Nearly a day passed after the battle, and Bill decided to visit me in my PC room.
"Hey, come in!" I greeted him and let inside.
"So… How did it go?!" He asked me, anticipating for a nice story. That`s a thing I like in him – he always goes straight to the core.
"Well… I have to say, this was quite an experience." I let myself smile a bit. "I knew that there is a small and loveable girl under the mask of crazy and brutal psycho."
"You`re… talking about… yourself?" Bill confusedly asked.
"No, damnit! About Sabrina!" I yelled at him. "I am crazy and brutal madman, don`t mix these up!"
"Okay, okay… I think I believe you." He retreated back, a bit scared. "But how did you do this? I would never expect such woman even to TRY for a date."
"I`ve got my secrets." I winked playfully. "Everyone has some weak spots. And I can perfectly recognize them and use into my favor… Do you know why sometimes scratching the bruise feels… good?"
"Um… That`s some strange example." Bill scratched his own back of head. "But I got it, to my surprise."
I laid down in my armchair and closed my eyes.
"It was not that hard. So many shit happened recently, she just needed someone to talk to… to comfort her, to remind she`s a human. Make feel alive just for one evening…" I opened eyes again and looked up above. "There is a very good hill on the south of Saffron City. It`s high enough to observe the whole place. That`s where we were."
And then I took my PokeDex to show my real proof.
"Wow… Now I see you won." Bill looked at the smiling photo of me and Sabrina in her own house.
"Yes, and about my wish…"
"She is drunk." The guy interrupted me. "You made her a drunkard!"
"Well, yeah… A bit. This process needed a first push." I admitted guiltily.
"That`s doesn`t count, that`s cheating!" Bill shook his head in disapproval. "With this even I could do the same. You didn`t won!"
That sounded a bit offensive, and not in my direction.
"Don`t you think that is a bit… unfair for us to play with feelings of a poor woman?" I honestly asked him, making to think.
"Well… Yeah. Maybe, you`re right." He agreed to me. "Let`s call this a draw and forget about it."
"Agreed." I shook his hand and got up from the armchair.
"Well, as for now, the operations in Saffron are over." He finally answered and got up too. "Enough of slacking off! You have two more badges to get!"
"Hey, what`s the point?" The sudden change of topic spoiled my mood a bit. "I don`t need stupid badges, I need Giovanni!"
"Until now you could easily do two things at once!" Bill tried to cheer me for some unknown reason. "Also, have you been on Cinnabar Island yet?"
"It`s where leader Blane lives? He had some problems there…"
"Exactly. You travelled across the whole region, searching for Team Rocket trails. What, if Rocket`s actual base is on Cinnabar Island?" I began to understand the meaning of this.
"This makes sense. This makes sense more than anything!" Finally, Bill`s help actually woke me up even after standing up. "And the seventh badge is on my way there."
"Great! And I also have a thing you may also be interested in!" He smiled widely and took a newspaper from his bag.
The first headline of it named 'The legend returns'. There was a large photo of some blurred bird-like pokemon over a mountain and a huge article about…
"Articuno?!" I exclaimed surprisingly.
"Yes! People saw the legendary Articuno at Seafoam Islands!" Bill shouted very excited about that.
"Wait! You didn`t believe in these legendary pokemon, did you?"
"This is your chance to prove me wrong!" He pushed the newspaper into my chest. "You may visit Seafoam Islands on your way to Cinnabar. Make a photo of Articuno for me, if it exists…"
"Are you serious? To find a legendary pokemon that may even not exist?" This surprised me quite a lot. But, on the other hand, for Bill this is not too unusual. "And how do you know the photo is real?"
"Use your PokeDex again. That`s how." He smiled and pointed at the picture in newspaper. "This one is fake, I can easily define it. But the article gives some real facts, and that make me think the author actually met Articuno, but didn`t get a chance to make a real photo."
I looked down at the author of article. Jim Lawson… I don`t know him. But then I noticed a familiar marking.
"This is a newspaper Leaf works in!" I said and began to slowly look through pages trying to find anything interesting. And I actually did find it… After another story of disappearing people, disappearing grass-type pokemon and… flying cars? That thing was definitely written by a drug addict!
In the end, there was an article, suddenly… about me. According to it, I was spoiling social property and doing other small crap in Pewter City during the attack on Saffron! Of course, the author was Leaf Stone.
"Why did she write it?" Bill surprisingly asked. "It`s like… she was trying to get an alibi for you."
"I wanted to stay aside the conflict in Saffron. Yeah, looks like she tried to get me an alibi…" I concluded, repeating his words.
"But this makes no sense!" Suddenly Bill shouted. "This… this is too opened! Team Rocket will read this and DEFINITELY connect her to you! They will get her to get you!"
I didn`t reply. I had to think this through.
"You knew that, right?" Bill suddenly asked me very judgingly. "You asked her to write this, despite all the damn danger?!"
"Bill, I really need to stay in the shadow…"
"By putting others into the light?" The inventor`s tone began to sound really out of control. "They will kill her because of you!"
"Hey, it was her choice to do it, not mine!" I tried to defend myself. "This girl is too stubborn to listen to me, and you know it!"
This wasn`t enough for Bill, and he waved his hand at me and headed to the exit.
"Will you leave me too when I`m not needed anymore?" He asked angrily and left.
Damn, I didn`t see this coming… Bill`s reaction is understandable, but harsh. I`m gonna have problems now…
Oh, Leaf, why do you need to act this way?
Ugh, I don`t have time for this. She is a smart girl, she will be fine. But I will not be fine, until I get to Cinnabar Island. I have already checked the map and found the perfect way there… Across the ocean! And Seafoam Islands are on my way also, so I may actually get along with Bill again, if I check that mystery.
Time to get going.
In a few hours I was prepared to move forward, waiting for someone in the park. Surprisingly, this 'someone' didn`t make wait for too long.
"What do you need, loser?" Douchebag greeted me.
"And I`m glad to see you too, Douchebag." I replied him. "Got that shiny badge of hers?"
"Ha! Of course, I did!" He answered with such tone like my question offended him. "Now I`m going to get the seventh one!"
"Cinnabar Island or Viridian City?" I asked.
"…Cinnabar. Viridian is still closed." He explained sadly and looked away.
"So… Now you`re off to Fuchsia City to travel through Seafoam Island, yeah?"
"How… did you know that?" Douchebag was surprised.
"A newspaper sticks out of your bag." I shook my head in its direction. It was the same newspaper Bill brought me. "You saw the Articuno article and want to check it by yourself!"
He suspiciously looked at his bag and closed it.
"Yes, so what? If this thing exists, I`m going to catch it!" He exclaimed. What an ambitious young man… Very stupid for his age.
"Then I will follow you wherever you go!" I gladly informed him. "Because I need to get there too, and I have no damn idea where to go."
Douchebag looked down, deeply thinking. He`s up to something again, and I already don`t like it.
"You know what? Let yourself and your pokemon be useful at least once." He approached me and tapped my shoulder. "I`m going to give you a present that will help us both."
"May I know what the present is and what`s the catch?" I asked him with suspicion.
"You want your Charizard to fly someday, do you?" Douchebag asked me in return, creating a real intrigue.
"Of course, I do!" I exclaimed. "What kind of question is that?"
"Well then you`re lucky to have so smart… me!" He grinned and stared at my eyes. "There is one specific technique that learns your pokemon to fly."
That sounded awesome! I can finally teach my Dumpling how to soar the skies! But… It`s Douchebag.
"Too good to be true." I shook my head mistrustfully. "Why didn`t you get it yet?"
"Because I don`t have any flying pokemon. And I don`t need to, because YOU do."
Ah, now I get it. He wants to teach my Dumpling to fly so he could carry BOTH of us to the destination. Well… I`m not sure if my Charizard can took two human. But we can, at least, try – if something goes wrong, we will throw Douchebag down somewhere in the lake.
"So… Where is this technique?" I carefully asked him. "I want it now!"
"Shush! I know the guy that lives on Route 16 and has the infamous HM-02 Fly. And he owns me, quite a lot!"
"It`s so far…" I whined quietly. "Is there any closer place to get it?"
"We`re going to Route 16 or we`re going nowhere!" Douchebag loudly set me an ultimatum. "Well, I can go wherever I want, so you should decide."
I have already decided a long ago, I`m just showing off.
"Then let`s go!" I rushed to the road and looked at Douchebag with determination. "Where is your new restored car?"
"Erm… There is none. My old boss disappeared, and now all I have are my pokemon and a gold coin that I will never exchange."
"Ah, I get it! You don`t have money even for transport to Cinnabar Island!" I smiled, enjoying this fail of his. "Well, it`s time for me to go help poor and retarded. Lead on!"
Douchebag snorted and walked towards the exit from the park. I sighed loudly, imagining what an adventure we will have soon.
The adventure to Route 16 was surprisingly uneventful and boring. We had to brighten up the time with talks about past, present and future. Finally, Douchebag told me something about Team Rocket – the insider information became really useful for me. Now I`m more familiar with the structure of this damn organization.
Team Rocket`s activity is split in three branches. The first one is pokemon-related, led by executive Archer. Pokemon commodity circulation, including the Lavender-Celadon plan that was the main part of it, I guess.
The second one is about human resources – that`s where Douchebag was. The supply of new recruits, their equipment and all that is there, controlled by executive Proton – the guy that tried to kill me and Leaf in Saffron City.
And there is one more branch, somehow connected to science researches. Nothing more is known of it, but it already makes a lot of sense.
I actually thought earlier that there were no middle-unit commanders in this system. All grunts and workers were addressing to Giovanni himself, telling there is no other bosses, and I never heard of Proton and Archer. Well, in the end, I did – from Susan. Looks like I was mistaken. In most of things…
Douchebag himself was in the second branch, squad "Sigma" that was just threatening big traders to pay fee to Team Rocket. For some time it was fun, but got him bored very quickly. Too bad that all leads Douchebag had are now gone too. At least, he told me about the enemy posts he was aware of. This could be useful, if the damn Team Rocket would not change them all after our attack on Silph Co.! But now, after the events in Saffron City, most of first two branches are cut down… well… blasted down. Only a few people remain there, with just scientific branch remained. And this still stays a mystery for me. For everyone.
We had some small breaks and I even got some time to train my pokemon while he rests. Meh, poor guy – he is not used to walking that much, he`s all about pathos, cars, luxury, quick money spending until there is no pathos, no cars and no luxury left. Just me and a long road ahead.
Anyway, in the end we reached the lone house far from civilization. This reminded me of Bill`s residence a lot… But this looked more like a farm.
Douchebag asked me to stay here and went there alone with his Quartz ready. In a couple of minutes they ran out, with Douchebag keeping a disk in his hand, passed me throwing it to me and shouted:
"Run, you idiot!"
I was not needed to tell twice, and I ran after him without questions.
"Ya`ll dead, basterdz!" The horrible voice of some hysteric woman shouted from behind before I heard a shot of a rifle.
But we ran fast enough for her to lose us, and we hid behind the trees to catch our breath.
"What the heck was that all about?!" I shouted at him, breathing heavily. "That was not guy at all!"
"Well… Yeah… And she didn`t also know about the debt." The cunning bastard explained, while returning his Blastoise back. "Return, Quartz. You`re not very effective against firearms."
I finally recovered and looked at the disk in my hand. The dark label 'HM02 Fly' gave me some determination.
"What are you waiting for?" Douchebag approached me. "Teach it and let`s fly the heck out of here!"
"No need to hurry. This is a thing you would need to consider carefully…"
I loaded the technique into my TM-Case and placed Dumpling`s pokeball into the slot. Of course, I could teach Moment to be my personal airline, but from the very beginning I dreamt of a flying Charizard, soaring the sky and carrying me around.
But using a specific move to learn flying? This is strange. Maybe, it`s just the easy way. And I choose the hard one too often.
"What does this move do in battle?" I questioned Douchebag.
"Isn`t this obvious? A pokemon goes high into the sky to land a hit after some time." He answered, making me think like this is really obvious.
"Well… Here goes nothing."
I already know what move slot to replace.
Dumpling forgot Wing Attack…
Dumpling learned Fly!
Yeah! Even better flying-type move! As now Steel Wing can easily replace Wing Attack in our maneuvers, the new technique can make our possibilities even wider!
"Dumpling, come on out!" I gladly released my pokemon outside to congratulate him. "This is it. You always dreamt of flying… And we had a lot of practice earlier bad and good. Do you feel confidence now?"
He looked confusedly at me, then – at the ground. But after that he actually tried to flap his mighty wings and was extremely surprised when it got him up in the air. He quickly fell down, losing the control of it, but he also quickly got up and looked at me, demanding an explanation.
"You can now do the Fly move. Try to fly a bit over the ground." I said him.
Pokemon don`t always accept the new abilities immediately, and even with memory writing they still need to practice a new move.
Dumpling jumped up and flapped his wings, trying to stay in the air as long as possible. This wasn`t that easy – the unbalanced strength on two wings made him uncontrollably fall aside, but he was quickly restoring the balance.
"Well, maybe, this wasn`t the best idea…" I thought out loud. "He is not ready yet."
My words made Dumpling open his eyes wide and angrily stare at me. He was like feeling offended with my words, but that just gave him more strength to fly even higher. With each new thrust he was gaining height, just to prove me wrong. He also tried this earlier, but never succeeded. During our trainings he tried to find higher cliffs to jump off and to get new wounds… To eliminate the primal fear he felt first time when he evolved into Charizard during falling. To learn flying, he kept falling, again and again. But he is falling no more.
Now… he is actually flying.
"You`re amazing, Dumpling!" I complimented my partner. "Launch the Fly attack on that tree!"
He roared loudly and headed to the grassy victim from the very height. Gaining more and more speed, he approached the target and crushed into it, turning the plant into rubble.
"YEAH!" I shouted happily. Finally, I felt my Dumpling grew up and achieved his goal. "Now he is ready!"
This time Charizard approached us by the air, not by foot. He tried his best to hover over the ground, sometimes clumsily falling aside and regaining the balance. Near me he touched the ground and lowered his long dragon neck to me.
"Yeah… Great job!" I scratched his neck and smiled. "So… Do you think you can carry two of us to Cinnabar Island? I will direct you."
"This can be too much for him." Douchebag said, approaching us. Dumpling snorted, seeing him, showing his mistrust. "Let`s get to Fuchsia City and then go by our own."
"Well, maybe, you`re right. I should not push him too hard..." I looked at my pokemon and nodded. He snorted, offended by my doubt in him. Dumpling never acts careful. "I know, I know… I do have faith. But let`s take is slow, okay?"
Also my Dumpling can be reasonable. So he turned his back and bended forward for us to sit on him. I carefully got up and found the least uncomfortable spot to sit. After that I turned to Douchebag and gave him a hand.
"Did you take a parachute?" I asked him jokingly. "I bet you will need it."
"Shut up!" He jumped behind me and took the position. "If we fall – we fall together."
"Just like in old times…" I returned my eyesight to Dumpling`s head and tapped his shoulder. "Let`s go, Dumpling. Try not to drop us down."
He growled displeased, and then flapped his wings to rush straight up. Me and Douchebag barely kept ourselves on his back, while gaining the height. But at the same time I felt real excitement from this extremely dangerous flight.
Damn, I`m flying on a Charizard!
"Wooohooo!" I uncontrollably yelled at the clouds around us.
"Don`t get too excited…" Douchebag mumbled quietly.
"Hey! Give me some seconds to enjoy the frigging life!" I snarled at him. "But he`s right, Dumpling. If you feel tired – go down immediately."
He nodded and accelerated forward with another flap of wings.
"Hey, we need to go that way!" I stopped him and pulled shoulder back.
Charizard reacted immediately, making a sharp spin and almost dropping us down.
"Dumpling!" I shouted at pokemon, scolding this hooligan. He growled quietly, and his growl really sounded like laugh.
I hope we get there sooner…
Well, it wasn`t soon and wasn`t easy. We were flying along the Cycling road, connecting Route 16 and Fuchsia City, landing a couple of times for rest. In the end, we finally reached our destination point till the morning and headed to the beach south of the city.
"Ah! The fresh sea air…" I made a deep breath to feel the real clean nature after being for so long in the dirty city. "It`s been a while I visited the beach just to have a rest and sunbathe…"
"This time too you`re not going to do this." Douchebag interrupted my thoughts.
"No, I`m not…" I replied sarcastically. "So, what now? Swimming to Seafoam Island on our own? You can swim, right? Or we should buy you a floaty?"
He grumbled, remembering this problem of his.
"No! We have our pokemon for that!" Douchebag released his Quartz into the water and jumped on his shell.
"It`s too small for two of us…" I quietly said.
"Yes, because it is for one." He replied and pointed forward. "Let`s go, Quartz! We will be the first to take on Cinnabar gym!"
And thus they left me alone on the beach, quickly distancing from the shore.
So, it`s a race, huh?
Then my racer is already ready…