Joey and Jessie stepped down onto the port of Fuschia and curiously looked around, it being their first time visiting the city.
"It's very…" Jessie started hesitantly.
"Old school," Joey finished her sentence, looking at the rather antique-style Japanese houses making up the port district of the city.
"I was going for quaint," Jessie said instead before shaking her head. "I'll go to the Pokecenter and get us a room. You said you had to go to the gym first, right?" she asked.
"Yeah, have something to discuss with Koga, also have to schedule the battle," Joey muttered.
"I'll be off then. Catch me at the center. I'm done with this trip for the moment. I need a shower and a bed."
Joey nodded. The ride had been rather choppy and long. They'd left in the morning and arrived in the evening. Their clothes were crusty from the salt, and he'd love a shower himself, but some things took precedent.
"See you in a bit," he told the girl, who promptly ran off, following the signage leading her to the center.
Joey, for his part, adjusted his salty cap on his head, put his hands in his pockets and started making his way towards the gym.
Fuschia wasn't necessarily any older than the other cities in Kanto. But it was the city which had rejected the aesthetics of capitalism the most. Celadon still held onto traditions as well, but all old buildings had already been demolished.
Perhaps that was because capital did not in fact seek to enter Fuschia too much in the first place. After all, it was the most remote city in Kanto, surrounded by the wildest Pokemon. This made it relatively unsuited for development when one compared it to the central quartet of the region, Saffron, Celadon, Vermillion and Cerulean.
To the south of Fuschia was a very large stretch of sea before one reached Cinnabar. Full of rather powerful and territorial Pokemon. Until recently, the only path connecting it to the mainland was the north-eastern strait, which brought one to either Vermillion or Lavender, but only after a gruelling slug through forests, coastlines and roaming Snorlax.
Thus, Fuschia was the least developed city in Kanto. Pewter had its mineral exports, Cerulean had its tourism industry, and the calm sea to its north. Saffron and Celadon were respectfully the industry and commerce centres of the region, whereas Vermillion was a shipping magnate. Cinnabar was for tropical tourism, and Viridian leeched money from the League due to being the city closest to Indigo Plateau.
Fuschia had a choppy sea unsuited for large-scale shipping operations, poison-types and a history of isolationism caused by their historical distance to other parts of the region.
The bike path would eventually change things, but it wasn't that time yet, and while the Safari Zone was certainly a type of attraction, it didn't necessarily create a lot of jobs to grow the economy.
The gym, a rather traditional wooden affair, soon came into view through the winding streets of the old town with its displays of kabuki masks and whimsical paintings of mermaids.
It was in the most south-western part of the city, not far away from the Pokecenter, but far enough to necessitate taking another route. In fact, it was the last building before the city turned into forest. Probably intentional so as to have a large habitat immediately available for the gym Pokemon.
Blessedly, there was no queue in front of the gym, which meant that Joey could simply enter and go talk to the rather bored-looking blue-haired receptionist.
"I called ahead. I need to talk to Koga," Joey bluntly told the woman who looked like she would have been on her smartphone if those had existed yet.
"Jojo?" the woman asked with droopy eyes?
Joey quirked an eyebrow. "I guess you could say that," he replied.
"There's a battle right now, but the gym leader is free after. Just go to the stands or wait here," she told him.
Joey shrugged and was about to go to the stands when the door leading to the challenger side of the arena suddenly burst open, revealing a rather angry-looking Michael, one of the youngsters that had started in the same year as Joey back in Saffron.
"That bastard, how dare he poison my precious," the boy cursed under his breath before noticing Joey's presence. He stopped in his tracks and blinked in surprise. Then he coughed into his hand and struck a nonchalant pose, one arm on his hip, the other fanning his face. The movement caused his very puffy white shirt to almost slip down his shoulders and give the lobby an impromptu striptease.
"Jonathan, I see you finally brought your slow ass down here as well," the boy said haughtily, looking Joey up and down. He crinkled his nose at what he saw. "Why are you covered in salt?" he asked.
"There was an explosion at the salt factory."
"Ah, I see you finally gave up on that foolish dream of becoming a trainer then," Michael said in a patronising voice. "I understand, it's really not for everyone." He threw his head to the side, his gelled back brown hair barely moving from the gesture. "I'd battle you out of pity, to make you feel included, but all my Pokemon are unfortunately a bit tired from showing Koga what a real trainer looks like," he said while demonstratively looking at his nails.
"How did you get here so fast anyway?" Joey asked. "You were going to Pewter last time I saw you, and I didn't see you in Cinnabar."
"I'm saving Cinnabar for last. Blaine deserves to give his real team one last workout before he dies of old age," Michael said dismissively before laughing. "Anyway. I defeated that kid; the old Pewter gym leader left in charge after he went on his soul-seeking journey or something. I caught a Scyther in Viridian. Our battle levelled half the forest. Taught him Steel Wing, and that was that. Cerulean was a bit tougher. Scyther turned those fish into sashimi. Fourth badge done, I came here through the bike path, it was full of construction workers, and I crashed into a few; no clue what they were doing there. Also, the thing was full of holes and pipes, bad structure." He frowned.
"Waste of time though, Koga is an honourless thief, he poisoned my precious and then stalled it all out. Pidgeotto and Fearow also went down. Anyway, I have to go catch a Dragonair in the safari zone, they have Shed Skin, right?" he asked rhetorically before promptly running out of the gym.
"Well, I hope he goes to the Pokecenter first if all his Pokemon are poisoned," Joey muttered to himself before shrugging and entering through the spectator door, which led to relatively empty stands which were slowly emptying themselves of any audience members.
Apparently, Michael really had been the last challenger of the day.
Joey looked down at the arena where he saw Koga, dressed in his usual dark ninja garb, talking to a mini-version of himself holding two referee flags.
The conversation didn't last long, and Koga seemed to somehow feel Joey's presence because the first thing that he looked towards after finishing the conversation with his daughter was Joey.
The trainer raised an eyebrow at the gym leader, who raised one right back. The girl left.
Joey looked around, saw that the gym was now empty. Then he sank into his own shadow and reappeared in Koga's with a knife hand extended to stab into the man's liver.
"Constant vigilance," he joked, before he felt cold steel touch his torso.
He looked down to see that Koga had extended a blade backwards, probably the moment that Joey had disappeared into his shadow.
The ghost-typed trainer chuckled and took a step back.
"Constant vigilance," the gym leader replied as he turned around and put away the kunai in his hand. "You're finally here. I was expecting you sooner."
"Got held up in Cinnabar when I took a temporary position as a gym trainer," Joey replied. "Helped Blaine with his ridiculous influx of challengers."
"Was it fruitful?" Koga asked.
Joey smirked. Quite frankly, he was quite confident for the Fuschia gym. After all, he'd trained a month longer than initially intended by staying in Cinnabar for so long.
"I guess you'll just have to wait and see."
Koga looked at him with a blank look. "I assume your Metapod's check-up will have to wait until after the battle, then. Wouldn't want to reveal any secrets ahead of time."
"Exactly," Joey said.
"Tomorrow, in the evening. It will be a private battle," Koga said. "Prepare to be tested. Only my daughter will be present as the referee."
"How come?" Joey asked with a quirked eyebrow. It was always up to the challenger to demand a private battle. The reason most who weren't seriously preparing for something didn't was because gyms allowed spectators during certain hours, which meant one might have to wait longer depending on the gym leader's schedule if one wanted to remain unobserved.
"I get the feeling we will both benefit from some privacy," Koga replied with a steely look in his eyes. "Additionally, depending on how well you do, I am considering making you an offer. One best not overheard."
Joey raised an eyebrow as his thoughts raced. Koga was being mysterious on purpose, so there was no point digging.
"Light sparring in the morning and a visit to the safari zone in the afternoon for me, then. Curious what you have cooked up," he muttered.
"You have six badges now. Most trainers fail to breach the barrier between third and fourth," Koga replied. "The higher the badge count, the less standardised the testing and the more discretion is given to gym leaders. Try to think about what it means to be one of the stronger trainers in the society we inhabit."
"I'll think on it," Joey said with a shake of his head before melding slowly into his own shadow. "Until tomorrow then, old man," he said tauntingly.
Unfortunately, Koga seemed immune to any and all kinds of attempted psychological warfare and simply vanished into thin air like a mirage while Joey disappeared into his shadow.
The sun set over the gym, leaving it dark and abandoned.
-/-
"Missssss," Misdreavus wailed pitifully after being caught in Rattata's Crunch, shaken around and thrown to the ground.
"That's certainly a weakness we'll have to address," Joey muttered to himself as he watched his Pokemon lightly train in the training ground behind the Pokecenter.
"Misss, miss, mis," the ghost complained as she got back up, floated into the air and shook herself to dust herself off.
"Rattttttttttttttttttttt!" Rattata cheered, jumping on his hind legs and waving his paws in the air.
"Tides have turned, huh?" Joey commented to his two Pokemon. The normal type proceeded to kiss his biceps before returning to his training.
Misdreavus, meanwhile, sulked in place before floating over to Joey and cuddling herself into his torso.
Joey raised his hand to gently rub the Pokemon's head.
"Hey, as I told Rattata," he muttered. "It doesn't matter if you're not the strongest in the team anymore. We all rely on you."
"Mis…"
"Don't worry," Joey continued. "We'll find a counter for his new strategy. Then he'll find a counter for your counter and so on. The important part is that we improve and manage to beat those not on our team in the future when they think they've found a solution."
"Mis, mis?"
"We'll start working on the new move tomorrow, the moment we beat Koga and rest a bit. The technical machine is right there in my backpack, just waiting to be used."
The ghost finally nodded, seemingly satisfied before floating off to continue training with Metapod for the bug's Sleep Talk.
Joey quietly observed his team. Diglett was struggling through his moves while wearing the Toxic Orb he'd inherited from Rattata.
Rattata was practising their strategy against Koga with Slugma, the fire-slug Pokemon still adapting to the somewhat different training sessions that she was having with Joey in comparison to Blaine.
With Blaine, Slugma's move training had been easier, always having someone to consult when she had a question. On the other hand, her potential sparring partners were less varied in their typings.
It was a trade-off, in essence. Still, in Joey's opinion Slugma had gotten the best of both worlds, having worked on her fundamentals with a fire-type master and now having the opportunity to spar against a variety of opponents also in training rather than just during battles.
"Kinda useful to have a type-expert help you with the fundamentals of their type," Joey muttered as he quietly re-ranked his team in terms of strength.
Rattata beat Misdreavus, Misdreavus beat Diglett, Diglett beat Slugma, and Slugma beat Metapod. Metapod, for her part, was quite capable of getting the drop on Rattata because the normal-type didn't have many ranged moves.
"High 7th badge tier," Joey decided when averaging the strength of his team. It would have honestly been an 8th badge tier in his opinion if his Pokemon didn't lack some very important versatility.
Neither Metapod nor Rattata did well against ranged attackers. Misdreavus lost against anyone on her level that was unaffected by Hypnosis. Diglett and Slugma were actually the most well-rounded members of the team, the ground-type having a bad time against water-types, which was normal, while Slugma struggled against ground and water, which was also normal.
"King's going to be a pain in the ass," Joey complained quietly. "Again."
He still didn't have a very good solution for a team of water-types, and while Slugma was a valuable new acquisition, she certainly wouldn't serve as any sort of secret weapon in that scenario.
Joey's only chance was going to be to master a bunch of very niche moves while also just strength-checking King's team by training way above the intended level.
Thankfully, the season still had seven months left. In other words, enough time to get his team absolutely jacked and just stat-check King and his loser fish.
"Why low-intensity training today?" Jessie asked as she walked out into the training ground holding a newspaper and sipping a cup of coffee.
Joey glanced at his team's training. None of them were doing anything too strenuous, even if they would technically have enough time to recover by the time they were to face Koga in the evening.
"This is Koga's turf, and I don't know how seriously he's taking this," Joey answered. "His stealth is way above my pay grade, so he could technically spy on the whole session without my knowledge. Better not reveal our true limits."
"He's like, seriously a ninja?" Jessie asked.
"Yes, he's like, seriously a ninja," Joey replied.
"Weird," the magenta-haired girl replied before handing her newspaper to Joey.
The morning one hadn't yet been delivered when Joey had gone out to train, and she knew he liked to read them.
Joey read while Jessie sipped her coffee.
"More Team Rocket arrests in Cerulean," the trainer muttered as he skimmed through the uninteresting parts and read the valuable ones.
"Seems like a bad deal," Jessie said.
"What's a bad deal?"
"Being a Team Rocket member. Being hunted down by gym leaders and rangers."
Joey snorted. "Yeah, it does seem to be a relatively bad deal."
He closed the newspaper and started recalling his team one by one.
"Ready for the safari zone?" he asked his friend.
Jessie stabbed herself in the chest with her thumb. "I checked all the Pokemon available and already made my choice!" she exclaimed.
"And what would that be?" Joey asked curiously.
"I'm going to get a Dratini!"
Joey snorted. "Of course you will," he muttered as he shook his head.
He was still hoping for that Chansey, but considering his luck with the species, that would probably be the one Pokemon he'd never catch.
He'd simply have to go for the Clefairy instead. Mt. Moon had some, right?
-/-
The safari zone was a special place in Kanto that housed several rare and protected species.
For example, it was one of the few places in the region where one had a serious chance of meeting a Pinsir, Scyther, Chansey or a Dratini.
It was because of the rarity of some of the inhabitants that the safari zone enforced a very strict non-battling rule.
Technically, through beating a rare Pokemon unconscious, it was possible to capture it and then convince it later to join one's team.
By removing that aspect and forcing trainers to hand in their teams at the entrance, the Pokemon in the safari zone became free to live in peace and leave only with those trainers whom they really liked.
Sure, you received bait and could try to develop a relationship with a Pokemon by simply bribing it with food, but in the end, Pokemon were relatively smart creatures that knew to separate bribery and personality.
Bait simply increased the likelihood of meeting a Pokemon, after which a genuine bond could form.
"We only get 30 baits with that entrance fee?" Jessie asked the manager of the safari zone. "That's highway robbery!" she exclaimed.
The older man simply shrugged with a light-hearted grin on his face and waved them forward.
"Impossible," Jessie harrumpfed after the two of them entered the zone, 30 baits and six safari Pokeballs in hand.
"It wouldn't really make sense to offer unlimited Pokeblocks and Pokeballs", Joey tried to explain. "Then the people who really wanted a specific Pokemon would never leave after entering."
"Well, I say that's rubbish. Not all of us are rich, you know!" Jessie argued
Joey simply rolled his eyes as he looked at the rather tropical surroundings they'd suddenly entered into.
The safari zone had a weirdly different climate than Fuschia, despite them being literally next to each other.
The tall, lush green trees and the little ponds are scattered everywhere.
It almost looked like Hoenn to him. At least from what he'd seen in the pictures.
"Anyway, shoo," Jessie said, waving Joey off. "I need to find a princess, an entertainer, a gentle soul. Your brutish trainer energy will scare off any truly elegant Pokemon."
"Whatever you say, Jessie." Joey rolled his eyes. "Try not to let the upcoming contest stress you out too much. You'll do fine," he said and left with a wave of his hand.
Out of the corner of his eye watched the pink-haired girl stumble into the bushes and wondered if she even knew that Dratini lived near bodies of water.
He wandered off towards a particularly large tree crown he could see even from a distance.
"Get the high ground, Jojo," he told himself as he trekked the distance, throwing the occasional Pokeblock to any Pokemon curious enough to come near him.
Nothing special so far, he noted as he arrived at the base of the large tree, around 100 meters tall. He squinted his eyes and identified a variety of bug-types hanging about on the tree. Pineco, Caterpie, even a Wurmple if his eyes didn't deceive him.
"No Weedle," he said to himself, assuring himself that what he was about to do wasn't going to set off a Beedrill swarm on his ass. Then he jumped and gripped the first branch he could reach with his arm and pulled himself up.
Up and up he went, finding little cracks in the bark with his feet and hands to traverse the green giant.
On one rather memorable occasion, he even had to bribe a group of Metapod to create a rope out of string for him so he could finish ascending completely.
After a quarter of an hour or so, he finally found his way to the top inside the ridiculously leafy crown, a Wurmple having decided to hitch a ride on his shoulder halfway up the trunk.
"Wurmple!" It cheered him off as he pulled himself up one final time to sit on the highest branch, only his torso and head peeking out from the foliage.
"Now that's a view," Joey said to the little red bug on his shoulder as he fed it a Pokeblock.
Fuschia and the safari zone were a relatively flat area lacking any significantly high hills, which meant that by scaling a 100-meter tree, Joey could see from coastline to coastline from the north to the south.
The bike path was visible somewhere in the distant west, and he was somewhat sure he could see the tiniest part of the Poketower in Lavender up east.
Vermillion was a tiny speck across the sea north, and he thought he could see the St. Anne docked in front of it.
"Wurrrrrr," the bug Pokemon purred as it devoured its bait.
"Pinsir," a voice suddenly mumbled from the other side of the tree-crown, which was as big as any basketball court.
Joey first saw a pair of spiked horns before the rest of the large brown bug Pokemon hefted itself up to sit atop the tree.
"Hey, here to enjoy the view?" Joey asked the bug that was eyeing him warily.
"Pin," the Pokemon nodded, before pulling up an arm to reveal that it had scaled the tree while carrying dozens of berries. It started munching on a yellow Sitrus berry while keeping a wary eye on Joey.
"Don't mind me, doing the same thing you are," Joey replied before looking away from the Pinsir and down at the safari. He could make out individual Pokemon movements from up here. That pink blob over there was a Lickitung, while the big brown one was a Kangaskhan.
The waters were relatively still, only occasionally revealing a fin or a small white and blue tail.
He thought he could see Michael's puffy white shirt somewhere, trying to argue with a large Exeggcute.
"You know, this is the first time in more than a year that I had some time away from my team. Real solitude," Joey idly told the Wurmple on his shoulder.
"UwU?" it asked.
"Nah, I don't really miss it." Joey answered. "Time spent with one's chosen family is never wasted."
"WuWuW!"
"You have your family here, too?" Joey asked to verify, receiving a happy nod in return.
"That's nice. It's a good place," he replied. "Peaceful." He tilted his head thoughtfully.
"You know, now that I think about it. I just got a new team member recently. I have six badges, which technically qualifies me to catch a sixth, but I don't think there's really a point in rushing it." He looked at the sun as it hid behind some clouds, allowing a direct gaze.
"Uuuu?"
"I'm on a journey, conquer the gyms, then the conference, then the world," Joey answered. "I promised my Rattata I'd make him the strongest, my Diglett that I'd help him grow and become brave, my Slugma that she'd see the world, that she'd avenge her father's evil deeds. Misdreavus, I promised adventure and family. Metapod, that I'd help make her whole and never again afraid."
"Pin?" the Pinsir interrupted.
"I think I'm doing an alright job, I guess," Joey replied as he leaned back on some branches, throwing his hands behind his head. He lolled his head back and looked at the blue sky.
"I won't take any photos," he suddenly decided. "I don't think this memory will ever fade."
He saw the Pinsir nod resolutely as it ate its last berry.
It raised a clawed hand in goodbye before disappearing beneath the leaves.
Joey suddenly stood up, carefully balanced his way to the edge of the crown.
"Hey, Wurmple," he suddenly said as he looked down at the dizzying heights. "Have you ever flown?" he asked.
The Wurmple shooks its head on his shoulder.
"Do you wanna try?" he asked.
"Wurmple!" The bug cheered excitedly.
Joey channelled ghost-type energy through his body, turning nearly ephemeral.
Then he jumped.
He soared through the sky, a small bug screaming into his ear with sudden tears in its eyes. "Wuuuurrrrmmmmmmpllleeeeeee!"
Joey floated; he glided, leaving a trail of purple energy in the blue sky.
The landing was rough, especially since he couldn't roll because he had to protect Wurmple, but his knees were young; they'd recover. He dipped them a bit into the shadow as he landed to break the impact, disappearing down to his torso before popping back up.
"Hahahahahaha," he laughed out loud as he sat down, his heart beating a thousand miles per hour.
"WUWUWUWUWUWUWUWUUWUWUUWUWU!" Wurmple screamed with tears and snot running down its face.
"Dratini!" a childish voice suddenly exclaimed, and a wide-eyed dragon-type jumped out from the pond next to which Joey had landed.
It slithered on the grass towards him while shouting its name excitedly. "Drarararara." Then it paused on the grass and narrowed its eyes. The small snake pointed the tip of its tail towards the Wurmple on Joey's shoulder. "Tini?" it asked condescendingly while giving Joey a confused look.
"," Wurmple said, looked at Joey with its big soulful eyes before turning around and throwing a String Shot at a closeby tree, obviously intent on leaving.
Joey idly raised a finger and broke the string.
"Did you just insult my buddy?" he asked the Dratini.
"Drara," the dragon type said, pointing its tail at itself, before throwing its head back and exhaling a small gout of flame, before following it up with some electricity. It finished its display by preening at Joey and covering its mouth with its tail.
"That is impressive," Joey admitted, before putting his hand up in a thumbs-down. "But your personality sucks."
A tick mark appeared on Dratini's forehead. It reared back before spitting a Water Gun right at Joey's shoulder, where Wurmple was sitting.
Joey frantically ducked to avoid the attack.
"Dratini!" the dragon-type exclaimed, obviously offended.
"Oh, so you're a bully too," Joey muttered with a sigh. "Well, never let it be said that I never taught anyone a lesson."
"Dratini?"
Joey took a step forward, distortion coursing through his body.
The Dratini didn't know what was about to happen, obviously being too used to being coveted and revered. Never disrespected.
Joey's leg reared back.
"Dratini!" the Pokemon exclaimed and tried to jump backwards, but it was too late.
"Shadow Kick," Joey shouted as his leg blurred forward and smashed the little turd right in the torso.
"Dratttiiinnnnniiiii!" the Pokemon screamed as it was violently ejected from its comfortable perch on the ground and into the air. It drew a beautiful parabola through the sky, landing dozens of meters away behind some trees.
Joey suddenly stood in a very silent clearing, several pairs of eyes looking at him from bushes, trees and from underwater. "If you commit violence unto others, do not reprimand reality when it is done unto you," Joey said sagely with a nod. "That is what we call the principle of equivalent exchange," he finished before turning around and leaving the clearing.
He spent the next few hours touring the safari zone, playing with the Pokemon there.
At the agreed-upon time, he made his way to the exit, where he saw an absolutely dishevelled Jessie sitting on a bench at the gate and sulking.
"No luck?" Joey asked.
Jessie glared at him. "Don't talk to me about luck," she hissed at him. "Some fashion disaster idiot literally had an unconscious Dratini fall on his head right in front of me. I spent five hours searching for what, for nothing!" Tears welled up in her eyes. She looked like she was about to start. "I spent half my savings on this trip," she mumbled.
Joey raised an eyebrow. "You've been eating and sleeping for free at Blaine's place, and I give you a monthly stipend to help me with Happiny in addition to the stipend you get from your license. Where did all your money go?"
"You wouldn't get it," Jessie complained. "Quality clothes cost money, and you can't show up to a contest looking like," she looked him up and down. "Well, you know."
"You picked this outfit," Joey complained quietly.
"Whatever," Jessie said with a sigh. "You know what, I'm sorry. I've been getting jitters all day. The contest is in a week, and I don't feel prepared at all."
"Wuw?" Wurmple suddenly asked from Joey's shoulder.
"A contest is a competition in which Pokemon and their trainers show off the Pokemon's beauty," Joey briefly explained.
"Wurmple!?" the Pokemon shouted into his ear, stars in its eyes.
Joey gently picked up the bug and laid it on the ground. "Please don't shout in my ear," he said.
Wurmple hung its head before excitedly turning to Jessie and crawling towards her while shouting its name.
"I've never seen a Pokemon like that," Jessie commented as she bent down to let the Wurmple climb onto her arm.
"It's from Hoenn, basically their version of a Caterpie," Joey explained. "It evolves into a thing eerily similar to a Butterfree or to some moth thing."
"A Butterfree, you say," Jessie muttered as she looked at the Wurmple on her hand. "It seems we share a common interest," she told the little bug with a sickly sweet smile.
"Wurmple!"
That day, a partnership was formed.
-/-
AN: A new 100 follower milestone was reached on my new story over on Royalroad so I updated there, synchronising here so it's all synced. Probably will happen again tomorrow.
If you like my writing, check out my new story! Re: Villain to Hero