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When Ash followed after the battle between the gym leader and the three members of Team Rocket he found that a strange substance covering the streets. It was lumpy and yellow-white, congealing all over the street. Ash pokéd the least solid looking bit of the substance with a piece of debris. When he tried to pull it back out, he found that the debris was stuck.
It's like glue or something, Ash said, letting go of the piece of debris. Where did it come from?
Three guesses and the first two don't count, Pikachu said, pointing down the street.
Down the street Onix writhed and twisted tearing through globules of glue, roaring as it did so. Brock and Geodude were on its back and Geodude's arms were covered in spots of glue. They were also embedded with needles, marks earned from Geodude's defense of his trainer.
Team Rocket was on a nearby rooftop. They had released an arbok, a seviper, a weezing, and a yamask. The arbok was firing off Poison Sting attack after Poison Sting attack, while the weezing was hurling toxic brown Sludge attacks at the gym leader and his pokémon.
Ash took a closer look at Brock and his pokémon. The human wasn't showing any signs of having been poisoned by a pokémon; no purple spots on skin, no unusual sweating, no obvious shortness of breath, or obvious nausea. He studied the two rock types with the gym leader, but he didn't see any of the signs of poison there either.
Of course, Ash reflected, he didn't even know if the rock types could sweat, or if they had the same symptoms when poisoned. He would have to try to look that up in the pokédex later. For now, he would just have the work off the assumption that the two pokémon were fine.
The battle picked up again, with Geodude hurling more chunks of the street at the members of Team Rocket and their pokémon. In response the weezing pumped out smoke to shield their team from view. Chunks of asphalt disturbed the smoke, but missed everyone hiding behind it.
Why isn't the onix attacking? Ash asked. Brock could at least scatter his opponents by having Onix attack them directly.
He's worried about collateral damage idiot! Pikachu answered. That overgrown rock would destroy the buildings those Rockets are standing on. He's trying to avoid that.
Oh, Ash said. That made sense. It certainly explained why Brock was letting Geodude handle most of the fighting. But if he refused to attack with his onix, then Ash didn't see a way that the young gym leader could win. What was his plan?
Out of the corner of his eye Ash saw a fire escape and began thinking of a plan of his own.
Brock, grit his teeth and ducked behind Onix as yet another Poison Sting flew by. Stingers rattled and pinged off of Onix's stone hide. He idly wished that he had brought his body armor and some personal weapons. But as long as he was wishing for things, he could also wish that he had brought some gym pokémon with him, that Team Rocket had not decided to attack, or even that he had gotten a full night's sleep.
He discreetly glanced back, looking for Aaron and finding the boy. Brock didn't want to let the younger trainer out of his sight until he could hand him off to a squad of gym trainers or police officers. Brock suspected that one of the goals of this attack might have been retaliation against Misty and Aaron who had helped her.
Brock also knew that there were hundreds of other possibilities for the motive behind the attack, most of which he could do nothing about.
He had been trying to herd his opponents and their pokémon into one of the defensive positions the trainers from his gym should be taking up. But no matter how many chunks of asphalt Geodude hurled at them (Brock knew he would be getting an earful from City Hall later about the damage to the streets), no matter how many times Onix snapped at them when they got too close to the rooftop edges, no matter how many times Geodude and Onix swatted their attacks back at them, the trio from Team Rocket refused to play along.
Brock wondered if he was just blatantly telegraphing his intentions? Or were the Rocket operatives just that good? Or maybe they just avoided areas that would make good spots for an ambush or for defenders to gather?
The purple haired man dove out of the smoke, holding a grenade. He hurled it at Brock and Onix, before jumping back into the Smokescreen.
"Dodge!" Brock ordered, recognizing the weapon. Onix dodged back and the grenade exploded in a burst of glue. At least their strategy was obvious, Brock reflected. They would slow his pokémon down with their glue grenades and then attack him personally with poison attacks. Eventually they would get a lucky hit in and he would die.
Misty knew that entering through a doorway was one of the more dangerous things one could do during urban combat, but at the same time she didn't want to be the one blowing holes in the pokémon center. It would be embarrassing, if after Team Rocket's attack, the only one who had done any actual damage to the center was her. After all she had no reason to suspect that there was anyone in the server room, or even in the pokémon center who shouldn't be there.
And yet some instinct drove Misty to investigate. Crouching down she grabbed the handle and threw the door open. Staryu and Starmie jumped over, ready to blast any potential enemies. When they failed to do so Misty peeked around the corner looking into the server room.
There was nothing there. Misty let out a sigh of relief. She hadn't wanted to fight around expensive computers.
"Well, we've got some more rooms to search," Misty said, glancing around the room. "Let's move- Wait…."
What was that on the floor? Misty crept closer, keeping her head on a swivel in case someone was actually in the room with her. When she got close enough to identify the substance on the floor, she let out a small hiss of surprise.
"I hate being right," Misty said to herself, looking at the bloodstains on the floor.
"Groudon's claws!" Brock swore as a lucky glue detonation managed to catch Onix and pin him to some buildings. Three more grenades followed. Brock jumped off of his pokémon's back before he could be engulfed by the sticky substance; Brock had no idea if the glue would suffocate him or if it was a special sort, treated to be permeable to air. Geodude followed close behind.
"Rock Throw, keep them dodging!" Brock ordered, getting out Onix's pokéball. He internally debated whether or not to recall the stone snake. He didn't know if the glue would come with if he recalled Onix; some things could be escaped by recalling the affected pokémon and somethings couldn't. Brock also didn't know if the glue would have any adverse effects on Onix's pokéball. If the glue could jam up the pokéball it would be a nice way to take a pokémon out of the fight.
Onix could always simply tear his way out, but that would destroy the buildings he had been stuck to and possibly cause casualties if the buildings had occupants who hadn't or couldn't evacuate. Brock grit his teeth as he tried to decide his next course of action.
Geodude was throwing more chunks of street and sidewalk at Team Rocket and their pokémon, not giving them time to set up a shot on his trainer.
"Well, this has been fun," Jessie said.
"But I think it's time we move on to other things," James added. The two of them pulled out another batch of grenades, dodging some more projectiles from Geodude. "Be sure to stick around!"
"Quick Attack!" A boy's voice cried out. A brown blur swept across the group, knocking the grenades out of the hands of the human members of Team Rocket.
"Well-"Jessie began, looking at James and jumping away from the grenades.
"-blast," James finished, also looking at Jessie and jumping away from the grenades. Their pokémon followed suit, but the yamask and the seviper weren't fast enough. The expanding mass of glue caught them both, leaving only their heads sticking out.
Ya know, the seviper said, I can't help feel like we deserved this for aiding and abetting that 'stick around' pun.
Truly it is our punishment, the yamask added.
Now don't you start!
"Another person who appreciates the value of a good entrance," James said, rolling to his feet.
"Not that we'll go easy on them simply because they have good taste," Jessie added, looking over to where the attack had come from. She suddenly threw herself to the side, narrowly avoiding a String Shot attack.
"Ooooooh, and they're using sticky tactics as well," James said happily. "Koffing, counter with Sludge!"
A spew of toxic brow sludge intercepted the next String Shot attack, silk and poison splattering over the rooftop. Ash stood on the roof of the building next to Team Rocket, aiming Metapod at them.
"Well," the meowth said, claws glinting as they were unsheathed, "time to cut the act." His ear twitched and the meowth threw himself forward, barely avoiding the brown blur of the returning Pidgeotto, and from there, pushed himself into the air, turning his motion into a flip to avoid the next String Shot attack.
"Gust!" Ash shouted. A miniature tornado formed and sped towards the Team Rocket team, carving a shallow furrow in the rooftop. "String Shot!" Metapod let loose with another strand of sticky silk, right into the tornado. Globs of sticky silk began to shoot out from the tornado, forcing the members of Team Rocket and their pokémon to continue dodging.
"Oh, combination attacks!" Jessie squeed. "Remember when we used to stay up late and come up with combination attacks? So much fun."
"Those were the days." James agreed. "So far, it's been a strong first act, following that speedy introduction! But we have to ask ourselves, is this all there is to this young man's strategy?"
"Or is this merely a setup for a grand revelation! A surprising twist!" Jessie shouted. "Arbok, keep an eye out! Tell Meowth what you see!"
Ash tried to hide his grimace. He had instructed Pikachu to sneak up behind them while he kept them busy, hoping that his starter could take them by surprise. With them getting wise to the plan, the odds of it succeeding were dropping rapidly.
Red light flared as the two humans recalled their pokémon stuck in the residue of the misfired grenades. Then they and their pokémon began to run at Ash, dodging around the Gust attack, and vaulting over the edge of the rooftop. Ash had turned around and began to sprint back towards the fire escape before they even landed.
"Pidgeotto, cover us with a Gust!" Ash shouted as he started to clamber down the fire escape while carrying Metapod. Wind whistled and rumbled as another whirlwind formed in front of the rooftop access to the fire escape.
Ash got back down to the street and started to sprint towards where Pikachu should have been. Pidgeotto swooped down to his shoulder.
So that was a bust, she said.
I know, Ash agreed. It almost worked. Just a little bit more time for Pikachu to get into position….
Dodge! Pidgeotto shouted and Ash jumped to the side. A stream of brow sludge passed through the space his body used to occupy. Team Rocket and their pokémon were behind them now.
Ash and his pokémon ducked around a corner into an alley and he caught site of Pikachu running along the edge of a rooftop. The pokéraised boy made eye contact with his starter and jerked his head back. Pikachu nodded and hid behind the edge of the roof. Ash hoped that Pikachu had understood his message.
Team Rocket rounded the corner behind him, with their weezing and arbok. Ash looked around, trying to figure out if the yamask and seviper were still in their pokéballs or if their trainers had discreetly released them to perform a flanking maneuver. He'd just have to hope that he and his team would at least see such an attack coming.
"Gust!" Ash ordered. He didn't Pidgeotto to use another Quick Attack when the enemy had poison types out. Once again, his foes dodged the miniature tornado. "String Shot!" Ash had Metapod fire off another sticky strand of silk, hoping to catch either a dodging human or pokémon, but they all managed to evade him.
You should get moving again! Pidgeotto suggested, hovering in front of Ash.
Not yet, Ash whispered back. "Pikachu, now!"
Writhing tendrils of electric power arced over the edge of a nearby rooftop, catching the entire group in flashing yellow power. As soon as it ended the humans of Team Rocket took cover by the edge of the building.
"And there's the shocking revelation," James said. "He had an ace up his sleeve the whole time!"
"I wonder…. Don't you recall the reports from that team in the Viridian Forest?" Jessie said, tapping her chin. "About the boy they encountered there?"
"Now that you mention it- Yamask, burn the roof would you- this boy does resemble the boy from the report," Jame said.
Blue flames erupted from the rooftop opposite Pikachu at James' command and streamed over, forcing Pikachu to abandon his position. The small yellow pokémon hopped down from the roof, bounced off a wall, jumped off a dumpster, and came to a stop on Ash's shoulder.
Didn't see that yamask, Pikachu admitted, cheeks sparking. Ash realized that James must have sent it out again after recalling it from the glue. Nearly got me with that Will-o-Wisp attack, Pikachu continued.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt that- "Ash began, but he was beaten to the punch.
"Smog!"
"Poison Sting!"
A mass of purple poison gas rushed down the alleyway, causing Ash to abandon his command and rush backwards. Out of the gas burst a brace of stingers, hitting Pidgeotto and Pikachu.
Pidgeotto and Pikachu swore at the same time when they realized what had happened. Purple blotches appeared on their skin and they began to sweat. Ash recognized the poison symptoms.
I've got antidotes- he began to say.
Keep running idiot! Pikachu shouted. Antidotes after the battle!
Ash ducked around the corner on the other end of the alley. Pidgeotto was lagging behind. Ash didn't want to leave her in danger.
Pidgeotto, return! Ash ordered, holding up her pokéball. She let out a squawk of protest, but didn't try to get out of her pokéball after she had been recalled.
Pikachu, you-
Not getting in the pokéball, Pikachu interrupted, sweating and panting from the poison. Hurry up and think of a way to deal with these punks!
That was easier said than done, Ash thought to himself, starting to move again. Either Team Rocket would be bursting through the lingering Smog at the end of the alley or they'd-
"Arbok, Wrap!" Ash heard Jessie shout from the rooftop. The purple poison pokémon hurled itself at Ash like a spear. Pikachu tried to shock it, but the poison slowed him, and Arbok impacted Ash before Pikachu could counter-attack.
Metapod and Pikachu went tumbling down the street, while Ash was immobilized in the arbok's coils. Pikachu began to pick himself up when Meowth jumped off the roof and slammed Pikachu into the pavement. Pikachu gave an anguished cry and then fell unconscious.
"Pikachu!" Ash shouted and then the coils tightened. Not enough to hurt, but enough to make breathing difficult.
"Well, it looks like this act has come to an end," Jessie said. She attached a hook to the edge of the roof and rappelled down to the street.
"It's been fun getting here, but it's time for the curtain to fall," James said, following behind her. "Now what will we do with you?"
"We heard all about your little stunt in the forest," Jessie continued. "We've been thinking of how we'd… deal with you."
"I have just the thing right here," James said, grinning and reaching into a pouch on his belt.
Metapod stared up from his place on the street, helpless, eyes wide with fear, as the purple haired man searched for something, no doubt a nefarious tool of torture. Once again, his trainer was in danger and he couldn't do anything. And this time, Pidgeotto wasn't able to help him help Ash.
Something burned inside Metapod and his eyes narrowed into a glare.
Get. The bug type began to shake.
Away. Meowth turned from his spot standing over Pikachu to look at Metapod, who had started to faintly glow.
From My Trainer! White light erupted from Metapod and there was a great cracking sound. Meowth threw himself at the glowing pokémon, claws extended. There was the sound of something hitting striking flesh and Meowth was hurled back.
Something shot away from where Metapod had been, leaving behind a green shell that had been split in half. The thing smashed into James, sending him flying back, before spinning around.
Wings flared to their full extent, and surrounded by a faint purple glow, Butterfree glared down at Arbok, who still had his trainer in its coils.
I said, get away! Butterfree shouted, unleashing a Confusion attack, dozens of weak telekinetic waves hitting the poison type from all sides. Disoriented by the attack, Arbok released his grip on Ash. Ash scrambled away from the cobra like pokémon.
"String Shot!" Ash shouted. "Tie it up and then follow me!" Sticky silk engulfed the confused Arbok and then Butterfree turned to follow Ash, who had scooped up Pikachu and was sprinting away.
"Ouch," James said, as Jessie helped him up. He looked over to where he had been standing before being assaulted by Butterfree. "Where'd that pamphlet go?"
"Was it the 'Welcome to Team Rocket' one or the 'So You're Thinking of Joining Team Rocket' one?" Jessie asked. "It doesn't matter. We'll have plenty of time to give him the spiel after we catch him again."
"I can't help but feel like we've forgotten something," James mused, before recalling his yamask.
"Does anyone else feel a rumbling?" Meowth asked. The two humans and the meowth turned to the alleyway from which they had come. There was a rumbling sound, growing louder very quickly.
"I don't think that will-," Jessie said.
"Bide well for us," James finished.
With a mighty roar, Onix erupted from the alleyway, spots of glue on its hide, Brock and Geodude clinging to his back. Team Rocket scattered before him. The stone snake reared back, ready to strike.
"Take out the weezing first," Brock said, glaring. He glanced over in the direction Aaron had took off, noting that the younger boy was escaping thankfully unharmed. He then turned back to Team Rocket.
If looks could kill, then Team Rocket would have already been atomized.
"Time to go!" Jessie said, recalling Arbok, and sprinting away from Brock.
"I concur!" James agree, recalling Weezing, and sprinting after her.
"Wait for me!" Meowth said.
Onix blasted forwards after the fleeing members of Team Rocket. James was forced to jump to the side, into a different alley to avoid the jaws of the serpent. He vaulted off a dumpster, grabbed a fire escape, and scrambled up the building.
"Hey, gym leader!" Jessie shouted from behind, holding another grenade. Before she could throw it though, a thrown brick blasted it out of her hand. She too was forced to dodge as Geodude began to pelt her with projectiles.
James narrowly avoided the jaws of Onix once more, by jumping off the fire escape, and onto the back of the snake. Brock was there, fist flying at the purple haired man's face. But James somehow managed to vault over the gym leader, and run/slide down the rest of the onix.
"I think it's time to blast off," Meowth said as he and Jessie dodged deadly projectiles.
"I agree," Jessie said. "James, if you would?"
"Certainly," James said, taking out several more grenades. They were larger than the earlier glue grenades. As Onix surged back into the street, James armed one, and gently tossed it towards the large rock-type. He and his team took off running once more.
Onix saw the grenade and reared back, clearly expecting more glue. But the grenade exploded in a great plume of fire, sent a window rattling shockwave throughout the street, and carving a large crater in the street.
Brock frowned. He wondered just how many bombs did the trio from Team Rocket have on them. "After them," he ordered Onix, who began barreling forward once more.
The chase continued on for several blocks, Team Rocket staying just out of reach of Onix's jaws. The pursed and pursuers came across a street level entrance to an underground shelter.
The human members of Team Rocket suddenly stopped, turning around to face the gym leader mounted on his giant serpent of stone. They pulled out another brace of grenades. Brock stopped, wondering what they were planning. He noticed that the underground shelter would be underneath the street between him and them.
"Well, it has been fun," Jessie said.
"But now we must say ado," James added.
"Because," Meowth piped up.
"Team Rocket's blasting off again!" The three of them cried together, hurling the grenades into the air. Brock knew that they would land on the street above the shelter. He remembered the explosive power of the last grenade.
If those grenades hit, then everyone inside the shelter would be in danger!
"Block them!" Brock ordered his pokémon. Brock knew that Onix and Geodude should be able to endure the blasts.
Brock also knew that he was unlikely to be as fortunate. And he wouldn't have time to dismount Onix.
It was his responsibility. It was what he agreed to when he accepted the position of Gym Leader. There was no avoiding it.
Time seemed to slow as the grenades grew closer to Brock. His life would end under the mountain of responsibilities that had been shoved onto him, but at least he would be free. His siblings though, what would happen-
A shadow fell over Brock and his pokémon, even as they interposed their body between the shelter and the grenades. Brock looked up and saw two golems and a rhydon catching the grenades in midair.
There was an explosion, with a loud bang, and a flare of white light, like the grenade that had put the pokémon center into lockdown, rather than the grenade that Team Rocket had recently lobbed at him.
Brock realized that their last bunch of grenades had been a diversion. He would have survived relatively unscathed and the shelter never had been in any danger.
There was a loud thud as the newly arrived rock-types landed nearby. Brock looked closer at the rhydon. He recognized that pokémon…
"Flint," Brock growled, looking around the street. A tan man with a bushy beard, wearing a red hat stood on the side of the street. He wouldn't meet Brock's gaze.
Brock turned away, looking for Jessie, James, and Meowth, but they had vanished. Just as Brock had suspected.
"Why didn't you stop them!" Brock growled, quickly striding over to Flint, who looked away from his son. "Why did you let them get away!?"
"I was busy protecting you," Flint replied.
"Tauros-shit!" Brock swore. "You should have more than three pokémon with you! You could have-"
"I only had them with me," Flight said, still not looking at his son. "I couldn't get them and-"
"Then you shouldn't have waited to step in!" Brock shouted at the taller man. "What, did you just wake up!? The alarms, the evacuations, did you manage to miss them?"
"I-" Flint began to say and then fell silent.
"You what!?" Brock shouted getting in the older man's space and clenching his fists. "Did you even call the gym? Or were you just sitting around and hoping that I would clean up your mess like usual!"
Flint didn't say anything.
"Well! How much of that did you see!" Brock shouted, getting louder. "A rookie trainer got himself involved because I got outmaneuvered. Did you get him out of there! Because when I saw him getting away you didn't seem to be anywhere!"
Flint didn't speak up.
"Were you at least busy making sure that there weren't more enemies in other parts of the city?" Brock's rage continued unabetted. "I doubt it, because I haven't received any updates on my pokégear, which means you either didn't tell anyone about what you were doing or you didn't do anything!"
Flint's silence continued.
"So, what were you doing while all this was going down?!" Brock continued to shout. His face was flushed but he had plenty more to say.
"I was watching," Flint finally whispered. "I was watching your battle." This small confession was greeted by a wordless snarl of rage from Brock.
"Oh, so you didn't help the rookie when he was fighting." Brock growled. "You didn't help me get Onix out of the glue. You didn't do anything to help the city. But you did help when you thought my life was in danger. What, were you worried about having no one left to CLEAN UP YOUR FUCKING MESSES!"
Flint didn't say anything. He merely looked at his feet.
Brock unclenched and clenched his fists. Verbally pounding Flint was unsatisfying while the man failed to offer up any resistance.
Brock turned around. "As long as you're in town, make sure to stop by the gym later. There're some things you need take care of. Now if you excuse me, I have to do your damn job."
Eventually the lockdown was canceled and things returned to normal in Pewter City. Ash had managed to give all of his pokémon antidotes (including Butterfree who insisted that he didn't need one) and had gone back to the pokémon center after the lockdown was lifted to get his pokémon cared for.
There were cops milling around the pokémon center. Ash caught a glimpse of Misty talking to a bunch of officers. He idly wondered why they needed to talk to her again.
Ash waited in the lobby, watching television for an hour or so, before the attending nurse told him that his pokémon were ready to be picked up. He gathered his pokémon and returned to the room he had been staying in.
Today has been exciting! Butterfree trilled, flapping around the room.
For you maybe, Pikachu grumbled. The rest of us have a very different opinion.
Getting poisoned is the worst, Pidgeotto agreed, sticking her tongue out.
I know, but you two did your best, Butterfree said, fluttering around the room. Also, Pidgeotto, is flying always this great?
Generally, it is, Pidgeotto replied. But try not to go on about that in front of the groundlings, it's immodest to brag.
Brag about being so easy to electrocute, Pikachu smirked. Go ahead. Maybe I can provide a demonstration…
None of that, Ash said, rolling his eyes. I don't want to clean up the mess.
We can always go outside and do it, Pikachu suggested.
No, Ash said, yawning. I'm too tired for any of that today. Oh, and thanks for the save Butterfree.
Yeah, Pikachu agreed. You did great!
Excellent timing on that evolution, Pidgeotto added.
Thanks, Butterfree said, purple cheeks reddening. It was the least I could do.
What's the plan for tomorrow? Pikachu asked.
I don't know, Ash answered, fighting another yawn. I think I should stay here because Brock said that he wanted to talk to me.
And we still have to fight the onix, Pikachu groaned. Did you see the size of that thing? There's no way we can take it on. We're doooomed!
Well, actually…. Ash yawned, laying down in the bed.
Pikachu waited for his trainer to continue talking, before speaking up. Well actually what idiot?
The only response Pikachu received was his trainer's snores.
Misty groaned and slumped in her chair against the wall of the office that the Pewter City Police Department had commandeered. She had been talking with officers from the moment the lockdown had lifted in the afternoon, to- what was the time even? She looked at the clock, which read one o'clock in the morning. Misty groaned again.
The worst part was that she had insisted on being there. She could have left hours ago, after she had finished telling them about the bloodstains in the pokémon center's server rooms. But no, she just had to insist on following through on the issue, didn't she?
"I thought you kids were used to staying up all night," Officer Jenny said, smiling gently and holding a steaming cup of coffee. "Cobalion knows that once you hit thirty all-nighters become so much worse."
"I've been on the road for the last couple of months. Staying up late doesn't work as well there." Misty said, not bothering to un-slump. "Can I have a cup?"
"Coffee'll stunt your growth you know," Officer Jenny said, smirking.
"Then give me some news," Misty groaned. "Did anyone make any progress?"
"Well, we managed to run the blood against the genetic records of all the staff of the center-"
"Why do they even have that information?" Misty asked staring at the cup of coffee. She knew she shouldn't want some, but…
"You'd be surprised how often it comes in handy," Officer Jenny answered. "Anyway, we know it wasn't any of the staff, and all the guests who had signed in have been accounted for."
"That's good to hear, I guess."
"We've also called in some techies to look over the servers, to see if anything was done to them," Jenny went on. "We need to make sure nothing was done to the Pokémon Storage System."
"Yes, that would- be- baaa-" Misty's voice trailed off into a long yawn. "That would be bad."
"Yes," Officer Jenny said in an amused tone. "It would."
"So, what can I do to help?" Misty asked, recomposing herself after the yawn.
"Go to bed," the police officer said. "You've done enough by bringing this to our attention so quickly. You don't need to do anything else; this is a matter for the police to handle."
"I feel like I should argue," Misty said, yawning again, "but fine." She got up and began slowly walking, almost stumbling as she fought to keep her eyes open, to the room she was staying in. She just hoped that her sisters wouldn't hear of her part in the day's events. Honestly, she just wanted to sleep as quickly as possible.
The next morning found Brock once again heading for the Pewter City pokémon center. He took in the sight of the city in the morning light, the sun barely over the horizon, the shadows still long, and all the people and buildings bathed in the bright light of a new day.
For the first time in a long while Brock didn't know what the day would bring for him.
AN: I'd like to thank BlackCatSpecialist92G10 for beta reading.
So some of you reviewers have commented that Symbiotic is darker than Symbiosis. I didn't think much of that idea at first, but the more I looked into it, the more I realized there was something there.
See, Symbiotic was meant to be tighter, more cohesive, and less dark than Symbiosis, while retaining some of the core concepts and ideas. However it turns out that the goals of 'tighter' and 'more cohesive' don't always gel well with 'less dark'. Some of Symbiosis's darker concepts, like pokémon predation were only really examined in the later parts of Symbiosis, while in Symbiotic they're included from the beginning.
Another issue is that I'm comparing all of Symbiotic against the darkest parts of Symbiosis, rather than comparing the two stories as a whole. I'm also comparing my outline, notes, and backlog as part of this, which you all obviously haven't seen.
I'd also like to state that I did not make any changes to this chapter to make it lighter, it was always this pun filled monstrosity.
Hope you all liked Brock's introduction.
Don't forget to leave a review.