He put on his fake mustache and Aegon's monocle and strode into the Poké Center calm as a cucumber. Easy laddie, he told himself, this is a foolproof plan. Inside, a ginger-affro'd man was playing the game of coin at the nearest ATM. A few Chanseys strode about, performing menial tasks. A blonde-haired girl with rosy cheeks and a white-and-green dress was standing at a nearby counter, paying for some things he couldn't see. I've seen her before, he thought. But I can't remember from where. Across the hall, behind the most beautiful cash register in the world, Nurse Joy stood beaming. The light seemed to radiate from her body. Ryan's palms began to sweat.

He tip-toed up to the counter like a mischievous Haunter and cleared his throat. "Ahem…"

"May I help you, sir?" Nurse Joy said sweetly.

"Uh, yeah, you can. I'm the radical and real Jesse Ventura, and I do believe you have my poor Sandslash in your possession."

"Oh, that's you, is it?" The nurse put her hands on her cheeks in a low-key sign of shock. "We received that Pokémon weeks ago! What… what do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Ventura?!"

"Sorry 'bout that," Ryan said in his roughest, gruffiest tone (his gruff was the stuff of legend). "I'm here now! Haha, well, I guess that's all that matters."

"How do I know you're really Jesse Ventura, and this is your Pokémon, hmmm?" Nurse Joy asked, producing a Poké Ball from thin air.

"I… uh, well, uh…" Ryan's mind went blank. His little heart was going like a Raticate feasting on rare candy. "O-oh, I'm a fighter, a mayor, and a gravy Seel!"

"Oh, it is you, marvelous!" this Nurse Joy hummed. A few moments later, she finished with Sandslash's paperwork and handed his Poké Ball to Ryan. The boy took it quickly, thanked the beautiful lady, and speed-walked outta there. Once he was outside, he ran over to the edge of town, where the paved streets turned to dirt paths and more rugged terrain, sharper rocks, and taller trees (they looked like sentinels, tall and lonely, in Ryan's estimation), and let the Sandslash out of its ball.

Confused, the creature cowered, its claws raised over its face to shield it from the bright light of day. "Hey buddy!" Ryan said enthusiastically, crouching down next to the beast. The Sandslash squealed and ran away, behind a nearby bush. He doesn't trust me. He remembers.

"Sandslash!" Ryan called, moving slowly towards the bushes. "I know you know who I am. I'm the one who saved you, remember? Your old master abandoned you."

"Slash…!" the animal hissed.

"He ran off into the jungle! He didn't care about you at all. We got you to the Poké Center all healed up and left you there for Jesse, but he never came back."

From between curled green-and-brown leaves, thin as paper, the Pokémon said, "Sand… slash, sand, slash slash!"

"You've been in that Poké Center for weeks! He's never coming back for you. I took you because… well, because I thought you would get bored spending all of your life in a Poké Ball! You can join my team or relax at my parents' home with my other extra Pokémon. It's your choice really. I just wanted to make sure you were free again."

"S-slash?!" The Sandslash jumped out of the bushes, coming within a few inches of Ryan. For a moment, he thought it might attack him. And then its posture lowered. "Sandslash." Its voice came defiant that time.

"Ye-yeah…" the boy said with little confidence. "So do you want to fight with me or go to the retirement home?"

"Slash." Pure determination. I like that.

"Very good, buddy," Ryan smiled. "Welcome to the Dream Team."

"Sandslash!"

"I'll have to show you to the others! They'll be waking up soon. But first, I need to give you a name."

"Sand?"

"Jesse never gave you a name, I suspect."

"Sandslash, sand."

"All of my other Pokémon have names," Ryan explained. "You gotta have one too. It's just a part of this whole story and stuff."

The Sandslash sighed. "Slash…!" He's a bit frustrated, but he'll allow it. He knows I'm his new master. He won't backsass me anymore.

"Alright, Dexy baby!" Ryan said cheerfully, taking out his little pocket monster, "Are you ready for my new Sandslash's name?"

"As ready as I will ever be, kind and gentle master."

"Excellent. You're a fierce-looking beast. Sleek, lethal, quick," Ryan mused, pacing around the Sandslash. "And you have some mean claws on ya, whooo mama! I think I know what I'll call you."

"Slash?!" the Pokémon muttered in uncertainty.

"You can be Wallabi Cornrow McGee," Ryan said mildly.

"Sandslash!" He's a little angry now. Good.

"Easy boy," Ryan said coolly, walking up to his Sandslash. Kneeling and (lightly) petting the beast's quills, he whispered. "That's not your real name buddy, don't worry. Your real name is Skorge. Now go catch me a wild Pokémon."

With a bark, Skorge took to all fours and ran off into the tall grass to the side. Out there, an older trainer, a gentleman clearly past fifty (he would surely not live much longer; fifty years is a really long time; it would be a mercy if he could get it all over with quite soon), was struggling against a crowd of wild Pokémon. "Don't go into the tall grass!" he was wailing, his voice hoarse and broken. "Don't go into the tall grass! Don't go into the tall grass!"

But into the tall grass, Skorge went, fearless as a Pidgeot in flight. A tussle broke out in that grass, as loud and vicious as Ryan had ever beheld. A moment later, a bruised and dirt-covered Pikachu came scrambling out of the grass and dashed down the dirt path in a panicked cloud of dust towards Ryan. It never looked at him, but was huffing and puffing and stealing glances over its back for its assailant. And soon did Skorge appear, bursting out of the grass with energy that had been pent-up for weeks. He chased down the Pikachu like a crazed, hungry beast until he jumped into the air and came down on the little yellow rodent, stopping them a few feet away from Ryan.

He's good. He's very good. Jesse had a high-level Pokémon on his hands. Shame he was a terrible person. This little guy deserved better. "Well done, Skorge!" Ryan beamed, pulling out a spare Poké Ball. "And welcome to the club, Gumi!" Ryan called after the exhausted and semi-lucid Pikachu, who still lay in the middle of the dusty road. I hope Dex is keeping track, he thought, but Ryan was too lazy to take the Poké Dex out of his pocket and point it at the Pikachu. "I'll see what you've got after the Indigo League." No time to test out my new buddies before then. I need to focus on the team I have. Of course, Ryan had a slot missing - the slot for my Abra, he thought angrily. Now I don't know who should go there. Reek? Swirlie Whirlie? Maybe Skorge. That's what he meant to find out, anyways. So far, the teal-haired boy was impressed with his newest Pokémon.

The Sandslash was sitting loyally, staring at his new master. "Return, Skorge," Ryan said calmly, and the Pokémon leapt into his ball eagerly. This is good, he thought.

Coming to the edge of Viridian City, Ryan found the path down Route 2, which led through the claustrophobic, overgrown Viridian Forest. And beyond, my last test… before the real tests. Gulping, Ryan began to pace. He felt jittery and lightheaded. It could happen today. I could get my eighth badge today, if we make good time. Looking around, Ryan saw no sign of Alex, Logan, or Rahul, let alone any other people. Route 2 was empty. It is pretty early.

So it came as a surprise when an elderly man stumbled out from the grass nearby the entrance to Pewter City. He looked like a zombie, all covered in dirt and scabs, and Ryan felt unease when he looked upon the man.

"Frodo dobo?" the man asked Ryan hopefully.

The boy's heart loosened, and he sighed internally. "Obi dobo," he said promptly.

"Ah, obi dobo and mercedes dobo," the man said cheerfully. "Now trade me your Abra for my Mr. Mime," he scowled, producing a tiny, undernourished Mr. Mime like a puppet. He was holding the Mr. Mime as if to show it what a man could do. That thing looks like it's from the Original Child Clown Outlet.

"No thanks," Ryan replied. "I don't have an Abra."

"Oh. Obi dobo Franz Mchobo."

And I wouldn't trade my Abra to you even if I did still have him. The boy walked away from the crazed elder and took up a seat on the wooden wall snaking around the outskirts of Pewter City, low and made of old, rotting pine. He wondered what Abra was up to now, and how things might've been different with his first Pokémon back on his team. I'd be stronger with him.

Sighing, the teal-haired trainer turned his gaze to the looming Viridian Forest ahead. It looked thick enough to swallow him whole. And if he got lost in there again… no one will find me or know what happened to me, or know what I have accomplished so far. He thought of his mother's disappointment, and his father's anger. "He should never have become a trainer," his father would say at that, Ryan knew, "he was never meant to be one! He wasn't ready!" And don't forget that I'm too old. And not smart enough, and too distracted…

A light flush spread across the boy's face. He took out his Poké Dex and said, "Hey Dexy, what's the type specialty of the next gym?"

"Searching… gym found in range," the Poké Dex droned. "Viridian Gym. Flying Gym. Gym Leader: Dylan, a famed young trainer from Kanto who won the Indigo League, but lost to the Elite 4 five years ago."

"Elite 4?"

"The Elite 4 and their leader, known as the Indigo League Champion, are five experienced Pokémon Masters whom the League Winner must challenge to battle immediately after winning the Indigo League tournament. Each member of the Elite 4 specializes in a single Pokémon type and fights with five Pokémon. All of them must be challenged in a row, without switching out Pokémon or using healing items. The Champion fights with six Pokémon and represents Kanto as the region's greatest Pokémon Master."

"Huh." Ryan's breath frosted in front of his face. "Never knew that."

"It's okay wise master, you are young and noble, and you haven't yet had time to learn all there is to know in the world."

"You're a passive-aggressive little robutt aren't you?" the boy asked, annoyance in his voice. "But I s'pose you aren't wrong…"

The wannabe Pokémon Master scowled and stared off into the distance, where the sun was just beginning to rise from behind a soot-black horizon into a sky of pale gold and rippling sapphire. This is gonna be a long day.

This time Rahul brought a map. It's a mistake making him the navigator again, Ryan knew, but he didn't say anything. Behind them, Alex and Logan were locked in deep conversation already.

"But that doesn't explain why you're so afraid of ghosts," Alex observed.

"They just freak me out, okay?"

"Oh, okay." Alex's face was stern and like stone.

Logan's voice rose in anger. "Hey, why are you so interested in my story anyways?"

Alex shrugged emotionlessly. "Some things don't add up."

Ahead, Rahul was studying the map like a studious individual. When he walked, a sloshing sound came from him, most likely from around his midsection. He was holding the map real close to his face, as if he could see nothing and knew nothing. And he's probably going to be my opponent in the last round of the tournament… if I make it that far. The big man led them up a hill, off the path, and soon they were trekking through the tall grass like a group of four pioneers. It was horrible. Good thing we bought loads of Diet Repel at the Poké Center, otherwise this would take forever. But forever this must not take, for I have a lot more that I need to get into in this chapter.

When they reached the crest of the hill, Ryan could hear a thick voice coming from the distance, like bug spray on the wind. The forest thinned around the hills, and more light was getting in around there. And that was when Ryan saw him: a big man, and round, bronze-skinned and covered in muscles. His hair was drawn up in a spiky black mohawk; his face was painted with queer symbols; his suit consisted of white shorts, orange flip-flops, and a fancy button shirt with palm trees and fish.

It was, surprisingly, not that man that interested Ryan. When he saw the man, he also saw the green blurs behind him. Scythers. A swarm of 'em. The boy could see three Scythers from his position. What's that pineapple doing with them?

"You sucka like die, den go dead, come, come, join me!" the man boomed, his voice shaking with his thick Hawaiian accent.

The man's Pokémon shot forward leally to attack some unknown enemy. "Let's go!" Ryan said to the others. "I wanna see what's going on!"

The four quickened their pace, running up to the larger man a few moments later. By that time, his three Scythers had returned to him, unharmed. Down the grassy hill behind them, their defeated foes lay, but Ryan couldn't quite see who they were… even when he tried standing on his tip-toes!

"Who goes dere?!" the man grunted, turning to face them.

"My name's Ryan, and these are the people who follow me around!"

"Hello, Ryan, and secondary characters," the man mumbled. "Dey call me Jun Baba-o."

"Oh."

"You gotta problem wit' dat, ey sucka?" the man said aggressively.

"No sir, not me," Ryan assured him. Great, he's crazy, just like every other adult I've ever met. "So what are you and your Scythers doing in the middle of the forest?"

"Dese not my Scythers," the man said gravely. "A man cannot own a Pokémon. A Pokémon is as smart as any person. Dey belong to no one, like people. I give respect to Pokémon and treat dem as I would treat any person."

"Right, okay, you don't own them. But they're fighting for you…"

"Yah brah, I got some dat fight for me when dey want. Dese Scythers been helpin' me clear out all da Team Rocket suckas I come across. Dey understand da fight we wagin', brah."

"Team Rocket?!"

"Da very same." Jun Baba-o wiped his brow and took out some barbeque pork ribs from his jacket and feasted on them like a starved Mankey, getting the grease and sauce all over his face and clothes and hands. "Dey just started appearin'! Dunno why."

"Have you seen a blue Mew with any of them?" the young trainer asked hopefully.

"Blue Mew?" Jun Baba-o gave Ryan a strange look. "Dere ain't no blue Mew, far as I know brah."

"Right, and you would know."

"Sucka please."

"Right, okay. In that case," Ryan looked over to Rahul, who was munching on a chicken kabob and dripping its dark sauce all over the dirt path, "can you please let us get past you so we can make our way to Viridian City? We have urgent business there."

"Be my guest, brah, but see for yourself, eh? They blockin' the path. Why dontcha help me clear 'em out first, eh?"

That they were, the mad tricksy devils. Now he could see the two unconscious men in dark clothes with those unmistakable huge 'R' signs plastered on their torsos, red as blood. And across the path, from the tall grass, from behind trees and bushes and rocks and streams, more Team Rocket grunts slouched out and came forward to challenge those who stood on the hill.

Team Rocket's the worst, and also I hate them. "Alright, Aegon, Thurnax, NaVorro, Spectre, Myrrah, and Skorge… come on out!" And so Ryan's six Pokémon showed themselves. "Go destroy those Team Rocket hooligans for me, alright?"

"Cloyster!"

"Slash!"

"Brawawasawa!"

"Nieieaeeaalahahalaha!"

"Brrrrrrrmppph!"

"Haunter haunt. Haunter, haunter haunter haunter, haunter haunt. Haunter haunter haunter, haunter haunter haunter haunter haunter," Spectre bellowed, with the passion of a boy playing Ophelia in 1605.

"Go get 'em boys… and girl rock snot… thing."

Before Ryan was the twisting path through the next part of the forest, and on it, around it, standing in the bushes and tall grass and hanging from the trees, were the Team Rocket trainers. Lackeys and captains and officers and grunts were they, all attired in black-and-white slick outfits with those big red 'R's emblazoned on their chests. Five dozen of them, if not more, awaited Ryan and the others, and he realized that his side was outnumbered.

"No way…" Alex breathed, upon running up to Ryan to get a better view.

"This is insane!" Rahul chortled. "There's so many of them."

"My dad named a turkey man his god, and maybe right now I should start praying!" Logan moaned, shivering and shaking and sweating like a boy about to die.

"Time to join the fray!" Ryan shouted at them, pointing to his own Pokémon, swarming around the nearest Team Rocket foes, who were just beginning to take out their Raticates, Wheezings, and Golbats in defense. Come on guys, I know you're strong enough to beat those crummy Pokémon.

Rahul's Dragonair, Rhyhorn, Kadabra, Charizard, Lapras, and Magneton rushed forward to join Ryan's warriors. So too did Alex's Starmie, Tauros, Exeggutor, Golem, Charmeleon, and Jolteon. Even Logan's two Eevees, Ditto, Squirtle, Scyther, and Chansey were out, ready to fight. Then came the three Scythers loyal to Jun. That one Scyther in the middle looks familiar, Ryan decided. There was a scar going down his face, along his left eye, and there was a scruff of fur around its neck, giving it a fearless, feral appearance. The Scyther I knew didn't have that scar… and I never noticed his fur like that before… but, this one looks like him…

"Help us fight, and we'll help ya fight, brah," Jun promised. "Awweeeeieieieieoooooaaah!" he screamed like a madman, the painted symbols on his face contorting with his frown and seeming to dance with life across his flesh; his Scythers charged off to battle, Logan's Pokémon chasing behind them. Jun did a little somersault and rolled down the grassy hill in celebration before getting tangled in the unconscious bodies of a couple of knocked-out Team Rocket scouts.

They were 27 against maybe 200. What are so many Team Rocket members doing out here in the forest? Don't they have better things to do? The battling unfolded before their eyes, savage and automatic. His Pokémon knew what he wanted from them. They all knew which moves would be best against the standard types that Team Rocket employed. Ryan wondered if the other trainers had such a bond with their Pokémon, or if it was all just luck going on out there. Either way, it looked like his side was winning.

"Dang, Team Rocket," Jun Baba-o complained, clawing his way up onto a rock and taking out a bit of barbequed chicken and pineapple to munch on noisily (and messily). "Dey just came ta town, juss like dat, eh!" He licked the grease from his fingers. "Big battle goin' down in Viridian City, I bet."

"Really?" Alex asked.

"Why else dey come here, eh? Why else?!"

"I don't know," the Asian boy admitted.

"Dat doesn't matter!" Jun told them. "We just gotta beat 'em."

As Ryan watched the battles unfold, he noticed his Pokémon were starting to take more and more damage. They need me, he knew. And so he was out there running for his buddies, and he didn't know if any of the other four trainers were chasing after him. In the chaos of battle, Ryan found Aegon and began shouting commands to his Charizard. The fire Pokémon pushed back the Team Rocket members in front of him, frying their Pokémon and even some of them who got too close to the flames. Further ahead, Ryan came upon Thurnax, engaged in combat with an Arbok and a Weezing. After giving her a few pointers, Ryan moved on to Myrrah and Skorge, who were battling a few Raticates and Drowzees. Dispassionately, the boy helped his two outnumbered Pokémon overcome their weaker foes. NaVorro was stampeding through the undergrowth ahead, crashing through bushes and trees as he zigzagged across the dirt path, sending Pokémon and Team Rocket grunts scrambling. Finally, Ryan ran over to where Spectre was, hoping that his Haunter was still in good shape. Luckily, he found the beast engaged with a Fearow, playing with the squawking beast like it was a piece of food. Ryan made sure Spectre KO'd that Pokémon quickly and knew that he was not to mess around anymore.

So there they were, in the dust and jungle, the humidity of the forest wrapped around them like a noose. He saw Rahul's and Alex's and Jun's and Logan's Pokémon fighting. Some of them fell, knocked out or too weak to go on. Some Ryan's did too, as the battling went on - Skorge and Myrrah and NaVorro collapsed after taking a little too much damage. There's still too many of them left, Ryan knew, as he raced from Aegon to Thurnax to Spectre over and over again, his throat aching with how hoarse it had grown. And when Aegon finally fainted, Ryan knew it was over. We can't beat this many of them. They'll make us their prisoners and steal our Pokémon, he realized with horror. We must try to escape. Turning back to look at the others, Ryan found them to be too spread apart, too isolated. His own fallen Pokémon were lost somewhere amongst the piles of collapsed Pokémon and foliage. It'll take too long to find them. I can't run.

"Thurnax!" he shouted desperately. "Please, don't let them hurt you!"

The noble dragon Pokémon roared, "Heieieieaaaaah!" and charged a Machamp. A second later, the four-armed freak fell to the dirt, swirly eyes covering its flat face. She used Surf to push her way through Grimers, Zubats, and Cubones. She felled a Persian with a single Hyper Beam, took out a Rhydon with Wrap, and Surfed through an obese Hypno. After all of that, Thurnax stopped and fell forward panting. That was when the Hyper Beam hit her, and she fainted. A Team Rocket grunt stood cackling, his Persian at his side. There're just too many of them… Ryan thought numbly.

Everything looked lost. Even Alex's and Rahul's Pokémon were collapsing. The Scythers were gone. Ryan only had Spectre left. For a single moment, amidst all the shouting and smoke and screaming, Ryan's eyes locked with Alex's, and he saw the worry in them.

In the next moment, the sound of trees falling could be heard. Everyone stopped battling and turned to face this new threat. It was coming from behind the Team Rocket members. As old, ancient, beautiful trees fell, the dark figure of a person riding a Pokémon could be seen. From so far away, Ryan could only tell that the person riding the Pokémon wore a white shirt and had short brown hair and pale skin. It was his mount - a large Porygon - that truly gave him away, however. Charlie. Found you again. Ryan thought of the bounty for Charlie back on Cinnabar Island and wondered if it was still worth it to try to catch the boy. It's not like I could catch him even if I wanted to. Five of my Pokémon are knocked out.

Standing there, unsure of what was going on or what Charlie was trying to do, Ryan beheld a most peculiar sight: a young boy without a care in the world, cheeky as anyone Ryan had ever seen, casually approaching the Team Rocket army. And when he came upon them, he turned into a man with the head of a Porygon and did to those grunts what the spring does to the cherry tree.

Ryan had never seen a person propagate so much carnage single-handedly. Nuclear proliferation, Ryan thought with awe, I wish I knew more about him. With just his Porygon, Charlie managed to defeat the remaining Team Rocket members, forcing them to scatter like breadcrumbs in a hailstorm after he felled their Pokémon. Confidently, Charlie rode up to the five remaining trainers and grinned.

"Sup whiny-face. Long time no see."

"Yeah, okay, hello," Alex said in that monotone voice of his.

"Marth is better than Falco!" Ryan shouted uncertainly.

"Sure, buddy," replied Charlie. "Anyways, if you ever need saving again, just call me," he smiled knowingly and turned his mount around. Porygon moved like a robot - no emotions, no personality. "I'll be around. And good luck with your journey, dude. I'm sure you'll do really good." I think I detect some malice in that tone of his. A little sass too, and maybe a touch of paprika.

With that, Charlie disappeared into the bushes, where Ryan (and poor Merrett, rest his soul) prayed he would never have to set foot again.

"Dat's not natural," Jun Baba-o spoke.

Logan agreed. "Yeah, what's going on?"

"His Porygon must be on steroids," Ryan put forth.

"That, or he's just really good," Alex said. That can't be it.

"Psst, got any more food?" Rahul asked Jun, his mouth watering like a Growlithe at a water park. "I'm starving!"

"You suckas ain't stealin' from me, no way brah! Thanks for your help, ya. But I ain't feedin' ya!" Jun ran his hand through his mohawk. He looked like a refrigerator. Now even Ryan was feeling a tad peckish. Sensing their unease, Jun said, "It's getting late brahs. Easy brahs, slow brahs. You helped me, and I helped you. We even now, ok? Viridian City is just ahead… keep going, ya?"

"We're hungry!" Rahul complained "Feed us!" And he kicked and punched the air like a petulant child, magnificent for a man of Rahul's stature. It's like when he tried to do good in Halo 5 but never did.

"Love your Pokémon, bruddahs, and don't forget dey're people too, just like you. Now I must go, my people need me!"

With that, Jun Baba-o, the First of His Name, rolled off into the bushes, like some predator of the night. Two of his Scythers howled, taking to the air and buzzing off after him. The scarred one with the scruff of fur around his neck stayed put.

Around Ryan, the others were looking for their fainted or wounded Pokémon. The forest was quiet, all the wild Pokémon spectators long fled. He alone stood to face the Scyther. A golden beam of sunlight was stretched diagonally across the warrior's lime green face. Pulled back was his body, taut and unleashed, like a samurai warrior frozen in carbonite, like a tsunami about to break across the shore.

"Scyther," Ryan said happily. "Nice to see you again."

"Scyther, scythe!" the creature retorted coolly.

"You remember me, don't you? I'm Ryan. You helped me save Pallet Town from a herd of rampaging Tauros."

"Scyyyyyyy!"

"I've missed you," the boy said. I've thought about this Scyther more than I should have, ever since we left Pallet. "I-if you want… you c-could join my team…" he offered lamely.

"Scyther," the Pokémon replied, sliding its white scythe hands against each other, as if to sharpen the blades.

"I know you don't want to be out here, Scyther. Who would? Come on, Viridian Forest is boring and lonely. You won't get to fight many cool battles out here… if you join me, I'll take you around the world to battle all sorts of Pokémon!"

"Scyther," the Mantis Pokémon said sadly. He belongs to Jun, Ryan thought suddenly. Even though Facepaint McGee didn't want to admit he owns any Pokémon, I can see it in Scyther's eyes. He doesn't want to leave that man. He's too loyal.

"It's Jun, isn't it?"

"Scyther." The word came lonely as the night, stiff and short.

Ryan sighed. "Don't worry about it, Scyther. It was nice seeing you. Maybe one day, we'll meet again."

"Scyther!" the bright green bug 'mon shouted, and in the next breath, he was in the air, flying over the tree line, away from Ryan and the others. But I know we won't.

An emptiness blanketed Ryan as he gathered his defeated Pokémon and regrouped with the others. I wanted that Scyther so bad. First Abra, then the Mew, and now Scyther… Bowing his head, Ryan focused on the holes in the shade, coming from the pockets in the tree line above him. Patches of the dirt road were covered in sunlight, hot to the touch, while others remained cool and dark. He wondered what Jessica had done to that Mew since that terrible night in Lavender Town. If she even touched it, I'll…

"Ryan." The voice of Alex wafted across the forest path like a summer breeze. The boys locked eyes again. "We need to go. Four of my Pokémon are KO'd, and it's the same for the others. We're vulnerable, and we need to get to a Poké Center as soon as possible. I have potions, but I don't want to use them if I don't have to."

Ryan said, "Fine, let's go. I'm just waiting for you guys anyways."

And so off they went, deeper into the forest. The air was growing hotter, and Rahul and Logan were arguing again about if ghosts were real. Ryan's only conscious Pokémon, his jokester of a ghost, drifted after them, while Alex, now with Rahul's map, led the way. Just a few more hours, Ryan told himself, and I'll have eight badges. Just like Kelly… just like dad.

It was a calamity, as Ryan always knew it would be. Alex can be so oblivious sometimes, he observed, watching Alex try to lead them to Viridian City, as his brothers kept calling him on his phone to talk about their lives and school and smash. Needless to say, Alex stretched himself too thin, as he was wont to do, and didn't see the forest for the trees. The big picture eludes him like a salad eludes Rahul.

They came to the end of the road, where the forest squeezed inward and a rocky wall swallowed the path whole. Grey rocks, like chipped ice cubes, lay half-sunk in the mud. On one of them, a Spearow sat. When it saw the four boys approach, it faced them and gave them the stink eye. Ryan picked up a pebble and almost threw it at the beast, only restraining himself at the last second. It's nothing. That Spearow means nothing to me.

"Make sure you spam Meta Knight's tornado attack," Alex urged his youngest brother, Xiao Bao, the most notorious spammer of them all. It did not surprise Ryan in the slightest that the eldest son was giving such advice to the youngest son. Upon hanging up, Alex shook his head and spun the map around a few times before flinging it at the bushes half-heartedly. "Well, we're lost. I followed the map, and the map lied."

"Told you," Rahul grinned, stroking his dark beard. "It wasn't me."

"No. The road earlier was pretty straightforward. All you needed to do was follow it," Alex responded, motioning to the rock wall. "The map did not show this. Where does something like that even come from? How does a mountain pop up out of nowhere and break up the trail?"

"Luckily, we have someone who can walk through mountains," Ryan said, clicking his fingers. With that, Spectre lurched forward and sped right at the rock. It still looked odd and made Ryan a little queasy to watch his Haunter fly at a wall with such speed only to vanish into it… like a ghost.

"What's he going to find on the other side, Viridian City?" Alex asked.

"I hope so."

"And how does that help us?"

"It'll let us know we're close," Ryan assured the angry Asian boy. "Trust me, I have seven badges."

Alex's phone rang again. This time he didn't pick up for his brothers. That made Ryan gasp audibly. "We already know how close we are. It says so on the map. The problem is that there's no way to get to there from here. The trail's being blocked!"

A bird screeched, its thin, piercing voice ringing through the air like pure energy. The bird eclipsed the sun, causing everyone to look up. Pidgeot. If ever there was such a thing as grace personified, it was that bird, Ryan thought. It was huge for a Pidgeot, and arrogant in how it flew. Its loops and artful spiraling arcs were all for show. It knows we're watching. When it performed a diving, twirling flip only to pull up at the last second, Rahul whooped and probably thought of Pacific Rim 2: The Return.

Out from the mess of bushes and trees behind them, a rustling sound came. Then came a leg, an arm, and a person. He was light-skinned, wore black skinny jeans, a grey long-sleeved shirt, a light white-and-red jacket, and a backwards black-and-red baseball cap. His eyes were blue, dark as the ocean, and his hair was a chaotic brown mess. He was about as tall as Ryan, and a little shorter than Rahul.

"I thought I heard people," the boy said, brushing a branch out of his face. "You guys were making a lot of noise."

"We're lost," Logan explained.

"I can tell. You guys talk too much. Are you trying to get to Viridian or Pewter?"

"Viridian," Ryan said at once.

"Nice! I know how to get there. I don't know what I would have done if you had said the other city," he laughed. "My name's Dylan, by the way," he continued, bowing nimbly "I'm the Gym Leader from Viridian. It's a pleasure make all of your acquaintances."

The others introduced themselves to the youthful Gym Leader… all save for Ryan, who stood there frozen. When everyone else finished, and the attention shifted to him (it would be most rude for him to not introduce himself, after all), Ryan shouted, "I challenge you to a Gym Battle!"

"So you must be the one with seven badges," Dylan said shrewdly. Behind, his Pidgeot landed hard in the grass. "Alright, kid, I'll fight you. Just… let's get back to the gym first, okay? I'd rather fight there. It's official and all, you know…?"

Ryan nodded a little too emphatically. Dylan can't know the Team Rocket trainers knocked out my other five Pokémon. That wouldn't be fair; he'll think I'm a joke and he might refuse to battle me. Hopefully the others won't say anything about it. As Dylan led the others into the wild forest, with the promise of safe passage to Viridian City, Ryan stood and stared at the Pidgeot, not saying a word. Then, his Haunter reappeared and gave him a breathless report on what he had seen in the heart of the mountain. Ryan raised his hand to silence the ghost, still staring at the narrowed eyes of the Pidgeot.

He's a flying trainer. Well, flying/normal, I suppose… I guess I picked up the worst new Pokémon for this battle, he thought, thinking of Skorge. But if I beat him with a Ground type Pokémon… maybe everyone'll see just how good a Pokémon trainer I really am! It would be a gamble, he knew. But I have to try.

Smirking, Ryan broke the gaze with the Pidgeot and followed the others into the thick forest. His leg caught on a bramble. He felt a thorn poke his toe through his shoe. He tasted mud and dying leaves on the air as sweat poured down his neck and back in the humid heat. Dylan doesn't know I use TMs. He doesn't know that I know he's a flying specialist. He'll try to trap me, especially if he sees Skorge. That's good. So long as he thinks he's laying a trap, I'll have an advantage. He may have won the Indigo League a few years ago, but in this battle I'll be one step ahead of him.

I'll get that badge, he promised himself. If Kelly could get it, if Rahul is going to get it, if all those other kids who qualified managed to get this badge… so will I. My father beat the Viridian City Gym Leader four times. If they can do it, so can I. He wanted to believe - he really did. In his mind and dreams, Ryan was a Pokémon Master.

But the real world is not made of dreams and fantasies. Things never end up how you want them to… not unless you make them.