Defiance

by MateiFire

All I wanted was to become a Trainer. Mom said no. Now I've run away from home, got a fake identity, caught in a bet between 2 of the DexHolders, become a possible rival of a psycho bent on revenge, and hiding from the previous Champion on the Pokemon League. All of this because of one act of Defiance. World of PokeSpe.

7. The Heart of Johto

Welcome back to Defiance, here's Chapter 7.

DISCLAIMER:I don't own Pokémon-whether it be the games, anime, manga or anything else

Chapter 7: The Heart of Johto

January 31st-Azalea Town-10:30 PM

Zircon/Quartz POV

"So," my teacher asked, "how was your day off?"

"Well," I began…

10:30 AM

I woke up confused, wondering where Gold was at, looking around as I rubbed my eyes before a lightbulb went off. Gold gave me the day off. 'Must of gone off to see Crystal or something,' I thought as I got out of bed. I decided to check my PokéGear, wondering exactly what should do. I had been training for the past couple weeks, with the only real breaks being the few hours between after finishing said training and when I went to sleep. So while today was a break, it was more like recovering from the insane regiments placed on me by my teacher, and most recently, his equally as unqualified cousin. Speaking of which, she also had disappeared, making good on her promise of heading out early in the morning.

I sent out my two Pokémon, and after eating some breakfast, looked at them and asked the all-important question, "So, what are we doing today?" The two looked at each other before looking back, with my first partner giving his answer, pretending to be boxing, as if to be thinking, 'Training, right?' I shook my head, "Nah, Gold-san said we got the day off. So, what can we do to relax?" Arie's response was flying atop my head and sleeping in it, like a nest of sorts. Pete shrugged and jumped up on the couch in front of the TV and laid back. I can't act like I'm not surprised. Arie might be new, but back before I caught Pete, when we didn't practice our aim on tin cans, we'd usually watch TV when my parents weren't home. So, my relaxation game isn't really figured out, but hey, it's my day off, so I'll do what I want.

At least that's what I hoped for.

Not long after, Gold's aunt, or Ami's mother, walked into the room to see the sight of us just lounging around her living room. "Quartz, right," She began. I nodded as she continued, "Where's Gold?" I showed her my PokéGear, a message from my teacher who, as I suspected, had headed off to Violet to hang out, or more likely, annoy Crystal. "So, you're the only one here, are you," she said to herself with a glint in her eye. "In that case, if you're gonna sit around here, you could might as well make yourself useful and cut us some wood," she said pointing to a giant pile of wood outside. I knew where this conversation was heading and dashed out with my two partners before her suggestion became something more along the lines of an order. I mean, I can't completely blame her for not wanting us lounging around her house. Gold and I were pretty much a couple of free-loaders who showed up out of nowhere 5 days ago with no real warning. Well, Gold is her nephew, but I'm just his unexpected plus one. It just so happens to be that I was now part of the Gold package deal, so if she lets him stay over for however long, she has to deal with me as well.

Now wandering around outside, I decided the only thing we had left to do was to explore Azalea, an idea that quickly lost its purpose as soon as I realized that I could see the entirety of the town in just my periphery vision. Aside from a few townhouses, the Pokémon Center, Gym, and PokéMart, the town was not only tiny but pretty much empty as well. Just tilting my head was all it took to see the entirety of the nearby route on one end and the gate to Ilex in the other. My first day off, and I'm in probably the most boring place in all of Johto! I guess, if I'm that desperate, my list of places to explore could include an old well full of Slowpoke and a couple local stores with not much in the way of interesting merchandise. As I looked at my PokéGear to check the time as I paced about, Arie flew off my head towards a vendor on the outskirts of the city, pecking at his cart.

"Arie, come back here," I called chasing after it. I came over and saw what caught his attention, the man was selling many different kinds of berries. "I'm really sorry about this," I told him as picked up Arie off his cart.

"No problem," he said laughing. "I see your Pokémon has a good nose," he said, waving me over. "Come, feel free to check out the merchandise, I'm sure you'll find something to your liking." As I tried to remind Arie the whole reason we were leeching of Gold's relatives was to save money, he jumped out of my arms and started pecking at some familiar looking berries. I looked over the sign: Sitrus Berries. The merchant must have followed my line of sight and smiled. "You're a Trainer, correct," he asked, to which I nodded in response. "Well then, you must be aware that berries are useful items that your Pokémon can hold in battle?" I nodded again. Of course, I knew about them, I just never thought to have my Pokémon hold items. Well, I guess it's more accurate to say giving Arie an item, since Pete already has his Everstone necklace. I looked over the berries the man was selling and realized they were pretty cheap, all things considered. Add in the fact that Arie likes them and they worked as items I could use in battle, not to mention that they could be an alternate option of food for my Pokémon other than the usual Pokémon food I fed them, and it made sense to actually buy some, so I did. First off, I got some Sitrus berries. Considering Arie had flown off to eat them, I'm guessing they were probably his favorite so I made sure to get a decent amount of those. Pete didn't seem to have a favorite berry in mind so I got an assortment of others based on the effects the seller told me. Berries that could heal burn, paralysis, sleep, poison, confusion, basically for every status there was, there was a corresponding berry that could fix it. The man also threw in a small pouch that I could put a berry in so it could work as a way for a Pokémon to hold a berry easier. I gave it to Arie, having to remind him that it was for battle use, and not a snack he just had handy.

Afterwards, I went over to the Pokémon Center just to make sure Arie's glasses didn't count as a held item to make sure I wasn't breaking any rules. I had heard about items like Wise Glasses and didn't want the possible confusion of the two causing a dispute during a battle. After talking with the Nurse Joy, I had to fill out several forms in order to get a special card that proves that the glasses were just normal glasses and not the special kind that other Trainers use for battle. The forms were a lot more detailed than I thought they'd be, and it ended up taking a lot longer than I planned. By the time I finished and it was approved, it was already starting to get dark out. With all that done, I alternated between hanging out in the Pokémon Center lobby, watching whatever was on their TV or just strolling around Azalea, essentially waiting for the day to end.

10:30 PM

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," Gold responded, "Kinda forgot that Azalea doesn't really have all that much going on." He shrugged it off before continuing, "Don't worry, though. Goldenrod is our next stop after we're done here, and there's enough stuff in the city and the surrounding routes to keep you busy for over a year," he stopped before finishing, "Not that we have the time to stay that long. Now, let's get some sleep, because tomorrow, it's back to the grind!" I agreed and that's exactly what we did, and that's how my day off went. Uneventful, but all things considered, a calmer day with nothing to do is probably just what I needed at this moment.

---

February 1st-Azalea Town Gym 1:00 PM

So, like we agreed upon before, Gold took me and the team over to the Azalea Town Gym to take on the Gym Trainers before Bugsy got back. Therefore, when he did return on Tuesday, I could go straight to him, no Trainers to face off with beforehand. I greeted the Azalea's Clyde, swiped my Trainer Card on the entrance, and was told to face off against a grand total of 3 Gym Trainers. I looked at the layout of the Gym, at the front was a weird Spinarak-looking boat that traveled across what seemed to be a web, but was sturdy enough to cross along the paths, essentially being a train on rails. I saw some switches that Gold explained would change the web's direction, affecting how the boat would cross. 'So, exactly like train rails," I thought. I looked down off the side of the boat, seeing nothing but a black abyss. "So, how far down is that pit?" I asked Clyde.

"I'm gonna be completely honest here," he said. "I have no idea. Probably no big deal though," he smiled. I gulped as I sat down onto the boat. Gyms have to go through safety checkups, right?

"Well, I guess you better stay inside the boat then," Gold said nonchalantly. "I'll be outside, see you when you're done!" He started for the door.

"Wait!" I called out after him, "You're not staying?"

"I got no reason to," he replied, "You're only facing the Gym Trainers today, so you should be fine on your own. Besides the boat only really fits one." He grinned and gave me a thumbs up, "Don't worry, we trained for this, you'll be fine." I watched him walk out of the Gym before turning back to face the Gym. While I'll admit he's not wrong, the bit where my teacher walks out on me nearly every other step of the road is starting to get old real quick. So, let's do this. To my utter surprise, Gold was completely right. Other than me latching onto the boat like a newborn Deerling, making my way through the Gym and taking out the corresponding Gym Trainers was pretty easy. Of course, Arie and Pete having moves with a Type advantage definitely helped, even though most of our training was against wild Bug Pokémon, not ones from Trainers. However, I'm guessing the training was paying off, as despite the fact that these Pokémon were actually trained, we still managed to take them out in just a few hits, not needing to formulate any real semblance of strategy. Within 20 minutes, over half of that time being me slowly getting off and on the boat and figuring out the switches needed to reach the end, I walked out of the Gym, now halfway done. Now I just had to wait for Bugsy to return. Gold grinned, greeting me as I came out, "See, what did I tell ya?"

I smiled back, "Yeah okay, I guess you were right. So what's the next step?"

"Probably just some last second tune ups before the actual Gym battle," Gold said.

I thought about it for a minute, my mind going back to my other Gym battle against Falkner. What else could I prepare for? "Oh, that's it," I said, snapping my fingers. I turned to Gold, "Gold-san, you've faced Bugsy already, right?" After he nodded, I continued, "Well then, what's his ace, his Skarmory? You did say most Gym Leaders still use their ace regardless of the badge count, right?"

"I guess, you're right about that," he said, his eyes closing tightly, seeming to be lost in thought.

"So, what is it?"

"I'm gonna be straight up with you," Gold opened his eyes and started scratching his head, "I don't remember." Really? "I had Exbo with me, so my battle with Bugsy was kind of blur for me. I was actually on the phone the entire time with Super Serious and before I knew it, it was over."

"You're joking," I said in disbelief.

"It's the truth," he said confidently. "If you don't believe me, you can listen to the interview I did with Goldenrod Radio. They called the episode, Phoning in a Gym Battle," He shrugged, "Not a fan on how they described my battle, but it is right on the money compared to how it all went down."

I sighed, "So you have no idea what I have to face." Gold gave me a weak smile. "Also, based on the story you told me, it seems like you don't even really know how he battles." He scratched the back of his head, a bit embarrassed. I knew Gold was a bit more powerful than the average Trainer, but I figured his battle against the Gym Leaders would at least warrant his full attention. Back when he faced Falkner, there was no doubt throughout the match that he'd be victorious, but it looked like Falkner was putting up a decent fight against him, with Gold battling at what seemed to be his best the entire time. However, with Bugsy, he was barely paying any attention? "So, what do we do?" I asked.

"I say the first thing we do is go to the Pokémon Center," Gold said, already starting to walk there as we talked, "Heal up any minor injuries. Then, we'll use one of the computers over there. I figure if we check online, there's a chance we can finds some clips of past Gym matches against Bugsy. Maybe a few key clips from Trainer's Center, y'know, something like that. With that, we might actually get an idea of what you're facing."

'Good idea,' I thought to myself. While Trainer's Center usually only focused on the Trainers who defeated Gym Leaders, most Gym Matches do in fact get filmed and some of the final blasts and knockouts are commonly used a B-roll in between the Trainers that get featured. 'I guess Gold-san does have his moments as a teacher," I thought, before I remembered that the only reason we have to look up Bugsy's repertoire of Pokémon was that he was completely distracted during his own battle against him.

After getting to the Pokémon Center, I left Pete and Arie with Nurse Joy, and headed straight to one of the computers provided in the waiting rooms. Pete and Arie weren't really hurt too bad, but I figured after we were done here, Gold and I would be doing some tough training. So, I figured that when we go in, it might as well be at full strength. I sat down and started to look up some videos of Bugsy's battles to get an idea of what we'd be going up against. While most of the videos I could find were small clips that weren't even 30 seconds long, like I said: B-roll for Trainer's Center, there was one video that was a bit longer. Clocking in at just over 10 minutes was a video of Bugsy, definitely battling at his best. Well, his best at the time, since the date of the video was over a decade ago. It was Bugsy's match against Sabrina during the Gym Leader Tournament which preluded the 10th Triennial Pokémon League. While Sabrina handily won their battle, I got to see two of Bugsy's signature Pokémon, Heracross and Scyther.

"So, I guess we got our possible opponents," Gold said as he sat down next to me. "Although this battle is from over 10 years ago, so who's to say if he hasn't decided to shake things up over the years."

"Actually," I said scrolling through some other videos, "In a lot of the short clips I found, the Pokémon that was overcome at the end was Heracross, so I think that might be his ace." I kept scrolling through some other clips, "I don't actually see Scyther anywhere."

"What about Scizor?" Gold asked leaning forward to watch some clips, "it's been 10 years. It's pretty likely that he evolved it." I looked through several pages of videos before coming up on one that showed Scizor. However, the battle was one of a Trainer going for his 5th Badge, so Bugsy was definitely going much harder than he probably would go against me, as it would be a battle for my 2nd Badge. "So, it did evolve…" Gold leaned back and started thinking.

"What's up?" I asked him.

"It's Scizor," Gold said, "It's a very good Pokémon on both defense and offense. What's more is that it's only weak to Fire moves."

"Well, that's fine," I replied, "Pete's got Hidden Power Fire."

"True," Gold said, "but, it's just that I was going to recommend to start this battle off with Pete so that Arie would have a better chance of coming in later on and probably cleaning this battle up proper, considering he's actually Flying type, a good matchup, as opposed to Pete who is neutral, not counting the Hidden Power."

"Well, Arie's also part Psychic," I said, "which is weak to Bug, so you could say he's kinda neutral himself." Gold nodded before I continued, "Besides, Pete will naturally be more likely to switch out in battle, since the only sure-fire Electric move we have left is Volt Switch. Therefore, the chance of Arie being able to sit back until the end, is highly unlikely."

"Hmmm," Gold thought for a bit. "In that case, I think that alongside facing stronger Bug types, we should train you in being to switch back and forth more effectively so Volt Switch doesn't make you lose your momentum. I'm pretty sure that switching between your two partners is the main strategy you'll be dealing with."

"Sounds good to me," I replied, and is if on cue, I heard Pete and Arie behind me, now healed and ready for action. "Let's go!"

Ilex Forest

"Uh, Gold-san?" I asked as we started walking through the forest, "Why are we here?" For the past couple days, we usually trained in the route east of Azalea, since there wasn't many Trainers outside Union Cave, so it was a nice clear spot and unlike the forest, a stray attack doesn't invite swarms of angry Beedrill and other Bug Type Pokémon.

"Well, you know how so far I've been training you against Bug Pokémon like Paras and Caterpie?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, Heracross and Scizor are in a completely different league," Gold said, waving his hands as to show the difference in scale. "Now, I don't have either of those to give you specific training, so I'm looking for anything else that's close enough, so you have an idea of what you should be up against." Hey, at least he's catching me a training partner for a change, instead of his usual plan of angering the entire community of nearby Pokémon and have them attack me until either side is completely out of gas. "Normally, I'd get Super Serious Gal to lend me one of the Pokémon we need, since you know, as 'The Catcher,' she has like one of everything, but seeing as your success is completely incongruous with what helps her win our bet, I don't think she'll be helping us out with that."

'That's too bad,' I thought, 'You know someone who practically has a lineup of almost every Pokémon known to man that you could ask to use for any number of things, but said person is currently your enemy.' I thought of something and whispered over to my teacher, "Uh, Gold-san?"

"What's up?"

"What if we can't find something comparable?"

"Then we go to Plan B?"

"Plan B?"

"Yeah, I'll use you as bait to summon hordes of Pokémon, and out of that horde I'll find the head honcho, and catch that."

"WHAT?" That's the exact same plan as before! Just now with a couple more steps! As fate would have it, my outburst there disturbed some nearby Pokémon, who in turn, woke up some more, who woke up some more, and I think you can see where this is going…

"AHHHHHH!" I yelled, running away from the massive swarm that was forming.

"Plan B it is, I guess," Gold said as he watched the swarm chasing after me. Now yes, I've spent the better part of last week facing this exact scenario, but the difference is that all those other times, I came in expecting that, while this time it was by accident, so I wasn't prepared.

After turning a corner, I looked around for Gold, nowhere to be seen. He ditched me? "Gold-san, where are you?"

"Up here!" I looked up and saw my teacher, atop his evil Togekiss, eyeing the swarm that was chasing me. "Come on, I need you to fight back, so I can find out who the big boss is!"

Come on! I turned around and grabbed the two Pokéballs from my belt, "Pete! Arie! We're back to this again!" Thus, once again our motley crew was up against the wrath of the most annoyed bugs this side of the Johto Region. It took about an hour or so before the final waves of the swarm eventually started to thin out, some bugs deciding they'd rather leave annoyed than end up tired or defeated. As we sat down, finally getting the chance to catch our breath, I looked up to see my teacher finally descend. "So," I asked in between breaths, "did you…get…what…we came for?"

"Nah," Gold said, looking around at last bits of the swarm that were now fleeing, "Every time I saw something that looked promising, it either fled or you defeated it, definitely not something that will help you much in the training department."

"So you're saying we came here for nothing?" I asked.

"No way!" Gold said, "We now know how well you do against Bug type Pokémon. Between the Gym Trainers and that massive horde, I think that part of your training is complete. Think about it, when we started, it took you at least half the day to thin out a mob that large, but this time, you managed it in just over an hour!" I looked around, noticing that pretty much all the bugs were now gone, the only ones in view not being part of the previous swarm.

"Alright, what's next?" I said, giving Gold a weak smile as I got back on my feet.

"Well, since getting a similar Bug type to train up against didn't work out," Gold said, headed back towards the exit, "we go back to basic training. I'll work with you on how to seamlessly switch back and forth so whether you're hard switching or doing so via Volt Switch, it won't make you slow down."

"Sounds good, I returned Pete and Arie to their Pokéballs, both still raring to go (at least I think so, I can never tell with Arie), and followed Gold as we exited the forest.

We ended up going back to Route 33, where we practiced switching mid-battle and how to make those switches more effective. I learned how to make my battle style more flexible around when I switched. Instead of doing it exactly when I wanted to, I learnt to get the shift to mesh with the pace of the battle so it would flow together despite the Pokémon being swapped out continuously. I also had Pete and Arie work on how they came into battle with Pete prepping for an attack straight upon being released and Arie flying out instead of immediately landing and pecking at the ground before focusing up. Gold also worked a lot harder, trying to match the intensity that I might feel going against a Gym Leader and making sure we stayed on our toes. We stopped a bit earlier considering that Pete and Arie were probably running out of gas considering the giant mass of bugs that they had to mow through earlier. Besides, we had tomorrow to continue, which we did. We spent all of Monday polishing up our strategy, the switches now clean and without pauses that interrupted our momentum. We ended the day taking it easy, making sure we didn't overwork ourselves to the point where it affected us during tomorrow's match. I was able to sleep easily the night before, confident we trained hard enough to be ready for the battle ahead.

---

February 3rd-Azalea Town Gym-12:00 PM

Apparently, I was able to sleep the night before too easily because I ended up oversleeping. Seems like this spread to Gold, since he was passed out on the sofa, snoring. Turns out that neither of us figured to set an alarm, and due to it, we slept in. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, since it's not like Gym battles happen on a set schedule, but it seems that news of Bugsy's return traveled fast, as upon arriving at the Gym, there were already several Trainers ahead of us on line. I was hoping there wasn't too much of a delay, remembering that Gym Leaders had personalized healing machines in their Gyms, allowing for them to do several battles in quick succession while staying in top form, the line was long enough to continue outside the Gym itself. As I waited, I looked at the people ahead of me as well as a couple of those of them who came in and out. In essence, my competition. From what I could see, it seemed like most of the Trainers fell into one of two camps: Trainers from Azalea with no badges starting off here, or Trainers who had anywhere from 2-5 badges, having challenged the Gyms that were closer together and now finally making their way to Azalea Town. It made sense, since Violet, Goldenrod and Ecruteak were all right next to each other, so if you wanted, you could speed run those 3 Gyms back-to-back-to-back. In contrast, Azalea's Gym, being so small and separated from the greater city areas of Johto, that people usually delayed headed over there, instead choosing the more urban areas of Olivine or Cianwood. However, if you want 8 badges, you need to either make the trip to Azalea or go all the way to Kanto, and out of the two, Azalea Town was a lot closer.

So, Azalea ended up either as one of your first badges if you lived nearby, or one of your later ones, once you cleared out your remaining options. This disparity between the two types of Trainers made the alternating matches inside the Gym be as different as night and day. I noticed that out of those that went in the Gym, upon coming out, none had come out with the badge, the anger or disappointment clear in their eyes. I recognized that look from my first battle with Falkner and didn't want that to happen a second time, so I decided to take the time spent on line rehearsing the strategies we planned out in my head and trying to think out possible scenarios. I looked at my teacher, just listening to music as he leaned on the side of the Gym, simply jamming out as he waited alongside me. He looked over and gave me a smile, the length of the line not bothering him.

A couple hours later we finally entered the Gym and it seemed like my choice of taking on the Gym Trainers earlier paid off as I got to skip them as well as some of the people ahead of me who were busy making their way through them. Thankfully, there was a way around to the back, so I didn't have to wait for or even take the spider-boat across the Gym. Once I got to the back door that led to the battlefield where the main matches were held, I had gotten past a lot of the Trainers ahead of me, meaning I jumped from who-knows where to next up, following whoever was facing Bugsy right now. I walked in and went with Gold toward the bleachers, watching the current challenger facing off against Bugsy. The battlefield was a grassy field with a couple of trees along the sides, kind of like a small clearing in a forest. I looked over at a screen on the opposite wall that showed the standings, the challenger only taking out two of Bugsy's allotted four, I'm guessing it was his 4th or 5th badge he was going for, and the challenger being on his last Pokémon. I looked over to Bugsy, smiling with a glint in his eyes behind his glasses. "Alright Heracross, Megahorn!" The beetle charged up energy in its horn before slamming into the opponent, a Feraligatr, and throwing it all the way against the wall on the opposite side, clearly down for the count. After I watched Bugsy talk with the defeated challenger, I made my way down the stairs. It's finally my turn.

"Ah Quartz," Bugsy said, adjusting his glasses as I made my way to my side of the battlefield. "It's been a while. I trust you have been well?"

"You could say that," I said, "Gold's training methods can be pretty intense." Not as bad as when Union Cave flooded, but having the Ilex Forest's bugs attack you day after day isn't exactly ideal.

"Well, let's hope the results are worth it," Bugsy turned to his machine and put two Pokéballs on the healing machine. However, after the healing machine finished, he only retrieved one of the two.

'Isn't that ball the one that had Heracross?' I thought, looking at the one he left behind. I tried squinting to try and see what Pokémon it was through the transparent top half, but it was too far to make out clearly.

Bugsy took out a second Pokémon from the belt on his waist, "Your battle will be against these 2 Pokémon." He put the one from the machine back on his belt, and readied the new one he just pulled out. "You ready?"

'I guess I'll have to take out this first one to see whether it's Heracross or not,' I thought, 'in that case…' I pulled out Pete's Pokéball, "Pete, front and center!" Pete popped out, pretending to box as he usually did.

"Hmmm, starting with his Pichu," Bugsy said, smiling. He did say he had spoken to Falkner, so he probably has an idea on what I have on my team. It doesn't matter in the long run, considering I did my own research on him beforehand. "Stop me if you've heard of this one before. Go, Masquerain!" My jaw dropped as out of his Pokéball came the flying bug that saved me back in Union Cave, darting around the gym before settling back in front of Bugsy. "Don't let your feelings of gratitude deter you," he said with smug grin. "Go ahead, you can have the first move."

"P-Pete use Volt Switch!" I called out a bit flustered by his initial Pokémon, with Pete firing off the auto-switching electric shock. I decided to go with the assumption that Heracross wasn't the Pokémon he took from the machine, which meant his second Pokémon would have to Scizor, meaning Pete's Hidden Power Fire would be of vital importance, so saving Pete's strength for that was a must.

"Masquerain, Air Cutter," was his calm response. His Masquerain blew a gust of wind that instead of forming the classic spirals of compressing air, spread out and formed a shield of wind around Masquerain. As Volt Switch connected, it looked like it might fizzle out but eventually penetrated, meaning we still got a hit in. However, even though it landed a direct hit, the attack was obviously weakened.

'I've never seen that kind of technique before,' I thought as Pete's attack returned him to his Pokéball, 'Not even on TV.' As soon I finished my thought, Arie popped out, immediately switching due to Volt Switch. I guess it's time for another air battle. At least Arie has the advantage with flying moves.

"Arie, Air Cutter!" I called out, Arie quickly firing his own spirals of wind at the target.

"Dodge and close in!' Bugsy called back. Masquerain effortlessly dodged the blasts of Air Cutter and quickly closed the gap. "Stop me if you've heard this one before," Bugsy said, smiling, "U-Turn!" Masquerain smacked into Arie, launching him into the ground as it returned to its own Pokéball before a Spinarak popped out of the other Pokéball on ' Bugsy's waist.

"Arie, are you okay?" Arie chirped back and rose back up, clearing my worries. 'An auto-switching move?' I thought as my eyes slowly turned to his second Pokémon, 'A Spinarak. Wait a second…'

"It's not Heracross or Scizor?" Gold called from the stands, finishing my thoughts aloud.

Bugsy started laughing, "I figured you might tell him what my ace Pokémon are, Gold. So, I decided to switch it up for this battle specifically."

"Actually," I said, looking back at my teacher from the corner of my eye, "Gold-san kind of forgot who he faced during his Gym Battle."

"Really?" Bugsy said, looking over at Gold, who was scratching the back of his head, embarrassed. He closed his eyes and pinched between them, "I should've figured, he was on the phone the whole time." He opened his eyes before continuing, "So, how'd you know?"

"We looked at some videos at the Pokémon Center," I explained. "Between the Gym Leader Tournament over 10 years back and some more small clips on Trainer's Center."

"Hm, pretty clever," Bugsy said, smiling. "If you were wondering, against Gold I used Scizor. In retrospect, probably not the best idea since he has a Typhlosion."

"Then, why aren't you using either here?" Gold asked.

"You guys were outside the Gym long enough, did you never think to read my nickname?" Bugsy asked back. He smiled as his glasses shone, "I'm known as 'The Walking Bug Pokémon Encyclopedia," of course my expertise extends to regions outside of Johto!" He turned back to me, "Don't worry, Quartz. Masquerain's every bit as powerful as Heracross or Scizor, so you'll still get the challenge you deserve. Now I believe it's your move."

I took a second before responding, still trying to fit the new information into the strategies I had planned out. Damn, all of them were formed under the assumption that Heracross or Scizor would be the ace of the team. I expected the Gym Battle to be hard naturally, but I didn't expect that the Gym Leader would also be playing mind games with me! First, surprising me with the Air Cutter shield. Second, using a move that switches them out right after me. Third and lastly, revealing that neither of the Pokémon we prepped for are taking part in the battle. "Arie, Air Cutter, once more!" I needed more time to think, so going on the offensive will probably buy me a couple more seconds. With Scizor and Heracross out of the picture, the all-important points of keeping Pete at full strength wasn't as important. However, there was also the super quick Masquerain, slowing it down would be crucial, so I'll need to paralyze it if I want to stay ahead. In any case, if need be, I can still switch back and forth, like we trained and change up the current strategy as it's needed. I got out of thoughts and returned to full focus on the battlefield as Air Cutter connected without so much as a flinch or attempt to dodge from Bugsy. Why?

"Spinarak, use Sticky Web!" With Bugsy's command, the spider shot out a long web around the field.

"Arie, d-" I started before noticing the attack missing Arie completely. The web failing to fly high enough to reach him, thus falling down onto the field, so why? Unless he wasn't aiming for Arie, but then what did he do?

"Seems that you're unaware of what Sticky Web does," Bugsy said, reading my mind, "Sticky Web causes every Pokémon that switches in to get stuck on the web, thus slowing it down." What? So, my switching plan has also been rendered moot? Did Bugsy know all my plans coming in, because he's been either shutting down or at least crippling all my plans one by one. "I noticed that a big part of what helped you against Falkner was using paralysis to slow him down," Bugsy smiled. "While Sticky Web won't slow you down as much as paralysis would do to me, with the effects of Sticky Web, my Pokémon are fast enough to outpace you even if you manage to paralyze us." He pointed up at Arie, "Well, flying Pokémon are unaffected," he smiled, "unless we ground them! Spinarak, jump!"

All right, first things first, try to change the situation. "Arie, use Confusion to lift the webs off the ground!" Arie eyes glowed and while it looked like the webs were starting to peel off, at the last second it contracted and came back to the ground.

"My Sticky Web won't be undone that easily!" Bugsy laughed. What more, as my focus was on undoing the web, Spinarak managed to jump from the grass onto another tree and another tree before jumping high enough to the point where it was only inches away from Arie. Now Spinarak, Bug Bite!" The spider pounced on Arie's back, latched on and took a huge bite before jumping off the now falling bird.

"Arie, whatever you do, stay off the ground, you gotta avoid the webs!" Arie struggled, but managed to keep himself off the ground. We looked over at the nimble spider, who turned around munching on something. Is that-

"Oh, that was a Situs Berry inside that pouch," Bugsy said. "Bug Bite lets me eat whatever Berry your Pokémon is holding. Thanks for the snack." As Arie looked over at the Spinarak, he then checked his own pouch, noticing that it now was empty. He then turned back to Spinarak, then back to his pouch. Back to Spinarak, back to his pouch. As the Spinarak finished the berry, Arie looked up finally putting two and two together and for the first time, I saw a look on Arie's face that I've never seen before. Not the usual look of confusion, but a look that meant he fully understood what just happened.

"Oh, this is bad," I said softly, before things went south. Arie went ballistic, causing gusts of wind followed by barrages of Air Cutters all across the battlefield, not even aiming at Spinarak anymore. "Arie, calm down!" I tried to talk him down, but it seemed words were lost on him right now.

"What's going on?" Bugsy asked, putting his arms up in an attempt to shield himself from the windstorm Arie was causing. I had to do something, so I put down my bag and scrambled to find the only thing that would quell his fury. Meanwhile, Arie finally turned over to the cause of his anger, lifting it off the ground with Confusion before flinging it into a wall followed up with two spirals of Air Cutter, with the Spinarak on the ground fainted when the dust settled.

"Hey Arie!" I dangled a Sitrus Berry, hoping to fix Arie's rage, and thankfully, it worked out. Arie came over and took the Berry, nesting in my hair as it ate. Unfortunately, I can't make him now hold a new berry mid-battle. I looked over to Bugsy, who was scratching his head as he returned his Spinarak.

"I'm not sure exactly how one would rule this," he said, trying to think it over. "While your Natu did win, sort of fair and square, it was more on its own than by your orders." He shrugged, "At the end of the day, I guess it was enough of a demonstration of your Pokémon's strength so, I'll let the little outburst slide. However, you should work on fixing that, having your Pokémon act out like that makes you look like you're aren't raising it correctly."

"Right," I said. Honestly, I had no idea this would happen, as it was not only the first time Arie had his Berry taken from him but also the first time he ever held an item in the first place. Thankfully, Bugsy didn't revoke the win or anything like that. So, now was the time to prove that the win wasn't just a fluke. However, I felt that a change was needed here, so I returned Arie and sent out Pete. Pete tried to move around but the Sticky Web Bugsy had set up earlier was doing its job, slowing him down considerably. If memory serves, there are a couple moves that traditionally remove entry hazards like this, Rapid Spin being the first one that comes to mind. I don't have any moves like that at my disposal, so I either have to learn to deal with it, or think outside the box. Pete made his way up front slowly, tripping or sticking to web every couple steps.

"Alright, let's get back to the real match," Bugsy said, summoning his Masquerain. I watched as the thing darted back and forth, its antennae being raised to look more like a pair of angry eyes than usual. "Go ahead, I insist."

I had to quickly think over my options. I didn't want to switch out right away right after switching out. Besides, with the Sticky Webs out, my plan of constantly switching to adapt to the battle was basically pointless. Besides, the Air Cutter shield they used earlier so to cut at least half of the damage dealt. That only left me with two options, Thunder Wave and Hidden Power. Well, two and half, I guess.

Volt Tackle, while still not fully mastered, was always a possible option if my back was truly against the wall. While it was no longer the main focus of our training, Gold always made sure to incorporate some work on it towards the end of our sessions. As of late, there haven't been any real duds, success rate technically being 100 percent, but there was a factor we never truly tested: using it against a real enemy. Yes, we trained our usage of the move, but mostly against either inanimate objects like rocks or against Gold's Pokémon. However, when it came to Gold's Pokémon, they were more tanking the hits instead of fighting back, so there were still some differences from a real fight. What's more is that over the time we've spent together, Pete had gotten used to Gold's team, so the hesitation before the final hit that was Pete's weakness from before was non-existent against friends and training partners. The intimidation from Masquerain, who made itself more frightening with its antennae, was definitely going to be determining factor in the move either succeeding or not. However, before trying that last resort, I gotta go through my other options.

"All right, Pete use Thunder Wave!" As Pete fired small jolts of electricity, Masquerain didn't even need orders to easily dodge the sparks as it got some distance. 'All right,' I thought, 'If I can't hit it, at least I can keep it moving so I can get a read on how it reacts to my different attacks.' Normally, the game plan would be to paralyze it first to either match or surpass it in speed. However, Bugsy was confident enough in Masquerain's speed that even if we got paralysis off, Sticky Web should equalize the speed difference. Of course, paralysis was more than just a condition that slowed you down, but what it did to them didn't really matter unless we could get to the all-important step of actually afflicting the condition in the first place. Something that seemed impossible as I watched Masquerain effortlessly dodge every single one of our attacks. Despite the constant barrage of Thunder Waves, flying out of the way was effortless, considering how much more energy Pete had to expel to even get close. With the web constantly sticking to him, his max jumping height was lowered along with his speed. Next option, "Use Hidden Power!" The circle of energy enveloped Pete before he blasted it toward Masquerain.

"Dodge," Bugsy said simply. While the blast from Hidden Power actually would reach Masquerain unlike our Thunder Wave, it was already high enough that dodging it was still easy. I checked the field to see any of the attacks were at least having an effect on the field outside of just missing Masquerain. While the Sticky Web remained on the field, parts of it were starting to disappear, having burnt off from either of Pete's Electric or Fire type moves. Bugsy seemed to realize the same thing since he decided to go on the offensive, "Masquerain, U-Turn!" The angry face with wings came in extremely fast, faster than it darting around in the air considering that there was one clear direction now. I knew U-Turn didn't have the secondary effect of switching out anymore since Masquerain was Bugsy's only Pokémon left. With its speed and the web not helping, I knew we couldn't dodge, so let's at least trade blows.

"Thunder Wave!" While Static could've kicked in, I didn't want to risk the chance of it not getting off at all. So, as Masquerain slammed into Pete, he retaliated with a small shock, causing the bug to slow down, still flying but slowing the darting around to make it a bit more stationary. The U-Turn did quite a bit of damage, but Pete was holding on pretty well. I figured with the Masquerain finally slowed down, we could continue our mission of slowly whittling down the Sticky Webs and now, if it tried to stop us, it wouldn't be fast enough to get away unscathed. "Pete, let's get to work, back to back Hidden Power!"

"Not so fast," Bugsy called out, "Masquerain, Water Sport!" The bug began to shoot a small stream of water across the battlefield, and the effects were clear, Pete's Hidden Power was far weaker, doing little damage to it and more importantly, to the webs that were plaguing us. Drat, that's another move pretty much rendered moot. Since Masquerain was already paralyzed, that meant we only had one other move at our disposal, and I didn't want to use it yet, due to the drawbacks. I was running out of alternatives.

"Volt Switch!"

"Air Cutter!"

The exchange resulted almost the same way the battle began, with Volt Switch resulting in Pete switching out while Masquerain used the Air Cutter 'armor' to weaken the attack. However, due to paralysis, it looked the armor was a little less dense and Volt Switch seemed to get in more damage than before.

As Arie came out, not affected by the webs as well, the speed difference was finally starting to even out a bit. I ran through what happened so far. While I am ahead in terms of number of Pokémon remaining, a lot of the work I've put in so far has been in trying to regain the field advantage and most of the damage done to Masquerain has ended up being a series of small series of chip damage that has accumulated over the course of the battle. Nearly Pete's entire movepool has been rendered close to if not completely ineffective throughout the course of the battle. Thunder Wave wasn't needed anymore as Masquerain was already paralyzed. Volt Switch was almost completely countered by the Air Cutter 'armor.' As for Hidden Power, while I could wait out the Water Sport, there was nothing stopping Bugsy from setting it back up. Add in the Sticky Webs and if it comes down to a Pete and Masquerain one v one, I'm not entirely sure we can pull through. That means the true final phase of the battle has to start now.

"Arie, Air Cutter!" As the difference in our speed was finally evening out, I decided to take the offensive.

"Masquerain, strike back with your own Air Cutter," was the response from the other side of the field. This time, instead of the 'armor,' Masquerain fired the more traditional version of the move, the kind Arie used. When both attacks collided, the blowback to both sides made it seem they were about equal. Based on this and Volt Switch being less countered by the 'armor,' paralysis seemed to have weakened Masquerain's ability to create winds at max power. Therefore, Arie's own Air Cutter ended up being on par with Masquerain in terms of move power. However, on my side, Arie couldn't get blown back too much or he might fall and end up getting caught in the Sticky Webs. As for Masquerain, if paralysis kicks in during an equal clash, Arie could swoop in an take the win. So, in essence, we both have a win condition. "Masquerain, use U-Turn!" Bugsy called, with the bug charging right at Arie.

"Arie, Confusion!" I countered. As Arie's Confusion stopped Masquerain right in its tracks, I had an idea. "Toss in down, into the Sticky Web!" Time to have a taste of your own medicine! As Arie tossed Masquerain down, I thought I had it won, although I had forgotten about something very important.

"Air Cutter!" Of course, the 'armor' that Bugsy developed! Upon colliding with the ground the impact caused a huge dust cloud to form. As the dust settled, I saw the Masquerain hovering right above the ground, no damage, no Sticky Webs affecting it. "All right, U-Turn, once more!" Bugsy called. Before I could call for a countermove, Masquerain flew straight up slamming past Arie as it ascended.

As I checked on Arie, I noticed something new on the field. The Webs were gone! I guess when the Air Cutter 'armor' hit the ground it kicked up all the webs that were meant to attach to it and tossed them away. I smiled and decided it was time to finish this, "Arie, use Future Sight!" Arie fired a couple psychic blasts into a couple portals, for later. "Now close in and use Air Cutter!"

"Use Air Cutter as well!" Bugsy called back. However, instead of the spirals Arie fired, it opted for the 'wind armor' once again. As Arie's attacks bounced off, he continued, "Now, hit it with U-Turn!" As Arie was in the process of closing in, there was no time to dodge or counterattack, so Masquerain managed to once again slam into Arie.

I don't think Arie can take many more hits like this. 'When is paralysis ever gonna kick in?' I thought. Yes, it helped in both slowing the flying bug and even weakening its ability to create such strong winds, but it hasn't had the second effect of being unable to move once yet. 'I guess if paralysis won't do it for me, I'll do it myself,' I thought. "All right, Arie, close in once more!" I called out.

"Masquerain, you close in as well," was Bugsy's response.

As the two Pokémon continued to get closer to colliding, "Arie, Confusion!" As the Masquerain was frozen in place, Arie continued to close in. This is it! Before I could celebrate, two spirals of wind smacked into Arie from behind Masquerain releasing his hold on it. However, as Arie fell back the Future Sight portals appeared behind Masquerain. YES!

"Masquerain, behind you!" Bugsy called and the blue Pokémon evaded the Psychic Blasts completely. Bugsy smiled as Arie struggled to stay in the air. "A clever strategy, using Confusion to hold me while you waited for Future Sight to surprise me. However, I anticipated that possibility, so as soon as Future Sight entered the picture I made sure to have a backup plan in order to keep myself from falling victim to it."

'So, he knew about my plan to hold him there, since back then?' I thought to myself. After finally disposing of those Webs, I thought things were finally coming back my way, but it seems Bugsy was always calculating his next move, keeping this match from ending time after time again. However, I could see my efforts at whittling away at Masquerain's health was slowly but surely taking affect. Masquerain had just about as much health as Arie had left, so even if Arie couldn't stop it, Pete should be able to finish it off, and with the field clear, I was confident we'd be able to make it work. "Arie, Air Cutter!" I called, expecting the same move back. I figured even if we keep trading equal moves, sooner or later, paralysis will kick in, giving me the opportunity to finish it off.

Instead, I watched as the Air Cutters hit their target, no dodging, no armor, no secret move I was unaware of. I watched at Masquerain slowly fell before hovering again, close to falling all the way to the ground. Did that do it? IS Masquerain finally down? As his final Pokémon looked about to faint, Bugsy let out a sly smile, and softly said "Sticky Web."

"What?!" Masquerain had Sticky Web as well? He'd been hiding that fourth move the entire match? I was pretty sure there was a fourth move in there somewhere, but figured either it wasn't any better than his other options or it didn't work for this battle.

Bugsy began laughing, "You didn't think I'd let you be free of Sticky Web that easily, did you?" He made sure to look me straight in the eyes, "Quartz, don't tell me you've forgotten?" Forgotten? What's he talking about? "Sticky Web was the move I used to save you back in Union Cave!"

Really? Oh, excuse me for not remembering what move you used, I was too busy trying not to drown! Now, I could've said all that, but right now, Sticky Web was my enemy, not my savior. If there was anything I could do to stop it, I'd take that chance. "Arie, stop that web, Air Cutter!" However, Arie was far too high up to truly do anything. Masquerain had purposely taken the previous Air Cutter and pretended to faint so it would be low enough and far enough to keep me from preventing it from happening again. As Arie's wind spirals eventually reached the ground, Masquerain has already recovered the entire ground with the same web that had kept me on the back foot this entire match.

With my mind still scrambling I couldn't think of what orders to give Arie in time before hearing the words, "U-Turn!" By the time I snapped back to reality, Masquerain had slammed into Arie once again and this time, he eventually landed on the floor among the webs. However, the webs slowing him down didn't end up being a factor as he was unable to battle.

"Thanks Arie, you did great," I said returning him to his Pokéball. I looked over at the other side of the field. Bugsy stood there, arms crossed and with a huge smile on his face. Next to him: his Masquerain, probably with a similar expression, I honestly couldn't tell. What I could tell was that the Masquerain was definitely on its last threads of strength. I think one or two decent hits should just be enough to do it in. The problem was landing said hits. Although it was definitely beyond tired at this point, it had an answer to all of my moves, not exactly nulling them completely but probably lessening their output to the point that it can match Pete with the energy it has left. The next few moves will decide the outcome of this match.

I threw Pete's Pokéball high into the air, "Pete, Hidden Power, at the ground, full power!" Pete popped out and began firing the attack onto the webs it was falling onto. I feel that if we cleared up even a small part of the Sticky Web, every single bit was important here.

With it clearly not being the target, Bugsy saw his chance, "Masquerain, Water Sport, once more!" Masquerain followed quickly and began putting out our flames like a small firefighter. As Pete landed on the ground with Masquerain spraying the last of the field with water, I watched the scene and tried to figure out the best course of action. Pete, despite his efforts, was only able to clear enough space for him to stand. If he was to do anything, the webs would grab his feet. Hidden Power was essentially off the table. We had two-ish moves at our disposal. One, no guarantees to take it down due to previous attempts being partially nullified, The other, would definitely take it out, but between the fact that we'd have to pray it would even work and even after that, pray some more that the recoil doesn't finish us off. As Masquerain slowly lowered itself before hovering low above the ground, it was time to make our move.

"Pete, Volt Switch!" Pete fired the jolt of electricity and began running behind it, obviously slowed down by Sticky Web.

"Masquerain, Air Cutter!" As expected, the infamous Air Cutter armor appeared and fizzled out most of the power from Volt Switch, now a straight line separating Pete and Masquerain. Bugsy smiled, "This is the end, Masquerain use U-Turn!" Pete struggled to move out of the way but the web had him caught. I closed my eyes and waited for the end. However, the attack did not come. I opened my eyes and saw Masquerain, hovering there but not moving, finally succumbing to paralysis and being unable to move.

It was then I finally decided it was worth a shot. A non-moving target. "Pete, use Volt Tackle!" As Pete covered himself in electricity he escaped the web and charged forward, with every step the electricity surrounding him burning through any web on the floor that would slow down the charge. I watched closely, hoping that this would be the moment we finally completed the move. Masquerain shook off the paralysis and Bugsy was about to call for either a dodge or a move to counter us, but by that time, Pete was inches away and slammed straight into it with a huge blast. Both Pokémon were blown back, Masquerain by the attack and Pete by the impact coupled with the move's recoil and a large cloud covered the aftermath of the attack. As the cloud slowly cleared, my eyes darted around to see the final outcome. The first to appear was Masquerain, although it was on the ground clearly finally out for the count. The only last question was whether Pete was still up or if it was a double knockout. As the last of smoke cleared, I saw Pete, who, while struggling and a bit wobbly, was still standing with small sparks appearing around his cheeks, ready if something else was to come.

"We won," I said softly, still in disbelief. "We won," I said a bit louder. I started walking over to Pete and he began to scurry over to me before we both got stuck on the web somewhere and tripped, both laughing and cheering over our victory. "WE WON!'

Bugsy sighed and returned his Masquerain. He smiled and looked over the two of us as we tried to free ourselves from the web, "Well, I believe congratulations are in order." He looked at us still struggling with the web, "Let me help out with that." He pulled out a Pokéball and sent out his Scizor who in seconds cut up all the web that was stuck to us and even the web left on the field itself. Now that's fast. Glad we didn't have to face that thing. "Congratulations," Bugsy held out his hand for a handshake, that I promptly took. "You've won at the Azalea Gym." After that, things played out nearly identically as back at the Violet Gym: I got the badge, this time the Hive Badge, my Trainer Card got a stamp, and I got my picture taken for tonight's episode of Trainer's Center. I used the same pose as before, one fist in the sky, looking straight forward.

"Hey, that's the same pose as before," Gold said noticing, "you trying to establish a brand or something?" I shrugged and played it off as just some sort of tradition I was thinking of doing. After finishing we went straight to the Pokémon Center, as Arie and Pete definitely deserved a nice rest.

As we waited for Arie and Pete to fully heal, Gold and I got some food at the Pokémon Center. "So, I guess congratulations are in order," Gold said smiling.

"Yeah?" I said a bit confused. Usually, congratulations come right after said victory, not about an hour later.

Gold chuckled a bit, "Not about the Gym Battle, well congrats on that too," he said, covering his bases. "I meant that you finally mastered Volt Tackle!"

"Oh yeah," I said, thinking back to the end of the battle. I pondered over it some more, "I wonder about that."

"It looked pretty good to me," Gold said, thinking back himself. "Officer Doom and Gloom said it was because Pete kept hesitating before the final blow due to getting scared by a tough opponent. I think a Gym Leader's final Pokémon definitely counts as a tough opponent."

"The only reason I tried it was because Masquerain was stuck in place due to paralysis," I said. "Kinda like our practice on rocks. Besides it was only that one time." I thought about it before continuing, "I think we'll need to test it a few more times, especially against a few moving opponents before I can truly call it complete. It is an ultimate move, I don't want to underestimate the difficultly of mastering the move."

"I guess that makes sense," Gold shrugged.

"Besides, until it becomes like Pibu's Super Rising Thunder, that's when I can truly call it complete." I grinned, "Of course, a name change will definitely be in order." We both laughed for a bit as I eventually turned my gaze to the window of the Pokémon Center. It seemed like it already was starting to get dark "So, I guess we head to Goldenrod first thing in the morning, right?"

"Yeah, about that," Gold said, not looking me in the eye. "I kinda told my aunt and uncle that we'd be out of their hair today, since I thought we'd be able to do the Gym Battle earlier. So, we kinda gotta leave and make it to Goldenrod by tonight."

"So, you want us to go through the entirety of Ilex Forest, in the dark?" Now, I'm not afraid of the dark, but throughout all the times I've been tossed into Ilex Forest, the one thing that I was thankful for was the fact that I could at least see where I was going, the sunlight not being fully blocked out by the trees. While this time I wasn't going with the intent to piss off all the Bug Pokémon, there's always a chance that some of them might remember me and decide that when it gets dark, it'll be the perfect time to get their revenge.

"Don't worry," Gold waved it off, "You remember the shrine, right?" I nodded. "Well, that's already the halfway point. If we just follow the path we'll be through in no time. The chances of any other Trainers in Ilex this late is between slim and none, and the Route in front of Goldenrod is short and peaceful. Besides, I live in Goldenrod so we won't need to crash in the middle of a Route or at the Pokémon Center."

"Okay," I said, still not sure about all this. I looked outside again. It was only starting to get dark, so I guess if we leave soon and really rush, we should get there before it got really dark. "As long as you're sure we can get there not too late."

"No problem," Gold said, "Have I ever steered you wrong?"

"Well-"

"Don't answer that."

Within a couple minutes of that revelation, Pete and Arie came back, fully restored. I decided to now celebrate the Gym Badge with both of them for a couple minutes since both were far too tired right after the Gym Battle. Part of the reason I was so against having to go at night was so Pete and Arie could just relax after the battle against Bugsy. I'm hoping Gold is right in the fact that we can make it through quick, and hopefully without any battles. After making sure everyone was alright, we headed out of Azalea and into Ilex Forest for hopefully, the last time.

Thankfully, the Forest was first, so we had the last bits of sunlight flickering through the tops of the trees, helping us make it through without any worries. I stuck close to Gold, and made sure we followed the provided path, hoping the entire way, none of the bugs from before wanted a round 2. Or 3. Or 4. Or, well, you get the picture. When I saw the gate to the forest's exit, I dashed straight towards it. When we reached Route 34, it was dark enough to be considered night, though it was hard to believe based on the glow from Goldenrod I could see in the distance. However, like Ilex Forest, it was also mostly empty. Gold told me that most of the Trainers that usually hang around here lived in Goldenrod, so if I truly wanted to come back when it was active, I could do so tomorrow. Gold got stopped by a couple of cops who were a bit jittery but before long, we were in Goldenrod City.

My Arceus, was it something else. I was already amazed when I saw Violet City that first day, but that was nothing compared to the bright lights of Goldenrod. Based on how many people there were and how they acted, no one would have guessed it was as late as it was. People who probably just left the office. A group going down an alley either to find a secret restaurant or club. A couple just leaving dinner. People everywhere in any direction, all doing something as if it were the middle of the day. "Speechless, huh?" Gold asked, pulling me out of my thoughts grinning widely. "Y'know, most people come to Goldenrod during the day, and while it's a really nice city and all, nothing compares to the way the city lights up at night." He looked around as I followed closely behind to not get lost. "The city's massive with a great nightlife scene," he looked back at me, "you're probably a bit young for some of that, but there's enough stuff for people your age as well. Besides, there's a whole lot to do around here as well. You've already seen Route 34, of course in the City there's the Gym, and past the city there are a couple Routes with the famous National Park in the middle, and the Pokéathlon Dome west of that. All of this, not even mentioning that both Violet and Ecruteak and practically right next door so we're never too far from a city should we ever need anything. All of that and I'm not even scratching the surface of what Goldenrod City itself has to offer!" It was really cool seeing how jazzed he was talking about this city, what it offered and what there was to do. It was almost like he was the spokesperson for Goldenrod with the way he said stuff. "People like to hype up Ecruteak since it's the true center of Johto with its "culture" and "history," Gold said, putting air quotes around those last couple words. "Screw that," he stopped and turned around to me, raising his hands up high "Welcome to the true heart of Johto." He paused as I looked around, still in awe at the massive size of well, everything. He turned and kept walking through the streets, pausing every so often to wait for me as I often paused, looking at the sights. Before long, he stopped in front of a huge building. "Well, here we are," he said walking in.

"You live here?" I asked incredulously. After staying at his relative's place, crashing at the Pokémon Center, and even sleeping in the middle of a route, I thought Gold was broke. Based on that, I was imagining some small building on the outskirts of town or something hidden away in an alley but this was smackdab right in middle of the city. He led me to an elevator and we went right up several stories. Based on the elevator, the only floors above us were the penthouse suites I've seen in movies and such. "Kick back and relax, Quartz, for the next leg of the journey, this'll be our base of operations. Me cazas et sooz cazas."

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"I think it means 'my home is your home,' not entirely sure," he shrugged, "I heard it on one of Super Serious Gal's Paldean soap operas." He stopped in front of a room with a small plant outside. "Check this out," he pulled the plant out of the pot and pulled out a key. "Pretty neat, right?" I nodded slowly, not wanting to tell him how generic of a place his secret spot was. He put in the key and started to turn it, he face growing serious all of a sudden. "Door's already unlocked, someone must have forced their way in," he whispered. He reached for a Pokéball on his belt, "Stand back, Quartz. This might get serious." He kicked the door open and sent out Exbo, ready to take on whoever was in his apartment.

"Hey Gold." I looked in the direction this new voice came from. Sitting down on Gold's couch was a man, around the same age as Gold, with red hair, tied into a high ponytail. His eyes were glued to the TV, not even turning to the two people who just entered. I looked over to Gold and Exbo, who just stood there, mouths dropped, still in the pose when they entered, as if they were ready for battle.

Gold blinked a few times before snapping to reality, "SILVER? How did-"

"Not now," the man said, still focused on the TV, "wait for a commercial."

Gold sighed and returned Exbo. He turned to me, "I guess this is a good as time as any. You probably already know, but this is Silver." I looked over to the couch again, seeing the DexHolder still glued to the TV. Now under normal circumstances, I'd be fanboying over meeting yet another member of the DexHolders, but seeing him just lying on the couch kinda messed my initial reaction. As Gold put his bag down and sat down at a nearby couch, I decided to look around and get a good look at Gold's apartment. It was pretty standard, all things considered. In the main entrance there was a living room and a small kitchen. There was a hall past the kitchen that I guess led to a bedroom and bathroom. The most noticeable part of the apartment was the living room that had 3 couches, one big one in the middle and two smaller ones on the sides, all around a 60 inch TV with a small coffee table in the middle. Considering Gold lived here, it was a lot neater than I expected. I looked over at the TV, which was finally going over to commercial. Gold looked over to his friend, "Now?"

"Now," Silver responded heading over to the kitchen. He opened one of several boxes there and pulled out a slice of pizza. "By the way, I got some pizza. Feel free to take some-" he looked at me, "Quartz, right?"

"Uh, yeah," I said, "T-thanks, Silver-san." He nodded and started to head back over to the main couch. I walked over to get a slice as Silver sat back down.

Gold went and grabbed a slice himself before sitting back down. "Alright, let's not skip over the main point," Gold said looking at Silver, "First off, how did you get in my house?"

Silver raised an eyebrow, "Gold, I escaped an interregional kidnapping when I was like 2 years old, you think I can't figure out how to get into a simple Goldenrod apartment?" Gold raised an eyebrow back. "I asked Crystal for her key and made a copy."

Gold started muttering something about Crystal giving Silver a key before returning to questioning, "Whatever. The real question is, why are you here?"

"The Pro-Team Omega marathon is on, and my apartment doesn't get cable."

"So, you decided to come here to watch it?"

"I used to go to Nee-san's, but ever since she moved in with Green-san, that stopped being an option." Silver said. "Besides, here is closer, and your TV is a lot better than hers."

Gold got up to grab himself a slice of pizza, "So, how long has this been going on?"

"I don't know, maybe a couple months?" Gold's mouth fell open again, this time the pizza falling from it onto the floor. "I'm not cleaning that."

"A couple months?" Gold exclaimed as he cleaned up the fallen pizza slice. "Blue-san only moved not even a week ago! Why-" A knock on the door interrupted his questioning, and Gold went over to check on it. He opened the door and upon seeing who was there, immediately broke into a cold sweat. "Oh hi! Long time no see…"

"So, you're finally back, eh Gold?" an old lady at the front door asked. "So, where's my rent?" Ah, the landlady.

"Oh yeah, about that…" Gold said, trying to not look her in the eye. "Ya see, funny story about that-"

"I don't want to hear it," she responded, quite annoyed. "Listen, I got a list almost a mile long people that'll want an apartment here, so either you get me the rent or you find a new place to live."

Gold tried to continue to negotiate with her as Silver sighed, got up and walked over. He pulled out his wallet and flipped through a couple bills pulling out a few before handing them to the lady, "This should suffice for at least a couple months." He then turned back to the TV which was finally returning from commercial. The lady recounted the money before giving Gold a weird look and leaving.

"So," Gold began, "like I said Silver, Me cazas et sooz cazas."

"It's 'mi casa es su casa," Silver corrected, pausing the TV, figuring that he wasn't going to get to watch uninterrupted for a while.

I finally decided to make my way over to the couches as well, "Wait a minute," I said, running back the last couple minutes. "How did you have so much cash?" If I wasn't mistaken, on TV, they said Silver was a normal Trainer, like Gold or I. Add in his obvious fame, as a DexHolder and all, then he shouldn't be getting battles all the time, therefore no real flux of income, thus making his abundance of cash illogical.

"I'm a professional Pokémon Trainer," Silver said. What does that mean? He saw my confused face and decided to elaborate, "I take jobs from people that usually require someone who is proficient with Pokémon. I have a website, where people request my services and I help them out." He handed me his PokéGear, already on said website's homepage. "All kinds of jobs come in. You need someone to catch something for your kid, you call me. Need some pest control, I'm your guy. Want some help protecting something or someone from Pokémon be it wild or trained? That's where I come in. Over time, after adding in my notoriety as a DexHolder, and bigger jobs that were higher paying came in. A lot of my recent clients ask for jobs that require a higher level Trainer than that of my competitors. Bodyguarding for one. I've also been hired by Interpol a couple times, don't ask about them, most those jobs were classified. As I'm sure you're aware, just being a Trainer doesn't really pay enough, unless you're either really high ranked or work as a Gym Leader or something, so most of us need to supplement with something else."

"Speaking of which," Gold said, "this might be early, but meet the next Mahogany Gym Leader, and who will probably be the final Gym Leader I'll have you face before the League next year."

"Really?" I was kind of shocked. Based on what Silver told me, he shouldn't have a reason to become a Gym Leader, his business obviously paying him more than enough as is. While it's not the first instance of a DexHolder becoming a Gym Leader, the Viridian Gym having Green as its Leader was common knowledge, it's still not really that common. Not to mention it was Mahogany's Gym, the one most people either thought was closed all these years or chose to ignore. Even on TV, they usually skip over it, pretending it doesn't exist.

"Yep," Silver said, fiddling with the remote in his hand. "Which now that I remember, I have to stop by the Pokémon Association to hand in my registration along with my qualifications." He put the remote down and stood up, "Might as well do it now. Be back in a few." He walked to the door, picked up a bag and before leaving turning back, picking up the remote and setting it to record, "I'll finish it when I get back." Then, he promptly left.

'Definitely a weird way to meet one of the DexHolders,' I thought to myself. While hanging around Gold made it more likely I'd run into them, I figure it'd be more like before, with Gold inviting them as TA's, much like he did with Red and Yellow. I went to grab another slice of pizza before turning to ask Gold, "Why didn't you try something like Silver" I asked, remembering our current monetary problem, "Surely, you could do something similar?"

"Yeah, about that," Gold said, scratching the back of his head, "Y'know how the press kinda hates me?" I nodded. Hates might be a bit much, but Gold definitely wasn't their favorite member of the DexHolders for sure. "Yeah, my reputation doesn't exactly market me as someone you count on for help. Of course, it's not my fault that I just happen to be around when things go bad, and the region needs saving." He shrugged and laid back on the couch he was on. "What can I say, being the hero of Johto is a thankless job." I decided against reminding him that Crystal and Silver were also considered heroes of Johto, yet they still managed to hold down stable jobs.

I looked at the TV, still playing the same show, "So, Pro-Team Omega?" I'm not throwing any shade at the show, I loved it when I was younger. I used to watch it almost every day. However, I kinda got bored after the 3rd or 4th iteration. I mean, if an episode happens to be on, I might tune in, but it was no longer something I actively looked forward to anymore.

"Silver kinda got hooked ever since its inception," Gold said, laughing. "When he first read the initial pitch, he started camping outside my house waiting for the premiere. It got to the point that my mom decided to let him to stay over since our neighbors were starting to worry. Been a 'ride or die' kind a fan ever since." Gold checked his PokéGear, "Well, it's getting kind of late. I'm gonna turn in. You can use the couch." He pointed over to a closet, "Extra blankets are in there. You might have to share with Silver, depending on when he comes back and how late he stays, so I'll let you two figure that out yourselves." His PokéGear buzzed, "Oh, that's him. Oh, never mind then,"

He showed me the text that read, 'Heading home for the night, see you later. Make sure it records everything.'

"So, I guess that takes care of everything," Gold said. "Good work today, I'll see you in the morning," he yawned and headed off to his room. I checked my own PokéGear, it wasn't as late as I was expecting, just around half past 10, so I figured I'd watch a little TV before going to sleep myself.

---

Pokémon Association HQ-Goldenrod City-10:35 PM

Normal POV

Silver's meeting was rather quick, just dropping off some papers. He had an interview the next day, so he was planning to spend the night at Gold's place. Considering he just bailed him out of rent for at least the next couple months, it was the very least he could do. As he turned the corner to the street where Gold's apartment was, he got a call on his PokéGear. He picked it up and smiled as he saw who was calling. "Hey, what's up? No, I'm not busy. Goldenrod. All right, I'll meet you outside of work, okay? See you then." He turned around and walked away, shooting Gold a quick text to let him know he wasn't staying over. Mahogany wasn't too far away, he could wake up early enough to fly back to Goldenrod before his interview. He smiled and made his way over to Goldenrod Radio.

---

Shadow Sneak Bar-Goldenrod City-12:00 AM

Shadow Sneak Bar, like its name suggested, was a bar hidden within the shadowy parts of the alleyways of Goldenrod. It was so hidden that if you weren't aware of its existence, you probably wouldn't even know it was a bar. However, it was a pretty popular place nonetheless, mostly thanks to word of mouth. The owner, Raido, was out in the back, having a cigarette break before the midnight shift began. Sure, it was the time where his bar usually made the most money, but it also included the most troubling of clients. He took one final drag before taking a big sigh and heading back in. As he got behind the counter, he got called by one of his employees. He was motioned over to one customer at the very end of the bar with a single glass who asked for him. He couldn't see who is was, as the man's face was covered by a hooded trench coat. Now this wasn't unusual for him, as his bar was frequented by quite a few ex-criminals who tend to hide their faces. If the news wouldn't get the place shut down, he would even admit that quite of few of his patrons weren't even ex-cons but active criminals. He was aware that several members of evil organizations occasionally frequented the bar, but in Goldenrod, a sale is a sale, and sometimes, to stay afloat among all the other establishments in the city, you take whoever you can get.

He walked over, "Hello, sir, how can I-," his demeanor immediately dampening upon recognizing the face under the hood, "Ah shit, why do you keep coming back? You're bad for business!"

"I'm guessing you didn't miss me," hooded man said, half joking.

"Yeah, cause I love having a member of the International Police constantly coming back to scare off my clientele," Raido said, getting close to whisper. This Interpol member, Garnet, had a habit of coming to his bar, for several reasons, most of which having to do with finding certain felons either on the run, or whom had connections to larger offenders.

"Don't forget," Garnet said threateningly, "I have enough evidence to both shut this place down and throw you in jail that I can use anytime I want."

"I know," Raido said rolling his eyes, "You tell me this every time you come." Raido was one of the few people who didn't feel any fear when dealing with Garnet. They weren't friends, no far from it, but he had run ins with him often enough that he could afford to make sarcastic remarks without any serious repercussions. Also, while Garnet had a lot of leverage over him, he also had, little, as was, but enough, dirt on Garnet that he always kept in his back pocket, should the need ever present itself. "So, who do I have to warn about your presence now?"

"The Rocket Elite Trio," Garnet said. "I managed to dig some info saying that at least one of them are supposed to have a rendezvous with someone here. As for who and when, I can only guess."

"Ken, Al, and Harry," Raido said, thinking. "Yeah, I've seen them before. Been a while since, though." He paused, "Whatever you do, don't kill them. They're some of my best customers."

"I won't promise anything," Garnet said, slowly drinking out of his glass. "From my experience, they're not all too dangerous, but they tend to be very close to Giovanni, either being a part of or at least informed of his whereabouts and schemes."

"Well," Raido sighed, "at the very least, try not to cause a scene here. Last time, it took almost an entire quarter to recover after the stunt you pulled." Between the damage caused in the ensuing conflict and the number of customers who stopped returning, be it for a short while or indefinitely, his bar suffered major losses the last time Garnet confronted a suspect. When Garnet gave him the smallest of nods, he counted it as enough of a win to head back.

"Before you go," Garnet stopped him, "you got any work for me?"

Raido looked back at him and raised an eyebrow, "You gonna actually take any of them this time?" He fished out a stack of papers from his back pocket and handed it to him. There were lots of people who gave odd jobs to him in hopes that someone would take the jobs. Most of the jobs were from people who didn't have anywhere else to turn, usually in fear of getting in trouble themselves, although there were a few jobs that asked for more drastic actions to be taken. These jobs ranged from simply tracking someone down to something akin to mercenary work. Garnet came from time to time and would take a job or two. However, whether the job ended up completed was always anyone's guess. If Garnet deemed the job unjust or if the client was someone affiliated with a criminal syndicate, odds were that not only would your job go uncompleted, but he might actually go after you instead. Raido wasn't sure of many of these claims, but a couple regulars have disappeared over the past after Garnet took one of their jobs. Despite all that, there was one thing that he was sure of, if Garnet took the job, it was as good as done. To this day, he has a 100% guarantee success rate. He was without doubt the best of the best. "So, what's going on, Interpol not paying you enough?" Raido asked as Garnet shuffled through the offers.

"You could say that," Garnet mumbled to himself as he continued going through the list. Raido gave a weak smile. He didn't know the details, but he knew there was something up with Garnet's position with the International Police. Sure, he appeared and did the duties of any normal officer, but there was always an air of all kinds of rules being bent or even broken as he carried out his duties.

"These seem harmless enough," Garnet said, taking several sheets from the pile before returning the rest to Raido. He finished his drink before getting up, "Thanks. I don't think I need to tell you, but I'll be in touch."

"Great," Raido sarcastically remarked as Garnet made his way out of the bar. He watched as the oddest regular his bar could possibly have exited out the door. 'Don't do anything stupid,' he thought to himself before turning over to another customer as the night shift began.

---

And that is Chapter 7. Anyone still reading? I know it's been several years since my last update, so if anyone's keeping up, I appreciate it. Again, I got to thank anyone who reads and reviews, it's a great help.

So, over the years there've been lots of news in PokéSpe since my last update. B2W2 & XY finished, SM/USUM came and went, SWSH just finished and SV is just starting.

Just letting you know that despite all the new characters that have been introduced, the only one that'll probably make their way into this story is Blake, since he is an Interpol Member and possibly Whitley as something of a package deal. Considering outside of couple cameos that these newer arcs are pretty far removed from the others makes it harder to try to introduce any of the newer characters, so it'll stay as it is.

Anyway, this chapter might seem a bit faster paced than before and that's by design and probably going to be closer to the norm from before. Considering the plot leads into the League and the next League is in July the year after the current year of the story, if I kept it at the pace I had before, this would possibly takes hundreds of chapters.

Besides, as Zircon/Quartz has reached the location of his 3rd Gym, a lot of the early steps and groundwork have finally finished being laid out. Just like in the games, once you get to Goldenrod, most of Johto is only a town or two away, so I'll probably spend a bit more time between Gyms. The first two were mainly as fast as they were as Violet was the beginning and Azalea, like in the games is just a small pit stop before really getting into mainland Johto. So, while I'll try to keep the same feeling as earlier, I might have more sections where days or even weeks in Zircon's journey might be glossed over when things are uneventful.

So before I give the Trainer Card, which I'm still trying to give at the end of every chapter, I'm just want to reiterate that I'm eternally grateful for anyone who still bears with my inconsistency and tunes in every time I'm able to give an update. Thanks!

~MateiFire

Trainer Card

Name: Garnet Fukushi

Alias: ?

Nicknames: ?

Gender: Male

Birthplace: Saffron City

Birthday: January 21st

Age as of Chapter 7: 21

Blood Type: ?

Badges/Achievements: ?

Team:

Kenshi (Gallade)

Ryujin (Salamence)

Cerberus (Houndoom)

Zeta (Porygon-Z)

?

?