A/N This is long overdue, but thank you WyldClaw for your positive reviews. It's nice to look through and be able to see that people genuinely enjoy my work.

Blue smiled as he ran along the route south to Saffron City. He was still way ahead of Red and Green, even if the two of them still got their second Gym Badges. Those two could waste time on their little 'date' all they wanted, it just meant he'd have a better head start against them. While he ran he heard a strange sound in the distance, almost like a wild Growlithe running around, but they weren't found on this route were they? He stopped to get a better listen and saw a Growlithe majestically leap over his head and land in front of him.

"Growwwwwl!" it cried.

"Awesome! Alright Growlithe, you're mine," Blue said. Route 5 was pretty close to Route 8, so Blue figured it must have just run from there. He reached for Shellshocker's Pokéball and prepared to engage.

"Wait! That Growlithe isn't wild," came the shout of a woman. Blue turned around and saw a female police officer with dark teal hair. "This is an official Kanto Police Department Growlithe." Blue looked over at the Growlithe again and noticed the collar with a tag that read R-K-9.

"Sorry, didn't mean to get in the way of police work, but umm what happened?" Blue asked with a look of interest in his eyes.

"There was a robbery at a house in Cerulean City, the robber fled along this route," she said before pausing to think. "Say, you seem like a strong trainer..."

"Let me guess, you want my help?" Blue asked with a confident smirk.

"Indeed, if it's not too much trouble, the suspect was wearing a black outfit with a big, red R on his shirt.

"Team Rocket, my twin sister told me about those guys. Yeah, I'll help you out." Blue summoned Wingstorm. He reached over and ruffled his feathers. "We're looking for a guy in all black, if you find him, spin in a circle 3 times and keep following him, okay?" Wingstorm cawed out in affirmation and flew up. Blue began following the bird Pokémon as it searched from above. After a few minutes of running, he saw Wingstorm spin 3 times and continued running fast. He found the grunt trying to hide in a tree, but his attempt was thwarted by a gust from Wingstorm.

"Where do you think you're going?" Blue asked confidently as he approached the grunt.

"Mind your own business, I'm just an innocent bystander!" he sent out a Machop.

Blue scoffed at that statement. "That's why you're wearing the uniform of Team Rocket?" he asked as he sent Mindbreaker out against the Machop.

"Machop, go for a Karate Chop," the grunt ordered. The Machop ran towards Mindbreaker and raised its hand to chop down on the Abra.

"Mindbreaker, Teleport!" Blue shouted, and his Pokémon quickly got out of the way of the attack. The chop connected to the ground leaving a shallow trench where the dirt was. "Now, what attacking moves does an Abra know?" he asked himself quietly as he pulled out his Pokédex. He muttered a swear under his breath as he saw the learnset. "Just teleport..." He could swap, but he couldn't do that after acting as confident as he did. How could he win this battle?

"Keep chopping!" the grunt demanded. Machop kept trying to hit Mindbreaker, but each chop was evaded by the teleportation. Each time Mindbreaker dodged, the collateral damage to the environment. Blue's eyes lit up as he got an idea.

"Mindbreaker! Teleport in front of that tree," Blue said, pointing to one of the trees on the route. Mindbreaker complied with the request, disappearing and reappearing in front of it. The Machop closed in on him and prepared another chop. "Now!" Mindbreaker teleported away and Machop's hand cut right through the tree, causing it to fall on top of it and crush it. Blue smiled as the grunt recalled his Pokémon.

"You just got lucky," the grunt said bitterly as he sent out his next Pokémon. "Drowzee, take him down." The Drowzee raised its hands and combined them as if it was in prayer. "Use disable!" Drowzee closed its eyes before opening them once more. The open eyes glowed pink, and Mindbreaker was bathed in that same pink coloration. Blue gritted his teeth as he realized his one trick was just completely nullified. "Now, pound that Abra into the ground!" Drowzee waddled over to Mindbreaker with surprising swiftness and punched him in the face. Mindbreaker fell backwards and hit the ground painfully. Blue recalled Mindbreaker and sighed, feeling bad for his Pokémon.

"Wingstorm, I need your help," Blue said as he threw out his Pidgeotto. Wingstorm flew into the air and spun 3 times once more.

"That won't help you," the grunt said with a smirk. "Drowzee, Hypnosis!" The Drowzee held out its hands, and the eyes turned dark purple.

"Wingstorm, use Sand Attack. He can't hypnotize you if he can't see you!" Wingstorm began flapping his wings to blow the dirt that Machop dug up earlier into Drowzee's eyes, blinding the Pokémon and preventing the Hypnosis from taking effect. "Great, now hit him with a Quick Attack!" Wingstorm flew through the air at great speeds and slammed directly into Drowzee's stomach. The Drowzee was knocked backwards, but got back up.

"Go for a confusion!" the grunt commanded desperately. Drowzee opened its eyes which were now glowing red, but Wingstorm was already behind it.

"Finish him with a gust attack!" Blue commanded. Wingstorm began flapping his wings rapidly. The Drowzee got blasted in the back by the blowing winds and fell onto its head, which knocked it out. The grunt recalled his Pokémon and put the Pokéball back on his belt. Blue saw that he had no more Pokémon left. "Looks like you lose," he said with a confident smirk.

"I'll wipe that smirk off your face!" the grunt shouted as he ran towards Blue, ready to punch him in the face.

"Growlithe, Take Down!" Jenny's voice called out and her Growlithe leapt into the air and landed on the Grunt, knocking him onto his stomach. Jenny took out a pair of handcuffs and slapped them on his wrists. "Thanks for your help kid, I wouldn't have been able to catch him without you."

"Well, since I did just find your guy and take down his Pokémon, maybe I could get one of your R-K-9s?" he asked jokingly.

"I can't exactly give you this one, but now that you mention it, there's a Growlithe back at the station that was deemed 'too friendly' to be an R-K-9. I could let you train him?" she offered with a smile.

Blue's eyes widened slightly in shock at her offer, "I'd love to!"