The air in Verdant City hummed. Not like the low thrum of Jump City's power grid, but a strange, melodic hum, punctuated by chirps, roars, and the occasional high-pitched "Pika!" I took a deep breath, expecting smog and exhaust fumes, but got something cleaner, fresher, laced with the scent of street-cart noodles and… ozone?
Lila, ever the calm guide in this weird new world, stood beside me, a small, knowing smile on her face. Perched on her shoulder, her little Eevee twitched its nose, taking in the sensory overload. My own partner, a stoic green cocoon named Metapod, was cradled in my arms. He didn't twitch. He didn't do much of anything, really, which was probably for the best right now. My brain was doing enough twitching for the both of us.
The city part, I got. Skyscrapers scraped a sky so blue it looked fake. Sleek monorails zipped between buildings on glowing tracks. Rivers of people flowed down sidewalks, their faces lit by holographic billboards. It was Jump City on a sugar rush, and I felt right at home in the chaos.
It was the other stuff that was messing with me.
A line of kids, some no older than ten, were rushing into a gleaming white building with a giant red 'P' on it. They clutched glowing red-and-white balls, their faces a mixture of panic and hope. One girl was sobbing into the shoulder of a fluffy pink Pokémon as she ran.
"Pokémon Center," Lila said, pointing. "It's like a hospital. You take your Pokémon there when they're hurt after a battle."
"So it's an emergency room for laser squirrels?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.
Before she could answer, a blast of music hit us. On a street corner, a guy was breakdancing while his four-armed Pokémon—a Machoke, Lila had called it—spun on its head, using two of its hands to beatbox and the other two to juggle flaming torches. A crowd had formed, throwing coins into an open case.
Then we passed a Poké Mart. I peeked inside, my jaw dropping. Shelves were stacked with things that made zero sense. Tiny, plush dolls of every creature imaginable. Cans of what looked like bug spray labeled "Repel." Huge bins filled with berries I'd never seen before, sorted by color and, apparently, flavor profile. It was like a grocery store, a toy store, and a tactical supply depot had a very confusing baby.
I shook my head, trying to process it all. The familiar urban landscape was just a container for this bizarre, vibrant, and slightly terrifying new reality. A Pidgey cooed on a lamppost above us, ruffling its feathers. It looked harmless enough, but I'd seen one use a move called Gust that nearly blew over a tree. Every living thing here was a potential weapon.
I muttered, mostly to myself, "Okay… so imagine if Jump City had dogs, cats, and pigeons… but they all shot lasers. That's… fine. Totally fine."
Lila patted my arm. "You get used to it. First thing's first, we need to get you registered at the Pokémon Center. You'll get an official Trainer ID, a Pokédex… you can't challenge the Verdant City Gym without one."
I blinked, my attention snagged by the last word. "Gym?" I scanned the skyline and saw it instantly. A massive, artifical mountain with windows and balconies set evenly along each side. A huge sign depicted a black stone. That was a place for fighting. That was a language I understood.
"Whoa, forget the paperwork," I said, a grin spreading across my face. "Let's go see the head honcho. I bet I can take him. Metapod, you ready?"
Metapod, in response, did absolutely nothing. Classic.
"Garfield, wait," Lila called, her voice already laced with the weary tone of someone who knew she was about to be ignored. "It doesn't work like that! There are rules!"
Rules. Yeah, right. I'd heard that one from Robin a million times. But this wasn't about tactical plans or waiting for the right moment. This was about walking into a building and proving I was the strongest. Simple.
I jogged toward the Gym, weaving through the crowds. People gave me weird looks, probably because I was a green dude carrying a green cocoon, but I was used to weird looks. I bounded up the steps of the enormous building, a surge of familiar, pre-fight adrenaline pumping through me. This was my element.
Two guards in crisp green uniforms stood on either side of the glass doors. They were built like Snorlaxes and looked about as friendly. I flashed them my most charming, hero-worthy grin.
"Hey, dudes! Name's Beast Boy. Here to challenge the Gym Leader. Just point me to the ring."
The guard on the right held up a hand the size of a dinner plate. "Trainer ID, please."
"Uh… ID?" I glanced back, seeing Lila hurrying to catch up, a look of pure 'I told you so' on her face. "Don't have one. Kind of new in town. But trust me, I'm legit. My Pokémon is… super tough." I held up Metapod, who glinted in the sunlight.
The guards exchanged a flat, unimpressed look.
"No Trainer ID, no entry," the left guard grunted. "City regulations."
"Regulations? Come on, man, look at me! I'm clearly a trainer. I've got the… the spirit! The drive!" I started doing some mock kung-fu poses. "The will of a champion!"
This, surprisingly, did not convince them.
"Sir, we're going to have to ask you to step away from the entrance," the first guard said, his voice dropping an octave.
Okay, charm wasn't working. Time for a little demonstration. "Look, I get it. You need proof. My Pokémon is, uh, a little shy." I cleared my throat. "But I'm not!"
In a fluid, near-instantaneous flicker of green, I morphed. My body shrank, limbs elongating, a long, prehensile tail sprouting from my spine. I landed on the railing as a grinning, green monkey, chittering at them.
The reaction was not what I'd hoped for. Instead of being impressed, the guards drew back, their hands instinctively going for the Poké Balls on their belts. Bystanders gasped. A woman pulled her child close, pointing a trembling finger at me.
"A wild Mankey? No, it's… green?" one person whispered.
"Is that even a real Pokémon?" another hissed.
"He's using an unregistered animal to cause a scene!" a man shouted, and suddenly the mood shifted from curiosity to suspicion.
The guards stepped forward, their faces grim. "Okay, pal, that's it. You're causing a public disturbance."
A siren wailed in the distance, getting closer with alarming speed. A sleek blue-and-white police vehicle skidded to a halt at the curb, and a woman with striking blue hair and an even more striking no-nonsense expression stepped out. A stout, dog-like Pokémon with black stripes trotted faithfully at her side.
"Officer Jenny, Verdant PD," she announced, her voice cutting through the chatter. "What's the situation here?"
The right guard pointed a thick thumb at me. I'd already shifted back to my normal form, holding my hands up innocently. "This individual was attempting to enter the Gym without a Trainer ID. When we denied him, he… transformed into some kind of wild animal to intimidate us."
Officer Jenny's eyes, the same shade as her hair, narrowed into slits. She looked me up and down, taking in the green skin, the pointed ears, the panicked smile plastered on my face.
"Unlicensed training is a serious offense," she said, her tone as cold and hard as the pavement. "And using uncatalogued species is even worse. I'm going to need you to hand over your animal and come with me."
"Whoa, whoa, lady, hold on!" I stammered, my brain kicking into overdrive. "You've got it all wrong. I'm the animal! See? Garfield, that's me. The 'G' is for green!"
To prove my point, my hand morphed into a green tiger paw. I held it up for her to see. "See? Totally me."
This was, I realized a second too late, a catastrophic mistake.
Officer Jenny's expression went from stern to utterly baffled, then hardened again into sheer disbelief. "What is this, some kind of trick? A Zoroark? A Ditto?" She put her hand on her hip, her eyes flashing. "I'm adding Pokémon impersonation fraud to the list of charges."
"Pokémon impersonation fraud? That's not even a thing!" I yelped. My usual goofy confidence was evaporating fast. This was worse than facing Cinderblock. At least with him, I knew the rules: punch, get punched, turn into a T-Rex. This was a whole new level of confusing trouble.
Sweating, I tried to joke my way out of it. It's my go-to defense mechanism. "I swear, lady, I'm not a Ditto! …Well, okay, sometimes I'm like a Ditto, but only in the sense that I can be anything, you know? But I'm way cooler, and I don't have that weird little smiley face. It's more of a smirk, see?" I offered a weak smirk.
The Growlithe at her side let out a low, menacing growl. The hole I was digging had apparently reached the planet's core.
"That's enough," Officer Jenny snapped, pulling out a pair of handcuffs that looked suspiciously high-tech. "You're coming with me."
"Wait!"
Lila finally pushed through the crowd, her Eevee perched defensively on her shoulder. She stood between me and the officer, holding her hands up in a placating gesture.
"Officer Jenny, please, there's been a huge misunderstanding," she said, her voice calm and steady. "My friend… he's not from around here. He's not a Pokémon, and he's not a trainer in the way you're thinking. He's just… special."
I bristled a little at the word "special," but I was in no position to argue.
Jenny eyed Lila, then me. "Special?"
"His abilities are unique," Lila continued, choosing her words carefully. "He's not trying to cause trouble, he's just… impulsive. We were on our way to the Pokémon Center to get him registered properly when he saw the Gym and got ahead of himself. I can vouch for him."
The officer stared at me for a long, silent moment. I tried to look as harmless as possible, which mostly involved me sweating and trying not to morph into a nervous hummingbird. The crowd was still watching, and I could feel the weight of their stares. It was different from being a hero in the spotlight. This was the bad kind of attention.
Finally, with a heavy sigh, Officer Jenny holstered her cuffs. "Fine," she said, her voice tight with reluctance. She pointed a finger squarely at my chest. "But you listen to me. Verdant City has rules. We have a system for a reason. It keeps people and Pokémon safe. Step out of line again, and it won't just be a warning."
She gave me one last withering glare before turning on her heel. "Come on, Growlithe. Let's go." With another short bark, the Pokémon followed her back to the car, and they sped off.
The guards gave me a final stink-eye and resumed their posts. The crowd, now that the show was over, began to disperse, muttering amongst themselves. I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding, my shoulders slumping.
My eyes met Lila's. She just raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, okay, you were right," I mumbled, feeling my cheeks flush a shade darker green. "Rules. Got it."
It was sinking in now. This wasn't just a new place with new villains. Jump City had dangers, sure, but I understood them. Slade, The Hive, Mad Mod—they were fights I knew how to win. But bureaucracy? Public perception? "Pokémon impersonation fraud?" These were invisible enemies, and my powers were useless against them. I had to learn to navigate this world, not just punch my way through it.
Lila gave me a small, sympathetic smile and nudged me away from the Gym. "Come on. Let's get that ID."
The Pokémon Center was a stark contrast to the chaos outside. It was quiet, clean, and smelled of antiseptic. A kind-faced woman with pink, wing-like hair smiled at us from behind the counter. "Welcome to the Pokémon Center! How may I help you?"
"My friend here needs to register as a new trainer," Lila explained.
Nurse Joy, as her badge read, handed me a datapad and a stylus. It took a few minutes of fumbling through forms and getting my picture taken, but soon I was the proud owner of a shiny new Trainer ID. It had my goofy, slightly panicked-looking picture on it. Under 'Partner Pokémon,' there was a single entry: Metapod.
Leaving the registration desk, I walked over to the large window overlooking the city plaza. The sun was beginning to set, and the holographic billboards and monorail tracks painted the sky in streaks of neon pink, blue, and gold. The city hummed with a life I was only just beginning to understand. It was intimidating, complicated, and full of pitfalls I couldn't see. But it was also exciting. It was a challenge of a totally different kind.
I held up my new ID, the plastic cool against my fingers. I was official now. Part of the system. For now, at least.
A grin, my real one this time, slowly spread across my face.
"Okay, Verdant City…" I whispered to the sprawling metropolis below. "Let's see if you can handle a little chaos."