Creation began on 04-16-16
Creation ended on 05-13-16
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Disappointment and Adaptation
A/N: We all get how Cerulean City's Gym Leaders are.
After three days and nearly twenty battles on the way, Shinji and Misato had made it to Cerulean City. Both looked worse for ware, with scrapes and bruises. It was mainly because they had traveled through Mt. Moon, catching some new Pokemon that were sent back to Prof. Oak's lab. So far, he had sent back a Clefairy, a Zubat, a Paras, a Sandshrew, a Goldeen, a Poliwag, two Nidoran (a male and female), a Caterpie and Weedle, and a Bellsprout.
Shinji breathed in a new breath as Misato rested on his head.
"Let's get to the Pokemon Center and rest up," he told her.
"Eee," she agreed, and he resumed the walk into the city.
-x-
"…We received another strange recording from being near the carrier," Ritsuko informed Gendo and Fuyutsuki, showing a camera with new footage of the S.S. Rocket.
In the footage that was revised, the last twenty-seven seconds of film cut from the external view of the carrier…to a view of the Third Child, throwing a strange ball at a strange, bluish rabbit with spikes and a horn on its head.
"We need to find out what it is that they're hiding in that carrier," Gendo enforced.
"The Committee is trying to schedule a meeting with the Giovanni Corporation, but that will take a while," Fuyutsuki stated. "The carrier, however, is supposed to be stationed at the docks for at least two months, so it's not going anywhere anytime soon."
"That may not apply for whatever cargo is inside the carrier."
-x-
It was probably foolish of him to do so, but Shinji just wanted to make sure his Eevee stood out to him, so he went to a place in the city called a Poke Mart and bought, among other items necessary for his Pokemon, a purple scarf with a green trim. Yet, due to the coloring of the scarf, he just seemed to remind himself about the Eva, something he was actually trying to put behind him.
"…So I heard another trainer was left disappointed in the Cerulean City Gym today, huh?" He heard a woman say to someone.
"Yeah, that's right," responded a man, and Shinji took notice of them by a bench in the mart. "The Kanto Pokemon League is in eleven more months, and the Gym Leaders of that place have been neglecting their responsibilities as Gym Leaders."
Shinji placed Misato's scarf on her and then carried her over with him to speak with the two.
"Excuse me," he greeted them kindly. "I'm sorry to intrude, but did you say that the Gym Leaders of Cerulean City have been…neglecting their responsibilities?"
"That's right," the woman told him. "A beginner yourself?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"They call themselves the Sensational Sisters," the man explained. "They're more like celebrities than actual Gym Leaders, always looking beautiful, but not devoted to the Pokemon League."
Shinji then looked towards a picture on a wall that showed three ladies in short dresses. They nearly reminded him of Asuka, but without the attitude and more flair.
"Them?" He asked, pointing to the picture.
"That's right," the woman answered. "One of the last trainers that competed in the league from last year visited the gym and was said to be just as disappointed in the three because they wouldn't challenge him. I think his name was…Ash Ketchum."
"The guy that owns a Pikachu?" Shinji made sure that it was the same guy.
"Yeah, him. You heard of him?"
"Sparingly. The last I heard of him, he was in Johto."
"Well, if you're trying for the Kanto League, I'd suggest you try the Badge Guardians," the man suggested to him.
"Badge Guardians? Who are they?"
"They're like Gym Leaders, but they don't stick with a single type of Pokemon like the Gym Leaders are known to do. I guess you could call them an adaptive resort to absentee Gym Leaders. You beat one of them in a match, and they give you the badge you would've obtained at the gym."
Shinji looked down at Misato, who looked back at him. This was a choice they had to contend with.
"Face the Badge Guardians or be short a badge for the Pokemon League," he uttered. "Where can I find one of them?"
"One's supposed to be visiting the Cerulean Gym as a sub for the ladies," the woman explained. "Maybe if you hurry, you can still catch him."
"Thank you."
And with that, Shinji stepped out of the store and ran with Misato towards the gym.
"Those ladies may not be like the first gym we faced," he told her, "but if there's a guy that offers badges to whoever defeats him, we gotta try for one!"
"Eee!" She responded.
-x-
Within Unit-02, Asuka had a strange vision that was probably her imagination running away from her. In the vision, she saw Shinji, slightly older by perhaps a year or two, surrounded by large creatures that looked similar to animals that barely existed anywhere else on Earth (if not more fierce in their appearances), and he seemed to favor a small, fox-like creature atop his left shoulder, sporting a purple scarf with a green trim. She saw him standing before a creature unlike any Angel she had seen before (with perhaps the Fifth Angel being the only exception), and he pointed his right index finger towards it, as if challenging it.
"…Asuka," she heard Ritsuko say to her, and she opened her eyes. "We're done for the day."
Outside the plug in the monitoring room, the faux-blond evaluated the recorded data from the redhead and decided to compare her sync ratio with that of the First Child's.
"Rei, you're next," she informed the girl.
"Yes, ma'am," Rei said plainly, and proceeded to Unit-00's Entry Plug.
"Do you really believe that the Giovanni Corporation had anything to do with the Third Child's displacement in another world, Dr. Akagi?" Maya Ibuki asked her; it hadn't been long before the whole of NERV HQ knew about the mysterious footage that showed Shinji in another place beyond this one.
"It's unknown at this point," Ritsuko explained. "It's also unknown if there's anything this corporation has that can help NERV at this point."
"Well, it's not like we can just talk to them."
-x-
It was more like an aquarium than a gym, as Shinji and Misato walked through a hallway with metal and glass walls displaying various fish.
"How did we get lost in this place?" He asked Misato, who seemed just as lost as he was.
"Eee?" She responded, confused.
Suddenly, they heard a bunch of chattering, and saw three women walking down the path they were taking to wherever they could.
"Excuse me, ladies?" Shinji asked them, recognizing their faces from the picture at the Poke Mart. "I'm looking for the Gym Leaders and the person in charge of battling Pokemon Trainers."
-x-
"As the Badge Guardian representative of Cerulean City, I accept your challenge," a man in his forties, with grayish-black hair and dressed like some sort of police officer told Shinji as they were in the gym portion of the Cerulean City Gym, holding a Poke Ball. "Will a three-on-three Pokemon battle be alright with you?"
"I accept," Shinji told him, though he had to wonder why the three sisters, that weren't much of representing the gym itself, had to be around instead of performing for the masses.
"I'll begin with this gal!" The Badge Guardian announced, throwing a Poke Ball with a blue top and two, red sections.
It opened and unleashed a Pokemon onto one of the solid platforms used for Pokemon that couldn't handle water very well. The Pokemon looked like a large cat with a red jewel on its head.
"Purr," it purred.
"What's that Pokemon?" Shinji wondered, taking out his Pokedex to identify it.
"Persian, the Classy Cat Pokemon, and the evolved form of Meowth. Adored by many for centuries, its lithe muscles allow it to move without making a sound, allowing it to attack prey without warning. Because of its haughty nature, it is considered among the most difficult of Pokemon to train."
Shinji looked at it and felt it was a tough beast.
"Eee," went Misato to him, reminding him of his promise from the first gym. "Eee."
"Are you sure?" He asked her.
"Eee!"
"Okay, then. You're up first, Misato!"
She ran over and jumped onto the neighboring platform, facing the Persian.
"An Eevee, huh?" The Badge Guardian expressed. "Very few trainers begin with Normal-Type Pokemon. Your first?"
"Yes, she is," Shinji told him. "Whenever you're ready to begin."
"Okay, Persian, use Fury Swipes!"
Persian charged towards Misato, its front paws raised high, and it unleashed its brutality. But it missed, Misato, who jumped out of the way.
"Nice work, Misato. Now, use Tackle!" Shinji called out, and his Eevee rammed into the Persian's left side, nearly sending it into the pool.
Persian backed away and jumped onto a different platform.
"Okay, Persian, try your Swift attack!" The Badge Guardian ordered.
It jumped into the air…and unleashed a stream of five-pointed, semi-solid stars.
"Eee!" Misato cried as the stars struck her, nearly knocking her into the pool.
"Are you alright, Misato?" Shinji asked her.
"Eee," she responded, but her left, front leg was bruised, making it difficult for her to stand.
"If your Pokemon's too injured or exhausted, you can always recall it and use it again later," the Badge Guardian reminded him; so long as the Pokemon in question hasn't been defeated in a match with a set limit of Pokemon to use, the trainer could still use it so long as it could still fight.
"Return for now, Misato," Shinji ordered his Eevee, who, begrudgingly, obliged the order; even she didn't want to admit that her leg hurt. Misato and Persian are Normal-Type Pokemon, but there are many that are one than one type. There's Grass/Poison-Types, Water/Ice-Types, Ground/Rock-Types, even Normal/Flying-Types. What type is good against a Persian?
He took out one of his Poke Balls and saw the name atop it, deciding to give his random choice a go.
"Do your best, Kensuke!" He cheered, releasing his Pidgey into the air.
There was some strategy in his random choice. While the Persian was capable of Fury Swipes and Swift, Shinji suspected that such attacks (excluding Swift, that is) were only as good as the targets they could touch, so he was hoping that Kensuke, being capable of flight, could outmaneuver the cat. And because he heard that Kensuke, before he was ever caught by him, was likely to be among the toughest of Pokemon that had been abandoned.
"A Pidgey, huh? Do you intend to use Normal Pokemon throughout the entire match?" The Badge Guardian questioned.
"Hardly," Shinji responded. "Use Gust, Kensuke!"
Kensuke flapped his wings as hard as he could, creating a large tornado that swept up bits of the pool water, becoming an external cyclone out of water.
The Persian was unable to evade, and was sucked into the cyclone!
"Purr!" It yelled as it was thrown into the water, dog paddling as it tried to get out of the pool, but was barely able to move. "Purr…"
It reached the side of the pool…and fell.
"Return, Persian," the Badge Guardian sighed, recalling his Pokemon back into its Poke Ball. "I gotta give you credit, kid. Just one attack, and my Persian's out of commission. Your Pidgey must be very strong to be able use Gust like that."
Shinji looked up at Kensuke as he flew around the pool.
"Never overestimate or underestimate anyone's abilities," Shinji expressed.
"But can your pet bird handle my next contestant? Go!" The Badge Guardian threw out his next Poke Ball, unleashing a new Pokemon that Shinji was surprised by.
"Scyther!" It went, looking like some sort of green creature with wings and a pair of curved blades for arms. "Scyther!"
-x-
"…This was sent from the United States," went Fuyutsuki to Gendo and Ritsuko in the former's office. "They insist that Evangelion Units-03 and 04 be removed from their soil within the next three weeks after the Nevada incident."
The Nevada incident, as it happened three days ago, resulted in a series of small explosions that, while not causing any significant harm to the personnel, caused tension between the NERV branch in Nevada and the general public that resided in the community around Nevada, and all of which stemmed from the experimental installation of the salvaged S² Engine from the Fourth Angel. It enraged the people that lived there that had to put up with the loud noises every now and then, and they refused to be endangered by a project that started in Japan, even if it was to protect them from an enemy they've never seen before.
"Do we comply?" Ritsuko questioned.
"We do," Gendo answered her; without the Third Child and until the Dummy System was ready, NERV needed to adapt their (his) scenario.
-x-
Kensuke was getting tired of evading Scyther's Slash and Fury Cutter, and couldn't keep up, despite having the type advantage over the Mantis Pokemon. While he had managed to land critical blows with his Quick Attack and Wing Attack, the Scyther was only slightly weakened and still full of energy to spare. This made Shinji want to recall Kensuke before he was defeated, but he wanted his Pokemon's permission before.
"Kensuke, can you keep this up?" He asked him.
"Pidgey!" Kensuke responded; this Pidgey had something to prove.
"Scyther!" The Scyther hissed.
"Alright, Scyther, finish it with another Slash attack!" The Badge Guardian ordered.
Scyther raised its right arm and unleashed its Slash attack at Kensuke, and was able to hit the bird that had managed to evade its attacks for most of the battle.
"Pidgey!" Kensuke cried as he fell onto one of the platforms. "Pidgey!"
He got up and now sported a new injury on his back.
"Eee!" Misato cried out, supporting Kensuke to keep going, that he could beat the Scyther. "Eee!"
"Your Pidgey's got some spirit, I'll tell you that much," the Badge Guardian praised, "but how long until it realizes that it can't keep up?"
Kensuke glared at Scyther, who raised its blade limbs up defensively.
"Pidgey!" He yelled, extending his wings…as his body suddenly started to glow a bluish-white.
"Aah!" Shinji gasped, shielding his eyes. "What's going on?!"
The Gym Leaders all gasped and the Badge Guardian realized what was going on.
Kensuke's body outline grew to over three feet, the wings extended further out and something stuck out on the head. When the glowing ceased, Kensuke looked much stronger and older, sporting several red and yellow feathers on his head and tail.
"Pidgo!" He cawed.
"A Pidgeotto!" Shinji realized; he had seen one recently in a previous match with a traveling trainer, and was amazed that he now had one. "Congratulations, Kensuke!"
Kensuke then flew back up into the air, higher than he had before.
To be continued…
A/N: Don't worry, the next chapter will conclude the match between Shinji and the Badge Guardian. I also felt the need to finish this chapter because I hate this type of day.