Excalibur – Charcadet (f)
Cú – Hisuian Growlithe (m)
Fatalis – Charmeleon (m)
Cookie – Butterfree (f)

Chapter 18:

After Arthur had finished his gym battle, received a TM from Flint, and got congratulated by his friends and those who watched his fight, their group grabbed a quick lunch. He and Cissy talked animatedly about how he managed to work around his disadvantages and his strategies, to which James chimed in as he was the one giving Arthur the idea on how to deal with an Onix.

Afterwards they went straight back to the gym for Cissy's challenge, although calling it a challenge was generous. Due to her mono-Water team, and the fact that all pokemon used for both their challenges were Rock and Ground types, she didn't struggle much. There was a close call against Flint's Rhyhorn after it'd managed to knock out Cissy's Psyduck, but her winning despite that didn't surprise anyone.

That didn't change the fact they're all in a mood for celebrations, though. And while Cissy did a good job holding herself back from spending the money she'd earned from the gym so she could go on a shopping spree in Cerulean, Arthur didn't. He'd grabbed himself a couple of portable berry-pots, along with everything he'd need to grow fresh berries while travelling.

With how much training he'd put his team under he saw it as favorable over the chemically made potions. Berries served as a great reward too. He might pick up a book or two on how to make proper treats out of them when they reached Cerulean or Celadon.

Since he's already shopping, he stocked up on food as well. They'd be out in the wilds for about a week before they reached Cerulean, after all. And because they'd travel around Mt. Moon rather than through or over it, they'd need a lot less gear too. With the time and space they'd have by taking this route, he'd hopefully have enough time to train enough to handily win against the Cerulean Gym Leaders.

Things would get exponentially easier after beating the Water-type specialists, with the only clear disadvantage he'd have to deal with being against Giovanni himself. Not that he expected Blaine to go easy on him, or that fighting against whoever ran the Saffron Gym when he got there, but it'd be on a more even field.

He could make things easier for himself by catching a Grass or Electric type, but from what he knew the Grass type he wanted couldn't be found anywhere around Cerulean City. And unless things changed, the Power Plant in the east, along with its surrounding areas filled with Electric types as closed off. They're apparently dealing with some issues, thus prohibiting outsiders from entering. Maybe he should've looked for a Pikachu after all …

With his shopping done he returned to their room at the pokecenter, where he quickly found himself alone. A note left by Jessie told him they're out to do some last-minute sight-seeing, since they'd leave the city the next day. He was surprised by that but didn't think much of it, instead using the free time he had until their party in the afternoon to do something he hoped he was prepared for.

Networking and politics.


The building Arthur found himself in front of left much to be desired. It shared the earthen tones many buildings in Pewter had, but looked in dire need of renovations. Cracks in its walls and windows here and there, paint that shed itself off it, and fences that would probably fly away with a strong enough breeze. Such was the state of the Pewter City Orphanage, and Arthur hated it.

Whether that was of his own situation, given that he never met the parents he had in this world, or the sheer thought of a place like this being necessary to begin with, he didn't know. He knew that many lives were lost during the war between Kanto and Johto, but there were equally as much if not more children simply abandoned by their parents. At least that's what the residents he'd talked with to find his way here said. Given that he knew what Flint could do in the future, he wasn't surprised, but that didn't make him dislike it any less.

With Pewter being such an important part of Kanto's economy and resource gathering, he'd expected more than the rundown building he found. His plan was simple; get "sponsored" by the orphanage, and any he'd find on his journey going forward, to both raise awareness and the demand for things to change. Why were there several luxurious and massive properties in one part of the city, while a property important to the next generation was left waiting to crumble in on itself?

Politics and greed, obviously, but he'd expected things to be better in this world. With their insane technology, access to pretty much magical beings, and a society that evolved to help one another, it shouldn't be that hard. With so little help he wouldn't be surprised if they'd get easily get roped into Team Rocket.

That'd have to change, as many things did, and it'd be the first point on his agenda to improve things in Kanto. The matron running the orphanage was quick to welcome him in, telling him that they rarely had visitors, much less one the children were excited to see.

The inside of the building didn't look any better than the outside, but the matron assured him that none of the kids had to hunger and there were enough beds for everyone. That sounded like the absolute least, and there wasn't much for them to do either. There were only so many toys, some of the books looked old enough to be from before the war, and the social workers helping out didn't have the time or qualifications to educate the children on any more than the basics.

After he's given a tour around, they went out the back into the garden were things looked a bit better. They had their own field and trees to grow crops, something the children seemed to be excited to help out with, along with a small pond were wild pokemon would sometimes rest nearby. He talked with some of the orphans that he'd seen or fought at the tournament that decided to approach him and gave them some pointers to improve on what he'd seen from them. Anything to make a difference; they had it hard enough already.

When that was done, he released his pokemon to the growing crowd of children, telling them to have fun. Cú, his trusty fire puppy, ran off immediately, with a large group running after him, laughing and smiling. Fatalis, being the proud and tall Charmeleon he now was, basked in the attention he got from the older kids and didn't waste any time to show off. What was left of the girls followed Cookie on her way to the field and trees, chattering animatedly about how pretty her wings were. Even his starter, the ever-stoic Charcadet Excalibur, gave the children some attention. Although she stayed close to him while she ran the sporty boys through some exercises.

With the children occupied, Arthur turned to the matron, who looked a bit anxious. Probably because of all the Fire types. "No need to worry, my pokemon are child-safe."

"My apologies, it's just that most of our children have little chance to interact and play with pokemon. Especially ones that could burn down the whole building." She replied, her voice as weary as she looked.

"Which is something I'd like to change." Arthur said, cutting right to the chase. "While not as prevalent as here, there were a few children on Cinnabar with nothing to do as well. Not that it's your fault, it's pretty obvious to me that you lack a lot of support."

She looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. "And how do you intend to do that, if I may ask? As far as I know, while you're a trainer with some big named sponsors, you've just started your journey, didn't you? I doubt you have the time and money to help us without hindering yourself."

"That's true." He nodded. "But what I do have is connections." He pointed towards Cú, who'd finally stopped running and was quickly swarmed by children wanting to pet him. "Since we're breeding Growlithe on Cinnabar, I came up with the idea of a petting zoo and chances to take young Growlithe on a walk. Both to make them even more used to humans than they already are, and to give people, most importantly children, a chance to interact with them. It shouldn't be too hard to get Gym Leader Blaine to organize someone and send some over from time to time."

The matron's eyes widened, but before she could say anything, he continued. "Not only would both children and pokemon benefit from this, our Growlithe get basic training as well. You know, so they can be used in the police force. They'd make sure the children are safe."

"That'd be wonderful!" The matron finally said, looking at how happy the children were interacting with the different pokemon around. "But that sounds like a lot of expenditures from you, and I don't know anything I could give you in return."

"No need to worry about that." Arthur reassured her. "All I want from you in return is the chance to represent you and the orphanage when I continue my journey." While not his intention, they'd get more attention to their Growlithe breeding like that as well, likely pulling in more clients as a result. They might even get a new market of renting out Growlithe and other pokemon for entertainment purposes. But that was secondary; he wanted to improve their situation, not make money from them.

She shook her head and let out a hopeful chuckle. "If you're sure about that I have no reason to decline. If you want, I can get you something to attach to your jacket with our orphanage's logo on it."

"That'd be perfect." Arthur smiled; happy she'd agreed. "I'll talk with Blaine and Flint to make arrangements and if you don't hear anything about this in let's say a week, call me and I'll handle it."

While she smiled herself, there was a glint in the matron's eyes when he said Flint's name. "You think our Gym Leader will care about the children here if he struggles caring for his own? That he won't chase after his deadbeat wife and leave his kids to themselves?"

He had to hide a wince at that. "I understand where you're coming from, but I'm sure he won't repeat his wife's actions. Especially once we set this up. You might have to deal with his kids coming over to enjoy the Growlithe as well, though I plan to take some weight of his shoulders too."

She cackled. "Quite the high hopes you have, my boy. Alright, I'll leave this to you."

"You can count on me." He replied with a wide smile as they shook hands. "I'll become Champion to make things better, after all."


When they all met up in the evening, Arthur couldn't help but notice that Jessie and James appeared to be rather satisfied with themselves. It was only natural that Cissy was, given that she'd gotten her first badge. Just like it was expected of him, especially after he'd set up his "sponsorship" with the orphanage and dealt with everything else by calling Blaine and Flint. But those two? Something felt off.

The small dinner they chose for the evening was more modern and colorful than its surroundings. Bright greens and blues, white tiles, and smooth open spaces with lots of plants and flowers. Perfect for hangouts between friends, families, and trainers, of course. They even had a full second menu for pokemon, the first Arthur had seen. And while not every kind of pokemon could be let out in here – or be allowed to run free for that matter – the smaller and safer ones fine. Though Meowth was the only pokemon with them, as they wanted to reward their teams in other ways.

Jessie, oblivious to him trying to find out what got her so happy, raised her non-alcoholic beverage. The way she acted it might as well have been alcohol though. "Three cheers for Arty and Cissy, blasting through their first gym!"

James and Meowth followed suit, though less "drunk" and more energetic. "Hip, hip, hurray!"

Arthur didn't know when exactly it happened, but Cissy had found out about Meowth being able to talk. Despite the cat pokemon's fears, she was pretty chill about it. The only thing stopping her from asking more questions about it right now was the attention they both got. Not only from their friends, but also other visitors attracted to the noise.

Luckily, none of them seemed annoyed by them, some smiling or even cheering in as well. Cissy started to fidget as she looked exceedingly self-conscious, causing Arthur to give her some space by taking the spotlight.

He stood up and raised his drink. "To the first badge and our first big win of many!"

"Hip, hip, hurray!"

Seemingly embolden by him, Cissy rose next to him. "And to show not just Kanto, but all of Indigo that we're here and we'll kick butt!"

"Hip, hip, hurray!"

They clanked together their glasses and laughed, enjoying the jolly atmosphere as they celebrated. It didn't take long for Jessy to put her head on the table due to a self-inflicted food coma, nor for James and Meowth to tune out once the topic shifted to pokemon training. Cissy talked about all the different kinds of Water types she knew about and which she'd try and catch herself, if she got the chance.

Arthur threw in some ideas himself, but made his opinion on when to get a Gyarados clear; not until she had lots of money and a pokemon that can take it down one-on-one. He played with idea of getting one himself – it's a Gyarados after all –, but he also wanted his team to differentiate itself enough from Lance. They already both got a Charizard and perhaps he might try for a Dragonite, but he wasn't sure about that. He knew where to get them, but it'd also be a bit weird to him.

No, not for his initial run for the Champion title. Perhaps in the future, though. He'd have to look out on what to catch from now on out anyways. While catching and training Cookie was going well for now, he didn't know for how long that'd continue. He wanted to diversify his team at least a little bit, but focus on a hard offense. Why? So, he could go head-to-head with Lance and his dragons – or Flying types. The thought of that sounded contra productive to him at first, but it'd make both his pokemon's power and his skill clear.

So, he needed a few different types, preferably species that could learn a lot of coverage moves … a second flyer might be good as well, and at least one that could support the rest of his team. Like with screens and weather; his Fire types would love some Sunny Day and easy-to-use Solar Beams, after all.

Cissy nudged him with a shit-eating grin on her face. "Hey, you can drift off when we're done here!"

"Ah, my bad." He laughed sheepishly.

"That's what we're there for, though I asked our friends here to stop your time if you do that." She laughed. "Gotta know just how long you can drift off like that."

Arthur turned to the others. "Really now?"

James shrugged. "She made a compelling argument."

"Like what? Give you bottlecaps in return?" Arthur crossed his arms.

"I plead the fifth." James replied in a sing-sang voice.

"By the way, I'll stay in Pewter a bit longer." Cissy said. "Daisy should get here in a day or three and I'd rather not go through Mt. Moon by myself."

"Sounds reasonable. I wonder how many pokemon she got with her by now …" Arthur mused, resting his head on his hand.

"Knowing her? Everything from Pallet to here." Cissy joked. "Not like she needs to hold back – nor do we, actually."

"True, but she already knows that she wants to follow in her grandpa's footsteps as a researcher and professor." Arthur argued. "Not that'll stop her from fighting at the Indigo League Tournament at the end of the year, but she can afford splitting her attention – unlike us."

Cissy let out a drawn-out "Yeah …", staring at the empty glass in front of her for a few moments. Then, she looked at him with a sudden resolution in her eyes that wasn't there before. "Hey, you want to become Champion, right?"

"I will become Champion." Arthur corrected her cheekily.

She rolled her eyes with a playful sigh. "Yeah, yeah. Anyways; you'll need someone to have your back, right?"

At that, he frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, James helps you with all the techy stuff, right? Jessie told me she'll help with your wardrobe and keeping you same from all the fangirls. Meowth is great with his words, and not only that; is a perfect translator too!" Cissy began to explain, counting everyone she mentioned with her fingers.

The first and third he knew, the second wasn't something he'd heard about up until now. A quick glance to the woman in question showed him a smirk and a thumbs-up.

"You obviously have Blaine to fall back to when it comes to your Fire types, in addition to Professor Oak for practically everything. If he has time, that is." She continued. "But you have no one to train with, like someone who does her best to make sure she doesn't lose her advantage on you."

He nodded, that did make sense to him.

"Sooooo, I thought why not take it a step further? If the drawings at the Indigo Plateau don't mess things up, we'll fight in the finals." She stated as if it's as sure as a Slowpoke yawning. "And since you need someone on your level and on your side … I'll become an Elite 4 member!"

Arthur gaped at her like a Magikarp. James and Meowth snickered at him, and while Jessie looked amused as well, she put her hand on his face and closed his mouth. "Arty, you can't stare at a lady like that." She teased with a devious grin.

He's left completely baffled, much to the amusement of the others.

"Bu-, you-, wha?" He shook his head and managed his thoughts. "Are you sure? That's going to be a lot of work. Not to mention the stress, if what Blaine told me about his time as an Elite member is anything to go by."

"Stress schmess." She waved him off. "Of course, I'm sure! I just gotta follow you; what could possibly go wrong?"

There were dozens of answers that came to him, but who was he to push her off her chosen path?

"Alright, I'd be happy to have you."


When they met at the edge of Pewter the next morning, they were showered, fed, well-rested, and ready. Although it took three pairs of hands – and paws – to get Jessie to part from the shower and soft bed. Arthur had picked up a small package before leaving as well, holding a Fire Stone and the notes he'd requested from Blaine. And for some reason there's a lot of hurry in Pewter that morning. He hadn't seen that much police going around before.

Cissy saw them off at the point where the path split between the routes going through and over the mountain, and the one going around it.

"Remember; you're not allowed to lose against any Water specialist other than me, got that?" Cissy reminded him with a grin.

"I think I'll manage."

"Yeah, not like our Art would lose to something simple as type disadvantage." James said. "Say, you're not going to increase our training too, are you?"

Arthur just smiled at him, causing his senior to shiver.

"I feared that."

"Oh, and you won't have to wait for me in Cerulean, by the way." Cissy announced. "But you'll have to wait in Vermillion. I'll need a good fight so I can make sure I'm strong enough for Surge. Erika will be a nightmare, though …"

"Eh, you'll figure something out until then." Arthur reassured as he nudged her shoulder. "Might want to try and get your Squirtle to learn Dig before Surge. I can lend you my notes."

"You're the best!" She jumped him with a hug for a moment. "But no time to dawdle, you should get going."

"You're welcome. Just try not to blow all your money when going shopping with Daisy." He chuckled.

"I'm not that bad with money!"

They shared a laugh before they parted ways. They walked in silence, until Arthur remembered something bothering him last evening.

"Guys, what made you so giddy yesterday?"

Jessie, James, and Meowth shared looks with each other, as if they threw the responsibility of telling him around. It was Jessie who stepped up to it, proudly raising her head and puffing out her chest. "Well, let's just say your tip in the museum will make up for us losing against Cassidy and Wuss."

He frowned, not immediately getting what she meant. Then it hit him.

"… you can't be serious …."