The nurses on duty told me it'd be a couple hours before Machop was back in fightin' shape, so I took the opportunity to head down to the Mart and sell that nugget. With a bit over $5000 added to my trainer account, suddenly I was in a much better position; I decided to buy my pokemon some celebration treats. Machop certainly deserved it, and maybe it'd make Destro warm up to me a bit more. I grabbed Machop's pokeball from the front desk when I returned, and headed up to my room.
A few moments later my pokemon were in front of me, happily (at least in Machop's case; hard to tell with Destro) munching at their pokesnacks. I rubbed a bit of that lotion on Destro's leathery head-crease. He didn't even seem to notice.
I glanced at the clock, just to confirm that, yeah, there was definitely no time to go swimming today. With a sigh, I laid back on the comfy pokecenter bed and began thinking of other things to do. I eventually decided to stop by the gym; while I knew I was nowhere near the level I'd need to be to challenge even its beginner badge teams, if Brock's gym was anything to judge by, it'd be interesting to see it, at least.
The Cerulean gym was gorgeous. From the outside, steadily waving beams flowed up light-blue siding to a dark blue roof, and someone had painted very realistic bubbles and fish along the walls. Inside was initially rather disappointing; a small room greeted you, containing a wide desk, two doors, and several fuzzy aquamarine chairs to one side. After talking to the receptionist, though, and finding out that this was the home of the 'sensational sisters' show, I was able to arrange a tour. Behind those doors, the gym was amazing.
Most of the floor consisted of pools of various sizes with clear, glistening water. Surrounding these pools were wide paths that contained various types of beach-chairs, from typical straight-backed ones to ones that were practically flat and even ones that seemed to be fluffy armchairs covered in a waterproof skin. The place was mostly abandoned, the only exception being that in the far corner pools there were large colorful horned fish. They would occasionally jump and pose. I recognized them as 'goldeen'.
My tour guide wasn't very thorough. She just pointed at the place, explained how the local rangers focused primarily on water pokemon and used the pools to train, and informed me there was a staging room in the very back for 'shows', but that she wouldn't let me see that unless I bought a ticket. I decided against it, and walked out. The place was too flimsy, too wet. I much preferred Pewter's style of strength, stability, and simplicity, or Viridian's sheer grandeur. Cerulean gym seemed less like a gym and more like a strange work of art.
Back on the city streets I wandered until I found a place to grab a bite to eat, and did so, sprinkling a bit more of Liam's powder over it of course. Then I headed back to the pokecenter for training and meditation. If I was to learn to become truly strong one day, I couldn't afford to be a slacker.
As I settled down to sleep that night, I decided that I'd head to the cape first thing in the morning. I'd want at least a few hours in the water before I had to head back to check out that 'orientation'. I wished Destro and Machop a good night, and was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
\-/-\-/-\-/
I reached the bridge nice and early, this time, thankfully, with no trouble. Machop and Destro were still in their balls. I didn't anticipate needing them; surely nothing was going to attack me on a well-traveled bridge or in a popular tourist destination, right?
It was an overcast morning. The cloud cover wasn't particularly dark, though it did serve to mute the otherwise ridiculously bright colors of the city, which made things much easier on my eyes. I was used to Pewter, after all, and it's hardly the most flashy place.
The bridge itself was rather wide, with several lanes for vehicles blocked by large cement barriers and two good-sized pale wooden walkways to either side. A few cars passed me as I walked. I was still getting used to seeing so many of them driving about. Vehicles of any sort were very rare in Pewter, and those I saw tended to be of the all-terrain variety. Even in Viridian the main purpose of the roads seemed to be public transport and moving goods around. Here in Cerulean, however, I'd already seen several shiny personal cars, which people were using to just cruise around. It must be nice to be rich.
It was a pleasant walk. To my right the ocean stretched, seemingly forever. To my left I could see the massive Mt. Moon, as well as several smaller peaks and foothills. Far ahead was the cape, at the end of the bridge. If I focused I could make out a few of the resort buildings just inland from the white sandy beaches, as well as the gently sloping land beyond. It took a couple of hours, and a stop at one of the thankfully regular public restrooms, but I made it to the other side okay.
The beach started almost immediately where the bridge ended. Though I hadn't seen anyone else walking, my paranoia compelled me to stroll a ways down the shoreline before jumping in the water; I wasn't going to risk someone nabbing all of my travel supplies, as well as my pokedex (which I assumed wasn't waterproof) and my pokemon (who I had grown quite attached to). When I'd found an area out of sight of the resort buildings, I dropped my things in the shade of a nearby tree, stripped down to a pair of old shorts, and began to wade out into the sea.
The water was cool, but not overly so. The sun had come out during my bridge walk and heated things up so it was rather refreshing. I stood and let the waves wash over me, enjoying the feeling, then dove down and swam a bit.
To my amazement, I could actually see things underwater if I opened my eyes; blurry, but still, much better than the opaque silt-heavy ponds and lakes surrounding Pewter. The burn of the salt wasn't even that bad. Drifting through the sea there, suspended above the sand, I almost felt like I was flying.
After a couple hours of swimming the novelty wore off somewhat. I felt like messing around in the ocean might be more fun with others. Unfortunately for me, my stretch of the beach was still empty, and my pokemon were hardly viable candidates. Geodude and water don't mix, and machop are notoriously poor swimmers due to their very dense, heavy muscle. They tend to just sink. I got out and started towards my things, regretting that I'd forgotten to get a towel; I'd have to air-dry before I put my clothes back on. Which, I realized, was an excellent opportunity for some exercise. A quick jog and two red flashes later, Machop and Destro were on the sand in front of me. Machop greeted me with a wide grin. Destro just grunted, and eyed the water warily.
"Alright, guys!" I said, smiling back at Machop. "We'll be doing some training here today. Machop, you and I are going to do some calisthenics and sprints across the sand. Destro…" I thought back to what I'd read on training geodudes. There weren't any large rocks around to practice throwing, not that I could see, anyways, and Destro was far too weak to spar with Machop, especially considering how small he was. "Destro, chow down on some dirt and practice throwing it around, build your endurance. Okay?"
Destro just turned and started towards the trees. I hoped he'd understood, but figured I'd soon find out one way or the other. I turned to Machop. He nodded.
It didn't take very long to dry off.
\-/-\-/-\-/
Machop and I stood together, surveying the damage we'd done.
The once pristine beach was a mess. There were long trenches in the sand where Machop had sprinted full-force, kicking everything up, and pebble-ridden dirt had been thrown everywhere. Destro had really taken his training to heart. He had looked rather proud, as proud as a rock can look, before I returned him.
I decided to get far away before anyone noticed. Besides, I was feeling pretty hungry. I headed back towards the bridge to see if those resort buildings had any restaurants in them. Machop followed close behind.
It appeared that I'd gotten to the cape just before everyone started their day; the beach and road near the buildings were packed. We waded through loud, happy crowds towards the smell of frying food. Machop seemed rather uncomfortable being so close to so many people. I could empathize; the atmosphere here was not at all like in the subdued, sparse crowds of Pewter, or even the relaxed groups wandering Viridian. I returned him to his pokeball and carried on alone.
Unfortunately for me, the restaurants were packed as well. I decided not to bother, instead waiting in the line for a small snack shack. The food, once I'd finally gotten it, wasn't the highest quality, but it was still delicious. Afterwards I considered getting back in the water, but if I was to get to the city with enough time to clean myself up and attend that Rocket 'orientation' I really had to get going.
A long walk and refreshing shower later I was laying on the pokecenter were only a few hours left before 7; not enough time to do anything significant. I settled on messing around with the computer a bit, first looking over the geodude information page to see if there were any solid training regimens that I could have missed. Unfortunately, there wasn't. There has to be something here, I thought. I mean, growing up in Pewter, I should have picked up at least a few pointers from… I gasped, then facepalmed. It took a few moments, but I was able to find the number for the Pewter gym. I pulled out my pokedex and typed it in, then hit call.
There was a couple seconds of buzzing, then a gruff voice said "Gym."
"Hey, it's Calvin Stone. Is Brock there?" I asked.
"Calvin?" the voice sounded mildly surprised. "Sure, let me get him."
A few moments of silence later, a voice that was obviously Brock's said "Calvin! Hey, everything alright, bud? You're not hurt, are you?"
I laughed. "No, everything's fine. I just wanted to ask your advice on something."
"Oh." Brock sounded relieved. "Glad you're alright. What's up?"
"I caught a geodude recently, and was hoping to get some tips for training it."
"A geodude! Fantastic pokemon, reliable and tough. My golem is the best on my team, but don't tell Onix I said that. Good choice, Cal."
I was surprised. Everyone in Pewter knew about Brock's onix; the thing was a monster, usually only released when there was serious need for him, or in top-tier gym battles. But his golem was even stronger? I began to think that I'd lucked out with Destro after all. "Thanks. So, any advice?"
"First off, what level's it at? What does it know? How large is it?" I told him. "Alright. That's a pretty young geodude you've got there; it'll make training it a bit difficult at first, but does provide a good opportunity. Get it working on magnitude right away. It's easiest to tell it to strike the ground and focus as hard as it can on getting it to shake. It won't do much at first, or even for a while, but the earlier a geodude learns to shake the earth, the more powerful its earthquake will be once it finishes growing. Also, get it to start rolling back and forth across fields as fast as it can. It won't be very fast, but right now that's the quickest way it'll be able to dodge in a fight, until it evolves. When it comes to food, make sure you feed it as often as you can. It still won't eat a bunch, but a geodude that small needs as much as possible. Got all that?"
"Yeah. Thanks a ton, Brock."
"No problem, kid. Good to hear from ya. But, hey, next time don't call me through this number. It's usually used for emergencies, and I'm not always in the gym." He laughed. "I'll message you a different one; Liam passed your contact info to me a few days back, just hadn't gotten around to saying hey yet."
"Liam? Is he there?" I asked. As rough a traveling companion as he had been, I already missed my mentor.
"He isn't, sorry to say. Headed back out almost immediately. But I've gotta let you go, Cal. Best of luck on your journey, keep in touch."
I said I would, and he hung up. A moment later my pokedex dinged; I added Brock to my contacts.
There wasn't enough time for me to head back out to the wilds and start really training Destro; there was, however, plenty of time to stuff him full of food, which is why I headed straight down to the cafeteria and released him, after piling up a tray for us both. I was a bit hungry too, after all. My earlier meal, while tasty, wasn't at all filling.
\-/-\-/-\-/
The bare spot on Destro's head had formed a thin, rough crust. I took this as a positive sign, though I did rub in a bit more lotion, for good measure. After returning him to his ball I fired the computer back up to see if there was a map I could find the address of that orientation on. Thankfully there was, with a search bar and everything. A bit of typing later and I'd found it. Not too far from the pokecenter, to the south, in the less wealthy part of the city. I figured if I brought Machop with me I'd be fine, though I decided to leave my belt behind; walking there alone at night with a pokeranger belt on might draw some attention. I hadn't forgotten my encounter with those bandits, after all.
I wrote up some quick directions for myself, and headed out. The day had cooled down a bit, thankfully. After that second bridge crossing my skin was beginning to burn. There were quite a few people about, mostly walking, but some in cars. As I neared my destination, though, the streets became steadily less populated. It wasn't too long before I was there; a nondescript red door on the side of a beat-up looking warehouse. After double checking the directions to see if this was really the place, I knocked.
There was a shuffling noise, then the sound of several locks clicking. The door cracked open to reveal a fat, bored looking man holding a clipboard. "Yes?"
"Hello, I'm here for an 'orientation'. Is this the right place?" I asked. The man's eyes lit up, and he grinned.
"You got it, kid! Come on." The man opened the door all the way, ushered me in, and locked it behind us. "I'm gonna need your name and how you heard of us."
"Calvin Stone, I was invited here by, uh," I fished the address paper out of my pocket. "Johnny, after I won a tournament." The man nodded and scribbled that down on his clipboard, then pointed down a nearby hallway.
"Second room on your left. It'll be a few minutes, you're early." I thanked him and walked to the door down the hall, which was propped open, then went inside.
The room was fairly plain, with plain white walls, carpeted floors, and a number of chairs set around a long table. It could have been any ordinary conference room, if not for the large whiteboard towards the front wall and projector off to the side. I took a seat, and waited.
Over the next several minutes people shuffled in and took seats near me, mostly scruffy young men, but a few tough-looking women as well. I nodded to each as they entered, but decided to hold my tongue for now. They didn't seem like they'd be very talkative.
Finally, two men entered, dressed in black uniforms. One of which I recognized. I waved, and Johnny shot me a smile, then whispered something to his companion. They laughed, then walked over to the whiteboard and turned toward us.
"Welcome!" boomed the one I didn't know. His voice was deep and commanding, and it matched him. He had close cropped green-dyed hair, a very angular face, and was obviously well built. "Most of you know why you've come, but for the benefit of those who don't, this is an orientation for the organization known as Rocket. You'll be introduced to our philosophy, goals, and most importantly, what benefits you'd get from working with us." The man winked, and a few people chuckled. "My name is Proton. Even if you sign on, you probably won't be seeing much of me; the boss keeps me busy. But I check in when I can, to show the higher ups actually do care about recruits. This," he reached over and patted Johnny on the shoulder. "Is John. He'll be presenting. He's a good man, so don't be too tough on him. I'll be taking my leave. Hope to see you in the field." Without waiting for a reply, Proton strolled out of the room and swung the door shut perhaps a bit harder than was necessary. Johnny chuckled.
"Don't mind him. He's always in a rush. As you heard, I'm John. I'm sure you don't want to sit here all night, so let's jump right into it." He walked over to the projector and pressed a button on the side. It beeped, then a large map of both Kanto and Johto appeared on the whiteboard, all the cities and towns marked. Johnny walked up to it. "Here we are. All of human civilization on this continent, from the smallest hamlet to the largest metropolis. Looks pretty empty, doesn't it?"
I had to agree. Large areas of the map were nothing but wilderness, and that wasn't even counting the mountains.
"So much fertile land," Johnny continued. "Full of natural resources essential to our lives, so much space to live. But, instead, most of us live cramped in large cities, working long hours to pay our ridiculous rent. What other options do we have? To move to one of the small towns, places so incredibly dangerous they're regularly wiped off the map by wild pokemon hordes? So poor they can barely afford to feed themselves? Why are these our only two choices? I'll tell you, my friends. It's because the League doesn't give a shit about us." There were several mutters of agreement around the room. I raised my eyebrows, intrigued. "We have more than enough people and weaponry to expand, make these lands safe and our nation prosperous. Hell, one Elite Four member could probably clear huge chunks all by themselves! But no, our league prefers us cooped up and enslaved, doesn't even let us make proper roads between our population centers leaving us to venture out into the wilds on foot, and renders us practically defenseless by restricting pokemon registration to those wealthy enough to afford a trainer's license!" The sounds of agreement were much louder this time, and angrier. "We're left adrift in a world of monsters, dependent on the whims of a cruel and uncaring state. The only ones we could depend on were ourselves and our families, and sometimes not even them. But not anymore, brothers and sisters. I invite you to join our family. Team Rocket."
A PokeTeam?! There were gasps around the room, and I began to push my chair back, determined to leave. All of us in Pewter had heard stories of PokeTeams; cruel, violent criminal organizations that used any means to get ahead. My mother, when she still cared, would tell me about Aqua and Magma back in Hoenn, how they were so fanatical that they'd slaughter one another in the streets, as well as innocent bystanders, just because they disagreed on the importance of land and sea. How it'd gotten so bad that we'd had to sail away, and even then, my father wasn't saved. Others moved to get up as well.
"Wait!" Johnny said. "I see some of you have misconceptions. Please, sit back down, let me explain. If you still want to leave after, none of us will stop you, of course." I took a deep breath, and pushed my chair back in. The man had been nothing but nice to me; the least I could do was hear him out. The others returned to their seats as well, but there was a fair bit of grumbling.
"Rocket is a registered organization. We have public food drives, provide security details, act as a courier service, and perform many other upstanding and legal services. On this level we work within the law to push for change, we're not a crime family. True, it may be bending the rules a bit to grant you all a company waiver and your own pokemon," at that, all grumbling ceased and everyone's eyes locked on Johnny, "but it's far from criminal. I see that got your attention. Yes, every entry level rocket gets his or her own pokemon, and free basic training classes. After you've completed those, we'll find you some work that'll pay well. There's not always much, but we do our absolute best, because our goal isn't just to advance the organization; it's to help all of you be the best you can be. You'll need to. In a world like this, only the strong prosper. In the end, once we've grown enough in strength and public opinion, we'll push for major political change and secure this land for ourselves and our families. And after that? United, there will be nothing to stop us from shooting straight for the stars. Thus, our name. Rocket."
That didn't sound bad to me, but… "Why call yourself Team Rocket if you aren't truly acting like one of those monstrous PokeTeams?" I asked. "Also, what if you've already got a pokemon when you sign on?"
Johnny smiled at me. "Good questions, Mr. Stone. First, though I'm sure they didn't teach you in schools, there have been PokeTeams that were fighting for good, noble reasons. We seek to redeem the term by using it ourselves, and winning. As for already having pokemon, that's no obstacle. Everyone gets one free. You can opt out of the training courses, though."
I thought over everything I'd heard. It sounded like a pretty good deal, but there was always a catch. "Do we have to decide if we want to join right now?"
"No, none of you do. This presentation is over, you may all head home and think on it. If you decide to become a Rocket, come back to this location in two days, same time. We'll get you officially initiated. Until then, good night, all."
Johnny left the room, leaving the door open behind him. We all stood and shuffled out in silence, obviously absorbing what we'd heard in there. It was a lot to take in.
The sun had set. I walked the dark streets to the pokecenter, thankfully without running into any trouble. Back in my room, I lay on my bed and began my meditation practice.
Soon enough, I was asleep.
\-/-\-/-\-/
The pokecenter computer was not very helpful. All I could find was the address of an office building in Celadon and certification that, yes, there was a company named 'Rocket'. No other information, nor anything new to me when I looked up 'PokeTeams'. It was the same stuff we'd been taught as kids; organized crime, theft, murder, bandit camps in the forests, a few heroic tales of league officials sweeping them off the map. Nothing about any 'nobility' or 'goodness'.
Even so, the curiosity was eating away at me. I knew the league were liars, Liam had proven that well enough, and I trusted him. As wary as I was about any who proclaimed themselves a PokeTeam, perhaps Rocket would be worth looking into. I could certainly use the cash, and they specifically said that we wouldn't be doing anything illegal, right? Plus, a new pokemon, pre-caught… maybe they even had a growlithe.
In any case, I had a while to think it over, and it was no use wasting the whole morning on the PC. I packed some supplies, got dressed, and headed out of the city, towards the north-west hills. Destro needed to get started on his training, after all; in his current state, he was way behind Machop.
As soon as I crossed into the wilderness I released my starter, who blinked at the mid-day brightness, then shot me a grin that nearly matched it. I grinned back, and we headed further out.
I found a nice spot on the crest of a grassy hill. The ground seemed torn up a bit already, probably by a wild pokemon, and the view was beautiful. I released Destro and knelt down beside him. He stared up, but made no move to greet me.
"Hey bud," I said. "I talked to an old friend of mine, and he gave me some tips on how to train you up fast. It'll be tough, but you'll be much stronger for it, and if you ever want to catch up to Machop you need to try extra hard." Destro's eyes shifted towards him and he growled, causing Machop to widen his grin and bash his knuckles together. Destro roared, his rocky hands clenched into fists. I laughed. "Not time for that yet, but you'll get your chance. For now, here's what I want you to do…"
Destro listened intently as I described Brock's regimen, and a few moments later we were all hard at work.
\-/-\-/-\-/
Hours later we stopped, me sweaty and exhausted, Machop breathing heavily, Destro unreadable as always, and all of us absolutely filthy. Destro had started by trying to shake the earth. He hadn't accomplished much, nothing that I felt anyway, but he had succeeded in creating clouds of dirt with every strike. After that, during his practice quickly rolling from place to place, we had a few close calls in which he almost went straight down the hill where he'd be unable to stop. Only some quick thinking and a lucky dive from Machop saved us from having to sprint after him.
The hillcrest hadn't looked all that pretty when we walked up but it was a disaster area now. I decided that we'd head into the woods a bit and eat in the shade, something Machop seemed to agree with. I set out food for the three of us, sprinkling a bit of powder on each. I noticed that the jar was running a bit low, and decided to use it a bit more sparingly from here-on out. There was still no telling what was in it but it worked.
As we chowed down I took the chance to think more on how I could hurry Destro's growth along. From all the things I'd read, active combat seemed to be the most effective way to strengthen any pokemon, but at such a low level Destro would be in serious danger no matter what. Geodude his size rely on camouflage to avoid being preyed on, and unless I found him a bunch of weak flying types, who were notoriously vulnerable against rocks, he couldn't…
My eyes had been wandering during my thoughts, and had just rested on the towering Mt. Moon. I facepalmed. Of course! Zubat!
My plan for early tomorrow was decided, then. I'd walk to Mt. Moon and let Destro get some practice in, perhaps improve his aim with that improvised rock throw of his. I'd have done it right away but by the time I got there, trained, and got back to the city, it'd be morning anyway. May as well get some sleep in a soft pokecenter bed first, I figured. It certainly beat a cave floor.
I glanced at the sky, and was surprised to see the sun far lower than expected. Quickly packing up and recalling Destro, Machop and I set out back to the glittering city ahead of us for some well earned rest.
\-/-\-/-\-/
We headed out early the next morning, before the sun had even risen. The streetlights were more than enough to guide our way out of the city, and thankfully the sky lit as we headed up the hills, past the fields and copses of trees. Machop didn't seem very happy to be returning to the cave. Truth be told, I wasn't either. Those zubats were obnoxious, and the men with the snake quite disturbing. I hoped we wouldn't run into them in there, I'd forgotten that red cloth.
An uneventful walk later we stood at the entrance. I released Destro and went over what I wanted him to do. Namely, take down any bat that attacks us without hitting me or letting them get too close. He didn't make any noise, so I just assumed he understood me. We walked in, Machop near me to take down any that Destro might miss. We didn't have to wait long.
There was an ear-piercing screech as the first bat swooped towards us. Machop raised an arm, but it was unnecessary. As soon as the beast got within ten feet it was struck out of the sky by a rough stone. It crashed down hard, screech cutting off with a pained snarl. Destro rolled over to it as quickly as he was able while it thrashed about, trying to take off again. It wasn't fast enough, and with a soft crunch Destro smacked it against the cave wall. It fell and lay still.
Destro glanced back at me, and I grinned at him before nodding. "Great job, buddy!" I shouted. He grunted back, but his eyes seemed slightly happier than before. One down.
We carried on like that through the morning. A few got close enough that Machop had to intervene, and one actually managed to latch on to Destro's arm in an attempt to suck some blood. It didn't end well for the zubat. We had a quick lunch (well, Machop and I did; Destro munched on one of the zubats he'd hit a bit too hard) and I checked the time. I felt we could squeeze in a few more hours, so I led my pokemon a bit deeper in and down a side path. I came to regret not leaving right then.
\-/-\-/-\-/
Destro kept a vigilant eye on the ceiling as Machop and I leaned against a wall. There'd not been many zubat in this section of cave, so I was giving the team a quick rest before we moved on. Machop seemed a little uneasy, and I was about to ask what was up before he tensed. That was all the warning I had before I was struck hard on the shoulder and thrown to the floor. Destro turned and roared, rolling towards us, and Machop jumped over me immediately, arms held in a defensive position. It took me a moment to regain my bearings, but when I did, I saw it.
The creature was enormous, easily five feet tall and eight across. It looked like a zubat but with a huge gaping maw full of white fangs that were dripping a clear fluid. I stumbled to my feet.
It let loose an awful deafening noise causing Machop and I to cover our ears and flinch back. Destro, however, seemed to be made of sterner stuff. A large chunk of the cave floor flew at the giant bat, glancing off its wings and causing its wail to change pitch and cut off.
A golbat. I'd read about them, of course, but seeing one in front of me was a different matter entirely. I never expected to meet one in Mt. Moon; they're very rare, and tend to stick to the deeper levels. They were also, I remembered with a shock, usually very powerful, and their 'flying' typing would be strong against Machop. I swallowed hard. We might have to run.
Destro threw another rock, and Machop rushed forward to engage. I called for him to stop, but couldn't hear my own voice over the ringing in my ears. Machop either ignored me or couldn't hear either, and he leapt at the beast, only to be struck by a flailing wing and thrown back. The strike seemed to balance the golbat, who swept down towards him with its mouth wide open, teeth glistening. I ran towards them but wasn't quick enough. The bat clamped down on Machop's side, no doubt injecting poison, and Machop writhed in its grip. His fists bashed against the creature to seemingly no effect. Destro got there just before I did, and smashed a rocky hand against it; it cringed back, but only bit down harder and began to suck.
I didn't know what to do. Machop was in danger, Destro wasn't strong enough to help, and I was unarmed. I followed my instincts. Reeling back, then smashing my fist into the golbat's head, right on the eye. It finally let go, and as it hit the ground I brought my foot down as hard as I could on its wing, feeling part of it give way. The bat screeched again, but Destro was on it, smashing down repeatedly and doing far more damage than I would have expected. The cave seemed to shake with every hit. I looked to Machop to see him attempting to stand, bleeding profusely and looking very pale. I rushed over and reached for my bag on the ground, pulling out several potions and an antidote and spraying his wounds. My hearing seemed to be returning, because the thumps and screeches of Destro bashing the golbat were more and more audible. Trusting the potions to do their work, I turned in time to see the formerly intimidating bat dragging itself off into the darkness, away from Destro's triumphant form. He shook his fists at it as it left.
I reached down to my belt, and two flashes later Destro and Machop were in stasis. I didn't wait to see if the bat would stay gone. I ran.
As I closed in on the cave exit I noticed my back felt oddly wet. I felt it and my fingers came back bloody. Fuck, I thought, but kept running. It was lucky we'd spent so long driving out the zubats; I don't know how I'd have dodged them all. Finally, after getting out and a good ways down the road, I sat down under a tree, set down my things, and, using my small shaving mirror, checked out the injury.
It was a pretty wide gash, slowly oozing blood, though happily not too deep. I must have hit that cave floor harder than I'd thought. I wasn't too worried about it. A few moments at the pokecenter and they'd have me all healed up. After all, if they could cure paralysis, a wound like this should be a walk in the park. I pulled out my tiny first aid kit and patched myself up as well as I could. It'd last me the trip.
\-/-\-/-\-/
A long walk and some conversations with concerned cityfolk later I reached the center. I immediately passed my pokeballs to the nurse behind the counter, whose eyes widened as she took in my torn and bloody shirt. She immediately set the balls on the diagnosis machine and rushed around the counter, ushering me down a short hallway and into a sterile-looking room. She stepped out and returned with gloves, had me strip down, remove my shoddily placed bandages, and poked at my wound while I told her what happened. The nurse was rather panicked until I told her it wasn't a bite, just a cut from the floor. She relaxed then, but still looked rather worried. After applying some disinfectant and spraying my wound with a few brightly colored substances, she told me to sit on the table and stay put for a few moments. I agreed and she headed out.
The room was small. Just me, the table, some drawers and cabinets around a small sink, and two uncomfortable looking plastic chairs. I quickly grew bored with my surroundings and started poking around on my pokedex, going over the near-death experience I'd just had in my mind. If not for Destro's good aim and sheer luck I'd have probably been eaten by the golbat, and those few zubat we'd hit too hard would have been avenged. And that was just a golbat. Imagine what a crobat could have done. I shuddered, remembering Slice's deadly speed and blade-like wings. I'd have been cut right in half.
Eventually the door opened, and in walked a familiar face. Honey brown eyes met mine and lit up in recognition. The teal-haired police woman smiled. "Mr. Stone! Fancy seeing you here."
I smiled back. "Officer Jenny. Is there a problem?"
"Nope." She shook her head. "Just wanted to ask a few questions. You said there was a fully grown golbat on the upper levels?"
"Not sure how big is fully grown but this one was at least five feet tall."
She grimaced, and wrote a few things down on a notepad. "This isn't the first attack report we've had from the caves. Something's down there, riling things up. Did you see anything suspicious? Any people?"
I shook my head. "No, just me and my team."
"Mm." Jenny scribbled a few more notes, then tore a piece off. "Well, let me know if you remember anything. Here's my number." She handed me the paper, and I saw her gaze drift down to my bare chest for a moment, then back up to my face. Her smile widened. "Alright?"
"Sure thing, Officer."
She stepped out and in hurried the nurse, who wiped off the bright foam to reveal my injury miraculously healed. I was also informed my pokemon would be all set in a few hours. Checking the clock, I figured I'd still have plenty of time to clean myself off and take a nap before going out to see the Rockets. And so, without further ado, I headed up to my room to do just that.