The air outside Mt. Moon was warm and fresh, and smelled faintly of grass and earth. Arden sat down on a ledge outside of the mouth of the cave and rested his battered body beneath the clear blue sky. He lay back in the lush grass with a contented sigh and closed his eyes. As he was drifting off to sleep, he heard footsteps approaching. Feigning sleep, he gave no indication he was aware of the other's presence, hoping who ever it was wouldn't bother him.

"Excuse me!" shouted a deep, masculine voice directly over him.

Arden made no answer.

"Excuse me, little boy! I would like to show you the power of the Mega Punch!"

Arden cracked his eyes open and looked up at the man—a hulking creature in a martial arts get-up. "Is that a threat?" he asked weakly. "If this is your grass, sir, I'll move. I mean, I don't want any trouble. Particularly the sort that ends with me being badly beaten."

The man threw his head back and laughed heartily. "No, no! I can teach your pokemon the powerful and graceful move Mega Punch!" he said.

"Why do you shout all your sentences?" asked Arden slowly sitting up.

"I'm excited about Mega Punch!"

"Ha! Mega Punch?" asked another man coming up to him. Arden noted that he, too, was dressed as a martial artist. In fact, he was identical to the first man. "Little boy, I can teach your pokemon Mega Kick! A truly worthy move!"

"I'm not that little," muttered Arden.

"Little boy! Do not be taken in by this degenerate! Mega Punch is the ultimate move!"

"Ha! If by ultimate you mean weak and unwieldy then that is a correct assumption! Mega Kick is far superior!"

"Ha! If by far superior you mean clumsy and impotent then that is a correct assumption! Mega Punch is the best move!"

"Mega Kick is much more the best move!"

"Mega Punch!"

"Mega Kick!"

"Mega Punch!" The first man threw a powerful punch at the second.

"Mega Kick!" The second man simultaneously threw a powerful kick at the first.

Their attacks met with a loud 'crunch' and they broke apart, both apparently unhurt by the conflict. They turned, both, to Arden, who was disappointed they had not forgotten about them in their clash.

"Little boy!" they shouted in unison.

Arden groaned. "What…?" he mumbled weakly.

"Which do you think is superior?" asked the second man. "You like Mega Kick! I'm right, aren't I?"

"Don't be foolish!" said the first man. "He is very much enamoured of Mega Punch! Aren't I right?"

"Idiot! The little boy obviously has more sense than that! He likes Mega Kick!"

"I'm really not a little boy," said Arden quietly, fully aware they weren't listening. "I'm twelve… I mean, that's not little…"

"Idiot?! Only a moron would think that Mega Kick is superior! Mega Punch is the superior move, and the little boy agrees!"

"Moron?! Hardly! Mega Kick is superior to Mega Punch in every and all ways!"

"Any Neanderthal could see Mega Punch is far better and most amazing!"

"Any mongoloid could tell that it is Mega Kick which is most amazing and far better!"

Arden sighed at what a pointless argument, and wondered vaguely how closely the two men were related. They must be related, after all. As silently as he could, he stood up and slinked away down the path. Behind him the men were still arguing loudly, every now and then exchanging blows.

"I hate this place," mumbled Arden as soon as he was far enough away from them that he couldn't be heard. He kicked at a rock. "Stupid Kanto, full of stupid people and stupid pokemon… Ah! Speaking of…"

He unhitched Gentry's ball from his belt and looked at it as he walked. "I need to… talk to him, or something," he said. "After that complete failure of a battle… I mean, I guess I'd have been to scared to fight if I were suddenly put up against a blood-sucking bat in a dark cave with someone I'd never met commanding me…"

He paused on the wide dirt path looking around to make sure there was no one around who would bother him. Seeing only pleasant grassy ledges and flowers, he held out the pokeball. "Come on out, Gentry!" he said. A flash of light emitted from the ball, leaving the nidoran on the path in front of him.

"Niido," chirped the pokemon as he looked around. Seeing Arden, he flattened his ears and crouched, looking terrified.

"It's alright," said Arden, kneeling down. "I'm your trainer now, Gentry."

He slowly reached out one hand to the little pink pokemon, fully aware that the last time he reached out his hand to a cute and seemingly harmless pokemon it hadn't ended so well.

"Ran," said Gentry, taking a step backward.

"It's fine. I'm a good guy. Promise."

"Niiidoran. Nido."

Arden sighed and sat all the way down. "Look, I need to talk to you about maybe battling when I, uh, put you in a battle."

"Nido?" asked the pokemon, tilting its head to one side.

"Look, I know you miss Iris, but—"

"Niiiiidoran!" shouted the nidoran, pawing at the ground, his ears perking up at the name of his former trainer. "Nido nido niiiiidooo!"

"Yeah, I'm, uh, I'm sure Iris is a good girl," said Arden rubbing the back of his head. "But, uh, she's not here. We traded, you see, so you, uh, you belong to me now…"

"Niii? Nido!" Gentry said, shaking his head. "Ran nido ni!"

"Uh… oookay," said Arden slowly. "I have to tell you, I don't understand that…"

Tears were forming in the nidoran's eyes. His ears drooped. "Niido."

"It's okay, though," said Arden, standing up. "Look, it's all going to be okay."

"Nido?"

Arden bent down and put his hands on Gentry's sides. "Well, come on, you," he said. "I think we just need to spend more time together, and then you'll be able to forget about Iris."

Gentry flattened his ears. "Ni. Nidoran." He didn't want to forget about Iris.

However, he didn't struggle when Arden picked him up and held him carefully to his chest. "You're point," Arden observed. "This is… kinda hard with all these spines of yours… Jeez, do you really need so many spines?"

"Ran."

"Yeah, I guess," mumbled Arden, though he wasn't really sure what Gentry was saying. He carried the pokemon along the wide, sunny path, pausing briefly when Cerulean City came into view. It was a larger city than Pewter, with a wide river bounding one side of it. Gentry looked cheered up by the sight of it, but Arden cared only to see if he could spot the gym. When he did, he started blandly and one-minded toward it.