The Trainer's Bond



by Tremor3258



Thieves gone to ground



Note: effectively, game continuity, with a hint of Pokemon Adventures, in terms of mechanics over the anime.



Disclaimer: Game Freak owns the game, Nintendo owns the hardware, and Creatures, Inc. owns most of the original Pokemon designs, or so I've been told. Please don't sue me.

"Viridian City:" quoted John, his nose in a paperback guide from his backpack, "The second smallest city to support a gym besides Pewter City. Based amid the rocky foothills leading up to the nearly impassable northwestern mountains, Viridian City has traditionally been the site for ground Pokemon. A pallor was cast upon the town several years ago, upon the discovery that the town's long-absent gym leader was also the leader of the notorious group of criminals known as Team Rocket, of which it hasn't quite worked out from under. Traditionally, Viridian is the last step on the Gym Challenge, due to its proximity to the Indigo Plateau. Thus, trainers can expect to face the Pokemon only one step before the gym's finest, which are typically reserved for defending the city in heavy combat, an event that hasn't occurred for over a hundred years."



"We know all that!" Brad said irritably, then softened slightly and said, "Well, except for the fact that the gym leaders are also the militia," he said reflectively. He was in too good a mood to be bothered by John's constant habit of referring to his stack of reference material upon seeing anything slightly out of the ordinary. A male Rattata and a very young male Pidgey, though they needed a lot of training, had joined his Sandshrew, Sandy.



Diana didn't say anything. Considering she had four Pokemon, it would be impolite to catch anything when she was traveling with a group where most trainers only had one Pokemon. Most Pokemon saw trainers as the path towards better growth and care than the wild, and the battle was merely a quick test. Diana didn't see any need to further test herself besides the walk itself for now. The backpack had been a bit of a problem, and Diana was sure she'd have some aches tomorrow morning, but hopefully it wouldn't be more than she could stand.



She was pleased by how well she was holding up for now. Her side ached, but then she had been walking for several hours, along with finally getting down to serious training. All that conditioning seemed to have paid off, as the scar tissue had been stretched sufficiently by her rehabilitation that the only complaints were a sort of mild warmth. The real challenge would be the Viridian Forest, which was far more treacherous than the nice open, though uphill, ground from Pallet to its neighboring city.



The real problem was Brad's friend, Kent. He hadn't done a good job breaking in his boots and he was in agony at this point from where the boots had rubbed against his socks. John, Brad, and Brad's other friend, Tim, had alternated in supporting him, as Diana couldn't support any extra weight. Tangela had lent herself as a brace as part of her training, as the main thing she could learn was how to do more clever things with her vines until her spore sacs finished developing.



Still, Pidgey's training was proving problematic. To teach Pidgey his more advanced flying maneuvers over the simple wing-based ones really required some work with a lure, and probably a few battles. Battles shouldn't prove too difficult to find in the future, but Diana wasn't sure falconry could be done with one arm. And even Pidgey's tiny claws would make things painful for her if she used the other arm as a rest. In response, Diana had been sending him after leaves, twigs, small crackers, anything that came to mind, but it was really a poor substitute. She doubted she'd be able to find any effective solutions in a town of ground trainers.



"You all look like something a Meowth dragged in," came a reasonably familiar voice as the group dragged themselves towards the city's gate, shaking Diana clear of her thoughts. bob stood by the city gates, next to a Pidgeotto. "Free advice: get a Fly HM as soon as possible and... Legends above, is he all right?" Bob, far removed from the trials of the first day, hadn't quite been able to distinguish a trainer who had been shocked by the enormity of the task, and one who was actually injured.



The older boy quickly lent a much needed support to Kent, who was now trying not to cry, and moaned with relief when the weight was taken off his feet. Bob brought out his Alakazam, who canceled out the forces of gravity on the boy and carefully led him towards the Pokemon Center. The others followed behind, a cloud hanging over them. Bob merely looked apologetic, having been enjoying the game of annoying elder brother too much to spot the problem. "Athena is going to kill me for not paying more attention to what her sister was doing," he muttered, too quietly for anyone to hear but his Alakazam.



Bob knew some basic first aid. Most trainers did who spent long periods of times in the woods. However, most of what you quickly pick up on in the rough world of Pokemon battling is what is a crippling injury and mainly an annoyance. While that knowledge is mainly related to Pokemon themselves (very few trainers can afford to carry the medical scanners that tournaments use to measure the health of a Pokemon) the biology of humanity isn't that difficult, especially with the crimson starting to soak through the boot's lining.



Diana probably noticed, as life-threatening injuries tend to make you pay more attention to the world around you, but she decided against saying anything, as panicking would probably make it worse. John was busy looking for hisfirst-aid manual, and Brad and Tim were busy hovering around Kent's head, not quite trusting of an Alakazam's power, having never seen a psychic type in action before. Alakazam would have been irritated if he could have spared the concentration from the delicate process of supporting a child without actually utilizing the full massive power of his psychic attack.



The Pokemon Centers were far more than a simple set of Pokemon restorative machines for a nominal fee. That was just to get you into the doors. Basically, everything a trainer would need but Pokemon curative items could be bought here. Sleeping spaces were also available as a kind of youth hostel. The business done for warm beds and decent food more than made up for the loss that the healing machines operated at.



More importantly, they also had a trained medical staff. Typically, their job was to drag off to bed any trainers who were exhausted but still ready to continue. However, there was also the darker side to training. Trainers sometimes got hurt, and more than one battle had been decided when the trainer fell, rather than the Pokemon. Trainers being literally carried in happened sometimes, even in generally peaceful places like Viridian.



The ready medical staff were placed in the entrance near the waiting room. When Kent was carried in, they sprang into action, grabbing a stretcher as a matter of course. It took a moment for the doctor to make a diagnostic, and gauze pads were quickly applied along with a nutrient bath similar to basic Potions.



The Pokemon Center was fairly quiet as Kent was carried in the back room to rest. Brad was verbally beating himself up, "I should have paid more attention! We had been planning to travel together for weeks, and I should have made sure he was doing some walking!"



Tim added, "He's hurt already, and this was supposed to be the easiest part. We're doomed."



John muttered, "He's already a statistic. Diana? Where are you going?" Diana didn't reply, but continued towards the door as fast as she was able. The group watched her go, looking rather surprised.



John started after her, but Bob grabbed his shoulder. He attempted to twist out of the older boy's grip but stopped after Bob began speaking, "Let her go. I know her sister, and she really should have some time to come to grip with poor Kent."



Brad knocked Bob's hand away from John's shoulder. "You know, for someone who's supposed to know so much, you really aren't that bright," Brad said scathingly, "I've known her for years, she's nothing like her sister." The two ran out, leaving Tim behind to shrug and go get his Pokemon healed. They were making a nice gesture, but Diana was in a different grade than him, and she kind of scared him, being quiet and rather weird looking. Besides, someone needed to stay behind with Kent.



Noble intentions stopped at the door when the two looked around in confusion. The Center was built purposefully near the edge of town, near the roads headed towards League Headquarters and towards Pallet Town. A giant forest full of poisonous insects didn't seem the best area to build a center for healing near. Thus, there weren't many houses near the outskirts of town. Despite this, Diana had managed to disappear into the mild afternoon foot traffic. "Bob has a Pidgeotto!" John said after a minute's rumination, "He can fly around town and find her." Nodding agreement, the two went inside to talk to the Master.



*************



Diana wasn't aware that she was causing a stir back at the Pokemon Center. John's words were echoing through her mind. Diana knew that Kent wasn't in too bad shape. She'd seen a lot of people go through therapy and the hospital while she was in recovery, and in her amateur opinion, Kent would probably make a full recovery without even a scar. He would simply return to training a little wiser and more aware from the experience about some of the basic necessities of hiking.



Kent would be fine, but everyone seemed to think this would be the end for his attempt to crack the Gym Challenge. If more experienced people believed one minor failure would end it, Diana didn't feel so good about her chances. She could try and ignore them all she wanted, but all she had to do was roll out of bed in the morning to become once more aware that the deck was stacked against her in succeeding in her venture.



As if the mental torment wasn't enough, Diana's wanderings in her distraught state, combined with a few hours if hiking, had now left her trying to regain her breath. Cursing her weakened constitution, she slumped against the wall of a larger building. Shadows had started to gather as the sun lowered in the sky, and Diana idly wondered where she was.



From a slight distance away, a boy, about Diana's height and wearing fairly typical young trainer attire: light jacket, jeans, gloves and a hat, studied her profile. "Cute girl in sights by the gym!" the trainer said cheerfully to himself, before noticing the Poke balls on her right side, "Even better: Cute *trainer* girl by the gym!"



"Excuse me," said a boy's voice near her, "If you're here to battle, the gym is closed until further notice." Diana blinked in astonishment and then looked up, shocked to see 'Viridian City Gym' printed in large letters on the side of the building. Diana started to apologize but was cut her off. "Oh, it's no big deal. Did you just come into town too? You look awfully worn out. My name is Alex. Gary knew this weekend is when Pallet Town disgorges all its trainers, and decided it would be a lot less stressful to go train against Cinnabar's fire types than to beat up a bunch of new trainers over and over again. Of course he doesn't want to SAY he's avoiding the area because losing a few early battles can easily demoralize a trainer,"said Alex in a conspiring whisper, before finishing brightly, "So, it's my job to make sure no one breaks the gym's windows or something. I didn't just want to sit around, so I went out west of town. There's a lot of poison Pokemon around, and so you can find a lot of plants with good curative properties. See?" Alex held out a small handful of berries, a few long branches of wood, presumably for wood shavings; and some leaves.



Diana giggled slightly at the junior trainer's antics. He did seem a bit rumpled, but if this was lowering his cheerfulness level, it wasn't immediately apparent. Diana quickly explained, "Actually, I'm one of those new trainers." Alex looked chagrined, but Diana didn't let that deter her, "Everyone's worried that someone I was traveling with would stop because of some injuries. I was wondering if I'm cut out for this, and ended up resting here."



"What sort of injuries?" asked Alex. Diana quickly explained the blisters that had popped, and Alex winced slightly before continuing, "Painful, but really not bad. He'll be up and at them in no time. You can't let your defeats get you down! The difference between a Master and a wannabe is how you handle adversity. It was the first thing the gym taught me."



Alex's eyes started to get misty with remembrance, "When I wanted to study here, Gary set me up against a low-level Nidorino against my Rhyhorn. Rhyhorn came out fine, but I didn't." Alex pulled off some gloves to reveal a set of stitching that looked familiar to Diana from when she couldn't avoid looking in a mirror. Alex nodded at Diana's grim expression, and explained, "Caught the edge of a poison sting cloud. I'm lucky to have retained mobility. Gary is a really tough trainer. He expects as much out of you as he expects from himself, and he's cold. That's probably why he lost to Ash. He only has a 'business' relationship with his Pokemon. Still, he's very good at imparting his knowledge to others, and he seems to know better what your upper limit is than you do. I wanted to quit right there, but I stayed on just to shut him up, and it was worth it."



Alex showed the few Poke balls he was carrying to Diana, who could dimly see a Rhyhorn, a Nidorina, and a Sandslash. "I'm from Fuchsia City originally, and so I'm kind of using a ground/poison mix to match what the local veldts have. I mean, I've caught more Pokemon," Alex said defensively and kind of by rote, "But these are my closest friends. Some day I'll go out and get the rest of the badges, but I still have a bit more to learn, like the secret to the fissure technique."



Diana nodded in understanding. The powerful fissure technique was probably the ultimate ground technique, making a Pokemon unable to battle. Giovanni had not only managed to develop the technique, but create a TM capable of imparting the knowledge to Pokemon, back in the days before he founded Team Rocket. It was still the highly prized possession of the Viridian Gym.



Feeling equitable, Diana quickly triggered the releases for her Poke balls. Unlike most trainers, who carried three to a side for easy weight distribution on their belt, Diana had a holder rigged up that put all six on one side, since in an emergency, her left arm might not have the speed necessary. Alex looked them over for a minute, "That's a nice selection if you're starting out. I'd like to know about the Dratini, of course." Alex took a moment to consult the sun's relation to the gym before saying, "Want to come inside and see the gym? Most of the Pokemon are gone for the weekend, but I'm sure you could pick up something."



Diana shrugged, and spun off the wall on her good foot with practiced grace. Alex's breath caught in his throat for a minute, though more of surprise and maybe a little lust as opposed to other emotions. Alex had lived in the poison Pokemon capital of Kanto, and even Koga's daughter bore her share of scars. In Alex's adolescent mind, it only added to the allure, and helped put several pieces of Diana's personality in place. Most young trainers with a problem would be calling home. Instead, she had simply started working on the problem, and with Blue's training on self-dependence, that made her more attractive.



Still, Alex was smart enough to know he wasn't suave enough to risk opening his mouth right then, and instead Alex merely gestured for her to follow as he got the key to the gym out. Diana followed, wondering idly while Alex had started to blush without the usual look of pity or apology that followed someone seeing her scars. "Oh!" Diana whispered, "he's embarrassed for making what happened to him sound like a big deal." Diana nodded in approval at the idea. The junior trainer was trying very hard to sound experienced, impressive, and tough when he was the one Gary had left behind as a reflex defensive gesture when everyone else got to go to Cinnabar's hot springs. He obviously had been through a bit more than Diana, and was able to understand exactly what those sort of problems dealt with. Diana was smiling faintly as she removed her hat as she walked inside. Someone who simply accepted her as a whole was a welcome breath of fresh air over the other new people she had met across the week.



***************



"Bob!" Brad whined, "I said we'd be going together until Viridian! Besides, I've seen her like this before. Since her accident, looking a bit morose, like she did as she left Pallet was exuberant! She's lived next to my house for years, and it hurt when she walled herself off since two years ago. Giving up now couldn't happen to a nicer person!" John stayed quiet. Brad had said at length what he had thought of John's comment in the last ten minutes of trying to convince Bob to lend them a Pidgeotto.

"Listen," Bob said patiently for the third time, "Viridian's big enough that a search by air will take quite a while. And what if she's just picking up some sort of present for Kent? As you said, she is a nice person." Brad frowned thoughtfully at that and Bob continued, "Look, I know you're trying to act a lot like the leader of this group, but being leader means knowing when and when not to give people a swift mental kick to the pants!" Bob's Pokedex had started to ring during the final part of the conversation, and at the end he was yelling. Bob looked a bit abashed as the caretaker for the recovery machine and the on-duty nurse glared at him. Stiffly, he held the Pokegear close to his face.



"Hello!" he yelled into his phone before continuing in a more normal tone, "Athena, this is an unencrypted line," he warned without preamble. "Yes, I'm in Viridian. By the way, your sister probably saved my life the other day." Bob paused to listen for a few seconds before saying sharply, "I'll tell you a bit more about it when I can talk to you privately," the last word being said with additional emphasis. "Yes, I did give your sister the special one of the batch. Knowing you, I figure she could use it well." Bob listened for about a minute, before taking the phone away to stare at it before asking, "What does THAT mean?" Bob shook himself, "Listen. Never mind. Oh, um, you want to talk to her? I'll see if I can find her in the area. Of course I'm sure she's fine. Bye!" Bob closed up the Pokegear before starting to run outside, saying over his shoulder, "Come on! We're taking my Pokemon and searching the town for Diana."



John grinned and adjusted his glasses, ready to find her and apologize, commenting to Brad, "Athena must be a VERY good leader. She's on a whole different continent and she knew when to 'kick' Bob." Brad snickered.



"I heard that!" Bob said grumpily. They hadn't heard all the conversation. Athena figured that Bob could take a few moments from his vitally important distribution duties (which were more or less finished, though Bob ignored that fact for the moment) in order to go and ensure that his partner's sister would not suffer any blows to her mental or physical health. After all, one of Diana's old dreams had been to be a trainer, and anything interfering with it now would suffer the 'goddess's' wrath.



On top of the roof, a young man, wearing the black cap and bodysuit of the Rockets, complete with the R on the front, patted the small receiver he had used to listen in to the phone conversation. Robert was one of the bigger problems Team Rocket had. It was pure luck that the Rocket had been working freelance in the area and seen him fly overhead. He had been planning to steal some Pokemon from the gym while the leader was out of town, but capturing the person who had destroyed the creche AND knew where the Pokemon had gone would win great favor as well. For that matter, he had unwittingly disclosed a possible weakness of the feared and much-whispered about Athena. The Rocket followed the Master stealthily and slowly as his ready Pokemon were released to try and track down Diana. Alakazam, Snorlax, Electode, Scyther, Pidgeotto, and Gyarados spread out among the streets.



***************



"Thanks for the tour and dinner, Alex!" Diana said brightly. The boy's cheerful demeanor was downright infectious. Plus, Diana had seen some useful ideas she wanted to copy. Though the gym specialized in ground types, they did have a few of the types that ground were weak against to be able to highlight the problem areas. She didn't notice any stands or such in the area, which meant her ideas of what to train Pidgey were off. A lure alone would do just fine, which eased some of her worries.



"Oh, it was really nothing," said Alex humbly, "It's not often that one finds interesting girls just ready for the taking on one's literal doorstep." Diana reached to tag him with her cane, but Alex was quite agile. "Besides, the gym's purpose is to help trainer's in need, and the badges are just part of that. A little advice is easy. In fact, you saw those berries I brought, right? They're usually used to cure Pokemon of poison, but if you mash them, they make a good salve to deal with poison wounds. The Fuchsia gym practically swears by the stuff, and since half of them look like they spent an hour inside a Muk, they know what they're talking about." Diana nodded her appreciative thanks. Folk remedies from trainers usually worked quite well, but they rarely reached the ears of professional medics. Alex didn't have a lot of berries, and most of the harvest had been necessary to create new Antidotes to keep the local stores equipped, but the juice of a few spread on her shoulder had brought instant, though not total, relief to the usual low-level burning sensation.



Diana said, "Don't worry. I haven't felt this good in years. I really do owe you a few. I think I know where to start." While Alex was espousing noble sentiments, Diana leaned over and lightly kissed him on the cheek, which did an admirable job of stopping the near-nonsensical flow of noise.



Sadly, the tender moment was broken when a large blue-scaled and finned head poked over the wall of a house near the gym. After a moment, its eyes focused on the pair, and shivering, it opened its mouth to charge for a hyper beam.

It was the quick whine of an energy buildup that attracted the two's attention. "A wild Gyarados, here?" Alex said incredulously. "Oh man, Rhyhorn, go right now and horn drill!" With a quick puff of smoke, Rhyhorn went from miniaturized to a three foot, several hundred pound walking tank. Alex winced, he wasn't exactly carrying a load of Pokemon that were strongly effective against water types, especially as Viridian was far away from most water sources. Unfortunately, as Diana was obviously just starting out, that meant he was the only one with a chance against a Pokemon experienced enough to learn hyper beam. For that matter, her only decent water attackers were both grass types. Even advanced ones were too slow to keep up to an agile Gyarados.



Luckily, the Gyarados had chosen to try and vaporize them rather than a hydro pump, giving Alex a small opening. The energy washed over Rhyhorn, blinding his trainer temporarily. When the energy finally stopped, Rhyhorn growled, its hide super-heated by the energy, but basically intact. Gyarados, though catching its breath, slithered over the house, breaking off a few tiles, and hissing. Rhyhorn took this opportunity to do what its trainer intended, and charged forward, ready to stick its horn, which had started to spin, into a vulnerable spot.



Alex and Diana were starting to suspect it wasn't wild when, though looking worn, it managed to scoot away from the horn drill in time to lose only a few scales to the charge, without any drop in health. As Rhyhorn skidded to a stop, raising sparks from the paved street, Gyarados launched a wave of water from its mouth, swamping Rhyhorn. When the water receded, Rhyhorn was on its side, moaning feebly.



"That was a surf attack!" said Alex angrily. "Someone must be trying to attack the gym from hiding." Alex looked around angrily, and then looked at Gyarados, looking for a small receiver to get commands from a distance away, but saw nothing.



"I'm not sure," said Diana in a soft tone, trying to keep her breathing under control. The fact she had backed up against the wall was providing some reassurance, "I know a trainer in town who has a Gyarados."



Suddenly, a dust cloud surrounded the two on the street. As the two were coughing, they heard the distinctive inrush of air that meant a Pokemon had been recalled to its ball. "Damn Diana!" Bob cursed, forgetting he was around children, "You weren't kidding that water types have a problem with you." The dust settled, revealing John, Brad, and Bob standing next to Bob's Pidgeotto.



Alex started to stomp forward determinedly, as his heart started to slow down. Diana settled for a viperous glare, since stomping forward works better without a cane. Which of the two Bob recoiled from more was debatable. Alex pointed at his Rhyhorn before tapping a button on his older-style Pokedex, recalling his Pokemon to its ball as the ball moved of its own accord to his hand.



"First off, what are you doing letting something like a Gyarados free in an inhabited area if the thing is uncontrollable? One dragon rage attack and these people would be lucky if the only thing that they lost were their low insurance premiums," Alex bellowed. Bob wilted under the glare. John wasn't looking much happier either. He had laughed at Brad's initial idea: quote, "You know, in the town of the ruthless gym masters, why not do as the locals do and let Gyarados run around until it spontaneously attacks something. Then we'll know Diana is there," unquote. Brad probably only suggested it as a joke, but since the idea came after forty-five minutes of fruitless searching, Bob had actually considered it. He had remembered Diana's strident warnings not to let his Snapdragon see her to prevent it from lashing out, and ran with it.



As Alex drew in a breath to continue his onslaught against the guilty master, he was caught off as a cloud of gas emitted from two spots moved slowly down from the rooftop where Gyarados had been. A purple-black blur shot out of the cloud, hitting Bob in the stomach. Bob gasped for a second, and then sat down, looking ill. The gas cloud then surrounded the group, causing them to begin to cough. Diana let out a sharp yelp as a wave of pain climbed up her side. Alex confirmed it, "Poison gas attack, probably from two Pokemon!"



"The Gyarados's activity proves you are my secondary target! And without the Pokemon, a child is just a child," declared a deep male voice on the rooftop. After a moment, the gas cloud twisted away, though the day wasn't very breezy. Alex and Diana were still on their feet, but the others were looking rather poisoned.



A man in a Team Rocket uniform was standing next to a Drowzee and a Grimer. The Drowzee waved its hands again. Now that it could see its opponents, it took only a twist of psychic power to cause the Poke balls clipped to the various belts to fall off and float to the ground near the building. "That's three to a side," remarked the Rocket, "that should be all Drowzee." The small tapir-looking Pokemon nodded, and used its powers to float the Rocket and his two Pokemon down.



"Learning that Gary likes to leave town on the weekend when Pallet Town begins its training season was a stroke of good fortune, but nowhere near as good as finding this 'master' here," said the Rocket triumphantly, looking through the Poke balls before holding one up. "Even better was finding out what he was guarding!" said the Rocket joyfully. Diana was willing to bet that was Dratini. "One of our special 'seed' Pokemon to get a new batch of Rockets started off."



The Rocket nodded and Drowzee gestured, lifting up Bob and sending him through the air towards the Rocket. Bob floated limp and helpless due to the poison in his system. "Grimer's sludge attack was probably a bit too much for him here, on top of the gas. But I'm surprised to see you on your feet, Alex," the Rocket said conversationally. Alex looked surprised, but the Rocket continued, "Never doubt the information gathering abilities of Team Rocket! We knew all the trainers, and I came specially equipped for you. Luckily, Gyarados took the need of proving who this little girl was out of the picture. I was hoping poison attacks would still affect you, but you've obviously begun your training. Drowzee, disable please," the Rocket ordered.



"I wish I wasn't on my feet," muttered Diana, feeling nauseous, but reaching for her side quickly. Alex's salve had just proven its worth by apparently taking the bite off the poison attack, as he had been handling the berries all day and Diana had just used Alex's special remedy. Drowzee prepared for his next attack, dropping Bob roughly to the ground. Diana meanwhile, grabbed her fourth Poke ball, taking a precious moment to identify which Pokemon she had left before tossing the ball. "Tangela, bind!" As the words left her mouth, Diana stiffened into immobility, Drowzee disconnecting her from her motor functions.

The ball, however, exploded outwards in a puff of smoke, leaving Tangela, looking angry, to jump forward from where the ball had impacted against the ground. Tangela seemed to shrunk as she sent her vines spiraling out around the Rocket, who merely nodded as they started to retract around him. "A cunning trick, that fourth, but you guessed assuming you'd be battling ground types. Grimer, sludge!" The mound of vileness spat out a small glob of toxic... something. Tangela screamed in pain and brought her vines in towards herself, one smoking furiously due to the poison inherent in the sludge. The Rocket laughed as Tangela stood defiantly but she looked a bit larger than usual due to the vines not being held in as tightly. "Looks like most of her health got used up right there," noted the Rocket. "Still, she got you time to get the other trainers to their feet." The Rocket had noted Alex quickly using some of his Antidotes to help John, Bob, and Brad be at least able to stand.



"However, it means nothing in the long run. You now have no more Pokemon to protect you! Grimer, sludge Tangela again!" Tangela stood looking helpless, its trainer paralyzed behind it and she was grievously injured. As the sludge bolt came racing towards her, new determination lit her eyes and Tangela constricted the vines, letting a series of Poke balls pop from their hiding places. Tangela went tumbling backwards after this last maneuver, smoking from wherever the sludge hit.



The Rocket's eyes were widened in amazement and he turned around, along with Drowzee, who was also surprised. Diana sighed as she was free to move. The Rocket, however, was rigid with shock as the Poke balls were missing behind him.



"Tangela was aiming for the Poke balls!" John said in realization, "That's why it was looking so sagged, it was hiding them!" The Rocket turned to glare at the researcher, who blanched and said, "Right, um, Magnemite, go!" The hovering electric type glared with its single eye. Alex brought out Sandslash, and Bob led with Snorlax. John paused, and wondered, "I wonder how Diana trained Tangela to be able to recapture Poke balls. She wasn't able to give verbal commands." John shrugged.



Facing some lousy options, Grimer used acid armor on itself on command, causing the pavement to melt under its feet, hoping to have a better chance against types that were either immune or strong to it. Magnemite prepared to thundershock Drowzee, but Drowzee was faster on the draw, cutting off access to the hybrid Pokemon's electrical powers. Magnemite fell against the ground with a dull clang.



"Sandslash, keep that Grimer busy!" Alex yelled. Sandslash chittered eagerly and started bounding forward.



"Snorlax, psychic against Grimer!" said Bob at the same time. Alex started to yell out orders to move Sandslash out of the way, but instead the ground Pokemon was picked up by the wave of energy, hurling it into the poisonous Pokemon. The combined kinetic energy of the spiny desert-dweller, along with the Psychic, sent Grimer hurtling against the wall and into dreamland. Sandslash, after blinking glassily, did the same. It was hard to say who was more shocked, the Rocket or Alex.



"Sorry, just throw out another Pokemon! Snorlax, mega punch!" Bob yelled, distracted. Drowzee would be a decent opponent, and it was entirely likely the Rocket had some bizarre stuff on him to deal with a ground gym, and his usual poisonous stuff would deal with Scyther, who would otherwise take out the psychic in front of him easily.



Alex said in an urgent whisper, "The only thing left is a Nidorina, and I'm not trusting that out of its Poke ball as long as you're around!" Bob winced.



Drowzee, however, lived up to its name by using Hypnosis on command. Against the usually sleepy Snorlax, this attack was as effective as a match in the gasoline refinery at getting impressive results. Snorlax hit the ground like the multi-ton mattress it was.



Diana had finished dealing with Tangela's immediate injuries, and had sorted out her Poke balls. "Brad, use your Pidgey too! Pidgey, fly up and tell me how many Poke balls he has on him!" The two Pidgeys floated up to either side, and quickly hooted a return. Counting the downed Grimer, there were three Poke balls on his belt, meaning two more opponents, if the Rocket didn't simply cut his losses soon.



"Come down from there!" ordered the Rocket, "Drowzee, take them out." Drowzee switched its attention again. Magnemite blinked its large eye and floated in the air as the disable was released.



Brad simply recalled his as Drowzee started to prepare an energy bolt and tried to think, while Diana chanted repeatedly out the old standby maneuver for the small birds, "Sand attack!" Pidgey dove back towards the ground and flapped up a cloud of dust. The grains got in Drowzee's long snout, distracting it sufficiently that it wasn't able to reach out and simply shut down the small flyer's mind. Pidgey flapped back up overhead, looking for the psychic type.



"We need an effective strategy. Magnemite, thundershock Drowzee!" Magnemite tried, but the sand picked up the ionized charge and spread it out. Drowzee was mildly tingled. However, Snorlax was able to get back to his feet after the electric wake-up call. Pidgey was above the cloud, but the light sparks were enough to jolt its wings. At his low level, Pidgey was unable to retain enough presence of mind to keep them working and the lightning seized up the joints. Diana quickly recalled the poor little thing.



Bob called out, "Let the big bruisers fight! Your levels are too low to help out much. Snorlax, take them out!" Snorlax punched down at Drowzee, who scooted away upon hearing the large Pokemon's footsteps, leaving Snorlax to dig a half-foot deep hole from the sheer force. Shrapnel flew everywhere. Drowzee stumbled back, small cuts all over its body. "Heh. When it comes to brute force, Snorlax is THE brute."



Brad nodded, and then looked at the cloud of sand that had slowed down Snorlax. "Pidgey's sand cloud is blocking Snorlax from hitting. We need to get rid of it!"



Alex said, "Think first! Bob is at the point where he can use brute force successfully, though I'm not sure HOW he got to that point, but look at the collateral damage. Without the sand, Drowzee would be able to paralyze Snorlax and take him apart. We need to get Drowzee to the edge of the cloud, so its still bothered by the sand getting in its nose, but Snorlax can wander around and finish it off."



"Easy," said Diana sadly, "I mean, everyone is targeting this poor girl anyway." Diana held out a Poke ball before dropping it lightly against the ground. "Dratini, head out and use your dragonbreath so you can attack from outside of the remnants of that sand cloud," said Diana authoritatively, looking at John and Alex for approval. John started to calculate probabilities in his head, while Alex gave a thumb's up. After a moment, John nodded in agreement. There probably was a better plan, but she had only a few seconds to think of it. If those kind of instincts ran in her family, then no wonder her older sister was a terror.



Dratini slithered forward. It was debatable whether or not the mystic Pokemon was touching the ground, or hovering a millimeter or so off of it. From outside the sand cloud, the hazy shapes of Pokemon were easy to make out. Inside, the sand got into eyes and soft nasal tissues, making it difficult to see anything through the tears that sprang up. With a tiny Drowzee, a medium-sized Rocket, and a large Snorlax, it was easy to distinguish what was going on, and Dratini launched several bolts of blue energy, where they slammed against Drowzee into a torrent of bolts that looked like miniaturized lightning. Compared to an elusive Snorlax where Drowzee had to spend as much time trying to stay out of close-combat range as trying to focus together for an attack, Dratini seemed like a winning proposition. The Pokemon rationalized it as what their master was after anyway.



Drowzee stumbled out of the cloud sneezing, and Dratini was happily willing to try for the commanded wrap attack, but Drowzee had cleared most of the sand, and with an irritated gesture, slammed Dratini against the wall of the gym. Heavily reinforced to deal with massive ground types, there was no mark left despite the massive force from where Dratini's head had whiplashed against the wall. Diana groaned in sympathy, and Brad slammed a fist against her side to prevent her from running into the line of fire.



Diana collapsed like a tree falling, and Brad quickly punched the return button on the Poke ball, putting Dratini in stasis, which made more sense than Diane making a large dramatic scene. "What, it was the best way to stop her from getting hurt," Brad claimed at Alex and John's looks.



"You HIT her!" exclaimed John in shock. Brad stared back blankly. Of course he had hit her.



"Um, guys. Hormone clashes over girl later? Remember the Pokemon battle that was going on?" Bob said. Diana coughed and looked at him angrily. "We need to win this thing. Come on, let's hit him hard!" Bob encouraged, dragging Brad's attention back.



"Drowzee! Good initiative!" called the Rocket, who had left the cloud after hearing Dratini's cry, thinking along the same lines as his psychic. "Now that Pidgey's gone, we can finish off Snorlax!"



Brad thought for a moment, wondering how to 'hit him hard'. The Rocket had come equipped to deal a lot of ground types, but even a weak Magnemite was deadly dangerous to a flyer, so if there were any of those, they would remain safely in their Poke balls. Drowzee could withstand anything Magnemite could throw out, as the Magnemite's level wasn't high enough for a thunder wave, and the odds were against that. So, Snorlax would have a lot of trouble catching the Pokemon. Bard had done some study on the Dragonbreath technique after hearing all the commotion about it, and had hoped it would end up paralyzing Drowzee, but the odds hadn't worked in their favor there. Alex was still too shocked to do anything, and John was busy giving suggestions for keeping Magnemite upright, wishing he had taught it supersonic. All Snorlax needed to do was land an attack, and then it would be over. Some sort of surprise would be good, but despite the quick refusal to go after the dragon, Drowzee was very well disciplined for a Rocket Pokemon. Then Brad's eyes lit up with a decision.



"Sandy, go get that Rocket!" called Brad. Bob shrugged, but Diana and John looked aghast. Credit in real matches was awarded when the Pokemon fell. In Bob's line of work, taking out the trainer worked better. Alex was neutral on the subject, as Gary recommended it for some situations, but he felt it wasn't sporting.



The Rocket didn't have a lot of time to think. A Sandshrew was coming at him, and though the claws weren't nearly as bad as on a high-level one, they could still do some damage. There wasn't a lot of time to evade, and his last two weren't good against electricity. He needed something with the hit points to take the first hit. "Kingler, go!" Sandshrew flew into the puff of smoke where the Pokemon would emerge from, and then bounced backwards off the hard chitin of the Kingler. The Kingler snorted and blew a few bubbles down at it, knocking it out.



Diana bit back a curse as Kingler's eyes found her as it looked on either side of Drowzee, and the Pokemon's expression filled with revulsion. The Rocket hadn't noticed yet, with the water type's back to him. "Great work, Kingler! Now, quick! Let's risk a Guillotine against that Snorlax, and then Drowzee can take out that Magnemite, and we can leave," encouraged the trainer. Kingler only heard 'Guillotine', and rushed forward, large claw open. Despite the fact the Pokemon in front was probably a good companion, as the Rocket seemed to have a good relationship with his Pokemon, Kingler attacked it as it got in its way. Caught off guard, Drowzee was snapped up by the neck in a claw, and only dropped when Drowzee's air had been caught off long enough to knock it out. Everyone was paused for a moment, then Kingler scuttled forward towards Diana. Snorlax blinked a few times, and then stomped after it, but Snorlaxes have lousy overland speed.



John was shaken from his torpor when Drowzee was thrown to the side. "Thundershock for all you're worth, Magnemite!" Magnemite's magnets crackled with energy, sending zap after zap into Kingler. Kingler didn't notice, continuing forward towards Diana. The Rocket was so stunned by what was going on, that he didn't order Kingler to stop.



Alex shook his head, "No good, John, this is the only evolved one we've seen. It's probably the lead!" John nodded, but didn't change his commands. Thundershock was the best move his Magnemite could use in this situation, and John had little practice training his Pokemon for battle, and no experience guiding two Pokemon at once.



Diana coughed weakly, "Bulbasaur, you need to distract it," she pleaded, weakly fumbling with the catch for the Poke ball on her belt. After a moment, the ball snapped open, and Bulbasaur perched on Diana's side. Normally she'd mind the extra weight, but that wasn't nearly as important as a giant Pokemon with razor-sharp claws approaching berserk out of its little mind. (Diana had been taking the advice not to denigrate water-types so much, but it seemed appropriate).



Bulbasaur growled as loudly as it could, which was enough to temporarily pause the Kingler. The Rocket's sudden pleas to stop also confused Kingler. The *enemy* was in front of him, and he felt it with every fiber of his being. Something that was utterly opposed to his kind. Though, looking at the determined expression on the cub Pokemon standing near her, and the frightened expression on the enemy's face, the Kingler started to wonder if it had mixed signals from something.



That pause of consideration was all Snorlax needed to pound the crab with mega punch so hard that several of its legs broke under the sudden pressure. The Rocket quickly reclaimed it, and when it looked like Snorlax might be willing to use another trick besides Mega Punch; the Rocket called out his final Pokemon, a Fearow, and Flew away as fast as possible.

John sighed with relief, and sat down. Alex, however, took this opportunity to punch Brad in the nose, now that infighting wouldn't possibly lead them all to be killed. Brad stumbled back, some blood coming from his nostrils. Alex didn't follow up, instead looking over Diana. He didn't look up as he said in a formal tone, "As a trainer for the Viridian City gym, I kindly thank you all for your assistance. However, we are not accepting badge trials at this time, so please return on Monday during normal business hours."



Brad huffed, "Well, come on! Without me tricking out that water Pokemon, we might not have taken out that Rocket! How's that for gratitude."



Bob shrugged, "That was very ruthless, Brad, but I'm impressed. Seeing a possible weakness and going for it instantly are a good thing for a trainer to have. The ability to crystallize the match down to that one punch. It's very rare," Brad beamed. A high-level trainer telling you this sort of thing was great praise, especially for someone suffering from doubts. Bob turned to look at Alex sadly, "As for you. I mean, you work for Gary! I think you would approve of Brad's methods. No one got seriously injured, and we dealt with the threat more quickly with less risk of collateral damage."



Alex gestured angrily at the pot holes Snorlax's mega punches had placed, "You had no concern for the environment in that battle. The only thing was to blow that Rocket away as quickly as possible. You didn't even blink an eye when Diana got slugged, as it didn't interfere with your goal. Gary is a sword, he strikes quickly, but cleanly. You, on the other hand, are a bludgeon. He chooses his battles carefully, and maneuvers with precision in them to finish them quickly with the least amount of pain for either side. I can see why the League didn't publicize your victory very much!" he finished bitterly, "Leave."



Bob shrugged and walked away. Mission completed, and the gym, and Dratini, was secure. Brad blinked, and started off after him. Diana's weak voice stopped him, "Brad. Please don't follow him. You made a mistake. Alex told me that it's just something you learn from. I'm sure it was just a one-time thing. I'm sure we're still friends," Diana said hopefully.



Brad said sadly, "Diana, we were friends a while ago. Today showed it. All you were ready to do was grab the Poke balls back and retreat. That's not how real masters do it. They go out and seize the day, continuing to slug on! I will not go back now. I won a battle today, and you lost. Statistics are other people. I'll always admire you, and I hope that someday we'll meet at Indigo, but I suspect that will not be for quite a while, but I will be honored to have you as my rival." Brad bowed once, and headed back for the Pokemon Center, after Bob.



Diana moaned once as she left, and fell silent, burying herself in Alex's jacket to absorb the tears as one of the few people she thought she could still relate to proved she couldn't. Suddenly, a helping hand was on her other shoulder. John helped lift her to her feet, stared her in the eye, and said uneasily, "Studies show that people mature at different rates."



Diana paused in confusion, then laughed once. A real laugh, not a small giggle, or something recommended to do so by society. It sounded vaguely like a waterfall. Diana smiled, though uneasily, the gut punch was still slowing her. "Thank you."



****************



It was late Sunday when Diana was ready to travel again. John stood patiently by the door while Diana finished saying goodbye to Alex. The junior trainer blushed redly as Diana enwrapped him for a moment. "I'll send you an e-mail when we camp for tonight," promised Diana. The other Pallet Town trainers had either chosen different routes or gone on ahead, for the most part. That didn't bother Diana. If nothing else, the weekend had shown there were multiple routes to solve a problem.



"You be sure to do that. When I finish here, I'm going to hunt you down, Diana! And no matter how well you've been doing against Rockets, you don't have a chance against me!" promised Alex in a mock threatening tone. Diana giggled once. She hefted in her hand a final present from her fellow trainer, a real trainer, as opposed to someone who saw Pokemon for battles, like Bob, who had saved the babies only to make sure the right person battled with them. Alex saw the shadow on her face and promised, "I'll ask Gary to make a report to the League. They trust his judgement, and there will be an investigation. I swear to you on that. It sounds like Bob has been away from League control for too long," Alex promised. Diana hugged him again, which made Alex's serious air break completely as he stiffened up and turned red.



John watched the two younger children with amusement. He didn't have a lot of dating experience, girls went for Pokemon masters, not research assistants, but they did make a cute couple. Plus, Diana was allowing him to tag along, and there would be more opportunities to research her skills and bond with her Pokemon. But beyond the research aspect (which John was honest enough to admit was important) Diana was someone who minded John of books on the old days, when Pokemon were humanity's one defense against a hostile world. Pets had come a little later, and that had still been with a great deal of respect.



The battling system had been to help make sure Pokemon were treated decently, but the recent wave of champions had lured new trainers in the last few years, since Ash's spectacular victory the year before John could have first become a trainer, to go only for the thrill and dominance of victory, rather than the joy to be one with their Pokemon. John didn't think Diana would change the world, but making people think was almost as good. John had found that a long time in rumination was what led to good decisions, and the better decisions were those that withstood being called bad decisions. Diana, all in all, was a very good decision.



"All right, I'm ready," said Diana with finality, and a last longing glance at Alex. She felt far more comfortable with him than with her parents. He was open and honest, and he didn't look at her as some specimen, like almost everyone else she had met. They had their dreams to accomplish for now, but someday they would meet again, and Diana wanted to make sure they were equals still, no matter what the hardships of achieving her dream of Pokemon mastery threw at her. Diana looked at her new cane fondly. The old one had been fine, but this one had been constructed from a tree with curative properties. There was little virtue left in it, but it was the thought that counted. Alex wasn't the best at carving, but you could see that it was a crude Dratini. With a final wave, Alex disappeared back into the gym, and Diana strode determinedly forward, armed with a new gift.



North, towards the Viridian Forest.



************



Somewhere in northern Johto, a member of Team Rocket had finally stopped fleeing. Something back there had caused his Pokemon to lose control, something Kingler couldn't explain, and the supposed easy mission had gotten more difficult. Yes, he had gotten somewhat careless, but several events were simply unexplainable. Now they needed to recover their strength. It had taken much for Fearow to make it all the way to Johto.



Near where Fearow was guzzling down oatmeal by the small fire, a twig snapped. The Rocket and his Pokemon looked around alertly, starting to move stealthily towards the twig snap. Then, a wave of pressure caught him from behind, plummeting him and his Pokemon into unconsciousness.



Bob strode sheepishly out of the underbrush. From the shadows before him, a female voice chided, "I had to catch him too quickly. He didn't take what he deserve for hurting my poor sister, and I can't just beat him up now, it'd be... wrong." Bob shrugged and nodded. The version of events Athena had gotten were slightly edited, but the important part, with a Kingler reaching to chop Diana's head off, was left intact. Tracking a Fearow flying from Viridian within a narrow time frame had been easy for Athena's skills. She had wanted Bob to take the Rocket out because any suffering could be excused under a battle.



Athena wasn't too fond of simply catching others in pain, it reminded her of dark memories, when the delicate blossom of her sister writhed and wilted while the poison burned, probably for all time, through her veins. Dark times, made worse by darker techniques Athena had tried too early to master. "The Gym Challenge will be good for you, Diana, and I'll be waiting to catch you at Saffron when you fall, so perhaps your landing will be easier than mine." With that vow, Athena set off again through the woods, making more noise now. There were more Rockets to hunt, and more people's pain to stop.



To be continued....



Author's notes: It took FOREVER and a day, but part 3 is done! Yay! There were about two major rewrites to the beginning, and three drafts of the fight scene. So, the only reason it took so long was I was trying to make it better, as a partial apology.



Since there seem to be a lot of trainers who are away from their home cities, I thought I'd send one from the poison gym to help out Diana's state of mind. After two chapters full of failures and dark, mysterious foreshadowing, some people who could simply see beneath the skin seemed refreshing. True Pokemon trainers, seeing the spirit within rather than the body.



Bob struck me more and more as 'dumb muscle' to Athena in the last part, and that's the part he plays here officially. Victory through raw power rather than skill, which is how he's won every battle so far in this storyline. Both Ash and Gary wouldn't be proud. Gary being out of town continues the fine tradition of Viridian being locked tight when trainers in the game arrive.



I've checked semi-carefully, and I believe Diana's had only a few minor giggles up until now. She needed something to laugh about.



Remember to use that little read and review button in the corner! It makes me happy to receive all comments/compliments/criticism/promise to hunt me down and ensure I never write again. Well, maybe not that last one, but everything to make this a better story would be good.



Next time: Northward through Kanto! More random foreshadowing? Probably. ^_^