Author's Notes:
Before we get started a have a few questions to answer.
I was asked if I'd be switching POV's often and focusing on more than one story. The answer is I will not be doing it that often, but it will happen every now and then.
I was asked if Jet will keep Krabby. I always liked Kingler too, but you won't see Jet's Krabby in his main lineup. I will say that Krabby will make a return appearance; of that much I am certain.
I was asked if I could show the star rating for every Pokémon in my updates. Just to clarify; the star rating isn't a measure of the individual Pokémon's threat level, but rather a measure of the threat a species as a whole poses. It is a rating made up by the International Pokémon League. If you want to see where a Pokémon stands in terms of their actual threat level, I'd suggest watching the future battles; they get bloody.
And finally, will Jet leave Kanto and eventually go on to other regions to battle in their leagues. We still have a long way to go before that point, but all I can say is that's the plan. If I do continue the story after Kanto, I might just do a separate story.
And with that, on with the story!
The Spider Ninja
Jet's new phone vibrated on the nightstand, waking him up from his sleep. He grunted as he sat up in bed. The phone stopped vibrating, but there was a small green light blinking on it to announce Jet had missed a call. Jet looked beside him to find a sleeping Misty lying warm in her blanket. Glad none of this is waking you, He thought sourly.
Daylight had already filled Misty's apartment. Around the room were little porcelain figurines of various water Pokémon, along with posters and paintings of much of the same.
Jet grabbed his phone and checked under his missed calls. Bill had called him, and Jet had a good idea what the call was about. He got out of bed so as to not wake Misty with his conversation. Misty turned over when Jet left her side and pulled the blankets in closer. Jet smiled at her and left the room to call Bill back.
"Wake up, sleepy head!" came Bill's voice over the phone.
"You could've waited until the afternoon." Grumbled Jet. He noted that it was strange talking to Bill on the phone while he walked around Misty's place completely naked.
Bill laughed, "No way, I'm an impatient man! I need an answer!"
Jet yawned and replied, "I thought you said you'd give me some time to think about it?"
"Well, you had the night to sleep it off, didn't you?" Bill asked, "It's not a big deal, I just need you to manage the club for me until I can find a replacement."
"Yeah, I get that," Jet began, "But I don't know shit about running a Battle Club!"
The previous night, Bill had called Jet up to ask his advice on how to get his Magikarp to use Waterfall. During said conversation, it came up that Bill found out the guy managing his Battle Club was stealing money from him. Somehow, the conversation moved to Jet managing the Club temporarily; at least until Bill found a replacement.
"What's to know?" Bill laughed, "The workers are the ones who run the place! I just need someone to supervise them. You know; make sure they're doing their bloody jobs! I need someone I can trust, and you said you'd be in Cerulean for a while!"
Jet laughed, "Yeah, but-"
"No buts," Bill cut in, "Just be down there today 'round four thirty. Johnny will show you what to do."
"You really should find somebody more qualified for the job." Jet said while absentmindedly looking through Misty's fridge for orange juice.
"You're qualified!" Bill laughed, "Didn't you use to supervise at Oak's Lab?"
"That's different," Jet said simply.
"Not that much." Bill retorted, "Plus you're a trainer! Anyone that has to teach fire breathing monsters that could kill him at any second to fight other fire breathing monsters has leadership experience!"
Jet laughed and Bill continued, "Just go down there this afternoon for me, would you? The club has been without a manager for two days now and already I'm hearing about problems over there."
Jet sighed as he closed the fridge door, "Yeah. I'll do it. But only as a favor."
Bill laughed, "Favor he say's! Kid, you're about to get paid good money to boss my employees about and watch Pokémon battles! Do you know how many applicants have already applied for this job already?"
Jet frowned, "How many?"
"Only one," said Bill, unabashed, "but that poor guy's dreams are crushed because I'm giving the position to you. I'm doing you a favor, mate!"
Jet smiled, "Alright, alright! Keep your panties on; I said I'll do it!"
"Good," Bill said, satisfied, "Now show up at four thirty. The crew will teach you the ropes but don't let them get over on you; I don't want anyone else stealing my money. Got it?"
"Yeah, think so." Jet found it strange that Bill seemed to worry about the earnings of one small operation when he probably had more money than God himself.
"Alright, Jethro, call me later to let me know how things are."
After talking to Bill on the phone, Jet went back into Misty's room to crawl back into bed. Misty, it turns out, was already awake.
"Oh no," she said as he went to lie back down, "You got me up so now you're making me breakfast!"
Jet sighed and got back up, "No problem, what are you hungry for?"
Misty stretched out in her bed, "I want pancakes, eggs, sausage links, and toast with strawberry jam!"
Jet smiled and said, "That it?" he bent down to pick up his boxers and get dressed. Misty, however, had other ideas.
"No, no," she said as he put on his underwear, "Pants back off! Since you want to be a smart ass and wake me up, you can make breakfast naked!"
Jet grinned as he dropped his boxers and walked over to the bed, "Only fair if you eat breakfast naked, too."
"Nope," said Misty as Jet pulled the blanket off her; revealing her naked body, "I'm not the one at fault here; you are."
Jet climbed into bed and spread her legs apart, "That's not fair at all." He told her moving in so his body was against hers.
She put her hand on his chest, stopping him. "Breakfast first, and then we can fool around."
XXX
Brian grinned as Amy's face showed up on his new laptop. "Hey, beautiful, how's Goldenrod?"
It had been three weeks since the debacle at the Safari Zone, and Brian was now staying in a motel near the Fuchsia City harbor. There was a field not too far north where wild Pokémon were plentiful, but they were mostly week bird Pokémon.
Brian had been trying to train his new Dratini, (whom he felt was seriously underpowered), but to little success. She turned out to be very hard to train. She didn't pay attention half the time. The other half she seemed to have problems performing any of the maneuvers he had tried to teach.
Amy frowned upon hearing the news, "I know what you mean! Besides my Ivysaur, all of the rest of my Pokémon aren't even fighting fit! I battled my brother the other day, and he destroyed me!"
Brian scratched his head, "I thought you two were about even?"
Amy laughed, "The Pokémon he had in Cerulean were some of the weaker ones he was trying to train! He has over forty different Pokémon, half of which are trained fighters."
"Whoa," Brian said in a low voice. Forty different Pokémon! To be able to train that many to fight at such a young age, Gary must be quite the prodigy! Brian had underestimated him.
"I know what my problem is," Amy went on, "Gary say's it's because I focus all of my attention on training Ivysaur that I forget about everyone else. He says it's a common rookie mistake." Amy said the last part with a hint of bitterness in her voice.
"So, how do you plan on catching everyone up?"
"Well," Amy seemed to think about it, "I'll probably just head over to National Park and train them there. I figure a few months of training, and everyone should be at least battle ready."
Brian nodded. The national park in Goldenrod had mostly bug and grass types, but he heard a lot of trainers hang out there. "I got to train my guys up too. Luckily, the Safari Zone isn't the only thing Fuchsia City is famous for!"
"What, the zoo?"
Brian laughed, "No! Koga's Gym!"
Amy thought for a moment and said, "Oh, the Ninja dude! You're not thinking of challenging him are you? He's like, one of the top trainers in the region."
"Hell no I'm not going to battle him! I'm going to learn from him," Brian said excitedly, "I'm going to get a membership at his Gym!"
Amy giggled, "I'm not sure how well ninjutsu is going to translate to your Dratini. Still can't believe you caught a fucking Dratini, by the way. That is fucking insane!"
"Yeah," Brian grinned, "Amazing how a near death experience can open doors to new opportunities, huh?"
Amy laughed and said, "Hey, listen, I got to call you tomorrow! Trevor is coming over today; we're going to grab some food!"
Brian felt a stab of annoyance. Trevor was Amy's new crush. One of Gary's friends, he was a handsome half black, half white bartender whom Amy could not seem to shut up about. Brian found it irritating that she could simply talk about other boys knowing how Brian felt about her. He felt slightly better, however, when Amy kissed the camera and said, "Love you! Bye!"
Brian smiled, "Love you too, Amy!" And then she was gone.
XXX
The next day Brian found himself walking through the corridors of the Fuchsia City Pokémon Gym. His escort, a boy named Nick who worked at the front desk, kept going on about the legacy of said Gym. Brian was only half listening, however, and simply took in the awe that was the size of the establishment. The Gym had twelve acres of land to call its own. It had different battle fields to suit different types of Pokémon.
There were multiple buildings inside the gates of the Gym, all designed in the style of traditional Japanese Dojos. There were dozens of trainers scattered about the gym. Each with different types of Pokémon from different regions with varying levels of rarity.
Brian's guide led him to a training field that looked more like a garden than anything else. In the garden, a group of trainers were gathered around a young woman who seemed to be giving them a lesson on different herbs to feed their Pokémon.
"Beg your pardon, Ms. Janine," Brian's guide announced to the instructor of the lesson, "but we have a new member to the Gym!"
Janine looked at Brian appraisingly. She was young; probably mid-twenties. She was very pretty, but had a demeanor about her that slightly intimidated Brian.
"What's your name, Trainer?"
She spoke with unquestioning authority. To Brian, this was a little off setting. "Umm, my name is Brian Chang. From Pallet Town." He felt nervous as all eyes were now on him.
Janine turned to Brian's guide and said, "Thank you Nick, that will be all."
Nick gave a little bow, and left Brian with Janine. Janine stood up and walked over to Brian, hand extended for a shake, "Welcome to the Fuchsia City Gym," she said, now smiling as she shook his hand, "I am glad you chose to train here! There is no Gym in the region more renown than this one when it comes to molding young trainers!"
Brian smiled back, less nervous than before, "Yeah, I've heard a lot about this place! I can't wait to start training with Koga!"
Several people from Janine's class began to laugh. Janine herself smiled and said, "You may have to wait a while to train with my father! His class is only for the most advanced of trainers. You'll have to work your way up to that point."
"Wait, what?" Brian asked disappointed, "I don't get to train with him?"
Janine smiled kindly, "Perhaps. You must be tested first, to ascertain your skill level."
"Oh, well, no problem then! What's the test? A battle? A written exam?" Brian grinned. If he could pass his Class A tests, then he should certainly be able to impress these people enough to get put in the advanced course.
Janine looked over to the class behind her and said, "You guys take a fifteen minute break. Go use the restrooms and grab some water."
Her class began to disperse and Janine turned back to Brian, "I suppose if you wish to start now we can. It's real simple; you and I will have a quick three on three battle. Use whatever tactics you feel necessary to win. I will judge your performance, and that of your Pokémon, and place you in either a beginners, intermediate, or advance level. Sound good?"
Brian grinned and said, "Yeah sounds great! My Pokémon are all ready for battle!"
Janine nodded and said, then send out your first Pokémon, and try not to destroy any plants! If you break it, you buy it!"
Brian looked around at all the herbs, bushes and small trees. It would be very hard to attack full strength and not damage any of the surroundings. Save a small patch of grass where the trainers were sitting for the lesson and a small pond, this area of the Gym was made up of nothing but plants!
"Ok," Brian said apprehensively, "I guess I'll start out with you, Wartortle!"
Janine gave Wartortle the same appraising look she gave to Brian and said, "Interesting." She then pulled a pokeball from her waist and summoned a very large, and very brightly colored Ariados. Janine told Brian, "You may begin whenever you are ready."
Brian nodded and told Wartortle, "Let's start off with Bubblebeam!"
"Double Team, Ari!" Janine said calmly, but forcefully.
The spider Pokémon was incredibly quick. It easily dodged Wartortle's attack and surrounded him with eight different after images. Janine then said, "Night-slash."
Before Wartortle had a chance to react, one of the after images shot at him while veiling itself in a dark aura. For a second, the rest of the images disappeared, but then reappeared once more after the attack had been dealt. Wartortle now had a large gash on his arm, and he grunted with pain. Brian nervously said, "Try spraying them with a three-sixty Water-Gun!"
Wartortle retreated into his shell. Suddenly the shell began to spin as a torrent of water shot out and sprayed the surrounding area. The attack worked, and Ariados jumped out of the way of the water.
Jasmine nodded her approval at the attack and told her Pokémon, "Time to disappear."
Ariados sprayed some sludge from his mouth in Wartortle's direction. Wartortle rolled and avoided the attack, but then his opponent was nowhere to be found.
Where did it go? Brian asked himself, One minute it was there and then the next…
Wartortle suddenly squealed in pain as a shadow rushed past him and into a nearby bush, thus disappearing again. Wartortle now had a new gash on the side of its hind leg. Brian gasped, "No! Wartortle, are you ok?"
The little water Pokémon grunted affirmative as his leg trembled from the fresh wound. Suddenly, the shadow returned. Ariados rushed past with another Night-slash before disappearing again into the shrubbery. Wartortle fell on all fours in a cry of pain as his other leg began to bleed freely as well. Brian was at a loss for what to do.
"Hmph," Janine said, disappointed, "After that first Water-Gun, I kind of expected more. Oh well. Ari, end it with Electric Web!"
Wartortle's foe appeared behind him, and wrapped him in a web charged with powerful currents of electricity. Wartortle cried out in pain and Brian yelled, "Enough, I'll recall him! He's out!"
The electric currents stopped, and Brian recalled his Wartortle. Janine frowned at Brian, "have anything with a little more kick?"
Brian gritted his teeth in frustration. His Wartortle was his strongest Pokémon, yet that Ariados toyed with him like he was nothing! Perhaps Wartortle was just wrong for that particular opponent? Brian asked himself. She was right, he needed something with a little more umph.
"Go, Growlithe!"
His pup of a fire Pokémon came out rearing to fight. It growled threateningly at Ariados and used Intimidate to suppress his opponents attack using his aura.
Brian wasted no time, "Growlithe, use Flame Wheel!" Growlithe hasn't had much practice since the last time he used the attack. As such, it took way too long to get the attack started, and by the time he got going, Ariados had already disappeared into the bushes. Brian quickly yelled, "Stop!"
Growlithe looked up at his trainer in confusion. Brian explained, "I have to pay for whatever plants get destroyed during this battle! So whatever you do, don't burn the bushes!"
Growlithe rolled his eyes in exasperation and began to growl threats into the open air at his hidden foe. His threats were soon answered, however, when Ariados shot past Growlithe with another Night-slash. Growlithe yelped as his opponent slashed at his side and disappeared into the bushes. Ignoring his trainer's earlier requests, Growlithe angrily ran up to the bush Ariados disappeared into and set it ablaze with Ember.
Brian cried out, "No Growlithe, don't do that!"
Growlithe must not have heard Brian, however, because he quickly went to the next bush and set it ablaze in an attempt to flush out the enemy.
Brian groaned and recalled his Pokémon, "He's out! I forfeit the match! I don't have anything that can beat your Ariados, so it's best I don't send out anyone else to get injured." Brian's voice was defeated. He wasn't going to train with Koga now. He'd have to start off in the beginner's class now.
Janine called to her Pokémon, "Ari, put out these fires!" It did not take long for Ariados to douse the flames with his web. Janine looks at the burned bushes with disdain, "I'm going to have to get Mookie to get rid of these now," she sighed and turned to Brian.
"You and your Pokémon do not have a very strong bond."
Brian felt his heart sink, "What? What do you mean?"
Janine grimaced and said, "It sounds cruel, I know. But it is true. You don't seem to be that bad of a trainer, so I'm guessing you got your Pokémon second hand?"
Brian looked down and said, "Those two that I used were given to me."
Janine nodded and said, "How often do you spend time with your Pokémon outside of battles?"
Brian looked up at her, "Umm…"
Janine sighed, "I thought so. I'm going to put you in the Beginner's class for now. I want you to work on building bonds with your Pokémon instead of battling with them for a while. Once you have showed me your Pokémon completely trust you, we'll move you up to intermediate."
Brian opened his mouth and then shut it. Had he really neglected to build a bond with his Pokémon? Was that why Growlithe disliked him? Was that why he had trouble bringing out Wartortle's full strength?
Janine put a hand on Brian's shoulder and said, "Don't get down on yourself. A lot of great trainers started out where you are now. You need to take your time and crawl before you can walk, ok? There is a lot more to raising Pokémon than battling them to raise their power level. You'll learn that soon enough."
Brian smiled at Janine and said, "Thanks. I guess I came to the right place, huh?"
Janine nodded and said, "Yes. You'll be a real trainer in no time. Trust me."
Some of the trainers from Janine's class started to show up. One of them pointed at the burned bushes and laughed, "Told you the Newbie would fuck up the plants!"
Author's Notes:
Just a fair warning, I shall soon be changing the name of the title from Into the Fire to Pokémon: Blood Red. I understand that it's kind of a dick move to change the title fifty chapters in, but I've hated the title Into the Fire for a while now. Pokémon: Blood Red is just a lot more fitting.
*Brian's Team:
Wartortle – Lvl.29 Male
Fearow – Lvl.21 Male
Sandslash – Lvl.24 Male
Heracross – Lvl.18 Male
Growlithe – Lvl.20 Male
Tangela – Lvl.17 Female
*Janine's Ariados – Lvl.38 Male
Brian is now training at the prestigious Fuchsia City Pokémon Gym and Amy is training with her brother, (a prodigious trainer in his own right).
With Jet's friends strengthening their teams, will they be able to catch up? What will become of Jet now that he's staying in Cerulean again? Will he keep up with his training? Or will he be too distracted by Misty's charms?
Can Brian evolve his Dratini? Will Amy ever surpass her brother? Will Jet's bad luck catch up with him soon? Stay tuned, and please review!
