurse Joy, with a permanent smirk plastered on his face. Nurse Joy stared back, her face bright red and her jaw hung open slightly. She clutched her hands to her chest in loose fists before what Green thought was the cutest shy smile she had ever seen crept onto her face. Which was quickly put out of sight as Machoke and her disappeared through the doors into the hall. Green punched Machoke's arm and scowled at him.
"Don't do that!" She whispered with a hiss, furrowing her brow at him.
Machoke just laughed at her punch and shrugged.
"Machoke," He said sheepishly without a hint of regret in his voice.
Mankey meanwhile just stared at the two of them with a confused expression. Green raised her hands and covered his ears.
"Now she probably thinks we're sex-crazed maniacs or something!" She hissed back.
Machoke glanced back over his shoulder through the small circular window on the door at Nurse Joy. He grinned and raised an eyebrow at Green.
"Machoke…" He responded with a chuckle.
Green narrowed her eyes at him.
"You're lucky I can't understand you, because if you said what I think you did I swear to god," She grumbled before spinning around and walking away down the hall.
Machoke snickered to himself and chased after her. His heavy footsteps thundered throughout the decadent hallway as he ran up to her side. Mankey scampered up the side of Green's head, climbing up her hair and perching himself on top of her head. He looked around the new setting, gazing curiously at the bland sterile white hall and its equally as bland decorations. Small, odd paintings hung from the wall depicting abstract pieces of what appeared to be other pokémon. One, Mankey swore, even looked a bit like him. As he gazed at the odd piece of art his gaze was snapped away when Green turned sharply to enter their room. She stuck in the key, gave it a twist and pushed open the door. Immediately, the smell of cleaning chemicals and air freshener hit Mankey's nose. He fussed, covering his snout and stomping unhappily. Nimbly, he leapt from Green's head and scampered up a set of beige drawers, opening a drawer and hiding inside it away from the sterile smell. Green swung the set of bags slung around her arm onto the bed and giggled softly. She walked over and peered into the draw, Mankey had made himself a small bed out of the bed linen stored inside. His tail stuck out from the sheets, leading to a small lump made by his round sphere of a body. Green decided to let him be and made her way over to a desk adjacent to the bed, she plopped down onto the small wooden chair with a sigh and switched on the computer sitting on the desk. Machoke let out an exhausted sigh and fell back onto the bed, bringing his hands up behind his head as he lay on his back. As the computer booted up Green glanced back at him. Any anger she felt towards him immediately disappeared when she saw him relaxing on his back, eyes closed with a big calm grin on his face. She thought about leaving the desk and cuddling up to him but the memory of the humiliation she suffered during her first challenge of Cerulean Gym sprung back into her mind.
Immediately, she spun back around and opened up the Indigo Plateau website. She navigated to the Gym Leaders section and clicked on Lt Surge's profile. The picture they used for him had Lt Surge standing tall with a devilish smirk, his hands grasped behind his back and a pair of black sunglasses perched in his tuft of golden hair. More of the same golden hair poked out from the tank top he was wearing, which made Green laugh softly. He looked like he had glued a lion's mane to his chest or something. Green shook her head and refocused, scrolling down to see his choice of Pokémon. Now that she had two badges she would start facing intermediate-1 level challenges. She clicked on the intermediate-1 tab and checked out his pokémon. Green had to stop and reread what she was being shown, shocked by what she was seeing. For her level Lt Surge's team was made up of entirely 1st form pokémon, without a single basic form like Brock and Misty had. His first pokémon, Electrode, the evolved form of Voltorb Green knew was an incredibly strong Pokémon on its own. She reached for her backpack and retrieved Red's old pokédex, flipping it open to get some extra information.
"Electrode, the ball pokémon. Electrode increases its speed as it charges electricity. However, its charge rate is far too high compared to their energy output often resulting in violent and uncontrollable bursts of energy." The pokédex noted in its robotic voice.
With a concerned look, Green cycled through the pokédex to Surge's next pokémon Magneton, the evolved version of Magnemite.
"Magneton, the magnet pokémon. Magneton is linked by extremely strong waves of electric elemental energy, this link is extremely hard to break but not impossible. Their bodies are made of hard steel, resistant to most physical attacks."
Finally, Green flipped to Surge's ace in her pokédex, Raichu the evolved version of Pikachu.
"Raichu, the mouse pokémon. Its body can store unfathomable amounts of electricity that it uses to charge up its muscles, reaching blinding speeds. Their large tails serve as grounds, channelling the thousands of excess volts from their bodies during powerful attacks."
Green sat back in her chair and looked up at the ceiling with a sigh, racking her brain to come up with her approach. The sigh caught Machoke's attention, he opened his eyes and got up, making his way behind her and leaning on the back of her chair. Green smiled up at him and placed a hand on his as she plucked the pokéballs from her belt. She placed them down in front of her in a neat row and stared at them intently. After a moment, she separated Graveler's ball from the other two and rolled it forward.
"Alright buddy, we're facing much stronger opponents than last time. We need to come into this with a proper plan." She said to Machoke, using him to throw her ideas at.
Machoke nodded, leaning forward and gazing at the pokéballs too. Green picked up Graveler's ball and held it up to him.
"Our plan needs to be built around getting the most out of Graveler, his ground typing makes him not only super effective against electric types but also immune to their attacks," Green explained, getting a thoughtful nod from Machoke.
Machoke pointed at the screen, placing his finger on Magenton's picture.
"Machoke?" He asked before gesturing to himself.
Green grinned and nodded.
"Yeah you do have a type advantage against him, fighting moves are the only physical attacks that steel types are weak to. I reckon we switch Mankey in when Magneton comes out, seeing as Graveler can't hit Magneton anyway. Graveler's moves are ground-based and Magneton can fly so he's not great there." Green continued to explain, moving the order of the pokéballs.
She placed Graveler's ball first, then Mankey's after that, followed by Machoke's. Machoke cocked his head at the order and gave her a curious look.
"I'm putting you last because we need our strongest members for Raichu, he's by far the strongest of the three. You need to weaken Raichu so that Graveler can finish him off. We need him as slow as possible so that Graveler doesn't get overwhelmed by the speed difference." Green explained with a confident determination.
Machoke grinned, liking the plan. He stood up tall and flexed his arms.
"Machoke!" He cried out.
Green giggled and stood up, giving him a hug.
"Don't get too cocky big guy, Surge is a strong trainer we need to perform at our best to beat him," Green whispered as she pressed her cheek against his chest.
Machoke's fiery expression softened as he felt her soft touch. He placed a hand on her back, pulling her close to him.
"Ma…" He whispered reassuringly.
He gently lowered to back onto the bed, heaving Green up on top of him by her thigh. She giggled and smirked down at him, leaning forward and wrapping both arms around his neck. Machoke grasped her hips, caressing the firm soft tops of her thighs with his thumbs.
"You don't deserve this after what you did out there," Green whispered with a soft laugh, not able to wipe the smile from her face.
Machoke smirked and raised his eyebrow daringly.
"Machoke?" He challenged, giving her hips a squeeze.
Green bit her lip and inhaled sharply.
"Fuck you," She laughed before pressing her lips against his.
Machoke chuckled and slid his hands beneath her skirt, squeezing her ass gently. Together they made out lovingly, falling deeper and deeper into each other's embrace. At that moment all the stresses of the word fell away, Abby, the rangers, Surge and Red all left Green's mind. Only calming, euphoric happiness remained as her hands grasped Machoke's bare chest and as his hands began to undress her.