As I promised, here's the proper you were looking for! Red edition!

Chapter 37: Battles and Leaders (Saffron City)

Red's P.O.V

So, back in Saffron City. The place I evolved my Pikachu, the place I first met Kris, the place I first met Giovanni, the place of many things. This is of course, due to it being the city situated right in the middle of Kanto and the one that is the most advanced. I used to hate this place, but going to other regions and seeing the bigger cities desensitized me to it. I don't hate it anymore, I just...tolerate it. The Silph Company building floods back so many memories.

More recently though, Gold, Krystal, Leaf and I are here to get the most out of our visit as possible. I think the best idea would be to see the Fighting Dojo and the Saffron City gym first, as those will probably take the most time.

"Let's see the dojo and the gym first."

The others nod, but Gold smiles.

"Then we're going to the Pokémon Trainer Fan Club? I'm looking forward to that the most."

I roll my eyes and continue our walk to the Fighting Dojo. He knows I don't like that place either.

The Fighting Dojo, which is right next to the actual gym, is open. I know that at one point, the Fighting Dojo and Sabrina's gym had to fight for the position of the sixth Kanto Pokémon League gym. Obviously, due to type advantage, Sabrina's gym won. However, the dojo continued to function just fine afterwards. The only time the dojo was ever closed was during Gold and Krystal's adventure, when the Karate Master (who's name is actually Kiyo) was off training in Mt. Mortar. After that, the Karate Master became the Karate King and came back to his rightful place. Because the Kiyo was good friends with Johto's and Kanto's gym leaders, he would accept their visit in his gym every so often. Gold tells me every time he wanted to rematch one of Kanto or Johto's gym leaders, they would meet up here. Why the Johto Leaders would accept this, I have no idea. The point is, the Fighting Dojo is a very important part of Saffron City's history, and it should not be neglected just because it's not the actual gym.

Everyone is Welcome!
Fighting Dojo

Once we enter, we see that, as usual, the Fighting Dojo is built as if it were a gym, with two statues at the entrance, the Karate King standing ominously at the back of the room and multiple trainers blocking the way.

"'Sup Kiyo!" Kris waves at the Karate King, who smiles upon seeing us and signals the trainers to move away. We pass through with no problem and meet the leader of the dojo.

"Welcome back! To what do I owe the visit? Is a gym leader supposed to be here already?"

Gold shakes his head.

"Nah, we're just doing a little tour of Kanto. have you heard of PokéGO?"

The man nods with another smile.

"Yes, quite an amusing little game. It relies more on quick reflexes and movements rather than strategy. Honestly, I wish I could fight that way in actual Pokémon battles! Us Fighting-type users tend to prefer combat over scheming. A cousin of mine called me awhile ago to tell me of this magical place where Pokémon battles were done one-on-one with pure hand-to-hand combat. I have no idea where that could be, but if I could be there, I'd live there forever!"

Kiyo gives a hearty laugh and I nod.

"Pokkén, I heard. But we're here for PokéGO. Has it affected your dojo in any way?"

He looks up for a moment, thoughtful.

"Hmm. Not really, I would say. Only a handful of people have challenged me to a PokéGO battle since it came out. Not many people go here in the first place anyways."

He smiles again and shrugs.

"I do like it, though. If only things were that easy in real life..."

Gold takes the chance to finish the conversation and move on with our tour.

"Thanks again Kiyo! We'll be on our way now. Kanto is really big and we're really small."

The Karate King nods and waves us goodbye as we leave the building.

"You're free to visit whenever you want!"

And back we are in Saffron City. God, that building is really ugly. I now I can seem a little old-fashioned, but I grew up in the era right after the war. I remember really appreciating what Kanto did to preserve its natural beauty, despite all the damage done by the war. Saffron was a grim reminder for me that the world still wasn't free of those who would profit from violence. Team Rocket's raid on Silph Co. opened my eyes to what the organization really was. Not a handful of delinquents being mean, not goofy criminals doing a really bad job at their...well...job, and not just people that wanted to be bullies. This was an organized group that was hellbent on getting what they wanted, no matter the costs. As it turns out, what they wanted was money. No dreams of a better future like Lysandre or the Hoenn teams, no hidden schemes behind their front like Plasma and no man at the top that had way too much power and a serious delusion (Galactic). These were straight-up gangsters. Hardcore criminals that would not hesitate to hit another human or kill their Pokémon to get their share of money.
Even though I know it wasn't their fault, I will always see the Silph Company building and see the countless Team Rocket grunts patrolling the premises and hear Giovanni's laughs echoing through the halls. It doesn't help that the company is responsible for making everything everyone ever wants. Master Balls were first being developed when Giovanni hit the building. There was no better time to steal from them.
Now, the company is still doing really well despite the hit they took from Rocket. It's no surprise, however, as the money that buys most products in Kanto will always go to Silph. Potions? Silph. Pokéballs? Silph. Repels for Mt. Moon? Silph. Escape Ropes? Still Silph. They're the richest company I know. I don't blame them for what they're doing. After all, I buy from them too. But I do blame the people that use their products incorrectly, and the others around them that allow it.

Anyways, now that we saw the dojo, it's time we saw Sabrina's gym.

Saffron City Pokémon Gym
Leader: Sabrina
The Mistress of Psychic-type Pokémon!

I forgot the gym was a maze. Blast Psychic-type users and their obsession with mind puzzles. Fire Blast them, preferably.

However, the gym's guide sees us and asks us if we want to be taken to Sabrina right away.

We nod almost furiously and line up so that we can warp on the tiles one by one. After some configuration with the warp tile, we're taken straight to Sabrina's room.

"The Kanto and Johto Legends! I've been expecting you." She smiles.

"Wait, how did you-oh, right."

The other thing I forget is that Psychic-users love to flaunt their Psychic prowess. Most of them are trainers who can barely lift objects, but there are some, like Sabrina, who can communicate with their Pokémon and sometimes predict the future. The other difference between psychic trainers and Sabrina is the fact that the trainers regularly train to better themselves in the psychic arts. Sabrina came upon her powers by accident, when she threw a spoon in a fit of anger as a child. To her surprise, the spoon bent much like a Kadabra's would. She is also one of the few gym leaders ever that actually dislikes battling. Sabrina does it to practice telekinesis and telepathy with her Pokémon, who do the same with her. Together, they make a strong team.
If I remember correctly, Sabrina predicted Gold and Krystal's challenge to the gym back when I was still doing my tour of Kanto.

"How are you guys holding up? You came here for news on PokéGO, correct?"

We nod, making her even prouder of her abilities.

"I don't have anything on it. To reach me in the first place, you'd have to either beat my trainers or have some proof that you've already beaten the gym. Since you can't challenge the trainers to a PokéGO battle, I don't get any players."

I roll my eyes. Should have known.

"Anything else before we move on?"

She shakes her head.

"There's not been much activity after you left. Do you want me to try and foresee your future?" She asks nonchalantly, as if offering to lend a ride.

"Are you kidding!?" Kris yells, making the sound reverberate through the gym's silver walls.

"Of course we do! That's awesome!"

Sabrina gives another smile before focusing, closing her eyes and making her six pokéballs levitate around her. Presumably, these pokémon contain her Psychic-type partners.

She frowns and struggles, but eventually gets something.

"Soon. A new friend. Not one, but two? Technically three. The time will come for you to fade into legend, even for those who admire you. The time will come for you to finally settle down and enjoy the seeds you've planted. Others will take your place. New concepts will confound you. A new era will fall upon the world. Observe the sky that changes and the fog will clear."

She now collapses and falls back on the wall behind her, putting a hand to her head.

"Woah. Are you okay?" Gold offers a hand, but she waves it away and feebly stands up on her own.

"I'm fine. You got all that?"

Leaf frowns.

"I'm not sure we did. That was a bit much for just our future."

Sabrina shakes her head.

"I can't focus on anyone's future like that." She pants. "I don't see anyone's future. I just see the future as it is, and it's not my job to narrow it down. You'll have to figure it out on your own. Now go on, you have better stuff to do than deciphering a code that was never meant to be seen."

We reluctantly step on one of the warp tiles, our minds still dwelling on her words.

A new friend, but two? That could be a new Legend. Makes sense, seeing as it's been a year since our last newcomers. But why did she say 'technicall three'? Is the rival coming too? Could it be possible to have three new Legends at the same time? Impossible. What probably worries me more is her next two sentences. Fading into legend? Hadn't I already done that? For me to fade, even for those who admire me (who I assume are the other Legends) would be troubling. What would that mean? I don't want to leave them. Now, settling down and enjoying the seeds I planted? That could mean anything. I've done a lot in my lifetime. Out of everything, what could plant a seed I would only enjoy now? The concepts that confound me would have to be pretty complicated. I remember getting confused at Mega evolutions and the Fairy type at first, but I eventually learned enough about them to implement them in my strategy. It never really confounded me. What could surprise me now? The next one is simple. 'A new era will fall upon the world'? That happens all the time. Every time a Legend emerges, in fact. There's always something new that changes the whole world. I'm not too worried about that one. Sabrina's last line was the most confusing. 'Observe the sky that changes and the fog will clear'. What could observing the skies possibly mean? I didn't know there was a fog to clear in the first place. Either way, it's the most cryptic of her predictions. I honestly have no clue.

Now with more questions than answers, we exit Sabrina's gym and head for the Pokémon Trainer Fan Club, where Gold will surely torture me.

Done! Once again, I want to say sorry for not updating in time, but I hope the 1.5 chapters will satisfy you until next time!

As always, let me know what you thought in the reviews!