Seven days later Vance came out of the forest and into a small town, the Ralts sitting on his shoulder, looking this way and that, taking in her surroundings with great curiosity.
"Those are houses. Places to live in. Much like the cave we've been staying in, only better to look at, and they do more besides. They're homes as well."
Vance explained it to her, feeding her a little common human knowledge.
"Ralts—"
The Ralts nodded, and went on to look at something else; when she came to a thing she did not understand she would stir and ask Vance about it.
And Vance smiled and explained each of them to her in turn.
The people in the street, seeing a young man with a perfectly unremarkable face and a rare Ralts sitting on his shoulder, could not help looking twice.
A Ralts, no less. There was no telling what sort of background a man must have to own a Ralts.
In modern China it would have been much the same as taking a supercar out to tear up the street.
There were a few with a glitter in their eyes and no good in their hearts as well, watching Vance and the Ralts with a covetous greed.
"Ahem, ahem."
The one who led that handful cleared his throat a few times and gave a slight shake of the head: leave it alone. The man looked like trouble.
He looked perfectly ordinary, which made the odds very high that he was in fact strong, so he was not to be meddled with.
They could only give it up, and went back to watching the other people about, to see whether a fat sheep might come by that they could shear.
"Ralts—"
The horn on the Ralts's head glowed faintly as she took in the feelings round about her, and she said something to Vance about it.
"Never mind them. Nothing's going to happen to us."
Vance said it with a quiet laugh, and then went on to lay out for her how such tricks are played, opening up some of the darker doings of humans, so that the Ralts would remember them.
The Ralts learned very quickly. She was sharp as a needle; a word of guidance and she had it.
He took a turn about the town, picked up some news and found out how things stood in the world outside. Over the days he had spent in the wilds everything out there had been quiet; nothing of any size had happened.
The only thing worth noting was that the Indigo League Conference was drawing near — a little over two months away.
Vance had collected his eight Badges already, and he meant to go to the Conference and have a look at the young men and women of the Kanto region.
And to polish up the standing of his official identity while he was at it.
The setting up of the Dark City branch could be left to his subordinates; the degree of independence he had was considerable, and Giovanni had given him a free hand.
There was nothing much in going off to the Indigo League Conference.
Being an entrant in a Conference was nothing at all; there were plenty of Gym Leaders whose standing was higher than a competitor's.
So long as a man did not betray Team Rocket or harm Team Rocket's interests, the Boss, Giovanni, allowed the people under him a great deal of freedom.
Having established that nothing much was going on, Vance set his mind at ease.
He went to the largest hotel in the town and took a private room, then brought out his Team Rocket internal communicator, which showed 99+ messages waiting.
He opened it, and most of them were from Ambrose — reports on work, and messages simply to ask after him.
After the business with Grady last time, Ambrose would never ask him anything like where he was; he only asked about matters of safety.
In a little while Vance had answered them all, and the red dot finally went away.
He had a compulsive streak. Whenever he saw a red dot, he could not help clearing it.
"Roar, roar. My judgment is that it isn't very good."
The Aerodactyl tore off a great piece of meat, swallowed it and passed his verdict.
"He's right, it isn't. Not as good as the Boss makes."
The Blaziken agreed from beside him.
"So long as you can eat it. And we're out of ingredients."
Vance answered them, picked up a bowl of soup and drank a mouthful. The taste certainly was not good enough — too thin — but this was a small town, and anyone with any skill had gone off to the big cities.
Just then a stir went through the air, and a powerful pressure rose behind it. Vance looked up: it was the Slaking's doing.
He had broken through, from level 52 to 53.
Which the Aerodactyl watched with the bitterest envy, because the Slaking had gone up lying down.
Whereas he had been fighting his heart out all these days and was still stuck at 48; he could feel a breakthrough coming, and reckoned it would be within a few days.
And then this fellow, lying flat on his back, had gone and broken through. In that instant the beaten feeling came back over him.
He, the Aerodactyl, was in for another bout of sulking. He would not even eat.
Vance looked at his watch; about three minutes went by, and then the Aerodactyl stood up again, back in fighting spirits.
Yes. He had come round again.
"Blaziken—"
The Blaziken and the others thought nothing of it any more. Apart from his bad eyesight, this Aerodactyl was forever sulking. Honestly.
"Work hard, Aerodactyl. Your own chance is nearly here."
Vance soothed him.
"Roar, roar—"
The Aerodactyl answered him without much heart. A chance, was it — meaning a breakthrough; and he felt one coming himself.
Late that night, in a clearing out in the wild woods, Vance and the Alakazam appeared together.
"There. It's healed."
With the Viridian Power applied, the wound on the Alakazam had come back to what it should be.
"Vance. Thank you."
The Alakazam thanked him sincerely. Without his hand in it, it might have been carrying the hurt still.
"Mm. When do you set out?"
Vance asked as he packed his things away.
"Presently. When I have finished, I shall come back."
"Mm. Take care."
"I am only going to see to a few things. It is not revenge. Revenge is beyond me."
The Alakazam shook its head. Its years were few now; when it had settled its affairs it would come back and watch the Ralts grow, since there was nowhere else for it to go in any case.
And repay, into the bargain, the debt it owed this human for saving it.
"I'm off."
"Good. Safe journey."
The Alakazam's shape vanished from where it stood and went off into the distance, and very soon it had passed out of the range of his senses.
Vance came back to the camp. The Ralts and the others were all fast asleep, with the Gyarados left on watch.
The Aerodactyl to one side was having some pleasant dream or other and chuckling over it.
Perhaps it was Vance coming near that startled him out of it and woke him.
He opened his eyes muzzily. Just as he thought — a dream after all.
"Good timing. Aerodactyl, come over here a moment. Your chance has come."
Seeing him awake, Vance took the opportunity and called him over.
"Roar?"
Not quite understanding it, the Aerodactyl got up all the same, and went quietly with Vance to another open piece of ground off to the side.
The Gyarados watched the Aerodactyl go, glad for him. A chance — that would be Mega Evolution, surely.
And in fact, Vance had called him over for exactly that.
Because the Battle Points had been saved up now, and he could exchange for the Aerodactyl's Mega Stone.
"Aerodactyl, weren't you envying the Gyarados and the Blaziken for being able to Mega Evolve? Now you can too."
Vance took out the Mega Stone and waved it in front of him.
Earlier on, Vance had privately shown the Gyarados's and the Blaziken's Mega Evolutions; and in the last fight with the Godbeast Gang's people he had meant to have the Blaziken Mega Evolve and fight, only for the Blaziken to be taken from behind and put out of the fight first.
"Roar, roar—"
The Aerodactyl was beside himself. His chance really had come, and not the sort that meant a level or two, either — Mega Evolution.
He had known it. His Trainer had not forgotten him, and had been making ready for him all along.
Before this he had eyed Mega Evolution hungrily too, only Vance had told him to wait for his moment.
And waiting is a vague sort of thing; he had put it out of his head entirely, and now here it was.
Roar, roar. He, the Aerodactyl, was about to take off.
Mega Evolution the Aerodactyl knew about: a violent surge of power, a whole order of strength crossed at a stroke. He had seen it done.
Come on, then, Mega Evolution. He, the Aerodactyl, could not wait another moment, and was ready to take that power in.
This flood of power out of the heavens had come round to him at last.