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Chapter Text

The black-haired young man smiled, brushing a strand of hair out of his eyes as he stared at the targets in front of him, several of which were starting to look rather worn. “Alright, Vee, good job. I think you’re really getting the hang of that move. Just one more time and we’ll stop for lunch”

The small silver fox-like Pokémon next to him nodded in agreement. “Vee!”

Adrian smiled warmly. “Alright. Vee, let’s put all we’ve got into this one. Quick Attack!”

Vee nodded at his command before darting quickly forward, slamming full force into one of the targets before jumping back to stand next to his Trainer. “Good job, Vee. Alright, that’s enough for now”.

“Adrian!”

The young man turned towards the voice, nodding at the younger boy who had just come running up to him. “What is it, Jacob?”

The 12-year old took a second to catch his breath before explaining. “Professor Oak asked me to come and tell you that he wants to see both you and Vee immediately. He said it was urgent”

Adrian and Vee looked at each other, confused, before the Trainer nodded, holding out his arm to his Pokémon, the Eevee eagerly jumping up to perch on his shoulder. “We’re on our way”.

It didn’t take them long to make their way through the surprisingly quiet streets of Pallet Town to Professor Oak’s lab, and soon Adrian sighed in relief as they stepped through the sliding doors into the air-conditioned interior. “Professor Oak? Jacob said you wanted to see us urgently about something?”

The white-haired Professor smiled warmly at Adrian and the Eevee that was currently perched on the younger man’s shoulder. “Yes, I did. Thank you for coming so quickly. How are you both doing today?”

Adrian smiled warmly at the older man, knowing that he was mostly interested in how Vee’s training was going. “We’re both good. It’s a beautiful sunny day out there, and we were just finishing up some practice before lunch”.

“Ah. Tackle again?”

Adrian shook his head. “No, Quick Attack this time. We’ve worked so hard on Tackle the last few days I thought it might be nice to try something different”.

“Very sensible. Anyway, if you two would kindly follow me I’ll show you why I wanted to see you so urgently”.

The pair obediently followed the old Professor as he led the way through the lab to a small desk near the machines at the back. On top of the desk sat a small device, red in color, as well as five red-and-white spherical objects that Adrian recognized almost immediately. “Pokéballs and a Pokedex?”

“Exactly. I’ve been speaking with your parents over the last few days, and we’ve agreed that it’s finally the right time for the two of you to start your own journey”.

Adrian took a second to digest what the Professor had just told him as he tucked the Pokedex and Pokéballs into a concealed pocket of his jacket. “Where do you suggest we start?”

The white-haired man took a map of Kanto from the wall, spreading it across one of the tables. “I’d suggest taking the Pokémon League Challenge. It’d be a good way for you and Vee to meet new Pokémon and grow even stronger. Go north of here through Route 1 to Viridian City. You should make it there by mid-afternoon. From there, head north through the forest to Pewter City, where you’ll find your first Gym”.

Adrian nodded, reaching a hand up idly to stroke the silver fur of his closest companion, who seemed to enjoy the simple contact. “We’ll do that. Thank you very much, Professor. Vee and I will leave for Viridian City after we say goodbye to my family”.

“Good. You can call me at any point if you need advice or even if you’re just curious about where your next destination should be”.

The black-haired boy nodded. “Will do. We’d better get moving if we’re going to get anywhere by nightfall then. Goodbye, Professor. We’ll call as soon as we can”.

Shaking the Professor’s outstretched hand, Adrian and Vee left the lab and quickly made their way back through the streets of Pallet Town to the house where they had been training earlier. Trying the door handle, and finding it unlocked, Adrian pushed the door open and the pair slipped into the house, letting the door close behind them with a soft ‘snick’.

“We’re back!”

Vee leaped down from his Trainer’s shoulder as the pair walked into the kitchen, sitting down at the table next to a black-haired woman in her mid-to-late forties, who gave them both a warm smile. “Hi, you two. How’s the training going today?”

Adrian smiled at his mother’s question. “Amazing. Vee’s practically mastered using Tackle, and he’s getting very good at using Quick Attack too. We were actually just finishing up when Jacob came and told us that Professor Oak wanted to see us”.

The older woman set down her cup of coffee, nodding. “So, you went and saw the Professor then. Did he tell you anything interesting?”.

“He told us that you and Dad had been talking to him about Vee and I finally starting our own journey. And he gave us these”.

Adrian reached into his pocket, withdrawing the Pokedex and Pokéballs that the Professor had given him and putting them on the table. His mother nodded. “It’s true. We have been talking to him about exactly that. If you leave in the next few minutes…”

Adrian smiled. “We should be able to make it to Viridian City by mid-afternoon? Professor Oak told us the same thing. We just wanted to say goodbye to everyone before we left”.

As the young man got to his feet and returned the items to his pocket, there was the sound of running feet on the stairs leading down from the second floor, and soon a pair of young girls, neither of whom could have been older than 12, launched themselves, giggling merrily, into his arms. He smiled warmly as he embraced his sisters, and Vee happily nuzzled against the two girls as Adrian placed quick kisses to their heads before pulling away. “I guess this is the last time we’ll see each other in person for a while. Becca, Mary, you two behave for Mom and Dad, okay?”

The girls giggled in unison (they were identical twins, and they had a habit of doing many things in near-perfect unison, which Adrian had always found very slightly unnerving). “We’re always behaving, silly!” the longer-haired of the two girls pointed out.

Adrian couldn’t help but laugh. “Of course, you are”.

He turned to his mother. “I’m guessing that Dad’s still working?”

The older woman nodded. “He should be home in a couple of hours if you wanted to stick around…”

The black-haired Trainer gave a small smile. “I wish I could. But if we’re going to make it to Viridian in the next couple of hours, we really do have to leave now”.

“Your bag is on the usual hanger then. It’s all packed for you”.

Adrian nodded. “Thank you. Come on, Vee, let’s get going. We’ll call you as soon as we get to Viridian City, I promise.”

“Vee!”

Adrian gave his mother and sisters one more hug, before turning and grabbing his bag from the hanger. Slipping it over his shoulders, he paused for a couple of seconds longer to look around the small house where he had grown up, before walking to the door and pushing it open, Vee right behind him. Once out in the fresh afternoon air of Pallet Town once again, it didn’t take them very long to reach the long grass that marked the start of Route 1. Adrian glanced down at his companion, who looked back up at him with determined eyes before jumping onto his shoulder, and nodded. “Alright, let’s do this.”

The sun was warm on their backs as they walked quietly through the grassy route that separated them from Viridian City, listening to the Pidgey and Spearow singing in the trees around them. “It really is a beautiful day to be out and about. Hey, maybe we’ll run into our first wild Pokémon soon and be able to get some real practice in.”

Almost as soon as he had finished speaking, there was a rustling in the grass in front of them. Adrian glanced at Vee. “Did you see that, Vee?”

At his Pokémon’s nod of confirmation, the Trainer grinned. “Alright. Our first real wild Pokémon battle. Let’s do this, Vee. Flush it out with Tackle!”

The Eevee jumped from his Trainer’s shoulder and leaped into the grass, slamming quickly into something before jumping back to land easily in the small clearing in front of his Trainer’s feet. “Let’s hope that got its attention.”

There was a sound like a fluttering of wings, and a small bird Pokemon burst from the grass in a cloud of dust. Adrian cursed. “A Pidgey! And it's using Sand Attack. Of course. It’s trying to lower our accuracy, Vee! Let’s try using Quick Attack this time!”

Vee darted forward, slamming into the wild Pidgey mid-attack before jumping back to land again. Adrian clenched his fist as the wild Pokémon got to its feet, glaring warily at both the Trainer and the Pokémon which had just attacked it. “Good job, buddy. Let’s just try and weaken it a little more! Use Tackle again!”

Vee leaped at the Pidgey and sent it reeling across the small clearing. It got to its feet again, but Adrian could tell from the way it was swaying slightly that it was almost out of health. Pulling a Pokéball from his pocket, he threw it at the Pidgey and crossed his fingers as the red and white sphere closed around the small bird Pokémon. It wriggled back and forth a couple of times before settling to the ground with a soft click, and Adrian released a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. “Good job, old friend. Alright, let’s get a move on”.

Reaching down to pick up the Pokéball containing his newly acquired Pidgey, he clipped it onto his belt beside the one that would usually contain his partner, before the two headed further into Route 1, eager to see what other Pokémon they would come across on their journey.

Chapter Text

Adrian gave a quiet sigh of relief as he stepped through the electronic doors of the Pokémon Centre into the air-conditioned interior, the doors sliding shut behind him with barely a whisper. Quickly recalling his silver-furred partner, and momentarily brushing his fingers against the Pokeballs that contained his newly caught Pidgey (which he’d just given the name Aeris) and Rattata (nicknamed Nibbler), he walked across the lobby to the nurse’s desk, smiling warmly at her in greeting. “Nurse Joy?”

The pink-haired nurse behind the counter returned his warm smile. “That’s me! How can I help you today?”

Before Adrian had a chance to reply, she had glanced downwards, noticing the three Pokeballs hanging from the younger man’s belt. “Ah, I see you’re a Trainer. Let me guess, you need your Pokémon healed?”

“Yes, please. And is there somewhere I can make a couple of phone calls?”

“The phones are in the room down the hall on your left. I’ll let you know when your Pokémon are healed, okay?”

Adrian nodded. “Thank you. My name’s Adrian, by the way”.

The nurse smiled. “You’re welcome, Adrian”.

He took the three red and white Pokeballs off of his belt, placing them in the empty slots of the tray the nurse was holding out to him, and then gave an appreciative nod before walking down the hallway to the room that the nurse had mentioned. Quickly locating the mentioned room, the Trainer found a free machine and quickly followed the instructions on the screen, typing in the phone number of Professor Oak’s lab when the screen prompted him to. “Professor Oak!”

The older man smiled eagerly at the trainer. “Ah, Adrian! You and your partner made it safely to Viridian City, then?”

Adrian nodded. “We did, Professor. We caught a Pidgey and Rattata while on Route 1 as well. They’re just being healed by Nurse Joy now. Then we’re going to take a look at Route 22 and hopefully catch some Pokémon that are strong against Rock-types for the first Gym”.

“Sounds like you know what you’re doing, then. I’ll leave you to it”.

Adrian smiled. “Thank you, Professor. Talk to you soon”.

“Talk to you soon”.

As the screen clicked off, Adrian smiled to himself before following the instructions again, this time typing in his home phone number when prompted.

-Around half an hour later-

“Adrian?”

The trainer looked up from the book he was reading, meeting the eyes of the nurse who had spoken. “Yes, Nurse Joy?”

Nurse Joy gestured to the three red and white Pokeballs that sat in the tray on the desk in front of her. “Your Pokémon are fully healed. Thanks for your patience, and we hope to see you again!”

Adrian nodded in gratitude, picking up all three Pokeballs, weighing them carefully in his hands before clipping them in place on his belt. The automatic doors slid shut behind him as he stepped back through them into the cool outside air once again, taking quick mental stock of his supplies. “Right. If I’m going to be catching as many more Pokémon as I’m hoping to, I’m going to need a whole lot more Pokeballs…”

-Shortly afterward-

“Alright, that should hold us for now. Catching Pokémon is going to be an important part of our travels, so we must make sure we have a good number of Pokeballs ready for anything” Adrian commented as he and his partner stepped into the grass of Route 22.

“Vee!” his partner chimed in, nodding happily from where he stood by Adrian’s feet.

Adrian chuckled lightly, crouching down to rub the silver-grey fur of his best friend. “I’m glad you agree with me. Now, the first Gym in the region is a rock-type specialist, so if we can find a Mankey or a Nidoran, then we’re in business…”

His fingers tapped lightly against the Pokeballs on his belt as the pair walked through the grass of the Route, stopping only when a rustle of grass in front of them caught Adrian’s attention.

Adrian thought quickly, glancing down at his partner. “Alright. If that’s a Nidoran, then we have to be incredibly careful about how we go about flushing it out. It’s going to have either Poison Point or Rivalry as an ability. Thankfully, I have some Antidotes in case it happens to be Poison Point, but of course, until it happens there’s no way to tell which one it is”.

Adrian reached down to his belt, pulling his Pidgey’s Pokeball loose and tossing it into the air. “Go, Aeris!”

The tiny bird Pokémon appeared in a flash of light, nodding to its Trainer. “Alright, Aeris, let’s flush that Pokémon out! Flap your wings and stir up as powerful a breeze as you can with Gust!”

The tiny bird Pokémon did so gladly, creating a surprisingly powerful wind for such a small Pokémon, before screeching in pain as a purple-coloured Pokémon burst from the grass, slamming straight into it. “A Nidoran♂! Exactly what I was hoping to find!”

The tiny rabbit glared intensely at Aeris, frightening the small bird, and Adrian’s hand went immediately to one of the empty Pokeballs on his belt as he watched the opponent thoughtfully. Hmm. It probably only knows Leer and Poison Sting, judging by this Route’s general proximity to Viridian City, but there’s a chance that it could know Peck as well. Best not to take any risks. “Aeris! Let’s lower its chances of hitting you by creating a sandstorm! Sand Attack, now!”

The Pidgey nodded, flapping its wings, and disturbing the loose sand on the ground, which swirled around it in a sandstorm. “Alright, Aeris, nicely done! Now let’s hit it with a Tackle! Watch out for those horns though, they look particularly nasty!”

Almost immediately, the bird burst from the sandstorm, slamming into the Nidoran with its wings outstretched and sending it tumbling backwards. The small rabbit Pokémon slid several feet across the ground before stopping and hopped nimbly to its feet, glaring at Aeris. “Tough little fellow, aren’t you?” Adrian grinned.

It was then that a second rustling in the same patch of grass caught his eye, and a pale blue Pokémon popped its head up and looked around nervously. “A Nidoran♀ as well? Hang on, there’s something not quite right here… Aeris, return!”

Holding his Pidgey’s Pokeball out, he quickly recalled the small bird, watching as the purple Nidoran quickly scampered back to the patch of grass where the two had been hiding, nuzzling its cheek against the other one. Watching the female closely, Adrian quickly registered the light blue Pokémon’s unusually pale color and lethargic movements, and pulled a Potion from his bag, taking two gentle steps forward and crouching down not far from the grass where the two Nidoran were hiding. As the Nidoran♂ stared warily at him, its eyes unblinking, the Trainer slowly stretched out one hand towards the two. “I understand now. You were just trying to protect your friend here, weren’t you? I’m guessing she was badly injured by another wild Pokémon and you were worried about her?”

The small purple Pokémon nodded slowly. Adrian nodded in understanding, bringing forward the hand holding the Potion. “She’s pretty close to fainting, little guy. I can use this to give her a little bit more energy, but it will sting when I spray it onto her, so you’re going to have to promise not to attack me if she cries out, okay?”

“Nidoran!”

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’ then…”

Adrian gently shifted, bring the hand holding the Potion closer to the female Nidoran, and gave the small blue Pokémon several sprays of the liquid, focusing on the scratches and gashes that he could see along the Nidoran♀’s body. The small Pokémon flinched several times as he worked, though Adrian’s soft reassurances and apologies calmed it, and soon it had recovered enough to drift into a calm sleep. Adrian smiled slightly, then turned to the male Nidoran. “She’s feeling better, but she’s still weak. The Pokémon Center in town can treat her wounds properly. This is the kind of thing they’re trained for, after all. Do you trust me enough to let me carry her to the Pokémon Center? I promise I won’t hurt her, and you’re welcome to come with me if you want. Maybe they can give you a once over as well, you took quite a beating in her defense”.

The small Pokémon nodded, watching as Adrian slowly slipped his jacket off before wrapping it around the sleeping Poison Pin Pokémon and standing up, clutching the new bundle in his arms. “Alright then, let’s head back to town”.

Chapter Text

“Nurse Joy!”

Adrian called to the pink-haired nurse as he came running in through the front door, clutching the weakened Nidoran♀ to his chest, with the male right behind him. The nurse looked up, surprised to see him back so soon. “Adrian?”

He nodded, panting slightly from the run from Route 22 back into town, as he gently set his bundled jacket on the counter. “I found this weakened Nidoran♀ on Route 22 while looking for wild Pokémon. I think she might have been attacked by a wild Spearow or something. I did use one of my Potions on her, but I thought I should at least bring her back and ask you to have a look at her in case of any internal injuries. And this little guy could use healing too. He was trying to protect her and took some damage from my Pidgey’s attacks”.

He gestured to the male Nidoran, which had jumped up to sit on the counter and was currently staring at the bundled jacket with a concerned expression on its face. Nurse Joy smiled gently. “We’ll give them a look over to make sure they’re going to be okay. Do you have any other Pokémon that need healing?”

Adrian shook his head. “Not at the moment, thank you. Do you know how long it should take?”

The pink-haired nurse smiled softly. “I can’t give you an exact time, unfortunately, but it shouldn’t be too long. We’ll give them a general once over and do a couple of tests to make sure that there aren’t any internal injuries. You did the right thing bringing them here, especially the Nidoran♀. You’re right, she doesn’t look very well”.

The nurse carefully unwrapped the Pokémon from the bundled jacket and laid it on a stretcher that had just been brought to the front desk by a Chansey in a nurse’s hat. Nurse Joy smiled gently at Adrian, handing him his jacket back as the Nidoran♂ quickly joined the female on the stretcher. “Why don’t you take a seat, Adrian? I’ll come and find you if we have any news”.

“Thank you”.

Adrian shrugged back on his jacket as he walked over to the couch in the Pokémon Centre lobby and sank into the seat, sighing as he released Vee from its Pokeball. “Eevee?” the tiny fox Pokémon queried.

Adrian chuckled, gently scratching his silver-furred best friend behind the ears. “I don’t know how long it is going to take us to get through Viridian Forest, buddy. We might have to find a clearing in there to camp for the night, depending on how long this takes. But for now, let’s try and get some rest while we wait for Nurse Joy”.

With his Eevee curled up to his side, the Trainer felt his eyes slipping closed and his breathing slow, and before he knew it, he was sound asleep.

-Three hours later-

“Adrian?”

The Pokémon Trainer blinked awake, woken by Nurse Joy’s voice and a gentle hand shaking his shoulder. He stretched idly, giving Vee a quick scratch behind the ears before sitting up. “Nurse Joy. Is there any news?”

“There is. We ran numerous tests on both of the Nidoran you brought in. You were right that the female had a few internal wounds that a Potion wouldn’t be able to heal. The male was okay though, aside from some slight bruising. We’d like to keep them overnight just to keep an eye on the female though. Just in case. Also, if you wouldn’t mind coming up to the counter, I have something for you”.

Adrian nodded, recalling Vee, and standing before following the nurse up to the counter. Seating herself, the pink-haired nurse rummaged behind the desk for a minute before handing him a room key and a guidebook. “Here you go. I know you probably have your own camping supplies in your bag, but it’s getting late and, in all honesty, I’d rather you spend the night here than fail to make it through Viridian Forest before nightfall. And if you’re going to be taking the Gym challenge then that guidebook will no doubt be invaluable since it contains information on what to expect from each of the Gym Leaders you’ll have to face”.

“Thank you, Nurse Joy”.

“You’re welcome. Go and get some sleep. I’ll let you know if anything changes”.

Adrian gratefully took the key and guidebook from the nurse, making his way through the Pokémon Centre’s few corridors until he reached his room, and after unlocking the door, let himself into the small room and closed the door gently behind him. Shrugging off his jacket, he tugged Vee’s Pokeball from his belt and released the small silver-furred Pokémon before setting the ball down on the desk. “Looks like we’re staying here for the night, Vee. We may as well take advantage of the time we’re here to do some bonding with the other members of our team and a bit of research”.

He quickly picked up both of the other Pokeballs that contained his Pokémon, releasing the Pidgey and Rattata in flashes of light. “Aeris. Nibbler. We’re going to be spending the night here before we leave for Pewter, so I figured the two of you should at least get to be out of your Pokeballs for a while”.

The two other Pokémon made quiet sounds of appreciation, Aeris perching on the back of the chair where Adrian had placed his jacket and watching her trainer with intense eyes with Nibbler making itself comfortable on the chair itself, in a small tent created by Adrian’s jacket. Adrian chuckled slightly and settled on the bed, with Vee curling up next to him, and flicked open the book he’d been given by Nurse Joy, turning straight to the page covering the Pewter City Gym. “Listen to this, Vee. The Gym Leader of Pewter City is named Brock and uses the Rock-type. His primary Pokémon for Gym battles against Trainers who are trying to get their first badge are a Geodude and an Onix”.

Adrian paused, thinking, for a few minutes, and then sighed. “None of you three have any moves that are strong against either of Brock’s Pokémon. In fact, Aeris is at a disadvantage because Rock type moves are super-effective against Flying types. Nibbler and Vee, neither of you have advantages or disadvantages here, but… ugh. Vee, you can probably take out his Geodude fairly easily using Tackle and Quick Attack, and we might be able to get some decent damage done on his Onix. But we really need to do some training in Viridian Forest before taking on the Gym, especially since we still have seven gyms to go after that”.

He read in silence for several hours, occasionally stopping to take notes or remark on something to Vee, before sighing and putting the book down, noting that all three of his Pokémon had fallen asleep. “Alright, I guess I should try and get some sleep too… Big day tomorrow, after all”.

He slipped under the covers and closed his eyes, soon falling into a deep sleep.

-Roughly 4 hours later-

Adrian was woken by the sound of an explosion from down the hall. Bolting upright and swinging his legs over the side of the surprisingly comfortable bed, he stood, quickly reaching for the red and white balls on the desk and recalling his Pokémon. “That didn’t sound good”.

Slipping through the door, he slowly made his way through the corridors to the lobby, stopping when he was approached by an older man in a black suit with the letter R emblazoned in the center of the shirt in a bright red. “Team Rocket!”

“That’s right, kid. Now hand over your Pokémon, if ya know what’s good for you” the Grunt smirked evilly.

“No. Now get out of my way”.

Before the man could react, Adrian brought his knee up, driving it hard into the Grunt’s crotch. The man stumbled back, wincing, and Adrian slammed his fist into the criminal’s jaw, taking him down with a quick punch. “Crime doesn’t pay, idiot”.

Stepping over the injured man, who was now in a groaning pile on the floor, Adrian moved further down the corridors, soon entering the lobby, where he noticed another Grunt threatening the Center’s Nurse Joy with a Pokeball. “Listen, lady. All we want is the Pokémon. Hand them over and we’ll leave”.

“No! These Pokémon belong to the Trainers! You can’t have them!”

“Then we’ll just have to take them by force! Go Sandshrew!”

Adrian’s mind worked quickly. Sandshrew, huh? Ground-type, probably with Sand Veil for an ability. Useless ability unless in a sandstorm. Limited movepool, especially when young. Best Pokémon for this situation? Vee is strongest, but doesn’t have any moves that would be super-effective in this situation. Aeris knows Gust, a Flying-type move. Nibbler? No, too weak. Aeris it is then. “Go, Aeris!”

The Grunt threatening Nurse Joy whirled to see Adrian standing there, Aeris hovering in front of him. The older man smirked evilly. “Your little Pidgey against my Sandshrew? You’re on, kid”.

Adrian smiled wolfishly. “Let’s just end this quickly so I can go back to sleep. Aeris, use Tackle!”

The bird Pokémon nodded, diving at the slightly-larger Pokémon, crashing straight into the burrowing Pokémon and sending it crashing against the wall. It slumped to the floor, unconscious, for a few seconds before springing back up. “Sandshrew! Poison Sting!”

“Blow it right back, Aeris. Gust!”

“Defense Curl!”

“Finish it with another Gust!”

“Sandshrew!”

A second Gust attack slammed the Grunt’s Pokémon against the wall again. It struggled to its feet, barely conscious, and took two steps forward, but just before the Grunt could order another attack, a small purple blur burst from the open door to the clinic and struck it in the side, sending it tumbling across the floor until it came to a halt, finally knocked out. The Pokémon responsible landed easily in front of Adrian, and the Trainer smiled slightly as he recognised it as the Nidoran♂ that they’d helped earlier. “Good timing!”

“Nido! Nidoran!”

Adrian watched as the panicked Team Rocket Grunt recalled his Sandshrew and raced from the Pokémon Center, and then knelt, giving the small Pokémon a scratch behind the ear. “Good job finishing off that Sandshrew. You wanted to protect your sister, huh?”

“Nidoran!” The Pokémon exclaimed, nodding.

Adrian smiled. “I thought so. Here’s an idea… Why don’t you and your sister come along with us? There’s plenty of space on our team for you both, and you’ll both get to grow stronger. What do you say?”

At the tiny rabbit-like Pokémon’s nod, Adrian stood, smiling warmly. “Alright then, it’s settled. You’ll come with us when we leave for Pewter tomorrow morning. For now though, let’s go back to sleep. We have a long day ahead of us, after all”.

Chapter Text

Adrian wasn’t sure what had woken him. A glance at the clock told him that it was roughly 7:30 in the morning, and looking around the room told him that his Pokémon were still in the same places they had been when he’d fallen asleep. Vee was still snuggled closely against his side, the silver-furred Pokémon’s chest gently rising and falling with each gentle breath. Aeris was asleep on the back of the desk chair, head tucked under its wing, and the two Nidoran he’d befriended (Nurse Joy had discharged the Nidoran shortly after the Team Rocket attack, and since they were both going to be members of his team Adrian had decided they should be in the same room with him and his other Pokémon overnight) were snuggled up next to Nibbler in the small cave made by his jacket on the same chair. Yawning and stretching, he swung his legs over the other side of the bed from Vee and stood, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he entered the small adjoining bathroom. Exiting a few moments later, eyes clear of any remaining sleepiness, he crossed the small room and sat down on the bed beside Vee, gently stroking the small Eevee. “C’mon, Vee. We’d best get moving”.

“Eevee…”

Adrian smiled and stood, taking his Pokeballs from the desk once again before recalling both Aeris and Nibbler. Shrugging on his jacket as he looked down at the two sleeping Nidoran, he took a few moments to consider what he was going to nickname them before he took two empty Pokeballs from his belt. Crouching down in front of the chair, he gently woke the two Pokémon. “Hey. We’ve got to get going, so if you guys are gonna come with us, I’m gonna need to catch you both. I’ve been trying to come up with names for the two of you as well, what do you think of your nicknames being Khonsu and Amara?”

As both of the two Pokémon nodded in agreement, Adrian held out the two Pokeballs, gently tapping them against the creatures.

-A few hours later-

It was late morning when Adrian and Vee stepped into the forest. Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy formed by the trees several feet above their heads, creating spots of pure light wherever it fell on the forest floor, and the branches swayed as if caught by an invisible breeze, caused by the movements of the Pokémon that played in them. Adrian spent several minutes admiring the scenery quietly before nodding to his partner. “Let’s go, Vee”.

“Eevee!”

Before the pair could go much further into the forest, a gentle rustling from the nearby grass caught Adrian’s attention. His fingers dropped down to the five Pokeballs nestled at his belt, running across them to stop on one of the two containing his newest team members, and pulled it from his belt, holding it warily in his hand. “Vee”.

The silver Eevee looked up at its Trainer questioningly. Adrian shook his head. “Let’s let Khonsu try this one”.

He threw the Pokeball, which burst open in a flash of energy, releasing the small rabbit-like Pokémon. As the Nidoran♂ landed neatly on the ground in front of him, Adrian smiled, eager to see exactly what his new ally was capable of and hopefully add another new Pokémon to his team. “Khonsu, let’s flush that Pokémon out! Poison Sting!”

The Nidoran♂ nodded and opened its mouth, shooting multiple purple darts into the grass. Adrian waited with bated breath to see what would emerge, and soon his patience was rewarded as a yellow mouse-like Pokémon burst from the grass, landing opposite Khonsu. “A Pikachu! Alright, Khonsu, let’s try and weaken it so we can add it to our team! Peck!”

The Nidoran♂’s horn glowed a brilliant white as it charged at the Pikachu with great force, slamming into it and knocking it back several steps. Adrian nodded. “Great! Now, Poison Sting!”

Multiple purple darts of energy shot from Khonsu’s mouth, striking the Pikachu directly. Adrian smiled slightly. “Looks like that was more effective”.

The mouse Pokémon clenched its fists tightly and yellow sparks began to fly from its cheeks. “That’s got to be Thunder Shock… Khonsu! Let’s try Peck one more time!”

The Nidoran nodded and charged at the wild Pikachu with the horn on its head glowing a brilliant white, slamming into it with full force just as Pikachu released a powerful bolt of electricity. Both Khonsu and Pikachu were sent tumbling by the impact, though Khonsu hopped nimbly to its feet, glaring at the small yellow mouse Pokémon.

Adrian recalled Khonsu before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a Pokeball, readying it as he watched the Pikachu carefully. The small mouse struggled to its feet, sparks flying from its cheeks as it stared warily at Adrian. Adrian held out the Pokeball. “That’s a strong Thunder Shock for your level. You’ve got a lot of power, Pikachu. I’d like to help bring that power out”.

“Pika…”

As the Pikachu hesitated, Adrian shifted, crouching down so that he was almost at the Pokémon’s level. “Come with us?”

The slightest nod of the creature’s head was all Adrian needed. He threw the Pokeball as gently as he could, watching as it gently tapped the yellow mouse Pokémon on the side before it opened, absorbing the Pikachu into it in a ball of energy. The ball shut and fell to the ground, and Adrian caught his breath as it shook from side to side, the button in the middle glowing red multiple times before finally dimming as the Pokeball stopped moving. “Yes!”

Adrian punched the air in delight as he knelt to pick up the Pokeball containing the newest addition to his team. “Khonsu did well” he said simply, Vee nodding happily in agreement.

Pausing to consider something, Adrian tapped the button on the Pokeball he’d just picked up, causing his new Pikachu to appear in front of them in a flash of light. The little yellow mouse looked up at its Trainer, confused. “Pika?”

Adrian knelt, gently stroking his hand over its head, being sure to scratch behind the Pikachu’s ears. “You’re going to need a nickname, buddy. How about… Kai?”

“Pika!” the Pikachu nodded happily, causing Adrian to smile.

“Good. Now hold still, I’m just going to spray you with a Potion to heal your wounds. This may sting briefly”.

He reached into his bag and pulled out one of the Potions he’d bought at the Pokémon Center the day before, gently spraying it over the wounds that Khonsu’s horn, as well as the needles of energy created by the Nidoran♂’s Poison Sting attack, had inflicted. Though he was very gentle with his actions, and he kept each spray short, he was still aware of Kai grimacing in pain and clenching and unclenching its tiny fists as he worked. Shortly afterwards, he tucked the bottle away, recalling the Pikachu into its Pokeball. “Come on, Vee. We’d better keep moving”.

The two made their way through Viridian Forest as quickly as possible, but they were soon spotted by a boy with a net. “Hey! Trainer!”

Adrian glanced at him, and the boy held up a Pokeball. “I challenge you!”

Adrian’s fingers brushed against the Pokeballs on his belt. He’s probably going to choose a Bug Pokémon. Aeris would be the obvious choice here, since Flying types are strong against Bugs. “Go, Caterpie!”

Go figure. “Go, Aeris!”

Adrian grabbed his Pidgey’s Pokeball from his belt and threw it, releasing the small bird Pokémon. Despite the clear type disadvantage, the Bug Catcher had an eager smile on his face. “Caterpie, let’s start things off! Tackle!”

May as well get this over with quickly, I guess. “Aeris, Gust!”

Eager to obey its Trainer and finish the battle as quickly as possible, Aeris started flapping its wings rapidly, the resulting wind forming a tornado that slammed into its opponent, sending it backwards into the tree behind the Bug Catcher. The worm Pokémon lay still for a couple of minutes, before opening its eyes and getting back to its feet. Well, you’ve got to admire its spirit I suppose. Getting up even when faced with a foe that has the type of advantage takes a lot of guts. “This is almost embarrassing… Aeris, finish it with Tackle!”

Aeris slammed into the Caterpie with great force, sending it crashing into the tree again, where it fell unconscious to the ground. “Looks like Caterpie is unable to battle!”

The Bug Catcher nodded, recalling his fainted Pokémon. “Well, you won fair and square. Here’s your prize money”.

Adrian nodded blankly, tucking the money safely into his pocket. Right. I'd forgotten being paid for winning a battle was an actual thing that happened. “That was a good battle”.

With Vee following right behind him, he turned and walked away from the Trainer, making his way through the forest further until near the building that marked the exit from the forest to Pewter City, where another rustle in the grass caught his attention. Immediately, Aeris’ Pokeball was in Adrian’s hand, and the bird Pokémon was in the air. “Aeris, Tackle”.

The Tiny Bird Pokémon obeyed instantly, diving at the patch of grass where the rustling had been coming from, slamming directly into whatever had been hiding. As it flew back to land in front of Adrian, Adrian pulled one of his spare Pokeballs from his belt, waiting to see what the Pokémon was going to be. “Caterpie!”

The unmistakable form of the worm Pokémon emerged from the grass, and Adrian threw the Pokeball immediately. The Pokeball smacked gently into the Caterpie’s head, sucking it into the red and white ball in a beam of energy. The ball settled to the ground, wiggling back and forth as the button pulsed red several times, before slowly settling as the light faded with a quiet clicking sound. As Adrian smiled to himself and recalled Aeris before walking over to pick the Pokeball up, the ball immediately shrank back to the tiny size it had before being thrown, the release button glowing a brilliant red, leaving Adrian confused for a moment before remembering why that had happened. “Oh right. I can only have six Pokémon useable in my party at any one time…”

His Pokedex chimed quietly and Adrian pulled it from his pocket, glancing at the screen to see the Pokedex entry for his new Caterpie pop up, followed by a question. ‘Do you wish to give a nickname to Caterpie?’

Adrian smiled thoughtfully before typing in an answer. ‘Jade’.

The words ‘nickname accepted’ flashed across the screen, and Adrian tucked both his Pokedex and the Pokeball containing his newest companion away before turning back to the exit and walking into the building that separated him from Pewter City.

Chapter Text

Adrian stretched lazily, looking down at his partner as they walked. “Just a few more steps, partner. Then we’ll head to the Pokémon Center, get you all healed up, and head for the gym”.

“Adrian Montgomery. Well, as I live and breathe. It’s been a while, rookie”.

Adrian cursed inwardly as he recognized the sudden voice, giving a curt nod to the older, blonde-haired girl standing a few feet in front of him. “Savannah. Well, this is a surprise. How long has it been since you left Pallet Town? Two years?”.

“Two years that I have spent becoming a better Trainer than you, Adrian. I see you and Vee finally decided to leave Pallet for yourself. I’m impressed you made it here at all, honestly. Always thought you’d fail and go running back home before you even made it through Viridian Forest”.

“Well as you can see, here I am. Now, are you going to get out of my way so I can get to the Pokémon Center and heal my Pokémon?”

Savannah seemed to think about it for a few seconds, before giving a short, sharp, laugh. “I don’t think so. Not yet, at least. See, rookie,” she began, drawing out the word between clenched teeth and giving Adrian a sarcastic smile. “It’s been such a long time since we last saw each other. And I’m eager to see how your so-called skills have improved in the two years since I left Pallet. Although, given that you’ve only just made it here, I’ll be surprised if they’ve improved at all. So how about a battle first? Three on three, no time limit.”

“Fine”.

His rival smirked, pulling a Pokeball with a wing sticker from her jacket pocket. “Let’s do this. Go, Fearow!”

She hurled the Pokeball into the air, and a powerful-looking brown bird Pokémon burst free. Adrian pulled out his Pokedex and flicked it open, nodding thoughtfully as he heard the entry. As soon as his Pokedex had finished speaking, he shut it, mind racing as he reached for the Pokeballs on his belt. Fearow. Normal/Flying. Very powerful, especially when trained right. Electric-type attacks are my best bet. “Let’s do this, Kai!”

Savannah smirked dryly as Adrian’s Pikachu appeared on the ground across from her. “A Pikachu. How very like you to use something so predictable. Looks like it’s freshly caught, too. This should be a piece of cake.”

“We’ll see about that! Kai, use Thunder Shock!”

“Fearow, use Double Team to dodge the electricity,” Savannah ordered, her voice taking on a bored tone.

As the first burst of electricity flew from Kai, Fearow’s wings flashed white, numerous copies of the brown bird Pokémon appearing around them. The attack seemed to strike head-on, though it was quickly revealed that all it had succeeded in doing was removing one of the illusions. Savannah nodded, seemingly satisfied. “Good! Now, Fury Attack!”

At the blonde-haired girl’s command, Fearow dove toward the small Pikachu. Adrian clenched his fist, a habit born from the two years of training he’d done with Vee. Perfect. “Kai! Thunder Shock again, this time at point-blank range!”

“A smart tactic, rookie, but it won’t help you!”

Kai released another blinding burst of electricity seconds before the Flying-type hit it. The two Pokémon went tumbling across the ground, Savannah’s Fearow righting itself almost immediately upon stopping. Kai lay motionless where it had stopped rolling, causing Adrian to sigh and hold out a Pokeball to recall it. “Kai, return!”

“Too easy. Choose your next Pokemon carefully, rookie”.

Playing to her Pokémon’s weaknesses didn’t work. Let’s try playing like against like. “Aeris!”

Adrian’s Pidgey burst from its Pokeball, glaring aggressively at the Fearow across from it. “Aeris, Gust!”

“Fearow, power through it and hit it with Fury Attack again.”

Fearow raised its wings, but promptly lowered them again as sparks of electricity burst into existence around it. Adrian allowed himself a slight smirk. “Kai’s Static ability must have paralyzed Fearow! It can’t move!”

“You got lucky, rookie. Nothing more, nothing less. Fearow, return!” Savannah snapped, recalling the bird Pokémon into its Pokeball with one hand while reaching into her pocket with the other. “Go, Raichu!”

The Pokeball burst open, releasing a tall Pokémon covered in a luxurious-looking dark orange fur. Adrian’s eyes widened in recognition. Savannah’s starter Pokémon! Oh no, this is not good for Aeris… “Raichu, Thunder Punch.”

Raichu’s fist was immediately surrounded by yellow sparks, which grew quickly into a solid ball of electrical energy. “Rai!”

Before Adrian could react, the electric mouse’s fist slammed into Aeris, sending it sprawling. It crashed to the ground and let out a weak cry before collapsing, unconscious. “Two down. I’m disappointed, Adrian. Here I was looking forward to one of Pallet’s brightest Trainers giving me a challenge” Savannah taunted.

Adrian ignored her attempts to make him choose rashly, his mind racing furiously as he recalled Aeris. She’s right. I only have one Pokémon left, so I have to make this count. Nibbler is much too weak. Jade only knows two moves, neither of which are going to be much use. Khonsu or Amara might be able to poison it if we get lucky with a Poison Sting attack, but neither will be much use otherwise. It has to be Vee. Kneeling next to his starter Pokémon and best friend, he nodded at the silver-furred Eevee. “I’m counting on you, Vee”.

His partner nodded eagerly, taking its place in front of him. Savannah smiled sarcastically. “I see. Finally using a Pokémon that has some real capabilities. Too bad for you that it won’t be enough to let you win this battle. Raichu, Thunder Punch again.”

“Vee, Quick Attack!”

Vee’s body was enveloped by a light blue aura and it charged towards Savannah’s Raichu at a brilliant speed. It slammed into the electric mouse Pokémon head-first, sending it stumbling backwards a couple of steps, though was unable to dodge the Thunder Punch that sent it sprawling. “Vee! Come on, old friend, I believe in you! Use Sand Attack to lower Raichu’s accuracy!"

“Thunder Punch again, Raichu.”

Vee raised itself on its hind legs briefly before slamming its front legs against the ground, sending a cloud of dust at the electric mouse. The electric mouse swung its fist at the small silver Pokémon, but was unable to see exactly where it was aiming and narrowly missed. Adrian smirked. “Quick Attack, Vee! While it can’t see you!”

“Reflect”.

Raichu spread its arms wide and a shining, rainbow-colored round barrier appeared in front of it. Vee slammed into the barrier and was sent flying backward, twisting in mid-air and landing nimbly in front of Adrian once again. “Hmm. It seems you have some skills, after all, Adrian. No matter. It won’t be enough. Raichu, Mega Punch!”

“Quick, Vee! While it’s preparing to attack, dart in and hit it with Quick Attack!”

Savannah chuckled. “I was hoping you’d do that. You’ve fallen right into my trap, Adrian. Raichu! Finish this with Slam!”

Raichu slammed its tail into Vee just seconds before the evolution Pokémon reached it, sending the small silver-furred Pokémon across the ground. Vee skidded to a stop and struggled to its feet briefly, before groaning and collapsing. “Vee!”

Adrian raced to his partner’s side, kneeling next to it and placing his hand on the fur that was slick with his Pokémon’s sweat. “Vee…” Vee murmured weakly, looking up at its Trainer with big eyes.

Adrian chuckled gently as he held out his partner’s Pokeball. “Hey, don’t apologize. You did the best you can, that’s all that matters to me. You deserve a good long rest”.

As Vee vanished into the ball in a beam of light, Adrian turned his attention back to his rival, who had likewise recalled her Raichu. “Let that be a lesson, rookie. You can have as good a grasp of type match-ups and strategies as you want, but when it comes down to an actual battle, none of it is as important as actually training your Pokémon. You and your Pokémon have a long way to go before you’re ready to take on the Pokémon League…”

And with those words, she stalked away as Adrian got to his feet. Heading straight to the nearby Pokémon Centre, he slipped through the sliding door into the air-conditioned interior and headed for the counter. “Nurse Joy?”

The pink-haired nurse smiled brightly as she saw him. “You’re Adrian, right?”

“How’d you guess?”

“My sister at the Viridian City Pokémon Centre told me you were on your way. She said you helped save the Pokémon there from a Team Rocket attack. Anyway, what can I do for you?”

“I need my Pokémon team healed, please.”

The nurse nodded, taking an empty tray from the counter, and holding it out. “Place your Pokeballs on the tray and we’ll get them seen to right away then.”

Sometime later, Adrian emerged from the Pokémon Centre, stretching slightly. Vee, fully recovered from their battle against Savannah, looked up curiously at his Trainer, who smiled down. “Alright, Vee. Let’s find this Gym.”

Adrian and Vee walked through the surprisingly crowded streets of Pewter City, admiring the scenery as they did so, but saw no sign of the Gym. Adrian stopped after an hour or so, leaning against a wall and pulling the guidebook he’d received from Nurse Joy in Viridian City from his bag. “I remember seeing a map in here somewhere, maybe that’ll tell us where the Gym is…”

“Sorry, did I hear you say you were looking for the Gym?”

Adrian looked up at the voice, seeing a tall red-haired girl with lightly tanned skin a few steps away. “I am, yes. It’s my first time in Pewter and I was hoping to challenge Brock while I’m here.”

The girl smiled. “I kind of figured. You were looking very lost,” she said simply, turning and pointing up the road to the museum. “Go up to the museum and turn left. Keep following the road around the corner to the Gym. You can’t miss it.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Good luck against Brock!”

The woman ran off with those words, leaving Adrian and Vee alone. “She was kind of cute, Vee. I wouldn’t complain if we ran into her again at some point, honestly” Adrian remarked thoughtfully, looking down at his Pokémon.

“Vee!”

Following the instructions she had given them, it didn’t take long for Adrian and his partner to find the Gym. The building itself was large, with a rocky design on the front face. Sliding doors similar to the ones at the Pokémon Centre beckoned the way inside. Slipping through them, the pair stepped into the air-conditioned building, only to be greeted by an older man with dark hair. “Can I help you?”

“I’m here to challenge Brock, the Pewter City Gym Leader,” Adrian said simply.

“Thought so. I’m Jim, the Gym Guide. Brock is already expecting to start a battle with another challenger, so he’s unable to battle you right now, but you’re welcome to watch if you want.”

“I’ll do that.”

Jim indicated several rows of stadium-style seating by the wall. “Take a seat, future champ.”

Adrian did so, finding a seat on the second row of seats while Vee settled on his lap, both watching eagerly. It wasn’t long before a young man that Adrian recognized immediately from the guidebook stepped from a podium against the back wall of the Gym, taking up a position on one side of a rocky battleground carved into the Gym floor. Seconds later, he was joined by a boy who looked a couple of years younger than Adrian (15 years old, if he had to guess), who stood on the opposite side of the arena. “This’ll be a two-on-two battle with no substitutions! Let the match begin!”

Both Trainers held out Pokeballs and then as if on a silent signal, threw them at the same time. The balls burst open simultaneously as they struck the rocky battlefield, revealing a Beedrill and a Geodude. Adrian leaned forward intently, quickly scanning both Pokémon with his Pokedex. “This could be interesting, Vee. Beedrill is Bug/Poison. Geodude is Rock/Ground. Depending on what moves both know, this could all be over very quickly”

Brock made his move first. “Geodude, Tackle!”

“Beedrill, use Poison Sting!”

Why would he do that? Geodude resists Poison-type moves. Adrian thought idly. Geodude slammed straight into Beedrill, which in turn slammed the rocky Pokémon with the stinger at the bottom of its body. Both Pokémon landed in front of their respective Trainers, neither looking remotely fazed by the battle so far. Adrian groaned. “Nope. It definitely won’t be.”

“Vee…” his partner sighed in agreement.

“Geodude, Tackle again!”

“Beedrill, use Fury Cutter!”

Beedrill’s arms began to glow crimson and it dove towards Geodude, while at the same time Geodude leaped towards it. Geodude slammed into Beedrill at the same time the other Pokémon slashed at it, Beedrill managing to hit it a further two times with the same attack as well. Geodude hit the ground hard and rolled to a stop, while the bee Pokémon landed neatly in front of its Trainer. Brock frowned, holding out a Pokeball. “Geodude, return!”

As his Pokémon disappeared in a beam of light, Brock took out another Pokeball. “Go! Onix!”

He hurled the Pokeball, and it burst open in a flash of light as it hit the ground, revealing an immense snake Pokémon that seemed to be made up of boulders. “Onix! Use Rock Throw!”

The huge rocky snake slammed its tail into the floor of the arena, causing numerous rocks to fly out at Beedrill, hitting it before the younger Trainer had a chance to cry out and causing a huge plume of dust. Once the dust had cleared, Beedrill was found sprawled across the ground, unconscious. “Beedrill, return! Go, Zubat!”

He wouldn’t send a Poison/Flying-type like Zubat out against a Pokémon that it’s weak to unless he had a plan… would he? Adrian wondered.

“Zubat, Absorb!”

“Onix, get underground to avoid the attack and then come up from behind!”

Onix dove into the rocky floor as commanded. Seconds later, there was a great roar and it burst from behind the Zubat, blocking it from the challenger’s view. “Now, Onix! Bind it!”

With another roar, Onix’s massive tail wrapped around the Zubat, squeezing it tightly. “Zubat! Hit it with Absorb now, while it’s got you bound!”

Zubat opened its mouth, a red beam shooting from it straight into Onix, which cried out in pain. Zubat seemed to get a little stronger immediately. “Zubat must have absorbed some of Onix’s health…” Adrian observed.

“Onix! Let go of Zubat and get underground again!”

The rock snake obeyed immediately, releasing the bat and diving under the rocky floor of the arena a second time. “Zubat! Wait until it comes up and then Supersonic!”

“Onix! Come up directly underneath it with a Headbutt!”

Onix burst from the ground right under the Zubat, slamming into it head-first and sending it sprawling. “Now! Finish it with Rock Throw again!”

Once again Onix slammed its tail into the arena, causing rocks to burst from the floor and strike Zubat, leaving the other Pokémon unconscious. Both Trainers recalled their Pokémon, as Adrian stood from his chair, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Hmm. Guess Brock will be a bigger challenge than I thought. Especially that Onix… We might have to wait before challenging him, partner. We have some serious training that needs to be done.”

And with those words, the two of them headed for the exit, emerging once more onto the streets of Pewter City.

Chapter Text

Adrian stepped out of the Pokémon Centre, letting his fingers trace along the Pokeballs on his belt as he considered his next move carefully. Vee, Aeris, Kai, Jade, and Khonsu, plus an empty spot in case I get really lucky and find a Pokémon in there that I don’t already have he mused. Vee looked curiously up at his Trainer. “Vee?”

Adrian chuckled lightly. “Back into Viridian Forest we go, buddy. We have a lot of training to do before we’re ready to take on Brock.”

Walking back into Viridian Forest, Adrian followed the winding pathway, nodding casually to the Trainer he’d battled earlier as they crossed paths. Heading back towards the entrance he’d come through on first entering the area, he quickly spotted another Trainer, this time a girl with brown hair. She looked up at the sound of his footsteps, meeting Adrian’s eyes, and held out a Pokeball. “We locked eyes! You know the rules, Trainer, that means we have to battle!”

“Alright, bring it on,” Adrian said simply.

By his feet, Vee readied himself for battle. Adrian shook his head gently. “Wait and see what she sends out first, partner.”

“Go, Pidgey!”

Easy enough to counter. Reaching down to his belt, Adrian’s fingers stopped on a Pokeball. “Kai, you’re up!”

The mouse Pokémon emerged from its Pokeball in a burst of light, sparks flying from its cheeks. “Pika!”

“Pidgey, Tackle!”

“Kai, let’s end this quickly. Thunder Shock!”

Kai nodded. Its body briefly glowed yellow before it launched a burst of electricity at the other Trainer’s Pidgey, which struck it just as the bird Pokémon dived to attack. The tiny bird’s unconscious body crackled with electricity as it crashed to the ground, unable to move. “Pidgey!” the girl cried out in alarm, holding out a Pokeball towards it.

As it disappeared into the same ball it had come from in the first place, Adrian sighed in slight disappointment, recalling Kai. That was too easy… The girl had a slight frown on her face but held out several notes to Adrian. “I tried, but my team just couldn’t beat yours. You deserve this.”

Adrian took the notes, pocketing them, and walked deeper into the forest. It was only about another 10 minutes before a rustling caught his attention, causing both him and Vee to stop. “Vee?”

Adrian reached down, pulling a Pokeball from his belt. “Flush it out with a Quick Attack.”

Vee darted forward, slamming into a figure in the grass, before leaping back to land nimbly in front of Adrian. There was another rustle, and a frog-like Pokémon with a dark green bulb on its back burst from the grass, growling gently. “Bulba!”
A Bulbasaur! That would be perfect against Brock with a little bit of training! And Grass-types are weak to Bugs, so… “You’re up, Jade!”

Adrian’s newly-captured Caterpie burst from the Pokeball in a flash of light. “String Shot!”

Jade spat pure white silk from its mouth, quickly encasing Bulbasaur. “Now, Tackle!”

Slamming into the silk-encased Bulbasaur head-first, Jade’s attack knocked it back several steps. Adrian slipped his hand into his jacket pocket, closing it around an empty Pokeball. A little weaker… “Again, Jade!”

As his Caterpie slammed into its opponent again, knocking it free from the string encasing it, Adrian threw the Pokeball in his hand. The ball struck the wild Pokémon in the head and burst open, absorbing it in a flash of light. Falling to the ground, the button on the Pokeball glowed a dim red color for three seconds as Adrian caught his breath, before finally fading back to the regular white. Adrian sighed in relief, recalling his Caterpie as he bent down to pick up the Pokeball containing his newest team member. “Yes!”

He tapped the button. “Come on out!”

As his new Bulbasaur materialized in a flash of light, Adrian took a second to think carefully. “Hmm… What would be a good nickname for you?”

“Bulba?”

His new Pokémon tilted its head curiously. Adrian chuckled, crouching, and held out his hand to it. “Hi Bulbasaur, I’m Adrian. I’m your new Trainer. I think we’re going to accomplish great things together. But first things first. We need to give you a nickname. How does the name ‘Spring’ sound to you?”

“Bulba…”

Adrian rubbed the Bulbasaur’s head gently. “Not sure, huh? Well, let’s give it a try. If you decide you don’t like it, we’ll try another name.”

Flicking open his Pokedex, he scanned the entry for Bulbasaur for a moment before nodding and looking up. Eyeing a small fallen branch not far from them, he pointed to it. “Okay. See if you can pick that branch up with your Vine Whip and hand it to me, Spring.”

The seed Pokémon nodded. Two long and slender vines emerged from the bulb on its back, snaking towards the branch. Though it took a few tries, the vines were soon successful in picking up the branch as Adrian had suggested, and just a couple of minutes later the branch was in Adrian’s hand. “Well done, Spring. That’s a good start.”

He got to his feet and pulled another Pokeball from his belt, quickly releasing Aeris. “Let’s have a quick practice battle, shall we? Aeris, attack Spring from the air with Tackle. Spring, try to stop it from hitting you with Vine Whip.”

Adrian watched intently for a few minutes as the two Pokémon clashed, intervening only if necessary. “Spring, watch out!”

Aeris had gone for a particularly close Tackle, and it was only thanks to Adrian’s yell that the Bulbasaur was able to block it in time. “That was a close one… Spring, keep up that Vine Whip, and don’t let your guard down! Aeris, keep Tackling!”

After several more minutes of watching the battle between his two Pokémon, giving orders whenever he needed to, Adrian nodded in satisfaction. “Okay, that’s enough. Very good, both of you.”

He held out a Pokeball, recalling Aeris, and then knelt next to his Bulbasaur, scratching it behind the ears gently. “So what do you think, Spring? You like the name?”

The green Pokémon nodded happily. “Bulba! Bulbasaur!”

Adrian grinned and got to his feet, holding out a Pokeball. “Good. I like it too. Spring, return!”

As Spring vanished back into its Pokeball, a call from behind him caused Adrian to turn. A trainer similar in appearance to the boy he had battled on the way through the forest to get to Pewter City in the first place was standing a short distance behind him, a Pokeball in his hand. “Trainer! I challenge you!”

Adrian paused momentarily. He’s a Bug Catcher, so will probably have Bug types. Aeris is worn out from her battle with Spring. Spring’s weak against Bug-type Pokémon, and even if she wasn’t, she put a lot of effort into her fight against Aeris so she deserves a rest too. Vee could handle this easily but I want to train other Pokémon while we’re out here, so he’s out too. So that leaves Kai, Jade, and Khonsu. Of those three, Jade needs the training more since he only knows two moves as it is. “Go, Jade!”

“Come on out, Metapod!”

Metapod. Bug-type evolution of Caterpie. Knows String Shot, Tackle, and Harden. Will probably focus on raising its defense with Harden as much as possible and then take Jade down with several Tackle attacks. Has low base Speed and is weak offensively since its evolution, but has a higher natural defense as it is. I should focus on offense as much as possible and then switch Vee or Aeris in if I have to. “Let’s start things off, Jade! Tackle!”

“Harden, Metapod!”

Thought so. The other Trainer’s Metapod shimmered a brilliant greenish-white color briefly, which then faded as Jade slammed into it, though the Tackle attack seemed to do very little damage to it. “Should probably have seen that coming, I guess. Alright then, Jade, let’s try something different this time! String Shot!”

String spewed from the mouth of Adrian’s Caterpie, covering the other Trainer’s Metapod in a thick layer of white silk. Adrian smirked. “Try Hardening your way out of that! Alright, Jade, Tackle!”

Jade slammed into his opponent head-first once again before the Bug Catcher could give another order, sending it tumbling. “Great work, Jade! Now, you want to take a break?”

Jade and Adrian’s eyes met, and the Caterpie shook his head fiercely. Adrian could see the determination and sheer willpower in the worm Pokémon’s eyes and after a couple of seconds, the Trainer nodded. “Alright then. Let’s win this one, Jade! Tackle!”

“Metapod, let’s tie them up too! String Shot!”

Within seconds, Jade was encased in a white silk cocoon exactly like his opponent. Adrian groaned quietly. “Jade! Try and break free of it!”

There was muffled movement from within the cocoon, then the entire thing was consumed in a burst of blue energy focused on Jade. Adrian caught his breath, realizing what was going on. “Jade’s evolving…”

Once the energy had dissipated, standing in front of Adrian was a Metapod identical to that of the other Trainer. Adrian flicked open his Pokedex, looking intently at it for a brief moment, and then nodded. “Alright, Jade. You’ve done well, but it’s time to take a break now. Return!”

Jade vanished into the Pokeball in a flash of light, and Adrian reached down to his belt, pulling free Aeris’s Pokeball. “Go!”

His Pidgey burst from the Pokeball in a burst of light. “Alright, Aeris, I know you’re worn out from that training match you had with Spring earlier so let’s make this quick! Gust!”

The Pidgey flapped its wings, creating a miniature tornado that slammed into Metapod, causing it to fly backwards and slam into a tree before crashing to the ground unconscious. Adrian winced in sympathy as both trainers recalled their Pokémon. His opponent shrugged. “Well, I may have lost, but it was a good loss. Here’s your prize money.”

He handed Adrian several bills, which Adrian tucked into his wallet, before turning and walking away. Adrian wiped some sweat from his brow, looking down at Vee. “Well that went well.”

After several more battles against Trainers and various wild Pokémon, during which Adrian’s entire team put up surprisingly good fights despite how tired they were, they came to a small clearing in the forest. Adrian gave a sigh of relief as he pulled his team’s Pokeballs from his belt, dropping them to the ground and causing all five of his other Pokémon to appear in beams of light. He sat down on one side of the clearing, his back against his bag, and sighed cheerfully. A kaleidoscope of Butterfree burst from the trees in a cacophony of rustling leaves and branches, followed shortly after by the musical sound of their calls and the rush of the air driven downwards by their beating wings as they flew overhead, causing Adrian to catch his breath in wonder. “Oh, wow. Look at that! I’ve never seen so many Butterfree in one place before!”

He smiled softly at Jade, who was staring almost wistfully up at the flying Butterfree. “Don’t worry, Jade. If we keep training, it won’t be long before you evolve and have wings of your own too” he said gently.

His hands behind his head, Adrian went back to watching the sky quietly as the rest of his Pokémon slept peacefully beside him. Soon, however, he was broken from his thoughts when he noticed a brilliant white gleam out of the corner of his eye. Turning his attention to Jade, he could see that for the second time that day, he was enveloped in energy. “Jade? Are you…”

Before he could finish his sentence, there was a cracking sound from the Pokémon’s body, and the light seemed to expand upwards as something burst from the Metapod. The light faded almost as soon as it had appeared, and hovering in the exact same spot where Jade had been previously, was a Butterfree, identical in every way to the ones they had just seen flying overhead. Adrian caught his breath. “Holy Arceus. Jade, did you… Did you evolve just out of pure willpower and desire to be able to fly? That’s absolutely amazing!”

Flicking open his Pokedex, he scanned it again, noting the new typing, before pocketing it again. Moving to crouch in front of the newly-evolved Butterfree, he took a couple of seconds to admire the large wings before nodding in satisfaction. “I’m so proud of you, Jade. You and all five of the other Pokémon here right now have done such a good job today. I hope you all know that.”

“Freeeee!” Jade exclaimed, beating his wings furiously, almost as if confirming Adrian’s thoughts.

He got to his feet, stretching. “I think we have all we need in order to beat Brock now. Let’s head back to Pewter and get you six all healed up before we take on the Gym.”

As he recalled most of his Pokemon, his hand went to the other Pokeball in his jacket pocket. Sealed with a brilliant red color, much like Jade’s Pokeball had been only a matter of hours before, was the Weedle, Lancer, that he’d captured just before they reached the clearing. “You’ll prove useful soon, Lancer, I’m sure of it” he said softly, causing Vee to look up at him in confusion.

“Vee?”

Adrian chuckled lightly. “Nothing. Let’s head back to town, buddy. I’ve got a feeling that our journey’s only just starting.”

Chapter Text

Adrian stepped through the sliding doors into the Gym, his eyes immediately drawn to where the Gym Leader was standing at the back of the large room. "Ah, future champ! Here to challenge Brock, I presume?" the dark-haired older man by the door queried.

Adrian nodded to Jim. "Yes. Is he free?"

"Yes. He's been expecting you, so go right ahead".

Adrian's footsteps echoed on the rocky floor as he walked forward. As he walked, his eyes strayed to the bleachers on each side of the room, the same place he had been sitting only a few hours before. His eyes were drawn to the figure of a young red-haired woman sitting there, her eyes firmly fixed on the stadium of the Gym, and he couldn't help but find her familiar. "So. You've come to battle me for a Boulder Badge?" Brock queried.

Adrian's attention turned back to the Gym Leader. "Yes".

"Very well. I'm assuming this is your first official Pokemon League match?"

At Adrian's nod, Brock gave a slight smile, before turning to a rack behind him and pulling free two Pokeballs. "In that case, I'll use these two".

Turning back, he held one of the Pokeballs out in front of him. "I'm Brock, Pewter City's Gym Leader. You can see just by looking at my Pokémon how rock hard my willpower is. My Pokémon are all hard as rock and have true-grit determination! That's right! My Pokémon are all Rock types! Fwahaha! You're going to challenge me even knowing that you'll lose? That's what a Trainer's honour demands! So be it! Show me your best!"

Adrian’s hand flashed to the Pokeballs at his belt. How do I want to play this? Geodude and Onix are both Rock/Ground types. From what I saw before, neither have any Ground moves, and Geodude doesn’t have any Rock-type moves, but both are immune to Electric-type attacks thanks to that part-Ground typing of theirs. Therefore Kai’s useless here since his only attacking move is Thunder Shock. Aeris and Jade are both part-Flying types, and could be useful against Geodude, but a strong hit from Onix’s Rock Throw would take either down. Khonsu knows Poison Sting and Peck. Might be able to deal some light damage but ultimately I wouldn’t count on it. Vee’s my best choice since he’s my strongest Pokemon, but Spring has Grass-type attacks. “Vee?”

Adrian glanced down at his partner’s query, shaking his head as his fingers closed around Spring’s Pokeball. “Not yet, buddy”.

“Are you ready?” Brock queried from across the stadium, holding out his Geodude’s Pokeball.

“Ready”.

Both Trainers nodded and then threw their Pokeballs at the same time. Both balls burst open upon contact with the rocky ground of the battlefield, Adrian’s Bulbasaur and Brock’s Geodude emerging in flashes of light. “Geodude, Tackle!”

Adrian’s eyes flicked quickly to the red-haired girl sitting in the stands, who was now leaning forward, intently watching the battle, before they returned to the battlefield. Multiple strategies flashed into his mind as he analysed the field in front of him. “Spring, use your Vine Whip to grab Geodude like you did that stick in Viridian Forest!”

Vines snaked from the bulb on Spring’s back, lashing themselves around the Geodude’s arms just seconds before it would have struck Spring. Adrian smirked. “Great! Now, slam it into those boulders!”

“Geodude, break free of those vines and Tackle it again!”

“Tighten your grip, Spring!”

The vines tightened around Geodude’s arms. As the rocky Pokemon struggled to break free, Spring took aim, slamming it as hard as possible into one of the boulders that lined the battlefield before letting go. Geodude tumbled to the arena floor, where it lay unconscious for a few seconds before righting itself and glaring at Spring. “Geodude, Tackle again!”

“Vine Whip!”

Another vine from the bulb on Spring’s back slammed into the Geodude, sending it to the ground, where it landed and lay still. Brock nodded and held out a Pokeball, recalling it. “Good job, Geodude. Return!”

“Brace yourself, Spring. This is going to be a tough one…” Adrian instructed as Brock’s Geodude vanished into its Pokeball in a beam of red light.

“Bulba…”

Brock tucked his Geodude’s Pokeball away, raising the one that, Adrian knew, contained his Onix. Brock’s most powerful Pokemon. “Looks like you’re up, Onix! Go!”

Adrian gulped quietly as the immense rock snake emerged from the Pokeball. Casting a quick glance at the stands again, he saw that the red-haired girl had shifted and was leaning forward, her eyes fixed intently on the battlefield. “Stay strong, Spring! We’ve got the type advantage here! Use Vine Whip to grab it and slam it against the ground!”

“Onix, use the momentum from Vine Whip to propel yourself underground, then come up from underneath Bulbasaur with Headbutt!” Brock commanded.

He’s going for a similar strategy to the one he used against that Zubat from earlier, I’m guessing. “Spring! Wait until you feel the vibrations under you and then get out of the way!”

“Onix, now!”

The immense rock Pokemon burst from the ground, slamming into Spring and sending it sprawling. Adrian’s mind raced, flicking over the moves that Spring knew. “Spring! Let’s try and recover some health before this goes on for much longer! Leech Seed!”

“Onix! Trap it with Bind!”

A seed burst from the bulb on the Bulbasaur’s back just seconds before the rock snake coiled around it. The seed slammed into Onix, but the Pokemon barely noticed as vines sprouted from it, twining themselves around the rocks that made up the rock snake’s body before starting to glow a soft red color. Onix suddenly groaned in pain and its grip weakened on Bulbasaur, which seemed to grow slightly stronger. Adrian opened his mouth to yell an order, but hesitated. A good Trainer knows not just strategy, but also when it’s ideal to switch a Pokemon out. That’s what dad always says. Pulling a Pokeball from his belt, he held it out. “Spring! You’ve done well, now return!”

A red beam emerged from the button at the centre of the ball he was holding out and struck his Pokemon, causing it to vanish into the ball. Nodding in satisfaction, he let his eyes flick to the stands for the third time that fight. The red-haired girl was watching him thoughtfully, and a slight smile flicked across his face as he realized exactly where he’d seen her before. Bending down slightly, he scratched Vee behind the ears. “You think you’re up for this, buddy?”

His partner nodded. “Vee!”

“Alright, partner. I trust you. You’re up, Vee.”

His partner jumped onto the field to stand in front of Adrian, staring up at Brock’s Onix. Brock raised an eyebrow. “An Eevee, huh? I’m not sure you know what you’re doing, but okay… Onix, Rock Throw!”

“Alright, Vee, this is what all of our training’s led to! Dodge those rocks with Quick Attack!”

Vee nodded and charged towards the Onix at the same time as the rock snake slammed its tail into the stadium ground, sending rocks flying everywhere. Vee’s body was a blur, a white line flashing from side to side as each rock fell harmlessly to the ground behind it, and Adrian clenched his fist. “Vee! Jump on the last one and use it to propel yourself into a Tackle!”

The small silver fox Pokemon did as commanded, the surprisingly-powerful Tackle sending Brock’s Onix reeling. “Impressive. But we’re not beaten yet. Onix! Bind it!”

Adrian caught a glimpse of the vines that were still wrapped around the Onix’s coils as they glowed again, slowly draining more of the immense Pokemon’s health and transferring it to his partner. That’s it, Brock, keep attacking… Spring’s Leech Seed is still slowly draining your Onix’s health, it’s only a matter of time now until you lose. He smirked. “Vee, let’s make ourselves harder to hit! Kick up some dust with Sand Attack!”

Vee nodded, raising himself on his hind legs before slamming his front legs down on the battlefield, kicking up a cloud of loose dust and sand. Onix lunged at Vee but missed, crashing into the rocks, and Adrian smirked as the vines glowed again, transferring more of Onix’s health to Vee. “It’s got sand in its eyes, Vee! Let’s use this chance to take it down! Tackle!”

“Onix!”

Vee slammed into the Onix once again before it could defend itself, sending it sprawling. The vines flared red one last time before disintegrating, and Adrian held his breath in anticipation. A few seconds later, Brock nodded. “Onix is unable to battle. Looks like I underestimated you, Trainer.”

Adrian nodded to Vee, who came running over to him, panting lightly, as Brock held out Onix’s Pokeball to recall it. Brock chuckled slightly as he tucked the Pokeball away. “You’d think I’d be used to this by now, being the first Kanto gym leader most new trainers face. Never gets any easier, that’s for sure.”

Adrian and Vee crossed the battlefield, approaching where Brock stood on the other side of the Gym. As they reached him, Brock held out his hand, shaking Adrian’s hand in acceptance of his loss. He handed over a small wad of notes, which Adrian counted subconsciously before slipping into his pocket, joining the money that was already in there. “I’m honestly impressed. Most Trainers don’t quite employ the same strategy of evasion that you and your Eevee seem to.”

Crossing back to the rack he had initially taken Geodude and Onix’s Pokeballs from, he replaced the two balls before turning to a small chest, opening it, and withdrawing a small object. He walked back to Adrian, smiling slightly as he held out his hand, in which he was holding a small gray badge. “Take this as proof of your victory. It’s an official Pokemon League badge - a Boulder Badge! With this badge, Pokemon you receive in trades from other Trainers are more likely to obey you. Oh, and here, take this with you too!”

Brock pulled a small disc from his pocket and held it out to Adrian, who gratefully accepted both the offered items, tucking the disc away safely and slipping the badge into the pocket of his jacket. “That disk is a Technical Machine, or TM. If you use it, you can teach any Pokemon the move inside it. And TMs can be used as many times as you want, so feel free to use it on any Pokemon you like. That particular one contains the move Headbutt. It damages your opponent’s Pokemon by ramming them with a head that’s as hard as rock. There are all kinds of people in this huge world of ours. Some have their Pokémon battle—some just like to raise them... I'm hard at work here to learn how to become a Pokémon Breeder, who helps raise Pokémon. You're aiming to become a strong Trainer, right? Then you should challenge all the other Gyms!"

“I’m definitely planning to,” Adrian grinned.

“I wish you and your partner the best of luck with your travels then.”

Nodding his thanks to Brock, and noticing that the red-haired girl from earlier was no longer sitting in the stands, Adrian turned and headed for the exit, Vee right beside him. The two made their way through the streets back to the Pokemon Centre, and Adrian recalled Vee into his Pokeball before stepping through the sliding doors. “Adrian! Good to see you again!” Nurse Joy greeted him, waving cheerfully as she saw him.

He smiled, walking over to the counter. “Hi, Nurse Joy.”

“So, how’d your first official Gym battle go?” the pink-haired nurse queried.

“I don’t really want to brag, but… I think it went pretty well” Adrian replied, grinning softly as he pulled his new badge from his jacket pocket.

“Congratulations! Actually that reminds me, this package addressed to you arrived while you were at the Gym.”

Nurse Joy reached under the counter and withdrew a thin package, which she handed over to Adrian. Adrian glanced down at it as he tucked it safely away, noticing that it was addressed to him from his parents. I’ll open it later. “Thank you”.

Nurse Joy beamed. “You’re welcome! Would you like me to heal your Pokemon for you?”

“That would be lovely. Just Vee and Spring this time, please.”

“Alright! Just give me their Pokeballs and I’ll take care of them for you!”

Adrian nodded, unclipping the two Pokeballs from his belt and placing them in the offered tray. Nurse Joy beamed at him. “Alright, Adrian, I’ll get your Pokemon all healed up for you. It should take about half an hour, so if you want to make yourself comfortable go ahead and I’ll let you know when we’re done.”

She picked up the tray and left the counter, making her way into the main medical room of the Pokemon Center. Sighing, Adrian turned away from the counter, his eyes widening slightly in surprise as he spotted a very familiar red-haired girl sitting on one of the benches, reading. As if she felt his eyes on her, she looked up, giving a slight smile and waving him over. “You’re the girl who gave me directions to the Gym just a few hours ago. And who was also in the stands during my battle against Brock.”

She chuckled gently, shifting over slightly to make room for him on the bench next to her. “That’s me. My name’s Cassandra, but my friends call me Cassie. I’m from Cerulean City, but I’ve been here in Pewter for the last few days visiting my cousin. And you… you’re Adrian, right?”

At Adrian’s surprised expression, she laughed again. “I heard Nurse Joy mention your name when you came in. I’m guessing you’re from Pallet Town?”

Adrian smiled back. “Yes. My team and I just arrived here earlier today after coming through Viridian Forest. As you probably figured, we’re taking the Pokemon League challenge.”

“I had figured that since you were battling Brock, yes. You’ve got an interesting strategy, Adrian. Although all things considered, I’m not really sure how much use that’s going to be against the Cerulean City Gym…”

Adrian’s fingers fiddled with his newly-won Boulder Badge as he reached into his bag with his other hand, pulling out his guidebook and turning to the page on the Gym Cassandra had just mentioned. “Cerulean City Gym. Leader: Misty, the tomboyish mermaid. Specialises in: Water-type Pokemon”

“Battles in her Gym are usually fought over the Gym’s swimming pool/tank, with Trainers standing on either side, so if I’m being honest I’m not sure exactly how useful your Eevee will be in your battle against her” Cassandra said simply, nodding.

“Probably not very useful. But I do have other Pokemon which might be more effective against her. I’ll definitely have to do some training though…” Adrian mused.

“Oh, definitely. But then again, even just travelling through Mount Moon is sure to get your Pokemon some well-earned experience.”

“Of course. Probably still have to do some training on Route 24. Maybe add a few other Pokemon to my collection while I’m doing that.”

Cassandra reached up, brushing a strand of red hair out of her eyes, before nodding. “You can find Abra there, usually. Oddish too. Easy to imagine both of those proving useful in your future Gym battles. Especially if you’re planning to take on the Fighting Dojo in Saffron as well.”

“That makes a lot of sense.”

Adrian leaned back in the chair, thinking briefly, and then smiled. “Well then, Cassie. I have an idea. As we’ve discussed, I need to go to Cerulean for my next badge. And, as you said yourself, you’re heading home to Cerulean after visiting your cousin. Why don’t we travel together? It’d be nice to have another person to talk to. Vee’s a good listener, but he’s not much of a conversationalist, you know?”

Cassie gave him a warm smile in return. “I was just going to have my Staraptor fly me back there, but travelling together sounds like a really good idea. It would be nice to have company, plus I’d admittedly really like to see what other Pokemon you have in your party so far.”

“It’s a deal then.”

“Adrian, your Pokemon are healed now”

Walking back up to the counter, Adrian smiled, gratefully taking Vee and Spring’s Pokeballs from the tray the nurse was holding out to him and clipping them back onto his belt. “Thank you so much, Nurse Joy.”

“You’re welcome! Is there anything else you need?”

Adrian nodded. “I need to make a couple of phone calls. Are the phones in the room down the hall on the left?”

“Just like in the Viridian City Pokemon Centre, yes.”

“Thank you.”

He walked back over to where Cassie was sitting. “Hey, I have to make a couple of phone calls while we’re here. You don’t mind waiting, do you?”

Cassie shook her head and smiled lightly, holding up the book in her hands for him to see. “I’m good. You go make your phone calls, I’ll be fine here.”

Walking down the hall to the room Nurse Joy had mentioned, he quickly found a free phone and keyed in his home phone number when prompted. “Adrian!”

He smiled at the two adults on the other end. “Hey, Mom. Hey, Dad. Is everything going okay at home?”

“Everything’s fine here. We all miss you and Vee. Becca and I were talking earlier about how quiet it is around the house without you and Vee practising on those targets in the backyard” Adrian’s mother said, giving her son a soft smile.

“We miss you all too. Where are Becca and Mary, by the way? I was hoping they’d be home when I called.”

“Oh, they’re staying at their friend Ellie’s house tonight.”

“Oh, right, because it’s Ellie’s birthday. I’d actually totally forgotten.”

Adrian’s father laughed. “So had your mother until Mary reminded her this morning.”

Adrian’s mother gave her husband a playful punch in the arm, and Adrian couldn’t help laughing. “It still feels unreal to actually be travelling, if I’m being honest. I know this is something Vee and I have been training and looking forward to for the last two years, but it still feels so weird to be taking the Pokemon League challenge.”

“Speaking of the Pokemon League challenge… How’s that going for you so far?”

Adrian smiled and slipped his hand into the pocket of his jacket, his fingers curling around the badge he had only won from Brock a short time ago. He held it up towards the screen so that his parents could see. “I got the Boulder Badge.”

“Congratulations, Adrian! So proud of you!”

“Great work!”

His parents’ compliments made him blush. “I couldn’t have done it without Vee. And the lessons you and Professor Oak gave us, Dad.”

“Well, I’m glad those lessons helped you. Did you get the package we sent you?”

“I did! I haven’t opened it yet, but I will soon!”

Adrian’s father smiled. “I’m glad it reached you in time. It’s something that came in handy for me when I was on my own journey. I never quite got good enough to beat the League, but I kept it as a memento of my travels and when you set out I decided the time was right to pass it on to you. I was going to give it to you yesterday when I got home from work, but you had already left by then so instead your mom suggested that we just send it to Pewter City instead.”

Adrian laughed gently. “Yeah, I did think about staying until you got home before I left but, in the end, Vee and I were just really eager to get on with our adventure.”

“I figured you would have been. You know you can always come home if you get too lonely or homesick, right?”

Adrian smiled gently at his parents. “I know. I think I’ll be okay though. I made a new friend here in Pewter. Her name’s Cassandra, we decided to travel together since we’re both heading towards Cerulean anyway.”

“Is she nice?” his mother queried.

“She certainly seems that way so far. Although to be fair it’s hard to tell since we’ve only just met.”

“Fair enough.”

There was a quiet whistling from the kitchen, and Adrian’s mom sighed. “Alright, I guess that’s our cue to go. Call when you get to Cerulean, okay?”

“Will do, Mom. Bye, Dad! Give my love to Becca and Mary when they get home!”

“Good luck! And don’t worry, we will!”

There was a click as the line went dead, and Adrian smiled to himself before picking up the phone again, this time keying in Professor Oak’s number. “Professor!”

The grey-haired Professor smiled as he saw Adrian. “Ah! How are you doing, Adrian?”

“I’m good thank you, Professor. I won the Boulder Badge!”

The Professor beamed. “That’s great! I’m very proud of you, my boy! Ah, but you didn’t call just to chat, did you? What can I do for you?”

Digging into his pocket, Adrian withdrew the sealed Pokeball that contained the Weedle he’d caught in Viridian Forest. “I have another Pokemon to send you.”

Several minutes later, Adrian hung up the phone, whistling cheerfully as he walked back out to find Cassie waiting for him. She looked up at the sound of his footsteps, closing her book with a quiet thud as she got to her feet. “Ready to go?”

Adrian nodded, tapping a finger against Vee’s Pokeball to release his partner, who looked up at him with shining eyes and gave a single nod as well. “Let’s get going.”

Chapter Text

“If you don’t mind me asking, Cassie, what made you stick around to watch my battle against Brock? Not that I’m complaining, of course, but I’ll definitely admit I’m curious” Adrian wondered as the two made their way down Route 3.

Cassie looked thoughtful. “Honestly? Initially it was nothing more than a gut feeling. I thought you looked interesting and your Eevee seemed to have potential. Then once the battle actually started I was watching out of intrigue. By the end I was actually on the edge of my seat. You’ve got some decent strategies, and it was obvious from the way you handled yourself against Brock that you’ve got a good eye for what your Pokemon can and can’t handle. Of course your Pokemon could definitely stand to be stronger, and you’re going to need way more variety in your team if you want to be able to defeat the rest of the Pokemon League, but small steps.”

“I see. By the way, speaking of Eevee, I don’t think I’ve properly introduced you to my partner yet, have I?”

Adrian reached up with one hand, gently scratching the silver-grey fur of the Pokemon that was perched happily on his shoulder. “Cassie, this is Vee, my starter Pokemon and best friend. He’s been my partner for about two and a half years now. Vee, this is Cassie. She’s going to be travelling with us for the foreseeable future.”

Cassie smiled warmly, reaching out one hand towards the Pokemon. “It’s nice to meet you, Vee. May I?”

Adrian glanced at Vee, who nodded. Cassie smiled, putting her hand on Vee’s head and gently scratching him behind one ear. Vee smiled and made a satisfied noise as he leaned into Cassie’s touch, causing Adrian to chuckle gently. “He likes you already, Cassie. He usually takes a while to warm up to new people, so this is a good sign.”

Cassie smiled. “I’m glad.”

They walked for a while longer before Adrian groaned. “Ugh. That sun is way too hot for my liking.”

Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a simple dark blue cap and pulled it down over his head, the peak of the cap shielding his eyes. “So. You said before that you have a Staraptor you use when you need to go from place to place quickly, but what other kinds of Pokemon do you train?” he queried once he was satisfied.

“I specialise mostly in defensive Pokemon. Currently my team is Onix, Chansey, Slowbro, Lapras, Snorlax and Tangela. I’m working on teaching Tangela Ancient Power to evolve it into a Tangrowth.”

“I’m surprised you don’t have a Steelix yet in that case, since it’s better defensively than Onix. Or a Blissey, for that matter.”

“Oh, those are definitely on my list. Unfortunately, Chansey takes a while to evolve. And I don’t have a Metal Coat so I can’t evolve Onix either. They’re not exactly easy to find.”

“Fair point.”

Their conversation was interrupted by a voice coming from nearby. "Hey! Are either of you Trainers?”

Both of them paused mid-conversation, turning towards the speaker, Adrian already reaching to pull a Pokeball from his belt. The speaker was a girl around the same age as the girls that Adrian had battled in Viridian Forest when he had been training to battle Brock. “We both are,” Cassie said simply.

The other girl nodded, holding out a Pokeball. “In that case, I challenge one of you to a battle!”

Adrian tugged a Pokeball free from his belt, glancing over at his companion. “You don’t mind, do you, Cassie?”

“Not at all! As long as I get to battle the next Trainer.”

“Deal!”

He nodded to the other girl. “I accept your challenge!”

“Go Oddish!”

As the Weed Pokemon burst from the Pokeball, landing on the ground in front of its Trainer, Adrian threw the Pokeball he’d been holding. “You’re up, Jade!”

His Butterfree burst free in a flash of light. “Oddish, Acid attack!”

Adrian smirked. “Blow it right back with Gust, Jade!”

As Oddish spat a ball of violet-coloured acid from its mouth, Jade started furiously beating its wings, creating a miniature storm that blew the attack straight back into Oddish’s face. “It wasn’t very effective…” Cassie muttered.

Adrian flicked open his Pokedex for a second, quickly scanning Jade, and nodded before flicking the small device closed again. “Good thing we’re just getting started then! Okay, Jade, let’s try something new this time! Confusion!”

Jade’s eyes started to glow a soft purple colour, and the other Trainer’s Oddish was quickly outlined with the same colour. Jade should be able to control it now! “Excellent, Jade!”

“Oddish, don’t let Butterfree get the better of you! Break free of it!”

Adrian grinned. “Finish it with another Gust!”

The Trainer’s Oddish went tumbling across the ground before collapsing, exhausted. Its Trainer sighed in defeat, holding out a Pokeball and recalling the weed Pokemon. “I guess I overestimated my own power. Well done.”

She pulled some notes from her bag and handed them to Adrian, who tucked them into his own pocket before nodding as he recalled Jade. “Hey, don’t be too hard on yourself, alright? That Oddish of yours has real potential. Maybe teach it some moves other than Acid, but aside from that all you really need is some training and you could probably accomplish great things with it.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Of course!”

The girl gave a genuine smile. “Thank you. I guess I’d better take Oddish to get healed up. Good luck in the future!”

She ran off in the direction of Pewter City, clutching the ball containing her Oddish to her chest. Adrian and Cassie watched her for a few minutes until she was out of sight, and then turned to continue walking, quickly picking up their conversation from where they’d stopped earlier. The warm sun beat down on them as they made their way down the road, and numerous bird Pokemon chirped happily in the trees overhead. Suddenly, the peaceful atmosphere was broken by an angry screeching sound. Adrian froze mid step and pulled a Pokeball from his belt. “What the hell was that?”

A shadowy figure burst from the trees and slammed into Vee, sending the silver fox Pokemon tumbling from Adrian’s shoulder onto the ground, before flying back into the trees. “Spear!”

Perched on a nearby tree branch, giving the companions a very angry stare, was a small, brown-headed bird Pokemon with pinkish-red wings. “Spear! Spearow!”

Vee growled gently from where he was now standing on the ground as Adrian dug in his pocket for his Pokedex. Finding it after several seconds, he pointed it at the other Pokemon and flicked it open. “Spearow. The Tiny Bird Pokemon. Inept at flying high. However, it can fly around very fast to protect its territory.”

Spearow, huh? Scrappy little thing. I could use one of those. “Go, Kai!”

His Pikachu burst from the Pokeball in a flash of light, landing neatly on the ground in front of them. “Pika!”

“Thunder Shock!”

Kai nodded, his body glowing yellow for several seconds as he clenched his fists before releasing a blast of electricity that struck the Spearow, sending a powerful shock through the tiny bird Pokemon. It reeled for a couple of seconds, eyes shut in pain, before opening them and glaring at the Pikachu. “Spearow!”

Unexpectedly resilient. “Shock it again, Kai!”

The Spearow lunged at Kai, but was struck by another burst of electricity from the mouse Pokemon before it could make impact, sending it crashing motionless to the ground. “Pokeball, go!”

The Spearow was sucked into the Pokeball, which dropped to the ground, shaking for a few seconds before finally settling in one spot. Adrian picked up the ball, which had sealed itself with a soft red glow, and tucked it into his jacket pocket. "Do you want to nickname your Spearow?" his Pokedex queried.

Adrian considered the question before hitting ‘No’. “Maybe once we get to the Pokemon Centre. I’d like to have the chance to get to know it before I decide on a nickname.”

“Sensible. I’d probably do the same thing in your place. If I happened to be someone who gave nicknames to their Pokemon, at least.”

Adrian lowered his arm to Vee, who nodded and leaped eagerly on, climbing up and settling down on his Trainer’s shoulder. Cassie reached a hand over and scratched Vee behind the ear, the small silver fox making a pleased trilling sound as he leaned into the red-haired girl’s touch. Cassie smiled gently and gestured to Adrian. “Pass me a Potion? I’ll give Vee a spray, heal whatever damage that Spearow did when it knocked him off your shoulder.”

Adrian nodded, passing her one of the purple spray bottles. “Thanks.”

She gave Vee a gentle smile. “Hold still, okay? This will probably sting a little.”

She spritzed the Potion over Vee’s body, causing the small Pokemon to make several pained squeaks as the spray healed and sterilised the few wounds that the Spearow had caused. Once she had finished, she tucked the bottle back into her own bag and gave Vee an apologetic stroke. “Sorry about that, little guy.”

They started walking again, though it wasn’t long before another Trainer spotted them and called out to challenge them to a battle. The Trainer was a young boy in shorts and a yellow and white shirt with a backwards-facing cap. Adrian started to move forward, but Cassie shook her head as she pulled out a Pokeball of her own. “This one’s mine, remember?”

Adrian nodded, stepping back. The Trainer Cassie was facing held out a Pokeball of his own. “Go, Spearow!”

“Go, Onix!”

The rock snake Pokemon burst from Cassie’s Pokeball in a flash of light at the same time as her opponent’s Spearow, settling on the ground in front of her. Adrian nodded, watching the battle in front of them intently. Good choice. Onix is Rock/Ground, meaning it has the advantage here. “Spearow, use Peck!”

The bird Pokemon dove beak-first into Onix, though the rock Pokemon seemed to barely even notice the hit. Cassandra smirked. “Alright, Onix, let’s finish this in one move. Slam!”

Before the Spearow’s trainer could yell another command, Onix raised its tail and brought it slamming down into the bird Pokemon, sending it sprawling unconscious to the ground. “Another victory down!” the red-haired girl cheered, holding out Onix’s Pokeball.

The younger boy sighed sadly and shrugged as he recalled his fainted Spearow. “I guess I underestimated you”

“Everyone makes mistakes. With some training, I’m sure that Spearow of yours can become a real threat”

Cassie tucked the prize money she had been given from the Trainer into a pocket of her bag and turned, rejoining Adrian, who raised an eyebrow. “I wasn’t expecting you to win that quickly.”

She chuckled slightly. “Neither was that Spearow’s trainer, judging by his reaction. To be fair, I guess I should have mentioned I’ve been training for a couple of years already… ”

Adrian gave an exaggerated gasp. “What, you’re not a rookie Trainer? I’m shocked.”

Cassie elbowed him playfully. “C’mon, let’s get a move on”.

They started walking again, chatting casually as they walked. Numerous other Trainers challenged them as they passed by, though the duo’s Pokemon were able to make short work of all of them (which caused Adrian to wonder why the Trainers on that route had weaker Pokemon than Brock). Eventually after a surprisingly easy battle with a Bug Catcher’s Kakuna, Cassie stopped and pointed ahead of them. “There’s the turn. From there it’s only about another half an hour to the Pokemon Center.”

“Know this Route like the back of your hand, huh?”

The red-haired girl chuckled. “Something like that. Anyway, come on!”

The two broke into a run, though Adrian screeched to a halt only five minutes later when he felt something yank the cap violently from his head. Looking around, he saw a small brown and white monkey Pokemon jumping up and down with his hat in his hand, seemingly laughing to itself. He recognized it immediately from before he’d become a Trainer himself, back when he’d still been helping Professor Oak with other Trainers’ Pokemon. “A Mankey!”

Immediately he grabbed Jade’s Pokeball from his belt. “Jade, stop that pesky primate Pokemon in its tracks with Confusion!”

Almost immediately, the wild Pokemon was surrounded by a light purple energy that froze it mid-caper. Adrian tugged a second Pokeball from his belt as he ran over, snatching his hat back from the Pokemon and jamming it onto his head once again. He slipped a hand into the pocket of his jacket, pulling out a small ball. “Aeris, use Gust at the same time as Jade and blow that Mankey away!”

Both Pokemon flapped their wings at the same time, creating an extra-powerful blast of wind that slammed the monkey Pokemon into a nearby rock and caused it to slump, unconscious, to the ground. “Good job! Now! Pokeball, go!”

Chapter Text

Adrian sighed in relief as he and his companions stepped through the doors of the Pokemon Center, causing Cassie to chuckle gently. Adrian glared half-heartedly at her. “It was a long walk, and I’m all sweaty. Thank god the air conditioning in these places is decent” he shrugged.

“I get it. I’m glad too, honestly.”

They waved to Nurse Joy as they approached the counter. “Hi! How can I help you two Trainers today?” the nurse queried.

“We were hoping to get our Pokemon healed.”

Nurse Joy smiled warmly. “Of course! Hand me the Pokemon that need healing and I’ll take them through for you.”

Adrian and Cassie glanced at each other. “What do you think, should we have our entire teams healed?”

“Might be for the best. We did quite a bit of battling on our way, after all.”

Adrian held out Vee’s Pokeball, recalling the small silver Pokemon, and both Trainers placed six Pokeballs in the trays offered to them by Nurse Joy, who smiled gently. “Thank you! Your Pokemon should be healed in about an hour. If you want to sit and wait, you’re welcome to.”

She gestured to the small lounge area as she spoke. Adrian nodded. “Alright. I’ll just make a call and get my newest captures transferred to Professor Oak and then I’ll see you over there, alright Cass?”

“Sounds good.”

As Cassie settled on one of the couches to wait, Adrian quickly located the phones and walked over, automatically dialling Professor Oak’s number again. “I have two more Pokemon to send you, Professor.”

“Ah, Adrian. You certainly are making quick work of your Pokedex out there. What have you got for me this time?”

Adrian held up the two Pokeballs. “A Spearow and a Mankey. I haven’t given them nicknames yet.”

“Spearow and Mankey. Then by my calculations, you must be almost to Cerulean City, correct?”

“That’s correct, Professor. Vee and I, as well as our new travelling companion named Cassie, just got to the Pokemon Center outside Mount Moon. We’re just getting our Pokemon healed and then that cave will be our next stop.”

Professor Oak looked thoughtful. “Mount Moon? I’ve heard there are some interesting and possibly rare Pokemon in there, so it might be in your best interests to keep an eye out.”

Adrian grinned, tapping the pocket of his bag where several more Pokeballs sat, waiting to be used. “We’ll definitely do that, Professor.”

He placed the Pokeballs containing his newly captured Spearow and Mankey on the transport pad. There was a brief flash as energy from the machine struck both Pokeballs and then they were gone. On the other side of the screen, Adrian’s mentor held up the same balls. “They arrived safely, my boy!”

“That’s excellent, Professor. I may have more Pokemon to send you once my team’s been fully healed, but I’ll say goodbye for now.”

Professor Oak nodded. “Good to see you as always, my boy! Safe travels!”

“Thanks Professor!”

There was a click as the Professor hung up. Adrian turned and walked to the lounge where Cassandra had found a seat, finding his red-haired companion deep in conversation with a slightly older man with shaggy-looking black hair. “Hey.”

She looked up, beaming when she saw him. “Hey! I was just talking about you!”

“You were?”

She nodded, shifting over to make room for him. He sank down gratefully next to her. “Adrian, this is Brian. He’s a travelling Trainer as well. Brian, this is Adrian. We’re travelling together, heading for Cerulean.”

“Cerulean, huh?” Brian queried, thoughtfully.

His voice had a slight accent to it, Adrian noted. He couldn’t quite place where the older man was from, though it did feel familiar to him from somewhere. Cassie nodded. “Yup! Adrian’s taking the Pokemon League Challenge. He’s already won his first badge from Brock in Pewter City, so next up is Cerulean City’s Misty.”

“Well, what a coincidence. I’m heading that way myself. I’ve heard there’s a genius named Bill by the lighthouse north of the city and I’m hoping I can learn something interesting by visiting him. If it’s not too much trouble, would you mind if I joined the two of you on the way through Mount Moon? Travelling definitely isn’t as boring when you have company.”

Adrian and Cassie looked at each other for a couple of seconds. Cassie shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”

Adrian nodded. “Sure. But let’s get to know each other a bit first, shall we?”

“What do you want to know?”

“Tell us about yourself.”

“The name’s Brian Williams. I’m 25. I was born in Unova’s Castelia City, my parents moved to Vermillion City when I was 15. I spent the next three years here, then returned to Unova for another year before heading to Kalos to study Mega Evolution with Professor Sycamore. After three years there, I left and I’ve mostly just been travelling ever since.”

“Nice to meet you. What type of Pokemon do you usually train?”

The older man took a second to think before answering. One hand idly brushed loose strands of hair back from his face, tucking them behind his ears, and Adrian caught a glimpse of a small stud with a multicoloured stone sparkling in it. A turn of the head revealed a similar stud in Brian’s other ear, though this one had a chain dangling from it with a slightly bigger stone, which Adrian couldn’t help but notice was perfectly round. “I train a balanced mix of Pokemon with high attack power and Pokemon with high defence power. Currently that means my team consists of Electivire, Dewgong, Scizor, Marowak, Exeggutor, and Kangaskhan”

Cassandra leaned back on the sofa they were sitting on, closing her eyes thoughtfully. After a couple of seconds though, she opened them again, clicking her fingers. “Oh! Adrian, don’t forget to open that parcel the Nurse Joy in Pewter gave you!”

Adrian blinked before chuckling lightly, having half-forgotten that the small package in brown paper was even in his bag in the first place. “Thank you. I guess I should probably do that while we’re waiting for our Pokemon to be healed then.”

He slipped his bag off and unzipped it, digging through the contents briefly before emerging with the parcel in question. Quickly tearing off the paper, though taking care to save the small note that came with it, he was soon holding in his hands a thin leather case. Flicking it open, he found that the inside of the case was lined with a satin-like material, 8 familiar-looking shapes punched into the same material. He recognized it immediately. After all, how many times had he seen that same case, stared at it sitting on the shelf in his parents’ room? “It’s a badge case. The exact same one that my dad used in his own journey through Kanto before he and my mom settled down” he said in awed surprise.

“What does the note say?”

Adrian unfolded the small piece of paper, carefully smoothing it out, and read it out. “Adrian. Your mother and I wish you the best on your journey. We should have said this to you before you left, but we are so very proud of you. I kept this as a memento of my travels for years but it’s time to pass it on to you. Best of luck. Your dad.”

He reached up and brushed the tears of gratitude from his eyes, then slipped one hand into his pocket, withdrawing the Boulder Badge he had won from Pewter City. Holding it in his hand briefly, he allowed himself a slight smile before slipping it into the first slot in the case. “1 space filled, 7 more to go” he said cheerfully before tucking the case back into his bag.

The three chatted for a while longer, finding themselves becoming fast friends, and it seemed like only a few minutes had passed (when Adrian glanced at his watch, he was surprised to learn that it had been close to two hours) when Nurse Joy’s voice disturbed them. “Brian Williams? Your Pokemon are ready.”

The older man nodded and stood up. Taking his Pokeballs from the pink-haired woman, he slipped them into the pockets of his jacket, though Adrian caught enough of a glimpse to note that each was marked with a sticker. Probably told him what was inside each Pokeball. A few moments later, the nurse’s voice broke the silence again. “Adrian and Cassandra?”

Both Trainers looked up, nodding at the nurse. “Yes?”

Nurse Joy smiled widely, holding out two trays of Pokeballs. “Your Pokemon are fully healed. Thank you for using our services, and we hope to see you again in the future!”

As both of them gratefully accepted their Pokeballs back, and Adrian tapped the button to release Vee, Adrian found himself pondering what an odd statement that was. Was she hinting that she hoped that their Pokemon did get badly hurt, causing them to have to return to that same Pokemon Centre before they reached Cerulean? Or just saying that, in the event their Pokemon were badly hurt, she hoped they’d choose that same building to return to? He privately hoped that she meant the second of the two options. The idea of a nurse actually wishing harm on her patients was… disconcerting… to say the least. “Thank you.”

As Adrian brushed his fingers along the Pokeballs that were once again on his belt, considering whether or not he wanted to make any changes to his Pokemon team for the upcoming cave, he found himself thinking over Professor Oak’s words from earlier. Adrian’s former mentor had suggested there were some rare Pokemon living in Mount Moon and that Adrian should leave some space in his party just in case they happened to find them. That left the problem of which party members to send back. Sending Vee to stay with the Professor was out of the question. The small fox Pokemon was his partner. Whether Spring would travel with them as well was also a forgone conclusion. The Bulbasaur had very quickly proven herself to be a very useful part of their team, even contributing hugely to their win against Brock earlier that same day, and Adrian knew there was no way that he was sending the Grass pokemon back. Hmm…

“You alright, Adrian?”

He glanced up, broken from his thoughts by Brian’s concerned voice, the older man’s words spoken in the accent he now knew was from the faraway Unova region. He gave a slight nod. “I’m fine. Just trying to think whether I want to send any Pokemon back to Professor Oak before we head out. When I was talking to him earlier, the Professor mentioned that I should keep an eye out for a few new Pokemon inside the mountain and hinted that they were worth keeping some free Pokeballs for”.

“I see. Well, maybe if you run your team past me I can give you some suggestions?”

Adrian nodded. “We’d best do this outside, then.”

The three of them stepped outside into the evening air and walked approximately five minutes before coming to a patch of clear ground that Adrian decided was far enough away from the Pokemon Center. Tapping all the Pokeballs on his belt besides Vee’s, he nodded to each of his Pokemon as they materialised in flashes of energy. “Brian, let me introduce you to Spring the Bulbasaur, Kai the Pikachu, Jade the Butterfree, Aeris the Pidgey, and Khonsu the Nidoran”.

Vee chirped on Adrian’s shoulder, indignant at being left out of the introductions, before jumping down to join the others. Adrian chuckled apologetically before indicating him. “And that’s Vee, my partner and starter Pokemon.”

“I see.”

Brian looked thoughtful for a few minutes. “Are there any you are absolutely dead set on bringing into the cave with us?”

“Vee and Spring. Those two are non-negotiable.”

“Fair enough. In that case… You should send Kai back, definitely. Electric-type moves won’t do much good in there, most of the Pokemon that tend to appear in there resist that particular type. Khonsu could be helpful, at least assuming he knows any Poison-type attacks, so you should keep him with us. I suggest sending Aeris back too. Jade’s part Bug-type, which could come in handy against some of the Pokemon that call that cave home, and you really don’t need two Flying types on a team.”

Adrian nodded. “That makes sense. Thanks for the advice. Won’t be long.”

With those words, he recalled his Pokemon except for Vee and turned, walking back into the Pokemon Center. Brian watched him go for a couple of seconds before turning to Cassie. “Seems like a nice kid”.

“He is a nice guy. Very talented Trainer, too, even if he does still have a lot to learn about applying his genius to actual battle. Honestly, you should have seen him against Brock. His use of Bulbasaur’s Vine Whip and the environment to take down Geodude, followed by a combination of Leech Seed and using Eevee’s evasion to take down Onix, was actually really clever. Obviously he’ll need more than that to win against Misty and the rest of Kanto’s Gyms, of course, but it was at least pretty well done for a first timer”.

“Hmm. Well, I look forward to seeing what his strategy against Misty is. That Starmie of hers is nasty for the unprepared”.

“Agreed.”

A couple of minutes later, Adrian rejoined them. Cassandra stole a quick look down to the Pokeballs on his belt, noting that there were two less sitting there than there had been when he’d gone back inside, and smiled, guessing that he’d taken their new friend’s advice. On Adrian’s shoulder once again, his Eevee chirped happily. “There you are. Ready to get into Mount Moon, Adrian?”

Adrian adjusted the straps on his bag and nodded. “Ready as I’ll ever be, Cassie. You ready, Brian?”

“I was born ready.”

Adrian nodded and with that said, the three stepped into Mount Moon.

Chapter Text

As soon as they had stepped through the entrance into the dimly-lit cavern, Brian pulled a Pokeball out, dropping it to the ground. “Go.”

A towering yellow and black Electric Pokemon burst from the Pokeball in a flash of energy and nodded to its Trainer. “Electivire, light the way for us with Flash. But not too bright, please.”

“Elec.”

A flash of electricity filled the cave, temporarily blinding the companions. When their sight returned a few moments later, Brian was recalling his Pokemon and the interior was slightly brighter than it had been. “That should make things slightly easier to see. I didn’t want to make things too bright though, of course, since most of the Pokemon here thrive in low light conditions. Hopefully they’re not too affected by this” he commented.

Adrian nodded. As they began to move through the cave, a low fluttering noise caught his ear. He tugged a Pokeball from his jacket pocket. “A Pokemon?”

“Something low-level, not particularly threatening. Probably just a Zubat.”

Adrian fingered the Pokeball in his hand, a thoughtful expression on his face. Zubat. Poison/Flying. Could be useful when evolved, maybe. Plus Crobat is an insanely fast Pokemon. “Threatening or not, it might be nice to have a Zubat on my team. Too bad I sent Kai to Professor Oak already… His Thunderbolt would be very helpful against one of those”

After a tense minute, he sighed, slipping the ball back into his pocket. “Not yet. I guess whatever it is making that noise is staying well away from us.”

“For now” Brian muttered in agreement, nodding.

Cassie and Brian led the way through the cavern. The trio’s footsteps echoed off of the rocky floor as they walked, and conversation seemed to flow easily between the three of them. Brian told them stories of the things that he’d seen in the several years that he’d spent travelling the world, drawing particular attention to the three years that he’d spent in Kalos. Adrian noted, however, that he deftly avoided any questions regarding the stone on his earring, only giving a wry smile and saying “You’ll see soon” when asked.

Privately, Adrian was certain that he already knew what the stone was and what it could do, but he was content to wait until Brian decided to reveal it. “So. Considering that I’m a newbie Trainer who has never actually been through Mount Moon before, what can you two tell me about it?”

“The cave itself is three floors deep. There’s the floor that we’re currently on, then there are two basement levels below us. Then there’s the peak, where, rumour has it, many Clefairy gather to dance every Friday night. The Pokemon that live here mostly prefer the dark, or at least the areas with not a lot of light, which is why I had Electivire keep the illumination caused by Flash low” Brian explained.

“Makes sense.”

As they made their way further through the cavern, they were soon interrupted by a voice that none of them recognized. “Hey, Trainers! I challenge you!”

The speaker was a young girl, wearing the same school uniform-like clothing that Adrian and Cassie had seen multiple Trainers wearing on their way down Route 3. Adrian and his companions looked at each other. There was a pause, and then Adrian nodded. “I’m up then.”

He nodded to the girl, who pulled out a Pokeball and held it out. Adrian tugged a Pokeball of his own free, and, as if on an invisible signal, both Trainers threw. “Go Bellsprout!”

“Go Jade!”

Adrian’s Butterfree burst from its Pokeball in a flash of light, appearing opposite from the young woman’s Pokemon, a plant-based creature with a stem-like brown body. It had a single green leaf on each side of its body, a yellow bell-shaped head with what looked like, in Adrian’s opinion at least, pink lips at the end and beady black eyes. It swayed gently on its long stem. “Bell. Sprout.”

Adrian flicked his Pokedex open. Bellsprout. The Flower Pokemon. Prefers hot and humid places. It ensnares tiny bugs with its vines and devours them. “Shouldn’t be too hard…”

“Looks like you’ll get to see his battling ability sooner rather than later, Brian” Cassie commented.

“That Bellsprout doesn’t look all that strong… It shouldn’t be much of a fight. Especially if he’s anywhere near as competent as you say he is” came the calm reply.

Adrian flicked his eyes to his companions briefly, making sure they were watching, before turning his attention back to the battle in front of him. Brian’s right. It probably doesn’t have that many moves. “I’ll let you make the first move.”

“Why, thank you. Bellsprout, start things off with Vine Whip!”

A pair of long green vines emerged from between Bellsprout’s leaves and its body, flinging themselves towards Jade. Adrian smirked confidently. “Confusion.”

Jade’s eyes immediately began to glow a light purple, and the opposing Pokemon immediately started glowing the same colour, causing its vines to freeze in midair. “Perfect, Jade, now redirect the vines to hit Bellsprout instead!”

“Freeeee!”

The Butterfree’s eyes flashed, causing the vines to swerve in midair and return to the Pokemon that they had come from, slamming into it and knocking it down. The flower Pokemon struggled to its feet. “Vine Whip again, Bellsprout!”

“Dodge the vines, then tie it up with String Shot!”

Jade moved quickly, the vines just barely whistling past the butterfly Pokemon and striking empty air, before he opened his mouth, spewing out a thick white stream of silk that quickly enveloped the opponent. “Excellent! Now, Gust!”

Jade flapped his wings, creating a powerful blast of air that sent the trapped Bellsprout crashing into a wall. The strings trapping it broke apart on impact and it slid to the ground, where it lay still for a few seconds before struggling to its feet. “Bell… Sprout!”

“Good going, Bellsprout! Now, Growth and then Vine Whip again!”

Apparently this girl subscribes to the ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again’ school of belief. Good for her for trying to make the most of the two moves her Bellsprout seems to know, but in the end it’s probably not going to make that much difference Adrian mused. “Confusion again, Jade! Let’s tie it up with its own vines this time!”

Under the manipulation of Jade’s Confusion, the Vine Whip wound tightly around the Bellsprout, though, as Adrian noted, it was still slightly more mobile than it had been when tied up with String Shot. “Break free, Bellsprout!”

“Don’t give it a chance, Jade! Finish this with Tackle!”

Jade reared back before slamming into the Bellsprout, sending it skidding across the floor. It struggled for a second as if it was going to get up again before collapsing, motionless. Brian nodded. “Looks like Bellsprout is unable to battle!”

“I tried my best. No regrets here!” the Lass said cheerfully, recalling her fainted Bellsprout.

Adrian smiled encouragingly. “Your Bellsprout has real potential. It could be worth your time training on the wild Pokemon just outside of Mount Moon, maybe get some experience and help it learn some other moves.”

“I’ll do that. Thanks! Maybe one day we could battle again?”

“Of course!”

Adrian tucked the prize money into his pocket and recalled Jade before joining his companions once again. Brian nodded to him. “Impressive.”

Adrian grinned slightly. “Thanks. Let’s get a move on, shall we? I’m eager to reach the other side of the cave.”

They kept walking for a while, stopping every so often when other Trainers challenged them. Most of them were easily defeated by Adrian, although one or two had been able to take out at least one of Adrian’s Pokemon, only to be defeated by Cassie’s. Adrian found himself being insanely grateful for the amount of Revives that Brian had brought with him, as well as for their combined stash of Potions. Eventually, Brian held up a hand to stop them and then pointed overhead. “Look at that.”

Adrian looked up and jumped backwards, suppressing a yelp and almost shaking Vee off his shoulder in the process. Overhead, clinging to the rocky cavern roof, was a colony of wild Zubat. The purple bats seemed to be asleep, thankfully, and Adrian found his heartbeat had soon returned to normal. “Keep your voice down. No loud noises. Zubat are known for being very territorial and very aggressive when woken up” Brian said, his voice calm and low.

Almost as soon as Brian had finished speaking, there was a tremendous explosion from further in the cave, followed by the sound of crumbling rock. All three jumped in surprise, and Brian turned his eyes upwards towards the ceiling as the sudden sound of many wings flapping filled the cave. "Shit!"

As the colony of Zubat turned their attention to the travellers below them, Adrian instinctively grabbed a Pokeball from his belt, as did Cassie and Brian. “Spring! Help us out here!”

Adrian’s Bulbasaur burst from the Pokeball, nodding to her Trainer, as Cassie sent out her Slowbro and Brian’s Electivire materialised in a flash of light. Time to try out that new attack! “Spring, Razor Leaf on those Zubat!” he commanded.

“Slowbro, Water Pulse them!”

“Electivire, Swift and then Discharge on the ones that get past that!”

The Pokemon seemed to burst into action, fighting off many of the Zubat that tried to dive towards them. Adrian slipped one hand into his jacket pocket, his fingers tightening around a Pokeball. After several tense minutes, he noticed one Zubat breaking from the others and dodging around the leaves from under Spring’s bulb, diving towards them. In a single fluid motion, he pulled his hand from his pocket and threw the contents. “Pokeball, go!”

The ball slammed straight into the Zubat, opening and enveloping it in a flash of light. It settled to the ground and shook a few times before chiming softly and settling, and Adrian grinned. Noticing that their Pokemon had succeeded in driving away the Zubat colony that had been disturbed by the explosion, he recalled Spring as his companions did the same with their Pokemon. Picking up the Pokeball that he had just used to capture his new Zubat, he flicked open his Pokedex and scanned the newly added entry, registering the first nickname that came into his mind. “I’ll call you… Bruce” he said, clipping the Pokeball to his belt beside Spring’s.

Brian stared thoughtfully off in the direction where the explosion had come from. “We should find out what caused that explosion. There might be more if it’s not investigated, and we definitely don’t want innocent people being needlessly attacked by Zubat or other wild Pokemon, or injured by collapsing rocks, if we can avoid it” he said.

Cassie nodded. “Agreed.”

Following the cave, the group headed in the direction that the explosion had come from before. Eventually, Adrian caught sight of something in a room up ahead and stopped, gesturing for his companions to do the same. “What is it?”

“That room. That’s where the explosion came from. There are people in there. I can hear them ordering their Pokemon to use Self Destruct and Explosion” Adrian replied grimly.

His friends listened, and found they could hear the same thing. “Quietly. Maybe we can take them by surprise.”

They slipped easily into the room, hiding behind a rocky wall. Adrian looked over at the people he’d been talking about and groaned quietly, rolling his eyes in annoyance as he recognised the uniforms they were wearing. “Great. These freaking losers again.”

Cassie leaned forward as well, a confused look on her face as she recognised the uniform as well. “Team Rocket? I’m surprised they’re still around. Weren’t they taken down three years ago?” Cassie began quietly, only to stop when Adrian nodded.

“I thought they were…. I guess a few splinter groups still remain, though. Looks like the ones in there are looking for Moon Stones. Or Fossils.”

Brian looked confused, which made sense to Adrian considering the older man had spent most of the last few years overseas in other regions. “Team Rocket’s a criminal organisation. Led by the now-former leader of Viridian City’s Gym, they tried to take over the region three years ago. They were defeated by a young Trainer from Pallet Town, and there was a public announcement regarding their disbanding and their leader going into hiding” Adrian said.

“Well I’m sure they can’t be up to anything good here. We should stop them”

Stepping away from the rocky wall where they had been standing, the three moved further into the room as another explosion rang out. “Come on, hurry! We have to find those stones!”

“Stop right there, scum” Brian snapped.

The Rocket grunts whirled, hands going to the Pokeballs on their belts as they registered that there were other people in the room with them. “What the hell? Who are you?”

“Someone who’s not going to let you get away with any evil deeds”.

“Ha! I’d like to see you try! Go, Arbok!”

A large purple cobra Pokemon burst from the pokeball thrown by the Grunt. His partner held out a Pokeball of her own. “Golbat, let’s go!”

Vee jumped down from Adrian’s shoulder, growling quietly, and both moved forward to help Brian, though stopped when the older man held one hand out and gave a grim chuckle. “Leave them to me”.

He held out a single Pokeball. “Ready yourself!”

He threw it into the air, and it opened with a flash, releasing a powerful-looking Pokemon with a red body. The Pokemon crossed its pincers menacingly, and Adrian couldn’t help noticing the stone it wore in an armband. “Scizor!”

Brian brought his fingers up and brushed his hair away from his ear, tapping two fingers against the strange stone that dangled from the chain. “Show your true power, Scizor! Mega Evolve!”

Light flashed from both the stone at Brian’s fingers and the one his Scizor was wearing, enveloping the Bug/Steel Pokemon in a flash of rainbow energy. Once it had died down a couple of seconds later, the Pokemon’s pincers resembled steel traps instead of just claws, and its body had become more segmented. “Double Team!”

Scizor’s wings shimmered, and several more copies of the Pokemon appeared in a circle around the two Rocket Grunts’ Pokemon. “Iron Defense!”

Every copy of the Pokemon nodded, crossing their arms and tensing. “Arbok, Fire Fang!”

The Poison snake’s mouth lit up with crackling flames and it lunged at one of the Scizors, clamping down, only to be abruptly sent tumbling to the ground as the illusion disappeared. Brian chuckled. “Not even close. Now! Bullet Punch!”

The illusions instantly vanished, leaving just one remaining Scizor, which had been behind Arbok and Golbat the whole time. Brian’s Scizor raised a claw, which instantly began to glow a light blue colour, before slamming it into the Arbok. The giant snake fell still and did not move again. “What the hell? Get it, Golbat! Supersonic!”

“X-Scissor!”

Scizor's claws glowed light green. It ran towards the giant bat before slashing at it with its claws in an 'X' formation, leaving behind a trail of light green energy from each of its claws. Almost as soon as it had moved, the Golbat fell to the ground unconscious as well, and Scizor landed on the ground once again in front of Brian. “Fuck…”

Both Grunts recalled their Pokemon, staring at Brian in a mixture of shock and horror as light flashed around the Trainer’s Scizor, returning it to its usual form. “Will that be all? Will you be leaving now? Or do I have to kick your asses even more?” Brian asked tauntingly.

Instead of replying, the two uniformed villains simply recalled the Pokemon that they’d been ordering to explode and took to their heels, running from the room like their lives depended on it. Brian nodded, appreciatively putting a hand on his Pokemon’s shoulder. “Good job, old friend. You’ve earned a nice long rest.”

He held out the Pokeball again, recalling his partner, before turning to his younger companions. “Well?”

“That was incredible. I guess those three years you spent in Kalos really paid off, huh?”

“They definitely did.”

Vee, who was still on the ground by Adrian’s feet, made a chirping sound of agreement, before running over to the wall where the Team Rocket members had been digging. His Trainer followed him, and it didn’t take long for Adrian to notice the two beautiful, oddly-shaped, stones amongst the dust. “How those idiots missed these is beyond me…” he muttered, kneeling and picking up the Moon Stones and slipping them into his pocket.

He quickly rejoined his friends, smiling at his good fortune. “Let's go.”

Before they could go any further, however, a voice from up ahead caught their attention. “Clefairy. Clefairy. Clefairy.”

The voice was quiet, almost song-like. Adrian held his Pokedex out towards the sound, nodding at the picture of the small pink Pokemon as it appeared on the screen. He turned to Cassie. “Do you still have any of the Pokemon food your mother gave you?”

The red-haired girl checked her bag before nodding. “A little bit. Enough for our Pokemon to eat dinner tonight and then breakfast tomorrow. I’ll stop at home and get the recipe while we're in Cerulean. Why do you ask?”

“Hand me the package. I'm going to try and encourage Clefairy to join us.”

Once she had given him the tin of food as requested, Adrian took a few steps towards the other side of the cave before crouching down. Taking some of the food in his hand, he held it out calmly and made a gentle whistling sound to get the wild Clefairy’s attention. It bounded over and looked thoughtfully at the food in his hand. Adrian smiled encouragingly. “It's okay. It's safe. Go ahead and eat.”

After it had (hesitantly) eaten the last of the food in his hand, Adrian slowly reached his hand into his pocket and took out a Pokeball, which he set on the ground nearby. “There's plenty more food where that came from. All you have to do is come with us. It's up to you.”

The Pokeball didn't even shake when the Clefairy entered it, instead flashing just once before settling, and Adrian cheerfully picked the ball containing his new friend up, smiling thoughtfully at it. “I’ll call you… Starlight”.

Adrian's companions rejoined him, and after he had returned the container of food to Cassie, the three made their way further into the cave, battling several more Trainers along the way, until eventually they came across a door through which they could see shimmering light. There was one last Trainer between them and the door, and he was standing over a pair of what looked like ordinary rocks, staring down at them. As they went to move past him toward the exit, Adrian's foot accidentally kicked a loose stone, and the Trainer's head jerked up. “Stay away from my fossils!”

The companions glanced at each other. “Your fossils?”

“Yes! My Dome and Helix fossils! I found them, so they're mine!”

“Okay, sure, whatever you say… We'll be going now.”

As they went to walk past him, he pulled out a Pokeball. “Wait! Since we locked eyes, we have to battle!”

Adrian sighed. They had been walking for hours, all he wanted to do was leave the cave and get to the next city. “Fine.”

“Go, Voltorb!”

Voltorb. Electric type. Weak to Ground types. Unfortunately I don't have any of those, so something that resists it is probably my best bet. Adrian tugged a Pokeball from his belt. “Spring, I’m counting on you!”

Spring appeared in a flash of light, nodding at her Trainer. “Bulba!”

“Voltorb, Sonic Boom!”

“Razor Leaf!”

The two attacks clashed in mid-air, causing a small dust cloud to form. When it cleared, Bulbasaur was glowing brilliantly. Adrian caught his breath, and Cassie gave a quiet gasp. “Spring…”

When the light dimmed again, Spring had changed. She was bigger, that much was obvious. The bulb on her back had unfurled to reveal the bud of a flower, which was now pink in colour. Several large leaves had formed around it from the unfurled bulb. “Ivysaur!”

Adrian blinked in surprise. I definitely did not see that one coming. I guess Spring must have gained more experience than I expected from fighting all of those Zubat earlier in the cave. “Alright! Good timing! Spring, take out that Voltorb with Razor Leaf!”

Razor-sharp leaves streamed from the leaves on Spring’s back and slammed into Voltorb, sending it tumbling. “Voltorb, fight back! Use Sonic Boom again!”

“Razor Leaf again!”

A second wave of leaves struck the Voltorb. It fell again, and did not move. The man scowled, recalling it. “I’m not beaten yet. Go, Magnemite!”

He threw another Pokeball, and out burst a round, grey, Pokemon, whose body gleamed metallically. Adrian thought frantically. Electric/Steel. It’s strong defensively, only weak to Fire, Ground and Fighting, and resists everything else except Water, Ghost and Dark types. This could be very annoying. He nodded to Spring. “Spring, can you take care of this?”

“Ivysaur!”

It hadn’t quite registered to him until that very second, but his newly evolved Pokemon’s voice was definitely changed from when it was a Bulbasaur. He supposed that was a good thing, really. And then an idea hit him. Hmm. If the cave floor is made of ground, and Ground is one of Magnemite’s weaknesses… It’s worth a shot! “Alright, Spring! Grab hold of the magnets on either side of Magnemite’s body with your Vine Whip and then slam it into the ground like you did with that Geodude!”

“Magnemite, Supersonic!”

Long vines snaked their way from the bud on Spring’s back and wrapped around the magnets on either side of the Magnemite’s body, holding the Electric/Steel Pokemon in place. Almost as soon as they had done so, however, the Magnemite’s eye gleamed a bright blue, causing the Ivysaur to shake her head in confusion. “Fight it, Spring! Drive that Magnemite into the ground!”

The vines coiled around the magnets loosened slightly, causing Adrian to sigh. “Alright, I’m not going to risk it. Return!”

Spring vanished into her Pokeball and Adrian pulled another one from his belt. I wouldn't normally make an obvious tactical mistake like this, but I have a new plan… I just hope that it works. “Go, Starlight!”

His newly obtained Clefairy burst from the Pokeball. “Clefairy!”

“Magnemite, Spark!”

I hope to Arceus this plan works. “Metronome!”

“Clefairy, Clefairy, Clefairy, Clefairy…”

Starlight pointed its index fingers outwards and started to wave them back and forth. After a few seconds, its fingers started glowing white, and a plume of red-hot flames burst forth, striking Magnemite and causing it to crash to the ground. Metronome must have used a Flamethrower attack. I didn’t think my plan would work quite that quickly, but I’ll take it. Scowling, the Magnemite’s Trainer recalled it, as Adrian did the same with Starlight. “Fine. I know when I’m beaten. Go ahead, take whichever one of the two you want. I’ll keep the other one.”

Adrian turned to look at his two companions. “Helix or Dome Fossil?”

Cassandra shrugged. “Up to you.”

Brian looked thoughtful. “Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Kabuto and Kabutops, revived from the Dome Fossil, are slightly faster and have stronger Rock type attacks, as well as being able to learn more moves. But Omanyte and Omastar, from the Helix Fossil, have access to more Water type attacks and are better at using them, as well as being tankier. It’s really all down to personal preference” the older Trainer said after a minute.

Adrian considered what he’d just been told for a minute before nodding. “I’ll take the Helix.”

“Fine. Then the Dome Fossil is mine.”

Adrian bent down and picked up his newly acquired fossil, which he found was, to his surprise, both lighter and smaller than he had been expecting, and tucked it into his bag. He shrugged and turned to his companions again. “Let’s get out of here.”

And with those words, the group headed for the exit that led them out of the cave, emerging into the fresh, late evening, air of Route 104 at last.

Chapter Text

Adrian inhaled deeply, breathing in the fresh air of Route 4. “Thank Arceus we’re finally out of there. I’m guessing Cerulean isn’t too far ahead?”

Cassie smiled, pointing to where they could see city lights glimmering in the distance. “Not too far away at all. We should be able to get there in just another hour or so.”

Adrian groaned inwardly. Great. Another hour’s worth of walking and my legs might just drop off. “How about a break first? We’ve been walking for ages, let’s sit down for a couple of minutes and rest our legs. It’s not like the city’s going anywhere, after all.”

Brian shrugged. “Adrian’s right, we may as well take a break. There’s no sense in exhausting ourselves.”

Vee nodded his agreement and Cassie sighed, knowing there was no point in arguing. She pointed to a small patch of flat grass just off the road a couple of steps ahead. “There. It’s flat, no trees overhead so we can see the sky, and it’s literally right next to the road so there’s no risk of us getting lost. There have been sightings of wild Ekans around here though, so we had better be careful. Although by now they’re usually picking tree branches to wrap themselves around for the night.”

They walked over to the patch of grass and threw themselves down, stretching out on the green grass. A slender purple snake Pokemon, disturbed by the vibrations caused by them doing so, uncoiled itself from where it had been sleeping and hissed angrily at them, causing Cassie to nod towards it. “Speaking of Ekans, there’s one now.”

Vee growled gently as the snake Pokemon slithered closer. Adrian reached down to his belt, tugging a Pokeball free. “Spring.”

The Ivysaur burst from the red and white ball, nodding to her Trainer. “Ivy!”

“Keep an eye on that Ekans. If it tries to lunge at us, then grab it with a Vine Whip.”

A couple of minutes after Adrian had spoken, the snake Pokemon leaped at them. Long vines instantly lashed out from the bulb on Spring’s back and coiled around the Ekans, stopping it in midair. Adrian pulled a Pokeball from his jacket pocket and nodded to Spring. “Slam it into the ground.”

Spring did so, and Adrian threw the ball in his hand. Ekans disappeared into the red and white orb in a flash of energy, and the ball dropped to the ground, shaking a couple of times before settling. “Could you pass the Pokeball to me please, Spring?” Adrian asked.

The Ivysaur nodded, using her vines to skilfully and dexterously pick up the ball, which had sealed itself with the usual red glow, passing it to her Trainer. “Thank you.”

Adrian tucked the Pokeball into his jacket pocket, pulling out his Pokedex and glancing at it. It prompted him for a nickname, and he considered his options before remembering a name that he had come across during his studies, which had stuck with him ever since. “I’ll call you… Apophis.”

He tucked the Pokedex away and recalled Spring, putting her Pokeball back on his belt. The companions sat in silence for a little while longer before Cassie spoke. “Any thoughts on what team you’re going to use against Misty? Keep in mind that the battlefield of her Gym also doubles as the swimming pool they use when they put on shows, so the strategy you used against Brock probably won’t be as useful in this case”

“I’ll definitely be using Spring. She’s my strongest Pokemon apart from Vee. As for the second… Either I’ll do some serious training with Kai on Route 12 tomorrow or I’ll catch an Oddish on that same route. Maybe both.”

“Both would be a good idea, to be honest. Misty’s Pokemon, especially her Starmie, are deceptively powerful.”

A few minutes passed in silence after Cassie had spoken before the red-haired girl got to her feet, brushing the loose grass from her pants, and nodding to the others. “Come on, we’d best get a move on. If we make it there before it gets dark, I’ll give you a tour of the city.”

Adrian and Brian got to their feet as well. Adrian seemed to consider something and then held out Vee’s pokeball, recalling the Eevee. “Tell you what. Let’s make things more interesting. How about a race?”

Brian and Cassie exchanged looks before Cassie nodded, and the three Trainers burst into a run. At that speed, it took them less than an hour to reach the city, all three stopping on the grass outside the Pokemon Center to catch their breath. Adrian quickly held out Vee’s Pokeball, releasing his partner again. He gave Vee an apologetic scratch behind the ears. “Sorry, partner. I just didn’t want to risk you falling behind while we were running, that’s all”.

Vee nodded understandingly. Once the three Trainers had all caught their breath, Brian turned to Cassie. “So, how about that tour?”

Cassie laughed. “Alright. I guess I did promise. As you can obviously see, we’re in the centre of town now, right in front of the Pokemon Centre. Cerulean Gym is about 10 minutes walk east of here. The roads are well-signposted, so it’s very difficult to get lost.”

She led the way south, passing a couple of houses along the way. She paused in front of the third one, where a woman with red hair similar to hers (though slightly greying from age) was gardening. The older woman looked up at the sound of their approaching footsteps, a gentle smile spreading across her face at the sight of them. “Cassandra! James told me you’d left Pewter, I thought you would have used your Staraptor to fly back already”

Cassie smiled, hugging the older woman tightly. “There was a change of plans, Mom. I was on the way to the Pokemon Centre to have Staraptor sent to me and I ended up running into someone who needed directions to the Gym. I ended up staying a bit longer to watch his battle and found his strategy genuinely intriguing, so we agreed to travel together.”

She unwrapped her arms from the older woman and gestured to her companions. “Mom, I’d like you to meet Adrian and Brian, my travelling companions and friends. And the Eevee is Vee, Adrian’s partner. Guys, this is my Mom.”

Cassie’s mother smiled at Adrian and Brian. “Lovely to meet you two”.

She held out a hand to Vee, who sniffed at it warily before rubbing his head against it gently. At Adrian’s surprised look, she laughed. “I’m very good with Pokemon. Always have been.”

Cassie nodded. “Everything I know about caring for Pokemon I learned from Mom.”

Her mother blushed. “Well, most things, anyway.”

After a few more minutes of conversation, Cassie gave her mom another hug. “I hate to say goodbye again so soon, mom, but I promised I’d give my new friends a tour of the city since we got here before dark”.

After the others had added their own farewells, the companions left, following Cassie again as the red-haired girl led the way further down the path. When it eventually turned right, Cassie stopped, pointing to a shop with boarded up windows. “That used to be the local bike shop. It closed this year when the owner decided he wanted to move to Johto. They haven’t decided what to replace it with yet. Hopefully they will soon, it’s honestly kind of an eyesore the way it is.”

Further along the road, she stopped outside a familiar building with a blue roof. “And of course here’s the local Pokemart. Not much difference in stock between this one and the one in Pewter City really”

The tour continued, and eventually they were standing in the city centre again. Cassie pointed north, indicating an immense lighthouse that loomed over the city. “That’s the Cerulean Cape lighthouse. We’ll get a closer look tomorrow when we cross Nugget Bridge onto Route 24. Cerulean Cape can be quite treacherous at night, so it comes in handy. Anyway, that’s Cerulean City!”

“You know your home city well, then. Now, shall we go see about rooms at the Pokemon Centre for the night?” Brian queried.

Cassie shook her head. “You guys go ahead. If the three of us are going to keep travelling together the rest of the way around Kanto like we agreed, I’d like to spend one more night with my parents first. It’ll give me a chance to say goodbye to them, at least for now. And to get that recipe of my mom’s. I’ll meet you both out front of the Pokemon Center tomorrow.”

Vee gave an annoyed chirp, which caused Cassie to laugh gently. She reached out and ruffled the silver Eevee’s fur slightly. “Right. Sorry, Vee, I didn’t mean to forget you. I’ll meet you three in front of the Pokemon Center tomorrow, then. Night!”

She darted off towards her house, leaving the others standing there. A few seconds after she had disappeared from sight, Adrian sighed. “I guess that just leaves the three of us then.”

“Guess so.”

Chapter Text

“Let’s see… Vee, Kai, Spring… Obviously I want to leave a free space in my team for the Oddish I’m hoping to catch. Then Aeris to counter the Bug-type weakness of both Spring and whatever the Oddish’s nickname becomes. And one more… I think I’ll pick Stiller. Mankey’s a good Pokemon, it makes sense to give it some training”.

Brian stepped into the lobby, looking over at his younger companion. “Hey, are you ready to go?”

“Just need to call Professor Oak and change my team around a little bit. Meet you outside?”

“Sure. Don’t take too long though. We don’t want to keep Cassie waiting any more than absolutely necessary.”

“Of course”.

As Brian nodded and headed for the door, Adrian turned in the direction of the phones.

Roughly 15 minutes later, he and Vee emerged from the Pokemon Center to meet with Brian and Cassie. Casie waved cheerfully at him. “Morning! Did you sleep well?”

“As well as can be expected, I guess. Routes 24 & 25 today, right?”

Cassie turned, looking at the lighthouse looming above them to the north. “Yup, that’s the plan. North on Route 24, crossing Nugget Bridge. Then Route 25 east to Cerulean Cape, visit Bill, and back to the city”.

“Sounds good, let’s get going.”

Cassie led the way north to the city outskirts, where a beautiful-looking wooden bridge crossed a deep blue river. Several Trainers stood on the bridge, most of them throwing Pokeballs up and down. “Looks like we’ve got a few battles ahead of us” Adrian observed.

“Eevee!” Vee chirped from his Trainer’s shoulder, causing Adrian to chuckle and rub his partner’s head gently.

Cassie nodded. “Should be good practice for you then. Come on, let’s get started”.

The closest Trainer to them, a Bug Catcher, looked up as the trio got closer. He stopped throwing his Pokeball up and down and held it out towards them. “Hey! How about a battle?”

Adrian pulled Aeris’s Pokeball from his belt, already having an idea of what type of Pokemon to expect. “Let’s do this! Aeris, you’re up!”

As his Pidgey burst from her Pokeball, the Bug Catcher threw the ball in his hand too. “Venonat, let’s go!”

An insect Pokemon with a purple body and large red eyes burst from the ball, landing in front of its Trainer. “Veno! Venonat!”

Adrian pulled out his pokedex, holding it out towards the creature. “Venonat, the Insect Pokemon. Its large eyes act as a radar. In a bright place, you can see that they are clusters of many tiny eyes.”

Satisfied, he tucked his Pokedex away and nodded to Aeris. “Alright, Aeris! Let’s start things off by kicking up some dust with a Sand Attack!”

Aeris nodded. Flapping her wings, she caused a cloud of dust to kick up around her.

“Venonat, Supersonic!”

The Bug Catcher’s Venonat jumped up, pointing the top of its head towards Aeris. Thin, blue sound waves emerged from the top of its head and flew towards Aeris. Adrian grinned. Supersonic has a base accuracy of 55%. Couple that with Aeris’s Sand Attack, and the chances of Supersonic hitting get even lower! “Aeris, get up into the sky to dodge those sound waves, then counter with Gust!”

Aeris soared upwards, the sound waves narrowly missing it, then swooped back down towards the Venonat, flapping its wings furiously.

“Venonat, Disable!”

The bug Pokemon’s eyes started glowing a brilliant blue colour. Aeris was immediately surrounded by a matching blue light and froze in midair. Adrian’s mind raced frantically trying to come up with a solution. Spring would be at a disadvantage here, as would Stiller. Kai’s probably too weak to be of much help here. Guess that leaves me with two choices. Either I can keep Aeris out and risk her fainting, or…

He held out Aeris’s Pokeball again. “Return!”

He reached up to where Vee was perched on his shoulder, stroking his partner’s fur gently. “You up for this, partner?”

“Vee! Eevee!”

His silver-furred partner nodded in agreement before leaping down, landing nimbly opposite the Venonat. “Vee, Quick Attack!”

“Supersonic, Venonat!”

Here’s where all our hours of practice come into play! “Dodge it!”

Vee dodged nimbly, the dust clouds making it easier to avoid the sound waves. Adrian nodded. “Now hit it!”

The Eevee and Venonat slammed into each other, sending the bug Pokemon stumbling. Vee twisted in midair and landed gracefully on the ground. Adrian smirked. “Now, Vee! Before it can get back up, let’s finish this! Get in close!”

“Disable again!”

Adrian smirked. “Can’t hit what you can’t see! Vee, kick up another Sand Attack!”

Vee slammed its front legs into the ground, dislodging a huge cloud of dust that joined the rest of the dust swirling around the battlefield. Cassie and Brian grimaced, with Adrian’s red-haired companion covering her mouth and nose to avoid breathing any of the dust in, and Adrian shielded his eyes. “Finish it! Tackle!”

“Venonat, on your feet! Use Tackle as well!”

“Vee!”

“Venonat!”

There was a muffled bang from inside the dust cloud, followed by the sound of something crashing to the ground. Adrian grabbed Aeris’s Pokeball from his belt and called out the bird Pokemon again. “Aeris, blow up a breeze and get this dust cleared.”

His Pokemon nodded and flapped her wings swiftly, and the dust was soon cleared. On the ground, unmoving, was the Bug Catcher’s Venonat. Vee, silver fur sparkling with sweat, was standing over it, panting lightly. “Venonat is unable to battle!” Brian observed grimly.

The other Trainer nodded, holding out the bug Pokemon’s Pokeball to recall it. He shrugged. “I did my best. I have no regrets”.

After he had received his prize money, Adrian knelt down next to Vee, rubbing his partner’s head affectionately. “Great job, partner. I knew you could do it.”

He waited as Vee jumped eagerly back up onto his shoulder, then turned to look further down the bridge. There were still four more people waiting on the bridge, all of them Trainers if the way that they were all throwing a Pokeball up and down in one hand was any indication. “Alright then. This should be fun.”

As they drew closer to the next Trainer, a young schoolgirl wearing the green skirt and white blouse with a red bow that Adrian recognized instantly from several of the Trainers he had battled in Viridian Forest, the Lass noticed them and smirked, catching the Pokeball and holding it out towards them in the same way the previous Trainer had done. “Hey! Time for a battle!”

Adrian nodded, his fingers already reaching down to pull a Pokeball from his belt. “Alright, what have you got?”

“I choose you! Psyduck!”

I choose you. Huh. Well there’s a phrase that I haven’t heard in a few years. “Spring, you’re up!”

His Ivysaur burst from her Pokeball in a flash of light, appearing opposite the Lass’s dopey-looking yellow duck Pokémon. Adrian smirked to himself. As tempting as it is to just win this entire thing with a Razor Leaf and a Vine Whip, this is the perfect opportunity for Kai to gain some experience as well. I’ll have Spring Leech Seed it and then switch out. “Spring, let’s start off strong! Leech Seed!”

A seed shot from the bud on Spring’s back, quickly slamming into Psyduck. Vines sprouted from it, twining themselves around the Psyduck’s body before starting to glow a soft red color. The Psyduck groaned quietly. “Psyduck, Water Gun!”

The Psyduck spat a stream of water from its mouth at Spring, who just shook her head, smiling as if she was enjoying a bath. “Perfect, Spring! Tackle attack!”

“Tail Whip!”

Psyduck wagged its tail cutely seconds before Spring slammed into it, knocking it back. Adrian facepalmed. What the hell was that supposed to even achieve? “Alright, Spring, return!”

His Ivysaur disappeared into her Pokeball, and he tugged a new one from his belt. “Kai!”

His Pikachu burst from its ball in a flash. “Let’s get you some experience, Kai! Start off with a Quick Attack!”

“Water Gun!”

Water conducts electricity! Perfect! “Kai, now! Thunder Shock!”

The Pikachu nodded, sparks already starting to fly from his body. He glowed yellow briefly, before sending a large yellow bolt of electricity at the Psyduck. Psyduck was struck full force by the bolt and fell backwards onto the ground, eyes slipping closed. The vines from Spring’s Leech Seed flared a bright red before disintegrating, and Adrian’s opponent sighed in annoyance, holding out a Pokeball. “Suppose I should have seen that coming… Psyduck, return!”

“Kai, you come back too!”

His Pikachu disappeared back into the red and white ball in Adrian’s hand. After receiving the spoils of his victory, the trio began walking again, but were soon stopped by a third Trainer’s voice challenging them. Adrian shielded his eyes from the sun, looking ahead, and frowned slightly when he realized there were at least two more Trainers they would have to get past to make it to the end of the bridge. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Go, Sandshrew!”

“Go, Aeris!”

The two Pokemon appeared almost simultaneously. “Sandshrew, Poison Sting!”

Same strategy we used against that Team Rocket grunt back in Viridian! “Aeris, blow it right back at the Sandshrew with a Gust attack!”

The Pidgey flapped his wings furiously, creating a powerful wind that did exactly as Adrian had hoped, causing part of the attack to slam back into the Sandshrew. It glared at Aeris. “Sand Attack!”

“Aeris, let’s keep that wind going! Gust again!”

“Another Sand Attack, Sandshrew!”

“Gust again! Then take it down with a Tackle!”

Aeris slammed into the Sandshrew, which reeled back before recovering. Adrian took a second to think. It’s withstanding more damage than that last Sandshrew. Alright. Time for a change of tactics.

“Sandshrew, Scratch!”

“Aeris! Into the sky!”

Aeris flew upwards just as the Sandshrew leaped at it, sending the small mouse Pokemon tumbling across the bridge. Adrian smirked as it hopped to its feet. “Now! Imitate Scratch with Mirror Move! Aim for the eyes!”

“Poison Sting, Sandshrew!”

Aeris and the Sandshrew struck each other at the same time, sending both Pokemon crashing to the ground and tumbling across the bridge. Both Pokemon struggled to their feet after a couple of seconds, though Adrian could tell that both would faint soon. Aeris looked slightly unwell, Adrian suspected that some of the Poison Sting attack had made contact and actually managed to poison it. “Let’s end this! Sandshrew, Scratch!”

“Blow it away! Gust!”

The Sandshrew lunged at Aeris as the tiny bird Pokemon began flapping its wings furiously, creating a breeze that sent it crashing into the edge of the bridge behind them. It struggled to its feet, where it seemed to stay for a few seconds, before crashing unconscious to the ground. Breathing a sigh of relief, Adrian crouched down next to his Pidgey as the small bird wobbled unsteadily, her eyes flickering, and scanned her quickly with his Pokedex. “Damn that one in five chance. Cassie, can you pass me an Antidote?”

The red-haired girl nodded, reaching into the bag and pulling out a yellow spray bottle, pressing it into his hand. “Thanks.”

As he moved to spray Aeris, the Pidgey’s eyes gleamed and she started glowing with a familiar white light. Recognising what it meant, Adrian stood and took a step back, watching his Pokemon intently. “I didn’t think she had enough experience to evolve, but I guess that Sandshrew’s Poison Sting must have just tipped the scales slightly.”

When the light cleared, the Pidgey looked bigger and sharper, slightly more flamboyant as well. The dull white and brown feathers on her head were now pink. They were rough and angular, though at the same time they had an elegant curve to them. Her tail feathers had also become pink in color, and were also rough-looking, compared to what they had once been. There were also, Adrian couldn't help but notice, five of them compared to the three that his Pokemon had had as a Pidgey. The new Pidgeotto spread her wings, cried out as the light finished fading... and then promptly collapsed.

“Just because the Pokemon evolves doesn’t mean that the status conditions are cleared… You might want to remember that for next time, Adrian,” Cassie reminded him.

Adrian ignored her, reaching into their bag of medical supplies to put the unused Antidote away, and withdrawing a small yellow crystal. As he moved to give the stone to his Pidgeotto, Brian’s voice stopped him. “I would suggest that you think very carefully before you use that one, Adrian. Unfortunately the amount of battles we faced on the way through Mount Moon yesterday cut deeper into our supplies than I anticipated, and that’s our last Revive. The Pokemart was out of stock when I went to resupply this morning. They said that they’d have more by this afternoon, but until then we should be very careful.”

Adrian looked torn for a few minutes, but soon realized his companion was right. They had to make the most of what they had. Sighing, he stood and recalled the fainted Pidgeotto, replacing the Pokeball on his belt and putting the Revive back into their bag. “Fine. I guess it’s back to the Pokemon Center to heal her up then.”

It was several hours later when the group returned from the Pokemon Center. The sun was slightly higher in the sky, though still not high enough to give them concern about time passing. With any luck, they’d be well on the way to Vermillion City, or at least back in Cerulean, before nightfall anyway. They quickly made their way past the first three Trainers to where Aeris had evolved into Pidgeotto, Adrian frowning slightly as he remembered they still had two Trainers to go before they could reach the end of the bridge. Stepping forward, they were swiftly challenged by the first of those remaining Trainers, a girl wearing clothes identical to the second one that had faced, who sent out a Meowth. Seeing an opportunity to test the strength of his recently caught Mankey, Adrian pulled the ball containing the small monkey Pokemon from his belt. “Come on out, Stiller!”

“Don’t underestimate me just because you have the type advantage! I’m warning you, we’re good!”

Meowth doesn’t have the best defensive stats, let’s lower those even further! “Stiller, let’s start things off with Leer!”

“Taunt it!”

The Lass’s Meowth stared at Adrian’s Mankey, giving it a smug smile, and waved tauntingly at it. Adrian groaned inwardly as the monkey Pokemon fell for the taunt, ignoring his command and running forward to engage the Scratch Cat Pokemon up close. The girl grinned. “Now! Bite it!”

“Get out of range of its mouth, Stiller!”

Despite Adrian’s command, Stiller refused to move. The Meowth opened its mouth, biting down on the Mankey’s white-brown fur, causing him to cry out in pain. “Stiller, fight back! We can win this! Karate Chop, now!”

“Scratch!”

The Scratch Cat Pokemon lashed out with its claws, and Stiller reeled away, one paw held over its face. This is going badly… “Karate Chop! Please!”

Stiller reacted immediately, leaping towards Meowth. One hand began glowing white in midair immediately, and that same hand slammed first into Meowth, sending the Scratch Cat stumbling. “Meowth, Scratch again!”

“Get out of range of its claws, Stiller, and then counter with another Karate Chop!”

The Mankey danced nimbly out of range of the Meowth’s claws, before countering with the attack that his Trainer had ordered. Another use of the same attack quickly followed, and the Meowth’s Trainer soon sighed, recalling her unconscious Pokemon. “Ugh. Obviously I wasn’t quite as skilled as I thought I was… Well done.”

Adrian held out Stiller’s Pokeball, into which the Mankey vanished in a flash of light, and the trio were soon facing the last of the Trainers on the bridge itself. The Trainer was a boy, wearing the same green cap, top and shorts as several of the Trainers Adrian and Cassie had encountered on their way to Mount Moon. He held out a Pokeball. “I challenge you!”

“Of course you do,” Adrian sighed, eager to get off the bridge and search the tall grass he could see just to the side of the bridge. Hopefully he could find an Oddish there to fill up the empty space on his team as well as the remaining piece of his strategy against Misty.

He reached down and pulled a Pokeball from his belt. “Aeris!”

“Growlithe, let’s go!”

The orange and black Pokemon burst from the Pokeball that the green-clad boy was holding out, landing easily in front of its Trainer and barking eagerly. Adrian blinked in surprise as his Pidgeotto took her place in front of him. Growlithe. Fire-type. Not something I have a counter for, but these things happen. Gotta make the most of the hand we’re dealt. “Aeris, Gust!”

Aeris flapped her wings, creating a wind that blew the Growlithe back slightly. “Ember!” the other Trainer commanded.

The Growlithe obeyed quickly, opening its mouth and spitting a ball of fire at Aeris. “Climb and dodge it!”

Aeris soared upwards as the Ember reached her, just barely burning the tips of her tail feathers. “Mirror Move!”

Aeris opened her beak wide, spitting a ball of fire identical to the Growlithe’s one. It struck the puppy Pokemon and fizzled out. The other Trainer grinned. “You shouldn’t have done that! You just activated Growlithe’s Flash Fire ability, powering up its Fire-type moves! Growlithe, Ember again!”

I feel like I should have anticipated that. Oh, wait. I did! “Aeris! Climb again! Then dive towards it after the Ember passes!”

The green-clad Trainer grinned. “Bite its wing, Growlithe!”

Got you right where I want you! “Aeris! Wing Attack right before its jaws close!”

Aeris struck the Growlithe with one of her wings just as the puppy Pokemon’s jaws closed on that same wing, sending both Pokemon tumbling. “Aeris, right yourself and Wing Attack again!”

“Ember, Growlithe!”

The fireball slammed straight into Aeris as she dove towards the Growlithe, causing her to crash to the ground. Adrian held out his Pokedex, then winced. “Your health has dropped to a third… I’m not going to risk it again. Aeris, return!”

He recalled his bird Pokemon and then nodded to Vee. “You’re up, partner! Let’s finish this quickly with a Quick Attack!”

His partner nodded. “Eevee!”

“Ember again and again, Growlithe!”

“Dodge it!”

Vee darted from side to side rapidly as it ran towards the opponent, dodging every single one of the fireballs before slamming into it and sending it tumbling. It climbed to its feet, though Adrian could see from the grimace on its face and the way that it was breathing that it was close to fainting. “Growlithe, Bite!”

“Run circles around it, Vee!”

His Eevee did so, darting around the Growlithe so quickly that he was almost a blur, until a couple of minutes later when the puppy Pokemon closed its eyes, staggering dizzily. “Finish it with a Tackle!”

Vee struck the Growlithe from the side, sending it tumbling. It struggled, for a moment looking like it was going to get up again, before it fell and lay still. Sighing, Growlithe’s Trainer recalled it. “Nice try, buddy.”

Adrian tucked his winnings securely into his pocket as they finally stepped off of the bridge onto the grass of Route 4, only to be greeted by the voice of another man, this time an older-looking guy with black hair and sunglasses, who was wearing a red shirt and blue jeans. “Excuse me! I couldn’t help but notice your skills in taking down those Trainers. As part of the Nugget Bridge prize fund, allow me to present you with this.”

He pulled a ball of gold from his pocket, offering it to the trio. Brian nodded and pocketed it. “That’ll definitely be useful for restocking some supplies when we get back to Cerulean. Thank you.”

The other man nodded. “If it was three years ago I probably would have had more to say to you… Probably would have tried to recruit you into Team Rocket and then battled you after you refused. I’m so damn glad those days are done. I’ve made my peace with the law and I’m doing my best to make up for the things Giovanni made me do. That’s all I want out of life.”

“Good for you.”

Adrian and his companions moved past the man to a quiet grassy spot, where Adrian pulled a Potion from the bag of medical supplies and sent out Aeris, quickly healing the Pidgeotto before recalling her. “Let’s go search that grassy area now.”

They quickly made their way over there, with another Trainer challenging them on the way. Kai took the win fairly quickly, knocking out the other Trainer’s Spearow with a pair of Thunder Shock attacks, and making Adrian proud of how well his training was progressing.

A rustle in the grass caught Adrian’s attention, and he pulled Aeris’s Pokeball from his belt, releasing the Pidgeotto. “Aeris, Wing Attack that particular patch of grass please.”

Aeris slammed into the rustling grass, revealing a familiar blue weed Pokemon. Adrian smirked. “Exactly what I was looking for! Aeris, Wing Attack again!”

Aeris slammed her wing into the Oddish again, sending it tumbling. As she returned to hovering in front of her Trainer again, Adrian pulled an empty Pokeball from his pocket. “Pokeball, go!”

The Pokeball settled to the ground mere moments later, and Adrian recalled Aeris before reaching down and picking up the Pokeball containing his newest capture. With a simple tap, the Oddish appeared in a flash of light. Adrian crouched down before it, offering a hand as he sprayed it gently with a Potion to cure the wounds Wing Attack had done to it. “Hi. I’m your new Trainer. I’d like to give you a nickname, something other than just Oddish. How does Bitterleaf sound?”

The tiny blue Pokemon nodded, though cowered shyly. Adrian smiled softly, quickly pulling out his Pokedex and checking the data for his new capture. “Shy little thing, aren’t you? That’s okay, I think I can work with that”.

As soon as the trio had fully recovered from the Trainers they had battled on the way across Route 24, they made their way down Route 25. Though numerous other trainers tried to get in their way, none of the Pokemon proved to be strong enough to defeat Adrian’s team, with the young Trainer from Pallet Town finding himself frequently marveling at how well his Pokemon were proving to be able to hold up. Reaching Cerulean Cape, the companions leaned against the fence, staring out at the rippling surface of the water. "It's stunning, isn't it?"

"It really is. This is one of my favourite places around Cerulean to visit. It's just so calming out here."

Cassandra turned away from the fence, pulling a Pokeball from her pocket before continuing. "It's also an excellent backdrop for a Pokemon battle. You're going to need all the practice you can get for your next Gym, and who better to practise against than someone who knows your team almost as well as you do? If you can defeat both of the Pokemon I'll send out before you lose all three of yours, then you'll probably stand a good chance against Misty."

She threw the Pokeball, revealing a familiar looking duck Pokemon. Unlike the Psyduck they had seen earlier, this one looked stronger, more serious. She smiled slightly in anticipation. "Now... don't hold back!"

Adrian nodded, holding out a Pokeball. “Go, Bitterleaf!”

His new Oddish appeared in a flash of light. She looked at him, then at the Psyduck in front of them. Adrian gave an encouraging nod. “Bitterleaf, start things off with a Sleep Powder!”

Bitterleaf nodded, releasing a blue, sparkling powder from the leaves on top of her head. The powder drifted towards the Psyduck. “Psyduck, use a Water Gun to clump the powder together and make it useless, then retaliate with a Confusion!”

“Plant yourself, Bitterleaf!”

Bitterleaf immediately buried herself in the ground so that only the leaves on top of her head were showing. The Confusion attack passed harmlessly overhead, and the Oddish waited a couple more seconds before popping back up. “Sleep Powder again!”

Adrian cheered as the powder move made contact, putting the Psyduck to sleep. “Now, use Absorb while it’s asleep!”

“Snap out of it, Psyduck!”

The Psyduck stubbornly refused to wake up. Adrian grinned. “Alright, Bitterleaf, well done! Return!”

His Oddish disappeared into the Pokeball he held out, and he pulled a second one from his belt. “Come on out, Kai!”

Kai appeared in a flash of light, nodding to his Trainer. “Kai, Thunder Shock!”

A bolt of electricity burst from the electric mouse Pokemon’s body, striking Psyduck. It staggered, visibly weak, though it opened its eyes. “Kai, finish it with a Quick Attack!”

“Fury Swipes, Psyduck!”

Both attacks made contact at the same time, sending both Pokemon flying. Cassie’s Psyduck slammed into the railings and fell unconscious to the ground, and Kai spun nimbly in midair, landing in front of Adrian again. He looked a little winded, Adrian noted, but otherwise fine. “You okay to keep going, Kai?” he queried.

Kai nodded at his Trainer, and Adrian nodded. “Good. I think we can win this.”

Cassie chuckled warmly, holding out a Pokeball to recall her Psyduck before pulling a slightly different ball from her pocket. This one was different in colour, a blue and white Pokeball with two red stripes on top rather than the standard red and white balls. “A Great Ball?”

“Glad you recognize it. We should grab a few before we leave to head to Vermillion, they have a better catch chance than standard balls do. Anyway, we’re getting distracted. Starmie, you’re up!”

She threw the Great Ball. It burst open, and a large violet starfish emerged from the Pokeball. Cassie’s Starmie spun through the air gracefully before landing on the ground in front of its Trainer. “Starmie, Scald!”

“Kai, dodge it with a Quick Attack!”

Cassie’s Starmie shot a stream of super-hot water from its upper-most limb at Kai, who dodged nimbly. Cassie clenched her fist. “Don’t let up, Starmie! Scald again and again!”

The starfish Pokemon shot several more streams of water at Kai, who dodged agilely from side to side as he ran towards Starmie, before slamming into it. The attack barely seemed to phase Starmie, and Cassie grinned. “Psywave, now!”

Perfect. “Now, Kai! Thunder Shock from close range!”

“Piiika-Chuuuuuu!”

Both attacks struck at the same time, causing a large cloud of dust to appear in the middle of their makeshift arena. When it had cleared, both Pokemon were still standing. Cassie’s Starmie seemed to almost be uninjured by the electric attack, and Kai was panting lightly, small beads of sweat beading on the small electric Pokemon’s yellow fur. Guessing that his partner probably wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer, Adrian fumbled for Kai’s Pokeball. “Confuse Ray, Starmie!”

A purple ball of energy shot from Starmie’s core and struck Kai, who began trying to attack himself immediately. “Kai, return!”

Kai disappeared back into his Pokeball, and Adrian returned it to his belt, pulling another one free. “Bitterleaf!”

The Oddish appeared again. “Are you sure you want to do that, Adrian? Starmie is a Water/Psychic type, it counters Oddish’s Poison typing…” Cassie taunted.

“I know what I’m doing. Alright, Bitterleaf, let’s try Poison Powder!”

Bitterleaf waved the leaves on the top of her head, releasing a sparkling wave of purple dust towards Starmie. Cassie looked worried. “Starmie, Scald! Wash that powder away before it hits you!”

Cassie’s command came too late, as the powder made contact, forcing her Starmie to wobble in place. Its violet colour seemed to pale slightly, a tinge of dark purple colour around the core showing what had happened to it. “Take it out with a Psywave!”

The core gleamed, releasing a blast of purple energy that slammed into Bitterleaf, knocking her out. As Starmie wobbled in pain from the attack once again, Adrian knelt down by the small Pokemon’s side. “Hey… Well done, Bitterleaf. You fought really well and I am so proud of you. Take a nice long break”.

Recalling her, he pulled his Ivysaur’s Pokeball from his belt. “Spring, come on out!”

Spring appeared immediately, landing nimbly in front of her Trainer. “Spring, let’s start things off with Razor Leaf!”

“Ivysaur!”

Razor sharp leaves streamed from the plant on Spring’s back, streaking towards the starfish Pokemon. “Block them with Swift.”

Stars of light streamed from Starmie’s core, swatting the leaves aside before they could make contact. A few of them managed to strike Spring, though she didn’t seem visibly injured by the attack. “Spring, grab it by the points on each side with your Vine Whip and throw it like a frisbee!”

Spring did as commanded, sending the star Pokemon crashing into the railings behind Cassie. It crashed to the ground and lay there for a couple of seconds before getting back up. Adrian could see the light in its core had started flickering faintly and he knew that it was only a matter of time before it ran out of energy to keep going. “Razor Leaf!”

“Psywave.”

A wave of energy identical to the one that took out Bitterleaf shot from Starmie’s core, causing the leaves to collapse harmlessly and slamming into Spring, sending her crashing backwards. “Spring!”

The Ivysaur gritted her teeth and got to her feet slowly, a soft growl escaping her mouth. Adrian could tell she was determined to win this for him. An idea hit him at that moment. “Leech Seed.”

As if she could tell what her Trainer was thinking, Spring nodded. A seed burst from the plant on her back, slamming into Starmie. Long slender vines sprouted from the seed and coiled around the Pokemon’s body, glowing a soft red. “Good. Now, Spring, return!”

Spring disappeared into her Pokeball, and was quickly replaced by Kai again. Cassie seemed a little surprised by the choice. “What are you playing at… Starmie, Confuse Ray!”

“Quick Attack!”

Unlike the last time Cassie had ordered Confuse Ray, Kai dodged easily to the side as the ball of energy zipped past it. Two more Confuse Ray attacks quickly followed, with Kai dodging them both. “Now, Kai! Jump! Get right above Starmie and then Thunder Shock straight down!”

Cassie realized seconds too late what was about to happen. “Psywave!”

The blast of electrical energy slammed into Starmie before it could even move. It wobbled for a second, the vines from Spring’s Leech Seed flared red, and then its core dimmed and it crashed unmoving to the ground.

It took both Trainers a moment to react, but once Adrian had realized what had just happened he ran over to Kai, pulling the electric mouse Pokemon into a hug. “We did it! I’m so proud of you, Kai, you did amazingly!”

“Pika!”

Cassie watched the two interact for a minute, a soft smile on her face, before taking out a Pokeball and recalling Starmie. “You did well, partner. Thank you”.

She leaned casually against the railings, Brian joining her a few seconds later, and the two of them watched as Adrian celebrated his win with his Pokemon. “You let him win, didn’t you?” Brian asked softly.

Cassie shook her head. “Adrian won every second of that victory, Brian. He’s come a hell of a long way in just a couple of days.”

“He really has”.

Chapter Text

Adrian and his friends stood in front of the house that they had earlier passed on their way to Cerulean Cape. It was a small house, nondescript in design. The walls were a soft white in color, the door an almost muted blue in comparison. Smoke wafted from the chimney. By the door, Brian raised a hand to knock.

His knock was answered by a young man with sandy brown hair. He was wearing a bluish-purple shirt and tan pants, as well as light white shoes. His eyes lit up when he saw them, especially the silver Eevee perched on Adrian’s shoulder, and he quickly ushered them into his house. “Come in, come in.”

Within the space of a couple of minutes they were standing in the middle of a small two room house. The man they’d just met gestured towards a small two-seater couch. “Please, take a seat.”

When they were seated, he pulled up a chair of his own, sinking into it. “Professor Oak told me that a trainer with a silver Eevee might be stopping by. So you must be his new protege. Adrian, right?”

At Adrian’s nod, he continued. “I’m Bill. I’m the one who designed the system used to teleport all the Pokeballs between the Pokemon Centres and Professor Oak’s laboratory.”

Adrian shook his outstretched hand, smiling at him. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Bill gestured to his computer desk which was messy, covered in books and loose paper. “I’ve been studying Eevee and its evolutions… Eeveelutions, if you will, for years. It’s nice to meet someone else who has Eevee as their favourite Pokemon. And even nicer to meet someone who has a Shiny Eevee. I’m assuming you haven’t decided on an evolution yet?”

Adrian glanced at Vee, who shook his head, and considered the question. “Not 100% decided, but we’re leaning towards Espeon. The Psychic type is incredible stat-wise, plus Espeon has one of the deepest move pools of any Eeveelution. Access to Shadow Ball, Psychic, Dazzling Gleam, and Grass Knot are extremely useful, plus either Synchronise or Magic Bounce for abilities…”

Bill looked impressed. “You know your stuff.”

“I was Professor Oak’s assistant for 5 years, I learned a lot from him. Of course, I’m happy with whatever Vee ends up evolving into, anyway”.

The conversation continued for a while, until eventually a quiet chirping sound from Brian’s phone caught their attention. He glanced down at it, then stood. “We should get back to Cerulean. We still have things to do today.”

Knowing that Brian was referring to his Gym battle against Misty, Adrian nodded. “It was good to meet you, Bill.”

“It was good to meet you too.”

Bill shook his outstretched hand before reaching into his pocket, pulling out three tickets. “Here, take these. I got these to an event on the SS Anne, leaving from Vermillion, but I can’t stand fancy events or big social gatherings.”

He handed them to Brian, who tucked them away safely. “Much appreciated. Thanks again, Bill.”

The companions left Bill’s house, walking back to Cerulean in a comfortable silence. Their trip was largely uneventful, aside from a few brief encounters with wild Pokemon, and after a quick visit to the Pokemon Centre to heal their Pokemon, they were soon standing in front of the Cerulean Gym. Adrian stared up at it, taking it in. “Beautiful building.”

Cassie grinned at him. “Just wait until you see the inside.”

The automatic doors slid open as they approached, and they stepped into a well-lit stadium. A huge tank was right ahead of them, and inside it they could see water Pokemon swimming around. Also inside the tank was a large coral reef complete with a large closed clam shell. There was the sound of footsteps on the stairs to the side of the tank and a young woman came down towards the companions. She was tall and slender, though toned, with orange hair tied back in a ponytail and blue eyes. She was wearing a light blue one-piece swimsuit under a matching long-sleeved jacket, and matching sandals, and had a towel slung around her neck. “You must be Adrian,” she said, smirking at him as she held her hand out. “I’m Misty. Welcome to my Gym”.

Adrian shook her hand, nodding. “That’s me. This is my partner Vee, and our friends Cassie and Brian.”

She nodded, leading them past the stairs and further into the Gym. After around five minutes they came to a swimming pool with stadium-style seating. There were small rocks in the pool, giving non-water Pokemon a space to stand while they battled. “This is our battlefield. We use this pool for battles so that the water Pokemon in the aquarium don’t get disturbed.”

“Smart.”

As Cassie and Brian headed towards the seats, Misty and Adrian took their places on opposite sides of the pool. Misty grabbed the towel around her neck, tossing it aside, and pulled a blue ball with red stripes from her jacket. “So! Only those Trainers who have a policy about Pokémon can turn pro. What is your approach when you catch and train Pokémon? My policy is an all out offensive with Water-type Pokémon!”

Adrian looked thoughtful as he took out a Pokeball of his own. “Honestly, as long as they work well together, I’ll train anything.”

Misty smirked. “A good strategy. My boyfriend thinks along those same lines. He’s one of the strongest trainers in the world now. It’s impressive how far he’s come since he left Pallet Town a few short years ago. Let’s see if you can match up to his potential. Come at me with your full strength!” she called, throwing the ball in her hand. It burst open, causing an increasingly familiar yellow duck Pokemon to appear. Adrian took a second to think over his strategy before throwing the ball in his hand. “Go, Bitterleaf!”

His Oddish burst free in a flash of light, landing on one of the rocks. Misty chuckled. "Let’s get started then! I’ll show you the true majesty of Water type Pokemon! Psyduck, use Confusion!"

Psyduck's eyes glowed with psychic energy as it launched a powerful Confusion attack towards Adrian’s Oddish. "Bitterleaf, dodge and counter with Sleep Powder!"

Bitterleaf swiftly leaped from rock to rock, evading the Confusion attack before releasing a cloud of Sleep Powder towards Psyduck. "Psyduck, shake it off! Use your Water Gun to clear the Sleep Powder!"

Psyduck quickly regained its composure and unleashed a powerful stream of water, dispersing the Sleep Powder before it could take effect.

Adrian clenched his fist. "Bitterleaf, now's your chance! Hit Psyduck with Poison Powder while it’s distracted dealing with the Sleep Powder!"

Seizing the opportunity, Oddish showered Psyduck with a deep purple powder, causing it to shudder as it became poisoned.

"Hang in there, Psyduck! Use Confusion again!"
Despite being poisoned, Psyduck gathered its focus and launched another Confusion attack towards Bitterleaf. "Bitterleaf, use Absorb to drain some of Psyduck's health!"

Bitterleaf managed to withstand the Confusion attack and retaliated by draining some of Psyduck's health with Absorb, partially healing itself in the process.

Adrian could see in her eyes that Misty was getting desperate. "Psyduck, we need to finish this! Use Water Gun!"

Psyduck summoned its remaining strength and unleashed a powerful Water Gun, striking Bitterleaf with incredible force. The Weed Pokemon reeled backwards, falling unconscious to the rock.

“You did great, Bitterleaf! Return!” Adrian held out Bitterleaf’s Pokeball, recalling it. He gave the Pokeball a gentle smile before tucking it away and pulling out another Pokeball. “Alright, Kai, you’re up!”

He threw his Pikachu’s Pokeball, the little yellow mouse appearing in a flash of light. “Kai, let’s do this! Finish Psyduck off with a Quick Attack!”

“Pika!”

Kai leaped into the air, slamming into Psyduck. The duck pokemon blinked in surprise before collapsing, knocked unconscious by a combination of the poison and the damage it had taken from Quick Attack.

Misty sighed, holding out a Pokeball. "Psyduck, you did great! Rest up! Now, it's Starmie's turn! Go!"

Starmie emerged from its ball in a flash of light, ready to take on Kai. Adrian smirked. "Alright, Kai, we’re halfway there, let's show them what we've got! Use Thunder Wave!"

Kai released a wave of electrical energy towards Starmie, attempting to paralyze it. "Starmie, dodge and counter with Scald!"

Starmie swiftly dove into the water, avoiding the Thunder Wave and popping out of the water to retaliate, shooting a scalding hot jet of water from the tip of one point towards Kai.

"Kai, Quick Attack to evade and follow up with Thunder Shock!" Adrian yelled.

Kai moved with incredible speed, dodging the Scald attack and striking Starmie with a powerful Quick Attack. It then followed up with a Thunder Shock, surging electricity through Starmie's body.

"Starmie, hang in there! Use Psywave!"

Despite being weakened by the Thunder Shock, Starmie summoned its psychic power and unleashed a Psywave towards Kai. The mouse Pokemon was struck by the energy field, knocking him back several steps. “Now, Scald it!”

The water slammed into Kai, sending him back several steps. He teetered on the edge of the rock, and Adrian pulled out his Pokeball. “Kai, come back!”

The small Pikachu vanished into the ball and Adrian tucked it away, pulling out a new one. “Spring!”

His Ivysaur emerged, eagerly stretching herself. “Spring, let’s win this! Razor Leaf!”

The battle began as Spring wasted no time, launching a barrage of Razor Leaf towards Misty's Starmie. “Starmie, dodge it!”

With graceful agility, Starmie evaded the flying leaves, its dance-like movement making it nearly impossible to hit.

Misty seized the opportunity, commanding Starmie to retaliate with a scalding blast of water. The powerful jet crashed into Spring, causing her to stagger back, singed but still standing. Adrian clenched his fist, not about to back down. "Vine Whip, Spring! Let's show them what real strength looks like!" he shouted.

Spring's vines lashed out, aiming to ensnare Starmie, but the Water-type Pokémon danced out of reach, its movements fluid and precise.

With a determined gleam in his eye, Adrian decided to try a different approach. "Leech Seed! Let's drain their strength!" he commanded.

Spring scattered Leech Seeds across the battlefield, the seeds taking root around Starmie, slowly sapping its strength. Misty remained undeterred. "Starmie, use Psywave!" she called out.

Starmie unleashed a powerful wave of psychic energy, crashing into Spring with incredible force. The Grass/Poison-type staggered, feeling the full brunt of the psychic assault.

Adrian grit his teeth, not ready to give up just yet. "Spring, Tackle attack! Let's finish this!" he shouted.

Spring charged forward with determination, aiming to knock Starmie off balance. The impact was powerful, but Starmie held its ground, its core glowing with resilience.

In a final effort to turn the tide, Misty commanded Starmie to unleash one last Scald, a searing torrent of boiling water that engulfed Spring, leaving her weakened and unable to battle.

Adrian groaned, recalling his Ivysaur. “Great job, partner. Alright, Kai, I know you’re weak, but I’m counting on you!”

He sent out his Pikachu again. “Kai, Quick Attack!”

The Pikachu slammed into the star Pokemon, knocking it back several steps. “Starmie, Scald!”

Adrian smirked, ready this time. “Dodge it with Quick Attack! Then jump above Starmie and use Thunder Shock straight down!”

Misty’s eyes widened as she realized what was about to happen, but her realization came too late, a bolt of powerful electricity slamming down into Starmie and sending it into the water. Kai landed on the rocks, panting, but otherwise still standing, and both Trainers held their breath as they watched the water.

After approximately ten seconds, an unconscious Starmie emerged from the water, slumped back against the floor by Misty’s feet. She held out a Pokeball. “You did your best, Starmie. Return! Well done, Adrian. You've proven yourself to be quite the skilled trainer. Congratulations on your victory! Here, take the Cascade Badge as proof of what you and your Pokemon accomplished today.”

As Adrian recalled Kai, Misty crossed to a small cabinet against the wall, reaching into the chest on top before returning to Adrian. Smiling, she pressed a small piece of blue metal shaped like a rain drop into Adrian’s hand, followed a few seconds later by a case containing a light blue disc. “Take this as well. This is the TM for Scald, my favourite move. I know you’ll make good use of it.”

Adrian nodded, tucking the badge and disc into the pocket of his jacket before shaking Misty’s outstretched hand. As he looked over towards where his companions had been sitting, seeing them stand and start to make their way over towards him, Misty smiled warmly. “You’ve got good friends there. Trust me, I know how important good friendships can be on a journey like the one you’re undertaking.”

Adrian smiled fondly. “Thank you, Misty. I definitely appreciate them.”

“It’s no trouble. Say, you’re heading for Vermillion City next, right?”

Adrian nodded. “Yeah, I am! I've heard there's a gym there too, and Vee and I are aiming to challenge every gym in Kanto. Plus I’m really excited to see the SS Anne.”

“That’s the spirit! To get to Vermillion City, you'll need to head south from Cerulean City. Follow Route 5 until you reach the Underground Path. It's a shortcut that will take you directly to Route 6. From there, it’s a straight shot down to Vermillion City.”

Adrian nodded, thanking the Gym Leader again before rejoining his companions and leaving. Once they were outside again, he turned towards the Pokemon Center, determined to heal up his team before they left.

Chapter Text

“Welcome to the Cerulean City Pokemon Center! Would you like to have your Pokemon healed?”

Adrian nodded gratefully, pulling three Pokeballs from his belt and handing them to the nurse behind the counter. “Just these three, please.”

Nurse Joy smiled warmly. “Of course, Adrian! We’ll take care of them at once. That should be about half an hour’s wait, okay?”

Adrian nodded. “Yes, that’s fine.”

He settled back down on the couch across from his companions, pulling the newly earned Cascade Badge from his pocket and turning it over in his fingers. He pulled his badge case out and pressed the small metal teardrop into place next to the one he’d received from Brock. “Two down, only six more to go”

As he admired the two glittering badges in the case, fingers carding softly through Vee’s silky silver-grey fur, a familiar voice came from nearby. “Hmph. I suppose congratulations are in order, rookie. I’ll admit I didn’t think you’d make it this far.”

Adrian groaned softly, recognizing the voice. Lifting his head, he glared at the familiar-looking blonde girl who was smirking down at him. “Haven’t you got better things to do with your time, Savannah?” he asked.

“Not really, no.”

Adrian sighed softly. “Of course you don’t.”

Savannah smirked, showing perfectly white teeth as she held out a hand towards Brian and Cassie. “I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure of meeting yet. Savannah Hayes, fellow Trainer from Pallet Town and Adrian’s rival.”

Adrian’s companions glanced warily at each other. Adrian got the sense that neither of them cared very much for Savannah’s attitude or for her sudden appearance, which made him feel at least slightly better. After a few moments of hesitation, Cassie nodded, shaking Savannah’s hand. “Cassandra Bates.”

Brian didn’t move to shake her outstretched hand, instead staring coolly at her. “Brian Williams.”

A slight look of disappointment flashed across Savanna’s face for a few seconds before it was replaced by her usual cocky grin. “Come on, rookie. You got your second badge, now I want to see just how much stronger you’ve gotten. Maybe you’ll actually be able to knock out one of my Pokemon this time.”

Seeing no way out of this but accepting his rival’s challenge, Adrian nodded and stood, following her outside, his companions close on his heels. Once they were outside in the street in the late afternoon sun, Adrian glanced down at Vee. “Are you ready for this, partner?”

“Vee! Eevee!”

Adrian tugged a Pokeball from his belt and tossed it into the air. “Alright then! Stiller, come on out!”

His Mankey burst from its Pokeball in a flash of light. Savannah smirked. “Are you sure you want to use that Pokemon? Doesn’t look strong enough to put up a decent fight… Go, Raticate!”

She threw a Pokeball of her own, releasing a large brown rat Pokemon. Brian, watching from the sidelines with Cassie, raised an eyebrow. “Adrian has the type advantage here with Stiller, but that Raticate looks pretty strong…”

“Type advantage isn’t always everything…” Cassie mused.

Adrian flicked open his Pokedex and scanned the Pokemon thoughtfully. So this is what Nibbler is going to evolve into… Savannah chuckled and flung out her hand. “Raticate, let’s start things off with Tackle!”

“Stiller, dodge and close in for a Scratch attack!”

“Raticate, wait until it gets close and then hit it with a Super Fang!”

As Stiller drew close, Raticate opened its mouth, teeth glowing as it prepared to bite down. “Now!”

Perfect! “Now, Stiller! Hit it straight in the mouth with Karate Chop!”

Stiller’s hand glowed with white energy and he slammed the side of his opened hand into Savannah’s Raticate at the same time the rat Pokemon bit down, sending both tumbling. Both got to their feet, though Adrian could definitely see that Stiller had been badly affected by Super Fang. Stiller glared across the battlefield at the rat Pokemon, flexing his arms. Savannah gave a slight nod. “Not bad, rookie. Not bad. But you’ve got a long way to go. Raticate, close in and use Super Fang again!”

“Dodge and counter attack with Karate Chop!”

Stiller’s hand slammed into Raticate again, sending the rat Pokemon tumbling. “Raticate, don’t let them win! Focus Energy to build up some power!”

“Stiller, close in and use Karate Chop a third time!”

“Now! Bite it!”

The damage proved to be too much for Stiller to take and he collapsed, unconscious. Adrian held out the Pokeball again. “Good job, partner. Take a good long rest.”

Let’s see… Aeris next up, I think. Save Vee for last. Adrian pulled his Pidgeotto’s Pokeball from his belt, tossing it into the air. “Let’s go, Aeris!”

“Easy enough! Raticate, let’s take it down! Super Fang again!”

“Into the sky and dodge it, Aeris! Then dive and hit it with a Wing Attack!”

“Bite down on the wing as it hits you!”

Adrian clenched his fists. Damn she’s good. But I won’t lose that easily! “Mirror Move, Aeris! Bite down on Raticate’s tail!”

Both Trainers watched as the moves they had ordered played out, Savannah wincing as Aeris clenched its beak down on her Raticate’s tail. “You’ve done well, Raticate! Return!” She ordered, holding out a Pokeball.

Her Pokemon vanished in a flash of light and she looked at it before putting it back on her belt, pulling out another one. “Let’s see how you fare then, Fearow!”

Savannah’s bird Pokemon burst from the Pokeball in a flash of light. “Let’s make this interesting, Adrian! Fearow, take to the skies!”

Fearow screeched loudly, soaring into the air as ordered. It hovered approximately a foot above Savannah’s head, powerful wings beating steadily. Adrian nodded to his Pidgeotto. “You too, Aeris, please.”

The sun blazed in the sky as the two Pokémon hovered above the battlefield, casting fleeting shadows on the ground below. Aeris and Fearow faced off, their trainers watching intently from below, their commands ready.

Aeris fluttered her wings with a determined gaze. Adrian, shouting over the wind, called out, "Aeris, start with Wing Attack!"

With a powerful thrust of her wings, Aeris streaked towards Fearow, her wings glowing with a sharp, white energy. The attack hit Fearow squarely, sending it reeling but quickly regaining its composure.

Savannah smirked. "Not bad, rookie, but you’ve got a long way to go yet! Fearow, use Double Team!"

Fearow's image blurred as multiple illusory copies of it materialized around the field. Adrian squinted, trying to discern the real Fearow among the clones.

Not missing a beat, he commanded, "Aeris, use Sand Attack to lower its accuracy!"

The Pidgeotto flapped her wings as ordered, kicking up a cloud of sand that swirled around the bird Pokemon. The sand settled over the area, obscuring Fearow’s vision and causing its movements to become less precise.

Fearow struggled to maintain focus but quickly retaliated. "Fearow, Drill Peck now!"

With renewed intensity, the real Fearow lunged from the blurred images and aimed its sharp beak at Aeris. The drill-like beak struck with precision, but she managed to manoeuvre away at the last second, taking only a glancing blow.

Adrian, determined to turn the tide, decided to employ a clever strategy. "Use Gust, Aeris!"

A powerful burst of wind erupted from Pidgeotto’s wings, aimed directly at Fearow and its clones. The gust swept through the air, disrupting the illusions and forcing Fearow to use its agility to dodge.

Savannah, sensing an opportunity, called out, "Fearow, Mirror Move!"

Fearow mirrored the Pidgeotto’s Gust attack, the swirling winds crashing into Aeris with equal force. The impact staggered her, leaving her momentarily vulnerable.

“Now, Fearow! Finish it with Drill Peck!”

Before Adrian could react, Fearow slammed beak-first into Aeris, causing the Pidgeotto to cry out in pain and tumble to the ground. Adrian held out a Pokeball. “Aeris! That’s enough, partner! Come back!”

Savannah smirked, “Hmm… so you do know when to fold ‘em. That’s something, at least… Alright, rookie. Bring out your last Pokemon.”

Adrian nodded to Vee. “It’s up to you, partner.”

“Eevee!”

The small silver fox leaped onto the field in front of his Trainer. Savannah chuckled. “Well, this should be no challenge at all… Fearow can fly, your Eevee can’t.”

“Oh, I don’t know, Sav… Your Fearow is looking pretty worn out. I bet Vee can take it down no problem!”

“We’ll see about that! Fearow, dive in and hit it with Drill Peck!”

“Wait until the last second, Vee!”

Fearow dove towards the small silver fox, its beak spinning fiercely. Despite the threat, Adrian found himself smirking, knowing his Pokemon trusted him. “Alright, that’s close enough! Vee, let’s dodge out of the way and then blind it with a Sand Attack!”

Vee leaped to the side at the last second before slamming his front legs down on the ground, kicking up a huge cloud of sand. Fearow cried out in pain and reeled away, eyes closed. “Now, Vee! Finish it off with a Quick Attack!”

Vee slammed head-first into the blinded bird Pokemon, sending it crashing to the ground where it lay, unmoving. Savannah held out a Pokeball, recalling it. “Not too shabby, Rookie. I’ll admit I’m actually slightly impressed. But you’ve still got a lot to learn!”

She took out another Pokeball, this one a yellowish-gold in color with black on the top. “Go, Rapidash!”

Her cream-coloured horse Pokemon burst from the ball in a flash of light. Adrian flicked open his Pokedex, scanning the Rapidash intently before tucking the Pokedex away once again. “Interesting… Vee, Tackle!”

Savannah smirked. “Nice try, Adrian, but we’re not going to lose that easily! Rapidash, wait until Vee gets close and then hit it with Stomp!”

“Watch out, Vee!”

As Vee drew closer, Rapidash turned and lashed out with its hind legs, catching Vee a glancing blow on the side. “Now, Rapidash! Hit it with Flame Charge at point-black range!”

Rapidash cried out, its entire body glowing with orange flames, and it slammed into Vee. The silver fox Pokemon tumbled across the ground before getting to his feet, though Adrian could tell his partner was weakening. “Vee, let’s play it carefully! Sand Attack!”

“Flame Charge again using the speed boost from the previous one, Rapidash!”

Before Vee could react, the horned horse charged forward again, sending him sprawling once more. He tried to stand up again, struggling to his feet. Adrian looked wary. “Vee… If you need a break, partner, feel free. I won’t hold it against you.”

Vee gave his Trainer a grateful smile, managing to stand for a few seconds longer before crashing to the ground, unconscious. Adrian held out a Pokeball, recalling his partner. “Congratulations, Savannah. Looks like the better Trainer won.”

“I guess so… You fought well, Rookie. It’s clear you’ve got potential. See you ‘round.”

With those words, she turned and recalled her Rapidash, walking away. Adrian sighed, tucking Vee’s Pokeball back into his pocket as his companions joined him. Cassie put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You did your best.”

Adrian nodded. “I know. I have no regrets. Not even one. Now let’s head back to the Pokemon Center.”

Chapter Text

Adrian’s footsteps echoed on the bridge as he and Vee made their way up Route 24 once again. They’d left Cassie and Brian at the Pokemon Center, Adrian explaining that there was one last Pokemon he wanted to find before they headed south towards Vermillion City. They’d been fine with that, only reminding him to be careful as they parted. In his hand, Adrian carried one of the Great Balls that they had bought in Cerulean City, and he was turning the blue and red ball over in his fingers with every step. “Alright. Just to that grassy patch again, Vee. Same place where we found Bitterleaf. With any luck, the other Pokemon we’re looking for should be there.”

“Vee!” His partner chirped in agreement.

They reached the grass shortly afterwards, and Adrian stood on the outskirts of it for a few minutes, watching thoughtfully as he tossed the Great Ball up and down. “Watch out, partner…”

There! A flash of familiar golden yellow feathers caught Adrian’s attention and he tugged another Pokeball from his belt, tossing it into the air. “Bitterleaf!”

His Oddish burst from the ball in a beam of energy. “Sleep Powder, now!”

His Oddish waved her leaves, producing a sparkling blue-white powder that wafted over the Pokemon in front of them. The Psyduck’s eyes slid shut, and Adrian gave a pleased nod. “Great job, Bitterleaf. Now we don’t want to hit it too hard… Acid.”

Bitterleaf waved her leaves again, and a glob of orange liquid burst free, slamming into the Psyduck. Adrian grimaced, covering his nose. “Holy Arceus, that smells… Alright, Bitterleaf, I think we’ve weakened it enough now.”

He hefted the Great Ball in his hand and threw it at the yellow duck Pokemon. The ball smacked it on the head, absorbing it in a flash of energy and dropped to the ground. Adrian held his breath.

One… Two shakes… And three! The ball stopped shaking, settling in place with a soft clicking sound as the light on the button stopped shimmering. Adrian exhaled, reaching down to take a couple of pellets of Pokemon food from a tin on his belt and kneeling to offer them to the Oddish. “Well done, partner. We got it. Now, Bitterleaf, return!”

As the Oddish vanished back into her Pokeball, Vee darted forward, picking up the Great Ball in his mouth and bring it back to Adrian, placing it into his now free hand. Adrian gave a grateful smile, scratching behind the silver Pokémon’s ears lightly. “Thanks, Vee. I guess that means we have to come up with a nickname for our new team member, right?”

“Vee!”

Adrian chuckled softly as he got to his feet, tucking the now-shrunken Great Ball into his jacket. He stared at the river just past the grass, which he knew led to the entrance to the dangerous Cerulean Cave. Entry to that cave had been strictly controlled for several years, reportedly because of ‘extra-strong Pokemon’. Adrian had a nasty feeling that he knew what Pokemon lurked in there, and it wasn’t good. “I guess that’ll be something for the two of us to investigate once we beat the Elite Four, partner…”

He considered his words carefully. “How does the name ‘Kappa’ sound for our new friend?”

“Vee!”

Adrian nodded. “That settles that, then. Alright, partner, let’s get back to town. Cassie and Brian are waiting for us, we need to get to Vermillion City after all.”

The sun sat high on the horizon a few hours later, casting a warm golden glow across the landscape as Adrian, Cassie, and Brian made their way south from Cerulean City. The familiar skyline of Cerulean faded behind them, its buildings now just a distant blur. The path ahead, lined with wildflowers and the occasional tall grass patch, seemed to stretch on forever, promising new adventures and challenges. Adrian pulled a Pokeball from his belt, releasing Vee. “Come on out!”

The silver-furred Pokemon appeared from the red and white ball in a flash of energy, jumping eagerly up onto his Trainer’s shoulder and rubbing his head against Adrian’s cheek. Adrian chuckled softly, reaching up to scratch Vee behind the ears. “Love you too, buddy.”

Cassie gave a soft smile at the cute scene and reached into her jacket, pulling out her map. “Vermillion City isn’t too far from here. Just down here to the end of the route, then through the gate into Saffron. Cut through there to Route 6, then down there to the port city.”

They walked in silence for a while, the only sounds the noise of their footsteps on the path and the gentle rustle of the breeze, until they spotted a pair of large gates at the end of the route. As they approached the massive gates, a pair of uniformed police officers blocked their way. “I’m sorry,” one said, her tone apologetic. “But you can’t go this way.”

“There’s been an abundance of Team Rocket activity in the city in the past few days,” her partner added.

Adrian and Vee exchanged worried looks. This was the third time that Team Rocket had come up on their travels, which was especially concerning considering that they had apparently been disbanded three years before. “Team Rocket activity?”

The first police officer nodded. “Yes. The Elite 4 and the Champion are personally involved in investigating this apparent resurgence and have ordered all roads in and out of Saffron to be closed until further notice.”

Adrian exchanged looks with Cassie and Brian. To have even brought the Champion of the Kanto region out to investigate personally… Things must be indeed serious, especially since the Kanto Champion had been so involved in taking them down in the first place. After a moment, Cassie nodded. “We’ll take the Underground Path instead then.”

She and Brian led the way to a building a short distance to the east of the gates. Inside was a set of stone stairs that led downward into a dimly-lit tunnel. The group descended them, and Brian released his Electivire. “Light the way for us, please.”

Electivire’s body gleamed brightly, forcing the trio to shut their eyes momentarily. When their vision returned, they found that the tunnel was well-lit, revealing the floors were covered in tiles of alternating red and blue colours, and the walls were made of a dark brown wood that Adrian didn’t quite recognise. The air was musty and humid, and Adrian could feel beads of sweat beginning to trickle down his back. “I’m not 100% sure of the accuracy of these claims, but I remember reading somewhere that this passage, along with the almost identical one going between Lavender Town and Celadon City, were dug by criminals years ago for the purpose of smuggling their loot around Kanto easily. Then when the criminals were eventually caught, the Pokemon League took over the passages, maintaining and rebuilding them into the condition they’re in now” Brian commented, recalling his Electivire as they made their way down the passage, their footsteps echoing off of the tiled floor with every step they took.

Adrian considered that as they moved down the passage. He had to admit, it made sense, especially considering the way the passages surrounded Saffron City, where the largest chunk of the League’s attention, as well as that of the police, would have been focused.

After approximately 15 minutes, they reached the flight of stairs at the other end of the corridor and climbed up them, emerging into the cool late afternoon air. Adrian shoved his damp hair out of his eyes, grimacing slightly as he savoured the cool air on his skin. “You’d think they’d install some air-conditioning down there, really” he complained.

“I’m not entirely sure that enough people use the Underground Path to actually justify the Pokemon League doing that, to be perfectly fair” Cassandra observed dryly.

Adrian had to admit she was right. “Well, at least we won’t have to travel through there in a hurry, anyway.”

“Except for when we head back to Cerulean to head for Lavender Town. But that shouldn’t be for a day or so” Brian mused.

Adrian groaned softly, shielding his eyes with his hand and looking down the road ahead of them. The road itself was short and winding, consisting mostly of large patches of grass jutting between stretches of road. He could make out the silhouettes of six different trainers, most of whom, as far as he could tell, were wearing the same green clothing as the ones they’d encountered on Nugget Bridge. “Should be some good opportunities for experience here, at least. And hopefully I can find a new Pokemon here too” he muttered.

As he stepped forward, his foot kicked against something hidden in the long grass. He stopped moving immediately and reached down, his hand closing around the object. Lifting it up, he opened his hand to reveal a small candy wrapped in blue paper. Brian looked over, nodding as he saw what Adrian had picked up. “Oh, nice. Someone must have dropped a Rare Candy. That increases a Pokémon’s power. You should save that for a real emergency.”

Adrian nodded, tucking it carefully into a corner pocket of his bag. They started walking down the path again, though it wasn’t long before they were stopped by the sound of another Trainer’s voice. “You! Battle me!”

Adrian turned, locking eyes with the first of the Trainers. The younger boy was wearing a green hat, and a matching shirt and shorts, almost identical to the ones that they’d battled north of Cerulean City. He sighed. “You could have asked more politely… But sure, I’ll battle you.”

The other Trainer smirked, throwing the Pokeball in his hand. “Come on out, Sandshrew!”

Adrian and his companions exchanged unimpressed looks as the mouse Pokemon burst from the ball, landing on the ground. I was really expecting something a bit more threatening than that… Adrian mused, reaching for a Pokeball of his own. “Let’s go, Bitterleaf.”

The blue weed Pokemon materialised in front of Adrian in a flash of light. “Alright, Bitterleaf! Let’s start with Absorb!”

A light green orb flew from the light brown mouse Pokemon, absorbing into the Oddish’s leaf. The Sandshrew stumbled a bit, but still remained standing. “Sandshrew, Poison Sting!

It won’t do much. Bitterleaf is part Poison already, she’s barely going to be damaged by that attack. “Bitterleaf, take the hit and then use Poison Powder!”

Sandshrew opened its mouth, firing multiple white darts of energy towards the Oddish. Bitterleaf barely flinched as the darts struck her, then began wafting her leaf, sending a glittering cloud of purple dust wafting over the battlefield towards the opponent. “Sandshrew! Curl in a ball, now! And don’t uncurl until the cloud dissipates!” the other trainer instructed.

Hmm. I have to give credit where it’s due, that’s a decent strategy. “Now, let’s hit it while it’s curled up, Bitterleaf!”

Another green orb, this one larger than before, sprung from the Sandshrew’s body, being absorbed into Bitterleaf’s leaves. She seemed to stand slightly taller, the little damage done by the earlier Poison Sting already healing itself. Adrian opened his mouth, already preparing to give another instruction, although he closed it again a few seconds later when the opponent’s Sandshrew staggered and collapsed. “That last attack… that wasn’t Absorb, was it?” Cassie murmured behind him.

“No. I believe that was Mega Drain. Bitterleaf must have been a higher level than expected for her to be able to learn it that quickly,” Brian confirmed.

As their opponent recalled his Sandshrew, Adrian crouched down next to Bitterleaf, scratching her leaves gently. “Congratulations, partner. You did amazing.”

“It’s not over yet! Go, Nidoran♂!” the other Trainer exclaimed, throwing a second Pokeball into the air and releasing a familiar-looking purple Pokemon.

A Nidoran! This is going to make things interesting. Bitterleaf only has two moves that are going to be effective at all, those being Sleep Powder and her new Mega Drain attack. The logical thing to do here would be to switch her out for a Pokemon with more attack options, but if she wants to stay in… Adrian got to his feet, looking down at Bitterleaf. “No pressure, partner. Think you can handle this one too?”

The Oddish looked unsure for a moment, sizing the rabbit Pokemon up thoughtfully, before steeling herself and nodding. “That’s the spirit, Bitterleaf. Alright! Let’s start things off with Sleep Powder!”

Bitterleaf waved her leaves again, the same glittering blue powder that she had earlier used on the Psyduck covering the opposing Nidoran. “Damn it, Nidoran! Snap out of it!”

“Let’s take advantage of the fact that it can’t attack, Bitterleaf! Mega Drain!”

“Nidoran♂, wake up! Use Double Kick!”

The purple rabbit Pokemon barely moved as an orb of energy flew from its body, absorbing into Bitterleaf’s body. Luckily, sleep takes a while to wear off. “Bitterleaf, a couple more times and it’s down! Mega Drain again!”

Shortly afterwards, the Nidoran crashed unmoving to the ground. Adrian let out a long sigh. “Well there we go then.”

The other Trainer recalled his Nidoran, then nodded. “We did the best we could…”

He paid Adrian, who tucked the money into his pocket and took Bitterleaf’s Pokeball out of his pocket, recalling the Grass/Poison Pokemon. “Good job, partner. I’m proud of you.”

They started walking again, but they hadn’t got far before another Trainer, a Picnicker this time, approached to challenge them. Brian responded first this time, stepping forward before Adrian could react. “Can’t let you have all the fun, Adrian. This battle’s mine.”

Adrian nodded, and both he and Vee stepped back to stand beside Cassie, who reached down and scratched the Shiny Eevee behind his ears. The opposing Trainer shrugged. Adrian got the impression that she didn’t really care which of the trio she battled, but he and Cassie had both seen enough of Brian’s Pokemon that they knew he was easily the strongest of the three of them.

“Alright, then! Let’s go, Nidoran♀!”

Brian smirked, the same almost-wolfish smile he had given right before Mega Evolving his Scizor against the Team Rocket members the day before. He pulled a Pokeball from his jacket (Adrian caught a glimpse of it as he did so, his eyes catching the small sticker of the leaf symbol on it) and held it out. “You’re up, Exeggutor.”

The towering palm tree Pokemon appeared in a flash. Adrian flicked open his Pokédex, scanning it thoughtfully. Grass/Psychic type. Makes sense. “I’m surprised Brian has the Kantonian variant of that Pokemon instead of the Alolan one, given all the travelling he’s done…” he mused.

“It’s possible he has both… He hasn’t told us about every single one of the Pokemon he’s caught. Kanto’s a pretty Poison-heavy region, maybe he just chose the one that would have more of a natural advantage compared to the other.” Cassie replied casually.

Adrian nodded. “Either way, it should be a quick battle.”

Brian flung out his hand. “Exeggutor, let’s finish this right away! Psyshock!”

Multiple blasts of purple energy flew from the Grass/Psychic type’s body, slamming into the opposing Nidoran with deadly precision. It fell to the ground as the attack ended, unmoving. It’s Trainer held out a Pokeball, recalling it. “Good job. Return!”

Did not expect it to get one-shot like that… But Brian’s spent so much time travelling and training that it makes sense his team would just be that strong. Adrian was broken from his thoughts as the Trainer opposite Brian tugged another Pokeball free. “Jigglypuff, let’s wow them with a stellar performance! Come on out!”

The small pink Pokemon burst free in a flash of light, landing on the ground easily. Adrian studied the battlefield thoughtfully. Brian’s probably going to switch out here. Jigglypuff is a Fairy-type Pokemon, Exeggutor won’t have an advantage against it. If I had to guess… “Exeggutor, proud of you, partner! Now, return!”

Brian’s Pokemon disappeared into its ball, and the older Trainer pulled another from his jacket pocket. Adrian caught sight of the familiar sticker on it, and he smiled to himself. Knew it. The only Pokemon in his team with a type advantage in this situation. “Stand by, partner!”

His Scizor burst from its Pokeball, landing in a combat-ready position, pincers already up. Brian’s hand raised towards the Key Stone in his earring, but halfway there he paused momentarily before lowering it again. “Not this time. Moderation in all things is important, after all” he mused, before nodding to Scizor. “Let’s start things off, shall we? Double Team.”

Scizor’s wings shimmered, and multiple illusory copies of itself appeared around the balloon Pokemon it was facing. “Jigglypuff, stay strong! Put it to sleep with a song!

“Now, Scizor! Bullet Punch!”

Scizor’s pincers glowed brilliantly and it darted forward, slamming into the pink balloon Pokemon just as it opened its mouth to start singing. It bounced a couple of times and then fell unconscious to the ground. Its Trainer sighed, holding out its Pokeball. “Well done. Return!”

Brian grinned, holding out Scizor’s Pokeball. “Better luck next time.”

She paid him and the companions resumed their walking. They could see their destination now, the blue sea just past Vermillion City sparkling in the late afternoon sun. Adrian caught his breath. “Wow…”

Brian chuckled. “Incredible, isn’t it?”

“It’s breathtaking. Truly breathtaking.”

“Vee! Eevee!”

Adrian stopped, glancing down at his partner. “Did you say something?”

Vee shook his head, looking just as confused as his Trainer. There was silence for a few seconds before the cry repeated. “Vee!”

As they drew closer to the source of the sound, its origin became clear. An older man in a black suit with a fedora was standing there. Standing by his feet was another Eevee, this time with brown and cream fur. As the older man saw Adrian and the others, he called to them. “Young man! How about a battle between our Eevees?”

Adrian glanced at Vee, who nodded determinedly. It was a novel opportunity, that much was for sure. Good experience for them both as well. “Alright, we’ll battle you! One on one?”

“Sounds good.”

The older gentleman’s Eevee jumped into place in front of his Trainer. Vee did the same, positioning himself in front of Adrian. This should be an interesting fight. It doesn’t exactly scream weak, but he’s not 100% in the same league of strength as Vee is thanks to all our practice. Still… “We’ll let you make the first move.”

The gentleman nodded respectfully. “My, such respect from such a young Trainer! It does my heart good… Eevee, use Quick Attack.”

“Let’s do the same, Vee!”

Both Pokemon darted forward, but Vee was quicker thanks to the several hours of training they’d had. He slammed into the other Trainer’s Eevee, knocking him aside. “Great job, Vee! Now, let’s follow that up with a Tackle!”

“Eevee, Double Kick when it gets close, please.”

The Eevee lashed out as Vee drew close, catching him off guard and sending him sprawling. He tumbled across the ground before hopping nimbly to his feet. Shaking himself, he narrowed his eyes slightly. He seemed fine, but Adrian knew his partner was definitely weakening. That gives me an idea. We don’t get any STAB from this, but the fact it’s super-effective against Normal types should count for something… “Eevee, Quick Attack!”

“Vee, let’s take some inspiration from their last move! Wait until it gets close and then Double Kick!”

The Eevee was caught off guard. Both super-effective hits of the Double Kick attack slammed into it, sending it tumbling. It staggered to its feet, but Adrian knew it would go down in one more hit. “Alright, Vee, let’s finish this! Quick Attack, again!”

The silver fox burst forward, slamming into his brown-furred cousin. The Eevee rolled and lay still. Its Trainer frowned slightly, recalling it. “Well, that’s frustrating…”

He stood, nodding to Adrian. “Well done, young man. You are the superior Eevee trainer.”

Adrian shrugged, scratching Vee’s head gently. “We worked hard to get where we are today,” he pointed out.

After the trainer had paid Adrian his reward money, the companions kept walking, slowly getting closer to their destination. As they walked, a flash of golden-brown fur in the nearby grass caught Adrian’s eye. His breath caught as he fixed his attention on the movement, and when he registered the kite-shaped face and the long, tapering tail, he reached into his bag, pulling free a Great Ball. Have to be very careful here. One wrong move or unlucky step, and… As he was about to throw the ball, his foot went down on a twig slightly harder than intended. A loud ‘Snap’ filled the air, and the wild Abra’s eyes flickered open. Well, shit. With a cry, it vanished, reappearing up the road in the direction they had just been coming from. Adrian scowled. “Stupid twigs…”

He approached carefully this time, watching for more twigs underfoot, and tugged a Pokeball from his belt. “Bitterleaf!”

The Oddish burst free in a flash. “Oddish! Odd!”

“Let’s help that Abra get back to sleep, shall we? Sleep Powder!”

A fine, sparkling powder spread from the leaves on the Oddish’s head, wafting quickly towards the yellow fox Pokemon. Its eyes drifted closed, and Adrian pumped his fist in silent triumph. And now that it can’t escape… Go, Great Ball!

He threw the ball in his hand. It connected with the Abra with a loud thud, absorbing the Psychic Pokemon into it with a beam of energy. The ball to the ground, wiggling a couple of times before settling again. Adrian recalled Bitterleaf before walking over and picking up the Great Ball. He stared down at it thoughtfully, turning the ball over and over in his hand. “Quite the little escape artist, aren’t you, Abra?” he mused.

He chuckled softly before tucking the ball into his jacket pocket. “Let’s call you… Houdini.”

Chapter Text

Adrian and Vee made their way back to the others, Adrian’s newest capture tucked securely in his pocket, and they started making their way southwards again, walking for about ten minutes before they were approached by a muscular man in a sailor outfit. In his hand, he held a familiar red and white Pokeball. “I’ve never seen you around here before,” he observed.

“Are you any good?”

Adrian chuckled and pulled a Pokeball from his belt. He’s probably going to go for a Water-type. This is the perfect matchup for Bitterleaf. Or Kai, for that matter. “Let’s find out, shall we?”

The sailor nodded. “Let’s. Go, Tentacool!”

Adrian felt almost disappointed when the blue and red jellyfish Pokemon appeared. Aw, man! If only he’d caught it in a Great Ball, that would have been so aesthetically pleasing… “Bitterleaf, let’s go!”

The Oddish burst from her Pokeball. “Bitterleaf, let’s start things off with Sleep Powder!”

“Tentacool, Supersonic to confuse it!”

The red gem on the front of Tentacool’s head glowed brilliantly, sending rings of dark red light toward the Oddish. They struck her dead centre, causing her to freeze in place. Adrian thought quickly. This was not part of the plan… If I keep her out she’s vulnerable. But I want her to gain the experience she needs to evolve… I have to play this smartly. Returning her to her Pokeball should snap her out of it, and Kai could use the chance to battle too… He pulled Bitterleaf’s Pokeball from his belt. “Come back, partner!”

She vanished into the ball in a beam of light, and the sailor looked smug. “Running away already, Trainer? We’ve only just begun!”

Adrian smirked. “I don’t give up so easily!”

He threw another Pokeball. “Kai, you’re up! Let’s make this a shocking battle!”

“A Pikachu, huh? Well, we’ll deal with it just as easily! Tentacool, let’s use Supersonic again!”

As the gem on Tentacool’s head started glowing again, Adrian nodded. “Kai, let’s dodge it with Quick Attack! Then Thunder Shock from close range!”

“Pika!” The small electric Pokemon zipped from side to side while darting towards the opposing Pokemon, dodging the rings effortlessly. As he drew closer, his cheeks started sparking, and he leapt into the air right in front of the Tentacool, firing a powerful single bolt of electricity.

“Pikaaaaaaa-chuuuuuu!”

Now that’s shocking! The Tentacool looked stunned by the attack, and the sailor clenched his fist. “You haven’t won yet! Tentacool, grab the Pikachu in your tentacles with Constrict!”

“Kai, get under it and then Thunder Shock straight upwards!”

The Pikachu did as commanded, his cheeks flashing as he darted under the floating jellyfish Pokemon. Another vicious bolt of electricity followed, and the Tentacool swayed in midair, small fragments of electricity still zapping around its body. Gotcha! Now that it’s paralyzed… “Kai, return!”

He held out Kai’s Pokeball. The Pikachu vanished instantly, and Adrian returned the ball to his belt, pulling Bitterleaf’s ball free again. “You’re up once again, Bitterleaf!”

The small Oddish appeared once again, and Adrian knelt down next to her. “It’s looking weak, partner. Shouldn’t take much more to damage it. Maybe one more Mega Drain. Do you think you can handle it?”

Bitterleaf looked reluctant for a couple of seconds as she examined the Tentacool, then nodded. “Oddish! Odd!”

Adrian nodded, pleased. “That’s the spirit, partner. Alright, let’s finish this.”

He stood and took his place behind Bitterleaf again. “Alright, Bitterleaf, let’s show them what we can do! Mega Drain!”

The Oddish wafted her leaves, and a green orb of energy flew from the Tentacool towards her, absorbing itself into her body. The blue and red Pokemon hovered in place for a moment, and then the red lights on its body dimmed and it crashed unconscious to the ground. Adrian blinked in surprise. I know I said it would only take one more Mega Drain, but I didn’t exactly expect it to be that weak… “Well done, Bitterleaf. Great work. Now…”

He reached for the Pokeball to recall her, though paused when she began to glow with a familiar white light, causing him to laugh softly. “I was wondering when you were going to evolve!”

As the light faded, the changes Bitterleaf had gone through became clear. She was now a Gloom. She was slightly larger and more oval-shaped, though still blue in colour. The green leaves on her head had thickened, darkening and drooping into a structure that resembled a flower, and petal-like growths had formed, now resembling wilting or drooping foliage with a reddish hue. She blinked lazily, her red eyes now taking on a perpetually-dazed look. Adrian smiled. “Congratulations, Bitterleaf! You look amazing!”

He held out her Pokeball, recalling her. He then straightened up, staring down the road further. There were only two more Trainers between them and the gates to Vermillion City, and both green-clad Trainers were staring at each other. Adrian wasn’t sure whether they were about to start battling each other or if they were waiting for other Trainers to approach them. Part of him didn’t really want to find out, but the more logical side of him knew they would have to go past both Trainers to get to the city. “Looks like they might both be wanting to challenge us” Brian observed quietly.

Adrian nodded. “Either we force a battle with two of them against one of us, try to separate them by talking to them from behind so we can take them on one at a time, or two of us step into their view at the same time… I don’t like the look of it but we have no choice. They’re blocking the city entrance.”

“I’ll take on one of them. I’m the only one of us three who hasn’t battled on this Route yet, it’s only fair that I get to” Cassie said.

Adrian nodded. “I guess I’ll take the other one, Brian. If you don’t mind, anyway.”

The older man nodded. “Go ahead.”

Cassie and Adrian looked at each other, nodding. They stepped forward, their movements carrying them into the view of both Trainers, who both held out Pokeballs. The Camper nearest Adrian threw out a ball revealing a green and yellow plant Pokemon, and the Picnicker opposite Cassie released a small orange lizard. Adrian recognised it immediately from his time with Professor Oak. After all, how many times had he seen the Professor giving the same Pokemon to other Trainers staring out on their journeys? A Charmander and a Bellsprout. This makes things interesting. Cassie and Adrian tugged Pokeballs free. “Let’s go, Slowbro!”

“Aeris, time to fly!”

Both Pokemon burst free from their Pokeballs at the same time. Aeris hovered in front of Adrian, giving the Bellsprout a long, fierce look. Cassie’s Slowbro thudded onto the ground in front of her, the ground shifting under its weight. Adrian flicked out his Pokédex, quickly scanning each of the Pokemon that he hadn’t seen yet, making a particular point to focus on the Slowbro. “Hmm… Interesting.”

Cassie nodded to him. “Slowbro and I should be able to take the Charmander out pretty quickly. Can you keep that Bellsprout occupied?”

“We’ll do our best.”

She smiled slightly. “That’s all I ask, partner.”

She turned back to her Pokemon. “Slowbro, we should be able to take it out pretty quickly, so let’s have some fun with it! Water Pulse!”

“Aeris, let’s start by lowering Bellsprout’s accuracy so it can’t hit Slowbro, shall we? Sand Attack!”

Aeris flapped her wings madly, creating a small cloud of dust that obscured the Bellsprout’s vision slightly. “Bellsprout, Vine Whip!”

“Charmander, close in and use Scratch!”

Smart. Fire-type attacks would do almost nothing to a Water/Psychic type like Slowbro. The Bellsprout lashed at the Slowbro with its vine-like arms, only succeeding in hitting the Shellder on the pink Pokémon’s tail. Slowbro’s eyes began glowing a soft blue, and a ball of water started to form in midair in front of it. As the Picnicker’s Charmander dove forward, claws raised to attack, Cassie clenched her fist. “Now, Slowbro!”

The Charmander was caught completely off guard as the full force of the Water Pulse slammed into it. It fell to the ground and rolled for a few seconds until it stopped and lay there, unmoving. “Aeris, focus all your attention on taking down that Bellsprout! Hit it with Wing Attack!”

Aeris nodded. “Pidgeotto!”

Her wings gleamed white as she swooped towards the Grass-type Pokemon. “Bellsprout, Vine Whip at point-blank range!” the Camper yelled.

“Not so fast! I’ve got your back, Adrian! Slowbro, use Disable on Bellsprout!”

Bellsprout froze mid-attack, the vines just starting to emerge from its body, a light blue glow appearing around it. Its trainer looked very worried.

“Bellsprout! Fight it!”

“Not much you can do, really! Now’s your chance, Adrian!”

“Right you are, Cassie! Now, Aeris! Let’s finish this!”

Aeris slammed her wings into the frozen Bellsprout. At the exact same time, Cassie’s Slowbro broke the Disable. The Bellsprout slid several feet back, though was still standing. However, Adrian could see from the way it was breathing that it would soon faint.

“Vine Whip again!”

“Sprout! Bellsprout!”

“Aeris! Fly up and get away from those vines!”

Aeris obeyed her Trainer eagerly, flapping her wings fiercely and flying upwards. The vines lashed at the air under her talons uselessly.“Aeris, let’s put an end to this battle! Dive and hit it with one last Wing Attack!” Adrian ordered.

Aeris’s wings glowed again and she dove straight downwards, slamming full force into the opposing plant Pokemon before swooping upwards to hover in front of Adrian once more. The Bellsprout took two shaking steps forward before collapsing face-first, completely unconscious. Adrian felt himself let out a long breath. He held out his shoulder and Aeris landed on it, her talons curling around his arm securely but not digging into the skin. He reached up with his other hand, scratching her head feathers. She leaned into the affectionate gesture of her Trainer, making an appreciative cooing noise. Cassie held out her Slowbro’s Pokeball, recalling it, as the other two Trainers did the same with their own fainted Pokemon. “Well done, partner. I’m so proud of you,” Adrian complimented Aeris, before also recalling her.

He looked over at the other Trainers, who had approached while he was distracted and were handing Cassie something. As she tucked whatever she’d been given into her pocket, Brian approached them, giving them both a high five. “Very impressive, both of you.”

Adrian grinned at Cassie. “We make a good team.”

“We do indeed,” Cassie said, nodding in agreement.

The trio moved past the two defeated Trainers, finally entering the port city of Vermiilion as the sun began to set. The first thing that struck Adrian was the glittering expanse of water stretching out to the horizon, where ships both small and grand drifted lazily into the bustling harbor. There was a constant, low hum in the air. Partially the sound of waves against the docks, partially the engines of the trucks and boats, partially just the sounds of people and Pokemon.

As they moved towards the Pokemon Centre, Adrian couldn’t help but notice the city itself felt more alive, more industrial and vibrant than other towns in Kanto, or at least the ones he’d visited so far. Large cranes loomed over the horizon near the docks, unloading cargo while Machoke and workers scurried along the piers. Boats bobbed lazily at anchor, and the S.S. Anne gleamed like a floating palace, drawing the eye with its pristine white hull and towering chimneys. Brian’s hand unconsciously drifted to the tickets in his pocket, and Cassie chuckled. “Soon. We need to heal our Pokemon first. That’s the crucial thing here.”

Shops spilled out into the streets, despite the late hour, with seafood vendors calling out their daily catches and trainers haggling over Poké Balls and fishing gear. Orange and silver seemed to be the dominant colors, sunset hues that, in Adrian’s opinion, matched the name "Vermillion" perfectly.
Despite its busy and industrial nature, there was a warmth in the city. Laughing children played near the water’s edge under the watchful gaze of both their parents and sailors, and a few stray Magnemite floated quietly through the city, drawn to the electric pulses from the nearby Gym. Adrian found himself marvelling at the life and energy of the city. “Wow. It’s… beautiful.”

Brian smiled at the sheer wonder in his companion’s voice. “It’s a gorgeous city indeed. One of my personal favourites in Kanto, honestly.”

They reached the Pokemon Centre after walking for about ten minutes, and stepped inside, sighing in relief as the cool air from the air conditioning system hit them. Heading straight up to the counter, they handed over their Pokeballs to a smiling Nurse Joy. Brian and Cassie sank down into the cushions of one of the booths, while Adrian made his way to the phones, keying in his home number. There was a small pause before the smiling faces of two young girls lit up the screen. “Hey, Adrian!” they giggled in unison.

Adrian smiled softly. As much as the creepy twin act his sisters did sometimes creeped him out, he couldn’t imagine his life without them. “Hey, Becca. Hey, Marie. How was the party yesterday?”

“Ellie got a Skitty from her parents for her birthday!” Becca exclaimed.

Adrian’s mind raced. Skitty. That’s a Hoenn-native Pokemon. Kitten-like in both appearance and behaviour, covered in alternating patches of pink and cream fur, with three small balls of cream fur at the end of its long pink tail. Not often seen in Kanto, but their easygoing and cheerful nature makes them a good first Pokemon or a family pet. He smiled. “I bet she was really excited about that, wasn’t she?”

“She was! She named the Skitty Bubbles and we played with her alllll afternoon!” Marie giggled.

Adrian found himself laughing as well. “Bubbles, huh? That’s a good name for a Skitty. I’m glad you girls had a good time. Is Mom around?”

“Right here, sweetie. Just finishing the dishes,” came a voice from just outside of the phone screen.

“Girls, why don’t you go play for a bit while I talk to your brother?”

The girls giggled in unison. “Okay, Mommy!”

They turned and ran to the stairs. There was a pause and Adrian’s mother came into frame, wiping her hands on a towel. She smiled softly when she saw Adrian. “Hey, sweetheart.”

“Hey, Mom.”

“How’s your journey going?” Adrian’s mom asked, her voice warm and caring.

Adrian dug in his bag, pulling out his badge case so his Mom could see the two badges nestled inside it. “It’s going really well, Mom. We just reached Vermillion City. I’m planning to take on the city’s Gym tomorrow.”

“That’s great, sweetheart!”

His mother paused, looking thoughtful, before speaking again. “Do you have Pokemon that can resist electricity? I know the Gym Leader there is absolutely brutal…”

“I have Spring and Bitterleaf, my Ivysaur and Gloom… Maybe I should catch a Ground-type as well?”

“Probably smart. Samuel told me that you caught both male and female Nidorans, maybe you could evolve one of those? Nidoking and Nidoqueen are both partially Ground-types, after all.”

Right. I forgot that both Mom and Dad were on first-name terms with Professor Oak. “I only have one Moon Stone though… Maybe I’ll evolve one of them, then catch a Diglett and evolve that into a Dugtrio before the Gym battle.”

His Mom beamed with pride. “That’s my clever boy! You’re doing great so far, Adrian. Your Dad and I are so damn proud of how far you’ve come as a Trainer, even in just the last couple of days.”

Adrian felt himself tear up. Well, fuck. I didn’t know I needed to hear that, but it actually feels really good to have that reassurance. He swiped furiously at his eyes. “Thanks, Mom. That means a lot to me.”

His Mom gave him a soft smile. Adrian could feel the warmth and love in her voice through the phone, and it made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. “You’re welcome, sweetheart.”

She glanced at the clock briefly, then turned her attention back to the phone screen. “I have to go check on your sisters now, but I’ll talk to you later, okay, sweetheart?”

Adrian nodded. “Alright, Mom. Say hi to Dad for me.”

“Only if you say hi to Vee and the others for me.”

Adrian laughed. “Will do, Mom. Take care.”

There was a soft click and the screen went blank. Adrian smiled softly before picking up the receiver again, dialling Professor Oak’s number.