He entered Giovanni's gym calmly. The place, Percy noticed, smelled a bit like fresh dirt and had a hint of smoke. There were two teenagers, a boy, and a girl, inside playing idly with a bouncing tennis ball. The teens looked annoyed when they saw him. Percy raised an eyebrow at them challengingly and continued onwards. He came to the reception area of the building. Inside, there was a professionally dressed woman behind a counter.

"Hello, I am in need of training grounds for about two hours. Are there any rooms available?" Percy asked. The woman looked at him with sharp, cold eyes that instantly dulled when she saw the little turtle. She definitely wasn't very impressed by his starter. Nevertheless, she still checked her monitor. "We do indeed have some training areas available at the moment." The woman said, bored. "Your ID?" She asked.

Percy fumbled with his Pokédex for a second before opening it and starting to say it out loud. "You need to memorize the ID for emergencies." The woman said. Percy nodded and made a mental note for himself. He was terrible at memorizing numbers.

"Here is your key. Happy training." She said before turning to her computer again. Percy took the key and left for the room.

The room was quite bare. Inside was largely empty save for the few targets. It suited Percy's needs just fine.

Fergus went into the middle of the room and began to look around. Percy realized that his starter looked terribly small in the large empty room. He suddenly wished he had caught a Pidgey or something. The water type needed another Pokémon with him.

He shook himself out of his thoughts. They had started traveling just a few hours ago. There was no need to rush while choosing his team.

He took out the Pokédex once again to check on Fergus' moves.

...This Squirtle is Male and knows the moves; Tackle, Tail Whip, Bubble, Withdraw, Aura Sphere, Dragon Pulse, and Water Spout.

Percy pondered and decided to start on the Squirtle's egg moves before everything. "Fergus, try to use Aura Sphere." He called out. "It's fine if you can't. I just need to know where we are at the moment."

Fergus focused deeply for a moment. He gathered his hands together as if to direct something at an invisible target. However, nothing happened. Fergus hissed in frustration and tried again. Nothing.

"Alright, it's fine if you can't use it right now. The Pokédex entry says it's a Fighting-type move too so it would be harder for you to control. Don't beat yourself up about it too much." Percy reassured. Fergus' face clouded with anger for a second before calming down.

"Let's try Dragon Pulse next. I have a video of the move, you can check it out." Percy offered. Fergus nodded in agreement before coming closer. Percy showed him a video of a seahorse-like Pokémon performing the move. The light-blue Pokémon in the video seemed to perform the move with ease. It gathered bright green energy from itself with precise movements. It then powerfully launched it off. The draconic green hit a target in the distance and exploded into pale green energy.

Fergus watched with awe in his eyes. Percy was pretty sure he was the same way. They quickly went to work.

Unfortunately, Fergus didn't have much luck with this one either. He managed to perform the moves motions a little clumsily but nothing really happened again. Fergus frowned and tried, again and again. Every single time his movements got a little bit sharper, a little bit focused.

However, he still couldn't bring the energy out. Fergus gave an angry cry and tried several more times. "Enough." Percy stopped him. Fergus turned his angry brown eyes onto him. "Enough." Percy repeated.

The turtle calmed down again with great difficulty. Percy decided they needed to focus on his basic moves again. There was just Water Sprout left but he needed Squirtle to let go of his anger more.

He pointed at one of the targets. "Use Bubble." He directed. This time, Fergus gleefully unleashed a burst of foam. He pointed to another target. "Again." Fergus was more than happy to do so.

After destroying most of the targets, Percy got another idea. He picked up one of them with a little grunt. Fergus moved to help him but he waved the Pokémon away. He roughly took the target to the middle of the room.

"We are going to train more on your power," Percy announced. "I need you to blast the target as well as you can, again and again," Percy said. "This way, hopefully, you will be able to increase your stamina and power."

This would also help Fergus learn another move, Water Gun. Water Gun was essentially a more powerful and faster Bubble.

Fergus eagerly moved in front of the target and blasted it with force. The target became soaked in under a second. The turtle took a deep breath and did it again, just like his trainer had ordered.

Percy watched his progress carefully. Fergus seemed a bit of a natural in battles. He was quick on his feet, sharp on the move, and powerful for his age. However, he was too eager. He seemed to give a little less thought to staying back and analyzing the battle from a distance, choosing instead to rush headfirst into battles. Percy couldn't blame him much for it, though. He currently had a very limited moveset on him.

Speaking of movesets, Percy thought as he scrolled through the Pokédex, I need to get him to learn more moves and to learn nonverbal communicating. It was a bit too early for new moves, and Fergus seemed like he wanted to train his attacking more rather than to learn something else. Percy also thought they could easily beat gym leader Brock with their type advantage. He was probably training a lot more than he should too.

But he couldn't help it! This new world was new and exciting to him, even the few days he spent seemed better than months at Yancy Academy.

He closed the red device when he heard Squirtle breathe heavily. It seemed the blue Pokémon had lost his breath due to the constant attacks. He called out to his starter, "You can take a break, Fergus." He shouted. Fergus gurgled a bit before plopping down onto the soft ground.

A peaceful moment passed between the Pokémon and the trainer. Percy listened as Fergus got his breath under control and Percy closed his tired eyes. The electrical screen of the Pokédex hurt his eyes after looking at it for too long.

A loud bang interrupted the silent moment. Percy and Fergus whirled onto the source.

It was the two teenagers from before. Only they weren't playing with mere tennis balls this time. No, these two had shiny Pokéballs in their hands now. He watched as the girl from before took a long drag of her cigar and then crushed it under her boots.

Fergus snarled at the two new trainers.

"My, my, what a fierce specimen." The girl said. Her eyes gleamed. "Would be a shame if it was, you know... gone." She smiled wickedly. The boy laughed nastily. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Janette. We haven't even introduced ourselves."

Janette rolled her eyes. "Always the gentleman, aren't ya, Bran?" Janette snapped. Bran's annoying grin widened.

Percy decided he had enough. "Hey! This is a booked area. I still have half an hour left. Go find another room to train." Percy said. He scowled at the two intruders.

They both laughed at his response. The boy began to mimic his words in a baby voice. Janette snickered but regained control soon enough. "Yeah, yeah we will be out of your hair soon enough. Just after we beat the shit out of ya."

She threw the Pokéball in her hand on the ground. Bright scarlet energy flashed before a Pokémon materialized.

The new Pokémon had purple and dull yellow scales. Its eyes were slit yellow and it's body was curled like a noodle. It's sharp fangs glinted with droplets of purple venom. It reminded Percy of a snake.

The purple creature hissed in displeasure as it was released. It eyed Fergus with clear disdain in it's eyes. Nevertheless, it curled itself into a threatening position, a curled predator ready to strike at any given opportunity.

"Ekans, do your thing." Janette commanded lazily. The snake's body tensed up in an attack. It shot at Fergus with a quick smack of its beaded yellow tail. The Ekans flew through the air before roughly grasping onto Percy's Pokémon. It Wrapped around Fergus before Biting the turtle roughly. Thankfully, Fergus jerked right and evaded the snake's poisoned fangs. Instead, the sharp teeth harmlessly glanced off of the Squirtle's shell, leaving only a rough scratch on it.

Janette looked surprised. "Huh, faster than it looks. No matter. Ekans, finish it." She uninterestedly ordered. The Ekans hissed before Biting again. This time it connected. Fergus smacked the snake away, giving a clear view of the wound. Percy wasn't knowledgeable enough to know what it meant. He hoped the Squirtle wasn't Poisoned.

Fergus gave a pained cry as he released a buddle of Bubbles from his mouth. "Use Withdraw!" Percy shouted. He hadn't anticipated the snake's speed. A plan formed in his mind. He hoped they could pull it off.

Fergus quickly curled into his shell again. "Now use Bubble on the ground!" Percy shouted, heart at his throat. Fergus wriggled around for a second before shooting a torrent out of one of his shells holes.

The force sent the shelled Pokémon into the air, making Fergus escape safely from the Ekans' grip. He quickly fired off again without getting out of his shell, launching the flying shell smack-dab into the purple snake's face.

Ekans was pushed off as it got carried by Fergus' power. Fergus landed safely onto the ground with minimal damage and popped out, injured but ready to go another round. The Ekans reared back and then pounced, enraged, before attempting to Wrap around Fergus again.

Unfortunately for it, Fergus was a quick learner. The turtle fired off Bubbles as fast as he could. Fergus Bubbled with all his might and the Ekans was thrown off. The snake was already in the air when Fergus fired, making it fly higher than it should.

The snake landed with a harsh sound. It writhed in agony for a second and Janette watched with slightly disbelieving eyes as it cried out in pain. Ekans got up with trouble, winching as it did so. Percy grasped the opportunity with delight. Janette seemed to get angry every passing second. "Destroy that weak Pokémon, dumbass! I didn't fucking catch you to lose!" She screeched. Her shrill voice grated on Percy's nerves.

"One last Tackle ought to do it!" He cheered, ignoring her. Fergus seemed to be in agreement. The blue turtle ran at the snake with fast steps.

Ekans' eyes snapped open as its prey fell upon its trap. The snake almost seemed to leer in satisfaction as it Bit the water-type roughly. Fergus was too surprised to dodge and yelled in pain as he was bitten on his arm. Nevertheless, he slammed into his enemy, making the attached Ekans let go. Fergus quickly fired off Bubbles one last time but the damage was done. Ekans collapsed, unconscious.

Jennette recalled her Pokémon and stepped back in fear as the turtle snarled again. She regained her confidence quickly though. "Looks like your Squirtle got Poisoned there." Percy's eyes widened and he looked at his starter, panicked. She looked at Bran. "Do something for once in your miserable existence, Bran. It looks like it's barely hanging anyways." She told her partner. Squirtle did indeed seem to get worse with every passing second.

Bran seemed vexed. "Shouldn't have trusted you to do anything, eh, Janette? Whatever. It's my fault anyway. I shouldn't have expected your dumb Pokémon to accomplish anything." Bran grinned maniacally. "Don't you dare let me down you little shit! This is your last chance, Eevee. Go!"

A small brown Pokémon appeared in a flash. Percy felt a wave of horror crash over him as he looked at the creature.

Its dull brown coat was frail and unruly, dirt visible even from the distance. Its paws were uncoordinated, almost jerking with every move. The right ear was obviously cut off at the end, a poor work done to heal the limb before being given up on. Percy hoped it didn't impair the Eevee's hearing abilities. The white on its neck was infested with bugs of every kind. But the worst of it was its gaunt eyes. The eyes were a pitiful brown. A dead, dead color with no hope.

Percy felt a burst of fury explode in him as his vision got tilted with red. He hated seeing any animal in pain and the Pokémon was in a worse state than the injured stray cats he had seen on the streets. Fergus flinched back in horror despite his weakened state. Fergus looked ready to rush in to help the poor canine when Bran's slimy voice prevented him. "Quick Attack it! Get it down at any cost!"

Eevee barely acknowledged its trainer as it zig-zagged with uneven speed boosts. It managed to hit Fergus but Fergus just skidded back a few steps.

Percy hated to be put in a situation like this. He didn't want to alleviate the poor Pokémon's pain more than it had suffered, but he didn't know what to do. He couldn't call for help as he had at Pallet Town. The walls were made with thick, silencing material. He couldn't help the creature with his supplies because it looked like it would injure itself even further to get away from him. He closed his eyes and made the decision to at least save it from further pain.

"Fergus... Use Bubble," Percy said heavily. Fergus seemed to understand as he unleashed a wave of seafoam for the last time. The canine didn't even bother with dodging before going down, knocked out cold.

Bran's calm composure changed in an instant. He screamed in anger. "I used more than a year allowance you fucking useless waste! Can't even attack one weakened Pokémon without..." Bran suddenly calmed. He smiled sinisterly at Percy and Percy felt a cold shiver work its way back down his back. "It's fine. It's fine. It's fine." Bran muttered to himself as even Janette watched him in concern. "You alright dude?" She asked, surprisingly timid.

Bran laughed. "Alright? I am better than ever, Janette!" Bran turned insane eyes onto the Pokéball. "I know what to do with you..." Bran walked off without another word. Janette scampered after him after a frightened glance at Fergus.

Fergus collapsed the second they were out. The turtle croaked weakly as he pointed with the last of his strength. Percy understood and recalled his poisoned Pokémon. His mind was so in turmoil that he completely forgot about the Full Heals. He gathered his thoughts and waited for a second before sneakily following after Bran.

He exited the gym with no trouble, having not seen a hint of the manic boy. His eyes frantically searched the dark night as he hoped to find a glimpse. Percy stumbled around and looked at the seemingly abandoned streets the most. He knew crime lurked the most in places like those.

Just as he was about to give up, a faint but still visible red light came to be at the corner of a street. His heart in his throat, he went.

"...piece of shit thing. No real value. Can't believe I actually bought ya off of that dinky guy. Probably didn't have much value then either." Brain quietly said as the cowering form of the Eevee became visible to Percy's eyes. "At least you are a good stress reliever." He said with a grunt as he raised the big steel crowbar. "Welp, this might be the last thing you might ever see, girl. Take a good look at your demise." Bran kicked the canine for good measure, a trail of blood ran down the hopeless Pokémon's mouth and that's when Percy snapped.

With a roar he didn't even realize he had made, he tackled the teen. The guy let out a shout as he was dragged down. Percy quickly climbed on top of Bran and punched his ugly mug as hard as he could. He barely even felt his knuckles split as he hit him, again and again. He was so furious he could hardly think straight.

Bran cried out like a little baby every time he was hit. He put his hands in front of his face to protect himself but Percy's demigod strength was much more than an average twelve-year-olds. He sharply elbowed the guys stomach and let him wheeze then continued right back to pounding his face in. The guy flailed his legs about and managed to catch Percy on his side. Percy gasped in pain as it brought clarity to him. The guy took advantage and pressed down on him this time. Sharp nails and rough palms beat on Percy's face and ribs with bruising force, alternating between the two places with wild hands. It continued for a painful second before Percy sharply returned to himself.

He roughly grappled the guy around until he instinctively found the best position. He smashed Bran's nose in response. A sharp crack echoed in the dirty street as Bran screamed his vocal cords off. Percy punched him in the throat, making him gurgle. "Shut up, shut up, shutup, shutupshutup–" Percy hissed.

The ugly screeching of the Eevee rang out in the streets. It was a nightmarish sound on any ears.

The blue-and-red flashings of a police car appeared sometime later. A colony of human voices, the noisy sniffling of a dog, and the sound of fast footprints.

Two burly hands grasped onto his body with force. Percy fought like a caged animal against it but it was for the naught. He was aware of Bran actually crying as he covered his destroyed face in his hands. Percy felt a primal wave of satisfaction at seeing this monster brought low. A sharp growl from behind distracted him though and before he could even say anything, he was out.


An indefinite amount of time later, Percy woke up. He opened his eyes to the iconic red and white ceiling of the Pokémon Center with a Nurse Joy fretting at his side.

"Well, hello there, young man. You have caused quite a bit of trouble last night." She sounded neutral.

Percy sat up on the comfy hospital bed. "What happened?" He asked. He found he couldn't remember the fight too well. Just brief, hazy memories of the meaty thud of his knuckles on Bran's face and the sight of crimson blood pooling.

"Last night, you went after a dangerous juvenile, alone and without alerting the police. You fought with the criminal and almost vegetized him. You completely discarded common sense and decided to take the matters into your own hands. You had two bruised eyes, a punctured lung, and a fractured rib. Consider yourself lucky that it wasn't as bad as it could have been. We managed to stave off the worst of your injuries but don't be surprised if you find yourself in pain at times. Try to avoid sudden movements." The Nurse sighed. Her tired, sad eyes warmed a bit. "You managed to save the life of an Eevee from her horrible trainer. She wouldn't leave your unconscious body alone, you know. We had to sedate her to take a look at the both of you."

"You coincidentally stumbled on a criminal we had been in search of for a while now. Because he has already had this trial done before, you will get off with merely a slap on the wrist. However, don't think you will get off as easily if you do this again." Her eyes blazed. "I am assuming there won't be the next time?"

Percy nodded frantically. The gentle healers were scary when they were angry.

The Nurse ignored him and glanced around for intruders. "Your Squirtle was found Poisoned in his Pokéball. He is safe and awaiting your return impatiently." The Nurse glanced at the paper in her hand. Percy hadn't noticed her carrying anything. "On the other hand, the Eevee we found nearby was in a much worse condition. I dare say she wouldn't have been in this world anymore if you hadn't intervened." She suddenly looked very, very old.

"We normally shy away from giving tentative Pokémon to new trainers. However, Eevee would not leave you alone when we found you. We had to forcefully sedate her to heal the both of you. She woke up a few hours before you and she wouldn't settle down until we had to reassure her about you. She almost ripped a Growlithe's face off. " She looked away. "We still wouldn't have given her to you, of course, if she wasn't already in such a delicate mindset. What she needs right now is a stable trainer who cares for her. And apparently she chose you to be that trainer."

"The choice is yours, of course, but Eevee needs a good trainer to help her on her road to recovery."

Percy bit his lip in thought. "I... I will do my best to help her." He said resolutely. The Nurse looked at him searchingly for a moment before finding whatever she was looking for. "Be aware that other Nurses in other towns will check up on her progress over time." She moved on quickly after that, not giving Percy a chance to respond.

"Professor Oak had been called upon your identification since we couldn't find any living relatives of yours." Percy felt cold.

"How did he react?" Percy asked urgently. He had managed to screw his journey up on his very first day.

Nurse Joy flipped a page. "He reacted well. He was informed of your health and what you did last night. He has asked to see you since then, along with the law enforcement." She lifted her head. "If you are ready, Mr. Jackson, than you can see them now."

Percy licked his suddenly dry lips. "I would like to speak with my Pokémon first. Squirtle and Eevee."

The Nurse nodded understandingly. "Then follow me, I will lead you there." She looked expectedly at him and Percy managed to get off the bed with relative ease. He had to admit, that his head and stomach hurt. But he was fairly certain Bran was in a worse condition than him. The thought brought a little smug smirk to his face for a second before he ruthlessly squashed it. He shouldn't have gotten hurt.

He followed after the pink-haired healer and found himself in a brightly lit room. Fergus croaked in happiness as he saw him. The little blue Pokémon was much healthier than when Percy had last him.

"Oh that reminds me." The Nurse said. "We cancelled your reservation for last night. Be aware that reservations last for specific dates and that they get occupied by other trainers." Percy nodded his head. He had expected as much.

They entered the room quietly. Percy looked around. On his right was the Eevee he had saved before. She looked at him with distrustful eyes but let him approach her slowly, none of that protectiveness Nurse Joy had told him about. Percy supposed she was adjusting. He knelt down to get even with her. "Hello." He quietly said. Eevee squinted at him suspiciously, her right-torn ear wiggling a bit in nervousness. Percy eyed the injured ear with sorrow.

"My name's Percy. I was there last night." He said. Eevee gave him a face that looked very unimpressed. Percy cracked a grin on her face. "Yeah, yeah I know. I'm a bit of a Captain Obvious sometimes." He chuckled. He cleared his throat.

"I... am a new trainer. I literally met my starter, Fergus, yesterday. I don't have a lot of experience and I don't really know what I am doing but I would like you to give me a chance. I heard you took a shine to me." Percy said. Eevee wriggled nervously before nodding hesitantly. She seemed almost shy now.

He swallowed. He hoped he wasn't making a big mistake. "Well, if you would like to, you could join us on our journey. We will travel all along the Kanto region, fight and grow stronger with every battle. We will make the world turn upside down." Percy said fiercely. "If you would like to join us, you are free to do so. It is alright if you don't want to, though." He extended his hand. Fergus croaked in agreement. He seemed almost as excited as Percy was.

Eevee twitched hesitantly. Percy's heart fell at her obvious hesitance. Just as he was about to pull his hand back, a gentle paw landed on top of it. Eevee still looked hesitant about her decision but at least she was trusting him for now.

Her still frail fur was visible. Percy knew he needed to get himself a source of income to take care of her better. What had John said again...? He shook himself out of his important thoughts and focused on her again.

"I won't let you down." He swore as he got up from his kneeling position. He jumped as he saw a giant screen displaying Professor Oak from behind him. He hadn't noticed anything.

Oak looked faintly impressed, all things considered. "You know, I really should have considered the kid who had jumped into wild grass a bit more. Maybe then, I would have been able to predict this." the Professor's face darkened. "Maybe then, I wouldn't have given you your starter."

Percy's heart stopped at his words. "Fortunately for you, it all worked out in the end." Oak chuckled bitterly. "A new trainer, saving a poor defenseless Eevee from the evil juvenile on his very first day. How heroic. The public ate it up, of course." Oak continued. "Never mind the whole load of laws you had just broken, the sheer possibilities of your fight-ending much, much worse; and the fact that you had rushed in again!" Oak was damn near shouting by the end of his rant. Percy shrank under the old man's words.

But he couldn't take this kind of verbal beating down. "If I hadn't intervened Eevee would not be here right now! Who cares if I was reckless, I managed to do it. I won!" He said back.

"This was just one of the possible positive outcomes of that fight, you insolent child." Oak breathed. "What if he was someone else, someone who was older, stronger, and more experienced? What would you have done other than to bleed out next to Eevee!" Oak raged. "You need to think things through, you need to acquire help when you need it. I didn't give you Squirtle so you could throw your life away!" Oak snarled.

He visibly calmed himself. "Percy, I know that this will be a huge event in your life. I know that I was just like you and every other kid who got their first Pokémon but please, please, please calm yourself before you do anything. Heed my advice or there will be consequences the next time." Oak said his piece of mind at last.

"Alright, Professor. I won't let you down." Percy muttered.

Oak nodded curtly. "See to it, then." Now the last remains of his rage gone, Oak was back to the old wise professor he was. "Then I will see you in hopefully better conditions, Percy." Percy than said his partings and the video cut off.

He turned to find Eevee staring at him curiously. She seemed like she wanted to get a move on. "Let me just get a read up real quick," Percy muttered as he aimed the Pokédex.

Eevee, the Evolution Pokémon, the Pokédex named. Thanks to its unstable genetic makeup, this special Pokémon conceals many different possible evolutions.

Percy glanced at Eevee warily when he heard the word 'unstable'. Fergus and Eevee seemed to get acquainted with each other. They let out little chirps and yips as they communicated. It was an adorable sight. Percy decided he would look into the 'unstable genetic makeup' aspect of Eevee at a later time.

This Eevee is a Female and knows the moves; Tackle, Tail Whip, Sand Attack, Quick Attack, and Wish. This Eevee has the Hidden Ability, Anticipation.

Curious, Percy clicked on Anticipation. He already knew what Hidden Abilities were so he didn't bother.

When a Pokémon with Anticipation enters the battle or a Pokémon gains the Ability Anticipation, it causes the Pokémon to "shudder" if any opponent has a damaging move that is super effective against the Pokémon with Anticipation, a one-hit knockout move, or Selfdestruct or Explosion. Shuddering has no actual effect, except that the presence of the Ability message is meant to provide information about possible moves the opponent might have.

Huh, Percy thought. Neat.

Just then, he realized he failed to do something very important. He quickly scurried over to his Pokémon. Fergus greeted him again with a little chirp as Eevee just stared at him.

"Hey, Eevee I just remembered something. Do you want a name like Fergus over there?" He asked. Eevee quickly shook her head no. They were a bit shocked at this. "You sure, we can always change it." Eevee adamantly shook her head no. Percy shrugged. That was that, then.

The Nurse Joy from before came in with a red Pokéball in her hands. "I couldn't help but hear in on your conversations." She admitted. Her eyes crinkled kindly. "I am happy Eevee has chosen to stay with you, Percy. I truly am." She extended her Pokéball. Percy took it gingerly.

"Eevee, do you want to stay in your Pokéball?" Percy asked. Eevee nodded and Percy recalled her in a flash. He awkwardly bowed to Nurse Joy just like he had been thought to in his books. The Nurse just smiled at him as he thanked her for her help.

He quickly left the Pokémon Center. He had acquired a whole lot of injuries in the beginning. It spelled very dangerous stuff about him.

He regretted nothing.

-o-

As always, special thanks to my Beta; Theseus-Theo. I hate grammar. Grammar sucks.