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 wording, spellings, and expressions will be those commonly used in England.

Chapter Ten: Meeting Mint

Red sat on the outskirts of Pewter City, in the shade of a tree. Weedle laid upon his lap, Charmander was munching on some Berries it found, and Pikachu rested on one of the tree's branches, his ears and tail drooped.

After the loss to Brock, Red did not return to the Pokémon Centre, not wanting to be around other Trainers who would no doubt succeed where he did not in their own Gym Battles. Instead, he left Pewter, and would have headed all the way back to Viridian City had he not frozen at the sight of Viridian Forest.

The will to add more Pokémon to his team was beyond him, and he simply stayed in silent contemplation, only leaving it when it was time to give his Pokémon their food.

He could not even speak to those he would want to hear from: namely, his mum, Daisy, and Leaf. He would not know how to contact the latter and could not bear to hear the disappointment in the voices of the former. And there was no way in heck in he was going to communicate with Professor Oak, not when Red was certain he was the worst of the three he chose for his Pokédex mission. As he considered before, maybe he should focus on completing the Dex…

Boom! Crash! Kaplow!

Red jolted up, rousing a very groggy Weedle; Charmander ran to his Trainer and clutched his jeans; Pikachu leapt from the tree, landing nimbly on all fours, its cheeks crackling.

Instinct took over. No matter how he low he was feeling, he could not, and would not, ignore those deafening noises. He flung his rucksack on his back, carried Weedle in his one good arm and legged it towards the source of the hullabaloo, Charmander and Pikachu following after him.

They came to a cave, and in the mouth of said cave was a girl, three or four years older than Red, facing away from him. Next to her was a giant crablike creature, its left claw much larger than the other, and upon its head was six spikes that looked like a crown. From what Red could see, it was mostly orange in colour.

"Crabhammer, once again!" the girl ordered.

The Pokémon grunted in response, and its bigger claw became surrounded in foam. It leapt into the cave. Another explosion of noise followed by an echo of squeals erupted from within.

"That sounded powerful," Red whispered to himself.

The crablike creature scuttled out from the cave, and Red saw it fully, this fearsome crustacean with its massive mouth that seemed to split its body into two separate orange and tan pieces, complete with massive fangs that would rip apart anything that barely managed to escape its deadly claw. He recognised it, but took out his Pokédex to confirm:

Kingler, a Water-type. One claw grew massively and is as hard as steel. It has 10,000 horsepower strength. However, it is too heavy.

The Pokedex's voice alerted the girl and she spun around. She was dressed in a teal and white dress, high-length boots with even longer socks sticking out, fingerless gloves that reached near her shoulders, and a blue bandana atop her brown hair. Her eyes narrowed as she beheld the boy in a cap and his three Pokémon standing there, gawking. "Yes," she said, suspiciously. "Can I help you?"

Her Kingler clicked its pincers irritably.

"Er… sorry," Red said. "We heard a bunch of Booming! and Crashing! and Kaplowing! so we came to investigate. We didn't mean to disturb you."

The expression in the girl's face softened. "No, it's fine. I just came through Diglett's Cave from Vermilion City and those little guys just don't want to leave me alone. But my trusty Kingler's got my back." She patted Kingler's hard shell and it clicked its pincers again.

Red took a cautious step forward. "It sure looks really strong," he said, his voice filled with admiration.

"He sure is," the girl said, dead chuffed. "He singlehandedly got me my Volcano Badge last year."

"He?" Red said.

"Oh yeah, Kingler's a boy," the girl said. "Nearly all 'Mon have genders."

Red looked to his own Pokémon. "How can you tell?"

The girl shrugged. "Just ask them. That's what I did."

So Red did, holding out his hands and telling his team to pick the right hand if they were a boy and the left if they were a girl. Only Weedle picked the left hand.

"Some 'Mon have more blatant differences than others," the girl explained. "Take your Pikachu for example: if it was a girl then the end of its tail would've been heart-shaped. Keep an eye out for that sort of thing as well."

"I see," Red said. He mulled it over for a little bit before pulling out his Pokédex again. Next to the names of the three Pokémon he owned was a Poké Ball, and he scrolled back up to Charmander and clicked his name. Another section showed up, detailing Charmander's stats, Type, Ability, and Nature, among other factors of course. And, of course, next to Charmander's name was a small, blue Mars symbol. Red's cheeks did a good job of living up to his name. He could not help but think maybe his Pokédex was more useful than he first thought.

"What's that?" the girl asked, gesturing at his Pokedex.

"Oh, this?" Red said. "It's called a Pokédex. I'm meant to go around and get loads of information about all sorts of Pokémon. Professor Oak gave it to me."

"Really?" the girl said. "You must be something special for Professor Oak to trust you with something like that."

"Well, actually, it's me and two others," Red admitted.

"That doesn't take away the fact Professor Oak trusts you," the girl said solemnly.

For the first time since before his Gym Battle with Brock, Red felt the weight upon his shoulders alleviate. "So, what's your name?" he asked.

The girl's eyes widened. "I'm sorry," she said, grinning sheepishly. "We didn't introduce ourselves, did we? My name is Mint."

"I'm Red, from Pallet Town and… Wait a minute? Did you say Mint?"

Mint smiled. "I did."

Now it was Red's turn to have his eyes almost pop from their sockets. "Do you mean the actual Mint? The one who got to the Pokémon League semi-finals last year? That Mint?"

Mint's smile widened. "Yep."

All the despair and depression haunting Red lessened, as though the sun's shine was eradicating more than just physical darkness. "You were awesome! And you narrowly beat that Ronald guy in the quarterfinals! That was a nail-biter. I honestly thought you would win the whole thing."

"That was the dream," Mint said, shooting at him with her fingers. "But I'm happy with where I got to, and it's not like I can't compete in it again. However, Mark – he's the guy who battled with the Nidorino in nearly all his battles – Ronald, and I agreed to take a bit of time away from Leagues for now and just enjoy life, you know? Just see the world and come back stronger."

Red's dark feelings returned with a vengeance, washing over him like a Wailord that used Surf. It was easy for her to say, that she was going to enjoy life and come back stronger. She was powerful and experienced enough to afford that luxury because she had already proven herself and was high up the ladder of success. In contrast, Red was a weakling who had barely stepped onto the first rung before slipping off. He lowered his head.

That tiny movement did not go unmissed by Mint. She walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, her Kingler scurrying after her.

"Are you okay, Red?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Red replied.

He said nothing more, but he did not need to; a down on his luck Trainer in a city that housed a Pokémon Gym told the entire story.

"Brock can be tough for a beginner, especially when that beginner doesn't have a super-effective 'Mon," she said, sitting down on a log and patting the space next to her.

Red obliged and took the spot. "That's what he said," he admitted. "But how good can I be if I can't overturn type advantages? I mean, what if I do capture a Pokémon that's got a type advantage and still lose? And not just once? But again and again and again? What kind of Trainer would I be then? Am I even good enough for the Pokémon I have now?"

Mint flicked him across the forehead, and she scowled at him. "Don't talk like that. Even if you lose ten times in a row, you can still win your eleventh battle. And if you lose that one then you can still go for it a twelfth time. You've got to keep going and never give up. Granted, giving up may be necessary sometimes, but I know you can do it. And anyway, who's ever given up after the first hurdle?" Her smile returned. "You've got Professor Oak in your corner, and, most importantly of all, you've got three friends by your side. And they've got you."

Charmander and Weedle moved nearer to Red, looking at him imploringly, as though saying 'Listen to her. We're going to get through this and make it to the end, just like you said'. Pikachu, on the other hand, climbed on top of Kingler and analysed his cranium crown. Kingler did not seem to mind.

"I guess you're right, Mint," Red whispered. He got off the log, kneeled, and rubbed the tops of Charmander and Weedle's heads (careful to avoid the latter's stinger). "No, I know you're right. I've got these guys. And there are more Pokémon out there just waiting to be part of our team. Right, you two?"

Charmander and Weedle roared and squealed respectively.

"Right, Pikachu?" Red called out to the electric mouse.

Pikachu afforded him half a glance that said 'Yeah, yeah, whatever, I hear you'.

Red stood up, head held high, chest out, posture impeccable. "Just the first hurdle, that's all this is. And who gives up after the first hurdle?" He scoffed. "I've never heard of anyone getting down in the dumps after falling just once. Luckily, I've never done that."

He flashed Mint a cheesy grin and she saluted him in a jokey fashion. Charmander pumped his arm into the air, and Weedle would have done the same if she had arms. Pikachu spotted a flock of Pidgey soaring above and became engrossed by them instead.

But as the roaring fire of passion consumed him once more, what also arrived was common sense. To beat Brock, he and his team needed to become stronger. To become stronger, they needed to train. And he could do that by himself, which was the norm. But he had a veteran sitting on a log in front of him. Maybe, just maybe…

"Hey, Mint," Red said, looking everywhere accept at her face.

"Yeah? What's up?"

"I need to ask you something, and I don't know how to start." He chewed his bottom lip.

Mint leapt to her feet and held out her hands. "Sorry, dude. I think you're awesome, but we just met. Literally just now. And I kind of have a crush on the Celadon Gym Leader so…"

Red furrowed his brows. "What are you talking about? I wanted to ask if you would, well, if you would help me train for my rematch."

"What?"

"My rematch," Red repeated. "I would like it if you'd help me train for it. If you've got the time, that is."

Mint's mouth formed a comical o-shape. She recovered, cleared her throat, and said, "I'd be more than happy to help, Red."

Red smiled the biggest smile (x2) he had ever smiled (x3) in his own history of smiling (x4), which incidentally contained a lot of smiles (x5 COMBO). "That's awesome!" he exclaimed, hopping from one foot to the other and proceeding to trip backwards over the log; Pikachu facepalmed while Charmander and Weedle watched on in concern. Mint, meanwhile, burst out laughing.

"Don't injure yourself even more," Mint said, noting his bandaged arm.

Weedle bowed its head in shame.

"So, when do we get started?" Red asked, popping his head from out behind the log.

"We can do some light training for the rest of today," Mint said. "Then tomorrow we'll work on some new Moves or something." Her eyes twinkled in the direction of Red's Pokémon. "I'm sure they can learn some simple techniques that can help against Brock."

And with that, Red and his new master, Mint, started the training they hoped would lead him to victory against the Pewter City Gym Leader, Brock.

o~o~o~o~o

Blue scoffed as the people in black returned their defeated Pokémon to their Poké Balls. "You're so weak," he said. "I told you to just let me through so I could get to Cerulean, but you just had to be a bunch of losers and get in my way."

Squirtle nodded in agreement. Even he was shocked his Water Gun one-shot so many of their Pokémon.

"Don't you dare insult Team Rocket, kid," one of them snarled. "We other have members who are way more powerful than –"

"Blah, blah, blah," Blue said, opening and closing his hand like a flapping mouth. "I'm going now. Have fun doing what you're doing. Smell ya later."

However, before Blue could take another step, another person stepped out from the shadows, dressed like the ones he already defeated, in full black with a red 'R' upon his chest.

"You're not going anywhere," he growled, tossing a Poké Ball. From it appeared a purple quadruped Pokémon with large ears that were teal within, red eyes, and sizeable front teeth. It had a horn in the middle of its forehead and its body was covered sporadically with spikes.

"A Nidoran , huh?" Blue said airily. "Already got one myself. You up for another romp, Squirtle?" he asked his Starter.

Squirtle grinned.

"Use Horn Attack!" the Rocket Grunt shouted.

Nidoran charged at Squirtle, his horn glistening in the torch lights that lit the innards of Mt. Moon.

"Withdraw," Blue commanded.

As the name of the Move would suggest, Squirtle retreated within its shell and took the impact of the Horn Attack dead on. Bells seemed to ring through the Poison-type's head, and he staggered backwards.

"Use Bubble," Blue said.

From Squirtle's mouth came a bunch of bubbles, so delicate, so harmless in appearance, but being anything but. They slammed into Nidoran and exploded upon impact, sending him reeling. A single Bite was enough to finish it off.

Blue rolled his eyes. "That was so lame. Come on, Squirtle, let's leave these losers to play in the dirt, where they belong. Now, smell ya later, guys! Enjoy your stone collecting or whatever garbage you're doing."

When Blue was out of sight and earshot, the Team Rocket members whispered to each other.

"What do we do?" one said. "We got showed up by a kid."

"The boss is going to tear us a new one," said another.

"I hate that brat," a third mumbled.

The Nidoran 's Trainer hushed them. "What we're going to do is carry on with business as usual," he said. "The brat beat us, but he's gone now, and I don't think he'll be back. There are no coppers around, and we can still collect all the Fossils. We don't even have to tell the boss or even any of the execs what happened. Let's just get back to work. Spread the word around Mt. Moon."

Word was indeed spread. But what was also spread was the general agreement that Team Rocket's Fossil Excavation Squad did not want to deal with any more children ruining their plans. They were fortunate that this one did not go out of his way to battle all of them, or even care about them at all. They also came to the conclusion that losing to children was embarrassing and a folly that must never occur again, that their focus must be in their leader's great plan.

First the Fossils, and then Mt. Moon would be Team Rocket's newest base.

It was all for Team Rocket.