It became known as the Destruction of the Game Corner, in all capitals. Within a single night the business was revealed as a front for Team Rocket and all of its assets seized, most of the employees avoiding arrest as they had no knowledge nor interaction of the organization's clandestine activities. The owner disappeared overseas and is rumored to be spending his hard-earned dirty money over at Alola; it turns out that he was fleecing the deal with Team Rocket and stole most the money that he was supposed to hand over. Without an owner, money, or a physical location, the business disappeared into the history of failed ventures. Citizens of Celadon City were secretly glad for the disappearance though also had tart words for the officials that took so long to clean up the leftovers of that dark chapter in the city's history. These same people also had choice words for those same officials that let another company—a Johto based one!—to set up another game corner in the same place.

There were also whispers of the boys who had carried out the deed. Some called them vigilantes. Others, heroes. One lady at a certain tea shop loved to brag that it was from her instilling proper morals into them that the act was carried out in the first place, though she would've preferred that they went through the proper legal channels instead of blasting their way through the base. Everybody had an opinion until they forgot about it later that week.

All those pokémon that were left like a kid's toy box after a day of play were sorted out with the efficiency of a DMV. Those which were already native to many Kanto environments were spread out—the Nidoran. This turned out to have years of lasting consequences as the released pokémon remembered their traumas in captivity, bonding through their experiences. A scientist by the name of 'Flora Maygrave' noted the phenomenon of a pokémon gang bullying an entire ecosystem and extorting money from trainers through devoting five years of study for it.

The more dangerous pokémon were harder to deal with. Many were given to ace trainers for a bargain price. Others were carefully distributed through biomes that they were amenable towards. Unlike the relatively nonthreatening Nidoran, a sudden surge of Scyther would most likely tear up the environment as they battled for territory. It was still releasing a sudden influx of aggressive pokémon out into the wild. Years passed and there still was an uptick of aggressive wild pokémon attacks throughout the region.

It was a whole situation that took multiple days to sort through. For five days they were giving testimonies, but mostly waiting in separate cells. Eventually they both were let out of the cramped not quite cells. Red was driven stir crazy in there from the lack of stimulation and being across from Lane's horrible whistling.

Neither of them knew any of the behind the scenes action, of course. Lane even read the paper later about the Nidoran gangs and still didn't make the connection. All they knew was that the same girl who arrested them was bowing to them in front of the police station. Cameras were out and tears were dabbed away as the citizens were given witness to their most popular community figure so humbly prostrating herself.

"I apologize for the entire situation. Arresting you was not the way that we should've thanked the trainers who were strong enough to deal with Team Rocket, not to mention finding a base that was operating right underneath my nose. You have my deepest thanks and sincerest apologies," she said, her bow deepening.

Lane was rubbing the back of his head, though Red knew that the gesture was entirely manufactured when the boy winked at him.

"It's no trouble. I was ready to be punished when I broke in," Red said.

"We reward those that do good, even if they have to skirt the laws sometimes to do it. You should know that this is the Kanto way," she replied. Her head raised. "Are your pokémon alright? I had my gym trainers make sure that their needs were met while the police sorted through your situations."

"Better than ever," Red said. No embarrassment leaked through his voice. It didn't matter that it seemed how every other trainer knew how to properly care for his pokémon better than he did. Charmeleon's flame was brighter than ever when he came back and Eevee somehow had even more energy.

Erika turned to Lane. "Your pokémon, the evolved grass-type, is very well cared for. I'm embarrassed to admit that I wasn't sure how to properly care for any of your pokémon. What were they called again? Fomantis and Lurantis, I believe. I hope that I didn't mess up."

Fomantis already had its place on Lane's shoulder, happily sleeping. His finger ran across its forehead. "Wasn't expecting anybody from 'round these parts too. Nor did I expect anybody to know how to fight against one."

"Your Lurantis had the ability contrary. It kept using superpower against my Tangrowth. It used grassy terrain to keep it alive for longer and most likely took the time to use synthesis every time that my Tangrowth scored a hit against it. Once you were convinced that it had grown strong enough, you tried to fell Tangrowth in a single blow. Congrats. You've done the most damage against him in a single hit than any random trainer has been able to," Erika said.

While she didn't fully know what an ability was, having multiple unknown pokémon under her care clashed with her sense of duty. Realizing that she was woefully under equipped had sent her into a flurry, pressuring her to be better. Pacing back and forth in her office one day, she was still stressing over the issue, after having blabbed off the ear of anybody who would give her a moment, when her mom poked her head through the door.

"Why don't you visit the library?"

The "library" was built three generations ago, founded from the personal collection of her great-grandfather. Two libraries were inside the same buildings, that which was available to the public and that which was still kept beyond a black iron gate, into a well-lit single room that had a stepladder for the highest shelf. One shelf was entirely dedicated to her grandfather's travels—he'd been scolded for being so world hungry that he skirted on his duties for most of his life—alongside the books detailing regions that he'd never been before. Flipping through the largest compendium had gotten her stuck on a single page. From that page came a handful of references which sent her down a rabbit hole for the next few days. Even spending every day in that cramped room, sitting on the bottom step, hadn't given her enough time to unfold the full consequences. Liner notes referenced liner notes in another book. Pokémon which he speculated weren't even real were x'd out in thick red marker.

Erika guessed either they didn't teach the proper way to study back then or that he was a terrible student. Most of the time she was just trying to parse what he was actually trying to say.

Lane didn't even miss a beat. He just did a fake polite laugh. It wasn't real. He wasn't trying to make it real. Erika knew that it wasn't meant to be real. That image one of the reporters had snapped of that moment was put at the front of the page the next day.

"That's a gym leader for you, Red. They're so attuned to battle that they can suss out a strategy given enough time."

"I did my research," Erika said wryly. "It was embarrassing for a non-League member to have given my Tangrowth that much trouble. He still could've won though."

"I still could've set up sunny day and then my synthesis would've become more powerful."

"And then my solar beams would've been able to shred through your Lurantis."

"Well, you have to remember that Lulu also has leaf storm. She could've also bolstered her special defenses."

"Which wouldn't matter since Tangrowth could've made the floor crumble, thus slowing down Lurantis and making it easier to land a toxic on her."

"Wouldn't matter since Lulu is especially gifted at using aromatherapy."

"That moment would give my Tangrowth the chance to psych up all that work that you did."

"Wouldn't I still have the advantage? Lulu has toxic and weather ball too. At this point I could've already taken out your Tangrowth multiple times over."

"Not at all."

"I think so."

Red tilted his hat down at the shameful display. "Are you two going to be doing this all day?"

Erika held her hands up good naturedly. "I would challenge you to a battle, a genuine battle, if you weren't lacking a full team. Would you be willing to be a trainer for my gym, if even temporarily? The care that you have for your grass-types is inspiring and I would love to have an expert of foreign pokémon. It's my greatest shame that I'm only familiar with local pokémon. I haven't the time to travel abroad."

The offer was two-faced. She did genuinely want to have a talented trainer under her wing and use his expertise to further her own understanding of grass-types. There was a genuine want for cooperation underneath that black void that wanted to sate the petty urges. Sure, eventually he'd become a real employee. That didn't mean she couldn't give him a week of the dirtiest jobs in silent retribution for ruining one of her kimonos.

"Maybe when my project here is done I'll take you up on that offer." Lane didn't elaborate when he smacked Red's back. "This guy here has a gym badge to get."

Her hands folded in front of her, giving a slight bow. "It would be my honor. Usually we have the same sort of trials that every other trainer has to go through. However, I'm curious as to how you were able to defeat so many people with only three pokémon. Fight me. I won't go easy even if you did my city a favor."

Red nodded resolutely. After a few more pleasantries and arrangements, Erika walked back to her gym and the reporters melded back into their own lives. The two boys stood there, nodding. Red nodded. Lane nodded. They had their hands on their hips. Fomantis was still asleep.

"She has some kind of…" Red trailed off.

"Aura, some kind of aura about her," Lane said.

They continued nodding.

"It makes her feel unapproachable," Red said.

They continued nodding to the open air until a police officer kicked them out.

Charmeleon ran past the veil of spores. An angry buzz of yellow flecks that coated the entire area hung around like smoke from a fire. They slowly drifted closer to the grassy field: thousands of flecks like the night sky. Nothing mattered past those white lines painted onto the grass. Not the cheers, not the orders Erika was yelling. Knots of grass intended to trip him were ruined as puffs of fire were blown ahead. They weren't falling for the same trick a second time. The mushroom head pokémon shook wildly around to fire off another barrage of clouds around the field in a desperate attempt to keep them away. The cloud became thick to the point of being opaque.

Red's fists beat against his thigh. It was up to Charmeleon at this point. It was a cloud of unknowing, nothing around him except a great mass of yellow slowly drifting. Somewhere in there was Erika, Charmeleon, the Gloom that made the field this horrible to navigate. Any order he made was based on guesswork. His feet smacked together as he stood ramrod straight. No matter the futility, he wanted to try his best to try and help his partner. The best way to do that was to believe. So he believed, watching. Beams of light flashed inside the cloud like lightning bolts. A cry. Which pokémon it belonged to was lost in the haze of adrenaline and the noise coming from the crowd. Cheers for either side came from the temporary bleachers, though none of them could bellow louder than his greatest fan.

"You've got this Charmeleon! R! Ready! E! Every! D! Day! Ready everyday! Show her the fire, Red! Show her your inner flame!"

Another tower of flame came from the cloud. This one was hot enough to cut through the field of spores, tiny explosions popping in the air from the more volatile patches. Charmeleon's maw had fire leaking out of it, tiny flecks dropping onto the grass. Another blast cut another valley through the thick air. He kept repeating the process until the Gloom was revealed ducking back into another cloud. The final blast of flame hit dead on. Its meteor-like shape smashed a hole through the curtain of yellow and launched the pokémon onto its back, wiggling around to try and find its footing. Charmeleon didn't allow it any quarter. The pokémon took a face full of fire that knocked it out for good.

The entire stadium launched into cheers. Thanks to their vigilantism, it was the greatest turnout for a battle that Erika had in a year (that previous battle being against a popular musician who'd been going through the circuit. She was beaten down by Sabrina and went back to her band, delusions of being a trainer crushed into dust.). The same people who grumbled about every one of Erika's losses complained about the blatantly unfair matchup. Lane ran down the bleachers as the two trainers were bowing to each other.

"I can see how you were able to deal with Team Rocket so easily. Thank you for the battle," Erika said.

"Uh, thanks," Red said. He'd never been eloquent, darn it! Talking with polite people almost felt like they were mocking him.

They raised their heads. From Erika's sleeves came a badge. Unlike his first one, this gleamed in the light. Petals in the colors of the rainbow were embossed on the cool metal. Red took it and let his fingers play with it for a second before putting it away.

Lane ran onto the field, putting his arm around Red. Red tried his best to shrug it off.

"Good fight, you two! Really showed how to ruin a perfectly good landscape."

Patches of fire ate through the few blades of grass that survived the initial onslaught. Because it was made specifically for this purpose, all the damage was either charred black spots or pillars of smoke that were getting sucked up by the exhaust fans above them. Multiple craters had been made by the globs of acid that were spat at mach speed, with the grass hit turning into withered black ribbons. Very few parts were unscathed and those, like most the room that left the spectators sneezing, now had a tinge of yellow from the spores that had settled down.

"It's like this with every fire-type. My trainers will use their pokémon to regrow the grass," Erika said easily. "Please think about my offer, Lane. I would love to pick your brain. I'm sure that you could learn something from me too."

"Really pushing that, huh? I'll come back with an answer once Red becomes champion," Lane said. "Maybe I'd consider it if you gave me a badge. I pretty much beat you back there."

"Winning without having knocked out a single one of my pokémon? What an audacious claim."

Erika reconsidered Red while they bantered. Though the boy's team only had three pokémon, they had managed to push through without a single one having fainted. There was obvious talent there. Blanketing the entire field with spores helps her pick out the trainers that have their pokémon rely on their own orders too much. Seeing the Charmeleon able to generate that much fire before even evolving also spoke of the talent of the pokémon he'd chosen. None of the pokémon could stand against her main team in any meaningful capacity, which meant that they weren't champion material yet.

Yet. From the progress already visible, she doubted they'd stay like that for long. Neither of his pokémon other than his starter had even evolved and still had firepower comparable to the Charmeleon. It only took a week of being outside the prison for training before he came in and swept through her; and though being too arrogant wasn't proper for a lady of her station, she considered herself stronger than any base of Team Rocket goons, some leader there loafing around or not, making that progress especially amazing. She reconsidered Red for a long time. A taciturn, focused personality would be fantastic for the champion.

She smiled. That idea wasn't bad at all.

"So, you don't train? How were you able to fight against Erika?"

If Red were more honest, then he'd throw in that the last second training was most likely the only thing that saved him from losing. He wasn't insane. First there was a break where they celebrated taking a major win against Team Rocket, then they warmed up after sitting around for a few days, then he crammed training like a teenager before their finals before fighting against Erika. He wouldn't have won without the training. It would've helped his point, that even the Red before the game corner wouldn't have scratched her. Why didn't he? That'd be saying more when he could be speaking less, first of all; second was admitting that the little tips Lane had thrown in while he was watching them train were actually helpful. Even if the boy hadn't stuck around during the entire time, it was those hours when he watched that Red felt he was making the most progress.

They were retreading the same route that they first walked down. If the guard on the Celadon side of Saffron's guardhouse gave him lip then a water bottle was ready inside of his pack. Whatever reason that the guards were holding the traffic of an entire region, bribing was totally an acceptable method when he had places to be. Totally. No reason to hold up on getting his badges just because they were arbitrarily stopping him.

"My title isn't 'The Lazy Genius' for nothing."

"Title? Who gave you that title?"

"Me."

A heavy breath came out of his nose. "What'd you say to her anyways? I don't think I deserve all these."

The subject of his concern were the TMs that were now in his disc holder. One was the typical prize for beating a gym. Four others were found at the wreck of the game corner, somehow not reduced into scrap, and were given as prizes for defeating Team Rocket. Erika called it an investment.

Lane barely spared a glance at the disks. He was too preoccupied with staring at a curious Growlithe that had been trailing them just off the route. It would sit down, tongue lolled out, and wait for them to get an appropriate distance before running after them. Adorable. Yet it would run away a good distance whenever he tried petting it. Getting teased himself made Lane pout.

"Didn't say nothing. I'm more of a live let live kind of guy, you know?"

"So did you or did you not say anything?" Red asked.

"You've pretty much seen all the conversations I had with her, hero. The first one that we had was way more pre-battle banter, not really interesting nor witty. Well, at least hers wasn't. She probably thinks that you have a shot for champion too."

The case felt heavier than before. Red struggled to catch up to the same pace as before.

Even though it was a straight route, it felt like they'd made much better time than the first way around. They were able to reach Saffron City within a few hours of walking. Most of the trainers that were normally milling about were conspicuously absent. Lane commented that all the shakeups the region had been experiencing (coincidentally all happening around the same time that Red started traveling) was making people antsy.

Being in the shadow of the city brought its own feelings. The biggest, most populated city in Kanto without there being a contest, with the most effort put into it. Architects designed some of the tallest buildings in the world and infrastructure to support so many people. A construction crew could be seen in the distance working on a bridge that would one day lead straight into the heart of Johto. Just the sound alone made Red's head start to swim. Everything coalescing together wasn't hampered by the thin line of trees and buildings that were built just outside the city limits. Wild pokémon were distinctly lacking from the area. There was a dead band that wrapped around the city where few wildlife were bold enough to tread.

Another boy ran right into their path. His wild hair and practical clothing were the stereotypical things a newer trainer would wear, favoring practicality rather than trusting their pokémon to deal with the hardest work, which was why the strongest trainers could manage keeping up a "style". A blue t-shirt and jeans that looked as if they could withstand a slice from a knife had faint dirt stains. He furiously stomped his foot in the ground, bemusing Lane.

"Are you actually that angry or are you pretending?" Lane asked.

"Of course I'm that angry! First I run into a bunch of Rocket chumps that send me off the route and I end up getting lost for a week! Then when I finally come back, oh well! There's Red and one of his cronies coming from Celadon. Bet you've already got the badge too."

"Yeah," Red said.

Blue shook with pent up emotions. Bellowing up to the sky, all the anger was let out in a single moment.

Lane waved his nose. "Whew. I can smell that you've been out for a week."

A finger suddenly found itself in between Red's eyes. "Battle me! I've actually put in the effort in making a team from the 50 pokémon that I've caught! You've still got only two pokémon? I'll wipe that little lizard off the face of the planet!"

"No," Red said.

"Bark!" their stalker Growlithe yelled.

The finger nearly poked out one of Red's eyes, only avoided when he swerved his head back. "What'dya mean, 'no'!? No!? I haven't walked all this way just to be refused!"

"If I may, hero," Lane said, poking in at Red's peripheral vision, "I can take this battle. If he cannot even defeat one of your cronies then surely he doesn't have enough power to beat the exalted one himself!"

"'Exalted'? Pah! Red here is the biggest introvert that you've seen this side of the planet. If it weren't for me, he wouldn't know how to hold a conversation with a rock!" Blue exclaimed, poking a thumb into his chest.

"How do you hold a conversation with a rock? Maybe you're talking about a Geodude, though I think you'd have a hard time giving meaningful responses back to it! A rock has no business sympathizing with something alive and thinking, after all. Did you just show Red how to act like a schizophrenic?" Lane asked.

"Bark!" their stalker Growlithe agreed.

Blue's center of anger refocused, retracting his thumb and pointing his finger into the smaller boy's chest. "Who do you even think you are? What kind of person are you calling a hero? This guy here is pretty much the least impressive trainer from Pallet Town, which is pretty hard to do considering that there's only two trainers there!"

"Wouldn't it be easier to be less impressive if there's only two trainers? That's a 50/50. Statistically speaking, it'd also be pretty unimpressive if you're the better trainer."

Red sighed, walking ahead to save himself the headache of listening. The only positive was that Blue's tunnel vision focused on a target that couldn't be moved—an irretractable force versus an irreverent boulder. Losing the boy in the din of the city would be the best case scenario, though for some reason Red didn't have the confidence it would happen.

He locked eyes with the guard. The man just looked away. Whatever that interaction meant, Red didn't care. He was in.

Being inside the city was even more overwhelming than seeing it from the outside. Now the noise was stereo, like headphones tightly wrapped, giving him conflicting sounds no matter what direction that he looked. People still found places to mill around at street corners and restaurants, not minding the constant foot traffic that passed them by. An entire ecosystem supplanted the forest that was there long ago. All of a sudden, Rattata and Spearow were the dominant species. Birds nested high up as they watched imperiously down at the rat race below. Billboards and flashing lights further demanded the attention of anyone walking in. A paint board of stimuli blended together to nearly make the whole place incomprehensible to the small town boy. Without a clear goal, he wandered further into the city.

That was the main issue at the moment. His hands reached into his pack and withdrew the object of his troubles. Holding up the scope to the city didn't do anything except make the lights even more glaring. After nearly tripping on an enthusiastic Growlithe and getting a baleful glare from the owner, he tried finding a rock he could attach to, which turned out to be nowhere. Not a single place in the city was free from the barrage of sights and sounds. A random bench facing a gray wall was the best place he could manage.

The scope weighed lighter than it appeared. It had the company's logo imprinted on the forehead of the object—the same one on the highest tower in the city. It was a complicated system of straps that would keep it on your head, while the scopes would apparently reveal invisible pokémon. A tower that he was kicked out of easily came to mind. Getting his hat stolen and pokémon knocked out by an invisible force had been as humbling as it had been annoying.

The chain of philanthropy wasn't lost on him. From destroying a Team Rocket base to figuring out the problems with a random tower in another city instead of trying the psychic gym first. To be fair, Red considered it the main duty of training anyways. What use was getting strong pokémon if you didn't use them for anything?

Red's doubt was vindicated when Lane leapt over the bench's back and plopped down. He scooted away to keep some distance between them.

Lane held a pinky to his lips. "Man! That was easy! He totally doesn't put enough time in training!"

"I'm going back to Lavender Town."

"Neato! And I'm coming with you!"

Red let out a heavy breath through his nose.

When he didn't pick up the conversation, Lane continued talking. "Y'know, eventually his Squirtle is going to one-up your Charmeleon. At the moment your team is, like, suuuper weak to it. You don't want to lose to him, don't you?"

"I don't care either way," Red lied.

"Sure, sure. But if you coincidentally cared, then have you thought of another team member that could easily deal with it? Think about it! An electric or grass-type would smoke that thing. Another water-type would be a good way to round out your team while also being able to fight against whatever it would throw at you. And before you start thinking that Pikachu himself can deal with it, remember this, young padawan: never lay all your eggs in one car trunk. It's always better to have multiple ways to fight against a certain type of pokémon than leaving that burden to one," Lane said.

That line of thought could be easily continued. What were the most common types that could deal with Blue's Squirtle? Obviously there were grass-types abound no matter what part of the region you looked, but Red wouldn't ever consider picking up any of the pokémon that Erika had used; no matter how much she kept repeating it, those pokémon would never become 'cute'. Water was a different story. The fishing rod he'd been gifted barely caught anything that wouldn't fit inside a child's fishbowl. When nothing came to mind, Red felt a brief spike of guilt. Professor Oak had entrusted him with the pokédex to fill it out and he still hadn't even picked up a whole team.

A peculiar incident came to mind. The officer back at Vermillion had offered a Squirtle, which he refused at the time since he wanted to one-up Blue by challenging the Pokémon League with as few pokémon as he could manage. Swallowing his pride was tougher than he expected, especially since it was the same pokémon that Blue trained. Even if he got rid of the childish notion, he still found the idea of using one of Blue's pokémon repulsive. So instead of growing by coming to terms with his problems, he reworded them: what if the Squirtle one day became more powerful than Blue's own starter? What if it became an easy way to show which one of the trainers were better?

"You're kind of making a scary face!" Lane happily said.

He wasn't as happy when he realized they were backtracking across half the region. But he endured it. "All for hero, I'll see the exact same sights again and again!" he cheered, before going back to his droll expression. It wasn't as if they spent too much time traveling, in Red's opinion. It only took three days when he threw out the pokéball containing his new pokémon.

Outside of the same camping spot outside of Saffron that Red has visited multiple times now, their sleeping bags were laid out and pokémon milling around. A new team member playfully ran around with Eevee. The furry pokémon had taken a shine on their newest member and had taken the role of a stern caregiver. Even as they played together, Eevee maintained a stoic expression. Only when it leapt above the push ups of Charmeleon to deliver a fatal nibble on Squirtle's neck did a smile finally show itself. Pikachu had taken to chewing on blades of grass like they were candy bars, both paws firmly grasping down as it took tiny bites. Red had no idea if that was coming from a vitamin deficiency and decided to look into it when he was back in town.

"Okay, everyone. Let's bring it in," Red said.

Eevee, Charmeleon, and Pikachu were immediately on their feet. Squirtle took a second before it waddled over and saluted.

"Charmeleon. We're going to work on your accuracy. Squirtle, you're going to have to learn how to take a hit. We'll combine your training. Squirtle will do everything he can to avoid the fire that Charmeleon uses. Only embers! We want to make this training last, Charmeleon. Eevee, let's work further on transitioning between your moves. I feel as if you can use protect after quick attack much faster than you currently are doing. For you, Pikachu, we'll continue trying to get your voltage even higher. Let's start by rubbing your cheeks before we try to make higher voltage thunderbolts."

Every member of his team gave their squawks of consent even if Squirtle looked as if he were told about his home being lost to the debtors. A flicker of fire landing on his tail finally got the pokémon moving.

Red glanced over to his other traveling companion. Fomantis was laying as near to the fire as possible with the petals around its bulbs splayed out contentedly. A mound was the only indication of where Dunsparce had burrowed itself, though every now and then the dirt would wiggle. Red was left bemused as to what it could be doing down there; he couldn't know that it was wriggling around in contentment much like how one would snuggle deeper in their bed. Lurantis was getting her daily grooming from her trainer, trilling in contentment as she was sprayed by a specially made water bottle that somehow never emptied.

He finally bit the bullet. After days of traveling together, his curiosity finally got the better of him.

"I've never seen you training," Red said.

Lane didn't even glance behind him. The process of trimming any unwanted growth from Lurantis' back was a delicate process. They would normally groom each other in the wild, but obviously he didn't have an entire pack of Lurantis at his call when traveling. Hands worked down her back to find any mounds. Double-checking for good measure, he then started focusing on the bow-like protrusion she had. That was the most important part. Because it acted like a branch, it very easily grew new stumps that he'd have to nip early or else they'd take longer to heal over. Even the slightest distinction made him carefully press the blade as vertically as possible.

"That's because I'm not really a battling trainer. I'm a breeder. Dang, it really took you nearly a month before asking me. Am I that icky?"

Red ignored all the superfluous talking. "You say that, yet you were able to fight against a gym leader."

"Gawd, why do you all focus on that? I'd like to say that I was also about to lose against a gym leader if I didn't run away!" Red's unamused face made Lane continue talking. "I don't call myself the 'Lazy Genius' for nothing! We train every now and then, but all this power you see is the result of good genes!"

When Lane was too focused on getting a snip as lined up with the current arc of her bow, Lurantis turned around to make sure that Red saw her eye roll.

"So you have a pokémon that's on the elite level just because you occasionally train," Red said drolly.

"This is what 'elite level' is to you? Anyways, it's because I'm a special type of breeder who focuses on internationally endangered pokémon." This time he was able to catch Lurantis' eye roll. "Okay, I'm not technically a breeder who focuses on internationally endangered pokémon yet. My career is starting here though! And being a breeder with this specific category is pretty dangerous. You see all the Team Rocket goons that're around the region. Don't you think they'd love to rob a breeder like me?"

Red considered the whole statement. It didn't sound wrong on its face, but he was around Lane for too long to take anything the boy said too seriously. The sudden crack that came from right next to them left ears ringing, though neither boy was surprised. Pikachu shook his head and started rubbing his cheeks again.

"Why are you following me if you're a breeder?" Red asked.

Lane made the biggest pout that he could pull off. "Do you not like me?"

"Answer the question."

"Rude!" Lane sniffed, then sneezed as he made the sniff too dramatic. With a congested voice, he continued. "I'm telling you that you're gonna be the champion. I'm calling it right now. And like I said, I'm a historian. Who wouldn't want to travel along with a champion?"

"You're a pretty busy guy. Breeder and historian?"

"I consider myself a Renaissance man."

All that being said, Red didn't believe a word that came out of Lane's mouth. If Lane wanted to be a breeder of rare pokémon so badly, then an Eevee wouldn't have been a bad start considering how popular they are in proportion to their numbers—yet he didn't. The 'breeder' didn't even hesitate when offering it to Red. That also came in conjunction with all the other half-answers that he received. How much did he actually train his pokémon? Were his parents breeders too? How could a boy younger than him get the autonomy to move around the region for a pipe dream, only to get distracted and start following around a random trainer?

All that conversation amounted to was Red doubting anything that the boy said even more. Only a single idea stuck past the lies. Him as Champion, the capital 'C' if he wanted to be pretentious, and it was actually debated amongst the greatest linguists of the time whether being champion/Champion actually deserved it. Doubts made it hard to keep his head up. Two different people had confidently said that he had a chance. Even if he discounted everything that Lane said, Erika's actions made him feel more confident than he wanted to. His bones felt like actual trainers didn't throw the word around carelessly, much less gym leaders.

Champion Red. The title sounded good. Until Charmeleon missed the first blast of fire and Red realized the consequences of training in an area full of greenery. Squirtle was too panicked to use a water move and Charmeleon was unknowingly making the problem worse as he patted it down, letting his tail drift low enough to light more grass. Ordering them to get back in order made Lane giggle, getting an exasperated look from Lulu.

All the pokémon slept outside of their balls. Eevee provided the base pillow, a battered Squirtle laying on top of her, Pikachu constantly trying to find a comfortable spot to lay his head, with Charmeleon snoring up a storm at the very top. Their alarm clock was the flaming tip of his tail singing Eevee's nose.

As they were packing up camp, Lane made a squeak.

"Actually, hero, I've got things to do. We should meet up later. You do your heroic thing and I'll do my perfectly mundane one," Lane said.

Red sighed in irritation. "Are you going to arrange another ambush?"

"No? Why would I do that? You'd just beat them off anyways," Lane said, waving him off. "I've got some things to arrange. Don't worry. You'll love it when you see it."

"I don't think I will," Red said, tying a cord that would keep his sleeping bag in a compact roll.

The important thing in Lane's mind was that Red didn't outright reject the fact they would meet again. Because that's what it was. A fact. An immutable fact that Lane would find him. He already missed the slight downturns of Red's mouth when he said something particularly objectionable. He'd live without it. There was one him, unique, skilled at his job, and a hundred thousand people who were in that beautiful area where they were too nice to beat him up while still getting annoyed by his antics. They walked in different directions, Lane planning for the future.

A/N: Happy holidays! If I wasn't slacking then this would've been released earlier but Christmas! New Years!

Shoutouts to FrozenFox96 again for being the beta.

Like I said in the previous author's note, this chapter is way slower than the previous one. Stuff still happens, but it's more setting up the next few chapters. I really wanted to stuff a bunch of more important action in here before deciding that it'd make more sense and hopefully read better separating the stuff into the next few chapters. Sorry, people who like 20,000 behemoths. Don't feel ashamed because I'm one of those people too. But this one has always been awkward in my head. Hopefully the next part of the story makes up for this kind of obvious/awkward interlude.

Rate, hate, interrogate, and I'll see all of you later. Enjoy the rest of your holidays!