Chapter 4

Leslie

We dragged Phinney's body out of the house and tossed it to the middle of the street, while Blake carried Zach out of Old Viridian. The homeless people whispered a thank you as we passed, some of which patted our shoulders with slight smiles on their faces. Bugger never said a word, but his emotions were in disarray. Phinney was dead, but I suspect that Josh was the one who took Isa, and he was long gone.

However, there was the matter with Zach. We couldn't take him into the city, so I reached out stopped Blake. She jumped, then turned around. I took Zach from her, and like she was responding to me, Athena materialized next to me. Blake and Bugger, who haven't met her yet, were surprised and took defensive stances, but I moved past them and gave her Zach.

She gave me a stern hug, before disintegrating with Zach. Bugger was the first of us to escape the reverie and move us along. We still had to find Josh, and I had a good feeling that I'd encounter him in Pewter.

We did find him in Pewter, technically, but to follow him was another matter. Along the way, Blake picked up a new skill, one she insisted getting into a fight with a strong person to showcase it. Bugger quietly steamed, and refused to have much fun. We did go back and take some of Phinney's cash, on Bugger's insisting. I didn't touch it, but I let him take as much as he wanted to get back at the goat. He took $20,000, but he told me that he wouldn't hold it to me if I took the rest of the 4,5 million.

It was difficult, but I left it there. It wasn't a moral freebie, and it was going to raise flags to of all kinds of people. With nothing else for Viridian to offer, I followed Josh's trail and headed toward Pewter, but with the only thing that remained of his presence was his name on the cluttered plates in the Pewter City Pokémon Gym, and the person keeping me from following him into the mountains, I felt obligated to let Blake demonstrate her newfound power in the Pokémon Gym.

"Welcome, trainer! To the PEWTER CITY POKÉMON GYM!" the announcer said, beginning his spiel. I didn't listen to the rest, and Blake picked up on that. Instead Blake walked out onto the Gym floor and the Announcer broke off, as the other trainer chickened out and backed away from Blake's eagerness to fight. The next trainer, unnerved, sent out his first pokémon, a sandshrew. Blake walked up to him and the sandshrew ran for the safety of his trainer.

"C'mon! Someone fight me!" Blake yelled, and a man that I could only describe as muscles walked onto the opponent stand.

Brown skinned, Black hair, no shirt and kept his eyes as slits, but wore green cargo pants and black loafers.

"You might have made my trainers run, but I am stalwart, both in strength and in courage. I am Brock, Gym Leader of Pewter, and I will test your power," Brock shouted, a roar in his voice. Behind him stood two similarly built people, one tall, one short. The shorter of the two walked forth silently and squared off with Blake, who smiled.

"Brockinonecorner BEGIN!" the announcer rambled over the air.

The foe charged Blake, but Blake easily dodged and swung him around. As the foe jumped to his feet, Blake brushed her shoulder with one hand and waved it at her foe, and the air before her ignited. The veil of flames engulfed the foe, and when it dispersed a moment later, he was scarred, the burn reaching from his shoulders to his thighs in one messy streak.

Brock walked onto the battlefield as Blake lifted the burned foe up and carried him over to Brock, who took him to the awaiting medical stretcher. Brock took his position, standing in his pose for a moment, then deflated.

"You show great promise to become a wonderful trainer, but as a gym leader I am obligated to either defeat or be defeated before I can let you leave this battle," Brock explained, and the second foe took the field.

Rather than just burning him like the first one, Blake engaged him with a normal fist fight, at least until he gained the upper hand. Blake pushed him off and put some space between the two, but the foe knew that if she did, then she'd burn him. However, Blake was faster, and she swiped her shoulder as she turned to face him, and once more ending the fight with fire. Blake dragged his body to Brock, this time passing Brock as he walked across the battlefield, digging into his pocket.

I walked toward him, and he handed me the gym badge. "She wanted to show that skill to me using a strong opponent. I didn't-"

Brock patted my shoulder, and looked at him. "It's a battle, a gym battle. This happens all the time. I'm sure Blake won't ever try to kill them unless they really deserve it. My team will be back to fighting shape in no time," he said, trying to ease my worry. He took the gym badge and affixed it to my bag strap and turned me around, giving me a gentle shove. "You'll find Misty, the next Gym Leader, in Cerulean. Take the east path to Mt. Moon and once you're though you'll be there."

"Thank you, Brock," I said, softer than I realized, and walked on. Bugger waited patiently as the door attendant punched my name onto the Victory plaque. Josh L. Ender was the one before it, so there's a chance he could get to Cerulean before I got to Mt. Moon. Bugger saw that too, and when Blake got back Bugger informed her and we stopped once at the Pokémon Center and hurried down the eastern path. Before long we made it to the small town outside of Mt. Moon without incident, and I could see Josh looking back toward me at the entrance to the cave, showed his PDA and disappeared into Mt. Moon, I pulled out my PDA and found that he had sent several messages and documents, only one of which was from right now.

I stashed the PDA and took a step and noticed that there was a new addition to the team, a brown hair green eyed boy with tan and cream wings. Both him and Bugger had lagged behind, and were out of breath catching up to me and Blake.

"I got caught up in a battle on the way, this one likes playing rough," Bugger said, panting.

"Spearow, from this town, of Minstrel. Mind if I, hah, join you?" he asked.

"Sure, Darren," I said, helping him stand.

"Darren, right," he said, chuckling. "Yeah, Darren's fine, except that I'm a girl."

I looked her over again. Her flat chest didn't help, the short hair, and the bulky shorts did in no way supported her claim to be a girl. "Yeah, I'm going to take your word, and we need to get into Mt. Moon and catch Josh before he gets too far," I told her, then turned and hurried off.

"What's her deal?" Darren asked.

"Josh is," Blake answered.

The group made the way to the entrance to the Mt. Moon Cave, but the guard outside stopped us. "The caves are closed for the night. I know that you, spearow, know that we send in the clearer teams to make sure everyone gets out before the night hits," the guard told us.

I looked at Darren and she looked away. It was getting late anyway, but Josh was ahead by I don't even know. It started to worry me that we wouldn't be able to catch up to him.

"Maybe I need to help you relax," Athena chimed, sitting outside a nearby building. The Mountain Giant Pub. "Josh sure has been making you stress since you got here. It's like he's the star of the show."

"Yeah, a dirty comedy. What do you know about him that I don't?" I asked her.

"He wants you, but he knows how bad it would be if you caught up to him. He's put so much fuck up in his position that he's not sure that you'll ever forgive him, and so he runs. He's leaving behind a mess, and since he's running, he's not reaping most of the rewards. Relax and follow him at an even pace, I'll make sure your group catches him," Athena explained. "Stay the night, I'll take care of you."

"What about the rest of my team?"

"I'll take them to my place," Darren offered.

"I have no objections," Blake said.

"Let's let the ladies have their night. We'll meet here when the gates open tomorrow," Bugger said, then the three left.

Athena pulled me into the bar and sat me down on one of the stools and ordered us a drink. "Not going to tell me anymore?" I asked, and she smiled.

"You'll find the rest on your own, and if not, I'll let you know what you missed. Now drink."

Blake

Darren's house was a short walk away and next to the town's pokémon center. There was a young girl standing outside the center with a letter, awaiting someone. Curious, I approached her and she looked up and flinched when I kneeled down to look at her better. She was a magikarp, and not as young as I initially thought, but rather still wet behind the ears.

"What'cha waiting for, kid? Looking for your trainer?" I asked her, and she held up the letter. "What's this?"

"Y-you're Blake, right? Red hair and armor, traveling with a beedrill named Ezekiel and a trainer called Leslie?" the girl asked timidly. I reached up and put my hand on her shoulder, and she started shaking.

"Calm, child. I'm not here to hurt you. I am Blake, and I will help you with what ever you need," I said, trying to comfort her. Rather than calm, she started crying, then threw her arms around me.

"He left me, he left me here to wait for you. I waited, and I saw him leave me behind. I thought you would never come for me, and when I caught a glimpse of you I thought my wait was over, but you guys disappeared, and I almost gave up. I almost gave up and ran after daddy through the mountains," she confessed, and there was more than one thing wrong with what she said, but there would be another time for that.

"Now, now. Your big sister's here to make sure you're safe," I told her, and she nodded through her sobbing. "Now, I'm going to take you with me, and we'll go after your father once you get some rest, alright?"

"Alright, sister," the magikarp said, calming down.

"Now, even though our trainer isn't here, I'm naming you, something strong."

"I'd like that," the young girl said, cheering up. "What is it?"

"Your name shall be Baelog, Lord of the Southern Seas."

"What?" Bugger asked, and I waved him off.

"Why the Southern Seas?" Baelog asked.

"Because North is up, and your enemies are going down, that's why."

Baelog chuckled. "I like the sound of that."

"Just remember that, and no one will stand in your way," I told her, and then lifted her up. "Now is the time for sleep, though, and your big sis will keep you safe tonight."

Baelog smiled, then shut her eyes as I carried her. Darren, or Rochelle, told her parents about us and they were kind enough to allow us to spend the night, and then go with us on our journey as long as Ezekiel, Bugger, behaved himself.

Ezekiel agreed and retired to the floor of the guest bedroom. Rochelle's dad, Dante, a retired Dodrio programmer, showed me his armor collection from his past fights and traded my armor for a sturdier set of armor with two short swords for my battles.

The armor was a leather tunic chest piece with light iron plates and pauldrons with a similarly constructed skirt, and he spent some time adjusting it to properly fit my body. It was light and sturdy, and I was grateful for it.

He also told me of a place in Celadon where I could get better gear than what he has, and if I bring him the artifact known as the Siegmund Lance in Lavender he'll personally pay for the upgrades.

Tired from the adventurous day, I retired to the guest room, where Ezekiel, who normally was hardy and tough, had melted under Baelog's cute self, and the two had fallen asleep together on the bed. I placed my armor on the floor beside a comfy looking chair and sat down.

Thoughts of my dad entered my head, and I wondered what kind of wonderful battles he has engaged in since he joined the League.

One day, I'll show you how a glorious war is won by one man's fists alone!

Mom and my brothers might have thought Dad was just a brute, but a glorious death doing what you like sounds better than fading from the world as a non-entity.