Woaahh is that a shiny Charmander?!"
Come on... take the bait...
"Let's goooo, Pidgey!" In a flash, a small bird is released and flutters to the ground. Joey. Perfect. Weak prey. I tighten my hold on my tree branch perch above Char, who is a amazing actor, casually licking himself until our target sends out Pidgey and gets into battle position
"Hmm... your scale pattern shows you're... wait then... this isn't right... how-"
I give a sharp whistle and char hisses out a stream of heavy, thick, choking smoke and blinds Joey and his pidgey. Well Joey at least. Keen eye's a bitch. I jump from my perch and land behind Joey, hook him into a headlock and use my ChattyChatot voice changer to threaten him
"Careful there, I'm armed."I bluff in my washed out deep base tone "Just unlock your PokeGear and drop it. I only want your money. I'll leave you enough to pay for that burn your Pidgey got"
He complies. "Wait, Burn? What b..." his voice trails of as he notices Pidgey being hit by a well timed Ember by char through the silhouette of smokescreen before the light fades and i grab his PokeGear and back into the thicker smoke, tailed closely by Charmander.
We leave the General area and climb an Oak to clear anyone's line of sight and then relax for a moment before connecting my PokeGear to his payout slot when his his balance comes on screen
"only 1500 bucks? Really? I know you're a youngster but i at least expected 2k, Joe, you're killing me here." i say, dropping his PokeGear into the tall grass below my perch "well, it'll be safe there. And easy enough to find if Comes looking this way for it. Come on Char, hunting time's over" i say, opening my blackbook app and crossing Joey off of my list. Once you hit them once, they don't fall for it again. Already 7 of the countless trainers in Viridian that had fallen for this little pit trap since i started it this month. I get down the tree and steady myself before catching Charmander in my arms and preparing to shove ahead when i hear the familiar crackle of a ta-
The world jitters then falls black
I wake up with Char sitting on my back while I'm lying in a rather familiar car. Before moving too much, i check the time on the dashboard clock. 1656. Been about 30 minutes since i passed out. There's a battery-like taste in my mouth and automatically I know what happened
"Uncle Billy..." i sit up and Charmander climbs to sit on my shoulder. "you are military police chief but you're my uncle. WHY DO YOU ALWAYS TAZE ME?!" I ask my uncle incredulously from the back seat.
"Because this is the third time I've gotten a call about a bandit using a shiny Charmander to honey pot trainers in the Viridian Forest. I have to rush to make sure I'm always the one to pick your dumb ass up before somebody else takes you to the station!" he turns off the engine and gives a long sigh. "Come with me." he says, before I'd noticed, we'd arrived at a bar in Saffron.
"what's your poison?" the bartender asks slamming two empty pints on the bar in front of my uncle and I. We each take a seat and char settles under my stool for a nap
"hey Mack, gimme 2 of the regular, would ya?"
"I know how old your nephew is, and a 17 year old normally wouldn't be allowed but uhh for you? I'll look the other way" says the bartender, casually shrugging off my presence.
"look Ethan, you're becoming a man. And also, quite a nuisance. You graduated last month, top of your class in battle strategy, out of this world academics and engineering ability that exceeds people twice your age and what do you do with that potential? All that ability and the know how? You use out to entrap and Rob innocents in the forest. What kind of... thanks Mack," my uncle says, slipping the barkeep a bill "what was i saying? Oh yeah, of all the lost opportunities I've ever known, your untapped potential is the saddest. My only nephew robbing people at gunpoint. Where'd you even get a gun?" he asks, likely referring to the fact i would tell my victims i was armed
"Oh no no, it was a bluff. I'm not scrawny but I'm not the strongest. If someone were to decide they wanted to fight back, that bluff could be the only thing that would stop them."
"You see that? You had the sense to take that into account. There are military tacticians that wouldn't even think of that kind of ingenious bluff and you waste it by hiding in the forest and taking money from trainers. But, it's not too late" he starts. Again. As he always does. "Kanto's military could use someone like you" I know this one like the back of my hand "there's a specific platoon. A battalion division that is-"
"specifically for people with your heightened ability and i think you could really blossom there and become blaahh-de-blaahh blah blah at least add some variety to it. Uncle Billy for the last time, I'm not gonna enlist!" i finish for him, taking my drink too the head "it's just not for me. I've got the brain smarts to match my street smarts and i can keep my head over here. I don't need to have to worry about literally keeping my head against militarized pokemon and insane 'infidels'. Only people I'm willing to risk my life for are my family." i explain, adamant about remaining stateside.
"And how do you intend to do that from behind bars Ethan? Hmm?" he yells at me, a twinge of desperation in his throat. "Cause last i checked, it's pretty hard to do Shit for yourself let alone protect those you love. And that's exactly where you'll end up if you keep on the path you're taking right now. Now i know you hate when i bring him up but... your father, before he left, he asked that i take care of you if anything ever happened to him. I said of course i would. It was casual Bar Talk. It wasn't like the man would suddenly cease to exist the next day. But he did. And since that day, I've been doing everything in my power to keep you and your mother comfortable and safe. and Damn if you're not making that hard for me" he says before taking a sip of his drink.
"Now I'll make you a deal," he says, before pulling out his suitcase. This isn't gonna be good... Uncle Billy isn't just the head of the military policemen. He stays stateside because he's a Lawyer for the Kanto Division of the Civil Regions Union Military. And a damn good one. Making a deal with him is like... let's just say in contract agreements, he always gets what he wants.
"and no, this will not be one of my typical signature agreements," I sigh of relief
"let's call this more of a... Wager." quit playing with my feelings, old man
"A wager among men. I will sign this recommendation letter. And we will go to the firing range In the Barracks. I will set this up on a target at 75 meters and should you be able to hit it from 75 meters with a single bullet from a weapon of your choice... you get the keys to my '67 Rapidash Fastback." hooooly hell
"yyy.. You mean the shiny blue with the smoky grey stripes? The one that I've wanted since you and I were souping up and restoring until it roared like an Ursaring?"
"mmhm." He nods smugly with his eyes Closed
"With the 409 Chevy Big Block Combustion Engine?" What can I say? I got a soft spot for muscle cars
"The Very same." He crosses his arms with a smirk
"DEAL!" I yell
He raises a finger "But..." but?
"But?"
"But..." But...?
"Buuuuut...?"
"But..."
"Okay, next time one of us says but, I'm gonna flip this stool"
"Empty a clip without a single hit" He continues "You're going to enlist. Deal?" He holds out his hand for me to shake
Should I? I dunno. This is Literally my life on the line...
I grab his hand and give it a hearty shake while rising from my barstool "Got yourself a deal, old man"
A/N: The Deal that can make or break our hero, hmm? We'll see how that goes.
We'll break into the more military/action area of Ethan's story soon but in the mean time,
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Until Next Time!