"I heard from Flint that the gym leader is a water type trainer in Cerulean City, have either of you seen him?" Alex asked after taking a bite out of her sandwich.

"Roku? Yeah, he's a really strong water Pokémon trainer as well as a great swimming coach. His wife also helps out with swimming classes of her own, but for small children," a female trainer named Kelsey explained.

~I didn't know gym leaders could do that,~ Ken awed, the girl agreeing silently.

Earlier in the day, sometime after resting and letting Professor Oak and her mother know of her victory, she began her trek towards Mt. Moon and Cerulean City.

At some point, she encountered a few trainers, two of which she had gotten friendly with where Kelsey offered they share a lunch together.

"Hey, can I ask you something, Alex? That Pikachu you have, why does it look so different from others?" a male trainer named Johnny asked.

"Ken? He's a normal Pikachu, but he's classified as a shiny because of his fur."

"But what makes him so special though?"

"Well, a friend told me that some people may have religious views towards shiny Pokémon, good and bad alike. But it's not always good regardless of how they would be treated. There could also be some that look drastically different that would affect their survival rate in the wild against predators."

"That's awful," Kelsey gasped.

"Yeah, that's why I'm really glad to have found Ken," Alex said, petting her Pokémon. "At least with me, he'll be safer. He won't have to worry about possible predators, not that I think there would have been a lot over in Viridian Forest, but you never know."

"He's really cute regardless," Johnny grinned.

"Pikaaa," Ken purred at the attention, nuzzling into his trainer's side.

"How rare do you think shiny Pokémon are?" Kelsey wondered.

"From what I was told, they're harder to find than a legendary Pokémon."

"That rare? That's impressive," the male trainer whistled.

"I suppose it is," Alex laughed nervously.

"Well, shiny or not, he's going to do great against Roku," Kelsey beamed. "He's got the perfect type advantage, but watch out for his Starmie though. I've heard that not only is it tough, but it may know some psychic type moves."

"I'll keep it in mind, thanks."

"If you want to train your Pikachu for the gym, the Zubat are excellent for target practice, same with the Spearow and Pidgey living outside of Mt. Moon's entrance," Johnny added.

"I was thinking of working on Ken for a bit when I was traveling through. Though I hope I'll find a grass type, I don't want to put all the pressure on him when we face the next gym."

"Well, it shouldn't be too big of an issue either way. So long as you don't send out your Charmeleon or Nidorino, you should be okay using the others," Johnny stated with a grin.

"You think so?"

"I'm pretty sure. Plus you'll have plenty of time to find other Pokémon. Outside the mountain, there's some cool Pokémon like the female Nidoran, Mankey, Jigglypuff, and Spearow. And inside the mountain, there are other Pokémon like Paras, Geodude, Zubat, and the occasional Clefairy roaming about."

"I'll keep it in mind, thanks so much, you two."

"It's no trouble at all."

"I have to ask, why did you pick Charmander?"

"Well aside them being cute, I really like the line, mostly Charizard. They're really amazing," Alex explained, going into further detail as the other two listened intently.

"That's really cool, and the fact she's so well tamed, that's impressive," the male trainer spoke as he glanced at the fire type. "When did she evolve?"

"About a month or so ago I think, I didn't really keep track, since after she evolved, we got attacked and she was pretty tired. Thankfully Ansen came to the rescue," she answered with a nervous laugh.

"At least you're okay," the female trainer spoke.

"Same here," she nodded before taking notice of her Pikachu. "Ken, are you okay?"

~Just a little tired from all those battles,~ he answered with a nervous laugh. He had been hoping she wouldn't have noticed so soon, not wanting to worry her.

"Hey, I'm going to head back to the Pokémon Center before I go further. Who knows what else I might find," Alex said as she started to pack her things. "It was great battling you two. I hope we meet again someday."

"Same here take care, Alex," Kelsey called as she waved goodbye along with the other.

"When we've trained some more, I'm going to challenge you again, Alex!" Johnny called as she waved back before hopping a ledge to make the trip back easier.

"Hey!" a trainer called, grabbing the girl's attention. "You should totally wear shorts, you'd look way hotter."

"Umm… No thanks…"

Appearing not to give up, the boy pulled out a pokéball, giving her a grin, "Then I challenge you. If I win, not only do you wear shorts from now on, but you gotta go out with me."

With that, he called out a Spearow, the trainer, and Pikachu looking at one another.

"You up for another battle Ken?" the girl asked her electric friend.

~Yeah, let's teach him some manners!~

"You're on! Let's go, Ken, use Thunder Shock!"

"Oh crap," the boy muttered as his bird went down in one hit, recalling it with a grumble as he gave her the reward money. "You'd still look hot in shorts though."

"I don't really like shorts, sorry," the girl apologized as she took her prize, giving him a firm handshake. "But try not to be so impulsive next time if we were to battle again or you battled another. Girls especially."

"Whatever."

Sighing, she made her way back, managing to not get in more battles with trainers as Ken was pretty tired after the last fight. She had the others, but as she told Kelsey and Johnny, she wanted to try and work on Ken as much as possible.

On their way back, Alex tried to encourage her Pokémon to let her use a potion or go in his pokéball to rest, but he declined, mostly on the potions.

"Ken, why don't you want me to use them though?"

~I know this will sound dumb, but Mt. Moon looks really big. We can see it all the way from Viridian City. I thought it would make more sense to try and save as many as we can before we had to go in. We don't know how long we'll be in there or what we might encounter,~ the Pikachu explained sheepishly.

"I guess that's true, but I don't want you to push yourself and risk getting seriously hurt by not accepting one."

~I know, I'm sore and tired, but that's about it. I'm not seriously hurt, so I'll be fine after we reach the Pokémon Center.~

Arriving back in the city, they went straight to the Pokémon Center, letting Ken heal up as long as necessary.

The rest she called out to talk with, not wanting to try and hold a conversation with the Jigglypuff hanging around. Alex was familiar with their reputation for putting people to sleep when they sing.

How the nurse was able to keep awake was beyond her. Although, she was more surprised when seeing her look identical to the Nurse Joy back in Viridian City.

~Alex, what are you planning to do with that thing the gym leader gave you?~ Hana asked.

~Thing?~ Ansen raised a feathery brow as he perched himself on the back of a chair.

"I got this TM called Bide. It's supposed to help teach Pokémon how to use it properly. But I'm not really sure how or whether to use it now or wait later."

~What does it do?~ Sienna asked.

"From what Flint told me, Pokémon that use Bide store energy and release it after getting attacked a few times. It's supposed to be really strong, but I don't know. I don't to want risk hurting you guys trying to use it. Flint suggested if I used it, pick someone with a lot of endurance so they can use it properly."

~What kind did he suggest?~ Lance asked.

"Either rock types or Pokémon that have a high defense like Snorlax."

~I'm sure we'll find a Pokémon like that if none of us feel comfortable using it,~ Hana beamed brightly as she fluttered onto her trainer's head.

~I'm sure we will if we work together,~ Sienna added.

~Do you think the other gym leaders hand out TMs too?~ Lance asked.

"Who knows, it'd be kinda cool though. It would help too for some of you being able to use something you might not be able to learn easily."

~I hope so, that would be really fun,~ Hana laughed before nudging her trainer. ~Alex, it looks like Ken's all better.~

Seeing she was right, the trainer walked over with the rest of her Pokémon following, smiling brightly at the woman.

"Here's your Pikachu, fully rested and healed."

"Thank you very much."

With a wave, the young trainer left the Pokémon Center, the rest of her Pokémon following close behind.

Upon returning to Route 3, any trainers that were present, she had Ken battle them all, allowing him to get extra experience. The few he couldn't handle, she had the others take care of them as needed.

When reaching near one of the main entrances to Mt. Moon, Alex saw a small Pokémon Center set up not far. She decided they could stop there to rest so they can plan how to approach going in.

After all their marching, many were tired from it, some more than others when having to battle trainers, even opting to skip catching a Pokémon until they've rested.

As she waited, exploring the older looking medical center, she was amazed how different it was style-wise.

Walking past a man, she heard him grumbling at the newspaper, saying something about the crime organization, Team Rocket making headlines again.

She mentally shuddered, having heard about the group, the trouble they've caused, hoping she never meets them.

Taking a seat, she let herself relax before spotting a large aquarium filled with various fish, particularly large ones.

"Magikarp?" she muttered as she got up to check them out better.

"Interested in one?" an older man asked, sitting on a chair, having it reversed to let his chin rest on its back.

"You sell Magikarp?"

"Yup and damn proud of it," he laughed, "I know they're pretty pathetic for battling, but if you raise one right and keep them happy, they become almost a godsend."

"How so?"

"They evolve into a Pokémon called Gyarados, a large sea beast basically. Wild ones are known for being especially ferocious and difficult to tame. But if you raise one as a Magikarp correctly, they'll be completely loyal to you."

"That's actually pretty cool, but I don't know…"

"It's fine, kid, you look smart, so I don't blame you for being cautious. If you're not sure about my legitimacy, talk to Nurse Joy, she'll vouch."

"I'll be sure to do so, but it must be hard making money though."

"It is, I'm actually trying to sell these guys off before I retire."

"Oh?"

"Eh, I'm getting on in my years and I can't do this forever with how the world keeps changing. That and my dumbass son just about ruined me…" the man explained before grumbling softly under his breath.

"What happened?" she asked, feeling sorry for him.

"You don't need to hear some old man's tale."

"It's okay, I have time. It'll be awhile before my Pikachu is returned," Alex reassured as she felt her Butterfree land on her shoulder.

"Alright, I'll try to keep it short though," he laughed, already liking the kid. "You see, this was supposed to be a father and son business. My kid was really into helping me sell Pokémon to various trainers and show just how amazing Pokémon like Magikarp can be. But instead of using honesty, he's been swindling folk with sweet words and lies, charging them far more than I would allow. He's been mostly targeting kids like you or younger ones who don't know better."

"That's awful."

"You're telling me, and being he's my brat, I got most of the blame and nearly lost everything. Thankfully no one's gotten hurt if their Magikarp evolved too soon, but still…"

"It must've been rough regardless."

"Yeah, and the idiot took off with all the profit so I couldn't do any refunds and lost a majority of the Pokémon. So what you see here is all that's left and I'll be damned if I don't try to get them a home."

"If you can't sell them, you could try having them sent to an aquarium. They're really cute, I'm sure kids would love playing with them. Maybe the gym in Cerulean City would like them or know a place that would?"

"Not a bad idea. I plan on going back to Cerulean City so I can get to Vermillion, so if I got some left, I might ask Roku and his gal if they're interested."

"Umm…just curious, how much do you sell them for?"

"Depends which one you want. If you want the older ones, they'll be about 300 Poké; the younger ones are about 500. I always try to keep the prices fair if I can."

"I see…"

Glancing at the fish Pokémon swimming about, she spotted one that seemed to be alone and depressed, making her frown a little.

"What's wrong with that one?" she asked, pointing to the Pokémon.

"Her? She's a timider compared to the rest. I'd say she'd be perfect for a trainer who's willing to take their time than rush things."

"If it's okay, could I have her?" Alex asked, already pulling her wallet out.

"You sure?" he asked.

"I'm sure, how much is she?"

"She's one of the younger ones, so she'll be 500 Poké," he answered as he fished for the pokéball. Alex saw that they had stickers to help identify them.

"Is there anything I should know to make sure I keep her well cared for?"

"Sure," he smiled as he pulled out several pamphlets and a few canisters of food he uses for the Pokémon.

After explaining a few more things about the species, he gave her the pokéball as she handed him the money.

"Take good care of her, and if you see that good for nothing brat of mine, don't hesitate to send him flying if he tries swindling you."

"Or keep him still long enough to call the cops."

"That works too."

Hearing her name called, Alex bid the salesmen farewell, heading over to the desk to retrieve her Pokémon.

~Do you think that Magikarp will be happy with us?~ Hana asked worriedly.

"I really hope so," Alex said as she held up the ball that contained her new Pokémon. "She looks like a really nice Pokémon and I'm sure if we help her feel welcomed, she'll learn to trust us."

The two went outside, the trainer wanted to introduce everyone to their newest addition, knowing they'll have to do some training to help her catch up.

~I hope so too,~ Hana giggled. ~That guy seems really nice.~

"Yeah, he really did, I hope he'll be able to find a home for the rest of those Magikarp."

~Same here.~

Locating a nearby stream, Alex decided it was a good spot to call everyone else out, seeing them all look confused about what they were doing.

"Everyone, I wanted to introduce you to our newest teammate," Alex smiled as she tossed the ball, the water type materializing in the water. "Everyone, say hello to Nala."

Splashing in the water, the fish looked about, letting out a startled cry by all the new faces, wondering if she'll be eaten.

~A fish?~ Ansen grumbled, not looking impressed.

~I like her,~ Hana stated as she flew down to the nervous Pokémon. ~I'm Hana, it's great to meet you!~

~H-hi… None of you are going to eat me, are you?~ the Magikarp asked nervously, looking mostly at the bird.

~Of course not!~ Sienna gasped, looking to her trainer worriedly before turning to the frightened Pokémon. ~What makes you think that?~

~The other Magikarp in the tank told me that weaklings like me are always eaten first…~

"Well, they're wrong," Alex said, kneeling down. "We're a team, we don't eat our teammates."

~You don't… You can understand me?~ the Pokémon gasped.

"Yeah, it's a long story," Alex laughed nervously. She turned her attention to her newest addition. "Nala, I'd really like it if we can be friends. I'll take good care of you and we'll work together so you can get really strong. You can prove those other Magikarp are wrong if we ever bump into them again."

~R-really? Thank you, I'll do my best!~ she beamed, splashing playfully now that she's more relaxed.

~You realize getting her to evolve into a Gyarados won't be easy,~ Ansen said gruffly.

"I know, I figured we could use this time to help her train before we go to Mt. Moon," Alex nodded as she stood up. "Because Nala can't stay out of the water for a long time, we'll try to find some Pokémon near here who could battle with us. I'll read more on the pamphlets to see what she can learn until she's ready to evolve."

~That sounds like a good idea,~ Ken grinned as he hopped onto his trainer's shoulder.

~So long as we're polite, we should be good,~ Sienna grinned, ignoring the huff from Ansen, knowing she was taking a jab at him.

"Good, then let's start training," Alex laughed as she clapped her hands together.

With that, they began to search the surrounding trees and bushes, searching for possible Pokémon to help with Nala's training.

Ansen stayed in the tree a little longer before taking flight after them.

~Hope you know what you're doing, Alex,~ he sighed mostly to himself.


Alex - Pokémon 6 - Badges 1 - Deaths 0

Team:

Sienna - Charmander - Charmeleon

Ansen - Pidgey - Pidgeotto

Lance - Nidoran M. - Nidorino

Hana - Caterpie - Metapod - Butterfree

Ken - Pikachu

Nala - Magikarp


Thought it would be an interesting spin regarding the Magikarp Salesman in the anime.

He looks like he would have been too young to sell Magikarp or other Pokémon. Especially in places like the Pokémon Center.

If you enjoyed this, please leave a review and any helpful critique that may better improve the writing.