Chapter 24

Unsurprisingly, Koga's Toxic turned out to be much more potent than Erika's. When the treatment went longer than Leaf had expected, she was worried sick, endlessly pacing around the Pokemon Center, waiting for a nurse to call her over. The next morning, once Golduck had fully healed, the nurse told Leaf that the duck would likely develop some resistance to poison-type moves. It was a silver lining, but Leaf wasn't exactly interested in testing it out. Though she'd grown accustomed to seeing her Pokemon get injured, a part of her still felt bad about it.

Her guilt dampened a bit when she opened her satchel and saw her five badges. Thanks to her team, Leaf was getting close to the Indigo League. There were three more Gym Leaders she needed to challenge. The next one was Sabrina Mansfield of the Saffron Gym.

There were a few ways Leaf could get to Saffron City. For the sake of novelty, Leaf decided to pick the route she'd not traveled before. She'd have to go west of Fuchsia, north towards Celadon, then east towards Saffron.

Route 18, right next to Fuchsia City, was a very pleasant walk. The day couldn't have been more beautiful. The sun shone brightly without being too hard on the eyes. A breeze rolled over the calm ocean waves. Almost too soon, Leaf crossed a gate, turned right, and arrived at Route 17, also known as the Cycling Road. The Cycling Road was a long, straight path specifically built for bikers and motorcyclists to ride without interruption. Since Leaf didn't have her bike on her, she had to travel on a trail that ran alongside it. She was grateful for the separation because at some point, she passed a group of bald motorcyclists in leather jackets who grinned creepily at her. The wind also started to pick up, so Leaf had to hold her skirt down and one of the motorcyclists whistled.

When she finally reached the end of the Cycling Road, she was on Route 16. Like Route 18, it was short. She turned right again and crossed another gate. In the distance, Leaf could see Celadon City.

Leaf moved forward, passing trees and patches of tall grass, feeling a mix of excitement and anxiety as she thought about her upcoming battle with Sabrina. It had been a bit too close with Koga and the Saffron Gym Leader was going to be even tougher. And what about the next Gym Leader, Blaine? And the one after, the final Gym Leader? No one knew their name. Their identity was somehow kept a secret. Leaf figured it was for privacy reasons, but it was extremely impressive they could stay in hiding for so long. Whoever they were, Leaf knew she would lose if she challenged them now.

Lost in her thoughts, Leaf almost didn't notice the massive shape in the middle of the path until she was near it. It took a moment for her to recognize the fat, blue-green Pokemon. Like the one on Route 12, this Snorlax was fast asleep, its snores louder than thunder.

Leaf looked around. She could potentially go around it, push her way through the trees and bushes. She could even send Fearow out and fly over the sleeping Pokemon. She didn't have to wake the beast.

Yesterday afternoon, some kid woke it up with a flute and it attacked him. Hearing what came out of that flute…I'd be pissed off, too. Anyways, I thought the kid was dead but he actually ended up capturing it! Leaf clenched her fists. If Red could take on a Snorlax, why couldn't she? She opened her satchel and pulled out the flute Mr. Fuji gave her.

Leaf held the flute to her lips and hesitated. What song did Red play? Did it matter? The Snorlax might've been enraged because of his lack of musical talent, not so much from being woken up at all. Maybe if Leaf played something more soothing, she could befriend the Snorlax. Ever since the Mankey army by Viridian City, Leaf had been set on not needlessly battling wild Pokemon.

Before Leaf could come to a decision, the Snorlax suddenly went quiet. Leaf jumped back as it rocked its body, its giant paws nearly sweeping her, and forced itself into a sitting position. Its eyes still seemed shut, so Leaf wasn't sure if it was awake, until it yawned and stood, facing her. Though Leaf knew Snorlax were large, its height still astounded her. Her hand hovered over Ivysaur's PokeBall.

But the Snorlax didn't even acknowledge her. It turned towards the mountains in the distance and trudged off, each heavy footstep sounding like a mini earthquake.

Leaf sped through Celadon City, only pausing to check on the Game Corner. A Permanently Closed sign was hanging on its door. Red really spooked them that bad, huh. She spent the rest of the journey wondering where Team Rocket had relocated to, what their next move was. No matter how hard she racked her brain, she couldn't think of any possible answers.

She walked along Route 7, where she'd previously been at through the Underground Path, and crossed a gate. All thoughts of Team Rocket were dispelled the moment she laid eyes on Saffron City.

Saffron City, the Shining Land of Commerce, was the capital of Kanto. Like the sun, it was the center of everything. All the major corporations set up their headquarters here. Other than Celadon, it was the most populous and expensive city in Kanto. Office workers who looked like they had important things to do bustled past skyscrapers that pierced the sky. Leaf nearly felt dizzy looking up at them.

There was a kiosk nearby with a map of the city. Leaf checked it to locate the Pokemon Center and headed over, pushing through hordes of people and crossing roads so packed, the cars barely moved. At the Pokemon Center, the largest Leaf had seen, she booked herself a room and asked a nurse for restaurant recommendations. The nurse gave her several and Leaf chose to eat at a sushi place called Yamabuki. It was near the city center and not too pricey. She sat outside, munching on rolls that practically melted in her mouth and observing the scene around her. At the northwest corner of Saffron, a bullet train station was under construction. The train was going to run from Saffron to Goldenrod City, the capital of Johto, officially connecting the two regions. Not far from Leaf, at the very center of the city, was a modern glass building, the tallest structure in Kanto. This building that towered over everything was the headquarters of Silph Co., the most powerful corporation in the entire world. Silph Co. manufactured basically everything, from home appliances to PokeBalls. Many of Leaf's classmates dreamed of working there one day. Leaf was never interested, and even if she was, she knew she had no chance. All Silph Co. employees had degrees from the most prestigious universities. Leaf was too average of a student for that.

While paying for the check, Leaf noticed a dark figure in the corner of her eye. She wasn't sure how she saw it and why it mattered, but she turned and her blood froze.

Across the street, standing in an alley, was a man wearing the black uniform of Team Rocket. He seemed to be examining the Silph Co. headquarters, hands in his pockets. After a moment, he lowered his head, turned, and headed deeper into the alley.

Instantly, Leaf jumped up, ignoring the waiter's bewildered expression. She dashed after the Team Rocket grunt, zigzagging through honking lines of cars. Once she reached the alley, she found that it led to another street and the grunt was nowhere in sight.

Leaf pressed forward. He couldn't have gone far. If she kept moving, she would eventually catch up.

The street was lined with brownstones, which Leaf was sure had cramped rooms where barely anything functioned despite the high rent. There was less traffic, but enough cars that Leaf couldn't easily jaywalk, so she had to (impatiently) wait for the light to change before crossing. Her head flew in different directions as she searched. Was that man over there the grunt? No, he was just wearing a black suit. What about that one? No, not him either.

In the end, Leaf decided to make a right. She just felt in her gut she would find something important. Not knowing how far behind she could be, Leaf ran again.

Multiple pedestrians gave Leaf strange looks, made sounds of surprise, as she barreled past them. There were a few of them who could've potentially been the grunt: they all angrily shook her off when she grabbed them to get a good look. Leaf must've looked insane, but she didn't care. If Team Rocket was in Saffron, Leaf needed to stop them from whatever they were planning on doing.

Leaf made it to the other side of the crowd. With more space, she sped up. Suddenly, there was a flash of red and Leaf hit something and fell forward. She braced herself to land on concrete, only to find herself on something less hard. There was a groan beneath her. Leaf lifted her head and saw it was inches away from Red's.

Leaf scrambled up, face hot. "R-Red?! Is it really you?"

Red shakily stood, rubbing the arm he fell on. He smiled softly. "Nice to see you, Leaf. You always know how to make an entrance."

Leaf's face somehow grew even hotter. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going. Are you alright?"

"A bit bruised up, but nothing serious. Why the rush? Going to challenge Sabrina now?"

It took Leaf a moment to realize they were standing outside the Saffron Gym. It looked the same as the other Gyms, except a smaller version of it was attached to its side.

Leaf shook her head. "No, not yet. I…I was chasing after a Team Rocket grunt."

To Leaf's surprise, Red didn't seem surprised by her statement. "So it's not just me. You've seen them, too," he replied grimly.

Leaf bit her lip. "I was eating lunch and saw one looking at the Silph Co. headquarters. I tried to catch him, but he disappeared."

"I noticed a couple hovering around that area as well. No doubt, their plan involves Silph Co. somehow."

A chill crept down Leaf's spine. Team Rocket targeting Silph Co. wouldn't be like the shady business they dealt with at the Game Corner. The scale was much much larger.

"What should we do?"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but…" Red paused. "I think we need to go to the police."

"The police? Do you think they'll listen to us?"

"I think they'll be very careful when it comes to Silph Co. Maybe with cops everywhere, Team Rocket will think twice and we can use the extra time to get them."

Leaf nodded. All of that made sense. "Where's the police station?"

"On the other side of the city, unfortunately. We can either take the subway or walk and keep our eyes peeled for more signs of Team Rocket."

"Let's walk," Leaf replied. Although it was probably selfish, she wanted to catch up with Red. As they began to make their way to the station, she asked how long he'd been in Saffron.

"A couple days. You?"

"I just got here today. What have you been up to?"

"Did you see the smaller building by the Gym? It's a dojo where all the trainers specialize in fighting-type Pokemon. There's apparently a huge rivalry between them and the Gym. Anyways, I challenged them and they tried to make me a member, but I turned them down."

Of course they wanted Red to join them. "How many trainers were there?"

"Five, including their leader."

"I should challenge them, too." Then, Leaf realized something. "Where's Pikachu, by the way?"

The yellow mouse was not perched on Red's shoulder as usual. "He's in his PokeBall. Got overwhelmed by all the people."

"Seriously? He can face Zapdos but not a crowd?"

"He's shy, I guess."

Leaf grinned. "Just like his trainer."

Red smiled softly back. "Professor Oak did tell me that Pokemon often mirror their trainers."

Leaf didn't respond. She contemplated Professor Oak's statement. Was each member of her team a reflection of her? Ivysaur, sure. He was just as, if not more, stubborn than she was. Actually, except for Dratini and maybe Haunter, her Pokemon were pretty persistent. Was that the one trait that tied them to Leaf?

Leaf was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she almost didn't notice Red halt. He stared solemnly ahead. Leaf followed his gaze and immediately tensed.

Blue smirked as he approached them. "I guess the biggest city in the region is still pretty small." He nodded at Leaf. "I'm going to challenge Sabrina, in case you were wondering what I'm doing here."

Leaf flushed. "I wasn't wondering. I don't care what you do."

"Keep telling yourself that, rival." Leaf mentally prepared for Blue to bring up her recent loss to him. Instead of tormenting her, however, he turned to Red. "Been a while since our last battle. You up for a match later?"

Red didn't react. Leaf wished she knew what he was thinking. Sometimes, Red was scarily good at hiding his emotions.

Blue seemed amused. "Let's tentatively do tonight. Well, I have to go win a badge. Smell y––"

"Is that Blue Oak?"

A tall, middle-aged man in a suit pushed between Blue and them. He pulled out a notepad and pencil. "I'm Richard Hurst, from The Saffron Times. I write for the Pokemon battling section. I had some questions about your Fuchsia Gym challenge. Why did you not lead with your Kadabra? Psychic-types have the advantage over poison-types, after all…"

As the reporter grilled Blue on each of his battle decisions, Leaf felt Red tap on her arm. With his head, he motioned for them to sneak away. Leaf followed Red, but not before casting a glance at Blue. He was answering Richard Hurst calmly and politely, as if making small talk with a teacher. His hands were in his pockets.

Red was right and wrong. The police paid more attention at the mention of Silph Co., but in the end, they were brushed off as bored teenagers.

"Silph Co.'s security system is comparable to President Ken's." The cop they spoke to was the biggest stereotype. He was chubby, had ruddy cheeks, and had a donut in one hand and a coffee in the other,

"You don't understand," Leaf protested. "We're not talking about a street gang. They have their resources."

"Sweetie, if they're so big and bad, don't you think we'd know about them?"

Leaf couldn't stop herself. "No, I don't think you would."

The cop's lip curled. "Leave. Now."

Leaf might've responded, but Red placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. Though it placated Leaf enough to walk away quietly, she was fuming. How could the police not even consider investigating Team Rocket? It wasn't like they had anything better to do anyway.

Red sighed once they stepped out of the station. "Looks like we have to deal with them ourselves. Again."

"It's unbelievable!" Leaf exclaimed. "What's the point of having a police force if they're not going to stop bad guys?"

"Well, we tried."

Leaf bit her lip. A part of her was annoyed at Red. Although it was his idea to go to the police, he barely said a word the whole time. Leaf had to do most of the work. She normally liked Red's reticence, but it would've been helpful for him to speak up.

Red stepped in front of Leaf and faced her with a smile. "Hey, since you just got here, I can show you some cool spots and then we can get dinner. My treat."

He looked so earnest that Leaf's irritation instantly vanished. She never could stay mad at him.

Exploring Saffron City was a whole journey itself. Red brought Leaf to a futuristic marketplace that sold the latest in technology. Leaf was tempted by a digital watch that counted her steps, had a map of Kanto, and a weather forecast. Then, they went to the Pokemon Trainer Fan Club, where the members made predictions on who the first Champion would be. The conversation grew slightly uncomfortable for Leaf and Red.

"I hear Professor Oak's grandson is a bit of a battle prodigy."

"I'm sure he's talented, but he's not Champion-material."

"Yeah, isn't there another trainer from his hometown who's even better?"

"Even if that trainer wasn't around, Blue doesn't have what it takes."

They left sooner than they originally intended. They walked along countless streets, with Red pointing out public art and cool architecture. Leaf recognized one of the buildings. It was a tall, spiraly one. She'd seen it in a photograph at Blue's house many times, the first being the night of the Pidgey debacle. It looked exactly the same as it did in the photo, which was taken over ten years ago. So much had changed for Leaf in that time that it was strange to see things that hadn't.

They had dinner in the spiral building, near the top. The restaurant had a stunning view of the Saffron. Naturally, despite the small portions of food, it was on the pricier side, but Red was apparently earning a crazy amount of money from his battles. They watched the sunset, darkness blanketing the city, before trekking to the Pokemon Center. By the time they arrived, they were ready to pass out.

Now, Leaf and Red were eating breakfast at a cafe near the PokeMart. It was a very trendy place. The walls were pink and many girls took photos of their stylishly plated meals. Leaf was initially confused about why Red brought her here until she learned the cafe made custom Pokemon treats. Customers would show their Pokemon to an employee, who then carved some dough to look like the Pokemon before baking it. Whatever was in that treat, the Pokemon seemed to love it. Leaf presented her whole team and everyone looked both interested and wary about Haunter and Dratini.

"I still can't believe you have a ghost and dragon Pokemon," Red said, dipping his toast into runny egg yolk.

"I can't either, honestly." Leaf glanced over at Haunter, who alternated between playing with its treat and creeping out Dratini with weird faces. She hadn't yet completely figured out how to direct them in battle, especially Dratini. The ghost was an enigma and the baby dragon was still frightened by anything that moved.

Leaf returned Haunter so that Dratini could eat his treat in peace. Once everyone was finished, Leaf returned the rest of her team and walked out with Red.

"How come you didn't get your Pokemon any treats?" Leaf asked.

Red scratched his head. "I forgot to tell you. You know a Pokemon called Snorlax, right? There was one blocking Route 12 for a while."

"Actually, I overheard some fishermen talking about how you captured it. You used Mr. Fuji's flute to wake it up?"

"Wow, really? You heard about that? But yeah, I didn't know what else to do so I decided to rely on my musical talent."

Leaf snorted. "Sure, musical talent. How was the battle, though? That thing's huge."

"Honestly, one of the hardest battles ever. Snorlax can hit and take a hit. I ended up capturing him by having him fall into the water."

"How'd you do that?"

"Pikachu was too small and agile for Snorlax. Anyways, Snorlax is so big and eats so much that I couldn't let him out in the cafe. And if I can't give one Pokemon a treat, I'm not gonna give one to the rest of the team."

Leaf laughed. "That's like the converse of my situation. Haunter doesn't eat anything, but I didn't want it to feel left out by not getting it anything. How much does Snorlax need to ea––"

Leaf was cut off by a boom so loud, her ears were ringing afterwards. She looked around in a daze, watching everyone around her begin to run off and push past each other. She could barely hear all the screaming, Red asking her if she was alright. What made Leaf snap out of it was the smoke coming from the glass behemoth that was Silph Co.'s headquarters.

Hi everyone! So sorry for the wait- this month has been very busy for me. This chap was on the chiller side, hope it was enjoyable.

The trio and Team Rocket are back! I think a lot of you know what's coming up. See you soon!