Chapter 8:
"- and since you have the luxury of a nearby volcano too, I'd say you can mix the hard stones with some volcanic rocks. Since they're affected by the volcano's heat that should prove beneficial to your Fire types as well." The gruff voice on the other side of the phone concluded. "Just get Blaine to send me an order and the money and I'll get them to you before the week's over."
"Thanks for the info, Gym Leader Flint," Arthur replied and went over the notes he made during their call. "I'll make sure Blaine sends over the order by tomorrow. If anything happens or we decide we need more I'll come back to you and keep you informed."
The man grumbled. "Hmpf, don't expect a miracle to happen with that idea of yours, kid. But if you somehow manage, don't forget who helped you with it."
"Of course not. When we have results, I'll be sure to credit you." Arthur assured him before they cut the call. He relaxed back into his chair and forwarded Blaine an e-mail about everything Flint had told him and his estimate of how much material they'd need for a proper Rock-infused breeding facility.
Over the past year, his mentor had taught him the basics of what was called 'Type Energy', or TE for short. It had a more scientific name as well, but it was rarely used, which is why he didn't feel the need to remember it. This energy was the cause for a pokemon's typing and the element of its moves, but was also found in the environment. Areas with rich TE of a specific kind could grow specific items and generally helped pokemon of the same typing grow. So, a type-fitting area would attract pokemon that benefitted from it, which explained the natural habitats of most pokemon. The topic of whether or not it also impacted where evolution stones could be found was still debated, however.
It was important for his plan to try and breed the ancient form of the Hisuian Growlithe and Arcanine back into existence, as the modern version of the pokemon was missing the Rock-typing that they somehow had to bring back to it. Luckily, getting a meeting with a Gym Leader to debate such topics was easier with the backing of another Gym Leader. Perhaps the little reputation he'd built helped too. He'd even be sent a letter from the Indigo League, thanking him for his valuable contribution and even guaranteeing him a care package once he got his trainer license. While Flint was more than skeptical about that plan of his, he'd taken the time to explain how TE-infused minerals could be used in such scenarios, where to get them, and how to properly use them. The man was surprisingly knowledgeable, but he guessed he must be since he's a Rock-type specialist situated in a city known for its mining and archeology. Still, the picture of the fake-beard wearing hobo from the beginning of the show was hard to get out of his head.
Since the past year of breeding, they'd made no advancements towards his goal, which is why he'd decided to call in the specialist on the matter, even if Blaine categorically refused any help. The idea of using the volcanic rocks directly around and inside of the designated area had sprung up in his mind as well, but he had no idea how much was the right amount. With a rather tight schedule – due to how long it takes to produce eggs and then hatch them – and a drive to succeed in this, he'd contacted the Pewter City Gym Leader once it was clear they weren't getting anywhere, and had sent a mail to Professor Elm of Newbark Town as well. He didn't expect an answer anytime soon, especially after Blaine had told him how scatterbrained the man was, but hopefully he'd get one before his time on Cinnabar was over.
Arthur made his way out of the Gym and towards the public addition to its backyard. After the resurgence of the Cinnabar Onsen Hotel, the island saw almost twice as much traffic as before, which Blaine wanted to capitalize on. And since they already had a bunch of young pokemon around, Arthur proposed a sort of petting zoo where people could look at and play with the young Growlithe. The puppy pokemon were indeed puppies in nature, which made them perfect for this. They even added a service where people could go for a walk with them – although only with the older ones that had a bit of training already so they wouldn't do whatever they wanted – after he'd heard several people ask whether it was possible or not.
Unexpectedly, the Indigo Police Department had caught wind of this arrangement due to Cinnabar being highlighted in some traveling magazines and on radio, and asked for the batches of Growlithe they were to purchase from Cinnabar to be used for the zoo as well. While those in particular got additional training in following orders, they were also supposed to be safe for use in public and with civilians. Having them interact with people from an early age helped with that. This of course raised the price a bit, and combined with the income from the hotel and private sales from the breeding program, the Cinnabar Gym had a lot of money compared to the year before.
New equipment for Blaine's lab, higher pay for both the hotel workers and the handful of Gym Trainers Blaine had hired, and an increased budget for Arthur had everyone in high spirits, especially the children who could now take courses to study pokemon in case they were interested in becoming trainers. While Blaine always had new topics for Arthur to read up on and tests to complete, he'd more free time thanks to other people managing the respective parts of the Gym. He'd split that time between tutoring interested children about pokemon and learning some management skills from the lady managing the hotel and the Gym's new accountant. He was aiming to become Champion after all, and by what Blaine told him from his time as an Elite Four member, there was always a lot of paperwork to do.
Those topics were easily the most boring part of his day, but they were a necessary evil. Since he had intentions to change a few parts of the system anyway, maybe he could come up with something that'd lessen his workload too, but he could worry about that once he got there. After making his round around the Gym area, he went for his appointed study session with Cissy, who he'd decided to work together with so they could take a shot at becoming Lab Trainers with a good chance. While Blaine didn't like that much, fully intending to sponsor him past what he'd worked out with Giovanni, he relented when Arthur explained his reasoning.
Aside from access to a fully functional pokedex, rather than the slimmed down free version trainers got and had to buy upgrades for according to Blaine, and the chance to get a rare pokemon, which he still wasn't entirely sure about what to get, it would help him immensely to not only be connected to a Gym Leader, but to a regional Professor when aiming high. Since Lab Trainers generally ranked higher than other trainers – aside from Gym Trainers, Rangers, and Ace's – it would add to his reputation, get him more connections, and give him access to the Professor's research as well. With Oak being a former Champion, he'd surely have great tips for training and battling as well.
Now he only had to bide his time and work hard while trying to not get disheartened by having to tell his study partner everything three times over.
"This is the third and last battle of the Cinnabar Gym gauntlet between challenger Marcus and Gym Trainer Arthur! If the challenger wins, he may challenge the Gym Leader after a short pause with his remaining team! Trainers, get ready!"
Arthur watched his opponent fiddle nervously with the pokeballs on his belt, while he straightened his own jacket. With one of the Gym Trainers on vacation, he'd to fill in once again, but since he wasn't a regular Gym Trainer he'd to wear the older trainers clothes, which were too large for him. Technically, he wasn't even a licensed trainer, but with permission from Blaine and supervision from the other Gym Trainers he'd been allowed to fill the spot. This wasn't the first time either, but Blaine usually reserved him for the last spot of the gauntlet challenge, and not every challenger arrived at that spot to begin with. The whole challenge surprised Arthur when he'd first heard about it. Rather than any trainer just challenging a Gym Leader, they'd first have to battle through a number of Gym Trainers in a row before being allowed to battle the Gym Leader. Since Gym Leaders where supposed to do more administrative work than just hanging around in their gym and waiting for challengers, he supposed that made sense. If a challenger couldn't win against the trainers, then they'd have no chance against the Gym Leader either.
His mentor obviously wanted him to get real battle experience, especially one where he'd be at a disadvantage due to being locked to a type his opponents should be prepared against, but he'd proven too strong an opponent to face first, especially for fresh trainers. The Gym Trainers had been given several restrictions they'd to follow depending on the level of the badge challenged, mostly concerning the moves they're allowed to use. Thanks to his regularly training with the Gym's pokemon, and them being used for him to figure out how to learn certain moves, even the low-leveled and younger ones had large move pools. And after a particularly hard first battle which he'd lost just after setting up a Sunny Day for the following trainer, Blaine had to put him in the back.
"Go Ponyta!" "Kingler, I choose you!" He and his opponent released their chosen pokemon at the same time.
While his loaned Ponyta pranced eagerly as it presented its flaming mane, his opponents pokemon looked already roughed up. From what he'd seen in the battles before his, this trainer also had a Graveler, which had been hit hard earlier and was thus recovering, as well as two additional pokeballs on his belt. Four pokemon for a challenge for the fourth badge felt odd to him, however. When he'd asked Blaine why so many trainers don't show up with a full team, he'd been told that the most likely reason for that was the cost of keeping them well-fed while also paying for everything else. Not every trainer had a sponsorship or only one that covered the necessities. Aside from that, trainers had to be careful about what pokemon they captured and used on their team, as any excess pokemon had to be provided for with living space and food. Usually, only Lab Trainers or those sponsored by Gyms or big corporations had access to both.
He thought that was pretty unfair, but at least the League paid for the services at pokecenters, as well as food and lodging for a few days at them. No wonder half the new trainers stopped their journey at or after the third gym. No money, long walks from town to town, limited information on training, and expensive items to buy at the regular. Given that one had to prepare against eight different types with only a handful of pokemon, which had to rest regularly as well, he could see people getting frustrated after losing one time too many battles. If so many trainers stopped before even making it halfway through the circuit, then something was wrong with the system.
The Gym Trainer acting as referee dropped his flags, prompting Arthur to refocus on the battle at hand. "Begin!"
"Kingler, hit it with a Bubble Beam!" His opponents crustaceous partner opened both its claws towards them and fired of a focused stream of glowing blue bubbles. They approached fast, but not fast enough for a flaming pony.
"Dodge to the side with Agility, then circle it!" Arthur commanded and watched Ponyta easily evading the attack and getting in position behind it. With the Kingler species not being all that fast and weak to special attacks, there shouldn't be much his opponent could do. "Now, Fire Spin!"
What began as a breath of fire evolved into a rapidly spinning wall of flames around his opponents pokemon, which cried out in distress. Its trainer panicked, so Arthur capitalized on it immediately. "It can't go anywhere, rush in with Take Down!"
"Oh no, Kingler! Use Harden, then jump through the flames!"
Not that bad of an idea, Arthur admitted, but the already weakened and now pressured Kingler was too slow to follow the command. Ponyta rammed into its target and send it flying out of the Fire Spin, which died down soon after, and crashing into the ground.
"The challengers pokemon is unable to battle!" Their referee announced, prompting said challenger to return his pokemon with a grimace, while Arthur praised his own.
After a short time, the challenger snapped his finger as if he got an idea, before releasing an angry looking bird. "Fearow, I choose you!" The large brown bird flexed its wings and looked down on the pokemon opposite of it as if it was its prey.
"Good choice," Arthur said in response, seeing where his opponent was going with that. "Fearow are fast and airborne, no way to catch it in a Fire Spin nor out-speed it on the ground like that."
The other trainer grinned and went straight on the offensive. "Fearow, Drill Peck!" His pokemon went into a straight dive and shot towards its target, leaving precious little time to react.
"Hop to the side and Flamethrower!" Arthur ordered, and while Ponyta responded immediately, it wasn't fast enough to not get grazed by the attack. Only half of its own attack hit, as the avian shot straight back up into the air, and judging by how tenderly Ponyta tried to set down its hoof, it was hit pretty hard.
"Alright Fearow, finish this up! Agility into Fury Attack!"
"Growl!" Was all Arthur could order at this point. With his pokemons agility hindered, dodging wasn't an option. So, he'd at least try and get an advantage for the next round. Seconds later, Ponyta succumbed to the attack and was promptly returned to its ball.
"Ponyta is unable to battle! Gym Trainer, send out your next pokemon!"
With only one other pokemon on him, Arthur obliged. "Growlithe, you're up!" The fiery puppy barked excitingly, before locking eyes with its target and snarling at it in an intimidating fashion, causing it to back off slightly.
But before Arthur could order an attack, the challenger decided to switch out his pokemon. He likely knew that his pokemon would be hampered by both the Growl and Growlithes Intimidate, so instead of fighting a losing battle he revealed his last pokemon. "Bruce, I choose you!"
The pokemon was revealed to be a Hitmonlee, which exited the ball in a mediative stance, with only one foot on the ground, before its eyes hardened and it entered a fighting stance. Its humanoid form had a slight shine to it, its muscles flexing ready. Was the nickname a coincidence or was there a similarly named martial artist in this world too? He'd have to look that up.
"Begin!"
"Bruce, Energy Focus!" The pokemon clapped its hand together and breathed in slowly.
"Back off and Flamethrower!" Arthur ordered. Getting anywhere close the fighting type would be a surefire loss, so they'd try and keep their distance. The Flamethrower hit its target spot-on, but he didn't anticipate the speed of what happened next.
"Full speed Megakick!" Hitmonlee crouched, its spring-like legs folding together before jumping forward in an explosive burst of speed.
With no time to get out of the way, Arthur went for a direct confrontation. "Take Down!" Both pokemon, once's leg covered in bright white energy, the other's whole body glowing white, crashed into one another, but it was clear who lost that collision. Growlithe hit the protective barrier that surrounded the battle field, causing it to briefly shimmer, and slumped to the ground right after. For the hit to knock it out so easily it had to have been a critical hit, or maybe the nicknamed pokemon was more trained, likely even the starter of the challenger.
"Growlithe is unable to battle! The challenger wins and completes the gauntlet challenge!"
Loud cheers came from the stands, while the two trainers met in the middle of the battle field and shook hands.
"An impressive final pokemon you have. If you're careful you'll surely get your badge." Arthur praised with a smile, one the other trainer shared.
"Thanks! I can always count on him, but I'm a bit worried that you took out my Kingler …"
He waved the boys concerns off. "Don't worry about it. While I'm sure it could've hit hard, it's likely it'd have had problems with Blaine's pokemon as well." He paused for a moment before he offered some advice. "You might want a better defensive option on it, or a way to deal with ranged attacks."
"Hmm … you might be right about that. Good thing I'll have time to think of something while I'm on the ferry then, thanks!"
"The challenger has five minutes before the battle with Gym Leader Blaine starts!" The referee announced and they quickly parted, with Arthur joining the audience at the sidelines.
Advice was usually only given by the Gym Leader, but Arthur had argued that would mean that the trainers that needed it, aka those that didn't even reach the Gym Leader, would be left out. So whenever he was put up for the challenge, he watched the battles from start to finish and gave the challengers some insight. The majority of them gladly took it, especially the younger ones, but there were always a handful that waved him off dismissively. Those were also the ones he went particularly hard against if they tried again, hitting their weak points and forcing them to find out solutions. It was the job of gyms to test and help trainers, and if words weren't enough then he'd show them what he meant. They'd learn, one way or the other.
He took out his notebook and began scribbling down on it. He would have to come up with ways to properly deal with flying opponents, the earlier the better. It would help getting a pokemon capable of flight himself for that so he could try out his ideas directly and see what others might come up with in response. Lance's whole time aside from his Gyarados were flying most of the time, so it'd be crucial to be able to deal with that. He paid little mind to the Gym Battle unfolding in front of him, aside from taking note of Blaine's Rapidash using Bounce to deal with its airborne opponent, and instead focused on what he would he'd learned from his battles up until now.
During the time of his stay on Cinnabar, Arthur had never been woken up by anything but his own rhythm and sometimes his alarm clock when he'd been reading for too long the night before. Blaine only called him in during the day and even if something was up with his experiments, he would wait until the next day. While he hadn't done much work in the lab, Blaine was satisfied with getting a second opinion and having some extra muscle to carry stuff around. To say he was annoyed when he got woken up would be an understatement, but the way Blaine shuffled him out of bed and to his clothes was concerning. Once sufficiently clothed, the Gym Leader wasted no time in pulling him along, out of the hotel and down to the docks.
"Sorry to kick you out of bed like this, lad, but I need you for this." The man said and got on what seemed to be his private boat, onto which Arthur followed.
"What is 'this' and why didn't you take one of the older trainers with you?" He asked groggily and sat down, hoping that his stomach wouldn't act up when he was half-asleep.
With the loud sound of the motor starting, Blaine turned towards him. "Because it's our special business."
It took a moment for his sleepy brain to understand. Team Rocket business then, fair enough. He nodded along and yawned loudly. "What can you tell me?"
"One of our ships got hit and sent out a distress signal. It's not far away, but from what the commanding officer told me over the com it sounded like a group of pirates."
That shook him awake. "Okay, then I must ask again why you thought you needed me for this?" He had no pokemon of his own nor was he capable of fighting by himself. He was just a kid, a teenager, with no relevant skills other than cooking and knowing about pokemon. No week went by without him cooking at least two days a week, and even the Gym Trainers asked him questions when Blaine wasn't around.
He got his answer when Blaine handed him three pokeballs. "To watch my back. I don't think these guys have what it takes, but I can only command so many pokemon efficiently at once. So, I'll leave my back and these three to you." He was about to respond but Blaine continued. "Also, the officer said that they were using pokemon he's unfamiliar with, along with some Hoenn native ones. While Indigo is still working out its deal with that region, we know that there are others out there we've not yet made contact with. Orre we know, obviously, since we used that shithole for our own ends as well. I'd hoped that maybe you can help with those."
That was a fair point, actually. He nodded and took a look at the pokemon he'd been given, which turned out to be the two pokemon he'd used earlier that day, as well as the Rapidash that he was usually hang out around him. It should be around sixth or seventh badge level, so unless these pirates were majorly stacked with powerful 'mons themselves, he should be fine.
They found their target not much later, although he'd like to go slower when they went back. It'd taken him everything and more to not throw up when Blaine activated his totally legal turbo-mode. Sounds of shouting and battle could be heard from the small freighter they stopped behind, and a vessel only slightly smaller than the freighter was on the other side of it. It blocked the freighter and made a convincing 'T' with it staying horizontally to make it impossible to go anyway but backwards. Blaine's Magmar got them up and they advanced over the deck, already able to see a group of Rocket members fighting with their usual assortment of Poison and Normal types. He heard Blaine grumble under his mustache that he'd really need to get his hands on a Charizard, which he agreed with. While he doubted flying this fast would've been any more comfortable, it sure would've made flanking the enemy easier. And Blaine was the Fire type specialist in Indigo, so why didn't he have one already?
With the only way being forward, Blaine released an Arcanine as well and had both of his pokemon enter the fray while he made his way to what seemed like highest ranking Rocket member. Arthur didn't have any double-battles yet, but what better time to try out commanding more than one pokemon. He released his Ponyta and Growlithe, ordered them to stay by his side and followed behind his mentor, with Growlithe on scout-duty with its keen smelling.
"Status report!" Blaine shouted over the loud sounds of battle, to which the apparent Specialist saluted to.
"Sir! Our ship's been hit approximately forty-five minutes ago by the unknown vessel on the other side. We were forced to slow down, which our attackers used to position their ship in such a way that we can't easily get out of here. As I told you before, the attackers and most of their pokemon are unknown to us and there appears to be an Executive-level threat leading them. They demanded us to surrender our goods and attacked after five minutes of silence."
Blaine cursed under his breath. "What of your payload?"
"The door hasn't yet been breached, but their leader isn't on deck, so -"
"Alright, that's everything I need to know. Lad, with me!" The man waved and had both Arthur and Magmar follow him, leaving his Arcanine to take care of everything on deck. He opened a hatch in the back of the deck which had a ladder leading downwards. "Remember; stay in the back. All you need to do is make sure that no one gets me and my pokemon from behind. Don't play hero."
Arthur nodded tightly and followed down the ladder, nervously playing with Rapidash's pokeball as they advanced. This was exactly the type of situation he didn't want to be in, but at least it was against another group of criminals. This form of lawless battle was something he might needed to get used to, so he stayed extra alert. Blaine's Magmar made short work of anyone they came across, until they reached the cargo hold. The man was satisfied with crushing his opposition fast and knocking out the trainers, so at least there wasn't any bloodshed. He hoped it stayed that way.
At the entrance to the cargo hold stood a tall woman with purple up-done hair, wearing what he'd call a pirate costume with primarily black and purple colors. While she didn't wear a hat nor eyepatch, her airy outfit with a deep v-cut gave her a clear air of casualty and confidence. She ordered her pokemon to once again use Flamethrower on the locked door. But before it could do so, it was hit by one instead.
"Who's there?!" The woman's commanding voice bellowed.
"Your funeral, lass. Better stand down before I turn you to ash." Blaine barked and his Magmar engaged. He looked briefly over his shoulder. "Lad, got any info?"
Arthur moved to the side and looked past his mentor and thanks to the light produced by the Fire attacks managed to make out the other pokemon. Its fur was mostly colored a dark purple, with a few light brown or beige parts. It was on four legs and had a distinct smell to it, while its large tail went over its back towards its head instead of the other way.
"That's a Skuntank. Poison and Dark typing. It can take some hits but deals them out better in close combat. And while it's bulky, its faster than it looks. Shouldn't know anything dangerous to your Fire types." Arthur replied. "Sinnoh region."
"Thanks for the info, lad." Blaine said and released his Ninetales in response to two more attackers showing up in front.
Arthur took a few steps back after he gave more information about the incoming Glameow and Skorupi. The woman looked familiar to him, but it only clicked when he was addressed as 'Captain Jupiter' by one of her men. Curious enough, none of them wore the Team Galactic symbol on their clothes, nor did the grunts have that weird turquoise bob. Maybe that team hadn't organized itself yet? He wondered what a ship from Sinnoh was doing here, however. If Sinnoh was that near, then surely the Indigo League would've made contact with it by now. Or perhaps these pirates were a reason why they didn't.
A growl from his Growlithe made him turn around just in time to evade an incoming wave of sound. He turned around and saw the small purple form of a Whismur, before his eyes met with his attackers. A girl around his age, probably younger, clicked her tongue in response to his dodge. Parts of her shoulder-long black hair flew in the wind of two colliding attacks behind him, her soft green eyes glaring at him. Weird, they looked just like his.
A bit more action this time around, and we're nearing the end of Arthur's stay on Cinnabar as well. Once this chapter goes live, I'll also have all the previous ones updated to a uniform naming convention. I've noticed that I was anything but consistent with pokemon names and related words, but now I'll be.
Thanks for reading and your kind reviews, and a shoutout to Dranzer for giving me the perfect idea on how to integrate our boys backstory. Also, now I'm not on the fence what starter to give him any more, so thats a relief. See you next time!