Jak had woken up early that morning. He knew the group wouldn't get up until at least eight o'clock. Excluding Blue who had left the night before, who was being followed by agents sent from the high ranks of Team Rocket.
After reading Archer's messages on the progress of the team and how things are going in Cerulean City from his sister, Proton and Petrel arrived.
"So? Some news?" He asked putting down the phone.
Proton shook his head. "The couple is proceeding quite calmly. Nothing really important to report."
"But thanks to me we were able to find out that they intend to go to Celadon City for the next badge, and then Saffron City." Petrel continued.
Jak sighed worriedly.
"Something wrong?" Proton asked.
"Giovanni contacted Archer last night. We will soon begin the Master operation, and after Janine, Raziel also intends to go to Saffron City. " He explained.
Proton and Petrel looked at each other "What do you mean by soon?" Proton asked.
"I don't know… but Giovanni has been keeping the Gym closed for weeks, and obviously he has no one to be his replacement Gym Leader. The League could get suspicious, so he intends to start the operation in a week at the latest. Despite the setbacks and problems, the high ranks believe the operation is feasible and that we have enough men to keep the league at bay long enough. My fear is the intrusion of Raziel or the others... "Jak explained, biting his lip.
"The two lovers will have already beat both Erika and Cosmo before we make our move, and Raziel, even if he were to be there, what could he possibly do alone? The boss, at least two of the four admins and the boss's bodyguards will be there. What could he do against all the others?" Petrel asked.
Jak nodded, it made sense. Maybe he had panicked over that fight in Cerulean City and watching the boy's team grow bigger than he expected.
"Very good. You get ready then. If the two actually defeat Cosmo and get their badge before we begin the operation, it is likely that the boss can give you other tasks for the mission. And try not to mess it up." He said. Not that he needed to. Proton and Petrel were among the most promising members. It was no coincidence that Giovanni had entrusted them to him.
Still, the young General felt worried.
-x-
Blue arrived at Cinnabar Island that morning, he had left last night. Just before that, he had stopped to catch a couple of Pokémon he was looking for in the Safari Zone.
He stretched on his way to the new science facility on Cinnabar Island. After what the media had described as 'a hybrid created by then Dr. Fuji' destroyed the old facility, now known as Pokémon Mansion, a second structure had been built. Not that it was so surprising, Cinnabar Island was practically considered the science capital of Asia, with one of the most prestigious academies in all of Kanto that had given birth to scientists such as Oak, Elm and Blaine.
The structure that Blue was now looking at was free for anyone to visit, but the reason he was there was for one thing in particular.
The boy took his backpack and pulled out the Old Amber that he had kept almost since he had started his journey. Then he entered the complex asking for directions to the lobby where he could find the fossil laboratory.
After walking down the corridors, he eventually made it to the laboratory he was interested in. He knocked, and a researcher opened the door and smiled when he saw the young man, inviting him to enter.
"Here to resurrect a fossil I guess." Asked the scientist.
Blue nodded, evidently it was not uncommon for trainers to come for that purpose. Entering the laboratory he saw various scientists studying some fossils and bones of ancient Pokémon, while machinery and scanners examined them. On the walls various diagrams and studies on how it would be possible to reintroduce them in the wild and representations of how the prehistoric Pokémon were originally, among which he noticed one depicting a Mega Aerodactyl, the form that the Aerodactyl had before becoming extinct.
"So, which specimen did you bring to us?" The researcher asked curiously.
Blue rummaged through his backpack again, and took the Old Amber "An Aerodactyl, or at least, that's what they told me in Pewter City."
The man took the amber carefully and examined it against the light "Yes, I see. Perfect. Real thanks boy for your contribution."
"Contribution?" He asked.
The man nodded "Well sure, we are interested in the prehistoric Pokémon being resurrected, regardless of whether the trainer wants to donate them or to keep them for himself. So that these species can be known live even today." He explained with a sincere smile.
"How long will that take?" He asked.
The man walked over to a computer, starting to type in information, while looking at the amber and putting it in a scanner to confirm the status of the DNA inside it. "It seems that the conservation is very good, so I would say that the specimen should be completely resurrected by tonight."
Blue nodded, he was afraid he would have to wait longer, if that was the case, then he could train for the rest of the day and get ready for the Gym, as he was well aware of having to find a key card to access it. On the other hand, the Cinnabar IGym was known to be the only one whose challenge began before even entering it, at least among those of the Kanto League.
"Okay, then I'll return by tonight to pick it up." He said.
"If possible though. We would need the help of a trainer to be able to study how Aerodactyl were in the past." The researcher explained.
"What does that mean?" Asked the trainer.
"You see, it's not every day that someone resurrects Pokémon, especially an Aerodactyl, and I was wondering if it was possible to help us with our studies, assuming you have a Keystone."
Blue thought about it, then took the drop-shaped pendant around his neck in his hand and turned it over, looking at the keystone set there. A souvenir from when he went to study in Kalos some time ago "But I need an Aerodactylite." He said.
The scientist nodded, smiling "Don't worry, we have an Aerodactylite that we used for our studies. And if you helps us, well, we could give it over as a token of thanks."
Blue then smiled at such a prospect. Although it meant he had to face Blaine ahead of schedule and without Aerodactyl, what he would get for the League, it was absolutely worth it.
-x-
I spent the late morning training a bit, and then headed to the Fuchsia City Zoo as soon as I received July's message. I found her looking at what appeared to be the reproduction of a prehistoric habitat that one could look at from above, with Omanyte, Omastar, Kabuto and Kabutops, with a dedication to the scientists of Cinnabar Island for giving them access to some specimens.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
July turned smiling at me when she saw me "You have arrived! I looked around the zoo for a while, also to see if there might be Pokémon that might interest me."
"And?" I asked curiously.
"Well, among the most interesting there was the habitat of the Kangaskhan, the Chansey, but what caught my eyes the most was Lapras, seeing the only one they have. It made me sad to see him hurt, but he... convinced me to get one." She concluded with a smile. "The problem is... being able to find one... they are so rare..." she said sadly.
I looked at her and decided to help her "You know... my father has opened a Lapras adoption center at Silph, I can call him and tell him that-" I was interrupted by the strong hug the girl gave me, which I returned embarrassed.
"Thank you! I appreciate it very much." She said smiling at me.
I didn't know how to answer exactly, then it was she who continued talking.
"Shall we go to the gym?" She asked after seeing the time.
I nodded "Y-yes, until we get there, it's almost time for the next group of trainers to come in." I said.
After a few minutes we arrived in front of the Gym, and as soon as the challengers left we entered. The Fuchsia Gym was very simple... the huge wooden structure faithfully reproduced a villa of the feudal Kanto, there was no furniture, nor anything else except two stone statues of Ariados at the entrance, windows and the symbol of the Soul Badge on some walls. But what caught our attention most was that all the trainers looked like Janine.
"I had read it in a magazine... unlike her father, Janine not only uses the invisible maze of the original Gym, but makes the trainees look like her on purpose to further disorient the challengers, who have to find her and defeat her in an hour. " She explained her.
It made sense. The Gym allowed trainers to enter only at the beginning of each hour, so that the Gym challenge would not be "unmasked" by any challengers who had entered before "Then we have only one obstacle to overcome..." I replied.
"What you mean with 'only one'?" She asked.
I smiled, then snapped my fingers. Gengar emerged from my shadow "Gengar, do you mind?" I asked.
The Ghost smiled, a broader smile than usual, and his body dissolved into a purple smoke that didn't rise beyond our feet to keep us from breathing it. Unable to pass through the glass walls that made up the labyrinth, the smoke perfectly showed the plan of the area around us.
"As I said, only one." I said smiling at July.
"You are brilliant!" She replied excitedly, commented that it embarrassed me a lot… then I heard Gengar's laughter coming from the Gengarite rolling next to me manipulated by Gengar's gas.
Being able to see precisely the position of the many invisible walls, it was easy to make our way through the maze, and we arrived at the first Janine… hoping it was her.
The alleged girl looked at us both. "Well, a couple of challengers. Are you really sure you want to challenge me specifically?" She asked. July and I looked at each other and nodded. In the worst case scenario, we would have gotten rid of one of the fake Janine and at least one of us would have trained.
"Yes, we are sure." The girl answered. Then the alleged Janine took from her pocket a small remote control from which she pressed a button making us go up to the upper floor of the gym with a sort of small elevator, which looked more like a freight elevator, making us arrive at an arena, so as to allow us to fight without worrying. of the labyrinth below.
"Unfortunately for you the answer is wrong." She replied, while a jelly-like mass peeled off from her body that completely covered her, revealing to be a Ditto, while a Camper was now in the place of the Gym Leader, while he removed a metal mask from his mouth that was used to emulate Janine's voice "Badges?" He asked.
We both showed one of our hands with four fingers raised, then July nodded towards me and advanced "I want to face you." She said, and the boy nodded by sending a Venonat, to which July replied with Dratini.
I understood the reason, the girl was willing to improve the relationship with the Dragon, and despite the fear of the latter, the reptile managed to get the better of Venonat with extreme ease, and to victory, she saw her Pokémon stretch, while the crest on the sides of the head changed becoming more like wings and developed crystal-like spheres on the neck and tail, becoming a Dragonair.
July screamed for joy and walked over to the Pokémon, which she trembled to see the girl approach her, but she held out her hand, but the Pokémon didn't seem to want to get closer. She sighed, but smiled at the Dragon Pokémon and then pulled him back into the Ball.
"My congratulations, trainer, for the victory and the evolution." The trainee said, apparently without quite understanding that there was tension between the two.
"Yeah..." the girl replied sadly.
Back downstairs, we continued our search for the real Janine with the help of Gengar, although we ran into two other trainees that we managed to defeat. Until we got to the fourth Janine, that is, penultimate trainer of the gym. We now had a fifty percent chance.
Once we reached the arena floor for the umpteenth time, the trainer looked at us with interest "Well... my congratulations." She said smiling, "Janine of Fuchsia Gym—that's me!" She said proudly "I'm a ninja Pokémon Trainer and master of all things poison!"
July and I smiled having managed to find her.
The girl then looked at the watch "My compliments, you managed to reach me quickly, thanks to your effort in finding me. So, what is your name and how many badges do you have?" She asked.
"July, and this is Raziel. Four badges each." She explained.
The girl nodded and then went to a small laptop in a corner of the arena. She sat down on the ground starting to tinker with it a bit and place some Balls on a platform next to them to change them. Once that was done she stood up. "So, four against four. Who starts?" She asked.
July took a deep breath and looked at me "Do you mind if I go first?" She asked me.
I smiled. "No, not at all. On the contrary." I said deploying Cubone who stood next to me "Being able to see other fights to learn can be useful." I explained. Then July went to her position in the arena. I knew Janine was going to be a different Gym Leader than the others. Every Gym Leader in Kanto had a very specific ace, including the Viridian Gym Leader had the ace known… only that though. But Janine was different, as her ace was an Ariados, a Pokémon banned for Gym Leaders not being a species that lives in the region, Janine's team could vary significantly from one fight to another, she could even use completely different Pokémon against each me and against July given the great variety of Poison that exist in Kanto. But I was hoping that July would give the best of her and that she would come out victorious.
July nodded, then Janine deployed her Arbok, while the girl sent Dragonair.
"I know you can do it I trust you." She told to the Dragon, still hesitant and fearful.
-x-
Dragonair looked at the cobra in front of him. He feared what would happen if he didn't win. He looked at the trainer, and despite her attitudes he didn't know what to expect. He remembered how those humans had treated him and certainly could not ignore it now.
"I-I can't fail…" He said in a whisper.
"Go with Slam!" July screamed, and her Dragonair struck immediately, using his tail like a whip. Arbok lunged with a Bite, followed by a Poison Sting. The two attacks hit the dragon, but he completely ignored the damage. He could not be distracted, then, as soon as he received the order, he responded with a Dragon Rage and a second Slam.
Arbok launched a Glare, as soon as the cobra looked at the opponent with a menacing gaze, reinforcing the effect with the peculiar pattern on the belly, literally making Dragonair paralyzed by fear. Taking advantage of the status condition, Arbok repeatedly hit with Bite.
Dragonair looked at his trainer. She seemed worried 'I-I can't ... fail.' He thought again. then slipped out of his own skin, which had stiffened with fear, so he could nimbly strike with Dragon Rage and, despite being wounded, put an end to the fight.
Janine nodded, then deployed Venomoth. Dragonair, however, was frightened by the idea of a new opponent. He had never faced more than one before. Did his trainer expect him to beat every oppenent? And if he didn't succeed… he was too tired from the previous fight and afraid of the consequences of defeat.
Then the Poison-Type threw a Psybeam, the Dragon tried to dodge it to hit with Dragon Rage, but he felt the fatigue and before he could attack again, a second Psybeam hit him and Dragonair collapsed, defeated.
"You've been very good."
These were the last words he heard, to his surprise, before he was called back.
-x-
July then sent out Arcanine, which evolved from her Growlithe in the morning.
"Come on, insect! Show me what you can do!" He screamed proudly.
"Insect?" He found Venomoth asking.
Then the Legend Pokémon threw an Ember. Venomoth took it, although he ended up with a burn in the abdomen, and threw some Poison Powder. The moth then dodged a second Ember, throwing a Psybeam, but Arcanine took advantage of it and hit with a pair of Embers that together with the burn caused Venomoth to collapse.
"That's right... insect." He finally said.
Janine sent Koffing. The Pokémon struck with Mud, causing damage to Arcanine, who responded with Ember. Koffing was hit but seemed to suffer no particular damage, and then hurled a Smokescreen. The black cloud enveloped the field.
"W-what?!" He said, surprised. Then he coughed, hearing the laughter of his enemy.
Arcanine attacked almost blindly, while Koffing evidently could see perfectly well. Weakened by the poison, Arcanine collapsed.
-x-
Clefable entered the field. Her first official fight since she had evolved, and she was looking forward to putting herself to the test. She used a Metronome, which allowed her to throw a Thunderbolt. The attack had little effect on Koffing, who responded with Sludge. Clefable jumped, dodging it and hitting the opponent with a Mega Punch, launching him away. Koffing didn't flinch and responded with a Smokescreen, which caused the pink Pokémon to curse.
Clefable's subsequent attacks failed, and only two, a Thunder Wave and a Bubble Beam, hit Koffing. Then, finally, a Thunder struck Koffing, more by luck than by skill. It seemed that the situation was reversing when a Sludge hit Clefable. The attack caused severe damage to the Pokémon, which collapsed, to July's surprise.
-x-
'But why?' The girl wondered. It wasn't the first time Clefable had taken damage beyond what she expected. Yet the Normal-type was only supposed to be weak to the Fighting-type.
She then chased that thought away by deploying Venusaur, who knocked down the already debilitated opponent with a single Mega Drain. At that point Janine deployed Tentacruel by activating the Gym pool.
-x-
"This is a blast from the past." Venusaur commented recalling his fight in Cerulean.
The big squid instead attacked with an Acid, hitting Venusaur.
"But it's no time to remember our first experiences." She said to herself and then replied with a Mega Drain, but it was a mistake, the Pokémon backed away visibly coughing and feeling as if she had absorbed something harmful to her and her plant, since she didn't feel any better at all, but on the contrary. Even her trainer seemed surprised.
"Liquid Ooze, miss." Answered the squid "If you were hoping to be able to absorb my vital fluids, well, know that in my body not only those are flowing." Explained to then dive.
Venusaur and July cursed in unison, then the girl ordered Venusaur to use Razor Leaf. Although severely weakened, the Pokémon struck, only to collect a Scald and end the battle with a second Razor Leaf with which she was able to inflict critical damage to the cephalopod.
-x-
Both trainers recalled their Pokémon, while the Gym Leader sighed, but she smiled "Well, a respectable fight I must say, my congratulations." Then she looked in my direction "Are you ready?" She asked as she set about healing her Pokémon and apparently changing some Balls.
"Y-yes…" I answered, unsure. "However, I only have three Pokémon."
"Don't expect me to do the same." She said, chuckling.
"N-no! Of course not, it wouldn't be a real victory, it was just..."
"Relax, I was just kidding. Ready?" She asked, and I nodded and then deployed my first Pokémon.
-x-
Marowak entered the field, standing proudly and awaiting his first opponent. The Ghost-type knew why he had been sent out first: he was to test himself against the Gym Leader, and going first meant he required the least synergy with his new teammates. That and, of course, the young Cubone could use some inspiration.
As an elder, it was his job to pave the way for the young generation.
The Golbat entered the field, and Marowak bowed respectfully.
"You are… Pretty tall." The Golbat commented, "Your mom was a Kangaskhan or…"
"I'm afraid not. I'm just… particularly tall." Marowak replied.
Then the battle begun. Marowak dashed forward with Shadow Bone, closing in fast and bashing the Golbat with his bone, lighting it up into flames as he did by scratching it against his bone helmet. Golbat screeched, then opened his mouth and released a rain of Toxic. Marowak quickly maneuvered his bone into spinning, using Flame Wheel to burn the poisonous liquid and keeping low to avoid the fumes it produced, before keeping up the momentum and slamming Flame Wheel in the opponent's back.
Golbat staggered, trying to keep afloat before he whipped around with an Aerial Ace, to which Marowak answered with Shadow Bone. Both attacks hit, but of the two it was clear who was in a worst situation. Golbat twirled in mid-air and turned around, flying low, only to be hit with a final Flame Wheel and crashing to the ground near Marowak's feet.
"Good m-" Marowak started, before he frowned, "Quite cunning of you."
"I aim to impress…" Golbat muttered. The Pokémon, on the ground, had used Toxic, releasing the poison in a pool that had hit Marowak's feet and was quickly spreading through his body. The Fire-Type gritted his teeth and slammed the Shadow Bone down.
-x-
I observed Marowak for a moment, now that he was poisoned. However, the Pokémon gave me a thumbs up, and I nodded. If he felt like he could still going, I would trust his judgment. The follow up Pokémon was an Arbok.
The Poison-type hissed, but the sound that came out was loud and screechy. The Screech made Marowak stumble slightly, and using that opening Arbok bit down. The Bite proved oddly effective on the Ghost-type, but not as much as the counter I had prepared. "Make him pay back the damage!" I shouted, and Marowak nodded, hitting with the burning bone.
The Shadow Bone impacted Arbok's body, the Poison-type hissing in pain as the ghost fire burnt leaving a peculiar feeling on the body. It wasn't like normal burns, but it would have made him more susceptible to physical damages.
Arbok didn't back down though, biting again, before Shadow Bone hit and, unable to hold any longer, the Poison-type fell.
Marowak bowed, and promptly collapsed, the poison and the bites having taken their toll. I called him back, and Cubone, who had been standing next to me, walked on the field.
-x-
Cubone grasped her bone as a Nidorino entered the field. The Poison-Type stared at her. "Eh, guess I don't get the same challenge, uh?"
"Excuse me?"
"I mean, you are not that strong, right?"
Cubone in response tossed her bone. The Bonemerang hit Nidorino square in the face, took a long arch around her, and then slammed him in the face again. "Ouch! Shit!"
"Sorry, I thought I wasn't that strong." Cubone replied. Before pausing. "O-Oh, I'm not sure what came over me."
"I guess you are just trying to make a good impression?" Nidorino replied, "I get that, new teammate and all that…"
"Does that mean you are not angry about the Bonemerang?"
"Oh, I'm furious." Nidorino replied, charging forward and hitting her with Horn Attack. Cubone yelped as she ended up rolling on the ground, before stepping back up. She blocked the following Horn Attack with a Bone Club, the two attacks impacting against each other, and then they start to do what could be generously called fencing, Nidorino using Fury Attack while Cubone parried or responded with Bone Club. Her attacks did more damage, but Nidorino's were just more.
At one point, she felt a weird hit, but she shrugged it off and kept going, even as she felt more and more tired. A final Bone Club hit Nidorino in the face, and he collapsed. "Eh, I guess I was wrong. You were quite tough, missy…" He murmured, before collapsing.
Cubone panted, smiling at the compliment. Then she felt the poison that had been coursing through her body since a Poison Sting hit her, hidden among the Fury Attacks. She had a moment to realize all that, and then she collapsed.
-x-
Gengar entered the field, and facing him was a Weezing. The enemy Poison-type breathed out noxious gas that made even Gengar, half Poison himself, cough at the smell. "Ugh, wash your teeth, will you?"
"Can't. Don't have hands."
"I feel you man, as a Gastly I went through that." Gengar replied, "Well, that and my teeth aren't really teeth."
"Ghosts are weird."
"Says the floating gas container."
Weezing chuckled, more noxious gas leaving their mouths. Except this one was a SmokeScreen, the dark gas enveloping the field. Gengar launched a Thunderbolt, and it struck something, but he couldn't tell if it was Weezing or just a wall. He looked around, and used Double Team. As Raziel had told him, if in doubt, let the copies take the blow.
That proved quite useful when a Fire Blast exploded out of the smoke and obliterated one of said copies. Gengar didn't lose a beat, charging toward the source of the attack to find the Weezing burping a few sparks from his main mouth, and didn't miss his chance, emerging from the shadow and using Hypnosis… only for Weezing to turn out to have his eyes closed.
"Wha…" He glanced to the other face, the one that had stayed silent so far, and that was looking at him, smiling, "Oh you son of a…"
The Fire Blast hit him straight in the face, sending him rolling back. He didn't leave without using Thunderbolt, hitting the other face, but he then ended up back in the smoke. "Alright, Hypnosis will be harder than expected." Gengar decided. His fault for thinking only the big head was worth keeping an eye on."
He used Double Team again, and then waited again. A Fire Blast hit one of the copies, and now he didn't rush, instead sending all of his copies in from the sides, while he snuck in from the shadows. One was destroyed by Fire Blast, but Gengar this time could see which head was watching.
He popped out, and used Hypnosis. His smile was the last thing Weezing saw, before DreamEater started doing its job.
Not long after, the fight was over.
-x-
Janine called Weezing back, and then smiled, "Well, my congratulations to you both. Now I understand why Dad was sorry to take the Elite Four's place. He will no longer be able to face so many interesting trainers. Anyway." She said as she approached us handing both the Soul Badge and a TM with 'Toxic' written on it. "The Fuchsia Gym handed down the Toxic move through manuscripts for learning to Pokémon before Silph even invented TMs. It is a particularly important technique for my family." She explained.
"Thank you so much." Replied July.
"I expect to see you both at the League, I greatly appreciated how you trained Venusaur and Gengar, believe me, I grew up with the Poison Pokémon." She said proudly.
"Oh, you can count on seeing us in the League." I answered looking at July and Gengar, the latter giggled.
Then we left from a secondary freight elevator indicated by Janine that led directly to the entrance of the structure.
"Five out of eight. It seems incredible to me." July commented "But I fear that now we have to divide." She said sadly.
"Listen... if you want, I can accompany you to the docks." I replied.
Her eyes lit up "I'd love to."
Having time before the next boat, we went to heal our Pokémon at the Pokémon Center and then head to Route 19.
"So... I assume we will see each other directly in the League." I said.
"I think so, but I hope to see you sooner anyway."
"Thanks for... the Cycling Road." I replied embarrassed.
She gave me a playful punch on the shoulder. "Don't thank me for so little. And… good luck for the next Gyms."
I nodded "You too." I said, and after saying goodbye I started to leave, but she jumped at me to hold me tight, leaving me completely speechless with surprise.
When she broke away she looked at me embarrassed "I... it seemed bad to leave us without this..."
I nodded without knowing what to say and she got on the boat, from where she waved her hand, a gesture that I reciprocated, and when I no longer saw her she felt a little sad and looked at Gengar "Well ... since the Cycling Road is out of the question for me… we have to take the long way. At least we would have time to train. "
Gengar made a sound of appreciation, he seemed happier with me during these last few days.
