Hard Enough - Pokemon SI

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Chapter 103 - Trouble found
"So you're going to fight Steven Stone?" I said over the holopad.

On the screen, the Guardians' various faces were shown, with the newest additions to the 'faces' of the group also being present. Lucy looked a little out of her depth, while Janine held a cool stoicism.

Sabrina was in her own room with her Ralts sitting on her lap, receiving pats and rubs. Karen had instantly zeroed in on Sabrina and begun by shooting off a snarky comment, only for Sabrina to ignore her while I greeted the others.

Karen flicked her eyes from Sabrina to me and huffed. "Yeah, it will be good for me."

I tilted my head. "Doesn't it seem a bit… presumptuous?"

Karen snorted and raised a brow as though asking if I meant her. I sighed and directed my attention elsewhere.

Agatha cackled. "It's a win-win situation for Karen, honestly. News of Will's challenge has been leaked to various news organisations, but we're going to steal a march on him and have a bigger display with Karen's match against Steven. It will play into our desires to test Steven, along with raising people's awareness of Karen as a highly skilled trainer."

"Even if she loses?" I pointed out reasonably.

"You think I'm going to lose?" Karen said with narrowed eyes.

"Yes," Sabrina said immediately.

I pinched the bridge of my nose as Karen's nostrils flared.

Sabrina continued before Karen could reply. "Steven has allowed himself to face a greater number of challenges than Lance and remain unscathed. He has a diverse team. His strongest pokemon is his Metagross, who he has used to defeat challengers alone. His other pokemon are known Rock, Ground, and Steel typed with powerful options available to him thanks to the funding he has put into securing strong pokemon. His Aggron is considered top tier."

"Houndoom can match those two thanks to their steel typing."

"He will have other options," Sabrina said.

I tapped on my personal computer and drew up his public profile while comparing it to the Guardians listed teams. They were identical. "He doesn't hide any of his acquisitions, does he?" I said thoughtfully.

Koga shook his head lightly. "No, he believes he does not need to hide anything. Also most of them are publicly acquired or bred for him."

"We're certain there's not something he is keeping back?" I said, thinking of something crazy like a Latios or Latias or maybe even a Legendary.

"With his money and connections, it is not hard for him to change out his pokemon team. Not that he should need to with what he has." Koga replied.

I nodded. Reading through Steven's list of pokemon, I was interested to see that he had a Swampert, Blaziken, and Sceptile all listed on his team but their appearances were rather low. I clicked on a comment that was linked between all three pokemon on the Guardians file.

"He gets negative press for owning all three starter pokemon?" I read aloud.

Koga inclined his head while Karen snorted. "It looks bad that he threw his money around so obviously and got himself something that is practically unheard of for most average trainers."

I hummed, that really made Ash's initial team of Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Charizard and co far more ridiculous in hindsight. I made a small note to do a check-in after Damian. He still hadn't signed back up for a rematch.

"So if he comes against you seriously, he's going to have some powerful pokemon still, no?" I rubbed my chin. "So what if you lose?"

"I'm not going to!" Karen said with some bite. Agatha raised an eyebrow, while Janine flicked her eyes to her father as Koga shook his head minutely. Lucy licked her lips and shifted back and forth.

Karen sighed. "But If I do, somehow—" she said testily, "—lose, it's not a bad thing. It gets me more recognition for defending Indigo's interests and not being afraid to step up to the plate. Also, I might be able to get Blaine on my side and interested in training me to 'avenge him' as he's been outright ordered to not cause a stir with Steven from Lance. I can get around that and still offer him a salve to his ego by representing him."

"Ah," I said. "What about the other Gym Leaders and the Elite Four that you still have to face in Indigo? Won't they be watching and taking notes?"

Karen sniffed. "Let them, I have more tricks up my sleeve than just what I'll use against Steven Stone." She rolled her eyes. "I don't need a babysitter for this; I know what's at stake. I'm surprised you're not thanking me, Brock. This steals the spotlight from Will and makes his announcement have way less splash than he hoped for."

"Hmmm, I'd thank you, but this is more for you than it is for me." I pointed out reasonably.

Karen smirked. "Damn straight it is. If there was more time and you weren't locked down with your Gym, I'd spar against you as training against Steven. I notice there's a lot of cross-over pokemon there after all."

I scrolled through the list again. "I note that he doesn't have a Tyranitar or a Dragonite listed on here despite the other powerful pokemon he owns." I continued to look. "Or any of the major three ancestral starters from another region."

Koga huffed. "Outwardly, he claims that is because he has no interest in them, but in reality, some of his business rivals have put out paid bounties to ban him from gaining them. I doubt it has stopped him, in truth. It's merely a cost his rivals have to bear while he doesn't field those pokemon." I had to nod at that. It made a bit more sense.

Koga rubbed his chin. "He has collected a sizeable host of pokemon and for all that he spends more time running his family's business than he does as Champion, he is still a powerful trainer with a tactical mind."

I flicked to the top of the list and whistled "Two hundred and eight pokemon?" I paused when I noted that 'Crystal Onix' was listed there. "Heh, I knew that buyer was him when I sold that pokemon," I said with a smirk.

Agatha cackled. "Raised quite a bit of interest when that pokemon appeared, and we learned that it wasn't from one of his mines." She shot me a grin. "I was glad to see you were getting your pokemon's worth!"

I shrugged noncommittally, not willing to point out that I'd probably be able to sell another egg soon. Jackson had checked in on the cave when he'd been in the Orange islands and an egg had been present. I'd leave it to eat the crystals and gain a different body composition before making any sales or having it appear at the Gym.

I decided to move the topic along. "So any news regarding the Viridian facility?"

Koga and Agatha shared a look while Lucy, Janine, and Karen all leaned in, interested in this topic.

"We're still waiting for their security features to be reduced. While no further Rocket facilities have been raided they will slowly relax. We know their movements. Don't worry Brock."

I shifted. "I can't help but worry about Team Rocket. There's been a lot of pushing from us but no pushback from them."

"We have reason to believe that Team Rocket and Giovanni have a good deal of their attention diverted to the other region that they have made contact with. This has been confirmed through a number of the Rocket members and data that we have been able to gather from raids."

"Huh. So they're going to have access to other regions. That means other pokemon, no?" I asked.

Agatha and Koga nodded. "Indeed. The stability of the route is still extremely tenuous, as we have determined they are losing a number of their teams."

I drummed my fingers on the desk in front of me and decided to bite the bullet. "What should we do if Team Rocket gets their hands onto a Legendary pokemon?"

Agatha sniffed dismissively. "Legendary pokemon are some of the hardest to use, let alone befriend or capture. Impossible! You have a limited time frame with most Legendaries as they can grow stronger as they age!"

Lucy squirmed. "I… don't think it is so impossible, having interacted with Brandon and Noland. Both of them are strong personalities that were able to impress their pokemon or…" she trailed off as Agatha shot her an annoyed look.

"I think Lucy is right. We're also not considering that they might be rearing infant Legendaries with how they have access to Blaine's resurrection facility. What is stopping them from creating one of their own?" I said leadingly.

Agatha looked like she'd sucked on something sour, but Koga had a stern expression. "If they have such a pokemon then they will be a much greater threat. Facilities that hold particular danger will need either Agatha or I to oversee the raids on." He nodded to Agatha. "We are, after all, the only people present to have survived against a Legendary pokemon."

I hummed. "... You fought a Moltres once, yes?"

"..." Koga's eyes turned distant as he looked away from me. Janine stepped forward and nodded for him before indicating I shouldn't ask any more questions. I decided to drop the issue.

Instead, I glanced at Agatha. She sniffed. "During a raid on a region that had attacked us, I fought a pokemon known as Cobalion…" Agatha rubbed at her chest. "That fight opened my eyes in many ways and left me changed."

I frowned and ran that name through my head. "Cobalion… that's a pokemon from… Unova, as it was called?"

Agatha blinked at me. "You've read the histories?"

I nodded slowly. At the same time, that wasn't where I had learnt the name, I had in fact been reading through some of the historical texts the Guardians had regarding the war and more. Agatha tilted her head like I was a particularly interesting child that had just shown a new talent that surprised her.

I glanced between Koga and Agatha. "Sure I can't come along for this raid?"

Both of them shook their heads. "We will need to train you in certain threats. You dipped your toe into the problems that come from raiding a base with Surge but this will be a different kettle of Magikarp. Best to keep you disconnected from this. One of the benefits that we have as Guardians is that our organisation structure and membership are not known." Agatha grinned. "The same is not the same for Giovanni and Blaine!"

I swallowed my protests and accepted it with a nod. "Very well. Was there anything else that needed to be discussed regarding this?" I asked before bowing my head. "I was doing something important last night, sorry I couldn't answer."

Sabrina perked up, and she and her Ralts gained an air of smug superiority, which Janine certainly didn't miss as she shot my girlfriend a searching look. Lucy shook her head while Karen leered towards Sabrina. "Care to spar with me?"

Sabrina tilted her head and hummed. "I'm sure I can help train you," she said before disconnecting.

Karen sniffed and copied her. "Later!"

Lucy chewed her lip and glanced around. "She meant train pokemon right?"

Janine spluttered, only for Koga to reach over and disconnect Janine's screen before nodding in farewell. "Brock can explain that."

Agatha pointedly didn't disconnect and made a show of getting a cup of tea that she loudly drank from. I sighed and shook my head.

"Those two have a history," I said to start off the explanation. Somehow I just knew that this would be a recurring role for any other new faces the Guardians took on. Me explaining awkward situations while Agatha watched on like this was her daytime television show.

Lucy had a number of other questions that I was able to answer before I had to disconnect. I exhaled and shook my head before stepping out to deal with the day that was to come.

"BROOOOOOCK DAD BURNT THE PANCAKES!" wailed Tilly when I walked into the kitchen for breakfast.

I glanced at said pancakes and noted there were a few black patches on them. Flint rubbed the back of his head. "They're not that bad?" I offered him.

My youngest siblings all looked at him doubtfully before turning towards me to see how I would correct this situation.

I hummed. "You know crepes can be a bit burnt due to needing a stronger flavour to go with the cream and fruit, yeah?" I said. The younger kids all tilted their heads.

Flint frowned. "Crepes? But that's just a des—" Flint stopped when I made a chopping action at my throat. I was already fixing his mess. He nodded slowly and whipped around. "Of course! These are crepes, not pancakes! Cream and fruit for all!"

"Ice cream!" cheered Billy, causing the others to start up a chant. Forrest laughed while Salvadore looked amused as Flint suddenly had to go along with what was being extorted out of him. I smirked and claimed a seat and a bowl of cereal.

Yolanda nodded in greeting but kept her eyes on Flint while looking a bit sheepish. She bowed towards me with Terra in her lap while Eevee circled her legs, eyeing her lap. Apparently, being displaced by the new arrival was not sitting well with the little pokemon. Yolanda scootched over to me to whisper, "Sorry! I was distracted looking after Terra and wasn't able to help out dad!"

I shook my head at her. "It's not up to you to do that if Flint said he was going to cook."

"But I helped out more with you…"

I nodded. "And I was thankful for that. But that was also something we rostered. Flint doesn't want that roster and is trying to do this himself. Anyway, don't worry about that; right now you have someone that needs your care more." I flicked my eyes down to Terra who was smiling up at us guilelessly. "And someone who wants your attention." I flicked my eyes further down.

Yolanda looked down to see Eevee shooting her hopeful looks. Larvitar budged over a little, and eevee leapt up to claim the other half of Yolanda's lap making me chuckle. I finished up breakfast and helped get a few of my more distracted siblings fed properly.

Forrest tapped me on the shoulder as I set Tilly up with her mini crepe. "I still got today off, yeah?" he asked.

I nodded and he pumped his fist. "Hey, Dad! I have today off of Gym duties! Want to help me train Onix some more?"

Flint looked up and started to smile, only for Billy to take his momentary distraction and upend his bowl over himself. Flint sighed and shot Forrest an apologetic look. Forrest grumbled and stalked outside to hop on his bicycle. "It's cool I'll be out back when you're free," he said.

Flint merely nodded, too distracted with cleaning Billy to notice what had been said. I hummed, glancing to Yolanda, expecting to find her pouting at me to 'do something' only for her to be too distracted with the pokemon in her lap. I considered Flint for a moment before shrugging my shoulders. Eh, he's an adult. I stood and waved goodbye to everyone before moving off.

Still… I felt a bit guilty for Forrest… he'd be the person that would miss out if Flint… Urgh!

Why was this so hard? I just wanted to enjoy some well-earned schadenfreude that Flint was due! I leaned back in. "Hey Flint, Forrest is waiting for you out back, maybe show him how to ride an Onix over rough terrain?" I said.

Flint shot me a confused look as he nodded. I huffed and moved off, but not before catching Yolanda beaming at me in approval. I stuck my tongue out at her and got a giggle from her. Munchalx saw me do this and thought it was meant for him, causing him to stick his tongue out in response. And then suddenly every child at the table was copying him. I chuckled and left Flint to deal with the much more innocent problem of his children being cheeky.

I sat in my chair in the Gym office and I had loaded up some emails and paperwork just as Alexa entered.

Time to be a Gym Leader!



"—Sudowoodo, use Hammer Arm!" I said to finish the match. Across from me, the challenger that had tried to run a Gauntlet with the Gym at the Fourth badge level clicked their tongue as their last pokemon was knocked unconscious.

The crowd roared their approval at the match. It had been a good match, and I was decently considering still giving the trainer her badge. The trainer whipped out their pokeball and returned their pokemon only to storm off.

I hummed after their retreating back. Well, that was one way of solving my quandary on if they deserved a badge or not…

I gave the crowd a few waves and retreated to claim a seat up in the trainer area. I tried to settle down only to shift about a few times. When Rachel announced the next match, I perked up, ready for another challenge only to huff when it was announced as another gauntlet challenge.

Jackson shot me a curious look as he marched out to meet the challenger for their first match. I settled back and bounced my knee before standing and trying my pressure-release clap. It didn't help. I sighed and rubbed my face.

Missy hovered a little and hopped from foot to foot. I gave her a questioning look and she got flustered. "Do, do you need someone to talk to?"

"Hmmm?" I said, curious at what she intended.

She nodded towards me. "You've been a bit out of it for the last two matches after lunch, and you usually settle down after doing your little routine…" she made the clapping pose that I did to deal with momentary anxiety and stress. "You're not settling though. I know you'd usually talk with Rocko or Dennis, but they're both handling other duties right now."

I considered that before nodding slowly. "Yeah, you're right I usually would talk with them about what's bugging me."

"Soooo, there is something bugging you?" Missy said carefully.

I nodded. "Yeah," I said, scratching at my chin. "Not sure I should really get into it with you though. No offence," I said hastily.

Missy raised both hands. "Oh no, I understand Rocko and Dennis have been around long enough to have your trust, but I thought I might offer my ears?" she said delicately.

"Hmmm, well I guess I've just got a lot of little things right now with some looming larger issues that I need to address. I'm currently dealing with the day-to-day stuff, but I think it's just getting to me that we've faced a lot of trainers over the last month or so."

Missy nodded in commiseration. "My pokemon have gotten so many matches in it's crazy! They're getting way stronger from all of this, but yeah! I think I know what you mean. It might also make it worse that there's sort of a break coming up with the pause in gym matches to adjust the Gym's roster of pokemon for the next few months."

I snorted. "Another thing that got dragged way earlier this year. But yeah, it feels like a holiday with us stopping matches but in reality, we're going to be just doing other tasks."

Missy nodded. "How is it going to work exactly? This will be my first time doing this after all."

I settled back against the railing, keeping half an eye on the match playing out below as Jackson had Izumi perform a Defence Curl into a Rollout one-two move that helped him take out the first challengers pokemon. "Well first we're going to hold an auction for a number of pokemon or gift them out to people we think have earned them. I have earmarked a few trainers that we will be contacting first and foremost. I noted that you had a particular Onix and a Graveler listed out though?"

Missy nodded her head. "I think I understand how to use her really well now. I also asked if she wanted it, and she said yes. I think in a month or two I will have enough saved up to afford even a crazy expensive metal coat for her."

"Hmm nice, I will also be pitching out interest for any of the rare pokemon that we have such as the Alo—" I coughed. "I mean the variant Geodude, Lileep and one or two Aron. Then alongside the other pokemon that we sell, we will take stock of what we need for the coming month or two before seeking out these pokemon. Usually, this means low levelled Geodude, Onix, Bonsly, or otherwise. Thankfully the Lileep we get might fill a bit of this niche though so it might be an easier time for us with a few stable weak pokemon trickling in."

"Alright! So there will be a bit of a break then?" she said with a bounce.

I pinched my fingers together. "Small one. I will also need to catch up with some of our sponsored trainers for their check-ins. Mia has been sending in twice-a-week notifications but others have been a lot more sparse."

"Oh! How are they doing?" she asked with some interest as Jackson's pokemon finally fell.

"Good, they're staying ahead of the surge I think, as most of them already have their second badge from Cerulean and I read a glowing report from Surge about Silly Mouse being a Raichu in spirit with how they used Thunder. He also liked Humphrey's diverse pokemon."

"Mia still got only Silly Mouse?"

"Nope!" I said happily as one of the other Gym trainers I'd hired marched down to face the challenger. "She has caught an Ekans and Zubat so she's got a fairly good team right now." At Missy's tilted head I continued. "She found herself an Oddish and a Growlithe around Celadon apparently. Named them Wiggles and Wags apparently." I chuckled.

Missy bit her lips. "That's adorable."

"Wags knows Fire Spin," I said conversationally.

Mia stared. "... oh wow, she's a little savant isn't she? I looked up the training process for that and it doesn't seem all that straightforward."

"Right conditions and the right pokemon will make a difference. Humphrey still has the most diverse pokemon roster and I made sure to message him to be a bit more selective from now on as he already has twelve of his spots filled up with only six left now."

"Oh wow that's good news!" she said happily.

I nodded and eyed her for a moment. "You know I might have some time to do some training with you during the 'Gym Pause' we have coming up if you want."

Missy perked up instantly before chewing her lip."Are you sure? I know that you have a lot on your plate…"

I waved her off. "Please, if anything, I think things are calming down. You're overdue for some more training advice. I barely gave you what you're due since I showed you how to do your gravity training. I think I saw a note from Rocko about that going really well for you, no?"

Missy nodded her head, and I hummed. "I might advance you a Firestone if you're interested for your Growlithe, then we can start working on her and building up for your other pokemon."

Missy grinned at that before another buzz sounded out, reminding me that I had other things to focus on. I ran the fight I'd half been paying attention to through my mind. Hmmm, they had a Staryu and a Goldeen, while their Ekans had been beaten out by Jackson earlier thanks to Izumi despite its use of Iron Tail.

I gave Missy a thankful look. "Good chat, thanks for that it got me out of my funk." I rolled my shoulders and shook them out. "Now, it's showtime!" I said as I marched down the stairs and glowered like a pro-heel.

Across from me, the kid stiffened up before adopting a 'ready pose' that had me smiling wider.

"Go Geodude!" I said sending out my first pokemon. The Alolan Geodude sparked a little and made the trainer gasp in surprise before selecting a Bellsprout they hadn't had earlier. I nodded pleased at the decision.

When the flags dropped, I pushed aside all my concerns and focused on what I needed to do here and now, which was testing this trainer.

"Use Sand Attack!" I said, causing my chances of being hit to drop as Bellsprout copped a face full of dirt.

"Tch! Use Leech Seed!" replied the trainer. A number of sprouts shot out of their pokemon with one or two landing on my pokemon much to my Geodude's annoyance.

"Sand Attack again!" I said more than happy to be an annoyance to the other trainer.

"Growth!" ordered the kid

"Rollout! I said making the first move to attack.

"Now use Vine Whip while you're empowered!" cried the kid. I clicked my tongue and made a note of that as my pokemon barely dodged a Vine Whip that should have connected. My Geodude slammed into the other pokemon and sent it sailing back only for it to stand and shake itself off before my Geodude glowed green and small energy bubbles wafted to Bellsprout.

"Geodude, use Thunder Shock!" Instantly, my pokemon shot off some sparks of electricity at the Bellsprout.

"Dig your roots into the ground!" cried out my challenger. I smiled, pleased that they knew that trick.

With their pokemon unwilling to move much and mine seeded, the match was a slow wear down that saw me recalling my geodude before the inevitable occurred. Crystal, acting as today's referee, raised a flag towards the challenger.

"The Challenger takes the first match as Brock withdraws his pokemon!"

I hovered my hand over one choice before smiling and tossing out another. "Go Lileep!" I said.

The challenger stared at the pokemon before sighing in annoyance. I chuckled. Apparently, he wasn't expecting a Rock-Grass type, or at least he was hoping not to face it?

I wore down his Bellsprout this time and then took out his Staryu before eventually succumbing to his Goldeen with its use of Horn Attack. They slumped their way over to me and happily accepted their badge while glowering at me.

"You're not supposed to find a new Rock-type like that!" he said with a pout.

I chuckled. "Well, I did, and you have to deal with it. I think, for what it's worth, you handled the surprise well." I gestured to his pokemon. "One thing that might need to be worked on is having some more moves ready for your pokemon. Also, Growth improves your pokemon's energy attacks more than physical attacks like Vine Whip. You'd be better off with things like Razor Leaf or Energy Ball as such. Razor Leaf starts as a physical skill but can have Special energy applying to it as well."

They blinked at that and accepted the information before I took a photo with them to commemorate their victory. Then they were off, and I was once more in between fights. I trooped back up and sat at the railing, turning to Jackson, Missy, and the other trainer present with a smile. "So, what are your thoughts on my holding a contest that is tough-themed?" I said to start up a conversation. It seemed the best way to deal with my mood as Missy had demonstrated, also it let me still work on some issues even if only through planning.

"Oh you're still going to go ahead with that?" asked Jackson as he scratched at his head.

I nodded. "Yeah, I am. I think it'll be something fun. I'm in talks with some locals to help host it. Which reminds me." I fired off a message to Alexa to arrange a time to meet with them after the Gym was finished sometime this week. Then I straightened up. "I'm thinking biker jackets for our Geodude and some dark colouring on our Gravelers and Onix to set the theme for entrants."

"That'd be cute!" said Missy.

Jackson huffed. "They're supposed to be tough Missy, not look cute." He tilted his head. "Maybe give them some fake scars?"

Missy snorted. "I think that will still be seen as cute by some people."

Jackson put a hand over her mouth. "Don't listen to her Brock she doesn't understand manly aesthetics is all!" Missy shot him an amused look and I was about to say something when Rachel announced the next challenger. This one a direct challenge for me to face.

I raised a finger. "I'm gonna come back to this," I said as I marched out only to stop and stare when I realised who it was.

"I have returned!" announced the fop that had already failed twice in the last few weeks. I stared at him. I'd forgotten about this kid. It had been a good time.

"How many bookings did you make in advance?!" I said from where I stood. Some titters from the crowd let me know some of my more dedicated fans were aware of the situation.

The boy grinned without shame, and I sighed before clambering over the railing, my energy for this match suddenly vanishing. "Alright then let's do this," I said as I hopped over to the podium.

Crystal raised both flags before pausing and shifting as she stared at the prompter. She chewed her lip before pushing a button that had Jackson jogging down to her stand. I tilted my head. What could cause her to act like that?

Jackson stared at the prompter before nodding and gesturing for Crystal to step aside. He took the flags and took over the referee position. The crowd, alerted to the odd behaviour by the lack of matches starting as normal, stirred at this odd occurrence.

Jackson cleared his throat. "Apologies everyone! We're in for a treat today! Challenger Harold has locked in a doubles battle!"

I stiffened, remembering that yes, Alexa had informed me of this only for me to forget. I reached around to the two pokemon I had selected for this match. Suddenly, I was much more interested in this match, despite the person I faced across from me. This would be a proper test of my skills regardless of Harold's previous showings.

"Go Onix and Aron!"

Both pokemon appeared and I smiled as they appeared, took in their surroundings and nodded at each other only to glare across the field at Harold as he released his pokemon.

"Go Pidgeotto and Weepinbell!" I felt my brow twitch. Damn this kid. He was just tempting me with giving me half-hope at this point.

Jackson nodded and went through the normal routine, only when he dropped his flags I had two pokemon to command instead of one.

"Pidgeotto, use Sunny Day! Weepinbell, use Solar Beam!" commanded Harold.

I stiffened at that one-two punch. That… that was a good opening move.

"Get on Onix's back Aron! Onix use Protect!" Both pokemon complied and Onix took the Solar Beam head on to his protective shell. I swept my hand forward. "Aron, use Rock Polish! Onix, use Rock Throw on Pidgeotto!"

"Weepinbell, use Vine Whip on the Rocks! Pidgeotto, use Twister!"

The rocks my pokemon hurled were intercepted handily, and then a small hurricane was unleashed towards my pokemon. "Both use Dig!" I ordered causing my pokemon to dodge the oncoming Twister as they dove into the ground. When they emerged, they did so right next to each other once again.

"Weepinbell, use Razor Leaf!"

"Wide Guard, Onix! Aron, use Rock Polish!" I said causing a barrier to form up around Onix once more and defend against the wide area of effect attack.

Harold cursed as his move was blocked only to curse again as he looked to Pidgeotto. "Pidgeotto, reposition with Aerial Ace! Split them up!"

"Aron! Go on the offensive! Use Iron Head on Weepinbell!" I then pointed at Pidgeotto. "Onix use Rock Throw on that bird!"

Onix whirled around and once more hurled his load of rocks. Only for Harold to show some skill once again. "Aerial Ace and intercept Aron! Weepinbell, use Solar Beam again on Onix!"

"Dig!" I ordered, causing the Solar Beam to just miss as I made my Onix evade the attack he'd have not been able to block so soon after the last use of Protect. Aron was dragging along a Pidgeotto that had his claws locked onto his back. The Pidgeotto tried to stop my Aron but the little guy had too much steam built up and he slammed himself and Pidgeotto into Weepinbell causing them all to go tumbling into the ground. I had half a moment to grin to myself before Harold threw his arm up.

"Pidgeotto, get out with Aerial Ace to behind Weepinbell! Weepinbell use Stun Spore!" With My Aron basically on top of him I couldn't even order my pokemon back before he was sprayed with the spores.

"Pidgeotto spread the spores with gust!" Harold said. My Onix had just enough time to come up from his Dig only to fall victim to the spores.

Harold punched the air with glee. "Twister on Aron and Solar—"

I withdrew both pokemon and stared at the kid as he floundered at the sudden abort I had pulled. "Hey! I was about to win!" he said.

I shook my head. "You just did win; I concede. I wasn't about to make my Onix face a Solar Beam head on. Also, you got me fighting way more seriously than I should have, which is impressive kid," I said, raising my hand and gesturing to Jackson, who swept his flag up.

"Brock withdraws his pokemon, meaning Challenger Harold is victorious!"

The crowd, who'd been silent for the match, suddenly rose to their feet and roared their approval. I joined them in their applause, and Harold who'd just started to come to terms with the announcement of his victory, flinched at the sudden wall of noise he was hit with. He stared up at the cheering crowd and seemed stunned to see them so animated. I lowered the podiums and marched across to him with Jackon holding the case with the Boulder badge in it.

I loomed over the kid, and he looked up at me with a hesitant smile. "I.. did it?" he said as though surprised.

I snorted. "Where the hell was that sort of tactical thinking and on-the-fly planning weeks ago?"

He shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. I just had too much to think about."

"And you didn't have that here?" I said incredulously.

He shrugged again. "I just felt like I had to move and make orders, I didn't have time to stop and think about what I was supposed to do. I read all of my brother's notes and so much of it I had to forget."

I held up a hand. "Well, you need to do more of that. Cause what you showed today? That was promising. You used some great setups and pokemon that should have been weak here in great ways while working them in conjunction with your other pokemon. If you're like this for doubles battles, I'd work on making this the norm for you because you're a natural at this."

He nodded and took the badge with a thoughtful expression. I clapped him on the shoulder. "The Pidgeotto's actually yours isn't it? Not just a pokemon lent to you yeah?"

He nodded, and I smiled. "Yeah, it shows. Keep finding more pokemon of your own cause you're better with them. Stop trying to be your brother." I said. He smiled up at me at that and then accepted a picture before marching out with his head held high.

I watched him go with some hope that he'd actually turn out alright after all. I sighed. "Well that was fun," I said before turning to Jackson and clapping him on the shoulder. "Good work with taking over for Crystal."

He grunted and rolled his shoulder. "Nice way to end the day at least."

I blinked and checked my schedule to find he was right. I wanted to grumble a little, that last match had actually amped me up a bit and gotten me excited. I shrugged and made towards the back hoping to use this energy to train with my pokemon.

On the way, Greta ran up to me. "Brock! I wanted to talk to you!" she said hurriedly. I nodded and indicated I was free to talk. She marched up and wavered for a moment. "I want to sign on to be a Gym trainer for Pewter Gym! I think there is a lot that I can learn here! I can't offer a lot of skills and work history but I am serious about worki—"

"I accept on certain conditions."

"—ing here and I can learn quick! I was able to place well in…" She trailed off as she caught on to what I'd said. "Huh? Oh… really?"

"I've seen you poking around. You're an insightful young lady and you're dedicated. I think you're making a good call." I then grimaced. "Now… due to reasons, my Gym's security features have increased since the start of the year. I… probably shouldn't waive the need to have a Psychic review you but I don't want to set a precedent."

"I have no problems with that!" she said quickly before tilting her head. "Any… other conditions?"

I winked at her. "Maybe also call your parents, yeah?"

"Ah!" she said before bowing. "I'll talk to her!"

I nodded and held up a hand. "Also to make sure you're not going to be stagnating, especially with regards to your starter pokemon, I think you should do an exchange with Erika… and maybe Janine as well. Give your Grass-Poison a workover so that Bulbasaur can be the best he can be. I don't want to hamper your growth by restricting you. Its why I send all my sponsored trainers out onto the circuit instead of sitting on them. You can learn a lot at the gym but not all of it can be good. Falling into bad habits is something I want you to avoid."

She nodded slowly at that. "I hadn't thought about that."

"You're not expected to," I said easily. I considered talking up Surge or Sabrina, but both of them wouldn't be good fits for further training. Maybe for a chat? I don't think Greta would do well with Surge for a long duration. I gestured with a lazy wave. "Go talk with your mother about this and if you're still interested, then talk with Alexa, send the forms through to your mother and I'll talk with Erika and Janine. Both are trainers I know you'd do well working with for a stint of time. I'm just the first Gym Leader you've encountered." I shot her a smile. "You might click with them even better you know? Don't settle for the first option."

She nodded thoughtfully. "I see what you're saying." She shot me a polite bow and then walked off her head tilted in thought.

I watched her go with a hum. I had suspected she'd consider sticking around with me. She'd do well here, or at least I believed she would, but I didn't want her to just settle down, that wasn't what the journey was about.

Jackson approached and nodded to Greta as she walked past. He raised some forms for me and I rolled my eyes at him. I considered telling him to dump it on my desk and to come out back to spar with me. Sadly it was then that my transceiver started to buzz, making me eye the message with a dubious expression, only to relax when I saw it was Officer Jenny.

"Hey Officer Jenny, how's your day going?"

She gave me a pained smile and told me precisely how her day was going.

I inhaled sharply as Jackson swore. Then I told her I would be there momentarily before hanging up.

"Want me to take over the jobs you were gonna do this afternoon? I'll get Salvadore or Yolanda to feed the Elite?"

I nodded tightly and sent a message to Rachel and Alexa informing them of the situation before calling for a Granny to come around. Then I paused, considered what I'd been told, and shot off another message to Lawrence.

Then I marched into my home to find Flint.

The entire time, I kept thinking about how Forrest really, really didn't understand the level of trouble he'd just found himself in.

He better be alright.

And he better have a damn good reason to be arrested!



A.N. Special thanks goes to my patreons for their support!

Special thanks goes to Raikor, Ab9999 and Elnoorz for betaing and editing this chapter
 
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Oh no. Oh, Flint, what the hell were you doing?

I dearly hope Forrest starts to realize his dad isn't as worthy of being looked up to as the kid thinks. Maybe… this is the kick in the pants he needs to go on his own journey?

I mean… aren't Ash and Misty still around, or did I somehow completely miss Ash's battle and then their departure?
 
Oh no. Oh, Flint, what the hell were you doing?

I dearly hope Forrest starts to realize his dad isn't as worthy of being looked up to as the kid thinks. Maybe… this is the kick in the pants he needs to go on his own journey?

I mean… aren't Ash and Misty still around, or did I somehow completely miss Ash's battle and then their departure?

Ash has not had his battle yet but I think it is coming up soonish?

I do wonder how Brock thinks Flint is responsible for Forrest getting arrested when he is at home.
 
Hmm, some good interactions with Missy, and Greta has decided on becoming a Gym Trainer. And I have to say I really liked the bit with Missy, it shows how she has continued to grow and is even in Brock's confidence now. Also, Mia and Silly Mouse's adventures continue to impress! Literally, that was some high praise from Surge.

Then there was the Guardian's meeting... Aw, look at Sabrina and Karen, they've become such good friends! LoL. And Agatha continues to entertain. She's old and now only finds amusement in schadenfreude.

Lastly, below are some typos for your editing pleasure:
the surprise well." I gestured to her
her - his

"Well that was fun, I said before turning to Jackon and clapping him on the shoulder.
"Well that was fun," I said before turning to Jackson and clapping him on the shoulder.

I'm just the first Gym trainer you've encountered."
trainer - Leader

Then I hung up and told her I would be there momentarily.
Maybe the wording here should be flipped around? Because it'd be hard to say he'd be there momentarily AFTER he's hung up.
 
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Funny, I wasn't thinking of this as a reason for Forrest to journey at all. Brock at least seemed to think it was good for Forrest to take some time before his journey so he doesn't regret if his dad leaves
 
oh wow! This was unexpected, but I like that sucker punch because it hit us just as unexpectedly as it hit Brock.

I hope this is a "he had some bad friends, then got in a fight with them when they crossed a line" thing more than a "he got peer pressured into crossing a line" thing. Looking forward to more, and thanks for writing!
 
I have a hunch this might be Damian related. I don't know why, it is probably too early for that.
 
Was going to say it probably isn't, but then again...
Forrest huffed. "He was all wind. He had an Oddish and Poliwhirl and he tried stomping me into the ground with them, but I used Rollout to evade them for a while. Doofus kept throwing out Waterguns and Absorbs but I dodged them all and knocked his pokemon out. He had no variability in his moves."

[...]

"Yeah, actually. I ran into him with the guys after the match. He was really peeved at losing, and he tried to challenge me again to advance, but I ignored him." He rubbed his head and I tilted my head. There was something he wasn't saying there.

"Something else happen?"

"My friend fought him with one of their pokemon and got beaten and he got all high and mighty. But then he lost against another of them and got angry as a mankey. It was so dumb."

I clenched my jaw. "... Keep an eye out for him and tell me if he's still around. I have this weird feeling about him."

"Weird feeling?" Forrest said.

I nodded. "Yeah, in a bad way though."

Forrest nodded. "Alright?" He shot Ash a confused look before shrugging, "I'll keep an eye out for him."
I feel like Damian has either abandoned Charmander at this point or is about to. If he hasn't moved onto Mt. Moon by now, then perhaps he has decided to use Charmander to get some better mon to fight with before leaving him and carrying on? Since he hasn't rescheduled and Cerulean is a water gym, which Charmander would not do well in (and I think he got abandoned before then?). If Forrest stumbled upon Damian again and managed to get into a fight (not even a pokemon one) that really hurt the other Trainer over something to do with Charmander... Yeah, that might be reason enough for an arrest depending on the damage. Although, it could easily be Forrest and his friends who got up into trouble again with whatever they thought was a good idea. ...Or both, actually. We'll see.
 
Chapter 104 - Interlude - Through the eyes of our youth
Misty towelled herself off. "Thanks for the swim Corsola!" She waved back at the little pink pokemon. At her side, Staryu and Starmie bowed politely. Misty glanced at her only other pokemon, her Goldeen that was happily still swimming around in the pond that Brock had steadily been developing.

It had started as a simple pond, but now it ran a loop up to the plateau. It even had sections were you could go down a series of rapids if you wanted to! It was a surprising inclusion to a Rock type gym, but it made sense with some of Brock's latest acquisitions.

She hopped to the side as said pokemon reached out with their fronds to touch her. "Lileep!" said the happy Grass type pokemon.

Misty giggled and tapped it on the frond, amused at how it wiggled in glee before dipping a root into the water and relaxing.

"Morning Misty!" shouted Greta as the other Pallet trainer approached. She paused as flicked her eyes up and down Misty's form "Have a nice swim?"

"Yeah! No better way to start the day than to have a swim in my opinion!" Misty shot the other girl a thumbs up.

A zap of lightning had her flinching and finishing off her towel down. Greta glanced in the direction that the lightning had come from. "Ash is up and training I take it?"

Misty nodded. "His match against Brock is this week, and he wants to be ready."

Greta tilted her head. "Has he caught any new pokemon?" Misty shook her head, Greta pursed her lips. "Has he taught his pokemon a fighting, or Steel type move?" Misty shook her head and raised her hands. Greta facepalmed. "He is such a doofus."

"Yeah, yeah he is." Misty agreed before opening her bag and pulling out her shorts and top to wear over the top of her swimsuit. Greta crouched down and raised her near ever-present Pokedex onto Misty's Goldeen.

Goldeen, the water queen pokemon, this pokemon posses an elegant fin that billows out around it. The fin provides an incredible amount of control over the water around it that helps propel it through the water in times of threat. It has been known to use its fins as a method of evading attacks by creating a veil for where it actually is. It has been thought to be similar to Tauros fighters in that regard. It is not unusual to see this pokemon leading Sharpedo into rocky outcroppings or metal hulls of ships, sometimes to the detriment of the ship.

Greta nodded and then snapped a few pictures before hitting another button.

This Goldeen has a slightly longer horn than most of its species. It is in a good weight range for speed without being too bulky, making it ideal in a pokemon fight. This Goldeen knows Horn Attack, Agility, Fury Attack, Supersonic, and Tail Whip.

"Huh, that's new," Misty said, glancing towards Greta as she stood.

Greta raised two fingers in victory. "That's because Professor Oak was impressed with the work I'd put in to add all of Brock's pokemon in the reserve into the Pokedex with some observations! I also have been going around with Crystal and Yolanda to watch matches on the Battle courts! I have over a hundred pokemon recorded on my pokedex in less than two months!"

"Neeeeeerd!" shouted a voice, interrupting what Misty was going to say. Greta and Misty turned to find Crystal riding her scooter towards them and waxing manically. "Hey! Morning nerd!"

Misty scowled, only for Greta to roll her eyes. "Morning to you too Scooter girl!" Misty relaxed realising it was a nickname and Crystal wasn't being mean… like Misty's sisters would have been.

Crystal hopped her scooter and landed, only to stumble as she tried to adopt a cool pose. She coughed. "You didn't see anything!" Misty giggled at the younger girls antics, while Greta merely pointed at her pokedex.

"I got everything on video!"

Rather than be annoyed, Crystal merely huffed. "Cool show me it later so I can see what I messed up!"

"Morning!" Called another voice. The girls all turned to find Yolanda trudging towards them with her ever-present starter pokemon in her arms. Terra waved in greetings at them, and Misty leaned down to coo at the little baby pokemon. One day this pokemon would be a terrifying powerhouse, Misty was sure but right now she was this tiny cute— Heavy! Misty almost buckled as Yolanda handed the pokemon off to her. She had not been ready for such a heavy pokemon.

Misty adjusted and returned to cooing at the pokemon while rubbing at her back. Ow.

Yolanda glanced around as Misty subtly lowered the dense little pokemon to let it toddle around. "Where's Forrest? Anyone seen him?"

Misty indicated behind her and over a few boulders that some Geodude and Aron were sitting atop. "He's over there fighting Ash."

"Uhmmmm, is that a good idea? They always get sort of heated when they're left alone," Yolanda said reasonably.

"Your dad is with them," Misty assured the other girl.

Yolanda did not look assured. "I think I'll just check in on them."

"Tar!" said Terra as she wobbled her way towards the rocks. Another blast of lightning radiated out only to wash over the Geodude and Aron without bothering them more than making them shift about. Misty supposed that with their Rock typing, they wouldn't be all that bothered with the lightning, especially only the minor stuff that was splashing out from Pikachu's attacks.

It didn't stop Yolanda from scooping Terra up protectively, as though that would. Greta skipped up to Yolanda. "You know that Larvitar are ground-rock dual typed yeah? Out of all of us, she's the best off to handle Pikachu?"

Yolanda sniffed. "That's not the point. It's about teaching her not to run into a pokemon fight. She only vaguely understands it right now, especially with pokemon and trainers she considers friends."

Misty nodded along to that. It was a good point.

When they got through the boulders Misty spotted Ash squaring off against Forrest. It was Pikachu versus a very smug-looking Graveler. It was named pokemon wasn't it? That had a meaning, didn't it mean it was more powerful? Or at least it wanted to be stronger?

"Challenger! Use Sandstorm!" Forrest said with a grin causing his pokemon to flick up a huge torrent of sandblasting up.

"Woah! Quick! Pikachu, use Quick Attack around the Sandstorm!" Pikachu did just that only for it to not be quick enough to effect anything with the Sandstorm.

"Use Earthquake!" Forrest said gleefully causing Pikachu to stumble and skid only to be bounced up into the air before slamming into the ground as the little mouse pokemon collapsed with a sad 'Chaaaa!'

"Pikachu is unable to battle! Forrest has won the three-on-three match!" Flint shouted over the top of the howl of the wind.

"Urgh!" Ash said as he stepped forward to collect his pokemon only for the Sandstorm to hinder him.

"Onix if you could, blow away the Sandstorm please," Flint said calmly. Releasing a very large Onix that roared lowly before thumping its tail. It caused the Sandstorm to die off almost immediately.

Challenger whipped her head around to glare at the Onix. Misty could see that the Graveler was sizing up the much, much larger Onix. Forrest stepped up and patted her on the back. "Hey, settle down girl! You just won! Thanks for that! You did great!"

Challenger relaxed slightly before smiling at Forrest and shooting him a multi-armed thumbs up. With the fight over, Misty followed Yolanda up to her brother.

"Forrest, why are you using Challenger against Ash? She's way too strong for his pokemon, forget his Pikachu!"

"I asked him," Ash said, stepping up before Forrest could even open his mouth. "I wanted to get stronger, and the way to do that is sometimes to fight against pokemon stronger! I know it's helping us! Pikachu is faster, and he's been able to learn Thunderbolt properly now!"

Yolanda frowned. "What about learning something to help you against Brock?"

"I have a strategy ready for him! I'm looking beyond him!"

Misty who'd been chuckling at Ash's naivety, stiffened. Beyond Brock? He'd been preparing to fight against her sisters!? Oh no! He was going to tear through them!

"You really need something that will work against Rock types as a whole! You've got one solution against Brock at a low level!"

Ash raised a finger only to open his mouth and nothing but a croak of disbelief escaped him. "Oh no! I need to practise way more moves!"

Greta giggled. "That's just like you Ash!"

"This isn't funny, Greta! If I don't get the badge, we won't be able to continue on to Cerulean!"

Greta blinked. "Uhmmm Ash? I'm not coming with you? Remember?"

"What? But…" Ash floundered for a moment, his mind unable to handle what he was being told. "But aren't you worried about not competing this year?! With the surge, we need to make up time!"

Greta shook her head. "I'm actually going to go and talk with Brock about staying with his Gym. There's a lot that he can teach me about being a trainer. And I think I can make a better impact next year."

"Next year!?" Ash shouted.

Misty flinched before shaking her head. Was there an echo? It must have been one of the caves that ran under Brock's reserve. Ash shook his head. "Next year is forever away! What are you going to do for an entire year in one place?"

"Get strong with Bulbasaur. It's not like I can't leave Pewter as well, I'll be able to make expeditions out to catch a team and keep working on them. Any badges I earn are also valid for next year." Greta made a circle gesture. "There are going to be a lot of trainers that might stick around for the other half of Indigo and do the Johto circuit next year which will make it the crowded side. I'm not confident enough to go over to a region I'm not familiar with but I can get stronger. If you continue next year and collect enough badges I will see you at the end of next year's circuit."

"Okay…" Ash said with the tone of a person that had just been told the pokemon fight he'd been looking forward to was now cancelled.

Misty gave Greta a nod and a pat on the back. "I think it will be a good idea! Brock has a lot of impressive pokemon and if you are able to get some for your team you'll be way better off!"

"That's a perk!" Greta agreed.

Forrest sighed. "I'll probably head out next year as well. With a starter now I think I'll be able to do pretty well." He patted Ash on the back. "It's not unusual to spend a year building yourself up before you leave for your journey you know Ash?"

"I know," he said kicking a rock. "I just thought it would be nice to travel with another Pallet trainer… especially one that isn't Gary."

"Or that Damian kid," Forrest said.

Ash got a confused look, and Greta sighed. "The kid that came in the last year and tried to take the top spot only for me and Gary to beat him out on the exams."

Ash nodded in a manner that Misty knew meant he had no idea what she was talking about. Forrest laughed, apparently also used to Ash's mannerisms after spending a bit of time training with him. "Hey, how about we head around to the battle courts?! We can fight some trainers there!"

Ash perked up at that. "Yeah! Come on! Last one there's a rotten egg!"

"Oh no you don't!" said Forrest as he sprinted off. "Come on Challenger! With you and Onix, we'll roll these wannabes!"

Misty sighed and shook her head fondly, only to catch Yolanda watching her in amusement. "What?"

"So, I take it you're going to stick with Ash? You didn't say anything about not going with him?" asked Yolanda carefully.

Misty nodded. "I've put some thought into something your brother said, I'm going to claim some badges and make an attempt at the circuit." Misty stretched as she followed Ash and Forrest around to the battle courts. "I think your brother had a good point that I shouldn't be afraid of facing the other Gym Leaders. Eventually, I'm going to be one of them!" She clenched her fist. "Maybe even one of the best!"

"Well… good luck with that. It'll be between Brock or Sabrina by then," replied Yolanda.

"Really? I would have thought you'd back your brother?" Misty asked. Greta nodded while Crystal shot Yolanda a surprised look.

"I've seen her fight, she's just as creative in her battles, but she knows how to pull the rug out from underneath my brother. She might not have his diversity, but she's spoken with me, and she has a few pokemon she's looking into. I think she'll be just as diverse soon. She's already considered one of the strongest with Blaine, Giovanni, and Koga." Yolanda shrugged.

"And they're all old, and Koga is going to become an Elite Four member at the end of the year."

"Huh?!" said the other girls as one. "He's getting promoted?"

Yolanda blinked slowly. "Oh, has that not been announced yet?" she tilted her head and chewed her lips. "Hmmm I know Brock has mentioned it in passing."

Greta got out her transceiver and started furiously searching through the League pokenet page for any official announcements. "It only says that Agatha is stepping down? At the end of the year? But it does say that one slot will be to a worthy challenger?!" Greta looked up. "I thought they meant that two slots would be open for grabs! It's not really all that clear!"

Yolanda nodded. "Forget I said anything?" she said while knocking on her head. Terra copied her and squinted, making Misty sigh. The younger girl and her starter were too cute sometimes.

Crystal giggled. When they got to the battle courts, they found the boys searching for opponents that were roughly their level.

"What about him?" Ash said. Misty glanced over to find a young man that had his nose up in the air, it almost seemed like he thought everything and everyone was beneath him.

"He's got an Arcanine. I saw him hop off on top of the hill and unless that is just a travel pokemon it will have a lot of power behind it."

"Hmmmm Butterfree wouldn't do well against him then… Her?" Ash said pointing to a girl with a Poliwhirl.

She decided to speak up. "No, that Poliwhirl is way stronger than a normal Poliwhirl. You can tell with how it's body is starting to gain muscles, specifically in the arms and legs. It's trainer is probably going to evolve it soon. They're just looking to get a bit stronger from a few more fights I would assume."

"Pikachu could take it if he wasn't tired!" Ash said back with a huff.

"Yeah, no," Misty said.

"How about him?" Crystal said pointing to an old man that was twizzling his moustache. Crystal was sadly loud and obvious enough with her pointing that the man perked up having noticed them.

Ash narrowed his eyes. "He's… kind of old?" he said, like that should disqualify him.

The man huffed. "I'll have you know I have the second-best Rattata around young man! I've even staked money on it and won during battles and Rattata races!"

"What are Rattata races?" Ash asked.

Crystal sniffed. "Cutesy racing events that you can bet on at the track. Mum says it's for small timers to dip their feet in. The real money is in Rapidash, Dodrio, or Pidgeot races!" She nodded seriously, speaking as though she was an authority.

"Huh, well… I guess he'll do?" Ash said stepping forward and raising a pokeball. "Ready to battle old man?"

"My blood runs—" the man started to say only for a loud shout to cut through the pre battle banter.

"Yahoo!" "Yeah!" "Check it!" shouted some boys as they rode in on their bicycles. They skidded to a halt in front of Forrest and grinned at him. "Yo Forrest! Where you been?" the lead boy eyed the group and Misty bristled when his eyes paused on her and his smirk grew.

"Oh? Been hanging out with your girlfriend and the little babies!"

Terra nodded and happily waved her hands out excitedly, very much not understanding that she was being insulted. Misty sniffed, whereas Ash growled and stepped forward. "Hey! I'm not a baby!"

"Indeed! And I am a gentleman, I will have you know! One decorated at that!" said the man opening his jacket to reveal a number of what Misty thought looked like medals of some sort.

"Whatever! We weren't talking to either of you!" said the boy. He jerked his chin at Forrest. "Hey Forrest? What gives? You ditching us for these twerps?"

"It's not like that, I've just been spending time at home with Dad back. He's shown me all these cool tricks!"

"Is that so?" said the boy. "Well, I've got something cool to so you as well!" The others in the group perked up and nodded quickly.

"Yeah! That's right! You gotta come check it out! We have a Secret base and everything!"

Ash stopped growling. "A secret base?!"

Misty scoffed loudly. "What? Did you find an old derelict building?"

"No way it's way cooler than that! It's this ol—"

"Barney shut up!" growled the leader. "You in Forrest?"

"Can I come?" Ash said indicating himself and his desire to see the 'secret base'.

The other boy sniffed. "Only cool kids with bicycles can join!"

Misty leaned around and pointedly looked at the boy that had glitter and pink paint that had flaked off his bike. That obviously had been a hand me down from a sister.

Forrest huffed. 'Not cool man… buuuuuuuuut you're not wrong I haven't hung out with you guys in ages and today is my day off from the Gym and school. Surprised you guys got out of school so early."

"Eh, it was no trouble," said the kid in a way that Misty just knew meant he hadn't gone. Forrest waved goodbye after bringing out his bike to ride off with his friends.

Yolanda giggled as Terra waved goodbye enthusiastically. Ash moped. "I wish I knew someone that had a bike that I could have borrowed."

Misty narrowed her eyes and clenched her fist. "You did."



Munchlax kicked his feet and resisted the urge to do a happy dance as he spread some mayonnaise around on his lettuce. Then he slathered up some peanut butter, bluk berry jam, and whipped cream on top before placing the final piece of bread on top.

He eyed it thoughtfully before stabbing a Chesto berry onto a small skewer like they did in movies for those fancy people, and he inserted it on top of his meal.

Perfection.

Eevee walked into the kitchen and spotted the sandwich. She sniffed tentatively. "That's disgusting!" she barked at him.

Munchlax shook his head. "You just don't know art when you see it." He then inserted the sandwich into his mouth. His jaw closed around it as he munched to his heart's desire. The various tastes mixed and blended together wonderfully.

Eevee made gagging noises.

This caused Nanny Grav to enter the kitchen. "Urgh! You're cleaning that up little one!" she said crossing both pairs of arms and glowering at him. Munchlax swallowed and shrugged it off.

"No problem! Once lunch is over!" he said.

Eevee made a face. "I'm no longer hungry," she said as she turned to walk away.

Munchlax tilted his head. "What's got into her?"

"Eh, no idea?" said Nanny Grav as she reached into the pantry. She drew out some pebbles that the kids had collected and melted some honey into. She tossed it into her mouth and crunched away loudly. "Must be feeling sick?"

Munchlax considered this. "We'll have to check with Yolanda." Both of them nodded at that only for Flint to walk in with a pile of laundry.

"Urgh, there's so much laundry to do! I really should have worn some… oh hello there, you two!" he nodded to Munchlax and nay Grav.

"Wanna join us for lunch?!" Munchlax raised up his lunch sandwich, that was merely five layers of lettuce and tomatoes and cheese and cucumbers.

Flint blinked slowly and stared at Munchlax's sandwich. "I'm still not sure we can afford to let you eat like this." Munchlax gasped at him and used his Baby Doll Eyes.

Flint huffed. "Yeah, that's not going to work on me."

"Damn, I never should have taught Suzie and Tilly how to use that move!" Munchlax said. They were way too good at it… Then again, maybe the little bows in their hair helped? He'd need to put some on and try again to find out if they helped.

He took a bit of his sandwich and considered it. It needed pepper and salt. He hopped down from his special stool. It apparently had his name on it an everything! Got the pepper and salt with the help of a stepping stool and then sprinkled it on his sandwich before putting it back.

"How come you don't raid the pantry anymore?" Nanny Grav asked from around a mouthful of pebbles. She idly offered Flint some and he considered it for a moment before shaking his head.

He instead took some already cooked tauros steak for his lunch. Munchlax shook his head. It didn't have anywhere near enough condiments. With lunch done, Munchlax took a moment to enjoy how his meal had been. Should he start on post-lunch now… or hold off? He thought long and hard before deciding to pack away what he'd used.

He put the dirty dishes and knives in the sink and then checked the pantry for his after-lunch mint. Brock always got a funny look on his face when he had a mint after a proper meal but Munchlax enjoyed how it made his tongue tingle. He shook his box of mints and nodded.

He had enough for today and tomorrow morning, then he'd put the box where Brock or Yolanda could see it and they'd put it on the list for Flint to fetch while they worked! It was such a good system. He was glad they got Flint as live-in help.

It amused him that they claimed he was their father, but Munchlax wasn't that naive. That was obviously Brock. Flint was the helper.

Munchlax turned only to bump into Flint. "Oops! Sorry about that Munchlax I didn't see you down there!" said Flint.

"Oh that's alright… wait! Where's my treat?!" Munchlax whipped his head about looking for said treat only to not find it. He certainly hadn't eaten it yet! He'd know!

Flint tilted his head and frowned. "I'm… not sure what you're saying?"

"My treat!" said Munchlax checking his box. "One, two,threefourfivesixseven! Ha there were eight before and now there's only seven! I knew I got it out! Where'd it go?"

"I have no idea what you're saying," Flint said fondly. Flint merely patted him on the head and moved off. Munchlax slumped, he was a good helper for everyone else in the family it seemed, but not for Munchlax.

Munchlax turned his head to look at Nanny Grav but she merely shrugged her shoulders. "I know I saw you grab one, but I don't see it now. You sure you didn't eat it?"

"No! I did not eat it yet!" he said stamping his foot.

Grav hummed. "Well just grab yourself another then."

Munchlax huffed. "That wasn't right! I've read the book!" Nanny Grav raised a granite eyebrow at him. Munchlax huffed. "Brock read it to me! There! I can't read! Are you happy?"

"Same, I can't read either, but alright then let's clean up and see if we can find it." she then cleaned up the kitchen, slowly, making sure to check before she wiped anywhere down, lest the mint be squashed or tossed way.

Munchlax helped.

Sadly, they found no mint. Munchlax felt his stomach shrivelling up, he felt like he was wasting away to nothing. He collapsed to the ground and groaned, only for Nanny Grav to huff, pick him up, and deposit him on the lounge near Flint as he folded laundry.

Munchlax groaned sadly. Flint shot him a look. "Eat too much food?"

"Not enough," Munchlax replied.

Flint nodded as though he agreed. "Well that will teach you." Munchlax nodded. Next time he'd make sure to put it in his mouth before he lost it! This was like all the other times he'd lost his food! Like the pineapple pizza slice!

"Wait!" Munchlax sat up. He'd found those? Where had they been?

Flint continued to fold up clothes, occasionally he'd check a piece of paper that seemed to have pictures of how to fold up the clothes. Munchlax idly took a pair of socks and helped him fold them as he tried to recall where he'd found the stray pizza slice. Mmmmmm pizza it had tasted pretty good with some of his fur…

Munchlax stopped folding one of Tilly's shirts and reached into his fuzz to search around. Nothing under this arm or leg, or his belly. Behind his head? Nothing.

Munchlax slumped back down and sighed. He'd been so close to eating it and getting that wonderful tingle. Then he would have had a whole hour of delight on his tongue!

He could almost… wait, he could smell it! He sat up just as Flint stood and marched off with the folded laundry. Munchlax sniffed the air. Flint! It was on Flint! Or the laundry!

Munchlax sprinted out into the hall and carefully hid behind the furniture as Flint deposited the laundry into the kids' rooms. Munchlax followed him in, searching the clothes and then refolding them when he found nothing.

The hunt continued, from Tilly and Billy's room, to Tommy and Cindy! Then Suzie and Timmy, then into Salvadore's room. When Munchlax raided Forrest's room and found no mint, he glared after Flint. Where was it!?

"Yolanda, I'm coming in!" Flint said while he was knocking on the door. Now that most of the laundry was finished Munchlax could smell it. His precious. He licked his lips and silenced his raging stomach. Right now he needed to stalk his prey, like the Munchlax of old that stalked and brought down wild burgers and pizza in the wilds.

"Come on in!" Yolanda said. Flint stepped in with the last of the laundry and Munchlax did a tactical log roll down the hallway like Samurai Furret to get close before darting into the room and hiding among the plushies.

"Hi! Hello! It's nice to see you friend Munchlax!" shouted Terra in greeting. Munchlax put a finger to his lips to tell her to be quiet only for her to tilt her head and look to Yolanda. "Mummy Yolanda! Munchlax is being funny!"

Munchlax held in a sigh. Trust an infant pokemon to not understand the importance of remaining quiet on the hunt.

"Yolanda, can I ask you a question?" Flint said.

Yolanda nodded, her attention drawn away from Terra who was pointing right at Munchlax. "Yeah Dad?"

"Why has Munchlax been stalking me all day?" Flint glanced around, and Munchlax ducked lower into the plushies hiding, like Janine did that one time they played a game.

"Oh? Did you take any of his food?"

"No, Brock was very adamant that I never cut him off… despite knowing that we're overfeeding him."

"Hmmm no, no, we're not. Brock has shown me the calorie count that Munchlax has. He takes as much as he needs and not much more. Most of his meals are bulk, with occasional treats for simple sugars. The rest is pretty empty, like all the vegetables he eats."

"I saw him eat two sandwiches just for lunch." Flint mimed a tower. "Big ones."

"And he has normal Munchlax meals for dinner. The others are all empty."

"Alright… so why's he stalking me then?"

"Food, it's usually food." Yolanda looked him over. "What's that in your top pocket?"

"Huh? Oh it's a… when did this get here?" Flint pulled out the precious. Yolanda giggled and Flint sighed. "Really? An after dinner mint?"

Yolanda nodded. "Leave it with me; I'll give it to him when I see him." Munchlax wanted to grumble. That was not how Munchlax of the wilds did it. Or did they? As long as it was successful, then it was a good hunt, no?

Flint departed, and Munchlax prepared to leave the plushies, only for Terra to poke her head into them. "Hi! Hi there! What are you doing?!"

Munchlax sighed and stood from the plushies. "I was stalking down my precious!" he announced.

Yolanda blinked in surprise.

"Oh, hi there Munchlax! This what you were looking for?" she said handing over the mint. Munchlax grinned, opening his mouth wide only for Terra to bounce on the spot.

"Precious?" Terra said while tilting her head. "Is it tasty? I've never had a precious before!"

Munchlax faltered in the face of her… her innocence. She'd never had a precious treat before? He considered his square of mint chocolate and licked his lips. He eyed it carefully and then snapped it into two parts. That made it count as half and half right?

"Here," he said offering her the smaller half.

Terra took it from his fingers and giggled. "It tastes funny!" she said as she smeared it all over her mouth. Yolanda took a picture with her transceiver.

Munchlax popped his half into his own mouth. It tasted wonderful, like victory and goodness.

And with his mouth tingling in just the right way, the world was good and put to rights.



The world was a dark and unjust place Jenny mused. But it would be put to rights soon. She looked to her newest recruit/pokemon. "Alright you blitzed through the training course, but don't let your head get big!"

Across from her Haunter nodded seriously as his head started to swell. Jenny bit her lips and coughed. "Precisely, good to hear you're listening." Haunter nodded and pretended to explode his head with a pin. In reality, he just made a banging noise and turned his head invisible.

"Alright, you're an official police pokemon now, alongside Arcanine, Growlithe, Machamp, and Pidgeot! Prestigious company, to be sure. The streets out there are dark places Haunter, I want you to understand that! There are lots of thieves and vandals afoot!"

Haunter nodded, munching on some chocolate that had Jenny squinting. Was that her emergency bad-day chocolate? Haunter ate another bite of it and produced a note from her that reminded her to get rid of her stash as she was trying to slim up for summer in a few weeks.

"Good call recruit!" she said through gritted teeth. Damn past Jenny for writing such a note!

She snapped her fingers. "Alright we're going to apprehend some criminals that have made off with my…" she coughed, "Police property!"

Haunter nodded. "For that purpose, we have tracked them down to a section outside Pewter to the northeast. You are to infiltrate a few suspicious sites and if you discover their base, you will open it from the inside! Understand?"

Haunter saluted with the chocolate bar before finishing it off. Jenny nodded and returned her pokemon. It had been an odd capture but she had high hopes. He was a joker but she'd make him a force for good in this world! She knew it!

She stood and strode out of her cubicle, ignoring some of the detective's snickers before approaching the other patrolmen and women that would be joining her on this raid. One of whom she was keeping a very close eye on. Hopefully, she could use today's mission to get some more reasons to linger around the potentially corrupt policeman.

With a few nods, they all rose and marched out. The others all had to hop on their bikes while she released her Arcanine and led them to the northwest area where she'd lost the trail last time.

"Alright, so this is where you lost the trail last week. What do you hope to change?" asked Kimbal, the potentially corrupt cop.

"This is the area where I lost the scent, yes, but we've got more options this time. For one! I have done some extensive research on this area. This used to be the location of a number of military bases that were decommissioned. You can tell from the indents left in the rockface. While it would take a lot of time to create a full-on military base once again, criminals will only need a single room to stash their ill-gotten gains!"

"Which we can't get into if they're using pokemon to get into. None of us have pokemon capable of teleport? Are you going to call up Sabrina for help? Good luck with that!" chuckled Kimball.

Jenny coughed, deciding not to mention that she had met Sabrina before. That was on a need-to-know basis, and technically, she hadn't qualified for that list. She'd just been the first on the scene thanks to Brock and then been in a great position to watch some pros in action!

Captain Bosco had been initially impressed with her debriefing before getting annoyed at her loss of police property. Not that it would matter soon. The blemish on her record would be cleaned up, and justice would be served!

She coughed into her fist. "I have an answer for that! I have Haunter we will be able to use to investigate the areas within the cliffs. If a base is present, he will indicate where we need to excavate!"

This got a few surprised murmurs and some approving nods. Jenny released her Haunter and he saluted officially. She liked that about him. He might be all snarky and sassy in private, but in the field, he was a reliable police pokemon!

"Where's the site Haunter? Think you can find the base?"

He nodded and swung around into the rockface. Jenny turned to the others. "Look around for anything suspicious to help narrow down the search!"

They began to look around and it wasn't long before they found bicycle tracks. "They must be getting around on bikes!" said one officer dropping to one knee. "Official Poketech speedsters that are moded for off-road or highway cruising! Heh they must have some connections! Those aren't cheap…"

He then inspected another tie track. "Actually, I take that back only two of these are expensive. One of these bikes is dirt cheap… probably many times secondhand, and judging by these rust flakes, poorly maintained too."

Jenny nodded and they followed the tracks over a rocky outcropping to a section of wall that had gravel in front of it. There wouldn't have been anywhere to leave tracks but while bike tracks came up, they never left. Jenny nodded and spotted a square indent with a boulder badge symbol impressed into it.

Ah, she'd been right! An old, decommissioned military base site! She signalled to the others to cordon off the area. She didn't want the thieves, if they were here, to get away.

She was just about to give an order for Kimball to pair up with someone trustworthy when the rock face in front of them swung open like it was a door, and Haunter appeared, grinning widely.

"Stop that Pokemon!" cried out a voice within the base.

"Send in the detention pokemon!" Jenny shouted as she hurled her Machamp into the cave.

she then released her Arcanine to have it at her sides as other officers released Machoke to follow her pokemon in. Cries of surprise and shouts echoed outward.

"Champ!" shouted her pokemon as Haunter shot her a thumbs up. All clear given, Jenny marched with a skip in her step.

Her eyes swept over the base, instantly locking onto the very obviously stolen police bike.

She grinned and looked towards the thieves.

Kids faces looked up. she huffed, alright it looked like this was going to be a simple scare them straight… she trailed off as her eyes locked on one of the boys.

Forrest blinked back at her, dazed and highly out of place. Kimball walked up next to her and spotted what she'd seen.

"Oh well, this is a catch!" he said greasily.

Jenny cursed in her head. Damn it, she'd meant to keep her enemies close, not give them rope to use.

Forrest shot her a hesitant smile, which she grimly returned.

This had just gotten a whole lot more complicated.



A.N. For those that aren't aware. Pokemon understand each other and what people say. They just don't speak human… apart from rare cases such as Meowth or the Slowking in the 2nd movie.

Special thanks goes to my patreons for their support!

Special thanks goes to Raikor, Ab9999 and Elnoorz for betaing and editing this chapter.
 
I actually forgot Jenny got her bike stolen. Now the question is if Forrest actually had anything to do with stealing it or if he is just at the wrong place and time.
 
You know, the whole gag about Ash owing Misty a bycicle becomes a lot less funny when one remembers how expensive those were supposed to be in the games.
 
It'd be a lot funnier if Ash would ever get actual consequences for his crap. Losing out on an easy Water Badge because he's in debt for the destroyed bike for example.
 
I actually forgot Jenny got her bike stolen. Now the question is if Forrest actually had anything to do with stealing it or if he is just at the wrong place and time.

They approached Forrest at the gym because he hadn't been hanging out with them much since Flint came back that was also his first time going to this base where they stashed the bike after stealing it so he's in the clear of course he is going to need to prove that especially with a crooked sleazy cop, an angry Jenny and his friends who may claim he was involved or even that it was his idea or that he is the leader.

On his side though is that they have the footage of only 2 small forms wearing face masks and hoodies which of course they won't find should they search his room but may for the others, his general reputation, possibly getting a psychic involved and how Ash, Misty, Yolanda, the old man and Crystal can all testify how those guys approached Forrest said he hadn't been hanging out with them and that they had a new secret base (with the bike already there at this point) to show him.
 
Munchlax is adorable and I loved the Pokemon perspectives in general, especially seeing Terra call Yolanda her mom (though I guess Terra won't be as fussed with impressing Empress Tyranitar as Titan was).

I'm also very glad to see that Forrest wasn't doing anything illegal, he just happened to be hanging out with crooked friends because he was gullible and wanted them to think he was cool.
 
2 kids stole the police motorcycle. 2 kids had expensive bikes, with a third having a hand me down one.

Now, which ones came first? The expensive bikes, or the stealing?
 
2 kids stole the police motorcycle. 2 kids had expensive bikes, with a third having a hand me down one.

Now, which ones came first? The expensive bikes, or the stealing?
I think one of the expensive bikes is Forest's. One of his friends uses a bike that was their sister's.
 
I think one of the expensive bikes is Forest's. One of his friends uses a bike that was their sister's.
Huh. You're right. Only 2 were called out as expensive. Also, I checked the chapter and it's weird how the number of 'friends' Forrest went to hang out with were never specificed. It certainly implied more than 2, but never outright revealed more than the leader and the one who had a hand me down bike. Weird.
 
There is also the possibility that this 'secret base' they found was actually opened up by the thieves who (like their IRL counterparts) will cache a stolen vehicle somewhere and leave it for a few days-to-a-week so that if it is tracked they aren't around to be found.

edit: or similarly, at a dead-drop location for the intended use/client, away from a place they normally use/visit.
 
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