"Alright, Lulu, here's the itinerary. We can be late for all of Red's little escapades except for when he roots out Team Rocket in Saffron. We'll have to keep a tight schedule to make it ahead of him, so we're going to cut ahead through the backroads. Hopefully the map covers the areas that we need to cross through. First we have to get three Lapras, two of which are opposite genders and seem compatible enough; then I want to find a new pokémon for my favoritest hero in the entirest world; then we have to make a bomb."
Lurantis squeaked in surprise. The other two pokémon were nearly falling over from their midday naps, not listening at all.
"I know. Lapras are supremely rare. However, I think that we can find them thanks to this!"
He held up a whistle that was just smaller than his thumb. A blue and white rope dangled loosely around the rest of his arm. A star-shaped exit hole was at the other end of the typical rectangular blow hole. The wood was shaped like a heart, with the exit between the mounds. Lurantis gave an alarmed squawk, waving her arms around wildly.
"I did not get scammed! This whistle actually resembles Lapras' cries. If you blow into it," he blew with all his might, making the other two fall off the bench in alarm. If any of them actually knew Lapras' cry then they would've been surprised at how accurate the whistle actually was. "It can be heard even deep underneath the ocean. It's verified information! The real problem is going to be doing all of this before Red gets wrapped up in his next set of shenanigans. The walk over to Lavender Town will be, eh, about four days if he takes it slow, two if not? Then it'll probably take a day or two to deal with the problem over there, or more, less, whatever. Then he'll walk back which will be another few days if he doesn't get distracted. All in all, we have about a week to do all this if Red decides to book it. Daunting, I know."
Dunsparce slithered forwards to nip at the front of his shoe.
"Oi. We only have a week to get this done so let's get serious. We'll decide this as a team."
A map came out of his pack. Markings of different pens and handwritings were scrawled on the battle-worn paper, the creases where it was folded turning into cracked valleys over the colorful depictions of the region. Most of the exact details about political borders or human settlements were left vague in favor of a geographic view of the region. Long, snaking mountains still coexisted with the same forests through the centuries. Lane couldn't know it, but there were actually plenty of geographical changes that weren't pictured. A mountain was partially carved thanks to a rampaging Dragonite firing a hyper beam and it was a worldwide trend for forests to be shrinking. His finger traced along the routes until it landed on a specific pond. Looking around, most of the features depicted on the map were still there. Stupid trees, Lane thought to himself, mentally spitting on one.
More important were the details left behind by the previous owners. Alternate routes disregarding the National Kanto Safety Board's (NKSB, not much better than the official name, established when one too many kids walked into an Ekans breeding ground, with its jurisdiction covering Johto too despite the name, after combining with the JBSRT, the Johto Board of Safety Regulations for Trainers) strongly worded suggestions for the safest path. Two different markers protruded from Route 11—one blue, the other yellow. Both had notes scrawled on it about the locations of specific pokémon and good spots for rest that were most likely dated. After all, entire square miles of habitat being lost wasn't something that the creatures who previously lived there scoffed at. Both lines eventually connected with the lower part of the region without having to work across half the continent.
"Alright, men! We have a choice here. Mr. Blue suggests that we take the route hugging the coastline. It has clear sights for most of it since the forest actually grows a bit away from it and there's a lack of pokémon around here that like to hang around the beach. The problem is that there's no easy way to reconnect with the southern routes so we'll have to rough it through horrible terrain for most of that journey. Mr. Yellow suggests that we take a nice walk next to a river. It's straightforward and we can refill water there, but it'll have competitive wild pokémon. Yellow will be faster since we don't have a pokémon of burden. All in favor for each, speak now or forever hold your peace."
One leaf pointed towards the yellow route. After a moment of thought, a second leaf concurred. Dunsparce let out a pitiful whine.
"You two are danger-prone, aren't you? Luckily for you guys, I'm danger-prone too! We're taking the dangerous route! Don't look like that, Dunsparce. We'll make it through fine."
"You know, young man, that there's a reason that the routes were made," said the old lady who was sitting on the bench too. Her little old-biddy cap made Lane chuckle when he first saw her, along with the slight shakes of head whenever she found something displeasurable. Thankfully his youth made talking about crazy things the hyperactive imagination of a child rather than genuinely mischievous. "So many young trainers never finish their journeys. So many are scared early or, heaven forbid, have their pokémon run away from their foolish hearts. Don't become another name in the long list."
Lane folded the map and put it back in. "Pfft. Those are amateurs, lady. I'm the real deal."
"Your poor little thing looks as if it's about to have a heart attack."
He looked down at Dunsparce, who was visibly shaking. His wings were flapping as if he'd finally be able to gain true flight to leave whatever nightmare he was imagining. Fomantis hopped on its back and patted its head.
"Who doesn't get nerves when they're about to do something courageous?" All of his pokémon except Fomantis were recalled, who was scooped up onto his shoulder. "See you in the funny papers!"
It turns out that no matter how 'elite' of a trainer you are, it doesn't mean much in the face of sheer overwhelming numbers. One would have to imagine the pure skill that the elite of the elite had to be with the stories that floated around. Surge being able to hold off entire squads during the war. Lance being able to subdue an entire swarm of dragons with a single one of his pokémon. Even Erika, the genteel girl, had a news story celebrating her taking down a horde of wild Tauros that were rampaging into the town without even a single broken window once she took the scene. Taken in the grand scheme of things, it was pretty pathetic to be running from a swarm of Pidgeots.
Lane ducked underneath a swipe that would've scalped him before throwing himself bodily down a steep decline. It was a calculated maneuver. Within the first three bounces, a Victreebel that would've made a delicious snack out of his foot cried in agony when he flattened it. Every single second a whole new scenery went by. Forest. Nature. Rocks in his shoulder. Rocks in his back. Bruises running across his body with the same color as the oran berries he steamrolled. Delicate plants hiding underneath the shelter of canopies were decimated by the force of nature that made its way down the hill. All the way down, the flock screeched in anger as they maneuvered around the trees in chase. Watching them twist around the obstacles would've been magnificent if they weren't trying to eat a child's head.
There were no natural routes anywhere. Any sign of human habituation was absent. As he finally started rolling at the bottom of the hill, he got up and continued running. The first bird dove so fast that it landed on the ground, claws carved through the fresh dirt as its momentum died. The bushes shuddered like flags as a single mighty flap sent the bird careening at its target.
Its caw was lost in the air. Roaring currents sublimated the forest's ambience. The mist from the raging river became so thick in some places that they started losing sight of each other. Lane found that either the river's edge was rougher than the rest or that his subconscious mind really needed the sight, as suddenly he found himself nearly tripping a lot more. The bird would fly near, reach out to attempt nipping him, before getting a faceful of the rapids gushing into its face that made it miss.
Another blast of air nearly knocked Lane off his feet. Popping through the treeline was one pokémon after another, taking formation in the greater flock like little fighter jets. Trails of wind flew from the tips of their wings. A tiny Pidgeot reached pecking distance. Its mighty head reared back in preparation. Another one collapsed from the leaves above with its wings spread wide, shadow overtaking his tiny body as its claws curled into little cages. Lane barely spared a glance back when he threw himself to the side once again.
The water formed a brief crater before sucking itself in. Lane's body sank beneath the surface, the currents uncaring of his flailing limbs. All the running left him breathless. Now underneath the water, his body wanted to suck something in, nearly forcing his mouth open by instinct. Another rock impacted his leg, sending him spiraling even further from the surface. Memory guided his hand to a pokéball hooked to his belt. Some of the fake ones had floated loose into the milky water. None of the real ones had he thought, though there was no way to check at that moment.
A bright flash turned into Dunsparce. The pokémon held his breath as his trainer gripped tightly onto his back. With the might of a being that wanted to live, Dunsparce used every muscle to float closer to the river's edge. In a single thrust they cleared the rest of the distance. Dunsparce's tail lunged for the thick rock and pierced through without needing to spin. Lane's hand blindly grappled for a handhold until one curled around his fingers. They both raised their heads above the waters for a badly needed breath.
The Pidgeot had spread out around the area. A screech behind him made both Lane and Dunsparce hurriedly duck back underneath the water. Letting go, they were once again thrown back into the mercy of the current. The next time they poked back up, they managed to catch two breaths before the shadow from a rapidly descending predator made them go back down. It repeated once again. Then again. They traveled down, spots growing in their vision as they were slowly starved of oxygen.
His head broke through with droplets freely running down the sides of his face. Dunsparce's own face was marred with a mix of river water and tears. Two pokémon that looked down at them curiously, both their snouts bent down to take a sip. Both of the needles on their bodies were poised to gore them. Lane tried to raise one of his arms to say hello, only to find that the gamble had completely drained him of energy. None of the Pidgeot had followed around those two for good reason.
"Please don't eat us," Lane said.
The Nidoking huffed in amusement, reaching down to grab both of them by their necks. Without even a grunt of exertion they were lifted up onto dry ground. Dunsparce immediately burrowed into the ground while Lane just fell onto his back. Nidoqueen sniffed his side before giving a grunt to her mate. From his vantage point, he could see the shine of venom on both the pokémon's hides.
"That was a mistake."
Nidoking nodded. His foot nudged into Lane's side, painfully awakening some of the lumps that were growing. A groan of pain made the nudging stop, though its shoulders bouncing was definitely chuckling at his expense.
"Hey. Big guy. Er, either one of you. Could you reach into my pack? Yeah, that. You can have those berries if you want. But get that piece of paper and unfold it gently. Now lay it out on the ground. Thank you. Then take that pen. It's the green rod in there. Yeah, that's the one. Now do you see that yellow line at the bottom of the paper? Not that one. Not that one. Yeah, there you go. Please scribble over it. Yeah, like that. Thank you."
It took a good amount of time before he could finally move again. During those hours he just watched all the floating debris that drifted around like he was on the ocean floor. The pokémon who saved him contentedly basked in the sunlight nearby, bellies facing up and arms spread out. He could feel the sunlight too. It was pleasant and welcoming, slowly traveling across the sky and peppering him like a shotgun through the few holes through the canopy.
Standing up and stretching gave him time to reorient himself and find that the desperate sprint didn't even take them that far. The peak of the hill they rolled down was still visible from where he was bending. It only felt like they were drowning for years because, well, that's what drowning made you feel. When the unusually kind giants lumbered off, Lane had to muster all the energy that was left in his body to bumble towards the goal. The only positive that he could find was that the river still led in the direction that he was going down. Joy. Only took his favorite (only) pair of clothes, dignity, health, and the mental health of Dunsparce. The pokémon wouldn't stop burrowing underground even hours after the incident and extended the wait time another hour to convince Dunsparce there weren't any more threats trying to eat them. Lulu ended up digging into the ground and dragging the squeaking pokémon out of its den so he could recall him.
Because of the legs that had become half-leg, half-welt, all tired, walking towards the route took even more time than he was expecting. It still shaved off multiple days if he took the 'League recommended' path but the benefits didn't feel real as he hobbled out of the forest into an area sparse of trees. Either Marowak or Sandslash were near since there were holes hastily covered by loose dirt—from a fun fact pamphlet that he'd read in the cell. It also meant that the wilderness was going to cede its hateful territory back into the sweet bliss of civilization according to the map. Anybody who appreciates nature should be mauled by wild pokémon, in Lane's opinion.
It made a precarious walk going through grass that covered the floor and potentially dangerous holes in those parts he could see. He walked down the only part of the field without any visible landmines. Ground pokémon were the vindictive types who would indiscriminately spring a trap on whoever was unlucky enough to walk there. Tiptoeing a carefully constructed path through the field looked like aimless zigzagging from a bird's eye view that stretched out the relatively small distance.
Because the trip couldn't go normally, he nearly tripped on a girl that he only saw last second. She was crouched low, not even noticing him when his foot nearly kicked her back.
Her tangled hair had strays running in every direction. The short shorts would normally make Lane suspect that the person wasn't a serious trainer—the amount of issues giving nature and pokémon alike an easy area to strike were too many to count—but the red scratches that ran across the lily white skin at least meant she'd been wandering for some time. She curiously inspected the burrow, only to shake her head in disappointment. With a sigh, she stood up and turned around.
"Eek!" Her hand instantly went for her pokéball, only to stall when her head tilted down to his height. "Wait a second, you're small! I'm in no danger."
"There's a lot of power packed inside of me. It's pretty much the most efficient packing of power ever," Lane said.
"Nah, you're a pipsqueak. You like cheese!"
Lane's smile turned stale as his eyes drifted off into the distance. "Is this how people think I act? My references and silly use of words are more clever than this, aren't they?"
"You're speaking out loud," she said.
"I'm supposed to be. I needed to establish early on that you're witless while I contain all the wit in a two-for-one power, wit deal." He stuck his hand out. "The name's Lane. I'm a historian."
She took his grip. Despite the clear muscle on her legs and arms, it was gentle. "I'm Green! Just a normal everyday trainer looking for powerful pokémon. Do you know of anything cool in the area? I mean, you're pretty far out from the route. It's pretty strange for you to be out here, did you know? Almost like you're looking for something, huh?"
Suddenly Lane realized that he was in a dangerous situation. The entire conversation one hand was creeping downwards. Hiking after being injured sapped whatever youthful vitality that he was supposed to have. Even though the route was nearby, there was no way he was making it to the nearest city when the sun had nearly burned out.
In short, he was screwed. All that he could do was laugh slowly as they both backed up. Nearly tripping on a mound didn't make him keep that cool, aloof persona.
"You won't believe a thing that I say."
A ball retracted from her bag. Purple, with a bold 'M' on the top. That was the ball that screamed wealth or connections—or both.
They threw out their pokémon at the same time. It was only through an immense amount of self-control that he was able to not wince as a Ninetales formed at the other end of the field. Semi-rare, powerful, and considered to be a pokémon so dangerous that normal trainers weren't allowed access to them; and worst of all, it was a typing that Lulu absolutely could not get hit by or else she'd be incinerated. Begging for mercy was seriously considered for a moment.
"Ninetales, finish this! Use hyper beam!"
"You know that you're supposed to say 'finish this' when you're actually finishing it!" Lane yelled.
Through the brilliant glow that was coalescing around the Ninetales' body, Lurantis sped through the grass with her low blades carving paths through the dirt. At the last second she jumped to the side as her opponent's maw opened. A white ball, held inside its maw like a tennis ball, expanded rapidly until a streak of light tore across the field. Even her nimble evasion didn't spare Lurantis from all the damage. The canyon that had been carved into the ground sent rocks flying onto her back. Little pain, but every hit counted, especially when the sheer heat of the attack had lit the drier grass on fire. They looked like incense sticks with their tips leaving dozens of smoke trails.
Lurantis fired off a blast of leaves at the pokémon, preemptively moving out of the way as Ninetales blew fire to clear them. It became a game; Lulu fired leaves as she was moving before a wall of fire smoked everything green out of vision. Green became the first player to get tired of it, stomping on the soft earth.
"What the heck? Command your pokémon or something. It's flailing! What the heck kind of trainer are you!?"
"The kind that exploits Kanto's lack of basic education!" Lane decided to pose, looking down at his clenched fist while pointing at the Ninetales. "Let me show you how to say this: finish it off, Lulu!"
Another blast of fire painted the earth like a black marker. Emerging from the shifting heat, Lurantis leapt through with only slight charring on its body. Ninetales was so surprised that it couldn't react as the Lurantis threw its limbs with wild abandon against the softer pokémon's body. The larger pokémon crumpled underneath the blows, being lifted up in the air by an opportune strike to its abdomen before being launched back with a kick.
Green watched as her pokémon slid to a stop on the smoldering ground of its own creation. It tried standing up on wobbly knees. Without saying a word, she released another pokéball onto the field. She dragged her Ninetales out of the destruction, mindful of the fires, and got to work with a potion.
A ghost appeared on the field. Gengar's mouth opened wide to release a laugh meant to intimidate. The flickers left behind from the previous fight started dissipating as the air chilled.
Lurantis didn't care about that, nor the ball of sludge that flew straight at her face. The Gengar in its cockiness didn't bother moving as the tiny pokémon was blanketed in the muck. The dark purple hid the black that coalesced around her blade. She leapt forward and sliced down. Gengar was still smiling on its two halves before disappearing.
Green watched in horror as her second pokémon was defeated in a single hit by a bug-looking thing that didn't even reach up to her waist.
"What the heck is that!?"
"Power! Bring out your next pokémon! I guarantee that there's nobody on your team that can defeat Lulu. She has the ability which can defeat legendaries!"
Green shook in actual fear. She was still the one who started the battle. That meant she had to finish it. Any being with that much power wouldn't have mercy against such flagrant disrespect. Another pokémon flew out onto the field as she tried getting her shaking under control.
"Clefairy, baby! Use light screen and reflect as fast as you can!"
"Toxic it and then use superpower. When you feel the time is right, take it out."
Clefairy could hear the genuine fear in its trainer's voice. As the poison seeped into her skin, she struggled to ignore the pain to construct the screens that would save whoever was coming after her. It was a strategy she was well familiar with. Even as her thick body was hammered, the light manifested in front of her. Countering blasts of pink energy seemed to be absorbed by the pokémon with how little it reacted to the attacks. It didn't take long before two blades swung together, sending the pink pokémon over the head of her trainer. Green didn't even look up at the screaming ball as she threw her next pokémon out.
The next pokémon landed on the ground without fanfare. The two launchers on its back were trained on Lurantis within a single second, tracking the pokémon even as it dashed around. Neither side flinched at the declaration from Lane.
"Brick break."
Green's heart sank as the screen of light shattered into motes of light. Blastoise was able to take the hit with only a grunt, even firing back into Lurantis' impenetrable chest, but any chance the team had of victory were completely sunk.
"I…" the words tasted like blood, "forfeit."
Blastoise's cannons turned towards the human that was moseying up with his hands behind his back. All the bruises that were on his body were covered up and his even, if slow, pace maintained the image of invincibility. Lurantis walked stoically beside her trainer, not even glancing up at the murder tortoise who could fire at any second. A long, strong shadow fell over the fallen pokémon. Green couldn't let the words bubble out of her throat as he leaned downwards.
"Your guys' education really needs to cover foreign regions. You could also do the actual mechanics of pokémon battling. I should not be winning these fights," Lane said.
Defiant blows hit the ground. She forced the words out, no matter how it went against her very being to beg. Ninetales watched her trainer sadly, not able to provide much comfort as that single set of attacks had definitely broken something.
"Give me whatever that thing is. I'll do anything to get that much power," Green said.
Money signs floated around her body. All of a sudden an enemy became a worthy prospect. That master ball made her all the more attractive in his view.
"That can be arranged."
"Remember, Lulu. There's a single thing that makes the world go round: whatever the other person believes. If they respect power then the only thing that matters is power. If they are a slave to money then the only thing that matters are those beautiful notes. This is how idiots think and these idiots rule the world, so we've got to get into this mindset so we can conquer the world."
The pokédollars were slowly counted in Lane's fingertips one by one. Each one a fraction of the promise made.
Lurantis gave a confused trill.
"What makes the world go round for us? For you, it's my continued safety since you're my little angel." Lurantis rolled her eyes but didn't deny that. "For me, it's whatever I'm focused on at the moment. Do you see what I'm holding? This is a free boat ride. That's what is turning the world right now. Oh, and your safety. But duh, that's a given. Call me greedy, but I have a lot of priorities!"
"You sound rather manipulative, young man," said an old man who was sitting on the bench next to him.
"I definitely am. Now let's brainstorm here. I'm trying to make my friend think that I'm omnipotent so I need to meet up with the gym leader before he gets here. How can I meet up with him and make an impression so that he remembers me during my next visit?" Lane asked.
The old man stroked his chin, fingers taking careful time to run down the length of his beard.
"What a conundrum. Unfortunately, he only notices who he wants to notice. Being a challenger at the gym or to be on official business would be the best ways. Even so, if he deems you unworthy of his time, then I doubt he'd come down to personally meet you."
Getting a better look at his pokémon, Lane scoffed. "I think I've got a plan, but that doesn't matter at the moment. Now tell me how long you were planning on not bringing up the damage?"
The old man leaned in towards the sheepish pokémon. "Is she hurt? I can't see anything."
A sweeping finger ran over particular spots. Slight discolorations that most wouldn't notice dotted her body, making the bright pink lines lean slightly further towards red. Little pools that he could barely find after a thorough inspection. The old man, whose eyesight was fading with age, couldn't see them.
"A Lurantis' skin is really delicate. They need constant maintenance to keep their brilliant coloration. It's because the colors can only be produced when they get a certain type of water full of the essential minerals, and when the climate is right for them. Poison, ice, and fire disrupt their natural abilities to make the chemicals that make the colors." Lane rubbed his forehead as he realized that enough places were damaged that she looked like a dalmation now that he noticed it. "Argh. This sucks. If the damage was this intense, then it's going to take so much time for them all to get better."
Lurantis had her arms behind her back, toe nervously tracing circles on the bench. After a moment of thought, Lane ended up shaking his head.
"It's not important right now. I've got a plan to get Koga's attention. Come along. Be ready in case things go south."
"Live on, young 'un. Hah! Always wanted to call somebody that."
The gym was at the south of town, near enough to the ocean that an insufferable salty smell clung to the lobby no matter how many incense sticks were laid out. Succulent plants with their engorged leaves mingled with Kanto's typical hardy trees to create a wall around the base of the hill that separated Fuschia City from the shore. Infamously known for its treacherous waters, the southernmost part of Kanto had nasty hidden rocks that would tear through ship's hulls. Most were discouraged even going there. Powerful currents dissuaded even the normal person from making their vacation at one of the many rocky outcroppings that would lean into the ocean.
The inside of Koga's gym was completely barren past the single man sitting at the front. A baggy garb covered nearly every inch of him. A mask over his mouth prevented Lane from seeing the frown. Oh, and he was staying balanced on a single foot while his other leg was crossed over his knee. It made Lane want to walk over and give a slight push.
"We were not aware that there were any gym challengers at this time. My apologies, but Koga isn't in at the moment," the man said.
"Oh, that's fine. I just wanted to buy a bomb but I guess I'll have to come back some other time."
Two people silently landed behind him. Without glancing, Lane whistled a jaunty tune as he waited.
The final man landed in front of him. Only wrinkles around his near-black eyes were recognizable through the similarly incognito clothes that he wore. Lane could recognize the gym leader from the pictures that were online. That pokéball that he had withdrawn would carry a monster inside of it—one that he most likely couldn't scratch. Lurantis and Dunsparce weren't the greatest answers to poison-types despite Dunsparce having some familiarity with ground moves.
"You've got a lot of nerve walking into a gym leader's home and threatening him." Fingers tensed around the ball. "Now what do you represent? Some sick prank? Or something more?"
"I was told that money makes the world go around. I thought that if anybody in the region would make bombs, it'd be the person who does infiltration stuff or something. So do you have a bomb? It just needs to be strong enough to knock down a wall. I can pay. If no, then just direct me towards the nearest person who can fulfill my request. Do they take an invoice?" Lane offered, holding up the bills.
Only the finger gently running down the curvature of the ball indicated that the man was thinking. Lurantis tried acting intimidating towards the trainers behind them, though neither even glanced at the pokémon who came up to their knees. Koga raised his hand.
"Janine! Get me that bomb for our guest. You know the one."
No response came except for one of the ninja to disappear back into the rafters.
Seconds passed. Doubtlessly there was movement going on above, but he couldn't see past the blackness and didn't hear anything past his own breathing. Lane wondered if there was tomfoolery with invisible walls working there.
A ninja that could've been Janine or somebody completely different dropped from the ceiling with a cylinder that looked suspiciously like a pipe bomb. Lane immediately was suspicious of the object. Wires ran from the stuff that was haphazardly taped to the sides of the spray-painted pipe—white—that threaded into the cap. Now, he liked to believe in human kindness. Surely Koga was giving him a legitimate bomb because he asked so nicely. But he wasn't born yesterday and he knew how adults worked when children asked for dangerous objects. That didn't mean whatever the pipe did was worthless. As he said, people make the world go round based on what they want to or, more specifically, what they believe.
"How much?" Lane asked.
Koga took the bomb, appraised it, and then chucked it. Lane caught it deftly with a single hand. The thing felt heavy enough to convincingly be a bomb. There was a strange smell either from the cheap metal underneath it or the cheap spray paint used for it. A real question emerged: why did the poison gym have such an object on hand? It looked like it was being used by terrorists rather than professional ninja.
"Keep your money. We've been trying to find a use for that for a long time. And for your own safety, don't walk into a gym talking nonsense like that ever again. I'm in a rather good mood today so we'll leave this situation on the down low. Now, if you'll excuse me…"
On a hidden cue, all the ninjas leapt back to their positions into the ceiling. Lane tried to trail them up there. Going, going, going, then suddenly they were no longer visible into the blackness that surely wasn't natural. A sleight of hand that he couldn't see through.
When they walked back outside, Lurantis ran in front of him while speaking nonsense.
"Yeah, this thing is definitely not a bomb," Lane said, looking at it from all sides. "They probably gave me a—heck, I've got no idea. Think that we should go back up and catch an Electrode?"
Lurantis shook her head.
"You're right. We probably won't make it in time with all the tomfoolery that nearly killed us. Where would you even get one? Whatever. Here's the new plan: we're running out of time so we need to hustle. We're going down Route 18 and hoping that there's some fisher nearby we can flag down. We'll catch the Lapras and then get dropped off as close to Lavender Town as we can. Ready? Ready!"
Despite what he just said, the most that his battered body could manage was a pace better fit for men with canes. Lurantis faithfully kept up to her trainer's side as they walked out of Fuschia. Shadows elongated. Lights flickered inside of buildings. The closer they got to the city's edge, the more indecisive shapes trailed around the forest. Pure black was open on the other side of the checkpoint's building. Even the humming bulbs inside of the building couldn't pierce through the natural darkness.
Kanto's early to bed, early to rise motto had gotten the best of him again. His throbbing legs, much worse when he woke up, couldn't manage to make it into town within a reasonable time.
"Tomorrow. We'll be heading down there tomorrow. Hm hm hm~! I hope that hero is getting into a dangerous, foolhardy venture to make up for me not prodding him into one!"
Red's back pressed against the grave. The dearly departed's name needled into his spine. Something or the other, a great ancestor of a modern pokémon who was famous for their circus act. The attack broke against it by splatting against the entire face, transparent trails that Red could slightly see through. Laughing children echoed around him. They became thinner until completely disappearing.
Charmeleon was pressed against a tiny grave. The family who bought it couldn't have been a great one since it was just a tiny box sharpened to a point. Each of his ears stuck out the sides, flicking as the same streams of darkness licked against them.
Double-checking that he was clear, Morty leapt between his headstone to the next. Bang! The ball of shadow exploded when it smashed against the ground, stretching out like a beach ball would before finally popping. The brush of air made him roll the next then leap towards the last one. A small flurry of tiny shadows flew by that eerily reminded Red of machine gun fire. The few that smacked against the headstone made the older man flinch slightly. It was covered up by a grin that belied his nervousness.
"People get possessed when they come up here, I think I've mentioned."
Another barrage kept Charmeleon in place. Growling, the pokémon turned and spat out a stream of fire before hiding again.
Red held his cap down as a sudden gust nearly flipped it off. "Stop talking and do something."
"No, you're supposed to ask why we—"
Another blast made the tombstone shake. Morty leapt a bit but still continued speaking.
"—aren't being possessed. But I get it. Business first, huh? I like you, kid."
"Get on with it!"
It was supposed to be a cool moment where he'd snap his fingers and say, "already done," but it's only through many failed attempts that he knew reality never worked like that. Midfight evolutions never happened, explosions knocked you over when you were walking away, and his pokémon creeping out of the floor would take an extra second to attack. So instead he snapped his fingers and said, "the hard part's done. Now we just watch the fireworks."
Hands crept out underneath the laughing Ghastly's form. They wrapped around its body. What would've been impossible for the humans was happening as the pokémon who barely could keep its form into a tight ball was being wrestled onto the ground. It let out multiple alarmed cries as the purple floating hands started pressing down, making the ball turn into an hourglass shape.
The miko looked as if she hadn't slept for days. Her skin had turned pale, eyes unfocused. Her arms freely swung wherever she moved, no muscle working behind them. Each movement made her head bounce against her shoulders. Slowly a halo formed behind her. It was black, pressed against the bright background like it was sucking in the light. The eyes that formed at both sides of her head bounced around, wisps trailing around her like an aura, before the ball shot straight. Another Ghastly joined the fight, snickering as another transparent ball of energy started forming in front of it.
A beam of water punched straight through it. For a moment it looked like a donut. Then the energy exploded outwards. Black gunk coated everything that was in the immediate surroundings. The miko's face was covered in black gunk. The screams from her were compounded by the ghost that just got hit by its own super-effective attack. Haunter looked behind him before shrugging and continuing to choke the enemy ghost. Both its prey and the injured ghost exploded into puffs of clouds from two well-aimed shots.
The humans looked behind themselves to see a cocky boy swaggering up to them. The gigantic tortoise that was trailing behind him tilted its head and blew. It was attempting to look like a cowboy that just fired, but nobody got that reference since its neck couldn't even come close to twisting towards the cannons.
Blue pressed a hand against his chest, tilting his head away with his eyes closed. "I couldn't help but notice how you got yourself into a pickle, Red! I thought that you were this great trainer who carried lackeys around? Where even is he? Did he realize how lame you were and ditched you?"
"A blowhard," Morty simply said.
"I wasn't talking to you, but I think that there could be something to be said about your appearance. Get some sleep, old man," Blue said.
"A confused blowhard."
"That about sums him up," Red said. Now that they were safe, he pushed off the tombstone and stretched.
A twitch of his eye was the only indication that he heard them. Barely able to stop his fingers from clenching, Blue transitioned into pointing straight between Red's eyes.
"So?"
Red lightly pushed the finger out of his face. "So what?"
"What about my thank you?"
"Thanks," Morty said. He started walking. "C'mon, kid. We've got a tower to tackle."
Red nodded and followed behind. Blue was left pointing at nothing, frozen, only breaking the silence by a whine that was slowly ramping up. Behind, Blastoise started to chuckle as his trainer started throwing his fists around.
"Oh, so Red is too good to give me a thank you, huh!? I go out of my way to help his lousy butt when I could've just turned around and left. But no! I get beaten by some random kid once and all of a sudden I'm no good! A perfect, clean record without losses except against Red. I bet that he had to repeat the water gym a bunch of times while I have never been stalled once, even if Blastoise had to work around his weaknesses in the grass and electric gym. But nooooo! Those fights don't matter. It's when I just left the wilderness after fighting for my life in a moment of weakness that matters. You know what? You know what? Forget about that! My starter has evolved while yours is still a puny little Charmeleon. Hah! Take that, Red! Red? Red! Where the heck did you go?"
Realizing that he'd been ranting to an empty room, he ran ahead while Blastoise lumbered behind in no particular hurry. The miko's hands were trying to rub the stuff off her face only to have gigantic taffy-like globs stretch out.
"Come back here, you Ratata! You owe me a battle! No, two battles! Best of three! I'll give you a chance and we'll do best of five. Hey! Are you listening to me?"
A/N: Another chapter is going to be posted very soonish. Very, very soonish.
Did a few edits to earlier chapters. Might make more if I feel the spirit move me.
Thanks a lot for the review, nihile!
Not much to say here. Rate, hate, interrogate and I'll catch you all later.
