Chapter 5: The Swindling Salesman

"Zero… Zero? Are you awake?"

"Ugh…" Zero's head was pounding. Where was he? What had happened?

He sat up groggily and realized he was in a Pokémon Center bed. Luckily for Zero, most Pokémon Centers in Kanto had services for human ailments and injuries, so he knew that he could always go there if he wasn't feeling his best. But last he remembered, he was at the Pewter City Museum. He must have passed out during the battle with Proton.

"Oh, thank Arceus, you're up."

Zero looked to his right. Mark was there, standing over him, tears in his worried eyes. "I thought you were dead, man! What happened?"

"I… I don't know," Zero said. As he said it, he immediately realized what had happened—after vomiting, he hadn't replenished his fluids enough and he had passed out from dehydration and low blood sugar. Perfect. Just what he needed. "Where are we, Mark?"

"The Pewter City Pokémon Center," Mark answered, handing Zero his water bottle. Zero took it and gulped almost the whole thing down in a matter of seconds, water splashing on his face and down his hospital gown. As he pulled the bottle away, he realized the water tasted strange.

"Uh, Mark, what exactly is in here?" Zero asked. He was more alert now that he'd had something to drink.

"Sugar water," Mark said, laughing. "What did you think it was?"

"I dunno…" Zero replied, chuckling weakly. Mark handed him a small capsule, which Zero realized was his medicine. How strange… he had taken it that morning…

Hold on.

"How long was I out?" Zero asked, taking the pill and chasing it down with the remainder of the sugar water.

"Half a day," Mark said. "It's morning now. The nurse told me to give this to you when you woke up."

"Thanks…"

"Of course."

There was silence for a few moments. Zero then remembered where he had last been, and what had transpired before he woke up in the Pokémon Center. "Whatever happened in the battle at the museum?" he asked.

"You mean with that weirdo with the blue hair?" Mark said. Zero nodded. "His Koffing used Smokescreen and then Self-Destruct, and when the smoke cleared, he and his goons were gone. I think they mentioned something about Mount Moon."

"That makes sense," Zero mused. "They were after the fossils at the museum, and they stole a few valuable ones. I think they're after the ones on the lowest floor of Mount Moon, too."

Mark bobbed his head in a slow nod, obviously thinking about something. He then snapped back and added, "One more thing. The curator said to tell you thanks for helping him out. He wanted me to give you this."

Zero craned his neck to see what Mark had in his hand. It was a Poké Ball. But it didn't look like the standard red-and-white one with a black band around the center and a white button in the middle. It was still white on the bottom, and in the middle was a black band and a white button. The top, however, was half blue and half gray, bisected by a jagged black line. In the middle of the top pattern was a yellow crescent moon. It was a Moon Ball, a rare type of Poké Ball only made by a few specific people in the world, the most prominent of these being Azalea Town's Kurt, the Poké Ball Master. Zero took the rare capsule and looked it over, letting out a sigh of awe.

"How did the curator get his hands on something so valuable?" Zero breathed.

"Dunno. But he thought you would like it." Mark paused and just stared at his friend. Zero was put off by it at first, but he realized Mark's eyes conveyed a sense of relief at the fact Zero was still alive. Zero smiled.

"So then," Mark continued, handing Zero his backpack. "Do you think you're ready to move on? We've gotta get to Mount Moon as soon as possible so those jerks don't get to the fossils."

"You want to take them on again? You sure?" Zero replied. He was contemplating whether or not he was stable enough to get up and get changed. He decided he was and stood up. The ground felt secure beneath him, so he assumed he was good to go. "I'm ready if you are, I guess."

"We've got to go there," Mark said. "That blue-haired punk said he wanted you to follow him."

"Oh really?" Zero wasn't convinced. He slipped on his jeans and took off his hospital gown, making sure the delicate IV in his arm was out before putting on his shirt.

Mark groaned. "You had to be there. Well, awake, in your case. Would I lie to you?"

"Don't know, I've only known you for a little less than a week."

"That's fair. But I definitely wouldn't! That jerk at the museum said that he liked the way you battled and wanted a rematch, so that obviously means you two are rivals now!"

"I… don't think that's how it works."

Mark scoffed. "Yeah, whatever. Let's go!"

Mark grabbed Zero's wrist and, without warning, yanked him across the hospital room and out the door with him. The startled Zero yelped and tried to put his backpack back on as Mark rushed him out the door, stumbling as they ran.

Soon they were outside, and Mark was dragging Zero along toward Route 3. "Hey Mark, don't you want to go back south and try the Viridian City Gym?" Zero asked. Viridian was much closer to Pewter than Cerulean City was, especially because Mount Moon was a challenging place for novice Trainers to traverse.

"No way," Mark replied. He let go of Zero's hand. "Route 3's the way to Mount Moon, yeah? That's where Proton and his goons said they were gonna go. I'm bringing you there so you can finish what you started."

"Wha—but I don't want to!" Zero exclaimed. "I told you I wasn't going to go after them!"

"Zero, come on," Mark said, sighing. "We've gotta do the right thing. Even if you don't want to fight, I'd like you to come with me."

Zero pondered this. "Fine, I'll come with. But I'm not fighting Proton."

"That's okay with me," Mark said. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

.

Route 3 was a short little path, filled to the brim with common Pokémon you could find pretty much anywhere in Kanto: Rattata, Pidgey, Spearow, Nidoran… However, there were also a couple of Pokémon Zero hadn't registered to his PokéDex yet, like Jigglypuff and Mankey. These were much more elusive creatures, appearing much less frequently than the common Pokémon found on the route.

As Zero was distracted by a Jigglypuff he had encountered and was gathering data on, he felt something tugging at his pant leg. He quickly turned and saw that it was a small monkey Pokémon—a Mankey! However, this Mankey didn't look like the other ones he and Mark had seen on the route. While regular ones were a cream color, this one was a faint green. "Hey there, little guy," he said softly, smiling at the Mankey.

The Mankey let out a soft "Ook" in reply and yanked on Zero's jeans again. Its eyes glimmered as they landed on the Poké Balls on Zero's belt. "You want to see my Pokémon?" Zero asked. The Mankey nodded. Zero chuckled. "Alright, sure."

Zero released Braze and Glo from their Poké Balls to meet the green Mankey. The Charmander and Pikachu, slightly alarmed that the strange creature was not attacking them, approached it carefully. The Mankey walked up to Braze curiously. It plucked a wildflower from the grass and placed it on top of Braze's head. The Charmander squeaked, displeased and surprised at the sudden movement. He spun around in circles, waving his claws around as he tried to find the flower and shake it off. All the while the Mankey was ook-ing happily and clapping its hands, amused.

Glo was less cautious with the monkey. She let out a little spark from her cheeks, her way of saying hello. The Mankey turned and patted the Pikachu on the head. The two Pokémon then took turns booping each other on the nose. Zero couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, little Mankey," Zero said, grabbing the Mankey's attention. "You seem to like my partner Pokémon a lot. Do you want to come with me?"

The Mankey howled happily, running up to Zero and jumping into his arms. Zero took an empty Poké Ball from his bag and tapped the white button on the Mankey's head. It glowed bright white and entered the sphere. The ball shook once, twice, three times, then clicked. Mankey was caught!

Zero let his new friend out of its Poké Ball and checked his PokéDex to see what gender it was and what moves it knew. It was female, with the Vital Spirit ability. Zero grimaced. This could be a double-edged sword; she would never be able to fall asleep in battle, but it could also mean she would be restless at night time if Zero kept her out of her Poké Ball. She also had a full moveset, including a single Fighting-type move, Low Kick. That could be helpful for Pokémon much bigger than the scrappy little Mankey. Then, Zero noticed a tiny star next to the Mankey's entry in his PokéDex and gasped.

It was a shiny Mankey! No wonder she looked so different.

"I got lucky with you, little one," Zero said, smiling. "I think I know what to name you. How about Sage?"

The Mankey hooted, content with her new name. She reached out at Zero, grabbing the air with her tiny hands. Zero picked her up and she chittered happily. Apparently she had just wanted "upsies." Sage had barely even been Zero's Pokémon for five minutes and she was already attached.

"Hey Mark, look what I found!" he called. "It's pretty rare!" There was no response. "Mark?" Zero repeated, but Mark still did not answer. He turned around, sure that his friend was still in the patch of grass behind him pursuing a Spearow, but he wasn't. Mark must have gone forward without him.

"Huh," Zero mused. "Guess I've gotta go find him."

.

"This Pokémon's a real rare specimen! Only five hundred Poké! It's a great price for a great Pokémon!"

Mark was starting to get real annoyed at the salesman advertising his "rare specimen" in the Route 4 Pokémon Center. Mark hadn't even realized he had wandered into Route 4, whose beginning was attached to Route 3 and the entrance to Mount Moon. Since the mountain was ahead, and most likely where Proton's group was, Mark had decided to rest at the Pokémon Center to wait for Zero, who was still out. Mark admittedly hadn't noticed he left Zero behind and honestly felt guilty, but he didn't know the geography of the route that well and didn't feel like risking getting lost just to try to find his friend. Besides, he knew Zero would find him eventually, so it didn't really matter anyway. Sure, Zero would be a little pissed, but Mark could handle a chewing out.

"Take a gander at my fine Pokémon! It's one of the rarest, most powerful creatures in Kanto!"

Mark sighed and got up off of the bench he was sitting on, placing the magazine in his hands back on the rack. He walked over to the salesman and shoved five one-hundred-Poké notes into the guy's hand. "If I take your Pokémon, will you shut the hell up?" Mark asked.

"O-oh, well of course! Anything for a paying customer," said the salesman, handing Mark an all-white Poké Ball with a red band through the middle. It was a Premier Ball, presumably with a Pokémon inside. What a cheapskate. Premier Balls were given free with any purchase of ten Poké Balls at the Poké Mart. Just being handed one said so much about the man in front of Mark.

"Thanks," Mark grumbled. He walked away from the salesman who, as Mark had requested, immediately shut up. He watched as the man slinked out of the Pokémon Center, snickering with glee. What an ass, Mark thought.

Mark may have been duped into buying a Pokémon for five hundred Poké, but he was happy to have peace and quiet again. He looked over the Premier Ball in his hands, contemplating whether or not he should see what was inside. Eventually, curiosity—and the immense boredom of waiting an hour or two for Zero to catch up—got the better of him, and he released his new Pokémon onto the tile floor of the Pokémon Center.

Mark's face fell, and he regretted his decision even more. His new fish-like partner landed on the floor and began flopping pathetically, gasping for air. He had paid five hundred Poké for a Magikarp. A freakin' Magikarp. Mark face-palmed and groaned. That was five hundred Poké he would never, ever get back, unless he kept battling Trainers for money.

He did have to give the swindling salesman credit, though. The Magikarp was indeed rare; it was a pattern Mark had never seen before. Instead of being a red-orange color that Magikarp usually were, this one was mostly albino, except for its face, which was the familiar persimmon hue.

"You got lucky this time, Magikarp," Mark said, sighing. "If you weren't a rare pattern, you'd probably be released into the nearest lake by now. I think I'm gonna call you Peachy, if that's okay." The Magikarp didn't answer. It continued to flop around on the floor and gasp loudly for air. "Alright, then. I'll take that as a yes."

Mark whipped out his PokéDex to gather information on the Pokémon he was begrudgingly stuck with. It was a male Magikarp, which Mark hadn't expected because its whiskers were white. It must've been the albinism that caused the male's typically-golden whiskers to be white. It only knew one move: Splash. How useful.

As Mark contemplated his life choices, deciding that he regretted all of them, he heard the automatic doors to the Pokémon Center open. In walked Zero, who had an unfamiliar Pokémon latching on to his shoulders. It chittered gleefully, hugging its Trainer around the neck.

"There you are, Mark! I was looking for you!" Zero said, smiling. He didn't look the least bit angry, Mark observed, relieved. "Sorry I made you wait, I got caught up in researching the rare Pokémon on the route and stumbled across someone that wanted to come with me." He gestured to the Pokémon on his shoulders, which Mark could now see was a Mankey.

"Oh, cool!" Mark said, reaching out to the little monkey Pokémon. It glared at him and screeched, slashing at Mark's hand. "Agh!" he cried as the Mankey's sharp claws drew blood from his index finger. He sucked on it to stop the bleeding; luckily the wound was shallow and it stopped almost immediately. "What the heck?"

"I don't know either," Zero said, shrugging. "Sage seems to like me and my Pokémon alright, but she was hostile to every single Trainer and wild Pokémon I encountered on the way here."

"Sage, huh? Nice name. Suits her green color." Mark then realized what he said. "Hold on, green? Mankey isn't supposed to be green!"

"I know! Isn't that cool?" Zero said, excited. "She's what they call a shiny Pokémon! She's a different color than your average Mankey, and her fur is naturally glittery!" Mark leaned in closer to get a better look, and sure enough, there were small specks in the Pokémon's fur that caught the light and sparkled.

"That is cool," Mark replied. "I wasn't so lucky." He pointed frustratedly at the Magikarp flopping on the ground. "This is Peachy. I bought him from a salesman so he would shut his trap, so I guess I got duped, but he's honestly pretty cute, so I'm not complaining."

"Aww, hi there, little Magikarp," Zero cooed, touching the fish Pokémon. He stopped flopping and stared up at Zero with his beady black eyes, unblinking. Sage the Mankey stared back, then howled happily, deciding she liked the Magikarp.

"Well then," Zero said, standing back up. "Looks like we both got new friends on our way to beat Proton."

"I thought you didn't want to battle Proton?" Mark said.

"Now that I have Sage, I'm pretty confident that I can beat him," Zero said. "Ready Mark?"

Mark chuckled. "You betcha, my friend."

...

Author's Note:

Meet Sage, Zero's Mankey, and Peachy, Mark's Magikarp! Sage is an absolute sweetheart, but only really to Zero. Peachy... is Peachy. Nothing much to say about a Magikarp. But his pattern is based off of the white mask pattern from Magikarp Jump!

Stay tuned for more!