Welcome back everyone! Got a lot to say about this chapter, but I'm going to save it all for the end, so enjoy!

Chapter 5: Following the Rules

The plane ride to Kanto is surprisingly boring. Which feels a bit silly when I think about it. Planes are planes, after all. But it's honestly been the least interesting thing to happen since I arrived in this world. Everything else I've done has been filled with such interesting novelties, things that seem to scream out to me "This is the World of Pokémon!" and give me a giddy feeling in my chest that has me damn near skipping (internally, of course) through the course of the day. Even the more bland aspects of my recent routines, like eating or looking stuff up on the internet, are made more interesting by where I'm eating, my new devices, and the nearly constant appearance of Pokémon in the Center's lobby.

In contrast, the plane ride is… just a plane ride. The only mildly interesting thing is that there are a few extra restrictions. No carry-on bags using storage tech, and no Pokémon. Ogrim spends the flight locked in his Poké Ball, in a special part of the cargo hold designed for such a purpose. But once I've gone through that it's the same as any of the other flights I've taken back home.

Though when I think about it more that's probably for the best. I'm not sure I want to see what qualifies as an 'exciting' plane ride in a world with creatures capable of changing the weather, or dragons casually flying around in the stratosphere. In that sense I'm glad to have landed in Fuchsia with nothing interesting happening.

From there it's just a matter of taking a bus to the Pokémon Center and getting my room key from reception. Luckily for me I had the foresight to book ahead of time; the Center is packed to the brim. Not only is it peak tourist season for Fuchsia, the news of Koga's challenge has drawn all sorts of attention. While other trainers rant and complain at the front desk, I'm able to make my way to the front, grab a key, and quietly slip away.

It's only once I'm safely locked in my room that I feel safe letting Ogrim out of his ball. I let him poke around the room, stretching his legs a bit as I start to feel the exhaustion set in. Once he's safely settled I message my friends back in Unova to tell them that I've safely arrived before finally getting some sleep.

The next few days are spent preparing for the exam any way I can think of. I study, scope out the gym, listen for any news and rumors, and find a nice spot outside of the city where I can train Ogrim in peace. There aren't any convenient swamps nearby for Ogrim to practice mudslinging, but after going over some ideas with Hilda I've started to make plans for taking Ogrim's training in a new direction. So I settle for a clearing in a nice, secluded forest area to the northwest of the city, not far from the boundary to the safari zone. It should be perfect for training Ogrim, as well as whatever new Pokémon I get from Koga.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to figure out exactly what Pokémon that will be just yet. Rumors include everything from rattata to dragonite. Most seem to agree the Pokémon will be relatively common, but there's all sort of wild ideas circulating through the rumor mill as well. Personally I have my fingers crossed that the nidoran crowd has it right, but that's mostly wishful thinking. Getting potential access to a nidoking this early into my journey would be another dream come true.

Rather than dreaming though, I've come up with a more realistic theory as to what Koga's Pokémon might be. It's pure speculation, but there's only so many Pokémon a poison type expert is likely to hand out to people. And so, while I don't think it's necessarily the smartest move to be making, I start focusing my attention in a very specific direction.

"Name?"

"Ben."

The receptionist waits a moment, before giving me an impatient look. "…Your full name, please."

"Oh! Sorry, it's Benjamin Wilson."

She taps a few keys, eyes focused on her computer, "Alright Ben, I just need to see your trainer card." She copies a few things from the card, then shows off her best customer service smile. "Okay, you're registered as number fifty three. Here's your identification. It would be in your best interest to have it visible when using any official Pokémon League facilities for the duration of the exam. Please move along to the arena. Good luck!"

The ID she hands me is a sturdy plastic card on a lanyard, with my challenger number on one side, and a code on the back that looks somewhat similar to the code I can find on a Poké Ball. I look at it for a moment, then in a flash of inspiration, step to one side of the hallway to the arena and scan my card with my Pokédex.

The screen of the Pokédex lights up with the words 'Gym Trainer ID registered.'

"Not sure what that means exactly, but I feel like I just dodged a bullet scanning this thing now." I mutter to myself, tucking my Pokédex away and hanging the card around my neck. It's possible I'm being paranoid, and that whatever this feature is will be explained soon. But when I think about what Alder told me about Koga, I can't be sure. The guy is supposed to be tricky. Who knows what he will or won't explain? And who knows what sort of traps he's set up?

…I think I'm getting a bit too paranoid. If I let myself start thinking about all the crazy shit Koga could do to mess with me I'll be stuck here all day. For now, let's just be glad I figured the ID thing out and carry on.

Fuchsia's arena is different from what I've seen in the few pictures and videos I've looked up. Janine's usual setup is very plain, a large wooden room, with a dirt floor making up most of the arena and deliberately low rafters built to serve those Pokémon with the agility to reach them. At the moment though the lights have been dimmed enough that the rafters are entirely bathed in shadow. And the far side of the arena is closed off, nearly a quarter of the room hidden behind a long mirror.

The arena is already packed with people when I get there. I know she said I was number 53, but it definitely feels like there's a lot more people than that in here. And while some of them definitely look like fellow rookies, trainers with one or even no Pokémon on hand, they're in the minority. Most trainers have two or three, and I can even spot a few trainers with full teams on their belt!

"Okay, little intimidating, but the people with six Pokémon are probably trainers with sponsors already. Which means Koga's probably going to kick their asses to the curb first chance he gets." I mutter, mostly to reassure myself.

"Oh yeah, I don't like their chances." A voice comments from behind me. I blink in surprise, looking back towards the hallway. The nearest trainer is still at the far end, so where did that come from? "Not too perceptive, are you? Important survival lesson: always remember to look up."

I crane my head up and realize that the wall I just came from actually stops a few meters up, where it divides the arena itself from a seating area for the audience. And perched atop the edge of that wall is a man who looks rather strange even by this world's standards.

His pants are a strange mix of traditional ninja clothing and cargo shorts, colored deep blue, with bindings covering his lower legs that reach all the way into bright red sneakers. He's wearing a black hoodie, with an electric blue pattern running up the arms like broken glass. His hair is dark blue streaked with golden yellow, set in a coiffed style that looks like it could be in a magazine. And he has a black mask covering the lower half of his face that does absolutely nothing to hide his cocky smirk. It's a bizarre mix of low key and kinda audacious, and proves more than enough to tell me this can only be one person.

"You must be Koga's star pupil I've been hearing about." I say, raising an eyebrow.

His smile broadens at that, "You've heard of me?"

"Rumors, mostly." I reply noncommittally, "That you're going to be the trainer to beat, that you're on par with Janine…"

He visibly swells at that, clearly loving the attention. "Nice to know my talent is being appreciated!"

"I'll bet." I reply drily. I get the feeling if he knew it was the Champion of Unova talking about him this guy's ego would quickly cross the line into being completely unbearable. The thought alone is enough to make me sigh in aggravation.

When I look back up to the wall top the man is gone. "Right, ninja." I mutter. "Probably off to squeeze compliments out of somebody else."

"Actually I'm right behind you."

"Gah!" I whirl around in surprise, narrowly avoiding falling on my ass.

"And for the record, I hardly had to squeeze to get compliments out of you," He continues lightheartedly, eyes shining with amusement as he watches my wild flailing. "You pretty much gave them up for free."

"Fine way to repay my generosity." I snap back, trying to calm my racing heart.

"Heh. Sorry about that. Wasn't really trying to scare you. Just kinda comes natural at this point." He shrugs helplessly.

"Ninja training?" I hazard a guess.

"Pretty much. Been training under Koga all my life, and let me tell you: he takes his quiet time seriously. And quiet time is always. When I was a kid he'd bounce pebbles off my head any time I made noise. And when I got older he only upped the stakes…" He shudders dramatically.

"That bad, huh?" I grin.

"He'd get one of his koffing to breath on me." He groans. "You would not believe how many times I had to cancel a date with a cute girl because I was busy scrubbing the smell of sewer out of my everything!"

"Oh, yikes." I reply, smile vanishing. "That… that's pretty damn bad, yeah." In fact I can think of few legal punishments more terrible for a teenage boy to suffer. Koga clearly doesn't fuck around when it comes to disciplinary action.

"Mmm." He hums uncomfortably, looking lost in what must be a very painful memory. After a moment though he seems to recover, looking back at me and grinning sheepishly. "I got off track there. I came down here to introduce myself. The name's Keith. Keith Baxter."

"Ben Wilson." I reply, shaking his hand. His grip tightens as he hears the name, and I see his eyes widen in realization.

"Oh! You're the Unovan guy!" He exclaims, leaning in interestedly.

"Uhh, I'm from Unova, yeah… are you saying I'm the only Unovan taking the test?"

"As far as I know." He replies. "Most folks are from Kanto or Johto, obviously, and there's a few from other regions, but you're the only Unovan. Not super surprising when you think about it. Unova's part of the Pokémon League, but you guys still tend to keep to yourselves."

"I guess?" I frown thoughtfully at that. "I'm not exactly up to speed on how the rest of the world looks at my home region."

"I suppose you wouldn't be." He nods agreeably, finally releasing my hand. "So, what brings a trainer from Unova all the way to Kanto for a sponsorship?"

"Your boss is offering a really good deal, for one thing." I reply. "And I respect him a lot. I've always been interested in poison types, and Koga is the best poison type trainer in the world." That last part just isn't idle flattery either. The number of poison type specialists in general is a fraction of what most other types get, and none of them come close to the clout that Koga has.

"It's not an easy type to specialize in, that's for sure." Keith nods agreeably. "I was thinking of following in Master Koga's footsteps for a while, but he doesn't make it easy. He's the biggest reason poison types are all so high in licensing requirements, you know. Made it damn near impossible for a rookie to work with poison type Pokémon."

"Didn't know that." I reply thoughtfully, "It's probably for the best though. Don't want to think about the sort of damage a rookie could do with something like a Grimer or Koffing."

"Yeah, neither would Koga. He's always complaining about people who treat dangerous Pokémon as toys." Keith says, looking very serious until something else seems to catch his eye. "Oh, hey! Looks like they're about to get started. We should move closer to the front."

I follow his gaze and see a group of gym trainers gathering near the mirrored wall. When I look back to Keith I see him already weaving effortlessly through the crowd, and I hasten to do the same, skirting the edge of the room rather than trying to blaze my way through the middle. Even then it's rough going, the room having filled up a great deal while Keith and I were talking. I do manage to squeeze through most of the crowd, but I'm still stuck on the left edge of the room. Hopefully whatever's going on doesn't take place front and center.

The gym trainers are forming a wall of sorts, making sure none of the examinees get too close to the mirror, which has the rather predictable effect of drawing people as close to the mirror as possible. I have to work far harder than I should have to just to stay in my position, as overly eager trainers try to elbow their way to the front.

But that all stops when a single spotlight shines down at the middle of the wall, and Koga appears. Seriously, he just pops in in a puff of smoke, arms crossed and gazing imposingly over everyone. A girl I assume to be his daughter Janine is crouched next to him, barely visible over the heads of the crowd.

The people around me go still. The crowd falls silent. And Koga begins to speak.

"Sponsorship." He states in a cold, rough voice, "For many trainers it is nothing more than the first step on their journey. But this first step is amongst the most critical you will take. A sponsor is the foundation upon which a trainer builds their team. You have come here today because you wish to ensure your foundation is strong. A commendable choice. But to earn my favor you must prove that you have more than mere ambition!"

He looks around at the enraptured crowd, a cruel smirk playing across his face. "Fwahahahaha! So many of you seek my favor, but few of you have what it takes. Those of you who earn my sponsorship will not be mere trainers. You will be amongst those chosen few picked to represent a member of the elite! And so I will issue a challenge to match."

He raises a hand into the air, and the area beyond the mirrors suddenly lights up, a stark contrast to the dark of the room that has everyone present shielding their eyes. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust, but once I can see clearly the mirrors have become clear, showing everyone what awaits on the other side.

A massive swarm of weedle.

"I knew it." I grin triumphantly. My guess was right!

"Figured it out already, huh?" Keith asks, having suddenly appeared next to me again.

"You can count the number of low tier poison types in the world on one hand, so I figured this would be what he went with." I reply confidently, my elation proving too strong for Keith's surprise appearance to overcome. "Bulbasaur are too rare and budew would need to be imported from Sinnoh, so this made the most sense.

"Good for you, I just figured it out because I work here." Keith nods along, "Too bad most of the folks here don't have your foresight though."

I follow his gaze to the rest of the crowd and see the vast majority looking either incredulous or indignant. A few people laugh as though they think they're being pranked. Koga's eyes flicker to those people in particular, and I see Keith wince as he follows his teacher's gaze. "Oh man, they're going to have a rough time of it down the road."

Koga's eyes continue to dart around the room, barely pausing on the two of us. When he speaks again his voice isn't particularly loud, but it proves more than enough to capture the attention of everyone in the room. "You seem to be under the impression that I am joking. I wonder how arrogant must one be, to treat a member of Kanto's elite four as mere entertainment."

Keith and I cringe in unison at that. It feels like we're about to have front row seats to a bloodbath.

"Are you operating under the delusion that I am the sort of man to foolishly give out power and ask for nothing in return? Or the sort of irresponsible buffoon who would unleash dangerous Pokémon upon those without the skill or authorization to command them? Did you come here looking for a worthless oaf to hand you the ingredients to your destruction? Or did you come here to earn the approval of Koga?"

"How are we supposed to earn anything if all you're giving us is a damn worm?" A voice calls out indignantly.

Koga smiles mirthlessly at that, "Let the records show that number 12 has been disqualified."

Next to him, Janine draws the ancient ninja tool known as 'the tablet' and taps at the screen. "It is done, Master Koga." Keith snorts loudly at that, then tries his best to look innocent as the Gym Leader sends him a sharp glare.

I had my suspicions before now, but I'm starting to become rather certain that Koga and his employees may be intentionally playing up the drama of the situation for kicks.

As two of the gym trainers escort the noisy dipshit out of the room Koga turns back to the rest of the crowd. "Weedle are far from the strongest Pokémon a trainer will encounter on their journey. They are slow, limited in their manipulation of energy, and frail. So I ask you all: if you prove unable to effectively train a weedle, then why would I consider sponsoring you in your journey to become Pokémon trainers?"

There's a moment of silence, before Koga nods and continues. "The rules for your challenge will be as follows. Once the wall is lowered you will choose your weedle. Once you have done so you will have one month to train your weedle. You will have access to gym facilities should you have need of them. At the end of this time you will compete to prove which of you have trained your weedle the best. Those of you with the most impressive weedle will be the ones to earn my sponsorship. If you succeed in this test you will also earn the right to keep the weedle you have chosen.

"Let me be clear that I will not stand for sloppiness or abusive practices. If your weedle feels compelled to sting you, then you have proven inadequate for the challenge, and will fail. If your weedle shows signs of having been abused, then you will fail. If your weedle shows signs of having been given performance enhancing drugs, you will fail. If you destroy gym property, you will fail. And should you fail for any of these reasons I will not hesitate to have you prosecuted for your actions. I have been the leader of Kanto's Pokémon Rangers for three decades now. Rest assured I know exactly what to do with law breakers.

"After I leave there will be a five minute period in which you will be given time to inspect the swarm behind me. Watch carefully. Find the Pokémon that you feel show the most potential. This may be the most important decision of your lives. It would benefit you to find the weedle you feel most shows… special qualities. Fwahahahaha!"

There's another explosion of smoke, and the spotlight goes out. And when we regain our vision, Koga, Janine, and all of the gym trainers have vanished, leaving the crowd free to draw closer to the window.

I grimace as I watch the weedle swarm around on the other side. There's something distinctly unnerving about seeing so many bugs all crawling over each other. It's like a weird, golden brown mass of beady eyes and waving stingers, almost hypnotic in motion. Yet at the same time, I feel horribly repulsed the longer I look at them.

"First time getting whammied by bug types?" Keith asks, noting my pale expression.

"Never seen so many in one place before." I mutter, trying to fight past my unease.

"Focus on them individually." He advises, jostling me with an elbow to snap me out of it. "They're only freaking you out this bad because you're trying to watch them all at once."

"How am I supposed to pick one out without watching them all?" I reply, eyes darting back and forth as I feel sweat building on the back of my neck.

"Take your time with it." Keith replies calmly.

I take a deep breath and try to take his advice, forcing my eyes to the edge of the swarm where the weedle are thinner. It's a lot easier to pick them out one by one that way, and I find myself feeling a bit calmer.

"There you go. Looking better already, man. They got you good, huh?" Keith says with a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Not sure why." I reply, still focusing my gaze around the periphery of the mob. "Never thought of myself as being particularly scared of bugs before. Friend of mine has a scolipede and I never had a problem with her. Though she was pretty mild mannered."

"A scolipede!" Keith whistles in appreciation. "Yeah, those'll hit you with the heebie-jeebies better than a weedle ever will. Though if she is more on the calm side then maybe she's just better at keeping a lid on it." An excited shout from the other side of the room catches his attention, and he stops and grins. "Ooh, looks like the real show's about to begin."

I follow his gaze, and see several trainers pointing and talking excitedly to each other. As I watch, more and more trainers are starting to gather, until they're damn near deafening.

"-I told you it looked different!"

"-couldn't possibly be real-"

"-must be what Koga meant by-"

"-doesn't get much more special than that!"

I frown, trying to figure out what they're all fussing about, when I see something odd on that side of the swarm. A flash of… gold?

A shiny weedle. That's what has them all losing their minds. The one golden bug amongst the swarm of brown. How the hell did Koga manage to find a shiny Pokémon for this challenge? From what I've heard they're as rare if not rarer than they are in the games! It has to be important, somehow. His talk of special qualities had to be referring to this weedle specifically. But how, and why is it significant? I don't think shiny Pokémon have any special qualities in this world that regular Pokémon don't, other than coloration of course. What's Koga's plan here?

"Oh!" I blink as the answer occurs to me. Mind games, it's all about mind games! "It's a feint. He put it there as a distraction."

"Good guess." Keith compliments. "Yeah, that weedle is mostly just there to screw with people's assessments. They're all going to go running for it, and not one of them will be successful."

"None of them?" I frown. Obviously it's not going to be great odds for the people trying to grab that one, but it seems a little weird to say nobody there is going to get lucky enough to pull it off.

"See, Master Koga gave me an extra order, since I already knew what the test was going to be. If I don't get that shiny weedle, I will fail." He says that last bit in an impressive impersonation of his Master Koga. "So that one's spoken for already. How about you, any catch your eye yet?"

"I think so." I nod, looking back to my end of the bug pile. The weedle that most caught my eye is wiggling around back and forth in front of the glass, stopping every once in a while to wave its head around energetically. Unlike many of the weedle, content to mind their own business, this one seems to be appealing to the crowd. Trying to draw eyes away from the shiny one and onto itself. "That speedy one near the front."

"Yeah?" He hums thoughtfully. "Yeah, that should be a good one. Just be sure to move quickly when the time comes. You aren't the only one to see through Koga's little distraction."

I look around and see a few other trainers are doing the same as me, standing on the far side from the golden Weedle and watching with much more focus than their peers. "Right, he's putting on such a show that there might be some competition there."

"It's a definite possibility." Keith nods, looking largely unworried. "Thankfully, for us, I have something of a trump card."

I look over to him curiously, and he holds up several small objects shaped like an egg. "Ta-dah!"

I blink in surprise. "Those aren't…"

"They are!"

"That can't be allowed."

"Koga didn't say they weren't allowed."

"There's no way he'd be okay with it!"

"Come on, Ben." Keith rolls his eyes. "What kind of self-respecting ninja bans ninja tools?"

Huh. When he puts it like that, I realize there's no way Koga wouldn't be okay with it. What was it Alder said again? If there's a loophole, it's there on purpose? So in the spirit of seizing every opportunity I can… "You wouldn't happen to have a couple of spare smoke bombs, would you?"

My new ninja friend, as it happens, is more than willing to share.

"Time is up. Everyone stand behind the yellow line on the ground to prevent injury." Janine's voice echoes from speakers overhead. "The wall will be lowering in ten seconds."

I watch the weedle I've chosen carefully, as I have been for the past minute. I gotta make sure I don't lose track of it in the mayhem.

"Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Zero."

The wall drops.

I smash my smoke bombs against the ground at the front of the crowd. Purple black smoke rapidly explodes over the mob, causing them to scream in shock as I push through, my shirt pulled up over my nose and mouth.

Keith, being far better with ninja tools than I am, sets off eight of them. They go off all throughout the much denser mob at the other side of the room simultaneously. And as I push through the gasping, coughing people on my end, Keith shows off by running on top of the trainers on his.

The end result is the same though. We both emerge from the smoke ahead of the others, easily taking point by virtue of being the only people in the room who aren't confused by what's going on. And though a desperately flailing trainer manages to trip me as I start to make my getaway, I still manage to slide my way to a home run by skidding to a stop directly in front of the energetic weedle I was eying.

Weedle rears back in shock, unsure of what to make of my less than graceful entrance.

I look up at Weedle, half covered with dirt, and give it my most winning smile. "Hey there. Want to help me kick some ass?"

Weedle stares at me for several seconds. Then lets out a mighty cheer, "Weeeeeeeeeeeee!" Our pact is sealed when it uses its little pink suction feet to attach itself to my forehead.

"Hell yeah." I grin triumphantly, hauling myself to my feet with Weedle still happily clinging to my face.

"Hell yeah!" Keith echoes, emerging safely from a swarm of wriggling weedle with the golden one safely cradled in his arms. He's barely taken two steps towards me before Janine appears out of nowhere and drags him off by the ear. "Ack! Ow, Jan? Jan, ow, easy on the ear! Jan, you're scaring the weedle!"

In the time it takes me to blink in surprise at the Gym Leader's sudden appearance Koga has appeared next to me as well, seeming to loom over me. "Number fifty three."

"Ah! Um, greetings, Master Koga." I say respectfully, trying and failing to hide how much he's scaring me shitless right now.

"Explain yourself." He nods to the mob of people coughing and staggering around, only just now beginning to recover and make their way to the Weedle. More than a few are shooting me dirty looks.

"I… I saw a chance to get an advantage over the competition and took it. Sir." I reply, sweating more than I did when the weedle swarm was creeping me out.

"With smoke bombs."

"With smoke bombs." I say. For a moment I consider saluting the man, before it occurs to me that salutes are probably more Lt. Surge's deal than they are Koga's. Should I bow? I don't really know if I want to take my eyes off this guy. "Keith and I noted that they were not against the rules."

"Indeed." Koga replies, raising an eyebrow. He stares at me for several long seconds, by which point the smoke has mostly dissipated, before looking at Weedle clinging to my head. "Your chosen partner seems to have been quite impressed by your entrance. Be sure to register him at the reception desk before leaving. They will give you his Poké Ball."

"So… I'm not getting disqualified."

"No." Koga says, sounding slightly amused. "As you said, your actions did not break any of my rules… though it appears my student shall require a lesson on giving ninja tools to those who have not been properly trained in their use. I will see you in a month, 53."

With that, he stalks away in the direction Keith was dragged off in. I watch him go, before turning to make a hasty run for the door. Best to leave and let things cool off before any of the other trainers can corner me.

Alright, so I have one month to train Weedle to be the best it can be. The question now is: how would be the best way to go about this? The obvious answer might seem to be evolution. Turn this little weedle into a badass beedrill. That seems like the most obvious solution, right?

Wrong! That may seem like the best way to go, but only at first glance. I haven't forgotten what Alder told me last week about Koga, and that means I was paying very careful attention to the wording Koga was using when he told everyone the rules of his exam. I was watching for tricks, and I'm pretty sure I caught one.

Because Koga didn't just say he would give his sponsorship to the trainers who trained their Pokémon to be the strongest. He was more specific than that! His exact qualifications were: the trainers with the most impressive Weedle!

So with that in mind, the first thing I do after getting my Weedle is go to the nearest Pokémon Center and bring my new friend to the receptionist.

"Hello, I just received this weedle and would like to get a health checkup and an Everstone, please."

"An Everstone?" The receptionist blinks at that, then looks me over. I watch as his eyes pass over me, stopping on the ID card I got from the gym. "Ah. Caught onto that rather quickly, didn't you?" He notes with an amused grin. "Koga's weedle were all given a health checkup before the test this morning. I'll send the results to your Pokédex in just a moment. We'll call you back as soon as your weedle has been fitted with an Everstone."

"Thank you." I say with a grateful nod. Yes, thank you for the Everstone, and thank you for confirming I made the right call asking for one. The whole walk to the Pokémon Center I was feeling horribly paranoid that I was looking too far into things and would be the only trainer to show up with a Weedle next month. Now I know instead that I'm going to have a whole lot of Beedrill trainers in for a nasty surprise when judgement day comes. Something to look forward to.

The receptionist calls me back several minutes later, smiling as he hands me Weedle's Poké Ball. "It's a good thing you came here early." He says, looking amused. "You picked one that will be ready to evolve soon. If you hadn't thought to get an Everstone you'd have lost your chance within the week!"

"Lucky for me I'm so paranoid." I say, sharing a chuckle with the man. "So, how much do I owe for renting the Everstone?"

"Oh, nothing in this case." The receptionist waves a hand dismissively. "I just need to scan the code on your ID card and the gym will cover it."

As I finish sorting things out with the receptionist and head for the door, I see several other trainers enter, most of whom give me very dirty looks as they notice me. I wonder if they're here because they noticed Koga's trick as well. I'm sure I won't be the only person to have caught on. And as soon as people start seeing weedle with Everstones I'm sure word of Koga's little plan will spread.

Or maybe not… there might be a few people out there willing to spread the word, but how many people are going to be willing to do that? After all, every trainer who falls for the trap and evolves their weedle is going to be taking themselves out of the running.

The more I think about this the more I realize just how perfect this is as a test from Koga. It's not just about making the most of an unusual set of tools, that being Weedle's limited moveset, it's also about information. Because any trick one trainer learns or already knows in training Weedle could be used by any of the competition. The longer things go on, the more trainers are going to be hoarding their information. A battle of not just training, but secret keeping.

How lucky for me then that I picked out a nice secluded training spot before the test began…

"Alright Ogrim, today was the start of the test I'm taking for Koga." I explain to my starter.

"Go!" Ogrim nods in understanding.

"And as part of that test, I was given a Pokémon to train."

"Golett?" He tilts his body inquisitively.

"Yup, that means we've made a new friend for the team!" I announce, producing Weedle's Poké Ball with a flourish.

"Go! Golett let go golett go let golett!" Ogrim babbles excitedly, waving his arms in the air.

"Uhh… didn't quite understand that one, little buddy." I reply bemusedly. "Are you saying you want to meet them?"

"Go!"

"Well, you're in luck! Because I'm going to introduce you two right now!"

"Golett!" Ogrim cheers, throwing his hands up.

"You are just too goddamn cute sometimes, you know that?" I laugh, patting him on the head. "Alright, I'll let them out, so just wait a second. Let's not overwhelm them as soon as they're out of the ball."

"Go!" Ogrim clutches his fists in barely contained excitement, staring up at me expectantly.

"Alright Weedle, I choose you!" I toss the Poké Ball into the air and grin as the little bug type appears in the little clearing I've chosen for training.

"Weeeeeeeee!" Weedle cheers, bobbing excitedly as they materialize. The little harness they're now wearing to hold their Everstone does absolutely nothing to diminish their excitement.

"Hey Weedle!" I wave. "How you feeling?"

"Weedle! Weeeeee!" Weedle replies, flailing its head from side to side.

I hesitate at that, realizing that I can't interpret much from body language like I usually try to do with Ogrim. "Well… good!" I guess, forcing a grin. "I'm really happy to have you on the team. And I'm looking forward to seeing how well your training goes over the next month."

"Weedle!"

"And I'm not the only one who's happy to have you on the team, either." I gesture to Ogrim, who is practically vibrating in place as he waits for me to introduce him. "This is my starter, Ogrim. The two of us are training to take on the Kanto League."

"Golett! Go golett go!" Ogrim says, running up to Weedle and holding out a hand. Weedle regards the hand for a moment, before rearing up, clinging to it, and rapidly climbing up to Ogrim's shoulder. Ogrim cheers as though this is the greatest thing that's ever happened to him. Well, it looks like team dynamics aren't going to be a concern with this new addition.

While the two are getting to know each other, I pull out my Pokédex and look over the medical information I received from the Pokémon Center. "Okay, says here you're a male, adolescent… and the rest of it is mostly just medical jargon that I can't understand." I chuckle to myself as I look the information over. "Honestly, what was I expecting to find, your attack stat? This isn't a game anymore Ben, it doesn't work that way."

"Do?"

"Go?"

My two Pokémon tilt their heads in unison as they try to make sense of what I'm saying.

"Alright!" I cry, putting my Pokédex aside and looking to the little bug type. "Let's start with the important stuff first. What are we going to call you?"

Unlike Ogrim, Weedle proves to be a lot pickier about his name. It takes us the better part of half an hour to come up with one that he approves of. Dart. Despite my best efforts I just couldn't get him to go with another name from Hollow Knight. He wanted a name that was more… him. And between his need for speed and his love of whipping poison needles around Dart seemed to fit him perfectly.

"Alright Dart, we've got one month to turn you into the toughest weedle in Fuchsia city." I say, setting up a Poké doll I picked up on my way out of the city. "And in order for us to do that, we need to make sure you've mastered all the tricks a weedle can learn. Which is… not that many."

Dart makes a frustrated noise at that, and I wave my hands in denial, "No, no! That's a good thing! It means that we have plenty of time to make sure all your moves are totally perfected! We have a full month to hone just a couple of moves. Imagine how strong those few moves are going to be when we're done!"

Dart hums thoughtfully at that, looking a little more excited again. "That's the spirit!" I encourage him, stepping away from the Poké Doll. "Let's start with your favorite attack. I want you to hit this doll with poison sting."

Dart fires a spray of poison needles into the doll. I'm pleased to see that they all hit pretty close to center mass on the doll. You can definitely tell that this move is his favorite. When Dart finishes the needles dissolve, leaving a bunch of tiny gaps, like pinpricks behind. "Good job Dart." I congratulate him. "Next up, let's see you use string shot. Not on the doll though, that'd be hell to clean up. Instead, try to hit… that tree there."

When Dart fires the string shot it looks like he's vomiting up a net. The spray of sticky thread he tosses out covers the tree, but it also hits the trees on either side, and much of the ground in between them. As soon as the attack is finished Dart immediately looks back to me as if impatient to move on, clearly not as happy with showing off this move as the last one. I can already tell that this is going to be where most of my attention is going to be focused in the coming month. "Alright, and to finish I'll get you to show me your bug bite attack."

…Hm. Today I learned weedle jaws open vertically. Like wasps. I guess that's appropriate, isn't it?

…It's also really fucking terrifying.

But from the way Dart just ripped a chunk out of the doll's arm I think its safe to say that this attack is in good shape as well. Note to self: get some repair glue for the Poké doll. "Alright Dart, there's only one other move that weedle can learn, according to this. Electro web. But it's supposed to be tricky to learn. I don't suppose you have any idea how to use it?"

Dart tilts his head in confusion. "Do?"

"Yeah, figured as much." I nod. "So I'll see if I can somehow find a tutor in Fuchsia for that, but in the mean time we'll focus on having you master your most useful move."

Dart cheers enthusiastically, his horn beginning to glow purple. "No, not that one." I shake my head, cutting his enthusiasm short. "I said your most useful move, not your favorite. No, we're going to be working on string shot!"

Dart's enthusiasm visibly dies. It dies so visibly that he flops over like a deflated balloon. Ogrim gasps in horror and looks up at me in distress. "Okay, calm down, both of you. Dart, I can tell already you're interested in battling, right?"

"Weedle." Dart says quietly but firmly.

"You want to be strong, right?"

"Weedle." He says again, a little louder.

"You want to be the very best, like no one ever was?"

"Weedle!" He cheers, looking excited again.

"Well the first step to being the very best is string shot!"

"Dluh." Dart slumps over again, hinging loosely off of Ogrim's shoulder.

"Wow, okay, enough of that. I'm serious, alright? Let me lay it out for you. You have three moves. Poison sting, your favorite, is a weak move that can hit from a distance. Useful if you can hit in the right location maybe, but since the needles dissolve immediately they don't have a lot going for them in terms of function. Unless you wanted to aim for the eyes I guess, but that's totally illegal. And also just plain horrible."

Dart looks up at me and makes a displeased noise, but I continue regardless. "Next, there's bug bite. This one's way stronger than poison sting, but it's also way harder to get a hit off with it. You have to get in close to do that, and that means closing the gap on a Pokémon that will almost certainly be faster than you.

"Which brings me," I pause for dramatic effect, "To string shot. String shot is ranged, like poison sting, but it doesn't do damage. Which I assume is why you aren't interested in it, right?"

"Weedle." Dart replies sullenly.

"I get that. You want to hit the enemy as hard as you can. I assume that's why you like poison sting so much, because you can hit with it better than you can with bug bite?" I wait for another sullen nod and carry on. "What you don't realize though, is while it can't do damage, string shot can easily do the most out of your three attacks.

"Look at this." I snap a branch off a tree and walk over to where Dart's string shot attack hit earlier. "Your poison sting disappeared immediately, but your string shot is still here. And," I drag the branch through it and make a show of how difficult it is to move it once it's been covered in silk, "It's still sticky. Doing damage is all well and good, but there's more to fighting than just that. First thing Ogrim and I learned when we started training: mobility is key. And this is a very good way to mess with the opponent's mobility."

Dart still looks a bit reluctant, but Ogrim chimes in to back me up. It takes some convincing from both of us, but eventually Dart gives in. "Great! First order of business then: I want you to work on focusing your fire. Just like you're already doing with poison sting. Rather than a big spray I want you to try to fire your string in a single line."

Once Dart has started to practise his string shots I turn to Ogrim. "Alright little buddy, let's get started on the next order of business for you. You know how so far we've been ending all your fights whenever you get knocked over? Well I've thought of a move you can learn that will let you fight back even when you've been tipped over. And if we get good at it, it might even help you get back on your feet!"

"Golett? Go golett!" Ogrim cries out dutifully.

"It's called rollout." I explain. "And once you've gotten the hang of it it'll be the most important move you'll be able to use, at least until you evolve. We're going to make sure that you can literally roll with the punches!"

I am saddened to discover that my Pokémon have zero understanding of my genius word play. One more thing to work on with them in the coming month.

Alright readers, I'm going to tell you all a story. The story of a character by the name of Keith Baxter. It all started with a fanfiction by the name of Pedestal. If you've looked at the most popular Pokemon fanfictions on this website you've almost certainly seen it. Pedestal is a Pokemon fanfiction that started updating more than a decade ago, and found great success. And one day, the author Digital Skitty started on a new arc known as the gym leader race. And in order to help herself pad out the roster, she decided to request fans of the story for original characters to use. I was one of the many people reading the fic at the time, and so was all too eager to submit a character to the mix. And that character was Keith Baxter.

He became a recurring character, to my delight. I guess something about a highly trained ninja who seems to toe the line towards dysfunctional appealled to Skitty. And so it came to be that Keith was the first character I wrote that achieved some measure of popularity, if only by the hands of a different author. He always held a spot near and dear to my heart because of this, even long after Keith's role in Pedestal was over and the fic came to a close.

I've toyed with the idea of writing something of my own for Keith for years, but it always felt a bit too self-indulgent. And then I started making plans for a Pokemon SI fanfiction and suddenly the line of "how self-indulgent can I be?" drew close enough to Keith Baxter that I felt like it wasn't nearly as big of a leap. So I wrote to Digital Skitty, and asked her if she minded me taking Keith back and doing my own thing with him, and she gave me her blessing.

And now here he is! In what I have been telling my friends in the Treehouse discord is the most self-indulgent thing I've ever done as an author. His team will be largely different from what it was in Pedestal of course, we only had four gens of Pokemon back in those days, but my dear sweet ninja boy is finally back! I'm curious to know if anyone will remember him, but if not... well like I said, I am doing this entirely for my own sake.

Speaking of the Discord, I was thrilled to see so many readers join after my last update! I've been joking with everyone over there that I'm planning to take it over and shift it to a Pokemon discord, but... it's actually kinda happening? In the month since then we've added a channel just for people to talk about the Pokemon games. On top of that, a lot of the writers there have been really excited with all the Pokemon fans joining and several are making plans for Pokemon fics of their own! I want to see if we can keep that momentum going, so definitely join in if you're interested!

discord .gg/9XG3U7a