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 Twenty-One: An Interesting Proposition
"Whoa, they're really expensive, aren't they, Leaf?"
"Totally. You're better off catching a Tauros or something to get around faster."
Red puffed out his cheeks and peered through the shop window again. Those bicycles were so sleek, so powerful. How he would love one! But at those prices that caused him to do a double-take when he first laid eyes on them? No chance!
"You're right," he said. "I'd even be better off catching a Rhyhorn. A Rhyhorn would be cool to ride around on."
"Well, there's no point in window shopping," Leaf said, tugging his hand. "Let's go find something else to do."
"Okay," Red said, allowing himself to be led away, giving Miracle Cycle a last look.
There were indeed a number of places to go to in Cerulean. Apart from Miracle Cycle, there was an outdoor cinema, a bunch of cafés and ice cream stores, an area that housed holiday caravans, a massive park that contained a field where Pokémon battling was taking place, and the Cerulean Gym.
"I know what you're thinking," Leaf said when Red stopped in front of the building, his body shivering with anticipation, "but let's have a bit of fun first. You can come back later."
Reluctantly, Red heeded her words and they went off to partake in other activities instead.
They laughed their socks off at the short comedy film that was showing at the outdoor cinema; they had interesting conversations with the visitors who were staying in the holiday caravans, with one of them being from the neighbouring region of Johto; and they visited the park, watching the Trainers and their Pokémon having a blast battling.
"Do you want to get some ice cream after this?" Leaf asked, watching as a Spearow made light work of an Oddish.
"Yeah, that sounds good," Red said, suffering from second-hand embarrassment as the Oddish's Trainer sent a Magikarp out onto the field, who promptly flopped about, powerless. The Trainer returned it straight away and surrendered the battle.
Their eyes wandered over to another battle that was taking place, enjoying the free entertainment, although Red would gladly admit he would rather take part in one himself. But he did not want to disrupt the peaceful situation he, Leaf, and their Pokémon were in. All their Pokémon were out of their Poké Balls, enjoying the rejuvenating sun and the refreshing wind. Charmander and Bulbasaur were sunbathing next to each other; Beedrill and Butterfree were exploring the nearby plants together; Jigglypuff was singing quietly to itself; Spearow was perched in a tree, snoozing away; and the strange Pokémon known as Baltoy that should not have been anywhere near Kanto was half buried in the ground, rotating slowly.
Oh yes, there was also Pikachu and Eevee, wasn't there? Eevee was trying to get Pikachu's attention, trying to start a conversation with him. Pikachu, meanwhile, was simply surveying the battles going on, using his Tail Whip to keep Eevee at arm's length every so often. A human's arm length, that is. A Pikachu's arm length would not nearly be as far.
Red laid on the grass and gazed at the clouds racing each other overhead. This was nice. Just him, Leaf, and their Pokémon. It was almost perfect. Almost.
People change. They can change for the better or they can change for the worse. Change is inevitable. And Blue went through one. It was strange. Red had barely given Blue any thought at all, what with the Gym Battles against Brock, his training with Mint, and Team Rocket. Maybe it was because he finally had time to breathe, to relax.
Oh, what might have been? They would not have travelled together, that was for sure, but would they have met up and enjoyed a day of peace like he and Leaf were doing? Would they have taken on Team Rocket together?
Leaf laid down next to Red, their shoulders touching.
You know what? It was fine. He and Leaf may not have been chums with Blue anymore, but there were still so many more people and Pokémon to meet and befriend.
Still, he could not help but wonder what Blue was doing now.
o~o~o~o~o
Blue stood out upon the cliff known as Cerulean Cape, the waves crashing against its base, white foam flying everywhere. The sunlight glistened over the ocean, creating a blanket of jewels, and the wind blessed his nose with the salty air that was fresh and powerful. In the distance, marine Pokémon swam, submerging and then breaking through the surface, living blissfully in their watery world, too far away to be captured.
It was time to be going soon. He had been here long enough and had gathered as much information as he could. It would be pivotal for the rest of his journey.
He took out his Town Map and analysed it. Saffron City would be next.
Or, Saffron City should have been next. In his rucksack, back in Sea Cottage, was a ticket, an item he was not going to waste. It was Vermillion City that called out to him, louder than Saffron. And it would not be too bad; Vermillion had a Gym too after all.
Blue smirked. It did not matter in what order he collected the Badges; they were all going to be his sooner or later.
He was an Oak after all.
Success was inevitable.
o~o~o~o~o
"How do you do, children?"
Red was jerked out of his half-dazed state and sat bolt right up. Leaf did the same. They rubbed their eyes and there, standing before them, was a man. A quite smartly dressed one too, almost as if he was going to compete in a dressage competition, wearing black boots and trousers, a white shirt, a tie, and a red tailcoat. The children eyed him uneasily.
"I see you're a bit apprehensive," he said. "That's understandable. Allow me to introduce myself." He bowed to them. "My name is Evan."
Red looked to Leaf, hoping for her to say something. She did. "Hi," she said, slowly, gauging him. "Sorry, but who are you exactly? Evan who? Why are you talking to us?"
Eevee trotted forward and sniffed Evan's boots. He smiled at the fox-like Pokémon.
"Well, as I said, my name is Evan, and I am a Move Tutor." He bowed again. "I am travelling the world, seeking to share and develop old and new techniques for Pokémon to learn. There are many Move Tutors all over the world, but I can confidently say that I am one of the best. It's genetic, you see. My grandmother is an absolute pro at teaching moves. She lives at Cape Brink on Two Island in the Sevii Islands if you ever fancy meeting her." He gestured to Charmander and Bulbasaur. "These two may benefit greatly from it."
Red's eyes lit up. A real life Move Tutor! His brain started working overtime as he wondered what other kinds of moves his team could learn. They had already learned so much under Mint's guidance in such a short time. What could they achieve under the tutelage of an actual Move Tutor? He practically salivated at the thought.
Leaf was not as convinced. "Why talk to us, then? If you're a Move Tutor, then why advertise yourself to us and no one else? If you're that great, then why not try and help out the Cerulean Gym Leader instead? Wouldn't that justify your skills? Besides, we can teach moves to our Pokémon ourselves."
"What you say is true, young lady," Evan said. "But remember that I said 'new moves'. You see, there are a lot of techniques I am working on that are based on special traits certain Pokémon have. Coincidentally, you both own a Pokémon that falls into that category."
Evan knelt and ran a hand down Eevee's back, who let out a sigh of contentment. Leaf's chest lightened at Eevee's reaction.
"Eevee is one of these Pokémon," Evan continued. "Pikachu is the other."
Pikachu looked up at him as if to say 'Who? Me?'.
Evan straightened up. "You see, Eevee has a lot of potential evolutions, right? That means it has the potential of all of them ingrained into its very DNA. What if we could bring that power out in its base form? I'm not talking about using Hydro Pump or Flare Blitz. What if your Eevee, young lady, was capable of using entirely new elemental techniques? What would you say to that?"
"I'd say that sounds like a load of bologna," Leaf said. "But it makes some sense, so I am intrigued. How does Pikachu come into this, then?"
"Ah, you see, Pikachu is a Pokémon that can learn Surf and Fly. Have you ever heard of a Pikachu learning those? No, of course not, it's very rare. But they can. And like Eevee, Pikachu has the potential to learn entirely new moves with those same types. Although, I haven't actually worked out the kinks with those techniques just yet, but I do have another move that is perfected."
"Whoa," Red gushed. Totally new moves! Sign him up!
But Leaf was still a hard sell. "And you're telling us this because…"
"Because I wish to share these techniques with you two. As simple as that."
Silence descended upon them, only broken by the cries of Pokémon and the commands of their Trainers.
"Why?" Leaf asked suspiciously.
"Because it is my duty as a Move Tutor to share my creations with other Trainers," Evan responded. "But my other reason is not as altruistic. Yes, I am – without tooting my own horn – an exceptional Move Tutor, and can teach Pokémon moves they may struggle to learn otherwise, but I want to make my name blow up as someone who can create moves from scratch and be lauded as the best beyond any reasonable doubt."
Evan grinned. "Let's help each other."
Red looked to Leaf, his desire eking out of him like the heat from Charmander's flame. Leaf ignored him, her sight set on Eevee instead. It was remarkable, almost too good to be true, for Eevee to be handed a plethora of moves to learn, far more varieties than a normal Normal-type would be able to learn.
But… was he truly who he said he was? What if he was a member of Team Rocket? What if he was a member of another criminal syndicate? What if he was just a cruel, sneaky person who only desired to capture their Pokémon for his own?
Those were all valid reasons to distrust him. They could not be too careful after the horrors they faced at Mt. Moon. Yet, Eevee seemed comfortable with him. Was it not said that Pokémon were good judges of character? Or maybe that was false, but there was no denying that Eevee was responding well to this Evan person.
Leaf smiled to herself. Maybe this man was who he said he was. They could learn a thing or two if he was as willing as he said he was to teach them. Battling still did not appeal to her as much as it did to Red but defending herself and her Pokémon from danger did.
Besides, it was not like she and Red could not take him if he turned out to be malevolent.
"Okay," Leaf said. "You're on. Help our Pokémon learn these unique moves you're going on about."
Evan's grin widened; Eevee hopped about; Pikachu sniffed a random apple it had found; Red hopped about.
"Yay, yay, yay!" Red cheered.
"Excellent choice, young lady," Evan said. "Your Pokémon are going to benefit so much from this."
"I sure hope so," Leaf said.
o~o~o~o~o
Proton's brain snarled at his body, telling it to stop shivering, to remain calm. But how could it? his brain responded. How could anyone remain calm when in the presence of Team Rocket's very own leader, Giovanni?
Giovanni's dark eyes analysed Proton, and Proton had no choice but to avert his gaze every now and then when the heat of Giovanni's stare seared him a bit too much.
Proton prayed for Giovanni to speak, to say something, anything. It was obvious why he was here, so why didn't Giovanni just get it over with? Besides, he could defend himself. The debacle at Mt. Moon was not his fault. It was those kids. Yes, all he had to do was explain everything to Giovanni. Yes, his words would be his saviour…
"Proton."
Proton jumped as Giovanni finally spoke.
"Yes, sir," he said.
Giovanni shook his head. "Proton, Proton, Proton. What was your task at Mt. Moon?"
Proton swallowed. "My task? My task was to check why the Fossil excavation was moving so slowly and to see if the Grunts there could pick up the pace."
"That's exactly right, Proton," Giovanni said. "You know what your task was very well, don't you? A brilliant mind you've got, haven't you? So, pray tell, why is it when I sent you to Mt. Moon to go about your task that the excavation did not pick up? On the contrary, why did the whole thing die? Hmm?
Okay, here it was. Time to explain himself. "Sir, under my guidance we were going to work double time to increase our results with the excavation. However, we ran into an unprecedented problem. Two rodents and their Pokémon infiltrated our setup at Mt. Moon."
"Rodents you say?" Giovanni said sharply. "The police?"
Proton paused. "Well, there was a police officer at first, but he won't be a problem for anyone anymore. The real issue were the two children who brought the whole operation down."
It took a few seconds for Proton to realise how stupid it all sounded. "S-Sir. Sorry, s-sir. Let me clarify –"
"Children?" Giovanni said, his voice icy cold. "Children were the cause of the demise of our operation?"
"W-Well, sir, you s-see –"
"The greatest organisation in the world, who lets nothing stand in our way, stopped by two youths?" Giovanni chuckled, a humourless one which seemed to rob Proton of his very life energy. "Please tell me their Pokémon parties consisted of the likes of Gyarados, Arcanine, and Nidoking. Please tell me they were prodigies capable of bringing the Elite Four to their knees. It would soften the blow."
Proton stared at his boots in shame. "N-No. But they had help. The wild Pokémon –"
"Stop speaking," Giovanni said icily. "You've said enough."
The Team Rocket Boss sighed. "You're a Junior Executive, Proton. You should know better. You've cost us a lot of money. You realise that you must be punished. You made, not only yourself, but the entirety of Team Rocket come across as fools. And I must wonder whether rendering that officer obsolete was truly the best course of action. Surely, that should've been the last resort. Was it the last resort for you? No, you don't need to answer: of course, it wasn't."
"G-Giovanni, s-sir," Proton stammered, but Giovanni silenced him by holding up his hand, keeping him shushed for a few minutes longer.
"I have decided that you will not be involved in any of Team Rocket's major future endeavours. Truth be told, I came to this decision before you walked into my office; I was positive nothing you could say could justify ruining such a big operation for us."
"B-But, s-sir –"
"You will continue in your role as Junior Executive, but it will be at Mt. Snowfall," Giovanni continued. "You will supervise the creation of a new base over there. It might be a bit boring, but you won't be in way over head, will you? Oh, but it's not all bad; on a relatively clear day you can spot Mt. Silver in the distance. I hear it's quite the sight."
"But sir –"
"Or, if you would rather, I can send you to the Orre region," Giovanni said, drowning out Proton's mild protests. "A bit far, but the situation there intrigues me a little, just enough that I suppose I could send you and have you investigate the happenings going on. How does that sound? It would be more exciting than Mt. Snowfall, wouldn't it?"
A fourteen-hour flight? No wild Pokémon to capture? Hardy Trainers who would squash him should he look at them funny? Rumours of their own syndicate running riot? No thanks.
With great reluctance, Proton said, "I will go to Mt. Snowfall, sir. I will ensure that a new Team Rocket base will be successfully created."
"See that you do," Giovanni said. "Or would you like help? Would you like me to promote a few more Junior Executives to ensure our success? Would you care for another Zubat or two to fend off little children?"
"That will not be necessary, sir," Proton replied, the corners of his eyes prickling. "Would you like me to set off now?"
"Please do," Giovanni said. "I'm getting rather jaded with you now."
Proton bowed to his boss and left the office, clenching his fists so tightly he almost dislocated his fingers.
He had failed. He had failed Team Rocket. He had failed Giovanni. His fault or not, he had failed, and all he could do to make up for it was to sort out a base at Mt. Snowfall, an unenviable, mundane task no one would willingly touch with a ten-foot pole, not when there was so much more Team Rocket were going to do.
And worst of all he could not get his revenge on those kids, a hunger destined to remain unsatiated.
But he would come back from this.
No matter how long it would take, he would.
Three months or even three years, he would be back in the saddle.
But for now, his story was over.
