We set out from Cerulean City early in the morning. Prepared, determined, and in good spirits, we set off with all our Pokémon along the well-trodden path through the dense forest of Route 5, which led directly to Saffron City.
The air smelled of morning dew and the scent of coniferous trees. Cries of Pokémon echoed through the forest—some of which I already knew well.
"Keep your eyes open, Mankey are total bastards," I said to my group.
"Houndoom!" the hellhound barked happily, leaping into the taller grass to the right of our path.
He looked suspiciously satisfied. Especially since the grass reached right up to his crotch, but I decided not to point that out.
Maybe I should find him a female Houndoom, I thought with a smirk.
"How long will the journey take us?" Bran asked with a smile, looking around enthusiastically.
"About a full day's walk," Lilly replied. "Cerulean, Saffron, Vermilion, and Lavender are pretty close to each other. From Saffron to Vermilion, it should take us about the same. From Saffron to Lavender, though, it'll be about two days. That's a longer route."
"Pretty much, yeah," I nodded.
"That's fairly quick then. Good thing I didn't end up buying that bicycle," he muttered under his breath. Then, louder, he asked, "Are there any rarer Pokémon around here? I could use the money."
I looked at Lilly, who was a much bigger expert on this kind of digging than I was. She was always on the Poké Center computers researching everything imaginable about routes, the wilderness, Pokémon, trainers, and really anything else that crossed her mind in her free time.
Lilly nodded, her watchful eyes sweeping over the surrounding trees. Her gaze lingered for a moment on a small Pidgey perched on a nearby branch, its chest puffed out proudly. After a deep breath, she looked back down at the ground and began to speak.
"Besides the common Pokémon you can find in pretty much any forest in Kanto, there are rarer species around here too, like Growlithe, Vulpix, Abra, Drowzee, Chansey, or Shinx."
"Well, I'd probably keep an Abra or a Drowzee for myself," Bran said with a grin. "Teleport is just useful for anyone. Extremely handy Pokémon."
Wartortle scowled at him, but kept walking alongside Poliwhirl and Geodude.
Bran didn't even notice the reaction and contentedly continued on his way.
"Every Pokémon is useful," I spoke up eventually.
My Abra, draped around my neck as always, gently stroked my skin. Ever since this morning, her eyes had been flickering blue as she tried to communicate with me. Doing that through my spiritual aura wasn't easy, though. Even so, she kept trying determinedly.
I had a feeling she was really close to evolving. Just like Aron. Baby Pokémon with good nutrition simply grew extremely fast. And Aron was eating more, growing quickly, getting heavier, glossier, and felt stronger to me too… not to mention his stamina while walking. In just a few days, his cardio had improved incredibly. I expected his evolution soon.
Just like Bran's Zubat or Lilly's Bulbasaur, for instance. That Bulbasaur should have evolved long ago, but somehow he kept holding back. Maybe it was just my imagination, but with Bulbasaur, I felt like he was doing it on purpose.
"Is there any Pokémon you guys want most on your team?" Bran asked after a moment of quiet walking.
"I already have mine—Bulbasaur," Lilly answered with a smile.
"Bulba!" Bulbasaur chimed in contentedly, eyes closed, scratching her head with his vines.
Her Slowpoke strolled ahead at a calm pace, casually swishing his tail from side to side.
I wonder what that tail tastes like? Since it's such a delicacy... occurred to me suddenly.
When Slowpoke sped up a little, I almost felt as if he had somehow sensed what I was thinking. Of course, it was probably just a coincidence. A real shame. I probably won't even get to try it as long as Lilly is traveling with us.
It was an unwritten rule, after all, that you don't eat Pokémon that someone in the group has on their team. The Pokémon themselves didn't care—proven by studies—but trainers would feel bad about it.
I'd feel bad myself if I had to eat a Houndoom or a Wartortle. Supposedly they taste good too, and I once even heard that on some continent they boil them alive right in their shell.
Which was an extremely cruel fate.
"What about you, Patrik?" Bran's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Hmm, I'm happy with my team." I shrugged. "Maybe a draconic Pokémon would be nice to have. It'd boost pride, fight spirit, and raw strength."
"I don't think pride or fight spirit is an issue for any of your team members," Bran laughed.
"What about you?" I asked. "Which Pokémon would you want most?"
"You know, I haven't even thought about it?" he posed the rhetorical question, pausing to think.
"Always somethin', Bran, alwaaaays somethin'," I chuckled. "Always askin' questions, always talkin', but how do you do it when you don't even think about it?"
Bran paused for a second. He looked at me as if I had just punched him, so I raised my hands in front of me.
"No offense, I like that you talk... seriously."
I gave him a genuine smile. "It just popped into my head... how that works. Me, for instance, I don't talk much."
"Which Pokémon do you want, Bran?" Lilly chimed in like a total angel, patting him on the shoulder.
Bran offered her a smile after a moment and shook his head. "I can't choose... yesterday it would've been Charizard, today Lucario, and a week ago Azumarill."
"I wanted Charizard as a starter," I nodded and quickly added, "Until I got Gastly, who I'm extremely happy with. Highly recommend, two thumbs up."
"Are you just saying that so Haunter doesn't get mad?" Bran asked suspiciously. There was no trace left of his earlier offense.
"Nope. Ghosts are awesome in that regard too. He'd understand," I replied with a smile. "And Haunter is pretty far away from us right now, so he has no chance of hearing us."
"You sound awfully sure," Lilly said, raising an eyebrow.
"We have a special bond." I shrugged.
Haunter was my starter. In fact, he knew me even before I was born. Add to that our training, mutual understanding, and my spiritual energy... I was starting to sense Haunter whenever he was nearby.
To his disappointment, of course.
We talked for a few more minutes, but when traveling on foot, you run out of topics pretty fast—even someone like Bran. So until lunch, we just walked in silence. No jogging or running, except for Houndoom, who bounded from side to side, darted across the path, and vanished into the tall grass.
He even managed to devour a tiny Spearow in one bite. Luckily, I was the only one who saw it. It happened in the shadow of the trees, but thanks to my night vision, I saw everything clearly. The others only saw Houndoom biting into something that looked like a branch from their perspective.
I just shrugged. Houndoom was a predator. He needed nutrients and energy. It was the circle of life.
And that, of course, made me hungry.
"Are we setting up camp, or grabbing sandwiches?" I asked the others. "I'm craving roasted meat with rice."
"You're always craving meat and rice," Bran laughed. "I'd just go with sandwiches and keep moving. Maybe we'll make it to Saffron today."
"I agree with Bran," Lilly chimed in. "Sorry, Patrik, a bed at the Center beats roasted meat."
I heavily placed a hand over my heart and sighed dramatically. "Traitors!"
But then I smirked so they'd know I wasn't mad, and pulled out my sandwich. Whole-grain bread, low-fat Pidgey ham, high-protein Miltank cheese, with peppers and nutritious leaves packed inside. Perfect.
Even if it couldn't beat meat and rice...
And so we pressed on.
Our Pokémon were completely fine with it. I mean, if we offered them food, they'd eat it of course and leave nothing in their bowls. But thanks to their biology, they had no problem eating once or twice a day without any side effects. They'd simply make up the calorie difference in a later meal—in our case, in the evening, provided they had enough food. If not, they tried hunting virtually non-stop.
Wild Pokémon preferred to avoid us. None of them were foolish enough to attack a force as overwhelming as ours. Especially with Pokémon walking among us that were several times larger than most of what usually wandered around this area.
So the journey was suspiciously peaceful. Strength in numbers, as they say.
Even the trainers we passed along the way had no interest in a battle. Mostly, we just nodded a greeting and passed each other without a word.
It wasn't until late afternoon, when the first lights of Saffron City began to appear through the trees, that the first challenge arrived.
It was a tall guy with blonde hair and side-swept bangs. A silver earring glinted in his ear, and he wore plain brown clothes from Victory Apparel. Cheap, but exactly the kind we were wearing too.
Nothing special at first glance. Except for his eyes.
There was a strange spark in them. Sharp. Attentive. The kind that made me feel like he noticed a bit more than he should.
With a friendly smile, his gaze swept over our entire group, us and the Pokémon, before stopping on Lilly.
"How about a battle, beautiful?" he smiled at her. "I've got two badges."
Something felt off about it to me. Not so much his challenge, but rather the way he was looking at Lilly. I didn't get the feeling he was attracted to her. It was more like he'd noticed Bulbasaur, connected to Lilly with his vines.
"Sure," Lilly replied coldly. "For a hundred?"
"Works for me. Cash."
Objectively speaking, he was quite a good-looking guy, even with the side bangs and earring. But Lilly interested me more. A while ago, a compliment like that would have definitely flattered her. Now, though, she accepted his words with total coldness.
Hmm... she's changed.
I could have warned her, but what for? If it was a scam, we'd handle it. And if not, at least she gets a battle.
Besides, I had Haunter nearby, who was currently sneaking through the air right behind my back, trying to scare me as usual.
But I'd been sensing him for a while now, so he was out of luck once again.
"I feel you," I whispered quietly enough for him to hear, looking over my shoulder.
Haunter froze instantly. His claws were still outstretched in front of him, and the grin slowly froze on his face.
"Don't tell me you got scared," I grinned at him.
"Haaaaunt," he growled in protest, turning his head away with a slightly offended look.
"Scaredy-cat," I laughed, turning back toward Lilly.
They had plenty of space for a battle despite the tall grass, so we could comfortably step aside and watch. And since the guy seemed sharp and likely knew very well what he was up against, I decided to tilt the odds slightly in Lilly's favor. So I positioned myself so that a 2.4-meter Haunter levitated over my left shoulder, and a 1.9-meter hellhound stood by my right side.
"One-on-one battle, challenger chooses their Pokémon first!" I called out.
The guy winked at me, smiled, and nodded in agreement. Pulling a Poké Ball from his pocket, he released his Pokémon in front of him. In a flash of red light, a creature with light fur on all four paws and a red gem between its eyes appeared before us.
It was a Persian.
He was about a third shorter than my Houndoom, but still looked quite solid. With every movement, muscles rippled beneath his light fur along his legs and back as he slowly paced back and forth. He moved almost silently, calmly surveying his surroundings with the confidence of an apex predator who knew exactly what he was doing.
The guy patted Persian calmly, and instead of keeping his eyes on Lilly, he smiled at me again. I raised an eyebrow and shot him a confused look, but he just kept smiling contentedly.
"Bulbasaur," Lilly called out.
Only then did he finally turn back to her and pay attention to the battle.
Honestly, I couldn't see how Persian could win this battle. Even though he looked fast and strong, you can't cheat biology. If this were a fight in the wild, I'd bet all my money on Persian... but here? And without the element of surprise on top of that?
Since Bulbasaur had been helping us with mobility training, I expected his vines to be a sufficient answer to Persian's speed, which was probably on par with my Houndoom's.
A quiet whisper from the trainer was all it took, and Persian charged into a full sprint straight toward Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur didn't hesitate, immediately lashing out with two vines. Persian leaped gracefully over them and kept running, but that was exactly what Bulbasaur had anticipated.
He instantly snapped the vines back in an S-shape. With a sharp crack, one whipped across Persian's hind legs, while the other wrapped around his left leg to restrain him.
Persian hissed with bared teeth and rolled wildly. When Bulbasaur tried to lift him into the air and wrap him in the second vine as well, Persian's claws flashed white, severing both vines with a single swipe.
He landed gracefully on his left side and immediately lunged forward again. Bulbasaur didn't hesitate for a moment either, instantly shooting out more vines to continue his attack.
This time, Persian was far more cautious. Every vine aimed straight at him or trying to flank him was sliced down by his claws instantly. All the while, he guarded his back so Bulbasaur couldn't surprise him from behind again.
He was almost on top of him.
I noticed Lilly speaking softly. Bulbasaur nodded. My friend was never dumb, so I already had a pretty good idea of what she was planning to do.
And that's exactly what happened.
With a loud roar, Persian leaped into the air. A hungry glint flashed in his eyes, a wide, eager grin spread across his face as he launched himself straight at Bulbasaur.
At that moment, the bulb on Bulbasaur's back burst open, spewing a cloud of powder right into the airborne Persian's face.
Simultaneously, his left vine shot out. Persian reacted instantly, slicing through it with a swipe of his claws. But that was precisely what Bulbasaur was waiting for. With his right vine, he struck from the side, swatting him into the tall grass.
All of Persian's athleticism was suddenly gone. He still managed to twist mid-air and land on all four paws, but as soon as he hit the ground, his legs shook, barely supporting his weight. His eyes were watery from the powder, and nothing remained of his confident smirk. He tried to take another step, but halfway through, his knees buckled and he collapsed into the grass.
Fast asleep.
"You can't fuck with biology," I muttered to myself, stepping toward Lilly.
Persian had an extremely sensitive sense of smell, so even a weaker version of Bulbasaur's move—which might not have had anywhere near the same effect on a stronger Pokémon—was devastating for him.
"Congrats, Lilly!" Bran chimed in enthusiastically with a broad smile.
"Thanks," Lilly smiled at him, but then frowned and turned toward the guy, who was already walking back over to us.
He handed her the bills straight into her palm, though he kept giving me that strange smile as he did. He was just opening his mouth, likely about to say something, when Lilly took the money without a word, grabbed my shoulder, and simply started dragging me away.
Bran followed us with a laugh.
I just shrugged. Guess he wasn't her type.
"We'll be in Saffron in a moment," Lilly said quietly, looking down.
Only then did I notice that her cheeks were red.
Hm.
***
Author's note:
And the journey continues…
***
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The shadows are shifting, and the story goes much deeper... If you can't wait for the next update, Advanced Chapters are already waiting for you.
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Upcoming Chapters – Already Written(15):
53. Steel, Silence, and Whispers
54. Steel and Blood
55. The Spoils of War
56. The Price of Survival
57. A Heavy Debt
58. Into the Dark
59. Where Dragons Feed
60. Heart of a Dragon
61. Time for a Training Arc
62. Shadows in the Thunder
63. Forging Champions
64. Avenge Me
65. High Voltage
66. Ruthless
67. One or Two?
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