Welcome to Pewter City

Natalie rested her head on Jet's shoulder in the back seat of the taxi. They looked at out the window at the city skyscrapers through the pitter patter of rain drops on the car window. Their driver, an older gentleman named Boris, talked on the phone to his wife the entire ride.

"I'm telling you Ellen, that dog has seen its best years, it's time to put him- oh hold on," He stopped the vehicle and turned to Jet, "the Pewter City Pokémon Center, that'll be thirty-seven ninety-five."

Jet thanked the driver and paid the cab fee, and headed into the Pokémon Center with Natalie. At the reception desk Jet asked, "Can I get a room, please?"

The guy behind the desk said, "We only have one bed available, is that fine?"

"Yeah," said Jet as he searched for his license and debit card, "One bed's fine."

After getting their room keys, Jet and Natalie headed up to get settled. "This shower is so nice!" Natalie said, "I could just spend the rest of the day here!"

Jet called in the bathroom, "Don't take too long, I want to get to the Gym before it closes."

After showering and unpacking, they took the train down thirteen blocks to where the Pewter City Pokémon Gym was located. The Gym was about three stories high, with boulders lining what looked like the entire perimeter.

The lobby on the inside was relatively small. It was decorated by big rocks just like the outside. There were several trainers in the inside the lobby talking about some big match they had just witnessed, "Did you see the way his Onix crushed that Gloom? Amazing!"

Natalie looked at a painting of a mountain landscape hanging on the wall and said, "These people really love their rocks."

The receptionist chimed in, "That's the specialty of this Gym! The leader has been raising rock Pokémon for years!"

Jet knew that a lot of Pokémon trainers usually have a certain kind of Pokémon that they specialized in, but he could never understand why. In his opinion, all Pokémon had potential to be great if one was to work with them. He also felt that having multiple types of Pokémon on your team was tactically more prudent than specializing in one type.

Waving aside these thoughts, Jet said, "I'd like to challenge the Gym Leader, please?"

Behind him, a boy said, "Ha! Yeah right! You're light-years away from facing Brock! You probably can't even beat me!" The boy looked to be all of about fifteen. He wore a superior looking smile that reminded Jet of Derek the Bug Catcher.

Jet turned back around and asked the receptionist, "So, about that Gym challenge?"

"Hey!" exclaimed the annoying camper kid, "Don't just ignore me like that! It's rude to turn down a battle challenge!"

Jet looked at the boy and asked, "What?"

The boy said, "Listen, I've been training my Pokémon at this Gym for weeks, and I wouldn't dream of challenging Brock! What chance does someone like you have?"

Jet raised an eyebrow, "Someone like me?"

"Yeah! Most of the challengers around here are hobbyist like you! Bug Catchers or local trainers who've one a couple of matches against your friends and think you can hang with us! We're serious trainers around here, pal! I've been coming here every day after school to train with serious trainers, who do this stuff for a living! You're just here to impress that girl you're with aren't you? Well if you can't beat me, then you don't stand a chance in this Gym!"

Natalie laughed, "How cute! The local trainer is calling you a hobbyist, Jethro!"

Jet smiled and said, "Since when did I become a bug catcher?"

Natalie giggled and said, "Umm, let's see… maybe when you caught Butters and Hornet then you became an honorary member!"

The boy said, "Are we battling or what?"

Jet sighed and said, "Fine, let's make this fast."

The receptionist said, "Let's see, since that's an official challenge from a Gym member, you can use the grounds out back for the match free of charge!"

"Oh joy."

They were led to the back, where there was a field about the size of a small playground filled with sand and rocks. There were a few trainers cheering on a couple of Geodude as they attempted to push each other out of a circle that was drawn in the dirt.

Jet's challenger asked, "How much do you want to bet on this match?"

Jet said, "One fifty for a two on two sound good?"

The boy's face fell, "A hundred and fifty dollars? Are you kidding?"

Jet laughed, "I thought you were a serious trainer? I thought you were a professional? Was I wrong?"

The boy's friends started instigating, "You gonna let him clown you like that?" and, "Kick his ass, dude! You about to make some money!"

The boy smiled and said, "One fifty it is, let's start! Go, Geodude!"

What looked like a boulder with arms appeared. Natalie said, "He's certainly anxious to start."

Jet smiled and sent out his Pokémon, "Let's go, Pugsly!"

Pugsly came out ready to fight. The boy's friends started laughing, "Pugsly? How cute, this guy actually nicknames his Pokémon!"

All of the trainers in the yard started to gather around the battle, saying, "Look, these two are actually about to have a real battle!"

Jet's opponent suddenly yelled, "Geodude, use Tackle!"

Jet said, "Hidden Power, Pugsly!"

Pugsly's attack hit first, and it was an instant KO. While Pugsly didn't have a strong special attack, the fact that his attack was strong against rock types doubled its power. Jet's opponent said, "No, Geodude get up!" When it didn't respond he grunted and said, "Return! That's ok, I got something for you! Go, Sandshrew!"

As soon as Sandshrew came out, Jet said, "Use Karate Chop!"

Pugsly closed the distance with a powerful Karate Chop to his opponent's neck. Sandshrew fell and swayed as it got back up.

Jet said, "Finish him! Low Kick and another Karate Chop!"

It happened remarkably fast. Pugsly floored his opponent with Low Kick, and knocked him unconscious with the final blow. The entire match was finished in four attacks delivered in less than a minute.

Jet's opponent looked stunned. Jet recalled Pugsly and said, "What was that bit about me training Pokémon as a hobby while you were hard at work making a career for yourself?"

The boy recalled his unconscious Pokémon and said, angrily, "You're hot, but not as hot as Brock!"

Jet rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, I'll keep that in mind. Now about the money you owe me?"

Jet and Natalie found their way back to the reception desk. The girl behind the counter asked, "How did it go?"

Jet smiled and said, "Easy money. So, do I get to face this Brock guy now?"

The receptionist said, "I'm sorry but the earliest appointment I can give you is in four days; Friday at around four pm. But if you'd like to join the gym, you can train your Pokémon here in preparation for your match!"

"Pay thirty bucks just to train for four days, I think I'll pass. You can pencil me in for Friday though."

The girl smiled and said, "No problem! That will just be a three hundred dollar challenge fee, and whatever you want to bet in case you win!"

Jet and Natalie got back to the Pokémon Center some time later. Natalie smiled, "So, you have four days to train for the match, what's the plan?"

Jet shrugged, "I'll start training Spark tomorrow, he's the only one I think needs the extra training. Everyone else is right where I want them to be. Until then, how about a date night?"

Natalie grinned, "That sounds great! Where do you want to-"

"Jet? You're in Pewter City?"

Jet looked over; Amy Oak was standing in front of him.

Author's Notes:

This chapter is really, really short. The next one should be longer, though. So Amy Oak is back! You didn't really think I'd leave her in Pallet Town did you? What tom-foolery will the gang get into? Find out in the next chapter!

Oh, and just a quick update:

Jet's Team-

-Thorn Lv. 20

-Sora Lv. 15

-Pugsly Lv. 16

-Butters Lv. 15

-Hornet Lv. 15

-Spark Lv. 12

Natalie's Team-

-Eevee Lv. 21

-Psycho Lv. 18

-Spinarak Lv. 14

Amy's Team (You'll meet them a couple of chapters anyway, so it's not really a spoiler.")

-Ivysaur Lv. 19

-Hoot-Hoot Lv. 11

And that's all for now. I'll post updates on their progress every few chapters. Notice how far Jet got in one month?

Oh and by the way, in case any of you are wondering why Thorn hasn't evolved yet. In my story the evolution level is just the average level they tend to evolve at, and the Pokémon can decide for itself when it's ready to evolve.

For example, I didn't have Jet's Caterpie and Weedle evolve until level eight, when they realized their strength. Then Hornet became so battle hardened that he evolved again at level twelve. Butters knew he was needed and stepped up to the plate at level 11.

I promise you guys this shit isn't random, I keep track of all this stuff. From their levels, the circumstances behind their evolutions, right down to their strengths, weaknesses, and attacks.

Let me tell you, we barely cracked the surface of this story. There are much more Pokémon to capture, attacks to be learned, battles to be fought, and adventures to be had. It's a long story to tell, possibly never ending! But I promise it will be a hell of a ride the whole way!