A Viper in the Hole (Pokémon)

[The Dave]

Five days later, just as afternoon is shifting into evening, Ran and Spencer enter Violet City. Route 32 had proven well-maintained and not in itself a great challenge. It held some nice variety as far as wild pokémon went, with the plentiful Mareep just one noteworthy example of the pokémon neither trainer had ever seen in the wild before.

What had proven more interesting, was the number of other trainers they'd started encountering especially in the final two days. The closer they'd gotten to Violet City, the more other trainers they'd met who were preparing for their upcoming challenges for the Zephyr Badge. Most of them, like Ran and Spencer, were rookies on their first circuits, eager to get started and heading to the Gym nearest to their starting location. Others came from further away, a significant influx of Kanto rookies apparently having opted to do their first journey in Johto before, as one rather unpleasant girl had put it 'doing the proper tour with some more experience'.

The presumptuous attitude had rankled, but it had made beating her for a nice wager all the sweeter. Ran had generally done well once they'd started encountering and battling other trainers. Careful in his challenges and willing to put his ego aside when challenged by trainers that were clearly out of his league, he hadn't ended up facing any impossible odds, with only a trainer from Cerulean in Kanto beating him with his Geodude and a Staryu which already knew Psybeam.

But where Ran was sitting at five wins and one loss, choosing his challenges carefully and only having two or three matches on any given day, Spencer had chosen a very different approach. Approaching anyone they encountered with the intent to get into a battle, Spencer's record was now an amazing seventeen wins to only three losses. Ran personally felt that Spencer's habit of leaning on the raw power of Scyther and Onix against all these starting trainers, whose pokémon had nowhere near the same innate strength, took the shine off of his record a bit, but it clearly didn't bother Spencer one bit.

Admittedly, Spencer's wallet is also looking a lot better than Ran's, thanks to his more numerous winnings. But, ignoring the disparities between them, the road and its successes have done them both good, as they both wear pleased smiles as they finally enter Violet City proper. Their first stop as always is the pokémon center, as they turn their pokémon in for treatment and book a shared room, before setting out into the city once more, eager to explore.

Said exploration is a bit underwhelming, as Violet City, 'The City of Nostalgic Scents', proves to have little going for it. There's Sprout Tower of course, which they'll be visiting the next day, and the Gym where they immediately reserve the next-available spots while opting not to challenge any Gym Trainers just yet, though there's a disappointing nine day waiting period to face Falkner. But other than those attractions, the city proves true to its name, standing out only in its - even by Johtonian standards - traditional architecture and tranquil atmosphere. Fortunately, after only an hour or so, they find the local pokémon school and its arenas.

With Violet a favorite early-season destination, it's no surprise to see the area brimming with eager trainers, all four arenas actively in use as fresh trainers show off their burgeoning skills by having their low-level pokémon battle. What is noteworthy compared to the battles Spencer and Ran have had over the past few days, is the presence of two referees, both keeping an eye on two arenas at once.

The battlefields themselves are the typical dirt rectangles with white chalk showing off the boundaries, but the presence of referees and more than a few dozen spectators adds a degree of pomp to the air that's been missing out in the wilds. Ran is happy to settle in and watch peacefully for now, but Spencer is nearly vibrating in his eagerness to participate. Of course, with their pokémon at the Pokécenter, that isn't actually an option.

Still, his bespectacled friend doesn't manage to stay by Ran's side for more than two minutes, before breaking off to go and instigate a few fights for tomorrow. Ran lets him out of his sight warily, hoping against hope that Spencer doesn't blunder into another Win-situation. For his own part, though having a few battles of his own definitely sounds appealing, Ran is happy to spectate, as he fully intends to spend the entire next day at Sprout Tower.

Initially watching the fights in a general sense, attention shifting from one field to another as big impacts or close dodges happen, a new arrival on the battlefield draws his, and most of the other spectators', attention.

"Get 'em good, Ginger!" Cries out an athletic blonde girl about Ran's age, wearing blue jeans with big brown leather boots and a shirt tied off under her midriff.

Normally not one to pay attention to outfits, Ran feels quite justified when the pokémon she's giving her orders to is a Ponyta of all things. Native to Kanto, the fire type is anything but common on Johto's side of Mt. Silver, as is clearly emphasized by the immediate flaring up of envious whispers all around the arenas.

Ginger the Ponyta doesn't seem to be affected however, merely pawing eagerly at the ground as she waits for her opponent to be sent out. The other trainer seems anything but eager to do so, appearing as if he wasn't aware of just what pokémon he'd be facing ten seconds ago.

Eventually, begrudgingly, he sends out a Rattata. Were it not for the sheer novelty of seeing a Ponyta, Ran would have lost interest on the spot, the outcome already determined by virtue of the second trainer's attitude alone. Sure, Ponyta is the clear favorite, but going into a fight with a defeated mindset will only hasten the process.

Over the course of the next minute, he's proven correct in his assessment, as Rattata's Quick Attack is blown away by Ponyta's far more impactful Flame Charge, after which it's merely a matter of time before Ponyta lands another good hit and the purple normal type is knocked unconscious. The girl seems eager to continue, but no other takers present themselves, after which she makes way for another pair of battlers in disappointment.

Ran's evening winds down after that point, no other battles really drawing his attention for the further half hour he spends watching. Eventually, Spencer in tow, he heads back to the Pokécenter and turns in for a night in a comfortable Pokécenter bed.

The next morning, bright and early, he makes his way to Sprout Tower, Spencer begging off from their earlier plans in favor of the fights he'd arranged the previous evening. Ran is sad to see his friend go for a moment, having spent the past year and a half at least imagining various points in his journey with Spencer at his side, only for his friend to seemingly value doing things together far less than Ran had anticipated. With the comforting weight of his pokémons' pokéballs back on his belt though, Ran's mood is easily buoyed.

Crossing the bridge to Sprout Tower, occasionally crossing paths with other young trainers making their way back in the opposite direction, he casts a look out over the impressive lake, thinking vaguely of Spencer's suggestion to catch a Tentacool, before dismissing it. Though Tentacool and its evolution are by no means bad pokémon, training a pokémon that needs to live in water comes with certain needs and challenges that Ran isn't looking to take on any time soon. Not to mention the fact that he's already got a team of three, a number that's already pushing the limits of what he can currently comfortably train and provide for.

Instead, his attention shifts to Sprout Tower properly. Bellsprout, found there in larger numbers than anywhere else, doesn't interest Ran as a potential partner, but as a sparring partner, there's hardly any better he can think of for his current team. Zubat is resistant to Poison and doubly so to Grass, whilst for attacking they've been working hard on the super-effective Air Cutter. There's still work to be done, but Ran feels confident that Bellsprout, which resists a large part of Zubat's other options, is the perfect opponent to accelerate Zubat's progress.

Spinarak is just as resistant to Bellsprout's typings as Zubat and likewise suffers from a lack of offensive effectiveness against the Grass-Poison type. For her, Ran is hoping that the supposedly mystical aura of Sprout Tower might help her progress in mastering Night Shade and/or Shadow Sneak, the Ghost-type moves thus far having proven hard to master for the little Bug-type.

Finally, things are simpler for Ekans, with Ran's starter already making solid progress on Acid. The plan is for him to master the move and then simply get as much training in as possible, as they continue working towards the eventual evolution that will really open up some possibilities to get creative with his starter's moveset. As for training against Bellsprout specifically, not only is Ekans also resistant to most of what it can do, but where the other two need to be wary of Bellsprout's ability to Wrap, Ran is confident that Ekans can beat the Grass-type at its own game.

Entering the tower properly, the first thing Ran notices is the surprisingly high number of bored, underwhelmed young trainers wandering about on the tower's ground floor. They're looking at the many Bellsprout-themed decorations spread throughout the room and painted and chiseled into the wooden walls, but only a few actually seem to have any genuine interest in what they're looking at.

As Ran watches, a younger trainer, likely a sponsored one considering his age, makes his way to the large staircase at the back of the room, where two monks stand waiting with placid smiles. Before the boy can speak up, one of the monks raises his hand to stop the boy from speaking. The monk says something softly, before waiting for a response from the boy.

The room is too large and busy for Ran to catch the softly-spoken conversation, but it ends when the boy turns around in frustration and storms towards the exit in a huff, shouting angrily over his shoulder towards the monks as he goes, "I'll just go and train somewhere else! Your stupid Bellsprout are overrated anyways!"

Neither of the robed bald men so much as flinches, merely continuing to stand and smile placidly as they wait for the next trainer to approach. A few other trainers are clearly discouraged by what just happened however, as they soon beat a quiet retreat, also leaving the Tower behind in search of other opportunities. Unclear as to just what the remaining trainers are supposed to be doing or are trying for, Ran quietly walks over to the pair of monks himself.

This time, the one that hadn't acted previously draws his attention, smiling invitingly as Ran nears the pair.

"Yes, young supplicant?" He asks kindly, gentle baritone soft as to not disturb the near-quiet that hangs over the room.

"Hello, my name is Ran Carr," Ran introduces himself politely, "I was hoping to come and train against the Bellsprout here."

The monk closes his eyes for a moment, nodding in understanding, before opening them once more and finally explaining the other trainers' behavior, "We do not believe in training for violence's sake. Go, examine the works around us and show your willingness not merely to gain strength, but to understand and to learn. Return to us when you feel ready to and my partner will ask you a question. If your answer shows an open mind, you will be allowed to pass."

Ran smiles hesitantly, "I don't suppose you're willing to give me the question in advance?"

The monk's own smile is sincere, "That would defeat the purpose."

"I figured," Ran admits ruefully, before turning to go and have a proper look around, "Thank you for your time."

"You are most welcome," The monk replies kindly, "Good luck."

Ran wanders towards the first noteworthy thing he sees which doesn't have someone else examining it at the moment, which ends up being a to-scale statue of Bellsprout made out of wood. Interestingly however, rather than fashioned out of a single solid piece, it has multiple joints, the statue seemingly able to move. On the ground floor as they are, the statue stands completely still, but he's curious whether the tower's swaying on the higher floors would be enough to make the statue move along as well.

Next, he wanders to a stretch of wall where, in a series of images, humans are pictured hunting various pokémon with spears and stones. Then, an injured and unarmed human gets swarmed by angry pokémon, only for the next image to show a Bellsprout chasing the attacking pokémon away before offering the human a berry in the image after that. Throughout the next series of images, the human and the Bellsprout befriend each other, eventually interfering in another pokémon hunt and ending the humans' violence. In the final image, Bellsprout and its companion stand swaying side-by-side in the middle of a crowd of cheering humans and pokémon.

Moving on, Ran ends up next to a pair of quietly conferring girls as they examine three side-by-side paintings of Bellsprout. All depicted in the same pose, at first glance the paintings seem identical to each other. However, upon closer examination, Ran realizes that, unlike the girls muttered 'pokémon triplets' theory, the Bellsprout are arranged from youngest to oldest. Which is something he can deduce from the slight darkening and muting of their colors as he looks from left to right.

Just as he's about to move on once more, the girls decide to brave the monks at the foot of the stairs once more, but, unsurprisingly, after a brief conversation, they are refused passage. Dejectedly, the girls leave the Tower, even as other trainers enter and, after a brief talk with the monks, start their own examinations. Ran doesn't let the continued lack of success, as trainer after trainer approaches the monks only to be turned away, deter him, continuing to go around the room and properly study all of the artworks.

Eventually, just before he's about to turn and approach the monks, he notices yet another trainer step up to attempt the monks' challenge, but this one, unlike all previous trainers, is recognizable to Ran. It's the Ponyta girl who steps up brashly, with a confidence that borders on arrogance. When she is asked a question, her answer is immediate and, surprisingly, apparently satisfactory, as the monks smile genuinely before stepping aside, allowing her to ascend to the second floor.

A true hush falls across the room, the muted whispering around the room now falling away entirely as everyone watches in surprise at the sight of someone actually passing the monks' challenge. Before the quiet can break or people can rush towards the monks out of any hope that perhaps they've lowered their standards, Ran steps up, his first footfall breaking the silence and sending those trainers that didn't come alone into frantic, though at least still respectfully hushed, discussions.

He pays them no mind however, instead approaching the monks and nodding in acknowledgement when he locks eyes with the second monk, the one that asks the question that decides who is allowed entrance.

---

Author's Note: Hello there Violet City and hello there Sprout Tower! Hopefully, these were some interesting glimpses at the big rookie-gathering of the season, as Violet serves as a traditional gathering point for a very significant amount of the fresh meat at the start of the season. Cherrygrove not having a Gym of its own, the Elm-sponsorship inspiring people, Falkner and flying-types having weak reps, it all contributes. But hey, how about those monks? Wonder what they're about to ask Ran? What's up with Ponyta-girl? And how about that Gym-challenge in 8 in-story days?
The answers to those questions can be found on my Patreon, where the next two weeks of updates are already available!
Also, thanks a lot to everyone for the interest in the story and for the support, I hope you continue to enjoy my work!

 

[The Dave]

The monk breaks eye contact for a moment to glance around the room, before speaking softly, "You examined our arts quite thoroughly. You've had a chance to see the beauty in cooperation. When next you are faced with conflict, will you act to seek reconciliation?"

Ran's instinctive answer would be 'no', while he assumes the answer the monks are likely looking for is 'yes'. His moment's hesitation is enough for him to actually consider the question properly, rather than answer instinctively, which is when he realizes that a straight yes or no answer won't do the question justice. Remaining quiet a moment longer as he thinks on how to formulate the conclusion he comes to, Ran doesn't let the monk's smile, whether it's encouraging or mocking, throw him off.

"It depends on the situation," Ran answers, his own expression falling sourly at just how much of a non-answer he's giving, but as the monk doesn't speak up or interrupt him, he continues, "Ideally, yes. But it's like in the artwork over on the wall. The Bellsprout alone couldn't solve the conflict, it took finding one human it could help and then that human helping it in turn to solve that conflict."

"And are you yourself capable of being that human?" The monk asks, measuring Ran with his gaze, "If someone does you an injury, or when someone has done you an injury in the past, have you taken the initiative to reach out to try and bridge the divide?"

Ran's thoughts flash to the brief look he got at Bugsy's disappointed expression almost two weeks ago, before rushing out of Azalea Town's Gym. But just moving on, without ever getting even for how Bugsy's success had cost him three years of his life stuck in Azalea Town? Absolutely not.

"I haven't. I won't. Not without getting even first." Ran replies curtly, squaring his shoulders as he gets ready to be refused passage.

"Interesting. You understand our message and yet refuse its lesson. But where there is understanding, there might yet follow supplication. Please, ascend the stairs. You have shown us soil, we will see if it proves fertile or desolate." The monk replies before, with smiles, he and his companion step aside, allowing Ran to ascend.

Caught off-guard by his apparent success, it takes Ran a moment to move, but when he does, he advances past the monks with a straight back even as he quietly seethes. As if it's up to some monks whose only purpose in life is learning from Bellsprout to claim superiority. They've surely got some knowledge and experience Ran is eager to learn from, but the presumption that with more exposure, he'll come around to their subservient ways rankles.

Arriving on the second floor, the differences to the ground floor are immediately apparent. Where below is a single large hall filled with all kinds of art, even the large shifting pillar around which the tower is built not immune to the seeming need to decorate, here, the aesthetic is far more austere. There are still Bellsprout-motifs hidden in patterns and minor details on the walls, but for the most part the room Ran finds himself in is bare of decoration. Likewise of note is that the second floor isn't a large hall at all, but instead is clearly divided up into multiple rooms, the stairs leading to a hallway which holds multiple sliding doors on both sides, before widening around the pillar.

Unsure of where to go, Ran is grateful to see a door slide open, another monk stepping out and approaching him.

"Another so soon? Interesting. Come, I will need to see what you offer to work with. Prepare yourself, we shall battle."

Grinning eagerly, Ran follows the monk and, when instructed to, brings out all three of his pokémon at once.

What follows is a surprisingly testing gauntlet of battles. Though all the monks he faces over the course of a few hours have at least one Bellsprout, there's also more than a few Hoothoot, a smattering of Rattata and exactly two Gastly, which present a whole new challenge, the Ghost-types' ability to become intangible and sheer mobility providing challenges Ran hasn't been faced with before today.

Yet his team pulls through with flying colors. Though the monks and their pokémon are clearly in sync, they're no match for the eagerness and dedication Ran's pokémon show. The benefits to years of being forced to focus purely on training rather than battling are apparent, as although Ran's team still lacks strength and experience, they've truly mastered the moves they know and grown accustomed to Ran's style of battling. Likewise, he's familiar with Ekans' surprising mobility, shockingly effective Glare and well-developed core strength. He's spent eight months honing Zubat's speed and agility and working on Spinarak's ability to delay and slow an opponent until it becomes nearly defenseless. These monks probably thought they'd be dealing with unprepared newbies who hadn't put any proper thought or preparation into things. Well, Ran was happy to prove them wrong in that regard.

There's a break for lunch, which Ran spends hurriedly eating his own food before praising and looking over his team, the heavy demands placed on their bodies over the course of multiple hours clearly taking their toll. Afterwards, the real surprise comes, as rather than continue to face a gauntlet of monks, he's led to a slightly larger room, where the Ponyta-trainer from before turns around in surprise at his entrance.

"Oh hey, you're no monk!" She greets him loudly after a moment, "You made it past the stairmen too, huh?"

"I did," Ran agrees with a slight smile, "I was right behind you actually. You approached them just as I was about to."

"Cool, so you've been here all morning as well then. Have you been battling all day too?" She asks next, looking him over as if trying to assess his ability as a trainer.

"I have." Ran answers readily enough again, taking the excuse her own examination gives him to properly look the girl over once more.

Compared to yesterday, she's dressed significantly warmer today, a red zipped up jacket guaranteed to attract less attention than yesterday's outfit which flaunted a fair bit more skin. The boots and jeans are the same however, combining with her practical low blonde ponytail to give off a look that screams 'ready to ride' to anyone that's seen her Ponyta.

"Sweet," She smiles, before offering a hand to shake, "The name's Josie, the job's training and the goal is kicking Blaine in the taint and grabbing the title as the greatest Fire-type specialist in all of Kanto out of his fossilized hands. What about you?"

Ran grins as he accepts the offered handshake, amused by the girl's straightforward attitude, "Ran, the job's also training and I don't have a real concrete end goal just yet, other than becoming strong and making enough to keep training my job."

"Ohhh," The girl lets out an understanding hum, before trampling her way right into Ran's bad graces, "Unsponsored huh? Were you not good enough to earn one or are you out of the boonies or something?"

Gritting his teeth, Ran merely glares at the girl, though she's utterly unrepentant as his annoyed look merely gets her to continue, "What? If I'm wrong, say so! If I'm not, get your head out of your ass and just be proud that you've made it this far anyways!"

"I'm from Azalea Town," Ran explains, annoyance still leaking through in his less-than-jovial tone, "There's one sponsorship a year and Bugsy and I are the same age."

Josie pauses for a moment, index finger tapping away at her chin as she hums in thought, before her expression lights up in realization, "Bugsy… Oh right, the guy that made it to the Final Four this year! Well there's no big shame in losing out to a guy like that. What, that Scizor of his was his starter, wasn't it? Must've sucked when you missed out on that one, huh?"

"That's not how our Gym's sponsorship works, or used to work at least, the Gym's under new management so I don't know how it'll be handled from now on." Ran starts to explain aggravatedly, only to cut himself off when the sliding door on the opposite side of the room opens before two monks enter.

"You have shown us your ability to cooperate with your pokémon. Now, show us your ability to cooperate with others used to leading," One of the monks speaks, before the other continues speaking in his stead, "We will have double battles from here on. Good luck to you both."

Still somewhat frustrated with Josie over her insults, Ran is disappointed to see two Bellsprout appear on the other side of the battlefield. He'd like nothing better than to show her that he's a good trainer, but the look on Josie's face makes it very clear that she feels quite capable of handling the two Grass-types by herself, which makes impressing her an uphill battle.

Before sending out her pokémon however, her eyes slide to Ran, after which her hand shifts from one pokéball to another.

"Let's see what you've got then Ran," She challenges him, before tossing out her pokémon, "Come on out, Soot!"

The appearance of a Houndour is surprising, but doesn't change the fact that as long as there's a Fire-type on the field, it only makes sense to let it take point and focus on supporting it where possible, which is why Ran doesn't send out Ekans, but opts for Zubat instead.

"A Zubat, really? Damn. Sorry, Soot, looks like you're gonna have to put the work in buddy!" Josie complains, head falling into her hands for a moment before she steels herself once more and directs her attention to her houndour, who barks eagerly in affirmation.

"Don't mind her, Zubat, I know you've got this." Ran reassures his Pokémon confidently, before readying himself for the monks' signal to start their battle.

"Sleep Powder." "Razor Leaf." The monks order in quick succession, one Bellsprout's leaves glowing green before starting to send a barrage of grass blades towards their opponents' whilst the other Bellsprout starts swaying in place as glowing powder accumulates on the top half of its body. By the time it starts swaying with enough force to send the powder wafting up and forwards, Josie is already responding.

"Ember, Soot! Burn it all away!" She commands confidently, her pokémon immediately obeying, sending out a barrage of low-power fireballs to counteract the incoming Razor Leaf. The attack lacks the strength to take care of both the Razor Leafs and burn the incoming Sleep Powder away at the same time however, which is when Ran finally intervenes.

"Stay close to Houndour, Zubat and use Supersonic!" He orders swiftly, trusting Zubat to understand that if he stays close to Houndour, the Ember attack can take care of defending them both for now.

Obeying easily, Zubat dips down slightly, coming to a hover just a foot or so above Soot the Houndour, before his mouth gapes open wide, invisible supersonic screams flying out towards the two stationary Bellsprout. With both still focused on their own attacks, neither is quick enough to respond to their trainers' shouted instructions to dodge, achieving the worst possible outcome, as they give up on their own attacks but don't manage to start moving before Zubat's attack connects.

Before Supersonic's effect can even become apparent, Ran and Josie are already capitalizing.

"Gust, Zubat! Open up a hole in the sleep Powder cloud and then support Soot with Air Cutter!" Ran instructs confidently, Josie right behind him in delivering her own orders.

"Wait for the gap, close in with Ember and then use Fire Fang!"

Despite his earlier frustration by her brash mouth, Ran smiles appreciatively at Josie's willingness to work with his plan, the other trainer grinning back eagerly even as their pokémon move to execute their orders.

"Keep it back with Acid!" "Follow!" The monks call out, their Bellsprout undulating in place for long moments, hesitating under the effects of the confusion brought on by Supersonic.

By the time they shake it off, it's too late. Zubat obediently creates a hole in the slowly advancing cloud of Sleep Powder, which a snarling Houndour dashes through whilst unleashing a significantly reduced but still damaging flurry of embers at both Bellsprout.

The dark-fire-type advances on the Bellsprout on the left with a maw glowing with fire, but upon biting down there's a muffled bang, after which both pokémon are sent flying. Bellsprout doesn't get up again, clearly unconscious, but Soot isn't much better off, slow to get back on his feet and yipping in pain as he struggles to do so.

Which leaves the remaining Bellsprout, now free of its confusion, to turn its beady eyes on the prone Soot. Before it can exact its vengeance however, Zubat's slowly formed and still unmastered Air Cutter finally arrives, cutting into Bellsprout and knocking it down and unconscious before it can finally launch the Acid it'd been building up.

Both monks smile serenely, recalling their pokémon and leaving the room as Josie hurries towards her pokémon, "Shit shit shit, are you alright Soot?"

She slides onto her knees, cradling the whining Houndour like a puppy as she gently urges him to open his mouth. She clearly doesn't like what she finds, blindly digging around in her backpack and grabbing a well-loved squirt bottle, which she starts spraying into the hurt pokémon's mouth as Ran slowly approaches.

Waiting calmly for her movements to become less frantic, Ran eventually speaks up when she's done spraying and Soot has stopped whining, the Houndour offering a grateful lick of his trainer's chin, "Is he going to be alright or does he need a Pokécenter?"

Josie lets her pokémon lavish her neck and chin with licks for a few seconds longer, before she stands up, with Soot returning to his own four legs as he tries out a few steps and opens his mouth wide, clearly testing for any remaining pain. She looks towards Ran with a soft smile, her relaxed expression making her answer clear before she even speaks the words, "Nah, he'll be alright now. It's what I get for pushing too hard and too fast on Fire Fang. One of the reasons I came here was to give him a shot at trying it out against pokémon he's got an advantage against, but pulling it off in a rush is clearly still a bit premature. Thanks for the assist though, if he'd gotten hit by Acid on top of those self-inflicted burns, he might've been done for a few days."

"Not a problem," Ran waves off her gratitude, before his voice sharpens for a moment, "Still, not too bad for a Zubat when Soot is putting all the work in, right?"

Josie lifts her hands apologetically, taking the barb easily enough, "Fair enough, I was wrong about you. I apologize for assuming less of you. Are we good?"

"Yeah, we're good." Ran allows after a moment's hesitation, accepting the apology at face value as, from what she's shown him so far, she doesn't seem the type to bother with lies or insincere niceties.

"Sweet. Now, are you ready to go kick some more ass?" She asks, calling Houndour to her heel with a soft whistle before gesturing invitingly towards the door the monks left open after their departure.

"Sure," Ran agrees with a smile as Zubat flies over and hooks onto his backpack, clearly eager for a quick break from flying between battles, "Ladies first."

"Ha, Mister Boonies has a chivalric side, what a day." Josie jests, striding out towards their next challenge.

"Sure, laugh it up Miss Literal Ponyta Girl." Ran is happy enough to banter right back, as he follows after his partner for the afternoon.

Josie's laugh is loud and genuine, clearly more than willing to take what she dishes out.

They settle into a comfortable groove easily enough over the next hours, eventually switching out the pair of Houndour and Zubat for Chief the Growlithe and Spinarak. The little Bug-type isn't too enthusiastic about her close proximity to an eager and overly-friendly Fire-type at first, but like her trainer before her, it doesn't take Spinarak very long to get used to her partner for the afternoon, after which they continue their winning ways.

As evening approaches, Ran and Josie eventually reach the stairs to the next floor, where another monk bars their path. Ran's assumption that they'll be allowed to proceed to the next floor after a day's worth of battles without a single defeat or even significant difficulty, however, ends up being a mistake.

"You have both shown a willingness and an ability to cooperate and you have both grown stronger during your time here. Unfortunately, your temperaments are ill-suited for our Elder's wisdom. Thank you for your visit and your efforts here today, but I must ask that you please leave our Tower." The monk speaks, catching Ran flat-footed.

He's just about to object, to ask just what fools these people are to get handed one-sided loss after one-sided loss all day long and be left feeling as if they have anything to teach he's incapable of learning, but Josie speaks first.

"Sure thing buddy, if that's what you people need to tell yourselves to feel better, I'm not gonna stop you or honestly even bother with whatever 'wisdom' you think you've got. I did what I came here to do anyway. Come on Ran, you can buy me dinner."

She turns on her heel and sharply marches off back the way they came, leaving Ran stuck for a moment. He still wants to argue the received slight at first, but then realization sets in. Like Josie said, considering all the fights his pokémon won today and the progress they all booked, he achieved what he came to Sprout tower for in the first place.

"Wait, what?" He asks in surprise, as his mind finally catches up to the final part of Josie's statement, turning to follow after her while he does so, "I'm unsponsored, remember? You can buy me dinner!"

"As if! I remember that chivalry shit you pulled before, time to put your money where your mouth is!" Josie shouts back, not slowing down one bit, forcing Ran to jog a bit to close the distance.

"Should've thought of that before making fun of the chivalry," He retorts good-naturedly, "I only buy dinner for girls who are nice to me."

The back-and-forth continues all the way to a cheap little food stall. Ultimately though, they both pay for their own food.

---

Author's Note: Well hello there, Josie from Kanto. Fancy meeting you here. Something tells me we haven't seen the last of you just yet. Anyways, I hope my version of Sprout Tower proved at least somewhat interesting. In the next chapter, it's time to go to the Gym! This story's first Gym battle, as well as the story surrounding it, can be found on my Patreon, where the next two weeks of updates are already available!
Also, thanks a lot to everyone for the kind words and for the support, I hope you continue to enjoy my story!

 

[The Dave]

Eventful as Sprout Tower and meeting Josie were, the remaining days before Ran's scheduled Gym challenge pass in that weird flow state where he's very aware of each day passing and gets plenty done every day, but it still feels as if time's flying by at an almost irresponsible pace. His team, liberated by fuller pockets that don't have to keep as close a track of medical expenses as in the previous years, improves in leaps and bounds. They grow so swiftly and prove so dominant over the majority of other rookies' pokémon, that Ran is left cursing the fact that his entire team so far consists of pokémon that evolve relatively late, compared to a lot of the other common pokémon he's encountering.

In the grand scheme, the timing and number of evolutions has no real impact on a pokémon's total potential, but despite those facts, evolution remains the most tangible way to measure growth for a lot of pokémon. Of course there's exceptions, like pokémon that evolve from exposure to a Fire Stone for example, but Ran still finds himself envious of people whose starter gets to evolve twice. Because with Ekans having been with him for three years and having grown rather strong over that time, it really feels as if he'd have evolved by now, if there were a stage between Ekans and Arbok.

Such musings on evolution are never far from his mind over the remaining week-and-a-half Ran spends in and around Violet City. He revisits the battlefields around the local school and has some carefully selected matches, unlike Spencer, who claims use of one of the fields so often that he'd probably try and put his name on it, if he could get away with it. He semi-reluctantly meets up with Josie for another chat over lunch, exchanging pointers and experiences, limited as those are as two trainers still in their first month, and sharing ideas for the remainder of the season. He even goes fishing for a day, Zubat's Absorb making short work of the myriad Magikarp he hauls up throughout the day, though a live capture only policy does prevent him from earning a nice bit of pocket change.

Ultimately however, the day that really matters finally arrives. They head to the Violet City Gym bright and early, out of some idle hope that maybe there'll be a no-show or two allowing them to get in ahead of their late morning time slots. Of course they have no such luck, leaving them stuck waiting around idly. Normally, they'd go inside, pay for a day-ticket and just watch the Gym Leader's other matches until their own turns come up. But for both Spencer and Ran, this is their first Gym. That means something in Johto.

Specifically, it's a rite of passage, proving definitively that a young trainer is ready to set out and leave the safety of his or her known world behind. It's a final opportunity for the local Gym Leader, in his capacity as a guiding figure, to make sure that only those that are truly ready actually leave town properly and set out. Of course there's a few exceptions, with Goldenrod's status as a big city for example having led to them somewhat letting go of the traditional view of the Gym Leader as every young trainer's guardian.

But Ran isn't from Goldenrod, he's from Azalea. Traditional Azalea Town, which clings firmly to its history and its relatively small population. When he's announced as Falkner's challenger for a first badge whilst hailing from Azalea, people in the crowd will immediately cotton on to the implied lack of approval for said challenge from Ran's hometown Gym. In traditionalist Violet, which already has the misfortune of seeing a disproportionate level of first badge challengers due to its geography, he's not expecting a warm welcome from the crowd.

If he were to go in early and 'scout' Falkner ahead of his match, that'd be another mark against him. It's a perfectly acceptable approach that some will argue shows a basic understanding of strategy and respect for your opponent. But in Johto, for your first badge outside of your hometown, it just isn't done. Once more, it's a cultural matter, as it is meant, in a way, to repay the hometown Gym Leader for their trust in the young trainer's ability, as signified through their, by that point usually acquired, first badge. Beating the 'unknown' challenge presented by another Gym Leader is a way for the trainer to prove that 'their' Gym Leader hasn't made a mistake in letting them win their first badge.

Going in early, watching Falkner's matches for an hour and then challenging him at a first badge level, whilst coming from a town that has a proper hometown Gym? It's technically allowed, but it would mean stepping on some of the core values on which Johto's identity is built. If the crowd realizes as much, they're likely to try and eat him alive.

Not that Ran actually cares about the crowd's opinion at all, of course. Specializing in poison-types all but precludes him from the crowd's adoration right from the start. But if Falkner himself were to take offense at either or both violations of 'how things are supposed to be done', the consequences might be severe. Barring the fact that Falkner would simply have to bring out a stronger pokémon than his normal first badge roster to handily wipe the floor with Ran, the loss of the winnings Ran was counting on plus the delay to his own timeline might be debilitating.

Thus, entering early and entertaining themselves by watching some other starting trainers challenge Falkner isn't an option Ran is willing to entertain. He wouldn't be surprised if Spencer didn't care, with how brusque he's shown himself to be of late, but when Ran glances curiously at his companion, it's clear that Spencer isn't quite willing to chance an early entry into the Gym either.

Sadly that doesn't change the fact that Ran and Spencer are over an hour early and have no real way to occupy their time, other than fiddling with their pokégear or discussing their strategies for facing Flying types yet again. With things having been weird between them for a while now, conversations only having grown sparser and more stilted over their stay in Violet City, Ran isn't surprised when Spencer soon starts typing away on his pokégear, likely exchanging messages with some of the stronger opponents he faced during his reign of terror over the local school's arenas.

Ran for his part has a significantly smaller list of contacts to message. First, there's his father, whom he sends a quick general update before promising to send a longer recap of his first Gym Challenge in the evening. Secondly and depressingly already last, there's Josie, whom he's exchanged a bare few messages with every other day or so ever since meeting her. Not out of any particular fondness for the cocky girl, but as another rookie with a clear budding type specialization, she offers a solid yardstick for Ran to compare his own progress against.

Their messages have been sparse and dry to this point, with either usually only responding to the other out of boredom or during downtime. Which is why it's a surprise to feel his pokégear buzzing on his wrist mere moments after he's sent Josie a message telling her that he's waiting to challenge the Gym and asking her what she's up to.

Opening the little text bubble, Ran reads Josie's message: "Sounds like you could do with a distraction."

Begrudgingly, he's about to write back to admit as much, when approaching hoofbeats draw his attention. Glancing up, Ran notices a grinning Josie trotting towards Spencer and himself, as she's sitting comfortably on Ponyta's back.

"Well now what do we got here? You boys know loitering's frowned upon around here now don't you?" She teases, as Ponyta draws to a halt in front of Ran.

Before he can respond however, Spencer takes offense at the - to him - unknown girl's words, "We're not loitering and what business is it of yours what we're up to anyways?"

Josie looks at Spencer in surprise, caught off-guard by the snappish reply, but before the blonde can fire back, Ran speaks up, "Spencer, Josie's joking. She and I met at the Sprout Tower and had a number of Double Battles together. Josie, I've mentioned Spencer before."

"You did," Josie agrees, a sharpness to her grin that was missing earlier, "Though you didn't mention the, ahem, short temper."

With how much emphasis she puts on the word short, the double entendre is impossible to miss, leaving Ran to sigh tiredly and turn to Spencer apologetically. He's found that just how abrasive Josie decides to be fluctuates from day to day, but no matter what, it takes some getting used to. Which ordinarily wouldn't be a problem, as Spencer is, or at least used to be, relatively even-tempered. But the one thing Ran's learned over the past years, even before setting out on their journey and encountering his friend's more combative and argumentative side, is just how vulnerable the other boy is to mockery.

"Oh I remember you now, you were at the school our first night here. Didn't show up again after that though, once I started dominating. What, afraid you'd face some actual competition rather than… what was it again, a Rattata?" Spencer retorts waspishly.

Josie snorts indelicately, "Nah, I was so disappointed by the lack of proper trainers that I didn't go back after the first time. What, you think you can take Ginger here because you're hot shit amongst those losers? I'm more than happy to throw down, buddy boy."

Before Spencer can respond once more, Ran intervenes sharply, "Spencer, chill out. You've got a Gym battle in under an hour. Josie, stop winding him up."

Josie raises her hands innocently, agreeing easily enough, but Spencer merely shifts his ire from her to Ran.

"Don't tell me what to do! In fact, don't talk to me at all right now! You talk to your friend here, I'm going inside and I'm challenging Falkner first!" He heatedly demands, before turning on his heel and storming inside.

"Jeez, what crawled up his ass and died?" Josie asks in surprise, as she lazily dismounts Ginger before recalling her starter.

Ran merely looks at her without bothering to hide his annoyance, which leaves Josie waving him off as if she's swatting at a pesky mosquito.

"Please, whatever that was, it was bigger than me rattling his cage a bit. Don't tell me he's always like that. You've been friends for a few years right, there's no way you've been tiptoeing around him all this time?" She asks, disbelief clear in her voice.

"No it's-" Ran starts defensively, intending to confront Josie with her own overly abrasive words, before pausing, struggling for a moment to find the right words as he begrudgingly realizes that Josie has a point. If Spencer had always been this quick to anger, there's no way they'd have spent two years planning a journey together without falling out seriously and permanently. In fact, Spencer's behavior's been off for a while.

"He's been irritable and obstinate ever since Bugsy became Gym leader and threw off our original plans." Ran voices his own realization out loud, forgetting his intended reprimand of Josie, as her disbelief shifts to curiosity.

"What do you mean, threw off your original plans? Come to think of it, you never finished that story about your town's sponsorship from back in Sprout Tower…" She trails off, drawing an annoyed sigh from Ran as she hits on the unpleasant topic.

Begrudgingly, he explains the whole story, starting three years ago with his loss to Bugsy, all the way through his preparations with Spencer and up to Bugsy's triumphant return and the sour conclusion that they couldn't stomach challenging him for their first badges. At the end, he feels surprisingly drained, the story taking more out of him than he'd expected.

"Dude… That's kind of lame." Josie replies, any drained or tired feeling immediately forgotten as Ran's own anger flares up sharply once more.

"Lame?" He demands angrily, offering the other trainer a single opportunity to explain herself.

"Yeah, lame," Josie repeats nonchalantly, "you spent two years preparing together and then threw all of that overboard in the last week because your ego couldn't handle being a rookie while the guy that beat you three years ago is a Gym Leader now? What, you think it's gonna be any more impressive when you show up later in the season for a later badge? He's still going to be better than you and face you with less than his best. Newsflash, Ran, if you want a shot at getting 'even' with the guy, it's going to be after making it to the Conference, when you can challenge him at an Elite level, rather than in his capacity as a Gym Leader."

Her words rankle, cutting deep as Josie gives voice to doubts that have been slumbering in his own mind for who knows how long. Still, if she wants to prod at his sore spots, then it's about time he takes a blind swing at something that's been bothering him in turn.

"You want to talk about lame? Where does running to Johto because you're afraid you can't hack it in Kanto despite getting a rare starter rate?" He replies acerbically, his words a partial shot in the dark but clearly hitting a mark despite being based on more than one assumption, as Josie's own temper flares in response.

She growls angrily as she takes a step forward harshly, closing some of the gap between them, Ran straightening up but not backing down in response, "Oh fuck you dude, you know nothing about why I came here. Nothing! I'm here because my dad won't support me trying for Kanto's circuit until I've proven I'm good enough on the 'B-circuit'. Which I would've told-"

"B-circuit!?" Ran cuts her off indignantly, glaring at Josie angrily with a tense jaw, offended by her casual dismissal of the entirety of Johto.

Josie scoffs derisively, waving her hand dismissively as she replies, "Go to Kanto and go complain to my father if you want to, they're his words."

"Oh and because your dad, oh, I'm sorry, because your 'father' says it, it's automatically true?! What's he ever done on the circuit to make him an authority?" Ran snarls back defensively, seizing onto Josie's wording as a possible vulnerability and looking to dig into any potential weakness her relationship with her father might hold.

"Seeing as pretty much every Rapidash at the Conference-level comes from his stables, he's a hell of a lot more of an authority than you are!" Josie shouts back, temper fully flaring up in response. Before Ran can try and dig further however, she carries on heatedly.

"The only catch for getting me my starters, was that I do my first circuit here, to make sure I get any teething problems out of the way without running the risk that someone of actual importance would see me fall flat on my face." Josie asserts, the sheer casual dismissiveness of her words almost cutting Ran deeper than her actual anger.

He can only listen in disbelief as Josie, by echoing the words of her father, casually disparages Johto's entire trainer culture.

"And yeah," Josie sighs explosively, clearly winding down, "It's also pretty fucking lame that my first circuit basically still has the training wheels attached. But at least I'm not betting my whole future on some flimsy ass plans without having a solid fallback option… like you!"

Ran glares furiously at Josie, completely freezing up out of sheer anger, unable to formulate a comeback as she uses her privilege to take dismissive shots at everything he's been working towards for the past three years. Josie, for her part, takes a few deep breaths, before finally, calm seems to overtake temper once more. As it does so, her eyes widen slightly in sudden realization.

"Shit," She declares almost sulkily, innate defensiveness clearly finally getting caught by logical thoughts once more, "I didn't want to talk about this."

Ran doesn't manage a response, simply stunned by Josie's disparaging view of his whole region, as well as the way she demeans everything he's worked so hard to achieve already. His hands clench angrily as he has to fight the instinct to grab Ekans' pokéball or do something rash. By the time he feels ready to form any kind of verbal response, the girl has already disappeared inside of the Gym.

Which leaves him stuck with no real available outlet as a lot of conflicting emotions vie for his attention. Indignant anger at Josie is the major one, though there's also amounts of guilt, at his own sharp digs about her dad, and frustration at himself, over the way he let her stun him into silence. Then, there's the whole Spencer situation, the new insight into which he'd almost forgotten about due to the ensuing altercation. Finally, initially seemingly forgotten but rapidly becoming more and more present once more, until it is so dominant as to mandate the suppression of all other thoughts and emotions, is the building tension from his approaching Gym Challenge. Confused feelings or not, right now, he needs to focus on beating Falkner and winning his first badge.

---

Author's Note: Things coming to a head on multiple fronts. A look at some of the things going on in the larger background and Spencer continuing to be irritable and unreasonable. Here's the most important part of all however: In the next update, Ran goes for his first badge! Now, a quick sidebar on the topic of naming pokémon: Ran hasn't named any of his pokémon yet, with an in-character reason. It's hinted at in the prologue, when Spencer reveals Bunker's (Pineco) name and Ran doesn't quite approve. This is because Ran is of the belief that you shouldn't name a pokémon until it's fully evolved, because that's when typing and more importantly any personality changes fully settle in. He feels that naming a squirtle Bubbles might not be so appropriate when that Squirtle has become a Blastoise, to put things simply. I bring this up now, because the first evolutions aren't all that far off at this point, at which point Ran's team members will need names. Voting on the names Ran and his team choose is a benefit I'll be offering to my Contributor-tier supporters over on my Patreon, where the next two weeks of updates are already available. However, if anyone has any particularly good suggestions (possible with a theme), feel free to also bring them up here and if they're genuinely good, they might just make the poll as well.

Also, thanks a lot to everyone for the kind words and for the support, I hope you continue to enjoy my story!

 

[The Dave]

Glancing at his pokégear, he realizes with a start that enough time has passed for him to enter the Gym and enter its reserved waiting area. Ran moves to do just that, surprisingly not running into Spencer along the way, as Violet City's Gym offers a handful of small private waiting rooms for challengers, rather than a single larger lobby like Azalea Town's Gym. Ran spends another ten or so minutes waiting idly. He brings out Ekans, the feel of his purple scales under Ran's fingers a familiar comfort as nerves start to set in. Before he can get too worked up however, the previously red light above the door leading to the arena turns green.

"This is us buddy. You're sure that you're okay with Zubat starting us off, right? If he does well enough, you might not end up seeing the field at all." Ran tells Ekans, for what is probably the tenth time at this point.

Like the previous times, however, his starter merely hisses comfortingly, tail winding around Ran's ankle for a moment to give a comforting squeeze, before releasing and waiting to be recalled into his pokéball. Doing just that, Ran finally walks through the door and out towards the arena.

Walking out onto the battlefield, he's jarred by the commentator's broadcasted voice, the expected distraction still rattling him slightly now that he's actually on the other side of it.

"Also coming to us from Azalea Town, another trainer who has only just received his CGC-license, Ran Carr is… also challenging Gym Leader Falkner for his first badge! With fellow Azalea Town trainer Spencer Curtis surprising us all with an Onix that blew through our Gym Leader's team, perhaps Ran will also represent his village with an equally… memorable showing?" The deep female voice reverberates throughout the room, drawing ominous murmurs from the limited crowd.

Ran doesn't spare the stands more than a single look as he strides towards his assigned area, only just catching a glimpse of Josie because her red vest contrasts sharply with the white seats. He doesn't pay her attention, unwilling to let her presence distract him right now. There's other spectators scattered into small clumps here and there, but it's clearly not a high-traffic morning for Violet City Gym. Of course, with the season still young and Violet City nearly drowning in challengers at the moment, that's hardly surprising.

"And his opponent, give it up for the Elegant Master of Flying Pokémon! Violet City, we are proud to present to you your very own Gym Leader, Falkner!" The announcer calls once more, gaining a slightly more enthusiastic response from the crowd as Falkner merely offers a brief wave from where he's already standing in his own assigned area, clearly not having bothered to vacate the spot in the time between his previous challenge and this one.

Analyzing the field properly, Ran can only conclude that there aren't any real stand out features to the field. It's the usual rectangular dirt field, white chalk delineating the outer boundaries, halfway line and the two trainer boxes. Above, the roof is closed, though everybody knows that the Violet City Gym's roof is a sliding one, allowing for it to be opened up if the Gym Leader feels the need for it.

A referee steps up into the chalk box drawn off to the side. Then, a Mr. Mime starts to sketch out barriers alongside him as the man speaks up, "This will be a two-on-two battle. Both trainers may use one substitution. Both trainers will send out their first pokémon at my signal. Challenger, ready?"

"Ready." Ran calls back, unclipping Zubat's pokéball as he does so.

"Gym Leader, ready?"

"Ready." Falkner replies coolly, likewise unclipping a pokéball.

"3…2…1… Release!" The referee counts them down, before shouting out the final word.

Ran throws Zubat's pokéball enthusiastically, catching the rebounding ball as his only flying-type materializes above the field, wings already beating to stay afloat. On the other side, Falkner sends out a Hoothoot, which hops in place idly, as it looks up quizzically at its opponent.

Tuning out the announcer as she despondently announces Zubat to the audience after only just building up their expectations by mentioning Spencer's Onix, Ran's focus instead shifts to Falkner.

"A flying-type huh? Bold." The Gym leader speaks conversationally, voice carrying easily across the arena.

Before Ran can respond however, the referee speaks up, "Trainers, on my mark! Begin!"

"Supersonic!" Ran commands immediately, Zubat obeying swiftly by opening his mouth and letting out a cry outside of the human hearing range.

"Echoed Voice, disturb its attack." Falkner orders easily, Hoothoot hopping in place for a moment, before opening its beak, visible sound waves radiating out as it starts hooting loudly in Zubat's direction.

Supersonic is invisible, but the rings of sound produced by Echoed Voice visibly bounce against something, distorting slightly before seemingly overpowering Zubat's Supersonic.

"Up and over, then Air Cutter!" Ran calls out, Zubat immediately flapping his wings hurriedly to ascend over the incoming attack. His trailing tails just barely get clipped by Falkner's attack, which is enough to throw off his flight for a moment before he manages to recover. Then, his wings start glowing with an ominous silver hue.

Falkner frowns, looking at Zubat taxingly for a long moment, before directing another order towards Hoothoot, "Echoed Voice again, blow it back."

"Overpower it Zubat, you've got this! Get ready to close in and punish!" Ran orders, watching tensely as Zubat launches his attack.

Sharp, translucent white scythes of energy are launched from Zubat's wings, flying at high speed towards Hoothoot. The seemingly one-legged pokémon only manages to fire back a single ring of Echoed Voice, which barely manages to disrupt the first blade of Air Cutter, before getting torn up by its follow-up. Then, Zubat's attack connects.

Hoothoot is bombarded by a barrage of attacks, the small flying-type thrown from its foot and skidding back across the ground, before hurriedly flapping its wings to fly upward and away from Zubat's attack. Ran's pokémon isn't idle however, breaking off his own attack the moment Hoothoot loses its footing and speeding towards the brown ball of feathers at speed.

"Watch out! Reflect!" Falkner orders hurriedly, with Zubat closing in on the disoriented and defenseless Hoothoot at speed.

Hoothoot just manages to start glowing the faintest tint of pink, before Zubat arrives and, as Ran ordered, 'punishes'. The poison-type's maw frankly oozes viscous purple liquid as it bites down harshly on the other pokémon's left wing joint with Poison Fang.

Ran watches tensely, fingernails digging into the palms of his hands as he curls his fists tightly, as Zubat pumps toxins into Hoothoot's system. Falkner sharply orders the brown bird to Peck and chase Zubat off, but for a few crucial seconds it remains unresponsive due to the shock and pain of Zubat's attacks. Just as Hoothoot's eyes sharpen, seemingly growing alert once more, Ran sharply calls Zubat off, the typically cave dwelling pokémon retreating up into the air as the hurt Hoothoot remains behind.

Clearly on its last legs, Hoothoot lets out a plaintive sound towards its trainer, the little bird actually having to use both legs to remain standing. Falkner nods seriously, before bringing out its pokéball and recalling it.

"Hoothoot's been poisoned and won't be able to fight back meaningfully any longer. I withdraw her from this battle." The Gym Leader announces to Ran's delight, before he brings out a second pokéball.

"Which means it's up to you, Murkrow!"

With a baleful glare, the red-eyed, black-feathered, hat-wearing, flying-type appears on the field, only giving Zubat a moment's attention before turning its aggrieved expression towards its trainer. Falkner sharply cuts a hand through the air, clearly signaling his disapproval of Murkrow's reaction.

"That Zubat just beat Hoothoot without taking a real hit, don't underestimate it!" He calls out, wasting time on motivating his pokémon even as the referee lowers his raised flag to indicate the start of the next round.

Some people might consider it poor sportsmanship to act whilst their opponents are distracted. There are even circumstances in which Ran shares that sentiment. This isn't one of those moments.

"Air Cutter! Aim high, keep it grounded!" He barks out a hurried order, Zubat's attack forming rapidly and scything through the air towards Murkrow, who turns surprised red eyes back in their direction.

"Fend it off with Gust and retreat, then get airborne!" Falkner orders sharply, Murkrow's wings obediently flapping harshly to send the Darkness Pokémon skating backwards along the ground, with Zubat's razorlike winds in hot pursuit.

The first two blades just about make it to Murkrow, though already weakened by the disruptive effect of Gust, they don't land as harshly as they might have. Then, it's entirely out of reach, the remnants of Gust enough to distort the remainder of Zubat's attack as Murkrow ascends and joins Zubat in the sky, the playing field properly leveled.

"Don't let up! Supersonic!" Ran orders confidently, pleased by the early exchange.

"Haze, Murkrow. It's time to fight on our terms." Falkner counters, black smoke starting to billow out from his pokémon with every beat of its wings.

Ran frowns, struggling for a moment to recall the effects of Haze, with how niche of a move it is. He's sure that its primary function isn't simply to serve as a smokescreen… Does it nullify status conditions, like confusion and poison? Against a Murkrow, which is known to be quite a strong attacker, that'd mean that it removes the two main equalizers on Zubat's side.

Stifling a curse at the conclusion he comes to, Ran gives the only order he can, as he internally bemoans Zubat's limited movepool, "It's in there somewhere, Zubat! Air Cutter! Scatter your shots and blow that cloud apart!"

With Falkner remaining quiet, seemingly content to let Murkrow's Haze build up further for now, Ran watches tensely as Zubat's wings glow once more before blades of condensed air once more start getting lanced through the air. They tear through the cloud of black smoke and come flying out the other side undisturbed, the resulting openings filled again within moments.

Though Zubat's barrage continues unabated, evidence of the plentiful stamina training he's been put through by Ran during the past year in Azalea Town, the current status quo isn't one they can maintain indefinitely. Ran would normally be happy enough to wait for a lucky hit, but Haze is simply far less energy-intensive than Air Cutter, making every attack that gets sent out, only to miss, a waste of energy.

He hesitates for a few more seconds, feeling Falkner's taxing eyes on him, before finally gambling on Zubat's echolocation working inside the effect of Haze even if Supersonic doesn't, "Get in there with Poison Fang, Zubat! Latch on and don't let go!"

"Defend yourself with Peck and Wing Attack at your own discretion, Murkrow, show off your strength." Falkner speaks calmly, issuing his orders with the confidence of an experienced Gym Leader.

Obediently, Ran's third pokémon closes in on Murkrow's Haze, the black cloud seeming to surge forwards to eagerly engulf Zubat's little blue-and-purple form. With both trainers now blind to what's happening between their pokémon, tense seconds pass, as no new orders are given whilst the two flying-types seek each other out in the cloud.

Zubat's pained screech signals the moment the pokémon encounter each other, with the Dark-type clearly getting the jump on the smaller cave dweller. His pained screeches are shortly joined by the indignant and pained squawking of Murkrow, a clear sign that Zubat managed to land a retaliatory attack. Ran bites his nails worriedly as his gaze darts to Falkner.

The Gym Leader seems perfectly at ease, waiting patiently as Zubat's pained cries become more frequent whilst Murkrow's squawks start changing into mocking caws more and more regularly. Zubat clearly gives as good as he's got, Murkrow's Haze slowly starting to thin as their fight continues, but going by sound alone Ran's pokémon is clearly on the receiving end of a serious beating.

He hesitates for a few seconds more, Zubat's pained and weakening cries cutting him deeply, before he finally breaks and cries out the order to retreat, "Get out of there Zubat! You've done enough! I'll recall you!"

"Don't let it get away, Murkrow! Assurance!" Falkner interrupts sharply, which is followed immediately by an eager caw from Murkrow.

"No, Zubat! Look out!" Ran cries out futilely, still near-blind to the ongoing fight, only barely able to faintly make out two large indistinct blurs racing through the black smog of Haze.

Hurriedly pulling out Zubat's pokéball for the moment his partner makes it out of the Haze, Ran cries out in horror when the chasing blur catches up to its quarry and connects with an attack that causes Zubat to let out a pained cry, as his previously straight flight turns into a sharp nosedive.

"Zubat!" Ran cries out in fright, as the second blur doesn't let up but seems to attach to the first, seemingly accelerating the dive downwards.

Falkner lets out a surprised hiss, hurriedly calling out, "Enough, Murkrow, release!"

Watching in disbelief, Ran realizes that the Dark-type is going to listen to its base instincts rather than to its trainer, as it merely accelerates further, clearly intent on smashing Zubat's immobile form straight into the ground. Falkner's commands to Murkrow grow increasingly demanding, nearly frantic even, but Murkrow remains unresponsive.

"Zubat, please hang on! I'll recall you once you make it out of the smoke, just try and slow down!" Ran calls out frantically, eyes wide and unblinking as he watches anxiously for what feels like will be a too-short window of opportunity to recall his pokémon.

Moments away from tumbling out of Haze's obscuring effect mere feet above the ground, something miraculous occurs.

The thinning but still imposing black clouds of Haze are lit up from within, turning blindingly white in moments, as Murkrow lets out a pained and surprised squawk. Time seems to slow to a crawl as things happen all at once.

Haze's lingering effect is blown apart in moments, previously nigh-impenetrable clouds of black smog shattering into countless pitiful lingering little streams of white mist, which rapidly evaporate. Murkrow is sent hurtling through the air erratically, the Dark-type needing to struggle mightily to regain control of its flight. Most importantly however, mere feet above the ground, a white blur pulls an impressive one-eighty, going from hurtling nosedive to triumphant climb even as the blur's painfully bright silhouette grows larger.

It's impossible to look directly towards it, but Ran boldly tracks its ascent through his nearly fully-closed eyes. A final flare-up forces him to close his eyes for a second however. When his sight clears, it's to see the large flying form of his pokémon, who announces his presence with a confident and significantly deeper cry.

"Golbat!"

"Alright Golbat!" Ran cheers enthusiastically, "Are you ready to get even?"

Golbat turns his newly-evolved eyes on Murkrow, before, for the first time in his life, Ran's pokémon glowers.

"Close in and Poison Fang!" Ran orders with restored confidence, even as Falkner is still busy recovering from the facepalm he seemingly adopted sometime in the past half minute.

"Don't let it get close, Murkrow! Gust!" The Gym Leader orders, the smaller pokémon obeying to the best of its ability.

With adrenaline and fear relenting however, Ran finally gets a proper look at Murkrow and realizes that it clearly didn't come out unscathed from its fight with Zubat. Its wingbeats are slow and deep, its breaths panting and its feathers ruffled. The flying dark-type is visibly on its last wings.

Ran smiles vindictively as the Gust Murkrow launches is a pale imitation of its earlier efforts, Golbat bullying his way right through, significantly enlarged maw gaping wide as he closes in on the visibly scared Murkrow.

Just before Golbat bites down with Poison Fang, Ran issues a final cold order, his voice dripping with the venomous anger of the soon-to-be-vindicated, "Punish it, Golbat."

Poison Fang connects with a sharp hissing sound, the acrid, acidic poison audibly sinking into Murkrow's form. It only takes a second for its eyes to close, the Dark-type clearly unconscious, but Golbat doesn't relent and Ran doesn't change his order.

Falkner pulls out a pokéball and the referee announces Ran's victory, but none of that really registers with him, his attention instead firmly fixed on the limp form of Murkrow as Golbat transitions from merely biting down to shaking his prey around like a ragdoll.

Faintly, Ran realizes somebody is calling out to him, but the words don't register at first. Finally, a sharp order breaks through the silence, "ENOUGH! Call off your pokémon or I'll have to interfere!"

The words finally shake Ran out of the revenge-driven stupor he's sunken into, as he realizes that Falkner is striding into the arena properly with his hand on a weathered Ultra Ball. It takes a few more moments of faux-surprise on Ran's part, before, as Falkner unclips the ball of what has to be one of his actual Elites, he finally calls out.

"Enough, Golbat! Drop!"

Unlike Murkrow before, Golbat does obey instantly, the pathetic black ball of feathers dropping from his maw, before a quick move from Falkner manages to recall what was once a pokémon foolish enough to think it could hurt one of Ran's pokémon before impact with the ground. As the proud newly-evolved pokémon boldly cries out in victory, Ran watches Falkner unflinchingly, just daring the only slightly older trainer to reprimand him for the payback.

Falkner doesn't immediately address Ran however, instead hurling the pokéball containing the newly-recalled Murkrow towards the referee, who takes off with it deeper into the building at a dead sprint, clearly intent on getting it the urgent medical attention it requires. The Gym Leader doesn't pay that any further mind however, merely turning to meet Ran's unrepentant glare with a pensive look of his own.

For a few seconds, both trainers remain quiet, as Golbat tires of showing off for the mute crowd and circles downwards to alight behind his trainer. Finally, Falkner lets out a sigh before speaking up.

"As the Violet City Gym Leader, I hereby present you with the Zephyr Badge," He announces, pulling out said badge from a pocket on the inside of his vest, "You showed more than expected from a first-level challenger. That your Zubat has evolved into a Golbat at this stage in your journey speaks highly of your ability and patience, because Zubat are, as I'm sure you've gotten to experience firsthand, notoriously skittish and hard to train for traditional battling."

Falkner pauses for a moment, before continuing more slowly and, more importantly, at a volume too soft for the watching crowd to listen in on, "I also wish to apologize for Murkrow's behavior. He is a fresh addition for first-badge challenges and clearly hasn't been fully broken of his base instincts just yet. That's on me and I'm glad that, thanks to your pokémon's fortunate evolution, nothing bad could come of it. I would counsel you to watch your own base urges, however. Most trainers won't be as patient as I was today, when you pulled that final stunt. If you weren't at least somewhat justified in your actions, I wouldn't have given you more than a single warning before turning that Golbat of yours into a blue smear for how you kept it going after a defeated pokémon like that."

Ran's unrepentant stare turns to a glare at the threat, Golbat growling supportively behind him. Falkner's hand nonchalantly returns to the Ultra Ball at his side however, which is enough to cow Ran, Golbat falling into line along with its trainer.

"Secondly, there is another matter I'd offer you fair warning on. I don't know why you decided to leave Azalea Town without challenging the Gym. I assume perhaps some kind of loyalty to Walter, now that he has perhaps unexpectedly retired? No matter your reasoning, I'd strongly suggest you return to Azalea at once to challenge Bugsy for your second badge. Not having it doesn't just reflect poorly on you. With two of you leaving Azalea Town in similar circumstances, it also puts Bugsy in a bad light, which damages Azalea by association." Falkner continues, sharp gaze continuing to pin Ran in place, before finally easing up, as he appears to have finished delivering the most important parts of what he felt like sharing.

"Now, under the circumstances, I won't stop you if you wish to leave. However, it's tradition to offer some advice and I do feel like I have some to give, if you're willing to listen to it. So, do you wish to hear what I have to say?" The young Gym Leader asks more kindly as his expression softens, finally falling quiet entirely as he awaits Ran's answer.

It takes significant effort on Ran's part to unclench his jaw and form a polite answer, the combination of the reprimand and the unwelcome suggestion sitting poorly with him. But he manages an affirming nod well enough eventually, to assure the Gym Leader that he's willing to hear the offered advice.

"First, work on your Golbat's maneuverability and movepool. You've clearly done fine work on its speed this far, but until it eventually evolves again, it's a large and not-particularly agile target. Second, I assume your other pokémon are also poison-types?" Falkner asks, pausing to wait for Ran's begrudging affirmative nod before continuing.

"I figured. A shame, as I'm curious to see what you could have done by specializing in flying-types, but no matter. My second piece of advice is, as I said earlier, to watch your instincts. Not just because you'll make enemies, but also because of just how quiet the crowd is right now. If you wish to make it far as a professional battler, casting yourself in the role of the villain will leave you facing an uphill climb. Poison-specialists are already amongst the least popular trainers out there, not resisting your instincts will only worsen your reputation. For my third and final point, don't hesitate so much." Falkner explains, before his tone lightens for his final piece of advice, leaving Ran to look at him in surprise.

"You've got solid instincts and, assuming your Golbat isn't miles ahead of your other pokémon, you've got a well-trained team for the level you're at. Don't doubt yourself like you did during our fight a few times. At this level it's forgivable, but gain another badge or two and Gym Leaders will start punishing you for doubting yourself and second-guessing your orders in the heat of battle."

Ran nods in polite acknowledgement, not verbalizing his mutinous thoughts that he'd figured out as much about himself already.

"Oh, right," Falkner fumbles after a moment, when his wait for Ran to verbally respond turns to an awkward silence, "I also award you this TM for Roost and of course the cash prize associated with winning your first Badge. Congratulations on your accomplishment!"

"Thank you," Ran replies shortly, before finally raising his voice for the benefit of the crowd, "It's been an honor and a pleasure to fight you."

"The honor was all mine," Falkner answers gallantly, his own volume also picking up to match Ran, now clearly speaking as much to him personally as to the crowd, "I'll be keeping an ear out for news of your accomplishments on the circuit this year."

Finally allowing a proud smile to slip onto his face, Ran turns to face the crowd, as a smattering of polite, though noticeably muted, applause greets Falkner's final words, the audience clearly ready for Ran to shuffle off already so they can be entertained by the next fight. He doesn't oblige them immediately however, instead seeking out two familiar figures in the crowd.

He notices Josie first, who meets his eyes unflinchingly as she slowly claps along with the audience. Spencer sits a few rows away from her, the pair clearly not wishing to sit together. Where Josie's acknowledgement of his attention is straightforward enough however, Spencer is harder to read, his attention not on Ran but rather locked onto Golbat's form behind him.

It's hard to tell exact expressions due to the distance, but something in Ran's gut that's been feeling off for a while curdles further, as he watches Spencer staring at his first evolved pokémon with what can only be called envy.

---

Author's Note: Well hey, how about that? An evolution, a badge won, some stern words, a less-than-stellar crowd reception and looming confrontations with both of the other young trainers Ran's been spending time with! What an action-packed update indeed. Ekans, Ran's starter, didn't get to see the field in his very first gym challenge. That's gotta sting. But hey, they did it! Zephyr Badge acquired! Now, resolving things with Spencer and Josie and then onwards to... Yeah, to where exactly? That decision needs making and Ran will be making it soon. I am as always eager to read your feedback and thoughts. Also, in case you're not content to keep it at thoughts, the next two weeks' worth of uploads of this story are already up on my Patreon! That's also where eventual votes on the names of Ran's team members will be held. However, if anyone has any particularly good suggestions (possible with a theme), feel free to also bring them up here and if they're genuinely good, they might just make the polls as well.

Also, thanks a lot to everyone for the kind words and for the support, I hope you continue to enjoy my story!

 

[The Dave]

"To winning our first badges!" Ran toasts enthusiastically, finally drawing a real smile from Spencer for the first time in what feels like forever.

They're sitting in a small restaurant not too far from the Gym, drinks already arrived and lunch on the way, celebrating their accomplishment together. Spencer suggested a proper lunch at a slightly more upscale restaurant, rather than their usual modest fare within moments of them meeting back up outside of the Gym, which Ran happily accepted as a suitable way to celebrate their milestone achievement. Of course, he did insist on a quick visit to the Pokécenter to hand Golbat in for treatment first.

For a fraction of a moment, he'd also considered reaching out to Josie, but he'd immediately felt his temper flare up once more at the thought of her. At least Spencer seems to be pleased that she isn't present. It's hardly ideal, but right now, getting to the bottom of things with Spencer took priority and he might as well put the other boy in as good a mood as possible, if he's going to manage as much.

Once they've ordered, Ran intends to get straight to the point, but before he can, Spencer beats him to it and initiates the conversation with a different topic, "So, why'd you keep Zubat in there so long? Ekans could probably have taken Murkrow without too much trouble, it's unlike you to take that kind of risk. Did you suspect he was on the verge of an evolution?"

The question is almost accusatory in its intensity, but Ran waves it off, sure that he's imagining things, "Spinarak had a bad match-up and I did trust Ekans to win out if necessary, so I decided to let Zubat start to get a better idea of just where he's at. Then with the Haze I kind of hesitated for a bit before making a judgment call. The wrong one, honestly, I just got lucky that Zubat evolved when he did, otherwise things could've turned out a lot worse."

Spencer opens his mouth to say something in response, but curious about his friend's match, Ran continues with an enthusiastic question of his own before he can, "But you got to see my match! What about yours? How'd it go?"

It's clearly the right call, as Spencer's mouth closes to form a smug smile. He puffs up in his chair before answering confidently, "It was easy, honestly. Kind of insultingly so, if I really think about it. He started out with a Pidgey, which I mean come on, what's that going to do against Onix? Then he tried with a Hoothoot, hoping for Hypnosis I guess, but Onix made short work of that as well. Whole thing didn't take three minutes."

"Onix is pretty perfect against Flying-types," Ran agrees with a smile, only for Spencer's smile to sour even as he continues, "Congrats, I'm sad to have missed it."

"Yeah well, even if you hadn't been stuck with the 'no scouting' stuff, you would've been too busy talking to your new friend anyways." Spencer shrugs, avoiding eye contact as he gazes forlornly at his utensils.

Surprised, Ran is about to deny Spencer's statement, but just then, their lunch arrives, distracting him for just long enough to forget about the topic for the moment. For a few bites, both trainers are quiet, attention entirely devoted to the plates of food in front of them, in what his dad would've called typical teenage fashion.

It's Spencer who once again breaks the silence, as he's the first to pause his eating for a moment, taking a swig of water before finally clearing his throat, "What's she up to anyway? With how she stuck around to watch your match, I figured she'd have come up to you to talk afterwards or something. There's really no other excuse for her to scout the Gym out before challenging for her first badge after all."

"I'm not even sure she knows about the importance we place on that kind of stuff, honestly," Ran replies hesitantly, "She's Kantonian, after all."

"That's no excuse!" Spencer responds waspishly, as if Ran is actively defending her, "Then you should've told her before she went in!"

"I didn't get a chance to, we had a fight and she stormed in before I could tell her." Ran answers defensively, uncomfortable at just how sour Spencer's mood has turned yet again.

"You did? What about?" Spencer asks next, hostility relenting and making way for genuine curiosity.

"I was telling her about my team and why we've come to Violet City for our first badge and-" Ran starts, only to be cut off as Spencer swiftly interrupts him.

"Why would you tell her all of that! That's important intel she could use to get an advantage not just against you, but against me as well! We're all rookies in the same Conference and we might even be taking the same route, who knows if either of us will ever have to battle her in a tournament, or even worse, at the Conference itself!" Spencer rants vitriolically, lambasting Ran yet again within the span of mere minutes since the last time.

"We naturally came to the topic because I was actually explaining that your childish outburst was uncharacteristic, if you must know." Ran finally counters with some venom of his own, finally succeeding in shutting Spencer up for a few vital seconds, "You've been argumentative and bossy and generally unpleasant pretty much since the moment Bugsy became Gym Leader and I was explaining to her why that was a pretty shitty turn of events for both of us."

"You-" Spencer starts indignantly, hands slamming down on the table, rattling it and the silverware on top of it something fierce, before he pauses and noisily breathes out through his nose. When he speaks once more, he's clearly forcing himself to remain calm and civil, "I'm sorry if I've been a bit unpleasant lately. Not leaving home with a badge sucks. It's messed up my plans in a big way and I'll concede that I may have been partially taking that out on others, primarily you."

"Apology accepted." Ran replies immediately, an imperceptible weight leaving his shoulders now that they're finally clearing the air. As a show of good faith, he decides to offer an olive branch of his own, "I'm sorry for sharing information that you wanted to keep private."

Spencer waves him off, continuing almost as if Ran hasn't spoken, "I just felt really good about our initial plan, even if specializing in poison-types is a dubious call at best. But we've got our first badges now and the budget's looking alright. Plus, if what Falkner said is true, Bugsy'll be looking pretty bad once we get a few more badges under our belt. I assume he said something similar to you?"

His friend's words are gleeful at the prospect of inconveniencing Bugsy, but even though he firmly dislikes Azalea's new Gym Leader, Ran can't quite muster the same enthusiasm, "It's not just about Bugsy though, Falkner did kind of have a point that if Bugsy looks bad, that reflects on all of Azalea Town."

"Please, if it's really that serious, either Bugsy will step down or somebody will step up to take the Gym from him. Maybe Clarence underestimated him the first time and some damage to Bugsy's reputation will be enough for him to demand a rematch?" Spencer offers optimistically, making Ran slowly grow more and more enthusiastic, before said enthusiasm is crushed by Spencer's next words.

"Who knows, if we're lucky, by the time we make it there for our eight badge in eight or nine months, Bugsy might already have been run out of town!" Spencer declares eagerly, indirectly confirming what Ran has been quietly fearing for a while now.

Speaking softly, with a gentleness that hides the turmoil he's feeling internally, Ran voices a seemingly innocent question, assuming that Spencer, in his enthusiasm, won't realize his true angle, "You're that confident we'll make it to our eight badge that early?"

"Sure!" Spencer declares confidently, "Now that I've got Onix to function as our protector and powerhouse and you've got a Golbat to serve as a proper scout, you just need to capture a Tentacool to give us an extra type advantage against rock- and ground-types and then we'll be all set to make it through the Dark Caves and our rough start will be forgotten in no time!"

"And where exactly did you get the idea that you can decide what pokémon I capture?" Ran asks sharply, tone moving from one moment to the next from feigned gentleness to acid-tongued sharpness.

"I- I-" Spencer stumbles, caught off guard by the sudden change in atmosphere, "We discussed this when you weren't sure about the Dark Caves!"

"Oh did we?" Ran asks, volume threateningly low, "The way I remember it, you told me it was 'your team', 'your career', 'your decision'. I 'could' catch one if I was worried and that your mind was 'made up' whether I accepted or we went our separate ways. I'm starting to think that wasn't you taking things out on me after all, I think now that we're finally on our journey, you're just finally showing your real colors."

"Obviously I didn't mean it like that!" Spencer hurriedly attempts to assure him, but Ran is done with the niceties and the falsehoods.

"The part where you're telling me how to build my team or the part where you're giving ultimatums about our journey?" He questions brusquely, not giving Spencer any time to regather his thoughts or demur.

"I didn't- I just assumed you'd realize that Tentacool is the obvious solution to your weakness to Ground-types while having more potential than Bellsprout and needing less investment in time and money than an Oddish of all things! It's the clear answer!" Spencer defends himself hurriedly. With the topic turning to a more technical subject, he seems to regain his footing, straightening in his seat and gradually leaning forwards as he builds up speed and confidence in equal measure.

"I just thought that by now you would've figured this out. Your choices were pretty poor before, but I figured that was just because Azalea Town offered you such limited options, even if I never understood why, if you had to go for poison-types, you didn't go for a Weedle. With how much time you've put into that Spinarak, a Beedrill would have carried your team through the first four badges at least!" Spencer starts to rail properly, as Ran can only watch on in dismay. Before his very eyes, it's as if a mask he'd never noticed finally falls off and reveals Spencer's true personality.

"Ekans was an inspired choice three years ago, under the circumstances at least, and now that you've gotten lucky with your Zubat's evolution, you're better off than I feared initially. But Spinarak is a dud I'll never understand the purpose of and your emotional attachment to an Ekans that will never be more than a semi-decent coverage option at best is just stupid! If you listen to me, you might still get a half-decent team together! Catch yourself a Tentacool here in Violet and then you can get by until Ecruteak for a Gastly or by that point even a Haunter! Now those are pokémon that actually have potential! They'll be able to carry your team long enough so you can eventually buy or trade for a Bulbasaur!" The bespectacled boy in front of Ran rattles off, before finally falling quiet, staring at Ran hopefully as if truly expecting him to 'see sense'. Ran can only match his look with one of sheer disappointment.

It's no credit to his own people skills, but after years of friendship, he finally realizes just what Spencer thinks of him, which he vocalizes softly, not hiding the hurt he feels as he does so, "You think you're smarter than me. You think you're a better trainer than me. You see me as your sidekick."

Spencer doesn't truly refute his words. His response, when it comes after seconds that feel like minutes, is damning in its impotence, "I wouldn't use the word 'sidekick'."

"Well," Ran replies, hurt making way for venom, "If you're so smart, I'm surprised that you still haven't figured out that I'm not going into the Dark Caves any time in the near future. Not that that's the only thing you're wrong about."

For a moment, Spencer actually seems hurt, not that Ran cares, as he glares unrepentantly at the boy he'd thought to be his best friend. A few tense seconds pass, then, the slighter boy gets up, swiftly pulling out his wallet and throwing some money onto the table as his hurt look disappears, a superior sneer taking its place as Ran continues to glare right back.

"I'm done here. Out of respect to the friendship we once had, I'll let you off easily this time. If I run into you again, I'm wiping the floor with you and your pathetic team. Have a nice life, loser." Spencer snarls, before storming out of the restaurant, the waiter finally awkwardly hustling over to the table to ensure that the bill will be paid and the scene, which by this point has drawn the full attention of the few other guests, doesn't escalate any further, not that there's any point in him doing so at this point. Ran can't muster the energy to tell the waiter just how useless he is right now however, instead sulkily finishing his drink and waiting a few more minutes, to make sure he won't run into Spencer again.

Then, just as he's about to get up, he feels a buzz coming from his pokégear. Surprised, Ran looks at the list of names at the top of his screen, showing that he's missed quite a few texts over lunch.

His dad isn't a surprise, the man obviously eager to know how the Gym battle went. Josie is a bit more surprising, but under the circumstances, understandable. With ties with Spencer well and truly cut beyond all repair, reconciling with her suddenly becomes a lot more appealing, even if there's still a flash of anger at the sight of her name. It's the third bolded name, indicating at least one unread message, that really catches him out however, as Ran stares numbly at Bugsy's name.

Ignoring the Gym Leader's taunting name for a moment, he focuses on his dad first, sending through a confirmation of his victory along with a brief recap of the fight as he leaves the restaurant and starts slowly meandering back to the pokécenter. With the older man likely back at work by now, Ran knows he won't be getting another response until evening, but that's fine. Next, figuring that a conversation with Josie might be longer, and probably shouldn't be started whilst his feelings are still as in turmoil as they currently are, he opens Bugsy's message.

Bugsy: Hello Ran, I just got word from Falkner about your impressive showing! Congratulations on winning your first badge!

Immediately, Ran frowns, unhappy to discover that Falkner has already found the time and gone through the effort to inform his fellow young Gym Leader.

Bugsy: He also let me know that he's advised you to return to Azalea for your second badge.

Ran's frown deepens further, dismayed at blatant meddling in his journey.

Bugsy: I've thought it over a bit since Spencer and you left town - when I found the time at least, haha - and I figure I have some idea why you didn't want to battle me for your first badge.

Ran scoffs dismissively, not buying into Bugsy's feigned empathy in the least.

Bugsy: But now that I've had word from Falkner, I'm afraid I'll have to put my foot down. The way I heard it, your Golbat and you behaved in a way I will not have Azalea Town or my Gym associated with. So you can come back to Azalea and prove that you can be better, or I'll be letting the other Johto Gym Leaders know that you are, in fact, traveling without hometown approval.

That text draws a pained hiss from Ran, as the threat of facing disapproving Gym Leaders for the rest of his journey is a serious and tangible one. Making the Conference as a rookie is hard enough without running into Gym Leaders who'll do their best to stop him, within reason. Morty for example obviously wouldn't send out a Gengar for a second badge challenger, but choosing a pair of Haunter when he'd normally go with one Haunter and one Gastly might well make all the difference at that stage in Ran's journey.

Uncomfortable at just how intimidating Bugsy's words read to him, Ran tersely reads on.

Bugsy: That said, I do believe you have the potential to make it as a trainer. Come to Azalea Town, show the circuit that you acknowledge my position as Azalea's Gym Leader. If/When you win your second badge off of me, if you give a good enough showing, I'll include an extra reward. It'll show everyone that everything's water under the bridge.

Despite his anger and hesitance, some small part of Ran still perks up at the mention of an extra reward. No matter what it ends up being, Gym sponsorships are sought after with a reason.

Bugsy: You can avoid the stigma, Azalea can avoid the smear on its reputation. It's a win-win.

Bugsy: Take a day to think it over. Let me know if I can reserve the reward for you, or whether I'm better off giving it to another deserving trainer. Spencer's received the same offer.

Finally finished reading, Ran's free hand comes up to pinch at the bridge of his nose as he stops walking for a moment. Nothing is ever easy, apparently. He doesn't want to go back to Azalea Town with a single badge under his belt. Especially not when he's just had a blow-up with Spencer. It'd feel too much like crawling back with his tail between his legs the moment he lost his traveling companion.

Then again, the picture Bugsy paints is a threatening one. There's also some guilt at possibly making things harder for Azalea Town as a whole. He's got a major issue with Bugsy, one that's only amplified by the arrogant Gym Leader's harsh threat, but he doesn't want that to have a negative effect on his hometown by extension.

Not to mention the carrot Bugsy's dangling in front of him in the form of an extra reward. A larger purse, some special TM, a rare evolutionary stone or item… Even if the reward itself doesn't end up being directly useful, it'll always have an inflated resale value simply because it was awarded by a Gym Leader. It might well see him reach a point of financial security he hadn't expected to reach until he'd had at least four badges under his belt.

It's a tempting offer. Plus, without a companion to watch his back, there's some part of him that's eager to travel across familiar terrain once more, as his team continues to grow stronger. Traveling with Spencer wasn't just about the company, after all, there's also a safety in numbers for beginning trainers that he's sorry to lose this early. Not that Routes 36 and 35 are supposed to be spectacularly dangerous or anything, but it's on those routes that he intends to add a fourth team member. Wandering off the beaten path far enough to do so, without someone to watch his back, feels daunting at this stage in his journey.

Stubbornly, he closes Bugsy's messages for now, firmly resuming his path back towards the pokécenter. He won't let Bugsy just throw him into a tailspin with a few casual text messages. He's still got stuff to handle today and he'll make his decision later, when he feels like making it.

---

Author's Note: Chapter 5 is off to one heck of a start, huh? Big drama all around, as both Spencer and Bugsy have given Ran a lot to work through. The Azalea-issue is reaching its boiling point, so Ran will have to make his decision soon. Also, another reminder to feel free to leave name suggestions for the fully-evolved forms of Ran's current team members.

Can't wait to find out what Josie's got to say? Desperately want to know where Ran goes next? Eager to see the next battle(s) or to see some more time and attention for the team? The next two weeks' worth of content are already up for my supporters. Interested? Have a look at my Patreon.

 

[The Dave]

Eager for a diversion, rather than having to endlessly mull over Bugsy's words, Ran opens Josie's messages, or, as he immediately finds out, singular unread message.

Josie: Hey, I'm still in town for the rest of the day and now that we've both had some time to cool off and you've also won your badge, I don't really want to leave it like that. Can we meet up?

Ran hesitates for a moment, not looking for yet another fight today. However, the implications of him 'also' winning his badge, are enough for his curiosity to win out. Mind made up, he sends her a message to let her know that he's currently headed to his room at the pokécenter, along with the room number. Only once he's sent it, does he remember that he's sharing the room in question with Spencer.

He's about to send a clarification to Josie, but then thinks better of it. He can always text her other directions if Spencer is still around, but otherwise there's no reason to let a perfectly good room, which has been paid for already, go to waste. Mind made up, he marches into the pokécenter, briefly detouring towards the reception to retrieve Golbat's pokéball before steeling his nerves for another possible run-in with his newfound rival.

Nothing comes of it, however, as he slides his keycard through the electronic lock only to freeze when he beholds the room's interior. At first sight, it's as if the place has had a hurricane come through it only to get ransacked in the aftermath.

All of Spencer's stuff is gone, with any of Ran's stuff that was mixed up with his or that might've been on Spencer's side of the room tossed haphazardly in the general direction of Ran's bed. Shocked at just how swiftly and seemingly violently Spencer operated, Ran takes a few minutes to make sure that nothing of his has been destroyed or taken in Spencer's apparent fury. Quietly cursing his former friend's name as he starts to restore order, Ran is at least comforted by the realization that nothing's been broken.

Before he can even get halfway through putting everything back in its correct place, Ran is startled by a familiar female voice, "Whoa, what happened here?"

"Hi Josie," Ran curtly greets the girl who's just appeared in the door opening, only briefly glancing her way before continuing to clean up, as he offers her an explanation, "Spencer and I broke up and he left a mess while collecting his stuff."

"Broke up? Like…" Josie asks, before trailing off uncertainly. When no further words are forthcoming, Ran glances curiously in her direction only to discover her making an awkward gesture with her two index fingers locking together.

It takes Ran a second to catch on to just what she means, but when she does, he blusters out an indignant reply, "What?! No! I'm not- Whatever. No, we split up as traveling companions! And as friends. Not… That."

Josie's response is limited, as she merely lets out a long: "Ohhh."

Unwilling to carry another conversation immediately, awkwardness very much lingering despite Josie's clear attempt to break the ice, Ran merely continues to clean for a minute, perfectly content to either let Josie wait silently or have her be the one to initiate a conversation. After a handful of seconds, when he hears her clear her throat, it's obvious which path she's chosen.

"So I kind of went off on you because you hit on a sore spot I wasn't even aware I had and that was out of line of me." Josie offers, pausing for a moment, likely to see if Ran is about to respond, before continuing as he merely continues to clean up, "Look, I like to dish it out and that's not something a lot of people can handle. You can and I like that about you. I guess I never realized that I'm a lot less cool about it when the shoe's on the other foot, so that's something for me to work on."

She rambles for a moment, before visibly stopping herself from turning her apology into self-justification. After a second's hesitation, she continues, "Look, I'm sorry for taking things too far, alright? Just because I've got my father to help me out, that doesn't mean I get to shoot on you for trying to make your own way. I shouldn't have judged your decisions, without ever having had to deal with anything similar. That was my bad."

Ran doesn't respond immediately, letting Josie simmer for a few more seconds as he finishes putting his room back to rights and turns her words over in his head. She sounds heartfelt at least.

Finally, he turns to look Josie in the eye, the girl lingering awkwardly in the doorway.

"Feel free to sit," Ran offers first, his own voice conciliatory, finally fully breaking the awkward air hanging between both young trainers, "And close the door behind you."

Already, without even having said anything meaningful, the change in Josie's demeanor is apparent, as her previously withdrawn stance reverts to her usual upbeat behavior. The door is lazily thrown shut behind her as she bounces enthusiastically onto Spencer's former bed, bouncing up and down a few times before settling down properly to meet Ran's gaze with her own once more.

"I'm sorry about the dig about your motivations for coming to Johto," Ran finally offers in turn, "and for going after your father like that. I was upset, so I lashed out trying to upset you as well."

"Fair enough," Josie accepts easily, seemingly accepting Ran's apology at face value, "I guess dad's attitude is a bigger sore spot than I'd even realized. You couldn't have known."

Ran nods in agreement, immediately confirming as much, "I didn't, it was a shot in the dark."

"Yeah I figured," Josie sighs lazily, lounging fully onto the bed at this point, seemingly intent to relax right then and there, "So why'd you and the mighty midget call it quits?"

Despite her seeming bravado, Ran notices the way Josie's shoulders tense minutely as she glances in his direction, likely checking to see whether he'll take offense or whether they're truly back at a point where she can make her jabs without having to watch her every word. Honestly unbothered, particularly as the dig was aimed more at Spencer, whom he's less than fond of at the moment, Ran merely shrugs, but rather than offer an explanation just yet, there's still one thing Josie hasn't apologized for.

"You're not going to apologize for calling us the B-circuit?" He asks, remaining calm for the moment, in the spirit of the proper clearing of the air they're engaged in.

Josie shrugs half-heartedly, seemingly having hoped they'd be able to move right past that point, "I didn't mean to insult you. Maybe I could have used different words but, ultimately, between the two, the Kanto circuit is harder."

Ran feels his hackles rise instinctively, but rather than take full offense immediately, with how apologetic she's otherwise been, he manages to remain calm. Instead, he merely asks the obvious question, "How do you figure? Is it just because that's what your dad said, or do you have a reason?"

"Aside from the many Silver Conference 'finalists' who don't even make it past the first round or two of the Indigo League Conference?" Josie asks in clear rhetorical fashion, continuing after just a moment's pause, "It's simple numbers. We have the same number of badges and the same number of Conferences with a single winner at the end of the year. Only Kanto has a lot more trainers, so we've got a lot more competition, so the bar is higher."

Ran waves her off, finding neither of her arguments particularly compelling, but also deciding that it's not something he's likely to convince Josie of any time soon. Especially if that's the way she's been taught to see it by her own father. Rather, he decides to put the matter to rest for now.

"I disagree, but as long as you watch your words and don't go around calling us a 'B-circuit', we can leave it at that." He offers, drawing an enthusiastic nod from Josie, whose good cheer returns in rapid fashion.

"Deal! Now, you fell out with the mighty midget, what happened?" She asks eagerly, bouncing up and down on the mattress in clear anticipation, only a bowl of popcorn missing to truly complete the picture.

Figuring that he might as well offer a brief explanation, Ran draws a weary breath. Josie visibly perks up in response, clearly happy to be getting some details.

"We were having lunch to celebrate getting our badges. I wanted to figure out what's been up with his moods, but ended up finding out that he didn't see me as an equal and that he wanted to influence how I'd build my team for his own benefit." He summarizes succinctly, unable to muster his earlier anger again, the words instead coming out neutrally, as if detached from their emotional baggage.

Josie seems just the slightest bit disappointed by just how brief he summarizes everything, but she still winces in sympathy, "Yikes. Good riddance, I guess. What're the odds either of us ends up running into him again any time soon?"

"Slim to none," Ran assures her confidently, "Unless you're feeling particularly suicidal, at least. He's heading into the Dark Caves by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. Under the circumstances, he honestly might already be in there."

"You're joking!" Josie cries in blatant disbelief, "I'm not even from Johto and I know the League has a six badge advisory limit on that route!"

Ran merely offers a 'what-can-you-do'-shrug of his own, unwilling to spend any more time or energy on the topic of Spencer's foolish route of choice, "I'm aware."

"Dude must have brass ones. Damn." Josie lets out a low admiring whistle, clearly impressed by Spencer's daring. Before Ran can really get annoyed with her however, she speaks up once more.

"I mean it's still obviously an idiotic decision, but hey, props for trying." She settles on, before changing the conversation to an only slightly more pleasant topic, "So what about you? With your whole thing with Azalea, I guess you're headed for Route 36, so Ecruteak or Goldenrod next, right?"

"I was planning to go to Ecruteak next, yes," Ran admits hesitantly, unsure for a moment whether to share his newfound dilemma with Josie, before deciding that a second opinion can't really hurt and sharing his newly-received conundrum, "But both Falkner and Bugsy reached out to me today to pressure me into returning to Azalea Town for my second badge after all."

Josie freezes for a moment, before bouncing upright from her prone position to sit on the side of the bed opposite Ran's. Even as she responds, she starts to vigorously dig through her backpack, which she'd lazily discarded next to the bed in her earlier leap atop it.

"This I have to hear, hang on I'm sure I have something to snack on somewhere in here now if only I could- Aha! Found it!" She cries out fiercely, triumphantly lifting a badly crumpled, half-eaten bag of spicy chips above her head.

Next, she taps two of the pokéballs at her side, Soot the Houndour and Chief the Growlithe materializing on either side of her and eagerly lying down on the bed on either side of their sitting trainer, bracketing her sides between their warm bodies. Finally, she looks at Ran enthusiastically, not even needing to verbalize anything to make it very clear that she wants to hear more.

With a weary sigh, Ran first explains the general thrust of the cultural value placed on winning one's hometown badge, before catching Josie up on his brief conversation with Falkner and the messages he's received from Bugsy. Throughout it all, Josie steadily works her way through her bag of chips, offering just a few to the fire-types on either side of her, before stopping once Soot is the first one to let a puff of fire escape out of his eagerly chewing maw after his third bite. Finally, as Ran finishes his tale just as she shakes the last few crumbs out of the bottom of the bag, she looks at him taxingly.

"So, do you want my honest opinion or do you want to tell me how you feel about it yourself first?" She asks after a few moments, getting straight to the point in her usual manner. Under the circumstances, Ran finds he can appreciate it a lot more than when he'd only just met her.

"I doubt whether you'd change your honest opinion even if I told you what I'm thinking," Ran replies, drawing a guilty chuckle from Josie as he does so, "But I'll still take the honest opinion straight away, there's no point in beating around the bush."

"Solid," Josie agrees eagerly, "You should just bite the bullet and go back to Azalea right away. I get that it's a whole thing for you, but like I mentioned before when we, uh, had our little moment outside of Falkner's Gym, you're not going to be on Bugsy's level any time soon. Just get it out of the way now and you'll be able to go back to your original plan, the one you spent, what was it again, two years working on?"

Ran can only offer a confirming nod when Josie looks at him questioningly when she mentions the amount of time he'd spent meticulously planning out his journey, which is enough for her to keep right on going, as she rambles right on, "Then there's the hometown thing, which I guess I kind of get, even if it isn't really a thing in Kanto. Plus, being a rookie is pretty damn hard as is, you really want to try it when the Gym Leaders might actively try to hold you back? Again, I'd respect your guts, but I'd also have to reevaluate my estimation of your intelligence."

He offers a grumpy glare at the, to his mind, unnecessary comment, but Josie is clearly on a roll as she just keeps going, "Plus, there's two solid pros to going to Azalea that you didn't have before."

"Two?" Ran asks curiously, knowing full well that he's being baited but still curious just where Josie's going with this.

"Obviously there's the additional reward from Bugsy, which might be big," Josie mentions first, feigning dismissiveness before growing more energetic as she continues, "But the big thing is the company of course! If you go to Azalea Town, the two of us can travel together for a while!"

"Oh, right." Ran deadpans, doing his best to keep his voice level and his expression neutral, more focused on winding up Josie than actually considering her proposal for the moment. As he does so, the proper realization that Josie had already acquired the Zephyr Badge when she came to watch his own match, finally settles in properly.

He doesn't let that particular revelation affect his poker face however. Which is well worth it, as his lack of enthusiasm leaves Josie gaping like a fish for a few beautiful seconds, before she flushes in embarrassment when Ran finally lets out an amused snort.

"Fuck you dude, that wasn't funny." She complains half-heartedly, even as Ran laughs softly, his brief moment of mirth soon petering out as he considers her offer properly.

Traveling to Azalea Town with Josie would handily solve his worries about having to travel on his own at this early stage in his journey, which is a not insignificant argument in favor of an early return to his hometown. Her other points are also valid, yet he can't just let Bugsy win like this. The way Josie listed the arguments, the choice is obvious, but not every argument carries the same amount of weight and it's ultimately still Ran's decision.

Realizing that he won't come to a decision right then and there, Ran finally offers a proper answer, "Let me think on it for a while. I'll text you once I've made up my mind, alright?"

Recognizing the implicit goodbye in Ran's words, Josie gets up from the second bed, dusting herself off for a moment before starting to move towards the door, her two playful fire-types trailing behind her.

"Sure thing," She accepts warmly, granting him a pretty smile before offering a gentle warning, "Just keep in mind, I'm setting out tomorrow morning, if I haven't heard from you by then, Ginger and I are riding out of here. At that point, I doubt you'd catch up to us even if you wanted to."

"Fair enough." Ran replies, mimicking Josie's words from earlier in the afternoon, which draws an actual giggle from the usually 'cool' girl.

Offering a final goodbye, Josie leaves the room with a brief wave, being kind enough to close the door behind her once the pair of Chief and Soot has darted past her legs and out into the hallway. Finally alone and with no roommate to take up half the available space, Ran finally lets out his team into the small pokécenter room.

Golbat proudly cries out as he flaps up to the lighting fixture, more than happy to use it to hang upside down from the roof. With his newly enlarged form, Ran anxiously watches the ceiling for a moment to make sure it can take the weight, only to sag in relief when it shows no signs of damage or impending collapse.

Spinarak for her part skitters around the room in a hurry once she realizes that Ran is on his bed, likely assuming that Ran is going to sleep for the day. Distracted as he initially is by Golbat, by the time Ran realizes what she's doing, she's already started making herself a small nest between the legs of Ran's nightstand.

As for Ekans, Ran's starter has a brief exchange with Golbat, whose pride at his evolution is obvious, before curling up on top of Ran's legs, clearly eager to leech off of his trainer's body heat. He makes sure to lie down with his head turned right towards Ran, the poison-type's yellow eyes fixating on his own light brown pair.

Once all three of his pokémon are comfortable, Ran speaks up softly, one hand stretched out past his mattress and trailing towards the ground, allowing Spinarak to seek out some light head pats, whilst his other hand reaches out to scratch at the itchy scales on the underside of Ekans' head. As two of his three team members let out sounds of blatant delight, Ran briefly meets Golbat's gaze, which will take some getting used to. Figuring that he might as well get started on teaching the recently-evolved pokémon a general understanding of body language, Ran smiles proudly at Golbat who, after a few moments of hesitation, proudly shows off his own fangs in turn.

The result is less than friendly-looking, but Ran can tell that the gesture is well-intentioned, which is all he really cares about.

"Okay, time to catch you guys up, because I could use your help," Ran declares warmly, pride suffusing his voice as he looks at his team and his first evolved team member in particular, "First of all, Zubat evolved into Golbat today! Congrats again, Golbat."

Spinarak and Ekans let out congratulatory sounds of their own, which Golbat half-heartedly accepts with a brief jerking move of his wings.

"He did so towards the end of our Gym battle with Falkner, before winning us the badge! So we've done what we came to Violet City for," Ran starts to say, intending to move the conversation to his current conundrum, before thinking better of it as his gaze falls on Ekans, as Spinarak was aware well in advance that she wouldn't feature against Falkner, "Ekans, sorry you didn't get to contribute, Golbat did even better than I expected."

His starter doesn't audibly respond, merely offering a slow, unbothered blink, clearly communicating his acceptance. Relieved, Ran focuses once more on what comes next.

"As you may have noticed, Spencer's stuff isn't here anymore. We won't be traveling together any longer. I found out some stuff, he said some insulting stuff about some of you guys and overall he ended up being more of a dick than I ever realized." Ran speaks, to little fanfare, as his team members easily accept the news, seemingly entirely unbothered.

The only real reaction he gets is a small comforting headbut from Spinarak, head carefully angled to ensure her small horn doesn't pierce his skin. Hesitating for a moment to see if that's really all the reaction he's going to get, Ran finally continues.

"I was planning to take us to Route 36 next, heading towards Ecruteak City, but some other stuff happened today, which kind of has me rethinking things." He brings up hesitantly, drawing significantly more interest from his pokémon than his earlier statement on Spencer's absence.

Following a deep sigh, he once more explains both Falkner's words and Bugsy's messages, before finally bringing up Josie's added offer to travel together. By the time he finishes his summary, Ekans is looking at him as if he's an idiot.

Now having been forced to list out all of the reasons why travel to Azalea is back on the table out loud, plus having to accept that it, rationally, makes a lot more sense than sticking to his intended journey to Ecruteak, Ran meets his starter's annoyed stare mulishly. Ekans isn't impressed however, more than happy to enter into a staring contest with his trainer.

Ran lasts a few minutes, but ultimately, there's no competing with Ekans in a staredown. Forced to blink and break the connection between their locked gazes, he stubbornly looks away. A soft, insistent hiss from Ekans is the final drop however, as he is forced to accept what all the signs are pointing at.

"Fine, we'll go back to Azalea for our second badge." He mutters reluctantly, shifting uncomfortably on his bed as he forces out the words that go against his every instinct. Returning to Bugsy with his tail tucked between his legs hurts, probably more than is healthy, but if even his own starter thinks he's just being stubborn for the sake of it, there's really no option other than conceding defeat.

Slowly, every movement performed with ill-hidden reluctance, he grabs his pokégear to send the only recently departed Josie a brief message, confirming that he'll be in the pokécenter's foyer at eight the next morning. It's not traveling with Josie that he has a problem with, confirmed further by his brief smile when he receives a cheerful confirmation text, rather it's the general idea that he's acting according to Bugsy's will.

It rankles, but Ekans, by this point well-attuned to his moods, slides off the bed and starts insistently circling near the door, clearly intent on getting his trainer moving and out of his funk. The prospect of training is one Ran can never resist, which is why, after recalling his pokémon for the moment, he soon finds himself wandering out in Sprout Tower's general direction. Most of Violet City is too busy to train with any privacy, not to mention the risk of collateral damage, but by wandering along the lake's edge that surrounds the tower for a while, they soon reach a suitable area that offers some privacy.

With water on one side and trees on the other, Ran fishes a few small flags out of his bag, hurriedly pacing out a minor race course before releasing his team once more.

"Alright guys, the plan for today. Ekans and Golbat warm up together. Ekans, use Poison Sting to try and tag Golbat, who'll practice evasive flying. After a few laps, switch roles, using Air Cutter instead. Remember to keep things low powered. A bit of a stinger for messing up is fine, actually hurting each other and slowing down our growth isn't, right?" Ran starts, focusing on his two largest pokémon first. Getting affirmative sounds from both, he waves them off with a final word of encouragement and the mention that he'll join them to work on other stuff later, before he turns his attention fully to Spinarak.

"It's a fair way into the afternoon and those trees are giving us a lot of natural shadows to work with, which'll only get longer, so the two of us are going to continue working on Shadow Sneak, alright girl?" He asks with an encouraging smile. Spinarak enthusiastically dashes ahead of him towards the treeline whilst chittering excitedly, leaving Ran to jog after her with a pleased grin of his own. Soon enough, his mind is entirely on training, the remainder of the day passing easily and pleasantly enough.

---

Author's Note: Azalea Town it is! Some'll be happy, others won't, but I think that just shows that it was in fact a difficult decision to make, with both options having pros and cons. Ultimately, for Ran it came down to the dual factors of not wanting to make things harder for his hometown and, in a moment of stunning personal growth, opting not to bite off his nose to spite his face where Bugsy's concerned. This also confirms that Spencer is gone and Ran'll be traveling with Josie for a while at least. Now to find out how well they gel as companions!

As always, the next two weeks' worth of content, which include the journey back to Azalea Town and the story's very first interlude, an alternative POV giving us a look at what's going on with someone that isn't Ran, are already up for my supporters. Interested? Have a look at my Patreon.

 

[The Dave]

The next day at three past eight in the morning, Josie comes rushing into the pokécenter's foyer, shooting Ran an apologetic grin when she spots him. He merely lifts a single unimpressed eyebrow, before gesturing for her to lead the way out once more, which Josie does without complaint. Side-by-side, with only Chief the Growlithe for company whilst they're still within the city proper, they set out towards Azalea Town.

It doesn't take fifteen minutes before Josie's goodnaturedly complaining about their slow walking pace, which is arguably slightly below average due to Ran's insistence on letting Ekans out of his pokéball as well. She spends at least ten minutes effusively and dramatically comparing their shared progress to how much further ahead she'd already be if she were riding her Ponyta, clearly pushing the boundaries to check whether there's really no lingering hard feelings over their earlier altercation.

Rather than get upset, Ran is happy to let Josie complain, merely sniping back with a few comments about missing the quiet of the road, to Josie's evident delight, as she lets out more than one loud laugh. For his part, Ran also finds his own mood buoyed, the travel feeling lighter and seeming to pass swifter with a companion that's actually enjoying herself and who is more than willing to show as much.

In this way, the first few hours pass easily with them both in good spirits, which is only reinforced further when they discover that they both prefer a light lunch on the move to settling down for a slower meal, even if Josie would ordinarily have her meal in the saddle. They encounter a fellow rookie just after lunch who happily takes a break from hunting for a Mareep to challenge them. Upon spotting the lone ball at her side, Josie loses interest, another marked difference from Spencer's previous habit of hogging battles, leaving Ran to accept the challenge happily. Ultimately, he chooses Spinarak, who ends up facing off against a surprisingly competent Jigglypuff.

Where the pokémon proves competent however, the girl's squeamish reaction to Spinarak's appearance guarantees the outcome of the fight despite her pokémon's surprising strength. Ultimately, the fight isn't particularly memorable, but it does prove to be the start of a run of encounters, as they gradually run into an increasing number of trainers. Most are out on Route 32 to hunt for an extra team member as they await their (re)match with Falkner, but there's also more than a few trainers who are, like Ran and Josie, headed towards Azalea Town. Seeing just how many trainers they're passing even on the first day of their trip, a quiet voice in the back of Ran's mind notes that the road to Ecruteak wouldn't have been as busy, but he ignores the niggling stray thought without too much trouble.

Noticing just how many of the other trainers they encounter are spending their time on dedicated training, rather than spending the whole day traveling, Ran eventually proposes that they also break for a few hours to get some training in, only for Josie to firmly disagree. She argues that it's more efficient to just push on throughout the day and stop a bit earlier compared to other trainers, for a single proper and more concentrated batch of training in the evening, rather than the scattered, less intensive training sessions they get to observe as they walk. It's sound reasoning Ran can get behind easily enough, especially with his whole team preferring to spend the middle of the day inactive.

By that point, he's recalled Ekans and is instead giving Golbat a brief opportunity to stretch his wing by flying up overhead. From that moment on, with the shadow of Golbat's evolved form serving as an advance warning of their approach, they aren't challenged by any other beginning trainers for the rest of their day's journey.

Finally, around half past four in the afternoon, they settle on a place to camp, just a bit off the main path. With rising hills to one side and a small stream nearby, it's a nice, quiet location without any obvious dens they might end up disturbing, whilst being far enough off of the road to probably leave them undisturbed by any other trainers.

Josie starts to meticulously unfold and set up a pretty luxurious tent, whilst Ran just unrolls his bed roll and throws his sleeping bag on top of it. With his budget as tight as it was at the time and the league season beginning towards the end of summer, a tent wasn't something he'd bothered investing in just yet.

Whilst his friend is still highly invested in setting up her tent, Ginger the Ponyta obediently holding a rope taut in her mouth for her trainer, he walks out a hundred yards or so from their little camping spot towards the stream before bringing out his full team once more. Looking them over, he's quick to hand out instructions.

"Ekans, Golbat, same warm-up as yesterday, I'll put the flags out in a bit. Spinarak, get to those hills and start working on Shadow Sneak, it's almost where we want it, I know you can master it today if you put the work in! Ekans, we'll be working on Acid later to make sure you've fully got that mastered as well. Golbat, I had a word with Josie earlier today, I'll be loaning you out to her for a bit later tonight. Her fire-types are working on their ranged attacks, which should be perfect evasion training for you when I'm working with Ekans one-on-one. Is everyone clear on their tasks?" Ran lists off easily, having had plenty of time to think today's training through.

Receiving enthusiastic affirmation from Spinarak and Ekans as well as a more muted nod from Golbat, Ran happily lets his pokémon get to work, before taking a moment to take in the situation. His pokémon are training hard, his mood lighter than before thanks to being able to enjoy his journey without having to watch his every word for fear of starting a fight. It's a situation he's optimistic about getting used to, especially when he has to suppress a chuckle when he can distantly hear Josie let out a sulfurous string of swears when she experiences some setback or another in setting up her tent.

In the end, Josie gets her stuff squared away and she sets off for a training session of her own. Later that evening, as they share dinner whilst their pokémon lounge around the campfire after already having received and devoured their own meals, an errant thought pops into Ran's head.

How do Josie's team and his own compare?

Looking around their small camp, Golbat immediately stands out in his seeming absence, as he's once again sought out a spot slightly removed from everyone else, claiming the lone somewhat nearby tree as his roost, whilst allowing him an opportunity to keep watch over camp and their surroundings. The next one he looks for is Spinarak, who had, for lack of any convenient naturally occurring crevices to crawl into, gazed imploringly at Ran until he'd helped her dig a small hole, to serve as a temporary burrow. She's largely hidden from view now, as the burrow's entrance is covered by a net of her webbing, though Ran can see her peeking through two strategically placed holes.

It leaves Ekans, who has simply curled up next to Ran, draping his head in his trainer's lap for some leisurely scratches, as the lone member of Ran's team whose presence in the camp is easily spotted. It makes the differences, when comparing the positions of his own team with where Josie's team members are resting, very apparent.

Ginger the Ponyta isn't gathered around the campfire, but she's still close by, serving as a beacon of light and space heater in one, as she rests next to Josie's tent only a handful feet away. As for Chief the Growlithe and Soot the Houndour, any spectator would surely notice them first, as after at least ten minutes of tussling once they'd finished eating, they're now forming a tired and happy dogpile right next to the campfire, with Chief resting his head on top of Soot.

Clearly, compared to his own quiet, somewhat reclusive group, Josie's fire-types are entirely comfortable with being the center of attention. Though perhaps that's natural, with how the heat they naturally exude draws both people and other pokémon towards them. Still, it only further reinforces the question, because although conclusions can be drawn about their respective personalities, that isn't the question any trainer is faced with when around a trainer in the same 'category'. Rather, it's the simple matter of who is stronger.

Of course the solution is obvious, as all he needs to do to get an answer is challenge Josie to a battle. But they're out on the Routes, a fair way away from the nearest pokécenter, which incidentally is back in the direction they came, rather than the direction in which they're going. It's a problem easily solved by simply agreeing to keep things low-stakes and friendly, calling it the moment any participant looks like they're getting hurt worse than what a simple Potion could fix.

If that was all there was to it, he'd happily challenge Josie on the spot, as he finishes the last of his dinner. However, from what he's seen of her so far… Josie's mannerisms don't exactly scream 'gracious loser'. He doesn't want to be stuck with her being in a horrible mood for days on end when he beats her. Or, even worse, with another Spencer-situation.

Which is why, when he breaks the silence, it isn't to propose a match, but instead with a question about Josie's plans for her future team. As she starts to wax poetic about the many 'awesome' fire-types throughout Johto and Kanto, Ran decides to shelve the battle idea for now.

But over the next two days, as they break up camp in the morning, travel throughout the day whilst battling wild pokémon and other trainers alike, make camp once more, train in the late afternoon and early evening before retiring for the night and doing it all over again the next day, the question keeps gnawing at him.

How do they compare? What's Josie's approach to a singles battle like? How well can his team handle fire-types?

Ultimately, as they finish setting up camp once more and Josie turns to head out for a training session of her own, the dam breaks.

"Let's have a battle!" Ran bursts out, almost surprised by his own words. Still, as Josie pauses and looks towards him curiously, there's nothing left but to seem confident and eager. At least the eager part is true.

"A friendly one, just one-on-one, no wager or anything," He clarifies hurriedly, as Josie remains worryingly mute, "We'll call it if either participant is about to get hurt worse than what a Potion can fix."

Josie doesn't respond immediately, instead continuing to look at him quietly for a few long seconds, as if weighing him up. Ultimately, just as Ran is about to retract the offer, she responds.

"Alright, on one condition," She asserts boldly, "You don't get to throw a hissy fit once you've lost, alright? Because if you're going to do the whole grudge thing with me, I'd really rather not bother in the first place."

There's a sense of mild offense he feels at her words, but humor wins out, as he returns fire with a taunt of his own, "Funny, keep that in mind for after we've beaten you, alright?"

Josie's stare meets his own as she responds eagerly this time, whilst something sparks between them as twin eager grins break out on their faces, "Oh, it is on, poison boy."

Earlier hesitation completely forgotten, Ran gestures invitingly for Josie to lead the way, implicitly letting her choose a field of battle. Not that there's much variation in choice to be had, camped on a grassy field just a bit off the main Route. Still, Josie confidently sashays ahead, simply leading them a short distance from the camp, before her hand falls, as expected, to Ginger's pokéball.

With Spinarak at a significant disadvantage and using Golbat perhaps a bit unsporting, considering the Ponyta's lack of ranged options, Ran's hand in turn sinks to Ekans' pokéball.

"Come on out, bud. Mind the poison, yeah?" He calls, even as, rather than dramatically throwing out the pokéball, he merely taps its white release button, allowing Ekans to materialize right by his side for now.

On the opposite end of the field, Josie puts her hands on either side of Ginger's neck, as trainer and starter put their foreheads together for a moment. Josie clearly offers her starter some soft words, but Ran has no clue what they are. Nor does he need to know, as his own attention returns to Ekans, who looks curiously towards their opponents, before offering Ran a firm, confident nod.

In turn, Ran offers a nod of his own, before swiftly delivering a few simple instructions.

"She's going to try to run you over. Try and land a Glare, then, just Leer at her until you get an opportunity to Bite or Wrap her up. If you can immobilize the legs, that's a win as far as I'm concerned." He orders succinctly, trusting in Ekans to carry through, even if the long string of instructions is pretty demanding.

Ekans hesitates for a moment, but, after a few rapid blinks, he offers a confident hiss. Then, he slithers forwards, coming to a rest in front of Ran, clearly ready to start the battle.

On the opposite end of the field, Josie is also finished with her pep talk, as Ginger canters into position. As their pokémon stare each other down, Ran glances towards Josie once more, "You want to count us down?"

"Bah," Josie waves him off sharply, clearly eager to finally get things underway, "Let's fight already! Go!"

It's a surprising start to the fight, but fortunately Ginger was clearly no more ready for her trainer's eagerness, as the Ponyta starts for a crucial half second. Which isn't long, but it is enough for Ekans' stare, still locked directly on Ginger's own gaze, to turn into a Glare.

Ginger's legs lock up, drawing a sulfurous swear from Josie, even as Ran grins confidently, crossing his arms boldly as he does his best to keep Josie's attention off of the match. He succeeds wonderfully, as Josie shoots him a glare of her own, accompanied by a snapped command, "Oh stuff it you dork!"

Ran is more than happy to play for time, his grin merely becoming even more taunting as he keeps Josie's attention firmly on himself. Whilst he does so, Ekans easily follows his earlier orders and Leers threateningly at Ginger, who at least has regained control of her limbs, but is traipsing uncomfortably in place as she waits for an order from her trainer. Said order doesn't come immediately, as Josie wastes precious seconds awaiting some form of banter from Ran, before she finally realizes just what he's doing.

"Jerk!" She complains, before finally directing her attention to her starter, "Flame Charge Ginger, run 'em over!"

"Stick to the plan, Ekans." Ran orders easily, as he mentally dismisses Ekans' only damaging ranged option in Poison Sting, to ensure Ginger doesn't pick up any damage in excess of what a Potion can easily cover.

Ginger's hooves flare up as she starts to rush forwards, but Glare's lingering effects are clear, as her charge is more canter than gallop. Still, it makes for an intimidating sight, as flames trail behind her whilst she moves to ram into Ekans.

In response, Ran's starter merely pulls his head back slightly, ready to pounce forwards at the right moment. There's a moment's hesitation on Ran's end, as he considers whether he should order a dodge, rather than relying on Ekans to come out ahead in a straightforward exchange of attacks, but he ultimately thinks better of it.

Then, both pokémon collide, as Ekans' head shoots right past Ginger's left foreleg before starting to Wrap around, but not before Ginger in turn can ram her flaming form into the lower half of the poison-type's long form. The end result is a pained hiss on Ekans' side and a triumphant neigh from Ginger, but even as Josie enthusiastically punches the air, Ran's eyes remain on both pokémon, watching closely as Ekans crucially doesn't get thrown clear of Ginger.

Instead, he manages to loop himself around her foreleg, ensuring that even as Ginger slows to a stop, he's in a perfect position to start to fully Wrap around her.

To Josie's credit, once she notices the threat, she acts immediately.

"Shake him off Ginger!" She orders hurriedly, opening her mouth to say something further, before visibly stopping herself.

Ginger does her best, as she rears up before trying to kick out with her forelegs, but, possibly due to Glare's lingering effects, her attempts lack force. Ekans weathers them easily, winding around both of Ginger's forelegs before harshly tightening his grip.

The Ponyta's forelegs get slammed together painfully, as she wobbles in place awkwardly for a moment, before fully losing her balance and falling onto her side. Ekans winds forward, so that his lower half is binding Ginger's legs whilst giving his head the freedom to rear back. His sharp fangs glow with menacing dark-type energy, but simultaneously, both Ran and Josie call out.

"Hold it, Ekans!"

"We concede!"

Immediately, Ran's starter releases his former foe, offering a single self-satisfied hiss, before gliding over towards Ran. Ginger is a bit slow to get up, throwing her head around in agitation when she does so, but Josie manages to comfort her starter easily enough, running a calming hand down her starter's neck.

Ran, for his part, welcomes Ekans' return to his side with some scratches of his own, even as he looks his starter over. For all that Ekans won, upon closer inspection, Ginger's lone Flame Charge clearly did some significant damage, soot marks and small burns clearly visible on Ekans' form. Likewise, he can see Josie examining the upper parts of Ginger's forelegs, likely spotting more than one deep bruise where Ekans put the squeeze on her.

Everyone remains quiet for a minute, as both trainers dig out Potions and provide their pokémon with the necessary healing. Finally, however, with both pokémon patched up, Josie speaks up first, her voice blessedly light with humor, rather than heavy with frustration, "You know that if that was a real match, Ginger would've just fired up the moment Ekans started his Wrap, right?"

"In a real match, we'd have used Poison Sting after the Glare, because Ekans actually has a ranged attack." Ran retorts easily, more than happy to banter back.

His friend scoffs dismissively, clearly only just getting into the gist of things, "Yeah well in a real match, I wouldn't have wasted all that time at the start thinking you'd be a gentleman and indulge in some proper banter!"

Ran offers an accepting nod at that, giving Josie a moment to bask in her apparent 'victory'. Then, he happily brings her back down to earth.

"In a real match, Ekans and I still would've won though."

"Wha- You-" Josie sputters in flustered surprise, at a loss for words for a few beautiful seconds.

Then, she opens her mouth once more, clearly ready to keep the argument going, which draws a loud laugh from Ran.

Josie pauses in evident surprise, but he merely waves her off, not knowing how to explain the lightness in his chest. It's just nice to not have to watch his every word for fear of his traveling companion's reaction.

Still, as Josie opens her mouth once more, perhaps someone just a bit more capable of letting things go would've been even better.

---

Author's Note: Ran and Josie are off to a very different start, with a very different dynamic, than the previous pair of Ran and Spencer. There's some clear feeling out going on, but overall this should make for a significantly more enjoyable read, at least. Of course that doesn't mean they'll be sticking together forever, but... well, let's not get ahead of ourselves.

As always, the next two weeks' worth of content, which include the rest of the journey back to Azalea Town and the story's very first interlude, an alternative POV giving us a look at what's going on with someone that isn't Ran, are already up for my supporters. Interested? Have a look at my Patreon.

 

[The Dave]

A few more largely uneventful days later, a few hours before dinnertime, Ran and Josie arrive at a, for Ran, familiar location. Union-32 Rest Stop is a lot busier than it was during his previous visit however, the arena out back actively in use even as they approach and the tables out front hosting a few clusters of trainers. Ran grins enthusiastically at the sight, whistling for Golbat to descend so he can recall the flying-type for now.

"Place looks nice enough," Josie admits nonchalantly, "Though we could also push on for a few more hours and camp out just in front of the cave, so we can get through that as fast as we can over the next few days."

"We could," Ran agrees lightly, "But two hours probably won't make that big of a difference and, unlike you, I've been sleeping under the open sky since we left Violet City so I could really do with a shower."

"A shower does sound good. Alright, I'll do you a solid and we'll sleep here for a night." Josie 'graciously' allows, even as they pass by the picnic tables outside and head inside, where Ran greets Angie's smile of recognition with one of his own.

"Alright, the Pokécenter is a welcome sight too," Josie admits, but Ran doesn't respond to her comment, instead approaching Angie eagerly.

"Now there's a familiar sight! What're you doing back around these parts then?" Angie asks, greeting Ran enthusiastically.

"Change of plans, I'm going for Azalea Town second after all." He replies easily, hiding his own lingering unease at the decision without too much trouble, instead glancing around the visibly busier room, at least compared to the last time he visited.

"Well we're happy to have you! Who's your new friend?" Angie asks, the brunette shifting her attention to Josie with a welcoming smile.

"Angie, this is Josie, Josie, Angie. We met in Violet City and decided to travel together." Ran introduces the girls, both greeting the other with a smile.

"Welcome to Union-32 Rest Stop! Did Ran already go over our options earlier, or should I go over them for you?" Angie asks politely, her customer service persona easily slipping into place once more.

"He did, I'll have a private room for one with bath for the night, dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow, assuming it's served early enough?" Josie replies smugly, leaving Angie delighted and Ran blatantly jealous of the luxury she can far more easily afford to indulge in.

"We start service at six in the morning, if that's alright for you?" Angie asks, before continuing enthusiastically when Josie gives an approving nod, "Excellent, thank you for your business. What about you, Ran? Moving up in the world?"

Ran winces in reply, not even needing to vocalize his answer for Angie to start typing away at the computer on her side of the desk. Beating Falkner and having a very respectable win/loss-record has done wonders for his finances, but keeping a Golbat fed has also proven a fair bit more demanding than feeding a Zubat. Not to mention the added cost that comes with actual specialty food, rather than the generic stuff.

Then there's Goldenrod's massive specialty trainer stores in his not too distant future as well as his plan to capture a fourth team member sometime between his second and fourth badge challenges. In all, though things are definitely looking up, he doesn't really have the room to splurge just yet. Still, with Josie whistling innocently right next to him, he decides to treat himself just a bit.

"Actually, Angie, I'll take dinner as well. Other than that, just the basics, please." He says, drawing pleased smiles from both girls.

"Great! You can just pay by holding your card against the thingy for a second. If you want that shower of yours to be comfortable, Ran, I would suggest getting to it quickly. Warm water doesn't run out or anything, but if too many shower heads in the common part are active at once, it does split a few too many ways to maintain a decently satisfying water pressure." Angie instructs, leaving Ran to thank her for the tip before hurrying off to do just that.

By the time he eventually manages to make it back outside just before dinner, after a shower and a visit to the nurse, it's to see Ginger prancing around triumphantly on the battlefield behind the Rest Stop, a sulking kid recalling his defeated Wooper just as Ran comes around back.

"There you are!" Josie greets him exuberantly, gesturing him over towards her, where she enthusiastically throws an arm around his shoulder once he obliges, "I've been cleaning up, you should've seen us go!"

"Well then next time, mind your timing a bit," Ran teases with a grin, "Because I'm sorry, but after most of a week on the road, you're always going to lose out against a hot shower."

"Bah," Josie waves him off, "I'm way hotter than a crummy shower. Anyways, did you want a go? I guess you can kick people around for a bit, give me and mine a bit of a break."

"No thanks," Ran declines easily, "Dinner's coming up and I had most of the battles on the way here today. I already handed most of my team off to the nurse, notice the lack of multiple pokéballs on my belt?"

"Oh you're no fun," Josie complains lightly, before relenting and turning to head inside, the sighs of relief from some of the spectators poorly hidden, "After dinner, you should have at least one battle. You've still got the one, right? A little one-on-one to end the day?"

"Maybe," Ran agrees, as he holds the door open for Josie to enter the main building ahead of him, "Why are you so insistent though? Did you notice anyone in particular for me to battle?"

Before Josie can respond, another voice Ran vaguely recognizes cuts in, "I'll take you one-on-one, pipsqueak! Where's that sucker friend of yours? Did he already get smacked down by Falkner and run back home crying to his mommy?"

Ran turns around to notice Win, the flying-type trainer he met with Spencer just after leaving Union Cave, standing up from one of the picnic tables he was sitting at by his lonesome as he approaches. Unbothered, Ran merely follows after Josie and heads inside, not even bothering to keep the door open, forcing Win to take a few hurried paces to catch the door before it falls shut right in his face.

"What's the matter, pipsqueak? Scared?" The slightly older trainer taunts, sticking on his heels as Ran heads towards the reception desk easily, a short gesture to Josie enough to keep her from retorting in his stead.

"Not quite," Ran replies easily, glancing towards the kitchen ostentatiously before finally coming to a pause just in front of the reception desk and turning to face Win, "I just wanted to check what's for dinner. I'm surprised to see you here though. I thought you'd have moved on by now. You had your match with Falkner quite a while ago, didn't you?"

"I did, beat him like it was nothing too." Win declares proudly, opening his sleeveless leather vest to show off the Zephyr badge pinned to the inside of it.

"That's really still the story you're sticking with?" Angie speaks up from behind them, eyes narrowed at Win disapprovingly, "I looked up the footage after the first time you came in here to brag. Your Hoothoot went down without even landing a real hit and your Spearow barely edged out a win."

Ran offers the brunette a slight grin, whilst Josie audibly guffaws at the expression Win pulls as Angie catches him with his proverbial pants down. His stunned state only lasts a moment, before his face reddens as he takes two quick steps towards the desk, planting both hands on it as he looms threateningly towards Angie, who doesn't quite flinch, but she's clearly uncomfortable.

"How about you shut that mouth of yours before I give you a little reminder of your place, Mangie?" He growls at her, finally causing Ran to speak up once more.

"If you want to fight so badly, I'll put you in your place after dinner. One-on-one, one badge maximum wager, how about it?" Ran challenges, straightening up subtly as best he can to compensate for some of the height difference with the older teen at least. Not that he's particularly short, but without Spencer around to make himself seem taller, the pipsqueak comments did rankle just a bit.

It doesn't quite work, as he's still just about half a head shorter than the other trainer, but that doesn't matter to Ran, as the slight hint of doubt that creeps into Win's gaze at Ran's seeming confidence is all he needs to feel good about his actions. Then, what little doubt the arrogant trainer showed evaporates like snow before the sun, self-assuredness born from arrogance taking over.

"You're on, sucker. Get ready to join that little friend of yours in retirement." Win threatens, before turning on his heel to storm out dramatically.

He doesn't make it in time to escape Ran's retort however, short as it is, "I've already seen your best. I'm not worried."

As Win throws the door closed behind him, Josie turns to Ran with a delighted grin, "Where'd that come from?! How is this when I find out that you can pull off badass?"

Ran doesn't acknowledge her questions, focusing on hiding his pleasure at the compliment, though Angie's far more worried expression is quite a help in that regard.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Ran. Win's a piece of shit, but he's no pushover."

"Neither am I," Ran assures her with more confidence than her doubt actually lets him feel, as he pats the lone pokéball at his side, "Besides, I still owe him one for trying to sucker me into his little hustle back when we first came through here."

"Alright, alright," Josie interrupts once more, "You can discuss this all you like, but let's do so over dinner, I'm hungry!"

---

After a bracing dinner, Ran heads to the shared dorm first, claiming a bed and finally properly stowing his bag and camping gear for the night. As he's putting everything away in his footlocker, he feels the weight of more than a few eyes upon him. Glancing around, he realizes that most of the other trainers who are currently in the room are glancing at him with varying degrees of surreptitiousness.

Josie would probably ask what their issue is, but she's in her private room at the moment, stowing her gear just like he is. Unlike her, Ran just lets them carry on with whatever they're doing, more focused on his upcoming fight. Win's Spearow showed some impressive strength against Spencer, so even with his own confidence soaring after his recent string of victories, it won't do to get complacent.

Running a hand over his lone pokéball comfortingly for a moment, he lets out a heavy breath before heading outside. There, he finds Win already pacing angrily on his side of the field.

"Finally! Get to your spot already, let's do this!" The agitated trainer demands to little added effect, as Ran simply continues his slow, unbothered walk towards his side of the field.

"Do we have a referee?" Ran asks the crowd, most of the other young trainers staying at the Rest Stop gathering around the field to watch the upcoming fight. At the sight of the cautiously optimistic expressions on their faces, Ran realizes that more than a few of them have already had the displeasure of running into and losing against Win over the past few days.

There are a few older, more experienced trainers around who'd probably easily put the bully in his place, of course. But based on their previous interaction and what Angie told him during his first visit, it's unlikely that Win challenged any of them or even accepted any challenges he might have received.

"I'll be the referee." Angie announces, stepping up to the referee's box, whilst Ran notices Josie join the rest of the crowd just in time for the start of the match.

"One-on-one, no items, no leaving the field. The match begins on my signal and ends when I call it. Now, release your pokémon on my mark! 3…2…1…Release!" Angie orders authoritatively, with Ran and Win both sending out their pokémon as instructed.

Rather than showboating with his glove and having his Spearow pre-released, Win releases his Spearow from its ball, the little flying-type clearly agitated on the ground and anxious to take flight, but remaining grounded until Angie can start the fight properly.

Facing Spearow, Ekans appears.

Intrigued whispers break out amongst the crowd, as Spearow and Win shift uneasily at the sight of a predator that, in the wild, makes his living off of Spearow's eggs.

"Spearow versus Ekans! Begin!" Angie shouts suddenly, almost catching Ran off-guard due to her lack of a countdown.

"Glare!" He calls out instinctively, beating Win's more surprised command for Spearow to get into the sky by a crucial half second.

Spearow is still opening its wings when it looks straight at a pair of ominously glowing yellow eyes and freezes in place, muscles locking up as reflexes take control over its body.

Win starts shouting angrily at Spearow, repeatedly ordering it to shake off its paralysis and take flight, but his words don't have an immediate effect. Well-attuned as they are, by the time Ran orders Ekans to fire off an Acid attack, his starter is already rapidly slithering closer, his pace only decreasing marginally as he rapidly gathers the energy to fire off a large viscous blob of the purple stuff. He executes it without a hitch, tension leaching out of Ran's posture at Ekans' first successful usage of Acid in a real battle.

Spearow finally jars into motion, its wings beating down frantically once and twice more, gaining a crucial foot of height, but it's not enough to escape the incoming attack, purple acid catching the flying-type and splattering all across its form as it frantically makes its way into the sky.

"Leer, make it think twice about coming close again." Ran instructs confidently, examining Spearow's flight closely as it gains height. Purple acid is still dripping off of its form, only its wings nearly completely rid of the stuff thanks to their rapid movement.

Ekans obliges, a visible shiver running through Spearow's body as it catches sight of its opponent's threat display.

Everyone is quiet for a few tense seconds, Win seemingly weighing his options as Spearow finally stops its ascent some thirty feet in the air. Ran for his part is happy to wait so long as Spearow doesn't show any ranged attacks. With the pain from Acid and the remaining effects of paralysis still in its system, it's only a matter of time before another opportunity to strike will present itself.

Win seems to realize the same thing, finally barking out an order, "Aerial Ace! Make it pay!"

"It'll come in on a straight line, Acid in its path!" Ran orders swiftly, though the wordy command proves a hindrance, as Ekans needs to rush to fire off an underpowered attack in time, which Spearow manages to dodge as Win has plenty of time to shout out an order to abort.

"Circle and pick your moment!" Win orders, Spearow obediently transitioning to flying in a tight circle above Ekans' position, forcing Ekans to maneuver uncomfortably from its rolled up position to keep close track of the aerial threat.

"Wait for your moment, get ready to Wrap up and Bite down!" Ran instructs, as he glares at the agitated flying-type. Any second now it should-

Spearow flinches, its body locking up once more as Glare's paralysis makes itself known yet again. The flying-type plummets as Ran barks out an order over Win's angry demands for Spearow to recover.

"Go!"

Ekans shoots forwards, launching out of his coiled position with great starting speed as Spearow is about to crash down into the field. At the last second, the flying-type recovers enough to turn its nosedive into an uneasy landing, its body still wracked with little aftershocks for a few crucial seconds.

"Get out of there!" Win orders frantically, Spearow turning to look over its shoulder and eyes widening in fear a moment too late, as Ekans finally pounces, immediately wrapping around the other pokémon's neck before winding down, crushing its wings to its body.

"Peck! Force it off!" Win commands frantically, Spearow obliging to the best of its ability as its hard beak digs into the part of Ekans' coiling body it can reach.

It isn't enough however, as Ekans unrolls only enough of his upper body to give his head enough room to pull back comfortably. Then, dripping fangs glowing with a dark aura, he bites down on the back of Spearow's head, the flying-type letting out loud, pained shrieks as Ekans continues to bite down.

Win doesn't recall his pokémon however, instead continuing to give it increasingly furious orders, "Peck! Wing Attack! Steel Wing! Shake it off! Fight back!"

Spearow does its best, its famous temper keeping it conscious and struggling longer than it really should have, but Ekans doesn't let it escape from his clutches, only releasing his Bite for a second to apply a second, even firmer and utterly inescapable grip. Ran glances towards Angie, hoping that she might end the fight even if Win won't act on his own pokémon's behalf, but though she's clearly unhappy about the ongoing punishment, she makes no move to intervene.

As Spearow's resistance wanes, for a moment, Ran considers the possibility that it, like Golbat under a week ago, might evolve in the moment. But despite Win's continued raving, it quickly becomes clear that no such stroke of fortune will save it.

Finally, Spearow slips into unconsciousness, with Ekans immediately unwinding to let it slump onto the ground, as he proudly slithers back towards Ran, who receives him with a beaming smile and enthusiastic scratches just behind the poison-type's lower jaw. From the pleased hiss he gets, Ran can tell that the praise is well-received. On the other side of the field, Win fumes silently for a few seconds. Then, he recalls his Spearow before turning on his heel and pushing right through the thin ring of spectators with a brusque, unexpected push.

Before anyone has really processed that he's sinking to new depths by running away from a lost battle, he's a few lengths ahead of the nearest people and hauling ass for the distant woods. Ran can hear Josie cry out in outrage, even as Angie's angry shouts for Win to return and honor his wager go either unheard or ignored.

The edge of the woods is too close for any of them to catch up, especially with Ginger currently in the care of the local Pokécenter Nurse. Just as Ran accepts losing out on the second biggest payout in his nascent career however, one of the older trainers in attendance intervenes. In a move not too dissimilar from Win's own, back when he first intercepted Ran and Spencer, the trainer lets out a sharp, oddly resonant whistle. For a few seconds, nothing happens, even as Win makes it to the woods' edge.

Then, throwing up a cloud of dust behind it, a Dodrio races onto the scene, its trainer stepping out from the crowd just in time to throw out an arm around the base of the racing flying-type's necks. He uses the momentum of his passing pokémon to get carried along and throw his body onto the saddle attached to its long necks. In a blur, they're gone, disappearing into the woods mere seconds after Win.

"Who the hell was that guy?" Josie asks, as she jogs up towards Ran, "I didn't even get a proper look at him, other than that massive white beard of his. You reckon it's an undercover Ranger?"

"No clue," Ran admits slowly, impressed by the act of coordination the older man just pulled off, "I figured he was a hiker who kept his beard a fair bit longer than usual."

"Thin for a hiker though." Josie responds, any further discussion on the mystery man cut off as an apologetic Angie approaches the pair.

"Sorry about that, Ran, I thought Win might try and pull a stunt like this, which is why I didn't end the fight any sooner. I assumed that he wouldn't risk giving up his place to sleep with just that Hoothoot of his for protection until he can make it back to Violet City." She explains, her usually peppy demeanor now absent.

"It's not your fault, Angie. You're not responsible for his poor manners. Still, if this is how he behaves when he loses, can't you just refuse service?" Ran waves off her apology, not even remotely interested in holding Angie accountable for the actions of the local bully.

"Oh we definitely will from now on!" She agrees angrily, "I'll have a word with dad this evening, you can be sure of that! But as far as I know, this is the first time he's pulled this particular stunt. Though I'm also pretty sure that it's the first time he's lost a fight that had such a big wager attached to it. He only got the badge a short while ago and he usually only baits people into battling that he's sure to beat, after all."

Before Ran can respond, there's movement on the wood's edge, the multiple conversations going on around the arena - other trainers likewise having broken into small groups to discuss Win's behavior in hushed, scandalized tones - fall silent, as the Dodrio reappears sans rider, but with something in its leftmost beak. The flying-type jogs over at a pace still entirely unsustainable for a human, but significantly below its previous sprint.

The crowd parts as it moves straight for Ran, the object in its beak now identifiable as a rolled up stack of bills. It quietly presents said stack to Ran, who opens his hand to let the large evolved pokémon drop the money into. Doing so, its centermost head offers a brief bob of the head, before it turns on its heels and jogs back the way it came.

"Thanks!" Ran calls out after it, surprised by the odd sequence of events, as he's left holding what seems at first glance to be the exact amount Win owes him following their fight. The Dodrio doesn't respond, simply disappearing into the woods once more in short order, as the temporarily stalled conversations around the arena pick up once more, now significantly more energized as the topic largely shifts from Win to the mystery Dodrio-trainer.

Angie throws a single look at the money in Ran's hand, before perking up once more, looking at him hopefully, "So, breakfast?"

"Sure." Ran allows, peeling off the topmost two bills to hand to Angie, before putting the remaining money away safely on his person.

"And-" She starts to say, only for Ran to immediately cut her off by raising a hand, the brunette obediently falling silent.

"Don't push it." He warns, though the smile he shoots her makes it clear that he's joking.

"Worth a shot," Angie giggles, before patting Ran on the shoulder and, following a few final words, turning to head back inside once more, "Thanks for putting that douche in his place, Ran. Now that his usual ploy has backfired this badly, plus with us not offering him lodging or treatment any more, hopefully he'll find a more honest way to make his money rather than lurking around these parts and preying on exhausted rookies."

Ran shrugs off the gratitude, ill at ease with it considering his personal motives, "Not a problem. I still owed him one for before anyways."

Angie doesn't audibly respond, merely throwing Ran a pretty smile over her shoulder, which is enough for his objections to fall away, as he feels his face heat up slightly.

"So," Josie finally speaks up once more, an elbow to his ribs easily jarring him out of his temporarily distracted state, "Bugsy, Spencer, this guy, you having outstanding accounts with people isn't going to become a regular thing, right? Because that sounds exhausting."

"Nah," Ran denies dryly, "I haven't traveled enough to have any more grudges to settle."

Josie facepalms, before slouching and walking towards the main building ahead of Ran as well, who can only follow her in surprise, quickly recalling Ekans as he does so.

"What, I thought you didn't want me to have any more debts to settle?" He asks in affront, her reaction not at all what he'd expected.

"I don't, but only you could possibly voice it like that!" She complains, striding ahead of him as she does so.

Unsure of her meaning, Ran can only offer an unseen shrug, "Sorry."

Josie's scoff makes it quite clear just how much value she puts in his apology, but she lets the matter drop. Ran's next few hours are spent answering questions and accepting thanks from a number of the other younger trainers who had the displeasure of meeting Win over the past few days. Eventually, he falls into bed satisfied, the night's winnings added to his growing budget.

---

Author's Note: Sweet, sweet comeuppance! Ran is finally in a position where he can afford the occasional additional creature comfort, he's got a fun companion to travel with and now he's humbled Win, the localy bullyboy! Though who was that older guy that got Ran his prize money? A clear reminder that even as Ran's journey advances, there's a whole world out there with significantly stronger trainers who'll gradually start to impact his story more and more. Soon, we'll be returning to Azalea Town to see just how Ran handles the largest of his 'debts to settle', to use his own words (because boy what a healthy mindset to have, there's clearly work to be done).

Quick sidebar: Earlier upload today, I'm busy for most of the day so 'normal' uploading schedule wasn't feasible today.

As always, the next two weeks' worth of content, which include the rest of the journey back to Azalea Town and the story's very first interlude, an alternative POV giving us a look at what's going on with someone that isn't Ran, are already up for my supporters. Interested? Have a look at my Patreon.

 

[The Dave]

Journeying through Union Cave the second time proves a very different experience to Ran's first jaunt through the most well-patrolled cave structure in Johto. The difference a few weeks makes is very apparent, as the native pokémon are far more active and belligerent, stirred up by the large increase in foot traffic compared to most of the year. The many rock-, ground- and water-types that inhabit Union Cave pose significant challenges to both Ran and Josie's teams from a matchup perspective, but the hard work of Johto's rangers, intensified even more during this time of year, proves effective.

Though they still encounter plenty of weaker pokémon who offer said bad matchups, with the true threats driven away from the main areas by the rangers, the six trainer-owned pokémon they can rotate between see off any remaining challengers without too much effort. Against particularly tough Rock-types it does sometimes fall to Golbat to intervene, if whichever unevolved pokémon that's currently in the lead has too hard a time actually inflicting meaningful damage, but in general every one of their pokémon has at least one attack that's normally effective to rely on. At night, they camp out in small caverns or tunnels that end in dead ends, liberal doses of Potions getting their teams back into fighting shape for the next day's travel.

During their excursion they encounter a fair few other trainers traveling in both directions, though Ran and Josie mutually decide to avoid any challenges, as neither is willing to risk one of their pokémon in the middle of a multiple day long cave crawl. They still get involved in one trainer battle in a different way however, as Ran ends up functioning as an impromptu referee early in the evening of their fourth day, shortly before they're about to set up camp.

When they first come upon the scene, it's to find a hiker in his early forties vigorously berating a twelve or thirteen year old boy. The hiker has the usual full mountain beard and thick build, looming over the sheepish kid, whose black hat hair sticks up awkwardly as he nervously fiddles with the black-and-yellow cap in his hands. The hiker is gesturing agitatedly, the head of the pickaxe in his right hand coming within inches of the apologetic boy's face.

As Ran and Josie approach, the small cave lake behind the arguing trainers coming into view, the ongoing ranting of the hiker becomes audible.

"-ing to be consequences for this! Machop will be paralyzed for days! You absolute amateur! What kind of idiot are you?"

The boy winces apologetically, clearly feeling bad about whatever just transpired, "I just wanted to let Chinchou enjoy the water for as long as possible, sir, I really didn't mean anything by it. I was only gone for five min-"

"Don't try to justify your actions!" The hiker shouts angrily, "My Machop is going to be useless until I can get him back to the Pokécenter! No, there's no justifying this, only a lesson to be taught! How many pokémon do you have, boy? Any badges?"

"I- uh, that is-" The boy starts and falters a few times, the hiker growing increasingly red faced as the target of his ire does his best to gather his courage, "I've got three pokémon and 1 badge, sir. I'm really very sorry. I'm out of Paralyze Heal myself but I'd be happy t-"

"I challenge you to a one-on-one!" The Hiker interrupts angrily, "You took one of mine out of the running for days, I'll show you what that feels like. Name your terms, or else!"

"B-but I didn't-" The boy starts to defend himself, only to visibly stop himself from continuing as the Hiker puffs himself up, clearly preparing to unleash another angry diatribe, "A-alright I accept, one-on-one, for the one-badge minimum."

"Fine." The hiker snarls, before looking around for a moment, his eyes catching on Ran and Josie, who are still slowly walking closer, "You there! If one of you would be kind enough to referee for a few minutes? The boy's an idiot, I don't expect him to be able to follow basic rules without a referee to remind him of them!"

Glancing between both parties for a moment, Ran steps forward reluctantly, not wanting to leave the boy to his fate without being able to step in just in case the hiker doesn't calm down eventually, "Sure, I'll do it. One-on-one, until either pokémon faints?"

The hiker nods in satisfaction, angrily pacing away to create enough distance for a pokémon battle. The younger trainer seems far less happy, but after a moment's hesitation he puts his cap on backwards and sighs reluctantly, before also taking a few steps back to create enough of a makeshift arena for their fight.

When Ran calls for both trainers to send out their pokémon, the Hiker opts for a Graveler, but where Ran was expecting a Chinchou on the other side of the field, an Eevee appears. The Hiker is visibly surprised as well, clearly having expected the uphill battle of facing a water-type with his rock- and ground-type. The other trainer's reluctance to send out his Chinchou isn't enough to deter the Hiker however, as he immediately orders a Rollout.

What follows is an enervating game of tag, as Eevee switches constantly between using Baby-Doll Eyes to weaken the incoming attack and Quick Attack to slip out of the way. It works at first, but as Graveler builds more and more speed, the misses become closer and closer, Eevee's tail getting clipped as it dodges a fourth consecutive time. Graveler's turnaround is worryingly fast, needing less than a second to redirect right at the clearly tiring Eevee.

Eevee's trainer intervenes however, ordering a Mud-Slap followed by a dodge to the left. The attack connects, Eevee's paw swiping across the ground and turning tamped down dirt into a spray of mud through the incomprehensible ways of ground-type-energy. Graveler isn't slowed down, but it does cry out in annoyance, blindly adjusting its roll to the left to hit the dodging Eevee. Only the evolution pokémon doesn't dodge left, merely feinting in that direction before diving right instead.

It still isn't enough to escape entirely, its hindquarters hit with a meaty thwack as its dive turns into a spinning fall, but its pained cry is brief and followed by huffing pants, a clear sign of its continued consciousness. Graveler for its part finally slows down, Rollout coming to an end as it cumbersomely turns around to glare in Eevee's direction, muddy splotches around its eyes a clear sign of its impaired vision.

After a momentary stand-off, the Hiker orders Rock Throw, his opponent countering with Swift. Within moments, Graveler is getting peppered incessantly by the glowing stars formed by Swift, whilst Eevee is once more frantically darting about the field as Graveler doesn't even attempt a direct hit, instead opting for a mortar-like approach, forming large rocks within moments before lobbing them up into the air and in Eevee's general direction. With Graveler's vision impaired, it's an inspired way to wear the little normal-type down, as every burst of Quick Attack drains its stamina further.

Graveler for its part seems quite unbothered by the continued barrage of Swift it has to tolerate, type-resistance and defensive nature combining to make every hit taken little more than a pesky irritant. Still, over time, Graveler has to be taking damage, if Eevee can keep up its exhausting approach to the battle for long enough.

Unfortunately for both it and its trainer, it can't. It happens when it tries yet another Quick Attack, only to stumble forwards rather than blurring away. It manages to let out a frightened and exhausted cry, the thrown rock it was running away from landing perilously close to it. Eevee isn't hit directly, but its pained cry is enough for Graveler to change its approach. The next rock isn't lobbed, like all of its predecessors, but is thrown with speed on a straight line.

The desperate order for Eevee to dodge comes too late, as a rock almost as large as the small pokémon slams into its body, throwing Eevee off its feet in a cloud of dust. Ran raises his hand to ward off a continued attack from Graveler, but it's unnecessary, as the Hiker orders his pokémon to hold its next already formed projectile in place for now.

When the dust clears, Graveler drops its rock entirely, as Eevee lies unconscious in a small divot on the cave floor. The hiker huffs in satisfaction, recalling his Graveler before striding towards his opponents. Eevee's trainer has rushed onto the field in the meantime, following a worried shout of his pokémon's name. He's carefully looking the unconscious normal-type over even as the Hiker looms over him.

Looking up after a few more moments of worried inspection before recalling his pokémon, the boy gets up and faces his adversary with an angry, watery glare, earlier apologetic behavior long forgotten. Mulishly, he digs out the owed sum, which the Hiker accepts with a stern glare of his own.

"Next time, keep an eye on your pokémon." The Hiker warns firmly, shooting a brief look towards Ran and Josie, as if considering whether to speak to them, before turning on his heel and striding off, soon disappearing into one of the other tunnels leading out of the cavern.

"You alright, kid?" Josie asks gently, stepping up past Ran, who was more than willing to simply leave as well now that the risk of trainer-on-trainer violence has passed. Josie's expression makes it clear that he's not getting that option however, at which point he accepts that he might as well partake in the conversation as well.

"Oh yeah we're fine." The boy waves her off, casting a final look at the tunnel the Hiker disappeared into, before he once more grabs his Eevee's pokéball and brings it out again.

To Ran's surprise, Eevee reappears with a plaintive cry, the normal-type clearly a bit battered, but nowhere near its previous state of exhausted unconsciousness. The boy kneels down and starts treating the ruffled normal-type with a Potion and a comb, before seemingly realizing that Josie and Ran are both looking at the unfolding scene in surprise.

"Oh right, uh, please don't snitch?" He asks hopefully, awkwardly grinning at them as he pampers his Eevee, which clearly could've kept fighting.

"Sure thing," Josie accepts immediately, "Though why'd you have your Eevee take a dive?"

"He seemed very angry," The boy shrugs innocently, seemingly thinking nothing of his loss, "And he probably had a point. Chinchou's pretty skittish. I figured she'd be fine for a few minutes, but I shouldn't have left her without supervision. I tried to explain, but he wasn't willing to listen and I figured beating his Graveler would only have made him worse, so we put on a show and then Eevee played dead once she got a good chance to."

Ran considers the boy's reasoning, seeing the merit in it even if the thought of deliberately taking a loss, even at the smallest possible wager, stings. Josie however is clearly less-than-impressed, seeming to take offense at the mere thought of giving less than your best in a battle.

"That's crap! You should've kicked his ass! Accidents happen! You're what, twelve? That guy was in his forties, screw him for acting all superior like that!" Josie rants angrily, Ran watching in mild amusement as the boy visibly leans back from the impassioned blonde in front of him.

"I'm thirteen." The kid objects impotently, focusing on that particular detail rather than on the actual message Josie is trying to impart.

"Fine, thirteen, whatever." Josie snaps back, waving her hand dismissively, clearly having forgotten just how much it would probably bug her if someone were to underestimate her own age.

Rather than letting the little show continue however, Ran finally intervenes, "I'm Ran, this is Josie, we're on our first circuit. I assume you are as well, with you having one badge?"

"Yeah!" The boy immediately perks up, bright green eyes shifting to Ran as his entire expression clears up in moments, "I'm Grady! Grady Kendrick, Goldenrod City Gym sponsored trainer, at your service."

Ran raises a curious eyebrow at the clearly rehearsed introduction, Grady shuffling his feet awkwardly with a sheepish grin as he elaborates, "Ah, sorry about that. Whitney really drilled all of us on that. She insists we 'make a proper first impression' because we represent her. It's why she keeps all of her sponsored trainers in Goldenrod for a year, before allowing us to try for the Conference. Though I guess I kind of bungled it with that hiker just now."

"Ohhhh," Josie lets out, Grady's explanation clearly an eye-opener for her as she reasons out loud, "That's why you're a rookie at thirteen."

"Yep," Grady agrees with a broad grin, "I've had Eevee for just over a year, Bob, that's my Voltorb, for almost as long, though he was a gift from my uncle, and Chinchou for just under three months. It's why I'm pretty sure Eevee could've taken that Graveler, if we really needed to. We've worked hard with the other sponsored trainers and some of Whitney's staff for a pretty long time!"

The repeated mentions of multiple sponsored trainers finally get Ran curious enough to inquire further, as he speaks up, "How many sponsored trainers does Goldenrod's Gym have, anyways? You're making it sound like there's a lot?"

"Oh there are!" Grady asserts proudly, "We're the biggest city in Johto after all! Whitney sponsors five trainers every year, for at least a two-year period. Then she usually retains one or two per batch for long-term sponsorships, though at that point anybody she doesn't give a new offer to is usually making plenty of money to not really need the support anymore anyways!"

"Five?" Josie repeats in genuine surprise, "That's on par with Kanto's biggest Gyms!"

Grady merely nods proudly once more, "It is!"

Though still curious and more than happy to continue the conversation, a pang of hunger reminds Ran of the hour, which is why rather than continuing the interesting line of conversation, he diverts to a different topic for a moment.

"We should set up camp and get some dinner, but if you're interested Grady, we'd be happy to have you camp out with us for the night. We could exchange stories, maybe trade some tips?" He offers, glancing towards Josie as he does so to check for any objections.

"Yeah," She agrees easily, "You're welcome to join us."

Grady agrees enthusiastically, soon unveiling a practical small pop-up tent, which, unlike Josie's, is set up in a minute. Soon enough, everyone's pokémon are set up with bowls of food, the sheer number of pokémon enough to deter any curious wild critters from coming closer, as the trainers gather around Ran's small portable stove. Pooling some food together, they're all salivating at the smell of a filling stew as Ran prepares a shared dinner.

As they wait, Josie finally picks the conversation up again, "So Grady, you're one of five trainers who only just set out from Goldenrod, then?"

"Yep!" Grady agrees enthusiastically, "Whitney's rule says we have to spend one year learning at and working for the Gym before setting out, starting from the moment we got our starter. So we got to set out the day the new sponsored trainers started!"

"That's honestly a pretty good idea," Josie admits, "Sponsored trainers are obviously a lot more talented at training than average twelve-year-olds, but there's more to a journey than just being good with pokémon after all."

"Right! That's what Whitney says as well!" Grady agrees enthusiastically, "We didn't just train either, we had some classes on stuff like picking out a campsite and managing your money responsibly and things like that."

Ran nods agreeably, before voicing a question of his own, "Can I ask why you're traveling on your own, if the five of you set out at the same time?"

Grady is suddenly very interested in a perceived stain on the broad horizontal stripe of yellow running across his black shirt at chest height, one hand coming up to scratch at it as he does his best not to look directly at Ran or Josie as he answers.

"Ehh, well, Selene and Eva are best friends and Donnie and Grace are like, into each other, you know. I knew Eva wanted to start out by going to Cianwood because she has an aunt there and Donnie thinks Falkner's super cool so those two'd probably go to Violet together. I didn't really have a preference so I just thought I'd wait for one of them to invite me along and then… you know… they didn't… So I decided to go to Azalea on my own." Grady explains uneasily, his seeming status as the odd man out amongst the Goldenrod clique clearly a sore spot.

Ran nods, satisfied with the answer as it neatly explains everything, only to be surprised at the glare he receives from Josie. Silently gesturing at her to indicate his lack of understanding, he watches in confusion as she quietly sighs before turning to address Grady once more.

"So what happened in Azalea Town then? How'd you do at the Gym?" She asks kindly, successfully jarring Grady out of his contemplative mood.

"Oh, it was great!" Grady immediately replies, before regaling them with an exhaustive blow-by-blow retelling of his battle with Bugsy, ending with his team standing victorious and Grady claiming his first badge. By the time the story ends, they've long since finished dinner and Ran has grown anxious to get some training in before bed, his pokémon likewise clearly itching to get started as they've crept increasingly closer in a clear attempt at provoking their trainer into action.

With Ekans' head in his lap, Spinarak hanging off his back and Golbat hanging upside down on the cave's roof almost directly above him, Ran can't help but ask one more question before giving in to his team's unspoken wishes.

"If you spent a year training with Whitney, why didn't you challenge her for your first badge? Hell, after a year together, surely she saw enough to just give it to you?"

"Oh, right, you're not from Goldenrod," Grady hums thoughtfully, "Yeah no I know it's a thing for most of Johto to get your first badge in your hometown, but Whitney won't even let any of her sponsored trainers challenge her without at least two badges under their belts. She wants a proper idea of our progress partway through the circuit. Or that's what she says whenever anyone asks, anyways."

"I like her," Josie declares imperiously, drawing a startled laugh from Ran and a disbelieving look from Grady, "She seems sensible."

As an outraged Grady starts to badger Josie about Whitney and how it's even possible for her not to have loved Goldenrod's Gym leader before today, Ran stands up and pads away from camp softly. His team is due for a few hours worth of training before bed and if the other two want to waste more time talking or arguing, then that just means that he's the first who gets to pick out a spot to train in.

Josie's outraged squawk ten minutes later when she finally realizes Ran's long since left to start training is music to his ears.

Eventually, a few hours later, they all return to camp for the night, with Josie and Grady retiring to their respective tents and Ran once more out in the open. Though as the others recall most of their teams, with Josie only using Growlithe as a space heater for the night and Grady only having room for Eevee in his little tent, Ran doesn't mind his less-than-luxurious sleeping situation, as his own team settles around him.

Golbat once more flaps up to the cave roof, though he takes care to settle a bit further away to sleep as is his habit. He soon finds a crevice to hook onto and within no time at all, he's comfortably hanging upside down once more, keeping a careful watch over the camp.

Spinarak looks at her trainer pleadingly until Ran unzips his sleeping bag at the bottom, allowing the bug-type to crawl into the bottom part of his large sleeping bag and make herself a little nest, knowing that she can clean her own webs up in the morning in a matter of seconds. It's a preference of hers that took some getting used to, the first time Ran ended up brushing against her webs in the middle of his sleep not a memory he recalls with any fondness, but he's long used to it by now.

Finally, Ekans coils up around his pillow, slow, sibilant breaths providing just the right white noise for Ran to drift off to sleep within minutes of laying down. He still doesn't beat his starter to sleep however, as the last thing he notices before falling asleep himself, is the subtle change in Ekans' breathing, deepening just so to indicate that his starter has already nodded off for the evening.

The night passes undisturbed, the next morning livened up by saying their goodbyes to Grady, whom they exchange contact information with, before they continue their trek through Union Cave. Grady for his part moves on towards Violet City, though his stated goal of returning to Goldenrod for his third badge leaves the option of running into him again firmly on the table.

The remaining day-and-a-half spent in Union Cave are completely uneventful, though once they exit it and once more walk under an open sky, Ran can at least liven up the day's remaining walk to Azalea Town with stories of the past few years, having wandered these roads plenty during his many apricorn-gathering forays for Kurt. They're hardly the most eventful tales, but they fill the time well enough and sway Josie into telling a few stories of her own pre-CGC-years, back on her father's ranch.

With the sun slowly dipping behind Ilex Forest in the distance, they eventually wander into Azalea Town. As they do so, Ran pauses, hesitating on his exact destination now that they've made it to town. Josie carries on past him for a few steps, before realizing her companion's stopped walking. Turning around, she looks at him curiously, "What's up? Pokécenter's this way, isn't it?"

"It is," Ran agrees, moving to lead the way to the building with the distinctive red roof, "We should go there first, get everyone checked in and checked out."

"Obviously," Josie rolls her eyes, "So why are you being weird?"

Ran hesitates, but finally speaks up, "I'm back a lot earlier than expected, is all. I've been keeping dad updated on my journey of course, but I haven't exactly mentioned that I'd be heading back this way. As far as he knows, I'm somewhere on the road to Ecruteak."

Josie mulls his words over for a few seconds, remaining quiet as Ran leads her to the center of Azalea Town. With Azalea Town nowhere near the scale of Violet City, let alone Goldenrod City, reaching said town center is hardly a challenging undertaking, but she seems content enough to let the hometown trainer lead.

After a significant pause, she finally speaks up tentatively, her words clearly a shot in the dark, "Right… And your dad is going to be… disappointed to see you?"

"I don't know," Ran admits moodily, "I have a badge, I have winnings and one of my pokémon evolved, so my start's been a success by all accounts. But whenever I talked to him about my journey those plans always involved Spencer and, once Bugsy became Gym Leader, I was adamant about not returning until I had a full team and a handful of badges. Back when I didn't win the sponsorship, it was him who got me out of my funk and convinced me to give the unsponsored route a serious shot, so I just don't want him to be disappointed when I return this early."

Their conversation pauses for a few minutes, as they enter the Pokécenter and get their teams checked in. The local nurse, who greets Ran with a warm smile, promises to rush the initial cursory exam if they're willing to wait a few minutes, which Ran and Josie happily consent to. Wandering towards a nearby empty bench in the center's lobby, Ran looks around for any other familiar faces, before sitting down with a moody sigh, Josie joining him after a moment.

"He's obviously not going to be disappointed dude," She assures him, "You've just changed your routes around a bit. Realistically, if you'd caved to Spencer and you'd gone into the Dark Caves with him, would you have been stronger than you are now?"

Ran scoffs despite himself, the mere idea laughable to him.

"Exactly," Josie declares confidently, "You're doing fine. Your dad's probably just going to be happy that he's seeing you in the flesh rather than through a screen a lot sooner than he was expecting. Though if it was my family, they'd probably be pissed that I didn't mention that I'd be by any sooner. Well, that and me being in Kanto when I'm supposed to be in Johto, that'd probably be a whole thing as well."

"That is also a good point. The first part, at least." Ran admits begrudgingly, as the Pokécenter's door opens and he looks briefly at whoever is entering just as the nurse comes out from the back, their pokéballs on the tray she's holding.

What he intends to be a quick glance becomes a reason for him to duck down in his seat however, trying his best to remain unnoticed for now as Tommy Park enters the Pokécenter with noticeable pep in his step. As Ran examines the entirely oblivious Tommy, he can only conclude that things have clearly changed around Azalea, as the nurse doesn't greet the tall blonde with the beleaguered sigh she'd used so often when Tommy came back from yet another lost challenge against someone out of his league.

Instead, she offers the blonde, whose former buzzcut is more grown out than Ran has ever seen it, a genuine smile as she accepts not one, but two pokéballs from the boy. Intrigued, Ran eavesdrops subtly, Josie catching on that he's recognized a familiar face next to him, as the nurse and Tommy exchange some words.

Just after Ran learns that Tommy's come into possession of a Paras however, the nurse, likely out of a genuine desire to be friendly, does the one thing Ran would rather she didn't.

"Oh Tommy, look who's back in town! I just finished giving his and his friend's teams a quick look over. Ran and you are the same age, aren't you?" The blonde nurse smiles warmly as she nods in Ran and Josie's direction. Ran has just a moment to hide his eavesdropping from the pair at the desk, which he does to the best of his ability by glancing down at his pokégear and opening his messages.

He's just in time to make his startled look upwards genuine when Tommy shouts his name enthusiastically, "Ran! Back in town already? I thought Spencer and you weren't coming back 'till later? Speaking of, where is Glasses?"

"Hi Tommy," Ran greets the other trainer blandly, as he stands up to go and collect his pokémon from the nurse at the desk, Josie trailing him nonchalantly, "I had a change of plans. Spencer was headed to Blackthorn through the Dark Caves the last time I spoke to him, so I don't know exactly where he is right now."

"Damn, the Dark Caves…" Tommy lets out an impressed whistle, even as he takes a sidestep to allow Ran and Josie easy access to the desk, so they can retrieve their pokémon from the ever-pleasant nurse.

The nurse happily informs them that both of their teams are in fine health, though they could do with a good night's rest without any more training. Ran and Josie thank her politely, scanning their Trainer IDs one after the other to log their visits, before turning to face Tommy once more. The blonde surprisingly waits obediently for them to finish their business before speaking once more, though he eventually tries to sate his curiosity once more.

"If you two both made it to Violet City, that means you both faced Falkner though, doesn't it? Oh and I'm Tommy by the way, Tommy Park." He asks Ran, before leaning past Ran to offer a firm handshake to Josie, who accepts it with a grin of her own and an offer of her own name.

"We did." Ran confirms with a note of pride once Josie has finished introducing herself, pulling open his jacket for a moment to show off the Zephyr Badge pinned onto it on the inside.

"Alright, good for you guys!" Tommy replies with a seemingly genuine smile, "You guys staying the night here? I wouldn't want to keep you if you only just made it to town and still have other stuff to handle."

"We haven't really discussed it yet," Ran answers honestly, turning to his traveling companion as he continues, "I'm going home in a second, but I haven't gotten around to offering Josie a place to sleep for the night."

She waves him off with an easy smile, "I'll pass for the night at least. Go and surprise your dad and have a mushy reunion or whatever, I'll get a room here and enjoy a night's sleep without your team's snoring to keep me up all night."

Not taking the clear and blatantly false bait, Ran merely turns to Tommy once more, deciding to offer an olive branch to this new and improved version of Tommy Park, "It's surprisingly good to see you, Tommy. We'll be swinging by the Gym tomorrow morning to book our challenges, so if you're free for lunch after or something, we could catch up properly?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Tommy accepts with a broad grin, offering Ran a meaty pat on the back that sends him stumbling for a few steps.

Heading out, Ran pauses for a moment to watch in amusement as Tommy then turns into a floundering mess when he tries to start a proper conversation with Josie, who is objectively a very pretty girl. Rather than risking Tommy's ire if either of them notice his pause however, Ran hurriedly picks up the pace once more and swiftly exits the building.

It's only a five minute walk to his home, which he makes easily just as darkness is properly setting in. If it weren't for a bunch of new blisters, a significant tan picked up from spending days on end outside and the significant weight of his backpack, he might as well be returning from a foray into Ilex Forest or Route 33. As he stops in front of the front door however, he hesitates to knock for a moment.

Taking a final deep bracing breath, Ran knocks on the door. It takes a few seconds for him to hear approaching footsteps on the other side. He can hear his father grumbling as he fiddles with the lock, before, finally the door swings open.

"Hi dad," He greets his surprised father with his best attempt at levity, "Small change of plans, I'm doing Azalea for my second badge."

---

Author's Note: Chapter felt awkward to split into two parts, so the next update will be a (shorter) special interlude, where we leave Ran's POV for the first time, to have a look at how someone else is doing!

Also, meet Grady, yet another rookie who is experiencing the Johto-circuit and trying to make his mark. He gives just a hint of the different approaches Gyms take to stuff like sponsorships, clearly showing that Whitney's got a very different approach to the way Walter used to do things (and Bugsy was forced to do things this year, considering the lack of time he had to make any large changes). Speaking of Gyms, Tommy seems to be coming into his own as a Gym Trainer, huh? Or maybe Ran is the one that's behaving differently without Spencer's presence hanging over him?

As always, the next two weeks' worth of content, which include the story's very first interlude and Ran having a... well calling it a heart-to-heart might be a bit much, but definitely a conversation with his dad, are already up for my supporters. Interested? Have a look at my Patreon.

 

[The Dave]

Spencer Curtis, aspiring trainer and future Azalea Town Gym Leader, has been having a few absolutely rotten days. Which, considering he'd recently won his very first badge, was very much not what he'd been expecting. In fact, looking back on things later, he'd come to the vexing conclusion that things were turning out exactly how he hadn't been planning them to.

It all started perfectly, as Earthbreaker, his Onix, had completely manhandled Falkner's pathetic birds, to the stunned awe of an admiring crowd. It was exactly the kind of statement win he'd been looking for in his Gym debut.

Sure, Roost was useless to his current team, but the cash winnings combined perfectly with his significant earnings from humiliating lesser trainers near that 'Trainer School' to put him far ahead of his conservative schedule. Admittedly, he wasn't quite matching the most optimistic prognosis he'd dared to come up with, but then that'd always been a pipe dream and he was far closer to that number than the bare minimum he'd calculated. So everything looked perfect, as he raised his Zephyr Badge to the sky and soaked in the crowd's stunned silence, whilst he easily dismissed Falkner's inane nattering about Azalea and Bugsy.

But then, it all started going wrong. And it could all be traced back to Ran, the traitor.

First, he had the audacity to try and outshine Spencer's own performance by deliberately postponing his Zubat's evolution until his match with Falkner. He'd had the flying pest for almost two whole years and it just happened to evolve against Falkner? He could try pulling the other one, but even then Spencer wouldn't believe a lick of it.

Second, there'd been the 'sidekick' discussion. Merely thinking of it galled him, a sour taste rising in the back of his throat as he thought back on how Ran threw out years of friendship over a word. An inaccurate word, at that. Just because Spencer was the natural leader between the two of them, that didn't mean he'd thought of his former friend as a sidekick! If anything, he'd thought of him as his companion, whom, through some subtle guidance for his own good, could reach greater heights than he might manage unassisted. In turn, he'd then be able to better assist Spencer in his goal to avenge them both against Bugsy!

Third, their falling out meant he'd stormed off into the Dark Caves prematurely, rather than entering them fully stocked and rested the next morning. Had he stuck around Violet City for the rest of the day, he'd have encountered his rival and been forced to beat him into the ground for his impudence, something he didn't want to do just yet, out of some, at the time, lingering fondness for the ungrateful fool.

Unfortunately, as he's increasingly been discovering over the past few days, the Dark Caves are not a suitable location to dive into with anything less than ideal preparation. Already, Samurai, his Scyther, is completely out of commission. He shouldn't have ever even reached a point where Samurai had to fight in these damn Caves, but Earthbreaker needed a break to let the Super Potion do its work and Bunker, his Pineco, could do little against wild pokémon with as much strength as those that live in the Dark Caves. Well, there's Explosion, but under the circumstances, that's a last reserve he doesn't want to use. Especially not at these depths, considering the worryingly close call he'd gotten into back when capturing Earthbreaker.

So, Samurai had needed to fight and, although he'd successfully fended off the incensed Rhydon they'd stumbled into, he'd fainted mere seconds afterwards.

It left him and Earthbreaker hiding and retreating from battles more often than not, as they tried desperately to worm their way through the Dark Caves. For a few hours, he'd been able to team up with an older trainer, who was on his third circuit and who'd referred to his trek through the Dark Caves as a 'tune-up' for an impending tournament in Blackthorn City. Unfortunately, though the man had initially assumed that Spencer was also an experienced trainer with a strong team, considering the presence of Earthbreaker, things had turned sour when he caught on to Spencer's only half-filled belt.

Under questioning, he'd begrudgingly explained that he only owned one badge. At that point, the other man had ordered him to stay close and told him that they'd be taking the shortest path back to Violet City, as that exit was still the closer one at the time. Additionally, there'd been mention of reporting him to the Rangers. Which would be pointless, as he isn't doing anything illegal.

The six-badge threshold is advisory, after all.

Still, he'd had no option but to mount Earthbreaker in a moment of inattentiveness on the other man's end, hurriedly burrowing an alternative path and escaping his supervision. He couldn't get dragged all the way back to Violet City, after all. Not only would it be a massive waste of time but it'd stick him with a far worse route which would keep him from obtaining his fourth team member for ages.

Such a thing couldn't be allowed to stand and so, he hadn't let it.

Still, now, having earned some ugly bruises over the past day, as Earthbreaker's many retreats from dangerous wild pokémon have included some spectacularly close calls, it's hard to stay positive about his odds of making it through the Dark Caves. But retreating is not an option. Not now.

So, though every single fiber of his being objects, he finally gives the order he's been wrestling with for the past half hour.

"Earthbreaker, open up." He commands, his steely voice not betraying any nerves, hesitance or disgust.

Obediently, the largest of his team members open his massive mouth, unveiling a threatening chasm that, theoretically, he should be able to sit in without too much trouble. Ascending up Earthbreaker's lower jaw, before stepping over and between the craggy boulders that function as his rock-type's 'teeth', Spencer starts pulling lengths of rope from his bag.

"This isn't going to be comfortable, but don't you dare bite through these ropes, or even so much as nudge them, you hear me, Earthbreaker?!" He orders confidently, even as he starts securing himself by rope to three different 'teeth'.

Earthbreaker lets out a keening groan that shows his displeasure, but he doesn't disobey. Which will have to do, for now. Later, when they've made it out of this hellhole, he'll make it up to him, somehow.

"Alright, keep us heading northeast and upwards! The sooner we make it out of here, the sooner I can remove the ropes and the sooner you'll get your reward!" He instructs. Then, Earthbreaker's massive maw closes.

---

Riding inside of Earthbreaker's maw is unpleasant and confusing, as all the indications he gets of progress are the shaking and grinding of earth and stone and the occasional shudder that knocks him about as his trusty mount encounters resistance or makes a brusque movement. At times, he can at least tell when they're in a pre-existing tunnel, as Earthbreaker moves more freely and, going off sound alone, more swiftly then. Worryingly often, however, he seems to burrow into rock and soil, likely scared off or forced away by the native population of stronger pokémon.

It's a galling thought, to think that his mighty Onix must avoid confrontation with simple wild pokémon, but Earthbreaker lived in the relatively tranquil Union Cave. Its odd position and the League's efforts there long since having 'tamed' the area. The Dark Caves are another matter, as the League deliberately keeps the wild population there as undisturbed as possible. This makes it a perfect training area for strong trainers, but perhaps, just perhaps, it makes it too dangerous for less-experienced trainers to travel through them.

With Earthbreaker to ease and speed up his travel and Bunker as a last-resort for any truly dangerous encounters, he'd thought that making it through would be manageable. Not easy, of course, but manageable. However, as Earthbreaker yet again has to suddenly burrow down into the ground, going off of the rumbling that runs through his body and the rough tremors that are strong enough to knock Spencer around so badly that one of his ropes actually slips loose for a few terrifying seconds, he worriedly concludes that perhaps he overestimated himself after all.

It is a worrying thought, but before he can properly analyze it, things get even worse.

Because suddenly the quaking, which is a constant companion whenever Earthbreaker burrows, intensifies. A lot.

Then, there is a loud crash, as stone slams into stone. The next thing he knows, he's getting fully thrown about inside of Earthbreaker's mouth. His head bangs painfully into the roof of Earthbreaker's stone mouth, neck bending dangerously as his upwards momentum pushes him onwards for a moment longer. Then he slams harshly down back onto his previous perch, which itself is by no means a soft landing zone. Then he gets knocked to the left, slamming into one of the teeth he'd secured a rope around.

For the next few seconds, he gets banged around too badly to keep track of everything he hits and what he hits it with. As the ropes all come loose, all he can do is desperately try and retain some control over the crashes, to avoid tumbling down into Earthbreaker's throat. Suddenly, there's light, as Earthbreaker's mouth opens with a painful keen.

Under the circumstances, outside seems no safer than inside, but he doesn't get a choice in the matter. Because, with his shoulder painfully catching against one last tooth on his way out, Spencer simply gets thrown out of Earthbreaker's mouth when the latter's head gets slammed against the ground.

Desperately, badly bruised, bleeding and with what feels like an arm that's barely still hanging onto the rest of his body, Spencer desperately scrambles to get clear of Earthbreaker. He crawls forwards on his hands and knees frantically, not even trying to make it to his feet as he simply seeks distance. At the same time, he hurriedly tries to gain his bearings, only to finally realize just what happened to throw Earthbreaker about as badly as he did.

Because his Onix is engaged in a losing fight with a larger member of the species. A badly losing fight, at that. The other Onix has immobilized most of Earthbreaker's lower body, curling around him and Binding him in place. Earthbreaker desperately throws his head around, trying to ram into the neck of the other Onix as he struggles to free himself, but he doesn't succeed. Instead, it is the older, larger, territorial Onix that lands another damaging blow, the rocky spine on top of its head slamming into Earthbreaker's lower jaw with a crunching sound, as stone crumbles and falls away, leaving a terrible gash there.

Frantically, Spencer taps two pokéballs at once, recalling Earthbreaker, whose head slams into the ground with closed eyes as he faints on the spot, and sending out Bunker the Pineco.

"EXPLOSION!" He shouts immediately, desperately turning around and scrambling to get away even as Bunker immediately starts glowing an ominous white.

It is his starter's complete lack of hesitation which proves vital, as even whilst scrambling to make it to his feet and get away, Spencer can hear the Onix behind him swinging around to attack the new pokémon on the field. Desperately, he manages a few stumbling steps, his entire body crying out in displeasure as his various injuries both minor and major make their presence known.

Then, there is a deafening kaboom. His body gets thrown forwards. Then, darkness claims him.

---

He wakes up in two strong arms, the darkness above his head making it clear that he's still in the Dark Caves. Ahead of him, there's a brighter light source than he'd dared to use himself, surely drawing the ire of more than one powerful wild pokémon. Multiple sources of pain remind him of his injuries, but he still cranes his head around to get a better idea of just what's happening.

He's being carried by a Kangaskhan, whilst up ahead, trademark black and orange clothes identify what is most definitely a Pokémon Ranger. By her side, a Vaporeon marches in lockstep with her, its head continuously shifting from left to right as it scans the path they're walking.

"W-what happened to Bunker? Where are you taking me?" He manages to ask, voice coming out weak and croaky.

"Oh good, you're awake," The Ranger acknowledges with a soft smile, pretty red-brown eyes sparkling from the reflected light of her flashlight as she turns to look at him for a moment, "I assume Bunker is your Pineco? I recalled it, assuming you had a team of three, all of them are accounted for. As for where we're going, I'm taking you out of the Caves, kid. I patched you up a bit to make sure I could move you safely, but you need a real doctor."

"I get that, thank you," Spencer acknowledges, not wanting to seem ungrateful, but still needing his question answered badly, "But where is that? Violet or Blackthorn?"

The Ranger's pretty eyes harden into a flinty glare, mouth pulling down into a disapproving frown, "Blackthorn. Congrats, you're an idiot, but at least you're a lucky idiot."

His temper rises at the unwarranted insult, but it cannot defeat the sheer might of exhaustion which, now that the one question burning in his mind has been given a satisfactory answer, overpowers all other feelings. Already, he can feel himself drifting back off to sleep.

"I'm not an idiot." He musters, but if the Ranger responds to his truthful statement, then he doesn't know it, as sleep claims him once more.

---

Author's Note: Spencer! What are you doing, you insane fool? Though I know how he'd answer if he could: "I made it to Blackthorn, didn't I?" At this point, I find myself once again promising that the story's overall tone, as well as the characters within it, will become more light-hearted with time.

As previously mentioned, this update is a shorter interlude after the 'bigger' chapter 7. On Wednesday, we return to our regularly scheduled Ran-POVs.

As always, the next two weeks' worth of content, which includes Ran challenging for the Hive Badge, are already available to my supporters. Interested? Have a look at my Patreon. Even if you're not interested in Early Access, if you've got something to spare, I'd really appreciate any help you can offer. I'm eyeing a team picture commission for around chapter 20, so some help towards that end would also be very welcome. So if a one-off donation is more your speed, please check out my Ko-fi.