A Haunted Trainer Part 2

Rating: K+

Pairing: None

Ages: Danny's 10 and Red is 17

Summary: Celadon city is the pair's first destination in their sights. Danny manages to capture a new friend and Red prepares to get some answers about the resurgence of Team Rocket.

Extra Notes: Answer to Guest at the bottom if he/she happens to read this (It's hard to answer a guest review like this)


"When we get to Celadon, you'll be calling Fuji."

"He's going to chew me out…"

"Yes… you might as well face the music though." Red watched as the younger boy kicked up a bit of dust as they walked on route eight. They'd mostly walked in silence, since their pokemon were resting in poke balls.

Danny sighed. "Yeah. I know." He shifted his dark purple backpack slightly. The weather was temperate and nice in Kanto, so he was only wearing a black and white tee-shirt that day with his jeans and sneakers. His three poke balls were safe in his bag at the moment, as opposed to being on his belt like Red's were, though the older trainer did have a jacket to shield them from view.

"Fuji will be mad, but he's not the hating kind. Don't worry too much about it." Danny gave Red a smile at that and seemed to perk up.

The wind blew as they exited the small stretch of trees they'd travelled through to reveal a large open area with waving grass. People rested near and around the road, just outside of Saffron.

"Hey there, care to test yer luck?"

Red and Danny looked over to see an old-timer sitting on the grass, grinning at the two and gesturing to three cups near his bare feet. Red turned his face away, keeping one eye on the man. "I'm not the betting kind. I'll pass." He then went back to walking and Danny stumbled a bit before following.

"What about a battle? No type of gambling more fair than a good battle, son."

Red paused, looked over his shoulder back at the man and then at Danny. He looked in Danny's eyes. "Do you know how to battle?"

"Um… I've maybe two tournament re-runs on TV."

Red sighed. "Then that's a no." Danny gave the trainer a deadpan look before Red turned and spoke to the man. "Fine, a battle it is."

"Alrighty! What do you say to a double battle?"

"That's fine."

"Okay then, let's go!" The old man tossed two spheres out from the folds of his kimono. In a burst of light, an Arcanine and a Ninetales appeared. Arcanine fell into the pounce position and Ninetales did the same, whipping her tails about.

Red nodded and flicked back his jacket to grab at two spheres on his waist. "Blastoise, Venusaur, go!"

Blastoise cocked his iron cannons even before the light faded from his form and Venusaur spread out his four legs for better balance, ready for a command. Red looked back at Danny to start teaching him about how to battle, noticing he was staring in awe at the man's Ninetales.

"Danny."

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, what is it?" Danny asked snapped back to reality.

"Watch and pay attention. I'll explain the details after."

"Okay."

Red turned back to the battle.

"You ready, son? Or you going to keep talking to yer pal?" The man chuckled.

"Ready when you are."

"Arcanine, Extremespeed on Blastoise! Ninetales, Will-o-wisp on Venusaur!"

"Blastoise, Skull bash. Venusaur, Vine whip." Blastoise retracted in the blink of an eye, just before Arcanine bodily slammed into the pokemon's outer shell. The damage done was reduced. Venusaur's vine shot out and snapped Ninetale's mouth shut and grabbed its waist; then it slammed the fox into the earth.

The old man grit his teeth, not expecting his opponent to be so skilled. "Arcanine, Thunder fang on Blastoise's shell! Ninetales, Flamethrower on Venusaur!"

"Blastoise, attack. Venusaur, Petal blizzard."

Arcanine bit down on Blastoise's shell, causing an electric current to pass through the water type. The shellfish's legs stuck out of the back of his shell and quite suddenly, Blastoise rocketed forward, dragging Arcanine with him and plowed right into the rocky ridge behind the elder. Dirt and a few rocks fell over them as Blastoise pulled itself out of the wreckage. Without a command, he used Hydro-pump on the trapped fire type.

At the same moment, the Petal blizzard made contact with the Flamethrower, causing an explosion. The fire attack was halted from getting too close. Then roots erupted from the ground and ensnared the fox, making it cry out and struggle against its bonds.

The elder looked over to see Arcanine was knocked out and Blastoise was merely watching the other two fight, not needing to help his partner. "Alright, alright. I know when I've been bested. Call off yer friend."

Red gave a tiny nod before looking at Venusaur. "It's over." The grass type stopped the Frenzy plant attack, letting Ninetales drop to the ground.

The man returned his two tired pokemon before reaching into his kimono. "So we actually forgot to settle on a payment before the battle, is 1000 poké okay?"

Red shook his head as he returned his friends. "Keep your money. The battle was enough for me." He then turned and started to walk away. Danny blinked several times before a giant grin spread across his face. He trotted off to catch up to Red.

"That was so cool!"

Red smirked. "Glad you think so. Do you get the basic principle or do you need more instruction? You see I don't want to just teach you. I want you to understand."

Danny nodded. "I think I figured some things out from watching you battle."

"Good."

"I wanna catch a Ninetales."

Red looked over and saw the sparkle in Danny's eyes. "So a Vulpix."

"Yeah. It's just so graceful!"

"You can catch them nearby."

"Really!?"

Red nodded. "We can take a rest while I fix us something to eat. You alright with sandwiches?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

Red began the process of making lunch, while Danny headed into the grasses and brush nearby to try and get lucky. After nearly fifteen minutes, Red started to wonder if Danny was okay. He released his Pikachu and told him to guard their things. "If you eat all the sandwiches, there will be punishment."

"Pika-chuuuu?" Pikachu asked holding up one of his tiny fingers.

"Fine, eat one. Okay? I'll feed everyone when I get back."

"Chu!"

Red shook his head and walked into the woods. It didn't take too long to find Danny, once he could hear the sounds of battle from a distance. When he finally came up on the battle, his jaw just about his the floor.

The kid was battling a Vulpix and it was getting worn out from the looks from it. Danny's Gastly wasn't too better off. The thing that was out of the ordinary however was that the Vulpix was gold. You've got to be kidding me. Red could feel his hand twitching towards his poke balls. He'd been helping Professor Oak capture nearly one of every pokemon. Most of the pokemon he caught, went to Oak's ranch to be studied and cared for as they lived in peace. Not many of his pokemon ever found themselves becoming battlers, but they were happy and he was happy and new discoveries were being made. He'd been able to capture one of each pokemon from Kanto and Johto, with the exception of legendaries. He'd yet to encounter some of those rarer pokemon thought to exist. This was another finding, an alternate colored Vulpix. He should catch it.

He happened to look up and see Danny's face. It was steeled in concentration as his hands clenched and unclenched. Red's hand relaxed. He couldn't take that from the boy. He might've been a popsicle on a mountain for years, but he wasn't coldhearted.

"Gastly, Hypnosis!"

Red watched as Gastly's eyes glowed pink before Vulpix's glowed as well. The fox's legs trembled and then the little creature struck the ground.

"Pokeball go!" The ball spun and tapped the Vulpix's shoulder. The pokemon was absorbed before the sphere started to rock. Then it dinged. Danny's eyes lit up. "YES!" The boy ran over and picked up his new friend before rubbing the crown of Gastly's sphere. "Blf wrw tivzg, kzo." (You did great, pal).

"R pmld." (I know). Gastly cackled. Danny turned to face Red with a massive smile on his face.

"Did you see that, Red!?"

Red slowly allowed a smile to come to his face. "Yeah. You did an awesome job there, bud. You caught yourself a pretty unique pokemon."

"I know! It didn't look anything like it's card."

Red rose a brow as Danny showed him a card of Vulpix, listing some of its common moves and basic info below its picture.

"You have cards?"

"Yeah… I only have five though. Fuji got me a pack of five for my birthday once. I've always wanted to collect all of them, but they don't sell them in Lavender. Fuji had traveled to Celadon or Saffron to get them," Danny explained.

Red chuckled. "Which ones do you have?" He saw Danny flush slightly.

"A Gastly, a Pidgey, a Lapras, a Vulpix, and a Nidorino."

"Some coincidence, huh?"

The boy grew redder. "Yeah, heh…"

Red waved him over. "Let's eat."

Danny cheered. "I forgot I was starving."

zz

After another day or so of traveling, the two trainers found themselves in Celadon. The first thing they did was get a couple rooms at a hotel. Danny had asked why they weren't renting rooms from the Pokemon Center, but Red evaded the question as much as he could, so Danny dropped it. Next they'd found themselves at the department store. Once there, Red had showed Danny what things were important to buy and also let the younger boy run around the complex in an awe-struck haze.

The male clerk behind the counter rose a brow when Red placed a fire stone and a packet of cards on the table, before the clerk smiled in understanding. "Getting them for your little brother?"

Red snorted. "He's not my brother, but…" He looked over his shoulder to look at what the clerk had gazed at. Danny's face was pressed against the glass of a poke ball case. Nearly every type of poke ball was on display inside. "He's practically like a brother I guess. It's complicated."

The clerk shrugged as he scanned the items. "I get it. There were these two twins I grew up with that treated me like a little brother. They were sweet girls and we're still friends." Red grunted in understanding as he paid. He noticed the clerk kept looking at him from time to time, before the tell-tale dawning of realization struck the other man's face. Red gave him a hard look, Don't drawn in a crowd, bud.

The two trainers walked out of the store as soon as possible after that. Red looked up at the sky, noticing it was getting late. "Okay. There's one more thing I want to do before we head back to the hotel."

"Oh, okay. What is it?"

"I want to visit a place I know. Now, when we go there, I need you to stay close to me. I mean it." Red finished firmly, locking eyes with the boy. "Like on my ass, close, okay?"

Danny nodded fervently. "I get it. Why do I need to stay so close though?"

"It's not a friendly place."

"Oh."

The two kept walking. Red grunted and handed Danny a packet of cards.

"What's this?" Danny asked, giving Red a curious look.

"You can open them once you call Fuji."

"Are you bribing me?"

"Isn't that how kids work?"

Danny frowned in slight irritation. "Very funny."

"Hey look at it this way, you call Fuji and get the cards. Once you start winning your own battles you can buy more if you want." Red snorted. "I will make sure you can manage your money right though, supplies and medicine come first."

"I know that. I'm not that clueless."

The talking stopped when they found themselves outside of the Game Corner.

"A casino?"

"Just trust me, okay? I have a reason from coming here, you twerp."

"Alright, alright."

"Close to me."

"Got it."

The two walked in as loud noises from game machines and voices assaulted them. They made their way pass countless patrons until Red steered them towards a back room. Cigarette smoke flooded the air inside and Danny wrinkled his nose at the smell. The men and women inside defiantly didn't look friendly, just as Red had said.

One man, was having a drink at a table. He was wearing a dirty tee-shirt, jeans and a large overcoat. His dark, short hair was messy and unkept. His skin looked pale and their were bags under his eyes.

Red walked right up to the man and Danny stuck right at Red's side. "Jerome."

The man, called Jerome, looked up and nearly spilled his drink. There was a level of fear on his face that Danny was surprised to see.

"Ah, hell… What do you want now, Red?"

With those words, the general sounds from glasses moving and soft chatter, halted. Red looked over his shoulder and glared at some of the gawkers, making them hurriedly return to their own business. Some though, watched with narrowed and suspicious eyes. Red took note of each person that could be a problem when they tried to leave.

"Keep your voice down, idiot."

"Whose the kid?"

"Not important." Red worked his jaw. "What do you about Team Rocket cropping back up?"

Jerome's eyes widened. "Ah-nah. I'm not dealing or talking about them ever again. You know I'm not with them anymo-"

"It's not about you. They showed up in Lavender a few days ago. They took some ghost pokemon and I'm trying to figure out where they are so I can nip the problem in the bud if you follow."

Jerome grumbled. "You just love getting involved in things that aren't your business. What's the matter, you don't feel important enough mister champion? You need to keep others aware of your greatness so your existence feels worthwhile?"

Red stayed completely calm and silent as Danny's wide eyes flicked back and forth between the two men. Red happened to catch the boy's eyes and just knew he'd finally have to explain who exactly he was to the boy after they got to safety.

"Where do you think they would be?"

"Why should I tell you?"

Red's gaze grew more intense. "I could just call Lance-"

Jerome's eyes grew so large Danny thought they'd fall out.

"No! no… fine. I'll talk. I'll tell you what I know."


Guest: I'll get around to it eventually. I've been trying to relax and be with family during my break, seeing as my last semester of school will be stressful and intense. Fandom Fables is just a way for me to release nervousness and pressure from having to follow plot and continuity closely (I can keep my writing muscles in shape without botching my main multi-chapter stories). It'll happen, but school and real life comes first. I hope you understand. :)