A Viper in the Hole (Pokémon)

Chapter 6, part 2
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.
 
Last edited:
I'm not getting it either tbh. Overall though, awesome showing of the major difference between Ran and Spencer when facing off against the same trainer. Spencer seems to be all about raw power while talking about "optimization" whereas Ran is very much "I will train my pokemon to be the absolute best they can be within their specialities. And then beyond."
 
... I hesitate to ask, but... Bomb? What am I not getting here?
Win is now a potential Rocket recruit, which would open them up for a future return to the plot.

Obviously this is all conjecture in my part, but the Idea is there now. So unless it gets fully confirmed/denied, it'll just be there. In the background. Waiting for Win's return to the plot.

Honestly, I assumed that the MC was gonna be the one that'd be Rocket recruited due to the Poison typing, but with his return to face Bugsy, it doesn't seem to be that kind of story.
 
Given how he treats his pokemon, I don't see any way that Ran would be willing to join Team Rocket. That's why I posited that we'll probably see Spencer in a Rocket uniform eventually.
 
Yeah, Spencer is definitely a candidate. Would add to the drama if Spencer and Win meet back up there too.
 
Chapter 7
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.
 
Interesting. Also Grady's design is a dead ringer for Ethan, aka Gold from the games and manga.

It looks like not having Spencer as a traveling companion is already doing Ran's mindset wonders. If Spencer was still there, he'd have likely done his best to avoid or disparage Tommy. Instead Ran takes the neutral route and is able to see that Tommy has actually matured.
 
Interlude 1: Spencer
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.
 
Last edited:
What a self-centred person.

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.
This part in particular was very telling. As if no one else was also there.
 
Yeeesh, Spencer is... wow. I have very few words that I can use in a public forum about this kind of bone-headed risk-taking ego-inflating bullshit. Spencer is lucky that his damn Onix didn't just decide to spit him out or something. And that's also not knowing how badly hurt his Onix is. I can't imagine Jasmine being all that approving of him attempting to be a Steel Specialist.
 
Chapter 8, part 1
After an almost uncomfortably tight hug and a move to the kitchen, where his father is clearly in the middle of making dinner, Ran ends up sitting at the dinner table with a glass of water, as his father slowly stirs the pasta sauce he's got on the fire.

"Some advance notice would've killed you?" His father starts, annoyance clear in his message but not in his tone, as he looks at Ran fondly, "I would've gotten more food for dinner. Now I won't have a warm lunch tomorrow."

"Sorry." Ran apologizes briefly, not elaborating any further.

"Well, come on, out with it, how've you been, what's happened?" His father urges, even as he offers a teaspoon filled with sauce for Ran to taste.

"Bit bland," Ran offers first, his father nodding agreeably as he starts unscrewing the lids off a few spice jars and starts adding them to the sauce, "So uhm, everything up to beating Falkner I sent was right. Well, except for one minor detail. Zubat didn't beat Falkner."

Ran's hand drifts to Golbat's pokéball, but before he can even unclip it, his father's sharp tongue is already rearing its head, "What, you figured I wouldn't be impressed enough that you needed two to get the job done?"

"Uh, no, actually," Ran denies awkwardly, before finally simply releasing Golbat next to the table, his pokémon hurriedly folding his wings to avoid knocking anything over, "But I don't have a Zubat anymore. He evolved."

"I can see that," His father allows, looking Golbat over taxingly for a moment, before returning his attention to the pots in front of him, which he carries over to the table, "Return him for now, dinner's ready."

Ran obediently recalls Golbat after offering his pokémon a brief thank you, eagerly offering his plate when his father puts serving spoons into both pots. For a few moments, they're both quiet, as plates are filled and they both dig in enthusiastically.

Finally, Ran continues his story, "I didn't tell you, because by the time I texted you, I'd had a fight with Spencer about where to go after Violet City. Then Josie, the girl I mentioned in my texts, offered to let me travel with her back this way and I hadn't figured out if I'd accept that yet. Once I did start traveling this way, I didn't really know how to tell you all of that in a text at first and then after a few days, it just felt like a bigger and bigger deal that I hadn't told you yet and then-"

"You're rambling," His father interrupts sharply, "Stop it."

"Sorry." Ran apologizes once more, awkwardly looking down at his rapidly emptying plate.

"This fight with Spencer..." His father begins leadingly, before trailing off. Ran doesn't respond however, merely reluctantly meeting his father's eyes, not wanting to discuss just how badly he'd misjudged his friendship with Spencer for all these years.

When Ran doesn't respond, his father lets out a heavy sigh, before forging ahead, "Do you want to talk about it? Ever since you first started planning with him, it was always 'Spencer and I this' and 'Spencer and I that'... Well, except for when you had that fight about Ekans' spot on your team."

Ran still refuses to respond, the mention of his first fight with Spencer enough for him to break eye contact with his father entirely. The older man stares at him taxingly for a few moments, before finally letting out an inscrutable hum.

"Hmm, so you beat Falkner two to nothing then?" His father asks, not acknowledging Ran's dodging of the Spencer-issue any further.

"I did." Ran confirms concisely, taking care not to start rambling again lest he risk his father turning the conversation to an awkward topic again.

"Good. What about this Josie, if you're still traveling with her, why isn't she here?" His father inquires next, cleaning off the last bit of sauce from his empty plate.

"She's staying at the Pokécenter," Ran admits hesitantly, "She didn't want to impose."

His father nods, one eyebrow lifting in amusement as Ran cleans out the pots to fill his plate once more, "Well the road's clearly doing you some good, if you're eating like this."

"There's just no competing with home cooking." Ran justifies his speedy eating with a guilty shrug, only to nearly choke on his pasta at his father's next question.

"So is she your girlfriend then or what's the situation?"

"W-What- No!" Ran denies hurriedly between coughs, needing a moment to gather his breath before he elaborates further, "She's just a friend. We met at Sprout Tower and had some double battles together, we celebrated getting our first badges together and when I fell out with Spencer, it just ended up making sense for the two of us to travel together."

His dad nods sagely, "Probably better not to if you're planning to travel together for a longer time anyways. At your age, hormones tend to complicate things."

"Yes, dad." Ran answers morosely, not even bothering to defend himself or dispute his father's words, knowing his father well enough to know when the man's mind is made up.

"You'll bring her by for dinner tomorrow," His father declares next, "And let me know once you've scheduled your match at the Gym, the sooner I can tell my boss when I need half a day off, the better."

"Alright dad, we'll be going by the Gym just before lunch tomorrow, I'll text you right after." Ran agrees easily, his father finally nodding approvingly before gathering the dirty dishes and starting to clean up.

"Good, go have a shower. I'm playing cards with the guys tonight, so you'll have the place to yourself in a bit. I trust the other two to know their bodies well enough and to be careful, but if you bring Golbat out, be sure he doesn't knock anything over." His father instructs once more, before starting on the dishes, the conversation clearly over.

The remainder of the evening is almost oddly uneventful, the nurse's reminder to give his pokémon a proper rest leaving Ran with very little to do after his shower. Eventually, he ends up in his room with Spinarak and Ekans in the positions they've often occupied over the past few years, only Golbat having to move from the small perch Ran'd made for his previous form to the inside of the bedroom's old wardrobe. It's a funny sight, Golbat's ears just about grazing the bottom of the wardrobe, but it's also a stark reminder of the progress they've made.

Eventually, with a small stack of comics by his side and his pokémon lounging in the room, occasionally exchanging some small sounds amongst themselves, it's almost as if he's properly home again. For a night, at least.

The next day, after enjoying the double rare luxuries of a soft bed and being able to sleep in for a few hours, he heads back to the Pokécenter where Josie is already waiting for him. They exchange a few quick words, with Ran mentioning his father's demand that she attend dinner and confirming that his meeting with his dad went well, whilst Josie for her part happily tells him about Tommy's repeated failed attempts at flirting with her the previous evening.

They enter the Gym shortly afterwards, the place buzzing with activity as the circuit is well and truly underway and inexperienced trainers from all over have started swarming towards the most inexperienced Gym leader on the circuit now that the word on Bugsy taking over is well and truly out. There's actually a short line in front of the reception desk, more than one eager trainer lined up to book their own challenge.

As they join the line, Ran looks around the reception area. There's still clear signs of the previous ownership, the water motif still present in the tiled floor as the standout example, but Bugsy's already had a lot of work done. The old-fashioned wainscot that gave the whole reception area the vibe of an old-timey steamboat has been replaced by a mix of paints. A kind of forest green is the dominant color, with hints of lighter olive green to simulate the effect of sunlight breaking through. Over it all, an asymmetrical array of white lines has been painted in a clear simulation of webs.

It gives the whole place a significantly earthier atmosphere, especially with the furniture also replaced, as stools and benches that looked like they belonged on a cruise ship have been replaced by and large by furniture that wouldn't look out of place on a camping trip. As the line advances and they reach the front desk, Ran concludes that the only thing that's still clearly missing, other than a new floor, is a large overhead window, to let in more sunlight to really nail down the forest clearing vibe the Gym is going for. Though considering how little time Bugsy's had and how busy the Gym is during the circuit, it's no real surprise that those kinds of major changes haven't been managed yet.

The receptionist is an unfamiliar woman Ran estimates to be in her thirties or forties, only remarkable to him in the sense that he'd never met her before which, in Azalea Town, was unlikely to the point of being impossible. Unsurprisingly, the woman doesn't seem to recognize him either, confirming, to Ran's mind, that Bugsy brought in an outside hire.

Scheduling their battles is a pretty easy affair, as they hand over their IDs and then merely have to wait for the receptionist to go towards Bugsy's next available opening. To Ran's pleasant surprise, it's only a seven day wait this time, rather than the nine day wait he'd been met with back in Violet. That isn't the only surprise either, as the receptionist, rather than immediately handing them their IDs back, instead actively inquires whether they're interested in taking on the Gym Trainer challenge as well.

Nearly every Gym offers such a challenge, but after not having it mentioned in Violet and not inquiring about it further himself, Ran wasn't expecting anybody to actively advertise theirs. Before he can properly process his surprise, Josie is already answering the receptionist.

"What's the challenge structure and what are the costs and rewards?" She inquires eagerly, clearly optimistic about what the Gym might be able to offer.

"For the second badge specifically, the challenge is a singles battle using two pokémon against a Gym Trainer. The Gym Trainer is allowed to use held items, the challenger is not. At this time, we are not able to offer a separate reward, as the Gym is still adjusting to new management. Because of this however, Gym Leader Bugsy is waiving the associated costs for now, essentially making our Gym Trainer Challenge a perfect tune-up opportunity for anyone who wants to get some extra experience fighting against Bug-types!" The receptionist tells them enthusiastically, clearly trying to mask just how underwhelming the offer is by giving it with a smile.

Before either of them can reject however, Tommy pops up behind them, lunchtime clearly having arrived as the big lug enthusiastically butts right into their conversation.

"What do you say, Ran? A good match between two locals to show all these traveling types that even if our town's pretty small, we've still got some real promising trainers to be proud of?" Tommy attempts to sway him, aiming to play on Ran's less than stellar hometown pride.

Ran hesitates for a moment, before yielding, figuring that it'll be an opportunity to measure his progress against someone who started out at the same time and under the same circumstances as him, "Alright, on the condition that you use your personal team."

"Of course!" Tommy agrees with an enthusiastic grin, "Wouldn't have it any other way. Hell, let's knock it out right now before we go have lunch. Field's free anyways, Bugsy just went on his own break!"

The receptionist lets out a beleaguered sigh, but Tommy cuts her off before she can even start complaining, "I know Mabel, I know, I'm terrible, I'm a monster. Just book us real quick before you go on your own break, alright? I'll bring cake for the break room tomorrow to make it up to you!"

"Homemade?" She asks, visibly falling for Tommy's bribery.

"I'll get on it the minute I get home this evening." Tommy vows over his shoulder, already eagerly hustling Ran and Josie through the double doors behind the reception area and directly to the Gym's main field.

As they are urged ahead by Tommy, Ran turns apologetically towards Josie, "Sorry about that, you were the one to ask and now I'm stealing the limelight."

"Don't worry about it," Josie waves him off easily, "I was only interested if there was a proper reward. I should've figured that wouldn't be the case for a Gym that's only just changed ownership. Falkner took over his own dad's Gym way longer ago and even he didn't have a decent Gym Trainer Challenge set up for the lower levels yet, so it figures that Bugsy hasn't gotten to it yet either."

"Hey now," Tommy objects loudly from behind them as they walk out onto the field, Josie veering off towards the bleachers as Ran crosses the field towards the far trainer's box, "Bugsy's been doing a real solid job here! After Mister Phillips left on such short notice, none of his Gym Trainers wanted to stick around, so Bugsy had to cover a lot of ground in very little time. He's been working his ass off establishing connections, building out a broad enough roster of Gym pokémon for all levels of challengers, looking for more staff and tons of other stuff!"

"Hey, don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming the guy," Josie clarifies easily, sinking down on her seat as she gestures for Ran and Tommy to get on with it, "It's just inconvenient timing, nobody's at fault. Now get to it already, I'll ref from here. Honestly figured the ref or some of the spectators would still be around though…"

"Last fight must've been a short one," Tommy muses as he considers Josie's words, "Plus, everybody knows that Bugsy takes a break at this hour, so that's probably why everyone cleared out so fast. Now let's do this! Come on out Paras!"

Ran hesitates for a moment as he notices the clear silvery sparkles on Paras' body, visible in brief spurts as the orange pokémon moves around under the light. It's a clear sign of the Bug-boosting Silver Powder and enough reason for him to consider sending out Golbat. It's only a moment however, then he chooses a ball and throws it out.

"Let's do this, Spinarak!" He calls out confidently, his only bug-type arriving on the field.

"Alright, on my signal." Josie announces dryly, before starting to count them down.

"Three… Two… One… Go!"



Author's Note: Smaller update today, as Ran isn't ready or willing to discuss the Spencer-situation and his battle against Tommy would've thrown the rest of the chapter out of whack. It promises to be a fun match however, as Tommy will be using held items, a wrinkle Ran hasn't had to contend with before. Then, inevitably, Ran's first confrontation with Bugsy awaits in the next chapter. That promises to be fun one. There isn't all that much to discuss here, so instead a general question: What Gym battle, barring Bugsy, are you most looking forward to? What about other trainers Ran encounters on the circuit? Any particular team specialties or combinations you're particularly interested in seeing?

As always, the next two weeks' worth of content, which includes Ran challenging for the Hive Badge, are already available to my supporters. Additionally, there's a large interlude from Bugsy's POV on there which was voted on by this month's Contributors and which sheds a lot of light on what Bugsy's been up to and how he sees things. 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.
 
Chapter 8, part 2
"Get spooky and follow up with Poison Sting." Ran orders, ignoring Tommy's order for Paras to produce Stun Spore, trusting in Spinarak to handle that threat without further instruction.

His trust isn't misplaced, as while Paras starts shaking and throwing paralytic spores into the air, Spinarak seems to triple in size within moments before seemingly crossing the gap to Paras in a single leap, her shadow stretching out underneath her as she goes. The other bug-type recoils in fright, ironically producing an extra large cloud of spores in the process, as the illusory Spinarak crashes down upon it, an explosion of ghostly energy eating away at its vitality as Night Shade connects.

"What was that?!" Tommy shouts in surprise, distracted by the visual spectacle and forgetting to give any orders to his beleaguered pokémon, only for the second part of Spinarak's practiced combination to go into effect, as she disappears into her own stretching shadow.

"Where'd it-" Is as far as Tommy gets, before Spinarak reappears out of the shadows just in front of Paras, bowling over the other pokémon with a surprising attack before turning on the spot and firing off a barrage of Poison Sting at close range into Paras, which is still struggling futilely on its back as it tries to recover from Spinarak's merciless assault.

The super-effective attack clearly hurts Paras badly, but it manages to turn back onto its legs, as Tommy finally manages to overcome his surprise and give out a new order, Paras' earlier Stun Spore useless as it wafts down the field and slowly starts to disperse.

"Fury Cutter! Show them your strength!" Tommy orders enthusiastically, Paras dashing forwards the few feet currently separating both battling pokémon as fast as it can.

"Infestation." Ran counters far more calmly, trusting in Spinarak's ability to weather the resisted attack well enough to deliver a super-effective one of her own.

Paras starts furiously hacking away at Spinarak, its clawed forelegs cutting and stabbing at Spinarak, only to largely skate off of Spinarak's hard exoskeleton ineffectually. For her part, Spinarak's red mandibles glow with ominous mossy green bug-energy for a moment as she braves Paras' attack to get close enough to bite down on the other pokémon's body, her mandibles finding purchase just behind Paras' eyes.

As the hostile energy is injected into Paras' form, its body is wracked by violent spasms, which are finally enough to throw Spinarak back a few feet. Knowing that Infestation will continue to wreak havoc on Paras' system, Ran orders the use of String Shot to slow Paras down and ensure that it won't be able to muster a sudden comeback, but Tommy has clearly seen enough.

"Come back, Paras." He orders, raising a pokéball to recall his first battler, before turning to mutter a few soft words of encouragement to its ball once it's been returned.

Spinarak scuttles back to her side of the field, as Ran looks her over closely for a moment. On closer inspection, Fury Cutter did do some damage after all, but Spinarak is clearly raring to keep going and considering how easily she handled Paras, Ran is more than willing to let her.

"Here's a surprise for you! It's showtime Ledian!" Tommy announces, throwing out his recently evolved starter.

Ran doesn't hide his evident surprise, looking towards Tommy for an explanation, as when the circuit started, he'd still had a Ledyba. Tommy is happy to oblige, the once hot-tempered boy beaming with pride.

"Bugsy's a real specialist with bug-types! He pointed out some stuff for us to work on after my battle interview and within two weeks, bam! Ledian is in the house!"

"Congrats," Ran says sincerely, ignoring the irksome detail that Tommy's starter has evolved before his own, "Working here is clearly agreeing with you. But our battle isn't over yet! Spinarak, String Shot!"

Immediately, Spinarak fires off a string of sticky stuff right at the hovering Ledian, but the evolved pokémon shows off its great speed by easily dodging to the side even as Tommy barks out an order of his own, "Mach Punch!"

"Poison Sting straight ahead, take it!" Ran counters immediately, trusting in Spinarak's type-advantage to weather the far faster pokémon's attack and hoping that its straight charge might let Spinarak land a hit of her own.

Ran's wish partially comes true, as Spinarak starts firing Poison Sting before Ledian fully closes the distance, a few purple darts landing on the lower half of the other bug-type's body. The speed disparity is big however, as Spinarak manages only a glancing hit before Ledian is blowing past her, the two fists on its left side slamming into Spinarak's side as it buzzes by.

"Scary Face!" Ran orders next, hoping to slow Ledian down enough to give Spinarak a more even playing field.

"Reflect." Tommy replies confidently, momentum clearly shifting as he allows Spinarak's attack to proceed unhindered, trusting that the speed gap won't be closed with a single status attack. Ran hisses agitatedly as the shimmering pinkish energy of Reflect forms around Ledian before winking out of sight.

"Shootout, Ledian! Swift and strafe!" Tommy continues, leaving Ran with few options, though he's not willing to give up that easily.

"Shadow Sneak!" He orders hurriedly, watching worriedly as Spinarak is bombarded by Swift after Swift. Not resistant to the normal-type attack, she's visibly being whittled down, but her expanding shadow affords Ran some hope at least.

Tommy is content to wait quietly as Ledian strafes around the field, staying away from Spinarak's expanding shadow with some effort, the gap shrinking slowly and putting Ledian on a clear timer. It does its best to put Spinarak down, the stationary bug-type visibly struggling to remain standing as she pours all of her energy into a last ditch surge of energy into her attack.

Spinarak's shadow suddenly bursts forwards, the slowly shrinking gap towards the still dodging Ledian disappearing in the blink of an eye. Spinarak sinks into her own shadow instantly, as Tommy hurriedly orders Ledian to get higher up in the air. Instantly, Ledian's strafing flight turns into a steep ascent. Without Spinarak's earlier Scary Face, it probably would've been enough, but as the flying bug-type starts climbing, a green blur shoots out of the shadows underneath it and latches onto its body as Shadow Sneak makes contact.

"Poison Sting!" Ran orders instantly, even as Tommy calls for Mach Punch, looking to knock Spinarak off of Ledian and send her crashing to the ground.

With the element of surprise on her side, Spinarak manages to get in a full second of Poison Sting at close range, every tiny dart of poison-energy digging into Ledian's form, the red-and-cream colored pokémon shivering under the effects of the barrage, even diminished by Reflect's defensive properties as it is. Then it starts hammering away at Spinarak with Mach Punch after Mach Punch.

Spinarak gives a heroic effort, managing to cling on for a few more seconds during which both attacks continue unabated, but finally, a double right hook from Ledian is enough to knock Ran's pokémon free, sending her falling some fifteen feet to the ground. Before she can impact, Ran is already returning her, Josie calling out his pokémon's withdrawal obligingly.

As Ran thanks Spinarak, his eyes shift to Ledian, who slowly floats back down to hover just a foot or so above the ground. Its flight seems a lot less stable than it did earlier and there's a faint purple tinge to its cream belly, a clear sign of poisoning. Confident about the outcome of the battle, Ran sends out Ekans.

"Alright, time for some payback Ledian! Come on, punch through!" Tommy encourages his starter, Ledian's eyes sharpening in recognition as it spots the pokémon that defeated it in its first trainer battle three years ago.

"Spinarak weakened it. Glare, then ready Acid and wait for your moment." Ran orders calmly, trusting Ekans to bring home the victory.

"Supersonic!" Tommy orders, catching Ran by surprise with the relatively inconsequential attack. Although a hindrance, the best way to counteract it is to simply do nothing and let its effects fade. Assuming Ekans gets Glare off, Ran is more than happy to wait and do nothing and let Spinarak's poison continue to do their work for them.

Ekans' eyes glow ominously as he glares at Ledian, whose wings start vibrating at such a speed that they no longer produce an audible sound to human ears, instead entering a supersonic frequency. The attack connects after a few seconds, as Ekans slackens and coils up in place tightly, as he does his best to work through the bothersome effect as soon as possible. Unfortunately, it does leave him defenseless for now.

"Swift! Hammer it down!" Tommy cheers enthusiastically, Ledian zooming forwards as it starts firing off Swift after Swift at close range, buzzing around Ekans like the pesky bug-type it is.

"Hold!" Ran orders confidently and succinctly, trusting in Ekans to weather the attack for now and only strike when he's gotten past the worst of Supersonic's effect.

It's an unpleasant visual to see his pokémon curled up defensively and absorb attack after attack, especially as Ledian's Swift starts inflicting visible damage, scuffing and bruising Ekans' purple hide, but Ran trusts his starter. He's right to do so, as finally, paralysis locks up Ledian's limbs for a few crucial moments. The bug-type goes tumbling into the dirt, its body now wracked by Spinarak's poison and the lingering effects from Ekans' glare.

Ekans rears up instantly, the upper fourth of his body bulging obscenely for a moment as the Acid he's clearly been building up for a while waits to be unleashed. Like an ancient onager, his whole upper body swings forwards in a single rigid move, before his maw opens. A huge purple blob of Acid goes flying right at the downed Ledian, which is still struggling to crawl back upright.

Its attempt at a dodge never even gets the chance to take form, as it disappears under the purple attack, its entire body obscured by biting purple acid for long seconds. When no movement is forthcoming, Josie calls out, "It's your call Tommy, but I think Ledian's done, if it doesn't move in the next five seconds, I'm calling it!"

"No need," Tommy sighs dejectedly, as he recalls Ledian without further urging, "Even if he's still conscious, we concede."

"Good fight," Ran says, returning Ekans before striding into the field, taking care to avoid the large patches of purple left behind by his pokémon's efforts, "That was closer than I was expecting."

Tommy waves the compliment away easily, "I've got a long way to go. Shouldn't have panicked like that when you pulled out the Ghost-type attacks. That's what those were, right?"

Ran nods agreeably, leaving Tommy to chuckle wryly, "Yeah, I should've remembered the Ariados-line learns those. It's a sign that it's getting close to evolution though, isn't it?"

"I'd like to think so, but… I don't know for sure," Ran admits after a moment's hesitation, before looking towards Josie, whose stomach rumbles audibly at that moment, "We can talk about this over lunch though, do we need to clean any of this up?"

"Nah," Tommy waves him off once more, "Cleaning staff is probably waiting to get at the field anyways. They usually do it right after Bugsy breaks for lunch, so we just delayed them by a bit. Now come on, we'll go get burgers, if you're both alright with that?"

Ran and Josie agree easily enough, the three of them sharing observations on the fight as they make the short walk to the only fast food restaurant in town and place their orders. Soon enough, they're sitting down to dig into their thoroughly unhealthy but oh so tasty meals.

"So what were you saying about Spinarak evolving soon?" Ran asks curiously, returning to Tommy's earlier comment, "I've researched the moves she can learn and the Ariados-line in general extensively on my pokégear, but I didn't really find anything on clear signs to indicate upcoming evolution. There honestly wasn't all that much to find on her species in general."

"No you wouldn't, I guess, it's hardly a very popular line that's had a lot of research poured into it," Tommy denies, "But Bugsy's got me reading up on all of the bug-types now that I'm working for him, including some manuals he's written himself. He's evolved a handful of Spinarak into Ariados at this point and it was one of his notes that they'd all learned to use Ghost-type attacks not that long before. He even added a note that he thought that they might not be Bug-Poison at all at one point, but I checked up on that with him and then he just handed me a twenty page paper he's sent off for peer-review in which he conclusively proves that they are in fact Bug-Poison and can't be used as an argument for triple type theory. Or that was the main take anyways, I think. I only read the first page or so of that one."

Tommy shrugs guiltily at Ran's amused look, taking a large bite of his burger to keep his mouth busy, but it's Josie who carries on the conversation, "So what's your job like, anyways? Just from hearing this, it's already sounding like a lot more reading than I assumed Gym Trainers got up to."

"Don't know about that," He clarifies after a large swallow, "From what Bugsy's said we're not exactly a typical Gym at the moment. But yeah, due to the lack of suitable applicants that are willing to work with exclusively Bug-types, in their capacity as staff at least, he's been giving me a crash course to try and get me up to a level where I'm good enough to offer the mid-range badge trainers a proper challenge as well. Not with my own team, obviously, I've only just added Paras and he's not at that level yet at all, but with Gym loaners. I figured I could hold my own at that level if the loaners were strong enough, but I've gotten to watch a few matches since and it's about a lot more than just how strong your pokémon are. My reflexes and my strategies aren't at that level yet."

Ran and Josie listen along politely as Tommy continues to explain his job, the other boy clearly happy enough to talk about the subject.

"So right now I'm not getting all that many battles in the Gym, because our Gym Trainer Challenge isn't drawing much interest yet. Because of that, on top of my normal duties like helping take care of the Gym's stable and training my own team, Bugsy's mostly had me studying Bug-types and general battle strategies. Oh and he's got me planning for my next two additions as well. I'm supposed to catch them one right after the other, because Bugsy wants me to see if them each having an equal rival to compete with will stimulate their growth, like it tends to do with trainers." Tommy finishes explaining, before directing his attention towards Ran and asking for a proper update on just what he's been up to, before he takes a large slurp of his soda.

Ran dutifully gives Tommy a cliff notes version of his own adventures, only omitting the details of his fight with Spencer. Tommy listens obediently, only interrupting when Ran mentions Golbat's evolution, to thank him for not just using the flying-type as his first pokémon in their own battle.

By the time they say their goodbyes, Tommy returning to the Gym for the rest of his workday whilst Ran and Josie stop by the pokécenter to check Spinarak in before heading out towards Ilex Forest for some training, Ran surprisedly realizes that this version of Tommy is one he could actually be friends with. Where the other boy used to be a bull-headed meathead who took out his own frustrations and insecurities on any target he could find, a steady job working with pokémon and measurable growth has leveled him out and made him pretty likable.

By evening however, Ran's good mood and friendly estimation of Tommy take a nosedive, when his pokégear buzzes with an incoming message. The sender's been saved amongst his contacts since their school days, though he never really exchanged any messages with him other than the initial obligatory ones when they first became classmates. Not until after his win against Falkner at least.

Bugsy's name is bold on his screen once more, as he calls a temporary halt to Ekans' attempts to learn Scary Face by building on Glare, whilst Golbat returns from his impromptu obstacle course amongst the trees. Reluctantly, with the sounds of Josie's fire-types training in the distance, Ran opens Bugsy's message.

Bugsy: Hello Ran. I'm checking in with you because Tommy mentioned that you're back in town already and we've got your challenge booked for next week. I'd have preferred a message to confirm as much, but I'm happy you've made this decision. Based on the data on your trainer profile and my conversation with Falkner, I just wanted to double check that you're going for poison as your specialty?

Bugsy: If you're open to shifting to bug-types, please do let me know, as Tommy was very impressed by that Spinarak of yours! I hope to see it for myself when we battle next week. Good luck with your preparations and I'm looking forward to your challenge next week.

Just as Ran finishes reading Bugsy's message, his pokégear vibrates once more as a new message pops up under the first one.

Bugsy: Oh and I do expect a reply this time.

Ekans' worried hiss finally makes Ran aware of just how badly he's clenching his own jaw. With a deliberate effort, he relaxes the tightened muscles, even as his eyes rapidly fly over the screen once more.

What does this mean? What is Bugsy's game here? Asking about his specialty and acting as if he'd support Ran if he were to change to focusing on bug-types? Just how deeply has Bugsy looked into him?

Ran seethes quietly, whilst only Ekans' earlier worry keeps him from grinding his teeth once more. His thoughts go at a thousand miles a minute but keep going in the same circles fruitlessly even so. He moves to start typing a response three different times, only to think better of it before he can even hit the first key and withdraw his hand once more.

Finally, after entirely too much time spent thinking, his answer is ultimately brief and to the point.

Ran: I'm sticking with poison-types. See you next week.



Author's Note: Tommy's gotten a lot better, but a roster of Paras and Ledian isn't exactly the most intimidating sight in the world, even if him having an evolved starter before Ran probably has to rankle just a bit. As for Bugsy... I'm curious to read your thoughts on this one. Do keep in mind that a potential pivot to Bug-types doesn't necessitate getting rid of Ekans and Zubat, though one could read it as being implied so it's really up to you guys to interpret based off of the information available to you. Next week's chapter brings the long-awaited Hive Badge Gym battle! It promises to be quite something indeed.

As always, the next two weeks' worth of content, which includes Ran challenging for the Hive Badge, are already available to my supporters. Additionally, there's a large interlude from Bugsy's POV on there which was voted on by this month's Contributors and which sheds a lot of light on what Bugsy's been up to and how he sees things. 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.
 
As for Bugsy... I'm curious to read your thoughts on this one. Do keep in mind that a potential pivot to Bug-types doesn't necessitate getting rid of Ekans and Zubat, though one could read it as being implied so it's really up to you guys to interpret based off of the information available to you.

It's just not in his nature to change specialization. Even if it weren't for his starter being Ekans, Ran is too stubborn. He's a poison-type trainer through and through, alright.

The offer seems in rather bad taste, all things considered. There's no chance in hell that Ran would ever accept an offer even resembling mentorship from Bugsy.
 
Last edited:
The offer seems in rather bad taste, all things considered. There's no chance in hell that Ran would ever accept an offer even resembling mentorship from Bugsy.
Nah, I think this is more the case of that meme

"I hate you"
"I don't think about you at all"

For Bugsy, it's likely nothing personal, he's just extending the offer to anyone he can (because he's desperate for staff) because Bug isn't an attractive typing niche apparently. Also he's likely a Bug nerd and just wants to share his interests every chance he gets.
 
Probably also needs to get the reward/present he mentioned and needed to check if it had to be bug or poison themed
 
Yeah, I don't think Bugsy is aware of how he comes off at all. I think he's probably more focused on getting his gym up and running, and he doesn't want any bad press so to speak while he's in the early stages of being a gym leader. So maybe that's why he comes off as a little overbearing when dealing with our guy. With the low-key threatening him to come back because it would look bad on him.

I think he's going to be a little shocked at strong the feelings involved are when it finally gets out in the open. The kinda dumb thing is that it's not really his fault either, he was just successful and Ran was unlucky.

Just my own personal thought on that Spencer chapter. To me it was unnecessary and was mostly just not enjoyable. It didn't really add anything, it didn't give Spencer any sort of reasonable explanation for his behavior. He was as unlikable as ever and nothing redeeming was added to his character and the only thing we learned was that he survived his trip, which could be assumed anyway, based on how much time was invested on him in the story so far.

Between how much time was spent on him, the weird authoritarian vibes with Dad, even Rans early behaviors etc… there's just so many characters where it feels like there's a strong focus on their negative traits, where as good as the story is, it sometimes exhausting to get through that to the other parts.

Obviously, a lot of that sort of thing is necessary for character development, and I'm sure part of the fatigue is a consequence of the nature of a web serial where you're not reading through multiple chapters at a time. So you don't get that resolution and things can feel like it might drag a little bit.

But that Spencer chapter was rough to me. There was a chance, using his point of view to give some sort of reasonable, in his point of view, explanation for his behaviors, but ended up just coming off as delusional and maybe possessing a personality disorder. And I'm not sure what the point was.

Saying all that, my favorite parts of the story so far were early on with Ran training his Pokémon, because it gave a break from all the other characters, and let him show off some of his more positive traits and not just lingering on his frustrations.

On the flipside, I think the negative aspects have been done the best with Josie, balanced with her more positive characteristics, and small signs of growth already visible. Ran coming in a close second for being done well it that regard recently.

Just my 2 cents, take it for what it's worth if anything.
 
Last edited:
Obviously, a lot of that sort of thing is necessary for character development, and I'm sure part of the fatigue is a consequence of the nature of a web serial where you're not reading through multiple chapters at a time. So you don't get that resolution and things can feel like it might drag a little bit.

I'm going to focus on this part, because the reply as a whole is valid, but with me being uh… a lot of chapters ahead in what I'm writing and having the relative benefits of knowing where I'm taking them and having the full backstory for all of them, this really registers with me. I am increasingly starting to realize that the relatively slow character development I'm going for with some of these characters does make for some very heavy reading at times and it is something I'm moving to correct to a degree further down the line in the fic.

That doesn't change anything in the short term of course, but I can at least promise that a greater focus on adventure, fun and pokémon bonding is already written, it's just still some ways down the line as far as uploading goes. If this is really affecting your mood, do feel free to save up some chapters for a small binge in a few weeks' time, it might be interesting to see if that counteracts the web serial effect to a degree?

Overall, I'm grateful for the feedback. I don't fully agree on the Spencer interlude as to my mind there is subtext there that hints at some stuff as well as showing that, yes, Spencer is in fact blind to his own flaws to a delusional agree at this point in his arc. But even then every perspective is valid, so it is good to read how it came across to you. As for the rest, I can only say that I see very valid points and ones that I have already taken account in writing future chapters to come, it'll just take some time for those changes to become visible to you readers.
 
Chapter 9, part 1
The first few days following Bugsy's late-evening text messages pass swiftly. Ran starts out by spending half a day visiting the Charcoal Kiln, where Josie casually displays her father's deep pockets by buying six fire-type boosting Charcoal pieces at once. Ran's old part-time employer is so pleased by the major sale that he throws in the commissioned work to fit each piece in a suitable accessory for free.

For Ginger, they settle on an elaborately braided neck rope, the piece of charcoal sitting snugly against her neck. The effect is obvious, as the moment the Charcoal touches Ginger's hide, her mane glows brighter and her hoofbeats throw off visible sparks when she trots in place.

Josie's other two fire-types, Chief the Growlithe and Soot the Houndour, get matching handkerchiefs around their necks, with special knots to ensure that they can be refitted upon evolution. Like with Ginger, both pokémon are visibly empowered by the curious item's inherent power, as the temperature around both pokémon is noticeably elevated for a few hours, until they figure out how to control their newfound power boosts.

Next, Ran takes Josie along to Kurt's house, as he happily explains the benefits of Kurt's specialty balls, like the Level Ball and the Friend Ball he used to capture Spinarak and Zubat. Kurt, like the Charcoal couple, is happy to see Ran and even happier for the business, as Ran finally dips into his own winnings to buy a Moon Ball, the prize object one he'd long desired but could never afford in the past. Josie is initially intrigued by Kurt's work, but ultimately doesn't buy anything when she learns that there are no particular specialty balls to help with catching fire-types.

With their business in town done until evening, when Josie will join Ran and his father for dinner, they move towards Ilex Forest and start training hard, assuming that the Bug-types there are the best preparation they're likely to find for Bugsy's Gym. They aren't the only ones with the same idea either, as the woods are nearly swarming with eager trainers, most roughly on the same level as Ran and Josie, though there are also more than a few complete beginners who are hoping to win their first badge off of Bugsy, as well as some more experienced trainers who are either hunting for elusive bug-types like Heracross and Scyther, preparing for a higher-tier challenge against Bugsy or doing both at the same time.

It leads to more than a few battles both on that first half day and on the days after it, as there's only so much prime training space to be had, but between the pair of them, Ran and Josie generally manage to secure a sufficiently large area free of wild pokémon and interfering trainers to work with every day. Though they do end up having to cut their training short on the third day, when a slightly older trainer chases them both off by flashing Kanto's eight badges and sending out an angry Golduck the moment it seems like Josie's about to object.

Between its water-typing, ability to learn some strong psychic moves and the clear disparity in experience between them, Ran decides that discretion is the better part of valor and he even manages to drag Josie away from that particular confrontation before any foolish challenges can be thrown around. That he then has to suffer the brunt of her displeasure until he manages to distract her by bringing up the next day's planned scouting excursion to Bugsy's Gym is a burden he bears gladly.

The scouting trip in question, which occurs a few days after an uneventful dinner with Ran's father, is really little more than them arriving at the Gym early, buying tickets for the day and making their way into the spectators' stands with their pokégear set to the notepad feature. Bugsy clearly has an extremely busy day, possibly due to the Gym not being open for challenges the next weekend. There's a match scheduled every ten minutes, starting at nine in the morning and only pausing for an hour long break at noon, with matches continuing until six in the evening.

Only the matches just before lunch and at the end of the day really stand out, with both billed as high level challenges that might go over their time limit. Though they won't be useful fights for Ran's own preparation, he still looks forward to them eagerly whilst the first few hours pass slowly, with Ran and Josie taking notes all the while.

From a practical standpoint, the main takeaway is that Bugsy exclusively accepts two-against-two battles for first-, second- and third-badge challengers. The second point they both take notes on, is Bugsy's surprising tendencies when it comes to which pokémon he uses. Starting out with Caterpie or Weedle, as Bugsy does without fail,is reasonable enough for a first badge challenge , but for second and third badge challengers the weak bug-types which tend to evolve very early are clearly woefully outmatched time and time again.

Still, Bugsy's logic becomes apparent soon enough, as without fail his first pokémon is sent out to battle with a single clear goal. To slow down its opponent as much as possible. Without fail, the small bug-type that Bugsy starts out with lands at least one or two, and often more, String Shots aimed at both coating large swathes of the field in sticky threads whilst also hindering and slowing its opponent down. Caterpie or Weedle without fail then gets beaten without landing any actual meaningful damage on its opponent, but that isn't Bugsy's goal.

Because then his second pokémon gets sent out and the step up from facing a Caterpie or Weedle to facing a Pinsir, Heracross or rarely Scyther is enough of a shock for some challengers to lose the match then and there. Because for some, the shock is so great that they take too long to shift gears, allowing Bugsy to further buff up his new pokémon with moves like Harden and Swords Dance before steamrolling their slowed initial opponent and the challenger's next pokémon shortly afterwards.

It takes some frantic research and urgent whispered discussion, but the pair of Ran and Josie eventually agrees that Bugsy went through the trouble of selecting for Pinsirs and Heracrosses with the Moxie-ability, which further justifies Bugsy's set-up heavy approach to the lower-level challenges. Fortunately, although challengers aren't allowed to switch, there are ways to counteract Bugsy's approach, as more than a few challengers showcase.

Generally, those trainers that beat Bugsy tend to fall into two categories. Firstly, there's those trainers that clearly came by earlier or looked up Bugsy's matches online and scouted his battle style, as they do whatever they must to prevent even a single String Shot from connecting. Some use flying-types to evade the attacks, others rely on fire-types to burn right through the bothersome webs. Still others rely on raw speed, or opt for pokémon that are naturally slow anyways, that won't be hindered by further speed decreases due to their raw power or great defenses. One particularly noteworthy sponsored trainer goes so far as to have his clearly recently-caught Slowpoke use Trick Room to turn Bugsy's strategy completely against him.

Second, there's also a handful of winning trainers who aren't clearly aware of Bugsy's strategy in advance, or possibly they simply don't care enough to change their own approach to counter him specifically. Either way, they manage to overcome Bugsy either through type advantages, very strong pokémon of their own or simply through not letting the shift between Bugsy's first and second pokémon throw them out of their own battle rhythm. Already well-aware that he's susceptible to such tricks himself, Ran is quite happy to have all of the information in advance, though Bugsy's consistent approach does ultimately make for some pretty boring viewing.

Fortunately, just before they can really start to get bored, the final match before noon rolls around, a trainer who ended the previous circuit with five badges having her first go of the new season at earning her sixth badge. The fight is a four-against-four, with three free switches allowed to both trainers. The girl, a year or two older than Ran, uses Politoed, Misdreavus, Snubbull and Stantler over the course of the match.

It's a team that doesn't have a particularly clear logic behind it, but she puts up a good fight in spite of that. Not that it proves to be enough, as Politoed and Snubbull are dispatched by a Forretress that dominates the field with Toxic Spikes and Zap Cannon before Misdreavus finally manages to overcome Bugsy's first pokémon. The Yanmega that gets sent out next starts out fast and only gets faster, blowing through the girl's remaining team with little trouble.

Bugsy moves to the middle of the field, looking to exchange some polite pointers, but the pretty one-sided dismantling clearly did a number on his opponent, as the brunette storms out with tears flowing down her cheeks, the crowd's applause for their Gym leader awkwardly dying down at the less than glorious sight. Ran begrudgingly has to give Bugsy some credit for his crowd management however, as the young Gym Leader politely thanks the crowd before defending the girl's behavior as he expresses his understanding for her emotional reaction to her loss.

After another round of applause, the crowd starts to dissipate as Bugsy departs for his break, Ran and Josie joining their fellow spectators as the crowd drifts apart into small groups either heading home, to some form of restaurant for lunch, or as is the case for more than an unfortunate few, back to work. For their part, Ran and Josie exchange looks, before heading back out to Ilex Forest once more. It's a shame to miss the other high-level fight at the end of the day, but with seventeen low-level fights that all stuck to the same pattern, neither wants to spend the afternoon spectating even more fights to see if there's any further minor details to be gleaned.

Instead they return to training once more, the Golduck trainer from the previous day fortunately not crossing their paths again. They split up again, Josie's want and need to quite literally play with fire necessitating plenty of room to work with. Ran doesn't mind however, as soon enough his team is once more diving headfirst into their training.

For Golbat, training is twofold, as Ran sets the flying-type to flying improvised obstacle courses, relying on Ilex Forest's naturally present bug-types, as well as some webs produced by Spinarak, to provide a sufficiently challenging course for the large flier. Primarily, they're continuing to work on Golbat's speed and agility in the air, his larger wings enabling greater feats of speed than he ever managed as a Zubat.

They've seen solid results already, as by this point Golbat has clearly completely adjusted to his significant change in size, flight speed and general agility far better now than when he'd been newly evolved. However, his evolution doesn't just require a general change to his deliberate movements, but also necessitates some significant changes to his ingrained reflexes, as what used to be enough of a dodge to turn an attack into a comfortable miss is now only enough to turn a full hit into a glancing one. It's those subconscious estimations of incoming threats which Golbat is still working on, a lifetime's worth of ingrained habits not proving that easy to change.

As a secondary goal geared specifically at overcoming his bad habits, throughout Golbat's practice, Ran has Spinarak occasionally launch a Shadow Sneak towards her flying teammate, with Golbat having a standing order to try and use the new move Quick Guard. By working to truly incorporate Quick Guard's larger juking reactions compared to the smaller dodges he got away with as a Zubat, Ran hopes to sooner beat Golbat's currently insufficient reflexive movements out of him.

That part of training is far less smooth sailing however, as neither Ekans nor Spinarak are particularly renowned for their speed, which often gives Golbat too much time to act, preventing his reflexes from being triggered in the first place, but incremental bit by incremental bit, Golbat makes progress in learning the defensive fighting-type move nevertheless.

For Ekans, things are slightly more complicated. Ran's pokégear is very clear that Ekans doesn't generally learn Scary Face in the wild and that generally a TM is the way to go, but that's an expense he desperately wants to avoid. Instead, he's experimenting, hoping that between Ekans already knowing Glare, showing him footage of the move being used by another Ekans and some pointers from Spinarak, his starter will be able to figure the move out naturally. It's not smooth sailing at all, but they are slowly making some progress, leaving Ran confident that they'll get there.

That's not all however, as Ekans' increasing proficiency with normal-type energy has Ran add another three moves to the to-do list for the dutiful poison-type. Unlike Scary Face, the trio of Stockpile, Swallow and Spit Up do come naturally to the Ekans line, but the page Ran found on his pokégear also makes it clear that the moves generally aren't learned until after evolving into Arbok. When Ran double checked with Ekans whether his starter was willing to try and master the moves early however, his immediate failed attempt to pull Stockpile off on the spot had been answer enough.

Finally, for Spinarak, things are a fair bit simpler even as she's arguably the most industrious of them all. With her two new ghost-type moves well and truly mastered, in between ambushing Golbat and giving Ekans pointers, she's freely wandering off into the forest to hunt and to battle any wild pokémon she finds lurking in Ilex Forest. Over the course of the afternoon she returns with some minor visible injuries twice, whilst needing Golbat's interference when she's chased back towards the team by a hungry Noctowl once, but other than those few moments, she's clearly largely successful, as her happy chitters and excited wiggling whenever Ran addresses her show.

The next few days pass like that, with them heading out into Ilex Forest early and working hard all day, with any breaks from training either being to eat, patch up any injuries or battle other trainers. Then, by the time evening falls each day, they stumble back into Azalea Town, with them both heading to the pokécenter to have their teams healed up before Ran splits off to have dinner at home whilst Josie, after that first meal, prefers providing for herself for the evening.

It's more exhausting than traveling in a lot of ways, as Ran makes and lugs around impromptu targets every day, hustles from one training pokémon to another and throughout the day accrues a litany of small scuffs and scratches from just being active in nature. He wouldn't trade it for anything however, as his team improves with every passing day. Though he enjoys battling far more than training, the benefits of a mixed approach are hard to argue against.

A week and a day after Ran first returned to Azalea Town, they don't head out to Ilex Forest. Instead, after a lay-in and a rare, leisurely breakfast, they slowly head to the Gym once more. Ran's reservation is deliberately half an hour ahead of Josie's this time, so that they can both watch and support the other. Because of this, when they eventually arrive at the Gym, Josie heads right for the bleachers, whilst Ran follows the receptionist's directions and ends up in the challengers' waiting room.

It's one of a limited number of rooms in the Gym he's never been in before, its interior not yet updated to Bugsy's preferred styles and instead still in the old-fashioned steamboat style from the previous ownership. Unlike in Violet City, it's also clearly a singular communal room for all the waiting challengers, meaning that Ran joins another rookie who is scheduled directly ahead of him. She's a younger girl, her age clearly marking her out as a sponsored trainer with an SGC-license, a Sponsored Gym Challenge license, but she's got headphones in and is clearly focusing on her own stuff, so Ran leaves her alone and simply sinks down in a seat of his own before patiently twiddling his thumbs.

After a few minutes the girl gets called on, shooting Ran a cheeky thumbs up before confidently striding through the double doors at the other end of the room. Doing his very best to catch some sounds from the arena, Ran soon has to conclude that the soundproofing is definitely up to standard, not one sound from the ongoing battle leaking through the doors. Before he can get back to the tremendously entertaining time waste that is twiddling his thumbs however, there's a purple flash in the center of the room.

Ran nearly topples off of his seat in surprise, as a female trainer roughly his own age is teleported into the waiting room by the Jynx that's holding her hand. As the girl looks around, she scoffs derisively at her surroundings, before her eyes land on Ran, examining him like he is her.

She's got dark brown hair, part of it falling down to just under her shoulder blades in dark waves, but most of it caught up in a complex crown braid. Her eyes are a striking blue, almost sharp enough to make a shiver run through Ran when he meets them with his own brown pair. Her pale skin is accented further by a very tight bordeaux turtleneck sweater over which she wears an open, thin dark blue jacket.

He realizes he's staring just a moment too late, as her expression turns sour when his gaze stays stuck on her distractingly well-contoured figure. Apologetically, Ran raises a hand in an embarrassed greeting, but the slight sneer he receives in return is less than encouraging.

Still, not wanting to leave her stuck with a bad first impression, he presses on, "Hi, I'm Ran Carr. What tier are you challenging at?"

The girl frowns, but does at least answer even as she recalls her pokémon, "Karolina Brandt. I'm challenging at an eight-badge-level."

"Oh," Ran winces in sympathy, assuming that her challenging for her eight badge this early in the season means she just barely missed out on participating in the previous Conference, "Do you mind if I ask, did you run out of time last circuit or what happened exactly?"

"I don't mind you asking, though you're making a wrong assumption," Karolina replies with cold confidence, "I'm debuting, I've just sent ahead word of my team's composition and attached some video footage of my training and been granted an exemption to challenge at a tier of my choosing. This Gym was the only one that made such an acceptable offer, which is why I'm starting here."

"That's a thing you can do?" Ran asks in surprise, drawing an aggrieved sigh from the other trainer.

"It's standard procedure for trainers who've competed in at least one Conference to start at a higher tier even if they're moving to a new League or if their original badges' validations expire. For debuting trainers it's certainly rarer, though as I said, an exemption was made. I assume you're challenging for your first badge, then?" The dismissive attitude with which she ends her explanation bothers Ran something fierce, her eyes visibly falling to the three pokéballs at his side before she seemingly classifies him as a rank amateur.

"My second one, actually." Ran responds shortly, now far less interested in keeping the conversation going than he was before.

Karolina's answering with an unimpressed 'good for you' does her no favors in his mind either. Because of this, the final two minutes before the double doors swing open are spent in a frosty silence hanging over the room.

As he strides out into the arena, Ran dismisses the brief interaction from his mind, his gaze moving to the bleachers as he seeks out the familiar figures of Josie and his father amongst the significant crowd. For a moment, he's surprised by the sheer numbers of spectators, before he remembers that the scheduled Gym matches are openly available to anyone with an internet connection and an interest.

Though his own match undoubtedly didn't drum up anywhere near this much attention, a debuting trainer immediately challenging at the highest badge-tier likely did. So now, due to an unfortunate scheduling coincidence, Ran gets to be the boring appetizer in front of a massive hometown crowd. It would be enough to sour his mood in most circumstances, but his father's proud smile as Ran enters his trainer's box is enough to keep him eager and motivated, as he finally turns his attention to Bugsy.

Standing on the other side of the arena with that stupid bug catching net of his in one hand, Azalea Town's Gym Leader offers Ran a smile, which Ran ignores by looking down at his pokéballs, running his hands over them once more in a feigned maneuver meant to be seen as him reassuring himself. It provides a convenient cover for his unwillingness to return Bugsy's smile and if it leads to him being underestimated, then so much the better.

He tunes out the referee as the older man goes over the typical rules, already knowing that he's once more facing a two-against-two singles battle with no allowed switches. He does his best to tune out the rising crowd noise, as the announcer starts hyping up the battle between two hometown trainers. Ran is under no delusions that the crowd's on his side, Bugsy having brought great honor to Azalea mere months ago and now doing a great job breathing new life into a once stagnant Gym.

Still, even if most of the crowd is against him, Josie cheers audibly when the announcer calls out Ran's name whilst Ran's father visibly receives a few congratulatory pats on the back from some of the nearby spectators that are friendly with him. Pride, at making it this far after nearly having given up right at the start of his journey, wars in his gut with embarrassment, that he's fighting a former classmate who is now a Gym Leader whilst Ran is only challenging for his second badge.

Finally, all the necessary formalities are out of the way, as the referee counts them down. Though Golbat has the most favorable match-up, Ran's plan does not include him. Instead, Spinarak will handle Bugsy's first choice and then turn the tables against whatever intended sweeper he sends out next, slowing it down with String Shot and Scary Face before either finishing the job herself, or giving Ekans a slow and vulnerable opponent to contend with.

Or at least that's the plan, but when Spinarak appears on the field, she doesn't face the expected Caterpie or Weedle. Instead, to Ran's surprise and significant displeasure, Bugsy sends out a Venonat as his first choice. His eyes shoot to the Gym Leader in disbelief, but Bugsy's expression is inscrutable, not showing anything to hint at his motivations for suddenly deviating from the approach he'd used for the seventeen fights Ran and Josie spectated mere days ago.



Author's Note:
And it is on! Ran vs. Bugsy for the Hive Badge, here we go!

Some notes:
- Josie casually buying 6 pieces of Charcoal in a, to Ran, staggering display of wealth, is a solid reminder of the disadvantages the unsponsored trainers face.
- Training and new moves, as Ran pushes his team to new heights is pretty abbreviated here, as Ran is hyper-focused on his at that point upcoming Gym battle.
- Ran actually prepping for his Gym battle by doing some scouting is new! This'll likely be a recurring feature, at least if he isn't completely turned off from it because...
- Bugsy throws him a curveball! Venonat is not a typical choice for him at the second-badge level, one wonders what that's about?
- Karolina, a rookie who immediately debuts at an eight badge level! Though she's definitely out of Ran's league (assuming she isn't wildly overestimating herself), that's an interesting figure we'll likely be seeing more of further down the line.

As always, the next two weeks' worth of content, which includes Ran completing his challenge for the Hive Badge, is already available to my supporters. Additionally, there's a large interlude from Bugsy's POV on there which was voted on by last month's Contributors and which sheds a lot of light on what Bugsy's been up to and how he sees things. 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.
 
Chapter 9, part 2
"Confusion." Bugsy orders dryly, catching Ran off guard. As Venonat's eyes start to glow with pink energy however, he bursts into action.

"Shadow Sneak! Don't give it an easy target!" He orders hurriedly. Spinarak obliges instantly, sinking into her own stretching shadow even as waves of pink psychic energy start to radiate off of Venonat's fuzzy form. The barrier surrounding the arena, upheld by one of the Gym's dutiful Mr. Mimes, ripples gently as the attack strikes it, but the attack crucially doesn't initially hit Spinarak before impacting the barrier.

Only as his dutiful bug-type resurfaces a mere foot from Venonat does she briefly get hit by the purple fuzzball's super-effective attack and then only briefly, as her forward momentum carries her into Venonat. Both pokémon squeal in pain, but Venonat's squeal is the louder one, as it is sent flying by the impact, a ghostly afterimage of Spinarak sticking to its form and biting away at it for a second before fading away.

"Again!" Ran commands instantly, looking to push the temporary advantage and keep Venonat too pressured to call upon its super-effective psychic abilities once more.

"Disable." Bugsy counters succinctly, Spinarak already partially sunken into the ground when Venonat's antennae flash brightly for a moment. Ran can only watch in dismay as Spinarak's attack fails, as she gets forcefully thrown out of her own shadow and is caught out in the open.

"Psybeam." Bugsy continues, calling for an even stronger psychic-type attack now that both pokémon are fighting at a closer range.

Ran growls out his next order, feeling his temper rise as the momentum shifts against them, "Night Shade!"

Venonat's eyes start to glow pink once more, but before it can muster the more complex attack that builds off of Confusion, Spinarak shows just how well-drilled she is. Her own body glows with purple energy for a mere moment, tripling in size, with her mandibles exceeding even that factor of growth, easily quintupling in size as they stretch ever outwards, dripping incorporeal poison as they close in on Venonat from two sides.

With a haunting shriek, the mandibles connect with Venonat's form before disappearing a few inches deep into its body on either side, the glow in its eyes instantly cutting out as psychic-energy gets disrupted by ghost-energy. Ran smiles in triumph, punching his fist forward as he follows up with another order.

"Poison Sting! Don't give it time to recover!"

Spinarak obeys immediately, her whole body tensing briefly before she rocks forwards on her many legs, poison darts flying out from her small mouth in a rapidly-expanding cone, closing the short distance to the pained Venonat easily and hammering into its body.

"Supersonic." Bugsy instructs, his own volume rising to make sure that between the pain it's suffering and its own cries, Venonat still hears him well enough to carry out his orders.

"Don't let up!" Ran urges his own pokémon, unsure of any better order to give in the moment.

Venonat's antennae start vibrating on top of its head, clearly sending out supersonic waves for multiple seconds on end. To Ran's intense relief however, they don't seem to hit or affect Spinarak, as his own bug-type merely keeps up her barrage of Poison Stings. Venonat resists the attack and it's hardly all that impactful in the first place, but every small bit counts, as Venonat looks substantially worse for wear than Spinarak.

The purple bug-type realizes that its Supersonic isn't having any effect, dropping the attack. Before it can act and before Bugsy can give another order however, Ran is already shouting out an order of his own.

"Night Shade again! Don't give it time to pull any funny business!"

"Ps- Tackle it. Get in there." Bugsy starts to say, only to cut himself off and go with another order instead.

Once more Spinarak calls upon ghost-type energy to form an enlarged specter of herself, but this time Venonat doesn't offer an easy, stationary target. Instead the fuzzy purple sphere with feet darts forwards the few feet separating both pokémon before leaping directly at the center of Spinarak's large ghost form, trusting that it'll find its target at the center.

Its trust is justified, but as it passes through Spinarak's Night Shade it cries out in clear pain, the ghost-type energy eagerly collapsing onto a target foolish enough to throw itself right into the center of it. Venonat's cry isn't the only one however, as a loud thwack makes it very clear that its full-body Tackle connected with a pained Spinarak.

As the ghost-type energy evaporates, a slightly trembling Spinarak is getting back onto her feet, whilst the unconscious Venonat lies defeated next to her. Ran pumps his fist in elation, shouting praise to Spinarak, who perks up slightly. In the audience, which is stirred up by the first decisive result, he can distinctly pick out Josie's enthusiastic cheers and his father's trademark loud, echoing claps.

Their support buoys Ran's mood even further, but one glance at Bugsy is enough to remind him that the fight isn't over just yet. With his first pokémon already upgraded from Weedle or Caterpie to the significantly more threatening Venonat, to poison-types at least, Ran watches with no small amount of trepidation as Bugsy selects his second pokéball once he's recalled Venonat.

It's not exactly surprising, after Venonat, to see Bugsy once more opt for a pokémon he doesn't use a lot on the lower badge levels as Scyther materializes. Still, at least Ran had anticipated Bugsy's selection this time, as the large light green Mantis Pokémon's secondary flying-typing does give it a very favorable matchup against Spinarak. Not that his prediction proving accurate does anything to ease Ran's mood. In fact, it's closer to the opposite.

Irritatingly, Ran knows that the sight of a Scyther appearing on Bugsy's side presses buttons he shouldn't be letting get pressed. Even with that quiet rational thought in the back of his mind however, he still feels his temper rise once more, the sight of a pokémon like the one that nearly cost him his dream three years ago working on him like a red cloth on a Tauros.

With Spinarak not at her best and any exchange of attacks likely to be brief and heavily against her, Ran gives the only orders he sees any use in, under the circumstances.

"Scary Face and String Shot! Slow it down as much as you can!" He barks out, Spinarak trilling obediently as she restarts the fight.

"Quick Attack." Bugsy commands with quiet confidence, Scyther dashing forwards in a single green streak and bowling over Spinarak in two seconds flat. The attack is so fast, that Spinarak can't even get Scary Face off, merely being sent ragdolling by the impact of the larger pokémon as she does her best to recover.

"Hang in there!" Ran encourages her, even as Bugsy simply instructs his Scyther to keep his attack up.

In short succession, Spinarak gets battered three more times, her attempts at Scary Face and String Shot not even getting an opportunity to be executed fully before Scyther is racing past her, sending her tumbling to the ground once more. Ran winces in sympathy as his brave bug-type struggles to get back on her feet once more. Blessedly, Scyther pauses for a moment after its fourth Quick Attack in short order, clearly needing to catch its breath for a few seconds.

Taking a look at Spinarak, now visibly struggling to remain standing, he accepts that the next hit she takes will knock her out. The thought to gamble it all on a single Shadow Sneak, now likely recovered from Venonat's earlier Disable, pops into his head, but he dismisses it instantly. Though it'd likely do some damage, Scyther's speed is a greater threat than its full health, as the Mantis Pokémon is hardly known for its sturdiness.

Ultimately, there's only one real order to give.

"Get ready, Spinarak! String Mine!" Ran orders, Spinarak squeaking obediently as she tenses in place before staring right at Scyther.

"Finish it, Scyther. Wing Attack." Bugsy orders slowly, clearly intrigued by the unfamiliar command Ran just gave. Still, his order draws a wince from Ran as the super-effective move is announced.

Scyther rushes forwards once more, only slightly slower than during its previous Quick Attacks, whilst the wings on its back glow ominously with white flying-energy. Choosing for a slightly slower though more damaging attack is a mistake in this case however, one Ran is happy to punish his opponent for.

"NOW!" He barks, when Scyther's already closed half the distance.

Obediently, Spinarak rolls over onto her back immediately, before shooting dual malformed String Shots directly above her from both her mouth and abdomen. Rather than the normal long, tightly wound strings fired to make the attack cover a greater distance at speed however, Spinarak instead fires off wide blasts of webbing, hundreds of tiny strings flying in every direction in a poor man's facsimile of a Sticky Web. The fine strings of webbing lose nearly all of their momentum after just a few feet and leave her entirely defenseless, leaving the variation on String Shot useless in most cases.

In these exact circumstances however, it works to a tee. Scyther's straight dash towards Spinarak's prone form carries too much speed to be aborted, its Wing Attack hitting the defenseless Spinarak with crunching force and knocking her out on the spot, her soft underbelly denting worryingly and a trail of her blood trailing away from her unconscious body and leading to some twenty feet away, where Scyther finally comes to a stop.

Ran lets out a horrified shout and recalls Spinarak instantly, the severely-wounded Bug-type kept safe in stasis until they can make it to the pokécenter. He pays Bugsy's apologetic grimace no attention, cold gaze instead locking on Scyther, who is covered in countless tiny white threads which stick together at every opportunity and visibly hinder Scyther's movements, as it tries to break some of the strings with its blades or by beating its wings.

Logically, Golbat is the obvious choice, because Scyther is slowed down and weak to Air Cutter. But today is an opportunity to get even, not just for Ran, but for his first partner as well.

"Ekans, it's up to you! Show everyone what you've got!" He announces, his starter appearing on the field and, upon spotting his opponent, hissing threateningly, tail rattling ominously.

Bugsy's expression grows sharper as Ekans appears, the Gym Leader examining the poison-type curiously before his attention returns to Ran once more, "The last time your Ekans faced a Scyther of mine in this building, it didn't end well for you."

Ran nearly has to bite his tongue off to contain what would undoubtedly be a less than friendly answer, but his starter has no such compunctions, uninterested in formalities or niceties and instead immediately Glaring at Scyther.

The move, not audibly called out by Ran, catches both Scyther and Bugsy by surprise, leaving them unable to react before Scyther's attention is locked on Ekans' menacing, glowing yellow eyes. With Scyther well and truly spellbound and Bugsy seemingly scrambling to adjust to the surprising start of the battle, Ekans takes the opportunity to transition from Glare into Leer, a visible full-body shiver running through Scyther as the tip of Ekans' forked tongue darts out for a moment, seemingly tasting the air in anticipation of a tasty meal.

Ran watches mutely, happy to let Ekans keep setting up according to one of the basic strategies they'd initially planned out for the start of battles before Ekans even knew the moves he's now executing. His seeming inaction is supposed to have the added benefit of making his opponents doubt themselves. At this moment, with Bugsy seemingly floundering, that appears to be working perfectly, vindicating the countless months Ran spent stuck in Azalea Town with only Ekans for company.

Ran is perfectly content to keep letting Ekans act on his own initiative, knowing that his starter has more than enough plans drilled into him for a hesitating opponent. Finally, however, the Gym Leader realizes that Ekans will keep acting on his own initiative so long as the situation doesn't change, at which point he finally gives out an order of his own.

"Double Team." Bugsy orders confidently, clearly willing to accept that Scyther will continue to be hindered by the many status-affecting moves Ran's team has used and instead focusing on keeping him unhurt.

As Scyther seems to blur in place before a ring of threatening illusory doubles starts forming around Ekans, Ran finally speaks once more as well, "Set yourself up for success."

Ekans hisses obediently, closing his eyes and letting his tongue dart out once more, testing the air as Bugsy and the crowd watch curiously, unsure about the meaning of Ran's order. Ekans knows however, and that's all Ran needs for now. With Scyther's Speed and Defense already hampered and Glare's effect causing random bouts of paralysis, there's no point in trying to attack it or hamper it further whilst using the energy-intensive Double Team. Instead, Ekans can afford to take his time and slowly use Stockpile, hiding the hard-to-see move under a confusing command and a distracting visual cue.

For an Arbok, a well-prepared opponent would likely catch on in short order. They'd have to, because Arbok can usually execute the move in mere seconds. But for an Ekans, who doesn't tend to learn the move at such an early point in its lifespan… Ran has high hopes that Bugsy won't catch on fast enough. If he does, the plan will fail, because Ekans still needs significantly more time to use Stockpile, their training enough to learn the move, but not yet master it to the point of being able to execute it swiftly.

Fortunately, Bugsy clearly thinks Ekans' scenting of the air is leading up to something else, because he keeps Scyther using Double Team as he tensely watches Ekans for any surprises. Long seconds pass, Ran's gaze also locked on Ekans for the small visual indicators that Stockpile is working. Knowing what he has to watch for, Ran smiles in satisfaction as Ekans' scales seem to puff up slightly, a sign that the skin underneath is growing taut due to the energy Ekans is storing inside himself.

At the next stage, those same scales will become a slightly darker purple, stored energy intensifying Ekans' general characteristics, but unfortunately they don't get that far, as Bugsy finally catches on.

"It's using Stockpile. Disrupt it with Slash." The Gym Leader orders sharply, catching Ran off-guard by calling for the famously dangerous move. From a technical perspective, Slash is no more and no less than its name implies, a pokémon slashing at another with whatever sharp body part it possesses, generally some form of claws. In Scyther's case, its blades are of course the weapon of choice.

But the technical description isn't the reason for Ran's surprise. No, that's Slash's well-earned reputation for being a potentially crippling attack at the lower levels. Compared to a lot of other attacks, Slash has a high damage output compared to a relatively low learning curve, meaning that it often shows up in surprisingly low-level fights, long before either participating pokémon is actually strong enough to weather the effects of the nasty attack.

It's this awareness which flashes through Ran's mind in an instant when hearing the name of the dreaded attack, but he doesn't let it faze him, trusting in Ekans' strength to see them through.

"Poison Sting! Find the real one and follow up with Acid!" He orders hurriedly, as the many Scythers all raise their right arm and race towards Ekans.

Ekans' head rises up immediately, a fusillade of small poisonous darts shooting out of his mouth as he starts sweeping it around in a wide arc, passing futilely through illusion after illusion. Before he can even get through half of the incoming army however, they arrive, Scyther's many doubles disappearing as the real one appears just a foot to the side of Ekans' swinging head, razor sharp blade hacking at Ekans' neck mere inches behind the skull.

Ekans' entire body gets wrenched downwards, the blade mercifully not piercing skin but still carrying so much momentum as to carry Ekans out of his coiled position as he gets carried along by the neck for a few feet before slamming into the ground as Scyther loses speed and finally comes to a stop.

"Wrap!" Ran orders instantly, not wanting to give Bugsy and Scyther time to reopen the distance or build up speed once more.

Bugsy's order to use Double Team comes a moment too late, as Ekans manages to react with surprising speed considering the hard hit he just took, hurriedly slipping around Scyther's lower right leg and managing a single loop before Bugsy has even finished speaking. Immediately, Ekans starts to build on his initial success, wrapping himself fully around Scyther's legs once, then once around its abdomen and once around its thorax, tying the bug-type's arms down against its own sides.

"Acid!" Ran orders, as Ekans finishes winding around Scyther, the two pokémon coming eye to eye as Ekans slowly tightens his grip further and further.

Ekans neck bulges obscenely as he starts gathering enough Acid to spit at Scyther, but Bugsy isn't done just yet, ordering his pokémon to use Wing Attack to try and break free.

Scyther's wings glow with flying-type energy, twitching frantically in place as it tries to free them from Ekans' grip. It visibly impacts Ekans, as Ran's starter winces in agony, but he doesn't let up as he finishes preparing his own attack.

"Get out of there!" Bugsy finally shouts, his calm facade breaking now that the fight is drifting firmly out of his grasp. It's a futile effort however, as Ekans' grip is unrelenting whilst his head rears back.

Finally, like a cannon going off, his head moves forwards before blowing back, as a thick purple ball of acid shoots out of Ekans' maw, jaw temporarily unhinging to create enough room, and flies right at Scyther's defenseless face. The bug-type cries out in pain as his head, neck and upper thorax get covered in the biting substance, the impact worsened by the recipient's inability to roll with the blow, as Ekans keeps his target well and truly immobilized.

At that moment, Scyther's attempts at freeing itself with Wing Attack sharply cut off, a Glare-induced attack of paralysis hammering its system. Instantly, Ran orders Ekans to capitalize on the opportunity with Bite.

Ekans' large fangs, usually hidden by laying flat against the roof of his mouth, click down into place as they glow with discomforting dark-type energy. Bugsy encourages Scyther to try and break out once more, but his words carry the taste of futility, as Ran leans forwards eagerly, grinning in delight as his starter lets out a threatening hiss.

Then Ekans' head shoots forward, biting down harshly on Scyther's upper thorax, the bug-type letting out a final pained shout as the combined damage from Wrap, Acid and Bite finally becomes too much for it to bear. Ran watches eagerly as Scyther's eyes drift closed, its legs giving out as it falls to the ground, Ekans riding his prey down before, when the referee lifts his flag and announces the conclusion of the fight, finally unwinding and proudly slithering towards Ran.

"Scyther is unable to battle! Gym Leader Bugsy is out of pokémon! Ran Carr is the winner!" The referee's call comes, ringing through the quiet arena. Then the announcer takes over, recapping the fights with more than a little embellishment and singing Ran's praises as the spectators break polite applause, Josie's wolf whistle easily audible over the large crowd's polite noise.

Ran's attention is on Ekans first and foremost, his starter winding up his body, head coming to rest on Ran's shoulder from behind, allowing Ran to easily whisper some praise to his battered pokémon as he takes a closer look at where Scyther's Slash had impacted. To his surprise however, there's no sign of damage whatsoever. Taking a closer look at Ekans' scales, he turns accusing eyes on his starter.

"You already used Swallow, didn't you?" He asks, amused by Ekans' initiative. The poison-type hisses unapologetically, head wiggling in what Ran has learned through the years to be Ekans' approximation of a shrug.

Not begrudging his starter's decision to heal himself now that the battle is won, Ran turns his attention to Bugsy, who is already waiting for him in the middle of the field. His footsteps feeling lighter than they have in years, even with Ekans' added weight, Ran strides towards the center of the field as well, eager to receive whatever Bugsy decided to name his badge.

"As the Azalea Town Gym Leader, I hereby proudly present you with the Hive Badge." Bugsy declares, unveiling a circular badge colored and embossed to resemble a three-spotted Ledyba's back.

Ran gladly accepts the badge, immediately moving to pin it to the inside of his jacket, next to his no longer lone Zephyr Badge.

"You performed very well against challenging odds, your team shows the signs of a dedicated trainer who is willing to dedicate himself fully to allow each of his pokémon to reach their full potential. I'm sure that you're worried about that Spinarak of yours but, having trained a few of my own, please let me assure you that it will recover just fine, as long as you don't bring it out of its ball again before seeking medical attention." Bugsy continues to speak whilst wringing his hands, showing a willingness to reassure Ran to the crowd whilst handily absolving himself of any blame for his excessive use of force in their fight.

Ran doesn't respond audibly, merely offering the smallest nod he feels like he can get away with under the circumstances. It's clearly not enough however, as Bugsy's own expression finally falls into a disappointed frown, likely from Ran seeing through his ploys. For the second time following a triumphant Gym challenge, Ran is met with a Gym leader's lowered voice as they tell him something they don't want the crowd to listen in on.

"I assume this grudge of yours towards me is about me winning the sponsorship three years ago," Bugsy notes warily, seeming quite unimpressed by the idea, "Which is a shame, because really, it's pretty childish of you. We went for the same opportunity and I outperformed you. Suck it up."

"You cost me three years," Ran finally audibly replies, forgetting to keep his voice down but the sheer disbelief he feels is so strong that it still only comes out as little more than a whisper, "You almost forced me to give up on training forever."

"Ah," Bugsy softly lets out, leaning back slightly as he looks at Ran taxingly, seemingly reevaluating him, "I see. Okay, that'll tie nicely into the advice bit of this conversation."

Before Ran can even start to puzzle over just what that's supposed to really mean, Bugsy starts in on him, "Firstly, purely from a battling perspective. You have a Golbat. Maybe you really can't control it and you didn't dare to use it, or maybe you figured you didn't need the type advantage. If it's the former, either sort that out or trade or sell it to someone that can and get yourself pokémon you can control. If it's the latter, get over yourself. You're at a point in your career where not using any advantages you can get doesn't make you look strong, it makes you look foolish."

"Secondly, though you're probably not ready to actually listen to this yet, particularly not from me," Bugsy continues, pausing for just a moment before barrelling on nevertheless, "Specializing in a type doesn't just affect your pokémon. It's a two-way street. No matter in which direction you look, the effects aren't always beneficial. Bad trainers create bad pokémon and… well I wouldn't call them bad, but some types definitely tend to influence less-than-desirable traits in their trainers. In your case, revenge and anger can be powerful motivators, but don't let them consume you. Use them to drive you, because clearly that's working for you. That you've come this far without help does you credit. But please remember, the world isn't out to get you. I beat you in the sponsorship final because I needed the sponsorship, not because I had anything against you. There's a thin line between motivation and obsession, I think it'll serve you well to just keep that in mind."

Ran doesn't muster a response, merely squinting his eyes suspiciously at Bugsy's words, unwilling to accept them at face value. The Gym Leader doesn't seem to mind however, as he simply takes a half step back, before raising his speaking volume for the benefit of the crowd once more, "I also award you this TM for U-Turn and of course the cash prize associated with winning your second Badge. But that's not all! In my position as a new Gym Leader, I've only recently gotten my hand on some fascinating exotic bug-type pokémon!"

The crowd, previously only mildly interested, breaks into excited whispers at Bugsy's declaration, as Ran waits uncomfortably for whatever other shoe Bugsy is about to drop, "Though I look forward to unveiling these new additions to my roster at a later time, one of them is unfortunately not a long-term match for my Gym, as it will lose its bug-typing upon evolution. Having contacted its original owner, I could easily return it for another pokémon. However, in my capacity as Azalea Town's Gym Leader, I need to think not only about my own reputation, but also the reputation of this great town! It is for these reasons that I, with great pride, present you, Ran Carr, an Azalea Town trainer, with this pokémon, native to the exotic continent of Sinnoh!"

Ran has to blink, twice, as Bugsy suddenly unveils a black pokéball with a golden circle running along its middle, a smaller gold-rimmed red circle forming a smaller circle two-thirds of the way between the middle and the top. When he offers the ball to Ran, Ran can only stare at the Gym Leader in confusion.

"Don't worry, though it doesn't remain a bug-type, I assure you that it is and will remain a poison-type both now and after evolution. Which should make it a perfect fit for your team." Bugsy assures him placidly, voice still carrying far enough for the audience to follow along easily. Everyone is now watching with bated breath, even as Bugsy is still holding the ball outstretched, waiting for Ran to accept it from him.

With the anticipatory crowd watching his every move, Ran forces himself to reach out a hand and accept the ball from Bugsy's hand. If this is some kind of plot on Bugsy's behalf to hinder his team by forcing a subpar pokémon on his team, he'll just sell it or return it later on.

"Thank you," He grinds out, as Bugsy then also hands him the promised TM for U-turn.

"You're welcome," Bugsy smiles benignly, "I look forward to watching you at the Conference, where you'll surely do a fine job representing Azalea Town."

Bugsy frowns for just a moment after those words, which Ran is more than happy to take as his dismissal. Before he can turn on his heels and depart the arena however, Bugsy finally speaks up one more time, "Oh, and once she's healed, you should keep your Spinarak out in Ilex Forest overnight, while you're traveling towards Goldenrod. Just a tip."

Ran frowns in turn, but offers Bugsy a final polite nod, before finally striding swiftly towards the exit. His dad's already waiting at the door, beaming with pride, while Bugsy turns to move back to his side of the field, their battle and its aftermath already having run long. Ran badly wants to see Karolina's high-level battle, but for now, he has a wounded pokémon to get to the pokécenter.



Author's Note: Hive Badge won! New team member gained! With this, we're officially moving to the 'midgame'. So stronger moves, larger stakes and evolutions await!

As always, the next two weeks' worth of content, which includes Ran properly meeting his new team member and watching Josie's own attempt at winning the Hive Badge, is already available to my supporters. Additionally, this month's Contributor-poll to decide on the month's omake/au/interlude/... is going up today! Interested? Have a look at my Patreon.

Even if you're not interested in Early Access or other benefits, 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.
 
Back
Top