The day had just started, with the sun only rising, when a lone ship stopping at the only dock in Pallet Town. The only two that stepped off it were the Silva Brothers. Jason waited impatiently on the dock while Henry paid the captain of the fishing vessel for the ride. When Henry joined his brother, they overlooked Pallet Town. It was a small town with just a few blocks of houses and Professor Oak's lab on a hilltop. No one was outside at this hour, leaving Henry and Jason to walk on a sidewalk in silence.

"There's nothing to do in this town," Jason muttered. "How could anyone possibly live here?"

"I'm honestly surprised this town isn't much of a tourist spot," Henry noted. "You would think that Professor Oak would be someone people want to see."

"We're not going to see him," Jason quickly said.

"Yeah, I know," Henry gave off a disappointed sigh.

"We are here to challenge all of the gyms, and there isn't a gym in Pallet Town," Jason pointed out. "So, why are we here?"

"It's the first stop on our journey," Henry pulls out a map and unfolds it. "You know, not everywhere we go to is going to have a Pokémon Gym."

"I know that! I just want something to do."

"We do have something to do. We have to walk to Viridian City."

"Is there a gym there?"

Henry nods. "Yep."

Jason's frown slowly turned into a grin. "Alright! First gym to take down, and we're on our way to the Indigo League Conference!"

"One step at a time," Henry chuckled. "If we keep walking, we'll get to Viridian City in the afternoon."

"And then we challenge the Viridian City Gym!"

"Actually, we get settled in, then challenge the Gym Leader," Henry corrected. "The gym's not going to leave. We can take our time."

Jason crossed his arms, but did not try to argue with his brother. He knew that Henry would want to take it slow and enjoy the road. Jason thought it would be best to collect all of the gym badges first before taking in the sights, but he knew that his brother wouldn't agree to that idea. Henry was more traditional and stubborn to those traditions.

The Silva Brothers walked at a leisurely pace out of Pallet Town, with none of the citizens knowing of their passing.

At Viridian City's Pokémon City, Danny, Celena, Noah, and Jared all sat down together to have breakfast. While they ate, they each shared the trainer cards they received from passing yesterday's exams. The four were eager to compete in the Indigo League. However, to travel across Kanto requires a lot of effort and supplies. While the trainers certainly had the effort needed, supplies were something entirely new to them, as they mostly relied on what the city had to offer.

After their plates were cleared, Noah spoke up. "Right. We can't just leave right now. We're going to need to get packing."

"What do you think we'll need?" Jared pulled out a pencil and a notepad from his back."

"We'll definitely need backpacks."

"We already have those," Danny pointed out.

Noah nodded. "We do. They don't have a whole lot of space, but until we get more money, they're all that we're going to have. Write it down anyways, Jared."

Jared starts writing with Celena speaking next. "What about food? Do you think we can find anything passing through Viridian Forest?"

"It's a little risky, especially if we get lost," Noah shook his head. "We'll buy two days worth of food for each of us and our Pokemon. Rations are pretty cheap so we should manage. And we're not going to get through the forest today, so we're going to need tents."

"Tents are pretty expensive," Jared said while writing.

"They are, so we really shouldn't have one for each of us," Noah said, then looked at Danny. "You don't mind sharing, do you?"

"Not at all!" Danny answered.

"We'll share a tent, so that makes three tents," Noah said with a nod. "It looks like you lucked out and got your own tent, Jared."

"Thank you," Jared said while writing with a smile.

"We can't just sleep on the ground, either," Celena added. "We need sleeping bags, and pillows."

"And those we can't share, so one for each," Noah paused a moment to think. "Add canteens to the list, too. We need water."

"This list is getting pretty big," Jared said after scribbling down the final notes. "I think we should stop now."

"Good thinking," Noah took the notepad from Jared and read through it silently. "I hope no one minds, but we're going to need to work together to pay for all of this. So, we should pool our money together for all of the supplies we need to buy, then earn back what we give now. How does that sound?"

No one offered any objections to the plan and started to put out their money. Celena and Noah had offered to do chores for the citizens of Viridian City for money, but they never made a whole lot of money. On the other hand, Danny and Jared both stayed in touch with their family, and given the short distances they lived apart, were able to borrow money from home. After pooling together their money, the group decided that Jared would be the most responsible, and left him in charge of buying everything. Everyone was set to get on with their shopping trip.

It was another day of guard duty for Anthony, who was quickly growing bored of his job. There were no battles to watch, although there were a few trainers stopping by to challenge the gym. They were likely new to Kanto and haven't heard the news regarding the closing, so he turned them away. It was a necessary duty, and Anthony never objected to orders, but he would be lying to himself if he didn't want something more exciting. The good news for him was that backup would arrive tomorrow to take over for him and he would be given his new assignment then. That was enough to keep him going.

With not a whole lot else to do, Anthony was left to his own thoughts.

The shopping trip lasted well into the afternoon. The supplies they needed were found at the general store, which offered a lot of different options. The four young trainers were interested in whatever was the best option to have, and mainly relied on Noah and Jared for comparing the different products. With the leftover money, Noah bought a large camping backpack, meant to hold all of the tents. He offered to carry all the tents with it until the others could get larger backpacks, and no one offered any objections to his idea.

With tents to sleep in for the night, the four trainers knew that they had no reason to delay their adventure any longer. Noah led the way north towards the Viridian Forest with his friends following. However, a few minutes after they left the city, Noah walked off to the side, towards a grassy field. Danny, Jared, and Celena looked at him questionly when he took off the heavy backpack and set it on the ground. He turned to his friends with a grin and reached into the backpack.

"So, we're going to have to go back to Viridian City," Noah announced.

"What?" Danny gasped. "Why? Did we forget something?"

"Not at all," Noah shook his head and pulled out a Poké Ball. "We're going to need to go back to the Pokémon Center after we have our first battles as trainers. Now, who wants to be my first real opponent?"

"Me!" Danny shouted.

Danny ran off towards the field to join Noah. Celena and Jared both looked at each other, surprised by how quickly everything has changed. Celena smiles and sits down on the ground to watch with Jared joining her a few seconds afterwards. Noah pointed to a spot several feet away from him and Danny went over to stand there. He reached into his backpack and pulled out his own Poké Ball.

"You better be sending out your strongest Pokémon," Noah challenged with a grin. "I'm sending out my ace, so I won't take anything else."

"You know I always start with my lead fighter!" Danny smiled back and tossed his Poké Ball forward. "Let's do this, Bulbasaur!"

"You're up, Squirtle!" Noah called out and tossed his Poké Ball forward.

The Poké Balls released the two Pokemon on the field. Bulbasaur and Squirtle looked down at each other, both ready for battle. The two Pokémon knew each other. Just like their trainers, they were friends, and they have battled before. Despite the type advantage Danny and Bulbasaur had, Noah and Squirtle were able to keep them on their feet. Noah was still one of the top trainers that Danny knew and managed to pull out a win every once in a while during training matches. Still, he was determined to beat his friend.

"Let's start out with Vine Whip, Bulbasaur!" Danny commanded.

"Dodge the vines and get in close with a Tackle!" Noah ordered.

Two vines extended on the bulb that was on Bulbasaur's back. The vines stretched forward towards Squirtle, intending to swat into him. Squirtle had enough practice against Bulbasaur to dodge the vines easily and charged forward. He slammed his body against his opponent, pushing the Pokémon back. It was experience that made Noah and Squirtle difficult to beat, but Danny wasn't done yet.

"Keep up the pressure with Water Gun, Squirtle!"

"Bulbasaur, use Leech Seed!"

Squirtle opened his mouth and shot a stream of water at Bulbasaur's face. The water struck with force, and although he was resistant to the attack, Bulbasaur was forced to close his eyes from the water. It was a technique Danny recognized: blind the opponent so the vines wouldn't be able to strike Squirtle. This time, Danny was ready. Bulbasaur popped out several seeds from his bulb towards the field. Squirtle tried to get away but was too slow. Several of the seeds landed and started to drain Squirtle.

"We've got him!" Danny cheered. "Now, let's grab him with Vine Whip!"

"Withdraw, Squirtle!" Noah called out, keeping calm.

Danny blinked in surprise. That was a new tactic he had never seen Noah used before. Squirtle withdrew his head and limbs into his shell, although the Leech Seed remained in effect. Bulbasaur's vines swatted against his opponent's shell before wrapping around it and lifting the shell up from the ground. It was part of a new technique Danny practiced with Bulbasaur: use Leech Seed and keep the opposing Pokémon restrained with Vine Whip. This was the first time they've tried it in a real battle.

"Good job, Bulbasaur!" Danny said with an eager smile. "Just keep Squirtle restrained like that!"

"Nice trick, but you're not the only one with tricks," Noah smirked. "Escape with Rapid Spin, followed by Water Gun!"

Danny gasped at Noah's command. It was so wild and something that he never expected to see happen. Despite Bulbasaur's tight grip, Squirtle's shell started to spin rapidly in place. Rapid Spin threw off the seeds from Leech Seed and tore through the vines holding Squirtle in place. Bulbasaur roared out in pain as he retracted his vines back into his bulb. Squirtle popped his head out of his head to blast Bulbasaur in the face with Water Gun, which led to another direct hit on the face. Squirtle extended his legs and arms just in time to land on the ground.

"Let's go in for the finish with Tackle!" Noah grinned.

Danny was still recovering from the surprise and wasn't able to register in a command fast enough. Not that it would have made much of a difference, with Bulbasaur wincing in pain from the Water Gun to the eyes again. Squirtle slammed against his opponent one last time. Bulbasaur collapsed onto the ground with his eyes closed, knocked out. Danny recalled his Pokémon back into his Poké Ball and sighed.

"We're going to be ready for that next time, Noah," Danny looked up at his friend and smiled. "We'll get you next time!"

"I bet you will," Noah nodded and recalled Squirtle back into his Poké Ball. "Good work, Squirtle."

"That was an amazing battle to watch," Jared complimented with Celena nodding in approval. "The strategies you both used were something I haven't seen from either of you before."

"Speaking of strategies, it's only fair that you and Celena battle too," Noah turned towards his two friends. "I want to see what you both have up your sleeves."

"Uh, I'm not too sure about that," Jared started and looked down. "I don't want to hold us up from traveling for too long."

"It's just one battle," Celena patted Jared on the shoulder and stood up. "I'll go easy on you. We'll have fun."

"You still have to use your best fighters, just like we did," Danny pointed out.

"Alright," Jared sighed as he stood up. He glanced at Celena. "I don't think you going easy on me is going to make a difference, but I'll battle you."

The two groups of trainers swapped places. Noah and Danny grabbed their backpacks and sat next to each other on the sidelines. Celena and Jared took their places on the field and each reached into their backpacks for their Pokémon. Celena sent out her Charmander immediately, and they both looked at their opponent expectantly. Jared was trying to decide which of his two Pokémon to send out. Danny wasn't sure how much of a difference the choice would make. Jared was smart, but so was Celena, and no matter what Jared picked, she held a type advantage. After several seconds, Jared released his Weedle onto the field.

"Weedle," Celena thought out loud. "I always thought Caterpie was your strongest Pokémon."

"I think they're the same when it comes to battle," Jared quickly said. "I just think that Weedle might have a better chance of winning. I have some ideas on what to do. I'm going-"

"Jared," Celena interrupted. "We're in a battle."

"She's giving you the first move!" Noah called out.

"Oh," Jared gulped nervously. "Sorry. I was just thinking- I'm doing it again. Weedle, use String Shot!"

"Charmander, strike with Scratch."

Charmander charged forward towards Weedle, arms raised to strike. Weedle spat out of a string of web that stuck onto Charmander, slowing his movements. Still, he was not fast enough to dodge the claws, which raked out against his long, thin body. Weedle inched away from Charmander, who stood tall over his opponent.

"Go in with another Scratch!"

"Weedle, you have to dodge, then use String Shot again!"

It was common for trainers starting out to repeat the same moves over and over. They did not have a lot of options with new Pokémon, but through training, trainers were able to unlock new moves for their Pokémon. Charmander tried to struck Weedle out with his claws, but was too slow and his foe moved just out of reach. While backing away from Charmander, Weedle spat out more sticky web.

"A clever strategy," Celena commented. "Charmander, don't bother with attacking, and use Growl."

"This is it, Weedle," Jared called out, a little excited. "We might be able to win! Let's use Poison Sting!"

Weedle inched forward towards Charmander, the stinger on top of his head poised to strike. Over the next few seconds, Charmander let out three growls. The first was an intimidating growl that was meant to unnerve his opponent. The second was a growl of pain for when Weedle jabbed his stinger into his thigh. When Weedle quickly ran away from Charmander, he let out one final growl that sounded sickly.

"I think Weedle might have poisoned Charmander," Noah whispered to Danny, who nodded in agreement.

"This was your plan all along," Celena thought out loud again. "You wanted to slow down Charmander so you can chip away at him slowly with poison. That's very clever."

"Thank you," Jared said, slowly smiling. "I wasn't sure how it would work out. Weedle can't take a lot of hits, so-"

"Ember," Celena interrupted.

"Huh?!" Jared gasped.

Unlike Jared, Charmander didn't hesitate at the command. He spat out a small burst of fire towards Weedle, who was likewise caught off guard. The flames struck true and Weedle coiled up in pain. Everyone could tell that at this point, Weedle was not going to be able to continue the battle. Jared sighed in disappointment at himself, then recalled his Pokémon back into his Poké Ball. His shoulders slumped down.

"You put up a good fight," Noah said in an effort to cheer up his friend.

"You'll get her next time!" Danny chimed in.

"Maybe," Jared shook his head. "I thought that I had a good shot of winning."

"You did, but I couldn't just stand by and watch Charmander suffer from the poison you inflicted," Celena told him and recalled Charmander into a Poké Ball.

"I'm sorry," Jared sighed.

"Please, don't apologize," Celena said with a friendly smile. "I said I would hold back, but I went against my word. I'm the one who should apologize."

"You can both be sorry," Noah joked and stood up. "But let's get our Pokémon treated real quick, then we can head to Viridian Forest."

"That sounds like a good plan to me!" Danny jumped up to his feet. "Let's get going."

However, the group wouldn't be able to hit the road before something new came up. While Jared and Celena were packing up their backpacks, Danny and Noah looked at the road leading to Viridian City. Noah immediately frowned when he recognized Victor, walking by himself towards the forest. Of course Victor had his own trainer's card, and with the gym closed, he would want to leave the city. Danny hoped Victor wouldn't notice them, but given that they were out in a field, there was nothing to save them. Victor saw them, grinned, and approached them right as Celena and Jared walked behind Noah and Danny.

"Did I miss out on your first battles as trainers?" Victor asked but doesn't wait for an answer. "Even if I did, you're all in luck. I'm looking for my first opponent as a real trainer. Let's battle."

Danny, Celena, and Jared looked at each other with various looks of unease. It was Noah who took a stand. "About that, but we've just used our strongest Pokémon, and they're all tired."

"I know you have two Pokémon each," Victor pointed out. "You can use your spares."

"We need to get our Pokémon to the Pokémon Center," Noah said and looked back at Celena. "We have a poisoned Pokémon. We really need to get that checked out."

"We really do," Celena nodded in agreement. "You wouldn't want to hold us up, would you?"

"I wouldn't," Victor said and reached into his backpack. "I guess it's your lucky day. I just so happen to have an Antidote on me. I'm surprised none of you thought to buy one."

"We didn't even think to buy medical supplies for our Pokémon," Jared muttered.

"I'll spare one, but I want a battle in return," Victor declared as he pulled a Poké Ball from his backpack. "I want my first official battle as a trainer to be a win, and I'm sure you can provide that."

Victor released his Electabuzz behind him, who stood with his arms crossed, ready for battle. The group of trainers looked at each other, none of them wanting to make the next move. They were all thinking the same idea: that none of them wanted anything to do with their school bully. However, the offer of an antidote was tempting, and none of them had any reason not to believe Victor's deal. And even if they went to the Pokémon Center, if Victor wanted a battle so badly, he could follow and harass them until one of them relented.

Danny looked back down the road leading to Viridian City, wondering if they could outrun Victor. His eyes instead fell on two teenage boys walking towards the forest. They were strangers to him. The one leading the way was around the same age as Noah and Victor, while the taller one behind him was nearing adulthood. As they grew closer, Danny was able to see that they resembled each other closely and were likely brothers. The younger brother saw the Electabuzz, gasped, and bursted out into a sprint. His brother chuckled and followed at a slow pace.

"You have an Electabuzz?!" The sudden arrival greeted the group. "Those are pretty rare!"

Victor, initially surprised, grinned and turned to the stranger. "They sure are, but my dad works down at the Power Plant, and managed to catch him for me. He's the best partner I could ask for."

"And here I thought I wouldn't get a decent battle," the boy grinned back. "I still can't believe the Pokémon Gym back at Viridian City was closed. My brother wanted us to take a break, but I told him we had to push on, and now, my effort is about to pay off!"

"Jason, let's not bother them anymore," the older brother finally caught up. "You wanted to set up camp in Viridian Forest. There's not going to be a whole lot of daylight left."

"Setting up camp can wait, Henry," the younger brother, Jason, quickly said. "Let's battle."

"You're on!" Victor agreed, with Danny and his friends holding back a sigh of relief. "You should know that you're not going to win though."

"Really now?" Jason raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"My name's Victor," Victor told him. "I was born to win."

Jason chuckled. "That's such a cheesy line."

"Said the boy who wanted to call himself one of the Goldenrod Boys," Henry joked.

Jason ignored his brother and shook his head. "You won't find me an easy target, Victor. Let's battle."

"We should get going while we can," Jared whispered to his friends when Jason and Victor walked further up the field for space.

"I'm not sure," Noah replied. "I kind of want to see how this plays out."

"You should watch," Henry interrupted, although his eyes remained focused on his brother. "You're all new to being a trainer, right?"

"Right!" Danny nodded eagerly.

"How could you tell?" Celena asked.

"I passed by the trainer school back at the city, so it was just a lucky guess," Henry said with a shrug. "If Victor's any good, this battle will be worth watching. You can probably learn something new from this."

"I'll stick around just to see Victor lose," Noah said and took a seat on the ground.

Danny sat down next to Noah without hesitation, eager to watch the battle. Jared and Celena waited a few seconds before joining them on the ground. Henry stepped forward to stand next to them but did not sit down with them. Jason and Victor walked away from each other with Electabuzz remaining between them. Jason pulled out a Poké Ball and threw it out towards the field. Everyone but Henry gasped when the Poké Ball revealed a Pinsir. They've learned about all of the Pokémon native to Kanto at school but this was the first time they've seen a Pinsir in person.

"I never thought I would get to see a Pinsir this early in our adventure," Jared noted.

"This battle just got a lot more exciting," Noah grinned.

Pinsir and Electabuzzz stared down each other from across the field. Just like their trainers, they were both eager for a battle. In particular, Electabuzz was especially eager. A Pinsir was unlike any of the opponents he faced under the command of the other trainers. Still, he and Victor had a reputation of being unbeatable to keep, and Electabuzz will fight however hard to win.

"Pinsir, take it easy and start out with Harden," Jason called out.

"Take it easy?!" Victor grunted. "Electabuzz, use Thunder Shock so that everyone learns not to take it easy on me!"

Electabuzz started to charge up electricity from his antennas. Pinsir paid no attention to his opponent as his shell hardened. The electricity shot forth in a burst from Electabuzz towards Pinsir. It struck the opponent Pokémon, who was hardly phased by the attack. Danny gasped loudly. Electabuzz's Thunder Shock was enough to knock out most of the Pokémon at the trainer's school but Pinsir held his ground.

"A Thunder Shock?" Jason laughed. "It's going to take more than that to defeat Pinsir!"

"You're going down!" Victor shouted, his anger getting to him. "Quick Attack!"

"That's better," Jason smirked. "Go in with Vital Throw, Pinsir."

Electabuzz charged, appearing as a yellow-and-black blur to the onlookers. His fist struck Pinsir right between his eyes and mouth. Pinsir looked down at Electabuzz and grabbed him by the forearm. In a practiced motion, Pinsir threw Electabuzz over his shoulders and slammed his opponent onto his ground. Electabuzz groaned out in pain, but still remained conscious. Jason was certainly giving Victor (who was now fuming) a battle unlike any other. Jason waved towards the spectators and grinned. Danny and his friends clapped while Henry frowned and crossed his arms.

"Don't showboat, Jason," Henry warned. "The battle's not over yet."

"Electabuzz is on the ground," Jason pointed out. "I think we have a few moments, and Pinsir doesn't like hitting his opponents while they're down. Speaking of, go ahead and Harden again, Pinsir."

Victor tightened his hands into fists. "Electabuzz, Low Kick that Pinsir into the ground, then stand back up! We're not losing that easy!"

Electabuzz was behind Pinsir with his legs facing his opponent: a perfect opportunity for a kick from behind. He struck out with his foot, kicking Pinsir in the back of the leg. Pinsir's Harden was interrupted by the attack and he fell face first into the ground. Electabuzz stood up quickly to tower over Pinsir, who was pushing his arms against the ground to get back up. Jason gasped and turned back to his opponent, taken aback by the sudden change.

"I told you," Henry smirked.

"You're not getting up," Victor chuckled. "Stun Pinsir with Thunder Wave before he gets up!"

While Danny and his friends gasped at Victor's tactic, Jason regathered his composure and waved a dismissive hand. "Protect yourself, Pinsir."

More electricity gathered between Electabuzz's antennas as he looked down on his opponent. Pinsir paused in standing up and concentrated with his eyes closed. When Electabuzz unleashed the Thunder Wave on his downed opponent, a sudden green barrier surrounded Pinsir to block it. The barrier faded away afterwards and Pinsir stood back up. Electabuzz took a few steps backwards, surprised by the use of Protect.

"So cool," Danny gasped.

"I thought that Pinsirs couldn't learn Protect," Jared thought out loud.

"Not naturally, but Jason did use a Technical Machine," Henry told them. "He's careful about when to use it. He tries to only use Protect when he needs it most, so that says something about this battle."

"We don't need your Pokémon paralyzed to win," Victor said, although there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice. "Electabuzz, use Shock Wave!"

"Pinsir, go in for the finish with Vice Grip," Jason commanded. "We've let this battle go on long enough."

Electabuzz's body generated electricity to match Pinsir's charge. Pinsir's pincers wrapped around his opponent's chest as the Pokémon endured the electric charge. An orb of electricity formed in Electabuzz's hands, which he slammed down on Pinsir. Still, it was not enough to defeat Pinsir, who promptly tightened his grip on Electabuzz. He lifted Electabuzz up into the sky and threw him towards Victor. Electabuzz slid on the ground to Victor's feet, out cold. Danny and his friends were stunned. It was Noah who took the initiative with the applause, with his companions joining soon afterwards.

"I've… lost?" Victor muttered quietly as he fell down to his knees. "But I've never lost before."

"There's a first time for everything," Jason grinned. "It looks like I'm the victor of this battle, and not you, Victor."

"Don't rub it in," Henry told his brother sternly. "You won. That's all you need."

"I don't think anyone would mind if he rubbed it in just a little," Noah whispered to his friends.

"Right, right," Jason shrugged, and recalled Pinsir into his Poké Ball. "It's a pretty big deal though. I've won my first battle in Kanto today. Let's get going!"

Henry smiled when Jason broke out to a sprint towards Viridian Forest. He looks down at the group of trainers sitting down. "I should go after him, but I hope you've learned something new from that battle."

"I think we have learned from that battle once we think about it," Celena replied with her friends nodding in agreement.

"Good," Henry took a few steps towards Viridian Forest. "You four are challenging the Indigo League, right?."

"Yeah, we are," Danny said, excited. "How did you know."

"Another lucky guess," Henry looked over his shoulder. "You're all new to being trainers. Take your time if you need it. You've all got a long way to go still, but if you focus on training, you might have a shot. I'll see you all later."

Henry turned his head back around and walked towards Viridian Forest after his brother. Danny and his friends looked at the two trainers as they left. There was no denying that the brothers made an impact on their journey. Pinsir fighting Electabuzz was one of the greatest battles they've seen, and if they were going to have any hope of facing Victor or Jason, they would need to learn more, train more, and battle more. They knew what their success would like with a new goal in mind.

Danny glanced towards Victor, who remained by his collapsed Electabuzz. At first, he thought that seeing the defeat of a trainer who had tormented his friends would be relieving. However, looking at Victor, who remained in a quiet contemplating mood as he held Electabuzz's head, Danny felt sorry for him. He hoped that Victor was able to learn something from his defeat. Noticing Danny's glance, Noah places a hand on his shoulder to catch his attention.

"Don't worry about Victor," Noah told Danny. "That was a reality check. He'll be fine. He just needs time to himself."

Danny paused for a moment, then nodded. "Right."

"We should get to the Pokémon Center," Jared reminded the group. "We need to be at full strength for Viridian Forest."

"And Charmander's still poisoned," Celena added.

"Yeah, you're right," Noah turned back to Viridian City. "Let's get going. We can camp in the forest tonight."

With that, Noah led the way back. Danny looked back to Victor one last time. There were many lessons to be taken from the battle. The one Danny thought of was that even the undefeated could lose when they meet a strong enough trainer. Danny turned back, ready to become strong enough to go against Victor and Jason one day.

Henry caught up with Jason, who was reaching the edge of the forest. Henry wanted to stop at Viridian City, even when the gym was closed, but Jason was insistent on pushing on. He couldn't stand by and let his younger brother travel by himself. That was just a small problem compared to the conduct he witnessed during the battle. Henry couldn't stand by after seeing that.

"Jason!" Henry called out.

"Check it out!" Jason looked over his shoulder for only a brief second. "Viridian Forest! And once we get through it, we'll be in Pewter City, which does have a gym. We're on our way to success."

"We need to talk," Henry said and crossed his arms.

"Come on," Jason turned around. "We don't have time to talk. We need to get through as much of the forest as we can before the sun sets, and then we'll make camp for the night."

"This is important, Jason," Henry sighed. "I didn't like the way you were handling the battle."

"But I won!" Jason pointed out.

"You did, but that didn't mean you have to be disrespectful while doing it," Henry countered. "Do you think that a Gym Leader will go easy on you if that's how you treat them."

"That kid wasn't a Gym Leader."

Henry pressed his hand to his head, and sighed. He dropped it afterwards. "First off, that kid is probably closer to how old you are. Second, I talked to the others, and they were from the trainer school, so Victor probably was too. That was his first battle and you just had to rub it in."

Jason shrugged. "You talked to the others, but you didn't see the way they looked at him. That was a bully. They're thankful I showed Victor up like that."

"Don't do it again," Henry said with authority. "We're trainers. We have to show respect to other trainers in battle. No matter what the circumstance is."

Jason sighed. "Fine. I'll try to do better."

"And that's all I can ask from you. Now, let's find a clearing to camp out in."

Jason grinned, forgetting about the conversation, and rushed past the treeline. Henry chuckled and followed after his brother. Jason had a lot to learn, and maybe he also could learn something new. This adventure had plenty of opportunities aside from the championship. They just needed to make the most of the journey while they were together.

Henry cast a quick glance over his shoulder, towards Viridian City. The trainers they just met, he could tell that they had a big future ahead of them. He turned his head back and followed after Jason.

A/N: After a long hiatus, I am back. College had kept me busy for a while, followed by some other real life pursuits during the few breaks I did have. It was always my intention to return back to writing fanfiction, it just a matter of finding time. Despite everything that is going on around the world at time posting, it has provided me time to get back to a hobby I missed after I finished all of my schoolwork at home.

Regarding the events currently going on, I do hope everyone is doing as well as they can. I'm not sure when things will go back to normal. I hope that by continuing to write and update during this time, it can provide some joy. With this in mind, I am going to see how well I can get back on a somewhat consistent update schedule. I'm not going to say anything yet, but at the very least, I am hoping that it doesn't take months for me to update like before.

Until next time.